Legal Education in an Era of Globalisation and the Challenge of Development

The article examines the challenges legal education faces as a result of globalisation with specific reference to African law schools. It considers the challenges and ways of meeting them. The practice of law in a globalised world requires a body of knowledge which is both complex and interdisciplinary. It requires the acquisition of a broad range of new skills and techniques of solving legal problems. To equip lawyers with the needed skills to practise law in a globalised world will require changes in the traditional law school curriculum. It will require a curriculum which trains lawyers for the practice of law in a dynamic and rapidly globalising world. African law schools lack adequate resources to implement the necessary changes in their curricula to meet the needs of a globalised legal education. African law schools also have to deal with the retention of highly experienced law teachers and scarcity of teaching materials. The retention of law teachers and the availability of teaching materials are essential to meet the challenges of legal education in a globalising world