School of Law Surveys Legal Community to Ensure Practice-Ready Graduates
February 1, 2007
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
In a move designed to enhance the impact of its graduates on the state's legal profession in both the public and private sectors, the University of Baltimore School of Law has released a survey asking working attorneys, judges, court staff and public officials to identify the profession's essential skills. The survey, which covers three essential subject areas including professional skills, legal knowledge and professional values, will be distributed with the February issue of the Maryland State Bar Association's e-newsletter. The inaugural "Maryland Bench and Bar Survey" was released on Feb. 1.
Gilbert Holmes, dean of the school, said the survey was developed to gauge the overall effectiveness of the school's curriculum, including the amount of time and energy devoted to preparing law students for a life in the practice of law.
"Our survey is really no different than the tools used by other professions to gauge the effectiveness of teaching and training," Holmes said. "In the field of medicine, doctors and nurses convey essential information about procedures, pharmaceuticals, and so on. In real estate, agents and brokers talk about the markets, the financials, and how to invest. It's the same in the law, but we intend to raise the profile of this kind of give and take concerning the keys to the profession. Over time, you'll see UB graduates who are even quicker studies about what is going on in any courtroom, negotiation, transaction or other setting where legal and analytical skills are deployed in Maryland, and who understand the finer points of the law before they're asked to engage in research, inquiry or a written or oral presentation for the first time."
Holmes said the survey is just one of several approaches the school is taking to ensure that UB graduates are productive members of the bar. Other programs include an enriched bar examination review, enhancements to the writing skills program and a robust menu of clinical experiences. Producing "practice-ready" graduates is the overall goal of the strategy, he noted.
The electronic survey, which is voluntary and completely confidential, asks participants to specify in which part of the profession they practice. It then breaks out, under the three aforementioned categories, a wide-ranging list of areas related to the practice of law and asks participants to rate them as essential, important, etc. Everything from listening skills to trial advocacy is covered in the professional skills section, as are more than 25 areas under legal knowledge and another 20 categories under professional values. In the latter, "Show diligence and hard work," "commitment to pro bono work," and "Act honestly and with integrity" are among the statements that participants are asked to rank in degrees of importance.
"We want to get a clear picture of the current state of ethics from Maryland bar members," Holmes said. "The teaching of integrity in the practice of law cannot be stressed enough, but it's equally important to make sure you’re conveying these values in the right way, at the right time."
In addition to its release in the Maryland State Bar Association’s e-newsletter, the survey also will be available on the MSBA Web site, at http://www.msba.org/, and on the School of Law Web site, at http://law.ubalt.edu/.
The survey is based on a document created by the Phoenix International School of Law for the Arizona bar and bench, and was used with the school's permission.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.