The Ethics Project in Legal Education

Book excerpt: This book discusses the teaching of ‘legal ethics’, arguing that the current formal rules governing lawyers are inadequate, as true engagement with ethical issues requires lawyers to exercise judgment, and therefore there is a need to rethink the aims, scope and methodology of ‘legal ethics education. The volume presents the views of a number of internationally renowned legal ethicists, including Brent Cotter and David Chavkin, exploring and questioning the teaching of legal ethics. The contributions examine legal ethics teaching in a range of jurisdictions including the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong. A number of contributors discuss design issues that cover a broad field of methods, including simulations, the pervasive use of problem-solving exercises, and real-world experiences, with some of the essays revealing their empirical findings on the effectiveness of these methods and particularly as they affect the students.