Teaching Remedies as Problem-Solving: Keeping it Real

Abstract

Problem-solving is ubiquitous as the trendy mantra of what lawyers and regular people are supposed to be learning for better dispute resolution. Critics of legal education, like the influential 2007 Carnegie Report and before that the MacCrate Report, have focused on problem-solving as an important aspect of teaching legal rules by contextualizing the doctrine with professional judgment and practical meaning for clients. This Essay explains what the problem method means to me in the context of teaching Remedies. It details exactly how a professor might pedagogically adopt a problem-method approach in her class. It explores the potential benefits from this approach for student interest, learning and assessment, and development of twenty-first century competencies.

Keywords: remedies, problem solving, teaching