Can Australian Legal Education Meet the Challenge of Cross-Cultural Competence Training? Insights from Overseas Law Schools' Experience
Dr Richard Wu, Dr Angus Young, University of Hong Kong, Dr Grace Li, University of Technology Sydney
Abstract
Cross-cultural competence training has become a major challenge for Australian legal education as an increasing number of Australian lawyers is going into international legal practice. In this paper, we focus on three research questions. First, why is cross-cultural competence training important for Australian legal education and what kind of cross-cultural competence skills should Australian law students develop? Second, how do overseas countries promote cross-cultural competency in their legal education? In particular, how do law schools in these countries reform their curricula and adopt new strategies to promote cross-cultural competency? Third, what options and strategies can Australian law schools learn from their overseas counterparts to develop cross-cultural competence training? Finally, we argue that cross-cultural competence training can contribute to the growth of international legal practice in Australian legal profession and enhance equity, diversity and inclusion in Australian society.