Curriculum in context: Reconceptualising undergraduate law teaching to prepare graduates for legal practice in rural and regional areas

Abstract

Universities are increasingly recognising their role in the preparation of graduates for employment, and there has been a growing acknowledgment in some disciplines that this includes preparation for employment in certain contexts, such as rural and regional communities. The typical law school curriculum does not however take account of a student's eventual employment context, and where it does, it usually presupposes career placement in an urban environment. Overall, this results in a failure to adequately prepare graduates for work in rural and regional areas, contributing to the reported recruitment and retention issues within the rural and regional legal profession. This paper will explore strategies which may be implemented within the law school curriculum to better prepare, attract and retain legal professionals for careers in rural and regional areas. Specifically, it will focus upon ways in which theoretical components of the legal education curriculum may be redeveloped to 'sensitise' law students to the contextual realities of rural and regional legal practice. Rural and regional legal practice is characterised by unique professional and personal challenges, yet it also presents a broad range of opportunities rarely experienced in an urban context. Through exposure to learning modules such as: the rural context and the concept of the rural and regional lawyer; ethical dimensions of rural and regional legal practice; personal, interpersonal and professional skill requirements; career development and methods of innovation adoption, students will be better placed to deal with the challenges of rural and regional practice, as well as to take advantage of opportunities and innovation.