Results of the Vision 2016 Commission Survey on Legal Education and Bar Admissions November 2014 Executive Summary Legal Education – Courses and Preparation * The law school courses that best prepared respondents for law school are Legal Research & Writing, an Internship or Externship, and Civil Procedure. (See Table 5 on Page 4) * About four-fifths (79%) of all respondents report there are experiences, skills or knowledge they lacked as a new lawyer. That percentage increases to 88% when only considering respondents who graduated within the last five years. (See Tables 6 and 6a on Pages 4-5) * The two most frequently mentioned experiences, skills or knowledge that respondents believe they might have lacked as a new lawyer are practical skills or experience and the business aspects of a law practice. (See Table 6c on Page 6) * When asked if there was a particular class or experience that respondents felts should have been offered to them while in law school but was not, the most frequently mentioned responses are practical courses/experience and an Internship. (See Table 7b on Page 7) * Just over two-thirds of all respondents report that, upon law school graduation, they were prepared for practical ethical dilemmas (69%), collaborative work (68%) and interpersonal skills (68%). (See Table 8 on Page 7) * Two-thirds (67%) of all respondents report that, upon law school graduation, they were unprepared for law office management components involved in the practice of law. Around half of all respondents report they were unprepared for financial matters (52%) and work alternatives (48%). (See Table 8 on Page 7) * Over four-fifths (81%) of all respondents rate the case method technique as being an effective law school education technique. Between 60% and 68% rate experiential learning, the Socratic Method and collaborative learning as being effective. (See Table 9 on Page 8) * Over four-fifths of respondents agreed that the United States legal education system needs to undergo significant changes to better prepare future lawyers for the changing employment landscape and legal profession (82%) and that a mentorship program would have significantly helped their overall law school experience (81%). (See Table 10 on Page 9) i * About three-quarters (73%) of respondents believe that Liberalization of business structures and disruptive technologies are set to bring greater change in law over the next two decades than we have seen in the last two centuries. (See Table 10 on Page 9) * Slightly over three-fifths of respondents believe their law school education adequately prepared them for the practice of law (62%) and that their law school professors had significant practice experience in the area of law they instructed (61%). (See Table 10 on Page 9) * About two-fifths (41%) of respondents believe that Florida law schools effectively prepare today’s graduates for the competent, ethical and professional practice of law. (See Table 10 on Page 9) Legal Education – Online Law Curricula * Half (50%) of all respondents believe that no law school curricula should be taken online, while 37% believe that up to one-quarter of law school curricula should be permitted to be taken online. Only 13% believe that more than one-quarter of the curricula should be permitted to be taken online. (See Table 11 on Page 11) * The most frequently mentioned subjects that are good candidates for online learning are Legal Research & Writing, Civil Procedure and Contracts. The most frequently mentioned subjects that respondents believe would not be beneficial to students if taught online are “all courses”, followed by Torts. (See Tables 12 and 13 on Pages 12-13) Legal Education – Future of the Third Year of Law School * 57% of all respondents, and 70% of respondents who graduated within the last five years, believe some changes are needed to the third year of law school, compared to 16% of all respondents, and 12% of respondents who graduated within the last five years, who believe the third year structure is working well. (See Tables 14 and 14a on Page 13) * There is a correlation in that the more recent the law school graduation of respondents, the more likely they are to believe some changes are needed to the third year of law school. (See Table 14a on Page 13) * An overwhelming majority who believe changes are needed to the third year of law school listed the need for practical experience programs, an Internship/Externship program, and a Residency program through this open-ended question. (See Table 14c on Page 15 and Pages 121-133 located in Appendix A) ii Legal Education – Undergraduate Level/College * About two-thirds (65%) of all respondents believe that none of the required legal education could be provided during the last year of college. For those that do believe courses could be provided in college, Legal Research & Writing, Basic/first year courses and Constitutional Law were most frequently mentioned. (See Tables 15 and 15b on Pages 15-16) * Writing skills was reported with the most frequency as being a skill most necessary for an undergraduate to develop to be successful in law school. Reading comprehension and critical thinking were also mentioned with frequency. (See Table 16 on Page 16) * Advice about loan complications/personal finances and being certain that law is a career that you want to pursue are the most frequently mentioned advice tips that respondents would provide to college students who are considering going to law school. (See Table 17 on Page 17) * Geographic location, academic reputation and ABA accreditation are the most frequently mentioned responses pertaining to the reasons that respondents chose a specific law school to attend. For those who graduated within the last 5 years, the most frequently mentioned reasons are geographic location, ability to get into the law school, and ABA accreditation. (See Tables 18 and 18a on Pages 17-18) Legal Education – Improving the Law School Structure or Process * By a significant margin, the most frequently mentioned suggestion to improve the law school structure or legal education process is to add a practical experience component or an Internship/mentorship program. (See Table 21 on Page 21 and Pages 222-256 located in Appendix A) iii Bar Admissions – Paralegal Services/Use of Nonlawyers * More than half (56%) of all respondents do not believe regulated paralegals should be allowed to deliver legal services directly to the lawyer’s client under the supervision of the lawyer. (See Table 24 on Page 23) * Assistance in the preparation of forms and legal documents, assistance in real estate matters, and basic/routine matters are the three most frequently mentioned legal services that respondents feel could be delivered by a regulated paralegal directly to the lawyer’s client, under the supervision of the lawyer. (See Table 24b on Page 25) * Nearly two-thirds (64%) of all respondents believe that Florida should not consider authorization of trained, regulated nonlawyers to provide basic assistance to a client in approved areas of law outside the supervision of a lawyer, compared to nearly one-fifth (19%) who believe that Florida should consider such a program. (See Table 27 on Page 27) Bar Admissions – Admission on Motion/Reciprocity * By a three to one ratio (66% important to 22% unimportant), respondents feel that it is important for Florida to adopt some form of reciprocity. A higher percentage (73%) of respondents under the age of 50 believe that it is important for Florida to adopt some form of reciprocity. (See Tables 31 and 31a on Page 31) * Nearly three-quarters (72%) of all respondents who graduated from law school within the last ten years and nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents who graduated from law school over 10 years ago feel it is important for Florida to adopt some form of reciprocity. (See Table 31b on Page 32) * Over three-quarters (77%) of all respondents favor a rule change that would allow them to become a member of another state bar without taking the bar examination (but meeting other requirements) in that state, compared to 11% who oppose that type of rule change. (See Table 32 on Page 33) * A very large majority (88%) of respondents who graduated within the past five years favor a rule change that would allow them to become a member of another state bar without taking the bar examination (but meeting other requirements) in that state, compared to only 6% who oppose that type of rule change. (See Table 32b on Page 34) * Just over three-fifths (61%) of all respondents favor a rule change that would allow a member from another state bar to become a member of The Florida Bar without taking the bar examination (but meeting other requirements), compared to three-tenths (30%) who oppose that type of rule change. (See Table 33 on Page 35) iv * Almost two-thirds (64%) of all respondents report they are in favor of allowing some form of admission on motion in Florida, compared to 21% who are opposed. (See Table 34 on Page 37) Bar Admissions – Uniform Bar Examination * Just over half (51%) of all respondents favor Florida adopting the Uniform Bar Examination, compared to slightly over one-quarter (26%) who oppose it. (See Table 37 on Page 40) Bar Admissions – Alternative Business Structures * Over three-fifths (62%) of all respondents report that The Florida Bar's current ethics rules prohibiting any degree of nonlawyer ownership and participation in law firm profits do not prevent them from operating in a way they would like, compared to 9% who believe the rules do prevent them from operating the way they would like. (See Table 39 on Page 42) * Nearly two-thirds (65%) of all respondents report that Florida Bar members should not be permitted to share fees with nonlawyers, compared to 18% who believe they should be permitted to share fees.