Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

According to William Adams, Executive Director of Legal Education and Bar Admissions at the American Bar Association (ABA), “Full implementation [of 303(b)(3)] [was] expected by 2023.” The revised Standard requires that law schools provide “substantial opportunities” for professional identity development (PID). Though the ABA’s Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools and the related interpretations allow flexibility, the ABA left law schools without detailed guidance; without a unified professional identity concept, law schools across the country will implement a patchwork of programs, some stronger than others, that may curtail a global strengthening of the profession. Fortunately, scholars at the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s Holloran Center have conceptualized a socialization process that develops professional identity. Yet even that excellent work leaves the granular teaching methods to law schools’ and professors’ discretion. While prior efforts have addressed broader curriculum reform for PID, this Article builds on previous scholarship and offers an andragogy option for delivering PID at the classroom level. Adopting the Foundational Competencies Model (FCM) and Four Foundational Professional Development and Formation Goals (PD&F Goals), this Article revisits Professor Debra S. Austin’s call for a Positive Legal Education (PLE) movement. The Article suggests that, when combined with the Community of Inquiry (CoI) teaching framework and andragogy methods, positive legal education provides an ideal philosophy for meeting the PD&F Goals to achieve the FCM. The discussion includes suggestions for law schools to employ positive psychology in a CoI so that students can learn, grow, and flourish while in law school, on the bar exam, and in the profession. The appendices provide a timeline of major developments in legal education, a lesson plan template, and an example of the template in use. With a PLE/CoI andragogy model, the academy can improve law student well-being and help develop professional identities through achieving the PD&F Goals that establish FCM. Those professional strengths can trickle into law practice for a healthier profession with thriving attorneys who flourish.

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