Socratic Method
in Law School

Socratic Method (from the DVD "All About Law School")

The law school version of their so-called Socratic Method is not what I would think of as the Socratic method or Socratic Discourse. Although there is nothing resembling Socrates in the contentious law school version of the method, the fact that a law student's exposure to this very intense type of questioning will often break her down and force her to dig deep and perform better does have something of the flavor of the Classic Socratic Method. The purpose of this style of questioning in law school is to prepare students for the extremely rough environment of courtroom litigation. Even though the law school form has the flavor of the deconstructive nature of the Classic Socratic Method, the actual structure of Socratic Dialogue and the nurturing gentleness, which was characteristic of Socrates and his method, are absent. The law school form always functions on the basis of finding a correct answer, which is different from the aporetic portions of Plato that always end without finding the correct answer.

Socratic Method in "All about Law School"

Other Videos Pertaining to the Socratic method in Law School:

UGA Law School - "The Socratic Method"

The Socratic Method from The Trials of Law School DVD

Washington University Law: Orientation - Socratic Method

McGeorge School of Law Faculty on the Socratic Method

A Socratic Dialogue in Civil Procedure