Madhav: Hello Silvia, did you read the article “What Law Students Aren’t Learning, and Why It Matters” in the New York Law Journal published in April of this year? The authors, Joy Martini and Nancy Rowe, argue how critical it is, given the current challenges in the legal industry, for law students to understand the business fundamentals of the legal marketplace, including law firm economics and management?
Silvia: Yes, I did and couldn’t agree more.
Madhav: It is surprising that only a handful of law schools—I think they mention Penn, Berkeley and Stanford—offer courses which focus on the practical aspects for practicing professionals!
Silvia: Martini and Rowe contend that if we are serious about training young associates to be successful lawyers, we need to train them in more than the theoretical side of the law. They need to understand the business fundamentals of the legal marketplace, including law firm economics and management, business development, business writing, pubic speaking and media training to name but a few. And these are important points for law schools to take into consideration as they design course offerings.
