Law Students Unhappy with Legal Writing Training

As reported in Inside Higher Education, the 2008 results of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) show 45% of law students are dissatisfied with the way law school prepares them for real world legal writing.

In his introduction to the results, George D. Kuh, Chancellor’s Professor and Director of the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, which conducts the LSSSE, writes:

Nearly half of responding students reported that they have not had enough practice in developing their legal writing skills in situations matching or approximating real-world legal practice. At the same time, students reported that such practice-oriented writing assignments were particularly effective in enhancing their legal research and communication skills. So, while in aspiration much of legal education is starting to move beyond an exclusive focus upon “thinking like a lawyer,” in practice the schools generally have a long way to go to make those aspirations real achievements.

Kuh points to the fact that "relatively few legal writing faculty are tenured or in a tenure-eligible role and are often paid less than other faculty members" as proof of how little legal writing is valued in many schools.

Although 72% of students feel that legal writing assignments "frequently require them to integrate ideas and information from various sources, " 37% are disappointed with a lack of "practice-based legal writing during their studies.” From these results, it seems that students are increasingly interested in "writing like a lawyer," i.e., motions and memorandums, as opposed to simply thinking like a lawyer--the traditional law school modus operandi.

Will law schools respond to this desire with more clinical opportunities and practice-based courses?

If you're a law student and would like to participate in the next LSSSE survey, be sure to register before January 23, 2009.