How Lawyers (Come to) See the World: A Narrative Theory of Legal Pedagogy
56 Loy. L. Rev. 619 (2010)
32 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2013
Date Written: 2010
Abstract
Even if one believes that law is not an autonomous discipline, few would dispute that it is a conservative institution and that its members are trained via a pedagogical method quite different from that of other professions. A central aspect of this training is the case method and — thus — the specialized narrative form that appellate opinions take. This essay examines the case method and suggests ways to crack it open — without discarding it — and thereby achieve one of the goals set forth in the Carnegie Report: namely, to supplement the analytical, rule-based mode of reasoning inherent in the method.
Keywords: legal pedagogy, appellate opinions, narrative, case books, Carnegie Report, legal theory
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