법학전문대학원 특성화 교육의 실효성 제고를 위한 고찰

Even after passing the bar exam and becoming qualified, tough competition in the legal profession necessitates lawyers to bring expertise in specific areas to maximize their abilities. As a result, the number of “specialty lawyers” certified by the Korean Bar Association (“KBA”) increases yearly with the KBA fortifying re-certification education in order to maintain acceptable skills standards and professionalism. The law school system in South Korea replaces the conventional judicial examination system with each law school required to have differentiated “specialized” legal areas that provide educational programs. However, since such specialized law programs “teach to the bar exam,” they do not fulfill their intended purpose in the education of future lawyers. In the United States, law schools have been restructuring curriculums by strengthening practical skills with specialized training courses to help students become more confident, employable, and client-ready upon graduation. There are actively operating and flourishing formal legal specialty certification programs, including those certified by the American Bar Association, state bar associations, and private entities. Therefore, as a way to improve the specialized education of law schools in South Korea, this paper proposes methods on: ① how to link the KBA’s legal specialty certification with law school specialized education courses, ② how to specify a specialized field in the professional master’s (LL.M.) degree in law school, and ③ how to include specialty law courses on the bar exam and to analyze its effectiveness.