In response to the changing employment situation for graduates of U.S. law schools, UCLA School of Law announced today that it is reopening its LL.M. program application process for the 2009-10 academic year, and will accept up to 20 additional students who are graduates of U.S. law schools, including deferred hires. [Application information here.]The newly admitted LL.M.s will have the option of participating in the new Transition to Practice program, which will focus on enhancing the practical skills and development of the new lawyer. The program will replicate significant parts of the learning that comes in the first year of practice, but in a controlled learning environment.
"These challenging economic times have affected young lawyers in surprising ways. In response to the current economic climate, UCLA School of Law is reaching out to recent law school graduates, whether from our law school or not, to help them in their transition from law school to practice," Dean Michael H. Schill said. "Through the new Transition to Practice program, which will focus on experiential learning and skills, law school graduates and deferred hires will be able to expand on their legal education and develop additional legal skills during this transition period."
A core component of the Transition to Practice program will be capstone courses that will draw heavily on practice-oriented projects in addition to substantial research and written work. Capstone courses will include part-time externships within corporate legal departments, as well as clinical simulations, where students work with real legal problems in a controlled environment that permits reflection and generalization of lessons learned. The Transition to Practice program will also include a required workshop series designed to introduce students to the practical issues that confront new lawyers, ranging from how to define a work-product to understanding a client's business and goals, and handling practical problems of ethics and confidentiality. Capstone classes will be taught both by the core faculty of the law school and prominent practicing lawyers. The law school expects to develop curriculum in conjunction with leading law firms and corporate legal departments and to draw on the expertise of the Los Angeles legal community.
The ABA Journal notes that "law firms that have already offered to provide a hefty stipend for volunteer work intended to help deferred first-years develop practice skills presumably might also agree to ante up for the UCLA practice skills program."
ATL observes:
We don't know if UCLA's program will qualify for the deferral stipend from firms that have tied the money to a public interest job. But it should. At this point, anything law schools can to do to relieve law firms of their promise to actually hire the people they offered jobs to is in the best interest of all involved.
The NLJ opines:
Law firms increasingly have come under fire for teaching students to think like lawyers but providing little training on the professional side. Moreover, some clients have begun to bristle at the billing rates firms charge for work performed by untrained associates straight out of law school, Schill said. The new LL.M program will better prepare students to work in the law firm environment, he said.
Schill said the response to the new program in the legal community has been overwhelmingly positive. The school has been in contact with alumni and Los Angeles-area corporations that will host participants in the program.
"This unique training will replicate much of the experience of a new associate, which will allow recent graduates to hit the ground running when they start their jobs. Employers also gain new lawyers with practical legal training under their belt," said James D.C. Barrall, head of Latham & Watkin's global benefits compensation group.
Of course, not every deferred associate will want to take on the cost of yet another year of law school. Tuition for UCLA's program is $41,500 plus living expenses. Schill said students will need to do their own cost/benefit analysis to determine if the transition to practice program is right for them. Though financial aid is available to the school's LL.M. students, it is typically not as much as J.D. students receive. However, some deferred incoming associates are receiving stipends from their firms, and may be apply to apply that money to the cost of an L.L.M, Schill said.
