ETL Consortium Prominent in National Jurist’s 2015 Best Schools for Practical Training

April 15, 2015

Many law schools are answering the call for “practice-ready” graduates by implementing and growing clinical programs, externships, and simulation courses. The National Jurist recently announced its 2015 Best Schools for Practical Training, with rankings and grades given to schools based on the percentage of their full-time students who participate in practice-focused programs. Clinical experience was weighted at 30% of the grade, externships at 25%, simulations for 20%, school competitions 5%, and the remaining 20% going towards school programs not captured by these categories.

Altogether, opportunities for experiential learning per full-time student increased over last year. The curriculum shift across law schools has been steadily building over several years, but general recognition of the importance of practical training has developed even more rapidly. As Dean Jeremy Paul of Northeastern University puts it:

You know that saying about how a law school teaches students to think like a lawyer[?] Well, if you get into a cab, you don’t want a driver who thinks like a driver. You want someone who can drive.

Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers‘ Consortium members were prominent on the list again in 2015:

  • University of Denver Sturm College of Law
  • Golden Gate University School of Law
  • Hamline University School of Law
  • Loyola University Chicago School of Law
  • University of New Hampshire School of Law
  • University of New Mexico School of Law
  • Northeastern University School of Law
  • University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
  • Pepperdine University School of Law
  • University of Pittsburgh School of Law
  • Regent University School of Law
  • Southwestern Law School
  • University of St. Thomas School of Law
  • Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
  • Washington and Lee University School of Law

Hunter Metcalf is a second-year law student at the University of Colorado Law School and contributes to IAALS Online. Please direct inquiries about this post to iaals@du.edu.