THE GROWING DISJUNCTION BETWEEN LEGAL EDUCATION AND LEGAL PRACTICE IN KENYA: A CASE FOR PEDAGOGICAL REFORM

Abstract

Professor Langdell’s Case Method of legal education has dominated legal pedagogy since the early 1870s. There are certain competencies that lawyers must acquire to navigate the murky waters of legal practice. These competencies include legal research, negotiation, factual investigation, communication, legal analysis, and drafting. The Case Method and Socratic questioning methods cannot adequately impart these competencies to learners. This study sought to critically analyse Langdell’s case Method and to recommend practical approaches to reforming legal education in Kenya to reduce the growing disjunction with legal practice. The article also analyses pedagogical approaches in Law Schools in Kenya and at the Kenya School of Law and establishes that the approaches are almost similar, yet, ideally, the Kenya School of Law is expected to teach legal practice while Law Schools are expected to teach the academic concept of Law. The article recommends practical, policy and regulatory solutions to addressing this problem.