Earlier this month Bloomberg Law released the results from its second annual Law Student Preparedness Survey. And the results on student wellbeing were… not great. The survey, administered in December 2022, showed that over half of the 1,000 students reported that their wellbeing worsened slightly (32 percent) or significantly (26 percent) during the fall 2022 semester. Additionally, most of the law students, over three-quarters, reported experiencing mental or physical health problems due to law school related issues: 77 percent experienced anxiety, 71 percent experienced disrupted sleep, and 51 percent experienced depression. Just 11 percent said they did not experience a mental or physical health issue due to law school.
Luckily, more law programs, recognized by Bloomberg Law’s Innovation Program, are creating programs to offer better support to students in terms of their law school experience and career readiness. Each of the schools named as a finalist also track the student outcomes related to their programs via qualitative and quantitative data, ensuring that the programs are actually bolstering student development and not just paying lip service to the idea.
We’ve highlighted a few of the programs recognized for innovation in student development below, and the full list is available on Bloomberg Law. You can also find Bloomberg Law’s lists for law school innovation in other categories (technology, business, pedagogy, etc.).
Elon University School of Law: Elon offers a redesigned curriculum with an emphasis on experiential learning, an academic period of seven (rather than eight) semesters, and lower tuition. The shortened law school year allows graduating students to take the bar in February and commence professional life earlier. Elon Law’s Interim Dean Alan Woodlief, in an interview with Bloomberg Law, described the school’s improved admissions, bar passage, and career placement rates since adopting the new curriculum. “These data points demonstrate a strong demand for law schools that place student needs and development at the center of their approach to educating future attorneys, and we’re proud of the strides we have made together as a community in our noble mission,” he said.
Fordham University School of Law: Fordham offers the Peer Mentoring and Leadership Program, which pairs third-year law students interested in being mentors with second-year students. The school identified the second-year period as a critical time for students, who are often under intense academic and career pressure. The benefits of the program include increased support of students in a high pressure period, cross-cultural understanding, growth in friendships and professional networks, and improved leadership skills for the mentors. The program’s founder, professor Linda Sugin, described the aims of the program to Bloomberg Law, “All the mentoring and leadership skills developed in the program are essential for lawyers—regardless of the type of work they do. All lawyers need to develop self-awareness, work cross-culturally, handle challenges and setbacks with resilience and equanimity, and care for their own well-being,” she said.
The University of Tennessee College of Law: The University of Tennessee developed the Institute for Professional Leadership (IPL) to offer students a curriculum curated to develop legal and professional leaders. Specific leadership courses are combined with pro bono, public service, and career advancement opportunities, and events to develop students’ leadership skills and prepare them for careers in law, government, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations. The Interim Director for the IPL and law professor, Joan MacLeod Heminway described the reasoning behind the Institute’s creation to Bloomberg Law. "Leadership education in the law school setting fills a gap in the traditional program of legal education. Robust leadership education in law schools focuses students on intentional introspection and the identification and development of skills, values, professional identity, and career paths through interdisciplinary programming beyond a strictly legal context,” she said.