Beyond the jurisdiction: Law schools, the LLB and ‘global’ education

Law schools are increasingly international in terms of composition, with some UK schools teaching large numbers of non-UK-based students at undergraduate level, employing increasing numbers of non-UK trained legal academics and providing students with opportunities for study abroad and overseas summer schools. Nevertheless, the curriculum remains largely domestically focused. This is harmful not only for the education of future lawyers, many of whom will need to operate in an increasingly internationalised professional environment, but also for the claims of a law degree to be a liberal or critical education or an education for citizenship. Using the literature around education for cultural sensitivity, this chapter argues that if law schools design their curricula to ensure that students are exposed to jurisdictional difference, presenting the domestic legal system as culturally specific and one of many, rather than the norm, they will be well placed to foster awareness of and respect for difference which builds the ability to work across cultures.