Law students have been hating the Socratic Method for more than 100 years. Legend holds that as the dawn of the 20th century approached Harvard Law School students abandoned all discipline. They refused to go to class, were disdainful of and rude to professors, and did very little (if any) work. Attendance reached a pathetic nadir. The faculty was powerless. Christopher Columbus Langdell introduced the case and Socratic methods to regain control of the Harvard Law School. It worked.

So, what is this Socratic method?

Plato's quote from the Republic pretty much sums it up. In the Socratic method, the teacher asks all the questions, and students attempt to answer. The raw material for the course is the students' answers. The professor molds this into an instructive finished product.

Why do professors use it? Well, for several reasons. But mostly because it works.

The Socratic method stands on the foundations of fear and embarrassment. With such large classes, teaching in an interactive way is difficult. If a professor addresses one or two students and then lectures, the whole class may glaze over with boredom. No one has to read to attend this kind of lecture oriented class. By threatening students with public humiliation the teacher can keep most first years reasonably engaged. Nobody wants to be the next victim.

Each day, your professor will compile a secret list of two or three students. These students will be responsible for the cases assigned from the last class. You never know who the professor will call on. Each professor has a different method for picking "victims." Usually, once you have been picked as a victim your name will be removed from the pool. When the entire class has been called on, the list is compiled afresh, and the selections begin anew.

Being called on early in the semester is the best thing that can happen to you. In a large class, like most first year classes, this means you probably won't be called on for the rest of the semester. As long as you remain uncalled on, you must continue to read the cases with the utmost care. Each time the class meets, you could be next. Frankly, not being called early sucks. Being called on late in the semester, means that you can't relax at all. Some of your classmates will have stopped reading after a couple of weeks. But you'll have to read every case and sweat every day.

Teachers sometimes use the Socratic method to punish. There is nothing more embarrassing than being called on while you are absent. First year law professors take role. Attendance is an ABA requirement and the schools are serious about it. Many teachers pick students who were absent in a prior class.

Teachers use the Socratic method coupled with peer pressure to encourage class attendance and reading. If a professor discovers that one student hasn't read, he may call on the student in the next desk. The teacher can harness public humiliation and couple it with disapprobation from fellow students. Very powerful emotions surge through a class when a teacher discovers that a student hasn't read.

The class will begin to settle down, and your teacher will call the session to order. Then, he will say something like "Is Mr. X here." When the student answers the discussion will begin.

When the professor first calls on a student he might say something like "Mr. X, What happened in this case?" This is Mr. X's chance to relate some of the legally important facts of the case along with the issue, rule, and hold. Basically, the student should give some of the major points of his brief.

The student never gets far. The teacher usually stops the student in mid sentence to ask him to clarify a certain phrase or idea. The teacher is looking for a plain explanation of why this opinion is in your case book.

If the student hasn't read or can't get the issue, the teacher may move on to another student. Or, if the teacher wants to make an example of a student's poor preparation, he may stay with him.

Alternatively, the professor may open the discussion to the class. Be careful. If the professor is crucifying someone over an issue, it might be better to keep your hand down and mouth shut. Do you want to participate in the humiliation of one of your classmates?

A note on raising your hand in class: Don't. Don't raise your hand unless the professor opens the discussion to the class. The professor already has his victim list. He doesn't care that you are in the top row waving your hand. Realize that these are my own opinions about how to navigate the Socratic method. Your conclusions may differ. Your personality may differ. Your goals may differ.

After the teacher gets the student to flesh out the rule, issue, and hold, he will begin to put the case in context. He may do this by comparing the hold of this case to others like it. He may ask questions that get to the subjective policy assumptions made by the court. He may seek to show you the spectrum of possible holds in the case by inventing outrageous hypotheticals.

Below is sample Socratic dialog. It is from the Ghen case located in the property and outlining sections of the site.

The following exchange is based on the Ghen v. Rich case. Notice how the Socratic dialog has three essential parts. These parts are not chronological; they may come at any time during the exchange. In the dialog, the constituent parts are labeled.

1. In part one the teacher picks a student and asks him to sum up the case; i.e., the student should give the important facts, the rule, the hold, and the procedure of the case.
2. In part two the teacher, through questioning, tries to clarify issues, sharpen the focus of the dialog, and put the case into context:
   • The teacher may ask the student to sharpen his use of language; he may also ask leading questions to guide the student to a correct answer.
   • The teacher may compare the present case to similar case, or ask the student to do make the comparison.
   • The teacher may construct an outrageous hypothetical to demonstrate the outer limits of a particular rule, or to clarify a rule.
3. In the last part of an exchange the teacher may move on to another student if the present exchange is not producing the quality or quantity of information the professor is looking for.

The Socratic method makes law school very difficult for some. It is a very expensive way to teach because of the human costs it extracts.

What goals does it achieve at such great costs? Well, we've already seen that it keeps everybody on their toes. And it forces students to read. What else does it achieve?

There is a great debate in the Academy on this issue. Many liberal teachers want to do away with the system. Others say it teaches students to "think like lawyers." Still, Others say, more truthfully I think, they don't know exactly what the benefits of the method are, but it seems to work well at producing good lawyers.

I suggest that the reason we still use the Socratic method in law schools is because this is the way it has been, always. Lawyers are conservative creatures.

In closing I will say that I am glad to have experienced the Socratic method and I will be sad if it is done away with. Think of it this way: when else in your life will you have a chance to be so throughly tested each and every day in front of an audience of intelligent and motivated peers.