Legal education
After Coruncanius' death, instruction gradually became more formal, with the introduction of books on law beyond the then scant official Roman legal texts.
[2] It is possible that Coruncanius allowed members of the public and students to attend consultations with citizens in which he provided legal advice.
Blackstone also recommends that students take "a year or two's farther leisure" at the conclusion of their formal legal study to establish a "solid scientifical method" as the foundation of his future practice, so that he would afterwards "proceed with the greatest ease, and will unfold the most intricate points with an intuitive rapidity and clearness".
Law schools may have varying degrees of autonomy within a particular university or, in some countries, can be entirely independent of any other post-secondary educational institution.
These include the Masters of Law (LLM) by coursework or research, and doctoral degrees such as the PhD or SJD.
Practitioners may undertake a Masters of Law by coursework to obtain greater specialisation in an area in which they practice.
In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada and some states of Australia,[7] the final stages of vocational legal education required to qualify to practice law are carried out outside the university system.
Bond University in Queensland runs three full semesters each year, teaching from mid-January to late December.
This enables the Bond University Law Faculty to offer the LLB in the usual 8 semesters, but only 22⁄3 years.
Alternatively, one can finish any bachelor's degree, and providing their academic results are high, apply for graduate-entry into a 3-year LLB program.
[12] In practice, the more important part is the 70% of obligatory areas of law examined by the Justizprüfungsamt, a body of the state administration of justice.
Alternatively after standard 12 one can join an integrated five-year law course which provides option to avail B.A.
Students must pass a specific examination to enter bar school (CRFPA, école du barreau).
If they succeed, then after 18 months (school, practical aspects, ethics and internship) they then take the CAPA exam and diploma(Certificat d'Aptitude à la Profession d'Avocat).
To matriculate to the University of Tokyo, students had to finish ten to fifteen years of compulsory education; acceptance was therefore available to only a small elite.
The law program produced politically dependable graduates to fill fast-track administrative positions in government, also known as high civil servants (koto bunkan), and to serve as judges and prosecutors.
With this new law school system came a new bar exam, with a 40–50% passage rate which is capped by a numerical quota.
Despite the much higher bar passage rate with the new exam, due to the quotas, approximately half of Japanese law school graduates will never be admitted to practice.
[9] A number of other law-related professions exist in Japan, such as patent agents (benrishi), tax accountants (zeirishi), scriveners, etc., entry to each of which is governed by a separate examination.
Beginning in 2012, passage of the Lawyer Admission Test (which is distinct from the old bar exam) will be required for qualification to practice.
[17] There is a New Zealand Law Students Association,[18] which has published a journal called Wagon Mound,[19] and holds an annual national mooting competition.
As such, admission to law schools requires the completion of a bachelor's degree, with a sufficient number of credits or units in certain subject areas.
The membership of a student representative has been subject to continuing debate and resistance on the part of law schools.
In order to be eligible to take the bar examinations, one must complete either of the two professional degrees: The Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)
Although not formally required for specialised practice, further training, e.g. in tax, is usually via postgraduate diplomas or focused, coursework-based LL.M.
The Master's dissertation reflects an ability to conduct independent research, whereas the Doctoral thesis will, in addition, constitute an original contribution to the field of law in question.
The four-year BProc qualified one to practise as an attorney, or become a prosecutor or magistrate in the lower courts, but did not allow for admission as an advocate.
The three-year B.Juris was the basic requirement for prosecutors and magistrates in the lower courts, but on its own, did not qualify one to practise as an attorney.
The length of articles may be reduced by attending a practical legal training course or performing community service.
After obtaining the degree which is necessary to complete certain vocational courses and to serve a period of on the job training before one is able to qualify to practice as a barrister, legal executive, or solicitor.
