Clark, David S. --- "Legal Education" [2012] ELECD 773; in Clark, S. David (ed), "Comparative Law and Society" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Comparative Law and Society

Editor(s): Clark, S. David

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849803618

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: Legal Education

Author(s): Clark, David S.

Number of pages: 34

Extract:

16 Legal education
David S. Clark*


1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 European Origins

The first large-scale use of systematic education to train legal professionals occurred in
Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Two universities distinguished them-
selves in developing and transmitting knowledge to such an extent that they attracted
students from throughout Europe. The University of Bologna became famous for its
instruction in Roman law and canon law while the University of Paris, renowned for its
faculties of theology and liberal arts, influenced legal education through the structure of
its organization. By 1400, 46 universities existed in Europe, most of which had a faculty
of Roman law and canon law.1
England, which participated in this European development, offered Roman and canon
law in its two universities at Oxford and Cambridge. This served the lawyers and judges
who worked in church courts and in certain special royal courts, but it was only near
the end of the twentieth century that law school education replaced apprenticeship (in
London) as the dominant avenue to legal careers.2 The English historical variation from
university legal education in continental Europe helps to explain in part the divergence
between the civil law and the common law traditions.

1.2 The Dominating Role of Church, State and Market

Figure 16.1 sets out a simplified macro-social model for illustrating the relationships
in society between university legal education and dominating spheres of influence such
as church, state and market. It is a premise of this ...