Changing of the Guard: Law School Millennials \u26 Law Graduate Professionals

The millennials-now in their 20s and 30s have come of age. They include virtually all of our law students, many faculty members, and legal practitioners and clients. Still, many “baby boomers” and “Gen X” attorneys remain a vital part of the workforce. Researchers claim that each “cohort” has its own values, behaviors, and workplace behaviors, such that the legal workplace may sometimes seem like the Tower of Babel. Understanding and managing generational change is critical for legal educators and practitioners and the focus of this session. In the first part of our session, we will review the research concerning “boomers,” “Gen X,”and “millennials,” and their particular work place traits. We will chart how differences and similarities affect learning styles and work place behaviors. Our session will break into small groups, each focused on core externship challenges. Those include strategic planning by students, communication and performance at the field placement, and reflective skills. Each group will discuss different exercises and techniques that can bridge the generational divide. We will then meet back as a group to put this all together, so that participants will leave with a model “best practices” syllabus and teaching methods for teaching millennial students and working with millennial attorneys