The American Bar Association is considering changes to the credit requirement for experiential learning to make legal education more hands-on and help students be better prepared for the practice of law.
It is considering increasing the number of experiential credits from 6 to 15. Students earn experiential credits through clinics, externships, and simulation courses.
A partial catalyst for this change is to ensure students graduating law school have the experience necessary for success in their first job out of school.
“Although we’ve had some incremental steps along the way, I’m still hearing from the practicing bar that students are not practice ready when they leave law school,” said Carla Pratt councilwoman on the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
The ABA did not require practical learning until 2014, and still lags behind other professional schools. Surveys showed that the majority of law students are in favor of increasing the experiential credit requirement.
