9. “The Turn to the West”

Abstract

Between World War II and the turn of the twenty-first century, American legal education models dominated the reform of law schools in Sweden. This influence was primarily brought about by interactions between American and Swedish academics, as well as Swedish academics’ travels to US law schools. These reform-minded professors pushed for an increase in student choice, the introduction of law courses that incorporated the social sciences, and a focus on teaching students practical skills. Several rounds of legal education reform were undertaken in Swedish law schools to implement these ideas, with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, Swedish law schools successfully incorporated comparative law in the law school curriculum, a functional approach to education, courses on the sociology of law, moot court competitions, and a student-run law journal. Beginning in the early 1990s, however, a growing focus on building up a European community has led to a decline in US influence on Swedish legal education.