Journal Title
Elon Law Review
Volume
15
Issue
1
First Page
81
Document Type
Article
Publication Information
2023
Abstract
The 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic created significant upheaval in the legal profession. Courts closed, cases were delayed, and law firms and other legal institutions rapidly moved their employees and operations to a virtual forum. And among this disruption, law schools made unprecedented changes to their curricula and pedagogy as students attended classes over Zoom, through asynchronous means, or in a hybrid fashion that split their learning between in-person and online. These rapid developments have sparked new discussions regarding the future of legal education. Specifically, law schools and the American Bar Association (ABA) are now re-examining their approach to determine the appropriate balance between in-person and remote learning and what best practices should be used in a remote law school classroom. This examination has revealed a deeper interest in online learning in general, with a number of law schools seeking to provide entirely online or hybrid J.D. programs in the post-pandemic world.
This article examines the history of seismic shifts in legal education, including the adoption of the case recitation method of learning, the adoption of clinical and practical training, and, finally, the shift towards increased online education. The Article begins by examining earlier disruptions in legal education, specifically the abandonment of the apprenticeship model of learning in favor of case recitation, and then the much-needed adoption of practical training in law schools. Each of these earlier shifts were preceded by similar crisis moments in society-for example, the war on poverty and the creation of federal funding for law schools to step in and provide low cost and pro bono representation for clients without access to traditional legal services. The Article examines these earlier shifts and the crises that created them, their impact on curricular practices, and how they compare to the impact of COVID-19 on the approach to legal education. Specifically, the Article determines that, like earlier shifts, the shift in legal education as a result of COVID-19 is the result of both internal pressure within law schools and external changing forces that mandate a new approach, including adapting to remote work and remote court proceedings.
The Article then examines online legal education, tracing the development of pedagogical approaches and their inspiration from other disciplines. Remote learning in law schools has roots deeper than the era of Zoom, with recorded lectures and other distance educational tools having been in operation for decades. However, new pedagogical approaches developed during the COVID-19-era focus on gamification of content, the use of remote lectures, and the importance of assessment and community-building in remote classrooms. Finally, the Article concludes that major shifts in legal education have largely been productive for students and the profession, with COVID-19 ushering in a new era that is more focused on student flexibility and changed practice realities.
Recommended Citation
Zoe Niesel, Seismic Shifts: Post-COVID Legal Education and the Profession, 15 Elon L. Rev. 81 (2023).
Recommended Citation
Zoe Niesel, Seismic Shifts: Post-COVID Legal Education and the Profession, 15 Elon L. Rev. 81 (2023).