Strengthening Connection: The 2007 Long-range Plan
The faculty of Wake Forest University School of Law created a long-range plan to offer our students, alumni, and supporters a clear vision of where we plan to take the law school over the next few years. As we set about this task, we were mindful of our central mission: the personal and professional development of our students through legal education on a human scale. The ideas in this long-range plan call for us to reach out, strengthening the connections between the law school and the legal community, our local community, the rest of the university, the broader scholarly community, and the world.
Area 1: Strengthening Connections with Law Practice
Clinics. One of the best ways to strengthen the connection between legal education and law practice is to offer law students a variety of clinical experiences. This plan calls for the creation of at least two new clinics over the next five years. First, the law school should establish a clinic that would be a legal resource for low-wealth entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations working to improve the quality of life in low-wealth communities. This clinic’s work would be primarily transactional in nature. We also hope to see the law school establish a Child Advocacy Clinic, and possibly a Survivor’s Law Clinic to assist persons who have survived serious medical problems only to encounter legal difficulties that their healthcare providers are unable to address.
Innocence Project. Our plan calls for the law school establish an Innocence Project to investigate and advocate claims of factual innocence by those who have been falsely convicted of crimes. The national prominence of the Darryl Hunt case adds a sense of urgency to this initiative.
Area 2. Strengthening Connections between Teachers and Students
Building Improvements. The Worrell Professional Center is an attractive and successful building. Nevertheless, 14 years of experience have brought to light a few ways that the building might be improved. In particular, the WPC could use better non-classroom “public” spaces to support the exchange of ideas among faculty and students. Office space for student organizations, a growing faculty, and the evolving programs of the law school also require us to reconfigure the building.
Capstone Courses and Metropolitan Externships. Enhancement of the upper level curriculum should build upon the law school’s strengths, which include small classes and a student-centered educational philosophy. We plan to develop “capstone courses” for students in their third year, and semester-long externship programs in metropolitan areas. The primary objective of “capstone courses” is to provide students with an enriched, practice-like experience that exposes them to the complexities of law practice in certain fields. These courses create many possible areas of collaboration between the law faculty and practicing attorneys.
The “metropolitan externship” would provide some upper-level students with instruction in a classroom setting, combined with closely-related work experience in a law firm, a non-profit organization, or a government agency. Administered by a faculty member, the externship program could focus on areas such as immigration law, corporate law, or commercial law. Support for Diverse Students. A student brings “diversity” to a law school if he or she has a history of overcoming economic disadvantages, exceptional personal talents, or other characteristics or experiences that demonstrate a distinctive cultural or social outlook. The new plan calls for a substantial increase in financial aid to be used for the purpose of creating a diverse educational environment.
S.J.D. Degree for Foreign Law Graduates. At present the law school has a small but effective LL.M. program for foreign law graduates. Within the relevant market, however, there is an increasing demand for the S.J.D. degree (“Doctor of the Science of Law,” the equivalent of a Ph.D. in law). The faculty will develop a detailed proposal for a new S.J.D. degree that keeps the number of students small and maintains high standards.
Area 3: Strengthening Connections Across the University
Joint Degrees and other Cross-Campus Studies. The faculty will take the necessary steps to create new joint degree programs with the divinity school, the medical school, and possibly the graduate school. New joint degree programs will enhance the law school’s multi-disciplinary offerings, and they will be fairly inexpensive to implement. The faculty has also concluded that it would be desirable to facilitate cross-campus studies by law students who are not pursuing joint degrees. Interdisciplinary studies play to Wake Forest’s small size and strong communal environment; they promote the sort of wide-ranging curiosity that creates effective professionals.
Interdisciplinary Centers. Interdisciplinary centers strengthen the ability of scholars and teachers across the entire university to work on research together and to connect their work to issues of current social importance. One attractive possibility is a Center for the Study of Bioethics, Health, and Society, which would like focus on ethical issues related to stem cell technology, organ transplantation, and the holistic treatment of individuals with terminal illnesses.
Area 4: Strengthening Connections with the Community of Legal Scholars
Chairs and professorships. When compared many other distinguished law schools, Wake Forest holds relatively few chairs and professorships to attract and retain the most accomplished and engaged scholars and teachers in their fields. The plan calls for the creation of two additional endowed chairs and three additional named professorships.
Grant incentives. At present, very few members of the law faculty seek grant money for their work. In the most obvious sense, the law school might benefit from extra sources of funding. Putting the financial element to the side, the writing of grants is an important way of establishing scholarly connections and explaining the public relevance of research. The Dean will create incentives to encourage law faculty members to write grant applications.
Conclusion
Our plan does not include every new initiative that the law school will take over the next few years. It does, however, give our students, alumni, and supporters an idea of our priorities and our commitment to strengthening our connections across disciplines, across professions, and around the world.
