The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) announces the release of its Report and Recommendations of the Special Committee on the Impact of Current Law School Curriculum on the Future of the Practice of Law in Illinois, which was approved by the ISBA Assembly in December. The goal of the report is to explore ways to ensure that future law school graduates in Illinois are prepared for the realities facing new lawyers in today’s legal marketplace. The report represents the starting point for a dialogue and collaboration between the law schools and the practicing bar.

In the coming months, the ISBA will be reaching out to the deans of Illinois’ law schools and inviting them to work with it to address the important issues the report raises. Through this collaborative effort, the ISBA hopes to refine and expand the report’s recommendations. The ultimate goal is to identify realistic ways for legal educators and the practicing bar to work together to ensure that future generations of Illinois lawyers are fully prepared to represent the interests of clients.

ISBA President Umberto Davi says, “The adoption of this Report is an important step as we strive to begin a discussion with Illinois’ law schools about improving the skills of those entering the practice of law.”

The ISBA’s efforts to address these issues commenced in 2014 when ISBA past president Richard D. Felice convened the special committee. The committee’s efforts built upon the work of a previous special committee, which was appointed by ISBA past president John E. Thies, to explore the Impact of law school debt on the delivery of legal services in Illinois.

In 2014, the current special committee held six hearings throughout the state to gather the observations of practicing attorneys, judges, law students, and law school professors and deans. Based on the input from the various perspectives represented at the hearings, the special committee concluded that more must be done to prepare Illinois’ new lawyers for the rigors of practice.

To assess the actions law schools are now taking in this arena, the special committee delivered a survey to each of Illinois’ law schools and received detailed responses from a majority of them. The committee learned that the schools have implemented trend-setting programs and taken several innovative approaches to enhance the abilities of their graduates.

The special committee’s work culminated in the development of a set of detailed recommendations of further steps the law schools could be taking. These recommendations will form the basis of discussions with the law schools. Ultimately, the ISBA seeks to work with the law schools to maintain Illinois’ long history of being home to a practicing bar that well serves the public.