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22 ¦ JULY 6, 2020 NEWS

¦ From ONLINE on PAGE 21 sity of California Hastings College of Law; Vermont
25 students will be online. A significant number Law School; the University of Connecticut School of
of law schools have pushed up their fall start dates Law; and Western Michigan University Cooley Law
in order to wrap up classes before Thanksgiving, School have all said they too will be fully online for
while some plan to go fully remote after that holi- the fall semester. (The American Bar Association’s
day—including remote final exams. And a small but Council of the Section of Legal Education in May
growing cohort of law schools have said they will re- voted to give itself expanded power to waive existing
main fully online for the entirety of fall. limits on distance education in law schools, clearing
The breadth of approaches law schools are taking the way for fully remote fall semesters.)
highlights COVID-19’s upending of the norms of The resurging pandemic was a factor in Vermont
higher education and the uncertainty over how best Law School’s decision to remain remote, given that
to balance the health and safety of students and fac- many students come from outside of the state, ad-
ulty while also delivering a quality legal education ministrators said in a Monday announcement.
program. Law deans across the country have heard That represents a reversal from early May, when
from students who want to return to campus, but they Dean Thomas McHenry said the school anticipated
are also weighing a resurgence of a return to campus with various
the COVID-19 infection rates, re- health protocols in place.
strictions and policies imposed by “The most demanding challenge
their central university administra- At least five law schools posed by the pandemic is uncer-
tors and public health authorities, tainty,” McHenry said. “We want to
and health concerns from faculty, have unveiled plans for provide as much notice to our stu-
staff, and at-risk students. Plenty of fully online classes in dents, faculty and staff, in order to
law schools are still grappling with the fall, even though the plan appropriately and deliver the
their approach to the fall, but it’s majority of schools are high-quality course content and
clear that it won’t be businesses as hoping to offer a mix access to faculty that [Vermont
usual. Even law schools that have of in-person and online Law School] is known for.”
said they aim to be largely in per- coursework amid the
But schools that plan to remain
son next semester have announced COVID-19 pandemic. fully online for the fall are outli-

measures such as mask require- ers—at least at this point. Most
ments and social distancing, as well law schools are pushing to offer at
as the option to be fully remote for least some courses in person, even
any student who so chooses. if the bulk of instruction takes
“It has been a really complicated set of design place via the internet. Law deans are also warning
challenges,” said Jennifer Mnookin, dean of the Uni- that all courses could switch to a remote format if
versity of California at Los Angeles School of Law, the pandemic worsens.
in a late June webinar organized by the National As- Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloom-
sociation for Law Placement (NALP). “We will be ington announced in June that it will switch to a
more remote than in person in the fall, even if things block format for all first-year students in hopes of en-
go as well as possible.” suring they receive some on-campus instruction. The
Harvard Law School made a splash in early June required torts, civil procedure, and contracts classes
when it became the first to announce that it will re- will be taught in intensive four-week sessions with a
main fully remote in the fall—a decision Dean John final exam at the end of each block. The new format
Manning noted would undoubtedly disappoint many is designed to be flexible, said law Dean Austen Par-
students but which administrators deemed the most rish. If COVID-19 cases spike at any stage of the fall
prudent course of action. Since then, the University semester, first-year students should be able to com-
of California, Berkeley School of Law; the Univer- plete at least one full class and final exam in person

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