Step Away from the Case Book: A Call for Balance and Integration in Law School Pedagogy

5 Pages Posted: 16 Mar 2008 Last revised: 10 Dec 2012

See all articles by Kathryn Stanchi

Kathryn Stanchi

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law

Abstract

This essay is a part of a symposium project by the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review that culls together radical proposals for the reform of legal education. In this essay, I argue that courses in law school should integrate skills training, doctrine and theory so that students learn legal doctrine and theory in a practical context. Integrating skills into doctrinal and theory courses will give students a deeper, richer notion of what it means to practice law and think like a lawyer. In short, law school pedagogy should project a model of law practice that both accurately reflects what lawyers do and that opens students' minds to a vision of lawyering as a creative endeavor that involves critical, outside the box thinking. An integrated approach can potentially improve the quality of law practice, enhance lawyers' experience as practitioners, and possibly even change the law itself.

Keywords: pedagogy, legal education, skills training

JEL Classification: K40

Suggested Citation

Stanchi, Kathryn, Step Away from the Case Book: A Call for Balance and Integration in Law School Pedagogy. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review (CR-CL), Vol. 43, p. 611, 2008, Temple University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-55, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1104772

Kathryn Stanchi (Contact Author)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law ( email )

4505 South Maryland Parkway
Box 451003
Las Vegas, NV 89154
United States

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