Est. 2026
Good in theory.
Better in practice.
Practice ready.
Your school can be a leader in innovative legal education, with graduates who are practice ready. The Legal Practicum combines the best of theory, knowledge, and practice with the ethical and effective use of ever-evolving technology.
Knowledge. Skills. The effective, appropriate use of evolving technology.
Training the next generation of lawyers as trusted legal advisors.
Enter the Practicum — Explore the ScenariosJohn O. Sonsteng · Damien A. Riehl · Roger S. Haydock · Hosted by Damien Riehl · content CC BY 4.0 · code MIT
I
You already teach this way
Your faculty already teach students by having them do the work.
THE PROOF · learning by doing
They write problems for exams, build skills exercises, and guide students through clinics. The Legal Practicum adds a complete, ready-to-run system to that work. Keep what works at your school. Give your faculty more ways to build on it.
We are teaching for tomorrow, not yesterday.
II
What students come to law school for
Your students come to law school to learn to be lawyers.
THE PROOF · 19,077 attorneys surveyed
Medicine, engineering, and architecture prepare practitioners through practice. Your students deserve that same connection between what they learn and what they will do.
The surveys of 19,077 attorneys identify 26 skills: 17 lawyering and 9 practice-management skills. They ask what matters in practice and where lawyers learned it. Lawyers reported learning many skills through their own experience and by observing other lawyers.
The surveys were conducted by mail at first, with the most recent conducted online.
The ABA's Standard 302 requires learning outcomes that include professional skills. Standard 303 requires at least six credit hours of experiential coursework. The surveys show which skills those outcomes should cover.
III
For every student, including the ones clinics miss
Your practicum can reach students whose schedules keep them out of clinics and internships.
THE PROOF · practice inside the course
Students who work jobs or raise families may not be able to fit an outside placement into their week. Put practice inside the course. A broad spectrum of students can work through the same matters, receive feedback, and revise.
IV
See it work: Midstate and Rogers
Pat Rogers and SPEU enter an employment arbitration with Midstate. Your students do the work of counsel.
THE PROOF · prepare, perform, integrate
They develop the record, question witnesses, negotiate, draft, and argue. They receive feedback and revise.
FSS-I · Prepare
Faculty Supervised Study I
Students read the materials and prepare. Short papers or an oral exercise check their understanding.
IRP · Perform
Intensive Residential Practicum
Students work face to face in small groups, with faculty guiding the simulation.
FSS-II · Integrate
Faculty Supervised Study II
Students apply what they learned in written analysis and revise against the rubric.
Illustrative cross-examination and feedback · Midstate and Rogers
"You didn't actually see the professor take a drink?"
First-pass feedbackYou used a focused, leading question. Keep that focus. Try establishing the witness's position and line of sight first. Revise the sequence so each question rests on a fact in the record.
Faculty coachingYou are testing what the witness actually observed. Keep that aim. Review the statement and decide whether the answer will help your theory. Try the revised sequence aloud, then explain why you would ask the final question.
Assessment and feedback you can see
For written case analysis, students use these headings. Each receives a score on the same scale, with space for what works and what to try next.
| Heading | Score (1–7) | What works; next revision |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | _______ | ________________ |
| Strengths and weaknesses of both sides | _______ | ________________ |
| Issues | _______ | ________________ |
| Suggested solutions | _______ | ________________ |
| Theory and themes | _______ | ________________ |
| Elements to prevail | _______ | ________________ |
| Liabilities and remedies | _______ | ________________ |
The seven-point scale
- No meaningful demonstration of the section's required analysis.
- Only a minimal demonstration; the section remains substantially incomplete.
- The section does not yet demonstrate competence.
- Competent: the section provides an average, adequate demonstration of the required analysis.
- Competent and above average, while still redo-eligible by default.
- Strong, complete demonstration; the section is not redo-eligible by default.
- Rare, exceptional demonstration of the section's required analysis.
Choose a matter for your course
In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against Gregor A. Winterhalt, a Meridian Attorney
Attorney discipline6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterLorraine Petimeyer v. Douglas Ashcombe
Auto-negligence trial6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re Purchase of 4400 Kestrel Point, Sable County (Renard–Meskin)
Real-estate purchase negotiation6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterState of Meridian v. Devon R. Halvard
Criminal DWI5 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterNorthlake Surgical Instruments, Inc. v. Adaeze Okwuosa
Non-compete / trade secrets6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterCloverdyke Dairy Cooperative v. Brandt Refrigeration Systems, LLC
UCC sale-of-goods dispute6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re the Welfare of T.M., a Minor
Juvenile delinquency5 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re the Marriage of Renata Sitko and Harlan Aldergrove
Marriage dissolution5 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re the Estate of Mabel R. Thornquist
Wills & probate contest6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterPrairie State Logistics, Inc. v. Yusuf Adeyemi (Employment Arbitration)
Employment arbitration6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re Petition for Disciplinary Action against Delphine A. Karsgaard, a Minnesota Attorney
Attorney discipline6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterSofia Reyes v. Bradley Hutchins
Auto-negligence trial6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re Purchase of the Cimarron Tract (Whitfield–Nakamura)
Real-estate purchase negotiation6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterState of Minnesota v. Travis O. Wenzloff
Criminal DWI6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterHudson Valley Biometrics, Inc. v. Priya Iyer
Non-compete / trade secrets6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterEmpire Provisions Corp. v. Ostervold Packing Co.
UCC sale-of-goods dispute6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re J.C., a Minor (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 602)
Juvenile delinquency5 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re the Marriage of Camille Beaumont and Andre Lassiter
Marriage dissolution5 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterIn re the Estate of Harold W. Prewitt
Wills & probate contest6 mapped skillsSuggested lengths: One week · Three weeks · Full semesterOpen matterV
People first; technology is the tool
Your faculty teach judgment through work with people.
THE PROOF · faculty supervision and first-pass feedback
Clients, opposing counsel, and decision-makers give that work its purpose. Live conversation and faculty coaching remain at the center.
Students practice with technology under faculty supervision. It supplies more repetitions, first-pass feedback at any hour, and help preparing for the next live session. Your faculty set the objectives and decide what students have demonstrated.
Students check the record, verify sources, and protect client confidences. Evolving technology is a tool they learn to use responsibly.
VI
What is in it
Your faculty get a collection by three authors, organized for teaching and practice.
THE PROOF · all 26 skills mapped
The book
Sets out the method: why learning by doing works, and how to run it in your courses.
The curriculum
Modules, exercises, case files, and rubrics give your faculty a structure they can adapt.
The platform
Simulated interviews and assessment and feedback support practice between live sessions.
Twenty matters connect doctrine to practice. All 26 surveyed skills are mapped: 17 lawyering skills and 9 practice-management skills. Your students practice interviewing, research, writing, counseling, negotiation, and litigation. They also manage files, fees, time, and the business of a law practice.
The open exercises and case files grew from work run jointly by Mitchell Hamline's C-LAB and IGUL at Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul.
VII
What your school gains
Your school can make practice readiness a reason students choose you.
THE PROOF · compare cost per credit
- Leadership. Offer a complete practicum that builds on your faculty's work.
- Enrollment. Show applicants who want to practice how they will learn the work.
- Money. Plan for low cost per credit without a large new round of hiring. Compare delivery costs using your school's figures.
- Recognition. Give faculty and students a place to show what they can do.
VIII
Free to use, with help when you want it
Your school can use and adapt the materials without paying for access.
THE PROOF · CC BY 4.0 content + MIT code
Original educational materials are free under CC BY 4.0. The code is free under the MIT license. CONTENT-LICENSE.md sets out the attribution requirements and exclusions. The work can outlive any one school or author.
For law firms and bar associations: train new lawyers with the same materials.
If your school wants hands-on help, paid implementation services can support faculty training, setup, and adapting matters. Choose the help you need.
Start with a matter and a course. Let your faculty try the cycle and shape it for your students.
IX
Questions deans ask
You can start with the faculty and courses you already have.
THE PROOF · start with what you already do well
Does it work?
Yes. Students learn through practice, feedback, and revision.
Can every school implement it?
Yes. Your faculty can adapt the materials to your courses.
Does it cost too much?
Will it need many more faculty and administrators?
No. Use the course structure and tools with your existing faculty.
Can we start now?
Yes. The matters and platform are ready to explore.
Do we abandon what we already do well?
Of course not. Keep it and build on it.
Can faculty keep teaching the way they teach now?
Absolutely. Add exercises where they serve your course.
Will students benefit?
Yes. They get more chances to perform, receive feedback, and revise.
Will our graduates be practice ready?
You betcha! They will have practiced the work they came to learn.
X
Your reactions shape the next step
Tell us what fits your school and what needs work.
THE PROOF · reactions captured in one place
Tap a pencil beside a section to leave a comment, or choose a reaction below. Both gather in ✎ Comments. Use Copy all to paste your notes into the chat. Nothing is sent automatically.