Director Of Employer Relations
Administrative Director Of Honors Lawyering Program
At Golden Gate, we have long practiced the notion that hands-on learning best equips our students for their future careers as attorneys. It’s a straightforward idea, but one that other law schools have been slow to embrace: by doing what lawyers do, in an actual legal setting and under the supervision of lawyers and judges, law students will better understand the law, impress lawyers more, and be ready to hit the ground running from the very first day.
In her recent article in The Recorder, GGU Professor Susan Rutberg highlighted this invaluable aspect of legal education. “Actively working with clients on real cases,” she points out, “teaches students to synthesize the legal concepts they’ve learned in substantive courses.” She notes another important attribute to practical legal education: students representing actual clients feel greater self-confidence and a stronger sense of purpose in becoming lawyers.
Professor Rutberg uses GGU’s unique Honors Lawyering Program to highlight her point. After a regular first year of law school, HLP students take classes in the summer while also representing actual clients. Professor Rutberg describes the benefits of client representation as follows:
By the end of the summer session, students have interviewed and counseled clients, conducted fact investigations, prepared demand letters, responded to pleadings, participated in informal negotiation sessions and/or in settlement conferences in superior court. They have learned to communicate across cultural barriers, to obtain relevant information and to construct a narrative from their client’s story. They have learned to use their legal knowledge and skills to serve others.After this intensive and rewarding summer program, HLP students go on to spend the fall semester undertaking full-time apprenticeships at one of any number of different legal environments, including law firms, judicial chambers, district attorney’s offices, public defender’s offices, and public interest organizations.
We frequently observe the tangible benefits of practical legal experiences like the Honors Lawyering Program. For example, just this semester, HLP students Jessica Brown, Sarah Lambros and Jessica Rosen won the Roger J. Traynor Appellate Moot Court Competition, besting top-notch teams from law schools throughout California. Ms. Brown attributed her team’s success to the practical legal skills they acquired in HLP: “We all commented how our HLP apprenticeships taught us the essential skills of legal writing and oral advocacy. This is a win for HLP.” Congratulations to Ms. Brown, Ms. Lambros and Ms. Rosen.
HLP is just one of many ways our students can acquire these all-important practical legal skills. If you are a current or prospective GGU student, I strongly encourage you to contact me or another Law Career Services counselor to learn more.
