The Practice and the Pressure to Progress: Law Schools, Technology, and the Future of Legal Work

The Pipeline To Law School And The Legal Profession

The issue regarding technical content, coupled with and exacerbated by the limitations placed on online delivery, multiplies the effect of inequitable access to affordable, quality, online education. There are two obstacles that prospective lawyers must overcome. In order to apply to law school, a prospective student must have successfully earned an undergraduate degree and scored well on the Law School Admissions Exam (LSAT). That entrance pipeline is significantly restricted for traditionally underserved populations. (Redfield, 2010, p. 358) So while the legal profession acknowledges the lack of diversity in the practice, there have not been significant inroads to increase the diversity of its student body. “Law firms, corporate legal departments, government, and the judiciary cannot recruit attorneys of color who do not exist. Diversity efforts will encounter inherent obstacles as long as there remain too few people of color who decide to enter the profession in the first place.” (Redfield, 2010, p. 348) While both the ABA and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) claim a long-standing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, neither organization has overcome the obstacles faced by those underrepresented and underserved populations. “Even with the contributions of LSAC and many others in the field, inequality continues to persist in early, higher, and legal education along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, socioeconomic status (SES), and first-generation college student status.” (Bodamer et. al., 2020)