Creative podcasting as a tool for legal knowledge and skills development

ABSTRACT

This article draws on the authors’ experience of introducing a student-led legal podcast in their law school in September 2017 to explore creative podcasting’s potential as a tool of legal knowledge and skills development. Drawing on the authors’ observations as the coordinators of the podcast, as well as a survey conducted amongst student participants, it considers the value of creative podcasting as a means of enhancing legal knowledge, aiding skills development, and fostering a feeling of collaboration and community. The article also reflects on the practical challenges associated with running a project of this type outside the school’s curriculum, focusing particularly on the challenge of encouraging student buy-in.     

Embedding employability in assessment: searching for the balance between academic learning and skills development in law: a case study

Employability related indicators and measurements are now a fact of life for UK law schools. Despite the omnipresent spectre of the employability agenda, there has been relatively little consideration given to the relationship between assessment and employability. The traditional teaching method used at law schools relies heavily on participatory small group teaching. This lends itself to developing oral communication skills. Surveys of employers show oral communication to be one of the most highly valued employability skills. Research, however, suggests that law students do not feel that oral communication skills are given enough emphasis on law programmes. Using the example of a new approach to assessment of the European Law module at the University of Bolton, which adopts an oral assessment alongside a traditional written exam, consideration is given to the benefits and practicalities of embedding employability in assessment. The extent to which this approach can be reconciled to liberal ideals is considered alongside pedagogical rationales for the assessment. In the final section, the article goes on to analyse student feedback on their perception of different assessment methods and employability. The article concludes by suggesting that, by focusing on pre-existing features of a liberal legal education, employability can be successfully embedded in assessment.     

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.     

Training of legal professionals in DNA evidence

The South African Criminal Legal System is based on Roman Dutch law. Court proceedings are led by a single presiding officer of the court. Prosecutors and defence advocates present the court with evidence in an adversarial manner. This system has inherent advantages and disadvantages and therefore the training of legal professionals in handling DNA evidence in court is important. The prosecutors resort under the National Prosecuting Authority and the defence advocates act independently or e.g. under the auspices of Legal Aid South Africa.Education curricula of legal professional do not include forensic science evidence. Principles such as evidential value in the forensic context are not addressed. Training of legal professionals with our Essential DNA Evidence™ Course has been a multiplier of forensic science knowledge in the legal profession in South Africa. We present prosecution and defence perspectives in an unbiased manner, compensating for the possible subjective interpretations of evidence that may be presented in court. Forensic evidence is subsequently carefully evaluated prior to being court presentation thus improving court efficiency, and allowing for a more focussed approach to the presentation of evidence. Approaches to the customisation of course content that adds value has been identified via evaluation of training programmes.Experience has shown that legal professionals have the ability to incorporate relatively complex scientific concepts into their legal arguments if provided with the appropriate training opportunity. Appropriate training in DNA evidence has made the court process more effective, both in terms of time and costs, and ultimately serves justice.     

Paradigm shift: motivations for qualified legal professionals to undertake academic study

This paper considers the factors that motivate qualified legal professionals to undertake a further legal academic programme of study. The paper analyses the findings of a recent study concerning a post-graduate research degree collaboration between Northumbria University (NU) and the Law Society of Ireland (LSI) whereby NU’s longstanding LLM Advanced Legal Practice (LLM ALP) has been offered in Ireland through the LSI (LLM ALP (Ire)). The initial offering of the LLM ALP (Ire) has attracted a significant amount of interest from the profession, prompting the authors to consider (i) the factors that motivate ‘time-poor’ professionals to pursue the academic study of law at the post-professional level and (ii) the potential that such a course of study might have to inform and enrich the students’ practice of law. The LLM ALP (Ire) has attracted a significant amount of more established practitioners, whereas those who generally enrol on the LLM ALP in England are at the early stages of their careers, either enrolled on the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or having only recently qualified. Hence this research is focused on a particular student profile of post-professionals with established careers in legal practice.     

危机管理的民众技能

为了有效控制危机带来的破坏,构建和谐社会,培养危机管理的民众技能刻不容缓。现在看来,我国危机管理民众技能的现状不容乐观,为了鼓励社会民众积极参与危机管理,形成社会责任。必须建立公民危机处理机制;民众危机管理技能应形成常态;必须建立政府和公民合作机制。     

Examination of systematic variations in burglars' domain-specific perceptual and procedural skills

Abstract

This research examines systematic variations in residential burglars' domain-specific perceptual and procedural skills. Utilising a formula incorporating frequency of offending, generation of offending-related income, burglary charges, and estimated duration of burglary career, 53 experts and 53 novices were objectively identified from a sample of 209 interviews conducted with incarcerated burglars. The perceptual and procedural burglary skills of these two groups were compared and the results demonstrated important differences indicative of superior domain-specific performance for objectively classified experts. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, along with suggestions for application of this knowledge to crime prevention initiatives.     

Legal skills and the SQE: confronting the challenge head on

Whether the teaching and assessment of practical legal skills and professional conduct should be focused at the academic or vocational stage of legal education has been considered numerous times, with recommendations made and varying degrees of implementation carried out. With the approval of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination being granted by the Legal Services Board this issue is once again being brought into focus. The end of the Legal Practice Course will result in the required compulsory teaching and assessment of core practical legal skills and professional conduct being removed from legal education. The question therefore is whether legal education should incorporate practical legal skills and professional conduct into teaching and assessment at the academic stage and, if so, how can this be achieved in a way that complements rather than distracts from the study of academic law. This study will consider the recommendations made in relation to practical legal skills and professional conduct over the last five decades and identify possible options for the embedding of practical legal skills and professional conduct in the law curriculum at undergraduate level.     

Teaching collaborative problem-solving skills to law students

This article describes and critically evaluates a collaborative dispute resolution activity conducted in a mid-degree law subject at an Australian university. Australian law degrees are required to be vocational. Teaching problem-solving to law students is an effective way to impart key professional skills. However, it requires planning and preparation. It is therefore important to reflect on whether the aims of the activity have been achieved. In particular, three ideas about what constitutes good teaching are explored. The first is that good teachers do not simply deliver content – they give their students problems to solve. The second is the expectation employers have that law graduates will readily collaborate with their colleagues. Finally, giving students an opportunity to reflect on what they have learned will enable students to transfer what they have understood and articulated to legal practice. By delineating each of these three teaching aims, it is possible to assess the value and effectiveness of the problem-solving activity. This paper also reflects on the positive impact that is achieved when authentic and ethical legal processes are embedded into student-centred learning.     

The future of legal services: A review

LAW IN THE BALANCE ‐ LEGAL SERVICES IN THE EIGHTIES. Edited by Philip A. Thomas. [Oxford: Martin Robertson 1982. x and 245 pp. £18.50 (hardback); £6.50 (paperback)]     

The legal regime for application of the precautionary principle in India: future directions for the GM regulatory regime

The precautionary principle is one of the most contentious principles in contemporary international legal developments. The very fact that it is a principle of international environmental law has been questioned by many legal scholars. However, this does not take away the fact that the precautionary principle continues to be applied widely across sectors both internationally and nationally. The nature and scope of its application has varied widely according to the context and sector within which it has been applied. The central issue which this article seeks to address is the regulatory and the policy making space that is available to the Government of India in the context of the obligations as undertaken under the Cartagena Protocol and under various other international treaties. The regulatory space would also be affected by the domestic legal developments across sectors in which the principle has been applied. India’s recent decision on the large-scale commercialisation of Bt-Cotton has already created much debate regarding its appropriateness given the realities of Indian farm practices. More specifically, it has also led to a rethinking of the role and application of the precautionary principle in addressing these realities. Considering that the Indian policy on biotechnology is currently being drafted, it is important to look into the scope of applying the precautionary principle in taking any decision on genetically modified organisms (GMO) in terms of their distribution of risks, incorporating the social and equity impacts of such decisions.

中国法律技能教育的制度分析

从法律技能的需求的视角,本文在制度层面分析技能教育为何在中国法学教育中发展不足和缓慢;认为这是法学院学生和教育者面时现有学科体制和由诸多社会因素构成的社会需求时的理性选择的结果;法律技能教育发展的关键不在于重视或加大投入,而在于中国社会的进一步发展和转型。本文追求对法学教育的经验研究和理论研究的有机整合。