ABSTRACT
Sandy D’Alamberte, a true leader within and without the legal profession,1 has said that people who go to law school already tend to be leaders. He says that they are given little or no purposeful help in leadership development in law school. However, after graduation they assume positions of leadership because of their inherent leadership attributes. As a consequence, he contends, law schools gain an undeserved reputation for educating leaders. D’Alemberte is correct that law faculties don’t emphasize leadership theory and practice. I contend they should, for two principal reasons. First, leadership skills are important to law students because they are essential for lawyer competence.2 Second, leadership theory and practice are important to the academy because they provide interdisciplinary perspectives that help us develop fuller understandings of competence, the legal order, and the processes of legal education; and because the extent of their application determines the state of legal education and the legal profession.
