Panel 4: Law and Society in the Law School Curriculum

Chair:

Elizabeth Mertz (American Bar Foundation/University of Wisconsin)

Discussant:

Lucie White (Harvard University)

Papers:

The Sociology of Innovation in Legal Education
Howard Erlanger (University of Wisconsin)

Incorporating Empirical Research and Methodologies into Law Teaching
Michael Heise (Cornell University)

If We Are Teaching Contracts, Why Aren’t the Students Reading Contracts?
Edward L. Rubin (Vanderbilt University)

Innovations in Law School Pedagogy
Susan Sturm (Columbia University)

Abstract:

One core commitment of the New Legal Realist approach is the idea of translation — from law to social science and from social science to law. While recognizing that methodologies and professional goals are different in the two disciplines, we are committed to the idea that social science has the potential to enhance legal education. This panel will explore specific proposals and general approaches to the restructuring of core law curricula to include nonlaw approaches.