Pretrial Discovery in the Law School Curriculum: An Analysis and a Suggested Approach

Authors

Edward D. Cavanagh, St. John's University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Legal Education

Publication Date

1988

Volume

38

First Page

401

Abstract

(Excerpt)

The topics of pretrial discovery and professional responsibility in the conduct of discovery are given short shrift in many law school classrooms. This is not to say that these topics are ignored by law schools; first-year students are typically acquainted with the concept of broad pretrial discovery in the federal system and the various disclosure tools provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Nevertheless, the intricacies of discovery practice and ethics are learned on the job or through continuing legal education programs. Although law schools, in response to criticism by the bench and bar of the general level of competence of trial attorneys, have added trial advocacy courses to sharpen courtroom skills, they have been less responsive to similar criticism of the pretrial process in general and discovery abuse in particular. Law schools cannot teach students everything there is to know about discovery. Much more, however, can and should be done during the academic phase of attorneys' careers.

Comments

JLE: © 1988 Association of American Law Schools