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Legal Education in Ireland: A Paradigm Shift to the Practical?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

Marie-Luce Paris  and
Lawrence Donnelly

Abstract

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Irish legal education is under increasing pressure to reform and reinvent itself in the face of various challenges, especially those implied by the Bologna process. In line with two of the main priorities of the process, namely employability and student-centred learning, a growing number of Irish law faculties have incorporated, or are planning to incorporate, more practice-related components into the law curriculum and, in some cases, a fully fledged Clinical Legal Education programme. This is an important shift in the paradigm of legal education in Ireland which should be welcomed and encouraged by all stakeholders – students, academics, practitioners, judges and those involved in myriad capacities in the administration of justice.

In the first part, a comprehensive presentation is given about the general structure of legal education in Ireland dealing with the main legal education providers, academic and professional requirements for legal training, as well as figures on the legal population and the approximate cost of legal education. The second part goes on to consider three views about the role of practice in Irish legal education, namely the ‘traditional’ view, the ‘holistic’ view and the ‘clinical’ view. These schematically presented views reflect different perspectives on the nature and purpose of legal education. They do not necessarily compete with each other, especially the last two which could arguably complement one another in the general renewal that Irish legal education is facing at the moment. The traditional view is that the status quo, i.e., in which practical elements are not a big feature of legal education at third level, has worked well and should, more or less, be preserved. The holistic view encourages the teaching of some element of practical preparation, but that this can best be provided to students by third level institutions through interdisciplinary courses that put law in context. The view which favours clinical legal education is that more can, and indeed should, be done to enhance the preparation of students for law practice, although it has to be pondered in light of economic realities, competing views about pedagogy and the Bologna context.

Type
Developments
Information
German Law Journal , Volume 11 , Issue 9 , September 2010 , pp. 1067 - 1092
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by German Law Journal GbR 

References

1 This is a revised version of the National Report on Legal Education presented at the 18th International Congress on Comparative Law (Washington, DC, USA July 25 – August 1, 2010) on The Role of Practice in Legal Education in the Republic of Ireland. The authors thank their colleagues T.P. Kennedy, Imelda Maher, James McDermott, Maureen Reynolds for their useful assistance and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. The authors’ views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions they are affiliated to. Any errors remain their own.Google Scholar

2 For an historical perspective of Irish legal education, see Herron, Patricia, Two Thousands Years of Legal Education in Ireland, (2006) 3 Web Journal of Current Legal Issues at http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2006/issue3/herron3.html (last accessed 3 May 2010).Google Scholar

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15 Other institutes offering legal education are Athlone IT, Carlow IT, Letterkenny IT and Waterford IT.Google Scholar

16 These are the Dublin Business School (which incorporates Portobello College), Dorset College, Griffith College, and Open University of Ireland.Google Scholar

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20 Sean Flynn, “HEA calls for ‘overhaul’ of Leaving Cert exam,” The Irish Times, 6 April 2010.Google Scholar

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23 Some universities, like NUI Maynooth, offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in law.Google Scholar

24 Requirements for the professional legal bodies in Northern Ireland and England & Wales are not detailed here. They do not differ much; the IPLS will require Law of Evidence as part of an acceptable law degree (but not Company Law); the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales will require Public Law including Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, and Human Rights Law, as well as English Land Law.Google Scholar

25 Both professional law schools are open to applicants with non-law degrees provided they pass a preliminary examination offered every year by the professional bodies. Holders of an approved degree (other than an approved degree in law) and mature applicants (defined as students who do not hold an approved degree and are over 25 years of age) will need to study for a two year Diploma in Legal Studies at the King's Inns and pass the relevant annual examination before proceeding to take the entrance examination to the bar. This is the first stage of training; it is an academic course and the standard of the examinations is the same as that obtaining in the universities. The very first step for non-graduates wishing to enter the solicitors’ profession is a preliminary examination in English, Irish Politics & Government, and General Knowledge. University graduates from Ireland and the United Kingdom or holders of degrees (regardless of the discipline) awarded by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) are exempt from this examination.Google Scholar

26 Fair Trade Commission Report of Study into Restrictive Practices in the Legal Profession (Dublin: Government of Ireland Stationary Office, 1990).Google Scholar

27 Competition Authority Report on Competition in Legal Services in Ireland 2006 (final). Online at: http://www.tca.ie/EN/News–Publications/News-Releases/The-Competition-Authority-finds-the-legal-profession-in-need-of-substantial-reform-.aspx (last accessed 3 May 2010). The Authority concluded that the Irish legal profession in general was in need of substantial reform. As far as legal education was concerned, one recommendation was the abolition of the Law Society's and King's Inns control of professional legal education which facilitates their educational monopolies. This was in line with a 2001 OECD report on The Role of Competition Policy in Regulatory Reform in Ireland. Online at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/37/34768100.pdf (last accessed 3 May 2010).Google Scholar

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30 The Law Society entrance examination, and the exemptions from sitting it in particular, gave rise to important litigation in the mid-1990s (cf. Bloomer & Others v The Law Society of Ireland & Others [1995] 3 IR 14, Abrahamson & Others v The Law Society of Ireland & Others and the Attorney-General [1996] unreported, High Court, 15 July 1996).Google Scholar

31 A second written and oral examination in the Irish language must be passed before a trainee qualifies. Again, no exemptions are granted. Note that exemptions from the Irish language requirement are made for foreign qualified lawyers seeking admission to the Roll of Solicitors either by reciprocity or by virtue of having passed the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test.Google Scholar

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34 They must also have passed an examination in Irish and made a satisfactory declaration to the benchers.Google Scholar

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38 Grainne Faller, “A shift in student priorities,” The Irish Times, 12 January 2009.Google Scholar

39 Some institutions have reported a sharp increase in the number of qualified lawyers returning to pursue postgraduate study. Again, this is doubtless attributable, at least to some extent, to the economic climate.Google Scholar

40 Internal data from the Law Society of Ireland made available by TP Kennedy, Director of Education.Google Scholar

41 In the last annual report of the Law Society (2008/2009), the number of practising solicitors was given as 8,169, i.e. 9,150 holding practising certificates less 981 not practising members (See Law Society of Ireland Annual Report & Accounts 2008/2009 Facts about the Profession). Online at:http://www.lawsociety.ie/Global/About%20Us/Annual%20Reports/AR08-09.pdf (last accessed 3 May 2010).Google Scholar

42 The other conditions set by most universities to engage in paid external work for an academic staff (not only in Law) are that the activities must be related to the academic and professional interests of staff, must not interfere with the performance of normal academic duties and must be recommended, in certain cases approved, by the Head of School. See. e.g. UCD Consultancy and External Work Policy at http://www.ucd.ie/hr/t4cms/consultancyandexternalworkpolicyv3%200.pdf Google Scholar

43 Costs estimates are given in euros (€) and are based on 2009–2010 information.Google Scholar

44 For elements of the fees debate, see, for example, James McDermott, “Minister needs to move quickly on college fees”, Sunday, August 16, 2009, The Post.ie at http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/08/16/story43749.asp, and Diarmuid Doyle, “Who will make the case for free third-level education?”, Sunday, August 10, 2008, Tribune News at http://www.tribune.ie/news/editorial-opinion/article/2008/aug/10/who-will-make-the-case-for-free-third-level-educat/ (last accessed 3 May 2010).Google Scholar

45 e.g. €157,50 in UCD, €224 in NUI Galway. Figures provided are sourced from the Fees & Grants section of each university webpage.Google Scholar

46 Ranges of fees given are the result of a comparison of Fees & Grants information made available for each of the 7 universities on their website.Google Scholar

47 A promise not to reintroduce fees was extracted by the Green party from the Fianna Fáil, Ireland's governing party, when the current Government was planning a new fees regime. In a statement issued in late 2009, the Government explained that ‘[c]onscious of the economic pressure on parents today, [it] will not proceed with any new scheme of student contribution to Third Level education’ (See Renewed Programme for Government, 10 October 2009 at http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Publications/Publications2009/RenewedProgrammeforGovernmentOctober2009.html (last accessed 3 May 2010). The Government had envisaged a hybrid system of graduate taxes and/or student loans. Students could be offered the option to pay the cost of their undergraduate legal education upfront (with fees starting from €5,000), with the possibility of a discount on the overall cost of the degree. For those students (the majority?) who couldn't pay upfront, the alternative was that, on the English model, they would repay the cost once their professional income had reached a certain threshold thus carrying debt after graduation, mitigated by some kind of low-interest loan arrangement. See Flynn, Sean, “College fees – What's going on?” The Irish Times, 31 March 2009.Google Scholar

48 See above II. 3. Professional Legal Training (text and footnotes) for detailed information about elements of practice in legal education at Blackball Place and King's Inns.Google Scholar

49 See notes 14–16 above and accompanying text with relevant websites where more detailed information can be obtained.Google Scholar

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51 See Schweppe, Jennifer, “You Can Leave Your Hat On: Applying Edward de Bono's Approach to Business Management to Problem Solving in the Law Classroom,” (paper presented at the 4th Irish Legal Education Symposium, University of Limerick, May 2010) (paper on file with authors).Google Scholar

52 TCD and NUI Galway are among the law schools that do. At least one private college, Dublin Business School, offers a diploma in alternative dispute resolution.Google Scholar

53 See Daly, Yvonne & Higgins, Noelle, “Mooting in the Modern Legal Curriculum,” (paper presented at the 4th Irish Legal Education Symposium, University of Limerick, May 2010) (paper on file with authors).Google Scholar

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56 Mel Cousins, How public interest law and litigation can make a difference to marginalised and vulnerable groups in Ireland (Dublin, 2005) at http://www.flac.ie/download/pdf/cousinsflac061005.pdf (last accessed 20 May 2010).Google Scholar

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58 Lawrence Donnelly, Irish Clinical Legal Education Ab Initio: Challenges and Opportunities, (2008/2009) 13 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 56 at note 1; see also Neville, Sarah, “Young Legal Eagles Will Get To Spread Wings in Mock Court as part of New University Project,” Evening Herald, 2 August 2008 (detailing plans for CLE at University College Dublin).Google Scholar

59 Lawrence Donnelly, Irish Clinical Legal Education Ab Initio: Challenges and Opportunities, (2008/2009) 13 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 56 at 60–61.Google Scholar

60 Id., 61.Google Scholar

61 Id., 60–62.Google Scholar

62 Peter Joy, Political Interference in Clinical Programmes: Lessons from the U.S. Experience, (2005) 8 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 83 at 87 (noting that foremost among the objectives of students, educators and students who pioneered legal education was to “expand access to justice by representing poor and unpopular clients and causes…”).Google Scholar

63 The websites for the School of Law at NUI Galway (http://www.nuigalway.ie/law/) and for the Faculty of Law at UCC (http://www.ucc.ie/en/lawsite/) contain further information on their CLE programmes.Google Scholar

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66 Andras Jakab, Dilemmas of Legal Education: A Comparative Overview, 57 Journal of Legal Education 253 at 257 (2007).Google Scholar

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68 See generally Richmond, Michael, Teaching Law to Passive Learners: The Contemporary Dilemma of Legal Education, 26 Cumberland Law Review 943 (1995/1996).Google Scholar

69 Margaret Thornton, The Law School, the Marketplace and the New Knowledge Economy, (2009) 10 German Law Journal 641 at 653–654.Google Scholar

70 Id., 654.Google Scholar

71 Id., 652.Google Scholar

72 See note 47 above.Google Scholar

73 Paul O'Connor, Legal Education in Ireland, 80 Michigan Bar Journal 78 at 79 (2001).Google Scholar

74 Lawrence Donnelly, Irish Clinical Legal Education Ab Initio: Challenges and Opportunities, (2008/2009) 13 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 56 at 62 (where a clinical student comments that theory should be left to academics and that client-centred aspect of law practice is too often neglected in university courses). The traditional view also runs afoul of the spirit of Bologna.Google Scholar

75 Patricia Herron, Two Thousands Years of Legal Education in Ireland, (2006) 3 Web Journal of Current legal Issues at http://webicli.ncl.ac.uk/2006/issue3/herron3.html (last accessed 20 May 2010).Google Scholar

76 Initiated in the 1960s and 1970s by legal realists and socio-legal scholars, the law and society movement pointed to the importance of understanding the gap between ‘law in books’ and ‘law in action', and the operation of law in society (See Mike McConville & Wing Hong Chui, Research Methods for Law, Edinburgh University Press, 2007, 1 at 5).Google Scholar

77 There is evidence that law schools in the UK, the United States and elsewhere in the common law world have put in place programmes (at postgraduate level) that encourage an interdisciplinary approach of law showing that socio-legal studies have become a significant feature of legal education in these jurisdictions (See Mike McConville & Wing Hong Chui, Research Methods for Law, Edinburgh University Press, 2007, 1 at 5).Google Scholar

78 And ‘will also enable the law school to take a much greater part in the intellectual debates to be found elsewhere in the university’ (See Bradney, Anthony, Law as a Parasitic Discipline (1998) 25 Journal of Law and Society 71).Google Scholar

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82 Id. at 64–65. There is also the fact that law students are now more research-based than before and are asked, at postgraduate as well as increasingly undergraduate level, to undertake more research to complete coursework assignments, especially if they have to look at other disciplines and methods. At first glance, it might run against the idea of a more practice-related curriculum. However, increasingly research-based studies have their role to play in teaching invaluable practical transferable and analytical skills.Google Scholar

83 William Binchy, The Irish Legal System, 29 International Journal of Legal Information 201 at 216–217 (2001). See also note 14 and accompanying text for relevant information on the various interdisciplinary law degrees offered by Irish law schools.Google Scholar

84 See generally Maharg, Paul, Transforming Legal Education: Learning and Teaching Law in the Early Twenty-First Century (Ashgate, 2007).Google Scholar

85 See Donnelly, Lawrence, “More practice needed in legal education,” The Irish Times, 19 October 2009. Clearly, one of this article's co-authors is inclined to the third view.Google Scholar

86 See generally Wilson, Richard, Western Europe: Last Holdout in the Global Acceptance of Clinical Legal Education, (2009) 10 German Law Journal 823.Google Scholar

87 Lawrence Donnelly, Irish Clinical Legal Education Ab Initio: Challenges and Opportunities, (2008/2009) 13 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 56 at 61–62.Google Scholar

88 This sentiment emerged from our informal “polling” of legal academics about the introduction of more practical elements in the Irish legal curriculum.Google Scholar

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99 Frans Vanistendael, Designing a Humanistic Legal Education, (2006) 3(1) European Journal of Legal Education 56 at 63.Google Scholar