Center Founders Natt Gantt and Ben Madison Speak at NPBA Bench/Bar Conference

On Tuesday, March 22, Center founders L.O. Natt Gantt II and Benjamin Madison, along with William and Mary Law School Dean Davison Douglas, spoke at the Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association (NPBA) Bench/Bar Conference on The Future of Legal Practice.

L to R: Dean Davison Douglas (W&M), Associate Dean Ben Madison,
Mary Morgan (NPBA Chair), Natt Gantt, and Dean Michael Hernandez (Regent Law)

The NPBA Bench Bar committee plans and executes the annual Bench Bar conference, where local lawyers and judges can obtain MCLE credit and valuable information to improve their practice. Approximately 150 lawyers and judges attended the conference, which is now in its 18th year.

To enhance their presentation, Professor Gantt developed a survey for the attendees.  The survey asked attendees to assess how important specific skills are to new law graduates’ readiness to practice law and then to assess whether the graduates they have observed recently have been proficient in those skills.  The attendees completed the survey at the beginning of the presentation, and Prof. Gantt was able to report back on the results at the end of the presentation.

“It was a pleasure for Dean Madison and me to work with Dean Douglas and the Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association to lead a discussion on the future of legal practice and how law schools are responding to changes in the profession.  As the legal profession places increasing demands upon law schools to produce graduates who are ready to practice, it is critical that schools work with the profession to develop creative ideas to educate students in the cognitive abilities, practical skills, and character traits crucial for success in practice,” said CEFLER Director Natt Gantt.

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