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Fiat Flux: Evolving Purposes And Ideals Of The Great American Public Law School, Christopher Edley Jr

Christopher Edley

This Essay describes the changing role of American law schools throughout the twentieth century and proposes a vision for the future's Great American Law School. Since the founding of Berkeley Law, the definition of the legal profession has progressed from an interior orientation, which focused predominately on trial courts and appellate advocacy, to an exterior orientation with wide consideration of other forms of lawyering. Along a second axis, legal pedagogy has progressed from a careerist orientation, which focused on case analysis and advocacy skills, to a more academic orientation that integrates questions of theory and methodology. Analyzing these trends, this …