Oak Book College of Law

Emphasis on Practical Experience
An effective legal education has three essential elements: (1) practical skills, (2) analytical skills, and (3) knowledge of law.

During the founding of America, legal apprenticeship was the primary method of legal education. A quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson illustrates this philosophy: "All that is necessary for a [law] student is access to a library and directions in what order the books are to be read."⁵ The training of lawyers was not unlike the training of those in other professions through apprenticeship. Essentially, an aspiring law student would agree to work for a specified time as a clerk or secretary for an experienced attorney who, in exchange for services rendered, would tutor and lecture the apprentice in law. The quality of lawyers produced during this period of time says much about the effectiveness of apprenticeship.

This approach, however, was not without flaws. In fact, many promising legal careers were hampered by abuses within the system. Attorneys could very easily take advantage of an apprentice's service. For example, in the days before fax machines and photocopiers, legal work involved a tremendous amount of manual labor. Often apprentices would spend so much time running errands, delivering messages, or handwriting copies of court documents that their legal studies were greatly neglected. In essence, they learned the clerical skills of practicing law but were deprived of the academic side of the profession.

The law school model was developed to cure some of the "ailments" of apprenticeship and to provide a more theoretical means to study law. Many within and without the profession think that over the years the pendulum has swung so far in the scholastic direction that another dilemma has been created-students are well-versed in legal theory but lack many of the practical skills of "lawyering." In one study, 84 percent of the attorneys surveyed said that their law school education was only "fair" or "poor" in teaching them to "conduct a law practice on a businesslike basis."⁶ State bar officials are trying to remedy this problem when lawyers are admitted to the practice.

Many young lawyers enter legal practice in need of basic lawyering skills, often without the support of a large firm to assist them during those first transitional years. This lack of education and support is exacerbated by a "Rambo" approach to lawyering that, to newly admitted lawyers, may appear to be the norm rather than the exception. Many states have addressed these problems by instituting a mandatory practical skills and professionalism program for every newly admitted lawyer. These states recognize the need for practical skills training that is proactive and is provided after admission rather than in response to an already existing disciplinary problem. . . . Making an investment in this type of educational program is essential to the success of new lawyers and to the image of the legal profession as a whole.⁷

Many states have tried to remedy the problem with "bridge the gap" programs. Several states have taken a more aggressive mentoring approach. For example, Delaware requires bar applicants to complete a five month clerkship and a pre-admission bar program before being released as practicing lawyers. Vermont has a similar program that must be completed within two years of admission. The state of Georgia requires its new attorneys to be mentored by seasoned lawyers for a period of two years and attend several workshops. Other states that have established mentoring programs include Montana, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Michigan, Tennessee, Colorado and Idaho.⁸

One objective of the Oak Brook College of Law is to emphasize a balance of practical experience and scholastic instruction. Distance-learning accomplishes this by freeing students to pursue practical work experience while they receive academic instruction that will prepare them for the bar examination.