Law school

A postsecondary institution or program that teaches legal doctrine, reasoning, and practice. In some jurisdictions, completing law school is part of the route to becoming a lawyer.

Juris Doctor: A professional doctoral degree in law awarded by many United States law schools. It is the standard degree awarded by U.S. law schools.
Christopher Columbus Langdell: An American legal scholar who developed the case method of teaching law at Harvard. His reforms helped shape the modern American law school curriculum.
Legal practice: The professional provision of legal advice, representation, or related services. Many programs combine doctrinal study with preparation for professional work.
Legal education in the United States: The system of legal study and professional preparation used in the United States. Its graduate-entry model differs from systems where law is studied as an undergraduate subject.
Casebook method: A teaching method that studies judicial opinions to develop legal analysis and reasoning. It became a defining classroom method in American legal education.
Harvard Law School: A law school at Harvard University, founded in 1817 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its nineteenth-century reforms influenced legal education well beyond Harvard.
Master of Laws: A postgraduate law degree, often pursued after an initial law degree. Some schools offer specialized advanced study through this degree.
Legal education in England and Wales: The education and professional training routes for solicitors and barristers in England and Wales. Its separate professional pathways contrast with the typical U.S. law-school route.
Socratic method: A teaching approach that uses questioning and dialogue to examine ideas and assumptions. Law professors often use it to test students’ reading of cases.
Apprenticeship: A training arrangement in which a learner develops skills through supervised work with an experienced practitioner. It was a major route into legal practice before university-based training expanded.

Linked from 2 pages

John HousemanNarrower topic: Kingsfield’s demanding classroom persona became a lasting popular image of legal education.