Reduce Credit Requirements for Law School

David Van Zandt

David Van Zandt is the president of the New School. He served as the dean of Northwestern University School of Law from 1995 to 2010.

Updated July 25, 2011, 11:40 AM

The cost of a legal education is driven by two significant factors. The first is demand for the education and the certification it makes possible. The second involves the requirements the American Bar Association imposes on law schools.

Practicing law in the United States almost always requires a juris doctor issued by a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, which allows one to sit for the bar examination in all states. A law license remains valuable because revenue from legal service will continue to grow as national and global economies become more complex and businesses are subjected to greater regulation.

The third year of law school is not essential for acquiring the core competence to practice.

The A.B.A. now requires students to take a minimum of 80 credit hours of coursework to earn the accredited J.D. Until very recently, the association rules also stipulated that the coursework be completed in three separate calendar years. The demand for a J.D. has permitted law schools to raise education fees above the costs incurred to deliver a legal education, resulting in a net increase in law school expense.

The logic behind these policies is not entirely clear, and is a classic case of regulatory capture. The industry itself — in this case the legal education system — controls the regulatory process. Law schools and their faculties have a vested interest in requiring students to spend more time on campus and more money at their schools.

In the last few years, the A.B.A. modified its rules so that students could complete the minimum 80 credit hours within two calendar years instead of three. Northwestern's law school took advantage of that change by introducing an accelerated juris doctor program, in which students can meet the credit hour requirement in two calendar years and a summer term. The cost to the law school remains the same because the credit hours remain the same. Students benefit by saving the opportunity cost of spending a third year in school rather than in paid employment.

The real issue is whether the credit hour requirement can be reduced. I believe that it can. Most lawyers will tell you that although conscientious students can make good use of the third year of law school, it is not essential for acquiring the core competencies of practicing law. Aspiring lawyers would learn far more by spending that last year working in the legal services sector.

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