The futures of legal education and the legal profession - Professor Hilary Sommerlad

We are currently witnessing an unprecedented transformation in the legal profession and legal education. The Legal Services Act 2007 and the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 have both enabled and necessitated dramatic structural changes to the profession, as well as impacting on its ethos and ethicality. The recent Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) promises similarly dramatic change to the provision of legal education, reflecting the shifting landscape of both the legal professional market and Higher Education in general. These transformative changes bring both exciting opportunities and challenges with which everyone involved in the law - from University lecturers, to Senior Partners in leading law firms, to the judiciary - must grapple. This edited collection comprises a selection of papers presented at the 2nd conference of CEPLER, Birmingham Law School's Centre for Professional Legal Education and Research. The aim of the Conference, and thus this collection, was to bring together leading academic scholars, senior figures from professional practice, policy-makers, and representatives of the regulatory authorities,
to reflect on the key issues arising from this transformative moment. As such, this volume of essays covers diverse ground, from curriculum development to professional theory, enriched and enhanced by the range of backgrounds and perspectives of its contributors.