The ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education released its Final Report & Recommendations today. The Report addresses both the economics of legal education and the delivery and regulation of legal education. Among other things, the Report concludes that:

• The current system of pricing and funding in legal education demands serious re-engineering.
• The law school accreditation system should allow for more variety and innovation in the delivery of legal education and it should encourage law schools to give more attention to services, outcomes, and value delivered to law students. Such changes would likely require repeal or dramatic revision of several of the ABA Law School Accreditation Standards.
• Notwithstanding some recent progress, law schools should continue curriculum reforms that integrate more focused preparation for legal practice. Law students need the opportunity to develop the competencies and professionalism required of people who will deliver services to clients.
• State supreme courts, bars and other regulators should consider new or improved frameworks for licensing providers of legal and related services, including (1) bar admission for people whose preparation may be other than the traditional four-years of college plus three-years of classroom-based law school education; and (2) licensing persons other than holders of a J.D. to deliver limited legal services.

You can read more about the work of the Task Force here. [JML]