Legal Education in Ireland: A Paradigm Shift to the Practical

Irish legal education is under increasing pressure to reform and reinvent itself in the face of; various challenges, especially those implied by the Bologna process. In line with two of the; main priorities of the process, namely employability and student-centred learning, a; growing number of Irish law faculties have incorporated, or are planning to incorporate,; more practice-related components into the law curriculum and, in some cases, a fully; fledged Clinical Legal Education programme. This is an important shift in the paradigm of; legal education in Ireland which should be welcomed and encouraged by all stakeholders -; students, academics, practitioners, judges and those involved in myriad capacities in the; administration of justice.; In the first part, a comprehensive presentation is given about the general structure of legal; education in Ireland dealing with the main legal education providers, academic and; professional requirements for legal training, as well as figures on the legal population and; the approximate cost of legal education. The second part goes on to consider three views; about the role of practice in Irish legal education, namely the 'traditional' view, the; 'holistic' view and the 'clinical' view. These schematically presented views reflect different; perspectives on the nature and purpose of legal education.