Mitchell Hamline program spotlighted in story about online legal education
Mitchell Hamline is among the law schools adopting “innovative new ways of delivering legal education,” Elizabeth Olson writes in the June 23 edition of the New York Times. The story, titled “Law Schools Are Going Online to Reach New Students” and included as part of the “Education Innovation” section, includes thoughts from Hybrid Program student Brian Kennedy and also quotes Greg Duhl, associate dean for strategic initiatives, on the genesis of the program. “We saw that there was a need for a national degree that could be available to students who are not able to move elsewhere to study for their law degree,” Duhl said.
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Education Innovation special section
Hybrid Program singled out by innovation institute
The New York Times piece draws on a recent paper from the California-based Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation titled “Disrupting Law School: How disruptive innovation will revolutionize the legal world.” That paper features Mitchell Hamline’s Hybrid Program as well.
“Judging by its first class, there is a pent-up demand for such an offering,” the paper says of the Hybrid Program. “As students seek out more experiential learning opportunities that prepare them for the practice of law, through clinics, field placements and employment, the flexibility to take courses on their own time and at their own pace will likely become even more attractive. Today, the options are limited. Once options for online learning become more available, schools may find nonconsumers and students who would otherwise default to in-person programs flocking to online alternatives.”
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‘The Case for Innovation’
The Hybrid Program was formally approved by the American Bar Association Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar in December 2013. It was developed at what was then known as William Mitchell College of Law, now Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
The program was quickly recognized as a promising innovation by respected leaders in Minnesota’s legal community. Five of those voices were collected in “The Case for Innovation,” published in 2014.