Elon University School of Law is making some big changes. Beginning next fall, students will be able to graduate after two and a half years, instead of the standard three. That will help shave $14,000 from what it costs to get a degree there.
The law school’s dean Luke Bierman says Elon took to heart some of the criticism of legal education and restructured its program to offer a more deliberate curriculum.
"To the extent that we can get students out a little quicker--so that they can begin their careers, so that we can get them to take the February bar rather than the July bar--we think that those are good things," Bierman says. "But only if the educational program prepares them the way they should be prepared. Because of how we’ve gone about this, we think we’ve accomplished that."
The program will tie course work to internships. Each student will be assigned an advising team that includes a practicing attorney and a career consultant to help make it easier to find a job after graduation. Forty-five percent of Elon’s graduating 2013 law class is doing work that requires passing the bar.