When she was a law student, Elaine Souder was a member of a mock trial team, traveling and competing in several competitions.
“I would say it was the number one thing that made me the lawyer I am today,” said Souder, a 2019 graduate of The University of Akron School of Law in Ohio. “It gave me the confidence I needed and helped me develop my tone, style and approach to practicing law.”
Souder is not the only young attorney who credits experiential training with helping her develop her professional skills.
A recent survey of the Class of 2019 showed that 70% of respondents cited clinical or experiential courses as the most helpful in honing their professional identities. Compare that to only 17% who said student affairs programs and resources were the most helpful.
The survey was conducted by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and The NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education. Although this is the 10th time NALP has compiled the Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction study, it was the first time it asked about professional identity in law school.
In recent years, law schools have ramped up their efforts to help students build their professional identities, spurred by an American Bar Association requirement to do so.
In response, University of Akron recently launched a professionalism program.
“This new degree requirement is similar to [Continuing Legal Education] in practice and requires students to complete at least 12 hours of professional training before graduation,” said Dean Emily Janoski-Haehlen.
When Souder attended University of Akron Law, there was no formal program available to help students.
Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, NALP Foundation president and CEO, said survey respondents gave high marks to their schools for preparing them in the area of “lawyers’ obligations to clients and society” and “providing pro bono/community service.” They rated the preparation they received in “well-being practices” as the lowest.
“The study’s unique data on the early careers of lawyers provides important insights for those considering law school, as well as for law schools and employers, about key areas, as the legal profession seeks to align education and practice and to become more inclusive and robust,” Hornblower said.
While Souder wasn’t part of the survey, her experience aligns with the study’s findings.
Lavinia Osilesi, who started at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law in California in 2016, said her first-year curriculum included a course on professional identity formation, which addressed topics such as academic success, ethics, character building and professional development.
She also participated in the school’s Preceptor Program, where she was paired with a practicing alum in her area of interest.
“The most impactful part of the program was the mentorship I received from my preceptor,” Osilesi said. “She helped me navigate foundational 1L courses, prepare study plans for exams, expand my network, learn about different practice areas and develop a deeper understanding of the opportunities I could pursue as an attorney.”
Osilesi said her professional formation training helped her learn a great deal about herself.
“We took personality tests, which gave me insight into the ways I interact with others,” she said. “I learned how to lean into my strengths and bolster areas of growth.”
Now a litigation associate at Reed Smith in Los Angeles, she has become a Pepperdine preceptor.
“After I graduated, I signed up to be a preceptor, and I have mentored five preceptees,” she said.
A number of law schools began exploring the concept of professional identity formation before the ABA adopted it.
Neil Hamilton, a professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota, said the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching first introduced the concept of professional identity formation.
In 2007, a report issued by the foundation said, “What most students get as a beginning is insufficient.”
Ten years ago, Hamilton and fellow professor Jerry Organ, co-directors of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership, began offering workshops for educators and administrators on the need for professional identity formation in law school.
“We know that new entrants to a profession develop a professional identity experientially with guided reflection, much like medical schools do with their students by requiring numerous rotations,” Hamilton said. “However … we think it’s equally important that the educational experiences are coordinated in a progressive engagement of guided reflection over three years with the help of faculty and staff coaches.”
Students at University of St. Thomas must attend nine one-on-one meetings with a faculty member or staff coach. During these meetings, they explore the core values of the profession in the context of their individual experiences and their post-graduation employment goals.
The program that Osilesi participated in at Pepperdine University was started after the law school received a $1 million gift. Dean Paul Caron said the curriculum has been expanded to comply with ABA revisions. During their first year, students take a course called Introduction to Professional Formation. It includes an orientation program called Launch Week and the Preceptor Program.
During Launch Week, students focus on areas such as legal analysis, academic success, ethics, the pursuit of justice, professional character, cross-cultural communication and relationship building.
“The overall goal is to level the playing field for our students,” Caron said, “whether they be fourth- or third-generation lawyers or first-generation. We want to put everyone on the same footing, so we begin their training from day one.”
Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington also had a professional identity formation program before it was required. Dean Christiana Ochoa said the school unveiled its Legal Profession course more than 10 years ago. It was initially a one-semester course for first-years, exploring the breadth of the legal profession with the goal of assisting students in finding who they wanted to be as lawyers. Today, it has been expanded to two semesters.
“Both courses are designed to train our students on the importance of crosscultural competency and the pernicious problems of bias and racism,” Ochoa said. “The first semester also focuses on helping students hone their professional identity. Among the ways we do this is by exposing them to lawyers from a wide variety of practice areas.”
During the second semester, students can choose from three areas of focus: private practice, government and public service, or international and comparative legal practice.
“This semester also provides our students with legal ethics training,” Ochoa said. “Throughout the year, we are intentional about assuring that our students hear from excellent lawyers representing the full array of racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds and lawyers whose sexual orientation and gender identities reflect the diversity of our student body and the clients they will serve.”
