By Felicia Bennett
The Holloran Center is pleased to recognize Marni Goldstein Caputo and Kathleen Luz as the recipients of the Best Article Relating to Professional Identity Formation by a Senior Scholar award for their article, “Boundary-Setting and Choice-Making with No ‘Adult’ in the Room: Professional Identity Formation Opportunities for 1Ls in the Transactional Context,” published in the Virginia Law & Business Review in Summer 2025.
In this article, Caputo and Luz make an important contribution to scholarship on professional identity formation by focusing on the transactional context, an area often overlooked in the first-year law school curriculum. The authors highlight that many law students will practice in transactional settings, where professional identity formation presents distinct challenges.
Their article explains that transactional lawyers often work without the structure of a courtroom or the oversight of a judge. In that environment, lawyers must rely more heavily on their own judgment, values, and sense of professional responsibility. Caputo and Luz argue that this independent setting, with no “adult” in the room, makes professional identity formation especially important for students preparing for transactional practice.
The article also offers a practical model for teaching these lessons in the 1L curriculum. Through transactional simulations, students are introduced to skills such as boundary-setting, choice-making, and reflection, and are given opportunities to practice those skills in context. In this way, the authors show how law schools can help students begin developing the internal compass needed to navigate the ethical and professional complexities of legal practice.
Caputo and Luz’s scholarship reflects the Holloran Center’s commitment to advancing thoughtful and innovative approaches to professional identity formation. Their work broadens the conversation about how law schools can better prepare students for the realities of modern practice and the responsibilities of the profession.
