History Comes Alive
The primary classroom for the Academy of the Advocate is called “Parliament Hall,” as it served as Parliament in Scotland in the early 16th century. On a cliff-top overlooking the town, students will explore the famous St Andrews Castle, caught in the crossfires of the Protestant Reformation—at various times a palace, a prison, and a fortress—weathering sieges and attacks that changed the course of history. They’ll stroll among the ruins of the once mighty St Andrews Cathedral, whose ultimate destruction is linked to the power of advocacy.
Journeying north to the city of Dundee, students will meet with sitting judges, and witness real trials and appellate proceedings. As they take in the experience, they’ll come to understand how the ecclesiastical trials of the 15th and 16th centuries, along with the development of Scottish democracy, gave birth to the traditions of the British and American legal systems. And along the way, come to understand the inherent power of the spoken word.
Or as it has become affectionately known throughout Scotland, the art of “storytelling.”
The Baylor Law School Academy of the Advocate at St Andrews has been approved by the American Bar Association Accreditation Committee.