The ABA is finally poised to formally require law schools to provide “substantial opportunities” for “the development of a professional identity.” Proposed ABA Standard 303(b).
Clinics and externships are key opportunities for students to develop their concept of who they want to be as legal professionals. These courses contain curriculum on role assumption, values, reflection, and well-being. Even so, we do not always explicitly discuss “professional identity formation” as a concept.
We will first present background information on professional identity development—including recent legal literature, training from other disciplines, and psychological research. We will use slides/lecture and show a 5-minute video (which will be shared for others to use). (25 minutes.)
Next, we will present two visual art exercises that help students explicitly identify their professional values and development. One involves value/identity mapping, and another involves creating a graphic comic of an experience that illustrates something about students’ growth/role as lawyers.
For each exercise, we will explain the exercise, have participants independently complete it, have small breakout rooms to discuss/present responses, and end with a larger group discussion, including displaying examples of prior students’ submissions. We hope participants learn how to creatively engage students in explicit understanding of their professional identity development and reflect on their personal growth. (60 minutes; approx. 40 in breakouts).
In the final minutes we will briefly overview other exercises that are detailed on the handouts (bibliography/reference sheet of PIF exercises; assignment sheets/materials for main exercises).