THE CASE METHOD OF
LAW TEACHING
Unit 18
Preview
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Definition
Origins
Casebooks
Socratic method
Assignments
Progress
Results
Definition
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The primary method of teaching law in
law schools in the United States based
on the principle that the best way to
learn American law (due to its
common law origin) is to analyze the
actual judicial opinions which become
binding under the rule of stare decisis
History
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The American colonies took over the English
method of training law professionals
In England, lawyers were trained by
lawyers; no university education was
required; qualification to practice law –
based on a kind of apprenticeship, whereby
the candidate “read” law for several years in
the offices or chambers of a practicing
lawyer
History
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Throughout 19th c., dominant
methods of learning law –
apprenticeship followed by
comprehensive bar examinations, all
administered by the legal profession
without any connection to the formal
university establishment
History
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Harvard University – chartered in 1636
Law faculty established in 1817
The earliest US law schools – founded
by lawyers, who gave lectures to law
aspirants
Gradually through 19th c. most
universities founded their law schools
Today
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All American states require law school
education as a prerequisite for
admission to practice law
Am. legal education – post-graduate
Previous university study leading to a
B.A. or B.S. required before a person
can begin the study of law
The American law school
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No national universities
Education – a state responsibility
Distinguished law schools: Chicago,
Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, Yale
The American law school
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Admission: competitive, based on
scores on the national Law School
Aptitude Test, undergraduate
academic record, prior work
achievement, etc.
Average annual tuition: 55 000 $
The Law school
curriculum
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Since 1900 – 1st degree in law,
originally called LL.B. (Legum
Baccalaureus=Bachelor of Laws) but
today more commonly J.D. (Juris
Doctor): 3 years of instruction
1st year curriculum
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Contracts, property, tort, civil
procedure, criminal law
Some schools: constitutional law, legal
philosophy, administrative law
Moot courts
Curriculum
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After 1st year, students are free to select
the courses they wish to study
Optional subjects: commercial law,
corporation law, anti-trust law, evidence,
federal taxation, labor law, private
international law, family law, law of
inheritance, trusts, insurance and maritime
law, legal history, comparative law, public
international law
Curriculum
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Examinations: written; questions that
require the student to analyze more or less
complicated facts from the perspective of a
lawyer, a judge, or a legislator drafting a
law
Grading – anonymous
Very few students fail
3rd year paper must be completed before a
student can graduate
Methods of law teaching
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Originally, instruction at American law
schools proceeded along lines similar
to those traditional in Europe
The subject matter – presented excathedra
Origins
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Until 1870’s, no American law school used
the case method, which is now standard
Introduced by Christopher Columbus
Langdell, American jurist and professor of
law at Harvard University
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Selection of Cases on the Law of Contracts
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(1871), the first book used in the case
system
Casebooks
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Collections of best cases concerning a
particular area of law; leading opinions
of English and American courts in a
certain area of law, presented in a
logical sequence to be followed in the
classroom
Case method
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Once case books were available, the
next step was to analyze with students
the cases they had read before each
class
discussion
Socratic Method
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A student has to answer about a central argument put forth
by one of the judges in an assigned case
The first step – to paraphrase the argument
The next – whether the student agrees
The student has to defend his or her position
Subsequent questions challenge the student’s assumptions
Further questions move the student toward greater specificity,
either in understanding a rule of law or a particular case
The method allows students to come to legal principles on
their own through carefully worded questions
The Goal of Socratic Method
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Typically, there is more than one “correct” answer,
or no clear answer at all
The goal: to explore difficult legal issues and to
teach students the critical thinking skills they will
need as lawyers
Students should go beyond memorizing the facts of
a case and instead focus on application of legal
rules to facts
Judges’ decisions: based on certain premises,
belief, and conclusions that are the subject of
legitimate argument
Assignments
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Students are expected to be prepared
for class in advance by reading the
assigned materials (case opinions,
notes, law review articles, etc.) and by
familiarizing themselves with the
general outlines of the subject matter
Progress
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The student has to review the cases
analysed in class
From these materials, he tries to
construct an orderly statement of the
legal rules and principles in the
course’s field
Results
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The student learns the main rules and
principles developed by courts
Learns how to work with legal source
materials, relate legal doctrines to
facts and facts to doctrine
Decline in popularity
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Exclusive reliance on a discussion
method may leave the student
uncertain about important legal rules,
practices, and institutions
Much of what is required for a full
legal culture can be obtained by
reading or hearing systematic
presentations
Clinical legal education
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Two forms: in one, students are
presented with a simulated factual
situation and asked to develop
evidence, give counsel, and take
appropriate procedural steps
Clinical legal education
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goal: to expose students to the
realities of law practice in a controlled
context; simulated workshop courses
in trial advocacy, negotiation, federal
litigation, etc.
Critique from experienced practitioners
who assist in the instruction on a parttime or volunteer basis
Clinical legal education
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The other form: students engage in
actual law practice, representing
clients in domestic relations, housing,
benefits and other contested matters,
under the supervision of experienced
lawyers who serve as clinical
instructors
Law review
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The oldest Am. Law review – Harvard,
established by students in 1877
Law students do the editing
Lead articles – selected by student
editors from among manuscripts
submitted by legal scholars and
lawyers
Law reviews
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Each issue also includes student
writing, usually in the form of a
treatment of an area of the law or a
focused discussion of a recent decision
or legislation
These student-edited journals have
long been the most important
American professional legal periodicals
Summary
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Case method:
1. requires students to work with
primary source material
2. A typical American law school class
is a dialogue about the meaning of a
case, not a straightforward lecture
Put the verbs in brackets
into appropriate forms
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CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
LANGDELL, a law professor, often
___(receive) credit for ____(invent)
the case method although historians
___(find) evidence that others
___(teach) by this method before him.
Regardless, Langdell by all accounts
___(popularize) the case method.
Key
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CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
LANGDELL, a law professor, often
receives credit for inventing the case
method although historians have
found evidence that others were
teaching by this method before him.
Regardless, Langdell by all accounts
popularized the case method.
case, interpreted, judicial
law, prevalent
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Langdell's beliefs differed from those of his ___
professor colleagues. Throughout the 1800s, the
___approach for teaching law school classes was
the lecture method. Although professors and
textbooks ____ the meaning of various court
decisions, they did not offer a significant
opportunity for students to do so on their own. The
____method, on the other hand, forced students to
read, analyze, and interpret cases themselves. It
was Langdell's opinion that law students would be
better educated if they were asked to reach their
own conclusions about the meaning of
___decisions.
Key
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Langdell's beliefs differed from those of his law
professor colleagues. Throughout the 1800s, the
prevalent approach for teaching law school classes
was the lecture method. Although professors and
textbooks interpreted the meaning of various court
decisions, they did not offer a significant
opportunity for students to do so on their own. The
case method, on the other hand, forced students to
read, analyze, and interpret cases themselves. It
was Langdell's opinion that law students would be
better educated if they were asked to reach their
own conclusions about the meaning of judicial
decisions.
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At first, Langdell's ideas _____(reject, passive) by
students, other law professors, and attorneys alike.
These critics ___(view) the case method as chaotic
compared with organized lectures. They
___(believe) that instead of soliciting law students'
opinions regarding cases, professors should simply
state their own interpretations. Law students, afraid
that they were not learning from Langdell's method,
____(drop) out of his class, leaving him with only a
few pupils. Enrollment in the Harvard Law School
___(decrease) dramatically because of concern
over Langdell's case method and alumni ___(call)
for his dismissal.
Key
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Langdell's ideas were, at first, overwhelmingly
rejected by students, other law professors, and
attorneys alike. These critics viewed the case
method as chaotic compared with organized
lectures. They believed that instead of soliciting law
students' opinions regarding cases, professors
should simply state their own interpretations. Law
students, afraid that they were not learning from
Langdell's method, dropped out of his class, leaving
him with only a few pupils. Enrollment in the
Harvard Law School decreased dramatically
because of concern over Langdell's case method
and alumni called for his dismissal.
attorneys, backing, dean,
dominant, instruction
replaced
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But the president of Harvard University, Charles W. Eliot,
supported Langdell and his case method. This ____allowed
Langdell to withstand the criticism long enough to prove the
case method's success: Langdell's students were becoming
capable, skilled ___. In 1870 Langdell became law school___.
As time passed he __his critics on the Harvard faculty with
professors who believed in his system of teaching and the
case method soon became the ___ teaching method at
Harvard. Other U.S. law schools took note. By the early
1900s, most had adopted the case method, and it remained
the primary method of legal ___throughout the twentieth
century and beyond.
critical, facts, insight,
irrelevant, respond, Socratic
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The case method is usually combined with a type of
classroom teaching called the ___method. Through
the Socratic method students orally ___ to an often
difficult series of questions designed to help them
gain further ___ into the meaning of the law.
Students learn the skill of ___analysis this way:
they learn to discern relevant from ___facts; they
learn to distinguish between seemingly similar facts
and issues; and they learn to analogize between
dissimilar ___and issues.
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The case method is usually combined with a type of
classroom teaching called the Socratic method.
Through the Socratic method students orally
respond to an often difficult series of questions
designed to help them gain further insight into the
meaning of the law. Students learn the skill of
critical analysis this way: they learn to discern
relevant from irrelevant facts; they learn to
distinguish between seemingly similar facts and
issues; and they learn to analogize between
dissimilar facts and issues.
Reference or Substitution
Words
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Words and sentences are related to each
other in the text so that there is clear
identity between what is being said and
what has been said. This identity is signalled
by reference and substitution words
Reference: anaphoric (pointing back) and
cataphoric (pointing forward) in discourse
Types of Reference Words
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1) Third person pronouns (Students attempt to summarize the
argument while it is in progress)
2) One (replaces nouns): Which method have you chosen? The one
which was presented last week.
3) This, that, these, those (replaces nouns, groups of words or
sentences): (He is trying to analyze the assigned case. This can be a
difficult task)
4) There, then (replace adverbials of place and time) (He studied at
Harvard. He got acquainted with the case method there).
5) Such + noun (replaces the description of the person or thing
named by the noun): This method may vary in complexity and
procedure. Such variations, however, are of minor importance.
Discourse reference:
Sentence/clause reference
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Anaphoric and cataphoric: here, it, this
Anaphoric: that, the foregoing
Cataphoric: as follows, the following,
thus
Anaphoric examples
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Students want to be shown connections between
facts instead of spending their time memorizing
dates and formulas. Reflecting this, the university
is moving away from large survey courses and
breaking down academic fences in order to show
subjects relating to one another
Many students never improve. They get no advice
and therefore they keep repeating the same
mistakes. It’s a terrible shame.
Cataphoric examples
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This should interest you, if you are
still keen on becoming a good lawyer.
I’ve heard of an interesting case
involving intellectual property rights...
Here is the news. A diplomat was
kidnapped last night...
Case method instruction
Teacher
Student
Does not deliver formal lectures
Must have a firm grasp of the facts
Defend your opinion about the case
method instruction
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Yes, but what I really mean is…
What I want to say is…
I feel that…
On the contrary…
How would you describe
a person who is:
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Tough-minded
Skeptical
Pragmatic
Resourceful