As one of the first law schools in the nation to pioneer a program such as CaseArc, Case School of Law is in the forefront of a revolutionary new style of law school instruction. The CaseArc Integrated Lawyering Skills Program integrates lawyering skills with legal theory and helps students better understand theory and doctrine. The goal of the program is to teach our students how to be lawyers in the real world from the first moment they begin their legal education. CaseArc helps to equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to enter the legal world well-prepared. It maximizes the law school experience with skills building so that students have confidence in their practical abilities when they enter practice. The key foundation of the program is hands-on experience.
The Guiding Principles of the CaseArc Program
- Fundamental Lawyering Skills – All students are exposed to fundamental lawyering skills during their first two years of law school. Focus is placed on skills such as fact investigation, client interviewing, client counseling, legal analysis and writing, negotiation techniques, transactional work, and much more;
- Integration of Skills and Substance – We bring substantive classroom learning to life with actual practice instruction. Students learn not just the "law" but also how to "practice law" with respect to the areas they are studying.
- Graduated Complexity – Students learn to use their lawyering skills in increasingly complex settings;
- Reinforcement – Practice of lawyering skills is emphasized throughout the program;
- Collaboration and Coordination – CaseArc is taught by teams of instructors comprised of full-time faculty and distinguished practicing lawyers from the community. Because each instructor brings a different area of expertise to the program, students benefit greatly from this team-oriented approach.