An old saying about law school is that it scares students to death in the first year, works them to death in the second, and bores them to death in the third. Perhaps with that phrase in mind, President Obama recently suggested that law school programs be shortened from three years to two. He argued that legal education required only two years of classroom instruction, and that having students obtain practical experience instead of spending a third year as a law student would both benefit the students’ professional development and reduce their costs.
According to an article in Inside Higher Ed, many law schools focus the third year on clinics and externships, but students must pay tuition for these experiences while also taking elective courses. On the other hand, the article notes that, with law schools facing criticism for not providing students with adequate practical preparation, eliminating the third year could exacerbate that issue. As the article states, the question is whether students would obtain equivalent practical experience without the structure and support provided by a school.
