Modern Legal Education and the Unmaking of American Lawyers

Join Pitt Law for a two-day conference, "Disarmed, Distracted, Disconnected and Distressed: Modern Legal Education and the Unmaking of American Lawyers," on Thurs., Apr. 20 and Fri., Apr. 21. 

In this conference, we will explore how modern legal education post-1870, instead of being the boon to American lawyers it’s generally assumed to have been, has actually been harmful to lawyers in various rhetorical, social, political, psychological and cultural ways. The conference will assess how our partly accidental/partly intentional "unmaking" by ourselves and by others has moreover endangered American democracy, given the fundamental role lawyers long played in its construction and operation. Finally, we will reflect on how reforming legal education can help us constructively "remake" American lawyers, restore our collective agency, and perhaps even help us redeem our republic, if it's not already too late.