New York, NY, June 16, 2020 – New York-based experiential legal learning platform, AltaClaro, and U.K.-based Durham University Law School today announced plans to integrate AltaClaro’s experiential coursework into Durham’s top-rated law degree program beginning in the Fall 2020 semester. The decision follows a successful pilot conducted in February and uniquely positions Durham in the UK to deliver innovative, international, practical training to its students.
“As Dean of one of the world’s top law schools, I am always looking for innovative programs that give law students a cutting edge in the global business environment,” says Thom Brooks, Dean of Durham’s Law School. “AltaClaro’s experiential learning framework hits the mark in preparing students for the practical legal skills they need to hit the ground running with cross-border business transactions.”
In addition to being a top five law school in the U.K. (among Cambridge and Oxford), and ranked 33rd globally, Durham also consistently ranks in the top three best law schools for law student employability: more Durham graduates get jobs in London than any London law school. The AltaClaro pilot program, offered to a select group of third-year law students, filled nearly immediately, and was rated as “indispensable” by 86% of students, with nine out of ten stating that they’d highly recommend the course to a colleague at the conclusion of the course.
“Despite budget constraints in this environment, this was an easy budget decision for us to make. It’s becoming increasingly compulsory for students to have international exposure, so giving students this kind of experience and exposure are particularly valuable,” said Brooks. “The nature of international work is not going to decrease – it’s going to continue to accelerate, even if travel decreases. AltaClaro provides excellent training for the world of work, that is almost certain to be the way of the world moving forward.”
AltaClaro’s unique experiential learning model helps students become “practice-ready,” increasingly critical in today’s competitive job market. Unlike other online course providers, AltaClaro leverages the best of technology to augment—not detract from—the benefits of experiential learning. Students gain essential practical legal skills through mock transactions and live feedback sessions with highly vetted and experienced practitioners—all delivered completely online, together with video modules, interactive quizzes, and other assessment tools uniquely adapted for online learning. This, coupled with flexible deployment options, make for a turn-key solution that law schools can implement to supplement existing curricula, build into an intensive learning series for credit, or offer as a stand-alone certification program. As law schools across the globe are being forced to rethink curriculum delivery with the uncertainty presented by the recent pandemic, AltaClaro’s proven scalable model can help bridge the gap, providing students the opportunity to learn where they are.
“As the industry leader in practical legal training, we are excited to be expanding the application of our methodology to innovators in higher education,” says Abdi Shayesteh, CEO, AltaClaro. “Students at Durham participate in similar courses that we offer to new practitioners at top law firms across the globe. I was excited to see how eager the students were to participate in our unique learn by doing approach and how well they performed in the program. Built to scale, we’re excited to expand our offering to a larger group of students, and track placement outcomes for participating students over time.”
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About AltaClaro, Inc.
AltaClaro, the leader in innovative experiential learning solutions for law and business, is located in New York, NY and San Francisco, CA. The company’s unique educational platform leverages personalization, assessment tools, and contextual delivery of learning modules (short videos, interactive assessments, mock transactions, and online feedback sessions with experts) to help professionals gain the vital practical skills they need to become “practice-ready.” For more information, please visit www.altaclaro.com.
About Durham University
Durham University is a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research based in historic Durham City in the UK. We are a collegiate university committed to inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham and in the world. We conduct boundary-breaking research that improves lives globally and we are ranked as a world top 100 university with an international reputation in research and education (QS World University Rankings 2020). Our commitment to providing a wider student experience that fosters participation and leadership at Durham and beyond means our graduates are among some of the most sought after in the world and we are ranked in the top 50 globally for the employability of our students by major companies (QS 2020). We are a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive UK universities and we are consistently ranked as a top 10 university in national league tables (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, Guardian University Guide and The Complete University Guide). For more information about Durham University visit: www.durham.ac.uk/about/