Legal Education Lab

The norms and practices in legal education matter. They influence what students enter law school, what those students study and learn when they arrive, what and how they practice when they leave. In short, legal education influences the legal profession, the law, and the extent to which they both advance justice. Students in the Legal Education Lab will identify some of the problems associated with inclusion in legal education, causes of the problems, alternative practices, and possible solutions. Students will research and connect with scholars and experts who focus on these topics as well as with relevant stakeholders and will jointly prepare a policy paper. Their work will be presented at the 2016 Systemic Justice Conference (April 8 – 10). In addition, students will research contextualization in legal education, and prepare resources for contextualized learning. Class time will be devoted to presentations, guest speakers, workshops, and discussions of various elements of the project. Students will produce various written work, including collaborative papers and individual written assignments, and prepare and participate in an in-depth presentation for the Systemic Justice Conference in April. Much of the work will be done outside of class in smaller groups and subgroups. Jacob Lipton will assist with this course.