Getting started with e-portfolios: Glasgow Graduate School of Law

Case study by Karen Barton of the use of e-portfolios at Glasgow Graduate School of Law, one of three pilots projects undertaken as part of UKCLE’s Using e-portfolios in legal education project. If you would like to know more about the use of e-portfolios and reflection at GGSL contact Karen via e-mail: karen.barton@strath.ac.uk.

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Glasgow Graduate School of Law (GGSL) already had a pilot e-portfolio project which aimed to find a link between the various stages in legal education and training so as to improve the development of trainees’ skills and knowledge and maximise employer investment in taking the time to train them. The project was extended, piloting the use of e-portfolios with students on the Diploma in Legal Practice course (the post-degree course for solicitors in Scotland) in partnership with five Scottish law firms. The pilot was first rolled out in September 2005, at that stage in paper form only – see Stopping to think: reflections on the use of portfolios for details of the pilot.

The software

Following consideration of a number of e-portfolio platforms GGSL chose to go with PebblePad, developed at the University of Wolverhampton, used alongside GGSL’s bespoke VLE. Students are introduced to the system and supported in using it as part of their course.

Introducing the e-portfolio

Students were introduced to the e-portfolio through a number of exercises aimed at aiding reflection. During 2007-08 an initial meeting was held on 17 November, including a general introduction to portfolios, a system tools demo and the presentation of two exercises (see below) – a skills assessment and an exercise identifying the skills of a good lawyer.

The students were asked to complete individual personal statements by the end of November, followed by a one to one meeting with the tutor at the beginning of December. They were asked to complete a further exercise, the critical incident report (see below), by the end of December.

The final e-portfolio, in the form of a webfolio linked to other assets, was due for submission by the end of March, followed by a final one to one meeting with their tutor at the end of April.

The skills assessment exercise

One of the first exercises is a self assessment in professional legal skills. Here the students assess their current skill level on a scale of 1 (low) to 4 (high) across the eight areas shown below.

Professional legal skills self assessment

How confident or able are you in:

1. Negotiation – your ability to prepare for and conduct an effective negotiation.
   • preparing effectively by gathering of all relevant information
   • identifying a range of possible options including consideration of other party’s objectives
   • preparing a formal structure for the negotiation meeting
   • conducting the negotiation meeting in a professional manner
   • writing a clear summary of what was agreed
2. Interviewing – your ability to successfully conduct a first interview with a new client.
   • establishing rapport with the client
   • listening actively in order to gain an overview of the client’s problem
   • using a variety of questioning techniques appropriately to elicit further relevant details
   • accurately summarising and confirming your understanding of the client’s situation
   • using clear, jargon free language throughout
   • displaying respect and courtesy towards the client
3. Writing – your ability to write clearly and concisely.
   • writing letters using language appropriate to the reader
   • presenting concepts and ideas to different audiences
   • structuring letters clearly and accurately
4. Drafting – your ability to draft legal documents accurately and effectively.
   • comprehending and carrying through instructions
   • adjusting legal documents accurately so that their meaning is clear
   • completing drafting tasks within time demands
5. Advocacy – your ability to prepare for and present an oral argument.
   • preparing for an oral presentation effectively, including sourcing all relevant material
   • presenting an oral argument or motion clearly and persuasively
   • responding to questioning in a professional manner
6. Professional legal research – your ability to undertake research effectively.
   • identifying the client’s objectives and the legal context in which the factual issues arise
   • identifying, select and effectively use the appropriate sources and tools (electronic and paper-based) for investigating the relevant facts
   • relating the central legal and factual issues to each other
   • recording and presenting the results of research in a clear, useful and reliable form
7. Numeracy – your ability to understand and work with numbers.
   • understanding financial statements
   • analysing financial information
   • preparing financial information that is accurate and clear
8. Team working – your ability to work productively in groups.
   • taking responsibility and carry out agreed tasks
   • taking initiative and lead others
   • operating in a range of supportive roles within the group
   • negotiating and asserting your own values and respecting others
   • evaluating group performances

The skills of a good lawyer exercise

In a further exercise the students are asked to consider the attributes of a good lawyer. They are given the following list:

• producing work of high quality
• sorting problems for clients
• explaining things to clients plainly
• being honest and trustworthy
• doing intellectually demanding work
• being able to think for yourself
• using your own experience to improve what you do
• updating and responding to new demands
• being an active member of the profession
• showing respect for your clients
• taking responsibility for your own work

Students may add their own attributes to the list. They are asked to choose five, and then to identify how they are going to achieve them (see screenshot below):

the skills of a good lawyer exercise

The critical incident report

In this exercise students are asked to reflect on ‘critical incidents’ which may occur during the course. (The term ‘critical incident’ has a very broad interpretation in this context.) They are given guidance and advice on what to include in their analysis.

Critical incident analysis

What is a critical incident?

• an incident in which you felt your intervention/involvement really made a difference, either directly or indirectly
• an incident that went unusually well
• an incident which did not go as planned
• an incident that is very ordinary and typical
• an incident you think captures the learning outcomes to be met
• an incident that was particularly demanding

Include the following in your analysis:

• the context of the incident, where and when it happened in relation to your work/life experience
• a detailed description of what happened
• why the incident is critical to you – what feelings did it evoke?
• what assumptions were made about individuals/situations? (for example regarding class, gender or culture)
• your analysis and critique of what took place
• how the values or ethics of your profession manifest themselves in your analysis
• what new concepts or knowledge you have now developed as a result
• what skills you have acquired or what you can do now that you couldn’t do before
• who or what can verify your account

The incident is then recorded in their e-portfolio:

the critical incident report

Law firm involvement

Local law firms were approached to participate in the project when their trainees began their training contracts. Five firms agreed to take part, and the project is now running with former students in the partner firms. Students who had been involved in the project felt the need to reflect once they started their training contracts, however the law firms were concerned about the time involved and the potential benefits to them of involvement in the project. Once the students move into a practice environment, confidentiality can be an issue with regard to obtaining evidence to include in the portfolio.

GGSL worked closely with five local law firms on the project, tracking the students who had participated in the project into their traineeships. GGSL had considerable difficulty persuading firms to agree to take part in the project, due to the resources and time required . A number of different levels of participation where developed to persuade them to join the project:

The portfolio-lite approach

One firm is engaged in what they describe as a ‘porfolio-lite’ approach, which allows reflection and review while monitoring progress. Essentially, the firm has taken a couple of concepts of the portfolio idea and incorporated this into the normal three monthly review process required by the Law Society of Scotland.

The main advantages of this approach for them are:

• provides a structure in which to reflect and move on
• cyclical and forward looking
• trainee driven
• ties in with Law Society requirements – not an additional burden

The trainees have generally been good at reviewing their progress, and mentors have engaged well, supplying additional comments and feedback from their perspective. The process also fits with the firm’s annual personal development review (PDR) system – the proportionate time for trainees to complete their reviews over the year roughly equates to that of the PDR process for other staff.

Concerns still remain relating to the integration of the e-portfolio with existing IT systems, confidentiality and ownership of evidence., however the firm intends to continue with this approach. It works well for a larger firm with personnel systems and support already in place, but may not be achievable in a smaller firm.

A first step towards integrating the portfolio-lite approach throughout all training firms would be the creation of a common suite of electronic documents or forms, perhaps available from a members area of the Law Society website. In terms of compliance, it was suggested that an ‘audit’ approach would be more appropriate than a comprehensive system of checks and requirements.

The watching brief

One firm has taken more of a watching brief, maintaining systems already in place rather than continuing with any element of e-portfolio once their trainees start. The trainees have a mentor in each seat they take and are appraised in quarterly meetings, while a central record of progress is maintained by the HR department.

The firm has looked at the trainees’ portfolios, and is interested in the process at the transition stage at least. They can see the rationale for producing a portfolio, but queried whether it was any more useful than a CV at indicating an individual’s abilities, and whether there was any added value in the contents for the trainee or the employer. After discussion on the process of compiling a portfolio they agreed that self assessment was useful, and would probably encourage trainees to engage with appraisal more. They also liked the idea of the e-portfolio as a tool for monitoring progress. However, since they essentially only saw a ‘snapshot’ of students/trainees through the e-portfolio, most of these benefits were lost.

Overall, the firm liked the idea of more continuity between the diploma and traineeship, but was not sure that an e-portfolio on its own would achieve this. If it was to replace, rather than to be an add-on, to the (currently unpopular) system it would need more development and to be more sophisticated, with more guidance for all involved. The consensus was that the problem lay with the traineeship itself, and that an e-portfolio lying on top of the current system would not make any major improvements or bring significant benefits.

They also made the point that the ‘consumers’ – the mentors, employers, the Law Society or anyone else with access to the portfolios – would need to be aware of a ‘baseline’ level of acceptability for content, and raised issues of confidentiality and ownership of evidence.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010