Volume 1997    Issue 1

Is Legal Theory Good for Anything?

Steven Lubet^*

The role of legal theory in legal education has been a source of sharp disagreement among educators and others. In this essay Professor Lubet questions one commentator's recommendation that interdisciplinary legal theory become the centerpiece of the law school curriculum. The author cautions against excessive emphasis on theory to the exclusion of other aspects of legal pedagogy, advocating a more balanced approach to training America's future lawyers.

* Professor of Law, Northwestern University. B.A. 1970, Northwestern University; J.D. 1975, University of California, Berkeley.

I am indebted to Robert Burns, Paul Carrington, Gerald Dworkin, Linda Lipton, Alex Lubet, and Nancy Moore for their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts. I am grateful to Victoria Wei, J.D. 1996, Northwestern University, for research assistance.