Project Description

Legal Interviewing Skills CD-ROM

In recent years Monash University Tort Law lecturers have introduced optional problem-based interviewing/negotiation exercises for small groups of Torts students. A major difficulty has been finding effective methods for this form of skills training for large lecture groups (300-400 students). In the case of interviewing/negotiation skills, existing methods have proven to be very labour intensive (eg. supervision, answering queries, participating as interviewees etc.) and the Law School's current resources do not permit this type of training with large groups. Even though the Law School and the legal profession recognise the need to teach these skills, most law students miss out on adequate training because of the lack of resources.

This Legal Interviewing program addresses this problem by providing students with an interactive, flexible, and self-directed learning package which uses visual simulation of real life situations. The program exposes common problems or pitfalls in the client interviewing process and helps students identify the skills needed to address these problems. The full program focuses on the skills needed to conduct successful client interviews, and acts as a precursor to the students undertaking a negotiation role-play involving accident-related problem.