Abstract
Newly adopted American Bar Association Standard 303(b)(3) requires law schools to provide “substantial opportunities to students for . . . the development of professional identity” throughout their three-year legal education. For 1Ls, the ideal place to start this process is in their lawyering skills classrooms, which is our domain at Boston University School of Law. Professional identity exploration necessarily requires students to look inward and outward to reflect upon their own role in the legal system and how they interact with others. In our classrooms, we divide what have been referred to as “soft” skills into two distinct categories—outward-facing and inward-facing character-based skills. Outward-facing character-based skills include empathy, emotional intelligence, and other interpersonal skills like active listening and teamwork. Developing these skills helps students and lawyers more deeply and effectively relate to clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders. Inward-facing character-based skills include developing personal values for practice, engaging in reflection, setting boundaries in line with the purpose and morality of the law, and engaging in wellbeing practices. Through specific exercises, assignments, and discussion prompts aimed at developing these skills, which give students the chance to ponder their own professional identities, students practice looking inward and outward during their 1L year, hopefully in satisfaction of ABA Standard 303(b)(3). In this article, we share some ways in which we have adjusted our teaching to comply with Standard 303(b)(3) by addressing professional identity formation through the vehicles of outward-facing and inward-facing character-based skills. Part I of this article generally defines professional identity and introduces ABA Standard 303(b)(3)’s new professional identity formation requirement. Parts II and III further explain what we mean when we refer to outward-facing and inward-facing character-based skills, respectively, and will explore why they are critical for future lawyers. Part IV discusses how the lawyering skills classroom is the ideal place to teach these skills to 1Ls, thus beginning an education around professional identity that will span all three years of law school. Finally, Part V shares some of our strategies for incorporating these skills into our 1L curriculum.
Recommended Citation
Marni G. Caputo & Kathleen Luz,
Beyond “Hard” Skills: Teaching Outward- and Inward-Facing Character-Based Skills to 1Ls in Light of ABA Standard 303(B)(3)’s Professional Identity Requirement,
89 Brook. L. Rev.
809
(2024).
Available at:
https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/blr/vol89/iss3/2
Included in
Legal Education Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Legal Profession Commons