Workshop Program (WP)
The Workshop Program (WP) stands at the pinnacle of the Keio University Law School curriculum, which consists of required courses for the thorough acquisition of fundamental legal knowledge and elective courses that offer both broad scope and specialized depth. It encapsulates the law school's vision of "bridging theory and practice" and the educational philosophy of Keio University Law School: "international, interdisciplinary, and cutting-edge." The WP is more than just a program for acquiring a high level of expertise; it is the embodiment of our educational goal to cultivate legal professionals equipped with comprehensive legal thinking skills.
Features of the Workshop Program (WP)
It is a program designed to transcend and integrate the conventional, vertically segmented system of legal education, structured horizontally across multiple major fields of legal practice.
Students learn experientially how to apply the knowledge acquired in individual legal fields to solve specific problems in various fields of practice.
To bridge the gap between practice and theory, courses are generally co-taught by practitioner faculty and academic faculty, fostering lively, interactive, and multidirectional discussions among students and instructors.
To realize the educational philosophy of the Workshop Program, we frequently invite international and leading-edge guest speakers.
The core of this Workshop Program consists of "Corporate Law," "Financial Law," "International Legal Affairs," and "Intellectual Property Law." Under the guidance of practitioner faculty at the forefront of these four fields and academic faculty conducting advanced research in each area, the program aims to cultivate true specialists with a higher level of comprehensive ability. These specialists will be capable of resolving new disputes and creating new laws by confronting the latest legal issues that arise daily and fully mobilizing the fundamental knowledge and legal thinking skills they have cultivated in required and elective courses.
The globalized society of the 21st century is changing at a dizzying pace. We believe that the mission of Keio University Law School is to anticipate and respond to the new demands of society. Therefore, the Workshop Program is also constantly evolving. In addition to adding new WPs that address new themes within the four core fields, we also aim to train legal professionals who can excel in a wide range of other fields, based on the principles of "international, interdisciplinary, and cutting-edge."
We consider the Workshop Program to be a "forum" (ba) where practitioner faculty at the forefront of their fields, academic faculty conducting advanced research, and highly motivated students who will lead 21st-century society come together through cutting-edge themes. Participants in the Workshop Program will likely experience the fundamental principle of education: that it is people who nurture people, not systems that train legal professionals.
Forum Program (FP)
In the new law-oriented society of the 21st century, the role required of legal professionals is no longer limited to that of the three branches of the legal profession in the narrow sense (judges, prosecutors, and attorneys) as agents of dispute resolution through litigation. The field of activity for legal professionals, including those in the broader sense, is expanding into various sectors.
An increasing number of qualified legal professionals and graduates are working as so-called in-house lawyers (corporate counsel or legal staff) in government agencies, local public entities, and corporations. In government agencies and local public entities, they are expected not only to handle preventive legal affairs for the administrative body but also to be actively involved in policy formation as legal experts. In corporations, unlike external counsel, they are expected to go beyond corporate legal affairs such as contract drafting, troubleshooting, and compliance; as businesspersons with legal expertise, they are anticipated to coordinate among various internal departments to facilitate final decision-making.
In the business world, given the recent importance of entrepreneurship in creating new businesses and business models, there is a growing need to cultivate legal professionals who can support entrepreneurs as good counsel from both a business and legal perspective.
In the global field as well, there is a demand for legal experts who can serve as global lawyers in international organizations such as the United Nations and in areas like legal development assistance.
Based on the principles of "international, interdisciplinary, and cutting-edge," the Law School has established five Forum Programs (FPs): "Public Policy and Legal Affairs FP," "In-house Legal Section FP," "Entrepreneurship and Law FP," "International Legal Affairs FP," and "Legal Development Assistance FP." With faculty members acting as coordinators and inviting pioneering legal professionals from each field as guest speakers, the program aims to cultivate a "new type of legal professional (the fourth branch of the legal profession)" who can meet the aforementioned needs.