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July 29, 2008
Spence: Law education is a fraud.
We were both intrigued and happy to see this Legal Blog Watch piece by Robert Ambrogi and links to Gerry Spence's blog. My take (with a nod to to Laura Nyro): law schools all over the globe have always attracted or produced their share of semi-literate robots with no guts, no gospel and no soul. They always will. But it's gotten worse. And the best part of many law students' undergraduate education--being steeped in old verities and enduring ideas--is ripped from him or her during the law school process. By age 35, most lawyers I know of any generation are disappointed, burned-out or bored. Reason: their work lives are not enriched by ideals or principles beyond the workaday nuts and bolts of their job. It is the entire profession's fault (mine included) and problem. From Spence's post:
One need not write poetry or paint pictures to be a successful human being. But some intimacy with the arts and the language and its use and with right brain functions of feeling and creativity are essential to the development of the whole person. Little wonder that lawyers, disabled by all of the stifling, mostly useless mental exercises they have suffered, have trouble relating to jurors much less to the rest of mankind.
Posted by JD Hull at July 29, 2008 12:52 PM
Comments
I had so wanted to post about this today, but some stupid blawg thingy got in my way. But tomorow is another day.
Posted by: shg at July 28, 2008 04:35 PM
25 years of litigation practice kept me stimulated, challenged, energized, and sometimes excited. I never stopped reading, writing creatively, being involved in my community, volunteering whenever I could lend a hand, etc. Spence is just being grumpy. Lawyers are among the most vibrant people I know.
Posted by: vickie at July 28, 2008 10:59 PM
Spence is not talking about you, Vickie. My biggest heroes and many of my friends are lawyers or have legal educations--but most lawyers (including trial types like us) are uninspiring, complacent, uncreative, and happily mediocre. Mainly followers, and quite ordinary but nice people. Not much going on; very little to offer. I wish it weren't true.
Posted by: Dan Hull at July 28, 2008 11:14 PM