The Pedagogy of Legal Synthesis

Abstract

The ability to synthesize implicit legal principles from many ambiguous cases is a mark of a skilled attorney. But legal synthesis is notoriously challenging to teach, and law students typically receive little explicit guidance on how to synthesize. The literature likewise offers law professors little direction on how to impart the skill successfully. 

This article serves as a guide for professors to effectively train law students to synthesize implicit legal principles. Drawing upon cognitive science, the study of logic, and educational research, this article explains the challenges of learning legal synthesis and equips professors with pedagogical methods and curricular resources to meet those challenges. It walks professors through how to design synthesis-friendly legal writing assignments as a primary vehicle to teach students the skill. It also explains how to lecture clearly about each aspect of synthesis, including how to use inductive reasoning, abstract implicit legal principles from ambiguous cases, and draft clear analyses. Finally, it shows how to drill the skill in class through practice exercises. The article is written with first-year legal writing professors in mind, and the tools it offers can easily be adapted for use in other courses. Armed with proven teaching techniques, law professors can empower students to master the skill of legal synthesis.

Keywords: law, legal writing, legal reasoning, synthesis, legal synthesis, inductive reasoning, induction, legal analysis, legal drafting, lawyering, lawyering skills, law school, pedagogy, inductive generalization, legal education, artificial intelligence, AI