The Quality of Legal Education in Russia: The Stereotypes and the Real Problems

Abstract

The paper explores the three key issues that are often put forward as the main problems contributing to reportedly insufficient quality of legal education in Russia: superfluous number of law schools, lack of practical preparation of students, and lack of teaching of professional ethics. It is based on a research project that the Moscow office of PILnet conducted in 2010–2012, having interviewed over 130 legal professionals in four Russian cities – commercial and non-profit lawyers, government lawyers, law professors, law school administrators and students – to analyze their views and attitudes as to what defined the modern Russian lawyer and how the legal education system responded to the needs of the profession and the society.