Three Law Students Sign Up With LawMeets

Virtual Apprentices

Law students don’t have to intern at big law firms over the summer to gain reasonable legal training before they join other attorneys in a bleak job market. Karl Okamoto, a law professor at Drexel University’s Earle Mack School of Law, has produced an ingenious website where law students can fine tune their legal skills without applying to a law firm. The site is called LawMeets and law students from the United States are quickly signing up for their virtual apprenticeships.


One of the reasons why so many J.D. students are attracted to LawMeets is because they firmly believe the program effectively focuses on the importance of attorney-client relationships, something that has not been taught adequately in law schools across the country. Another reason why law students have been draw to LawMeets is because they are looking for an alternative curriculum, where they are not solely concentrating on trial experience.

According to the U.S. News article, “Law Students Study as ‘Virtual Apprentices,’” Peter Tsoflias, a third year J.D. student at Widener University School of Law, stated, “Most law schools today are geared toward giving you trial experience.” The straightforward law student continued to say “In actuality, most students are going to be doing transactional work, and most students' résumés are devoid of any indication to an employer that they have any experience with respect to transactional law.” If Peter is looking to improve his interaction with his future clients, he definitely signed up with the right program.

LawMeets permits J.D. students to view a hypothetical video with their virtual client. The client might present his/her crisis to their attorney, such as a wrongful employment termination. The law student will then reply to their client’s dilemma with a short video. After the student’s video has been completed, other law students will critique their colleagues’ videotape. Once this has been done, the top ten videos selected will be evaluated by legal professionals.

The virtual apprenticeship has allowed Peter to witness the significance of LawMeets. The U.S. News article stated that the third year law student has been asked about the controversial curriculum at most of his interviews. He said, “Hiring attorneys don't want to have to teach you everything, and they expect that they can put you in the office and give you a case file, and you can hit the ground running without asking a million questions.”

Other Students Perspectives

Other law students have expressed positive reviews about the program. Eamon Gallagher, who is a third year law student at Drexel, started the virtual apprenticeship in 2011. He originally felt uncomfortable recording and watching himself after he produced a short video in response to his virtual client. However, Eamon got use to recording himself after fifteen LawMeets contests. The law student considers the virtual apprenticeship very useful. He told U.S. News, “You get to actually see what you look like. It really gives you a great way to make sure that what you think you're saying is what you're actually saying.” LawMeets gave Eamon the opportunity to polish his presentation skills.

Eamon advised law students who didn’t have experience with client interactions to sign up with the popular website. The third year law student acknowledged “If you're going to be involved with clients, it helps to know what that feels like.”

Peter also concurred with Eamon's statement. The Widener law student explained to U.S. News, “Obviously, if we could go out and do a trial by jury in our second year of law school, that would be the best experience.” The student, who has participated in five competitions added, “What these mock competitions and these learning tools do is they prepare you for the real world.”

Another third year law student who praised LawMeets was Chai Hoang. Chai, who attends Hofstra University's Deane School of Law, believes the program not only assist students in their careers, but also helps develop the students’ connections. The students’ networks would consist of attorneys, professors, alumni, and other J.D. students from across the country. Chai suggested the program to other law students. He told U.S. News, “I would definitely recommend it to others. It provides an opportunity to learn, practice, and hone in on transactional lawyering skills.”

Some Skepticism of LawMeets

Although Eamon found the program to be very helpful, he cautiously reminds law students that LawMeets isn’t a pot of gold. The Drexel student articulately stated what many other Americans are probably thinking. He pointed out to U.S. News that “People that are going to be successful in the law field and be those multi-million-dollar lawyers are probably going to get there regardless of whether or not they have LawMeets.” The third year law student also recognized, “And people who are going to be really bad lawyers are probably going to be really bad lawyers regardless of whether they have LawMeets.”

LawMeets Arriving in a Law Classroom Near You

LawMeets has changed the way traditional law professors approach a course. Forty-eight law schools have confirmed their interest in implementing the program in their classroom. It is interesting to note that the virtual apprenticeship has earned $500,000 funding from the well-known National Science Foundation. Whether you think LawMeets is beneficial or not in developing strong attorney-client relationships, the program looks to be heading to a law classroom near you. Who knows, it might even change the way your law professor teaches you.