Utah law program leads country-wide effort to place students; provide legal services

Utah law program leads country-wide effort to place students; provide legal services


2 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A recent New York Times article highlighted the efforts of Arizona State University's efforts to start a law practice that would be staffed by students. The model, according to the University of Utah, follows the one they started 14 months ago with their University Law Group.

With only 55 percent of law school graduates landing a full-time job within nine months of graduation, according to the American Bar Association, law schools across the nation are looking at strategies that will land students jobs.

The S. J. Quinney College of Law at the U. collaborated with local lawyer Dennis Gladwell to start their unique pilot program, the University Law Group, November 2011 as an answer to the job placement and legal services problems they saw. ULG is independently run by Gladwell, but he works closely with the school to fulfill its needs.

"The idea of it was really to fulfill two needs at once," said U. law school Dean and Hugh B. Brown Presidential Professor of Law Hiram Chodosh. "One is the recognition that a lot of people cannot afford legal services who also don't qualify for legal aid. And there is a really profound need in our society for the middle class and lower-middle class. The second need was to develop more professional experiences both for recent graduates and current students to work in low-bono settings."


(Ours) is unique and a leader in the country for having figured out a way to do this. It's not an easy thing to do.

–Hiriam Chodosh, S. J. Quinney College of Law


According to Chodosh, the program was the first of its kind.

"It's part of a continuum of clinical programming that we've invested in," Chodosh said. "The highlight is on this kind of program. It is unique and a leader in the country for having figured out a way to do this. It's not an easy thing to do."

Gladwell, adjunct professor at the U. and ULG managing partner, said ASU and other schools have contacted him about getting similar programs off the ground.

Last week, ASU officially announced their plans to create a nonprofit law firm they hope will employ about 10 ASU graduates and 30 student associates. According to the New York Times article, they will charge $125 an hour for their services.

Gladwell said the ASU program is ambitious, but he notices two major issues.

Graduation for the University of Utah Law School as the diplomas are handed out in Kingsbury Hall Friday May 14, 2004.
Graduation for the University of Utah Law School as the diplomas are handed out in Kingsbury Hall Friday May 14, 2004. (Photo: Scott G. Winterton/Deseret Morning News)

"You have these two dynamics and they're both teetering with problems," Gladwell said. "The first dynamic is to make their operation run, I understand they're charging $125, $150 an hour. That means you're serving people who have enough money to go to normal law firms. My clients could never afford $100, let alone $125, $150. The second problem is then you're going to compete with the local community, and that won't make lawyers (and the state bar) happy."

The much smaller ULG charges $50 an hour for their services. Students collect $40 an hour for their services and Gladwell said he uses the $10 for office supplies and his gas to travel to and from his Ogden home to Salt Lake City. He has worked with eight students, three of whom have moved on to practices, during the pilot program. He is the sole senior lawyer.

Like ASU, he sees that law students need something more than the traditional law school curriculum to prepare for their careers.

"The theory here is to help them shoehorn their actual clinical skills. Then eventually they can take those skills and create their own little business," Gladwell said. "How do they actually survive when no one's here to say, ‘well here's what you do.' They cling to me like flies on honey because I'm their lifeline."

The U. pilot program ends in November, and Chodosh said they are in discussions with the Utah State Bar to create a permanent program.

"We're very proud of what we've achieved so far and we're very committed to growing the program in particular our partnership with the Bar, to serve the community and at the same time provide a powerful and supportive bridge for law graduates as they emerge into their areas of practice," Chodosh said.

Related:

Though they do not have any paid positions, the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University has made their own efforts to give their graduating students an edge in the professional world.

Through externships, the Timpanogos Legal Center, and fellowships, they provide resources to students to gain real-world experience.

Jim Backman, Steven L. Richard professor of law, started the externships program in 1992. They work with alumni, J. Reuben Clark Law Society members, and the LDS Church to help students find externships.

At the Timpanogos Legal Center, founded in 2010, Backman and his associates work together with the Utah Bar, Utah Valley University's paralegal program and Utah's legal services to service and screen clients.

Attorneys who work pro-bono are assigned cases and a BYU law student to assist them with the case.

A documents clinic allows them to organize recently graduated attorneys, those who may be temporarily out of practice, and retired attorneys who may not be connected to a law firm, to work on documents. TLC provides malpractice insurance and recent professional experience to these attorneys.

Fellowships fund a student's part time work for a public interest office. Backman said the school encourages students to work 20 hours a week and look for a job for another 20. He said the fellowship program has had a lot of success with job placement. Many, he said, find a job or are hired by the public interest office they work for before the three-month fellowship is over.

"That's one way we have helped in this job market to get our students out and to help them in finding a position," Backman said. "It's many times easier to find work if they are already in a law office. Their confidence is greater and they're meeting people and having connections that often lead to full-time employment."

With the U.'s programs Chodosh sees a similar picture.

"This really helps our recent graduates to build a bridge to the profession and to actually be out there doing work, but with the support of a senior lawyer."

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Celeste Tholen Rosenlof

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast