As we've discussed before, the external regulation of law schools continues apace. Once you have California and New York requiring pro bono or certain types of courses, you're getting close to a national standard, given that each state contains about 1/8th of all practicing lawyers, given that more than 1/4th of all entering students will want to be eligible to practice in those states, and given that law schools will want to be Cali and NY compliant to attract students. While I'm glad that the law schools are being challenaged, I wish these sorts of decisions were left to the sound discretion of the students rather than to the state bars or even the law schools. (That is, I'd like to see schools ask the students what courses are needed and then meet the students at least half way.) The National Law Journal reports:
A task force of the State Bar of California has recommended that new attorneys be required to complete at least 15 hours of practical skills training and 50 hours of pro bono service before they are admitted to practice.
If adopted, California would be the first state to mandate real-world training in law schools and the second to require pro bono work of new attorneys. New York was the first state to require pro bono work and a judicial committee in New Jersey has recommended the move.
[edited since posting]