Should law schools switch from three years to two and then tack on an additional year of work in a school-owned law firm? Sounds like an interesting possibility.
That is the subject of an article entitled, The Law School Firm, written by Brooklyn Law School Professor Bradley Borden and University of Maryland School of Law Professor Robert Rhee.
I can think of a number of reasons why such an arrangement could work. It would be cheaper for students. It would give them more real-world training. It would provide a meaningful service to clients.
There are, of course, some ethical issues involved. But they are not insurmountable. The main problem is that law schools would never go for this arrangement. Why would they? The status quo benefits them too much.
Nevertheless, this article makes for interesting ideas in an area of which good ideas are needed.