 | The Calling of Law: The Pivotal Role of Vocational Legal Education Subjects: Economics Finance Business & Industry; Education; Health and Social Care; Law; Socio-Legal Studies; Business Management and Accounting; Education Policy & Politics; Nursing; Jurisprudence & General Issues; Land Law; Education Policy; Law Ethics and Professional Values; Comparative Law; Ethics - Jurisprudence; Jurisprudence & Philosophy of Law; Legal Education; Corporate Social Responsibility & Business Ethics; As one of the 'learned' professions requiring advanced learning and high principles, law enjoys a special standing in society. In return for its status and rank, the legal profession is expected to exhibit the highest levels of honesty, trust and morality, the very values which underpin the legal system itself. This, in turn, entrusts to legal education a particular problem of addressing, not only the substantive elements of the body of law, but a means through which the characteristics of the 'calling' of law are imparted and instilled. At a time when the very essence of the legal profession is under threat, this book calls for a realignment of the legal curriculum and pedagogies so as to emphasise the development of culture over industry; character over eloquence; and calling over skill. Chapters are grouped around the core content and key themes of Curiosity, Calling, Character and Conscientiousness, Contract, and Culture. The volume includes contributions from leading experts, drawn internationally and from other professional disciplines in order to present alternative approaches aimed at tackling common issues, providing insight, and provoking debate. Fiona Westwood qualified as a solicitor in 1976 and practised for more than 20 years as a commercial lawyer, latterly as an equity partner of a large Glasgow and Edinburgh firm with particular responsibilities for business development across the whole business. Since 2000, she has been involved in postgraduate vocational skills development, initially as a part-time Tutor at Edinburgh and Strathclyde Universities and then Senior lecturer in legal Practice at Glasgow Graduate School of Law. She has also served on the Law Society of Scotland Working Parties on Education and Training, in particular as their CPD Project Leader, and on Professional Standards. Her particular areas of research, business and academic publications relate to practice leadership and management, professionalism and the development of professional judgement. In particular, she has researched and written three books on professionals, their organisations and their skill development. Her first two books, Achieving Best Practice - Shaping Professionals for Success and Accelerated Best Practice - Implementing Success in Professional Firms focus on the leadership and management of professional service organisations. Her third book, Developing Resilience - the Key to Professional Success, tackles personal and professional development from undergraduate to mastery. In addition to running her own management consultancy, Westwood Associates (www.westwood-associates.com), she is the Director of Continuing Professional Education, the School of Law, the University of Glasgow.Karen Barton has had a long-term interest in teaching and learning, e-learning, professional learning and the use of IT within legal practice, and, as a result, has published widely and carried out a number of funded research projects in these areas. This includes the Standardised Client initiative in interviewing skills for trainee lawyers; a JISC/HEA-funded e-Portfolio Project investigating the use of e-portfolios in professional legal education; and a JISC/HEA funded open Education Resources project, SimShare. She has also carried out cross-disciplinary research in Professionalism and Professionl Learning. Her more general interest in professional education and training is reflected in her involvement in two leading edge projects: The Standardised Client Project and the e-Portfolio Pilot Project involving law students, trainees and trainers within a number of Scottish legal firms, and is author of a number of articles and book Chapter s in these areas. She has led a number of innovative teaching and learning projects involving transactional, web-based simulations as well as multimedia and webcast environments and is currently the Head of UH Online, the University of Hertfordshire's Centre for Online Distance Learning. |
