Communicating Across the Legal Pathway: Law School Deans Open Up About Engaging Students, Partnering with California Lawyers Association, and the Future of the Profession

It’s a question on the minds of educators, legal leaders, and professional associations: How do we engage students and provide a successful pathway for the next generation of attorneys in California? The short answer: Communication. The real answer: There is no one, right answer.

California Lawyers Association (CLA), at its 2025 Annual Meeting in mid-September, hosted a continuing legal education session titled: Transformation, Impact, and Opportunities. The forum featured groundbreaking and transformative law schools deans in a discussion on law school education and building successful foundations leading to legal careers. Attended by numerous CLA members, deans from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, Chapman University, Fowler School of Law, and Southwestern Law School, shared their experiences, current education trends, student challenges, and opportunities for partnership.

Several themes emerged, but all panelists agreed that supplementing and supporting students is key. Support, however, comes in many different forms. From talking about the Constitution and judicial precedent to presenting positive stories about practicing attorneys to ensuring students reflect the diversity which represents California, the law school deans have many similar viewpoints and also share their honest opinions.

Austen Parrish, Dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law at UC Irvine School of Law, additionally serves as the president of the Association of American Law Schools. He believes that service learning is critical to education. “It used to be that law schools taught students how to ‘think like a lawyer’,” says Parrish. “Today, it is equally important for students to learn lawyering skills and what lawyers actually do over a career. Our students increasingly are aware that they need to network, and students need to understand how AI and social media platforms have driven change in the ways lawyers communicate and do their jobs.”

Southwestern Law School President and Dean, Darby Dickerson, agrees with Parrish, particularly in terms of what it means to be a lawyer in 2025. “Many people who attend law school do not practice law in a traditional way. I hear about attorneys who discourage prospective students from attending law school rather than sharing the wide array of opportunities available to people with law degrees. People trained in the law can help students in so many ways, from providing access to demonstrating the breadth of what the law can do.”

Franita Tolson, Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law for the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, cautions students not to have preconceived notions about what it means to be a lawyer. “Our job as educators is to teach students to think critically. That can translate to so many different fields from business to real estate to working in the government sector,” she explains. “Law credentials are important, even for people who do not chose to practice law.”

Both Dickerson and Parrish point out that the keys to success are much broader than simply learning the law. “Emotional intelligence is important. Technical skills and understanding that finishing law school isn’t the end of a student’s training are crucial,” Dickerson says. The law school landscape has also changed dramatically over the past several years.

In particular, Parrish notes that students are under tremendous pressure almost immediately after entering their first year of law school. “Firms and other organizations have a fear of missing out on good candidates, so the professional process, and the timing for when employers choose students for summer jobs, is speeding up. First and second-year students have a steep learning curve, but in addition, they feel pressure, soon after they begin law school, around summer jobs and internships.”

Tolson agrees. “The interview process has started much sooner,” she says, pointing to the fact that many first year students are being encouraged to interview, not only for internships, but for jobs following law school. “First-year students are not necessarily ready for the law firm interview process. We want our students to have the full first year experience of being a law student. Law firms need to let the schools do our jobs to prepare students for the future.”

The pressures of law school and the legal profession have been a concern for years. Dr. Paul Paton, Professor and former Dean of the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University, began writing cutting-edge articles about mental health and wellness for lawyers and law students in 2012, well before the topic was more openly discussed. “For lawyers and law students, it can be incredibly difficult to admit any vulnerability, never mind facing a mental health challenge,” Paton explains, drawing on his work as a practicing attorney for more than a decade before entering academia full time. “I make sure that we begin the discussion about mental health as part of our larger conversation about professionalism during the first week of 1L. I explain that we have a vested interest in supporting each other, not only in law school but throughout our careers. We talk about balance and about strategies students can equip themselves with so that they can both accomplish the demanding work that law school requires yet remain resilient and healthy. I also believe it’s important for faculty and staff to be involved in the conversation, both for our students’ benefit and for their own.”

Paton also translates this commitment into fostering what he calls a culture of “encouragement, not intimidation.” He launched a series of “coffee and cookies with the Deans” sessions for 10 to15 1L students, opening the conversation to discuss student perceptions and expectations of law school and to understand what students find to be both most challenging and the nicest surprise. He offers reassurance that nobody has an advantage when law school starts — the first week of 1L is the first week of 1L for everybody — and that they do best when they learn about and draw on each other’s strengths and achievements.

“It’s a common myth and expectation that in order to succeed, law students have to give up everything they did before law school and just focus on studying. That couldn’t be more wrong.” It may be a challenge to manage time and schedules, but Paton emphasizes that it is critically important that students maintain their outside activities and passions, the things that made them “them”before they embarked on their law school journeys. This lays the foundation for a healthier life in law school, in practice, and beyond it. 

The idea of the traditional classroom is also changing. Two years ago, Southwestern Law School launched a mainly asynchronous Online J.D. Program approved by the American Bar Association (ABA). It’s the first program in nation with full-time and part-time options. “We use our same faculty, and we are deliberate about what we teach,” explains Dickerson. “There are a lot of barriers to attending law school on a physical campus. For example, you may have a physical disability. You may be a new parent. Many people do not live within driving distance of an ABA-accredited school. The online program helps to remove many of those barriers.”

This is where Parrish, Dickerson, Tolson, and Paton believe that organizations, like CLA, play an important role.

“CLA, and other organizations like it, can help break through the noise. Bar associations often sponsor events on our campus, and get in front of students, and provide important advice. There are so many options for students, who have very limited time, to connect with local associations, mentors, and legal programs to make good decisions,” Parrish explains. He goes on to say that what makes CLA distinct is its ability to provide a path that ultimately leads students to a lifelong membership with California’s largest volunteer bar association.

Tolson emphasizes the fact that exposure is critical. “It is really important for students to meet with practitioners and to gain exposure early on. USC prides itself on our ability to help students network. Students learn about different practice areas and may make the decision to take one or two classes in an area of law, because they made connections with attorneys who have words of wisdom. Organizations like CLA can help gain a student’s attention, particularly when it is becoming divided between attending classes and finding a job.”

Further, the importance of continuing to provide guidance and opportunities to new attorneys after entering practice is powerful.

“CLA’s willingness to work with students is a great opportunity,” Dickeson says, adding that the ability to become involved in CLA’s individual specialty practice sections can give students an edge. She also advises CLA to help students navigate their organization through content. “CLA has great MCLE offerings. It helps students when materials can be provided on-demand at low or no cost and are curated to meet their needs.” She agrees that being on campus, and working directly with law school officials is a tremendous asset. “CLA can provide a program that is intentional.”

“We have very long and established relationships with affinity bars, the American Bar Association, and local county bars at Chapman,” explains Paton. “However, CLA has the advantage of having a statewide reach and can introduce students to a broad audience. Classmates become colleagues that they will encounter again. CLA can help differentiate itself and how it supports students from the classroom setting and into their careers.”

All four colleagues believe CLA is a valuable resource for new attorneys to help gain leadership roles, network outside their firms and agencies, and build their resumes. “CLA has placed a lot of energy into developing a pathway for support” says Parrish.

“Most people will have two or three careers within the law,” Paton states. “It’s a huge risk and a huge investment. Organizations like CLA are an important place to interact and to help people prepare for changes such as moving from a big firm to a government agency, or into private practice.”

The significant need for scholarships also weighs heavily on the minds of law school deans. Dickerson points to changes made as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill, in particular the borrowing caps, and all four deans recognize the fact that law school tuition continues to rise.

“There is definitely a very significant need for scholarships,” says Parrish. “Even aside from tuition, the cost of living in California is substantial and scholarships can make a critical difference.”

Paton, who took on a lot of debt putting himself through undergraduate, law school and doctoral programs wants people to understand that, “Even something seemingly small can make a big difference to a student.”

“Scholarship opportunities are very important,” says Tolson. “I think most deans will agree that law school costs too much.” She is proud of the fact that 99% of all USC law school students receive some type of scholarship. She believes all deans work hard to raise money for both need-based and merit student funding.

Each law school dean acknowledges that they are witnessing an ongoing change in the legal education space. Artificial intelligence and generative AI have played a major role, impacting the classroom and the legal profession as a whole. Schools are learning how to embrace AI and how to teach students about the ethical use of technology in the legal profession.

“Legal education is constantly evolving,” says Tolson. Her colleagues agree and encourage CLA to continue to get in front of their students, assisting them on their legal pathway.