For many years, Harvard Law School (HLS) seemed as stable and constant as the stone pillars of Langdell Library. The old and venerated school, where five of the nine current Supreme Court justices studied, was considered by many to be the preeminent law school in the world.

But HLS could not hold change at bay forever. The stately buildings, home to some of the worlds finest legal scholars, hide the revolution—spurred partly by outside competition and unhappy students—that is now occurring within.

Under an ambitious new plan pioneered by HLS Dean and Royall Professor of Law Robert C. Clark, the school will slash first year class sizes by half, institute a system loosely based on Harvard college’s residential houses to try to build community spirit, expand the international dimension of the school by creating new research centers, and dramatically increase financial aid.

Changes of this magnitude have not swept HLS for 130 years, according to institutional historian and visiting HLS professor Daniel R. Coquillette. The school’s last dramatic overhaul occurred in 1871, when former Dean Christopher C. Langdell instituted the Socratic and case study methods—which would be copied by professional schools around the world—to HLS.

The recent strategic plan was backed by HLS faculty and students alike. A 1999 McKinsey & Co. study, commissioned by Clark and his colleagues to help guide their efforts, identified a number of student complaints. Students overwhelmingly called for more feedback on their work and smaller classes, especially for first year students. The resulting changes to the first year experience were unanimously approved by the faculty—an unprecedented event in many professors’ memories.

Faculty support was crucial to the success of the plan, which will require current faculty members to assume extra duties until new professors are hired. But no one is complaining.

“It’s a really exciting time to be here, especially as a newcomer,” says HLS Assistant Professor Heather K. Gerken, who gained fame commenting on the Presidential election controversy shortly after joining the HLS faculty last September. “The whole faculty is devoted to re-thinking the law school experience. It feels like there is new life in the school because of all the plans for the future.”

Berkman Assistant Professor of Law at HLS Jonathan Zittrain, a cyberlaw expert, says HLS is in a “spring cyle” in which many innovative ideas about law school education are coming to fruition. “I sense a certain measure of ambition to grow and build which doesn’t seem to be motivated by fear or worry.”

In 1997, Clark decided that things needed to change. He convinced the faculty to begin a long-range planning process, which many professors say is necessary for any institution—even a successful one—to undergo at times.

“A big organization should every once in awhile do this sort of thing,” says Byrne Professor of Administrative Law and Dean of the J.D. Program Todd D. Rakoff ’67. HLS hired a variety of consultant firms to help the school assess where it stood and what should be changed.

“We had to call in a neutral third party to make sure we understand all the facts before we made any big planning decisions,” says HLS professor Einer R. Elhauge ’83.

So HLS hired McKinsey to conduct a broad survey to measure the quality of education at HLS. Previous informal surveys had suggested that students were unhappy with certain aspects of the HLS experience.

The survey uncovered student complaints about oversized classes and not enough student-faculty interaction—problems the strategic plan was primarily designed to fix.

The plan was finalized earlier this year, and HLS began devising ways to raise the $400 million necessary for the plan, which, if successful, would be the largest capital campaign in the history of graduate or professional schools, according to HLS Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Affairs Scott Nichols.

Most of the money will go towards the hiring of new faculty to teach smaller classes, creating space on HLS’ crowded campus, and increasing financial aid. According to Nichols, HLS is confident about raising the funds because of the significant resources controlled by HLS alums. The probability of not raising the requisite funds to carry out even the most expensive parts of the plan, Nichols says, is “remote.” And while only preliminary research has been done on fundraising prospects, Nichols says that the alumni seem enthusiastic so far.