Froehle, Kosnoff Quoted on Hands-On Law School Learning

A focus entirely on experiential learning in the third year of law school received positive comments from Baker & Daniels' Tom Froehle and Scott Kosnoff in the November/December issue of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce's BizVoice® Magazine story on "Law School Making the Case for Hands-On Learning."

"Based largely on my own experience (in a clinical program) and what I hear from other students, I expect law students would likely get more out of that experience than they would their third year (in a traditional classroom setting)," Froehle told BizVoice® Magazine.

The story reported that the Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia recently revamped its third-year curriculum. Students engage in practice simulations, take part in law clinics and work with actual clients conducting interviews, offering counseling services and advocating on their behalf, according to BizVoice® Magazine. Emphasis also includes professional development in skill areas such as negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as well as writing and communications.

"Probably the unique feature of this program is not that there is a clinical component, but that there is a mandatory clinical component," Kosnoff told BizVoice® Magazine. "It's the first time I've heard of where (a law school) has done away with the traditional classroom."

"Losing the classroom aspect isn't likely to have much of an impact on the job search because by the time most people start their third year, they already have a job lined up," Kosnoff added