Open AccessA Discussion of Autonomy in the Relationship Between the Law Society of Upper Canada and the University-Based Law Schools
Author(s) -
Theresa Shanahan
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
canadian journal of higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2293-6602
pISSN - 0316-1218
DOI - 10.47678/cjhe.v30i1.183345
Subject(s) - autonomy , legal education , law , premise , legal profession , sociology , socialization , professional responsibility , political science , empirical legal studies , legal research , sociology of law , social science , philosophy , linguistics
This paper explores the relationship between the university-based common law schools and the Law Society of Upper Canada in legal education in Ontario today. A central objective of this paper is to distinguish between institutional autonomy and professional autonomy and to identify the competing interests and obligations of these two organizations involved in educating lawyers. In attempting to understand the differences between the autonomous bodies that govern legal education, a cross-disciplinary approach is taken to these issues combining a sociological framework on the professions with a legal perspective. The nature of professional identity and socialization, and the premise upon which professional responsibility and expertise are based is considered within the evolution of legal education in Ontario. This paper argues that the changes in organizational autonomy within the Law Society of Upper Canada and the law schools have shaped the relationship between these two bodies and increased the law school's control over legal education. In so doing this shift has powerfully influenced the future of legal education in Ontario.