12 Things No One Tells You About Law School

Is The Third Year Too Much?
It has been nearly a year since The Atlantic published a story discussing whether law schools should require a third year. A New York University Law professor said the final year of law school should be made optional to help reduce costs. Even President Barack Obama said two years of law school is enough. Outside of lower-ranked schools, there has not been overwhelming consideration for such ideas.
This week, according to the Stanford Daily, Stanford Law is the most recent school to evaluate the actual value of the third year of law school. During the third year, Stanford already encourages students to enroll in interdisciplinary courses and take clinics to get real-world experience. Many other schools do the same. According to a current student at Stanford, the majority of the actual law courses are completed in the first year. Beyond that, students take specific electives to specialize in a certain type of law. But even most of those are completed by the end of the second year.
The argument for continuing the third year is that clinics are one of the most important parts of a legal education because they provide the hands-on learning experiences for students. In fact, Stanford students interviewed in the article say the third year is perhaps the most important because it is the one opportunity they have to gain that experience.
One option is what has been debated recently—allowing students to have apprenticeships or internships that count for class credit and are paying. This would allow students to gain experience, continue to get their course credit in a final year of school but also give them opportunity to acquire at least some money. Additionally, if employers are spending money to hire an intern or an apprentice, they could view it as an investment and it could help students gain employment upon graduation.
For now, we sit and wait.
Source: The Stanford Daily
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