Practicing Theory: Legal Education for the Twenty-First Century

• Author: Larry E. Ribstein
• Position: Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair, University of Illinois College of Law
• Pages: 1649-1676

1649

Practicing Theory: Legal Education for

the Twenty-First Century

Larry E. Ribstein

ABSTRACT: Law practice and legal education are facing fundamental

changes. Many assume that these changes will force law schools to give up

on theory and focus more on training students for the practice of law.

However, this Essay shows that the future may be more uncertain and

complex. The only thing that is certain is that law schools may face, for the

first time, the need to provide the type of education the market demands

rather than serving lawyers’ and law professors’ preferences. Legal educators

must respond to these demands by serving not just the existing U.S. market

for legal services but also a global market for legal information. This may

call for training in some, but not all, of the theories and disciplines that

have been developing in law schools.

I. THE TRADITIONAL MODEL ................................................................... 1652

A. THE BIRTH OF FORMAL LEGAL EDUCATION ..................................... 1653

B. THE OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF LAW TEACHING .............................. 1654

C. THE EVOLUTION OF LEGAL EDUCATION ........................................... 1655

II. PRESSURES ON THE TRADITIONAL MODEL ............................................ 1657

A. STRESS ON THE TRADITIONAL MODEL ............................................. 1658

1. Death of Big Law .................................................................. 1658

2. New Sources of Legal Expertise .......................................... 1659

3. Political Threats to Lawyer Licensing ................................. 1660

4. Global Competition ............................................................. 1662

B. NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAWYERS ................................................ 1663

1. Rise of the Legal-Information Market ................................ 1663

2. Collaborations with Other Professionals ............................ 1664

3. Global Opportunities ........................................................... 1664

 Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair, University of Illinois College of Law. Thanks t o

Nuno Garoupa, Rob Kar, Dan Katz, Bruce Kobayashi, Henry Manne, Larry Solum, and David

Zaring and to participants in the Iowa Law Review 2011 Symposium, The Future of Legal

Education, for very helpful comments.

1650 IOWA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 96:1649

III. THE FUTURE OF LEGAL EDUCATION ..................................................... 1665

A. THE LAWYER AS COLLABORATOR .................................................... 1666

B. THE LAWYER AS MANUFACTURER ................................................... 1666

C. THE LAWYER AS LAWMAKER ........................................................... 1667

D. THE LAWYER AS INFORMATION ENGINEER ....................................... 1668

E. THE LAWYER AS CAPITALIST ........................................................... 1669

F. GLOBAL LEGAL EDUCATION ............................................................ 1670

G. OTHER THEORY ............................................................................. 1672

IV. GETTING TO THE FUTURE ..................................................................... 1672

A. THEORY MATTERS ......................................................................... 1673

B. ABANDONING UNIFORMITY ............................................................. 1674

C. OBJECTIONS TO DEREGULATION ...................................................... 1675

V. CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................ 1676