National Jurist - January 2009 - (Page 41)

turned a sleepy little law school into one making headlines across the globe. He’s doing it by creating unique learning and job opportunities for the law school’s students. For example, UDM is the only law school in the continental United States in which students can take up to one-third of their credits toward the JD degree in Spanish. And while many law schools have environmental clinics, how many actually handle U.S. Department of Justice environmental enforcement actions? The clinic’s professor is a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, and the students have to undergo federal background checks before starting the clinic. Then there is the much-lauded Law Firm program. Developed with lawyers from around the nation, the Program requires upper-level students to work on simulated complex transactions like large national firms handle. Each course is essentially a different department of the law firm, and the Program now has 15 different departments up and running. “Students in the Law Firm Program that become summer associates tell us they cannot believe how far ahead they are,” Gordon said. UDM also has gotten plenty of attention for its Mobile Law Offices – recreational vehicles that are firms on wheels. Recently, UDM sent students around the country to help veterans seeking federal disability benefits. So far, students and faculty have been to more than 35 cities in nine states, with many more to come. Washington & Lee University School of Law F or those students who think the third year of law school is redundant, take a look at the new curriculum at Washington & Lee University School of Law. These fresh 3L courses are pushing out of the classroom and into the real world. The new focus is experiential, explained Dean Rodney Smolla, giving students a blend of simulated and actual practice experiences. The courses are in a pilot program this year with hopes of including all of the law school’s students by 2010. While the courses have the traditional names (Corporate Law or Bankruptcy), they will focus on fictitious clients, cases and files that students will need to work through as young attorneys, Smolla said. He said an advisory board of working lawyers and alumni helped construct the new curriculum based on what they are seeing in today’s law firms and courtrooms. Students also will have a year-long Professionalism Program that examines what makes modern-day lawyers tick, touching on everything from the profession’s traditions to firm economics to leadership issues. “The rationale is that most law students become good by the end of their second year at legal doctrine and theory. What they need is practice at problem solving, counseling clients, advocacy on behalf of clients and all of the other aspects of practicing that make it so stimulating,” Smolla said. “The practice of law is not an essay or multiple-choice exam. The practice of law is dealing with people, businesses and organizations to solve problems,” he added. “We’re helping them to be lawyers and not just think like lawyers.” ■ January 2009 | THE NATIONAL JURIST | 41 http://www.law.emory.edu/budapest http://www.law.emory.edu/budapest

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - January 2009

National Jurist - January 2009 Contents Hot Button: Affirmative Action Entertainment: A Road Trip Through Law School News: American Justice, Kaplan Survey, Part-time Ranking The Firm Report: Diversity Law School Online No label No label Fordham Student Honored for Public Interest Work Former Law Student's Life Lives on After Her Death Most Influential People in Legal Education Most Innovative Law Schools Your Guide to Studying Abroad Career Hotline Texas Tech Law Grads Explore Dispute Resolution Evaluating First-Year Exams Disturbing the Peace

National Jurist - January 2009

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