Cultivating 21st century law graduates through creativity in the curriculum

Based on our experience of implementing two creative projects within a legal clinic setting, we explore the concept of creativity and the theoretical and market justifications for incorporating it within law curriculums. Today’s graduates are entering a highly competitive job market and law curriculums need to evolve to ensure they cultivate the skills and attributes employers want. A 21st century law graduate needs more than just a working knowledge of the law and fostering students’ creativity could help develop a range of non-academic skills. However, significantly, our projects suggest that students need to be encouraged to develop their creative potential. As academics we therefore have an important role to play in facilitating creativity and in producing modern, work-ready graduates. This paper should be of interest to anyone engaged in the teaching of law but also to any academics in other disciplines who are exploring ways of unleashing their students’ creative potential.