A typical law school education gives students standard doctrinal coursework, trains them in legal research and writing, and provides other courses to help them prepare for the bar exam. But as the NextGen bar exam inches closer, law students will also benefit from a well-rounded legal education that focuses on the experiential, practical, career-building side of being a legal professional.
Bloomberg Law’s third annual Law School Innovation Program acknowledges four unique programs that allow law students to hone their career building skills throughout law school and carry them forward into practice.
These four featured programs provide opportunities for personal and professional development, offering students a range of programs to help build life-long career skills.
Albany Law School
Albany Law School offers a program that is uniquely tailored to busy, working professionals through their Flex Juris Doctor Degree Program. The ABA-approved program, which can be completed in three years and three months, allows students to complete coursework almost entirely online, while also attending annual in-person sessions.
The combination of synchronous and asynchronous courses is tailored to the working student, with flex classes scheduled after the end of the workday. The Flex JD affords its students the same opportunities as traditional law students, including coursework taught by full-time faculty and participation in clinics, externships, and other experiential learning opportunities.
Albany’s flex program allows students to specialize in one of four concentrations:
- Business Law
- Environmental Law
- Government Law and Public Service
- Social Justice and Public Interest
The Flex JD, which was just launched in August 2024, has already seen success—it received 587 applications for just 30 available seats—highlighting the innovation and uniqueness of the fully remote JD program.
“The Flex JD opens up the legal profession to individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity to get a law degree,” said Tom Torello, director of communications and marketing. “This program is designed for people with professional and personal commitments that they cannot sacrifice to attend law school.”
Brigham Young University Law School
Brigham Young University Law School has pioneered its Milestones Program, a course that seeks to broaden traditional legal education and instill in its students invaluable skills like career resiliency, professional networking, and leadership.
The Milestones Program, a required course for incoming first-year and transfer law students, provides a curriculum that focuses on long-term career development skills like networking, building a resume, real-world conversations with practicing attorneys, mock interviews, and mentorship.
In partnership with BYU’s Career Development Office, the Milestones Program works to help students effectively:
- Spearhead their job search
- Establish a professional network
- Develop skills for job searching
- Effectively participate in career development events
- Continually assess career strengths and weaknesses
“There are too many unhappy lawyers. The Milestones Program helps BYU Law ensure that we are not adding to those ranks,” said Dean of Communications Lynett Rands. “BYU Law graduates graduate with a life plan and are well positioned to execute that plan, but perhaps most importantly, the Milestones Program helps students develop the skills to change their plan.”
University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley Law Leads is an initiative developed at University of California Berkeley School of Law that focuses on incorporating business school leadership models into a legal education. The program takes a transformative approach to a traditional JD curriculum by providing participants with experiential learning opportunities, practical leadership development, and strategic thinking skills.
The program’s Leadership-Focused Curriculum, which offers classes adapted from business school management and entrepreneurship courses, is available to all students in Berkeley Law’s J.D. and LL.M. programs. In addition, the specialized Leadership Academy selects eight to 12 students annually for a leadership intensive.
Through these program components, students have access to unique techniques and opportunities, including:
- Experiential Learning Projects
- Cross-Disciplinary Education
- Mentorship and Coaching
“Law schools, unlike business schools, rarely provide leadership training for students. But the reality is that many of our students will be in leadership roles from early in their careers,” said Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “Our leadership institute is based on the premise that leadership is an integral component of legal training rather than an optional skill set developed later in one’s career. We want our students trained to be leaders capable of driving change within organizations and society.”
University of St. Thomas Law School
The Mentor Externship Program offered by the University of St. Thomas School of Law pairs students with mentors who are lawyers or judges, giving students the opportunity to connect with a legal professional throughout each year of law school. This program allows St. Thomas students to actively participate in legal work, network with legal professionals, and gain practical experience, all while still in law school.
During their first year, students receive instruction and courses on professionalism, communication, and other relevant skills to help facilitate their mentor relationships throughout their fieldwork experiences. During their second and third years, upper-level students partake in a classroom component that incorporates their fieldwork experience and teaches them how to maintain their professional networks and relationships with clients and mentors beyond their years in law school.
Students have several fieldwork placements to choose from, including:
- Judicial Externship
- Public Interest Externship
- Business Externship
- Misdemeanor Defense Externship
- Compliance Externship
“Mentor Externship allows every St. Thomas Law student to go beyond the classroom and doctrinal teaching methodologies, to the real world of legal application and client interaction, from the first day of law school,” said Uyen Campbell and Meghan Feliciano, the program’s director and assistant director. “By investing in placements where students are expected to observe and discuss the role of lawyers, students gain a deep understanding of their mentor’s professional journey, and regularly develop lifelong mentors.”
In previous articles in this series: Melissa Heelan’s Feb. 3 article announced the 2024–2025 Law School Innovation Program’s 10 finalists. Look for the next piece in the series on Feb. 10, when Bloomberg Law Legal Analyst Boebin Park will present the three schools with top scores in the “technology” category.
Related content is available for free on our Law School Innovation Program page and on our Path to Practice: The Law School Survey page.
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