Legal education expert urges student lawyers to communicate more effectively

updated on 29 November 2013

A recent lecture hosted by Nottingham Law School has suggested that legal education should develop students’ understanding of how language works.

Jane Ching, professor of professional legal education at Nottingham Law School, presented her arguments in an inaugural lecture titled, "The Judge and the Jedi: Language, Legal Power and Legal Learning". Ching believes that a better appreciation of the subtleties of language is essential to successful legal practice and advocacy.

Ching said: "Lawyers do not simply do things with rules. They do things with language and they need a precise understanding of how language works and how things could be misconstrued." She added: "A strong facility with language is a fundamental with which all law students must not only be equipped, but in which they must also delight."