New Courses to Enhance Readiness to Practice

As the legal profession changes with the times, so must law students. Queen’s Law is enhancing its curriculum to ensure this happens, with two new courses aimed at addressing a potential “skills gap.”

“Queen’s Law’s placement rates are already among the highest for a Canadian law school,” Dean Bill Flanagan says, “but our alumni tell me there’s a clearly identified need for new graduates with not only a strong knowledge of the law, but also practical grounding in how it is practised in the 21st century.” That’s why the school will be offering two new courses for both JD students and legal professionals this fall. Course developer and program designer Shai Dubey, Law’94, says, “The goal is to accelerate the success of those with the knowledge to lead in the legal sector by giving them skills that let them hit the ground running in practice.”

The second is Shaping the Future of Legal Practice. “How is technology affecting delivery of legal services now?” Flanagan asks; “How will this change? New and different business structures are forming in law. Innovation is increasingly a core skill for legal practitioners. We want to encourage students to see themselves as future entrepreneurs, with an understanding of the technologies that will profoundly impact the legal industry.” The Dean adds that “expanding our toolkit will help ensure our students are ready for practice, without detracting from our core mission to train our students in law and legal analysis.”