Maine Law plan calls for expanding technology, rural-practice offerings

File Photo / Renee Cordes A view of the University of Maine School of Law building in Portland.

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A blueprint to take the University of Maine School of Law through the 21st century calls for expanding the school's technology and rural-practice offerings.

The ideas are laid out in a strategy report to the University of Maine System board of trustees by a committee tasked with giving advice on the law school's future direction.

The committee, co-chaired by Summit Utilities Inc. CEO Kurt Adams and Maine Law Professor Deirdre M. Smith, published its findings in a report posted online Friday morning.

"Maine needs highly competent lawyers to serve our citizens, businesses and government," the committee says in the report, noting that for nearly 60 years Maine Law has educated half of the lawyers practicing in the state.

But the committee also says that recent changes in the profession have upended legal education and resulted in enrollment and budget challenges at Maine Law, the state's only law school. The group recommends several principles for guiding an institution it calls a "strategic asset" for the state into the next century.

Specific recommendations include expanding courses related to technology, introducing a rural semester-in-practice to build on a pilot program launched by former Dean Danielle Conway, and expanding the 3+3 and PreLaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) programs.

The plan also envisions a law clinic where law students work with graduate business students; a cross-disciplinary curriculum that makes use of expertise of law school and other UMaine faculty; and integrating the Maine Community Law Center into Maine Law and adding a facility in Bangor.

After reviewing the final report, UMS Board trustee Lisa Marchese Eames, Chancellor Dannel P. Malloy and Vice Chancellor Ryan Low will report back to the September board meeting with recommendations on next steps.

Publication of the report comes amid a change in leadership at Maine Law. Conway, a 2017 Mainebiz "Woman to Watch", recently left her post as Maine Law's dean to become dean of Penn State's Dickinson Law. Dmitry Bam, previously associate dean at Maine Law, became interim dean on July 1.

While the report gives credit to Maine Law for "holding its own" during an enrollment crisis that began in 2013, a UMaine System spokesman noted that applications have recently increased and that Maine Law anticipates an incoming class of 90, about 10% over last year.

He also said that while this is a time of transition in the legal education marketplace, the system is committed to Maine Law and delivering a 21st-century legal education that meets the needs of law students as well as graduate business and professional students.

James M. Erwin, UMaine System board chair, echoed those sentiments in a statement emailed to Mainebiz.

"The University of Maine School of Law is a critical state asset operating in the midst of a transition in the legal education marketplace," Erwin said.

He added: "Maine Law must be well-positioned as a collaborator in the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center to serve students and to address the state's workforce and demographic challenges. The Board of Trustees is committed to strengthening the law school's fiscal and strategic position to support the state's need for legal services and education."