Following the Herd: Bringing Electronic Casebooks into the Law School

Abstract

Should law school faculty integrate electronic casebooks into their courses? After describing the eTextbook market forces, this article posits that digital casebooks will not only be in great demand, but also can assist in lowering the cost of legal education while creating more practice-ready students. The article will also illustrate the recent technological improvements in eCasebook platforms that will address the unique needs of law students, thereby increasing acceptance and usage. The article concludes with a brief survey of current eCasebook alternatives and an argument for the creation of value-added open-source, open-access digital casebooks with assistance from the law library.

Keywords: e-casebooks, digital textbooks, eBooks, law school reform, teaching