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‘Failed Sociologists’ in the Market Place: Law Schools in Australia
Author(s) -
Parker Christine,
Goldsmith Andrew
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of law and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.263
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1467-6478
pISSN - 0263-323X
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6478.00078
Subject(s) - position (finance) , government (linguistics) , accountability , competition (biology) , law , legal education , sociology , political science , legal profession , economics , biology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , finance
This paper traces the stunted evolution of Australian law faculties from ‘trade schools’ to liberal law schools. Higher education funding cuts and increased accountability to a government that is throwing the universities onto the competition of the market now combine with the traditional influence of a conservative profession to put Australian law schools in a precarious position. We argue that Australian law schools should transform themselves by embracing the contradictory position they inhabit, and using it to develop a broader concept of the legal knowledge they pass on and the legal practice for which they prepare their students.