Different Seating Charts? The Process of Legal Education as Represented in New Zealand and United States Fiction

Abstract

Both New Zealand and United States fiction examines the nature of legal education. After comparing and contrasting fictional representations in both jurisdictions, it is clear that there are more similarities than differences. Many of these similarities relate to the negative effects that the process of legal education has upon students. The Socratic Method serves as a ready symbol of this pedagogical failure, but it is only one of many ways in which New Zealand and United States fiction affirms the findings of legal education research. Fictional imaginings of law schools emphasise problems relating to teaching methods and teaching staff. As Duncan Kennedy has argued, the question of power permeates law school and heavily influences these problems. Confusing assessment, limited feedback, extremely high workloads, a lack of practical training, and emotional stress are all represented in New Zealand and United States fiction. There are some minor differences between the fictional representations from the two jurisdictions but the overall message is very similar. These are real issues and fiction portrays this in a powerful way. Legal educators in both jurisdictions should pay careful attention to fictional representations, in addition to education research, in the quest to improve law school teaching.

Keywords: Law and Literature, Legal Education, New Zealand, United States