Law Commons^™

Situating Thinking Like A Lawyer Within Legal Pedagogy , David T. Butleritchie

Cleveland State Law Review

The phrase "thinking like a lawyer" maintains as much relevance to today's legal academy as it ever has. In the face of recent criticism that the ideas connected with the concept of "thinking like a lawyer," e.g., the case law method with its focus on the adversarial litigation process, the fact is that legal educators must still teach their students to "think like lawyers." Critics have complained that the narrow focus of this traditional concept unduly restricts the ability of law students to develop refined analytical and practical skills which go beyond the adversarial context. In one sense these critics …