1 Assessing legal professionalism in simulations: The case of SIMPLE Professor Paul Maharg 1 Abstract What do we do when we evaluate professionalism, and how can we do that effectively using digital simulations? This brief paper will examine the issue and take as a case study the digital simulations used on the SIMPLE platform (Simulated Professional Learning Environment). Professionalism and its evaluation are described and defined, and the implementation and implications of this approach is explored in the case study. Introduction Digital simulations can be used for many purposes and in many professions. They are used in the training of the military (Nieborg 2004), civil and military aircraft pilots, in the training of surgeons (Fry and Kneebone 2011), in social work (Moss 2000; 2002), business (Cox 1999) and psychotherapy (Riva 2005). Legal education has generally been reluctant to engage with simulation as a heuristic, though other forms of experiential learning such as clinic have found a place in the curriculum in most common law jurisdictions – albeit little more than a foothold in many institutions. The reasons for this are not hard to find. Simulation is perceived as a method of teaching that is expensive, resource-intensive and disruptive of conventional teaching learning and assessment. In a number of publications we have proved that all three perceptions are false: while poorly-designed simulations can indeed exhibit these qualities, well-designed and implemented simulations are feasible, cost- effective and can be integrated with more conventional approaches to legal education (Barton, McKellar, Maharg 2006; Barton, Garvie, Maharg 2012). But if simulations are possible and practicable in legal education, are they effective teaching and learning tools, and can they be used for assessment? In particular, can they be used for the evaluation of professionalism? To answer these questions we need to define what we mean by ‘professionalism’ and by ‘evaluation’. We shall do that briefly, and then in the next section of the paper we shall give examples of digital simulations in practice, and summarise what we have learned about the process of evaluating legal professionalism. Professionalism The literature on professionalism and the professionalization of the legal cadre is extensive. Much of it, from sociolegal perspectives, analyzes how professionalism is constructed by the profession, and how it is shaped by the economics and culture of the profession, and how it is in recent decades fragmenting under pressure from regulation, consumerism, 1 Professor of Legal Education, Northumbria University Law School. For further information, see http://paulmaharg.com .