THE BEST PRACTICES IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE plans to meet in San Diego during the AALS Conference to discuss next steps in advancing reform in and rejuvenation of legal education. One item on the agenda will be ways to update and improve this BEST PRACTICES BLOG.
To prepare for that meeting, I would appreciate posts describing what you like about this site and how we can make it better and more relevant to YOU! Avoid grading, the scale and/or annoying relatives and take the time to tell us what you think!
Wishing you a world at Peace & real Joy in 2009,
Mary A. Lynch
BLOG EDITOR
Filed under: Who is Using the Best Practices Book? |
Best Practices for Legal Education 
One suggestion would be to bring in some outside blood/speakers to the AALS. Law school administrators tend to be very insular and defensive, allowing some new ideas to enter the group through non-academic speakers would probably be helpful. Law practice tends to be the same – ideas like allowing CLE credit for programs given by non-lawyers, but that can help the profession regain its respectability would be smart.
I didn’t mean for that last reply to sound bitter. I’ve been a speaker at AALS on integrated admissions marketing as a consultant on a panel. This year I submitted a program proposal to share some of my talk based on my new book: Fuel the Spark, 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law School and Beyond. It was rejected within 5 minutes – not even enough time to review the content – they just looked far enough to see that I am not a law school prof or administrator and that was enough to disqualify. That’s unfortunate – not just for me, but also (in my admittedly biased opinion) for the AALS attendees, law students, and ultimately the legal profession.
I sincerely appreciate the work the group at Best Practices is doing to make law school and the legal profession more fulfilling and ultimately more effective. Let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.
http://www.houchinlaw.com
http://www.kevinhouchin.com