VBA Journal

WIN 2014

The VBA Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Bar Association.

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WINTER 2014 - 2015 • 9 LAW PRACTICE MUSINGS BY CLIONA MARY ROBB CHAIR, JDPLUS PROJECT FOR THE LPMD W hen I started practicing 20 years ago, my mid- sized frm had a "class" of incoming law school graduates each fall. Tose days are long gone, and in the fall we typically bring on just one newly minted lawyer. What happened? During the past 20 years, a gap between the product of traditional legal education and the needs of legal employers has grown. At least four factors have contributed: • Te cost of traditional legal education is high and rising. • Te proftability of traditional law frms is eroding. • Te economic value of law grads without practical legal training is declining. • Te market power of cost-conscious large consumers of legal services is growing. Te VBA's Law Practice Management Division formed the JDPlus Task Force with the goal of implementing one or more novel, ambitious and achievable initiatives in our sweet spot to narrow or fll this gap. "Novel" means something not already achieved by another group, with a realistic possibility of success. "Ambitious" means meaningful, likely to have a material impact, and worthy of the VBA. "Achievable" means realistically capable of being launched in a viable form. "Sweet spot" means the area of highest opportunity for this collaborative endeavor, as opposed to initiatives that participants could accomplish on their own. Te Task Force identifed the need for an element of practical, work-based experience during or after law school but before licensure, along the lines of the medical education model. It also identifed the need for a JDPlus Compact. Law schools are generally striving to be responsive to the preferences articulated by many law frms and large users of legal service for practical skill development and assessment. However, employers have not consistently aligned hiring practices with those stated preferences: Firms still use grades, class rank and law reviews to screen students. Signatories to a proposed compact would make certain reciprocal commitments meant to better align rhetoric JDPlus law grads lawyers

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