Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Law schools and the legal profession face a wellbeing crisis. Law students and lawyers suffer from high rates of depression, substance abuse, and job dissatisfaction. Research shows that cultivating autonomy—the sense of control over one’s own decisions and actions—is key to wellbeing and success in legal education and practice. Yet, fostering autonomy in new law students is challenging, as too much independence too soon can overwhelm learners and increase stress. This article introduces a “guided autonomy” approach for law students, with a focus specifically on legal writing courses. The article combines insights from Self-Determination Theory and Cognitive Load Theory to balance independence with necessary structure. This approach encourages the development of independent critical thinking while preventing cognitive overload in complex legal problem-solving tasks. The article offers practical recommendations for faculty, including adopting an autonomy-supportive communication style; providing guidance materials like templates and worked examples; designing collaborative, real-time exercises such as concept mapping; and offering personalized formative feedback based on students’ choices. Specific examples of materials for faculty use are included in appendices. By equipping students with skills for success while nurturing their autonomy, the guided autonomy approach advocated in this article could help address the profession’s longstanding wellbeing issues at their root. The article concludes by calling for empirical research to refine and validate these innovative pedagogical approaches.

Publication Title

The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute

Volume

29

First Page

202

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