UH Law School earns high grade in latest National Jurist survey of practical training

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Beverly Creamer, (808) 389-5736
Media Consultant, William S. Richardson School of Law
Posted: Mar 17, 2017

Alyssa-Marie Kau '18 participating in a moot court experience in September 2016.
Alyssa-Marie Kau '18 participating in a moot court experience in September 2016.

In a new survey by The National Jurist magazine, the UH Law School has been named among the top American law schools in providing practical training for its students.

The Spring 2017 issue of the law magazine gives the William S. Richardson School of Law an A- for providing an array of clinics and externships that offer hands-on training to law students.

Practical training is being emphasized nationally, and increasingly has become a required part of law school curricula. In 2015 the American Bar Association added a rule for accreditation that requires all students to complete six credit hours of practical training courses in order to graduate.

“Around the country, law school students are getting experience with clients and in courtrooms,” noted the article written by Katie Thisdell, managing editor for both National Jurist and preLaw magazines. “Students may work in clinics and externships. They may compete in moot court and practice trial skills. Or, they may participate in simulation courses, where they can practice their lawyering skills in a controlled setting.”

All of those activities have long been available to Richardson law students. For instance, the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i provides training for law students interested in serving low-income or immigrant families as part of Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services.

Such practical training through the Law School’s 10 clinical programs as well as its 12 institutes, centers and projects offer students exceptional real world experiences, says Dean Avi Soifer.

Explained Soifer, “For many years, our students have earned more credits for practical skills than the new ABA requirements mandate. We are particularly proud of the training our clinics and practical skills courses offer as they help shape Richardson lawyers, often while also directly serving our community.”

For more information, visit: https://www.law.hawaii.edu/