ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the role of humility in the law school. It argues in favour of a culture where humility is consciously cultivated in law students. Section I considers the grading curve, a quintessentially North American attribute of almost all law schools. It analyses and theorises the curve and its effect in cultivating humility. It suggests that, while the curve can have a humbling effect, this effect is felt irregularly among law students and comes with significant and often discounted consequences. This article argues that a model where humility is more consciously cultivated could minimise these consequences. Section II provides such an alternative, arguing in favour of law professors showing humility and vulnerability. It depicts this alternative as both a partial antidote to the grading curve’s problems and a key starting point in inviting students to be vulnerable and constitutively challenging what it means to be a lawyer.

摘要

本文重点介绍谦虚在法学院中的作用。它支持一种在法律专业学生中有意识地培养谦逊的文化。第一部分考虑评分曲线，这是几乎所有法学院的典型北美属性。它分析和理论化了曲线及其在培养谦卑中的作用。它表明，虽然曲线可能会产生一种令人羞愧的效果，但这种效果在法学院学生中却是不规则的，并且带来了显着且经常被忽视的后果。本文认为，一种更有意识地培养谦逊的模式可以最大限度地减少这些后果。第二部分提供了这样的替代方案，主张法学教授表现出谦逊和脆弱。