诊所法律教育

引言5年前世纪交会之时,诊所法律教育———一种崭新的法学教育模式———走入中国,既带来了机遇,也带来了挑战。诊所法律教育发端于美国。它借鉴医学院诊所与临床实践的教育模式,在有经验的教师指导下,让学生在真实的案件中代理社会弱势群体,提供所需要的法律服务。诊所法律教育是法学院学生在对传统课程设置和教学方式日益不满、积极要求实践性法学教育和为社会服务的渴望日益增长的推动下所形成的,是法学院在社会对法学院毕业生的能力诸多否定和批评的情势下,对法学院课程设置和教学方式进行反思、检讨和修正的结果。诊所法律教育是法学…     

引言

5年前世纪交会之时,诊所法律教育--一种崭新的法学教育模式--走入中国,既带来了机遇,也带来了挑战. 诊所法律教育发端于美国.它借鉴医学院诊所与临床实践的教育模式,在有经验的教师指导下,让学生在真实的案件中代理社会弱势群体,提供所需要的法律服务.诊所法律教育是法学院学生在对传统课程设置和教学方式日益不满、积极要求实践性法学教育和为社会服务的渴望日益增长的推动下所形成的,是法学院在社会对法学院毕业生的能力诸多否定和批评的情势下,对法学院课程设置和教学方式进行反思、检讨和修正的结果.     

论作为"制度"的法学院

法律职业为限制性的职业,目前两大法系主要国家都在制度上将法学院教育作为进入法律职业的第一道门槛;法律的技艺性、智识性和一定的神秘性及其规范特征决定了法律职业必须具备共同的职业素养,凭借法学教授、法学图书资科和法学院的社区生活三要件,制度性法学院而非仅仅作为场所的法学院培育这些素养并促使法律职业共同体形成。我国现实呼唤在制度上确立法学院教育的门槛地位,建设胜任于培育法律人的制度性法学院。     

罗炳吉与东吴大学法学院

曾任美国驻华法院法官及远东美国律师协会会长的罗炳吉,对于东吴大学法学院的成长与定型费力颇多。罗氏通过建言命名"中国比较法学院"奠定东吴法学院比较法基调;援教东吴法学院推广英美式教学风格;著述立说于《法学季刊》传播英美法制、文化;刊载驻华法院案例于《法学季刊》促成案例教学模式的推演。前述诸端彰显了美国法律职业群体对于中国法学教育近代化的推动,也潜移默化地促成了美国"法律帝国主义"观念在中国的演进。     

J.M.还是J.D.?——中、日、美复合型法律人才培养制度比较

传统上,中、日两国法学教育属于综合法律素质养成型教育类型,并不与法律职业直接相联系。但自上个世纪九十年代以来,两国出现了借鉴美国法学院制度,探索建立法律实务教育模式的新动向。论文对法律硕士专业学位(J.M.)教育、日本的法科大学院(J.D.)、以及美国的法学院制度(J.D.)进行了比较观察。对中日两国新型法学教育制度形成与效果的关系作了分析,对法学院制度形成的路径、方式和评价机制问题作了探讨。作者认为,制度形成的关键不在于形而上的可行性讨论,根本性问题是对制度要素的观察、分析以及摄入,构成要素的摄取决定了制度的效果和命运。     

从逻辑角度谈法学教育的设计问题

当前 ,中国法制改革从司法改革着手 ,司法改革以法律职业改革为突破口 ,而法律职业改革引出司法统一考试制度 ,这为我们的法学教育提出了许多新课题 ,其中如何把法学教育制度与法律职业制度衔接起来 ,就成为国家的一大新问题。①王泽鉴先生说 ,“法学教育的基本目的 ,在于使法律人能够认识法律 ,具有法律思维、解决争议的能力。”②法学教育关系到法律职业素养 ,直接影响一国司法活动的质量和法治程度的高低。所以西方有人称法学院是法律职业的守护者 (Lawschoolsarethegatekeepersforthelegalprofession) ,对那些获准进入法学院者而言 ,法…     

断层——透析法学教育和法律职业

法学教育——口号背后的困惑 如今,国内许多法学院都提出一个口号:“培养跨世纪法学家。”但是,有多少学生是为了当法学家而进法学院?又有多少学生在走出法学院的时候就成了法学家? 当今社会并不存在一个脱离法律职业的法学家阶层,法学家首先是法律职业群体的一员——律师、法官、检察官、法律顾问和法学教师,而法学家的养成主要是靠个人潜心努力,而不是法学院教育。既然如此,一个声称要培养法学家的法学院,其实并不明白它究竟应该干什么和能够干什么,而争辩法学教育是培养“法律匠”、还是培养法学家,其实是在为一个虚构的问题在消耗智力。     

法学诊所式教育走进独立学院的思考

法学教育是我国实现法治国家的重要组成部分。虽然,我国法学院的数量数以百计,法学院的学生数以万计,但是目前我国法学教育很严峻。法学教育与法律职业的脱节十分明显,法学专业学生连续几年就业率在调查专业中处于倒数的窘境。独立学院作为三本院校,其法学教育如何能走出困境,真正办出特色,笔者认为,诊所式教学在独立学院推广及应用是我国法学教育中一个值得研究和探讨的重大课题。     

论法学教育与司法考试的衔接——法律职业准入控制的一种视角

法学教育与司法考试的关系,是国家司法资格统一考试制度实施以来,为人们所关注和焦虑的一个重要课题。司法考试作为一种非常典型的法律职业准入控制措施,帮助我们营造了一个共同的语言、解释、价值、经历和身份的共同体,从而也决定性地正面促进了我国的法治建设。但是我们应该认识到司法考试不是万能的,它不能对法律从业者的法律素养作有效的考察和衡量,因此我们必须寻求有效的替代途径,而这正是法学教育,特别是法学院教育本身所具备的。美国法学院模式的成功对于我们构建法学院教育与司法考试的理想关系,提供了非常有意义的启发。     

比较法视野下的东亚法律人才养成制度改革

本文对20世纪末以来中国、日本、韩国借鉴美国法学院制度进行的法学教育改革进行了概要介绍,在此基础上,对三国继受美国法学教育模式的动因进行了分析,比较了中、日、韩三国在新法学教育制度设计上的差异,评价了改革的实践效果。作者认为,比较法的研究可以为中国法学教育改革提供更加广阔的国际视野,中国建构科学合理的法律人才养成制度,必须全面反映和评估对法律人才的需求,并在此基础上进行整体性改革才能确保改革目标的实现。     

The ethical identity of law students

This paper uses measures of values, moral outlook and professional identity to explore the ethical and professional identity of law students. We do so in two jurisdictions, surveying 441 students studying in England and Wales and 569 students studying in the US. The survey covers the first and final years of an undergraduate law degree and the postgraduate vocational stage in England and Wales, as well as students in all years of the JD programme in the US. We explore whether law students towards the end of their legal education have ethical identities predictive of less ethical conduct than those at the beginning of their legal education; whether law students intending careers in business law have values and profiles consistent with less ethical conduct than those intending to work for government or individuals; and what factors might explain these differences in ethical outlook. Our findings suggest that ethical identity is strongly associated with gender and career intentions. They also suggest weaker moral identities for students intending to practise business law. Ultimately, our findings support a conclusion that is more nuanced than the predominant theses about the impact of legal education on student ethicality which tend to suggest legal education diminishes ethicality.     

Using the role-play at the lectern: developing “work-ready” and confident professionals

As Waters notes, the role-play is not traditionally used as a teaching technique in law schools. Educators utilise role-play in many disciplines, including health, business, psychology, economics and literature; yet apart from clinical settings or for teaching practical legal skills, the role-play seems to be underutilised in legal education. An empirical study of 67 law students from the University of Western Australia (UWA) Law School set out to investigate the utility of the role-play as a device for instilling confidence in students and assisting them to prepare for professional practice. Although the classroom and class size were large and teaching took place in a lecture theatre, the role-play worked effectively. Students reported greater knowledge, understanding, confidence and skill with conducting themselves in a professional practice context. The study shows the need to embrace the role-play as an experiential learning technique that can work as effectively in an intensive, large-class setting as it does in smaller or clinical classrooms. The study revealed that the role-play technique worked very well and that the role-play is a versatile and very much “alive” pedagogical technique of value to any law school.     

Law as a culture: Global thoughts from a small Island*

ABSTRACT

This paper will seek to address the challenges of teaching legal ethics to undergraduate law students, both generally and in my own institutional context. Ethical conduct has long been held to be a central feature of professionalism and, traditionally, codes of ethics constituted one of the hallmarks and defining characteristics of the professions. The legal profession is no exception to this; however, it has not always been recognised that university law schools have an important role to play in preparing law students for the ethical challenges of legal practice. More recently this indifference has given way to an acceptance of the importance of this area of learning. Rather than being whether to teach legal ethics to law students, therefore, the two fundamental questions for educators are, first, what do students need to learn from the teaching of legal ethics and, secondly, how this is to be achieved. This study also aims to consider the specific challenges of teaching legal ethics to law students from widening participation backgrounds. These issues are particularly important in my own professional context as programme leader for an undergraduate qualifying law degree at an institution with a high population of widening participation students.     

Investigating the feasibility of using student reflective journals to understand how clinical legal education can develop the ethical competence of law students

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this small-scale empirical study is to gain an insight into how to explore the contribution clinical legal education (CLE) can make to teaching legal ethics to law students. CLE provides real or simulated opportunities for students to provide legal advice and learn through application, practice and reflection in work-integrated contexts, for example through student law clinics and CLE modules. Previous empirical studies in this area, which have focused on whether CLE can develop a sense of ethical competence in law students, have argued persuasively that CLE provides an effective vehicle for teaching ethics, and this is now generally supported by academic opinion. However, hardly any attention has been given to how CLE develops the ethical competence of law students. This study, which is concerned with conducting a feasibility study of the use of reflective journals within CLE to determine whether and how a full-scale study can be done, is aimed at addressing this gap.     

法律思维是法律人应有的基本品格

法律思维作为一种职业性思维,具有以法律语言为思维语言、以“崇尚法律”为思维定势、以“恪守公正”为价值取向、以理性主义为指导的经验思维、群体性思维等特有属性,因而成为法律人的职业特征和法律职业共同体的联结纽带,作为法律推理和法律论证的核心内容,成为延续法律生命、实现法律价值所必需的具体途径。为培养和维护法律思维这一法律人应有的基本品质,应当特别注意大学法学教育的改革、司法考试的定位、社会法律意识的普遍增强以及现代法律制度的建立和完善等问题。     

Using soft skills courses to inspire law teachers: a new methodology for a more humanistic legal education

ABSTRACT

Law schools have in recent years been engaged in a process of revising their curricula, in large part adapting to rapid changes in technology, but also in a more generalised effort to improve “teaching the law”. Yet thus far, legal pedagogy seems to focus disproportionately on the traditional model of the “thinking lawyer”, when it should equally promote the model of the “feeling lawyer”, helping students to sharpen soft skills such as empathy, integrity and problem-solving. The main claim of this paper is that law professors could begin to pay more attention to the growing importance of soft skills in legal education and preparedness for legal practice. In this direction, we propose a set of pedagogical principles revolving around four axes: compassionate, attentive, reason-based and empathetic teaching (CARE). This methodology could help law professors become more effective pedagogues. Soft skills courses constitute a well-suited vehicle for introducing these principles to law school curricula in different legal systems. By systematically incorporating them, law schools can encourage law teachers to provide a more inclusive learning environment for their students. At the same time, law teachers who implement the particular methodology can hopefully rediscover fulfilment in their teaching. Overall, teaching soft skills can significantly improve students’ and teachers’ experience in legal education.     

法学教育中的法律伦理教育问题研究

从法律的内在价值要求、我国法治建设中存在的问题,提出法律伦理教育是我国法学教育不可或缺的重要组成部分.法律伦理包括蕴含在法律制度中的制度伦理与法律职业者在职业活动中的法律行为伦理即职业道德两部分.法律伦理教育的目标就是要把学生培养成为具有健全的法律伦理人格,有助于法律终极目标实现的"社会医生".这一目标的实现有赖于法学教育理念的重构和法学教学方法的转变.目前,开展法律伦理教育面临的障碍主要有思想认识上的偏颇,社会"道德滑坡"的大环境以及法律国家主义的影响等.     

日本法科大学院教育制度及其特征

法科大学院是日本的新型法律人才培养机构。这一制度借鉴了美国法学院教育模式,招收具有多样专业知识背景的学生,开展研究生层次的职业化教育。建立法科大学院制度是日本在司法改革的大背景下,在扩大法律职业数量和确保法律职业培养质量的目标下,做出的制度选择。日本通过了相关法律,并派遣在职法官、检察官任教,以保证法科大学院具有充分的师资,保证法科大学院教育的质量。     

Through a screen,darkly: Electronic legal education in Europe

Abstract

Electronic legal education involves the use of information, communication and instructional technologies to enhance students’ learning of the law and to provide law teachers with environments and tools for teaching the law. With the fast growth of the Internet many Law schools and Law faculties are moving their education and training into web environments. This may open new ways of teaching and learning the law by providing students with an environment in which they can manage legal information and legal knowledge for their personal professional use. However, it is clear that throughout Europe there are divergent as well as convergent uses of the web and IT This article explores some of the issues inherent in this, and suggests a number of projects that would enable ICT in legal education to facilitate the aims of the Sorbonne‐Bologna process.