Contact and Concepts: Educating Students at Jesuit Law Schools

22 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2007 Last revised: 9 Dec 2012

See all articles by Andrew F. Moore

Andrew F. Moore

University of Detroit Mercy - School of Law

Abstract

This article responds to an article by Professor John Breen entitled Justice and Jesuit Higher Education: A Critique published in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. In his article, Breen asserts that Jesuit law schools lack a distinctive quality that they should possess given the Society of Jesus' emphasis on intellectual formation and commitment to promoting justice. A necessary part of developing a distinctive approach, according to Breen, is a mandatory course on the concept of justice. Breen's describes this course as including a serious encounter with the prime thinkers of the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition. This course, he asserts, is not an attempt at proselytizing law students, but a way of promoting critical thinking about contemporary social and moral issues that they may confront as lawyers.

In response, I contend that such a class is not likely to achieve Professor Breen's goals. An explicit attempt at shaping students' philosophical or moral views may easily be disregarded as peripheral to the professional training they are receiving. Secondly, in spite of intentions to the contrary, such a course could become akin to proselytizing given that Breen asserts the need for the course is rooted in the students' lack of understanding about justice. Although he uses the language of dialogue, such a course will not be a give and take on equal footing. Some students may not simply dismiss such a course but find it offensive.

My counter-proposal involves a two-pronged approach. First, I recommend weaving justice issues into the existing law school curriculum. This should be done by making students aware of the conversion process they will go through as they learn the analytical thinking approach that is demanded of lawyers. I suggest using the actual doctrine of the courses to raise issues and prompt reflection. But perhaps the most effective way to promote a focus on justice is requiring students to have a direct service experience. The Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Peter Hans Kolvenbach stated that it is contact rather than concepts that shape students' worldviews. However, it is not simply contact with the marginalized and disempowered that Jesuit legal education should provide, but also a course that allows students to integrate that experience with their emerging identity as a future lawyer. Then students may begin to deeply consider issues of justice and their role in shaping a more just world.

Keywords: Legal education, Jesuits, Society of Jesus

Suggested Citation

Moore, Andrew F., Contact and Concepts: Educating Students at Jesuit Law Schools. Gonzaga Law Review, Vol. 41, No. 3, p. 459, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=990056

Andrew F. Moore (Contact Author)

University of Detroit Mercy - School of Law ( email )

651 East Jefferson
Detroit, MI 48226
United States

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