The article defines the impact of globalization on higher education and the state of higher legal education, approaches to the implementation of the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education» with a view to modernizing the policy and practice of higher legal education. The emphasis is placed on the methodological significance of the competence approach, which is the basis for updating the standards of higher legal education in modern conditions. The criteria of educational standards of the new generation and their interpretation in the development of educational programs and educational technologies are analyzed.