Henderson argues that legal education must change to better prepare law students for the realities of modern legal practice, citing data showing declining demand for traditional legal services and the growing importance of skills like project management and technology proficiency. He advocates for reforming legal education using change management principles like creating urgency around needed changes, building a team to guide reforms, and developing a clear vision for transforming legal education.

1. Change Management and
the Future of Legal Education
AALS Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
January 4, 2013
William D. Henderson
Indiana University Maurer School of Law

2. The solution
Practice
Arc Informed by
Mastery
theory and data
Arc under
Traditional
model
Graduation Time

3. A short story on failure
(or, my qualifications to give this talk)

4. Jobs
Class of 2007 Class of 1991
Median = $40,000
Median = $65,000
One year private tuition = $32,367 One year private tuition = $11,728
4

5. Query:
What competencies did Henderson
need to achieve his professional
objections?
• Communication / Presentation
• Listener’s perspective
• Persuasiveness
• Strategic thinking

6. Change Management

11. 1. Create a Sense of Urgency
“Well over 50% of the companies I have
watched fail in this first phase.”
-- Kotter, Leading Change

12. What are our business problems?
-- High fixed costs
-- Stagnant job market
-- Industry overcapacity (45,000+ 1L seats per year)
-- Near total financial dependence on DOE loans
-- Tenured faculty control hiring and curriculum
-- Law is on precipice of a radical information
revolution. See Susskind

13. 16,241 Applicants Projected applicants for Fall
22.4% decline from 2012 2013 entering class: 54,137

14. Private Practice
Circa 1948
Lawyers by Role • 163,000 Lawyers
Associates
• 45.0% w/ college
4% Gov’t, degrees; 74.5% w/ law
In-House degrees
11%
• 1.64 lawyers per firm
• 1.9 % lawyers in firms of
Partners, 9+ partners
24% Solos,
61%
Source: Blaustein, “The 1949 Lawyer
Count,” 50 ABA J 370 (1950)

16. 20th Century
Supply Demand

17. US Lawyer Population
(1951-2000)
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1951 1960 1971 1980 1991 2000
Year
Lawyer Population

18. US Lawyer Population
(1951-2000)
1,200,000 800
700
1,000,000
600
800,000
500
600,000 400
300
400,000
200
200,000
100
0 0
1951 1960 1971 1980 1991 2000
Year
Lawyer Population

19. Total Law Firm Employment, 1998 to 2010
1,200,000
1,122,723
1,074,994
1,100,000
988,898
1,000,000
900,000
Total Number of Employees
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Generated by
William Henderson Year
(June 2012)
Total Employment 2 per. Mov. Avg. (Total Employment)

20. Incoming 1L Classes, ABA-Accredited Law Schools
1985 to 2011
60,000
15% increase in Law Schools (175 to 201)
19% increase in 1L enrollment
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
Incoming 1L Class, All Schools 2-Year Moving Average
Source: ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar,
Chart generated by William Henderson (July 2012)

21. % of Entry Level Jobs in Private Practice
1985 to 2011
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
% of Entry Level Jobs in Private Practice 2-Year Moving Average
Source: NALP Bulletin, July 2012, charts generated by William Henderson

22. ,

23. Outcomes for the Class of 2011
Other
Outcomes, 32.8
%
Bar Passage
Required, FTLT, 5
5.2%
Professional
FTLT, 3.9%
JD Advantaged
FTLT, 8.1%

24. Outcomes By USN Rank
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Top 14 83.1% 10.9%
Tier 1 59.9% 30.2%
Tier 2 53.6% 33.3%
Tier 3 48.2% 37.3%
Tier 4 45.1% 41.5%
BarPassage FTLT JD Advantaged FTLT Professional FTLT Other Outcomes

25. Market in 2013
Supply Demand

27. Susskind’s Paradigm
Bespoke Standardized Systematized Packaged Commoditized

28. Change in # of Employees since 1998
Legal Services Industry
Law Offices vs. All Other Legal Services
160%
140%
120%
% Growth in Employees
100%
80%
60%
40% Since 2004:
Law Offices: -47,729 jobs
All Other Legal Services: + 7,696
20%
0%
Generated by
William Henderson
(June 2012)
Offices of lawyers All other legal services

30. “Every dollar I get, there are three
that no longer go to Big Law”
-- LPO Chief Executive (non-lawyer)

31. Circa 2012
Legal Profession
Legal Services Industry
Legal Industry
Asia, Automation, Abundance

32. Susskind’s Paradigm
Bespoke Standardized Systematized Packaged Commoditized
Human capital needed:
• Information technology
• Systems engineering
• Finance
• Marketing
• Project Management
• Law

33. The solution
Practice
Arc Informed by
Mastery
theory and data
Arc under
Traditional
model
Graduation Time

34. Competencies
(or, remember Henderson’s failures)

35. MacCrate Report (1992)
10 Skills 4 Values
1. Problem Solving 1. Providing competent
2. Legal analysis and reasoning representation;
3. Legal research 2. Striving to promote
4. Factual investigation justice, fairness, and morality;
5. Communication
3. Striving to improve the
6. Counseling
profession;
7. Negotiation
8. Litigation and alternative dispute 4. Professional Self Development
resolution procedures
9. Organization and management
of legal work
10.Recognizing and resolving
ethical dilemmas.
35

36. Predictors of Success at Work and in Life
Spencer (1993)
• Achievement Orientation. The • Interpersonal Understanding.
desire to attain standards of Hearing the motives and
excellence and do feelings of diverse others.
better, improve performance
• Self-Confidence. A person’s
• Initiative. Acting to attain goals belief in his or her own
and solve or avoid problems efficacy, or ability to achieve
before being forced by events goals.
• Information Seeking. Digging • Impact and Influence. A
deeper for information person’s ability to persuade
others to his or her viewpoint.
• Conceptual Thinking. Making
sense of data and using theories • Collaborativeness. Working
and algorithms to solve effectively with others to
problems achieve common goals.
36

37. LSAC Successful Lawyering Study
Shultz and Zedeck (2008)
 Intellectual & Cognitive Conflict Resolution
– Analysis and Reasoning – Negotiation Skills
– Creativity & Innovation – Able to See the World Through the Eyes
of Others
– Problem Solving
– Practical Judgment
Client & Business Relations –
Entrepreneurship
 Research & Information Gathering – Networking and Business Development
– Researching the Law – Providing Advice & Counsel & Building
– Fact Finding Relationships with Clients
– Questioning & Interviewing
Working with Others
 Communications – Developing Relationships within the
– Influencing and Advocating Legal Profession
– Writing – Evaluation, Development, and
– Speaking Mentoring
– Listening
Character
 Planning and Organization – Passion and Engagement
– Strategic Planning – Diligence
– Organizing and Managing One’s Own – Integrity/Honesty
Work – Stress Management
– Organizing and Managing Others – Community Involvement and Service
(Staff/Colleagues) – Self-Development
37

38. Predictors of Success at Work and in Life
Spencer (1993)
• Achievement Orientation. The • Interpersonal Understanding.
desire to attain standards of Hearing the motives and
excellence and do feelings of diverse others.
better, improve performance
• Self-Confidence. A person’s
• Initiative. Acting to attain goals belief in his or her own
and solve or avoid problems efficacy, or ability to achieve
before being forced by events goals.
• Information Seeking. Digging • Impact and Influence. A
deeper for information person’s ability to persuade
others to his or her viewpoint.
• Conceptual Thinking. Making
sense of data and using theories • Collaborativeness. Working
and algorithms to solve effectively with others to
problems achieve common goals.
38

40. 2. Building the Guiding Team
“Major renewal programs often start
with just one or two people. In cases
of successful transformation
efforts, the leadership coalition grows
over time.”
-- Kotter, Leading Change

41. 3. Get the Right Vision
“If you can’t communicate the vision
to someone in five minutes or less and
get a reaction that signifies both
understanding and interest, you are
not done with this phase of the
transformation phase,”
-- Kotter, Leading Change

43. Resources
• Henderson, A Blueprint for
Change, Pepperdine Law Review (2013)
• Fred Nichols, Change Management 101: A
Primer (2008)
• Chris Argyris, Teaching Smart People How to
Learn, Harvard Business Review (1991)