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Legal Technology

Podcast: Seeking innovation in educating the next generation of lawyers

William Josten  Senior Manager, Enterprise Content - Legal, Thomson Reuters Institute

· 5 minute read

William Josten  Senior Manager, Enterprise Content - Legal, Thomson Reuters Institute

· 5 minute read

In our latest podcast, we speak to Richmond Law Prof. Josh Kubicki and David Rueff, of Baker Donelson, about the role innovation plays in providing the next generation of lawyers with valuable legal skills

For years there has been much discussion about what the future of law school curricula and legal education might look like as law firms and clients continued to place greater emphasis on a broader range of skills. How do law schools incorporate these changes into how they educate students without losing focus on the classical components of legal education that have formed the foundation for generations of lawyers?

At the University of Richmond School of Law, the theoretical is giving way to the practical. The Richmond Legal Business Design Hub is a new program that “delivers leading-edge competitive skills to law students” with the vision to enable “a generation of lawyers who possess not just a legal mind, but also an entrepreneur’s mind.”

In our latest podcast, available on the Thomson Reuters Institute Market Insights channel, we speak to Richmond Law Prof. Josh Kubicki who shares how the center got its start, the challenges its creators faced, and the valuable lessons learned from the inaugural “Legal Design Challenge” this past spring semester.


You can listen to the full podcast with Bill Josten, Prof. Josh Kubicki, and David Rueff here.


Also joining us is David Rueff, Chief Client Solutions Group Officer at Baker Donelson. His firm served as the first “innovator in residence” for the design challenge, guiding students through the process of crafting business offers geared toward solving real-world legal services challenges that would not be satisfied with a traditional billable-hour offering.

Kubicki and Rueff also share their thoughts on what the future of the Richmond program might look like and how the program’s challenge process surfaced and refined viable and valuable new means of serving clients. Indeed, it’s a glimpse into what the future of the legal profession could look like if more law schools and lawyers adopt an innovative and business design mindset.

Episode transcript.

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