Talks with Authors: Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites

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Lawless uses the author, Ilya Shapiro’s, “lived experience” with Georgetown as a jumping-off point to discuss what he describes as the warping of legal education and the legal profession. He argues that law schools used to teach students how to think critically, advance logical arguments, and respect opponents. Now they produce lawyers who can’t tolerate disagreement and reject the validity of the law itself. He claims the problem is bigger than radical students and biased faculty; it’s institutional weakness. Law schools produce the next generation of gatekeepers for our legal and political institutions: America’s future judges, prosecutors, politicians, and presidents. Shapiro argues it’s a big deal and discusses the failure of ideology, leadership, and bureaucracy—and what we can do about it.

Featuring: 

  • Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow and Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute
  • (Moderator) Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.