70. Conversation with David Thomson, Professor of Practice and John C. Dwan Professor of Online Learning, Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver

EdUp Legal

Welcome back to America's leading higher education law podcast, EdUp Legal - part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network!

In today’s episode, we welcome David Thomson, the John C. Dwan Professor of Online Learning at Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver.

Professor Thomson tells us about his new book—The Way Forward for Legal Education. In his book, he suggests several proposals that include abandoning the LSAT and instead developing new admission criteria, with more of a focus on teaching justice and service. Other suggestions he mentions are allowing admission to a larger cohort, adding something akin to California's Baby Bar at the conclusion of the 1L year, and greater integration and expansion of experiential learning throughout the curriculum.

Professor Thomson also shares his weekly newsletter, called the Chalk Board Life, which he started amid the pandemic. He shares in his newsletter reflections on the core of teaching and how to preserve the heart in teaching regardless of the delivery method.

He also tells us about the upcoming conference he and his colleagues are hosting in Denver, the Hybrid and Online Learning Pedagogy Conference, which will take place September 22-24, 2022, at Sturm College of Law in Denver. He shares with us how the conference came to be and what we can look forward to. Registration is still open.

After sharing with us his vision for the future of legal education, Professor Thomson explains how he thinks legal education will change in the coming decade. He believes that the changes in legal education will happen at different speeds, at different places, based on various leadership and institutional incentives.

Thank you so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for your EdUp time!

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