The Need For Reform In Legal Education

Associate Dean Michael L. Coyne of the Massachusetts School of Law, in a recent article in Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly, compared the teaching methods of today’s legal education, often unfavorably, to those of medicine. In the article, Coyne took issue with the practices of legal education and requirements for ABA accreditation.

Coyne states that such practices fail to “produce graduates who, upon passing the bar exam, would be ready to contribute to their community and ‘hit the ground running.’� In suggesting reform, Coyne states that legal education should follow the model presented by medical school: “rather than reading about legal cases and discussing legal principles in an academic vacuum, they would possess a clear understanding of how these principles translate to practical application.�

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