Online Legal Education in Hong Kong: From Contingency to Convention

Abstract

<p>This report provides an overview of undergraduate, postgraduate, qualifying (that is, the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, PCLL) and continuing legal education in Hong Kong, and the relationship between legal education and the legal profession. It also considers the current progress and future outlook of Hong Kong in online legal education, as well as the use of information technology in legal education and within the legal sector, with a particular focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report observes that the development of Hong Kong online legal education had remained largely stagnant in the pre-pandemic times. During the pandemic, the resort to online legal education in law schools seems to have taken the approach of 'emergency remote teaching', with a tendency to revert to face-to-face instruction and assessment whenever permitted under the pandemic restrictions. On the other hand, continuing legal education has successfully moved towards hybrid or fully online modes of delivery and is likely to remain so in the future. It is argued that the Hong Kong legal education community, and more generally the Hong Kong higher education sector, should take bold steps towards adopting well-designed and effective online pedagogies and assessment practices. As the legal profession and the judiciary in Hong Kong gradually improve their capacities and capabilities to utilise information technology and online tools, the legal education offered in the special administrative region must not shy away from responsibilities to equip aspiring legal professionals with the necessary online and technological skills in preparation for their future legal practice.</p>