The gap between theory and practice

Jacob Carson offered a comprehensive and multifaceted assessment of the efficacy of university curricula by articulating the varying sentiments he has heard from law students.

“When it comes to the curriculum of the ordinary bachelor of laws course, the report is more mixed. I hear different things from different students who have graduated – although most seem quite cynical about the relevance of what they learned at uni, there are some who swear by the usefulness of what they learned in certain subjects at uni,” Carson said.

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Despite the efforts to incorporate practical knowledge into the curriculum, universities can often fail to provide practical knowledge to assist their students with day-to-day duties as lawyers.

“I think that there has been an increased effort in recent years to try to make the law curriculum more practice-oriented. That said, since the LLB is an academic degree, there is still quite a gap between university and everyday practice for most lawyers, and that’s probably due in part to the historical roots of the legal profession as an on-the-job apprenticeship,” Carson said.

Most legal degrees still heavily emphasise pure legal doctrine and theoretical knowledge, according to Carson.

“One major example of that is that most legal courses at university are completely focused on purist legal doctrine developed by the peak courts in our judicial hierarchy. Although that doctrine is important to know, it’s certainly not reflective of the vast majority of litigious work,” he said.

Carson also emphasised the limited coverage of “soft skills” in the curricula despite their crucial role in effective legal practice.

“Another issue is that ‘soft skills’ like negotiation and public speaking are really only glanced over in the curriculum, and this gap is only filled by externally run skills-based competitions that not all students partake in because of time constraints,” he said.

Hayden McLoughlin echoed these general concerns by emphasising how “university is a great place to learn how to think like a lawyer but not how to be a lawyer”.

However, Jeremy Short holds differing sentiments and said that the university’s curriculum adequately prepares law students for the real world.

“I believe that the university’s curriculum does prepare students relatively well in this area,” he said.

“I have noticed that all units (that I have undertaken so far) have endeavoured to include recent developments in the law (e.g., amendments to legislation, court decisions), while assessment is primarily geared towards problem-style questions that require students to provide advice to a hypothetical client – this being a clear reflection of what students can expect when undertaking legal practice.”

What more can be done

For individuals pursuing a career in law, there are several voids within their legal education, potentially affecting their readiness to engage in the profession.

“There’s a lot that could be said here, and I’m probably not even fully aware of all the areas I’m lacking in since I haven’t started full-time legal practice – as Donald Rumsfeld famously said, ‘there are known unknowns … But there are also unknown unknowns’,” Carson said.

“One of the biggest areas that’s lacking for me is practically executing the procedural tasks associated with court cases, which seems to dominate a lot of solicitors’ time. For instance, I may know what a cross-claim is theoretically, but if you asked me to draft you one and file it with a court, I’d be pretty blank.”

Additionally, Carson highlighted a disconnect between theoretical knowledge and practical application, particularly in contract law.

“Another concrete example of the knowledge gap between university and real-world practice is the fact that most university students study two subjects of Contract Law without ever being exposed to an example of an actual, fully-written contract,” he said.

“Whereas law school has us focusing on the High Court judgments that have laid out the legal theory behind contract law, a junior lawyer is far more likely to be tasked with reading, reviewing, and drafting real contracts in their day-to-day practice.”

In McLoughlin’s opinion, the main deficiency in his legal education was his failure to grasp that the most appropriate legal solution is not always in sync with the most effective practical approach.

“I believe the gap in my legal education lies primarily in understanding that the ‘right’ legal solution doesn’t always align with the best practical approach,” he said.

“Legal education often focuses on finding the correct legal answer, but it could do more to teach when to stand firm and when to be flexible.”

McLoughlin also argued that universities need to prioritise the incorporation of empathy and human-centred approaches into their teaching curriculum.

“I think there should be greater emphasis on empathy and a human-centric approach in legal practice, as some issues require more than just a legal solution,” McLoughlin said.

Universities should be offering more opportunities for their law students to engage in collaborative work with their peers, mirroring the collaborative ethos prevalent in the legal profession, argued Short.

“I believe that collaboration is a specific skill that could be improved upon to better prepare students for real-world legal practice – especially as it is an inherent aspect of working in legal practice (and any workplace),” he said.

He explained that relying solely on classroom discussions within tutorials is insufficient for the development of this particular skill.

“While classroom discussion often has an element of collaboration, the law school’s modes of assessment could be improved to better reflect what students can expect once they begin full-time work.

“In particular, the law school could consider embracing group work further as the vast majority of assessment tasks (at least those that I have undertaken) have not involved elements of collaboration – an approach that differs from some units that I have undertaken outside of the law school,” Short said.

“It would also help to provide students with transferable skills that can be readily applied in their everyday lives and beyond the legal profession. As someone who is currently working part-time with an in-house legal team, I have noticed that the formal assessment structure is not wholly consistent with what day-to-day interaction with other colleagues and stakeholders often involves (e.g., close collaboration, dialogue and teamwork).”

More to come.