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The NLJ Column

18 October 2007
Issue: 7293 / Categories: Opinion , Legal News
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Education, not more legislation, will help the public understand
—and respect—the law

Much lip service is paid to egalitarian access to legal education. The dean of the law faculty of the University of Oxford recently announced to graduate students at the start of their term that they may well be studying in lectures cheek by jowl with the general public, who would be able to walk in off the streets and be educated by Oxford’s finest minds. At first blush, one could be forgiven for thinking that the City of Oxford was on the threshold of becoming one of the most legally knowledgeable populations in the UK.

But, like all statements of intent, when it comes to legally educating the public there is less to this than meets the eye. On closer consideration of the university’s lecture admissions policy (available on its website and printed lecture sheets), a “lecture permit” must be obtained by the general public at least three working days in advance of their proposed attendance.

learning lessons

It is not acceptable, in a society

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NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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