Lani Guinier Takes Aim at the Socratic Teaching Method and the Law School Admission Test

In a recent address at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, Harvard Law School professor Lani Guinier stated that the Socratic teaching method used by many law schools is biased against women and minorities. According to Professor Guinier, tough questioning of students in the classroom by their professors can be intimidating. Guinier says that at Harvard, 40 percent of the classroom discussion is monopolized by 10 percent of the students and 80 percent of those are men.

Professor Guinier, who is African American, also was highly critical of the Law School Admission Test. In her remarks she said that a high score on the LSAT had more to do with the wealth of the test taker’s grandparents than how well a particular student would perform in law school. She stated that LSAT scores were only 9 percent more accurate than randomness in predicting success in law school.