Academics

Dickinson Law joins Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Consortium

Interim Dean Gary S. Gildin has announced that Penn State's Dickinson Law has been accepted as a member of Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers (ETL) Consortium. An initiative of IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, ETL is dedicated to advancing legal education that trains new lawyers to the highest standards of competence and professionalism. ETL partners with a consortium of about 30 law schools to encourage and facilitate innovation in legal education.

"We're very excited to join ETL and a larger group of innovative law schools, especially as we launch our revitalized curriculum, " said Dean Gildin. "Dickinson Law is providing a curriculum that goes well beyond compliance with accreditation standards and stresses the importance of a profession-ready education. Coupled with traditional doctrine, legal and interdisciplinary analysis, mandatory exposure to international and transnational law, and instruction in extra-legal competencies, our unique experiential learning opportunities allow Dickinson Law to produce graduates who are not only well versed in the law, but employable and practice-ready as well."

Dickinson Law's curriculum redesign comes on the heels on the ABA's June 2014 approval of separate accreditations for Penn State's law schools, which allowed each school to use their unique attributes in designing separate curricular offerings. Students at Dickinson Law will benefit from a close proximity to capital regions and major legal markets, including Harrisburg, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore — allowing students to practice skills learned in the new Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy Clinic. In addition, close proximity to Penn State Hershey Medical Center will allow students to take advantage of the new Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic.

ETL works to align legal education with the needs of an evolving profession by facilitating, evaluating, and promoting law teaching methods designed to produce graduates who are employable and practice-ready; able to meet the needs of their employers, their clients, and society; and prepared to lead and respond to changes in the legal profession throughout their careers. The effort focuses on integrating insight and knowledge from law schools and professors, as well as sharing educational models to align legal education with the needs of an evolving profession. By offering a structured and highly collaborative approach, ETL is creating a foundation for ongoing inquiry, exploration and measurement.

Last Updated July 22, 2015

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