Students completing Lex Fellowship abroad report progress on the American Bar Association’s core skills, values, knowledge and experience

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 20, 2019

Contact: Brian Whalen, Chief Academic Officer

717-439-6983 | Brian.w@lexfellowship.org

”Students completing Lex Fellowship abroad report progress on the American Bar Association’s core skills, values, knowledge and experience”

ARLINGTON, Virginia —

Students who completed a Lex Fellowship abroad in Summer, 2019 report advancing significantly in the development of the knowledge, skills, values, knowledge and experience required of successful law school students. That is according to data from a study that assessed how students progressed on the American Bar Association’s (ABA) statement of the core skills, values, knowledge, and experience that prepare students well for law school. The ABA states, in part: “…if you begin law school having already acquired the foundation suggested in this Statement, you will have a significant advantage and will be well prepared to benefit fully from a challenging legal education.”

Lex Fellows completed an evaluation in which they rated their progress on a range of core competencies strongly associated with the Lex Fellowship abroad. These competencies included problem solving, critical reading, writing and editing, oral communication and listening, research, organization and management, public service and promoting justice, and relationship-building and collaboration. Overall, 81% of students either “strongly agreed (44%)” or “agreed (37%)” that they had progressed on these core competencies. The overall average rating was 4.17 on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree).

Significant progress was reported in essential ABA competencies:

90% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater ability to analyze and solve problems in the legal context.
90% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater ability to carefully read, understand, and critically analyze complex written legal material.
89% strongly agree or agree that they have a more realistic view of the actual practice of law, the skills that they will need, and the realities of the legal employment market.

86% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater familiarity with the legal system, its institutions, concepts and vocabulary.
84% strongly agree or agree that they are more dedicated to the objectives of serving others honestly, competently, and responsibly.
83% strongly agree or agree that they have increased their knowledge of the specific techniques and forms of written expression that are common in the law and have a greater ability to write and to use legal terminology.
81% strongly agree or agree that they have are more able to “think like a lawyer."
77% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater ability to work as part of a team and to build relationships with others.
72% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater ability to analyze large amounts of information, identify objectives, and create a structure for applying that information in an efficient way in order to achieve desired results.
70% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater ability to speak and listen.
65% strongly agree or agree that they have a greater ability to conduct research.

According to Lex Chief Academic Officer Brian Whalen, “This data shows the significant educational value of the Lex Fellowship and how it is helping to educate the next generation of attorneys and legal professionals.”

Lex Fellows engage in real-world, hands-on learning through immersive visits to a different law firm each day where one of the firm’s attorneys presents about their work and describes an actual case that their firm has addressed in the past. The cases highlight the typical daily challenges that the presenting lawyers encounter in their field. Lex Fellows break into teams to analyze the case with the guidance of a legal adviser, and then debrief with the firm’s attorney regarding the resolution of the case. Lex Fellowship programs are offered in Madrid and Washington, D.C. in both summer and winter sessions.

To view the complete results of the assessment study, follow this link.

Guest UserSeptember 20, 2019