Professionalism in pre-practice legal education: an insight into the universal nature of professionalism and the development of professional identity

Abstract

This article offers insight into the universality of professionalism in legal education. It does so in the context of an evaluation of a unit that forms part of the Australian National University's Legal Workshop Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. The evaluation is undertaken with reference to a Scottish vocational course and experience upon which the ANU Legal Workshop course is based. It also seeks to inform the debate about including the development of professional identity in pre-practice legal education. The evaluation of the ANU Legal Workshop unit involved a comparison of experiences in both ANU and the University of Strathclyde. The comparison indicates that legal professional identity has universal elements and that professional working can be embedded in students' learning even where that occurs wholly online. This suggests that the development of professional culture and professional identity can be encouraged to start prior to admission to practice.