The English and continental roots of American legal education -- American antecedents of Harvard Law School -- Founding a university professional school of law -- The school saved -- Joseph Story's law school in the young republic -- The Greenleaf transition -- The gathering storm -- Civil war and aftermath -- Dean Langdall, first casebooks, and Justice Holmes -- Curricular and pedagogical revolution -- Creating the "new system" of legal education -- The paths of four students -- The "new system," triumphant and invidious -- Students of color at Harvard Law School -- Beloved Dean Ames
Summary
Harvard Law School pioneered educational ideas, including professional legal education within a university, Socratic questioning and case analysis, and the admission and training of students based on academic merit. On the Battlefield of Merit offers a candid account of a unique legal institution during its first century of influence
