Enterprising UCLA Offers Skills Training for Jobless 1st-Years

So many law firms have deferred the start date for entering first-year associates that a number reportedly are having difficulty finding jobs at nonprofit organizations.

But at least one law school is now offering another alternative for newly minted attorneys without a place to start work. The University of California at Los Angeles School of Law has created a new Transition to Practice program that will teach many of the same skills that first-years traditionally learn on the job.

"We hope that this program will allow young lawyers, particularly deferred students, to enter legal practice with a running start," Dean Michael Schill tells Above the Law.

UCLA has also extended its application deadline for the fall LL.M. class to allow up to 20 additional students who are already graduates of United States law schools to be admitted, notes a UCLA press release today.

For the new practice skills program, "the law school expects to develop curriculum in conjunction with leading law firms and corporate legal departments and to draw on the expertise of the Los Angeles legal community," the release adds.

It doesn't state the tuition fee. However, law firms that have already offered to provide a hefty stipend for volunteer work intended to help deferred first-years develop practice skills presumably might also agree to ante up for the UCLA practice skills program.

Related earlier coverage:

Above the Law: "Should Associates Get Paid While On the Deferral Stipend?"

ABAJournal.com: "Situations Wanted: Laid-Off Lawyers Seek Volunteer Work—and Get Rejected"

ABAJournal.com: "How Much is a Delayed Start Date Worth? Latham: $75K, Lovells: $7K"

ABAJournal.com: "Laid Off? Work for Us for No Pay, Legal Job Ad Suggests"