Pritzker was the only elite law school in the US to adopt the two-year offering, in response to calls from policymakers and legal leaders for shorter, cheaper legal degrees at a time when law school applications are waning. President Barack Obama (himself a lawyer and former law professor) offered an unexpected endorsement of the program in August 2013, suggesting that shorter tuition time for new lawyers would help make law school more affordable. Now, however, it seems that Northwestern's offering has failed to attract the droves of applicants once hoped for.
The 'Holy Grail alternative'
At a time when prospective law students in the US face steeper tuition fees but fewer legal job opportunities, it was hoped that a more affordable two-year offering would keep legal training accessible and attractive for bright students. 'We thought this program was the Holy Grail alternative to bring in law students who might otherwise not have considered law school,' said Northwestern law school dean Daniel B. Rodriguez.
Beyond keeping tuition costs in check, advocates of the shortened program also hoped that it would encourage innovation in training and experience for new lawyers, in response to growing demand among legal employers that graduates be 'work ready' from the first day on the job. 'Employers – law firms, corporate counsel and federal agencies – are telling us that they no longer want to train these [new] lawyers,' said Association of American Law Schools head Blake D. Morant. Some schools, such as the University of California Hastings College of the Law, are overhauling their third-year offerings as a result. In 2011, it launched the one-year Lawyers for America program, which cuts the third year of academic classes and instead gives students hands-on experience in places such as a district attorney's office.
3 + 3 law degree
Some institutions, such Brooklyn Law School, remain committed to the two-year juris doctor program. However, far more popular with the legal academy have been '3+3' accelerated programs. These allow talented students to complete their bachelors degree and law degree in six years, rather than seven, by accelerating them into their first year of law school following their penultimate year of college. Around 30 US law schools have adopted streamlined 3+3 programs, including Northwestern, Fordham University School of Law, and Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Source: New York Times
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