Dan’s LSAC Legacy

Athornia Steele

After the sudden death of LSAC’s President Dan Bernstine on September 24, I was asked to step in as LSAC’s interim president. Amidst the utter sadness and sense of loss I encountered as I met with LSAC’s staff on my first few visits to Newtown after this tragedy, I observed something else: Dan had cultivated a first-rate executive leadership team and senior staff, and they in turn had assembled dedicated and talented operational and support teams, all committed to doing their very best to provide outstanding admission tools and services for LSAC’s member law schools, prelaw advisors, and applicants.

I can’t say that this came as a surprise—as Board chair I got to know a number of these hard-working individuals and their achievements, but meeting so many others personally for the first time and seeing them power through their grief, reassured me and should reassure you, the beneficiaries of LSAC’s services, that Dan left LSAC in very good hands. I have worked in many different settings and was quite proud to see the dedication and camaraderie of the LSAC staff. LSAC is a great place to work, as evidenced by the longevity of the staff working there. This is an important part of Dan’s LSAC legacy.

Since stepping into the position of interim president, I have been working with the staff to learn more about the initiatives and new services they have been working on. You will be hearing more about these as they proceed, but I am particularly excited about the progress of the research on the possibility of offering a tablet-based Digital LSAT. We anticipate moving into the field-testing phase of this research in spring 2017.

We are also moving forward with a comprehensive eLearning platform that will eventually create online access to training and educational tools for law school admission offices, prelaw advisors, test-center personnel, and LSAC staff. The eLearning platform blends technology with educational content to provide broader access and flexibility.

With respect to these two initiatives, I was very impressed with the level of planning, problem identification, and problem solving that has taken place. It may seem to some that it takes LSAC an inordinate amount of time to bring an initiative to fruition. What I observed, and am hard-pressed to communicate, is the deliberativeness with which the staff proceeds on developing very important initiatives that will have wide-ranging implications for LSAC’s work.

The information technology modernization that has been ongoing for the last few years is making great progress, with more to come, and the enhanced Forum marketing program has contributed to an increase in Forum attendees this year. All of these efforts began under Dan’s leadership—they are the other part of Dan’s LSAC legacy. I am extremely pleased and honored to participate in the continuing success of this very important organization.