Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1966
Abstract
In a recent article appearing in The Student Lawyer Journal, Dean John G. Hervey of the Oklahoma City University School of Law presented what, on first reading, appeared to be a very well documented argument in support of the uniform awarding of the Juris Doctor (J.D.) as the first degree in law. There can be little quarrel with Dean Hervey's statistical abstracts which he uses to build the central thesis of his article. The importance of this information to support his sweeping generalities is to be severely questioned. The position of the American Bar Association is also eminently clear. However, the chief contention of this present article is that the "J.D. Movement"-inspired primarily by Dean Hervey-is a superficial and shallow endeavor to upgrade the status of the legal profession and of certain law schools.
Although the "image" of the general profession as well as the law schools needs to be strengthened, the uniform awarding of the J.D. degree is not, at this particular time, the proper remedy to pursue. Rather, the development and improvement of the standards for the work done for the basic law degree should be of first and primary consideration. Once this has been accomplished, the graduate of law school will be a stronger member of the bar and the bar, itself, will then become a stronger and more effective profession with the general "image" of the law schools in turn being strengthened.
Recommended Citation
George P. Smith II, Much Ado About Nothing: The J.D. Movement, 11 STUDENT LAW. 8, (1966).
