Legal Education ─ Simulation in Theory and Practice

The importance of simulation in education, specifically in legal subjects, is here discussed and explored within this innovative collection. Demonstrating how simulation can be constructed and developed for learning, teaching and assessment, the text argues that simulation is a pedagogically valuable and practical tool in teaching the modern law curriculum. With contributions from law teachers within the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa and the USA, the authors draw on their experiences in teaching law in the areas of clinical legal education, legal process, evidence, criminal law, family law and employment law as well as teaching law to non-law students. They claim that simulation, as a form of experiential and problem-based learning, enables students to integrate the ’classroom’ experience with the real world experiences they will encounter in their professional lives. This book will be of relevance not only to law teachers but university teachers generally, as well as those interested in legal education and the theory of law.

Caroline Strevens is Principal Lecturer and Head of The School of Law, University of Portsmouth. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and also has considerable experience as a practising solicitor. She has developed innovative units for the degree pathways, and is a keen advocate of learning from experience. She is a regular commentator on issues relating to legal education, developments in the legal services market and in particular in the use of technology and simulation. Richard Grimes is Director of Clinical Programmes at York Law School, University of York. As a former Professor of Legal Education and, in a previous life, a partner in a law firm he remains committed to learning by doing and to improving access to justice. He has also worked as an independent consultant on a variety of legal education projects in the UK and further afield including Afghanistan, Iran and Nigeria. He has published widely on clinical legal education issues and in the legal skills field. Edward Phillips is Principal Lecturer in Law at the University of Greenwich. As well as lecturing in law, the author has been a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Malaya. He regularly presents and has published widely on aspects of legal education and the use of simulations. He is also on the Editorial Board of COMPASS: The Journal of Learning and Teaching.