Would you trust a doctor with no practical experience to operate on you unsupervised? For most, the answer is a resounding no. Luckily, nearly all U.S. physicians participate in a full-time residency, working under the supervision of an attending physician, as part of their training to practice medicine. Elon believes that emerging lawyers, like physicians, should engage in full-time, supervised residencies as part of their professional training.
Elon Law’s new curriculum features full-time, faculty-supervised residencies in the practice of law for all students, making Elon the first American law school to offer such a program. In addition, Elon Law students will benefit from recurring engagement with accomplished attorneys throughout their time in law school, as well as simulation-based skills development programs and team-based projects assisting nonprofits and government agencies with legal matters. Through multiple, in-depth encounters with practicing attorneys and immersive experiences in the practice of law, Elon students not only build specialized legal knowledge and skills, they also establish networks within the profession that are essential to career success. Learn more about Elon Law’s sequenced array of experiential learning programs for law students here.
Elon’s groundbreaking approach to legal education reflects findings within the fields of law, medicine, architecture and business that indicate improved student outcomes from experience-centered educational models.
At a June 2014 national symposium on experiential education in law hosted by Elon Law, nationally-regarded legal education expert William Henderson presented research indicating that students who engage in a series of immersive practice experiences during law school more deeply engage in their upper level coursework and hone professional interests earlier than peers, improving learning outcomes and improving career satisfaction.
That same national symposium at Elon Law featured presentations from practitioners and teachers in medical, architectural and business sectors about experiential education in their fields.
“The very fact that the symposium looks outside of the legal paradigm for inspiration, and outside of academia altogether to be challenged, is a sign of the innovative mentality that reigns here,” said symposium presenter Andrew Webster, Director of Innovation and Change Solutions at the executive education company ExperiencePoint.
The symposium’s “Perspectives from Other Disciplines” panel included:
- Dr. Kimberly Boland, Program Director, Professor of Pediatrics, Vice Chair for Medical Education, University of Louisville;
- Debbie Chachra, Associate Professor of Materials Science, Olin College of Engineering;
- David Gutterman, PhD, Clinical Director of Behavioral Medicine, LeBauer Health Care;
- Marilyn Moedinger, Principal, Runcible Studios; and,
- Raghu Tadepalli, Dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, Elon University.
These presenters described faculty- and employer-supervised practice experiences as essential and often-required components in the professional development of students and in the licensure process for entering professionals in their fields. They emphasized the value to students of case-specific simulations as a form of holistic learning in their respective fields.
Boland noted a movement in medical education to eliminate strict lecture-form teaching, even in foundational courses, in favor of case-study approaches. Moedinger described “Studio,” an aspect of architects’ professional training that provides students with intensive, hands-on design experience, while also introducing students to the culture of architectural practice. Tadepalli noted that business students in field placements are evaluated for the quality of their assigned work, written and oral communication skills, collaborative skills, professionalism, punctuality, time management and initiative. Chachra described “a heavily-scaffolded experience” in practice-based learning for engineering students at Olin, involving progressive stages of responsibility.
Elon Law’s innovative approach to legal education is part of a global evolution of professional education across disciplines, responsive to research indicating improved student outcomes from practice-based educations.
“It was decided that the planned Elon program was most akin to preceptor programs in medical education, in which first-year medical students visit offices of practicing physicians to connect with their profession and gain technical skills,” Davis said. “The physicians were called preceptors, and Elon adopted that name for its senior lawyers. The physicians in their offices had an opportunity to see the medical students doing some things doctors did, such as take medical histories. In the law school classroom, Elon’s preceptors saw law students do what lawyers do, think and communicate their thoughts, and then took the students into offices where those skills are applied. In both instances, developmental opportunities followed by prompt, constructive feedback were crucial in accelerating the growth of emerging professionals.”
In addition to full-time, faculty-supervised residencies, and the preceptor program, Elon Law’s new curriculum will offer lab courses for first-year students, taught by practicing attorneys and designed to reinforce concepts from foundational law courses taught by the school’s faculty. While the focus of Elon Law’s first-year curriculum remains on the fundamentals of legal doctrine and analysis, the lab courses help to leaven the student experience with early training in practical skills, exposure to the realities of legal practice and consideration of the lawyer’s role in the community.
Like residencies and the preceptor program, Elon Law’s lab courses reflect educational trends and values in medical education. A 2012 article in The Journal of Medical Investigation reported that simulation training in clinical skills laboratories allows learners a safe environment for practice and error. “Medical learners are allowed to fail a procedure and make mistakes, and they can try a procedure repeatedly until they master it,” the article states. Elon Law’s lab courses allow first-year students to engage in practice-oriented training in a controlled environment with attorney supervision. At the same time, lab courses engage students more deeply in their learning and skills development, preparing them for greater responsibility in practice experiences that follow later in their legal education and ultimately in their careers.
“Law schools have been criticized for not changing quickly enough to adapt to the new normal in the legal industry,” said Ellen Gregg, a member of Elon Law’s Advisory Board and partner at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. “Elon Law embraces the opportunity to lead the way, supplementing its rigorous academic program with meaningful legal practice experiences, and emphasizing strong communication and business skills that align with client needs. Elon’s new approach is a uniquely complete program of legal training.”