WSJ: Are Quirky 3L Electives a Waste of Time (and Money)?

Wall Street Journal:  Are Odd Electives a Waste? Third-Year Law-School Classes Often Delve Into Quirky Territory, Draw Criticism:

Amid weak demand for legal services and an oversupply of lawyers, law schools are emphasizing courses and clinics designed to give their graduates a chance to do hands-on lawyering before they enter the job market. But even as law schools labor to produce "practice ready" graduates, they have held tight to their more peculiar courses, usually taken in the third year. ...

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Law deans defend their elective courses as increasingly important to today's lawyer, who is expected to have a specialization, whether it is biotechnology or law for the elderly. "The future of law is actually about people who have multiple skill sets," said Frank Wu, dean of the University of California's San Francisco-based Hastings College of the Law. "The fact that something looks obscure doesn't mean it's impractical."

But that distinction could be lost on employers, particularly big law firms that pay best.

"If law schools want to employ the vast majority of graduating students then they should be offering mostly mainstream classes. I agree with Justice Scalia 100%: Stick to the basics," said Robert Carangelo, hiring partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Update:  ABA Journal, Law Profs Defend Unusual Electives on Disputes from the Icelandic Age, Autonomous Driving