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GAZETTE
JUNE 1996
The Education of Solicitors for
the New Mi l lennium
Over the past four years there has been a
very active debate on whether the
existing professional training system
should be retained, modified or replaced
by an alternative system. Many have
suggested that the objectives of the
current system might be too narrowly
focused. The Viewpoint in last month's
Gazette referred to the future
development and education of the
profession for areas outside traditional
private practice.
The legal profession in Ireland, as in
other jurisdictions, faces a number of
challenges. How the system of legal
education and training will adapt to
these challenges holds the key to the
future of the solicitors' profession.
The Law Society introduced
fundamental changes to professional
training in 1978, changes which were
based on a sound education philosophy
which has served the profession well
since then. It is now time to take
another step forward in order to adapt
to current market trends, to changes
within the profession and to enable
apprentices and solicitors to become
more flexible to the range of career
paths which are opening up.
The opportunity now exists to design a
legal training and education system
which is more intellectually rigorous
and which aims to produce competent,
humane, reflective, and commercially
orientated lawyers.
The legal education system of the Law
Society should prepare lawyers to:
(a) provide legal services of the highest
standards;
(b) pursue life-long learning to develop
their knowledge, and keep up-to-
date with innovations in society and
particularly in the legal system;
(c) enter into new careers and open up
new frontiers;
(d) promote and defend good
professional ethics and standards.
Solicitors should be more readily poised
to enter the public sector as well as
seeking to work in financial services and
commercial sectors. We must also face
the challenge that computer and other
technology is going to have a radical
impact on the nature of legal practice
and work as we know it now. Our
professional legal education system
needs to create the situations and
experiences which will allow for the
development of reflective lawyers,
individuals capable of judgment, self-
motivation and self-direction who will
be able to continue to develop their
skills and intellectual know-how to meet
new challenges.
Wh y Ch a n ge At All?
Probably the biggest single criticism of
our existing system is the pace of the
Professional Course during which
students are expected to cover a huge
volume of material in a limited period.
There is little time for assimilation or for
properly digesting this material or for
doing meaningful research and
assignments. We have even been
accused of "spoon-feeding" students at
the expense of not encouraging them to
think for themselves. This may be
somewhat inevitable when the
Professional Course has to be covered in
a 4.5 month period. Students often
complain about the inconsistency in
teaching standards as between
consultants and part-time tutors; about
materials sometimes not being up-to-
date nor presented in a sufficiently
professional manner. S ome argue that
the structure and content of our existing
courses overemphasise the technical
rather then the academic and reflective
nature of legal education and training.
Additional criticisms refer to a lack of
meaningful training for consultants and
tutors, an insufficient range of subjects
being offered, an insufficient amount of
time given to information technology
and no specific training for the corporate
and business lawyer. In addition, the
structure and timetabling of our courses
makes the possibility for joint
professional legal education with our
colleagues in the Bar more difficult to
introduce at this time.
T h e Wa y F o r w a rd
In order to address the criticisms, and to
ensure a more effective professional
training model, the following policy on
legal professional training has been
adopted by Council on the recommenda-
tion of the Education Committee:-
(1) the introduction of an academic year
course from September 1997 which
will substitute for the current
Professional Course;
(2) the employment of a full-time
professional teaching
faculty.
This
will substitute for the majority of
part-time tutors and consultants
currently employed on our courses.
The Society is intent on maintaining
a considerable level of participation
by practitioners who have a gift for
communicating their knowledge in
specific areas of practice;
Continued on page 141
139
The proposed new school is the L-shaped building which acts as a book-end to the existing Law
Society premises.