The Impact of Legal Education: An In-Depth Examination of Career-relevant Interests, Attitudes, and Personality Traits Among First-Year Law Students |
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| Authors: | James M Hedegard |
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| Institution: | James M. Hedegard;is a consulting psychologist and is also Associate Professor of Management at the Walter E. Heller College of Business, Roosevelt University-Chicago. From 1974 through 1978 he was a Research Social Psychologist at the American Bar Foundation and Director of the Foundation study of the impact of pedagogic techniques in law. |
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| Abstract: | This article examines in detail patterns of change in career-relevant interests, attitudes, and personality characteristics among first-year students in one law school. The data presented suggest that a single entering law school class can be viewed as a varied group in terms of career plans and potential behavioral styles. Moreover, immersion in the law school environment may accentuate this initial variability. Although some studies have suggested that, overall, first-year law students experience a drop in law interests, including interests in altruistic and "socially conscious" career activities, the methods of analysis used in this study suggest alternative interpretations of some aspects of such changes. In addition, the author believes these methods shed greater light on the overall process of professional development in law school. |
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