There is a reality commonly ignored by the curriculum in most law schools: the largest segment of law graduates will eventually be solo or small firm practitioners. Even before the Great Recession, nearly two thirds of lawyers in the United States practiced solo or in small firms. Since 2008, trends show an increase in the number of recent law graduates that “hang a shingle.” According to a 2012 report of the American Bar Association, about three-quarters of lawyers in the United States work in private practice. Of those attorneys, about seventy percent practice solo or in small firms. Many find themselves in this practice setting soon after graduation. The National Association for Law Placement (“NALP”) statistics for the class of 2013 show that 42% of graduates in private practice are working in firms with 2-10 lawyers; about 5% are already operating solo practices.
In short, more than half of the attorneys in the United States are small business owners – they are operating, managing and growing a law practice. As framed by Professor Luz Herrera, they must be “lawyer-entrepreneurs.” The law curriculum rarely presents students with opportunities to build the competencies necessary to operate a practice. As William Hornsby, staff counsel at the American Bar Association (“ABA”), has written: “Simply put, law school graduates are ill-prepared for the future they are most likely to pursue.”
There is a small but growing chorus urging law schools to do more to prepare graduates who will operate their own practices. There have not yet been comprehensive or concrete proposals for the law school curriculum, however, this discussion will, therefore, have two goals: (1) to address whether law schools should design a developed suite of curricular offerings for students who intend to operate their own practices at some point after graduation and, (2) if yes, what should those course offerings entail?
The participants in the Discussion Group consist of a mix of individuals identified in the original proposal and individuals selected from a call for participation. Attendees who are not formal participants, are welcome to attend the Discussion Group, space is limited. The moderator may open the discussion to include attendees at some point during the session.