Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

I come not to bury the case method. I come merely to dethrone it. While the case method’s monopolistic hold on the law school classroom has loosened somewhat in recent years, it is still the dominant approach to pedagogy in many law school classrooms—and especially in the first-year law student experience. That is also true of the case method’s traditional pedagogical partners, the Socratic method and the cold call: their dominance has declined somewhat, even while they still have remarkable staying power.

This Essay identifies one fault with our continued acquiescence to these pedagogical mainstays of law school classrooms: it gives law students inaccurate information about what lawyers actually do and whether they are likely to be successful in law practice. Part I describes the problem in detail. Part II explains the source of that problem—Langdell’s 140-year-old “innovation”—that introduced the Socratic method, the case method, and cold calling to law school classrooms. And Part III suggests alternative pedagogical techniques that should compete for classroom time and syllabus space.

Comments

Law Review

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