The symbiotic integration of theory and practice: a sui generis approach

The teaching of a substantive law subject and the teaching of a practical skills course have the potential for integration. Students should leave institutions of higher learning with theoretical knowledge, practical skills and the ability to integrate both in pursuit of a career. In order to produce well qualified graduates, more attention ought to be paid to practical legal training in the initial years of study. This study intends to recommend possible solutions towards the integration of legal theory and skills. This study advocates the full integration of theory and practice in the law curriculum and will further argue that clinical legal education is the best vehicle to achieve this. The study will conclude that clinical legal education should be viewed as the culmination point of other skills training options. The South African solution to legal education may lie in an approach which combines different methodologies in all four years of the LL. B degree.