Why do law schools require some subjects while allowing students to choose others?

Law schools typically prescribe a set of compulsory subjects alongside elective courses to balance foundational knowledge with the diverse career paths of their students.1

Compulsory subjects are considered essential to any student's legal training, ensuring familiarity with the general principles of the main branches of law, such as constitutional law, contract, tort, property law, criminal law, and corporation law. These core areas provide the necessary framework for understanding legal concepts, institutions, and modes of reasoning.2

The inclusion of elective subjects allows the curriculum to accommodate the wide variety of professional roles graduates pursue, including careers in civil service, commerce, industry, and education, rather than just the legal profession. Furthermore, because the law is constantly evolving and lawyers often encounter issues in practice for which they received no formal education, law schools aim to produce graduates who are trained to adapt to new legal structures and social issues rather than being constricted by a rigid, exhaustive curriculum.1