FOREIGN LEGAL CREDENTIALS

							LEGAL CULTURES IN LIBERAL ARTS
      LAW PROGRAMMES


      CALT ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008
            MCGILL UNIVERSITY


DR. JULIAN HERMIDA, LL.M., DCL (MCGILL)
          ALGOMA UNIVERSITY
LAW SCHOOL OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS


 Law School graduates
and professional practice.
 Canadian Law Societies
and their influence on the
Law School curriculum.
 Composition of law school professoriate.
 Legal culture and the jurisdiction of professional
  practice.
LIBERAL ARTS UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS IN
                LAW



                             Free from practice
                                     constraints.
              Diverse law faculty composition.

     Curriculum: legal traditions and cultures.

                            Diverse pedagogy.
OBJECTIVES




     To foster a critical assessment of the law
      and to examine the moral, social, and
      political dimensions of law.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES


 Aim.
 Concept of Law.

 The Study of Law.

 Pedagogy.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIBERAL ARTS
PROGRAMS IN NORTH AMERICA

 Interdisciplinary.
 Multidisciplinary

 Diverse legal cultures

 Theoretical
 THE PROPOSED PROGRAM AT ALGOMA
 UNIVERSITY
3 Major Pillars:

•   Legal traditions and legal cultures
•   Theoretical legal perspectives
•   Contributions of other Social Science
    disciplines.
LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Understanding of law as a social institution.
 Appreciation of the existence of different legal
  traditions and cultures.
 Familiarity with the history of the legal discipline.

 Appreciation of the contributions of other Social
  Science disciplines to Law.
 Strong academic skills (reading, writing, research,
  media literacy, oral scholarship, languages).
CHALLENGES


 Student expectations.
 Image and perception.

 Institutional constraints.
CONCLUSIONS AND QUESTIONS

   Liberal Arts Programs: more receptive to
    diverse legal cultures.