Can State Bar Associations Overcome Polarization in the Academy and Improve Legal Education by Reforming Admissions Standards? Lessons from California

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Union Square 22

Floor: Fourth Floor

Although experiential education is well-established, many leaders of the bench and bar still seek to recalibrate the balance between theoretical and more practice-focused education. A number of law schools have heard these calls and emphasize clinical training. But, as a whole, the legal academy seems unable to engage in more than incremental change, as shown by the ABA’s recent decision to require only six units of experiential education. This session asks whether State Bar Associations and Committees of Bar Examiners can use their leverage to rebalance legal education. In 2012, the California State Bar Association formed a Task Force on Admissions Regulation Reform. In its first phase, TFARR proposed that as a requirement for admission to the California Bar, applicants have 15 units of practice-based experiential coursework (or its equivalent in “apprenticeships”). In its second phase, TFARR revised parts of the proposal, which the Bar’s Board of Trustees adopted in 2014. The recommendations were eventually tabled due to several factors, including a budget crisis within the State Bar and opposition by law deans on a special AALS committee and those on the ABA’s Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
The session will begin with an overview of the California experience. Panelists will then address questions such as: Can the legal academy recalibrate the balance between theory and practice on its own? Can innovation in requiring more competency-focused training heal divisions within the academy and foster greater collaboration among different types of teachers? Do State Bars have a legitimate interest in shaping legal education and do they possess relevant expertise? Is it appropriate for a single state to alter its admission requirements, or can this lead to chaos if states adopt different requirements?