Legal Education

The central theme of Twining's book is that law is a marvellous subject of study, but to do justice to its potential requires an enlargement of vision, multiple perspectives, and a radical reappraisal of the role, culture, and practices of law schools. Treating theory, education, scholarship, publishing, and professional practice as complementary activities, the author explores the history, philosophy, and practical problems of attempts to broaden the study of law in a disciplined way. He draws upon his personal experience of law schools throughout the common law world and his special knowledge of jurisprudence, evidence,torts and legal method to examine a wide range of topics in depth. These include, for example, the nature and tasks of legal theory, different kinds of legal literature, and access to legal education and the profession. This provocative and readable book will appeal to all those with an interest in the roles of legal theory, law schools, and lawyers in a changing world.

The 19th century saw dramatic changes in the legal education system in the United States. Before the Civil War, lawyers learned their trade primarily through apprenticeship and self-directed study. By the end of the 19th century, the modern legal education system which was developed primarily by Dean Christopher Langdell at Harvard was in place: a bachelor's degree was required for admission to the new model law school, and a law degree was promoted as the best preparation for admission to the bar. William P. LaPiana provides an in-depth study of the intellectual history of the transformation of American legal education during this period. In the process, he offers a revisionist portrait of Langdell, the Dean of Harvard Law School from 1870 to 1900, and the earliest proponent for the modern method of legal education, as well as portraying for the first time the opposition to the changes at Harvard.

This collection of essays commissioned by the SPTL (Society of Public Teachers of Law) brings together the views of leading experts in legal education in a debate about the aims and achievements of legal education on the 20th century, and the challenges which legal education faces on the verge of the 21st century. The themes of this collection are important ones for the future of legal education and the legal professions and they are not by any means confined to the interests of English lawyers. The challenges faced by English law are found in many other countries around the world including Australia, the USA, and parts of the European Union. These essays will therefore be of interest to a world-wide audience of legal educators. The questions raised by some of the contributors are also of wider significance in the debate about the role of universities. Law, like medicine, is frequently regarded as a subject worthy of university education merely because graduates are needed to provide the profession with its new recruits. But English law schools have always maintained a distinctively scholarly mission reflecting a wider liberal commitment to education. As the 20th century draws to a close universities face unprecedented pressures and in the teaching of law the battle lines are now drawn between those who favour, on the one hand, a rigorous intellectual approach to the teaching of law and those, on the other hand, who would see law schools reduced to being feeder institutions for the legal profession. It is the importance of the essays in this volume that they eschew either a simple analysis of the problems facing legal education or the solutions, many of them equally simplistic, which abound in the current climate of discussion. By tackling the issues in a historical, comparative and empirical fashion these essays contribute greatly to a better understanding of the ideals which deserve to be praised in any system of legal education.

This companion volume to Examining the Law Syllabus: The Core produced by the Society of Public Teachers of Law examines the vital questions surrounding the design of what subjects should be included in the syllabus of the British law degree and how they should be taught. This volume of essays focuses on the elements of a legal education beyond the core subjects, and the suggestions offered indicate the breadth and variety of different approaches now presented to students. The volume makes a major contribution to the debates about the importance of academic study in law and its relationship to the practice of law.

Are today's law school students being adequately prepared for their role in the twenty-first century? Inside Law School aims to provoke discussion on the future of legal education, particularly in relation to important topical issues, such as environmental degradation and women's rights, which are not yet part of mainstream legal education. Using easy-to-read parallel dialogues between two law professors and two law students to present his ideas and points of view, Lyon clearly shows the existence of two law school cultures, and lays the foundation for productive debate and reform. This book will be of interest not only to law professors and law students but also to practising lawyers, especially those governing the legal profession. Those outside the law profession who are discontent with our legal system and the role of lawyers in it will also find it captivating reading.