Legal Education Research Conference 2021
Pedagogies of the Pandemic #LERC2021
The theme of our 2021 meeting is Pedagogies of the Pandemic. We mean this theme broadly and at least in two basic senses. First, we are interested in discussions of what law pedagogy looks like under conditions of COVID-19. How does one take a course of study most often focused on in-class discussion and debate and conduct it virtually? What has worked and not worked in particular law subjects? And why and how?
Second, in addition to what and how we have had to teach under the pandemic, we encourage reflections about what the pandemic has taught us – what have we learnt about the institutions and intellectual life of the law school, nationally and globally? What have we learnt about our discipline and the way we teach and transmit its knowledge? Is the pandemic a ‘teachable moment?’ If so, what kind of a moment is it?
Perhaps fittingly with the pandemic situation and in light of ongoing travel restrictions, we will hold this conference as an online event.
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Professor Natalie Skead
University of Western Australia Law School
Professor Natalie Skead has been Dean of the UWA Law School since 2017.
Natalie's principal research and teaching areas are property, land law and equity and trusts. She completed her doctorate on the proprietary implications of Australian proceeds of crime legislation. She is a prolific researcher with an extensive publication record in property, confiscation of proceeds of crime, equity and trusts, legal education and wellbeing in law.
Natalie is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, Chair of the Australian Law Academics Association, Deputy Chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans, Associate Editor of the Legal Education Review and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2011 she received a national citation for her outstanding contribution to student learning and in 2017 she was the recipient of the national award for teaching excellence in law.
Before joining the academy, Natalie practiced as a solicitor for over 10 years specialising in corporate finance, commercial litigation, property and securities.
Professor Alex Steel
UNSW Law & Justice
Alex is Director Teaching Strategy (Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic & Student Life), and a Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice. He is currently leading a university-wide project on digital assessment.
Alex is a member of the Australian Law School Standards Committee and previously co-convenor of the Legal Education Associate Deans (LEAD) Network (2012-16). He is on the Executive of the Australasian Law Academics Association and the Editorial Committee of the Legal Education Review. Alex is a member of the NSW Bar Association Education Committee.
Alex's legal education publications range across the pedagogy and regulation of legal education, curriculum design, assessment practices and student wellbeing. He was a member of the nationally funded Smart Casual project (smartlawteacher.org) developing online professional development for sessional law teachers.
Alex’s previous university positions include Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor Education (2019-2020), Law Associate Dean Education (2009-2014), and Deputy Director Scientia Education Academy (2017-2019).
Professor David Thomson
Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
David Thomson is Professor of Practice and the John C. Dwan Professor for Online Learning at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, where he has taught for 20 years. He has written and presented extensively on the intersections of technology, assessment and legal education – in the U.S. and internationally in Russia, China and Japan. Since 2008, David has served on the University of Denver’s Distance Learning Council and was a member of the Strategic Issues Panel on the Future of Higher Education in 2015. He is the author of Law School 2.0: Legal Education for a Digital Age (LexisNexis/Matthew Bender 2009), and is co-Series Editor of the Skills & Values hybrid law school textbooks published by Carolina Academic Press. He has published two textbooks in that Series, Skills & Values: Discovery Practice (3rd Ed., Carolina Academic Press, 2017) and Skills & Values: Lawyering Process (2nd Ed., Carolina Academic Press, 2017). David was the recipient of the University of Denver’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012. His thoughts about the future of legal education can be found on TheChalkboard.Life and Twitter @dicthomson.
26 - 27 November 2021
Online Event
