Praised for its Residency-in-Practice Program, Elon Law was featured in a back-to-school issue cover story about law schools "on the cutting edge when it comes to preparing students for the future."
Elon Law’s approach to practical training and “learning by doing” through its Residency-in-Practice Program earned recognition this fall by The National Jurist’s preLaw Magazine in its first issue of the 2017 academic year.
Published by The National Jurist, preLaw’s “20 Most Innovative Law Schools” highlighted programs with curricula, programs and approaches that better position law students for legal careers in a rapidly changing world.
Every second-year Elon Law student completes a course-connected, full-time legal residency with a law firm, judge, corporation, or nonprofit as part of the required curriculum. Students work fulltime during the winter or spring trimester while completing an accompanying course, following a learning plan developed in coordination with their professor and supervising attorney.
This immersive and integrative approach to law school accelerates student professional development by early exposure to the realities of the legal profession. Elon Law and Duke Law were the only two schools in North Carolina showcased in the cover story.
“Mastering the high-level skills associated with being a lawyer requires study and practice,” said Elon Law Dean Luke Bierman. “Elon Law’s unique Residency-in-Practice Program blends the best of traditional classroom instruction with practical experience that is designed for students to learn by doing and to develop their professional expertise early and often.
“We are doing something here that no other law school is doing, and recognition by National Jurist and preLaw shows that others are taking note.”
Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. It integrates traditional classroom instruction with its residencies-in-practice in 2.5 years, which provides distinctive value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their legal careers.
With a print circulation of 50,000 and 9,000 digital subscribers, National Jurist is a leading magazine for U.S. and international law students, as well as the legal education community, reaching more than 200 law schools across the nation. PreLaw print circulation is 45,000, plus just under 6,000 digital subscribers.