[ILTL] Symposium on Formation of Professional Identity

[Emily Grant]

Hi all,

I write to share information about an upcoming symposium you might find interesting.  It's co-sponsored by The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning and its new Journal of Law Teaching and Learning, along with the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

https://www.law.du.edu/content/symposium-formation-professional-identity

The symposium focuses on Interrogating the Hidden Curriculum:  Implications for Formation of Professional Identity, and it will be held at Denver Law on Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 (starting with lunch on Friday and ending around lunchtime on Saturday).  The registration fee is $149.

Below is the description of the Purpose of the Symposium and a statement about Who Should Attend.  Much more information is available on the webpage, including the panels, each of which features a great lineup of presenters.

Purpose of the Symposium
Law schools and legal educators need to discern the meaning and application of the development of professional identity in the new ABA Standard 303(b)(3) and consider the fit of the formation of professional identity into an already complex law school curriculum.

For the last 15 years, numerous scholars have attempted to address this challenge, but have struggled to show how the formation of professional identity (FPI) is distinct from professionalism, ethics, civility, and well-being. Yet the writings often collapse or conflate FPI with one or all of these or seek to compartmentalize the developing field.

FPI is about the growth of one's personal identity into a professional identity as a lawyer in the legal profession. How do we create the best curricular environment for this growth and development, and what are the barriers to doing so? To find an answer, this symposium will examine the impact of what we teach, both intentionally or unintentionally, and of the law school learning environment we create, both in class and outside of it.

This symposium starts with the premise that the answer may be found in understanding how legal education's hidden curriculum devalues students' personal identity and undermines their ability to authentically form their professional identity. This symposium will provide space to discuss what the hidden curriculum in legal education is and how it affects the values, identity, choices, and decisions that our students, especially first years, make. Ultimately this symposium will explore what FPI means, how to support FPI in the first-year curriculum in light of the hidden curriculum, and how to continue to form our student's professional identity as emerging lawyers in the succeeding years.

Who Should Attend
This symposium comes at a critical time to engage in deep conversation to understand the purpose of 303(b)(3), as well as its relationship with 303(a) & (c). The panel presentations and discussions that follow will have something for everyone who cares about the current state and future of legal education - curricular deans, skills specialists, clinicians, and general faculty. We hope that you will endeavor to join us in this mission.

I hope some of you will consider joining us for the Symposium.  You can register here<https://dughost.imodules.com/s/1150/community/index.aspx?sid=1150&gid=1011&pgid=24726&cid=43625&ecid=43625&crid=0&calpgid=4211&calcid=22347>.  Please let me know if you have any questions!
Emily


--
Emily Grant (she/her)
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
Co-Director, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning
Washburn University School of Law
1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS  66621
(785) 670-1677
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