Presents an evidenced account of Christopher Columbus Langdell, arguably the best-known and most influential figure in the history of U.S. legal education, from his birth in 1826 until his departure from law school in 1854. Attempts to explain the formation of his interest in education, as well as the origins of significant reforms in legal…

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…

Reviews of two histories of American legal and medical education are presented. The books are: "Law School: Legal Education in America from the 1850s to the 1980s" (Robert Stevens) and "Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical Education" (Kenneth M. Ludmerer). (MLW)

Reviews the influence of liberal education upon legal education, studying the historical process according to which changes of emphasis within liberal education (from rhetoric to dialectic or the reverse) have been reflected in related changes in legal education. (AYC)