Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
(Excerpt)
We must remind our students that we ask them to read cases in law school to help them master the art of legal analysis. Though part of our goal also might be to teach them important substantive law, it is not our primary goal, nor should it be. In reality, when practicing attorneys are faced with real legal problems, they must research the applicable law in the relevant jurisdiction and as it relates to the specific circumstances of their case. If the problem involves a contracts claim, for example, an attorney will not open his or her law school casebook and course outline from contracts to see how the problem should be resolved because the answer is not there. While the cases and lessons from the contracts course certainly will give the attorney the tools for how to approach the particular problem, that attorney must be skilled in reading cases and analyzing legal problems on his or her own to actually resolve the client’s issue competently.
Comments
Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1316906
Version of record available in Newsletter for the AALS Section on Teaching Methods, December 2008.