Methodology of Teaching Law Disciplines in Russian and English to Law Students: A Digital Form and Traditional Content

Abstract

The research problem addressed in this paper is to substantiate the most optimal forms and methods of teaching the law disciplines both in Russian and in English in a law school in the context of the introduction of digital forms of learning into traditional educational environment of a law school. The research applies the methods of the concept of professional training in advocacy. Professional training in advocacy is one of the practice-oriented areas of advocacy that includes the methodology of training students in a law school covering the statistical method, systematic method, historical and legal method, method of participatory observation, method of analysis and synthesis. The paper describes new areas of work and new opportunities that have become available to students in 2020–2021, including new master’s programs and additional in-person and online courses of students’ practice-oriented training. The paper examines how students of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL) can acquire necessary knowledge and practice skills in order to pass the qualification examination for the status of an advocate and be able to practice law in the Russian Federation and abroad. The authors of the paper believe that the development of digital technologies has made it possible to move to a qualitatively new level of teaching. Along with classical teaching methods, the faculty have started implementing digital technologies in the learning process, focusing on practice-oriented types of work, including practice-oriented projects. A partial transition to distance learning has contributed to creation and development of the common educational environment that will enable international cooperation in student education and development of other digital environments, such as an integrated information system for the Russian Advocacy as well.