"Law schools need to do a better job integrating the teaching of legal doctrine with a much stronger focus on helping students develop practical "lawyering" skills and understanding of ethical and moral considerations," according to a major new report form the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University of Dayton School of Law was featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education article summarizing the report’s recommendations and highlighting innovations at a handful of law schools.

“The University of Dayton School of Law's emphasis on problem solving in its award-winning new curriculum is aimed at providing the type of foundation Carnegie suggests for law students,” comments Dean Lisa Kloppenberg. “We have worked to instill these problem-solving skills in our students by providing them with a variety of opportunities to study not only the law, but also the practical skills that they will need to be effective attorneys. All of our students practice interviewing and negotiation techniques early on in their legal studies and must demonstrate their ability to apply those and other practice skills by the end of those studies. All University of Dayton School of Law students also participate in an externship and a capstone or clinical course before they graduate, which requires them to apply the law to realistic situations that they may encounter in legal practice. Throughout their course of study, our students are taught to focus on the ethical dimensions that attorneys must always consider in solving problems for clients.”

Read a summary of the Carnegie Foundation’s report

Read the Chronicle of Higher Education article discussing the recommendations of the Carnegie Foundation’s report