harvard law essay

harvard law essay

The Importance of Legal Education in Harvard Law School

1. Introduction

In this study, the authors propose that legal education can transmit important lessons about regulations and institutions that might be learned less effectively elsewhere. This is a simple and often neglected assertion. Why should we expect law students to learn of regulation and institutions better than students in other social science and policy programs? In researching this question, we build on a small body of work which suggests that legal education has distinct pedagogical and professional effects. The growing minority of law graduates who enter professional jobs that do not require a law degree present a challenge to the conception of legal education as vocational training for lawyers. Yet, a clear understanding of law as part of a larger regulatory and institutional structure has always been an important ingredient in the professional training of lawyers. This understanding distinguishes lawyers from those in other professions and can be seen as the primary role of lawyers in modern society. If legal education offers a unique insight into regulation and institutions, it is important to understand the lessons legal education is teaching and its effects on students from a variety of sociological backgrounds. This can be important for graduate or undergraduate students who consider a legal education and for educators and students in related social science and policy programs. A second and broader purpose of this study is to illustrate the value of an ethnographic approach to researching law and legal education. A previous element of this research project involved tracing the social and legal construction of alcohol control via case law in the United States. Todd Clear assigned this research activity to a jurisprudence class he was teaching. He then used classic articles on legal socialization and legal education to elicit the students’ reflection on how their learning process in the activity compared with learning in other law school settings. The comparative discussion between the alcohol control project and broader legal education was illuminating as a data source for the current project.

2. History and Prestige of Harvard Law School

The law school was established in 1817, the oldest in continuous existence today. Harvard Law School was founded by a donation of John Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant. Lowell was determined to build a school “of the first order.” Although not a university man himself, he leveraged his associates to provide business and expansion opportunities for the school. Thanks to his efforts, by the time the first students were admitted the following year, the school had a faculty and a degree program. This allowed Harvard to open the school without a large endowment or foundation, it is just what the founders intended. “No other qualification for admission is required of person over 18 years of age.” Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. During the 18th century, an era of organization began. Harvard University is divided into ten faculties and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. At the top is the Harvard Corporation, followed by the President, provost, and other administrative officers. Although Harvard is a secular institution today, it was founded as a college for training Puritan ministers. Special classes were held educating the students in how to be good ministers. The developments of Harvard University directed the founder of the Law School, to start a tradition of formal ties to university administration. This would grow in importance over the 20th century and would have significant implications for the Law School. Harvard Law School is a professional graduate school of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Law has approximately 2000 students that are trying to lead the field of law. Unlike any other law school in America, Harvard’s faculty is exclusively a professorial one. Harvard’s unique founding and low faculty-student ratio have resulted in a tight-knit student body with a strong sense of community. Throughout the history of Harvard Law, its faculty has been on the cutting edge, introducing movements and ideologies that have greatly influenced the course of American legal education. Harvard has also been the home of prominent legal movements such as the development of the case method of instruction. All in all, Harvard Law School has a proud tradition encompassing hundreds of years. This tradition’s love and dedication to law and advancing knowledge is unrivaled in this nation.

3. Curriculum and Teaching Methods

The Harvard Law School curriculum and teaching methods are based on the critical studies and the advocacy model, combining theory and abstract understanding of the law with the practical skills required to apply that knowledge in legal problem solving. However, it does not just train students to make a living; the teaching and learning at Harvard Law School prepares students to contribute to the legal institutions of society, both through the work they do and the knowledge they generate. This is reflected in the array of courses and the learning environment at Harvard Law School. At Harvard Law School, students are not only exposed to a myriad of legal problems and issues, but have a chance to investigate them through methods of theoretical inquiry. There are over 2600 different courses offered and with the exception of the required first-year courses (1L) and the various clinical and pro bono offerings, students have the opportunity to forge their own path of learning. By the second and third year, 2Ls and 3Ls (and 1Ls not constrained by the hysterical process of OCS recruiting) are essentially given free rein to attend any course at the Law School and throughout the University. This affords students a chance to take courses in a wide range of topics or delve deeply into one particular area of study. With a 5000 person student body, the diverse backgrounds and academic interests of the students add another dynamic level of learning. Each student is encouraged to participate in the classroom experience and contribute to the collective knowledge of the class. In this way, the courses at Harvard Law School embody an environment of learning and critical thought, offering students a chance not only to study the law but to evaluate it and perhaps change it.

4. Opportunities and Resources for Students

In addition to faculty, there are many research centers and programs which have been designed to provide students with specialized information in different areas of law. These centers also cater to students with specific career goals, as some provide clinical experience, while the International Legal Studies program provides a gateway to international law practice. There are also countless internships and other forms of employment offered by HLS and its various research centers to gain real-world legal experience.

Students at Harvard Law School have access to a vast number of resources to continue their legal studies. The first resource for a student is a faculty member. Like many other areas, Harvard Law School has a strong faculty devoted to providing a diverse array of courses in virtually every area of law. The faculty members serve as resources for extra academic help. Many are willing to help students on specific projects or research. The school’s Socratic Method style of teaching also provides a great opportunity for students to further develop their understanding of the law by translating the professors’ extensive knowledge into information that will be practical in the courtroom.

5. Conclusion

This paper has sought to answer how and why we should teach law and economics in an integrated way. Part I contains a historical review of the two law and econ “movements,” journeying from the late sixties to the present day. It concludes that the early movement failed due to displacement of first-year courses and the fact that the economic analysis it provided was poor. The modern movement has been much more successful due to its integration of economic reasoning into courses such as torts, contracts, and antitrust. However, it is unfinished and uneven. An added spur for integration at Harvard is the recent implementation of an empirical method of teaching in the first-year law curriculum. Part two of this paper is normative and begins with a review of jurists’ understanding of social sciences, using the law to further their objectives. This is set against the positive scientist view of law as a system of efficient rules to maximize social welfare. This dichotomy is often used to differentiate bad and good law; an example is judge-made versus enacted legislation. The jurists’ model argues that judges use legislation as an instrument for social change, in accordance with their subjective beliefs of justice. However, it is often the case that legislation is simply a borrowed tool from economics to make common law more efficient.