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Law schools need to adjust blueprints and ‘think global’

A new report on legal education across the world has found that internationalisation and technological disruption are among the biggest challenges.

The research for the report, entitled Developing a Blueprint for Global Legal Education, was undertaken by the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Law Schools Global League (LSGL), with coordination by IE Law School.

New skills

The report found that legal institutions around the world were working on becoming more international, but had not completely overhauled their programmes to bring about the full internationalisation of legal education.

Soledad Atienza, who heads the IE Law School, said only a few law schools included a full internationalisation process to achieve programmes that allowed graduates to obtain legal qualifications for more than one jurisdiction.

Former IBA president Fernando Peláez-Pier said law faculties around the world needed to “adjust their blueprints” to include all the new skills lawyers needed to the demand for legal services in the 21st century and to practise law effectively and competitively.

Affordability issues

The report said COVID-19 had shown the need for technology to be prioritised as a teaching tool, though it had also highlighted issues of affordability and access for those studying law remotely.

It also warned about a lack of diversity in all forms – including ethnicity, gender, culture and socio-economic background – among both students and faculty members.