Not a bad idea to explore starting a Guam law school
For the last 10 years, I have examined what it would take to start a law school on Guam. After a lot of consideration, I think that there is a low-cost way to do this not only for Guam, but also the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. The key is to look at current U.S. state models for this type of education and then design a system that supports this type of process. I need to say at the beginning, I am an academic, not a lawyer. But I do know a lot about legal learning.
First, I need to say that there are a lot of naysayers who are a source of inertia on this topic. In my experience, most of them don't really understand this concept very well or simply have self-interests at stake. Part of the naysayers source their values in a general lack of faith in local efforts or local people. Other naysayers have a pollyannish view that there are high price tags to this kind of effort. This is simply untrue. There are very low-cost models that can use off-the-shelf resources. And this model can also be used in other U.S. territories.
Second, I do agree there are a lot of details to sort out with this idea. There are actually two stages of detail. In the primary stage, the details have already been articulated in the California baby bar model. At the second stage, the devil is in the details to sell this concept to the Judiciary of Guam. Ultimately, to be lasting, our local legal community needs to be an integral part of the process.
As a final point, not every legal training program in the U.S. operates in "The Paper Chase" atmosphere of a three-year, in-class law school format. While a number of states have options, California, Vermont and Virginia likely have the best models that Guam could likely emulate. My own preference would be to offer a pilot based on the California model. The reason I like this particular state is that they have both read-in and open school options. Also, after the first year of study, California has an assessment check or "Baby-Bar" exam that students must pass to proceed to further study. In effect, a person living on Guam could use this study method to learn and study to the point of passing the California Bar Exam. The three keys to this method are personal study, apprenticeship and a small-group instruction by a practicing attorney. If we organized a single four-year cohort on this model, we can graduate about 40 students every four years. If we have Guam judicial approval, these students could take the Guam Bar exam. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. Court hearings and trials are great classrooms. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court and nearly every Circuit Court now offer free audio. This is a great learning tool.
Read more: https://www.postguam.com/forum/featured_columnists/not-a-bad-idea-to-explore-starting-a-guam-law/article_c54c6dc2-9254-11e9-8f58-f70af61f8686.html
