Closing Panel - Is legal education in a state of evolution or revolution?
Year: 2022
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The Conference theme states that: ‘Legal education and scholarship is in a state of evolution or revolution.’ And then goes on to ask the question: ‘How is legal education and scholarship being challenged by external forces and how are we internally challenging legal education and scholarship?’ The Panel, composed of three experienced law academics, will consider the situation regarding legal education and whether it is in a state of evolution or revolution. If so, whether and what reforms might be needed to either protect the status quo or move it in a new direction to reflect the fresh challenges being made on legal educators to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and transferable skills. The problems facing the future of legal education are reflected in that for the whole of tertiary education. To paraphrase a statement by David Lodge – Small World: ‘Previously the primary activities of universities were confined to the physical confines of their campuses but now information is much more portable in the modern world than it used to be. So are people. Ergo, it’s no longer necessary to hoard your information in one building, or keep your top scholars corralled in one campus…. Scholars don’t have work in the same institution to interact, nowadays.’ How has this new approach been embraced by the legal education community? How has it responded to these challenges, and does it need to seek out new approaches to ensure the successful future of the law academy and legal education, both in respect of law teaching and research? Legal educators must also face the added dilemma of the twin objectives of training individuals as legal practitioners and providing a liberal education during a period of rapid transition of the legal profession. It will be of interest to see how the Panel respond to these demanding and stimulating questions which are currently testing the ability of law academics to react in a positive way to ensure the future of legal education.
Institution: Griffith University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7155586880