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Why a semester away should be required

Perhaps I'm biased - I'm two weeks into an internship in the Netherlands and enjoying (almost) every minute of it. Even before I decided to take this particular internship, I wanted to spend a semester away from Boalt. Still, I think that the benefits of spending a semester outside the classroom far outweigh any of the possible downsides. Furthermore, despite the fact that spending a semester in a field placement isn't the "traditional" law school experience, a mandatory away requirement would make Boalt a much better school.

I'm sure that there are lots of Boalties who have done extensive traveling. I'm not one of them. This is only my second time out of the country (Canada doesn't count), and my first time being completely on my own in a foreign place. Even figuring out where the grocery store is - let alone what it is that you're buying - is a challenge. I'm not suggesting that everyone should have to intern in a foreign country. But the process of figuring out how to settle into a new place and a new job for a relatively short period of time is something that everyone should be exposed to.

I also think that we would all benefit from getting away from the law school atmosphere. Even Boalt, which is a pretty non-competitive school as far as such things go, suffers from that petty level of bickering that one only finds in elite educational institutions. See, e.g., the recent New Space Deathmatch posts. What better way to get away from it all than to replace law school gossip with watercooler gossip?

Finally (since any good argument is always supported by three points), the fact of the matter is that law school gives you no practical experience whatsoever. None. Nil. Zero. Summer jobs are supposedly a chance to fix that - but do you really get a handle on what a lawyer does by "working" at a firm and spending all your time at fancy lunches and inter-office softball matches? Let's face it - summer jobs are often a recruitment tool more than anything else. As an intern, however, you are expected to work. Full time. Think of it as a good chance to figure out if you really do want to be a lawyer, before you get any further into debt.

If the first year of law school is a deliberate regression back to the first grade, then the second and third years should focus on bringing us back into the real world. The Socratic method of teaching only goes so far. Clinics are an attempt to change this - but even if you throw yourself completely into your clinic project, you're still in law school, attending classes. The point of a legal education is to prepare us to be lawyers. I can't think of a better way to prepare than spending a semester being a lawyer, all day, every day.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on January 31, 2009 (boomark / email).