Abstract:

It is difficult to determine the curriculum content for legal education when considering the value of the so-called doctrinal or foundational teaching-learning as opposed to practical legal education. There is a need to develop both generic skills as well as knowledge and practical skills. In legal education at a previously advantaged and transforming law school (Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, UFS) in rural South Africa, solving this becomes even more difficult. Apart from the pressures put on law schools from the professions, the political and social pressures of transforming the legal professional and higher education landscapes in South Africa became enormous. The Faculty of Law, UFS, as other law faculties in the country, is under immense pressure to admit more students while on the other hand from legal practice not to produce under-skilled graduates. The endeavor to increase academic and professional quality by raising the admission requirements for potential students is to be balanced by the transformational responsibility to allow access to less prepared school leavers. Under pressure of having to deliver larger numbers of especially black graduates to the legal professions, the law curriculum was drastically changed in 1998 to allow students to graduate in four rather than five years. In order to ensure academic excellence the Faculty of Law, UFS introduced a five year LL.B in addition to the four year LL.B to enable students with a lower admission score to first do a skills development year within the LL.B. This presentation aims to show the success and problems of this endeavour.

Keywords:

Practical legal education, skills development.