The Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession Explores Apprenticeship Models for Attorney Licensure

The Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession recently published an analysis looking at apprenticeship models for attorney training and licensure. In the article, the Center examines definitions of apprenticeships, examples from other countries and professions, and considerations for incorporating more formalized apprenticeship programs into the process of becoming a licensed lawyer in the United States.

Apprenticeships are generally defined as structured on-the-job training programs where new professionals learn skills through productive, paid work under an expert mentor. This contrasts with more theoretical classroom education and unpaid internships. Research shows that learning-by-doing apprenticeship models can be highly effective for mastering complex occupational skills.

Many other high-income countries require apprenticeship-like periods of supervised practice before licensure as attorneys. For example, the U.K. mandates one to two years of work experience in law firms before becoming a solicitor or barrister. Germany also incorporates two years of trainee supervision between law school and licensure. Only Delaware in the U.S. presently requires a short apprenticeship-like “clerkship” before or after law school.

Registered apprenticeship programs are on the rise in the United States following presidential commitments to expand the model. These are often in sectors like manufacturing, construction, and increasingly healthcare and hospitality fields. Defining clear occupational skills standards is seen as important for success. Experts argue formal apprenticeships could help address high youth unemployment and the rising costs of higher education compared to learned-by-doing models.

Some U.S. states have alternative pathways to licensure through law office study programs resembling apprenticeships. In Vermont, Virginia, California, and Washington, individuals can obtain a law license by self-studying under a supervising attorney’s guidance instead of law school. Pass rates on bar exams for these programs are generally lower than law school graduates, however.

Considerations around incorporating more structured apprenticeships into attorney training and licensure include whether supervised practice should be required or optional, paid or unpaid, and how competency standards would be established. Ensuring diverse access to mentors is also important to avoid replicating inequities. While informal on-the-job training is already a key part of new attorney development, more formal “clinical residencies” could strengthen competencies as proposed models.

As the legal profession has always required gaining skills through work experience, the Center’s analysis explores how apprenticeship principles could help produce more practice-ready lawyers while advancing goals around competency, equity, and justice in the licensing process. Formalizing elements of supervised practice presents opportunities but also challenges to consider going forward.