As a means of shedding light on the virtue of the legal system, this article investigates the role and nature of professional legal training on the development of the law and the legal profession in the United States. Topics discussed include curriculum, intellectual premises, values, case method teaching, and the role of the American Bar Society.…

Case method teaching was first introduced into American higher education in 1870 by Christopher C. Langdell (1826-1906) of Harvard Law School (HLS), where it became closely associated with a complex of academic meritocratic reforms. "Mr. Langdell's method" became, in fact, emblematic, "creating and embodying cultural values and…

Law students at Toulouse, France, during the nineteenth century failed to form student organizations for three reasons: Legal studies did not encourage joint student activity; the students came from an upper and middle-class culture that discouraged adventurism; and authorities went to great lengths to prevent collective activity by students. (RM)

The history of medical and legal professional education in the 1800's is directly related to the social and intellectual context of the respective professions. Doctors required the establishment of a recognized "school" of medicine and lawyers established legitimacy through competent court room technique. (JH)

The history of public higher education for African Americans in Florida provides an excellent opportunity to examine American institutional and political dynamics. Following World War II, Florida public higher education expanded dramatically, while at the same time, state leaders maintained racial segregation well after "Brown v. Board of…