Cultivating Professional Identity in the First Year of Law School

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Many attribute the uptick in law school applications to a new generation being galvanized by the current political climate and a renewed passion for social justice. Unfortunately, the traditional 1L focus on bar courses can leave students feeling disconnected from what brought them to law school in the first place. At the same time, clinical professors report frustrations that their 2L and 3L students struggle with communication skills, establishing rapport with clients, and conveying empathy when interviewing and counseling clients. In addition, law students are entering into increasingly diverse law school settings and legal practice environments and require an understanding of racial bias and strategies to mitigate its impact. Over the last few years, students and faculty at Loyola University Chicago School of Law recognized the need to provide a more mission-oriented and practice lens to students starting in the first year of law school. Rather than reserving experiential and professional development learning experiences for upper-level clinics and externships, faculty at Loyola have created several classes to help develop 1L students’ cultural responsiveness, self-evaluation skills, and sense of civic responsibility. The goal is to begin developing students’ good lawyering habits and professional identities early in their law school career so as better prepare them for further growth in experiential and other courses in second and third year in law school and in their practice beyond.