Abstract
The article presents the state of art of the discussions that took place within the FGV São Paulo Law School, concerning the desirable research model for the professional master program, considering also the regulatory framework set by CAPES. The proposal assumes that successful lawyers must be able not only to answer questions about the applicable law, but also address legal strategies in complex and multidisciplinary contexts. Besides the dogmatic and doctrinal knowledge, lawyers must be aware of the relevant facts, must have strong analytical capacity and criticize sense, combined with strategic vision and constructive approach. The research activity in the professional master program represents an important learning opportunity for the students. The program also expects that the students’ research could generate new and applicable knowledge in the Law field. To fulfill that purpose, the research must adopt as starting point a practical problem with a capable solution. The research model developed by FGV São Paulo Law School embraces three different alternatives: (i) exploratory work on usual practices in the Law field; (ii) solution of legal problems; and (iii) case study. All three alternatives have in common the following stages: (i) understanding the reality and fact contexts; (ii) discussion of the applicable law, relevant precedents and doctrinal opinions; (iii) analyses and assessment of the whole situation; and (iv) recommendation of practical action.
Professional master program; applied research in Law; problem solving; exploratory research work; case study