The Irish Legal Information Initiative: Cultivating Key Graduate Attributes Beyond the Classroom

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

In this presentation, we will outline how the Irish Legal Information Initiative (IRLII) has evolved into a pedagogical enterprise that provides a state-of-the-art suite of learning opportunities beyond the classroom.

IRLII is a branch of the Free Access to the Law Movement (FALM), a global association of lawyers committed to providing free access to judicial decisions and other materials online. FALM ensures universality of access to law, on a non-profit basis and free of charge, to remove any barriers of status, income or location and to promote justice, equality, inclusion and the rule of law.

The UCC School of Law has proudly hosted IRLII since 2001, providing access to decisions of the superior courts and scholarship on Irish law. The IRLII project was relaunched in 2019 by the Chief Justice of Ireland. Under the leadership of Patrick O’Callaghan, Maria Cahill and Luke Noonan, a new and core objective is to enhance the learning experience of UCC law students.

IRLII is unique among FALM members internationally in the way it empowers and champions student leaders in the promotion of the FALM goals. It situates over fifty student researchers at the cutting-edge of law rather than casting them as passive recipients of a package of law from a textbook. The most important innovation is the provision on social media of keywords for newly published cases of the Irish courts.

We will explain how the IRLII project evolved into a unique academic partnership between staff and students within an innovative tiered framework of responsibilities. This model of collaborative learning and teamwork means that students are playing a defined and important role within a complex and high-functioning team and are encouraged to demonstrate leadership capacities, to manage up and down, thereby developing a wide range of graduate attributes.
Original languageEnglish (Ireland)
Publication statusPublished - 21 Nov 2021
EventAnnual Conference of the Irish Association of Law Teachers 2021 - River Lee Hotel, Cork, Ireland
Duration: 19 Nov 202121 Nov 2021

Conference

ConferenceAnnual Conference of the Irish Association of Law Teachers 2021
Country/TerritoryIreland
CityCork
Period19/11/2121/11/21

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