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In the aftermath of the Great Recession in 2008-09, the structure and economics of the legal profession continue to change. For law schools, the earlier era was one where admissions decisions could be made solely on quantitative credentials (GPA and LSAT), career development consisted largely of developing relationships with law firms and some governmental employers, and professional development and training were largely out-sourced to law firms (or did not exist).
Today’s emerging legal services landscape requires law schools to take a hard look at how to develop law students in an environment where many are skeptical of the value of a legal education. For the law schools that are grappling with a changing landscape, there is a unique opportunity to innovate and experiment—in effect, developing the framework for today’s “new normal” legal education. This report discusses a few key elements of this emerging framework and outlines strategies for law schools to pursue.