Fordham Law expands its experiential learning programs with appointment of new leadership

This from the Fordham Law online news blog:

Fordham’s experiential learning program expands with two new leaders and a renewed sense of innovation.

 

Two years ago, the American Bar Association issued new standards for law schools to fulfill to remain in good standing. Among them was Standard 304, which requires all law students to satisfy an experiential learning requirement. Beginning this fall, the standard applies to all students entering as 1Ls.

 

For some students—and for some law schools—this new requirement may seem onerous. Not so for Fordham Law students or Fordham Law School. The School’s Clinical Legal Education program has for decades offered students a host of clinics, externships, and simulations. Recently Fordham Law clinic students have scored many victories: a $185,000 settlement for victims of broker fraud, the release of a Guantanamo detainee, and human rights training with LBGTI advocacy groups in sub-Saharan Africa. The program will only expand under the new leadership of professors Leah Hill and Michael W. Martin ’92.

 

Hill was recently appointed associate dean for experiential education while Martin has assumed the
title director of clinical education. Together they will be responsible for ensuring Fordham students graduate with real lawyering experience.

 

“In the first year of law school our students learn the habits of thinking that are unique to the legal profession. Our experiential programs provide them with the opportunity to apply those thinking habits to real-world problems,” Hill says. “In our live-client clinics in particular, students are able to put their critical thinking skills to use on behalf of real clients. We are committed to providing students with a range of experiential learning options that allow them to deepen their understanding of what it means to practice law.”

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Continue reading here.

(jbl).