Comments on: The Paper Chase: What Does the Film Tell Us About Contemporary Legal Education?

By: Martin Tanz

Martin Tanz — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:38:29 +0000

I must have missed this on the first time around.

Good comments from everyone so far. I have no specific issues but just a few additional comments regarding the study group.

The study group sequences show a couple of things. It is folly for each member of the study group to take responsibility for outlining just one course, and the movie shows you why. One guy washes out completely and quits law school, while another becomes obsessed with his Property outline. The lesson is, glean what you can from others but ultimately, don’t trust, or rely on others to get you through law school. The other lesson is, tricks that might have gotten you through college might not work in law school. The member of the study group who quit school relied previously on his photographic memory, while the Property guy relied on an attention to detail that bordered on obsession. All fine and well if he aces Property, but how will he do in Torts, Contracts, and Civil Procedure? And even if he makes it through 1L, who would ever want to work with him again?

By: Chasing Paper | cearta.ie

Chasing Paper | cearta.ie — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:21:20 +0000

[...] Eagle -eyed readers may have noticed the recent addition of a law news feed on the top of the right side bar; it’s called Paper Chase, and it provides Jurist headlines updated every 15 minutes or so. I presume it gets its name from the novel (1970, reissued 2004), movie (1973) and television series (1978-1978, 1983-1986) of that name. I was reminded of this wonderful cultural insight into elite US law schools by a post by David Papke on the Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog: The Paper Chase: What Does the Film Tell Us About Contemporary Legal Education? [...]

By: Michael M. O'Hear

Michael M. O'Hear — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:16:30 +0000

I think Ed’s comment is a perceptive one. I remember having those some feelings myself from time to time as a law student–wishing that law school would be some sort of heroic intellectual journey. Of course, the rest of the time, my sentiments were more along the lines of, “I wish these professors would stop playing hide the ball and just tell us the answers, for Lord’s sake!”

By: Gordon Hylton

Gordon Hylton — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:53:03 +0000

It is unfortunate that some time in the 1990′s, the Paper Chase dropped off the list of universal cultural references for law students. I assigned it for class this past summer, and I was dismayed to learn how hard it is to find the film in vidoe stores. Apparently it is no longer a must-have film even for respectably sized Blockbuster and Hollywood video outlets. (Some time ago the Marquette Law School Library even discarded itS VHS copy for lack of patron use.)

I don’t think the movie was ever intended to be a precise description of legal education as it was in the early 1970′s. The director, James Bridges, had no background in law or legal education and just relied on the novel the Paper Chase for the story. In the 1980′s, I once had dinner with John J. Osborn, the author of the novel, and he told us that the story, which he began as a somewhat off-beat 3rd year paper at Harvard Law School supervised by the Anglo-Saxon scholar and playwright William Alfred, was not based so much on his experience as a student at Harvard in the late 1960′s as it was on his impression of what Harvard Law School was like in a previous generation. His own Contracts professor was Lon Fuller, who was apparently very un-Kingsfield like–he never called on anyone in class and relied entirely on volunteers.

According to Osborn, Kingsfield was not based on any particular professor that Osborn had at Harvard; in fact, he said the character was based, if upon anyone, on the legendary early 20th century Harvard Law professor Bull Warren. He also admitted that he knew almost nothing about Bull Warren.

I have always been amazed at what a poor socratic teacher Kingsfield actually is. He is obsessed with the minute facts of the case and belittling his own students, but he rarely (as in never) asks the intellectually probing sequence of questions that are at the heart (Hart?) of socratic teaching.

Gordon Hylton
Marquette Law School

By: Ed Fallone

Ed Fallone — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:54:18 +0000

I think that focusing on the so-called dehumanizing aspect of law school misses the point. Most students have a narrative of their life, and they view law school as an obstacle to be overcome before they can ascend to an illustrious profession and thereby prove themselves to be a member of society worthy of respect. As Joseph Campbell might say, law school is a part of their “hero’s journey.” These students may have never before been pushed intellectually, nor faced any real adversity in terms of stress or competition for jobs. If law school presents no real challenge to them, then their personal narrative loses its meaning. From the point of those of us who are law professors, it makes sense to criticize the oppresive law school environment reflected in the movie. However, from the point of view of current law students, the movie illustrates a heroic journey by the protagonist that they would like to emulate.

By: Mike McChrystal

Mike McChrystal — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 03:40:35 +0000

Having largely agreed with all that David and Bruce said, let me add that the Kingsfield character is a celebration of a certain precise intellectualism which is a helpful lawyer trait. That Kingsfield inspires Hart to develop the trait is an important message. And as Bruce emphasizes, a whole person (and a whole lawyer) needs more.

By: Bruce Boyden

Bruce Boyden — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:42:03 +0000

I watched this film for the first time all the way through just a couple of years ago. As a professor teaching Contracts for the first time, I naturally was interested in the Kingsfield character. The movie focuses on the exploits of the students and their fear of Kingsfield, but the end of the film actually made me feel sorry for him. He’s taught these students for a whole year, but he doesn’t even recognize Hart in the elevator or have any appreciation of the effect he’s had on him. Kingsfield’s entire life seems to be a waste of time, because he’s getting nothing out of the teaching experience.