APLEC 2012 roundup

Fine conference, well designed for its participants by the UTS team.  Professional legal ed conferences are different from academic in terms of the quantity & quality of research and discussion arising out of research.  Papers tend to be much more practical, linked to legal practice, obviously, or linked to legal educational practice.  As always there’s a need to bring theory and practice together so that they enhance each other.  It’s not easy to achieve, but quite a few sessions at APLEC did that.

There was serious discussion of close-grained educational issues that often are ignored or put to one side because we’re all just too busy getting on with the job.  A conference like APLEC is also important as an occasion to step back and think about what we do as educators, why we do it, the effects we have, and the wider regulatory, policy and social justice context.  And if you’ve been treated to lots of stimulating ideas by presenters, as we were, you’re in danger of leaving a conference with more enthusiasm for the job than you arrived with.  And of course it  was great meeting up with old friends & colleagues — Sally Kift, Jeff Giddings, and many others.  Many thanks to the UTS APLEC team — and grateful thanks in particular to Maxine Evers for taking such considerate care of a wandering Scot.