Category: Uncategorized

  • Osgoode Sim Client Project

    We’ve finished our Simulated Client (SC) project at Osgoode Hall Law School, which was around three months in the planning. Further and much more detailed analysis later, but this is a quick post for now to summarise what we did.

  • NO ENTRY: Open access to law journals and case law

    This post is co-written by Catherine Easton, Abhilash Nair and myself.  Abhilash is a co-editor of the European Journal of Law & Technology, and Catherine is editor of the European Journal of Current Legal Issues.  EJLT and EJCLI are both completely open access (OA0 journals – also known as diamond or platinum journals. We’ve been…

  • LETR, regulatory relationship and the shared space

    The initial LETR specification asked us to report on many areas of legal education, and under various headings regulatory relationship was part of the future reform of legal education and training.  The subject was hardly addressed in earlier reports on legal education in these isles, either because it wasn’t perceived as problematic or, more likely,…

  • LETR conference: reflections

    I said in my first conference post that I was hoping for the conference to help me understand LETR’s continuing significance, if any.   I left with more questions in my mind about LETR’s purpose, but also a sense that what we co-authors made of it was at least in parts enduring beyond the five-year…

  • LETR conference: parallel papers, 2

    First up, Jenny Gibbons on ‘Curriculum as constitution’.  Fascinating analogy, which I’ve explored elsewhere.  She started with Fortnite Island.  To play the game you need to: learn the rules of the game know how to find and use yr materials take time to create safe spaces learn to maximise yr advantage in encounters learn from…

  • LETR conference: Professional Panel

    The panel comprised three representatives of regulatory bodies.  First up, Julie Brannan, Director of Education and Training.  Her slide points out which of LETR recommendations the SRA accepted: She also pointed out the themes that were recognised by the SRA and the evidence drawn upon.   She also outlined the SRA response, its view of…

  • Conference: LETR – Five Years On

    The Legal Education and Training Review submitted its findings five years ago now – seems more like 15 years to be honest, so much has happened in the interim.  To mark the occasion, Jessica Guth of Leeds Law School at Leeds Beckett University has organised the above conference, taking place tomorrow.  LETR’s co-authors Julian Webb,…

  • Hemiola in legal education – afterthoughts on the Directions conference

    I’ve summarised my keynote in a blog post on the Osgoode Professional Development blog, so no need to comment on it here, except to say that the place of the arts in legal education design is a long-neglected area of educational research – more of that at the end of this blog post. This was…

  • Directions conference, parallel session 3

    Final parallel session.  First up, Richard Hedlund (Lincoln University Law School) on ‘Modernising the (property law) curriculum at Lincoln Law School’.  He focused on the direction and restraints he faced in his adaptations, having taught PBL at York U.  Pedagogy wasn’t discussed much at Lincoln, and he tried to change that.  There was spoon-feeding, and…

  • Directions conference, Future of legal education II

    The next slot of parallel sessions, and I’m attending the second future of legal education  session.  First up, Eugene Lim, City U of Hong Kong, on ‘Teaching jurisprudence in a ‘technology-enabled’ classroom: An experiment with experiential learning’.  Two questions – how can experiential learning be applied to the teaching of legal theory?  and how can…

  • Plenary: Julian Webb – ‘Beyond Futureshock – will there be a law school in 2040?’

    Next up, Julian talking about technological life, ‘onlaw’, future shock and towards an ‘onlaw’ curriculum.   He started by talking about technology – what is it?  He quoted Schon on technology extending human capability.  Julian focused on ICT – information & comms technology, and how these are at the centre of a major social shift to…

  • Directions conference, day 2, Plenary session

    First session, and we have Lyria Bennett Moses (UNSW, via skype), on ‘What law students need to know about technology’.  Lyria argued that students need to know how technology is affecting legal practice – forms of new literacy – in addition to legal literacy.  Doesn’t necessarily mean detailed knowledge of machine learning; but lawyers need…