The Future of Legal Education: A University Forum
Why We Do It
“The Future of Education – University Forum” project is motivated by the imperative to address the challenges posed by digital transformation in legal education. A targeted group of international experts in legal transformation and legal education converge in this Forum with the aim of identifying possibilities for the future of legal education. The group, comprising representatives from law schools, educational institutions, legal departments, law firms, lawyer/bar associations, and students, endeavors to establish curriculum content and create course materials that respond to the evolving needs of the legal ecosystem. The overarching goal is to bridge the gap between traditional legal education mandates and the disruptive forces brought about by digital transformation. This initiative recognizes the necessity for law schools to balance existing curriculum requirements with the imperative to prepare students for the ethical, regulatory, and technological challenges of the future legal landscape.
How We Do It
he Forum employs a collaborative and comprehensive approach to achieve its objectives. Experts in legal transformation and education come together to conduct a thorough gap analysis, shedding light on the disparities between current legal education practices and the requirements of a transforming legal ecosystem. The output of this analysis serves as a valuable contribution to the ongoing discourse on the development and enhancement of legal professionals’ education.
The curriculum developed by the Forum becomes a crucial orientation tool for stakeholders in legal education, providing insights into the skills and knowledge needed to navigate and succeed in the future legal landscape. Additionally, the Forum leverages online lectures to offer immediate and relevant insights into new topics, thereby serving as a tangible bridge to address the identified gaps and contribute to the advancement of legal education.
Forum participants are co-heading the project and carrying it out in the following five phases:
- Common Understanding: joint sessions of participants to clarify scope, objective, deliverables & timelines, as well as working teams / tandems.
- Research & Information Collection: soliciting & collecting input from participants & other experts (individually and in tandems).
- Consolidation, analysis & assessment: gap analysis (output #1).
- Discussion & proposals of future requirements: curriculum (output #2).
- Establishing the set of introductory lectures and courses, engaging key-experts for their delivery and deciding on the mode of production: online lectures (output #3).