Use of the Socratic method in training lawyers

Abstract

The modern period of development of legal education in Ukraine faces many problems. However, so far they are not properly resolved.
 Considering the implementation in Ukraine of the principles and requirements of the Bologna Process, the researchers' attention is drawn to such issues as the changing role of law and lawyers in society, the reform of the legal profession, the internationalization of the legal services market, the impact of legal professionalism on legal education.
 Part of the mentioned challenges are methods of improving the actual educational process, in particular, the logical thinking of future lawyers.
 In search of a solution to the mentioned problems, the authors agree that one of the ways, in particular, combining theory and practice, is to use the experience of foreign countries. First of all, the USA, Great Britain and Germany, where the three best legal education systems in the world today were created and operate.
 The article examines certain aspects of the methods of improving legal education in Ukraine, related to the connection between theory and practice, the formation of professional legal competence, a special feature of which is argumentation. The research is based on the Socratic method. It acts as a form of joint reasoned dialogue between the teacher and the student, based on posing and answering questions, with the aim of stimulating the logical and critical thinking of future lawyers. The gradual introduction into legal education of the work experience of American law schools, a method where the student independently produces his own logic of proof and convinces everyone that the decision he has determined is the best.
 According to the authors, the Socratic method can be borrowed for the training of Ukrainian lawyers only under four conditions.
 The first of them is related to the fact that «Logic» as an educational discipline in universities of Ukraine is not mandatory. The Socratic method, which is inherent in this discipline, is often not even mentioned in the relevant «Programs of Work».
 The second condition should take into account the experience of the USA in that, starting legal education, an American student is already prepared to think logically to a large extent.
 The third condition is to ensure a much higher level of awareness among applicants of choosing the profession of lawyer.
 The fourth condition for the use of the Socratic method in legal education of Ukraine is the settlement of the still unsolved problem of the teacher's workload. It is an obvious barrier to the individualization of education, as it affects his earnings.