Artificial intelligence claims it’s coming for the lawyers.
That’s mostly overhyped tech puffery, but there’s no denying that technology will cut into the number of “brute force” opportunities for young attorneys. With law schools struggling to teach “practice-ready” lawyers, we’ve always depended on big firms to hire 200 new lawyers to churn through documents in a Topeka warehouse while learning the real nuts and bolts of the practice on the job. As firms cut back, how will aspiring lawyers amass practical experience?
One innovative solution seeks to deliver practical experience before lawyers leave law school. Top-flight litigation boutique MoloLamken is once again offering a one-week, intensive training program for 12 rising 3Ls called the MoloLamken Advocacy Academy and the deadline to apply for current 2Ls is fast approaching — February 10, 2025.
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And, perhaps most importantly, this program isn’t designed to trade off with a traditional summer job, with the schedule tailored to accommodate students participating in law firm summer associate programs and government or public interest internships. The Academy begins on the evening of Sunday, August 3, and runs through the early afternoon of Friday, August 8, 2025.
And, on top of everything else, MoloLamken Scholars receive a $4,500 cash award, and travel and lodging will be provided for those coming from outside of New York City.
The course includes both lecture-based learning on courtroom strategies and demonstrations drawn from actual cases, as well as stand-up experience examining witnesses and making trial and appellate arguments. Throughout, the students receive personalized feedback and tips from faculty headed by firm cofounders and veteran litigators Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken.
Last year, we wrote about the exciting potential of the Academy’s first season. Now with a year under their belt we have real feedback from MoloLamken Scholars about their experience. One described the program as “a great way to push yourself out of your comfort zone to develop both trial and appellate skills.” And by getting outside one’s comfort zone another comment elaborated that the program fostered a “low-pressure environment where we were encouraged to take risks.”
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Another said the program provides “practical experience applying courtroom skills and thorough feedback from some of the best to ever do it,” a bit of an understatement from a faculty that’s collectively tried hundreds of cases and argued hundreds of appeals.
“It’s difficult for lawyers starting out to get practical courtroom skills training. This program provides outstanding law students who want to become great advocates a solid grounding based on our real-world experience,” said co-founding partner Jeffrey Lamken.
Not to bring it all back to a “doom and gloom” outlook for the industry, but we could be approaching a critical juncture where training opportunities become fewer and farther between. If you’re a law student hoping to get into litigation, you need to go out and grab any high-quality training you can.
And if you get paid for doing it, all the better.
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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.