DICTAeducation
Legal Education and
its place in Contemporary Society
A
Ioannis Mikroulis advocates the importance of
legal scholarship in contemporary culture.
I
t is commonly recognized that a law degree has a dual purpose. The first
is to provide a liberal education, i.e. the transferable skills, broad knowledge and critical thinking that make for the development of inquisitive
minds and responsible citizens; the second is to prepare students wishing
to become lawyers for an effective transition into the practice of law. This
duality of purpose raises two important questions: does the LLB fulfil
the criteria of academic education and what is the benefit of receiving
a legal education in terms of one’s contribution to modern society and
democracy?
Since postgraduate training is required before one is able to practise
as a lawyer, the LLB is first and foremost an academic qualification. So,
given that the degree is meant to provide a foundation of skills and competencies shared across many disciplines and that a significant proportion
of students undertake the degree for purposes other than qualifying as a
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legal professional, it is only right that the Advisory Committee on Legal
Education Conduct in its 1996 report recommended that an “independent
liberal education in the discipline of law, not tied to any specific vocation” should be retained. The LLB excels in that regard: embarking on a
law degree is a challenging experience that requires the development of
wide range of skills, focusing particularly on analytical ability, precision of
thought, and capacity for succinct and effective written and oral communication. Studying for the LLB involves frequent evaluation of complex
arguments and established legal principles, urging students to engage in
critical analysis and discussion of the theoretical issues underpinning the
law, and even explore multi-disciplinary approaches to legal study. Overall,
there is no doubt that the academic element of the degree is broad enough
and sufficiently demanding to serve as an excellent foundation for further
study or work in a wide range of legal and non-legal areas. »