Local to global: Incorporating overseas work and study in the law school curriculum

Legal education traditionally focuses on domestic law, but a major shift is underway to internationalize the law school curriculum with the aim of developing twenty-first-century lawyers as global lawyers. This chapter first identifies important contextual factors influencing Australian law schools to incorporate overseas work and study immersion courses into the curriculum. Second, it presents a case study and proposed evaluation of internationalization initiatives at the University of Newcastle Law School, New South Wales, focused on overseas work-integrated learning and intensive study trips in the Asia–Pacific region. Third, the chapter concludes with reflections on the opportunities and challenges from the perspective of legal educators who must develop their own intercultural competence and navigate new ways of working with overseas service providers and academic institutions.