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Doctors do it, why don't lawyers?
Doctors, like lawyers, have little or no business education in medical/law school. Today's Wall Street Journal (Education for Executives) discusses doctors journey back to school (business) in order to learn skills that were omitted from their medical education. They need these skills in order to run their medical practices, medical groups and hospitals.
Doctors outreach for management training demonstrates a recent shift in thinking: "...we are much more similar to other businesses that we are different." Taking the business side of medicine more seriously can benefit not only doctors, but also patients, a fact slowly being understood in the medical profession.
Why is it that doctors are ahead of lawyers in this understanding? Why is it that medical schools are incorporating management principles into their teaching and few, if any, law schools do? Why is it that lawyers continue to be reactive, rather than be proactive? Worse still, why is it that lawyers fail to react to their clients wishes? Bar disciplinary proceedings continue to show that more than 50% of clients' complaints relate to poor management practices. Why?
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With the growing number of solo and virtual practices, I believe it's only a matter of time before business becomes a part of a lawyer's curriculum or early training. I do think more young lawyers are taking the initiative to learn business and management techniques because they realize how important these skills will be to their success, even if older lawyers are still resistant to the change.
What about undergraduate preparation at the very least?
What type of undergraduate preparation would you suggest to meet the standards set in other professions?