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Introduction
To become a solicitor or a barrister in England and Wales it is not necessary to have studied a Law degree. It is perfectly acceptable and common to have studied another subject to degree level, then undertake a one year crash conversion course and proceed to the vocational stage and on into practice. But we would never contemplate a doctor being trained in such a cursory way. So what makes the training of lawyers different?
Graham Virgo
The study of Law at University is an academic not a vocational discipline. What this means is that the aim of studying Law is not to equip the prospective practising lawyer with the skills which he or she needs in practice, although knowledge and skills acquired in the course of academic legal study will certainly be of benefit to practising lawyers. But those who study Law do not necessarily end up in legal practice; a Law degree can be of relevance to a wide variety of careers. But what skills do Law students acquire? Is the Law degree fit for purpose, and what is that purpose anyway? This raises issues of fundamental importance to those teaching Law and also to the legal professions and, just as significantly, to managers of legal information. Can such managers do more to meet the needs of the Law student and the legal researcher and to bridge the gap between the legal academic and the legal practitioner in complementing and developing legal skills? In attempting to answer these questions there is a prior question which needs to be assessed, which is the key focus of this paper, what is the point of studying Law at all?
Negative perceptions
Lawyers traditionally have to deal with negative public perceptions of them as individuals and their profession as a whole. So, for example, Gardam in her novel Old Filth has a teacher of the hero of the book say:
'You'll be a lawyer. Magnificent money. Sense of logic, no imagination and no brains.'
But such negative perceptions are not confined to practitioners. It is also true of the Law student. So, in the film Legally Blonde the father of the protagonist Elle Woods says:
'Law school is for people...