ABSTRACT
The traditional separation in English legal education between university or ‘academic’ legal education on the one hand and professional legal education on the other is well-known, although it can be exaggerated. Employers generally, and within the legal profession, have begun to be more vociferous in their demands of the education process. Changes to legal education and training are taking place against a background of even more rapid change and increasing diversity both within the legal profession and in the provision of legal services outside it. With the introduction of the Legal Practice Course in 1993 which gave significant emphasis to formal skills training, change to the assessment regime became inevitable. One of the issues that has become more pressing in the face of increasing diversification of legal practice is the extent and stage at which legal education should permit specialisation.
