LGST 2100 Profession of Law CLASS NOTES WEEK 3

    Notes and Questions

    Week 3:

    LEGAL EDUCATION IN AMERICA TODAY

    Issues:

    You  should  consider  the changes in legal  education  over  the course of American history.

    Review  the issues from the last unit concerning the training  of lawyers in the colonial period, the post-revolutionary period and the  antebellum period. Compare the training and education of  a lawyer in those times with the type of training and education  a lawyer receives in the United States today.

    What  is  the Harvard model of legal education?

    Is  the  Socratic  method  an  effective  teaching  technique  to introduce students to legal reasoning?

    What  is  the  Case Method? How does it relate  to  the  Socratic Method   of   teaching  law?  What  is   the   difficulty   with concentrating on appellate level cases when more and more law  is statute  oriented?  Does the Case Method, with its  emphasis  on appellate  level  decisions, provide the  best  preparation  for students   wishing   to  practice  as   sole   practitioners   or representing underprivileged persons.

    Consider  about German, Canadian and English approaches to  legal education.  Do  these  systems, which  incorporate  a  period  of apprenticeship, produce lawyers better prepared for the rigors of practice?

    What  are the strengths and weaknesses of legal education in  the United States today?

    Are  law schools in the United States today designed  to  prepare students for practice in large firms specializing in  corporate law?  Is  there  too little attention  given  to  the  practical problems  of  the "ordinary Joe" client and  too  much  attention given to appellate litigation?

    What  is the relationship between law schools and stress? Why  do students find "learning the law" so stressful?

    Have   law  schools  responded  sufficiently  to  the  needs   of minorities in the United States?

    What  are the new trends in legal education in the United  States today?

    Reading

    1. One L

    2. Lawyers: A Critical Reader, pp. 75 to 90

    Making It and Breaking It: The Fate of Public Interest Commitment during Law School

    3.  Lawyers:  A Critical Reader pp. 145 to  160  

    Law  School: Legal Education in America from the 1850s to the 1980s

    Other Materials:

    1. Segments from the movie: The Paper Chase

    2.  Before  the  Law  , 4th edition,  "Legal  Education  and  the Reproduction of Hierarchy", pp. 279-286

    Internet

    LAW SCHOOL EXPERIENCE / LEGAL EDUCATION

  1. Ohio Northern University: Pettit College of Law: Examinations
  2. Ontario: About Osgoode Hall Law School
  3. Missouri Ex Rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938)
  4. Sipuel v. Board of Regents (1948)
  5. Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
  6. Defunis et al. v. Odegarrd et al. (1974)
  7. Professor Dressler discusses: Problems in the Profession and Pre-Law Education
  8. The Rankings Game from Indiana University
  9. Thomas E. Brennan's Judging the Law Schools

    Legal Education in Europe

  10. Qualification Process: DENMARK via Inst. of European Law
  11. Law Society (ENGLAND and Wales) What is a Solicitor
  12. Law Society (ENGLAND and Wales) Legal Education
  13. Qualifying as a Solicitor in Scotland
  14. Inns of Court School of Law
  15. The Student Law Center: Train to be a barrister
  16. The Student Law Center: Train to be a solicitor
  17. General Council of the Bar, Education and Training
  18. The General Council of the Bar
  19. Inner Temple, London, England: History, Education, Links
  20. Qualification Process: FRANCE via Inst. of European Law
  21. Qualification Process: GERMANY via Inst. of European Law
  22. Legal Education in Germany: becoming a Lawyer, Judge, and Professor
  23. Qualification Process: HOLLAND via Inst. of European Law



    Comments to: Stephen Ross Levitt
    Updated: October 2000
    Copyright Stephen Ross Levitt