In 2013, the Connecticut Bar Association created a Task Force on the Future of Legal Education and Standards of Admission to develop recommendations for including more practice-centered instruction for law students and to consider changes to the rules governing bar admission. In March 2015, the task force recommended that the private bar and law schools join forces to offer more opportunities for law students to gain practical experience, either through various efforts by members of the bar or through more experience-based courses included in law school curriculum. While there is a general agreement among students and members of the bar and bench that students need more practical training, there does not seem to be any movement on the horizon in that direction.
However, our neighbors in New York are a step ahead. In October, the New York Court of Appeals issued a request for public comment on proposed changes to the requirements for admission that would ensure that newly admitted attorneys have practical skills. A similar task force proposed five different pathways by which a bar applicant would be able to satisfy the practical proficiency requirement.
