Law Schools Should Provide More Realistic Career Instruction

Some people may be drawn to law school by the promise of high pay, public service, and the drama of courtrooms they have seen on TV. But the legal profession is failing to deliver its promise and leaves many lawyers unhappy and looking for alternative paths. Law schools can help fix the problem, but only if they fix themselves first.

Many lawyers still feel unprepared for success and uncertain of their career trajectory. Or, worse, they realize they’re not a good fit for the traditional practice of law and feel stuck, having invested so much money and time in a law degree.

Law schools know this will be an outcome for some percentage of their students—they have the graduate data—but they rarely discuss it. Schools probably hesitate because they’re afraid that prospective students won’t commit to paying enormous tuition costs if someone tells them that wealth and glory might be beyond their reach.

But intentional and honest conversations about the realities and possibilities of the profession would produce better outcomes for everyone: students, their future clients, employers, and the schools themselves.

Big law firms and public service agencies aren’t the only institutions that need lawyers. Developers need acquisition officers, government contractors need project managers, and trade associations need advocates.

Law schools rarely mention those career paths in their marketing materials or first-year seminars, even if many of their alumni find those jobs intellectually and materially rewarding. Few courses actually address specific skills required for that work.

The law school premise is often framed to teach students to think like attorneys, to teach the classics of law, and to help students find their way to law journals and eventual careers in private practice and government service.

As a matter of tradition, countless generations of first-year law school students nervously sit in class, as professors who are seemingly dressed for a court appearance call on students to recite a colonial-era case that examines some horse-drawn carriage that dumped a load of flour. Students are prompted, or cajoled, to discuss the case that sets the framework of damages from a breach of contract.

This type of teaching has value, and for some students, it will open the door to almost any career. But many would benefit from more practical training that goes hand in hand with more wide-ranging career development.

Law schools have slowly responded to criticism with sessions on health and wellness, effective communication, and management. It’s a good start, but there is so much more to do.

When law school deans and faculty are asked a seemingly simple question—how they can help law students thrive in their careers—their answers become a mantra, a riddle, and a nagging question worthy of best efforts. Eventually, they say their students are adults and can measure the risks of success and failure. This is a weak excuse that makes students feel like they must apologize for practicing outside of traditional law, even when those jobs best fit their skills, intellect, and interests.

Students will naturally gravitate toward practice areas that interest them, and law schools can also facilitate personality tests and core strengths that indicate where success may result for students.

Students can learn across many disciplines and paths, especially strategies for finding employers outside of big law.

It doesn’t mean that traditions need to be abandoned. Schools can launch on a path toward taking the time-honored curriculum and teaching practices to incorporate and acknowledge the larger realities of graduate careers. Law schools can add goals to train leaders, push students to look outside of the practice of law, and offer students chances for better insights.

Law schools should champion successful contracting officers, government relations, and project managers, not just their alumni who serve as big law partners or federal judges.

These changes wouldn’t end all the complaints about law schools, but they would help create better, happier lawyers. And they might even attract new people to the field once they learn everything you can do with a law degree.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Steven Shapiro is director of the hospitality and tourism law program at American University, Washington College of Law.
In his academic work, he has praised the progressive approach of the law school and cited its mandate to help the next generation of students.

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