Legal Commentary

I would like to thank Dan Markel for inviting me back for another guest stint at PrawfsBlawg. The last time I was here, I led my posts with an entry about what class more law schools should add to their curricula. I ended up getting some very good responses: classes in plea bargaining, depositions, law firm management, statistics, state constitutionalism, etc. Based upon the good responses, I thought I would lead this set of guest posts with an entry asking what class is currently optional at many schools but should be made mandatory.

Of course, this begs the question of whether law schools should increase the number of mandatory classes, so let's start with this poll:

Now, part of your answer might depend upon where you teach. Some schools merely require students to take the Big Six: Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Property, and Constitutional Law. Other schools require students to take significantly more classes. For instance, at Detroit Mercy, students are required to take:

Contracts, Property, Torts, Civil Procedure, Applied Legal Theory and Analysis (ALTA), Core Concepts, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Taxation, two Law Firm Program courses, a Clinic, an International Law elective, and an upper-level writing requirement. 

At Thomas Jefferson, students are  required to take

Torts I, Torts II, Contracts I, Contacts II, Civil Procedure I, Civil Procedure II, Legal Writing I, Legal Writing II, Criminal Law, Property I, Business Associations, Constitutional Law l, Constitutional Law ll, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Professional Skills Course Requirement, Property II, Remedies, and Upper Level Writing Requirement.

My general sense is that lower ranked law schools require students to take more classes than higher ranked law schools and that the goal of these additional classes is to prepare students for the bar exam. Of course classes important for the bar exam are also usually important for the practice of law, and every law school has some concern about students passing the bar. The counter-argument is that students can learn all bar subjects during bar prep and that they can learn any subject while practicing, meaning that we should allow students to pick and choose their classes with a minimum of required classes. 

So, I am interested in two types of comments in response to this post. First, why do you think that the number of required classes in law school should increase, decrease, or remain the same? And second, if you are not averse to increasing the number of required classes, what class that is not required at many schools would you make a requirement?

As an Evidence professor, my answer is Evidence, which many schools require but many schools do not. It is tested on the MBE and MEE. If you ever see the inside of a courtroom, you need a working knowledge of the Federal Rules of Evidence. And, even if you never do, a working knowledge of evidentiary rules can be invaluable in conducting depositions, doing document review, etc. Another class which I have often seen recommended as a required class is Administrative Law. So, what are your thoughts?

-Colin Miller