June 2001
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This paper begins by attempting to describe the purposes of legal education and the different perspectives from which it can be viewed. We then consider the nature of legal education as a product, consider who the consumers of that product are and who is accountable for the quality of the product. We conclude that the product is Fordist and supply led and fails to respond to the current fragmented understanding of what a lawyer - and therefore a legal education - is. We reflect upon the impact of benchmarking, QAA and the joint professional statement. We are concerned that currently the difference between traditional and non-traditional legal education is defined by the characteristics of the student body, rather than the provision of innovative and responsive curriculum. We utilise research with students from the University of North London and Sheffield Hallam University to demonstrate student aspirations in studying law and to illustrate how those aspirations change during the course of their studies. Finally we consider the extent to which experiential learning provides a relevant revalidation of legal education. We argue that clinical legal education and work based learning provides a student centred, action based, and open ended education, in a stimulating context. Properly supervised and supported within the law school, this form of legal education develops the knowledge management skills necessary for survival in the "knowledge society" and forces the constant reinvention of the product that our current uncertainties about the future of lawyering requires.