The Triangle

Issue date: 8/22/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Aaron Walizer Susan Brooks, Kevin Oates and Emily Zimmerman will give their presentation "Lessons from the Front Lines of Experiential Education" at the "Legal Education at a Crossroads" conference Sept. 5-7.

A proposal from The Earle Mack School of Law has been accepted to give a showcase presentation at University of Washington's "Legal Education at a Crossroads" conference Sept. 5-7.

Susan Brooks, associate dean for experiential learning and associate professor of law, Kevin Oates, associate professor of law and Emily Zimmerman, associate professor of law, will give their presentation "Lessons from the Front Lines of Experiential Education." The main challenge addressed is "starting a new law school that integrates all aspects of professional training from day one," according to the presentation's outline.

Brooks addressed some of the reasons for the conference, and explained: "In the last couple of years there have been some important studies that have come out … that suggest … that law schools look at their curriculum and think about making important changes, and that's what spurred this conference. This is not a conference that has ever existed before. ... The overarching theme of the conference is curriculum reform."

Zimmerman said the main goal of the conference is to respond to the Carnegie Report, which critiques legal education and makes a number of suggestions for improvements. The conference will highlight what different schools are doing, as well as to give participants ideas about ways to change and reform law schools.

"One of the key things they identify that [Carnegie] thinks is missing is more training that helps prepare students for building a professional identity," Brooks said. "One of the things we're focused very much on in Drexel is professional training. … We think what we're doing very much matches up with the kinds of things that this report really says we need to be looking more at."

Brooks and Zimmerman also both addressed what makes the Earle Mack School of Law different and what it can bring to the conference.

"No single thing we do is different … most schools have some form of an externship program. ... The combination of things that we are doing, in combination with the resources and institutional commitment … makes us unique," Brooks said.

Continued...

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