Identifying the gap between what we teach in law school and the practical legal skills employers demand

That's the subject of this new article by Professor Joni Larson (Indiana Tech) entitled To Develop Critical Thinking Skills and Allow Students to Be Practice Ready, We Must Move Well Beyond the Lecture Format and available at 8 Elon L. Rev. 443 (2016) as well as SSRN here.  From the abstract:

Casebooks are constructed around the case method of teaching - reading appellate opinions to understand the law. However, when the case method approach is compared to what an attorney is expected to do in practice, there is a definite gap. If students are to emerge from law school with practice ready skills, they must be given the opportunity to learn and practice a variety of skills and develop the necessary qualities that will allow them to effectively and efficiently enter the practice of law. Examples are given for how to incorporate skills into the learning environment.

(jbl).