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2 Int'l J. Legal Prof. 5 (1995)

handle is hein.journals/injlepro2 and id is 1 raw text is: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION, VOL. 2, NO. 1, 1995 EDITORIAL Legal education at the cross-roads of Europe AVROM SHERR* & ALAN PATERSON** *Centre for Business & Professional Law, University of Liverpool & **Faculty of Law, University of Strathclyde Commentators in the 21st Century are likely to look back on this period as a watershed era for the legal profession in Europe. The range of legal professions and the variety of internal structures of each profession within Europe has widened dramatically in the last decade. Many countries continue to conform to the tradition of sole practitioners or small practices. In other countries commercial firms have grown in size and a systematic movement towards specialisation has occurred. With it has come the classic division of labour of large American law firms, finders, minders and grinders.' Secondly, globalisation of industry, capital and economy is being reflected in the legal profession. The larger law firms are following their clients in international manufacture and commerce by setting up indigenous offices in Brussels (to monitor EC legislation) and in many European countries to act as both satellite offices of their central firm and also to act as international lawyers for the local clientele. As with major accountancy firms, an office in each major capital seems to be a natural objective. But potentially the most exciting European issue is the concept of harmonisa- tion of legal professions, legal practice and law. The great clash of legal cultures of the common law and the civil law families is also fought out within the European context especially against the back-drop of European Community legislation and the workings of the European Court of Justice. Apart from the civil:common law divide, this also entails important considerations for the political sovereignty not only of states but also of self-governing, autonomous professions. It highlights exciting differences in the process of adjudication, in the funding of legal services and in the education of the legal profession. As to the last, the heterogeneity of the professions and of firm structures has entailed large variations in the forms and nature of the training provided. The role of legal educators has often been uncertain. Torn between the provision of a liberal arts or humanities degree and the trade school need to educate the new legal professional, often at the whim of a professional organisation dictating recognition 0969-5958/95/010005-02 @ 1995, Journals Oxford Ltd 5

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