Beyond the Fakultas' Four Walls: Linking Education, Practice, and the Legal Profession

I. INTRODUCTIONThe year 2013 marked the golden anniversary of the first regional conference report on the status of legal education in the independent nations of Southeast Asia.1Like many other former colonies in the region, Indonesia has since undergone a number of changes in its legal education system-both in reality and rhetoric. In its early stages, the new Indonesian leadership was anxious to cast off the detested Dutch regime, but not necessarily reject a legal framework grounded in rechtsstaat gedachte, or rule of law. 2 Even before independence, Indonesian theorists were attempting to craft a Constitution that would meld the traditional and indigenous values inherent in hukum adat (customary law) with Western principles of individualism, ownership, and contractual rights.3 While the rhetoric may have condemned the role of formal law and lauded the importance of a uniquely Indonesian social and communitarian ethic, there appeared to be no disagreement that the role of the fakultas hukum4 is to produce lawyers, advocates, judges, and bureaucrats who would help foster industrialization and modernization in the new nation.Yet, to this day, commentators and educators do not necessarily agree on the appropriate curricular balance between theory, doctrine, and practice, or what role the government should play in directing the orientation of legal studies and careers.5 Even where there may be shared recognition about the desirable objectives and outcomes for law graduates, there is an acknowledgment that law faculties have limited human and material resources to meet them. 6 Moreover, jurisprudence is underdeveloped amongst jurists, robust research by faculty is lacking, and there is little critical thinking by students.7 The contemporary conversation about the direction of legal education is not restricted to Indonesia; it is mirrored in sister law schools across Southeast Asia8 and should resonate with legal educators everywhere who are examining traditional pedagogy.In this article, I argue in favor of a legal education that is experientially rich and dependent on the integration of practitioners and doctrinal faculty. This objective may be a relatively new reality in Indonesia, but also one that needs re-emphasis or refinement everywhere, from neighboring Asian nations to the United States. In Part II, I lay out the basic debate in Indonesia over the composition and direction of legal education. I assert that learning practical skills in analysis, advocacy, and professionalism should not be postponed, but rather integrated into the typical four-year undergraduate degree program, consistent with best pedagogical practices. Curriculum should not be designed exclusively for those entering careers in commercial law firms, business enterprises, or government ministries, but also for those who want to represent the indigent and otherwise marginalized and disenfranchised members of society. In Part III, I briefly describe the educational practices and reforms taking place among Indonesia's Southeast Asian neighbors, with particular emphasis on the trend toward employment of practical legal education methods such as clinics. In Part IV, I assert that if faculties are not sufficiently resourced, they should more effectively employ lawyers and judges in an adjunct capacity, particularly in a practicum or other co-teaching model. In this way, the Legal Academy will develop lawyers with professional skills and increase the ranks of a professoriat that is practice-oriented and familiar with best teaching practices. Law faculties must have the autonomy to initiate new programs and deviate from a centralized, time-honored curriculum.In opting for clinical and other professional skills programs, law schools have formed partnerships with non-governmental organizations ("NGOs"), offering training or other technical support. While these organizations have provided exemplary programming, it is incumbent on law faculties to "own" the curriculum and the attendant clinics or externships, and not simply "contract out" the educational mission to NGOs or ad hoc field placements. …