From the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Bulletin, May 2000, Vol. 13, No. 5.
The Longitudinal Law School
by Deborah Howard
Deborah Howard is the former Director of the Law School Consortium Project (which is independently funded by the Open Society Institute). Contact information can be found at the conclusion of this article.
As a former career services office director, I know well the frustration of law students who come to law school with dreams of pursuing a public interest law career only to find that available opportunities are few and far between. We have all seen the trend year after year of incoming law students listing public interest work as their career goal, only to see a minuscule number of students actually land such positions after graduation. The obstacles to pursuing a public interest career are numerous. Funding for traditional public interest work in places such as the Legal Services Corporation has been cut drastically, plum government positions involve stiff competition, and most law students graduate with a huge debt burden, leaving them to view low-paying public interest positions as unrealistic career targets.
I also know well the concern most career services officers feel when some of their students consider hanging out a shingle directly after graduation because career services professionals understand how difficult opening a law practice can be. My staff members and I tried to help these students by developing panel programs in which successful small firm practitioners came to speak about the realities and challenges of opening one's own law office. Nonetheless, we all know that a one- to two-hour panel cannot adequately prepare students for opening their own practice. It was disheartening to know that there was not more that we could do to support these groups of students as they pursued their dreams after graduation.
What if there was a viable alternative to traditional public interest work? What if there was a way to continue to provide educational and other resources to law students after graduation as they attempted to start their own practice? What if law schools could extend "longlongitudinally" into communities to help graduates establish community-based solo and small firm practices in which they performed public interest work? Four law schools have recently created programs that do just that.
Thanks to a grant from the Open Society Institute, the City University School of Law, Northeastern Law School, the University of Maryland School of Law, and St. Mary's University School of Law have joined together as members of the Law School Consortium Project and created what they call "Community Legal Resource Networks" (CLRNs). These CLRNs are the vehicle through which these four law schools are helping graduates create economically viable, and professionally and spiritually satisfying, solo and small community-based law firms that perform public interest work in a private practice setting. Through these CLRNs, these law schools are providing resources and services that support students after graduation as they pursue their dream of opening their own law offices and serving their communities.
Included among the services and resources provided by these CLRNs are faculty and practitioner mentors; access to library and Web-based resources; affordable, relevant continuing legal education courses; training in law office management; joint purchasing discounts; referral opportunities; education about and support for the use of technology to help make their practices more efficient; and opportunities to network with other community-based solo and small firm practitioners. The benefits of the services and resources these four law schools provide are far-reaching. They are not only serving to help these graduates become economically viable, but they are helping to alleviate the sense of isolation and alienation experienced by many solo and small practitioners who strive to serve their communities.
CLRN members meet regularly and communicate via email and phone. Through these connections, they have been able to develop a network of fellow community-based practitioners, discuss cases and practice issues, create practice synergies, share valuable information, and provide each other with referrals and emotional support. The group meetings support the members' professional development by providing opportunities for reflection, developing expertise, and tapping into creative initiatives, while maintaining the autonomy of the small firm practitioner.
The following is a brief description of these four CLRNs.
City University of New York School of Law
The City University of New York's CLRN consists of four Practice Groups (each comprised of about eight to ten lawyers) which provide professional development and other resources to assist the graduates in providing improved services to low and moderate income individuals and communities: (1) the Family Law Group; (2) the Immigration Practice Group; (3) the General Practice Group, and, most recently, (4) the New Practice Development Group (for practitioners just beginning to develop their own solo and small law firms to serve low and moderate income individuals and communities). CUNY has also successfully experimented with providing these practitioners with access to a law librarian who provides legal research assistance to the network members.
Northeastern University School of Law
Northeastern Law School has developed two CLRNs, one focusing on economic development and the other one focusing on domestic violence. The Economic Development CLRN focuses on helping solo and small practitioners who serve low income, inner-city neighborhoods to provide high quality economic development services to their clients. Project staff provide network members with marketing and firm practice management training. The Domestic Violence CLRN has a different format. This CLRN brings together senior family law practitioners with expertise in domestic violence cases, less experienced practitioners, and students with a background in domestic violence advocacy and an interest in family law litigation, to address substantive, procedural, and advocacy skills in family law, with a particular focus on domestic violence cases. The seminar serves to develop the skills of all involved, build community among practitioners, and provide students with access to that community even before they graduate. And, the seminar increases the level and quality of services to women seeking representation, and strengthens the bonds between the law school and the relevant professional community.
University of Maryland School of Law
The Maryland Law School project has two interrelated components: Civil Justice, Inc., a demonstration law office, and a CRLN. The demonstration law office's two primary specialties (consumer/home equity defense and economic, housing, and community development) were selected based on a statewide legal needs survey to identify the unmet legal needs of low and moderate income individuals and communities. The CLRN Project Director established the demonstration law office's practice and provides technical assistance, co-counseling assistance, and advice to the solo and small law firm members of the CLRN. The demonstration law office handles cases on a pro bono basis and develops fee-generating cases for and provides referrals to the CLRN members. This project has come upon an interesting revelation: a large number of applicants interested in joining the project's practitioner network are attorneys of color. It appears that this network is providing support and resources that these graduates find especially valuable and may not be able to access elsewhere.
St. Mary's University School of Law
The St. Mary's CLRN, known as the People's Legal Assistance Network (PLAN), has created a sophisticated "virtual" technological network through which it provides its members with access to a state-of-the-art Web site which has legal resources, on-line legal forms, legal document software, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and a Web-based email and calendaring system. PLAN also provides it members with access to faculty and practitioner mentors to help with substantive and procedural issues. PLAN was designed to creatively use modern technology and the Internet to link isolated practitioners in underserved communities in ways that replicate the benefits and support found in large institutional practices.
Models for the future
As these CLRNs develop, it is hoped that they can serve as models that can be replicated at other law schools across the country. The services and support that the Consortium Project member school CLRNs provide are enabling the network members to pursue their career goals. By establishing these CLRNs and extending themselves longitudinally into their respective communities, however, the Consortium member schools reap benefits as well. Their CLRNs serve as: (1) a vivid demonstration of their willingness to provide support to their alumni; (2) mechanisms to assist their graduates with their career goals by providing them with a realistic opportunity to practice public interest law in a private practice setting; (3) a recruitment vehicle to attract applicants interested in pursuing public interest careers; and (4) a resource to help faculty develop relevant courses on law practice management and development that will enhance the law school's curriculum.
