Teaching philosophy

Jessie Porteus, Founder

The legal profession is changing dramatically, but legal education is not keeping pace. Traditional law school teaches the doctrinal theory well, but does not tend to teach our future lawyers the practical and soft skills needed to truly succeed in our ever-changing legal industry. 

While technical knowledge and analysis is essential to legal practice given the intellectual rigour and attention to detail required, lawyers must also have practical, professional and soft skills to truly succeed (particularly in light of technology disruption and AI). Current teaching/learning methods are said to fail to prepare students for the practice of law, despite numerous calls for reform to the legal education system. Skills training is often left to the legal profession, which is expensive and inefficient for clients. 

I have worked in almost every sector of the legal profession (including in the court system, prosecution, community legal centre, corporate top tier and in-house), and I have seen the gap between the theory and practice of law widen, particularly with the rise of legal technology and other disruption. With my passion for helping the next generation of lawyers, my strong network in the legal profession and love of teaching, backed by a Higher Education Certificate from Harvard University, I have created these legal training programs and courses to bridge this gap.

I employ an engaging ‘training meets theatre’ approach, incorporating active learning techniques and experiential simulations that authentically mimic legal professional life in various contexts, with the goal of empowering students with confidence in any legal career. I focus on the skills required by future lawyers (including adaptability, commerciality, creativity and empathy), and draw on my legal network, deep knowledge of the legal industry, and my strength in storytelling and performance, to continuously engage the students and encourage a life-long love of learning and self-improvement. 

Training programs can be tailored to suit any law school, legal team or law firm. Contact us for more information.