Legal education as a key stakeholder in legal services reform (276) — from legalevolution.org by Dan Rodriguez
To date, this highly influential stakeholder has had very little to say.
Excerpt:
The fierce and fascinating struggle underway in the American states over legal services reform brings to the table a large collection of interest groups. These groups include law firms, legal aid organizations, entrepreneurs who might benefit financially from the liberalization of entry rules, and of course the gatekeeper entities, including state bar authorities and the state supreme courts, whose decisions are crucial to the evolution and shape of reform. See Posts 239 (beginning of a four-part series on serious challenges of bar federalism).
The identity of these specific groups may differ from state to state, as the legal ecosystem has contours often tailored to a particular state’s history and objectives, but the configuration of stakeholders has some rather common elements.
What remains somewhat opaque in this robust and interconnected battle over the reform of legal services is the voice of legal educators and the law schools. These are, after all, the places in which future lawyers are educated and professional values are instilled. It is had to imagine a more fertile and opportune time to discuss the ambitions and philosophies of this next generation of legal professionals.