Synopsis
In the U.S., law is a post-graduate discipline; first year law students will have had at least four years of university study (in any subject other than law), and often some work experience as well. But whatever their past studies or experience, for most, learning the techniques of common law case analysis and statutory interpretation, as well as the vocabulary and the rhetoric of the law, are skills whose acquisition many find daunting. Most U.S. law school follow the "sink or swim" approach, through which students gradually absorb the methods while struggling also to master the substance of their first-year courses. Some law schools, notably Columbia, instead provide an intensive Legal Methods course as a prelude to the substantive courses, in order to help students master the moving parts of legal analysis before taking on torts, contracts and the rest of the substantive curriculum.
In Canada, the Province of Quebec is a francophone civil law jurisdiction surrounded by anglophone common law Provinces. The law faculty of McGill University, unique among Canadian law schools, has for many years required that its students study both common and civil law; students may choose whether to take specific courses in French or English. Students are not taking separate courses on the civil law and common law of contract for example but are taught both civil and common law in a single course on contract law. The students get two degrees at the end of their studies. This is an ideal preparation for the transnational practice of the law. Many schools in Canada, some in the US and now even in Asia have tried to provide dual degrees in civil and common law through exchange programmes but few have done it in an integrated way. Besides McGill, however, an increasing number of law schools in Europe and even in Asia teach both civil and common law in an integrated programme. Will Singapore law schools join this trend in order to make Singapore a hub for Asian law, or will Singapore fall behind and let other Asian law schools take the lead?
In this talk, Columbia Law School Professor Jane Ginsburg and NUS (and former McGill) Associate Professor Gary Bell will compare methods of law school instruction in North America and Asia.
SPEAKERS
Jane C. GINSBURG is the Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law at Columbia University School of Law, and Faculty Director of its Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts. She teaches Legal Methods, Copyright Law, International Copyright Law, and Trademarks Law, and is the author or co-author of casebooks in all four subjects, as well as of many articles and book chapters on domestic and international copyright and trademark law. A graduate of the University of Chicago (BA 1976, MA 1977), Professor Ginsburg received a JD in 1980 from Harvard, and, as a Fulbright grantee, a Diplôme d'études approfondies in 1985, and a Doctorate of Law in 1995 from the University of Paris II. She is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, a Member of the American Philosophical Society, a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge.
Gary F BELL is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the NUS and Director of its Asian Law Institute (ASLI). He received degrees in both civil law and common law from McGill University and in American law (LL.M.) from Columbia University. At the NUS he teaches courses on Legal Systems of Asia, Indonesian Law, International Commercial Arbitration and International Sale of Goods. He is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has acted as an arbitrator in many commercial disputes particularly when the governing law is that of a civil law jurisdiction.
CHAIR & MODERATOR
GOH Yihan is Associate Dean (Research) and an Associate Professor at the School of Law, Singapore Management University. Among his other professional appointments, he is presently a board member of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education and the Singapore Judicial College, a Visiting Academic at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, and a Professorial Fellow at the AGC Academy. He has written on various aspects of the Singapore legal system and specialises in the law of contract and torts. He is periodically consulted by the profession in his fields of expertise and has appeared before the Singapore Court of Appeal as amicus curiae and instructed counsel. In 2013, he was awarded the Singapore Law Merit Award by the Singapore Academy of Law in recognition of his contributions to the development and advancement of Singapore law.
COMMENTATOR
Irene CALBOLI is Lee Kong Chian Fellow, Visiting Professor, and Deputy Director of the Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia (ARCIALA), School of Law, Singapore Management University. She is also a Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law. Professor Calboli started her academic career at the University of Bologna and has held visiting positions at the King’s College London, the University of California Berkeley, the University Complutense, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Innovation and Competition. From 2012 - 2015, she was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore. Professor Calboli's scholarship focuses on the intersection between intellectual property and international trade. Her recent books include THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF TRADEMARK TRANSACTIONS (Edward Elgar, 2016, with Jacques de Werra), and RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY EXHAUSTION AND PARALLEL IMPORTS (Edward Elgar, 2016, with E. Lee).
This event is by invitation only.
Last updated on 29 Nov 2016 .
