Legal education

Introduction
History
The aims of legal education
Study and practice
Teaching and scholarship
- Teaching
- Scholarship
Examinations and qualifications
- School examinations
- Qualifications for practice
  - Common-law countries
  - Civil-law countries
Levels of study
Trends in legal education

References & Edit History Related Topics

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Cornell Law School - Legal Information Institute - Legal education

Legal education

law

Written by

Mary Ann Glendon

Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University. Author of A Nation Under Lawyers and others.

Mary Ann GlendonAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 1, 2026 •History

Legal education, preparation for the practice of law. Instruction in law has been offered in universities since medieval times, but, since the advent of university-based law schools in the 18th and 19th centuries, legal education has faced the challenge of reconciling its aim of teaching law as one of the academic disciplines with its goal of preparing persons to become members of a profession. Most law schools have tried to find a middle path between...

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