Experiential and collaborative learning are today’s hot buttons in legal education. But at Northeastern University School of Law, those buttons have been hot for more than 40 years. The school developed its practical learning education model in 1968. Central to it is the Cooperative Legal Education Program (co-op), which allows students to graduate with four quarter-length, full-time jobs on their resumes.
Through an integrated program, combining classroom study with co-ops, clinics and a variety of other hands-on experiences, Northeastern law students are uniquely prepared for the world of practice. On co-op, students work full time in real legal settings — at law firms, with judges, and in public interest law settings, including government and service organizations. They can go on co-op with a large law firm in Boston or New York, a government agency in Washington, D.C., or an international human rights organization in Geneva. With more than 900 co-op employers in more than 40 states and a number of foreign countries, NUSL lets students tailor their co-op experience to their professional interests.
Woven through this experience-based approach to education is a commitment to collaboration. Instead of grades, students receive written evaluations from their professors and co-op employers.
Providing the foundation for all of this is an outstanding faculty — who publish in the most prestigious journals while also acting as hands-on leaders in advancing the rule of law and social justice. As role models and mentors for students, they engage with community groups, provide pro bono representation, and serve on boards of local and national institutions.
