Regent University School of Law (Regent) develops experientially knowledgeable and ethically informed graduates. Its student-centered curriculum grounded in a Christian worldview, commitment to professional identity formation, and focus on the values of excellence, innovation, and integrity affirm its motto, “Law is more than a profession. It’s a calling.” While at Regent, students continually revisit the question, “What kind of lawyer do I want to be?”
Regent’s express inclusion of practical skills development and professional identity formation into its strategic plan demonstrates its commitment to widespread curricular reform that enhances instruction of the core legal doctrine. Regent’s strategic plan further adopts specific strategies to foster students’ character development and professionalism, and the school encourages its faculty to implement particular assessment techniques. Results from the 2012Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) reflect that 88.2% of Regent 3L respondents believed that their law school contributed substantially to their development of a personal code of values and ethics, significantly higher than the national average of just 48.4%.
Courses that already integrate all three of Carnegie’s Apprenticeships include Family Law, Professional Responsibility, Virginia Procedure, State Civil Pretrial Practice & Procedure, and Wills, Trusts & Estates. Regent offers numerous experiential learning opportunities; and in nearly all courses, faculty members integrate some form of professional identity instruction into their teaching and have been doing so since the school’s founding, over twenty-five years ago.
Regent has implemented Legal Education Reform Initiatives & Programs, which servesto advance legal education through its blog and website—Legal Pedagogy: An Interactive & Information Resource. Regent also is currently considering establishing the Center for Ethical Formation & Legal Education Reform (CEFLER), which will serve as an internal resource for faculty and students, foster scholarship and research in the area of legal education reform, and engage the legal academy and professional community on topics related to legal education reform and professional identity formation.