Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2025
Journal Title
Journal of Law Teaching & Learning
ISSN
2996-0509
Abstract
Especially given the sensitive and malleable life stage that many of our students are in, law schools should take meaningful steps to blunt and counteract the negative effects of the hidden curriculum, including in ways suggested in other articles in this symposium. One direct way to present countervailing messaging is through a required 1L course on professional identity formation (PIF). As described in this article, there are a number of benefits of explicitly addressing PIF topics early in law school, and doing so not only more effectively prepares our students to become practicing attorneys, it also responds directly to some of the more problematic effects of the hidden curriculum. Part I provides a brief overview of some of the existing avenues available to law schools to communicate identity-related themes to students—the context in which a 1L course could operate— including their strengths and limitations. Part II explores some of the explicit benefits of requiring a year- or semester-long PIF course. And Part III identifies four specific PIF themes that can be woven into a required 1L course to counteract especially damaging effects of law school’s hidden curriculum. By intentionally and explicitly addressing those negative effects, we will better carry out our missions of preparing students for a successful and satisfying career in law.
First Page
123
Last Page
155
Num Pages
33
Volume Number
2
Publisher
Institute for Law Teaching and Learning
Recommended Citation
Aric K. Short,
Curative Identity Formation Themes to Counteract Law School’s Hidden Curriculum,
2
J.L. Teaching & Learning
123
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/2286
File Type
Included in
Legal Education Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Legal Profession Commons