Law school leader

“There are some fundamental changes in legal education coming,” the new dean of the Elon University School of Law in Greensboro said last week. “We need to be a leader in whatever those changes will be.”

Bierman arrived June 1, just a few weeks after the school produced its sixth graduating class. He’s the third dean, after Leary Davis and George Johnson. He came from the law school at Northeastern University in Boston, where he was associate dean for experiential learning and distinguished professor of the practice of law.

He seems to be a perfect fit for Elon. “We found each other,” he said in an interview.

Elon set out to fashion a “law school with a difference,” and it has followed that vision, focusing on leadership development, service and the Bierman specialty of “experiential learning.”

That’s a relatively new concept for law schools although common in other professional programs where students frequently get off campus for internships and other practical experiences.

Elon law students do it, too, working with local lawyers or in any of the several clinics the school operates to provide legal services to the community.

The school, which hosts a state business court in its facility, also places an emphasis on entrepreneurship and business. About one-fifth of its 2013 graduates are employed in business and industry, Elon reports.

Jeb Brooks, a 2010 graduate, is president and CEO of The Brooks Group in Greensboro, which provides sales and sales management training. Although he’s never practiced law, he said he values his legal training and Elon’s entrepreneurial bent.

“It really did change the way I look at problems,” he said, noting that lawyers learn to find compromises. “That skill has helped me immensely in business.”

Still, law schools hit hard times during the recession as jobs in the profession became harder to find. Elon applications fell about 50 percent at one point, although enrollment has held fairly steady at close to 300 students. For the first time this fall, most new students will come from out of state.

Yet, because tuition is approaching $38,000 a year, many graduates are saddled with heavy student loan debts. Bierman said that problem keeps him up at night. So the school must operate more efficiently, hold down costs and use its three-year instruction program more effectively. Graduates should be prepared to “take advantage of this entrepreneurial spirit here in North Carolina and Greensboro.”

The school’s impact on Greensboro justifies the community’s initial support. It not only brings 300 professional students to the city but also employs about 40 residential faculty members. It holds legal events that draw scholars, academics and notable professionals, such as Sandra Day O’Connor. It has invested in additional downtown property for later use.

Becoming the next great American law school will require hard work and patience, but Elon Law is still a great fit for Greensboro. The city can share Bierman’s hopes for its future.