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Lawyers and Lawyering in America

Lawyers and Lawyering in America. INPUTS Citizens Clients. GATEKEEPERS Lawyers Police. DECISIONS Courts Judges. US Population, 1790-2005. Rise of the Legal Profession, 1950-2000. Comparing Changes I: Lawyers Relative to Population. How Many Lawyers?.

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Lawyers and Lawyering in America

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  1. Lawyers and Lawyering in America

  2. INPUTS Citizens Clients GATEKEEPERS Lawyers Police DECISIONS Courts Judges

  3. US Population, 1790-2005

  4. Rise of the Legal Profession, 1950-2000

  5. Comparing Changes I: Lawyers Relative to Population

  6. How Many Lawyers? • 1 lawyer for every 286 people in the United States • 4 X the number in England • 29X the number in Japan

  7. Comparing Changes II: Growth Rates

  8. Cause or Effect?Do heavy caseloads stimulate the growth of the legal profession, or has the legal profession promoted legal action to create new business for lawyers? Court Caseload Number of Lawyers

  9. Who are America’s Lawyers? • Hardly a random cross-section of America but changing slowly over time. • Once populated predominantly by white males, today the legal profession is increasingly diverse. • The process of change has been slow.

  10. Should the Bar be representative (demographically)? • YES • Would provide greater diversity of outlook • Allow greater public identification with and promote more support for the “rule of law” • Would provide more legal services for those groups now neglected • NO • Access to the profession should be based on merit and not demographic characteristics

  11. What Do Layers Do? • Litigate (Trial Practice) • Negotiate • Draft (Writing) • Advise

  12. ABA Section Memberships

  13. The Development of Legal Training 1779 1st Law Professorship William and Mary

  14. The Development of Legal Training • 1784 1st Law Office “School” Litchfield, CT • 1817 “Law School” Harvard University Issac Parker, Chair (Issac Royal $$$) • 1824 Yale Law School

  15. 1824 Yale Law School • 1840 9 • 1850 15 • 1860 21 • 1870 31 • 1900 102 • 1990 175 • 2002 185, including ABA provisional schools and JAG/Defense department

  16. 1870 - The Big Switch in Legal Education Christopher Columbus Langdell (Dean, Harvard Law) “Case Method” Standardization Extension of Curriculum

  17. Christopher Columbus Langdell (Dean, Harvard Law)

  18. Training to be a lawyer • Types of Training • Apprenticeship (Once Common, now VERY rare) • Law School (3 Year Graduate Program) • The Bar Exam (State Specific) • Purpose of training: • Ensure basic competence of professionals • Preclude easy entry to the bar (discourage competition)

  19. Going to Law School? (Which one is right for you?)

  20. Yale Law School

  21. The Top 10 Law Schools • Yale University • Harvard University   2 Stanford University 4 New York University               5 Columbia University              6 University of Chicago               6 University of Pennsylvania               8 University of California–Berkeley               8 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor               10 Duke University              10 University of Virginia    

  22. America's Top Law Schools (Law School 100) 1 Harvard Law School 2 Stanford Law School2 Yale Law School 4 Columbia Law School4 NYU School of Law4 University of Chicago Law School   7 Boalt Hall School of Law7 Cornell Law School7 Georgetown University Law Center7 Northwestern University School of Law7 University of Michigan Law School7 University of Pennsylvania Law School7 University of Virginia School of Law

  23. Thomas M. Cooley Rankings • Harvard University (1) • Georgetown University (4) • University of Texas (5) • University of Virginia (3) • New York University (2) • Yale University (6) • Northwestern University (8) • Columbia University (6) • George Washington University (9) • University of Minnesota (11)

  24. The Top Public Law Schools 8 University of California–Berkeley               8 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor   10 University of Virginia              15 University of California–Los Angeles               18 University of Texas–Austin               20 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities               24 University of Iowa               25 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign               28 University of Washington               • College of William and Mary   31 Ohio State University • University of Wisconsin – Madison

  25. Placement I

  26. The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) • All American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as part of the admission process.

  27. The Test • The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions, in three different item types. • Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. • The unscored section, commonly referred to as the variable section, typically is used to pretest new test questions. (The placement of this section will vary.) • A 35-minute writing sample is administered at the end of the test. LSAC does not score the writing sample. Copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply. • The score scale for the LSAT is 120 to 180.

  28. LSAT Percentile Table

  29. Undergraduate GPA LSAT score Undergraduate course of study Graduate work, if any College attended Improvement in grades and grade distribution Extracurricular activities Ethnic/racial background Individual character Letters of recommendation Writing skills Personal statement or essay Work experience Community activities Reasons for deciding to study law State of residency Obstacles that have been overcome Past accomplishments and leadership Criteria That May Be Considered by Admission Committees

  30. Yale University

  31. University of Colorado Law School

  32. University of Colorado

  33. Acceptance Rates

  34. UNDERSTANDING (STATE) LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS Historic Admissions Rate = 30% # Admits IN # Admits OUT -------------------- + ----------------------- # Applicants IN # Applicants OUT

  35. Admissions @ CU: Enrollment Proportion IN-STATE = .55 Enrollment Proportion OUT-STATE = .45 Proportion IN-STATE + Proportion OUT-STATE = 1.00 FIRST YEAR ENROLLMENT = 165 Students In-State 91 Out-State 74 Enrollments Proportions are a function of two different ratios – admissions by the school and acceptances by the applicants: Admission Rate = #Admitted/# Applications Acceptance Rate = #Acceptances/#Admitted

  36. Admissions @ CU: Proportion IN = # Admits IN # Accepts IN -------------------- X ----------------- # Applicants IN # Admits IN Proportion OUT = # Admits OUT # Accepts OUT ---------------------- X ------------------- # Applicants OUT # Admits OUT Admissions officials have to estimate both ratios to come up with a total enrollment equal to the class size. They control admissions ratios based on estimates of acceptance rates.

  37. Admissions @ CU: Historically IN-STATE acceptance rates are high and OUT-OF- STATE acceptance rates are low. To get appropriate class sizes, the admissions rate for OUT-OF-STATE students is usually higher. (This doesn’t mean easier. OUT-OF-STATE students must meet the same standards as IN-STATE students. But there are more of them.)

  38. An Example: IN-STATE 200 100 100 ----- X ----- = ----- 600 200 600 .33 X .50 = .17 OUT-OF-STATE 500 60 60 ----- X ----- = ----- 1000 500 1000 .50 X .12 = .06 TOTAL 700 160 160 ----- X ----- = ----- 1600 700 1600 .44 X .23 = .10

  39. The 1st Year Curriculum, Part 1 • Civil procedure—the process of adjudication in the United States; i.e., jurisdiction and standing to sue, motions and pleadings, pretrial procedure, the structure of a lawsuit, and appellate review of trial results. • Constitutional law—the legislative powers of the federal and state governments, and questions of civil liberties and constitutional history, including detailed study of the Bill of Rights and constitutional freedoms. • Contracts—the nature of enforceable promises and rules for determining appropriate remedies in case of nonperformance. • Criminal law and criminal procedure—the rules and policies for enforcing sanctions against individuals accused of committing offenses against the public order and well-being, and the rights guaranteed to those charged with criminal violations.

  40. The 1st Year Curriculum, Part 2 • Legal method—students’ introduction to the organization of the American legal system and its processes. • Legal writing—research and writing component of most first-year programs; requires students to research and write memoranda dealing with various legal problems. • Property law—concepts, uses, and historical developments in the treatment of land, buildings, natural resources, and personal objects. • Torts—private wrongs, such as acts of negligence, assault, and defamation, that violate obligations of the law.

  41. 2007 – A Year of Change • December 2006 Harvard announces the results of the 1st comprehensive review of the Law Schools curriculum since Langdell’s Deanship. • New 1L course requirements: Legislation & Regulation, Global Legal Systems, Problem Solving • New 2L & 3L Interdisciplinary tracts (w/Business & Kennedy School): Law & Government, Law & Business, Law, Science & Technology, Law & the International Sphere, Law & Social Change

  42. Recruitment • Recruitment by firms starts earlier than it once did. Formerly only 2nd year students got summer jobs. Now 1st year students are recruited during their first fall (before they really know much about the law). • Summer salaries vary dramatically and regionally with the biggest commercial firms in the biggest urban markets offering the most dramatic salaries. (The same will be true after graduation.)

  43. The Impact of Law School • Law Schools influence student attitudes and ways of thinking. (Intentionally!) • Teaching strives to subjugate feelings about problems. • Interest in public interest law typically declines. • $ makes a difference (as an incentive and to pay off bills accumlated) • Less prestigeous schools are less influenced. More solo practitioners, fewer big firm recruiters.

  44. The Bar Examination • In order to obtain a license to practice law, law school graduates must apply for bar admission through a state board of bar examiners. • Most often this board is an agency of the highest state court in the jurisdiction. • The criteria for eligibility to take the bar examination or to otherwise qualify for bar admission are set by each state.

  45. The Bar Examination • The most common testing configuration is a two-day examination. • One day is devoted to the Multistate Bar Examination, a standardized 200-item test covering Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts. • The second day of testing is typically comprised of locally crafted essays. • In a growing number of states, nationally developed tests, such as the Multistate Essay Examination and the Multistate Performance Test, are used to round out the test. • And an ethics/background check!

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