PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In the competitive legal environment, having just legal skills is not enough.
Today’s employers want attorneys with both the legal knowledge, as well as the professional skills and characteristics needed to thrive on day one of practice.
At Villanova Law, we shape the whole lawyer—one that excels in legal skills while also possessing essential professional competencies. In traditional law school settings, professional development is on the periphery of the academic experience. Here, it is intertwined with and fully integrated into the law curriculum.
Innovative, unique and one of the most robust of its kind among law schools, our mandatory, three-year Professional Development program engages students in meaningful career exploration and development of professional skills and competencies. The courses follow a progression over a student’s law school career, from self-assessments to guided presentations and meetings, to independent work.
By combining a strong legal education with coursework designed to develop and strengthen students' professional skills, Villanova Law prepares students to be ready and adaptive to a changing and varied legal landscape.
Our Program in Action
Villanova Law's robust professional development program is comprised of six main themes that are focused on each year:
Academic Skills: Prepares students for success, raising awareness of the expectations of law school and their future careers.
Self and Professional Exploration: Students reflect on their interests and strengths and learn how to apply them to their professional careers.
Ethics in Practice: Educates students on the moral obligation they will hold to their clients, the court and one another as lawyers.
Job Search Education: Explores the ins and outs on how to find and secure externships, and summer and full-time positions following law school.
Communication Skills: Prepares students to effectively present themselves and their skills to future employers, both verbally and in the written form.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Fosters the importance, understanding and appreciation for diversity and an equitable and inclusive community.
