A Compulsory Dispute Resolution Capstone Subject: An Important Inclusion in a 21st Century Australian Law Curriculum

The Australian legal profession, and the Australian legal education landscape, have changed significantly since the ‘Priestley 11’ subjects were first adopted as the minimum academic study requirements for legal practice in 1992.¹ One of the most notable developments in legal practice since that time has been the exponential increase in the use of forms of dispute resolution (DR) other than litigation to resolve legal disputes.² A parallel development in legal education has been the evolving focus on the teaching of legal skills and values in the 21^st century law curriculum, alongside doctrinal knowledge. ³ The Threshold Learning Outcomes for Law (TLOs), which were endorsed by the Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) in 2010 and incorporated into the CALD Standards in 2013, have supported this shift in Australian law curricula from purely doctrinal content to the teaching of authentic skills and attitudes relevant to the practice of law. ⁴ Whilst not compulsory, many law schools have revised their curricula to ensure that they include adequate coverage of the TLOs. Changes such as these cause us to query why the Priestley 11 subjects continue only to pay lip-service to important DR knowledge, skills and attitudes and persist in failing to ensure that every graduating law student in Australia is equipped to deal with the realities and demands of the DR aspects of contemporary legal professional practice.⁵