Professional training in legal education: the case of Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Most Hong Kong law students use their law degree as a step towards a legal career. It is therefore important for law schools to identify the “non-academic” practice skills required in the jobs market and to ascertain the extent to which, and at what point in the academic cycle, any relevant training should be provided. This study involves identifying the skills demanded across a spectrum of legal roles, their relative significance and in what respects job applicants may be considered to be deficient. The author has drawn upon his long experience at the interface between law students and their future employers, a review of academic research and the views of a cross-section of those responsible for recruiting law graduates in Hong Kong. The conclusions reached will enable law schools to determine which of these skills it is considered can adequately be learned in the workplace, which should be taught at law school and when that teaching should ideally take place, with the broader purpose of enabling law graduates to have a fuller understanding of what will be expected from them in legal practice and thereby assisting them with their career choices.