Case Method of Law Teaching

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Case Method of Law Teaching
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Case Method

• A system of instruction or study of law focused
  upon the analysis of court opinions rather than
  lectures and textbooks the predominant method of
  teaching in U.S. law schools today.

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Professor Langdell

• 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.

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History

• Langdell introduced the method around1870 at
  Harvard Law School
• Langdell viewed the law as a science and believed
  that it should be studied as a science
• Law consists of certain principles or doctrines.
  To have such a mastery of these as to be able to
  apply them with constant facility and certainty
  to the ever-tangled skein of human affairs, is
  what constitutes a true lawyer and hence to
  acquire that mastery should be the business of
  every earnest student of law.

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The lecture method

• 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.

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Changes

• 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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Reactions to the case method

• 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.

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Reactions of students

• 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.

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Langdells success

• The president of Harvard University, Charles W.
  Eliot, supported Langdell and his case method.
  This backing allowed Langdell to withstand the
  criticism long enough to prove the case method's
  success Langdell's students were becoming
  capable, skilled attorneys.

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Adoption of the Case Method

• In 1870 Langdell became law school dean. As time
  passed he replaced his critics on the Harvard
  faculty with professors who believed in his
  system of teaching and the case method soon
  became the dominant teaching method at Harvard.
  Other U.S. law schools took note.

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Primary method

• By the early 1900s, most US law schools had
  adopted the case method, and it remained the
  primary method of legal instruction throughout
  the twentieth century and beyond.

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Video explanation

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vEwPOVyvGvo8
• Explain Langdells reasons for advocating the
  case method of law teaching!

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Characteristics of the Case Method

• Socratic methodThe case method is usually
  coupled 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.
• Professors question students on the actual cases
  assigned for a particular class
• Students challenge unquestioned assumptions and
  reveal underlying legal principles

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Prerequisites

• Lecturer as a facilitator
• The dialogue form of teaching
• Active participation in the class

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Sudents tasks

• Review the background information and the facts
  in the case
• Determine the main issue in the case
• Examine alternative arguments on the issue in the
  case
• Consider the decision and legal reasoning in the
  case
• Assess the implications and the significance of
  the case in constitutional history

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What it looks like...

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?viaQbC5bgh2s

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Advantages of the method

• It stimulates active involvement of students and
  prepares them for adversarial debates and quick
  retorts required by practicing lawyers
• 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.

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Cricticism of the method

• Critics argue that the case method fails to
  impart moral values, causes unnecessary and
  harmful stress, fosters incivility and overly
  competitive attitudes and leaves students
  unprepared for the realities of practice

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Thoughtsopinions

• What do you think about the case method?
• Would you like to participate in the classes
  featuring this method?
• Do you believe it causes additional stress?

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Thank you for your attention!