Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
(Excerpt)
The legal profession has recognized the need for cross-culturally competent lawyers. The American Bar Association, state and local bar associations, and other professional development experts have called for lawyers to develop cultural competencies. While the terminology used is not consistent, at its core, this call expresses a commitment to legal education that embraces the strengths of diverse student bodies and client populations. Legal education should more effectively help students examine how legal structures can ignore, silence, and devalue alternative perspectives and diverse identities.
BEST PRACTICES FOR LEGAL EDUCATION suggested that legal education should include training about cross-cultural competence, cited a landmark article, and listed five habits described in the article. The literature, conversation, tools, and vocabulary for teaching about all types of differences has greatly expanded since then. So has the examination of how intercultural perceptions and communications affect professional lawyering activities. Still, most schools do little to address the insights of this literature, whether to take full advantage of the diversity in law school classes or to address student preparation for the multicultural legal needs of our changing world.
This section seeks to assist legal educators in integrating intercultural learning goals throughout the curriculum. The section first describes the current status of law school engagement, the evolution of terminology and ideas, and the context for learning. It then suggests best practices for identifying, teaching, and assessing intercultural knowledge, skills, and values.
Comments
This publication is from Chapter 6E of Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World (LexisNexis, 2015).