In a recent post on Above the Law, Bloomberg Law President David Perla writes about the ever-increasing need for law students to educate themselves on non-traditional legal topics such as sales, management, marketing, and project management.
In his post, Perla specifically mentions the work of Chicago-Kent Professor Dan Katz, who he uses as an example of a leader in the push for technical skills training in law schools. In addition to Professor Katz’s work, Chicago-Kent offers a wide array of programs designed to teach students the skills that they will need to compete in a challenging and evolving legal market. Notable examples include the Praxis Program, through which students learn and explore many of the practical areas described by Perla in his post, and Chicago-Kent’s Legal Clinics, which offer students hands-on experience dealing with actual legal cases under the supervision of experienced practicing attorneys.
Non-traditional legal training at Chicago-Kent does not stop with our courses and clinics, however. The Chicago-Kent Law Library has created a number of research guides to assist students with their research and education in many of the topics at the heart of David Perla’s post. Specifically, our Non-Legal Research Resources Guide, Business Research Guide, and MPA Research Resources Guide will be particularly helpful for students seeking information on next generation legal skills training. These guides provide links to online resources as well as information about print resources in the law library that might be of interest to students interested in broadening their legal education.
Finally, one of the great things about being affiliated with a world-class parent institution such as the Illinois Institute of Technology is that it provides our students with access to a wide array of multidisciplinary resources. IIT’s Paul V. Galvin library has created their own research guides to assist students with multidisciplinary research. Chicago-Kent students interested in exploring the areas discussed by David Perla might also check out Galvin’s Business & Economics Guide (which includes a section on management resources) or the Public Administration Guide.
Students who are interested in exploring other non-traditional law school topics should feel free to stop by the reference desk to learn about more ways that the Chicago-Kent Law Library can help you better prepare for the new future of legal employment.
