Do recent law school grads lack real world skills?

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| Last reviewed June 20, 2016

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By Edward Honnold Q: Is there a concern among firms that recent law school graduates lack the real world skills necessary to function in their jobs right away? Are there any studies which outline this issue and can shed some light on proposed remedies?

A: Yes, there is this concern, and the concern is well-founded. Most law graduates do lack the requisite skills; though law study provides an essential foundation to legal reasoning and practice, it does not attempt to provide many of the real world skills required in practice. These skills you will develop on the job. The functional equivalent of a medical residency is provided for a lawyer in the first one or two years of practice.

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