Duquesne University Law School now offers a full school year class in leadership. There is no particular law subject involved, just the concept of leadership. This class is comparable to courses taught in the Army, Navy, and Air Force military academies. The student attendees are referred to as Leadership Fellows. The class may very well be the only annual class on leadership in any law school in the country. The class was first included in the law school’s curriculum in 2019 by Dean April Barton in her first year as dean. Reaction from the bar has been very supportive. James M. Brogan of the DLA Piper office in Philadelphia said, “I endorse the idea of adding leadership to the curriculum. I had many jobs before I became a lawyer (including being an army officer in an engineer battalion) and lots of experience since, and most of these put me in a position to witness some brilliant, and some not so brilliant, displays of leadership. I think leadership can take many forms, it is a core requirement for success as a lawyer—we must lead clients to the right decisions, lead other lawyers in many contexts, lead judges and jurors to the right result.”

Members of the bar, upon learning of the class, usually ask, “What is it that they teach and how do they do it?” Military veterans understand. I served as a navy officer for five years after graduating from law school and leadership was a major factor in my daily operation. In a military officer’s annual performance evaluation, leadership is usually 20% of the required report by the supervising officer. This requirement applied to all officers including judge advocates, medical officers, and chaplains. Business schools at major universities also offer leadership programs. So, how does this concept translate to law school and the law profession.