The Socratic Method of Teaching and Powerful Influence on the Legal Profession

It is always important for a person to get a good lawyer, and this is because the courtroom setting is unique to the legal profession, and it all boils down to the Socratic Method of teaching that establishes the groundwork for unique communication for legal professionals.

What is the Socratic Method of Teaching?

The best description and definition of the Socratic method of teaching comes from the film Paper Chase 1973.

This is a film that powerfully illustrates the Socratic method based on how the approach is used in a law classroom setting. In addition, the film sheds light on the implications of the method in the legal profession.

The film describes the start of the academic year at Harvard Law school, which is a very tough time for many of the students. They experience a brilliant and highly demanding contract law instructor known as Professor Charles Kingsfield.

The Professor uses a very unique method of teaching the class for which most of the students are unaccustomed to and, therefore, find very difficult. The Professor uses the Socratic method to teach the class.

The Socratic method is cooperative in nature and involves argumentative dialogues between people. In the Socratic method, the Professor calls on individual students and asks them questions expecting them to have articulate answers founded on well-researched and critically thought ideas.

The Professor does not give out lectures and instead provides the class a platform to teach themselves through the questions asked. The class, therefore, operates through questions and answers.

Importance of the Socratic Method of Teaching

• It stimulates critical thinking and allows students to come up with ideas.
• The Socratic method of teaching is ideal for law students because it teaches them to adequately articulate their ideas and thoughts concerning different subject matters.
• The method is also instrumental in helping students become independent and learn on their own.

The Socratic Method and Court Room Communication

Law education is different from other forms of education, and the main reason is the use of the Socratic method. The courtroom communication is also based on the same fundamental principles that make up the Socratic method of teaching.

Courtrooms are where the law is practically exercised. Communication in courtrooms is unique, and this is because it is founded on the needs and requirements of legal professions.

Communication in courtrooms is unique because of the courts’ functions, including interpreting laws, communicating the laws to different people, adjudicating legal disputes, and administering justice. These unique functions necessitate a unique form of communication which is provided for by the Socratic method.

The Sixth Amendment and the Importance of Legal Representation

It is important to understand that the sixth amendment of the constitution of the United States guarantees individuals the right to a lawyer.

This is a right that acknowledges the importance of legal representation. Lawyers are individuals that are experts in the legal profession. They have full mastery of the communication process that occurs in courtrooms.

Without lawyers, defendants would have a very difficult time in courtrooms. Justice would not be adequately served to them because of limitations in understanding the communication specific to legal professions that forms the basis of courtroom sessions.

Lawyers and The Legal Language

Lawyers learn the legal language from school. The Socratic method is introduced to them in class and becomes a foundational element of how they learn.

As a result, they learn different aspects of language and semantics, differentiating them from a layperson. Lawyers are also judged based on their mastery of the legal communication process and their ability to use it to win cases.

Conclusion

People should understand that the legal setting, such as courtroom sessions, involves the use of a completely different language.

The Socratic method of teaching explains this difference. It is, therefore, a method that forms the foundation of legal professionalism. The legal world is very important for society.

However, their methods and techniques have set them apart from the rest of society. Understanding these methods and techniques can help individuals adequately navigate through the legal world, and accessing a good lawyer is one of the critical ways to do so.

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