Australian ‘Legal Education Disruptors’ present at AALS Conference in San Diego

A delegation of Australian law deans and teachers discussed the impact of technology on legal education at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Meeting in San Diego in January 2018.

The Sir Zelman Cowen Centre’s Director, Professor Kathy Laster was invited to bring the delegation after the successful ‘Legal Education for the Virtual Age’ colloquium hosted in March 2017. The colloquium attracted representatives from 15 Australian and international law schools.

For the San Diego meeting, Professor Laster worked with Professor Peter Strauss, Betts Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, to convene a half-day workshop on Technology, Law and Legal Education.

The workshop focused on the impact of technology on law and education and attracted law professors from all across the US.

Leading the discussion, several Australian representatives featured on a panel of ‘Legal Education Disruptors’, sharing Australia’s innovative approaches to legal education with their American colleagues.

Professor Laster presented alongside Australian representatives including:

• Gary Cazalet from Melbourne Law School
• Dr Kylie Burns from Griffith Law School
• Associate Professor Judith McNamara from Queensland University of Technology
• Professor Michael Stuckey, Dean of Victoria University Law School
• Professor Melissa de Zwart, Dean of Adelaide Law School.

The panel discussion focused on the changing nature of student learning and the new professional landscape for the next generation of law graduates. Panel members also shared creative Australian approaches to teaching and learning in the digital age.

“The SZCC and other Australian law schools have made a significant investment in learning about the impact of technology on the law and legal education over the past few years, which has resulted in Australia being at the forefront of this critical area”. – Professor Laster said.

Watch highlights from the ‘Legal Education for the Virtual Age’ colloquium held in 2017 with representatives from 15 Australian and international law schools.