In March 2009 the Law Society of England and Wales published an important report by Kim Economides and Justine Rogers entitled Preparatory Ethics Training for Solicitors. Among the recommendations of this report was a call to make the teaching of ‘legal ethics’ a required part of the qualifying law degree. This call has been taken up by the Law Society, which is now conducting research into what is being taught at the undergraduate stage. Moreover, with a planned review of academic legal education by the Joint Academic Stage Board in 2011, debate about the nature and place of ethics in the academic curriculum could soon become of regulatory significance.
To encourage and inform that debate UKCLE is hosting, in association with the Law Society, a day conference in London. Among the questions to be considered are
Should ‘legal ethics’ be a (compulsory) part of the academic curriculum?
What should be taught, how, and where?
What are the resource implications for law schools?
What are the current views of the professional regulatory bodies?