Beyond reasonable doubt?: an evaluation of the firm/school partnership programme, New Zealand Law Society

Abstract

In 1995, as part of its commitment to encourage learning about the legal system in schools, the New Zealand Law Society designed and established the firm/school partnership programme. This matched legal firms to secondary schools to provide the free services of lawyers to enhance the law-related learning of students. By 1997, 198 partnerships were operating across New Zealand. The evaluation was undertaken to determine what had been happening in firm/school partnerships and how the programme might need to be redesigned. The teacher contact and the lawyer liaison from each school and firm were sent a survey questionnaire about the nature of their activity over 1996. From an analysis of these results, five contrasting partnerships were chosen for in-depth interviews. The results were analysed and triangulated throughout the research process. The study showed that while considerable support for the programme remained, the majority of partnerships had never become established or had barely functioned. School pressures, communication difficulties and a lack of understanding about how lawyers could be involved had prevented many teachers from working with their partnered firms. The evaluation showed that while each partnership was unique and needed flexibility to decide the nature of involvement, many needed more external structure and support to ensure that communication and activity took place. It recommended that this be achieved through the introduction of partnership agreements to establish minimum criteria for involvement and accountability from management to ensure that communication, planning, goal setting and evaluation took place. The study also recommended that the Law Society should only support functioning partnerships by continuing to provide resources and initiating more regular support, encouragement and recognition of partnership activity. The research was undertaken as part of the personal university study programme of the Law Society staff member who had designed and operated the programme, while a committee of lawyers responsible for the Society's work in schools responded to the recommendations for change. The study suggested that its general findings could be transferred to other similar programmes. Future research needs in this area such as the impact of lawyers' involvement on student learning were also highlighted.