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read his book “Big Man on Campus: A University President Speaks Out on Higher Education” and in it, he wrote:
“Shouldn’t we know the e ect of our (educational) e orts? Have we added value? If some graduates majored in drinking beer, took random minimal courses, and received C’s in them, haven’t we taken their tuition money, year a er year, under false pretenses?”
While Stephen has made clear to me that he doesn’t advocate turning law school into vocational training, he did share that he feels there is a need for both modernization and in- novation at our institutions of higher learning.
If an undergrad student has a gen- uine interest in Shakespeare, by all means enrich their lives with the cun- ning of Portia in the face of Shylock. If they really want to learn “Law & Culture in American Film” (a class at Stanford Law School), excellent! Just don’t force a curriculum that is largely useless upon them at an exorbitant cost, especially if there are classes they would rather take, which would be more relevant to their career and success.
Because a er all, what are we mak- ing our students to pay for, if not the greatest chance to succeed in their chosen eld?
Law School Isn’t Much Better
During a lecture on Client Develop- ment for Attorneys, I looked around the packed room and a thought oc- curred to me. I asked the students whether there were actual classes on client development at the university. ere were none. Considering the fact that the largest percentage of law school graduates want to go into pri- vate practice, this is a rather glaring aw in our system.
A law school graduate could end up learning how to identify the dif- ference between Doric, Ionic and Co- rinthian (it’s the utes!) columns, yet due to elective requirements, miss the opportunity to take a single class on any of the following (none of which are mandatory at most undergraduate or law schools):
• Business Management & Innova- tion
• Client Development
• Negotiating
• Public Speaking
• Writing for Publication and PR
• Basic Tech Every Attorney Must
Know
• Social Media & Content Market-
ing
• Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
• Blockchain & FinTech
• Corporate & Public Sector Politics
ere are outliers. I spoke with Professor Chris Meazell at Wake For- est University. Chris has been imple- menting practical material and ex- ercises that will be applicable to his students when they enter the profes- sion.
“One of the classes I teach focuses on the business of law. For example, students electing to start a simulated law rm must come up with fund- ing, entity and business model selec- tion, a business and marketing plan, etc. Another component focuses on what they’ll need to know when they start at their rst job. billable hours, rack rates, discounts and write-o s and evaluating the wisdom of rm management and
nance are cov-
ered.”
I was hard pressed to imag- ine what could be more bene cial to students when Professor Meazell told me. “I have another class in which we simu- late being the outside counsel to Enron (a utility company which closed it’s doors under the shad- ow of scandals in 2007). I provide an overview of events, timelines, responsible par- ties and the role and limitations outside counsel had. Students learn about the kinds of challeng- es they can face under the most dire of circum- stances. It’s some-
what akin to Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru simulation in that there’s really no way to ‘win.’ Students need to learn that’s o en the case in real life.”
Professor Meazell is an example of how forward-thinking teachers are taking a proactive role in preparing aspiring lawyers for the real-life situ- ations which will be paramount to their professional success.
If we are going to compete in the rapidly changing global market place, we need to change the current edu- cational model. e time has come to eliminate a system which requires a 19-year-old pre-law student to go $8,600 in debt for a class on “ e Physics of Harry Potter” (Yes, that’s really a class. Google it). It’s time to prepare our next generation of attor- neys for success.
FREDERICK SHELTON IS THE CEO OF SHELTON & STEELE, A LEGAL RECRUITING AND CONSULTING FIRM, BASED OUT OF LAS VEGAS. SINCE 1993, FREDERICK HAS WORKED WITH ASSOCIATES, COUNSEL, PARTNERS, GROUPS AND COORDINATED LAW FIRM MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS.
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