Comparing Online Legal Education: Past, Present and Future

This pioneering work by leading comparative lawyers examines developments in online legal education, particularly in universities but also in professional associations, before and especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The book posits and largely confirms that transformations are linked to the extent and scope of respective legal professions (often, but not always, correlating to common versus civil law traditions), funding and other aspects of university-level education, and information and communications technology infrastructure in each jurisdiction. It charts the dramatic shift to online legal education in almost all jurisdictions even with different levels of COVID-19 infections and deaths, or mobility restrictions imposed by law and/or social norms. It also details how law teachers and students adapted to the challenges and opportunities of new technologies and practices, sometimes benefitting from serendipitous earlier events supporting online legal education, and a considerable ‘reversion to the mean’ as the pandemic has abated.

The special reports incorporate extensive empirical data, including surveys on online legal education experiences. They cover 13 jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, Canada, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan and Pakistan), Europe and beyond (Croatia, Cyprus, Italy and Seychelles), ranging from micro-states to very large economies, at various stages of economic development and from different legal traditions. Comparing Online Legal Education provides rich resources and lessons for legal academics and professionals, as well as those involved in education policy.