Innovative TU Law Seminar Gives Students Broader Preparation

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Course may be the first of its kind in nation; addresses transition from student to legal profession

The University of Tulsa College of Law has instituted a one-of-its kind seminar to help prepare students for the transition to the legal profession.

The Dean’s Seminar on the Legal Profession is perhaps the only course in the country in which each class session is led by the law school dean and assistant dean for professional development and offers a holistic approach to the professional transition.

Janet Levit, dean and Dean John Rogers Endowed Chair, and Kristine Bridges, assistant dean for professional development, co-teach the seminar, which is a required first-year course.

Levit said the seminar plays a key role in giving students the tools necessary to succeed when they leave the college.

"This addition to the TU law curriculum demonstrates a unified commitment of the faculty and administration to the professional development and market readiness of TU law students," Levit said.

This unique seminar is composed of six weekly classroom sessions, followed by four professional development sessions. The seminar prepares students for professional life by:

• Illuminating legal market realities and creating expectations consistent with the actual personal and professional experiences one will have as a lawyer;
• Debunking media images and societal misconceptions of the lawyer lifestyle;
• Broadening the understanding of how a juris doctor degree can be applied to professions outside of traditional legal practice;
• Emphasizing the special position of a lawyer as a client’s representative and as an officer of the court;
• Encouraging students to take an immediate hold of their professional identities through their personal interactions, social media and professional networking; and
• Conveying important professional development skills such as time management, resume and letter writing and interviewing.

"Dean Levit recognized that these seminar topics should be an essential part of the curriculum," Bridges said. "We want to get students considering these issues from the beginning of their legal education. This will make them better students, better job seekers and better professionals."

Bridges said it’s important for students to receive an authentic look at the career they are entering.

"The course provides our students with a transparent view of the legal profession – distinguishing the realms of realism and idealism when it comes to defining what it really means to be a legal professional," Bridges said.

In developing the seminar, the college attempted to integrate the "26 Lawyering Effectiveness Factors," a set of criteria developed through an well-regarded empirical study by U.C. Berkeley professors Marjorie Schultz and Sheldon Zedeck that determined what attorneys consider the necessary attitudes and skills required for effective law practice.

"We are able to understand more and more about what makes for a successful law student and practitioner," Bridges said. "The Dean’s Seminar on the Legal Profession is a step toward addressing that."

Contact:
Scott Been
918-631-2568
scott-been@utulsa.edu