Developing any Pathway Program can provide rewarding successes, as well as some substantial challenges. Through the observations and experiences of those involved in past Pathway Programs, this chart summarizes typical goals and challenges of the programs:
Guidance for the Creation and Expansion of Law School Pre-Law Pathway Programs
Concluding Observations
| Typical Pathway Objectives | Challenges |
| Partnership with faculty and course designers in developing a curriculum | The financial resources to maintain instructor quality in a universe of resource constraints and competing demands on instructor time |
| Development of mentorship relationships among undergraduates, law students, and young lawyers | Managing relationships with partner educational institutions (undergraduate, community college, K-12) with their own priorities and needs |
| Developing partnerships with feeder schools | Recruiting high-quality students who will have many other educational and career options to occupy their time |
| Connection with supportive entities across the local professional community | Retaining students in program in light of life changes and other opportunities/priorities |
| Impacting the opportunities for individual students in the Pathway Program | Scaling the program up to have a broader impact after initial pilot successes |
| Benefitting the legal profession and enhancing opportunities for students | Reaching students beyond the individual feeder programs |
| Enhancing the financial, pedagogical, and convenience benefits, whether through in-person and/or online components of the program | Capitalizing on the benefits of asynchronous online teaching in light of in-person mentorship and professional integration components of the program |
| Developing and maintaining criteria for the measurement of program success | Program “silo-ization” making integration of student tracking systems difficult |
In addition to the above challenges and goals, Pathway Programs provide a crucial model for increasing opportunities for students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the legal profession, particularly considering the extant legal and political landscapes of the latter half of the 2020’s. It is a worthy endeavor in any era to foster the next generation of legal professionals with the goal of continuing forward movement for improvement of the law and society.