Abstract
Now is a time for action. With the advent of the NextGen bar exam and the recent changes to the ABA accreditation standards for law schools, which both focus on valuing practical legal skills, law schools have a unique opportunity. By coordinating practical and doctrinal content across the curriculum, law schools can ensure that all graduates are proficient in fundamental lawyering skills and prepared for both the bar exam and practice success. ...
Part I of this article examines the foundations of American legal education from apprenticeships to the emergence of the case study method. It then explores the calls for reform of this traditional approach advanced through the MacCrate and Carnegie Reports, with their emphasis on professional development and practical skills. Part II addresses responsive changes in teaching practical skills and professional development, examining the changes in the ABA rules over the years since the MacCrate and Carnegie Reports and the progress that has been made in specific law school programs, particularly legal writing, academic success, and experiential learning programs. Part III highlights the NextGen bar’s focus on assessing graduates’ practical legal skills, including those highlighted in the MacCrate and Carnegie Reports, detailing the variance between the current UBE and the forthcoming NextGen bar exam. Part IV of this article demonstrates the siloed nature of how skills are presently taught in law schools and explains why such siloing is a detriment to student learning. This section draws on the science of learning scholarship to demonstrate that failing to bridge the remaining gaps and draw specific connections across the law school curriculum potentially inhibits students’ ability to transfer skills and knowledge from the classroom into practice. Part V highlights some important approaches that have been taken to bridge remaining gaps but notes the deficiencies that remain. Finally, Part VI argues that intentional coordination and collaboration, with the assistance of a Curriculum Coordinator, is key to bridging the silos in legal education in order to most effectively advance the teaching of practical skills in law schools, deepen student learning across the curriculum, and graduate new lawyers who are ready to represent clients.
First Page
46
Recommended Citation
Elizabeth Usman & Andrea Gemignani,
Silos, Gaps, and Bridges: A Call to Action for Law Schools to Facilitate Collaboration Across the Curriculum at the Dawn of the NextGen Bar,
29
U.D.C. L. Rev.
46
(2026).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.udc.edu/udclr/vol29/iss1/9