Download Magazine - Levin College of Law - University of Florida

“A Torts student once reported
a grisly dream in which
I had him tied to a
stake while peppering him
with questions about battery.”
This phenomenon is common among lawyers I meet.
Everyone well remembers “Pennoyer v. Neff,” but beyond
the name they have only a dim recollection that the case had
something to do with personal jurisdiction.
In my dream, it was the night before the Civ Pro exam.
My knowledge and understanding of Pennoyer were trying
to gain access to my memory, but encountered a gland in my
brain claiming to be the Keeper of the Memory.
This gland explained it was his job to check the credentials
of every fragment of thinking that came along. According
to the gland, law students frequently experience vague,
stupefied thoughts masquerading as knowledge, and itʼs the
glandʼs job to send them packing. Hereʼs what happened:
Bouncer Gland: Hold it. Identify yourself.
My Memory: Pennoyer v. Neff.
Memory: And what, pray tell, is a Pennoyer v. Neff
Memory: Pennoyer v. Neff.
Gland: Circumstances of memory
Memory: Pennoyer v. Neff.
Gland: Witnesses to the alleged memory
Memory: Pennoyer v. Neff.
Gland: Emotions experienced when memory incurred
Memory: Pennoyerism, neffistration.
Gland: Comprehension level
Memory: Pennoyer v. Neff.
Gland: Iʼm sorry. You donʼt qualify as a memory. You
canʼt come in here. But have a nice day.
Memory: Pennoyer v. Neff.
A quarter-century later, 1Ls are still forced to endure the
same anxiety-ridden rituals. Some even have real nightmares.
A Torts student once reported a grisly dream in which I had
him tied to a stake while peppering him with questions about
battery. Each time he answered, I shouted, “Wrong!” and
lopped off a limb with an axe, saying “Is that a battery Is
that a battery” (Obviously, the dream was ridiculously farfetched.
I never would have asked such an easy question.)
Is it time to change the way we do things Should law
schools continue to torment students with the Socratic method
and make them master arcane rules that most of them will
never use Absolutely!
The trend in legal education is out with the old, in with the
new. Traditions are condemned as out of step with the times,
justifiably so in some areas. Change is essential to any institution.
Much needed diversity among students and faculty is
increasing. More emphasis is placed on practical lawyering
skills. More schools are incorporating international and comparative
law offerings in response to globalization.
But tradition is also important, including the use of rigorous
classroom method to teach critical thinking skills. Some
condemn as a meaningless platitude the adage that law school
teaches one to “think like a lawyer,” but if learning to think
like a lawyer means learning to reason well, the U.S. legal
education system—including the infamous Socratic method
that is its hallmark—works.
Think back. Can any of us deny that we started law school,
to quote John Housmanʼs Oscar-winning Professor Kingsfield
in “The Paper Chase,” with “skulls full of mush” And
yet, although we didnʼt appreciate it at the time, the Socratic
arena trained us to be facile, analytical thinkers and astute
legal problem solvers. Sure we were emotionally scarred, but
in most cases, actual physical injuries were minor.
The great successes of my colleagues from the Class of
1980 (including fellow law profs Robin Malloy (JD 80) at
Syracuse and Al Garcia (JD 81) at St. Thomas) and all the
other distinguished UF law graduates show the system has
long functioned well in Gator Country.
Iʼm grateful to UF and to my law professors for demanding
my best. In their honor, Iʼve accepted with solemnity, and
some awe, the duty of carrying the torch of law school traditions
forward. So excuse me while I get back to scaring the
hell out of people. ■
Andrew J. McClurg holds the Herbert Herff Chair of Excellence
in Law at the University of Memphis. He was a member
of the founding faculty at Florida International University
College of Law and previously taught at the University of Arkansas
at Little Rock (Nadine Baum Distinguished Professor
of Law), Wake Forest University, University of Colorado and
Golden Gate University. McClurg is the author/editor of several
books and numerous law review articles that have been
cited in more than 175 different journals. He is the recipient
of five teaching awards. From 1997-2001, he wrote a monthly
humor column for the American Bar Association Journal.
*Portions of this article were adapted from The Law School Trip (The Insiderʼs
Guide to Law School). Copyright 2001 Andrew J. McClurg.
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