In 1870, Christopher Columbus Langdell was appointed dean of Harvard Law School, where he was “called upon to deal with was the construction of a new curriculum for the School, divided into first and second year courses.”¹ He did so initially by “appointing eminent lawyers at the bar or bench to give instruction on special subjects in relatively short courses.”² But Langdell was skeptical that success as a legal practitioner would necessarily translate into success as a legal educator. Rather,...

In my recent article, Reimagning Legal Education: Insights from UNH Franklin Pierce's First 50 Years, I finally wrote down something that I have long said on panels and in discussions with students: That the process of becoming a lawyer can be best characterized by a Venn diagram where three circles only barely grade each other — law school, the bar exam, and then actually learning how to be a lawyer. Upon reflection, my thinking has evolved somewhat. It's not so much that they barely graze...