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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
1994
and transnational careers they are
likely to pursue as a result of the ever
increasing European integration. The
programme also intends to lead law
students away from traditional
overcrowded legal careers and
encourage them to seek a hroader
range of employment opportunities.
Since the removal of cross border
barriers to the provision of legal
services, legal consultants with
language skills are ideally placed to
carry out contractual transactions
outside Ireland and represent client
companies in foreign courts. This
however is only possible if the
corporate lawyer can function
effectively in three areas: law,
business and languages.
While the B. Corp. Law is a relatively
recent initiative, continental
universities are already catering for
graduates from such programmes. The
University of Grenoble in France, for
example, offers an LL.M. with an
option in English Law or German Law
or even Dutch Law, and a Masters in
Business Law which nevertheless
includes a trinlingual option. It does
so to allow its students to integrate
themselves more quickly on other
Europeans markets and to respond
faster to foreign solicitations. As part
of the B. Corp. Law, it is envisaged
that students will either take some of
their courses abroad or be placed on a
stage which will expose them to other
cultures and languages. This approach
helps increase inter-institutional
contact and also allows the student to
accede rapidly to an international
work market.
A Bachelor in Corporate Law with a
language option gives any student
access to a rigorous intellectual
formation in law while conserving
his/her sense of professional openings
in Ireland and also within the E.U.
Given the current surplus of Law
graduates in this country, a
combination of law and languages
provides a potential mechanism for
alternative careers for graduating
students and thus relieving the current
overcrowding in the profession.
References
1. Dugan J.S. "A Rationale for
Broadening the Perspective of
Business French Programmes."
French Review
, 57 (1984) : 356-365.
2. Fitzpatrick Associates "Being
economical with Languages: the
ease for increased modern language
teaching in Ireland, A Response to
the Green Paper on Education. June
1993.
3. Omaggio A.C., Teaching Language
in Context. Boston: Heinle and
Heinle, 1986.
*Sofie Cacciaguidi
is a lecturer
of
French in the Faculty of Law at
University
College,
Galway.
n
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