Parallel Session 4 - Session D
Balancing Without Burdening: The Role of Law Schools in Developing Students’ Commercial Awareness Mr Lloyd Gash, Professional Law Institute, King’s College London As legal educators, we integrate commercial awareness into our courses, explicitly outlining it in learning objectives. To support students in developing and showcasing this skill, there are additional resources such as Student Commercial Awareness Societies, co-curricular discussion groups, internal and external competitions and various initiatives. This raises legitimate questions about how commercial awareness should be taught and what our role as legal educators is in shaping a ‘commercially-aware’ law programme. Effective methodologies for cultivating commercial awareness include problem-based learning rooted in real-world scenarios, reflective practices stemming from experiences like law clinic work and interdisciplinary approaches. However, these methodologies can be resource-intensive for law schools, and there is a lack of consensus on the defined objectives and common facets of commercial awareness, as well as the balance between its intrinsic and instrumental value. This paper presents findings from a small study examining perceptions of commercial awareness from students and legal professionals. The study discusses the successes and limitations of a co-curricular discussion group on commercial awareness. During the session, we will highlight some of the expectations that the graduate recruitment market has regarding students’ levels of commercial awareness. Importantly, we will seek attendees’ views on the role of law schools in meeting, exceeding and/or challenging these expectations.
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