Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
Like students in other professional fields, law students experience significant transitions during their education. These transitions consist of intense learning periods associated with major change as students develop their professional identities. These challenges and experiences allow students to develop and internalize the skills needed to be a successful lawyer. Law schools are in a unique position to create and reinforce structures to help students navigate these transitions and maximize professional identity formation. This paper will detail some of these transitional challenges and provide recommendations for law schools to further support students during transitions--most notably during the summer following their 1L year.
Summer employment is a key transition point and a crucial opportunity for professional development and growth. The challenge for law schools is that summer employment falls outside their curriculum and oversight. But even when such transformational experiences occur outside of the traditional curriculum, law schools can still utilize effective pedagogy for professional identity formation to help students maximize their development and internalization of professional values. Experiential learning, and externship pedagogy in particular, uniquely aligns with professional identity formation. By implementing common externship pedagogical tools, such as goal setting, reflection, and skills assessment, law schools can help students develop professional identity in real-world practice settings, particularly over the summer after 1L year. This article proposes that law schools implement professional identity formation programs comprised of key externship pedagogical tools and provides suggestions for creating stakeholder buy-in for such programs.
Recommended Citation
Megan Bess, Transitions Unexplored: A Proposal for Professional Identity Formation Following the First Year, 29 Clinical L. Rev. 1 (2022)