Preparing Law Students to Become Litigators in the New Legal Landscape

I. Introduction 881II. The Changing Law School and Legal Landscape.........882III. Experiential Courses are Crucial to Developing Law Students' Litigation Skills 886IV. Live-Client, In-House Litigation Clinics are Crucial for Developing Students' Litigation Skills 891A. Students Benefit from the Supervision Provided in an In-House, Live-Client Clinic 894B. Students Learn How to Litigate by Working on Their Own Cases 899C. The Seminar Enhances the Students' Clinical Experience 901V. Conclusion 903I. IntroductionThe legal world has undergone rapid change over the past few years and law schools and law students are in the midst of adjusting to this new legal landscape. Employers increasingly want to hire students who are ready to practice. As a law student, I participated in an externship, simulation classes, and an in-house, live-client litigation clinic; as a professor, I have taught all three types of classes.* 1 My experience, first as a law student, then as a litigator, and now as a professor, has taught me the importance and educational value of experiential learning in helping law students develop their litigation skills. It is more important than ever for students who are interested in litigating to take in-house, live-client litigation clinics, simulation courses, and externships while in law school so that they learn how to make strategic decisions and gain the skills that will enable them to practice upon graduation. This Article argues that while all of these forms of practical legal education are valuable, live-client, in-house litigation clinics are especially important because they contain certain features that are very difficult to replicate in externships or simulations.II. THE CHANGING LAW SCHOOL AND LEGAL LANDSCAPEThere is a consensus that clinical and other forms of experiential learning2 should be part of every law school curriculum and that the vast majority of law students benefit from taking experiential classes.3 In the current economic climate, it is increasingly clear that law students need to obtain the decision-making ability and skills necessary for them to litigate once they graduate.4 There are many reasons that law students need to be ready to litigate when they enter the working world. First, government offices and non-profits do not usually have sufficient resources to train new lawyers. Second, in this economic environment, it seems likely that more students will decide to establish their own practice upon graduation.5 Students deciding to practice on their own need to know how to litigate, as they will be the only lawyer representing their clients and will not have colleagues within their firm to consult.The third reason it is important for graduating law students to have litigation skills relates to the changing practice among large law firms. These firms, which hire a significant number of law students, and their clients, have undergone a great deal of change during the past few years. In the past, many first-year associates would receive on-the-job training as large clients who had long-term relationships with the firms would understand that paying for these associates' work was in their interest in the long run, even if the work they were doing was not always worth the hourly rate charged. However, as the economy has changed and clients are increasingly comparison shopping for legal representation based, in part, on cost, it has become increasingly common for clients to demand that even first-year lawyers have the ability to practice at a level that adds value to their case. …