Changes in the legal marketplace are causing legal educators to rethink the nature, purpose and substance of legal education. As reported in these pages, Timothy Fisher and Jennifer Gerarda Brown, the recently appointed deans of the University of Connecticut School of Law and Quinnipiac School of Law, are enthusiastically and energetically embracing the opportunity to review old assumptions about what it means to be an attorney and the role legal educators play in preparing their students for the challenges they will face as counselors and advocates in a rapidly changing legal environment.
The forces of change are by now well-documented, if not fully understood. Clients are demanding more value for their dollar. The opportunity for young attorneys to gain experience as young associates is diminishing as clients are increasingly reluctant to underwrite the cost of that apprenticeship. The cost of legal services is often beyond the reach of even middle-class consumers adding to the stress of a judicial system that is, at least in the family law area, struggling to honor its commitment of equal access to justice for all of our citizens. As the economy struggles to recover, young attorneys entering the workforce are confronted with a shrinking job market and increasing personal debt.
