The Law School: Global Issues, Local Questions.

• Position: Book Review

Aidershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 1999. Pp. vii, 260.

This book arises from work done by the International Sociology Association's Research Committee on the Sociology of Law. Its purpose is to increase awareness of contemporary issues relating to legal education. Although it features articles on issues and experiences native to different jurisdictions, the book's purpose is not to highlight differences, but rather to acknowledge common areas of interest. The book illustrates the increasing professionalization of legal education research throughout the world, which has been a neglected area of study for some time.

There are nine essays from law professors, lecturers, and researchers from the United Kingdom, Italy, and Quebec. The first article explores the debates over liberalizing legal education. Anthony Bradney notes that despite debate over the traditional approaches to legal education--academic versus vocational the majority of legal educators agree that it is a liberal education. His article is largely inspired by F.R. Leavis, who argued that personal and cultural development are the ultimate aims of liberal education. Next, Roger Brownsword discusses the multi-dimensional educational value of law schools, even for those who never practice. His article is based on reports submitted by the Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct ("ACLEC"), which advocates making law schools not only vocational trainers, their traditional roles, but also liberal academies.

Given legal academia's emphasis on research, Fiona Cownie's article examines the neglected teaching element of legal education. She feels that it is important for law teachers to familiarize themselves with theories of education and to integrate them into their instruction. In the following article Andrew Goldsmith examines the interaction between law schools, universities, markets, and the future of legal scholarship. He focusses on the direction of legal education and the support for non-traditional forms of scholarship. He also discusses pedagogical policy debates on the place of law schools within universities. Market pressure is another prevalent theme in Goldsmith's piece. Joy Hilyer's article analyzes professional legal education, that is, mandatory vocational legal education subsequent to university instruction. John Flood maps the dialogue between legal education, globalization, and the "new imperialism". He argues that law and lawyers have a role to play in globalization...