From JALT to the International Journal of Legal Education

In this article from the Autumn 2002 issue of Directions Patricia Leighton (University of Glamorgan) looks at back at the history of the The Law Teacher.

The Law Teacher has become a fixture of contemporary legal education. Most researchers and authors concerned with topics such as student assessment, curricular development, ‘lawyerly skills’ and ethical considerations in legal education now see The Law Teacher as a logical, if not the most natural, home for their research findings, analyses and ideas for future initiatives. The journal is also the natural home for many researchers and writers from beyond the UK, especially from the common law world. Subscribers and readers are similarly drawn from a wide geographical and institutional base. Although the journal remains the publication of the Association of Law Teachers (ALT), it is today far more then simply a professional house journal.

The launch of The Law Teacher almost coincided with the formation of the ALT in 1966 at the Mount Pleasant Hotel, London. At an early committee meeting the Association decided to develop a journal which would include “articles, digests of cases and statutes and book reviews”. This was clearly in order to provide a directly relevant service to members, who were drawn primarily from the non-university sector. Its first edition, under the editorship of Roy Lewis, contained articles by John Wilson, John Wood, William Taylor, William Frank and Eric Wilson – all established figures in the rapidly growing world of legal education. In July 1966 John Wilson published his survey (now known as the ‘First survey’) of legal education in England and Wales, but at this time the Journal of the Association of Law Teachers (or JALT) was not yet seen as an appropriate journal for research of this nature.

In 1967 there were three issues of the journal. Significantly, a key debate was gaining force at this early date. This was the question of whether the journal was ‘just another’ journal on law, or whether it should have a particular focus on legal education. The contents reflect this debate. While some contributors (for example, Frank Bates and Mike Molyneux, who wrote on educational topics such as assessment methods and the use of television as a teaching aid), others wrote on purely legal topics. By 1971, when the journal had a new look and was re-titled The Law Teacher, of the 77 articles that had been published only some 23 could be described as being on educational topics.

In part this was a reflection of the fact that it was difficult to encourage authors. (The various editors up to the mid 1980s often wrote articles themselves when copy was in short supply, and the editorial board considered paying authors for ‘educational’ topics!) Despite some early struggles, by the late 1970s the journal was increasingly attracting pieces from authors outside the UK. And these were generally educational in nature.

Another matter affecting the content was the relationship between The Law Teacher and the Association’s Bulletin. This too was devoting space to frequently very high quality articles on educational topics under its editor, Phil Harris. The Bulletin has gradually become a forum for ALT matters and policy development, and the detailed educational topics are now the domain of The Law Teacher.

In 1981 the Stan Marsh and Julia Bailey surveys of legal education, covering further as well as higher education, were published in The Law Teacher, reinforcing its emerging tradition as the vehicle for the dissemination of legal education research. In 1984 a new tradition began – that of an annual ‘special’, bringing together a series of articles on a common theme. The first special was on research in law and legal education. In 1987 a new section on government and education news was added to keep readers up to speed on topical policy, international and contentious issues. In 1989 The Law Teacher was re-launched in its new livery of red and grey, moving away from its original green and yellow. The journal has gone from strength to strength in the last decade or so. Its focus on legal education has given it a clear identity, as has its internationalism.

What has been its contribution? The journal has been published for around 35 years, a significant period in comparison with most other well known UK journals today. Over these years virtually every ‘guru’ of legal education has contributed to it. It has tracked and contributed to the major discourses in legal education, in particular regarding the skills movement, the debate over the appropriate role for professional legal and other bodies in the law school curriculum, student assessment, recruitment and broader issues such as student finance and poverty.

It is a proud and solid achievement, very well supported by Sweet & Maxwell and a continuously enthusiastic editorial board and its hard working editors and contributors. It struggled to gain recognition, but I venture to say that legal education without The Law Teacher is unthinkable now!

Last Modified: 4 June 2010