Law schools move classes online for fear of coronavirus

The novel coronavirus has led several California law schools to move classes online this week. Students used to classrooms will have to adapt to learning in front of a screen while some educators expressed concerns about the adequacy of those lessons.

According to Kyle McEntee, executive director at Law School Transparency, there is a considerable difference in teaching in a classroom and online. It takes teachers more than a few days to prepare course material to meet the demands of an online course, he explained.

“Whether a group of students will lose out really depends on how well any individual faculty does the class,” McEntee said in a phone interview Thursday. “There are a number of law schools around the country that are using online education well today as a matter of practice.”

UC Berkeley School of Law is one of the schools that announced this week its classes will be held remotely. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky reported the transition has gone smoothly and students have adapted well. However, he acknowledged there are some issues in terms of students’ learning experience.

“There’s no doubt that distance learning is inferior to in-person learning. There are so many things that are different about teaching in-person versus distance,” Chemerinsky said in a phone interview. “But at this time for the health of our students, we just can’t do in-person classes.”

UC Berkeley students have to take their midterms at home, and Chemerinsky said all tests might become take-home exams. Several events have been canceled as a consequence of the virus. But Chemerinsky said the students understand, given the circumstances.

“They realize that we’re all in this together, and they realize that the choices that have been made are for all of our health,” Chemerinsky said.

Loyola Law School Dean Michael Waterstone said in an email that students have responded with resilience and patience. The school started moving classes online this week. However, Loyola Law is still working out how to handle classes that usually requires a classroom, such as mock trials.

“Experiential exercises are being addressed on a case-by-case basis this week,” Watersone said. “Faculty are working together with the clinical dean and the law school’s Instructional Design & Technology Department to develop innovative means to accomplish the goals of experiential programs in an online format.”

According to McEntee with Law School Transparency, the shift to online classes is bound to increase in the future.

“The future of legal practice will be more online than it is today,” McEntee said. “Perhaps it’s a good thing if we start seeing mock trials happening over video conference software because that might very well be the future.”

UCLA School of Law is still allowing classes that require in-person encounters with the clients represented by UCLA Law’s clinics. All other classes are taken remotely.

The UCLA Law library is open although student activity has decreased drastically, said Kathy Wyer, director of media relations at UCLA Law.

“The library is quiet like it would be on a weekend. People are working remotely for the most part and taking the opportunity to work online and not coming in,” Wyer said Thursday. “Most people are taking the coronavirus and the risks that are present from it very seriously. The university is doing everything it can to minimize everyone’s risk.”

The decrease in campus activities also affects the learning experience for students, according to Wyer.

“UCLA Law seeks to create a collaborative learning environment, and the law school is usually bustling with talks, seminars, gatherings of student organizations and more, even live music at lunch once a month,” Wyer wrote in an email. “These events are an important part of the educational experience here. We are taking appropriate steps to return to that atmosphere as soon as it is safe for our community to do so.”