The article examines the problem of actualisation of higher legal education in the Russian Federation in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the transition to the knowledge economy. The novelty of the research lies in the formulation of the question of the possibility of combining the principles of two educational systems in the training of lawyers: the Russian fundamental classical model, which forms professional legal thinking through immersion of the student in a clearly defined subject environment, and the model «2 + 2 + 2», flexible, individualised to the needs of a particular student and creating a unique set of competencies for each graduate. The author defines the meanings and value basis of the model «2 + 2 + 2». The academic community manages to maintain a balance between the quality of legal education demanded by society and the needs of an individual. On the example of two universities, the variants of the synthesis of two systems in the bachelor’s degree programs are analysed. Common to the reform of the educational model of these universities is the design of the value image of a graduate who has a legal mindset and has developed cross-functional metaskills. This experience shows that two educational models will not conflict with each other, but can be harmoniously combined if the transformation is based not on the goal of constructing a hybrid of educational systems, but on the desire to create a space of opportunities and professional self-improvement within programs.