Experiential Learning Produces Real Benefits

A study by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver has concluded that experiential learning, at least of the sort provided in the Daniel Webster Scholars Program at the University of New Hampshire Law School, produces meaningful benefits for the ability to practice law.  Graduates of the DWS program were assessed as having superior competence to the average lawyer two years out of law school.  It may well be that employers do not value experiential learning generally in their employment decisions, as Jason Yackee contends, but the IAALS study suggests that not all experiential learning is equal.  My experience at UNH is that DWS graduates are sought after by employers.  For a link to Yackee's article see the earlier post on this blog by Michael Risch.  Here is a link to the IAALS report.

Comments

[Milan]

This sounds like a wonderful program. However, I am a bit curious about the "superior competence" point. Is it surprising or noteworthy that students trained to conduct "standardized client interviews" would outperform a randomly selected cohort of new lawyers on these interviews?

[JM]

Calvin, only the top entering UNH students are designated for the DWS program. Of course they are more "in demand" than the rest of your students. They have better undergraduate records and probably have much better law school grades on average too. The DWS program could be all about square dancing and they would get jobs at a higher rate. This does not prove anything.

[JEA]

Even assuming that graduates of that sort of program start out ahead of other law graduates in terms of practice competence, for how long do they keep that edge? Perhaps one reason why employers don't value law school experiential training is that they think that any advantage such graduates have will be short-lived, since the learning curve of actual law practice in the law firm is so steep that whatever small boost in competence is seen will be soon swamped by differential rates of achievement post-hiring.

[Calvin Massey]

JM: DWS students are selected after completion of their 1L year, based on interviews and assessment of their 1L academic performance.

JEA: Good question. The cited study does not examine that question. A longitudinal study is necessary.

[Derek Tokaz]

For a longitudinal study, a great source of data would be rising 3L students just finishing their summer jobs. Collect information about their skills immediately finishing a 10-12 week full time job, and then collect information about those same skills after graduation. That will give some idea about how legal skills atrophy over time.

If you want meaningful, lasting skills training, I suspect it's something you're going to need every semester of the 2L and 3L year. About 24-30 total credits worth, not the 6 or so most students get.