[3] With the backing of the ABA Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession, the MacCrate Report criticized the state of American legal education and called for a practice-oriented, rather than theory-oriented, approach to legal education.
Specifically, the MacCrate Report suggested mandatory externships with government agencies, judges, and pro bono legal assistance clinics.
"[2] While the MacCrate Report is widely viewed as the template for modern legal education in the United States, many traditional and high-ranking law schools have yet to adopt many of its recommendations.
[4] Because of this resistance to practice-oriented legal education, many have called into question the existing law school ranking system, generated entirely by U.S. News & World Report, and criticized it as being outdated and reflecting American upper class paradigms rather than an ability to produce competent attorneys.
[5] This resistance has only added to the continually increasing criticism and mistrust of the law school ranking system.