Northwestern Offers a Quicker, 2-Year Law Degree

Law Schools

Northwestern Offers a Quicker, 2-Year Law Degree

Posted Jun 20, 2008, 08:52 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Updated: College grads with work experience now have the opportunity to go to a top-tier law school and graduate in only two years.

Northwestern law school has announced it will offer a two-year degree beginning next year, reports Inside Higher Ed.

Students who enter the program will start taking courses next summer, the story says. During the regular academic years they will take an extra course most semesters. They will not have to take courses the summer between the first and second years so they can obtain internships or summer associate jobs.

In total, students will attend school for five semesters.

Northwestern is the first top-tier law school to offer a two-year J.D., according to TaxProf Blog. Southwestern Law School and the University of Dayton also offer two-year degrees, the blog says. The move was made possible by the ABA’s 2004 decision to drop a requirement for six semesters at accredited law schools, the Inside Higher Ed story says.

Northwestern dean David Van Zandt told Inside Higher Ed that the accelerated program will only admit students with two to three years of substantive work experience after college.

University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone, the school's former dean, told the Chicago Tribune that two-year program is "irresponsible."

"My sense is that compressing the educational process is likely to seriously derogate from the quality," he said. "What is lost is likely to be much more than anything that is gained by hustling the students through more quickly."

Northwestern also announced it is offering three new required courses on quantitative analysis (including accounting, finance and statistics), dynamics of legal behavior and strategic decision making. The requirement applies at first to the two-year students but will eventually apply to all students.

Van Zandt told Inside Higher Ed that a theme of the new courses is communications skills. He said employers have complained that new lawyers are unable to write a concise one-page client memo that does not appear to “waffle.”

New programs will also allow third-year students to participate in experiential programs for up to a semester, including working in a legal clinic or in a law firm outside the United States.

Updated at 9:12 a.m. to include Chicago Tribune coverage.

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Posted by Kevin - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours, 6 minutes ago

This is wonderful news. Hopefully all law schools from the bottom to the top will follow suit, and the ABA will get behind this as the new standard. This is a great first step toward lowering the overall cost of a legal education, which will in turn enable attorneys to be able to serve classes of folks who are traditionally underserved; and not have to starve to death or live in a warzone because student loan payments eat half their weekly paychecks. Kudos to Northwestern for getting the ball rolling. Add a third year of required “residency” in a law clinic sponsored by the school where you learn the ropes of law practice and receive a modest paycheck, and you’ve got the makings of a legal education program that serves the public good, instead of the interests of corporate fatcats.

Bravo, Northwestern.
Posted by Nancy - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 16 hours, 59 minutes ago

It’s a doctoral degree. Cutting the course requirement devalues it.
Posted by msg - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 16 hours, 47 minutes ago

I think this is a great idea. I especially like the requirement that they have 2-3 years of substantive work experience before they attend law school. Actually this should be a requirement for all law school candidates. It will really help them a lot. They will be more prepared when they graduate than their peers who do not have this work experience. I can speak from experience. To Nancy - please - you have no idea of what you are talking about. There is nothing about this plan that devalues the degree. If anything it is an enhancement. I will bet you right now that the top graduates of this program will be better suited to get jobs than the ones from the the 3 year program who do not have the work experience because they went right from college to law school and played all summer long in between. Anyone who is going to be a lawyer must be prepared for the business of law which is hardwork and long hours (unless of course you choose an alternate legal career, which is fine too). But if you want big law - you better be prepared. I encourage all JD candidates or those even thinking of legal careers to work in law firms or the judicial system for at least one year to get a real feel for what it is before they make the final decision to go to law school so they know what they are getting into. Lawyers have the highest dissatisfaction rate with their career choice, next to doctors, than any other career. Law schools oversell the profession and the more they can do to reduce this effect the better.
Posted by Anonymous - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 14 hours, 46 minutes ago

With the job market so competitive, associate candidates with a 2-year J.D. are sure to get a ding when stacked against 3 year program candidates.
Posted by Alvin D. Chimpunkski - 2 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 13 hours, 41 minutes ago

I agree with #4. Who needs more lawyers? It’s competitive enough, and if you’re not at the tip of the class you won’t get a good job. The only up side is that they will only have wasted 2 years after they figure out the schooling was worthless. The only beneficiaries will be those who use the law school as a way to find a mate (meal ticket). That will always be a good function for law students who aren’t that hot on the law, just on a spouse who will support them.
Posted by Sara - 2 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 1 minute ago

It’s about time. Law schools have gotten so fat and happy and staid that the requirements of the students...the paying customer...have gotten lost. If the purpose is to turn out qualified mature individuals who can function as lawyers then this is the model. Time alone is not a function of quality. And those arguing time is clearly is missing the boat.

Anything that spells out change is threatening to everyone else’s model. Well, too bad. Get with the program.

I imagine, sadly, that if an innovative 4th tier school had done this it would have garnered little attention and a lot of condescension.

Thank you Northwestern for taking the lead.
Posted by Anna - 2 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 17 hours, 45 minutes ago

Hi Nancy,

“Students who enter the program will start taking courses next summer, the story says. During the regular academic years they will take an extra course most semesters.”

They’re not cutting the course requirement, but upping the number of courses taken per semester. I think it’s better spelled out in the article here: http://outofthejungle.blogspot.com/2008/06/curricular-changes-at-northwestern.html

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