A report published today cites internationalisation and technological disruption as the key trends and opportunities in the field of global legal education, as well as the root of many challenges facing legal educators. 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.
Download the full report here.
Fernando Peláez-Pier, former president of the IBA commented, ‘There is a need for law faculties around the world to adjust their blueprints to include all the new skills that lawyers require to meet the demand for legal services in the 21st century and to practice law effectively and competitively. The findings of this report are particularly poignant in the context of COVID-19, which has highlighted the importance of technological adoption in the sector.’
Developing a Blueprint for Global Legal Education aims to help legal education institutions navigate ongoing paradigm changes and offer a legal education model that responds to current needs of the legal profession. The research was conducted by eight researchers, with the assistance of four supporters from seven regions around the world – Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong, Latin America and the United Kingdom. The researchers analysed more than 200 articles of relevant literature; scrutinised 420
school websites; received over 300 responses to online surveys; and held interviews with more than 60 law schools and bar associations across the globe.
Soledad Atienza, Dean of IE Law School said, ‘We have seen that only a few law schools achieve a sophisticated level of internationalisation. These institutions include a full internationalisation process to achieve programmes that allow graduates to obtain legal qualifications for more than one jurisdiction, which is hugely beneficial in our interconnected world where students are crossing borders with greater frequency.’
The Blueprint outlines a range of trends and key challenges, ranked by importance and categorised by region, that law schools are embracing and/or facing, together with existing and suggested responses that some schools are already taking and others could adopt.
The key challenges identified include:
The results of the Blueprint will be discussed on Tuesday 10 November at 1600 – 1700 GMT during the IBA 2020 – Virtually Together Conference at the IBA Showcase: reinventing global legal education to address the ongoing transformation of the legal professions: a blueprint for change. A group of qualified experts
representing law firms, in-house lawyers, national bars, organisations and regulators will participate in the Showcase, analysing Developing a Blueprint for Global Legal Education recommendations, as well as the key goals of the project, including to:
The joint initiative forms part of the ongoing research by the IBA’s Commission on the Future of Legal Services into the trends that are shaping the legal profession, chaired by Dr Peláez-Pier alongside Dr Soledad.
Members of the Commission include:
Notes:
Romana St. Matthew-Daniel
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Fernando Peláez-Pier
Founding Partner
Hoet Peláez Castillo & Duque
21200 NE 38th Ave
Aventura, Fl 33180
Tel: +1 786 5458242
E-mail: fpelaez@hpcd.com
Website: www.hpcd.com
Soledad Atienza
Dean IE Law School
Velasquez 130
28006
Madrid
Spain
Tel: 0034 91 568 96 00
E-mail: soledad.atienza@ie.edu
Website: https://lawschoolsgloballeague.com
Download a PDF of the report Blueprint for Global Legal Education
Short link: tinyurl.com/yxzss734
Full link: www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=B372104C-690D-4EEE-B7F2-47A18C563E38