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Think for yourself

08 September 2011 / Bryan Greetham
Issue: 7480 / Categories: Features , Training & education , Profession
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Bryan Greetham emphasises the importance of encouraging original thought through legal training

The most valuable assets in any law firm are its intellectual assets: the imagination and thinking skills of its employees. For this reason successful firms work hard to recruit graduates who can think for themselves; who can generate original ideas, challenge received opinions, analyse complex arguments, think conceptually and play devil’s advocate. But over recent years finding these graduates has become increasingly difficult.

Critical thinking

Beneath the superficial gloss of every university’s proud boast that it prepares law students to be innovative, creative thinkers, the picture appears quite different. Recently, a young law teacher at a UK university was told by his course leader to change his teaching style. His students had complained. Apparently, he had been asking them “to think too hard”, rather than “simply giving them the answers”.

Competition for students

As more universities compete for students, each one knows that to attract applicants it must be able to show that its graduates achieve consistently higher grades

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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