Law School Changes the Way You Think?

[TetKemyWeette]

I have heard on many occasions that law school changes the way you think. Not the "Think Like A Lawyer" spiel but your view of the world in general. For example, I have heard that law students tend to become more argumentative, the views will be very different the the rest of society, and so forth.

Is this true that the law student becomes "transformed".?

[Greerninisk]

Have you ever seen the 1966 movie, "BlowUp", directed by Michelangelo Antonioni? In the movie, a young photographer snaps a photo of a couple kissing in the park. Proud of having captured a simple yet magical moment, he rushes home to develop the shot. But as the image develops, he notices something in the background that he didn't realize was there. Each time he blows photo up larger, he sees more and more detail that leads him to believe a crime may have been committed, and his camera may have been the only witness.

From my experience, law school requires you to hone and intensify your ability to see things (in the form of issues) that most people would miss completely. This gives you a greater awareness of your environment and how your actions, or the actions of others, will impact society and be treated by our legal system. In the process, you learn to better evaluate the facts that support or refute a given conclusion.

It's a bit of a philosophical angle, but I've noticed throughout my life that most people don't really want to consider all the facts when formulating an opinion. People are generally drawn to the conclusion that makes them "feel good." In fact, they tend to resist facts or reasoning that challenge the validity of such conclusions. From my personal observations, religion and romantic relationships are two areas where this tendency is generally pervasive.

In the course of your "transformation" in law school, you will likely stifle much your ability to accept a conclusion based upon the "feel good test." So be careful what you wish for! But remember, because of your unique ability to see legal issues with such clarity, people will pay you lots of money to guide them through the legal mine field that is life.

Good luck!

[Dheobvqc]

I am a law professor. I have taught now for 27 years at various law schools. I believe it is fair to say the following:

1. Law school education does not make a student more argumentative. This is a misapprehension: I think, on average, students who come to law school are more argumentative before they ever arrive. Perhaps they are attracted to the law because it does involve making arguments in court, etc. People attracted to public speaking, to debate, etc. are naturally inclined to the law. What law school does is it trains the student how to think logically, and this makes the law student better in argumentation---tougher, if you will, in this regard. Spouses of law students find that their law student mate may argue a lot---just to practice what is being learned about law-thinking and expression. But, it does not make them more argumentative. Also, many law schools increasingly are teaching lawyers in the skills of ADR, alternative dispute resolution, which is an alternative way to resolve legal conflicts.

2. Law School teaches, as I said, logic, and tries to help students see that there is rarely a single answer to difficult problems in the law, or in the world generally. To be a good lawyer one must be able to figure out what the "other side" may think about an issue, what the "other side" may argue, so that the lawyer can develop his or her own arguments. In a sense, therefore, a lawyer needs to be able to better appreciate the "opposing" position. To the extent that law students come to law school with fixed ideas about the world, based on the assumption that there is no plausible argument for an opposing position, then law school attempts to broaden the student's (future lawyer's) capacity to see the opposing argument, to make them more open-minded. Perhaps this process of intellectual development will cause some persons to rethink their positions on issues they thought were settled in their mind before. But, law school education does not try to change people's substantive views, only to help them to think about those issues. And, surely someone who comes to law school with a highly developed set of values is not going to have his or her view views turned 180 degrees by law school.

[unreseell]

I have to agree that in my case at least I was already argumentative. Some people who have known me and my family for a long time would argue I was born that way.

I have to agree that 'civlians' seem to gravitate to feel good conclusions, perhaps because they favor resolution over logic.

I think we should also consider another idea. Perhaps what we learn in law school is not just how to argue better or use logic better, but to also frame the argument better. When a lawyer prepares a brief for a judge, don't they seek to frame the agrument, the questions in precisely the manner that will best support their clients position? "It's all in how you ask the question." is more than just a saying.

[Iwzflrjj]

I don't expect my education in law to effect my method of reasoning much more than my degrees in math and phil have already done. I don't think law is unique in that it trains one to think, write, and read with discipline, logic, and rigor. But I do think it is probably the most popular degree that does so, hence its reputation.