Legal Professionalism and the Ethical Challenge for Legal Education: Insights from a Comparative Study of Future Lawyers in Greater China. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Richard Wai-Sang; Lo, Carlos Wing-Hung; Liu, Ning
• Editors: Bodenhorn, Terry; Burns, John P.; Palmer, Michael
• Is Part Of: China quarterly. Number 244(2020)
• Page Start: 1118
• Page End: 1139
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: career orientation, -- future lawyers, -- legal professionalism, -- legal ethics, -- greater China; 未来律师, -- 法律专业素养, -- 法律专业道德, -- 大中华区; China -- History -- Periodicals; China -- Periodicals; 951
• DOI: 10.1017/S0305741020001095
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-7410

Abstract

Abstract: This article uses data gathered from a survey that probed the career orientations and values of more than 1, 000 law students in Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei to examine the legal professionalism of future lawyers being trained under different legal education systems in Greater China. Our findings suggest that these future lawyers have a "materialistic" career orientation, although those studying in a system whose legal education goal is to train professional lawyers are more inclined to pursue professional legal ideals, and those trained in a system that emphasizes legal ethics are more likely to pursue public interest issues. On the basis of the findings, we argue that legal education systems in Greater China, while different in their traditions, share the same need to strengthen legal professionalism by according greater emphasis to legal ethics in their respective law school curricula.