How to Think Like a Lawyer (without incurring the debt)

When I came to law school, every professor and seasoned student who passed me in the hallway had some form of advice or information on how to approach the workload onslaught of the infamous 1L year.  One friend told  stories of fourteen hour workdays, another warned against being called on in class unprepared, and yet another claimed that the first year was a breeze. Out of all the well-meant verbal preparation given to me by professors and friends, one murky statement stood out: "You will learn to think like a lawyer."

But what does it mean to think like a lawyer? Lawyers are jerks, right? Does thinking like a lawyer mean becoming critical, belligerent, and pessimistic? Does it mean learning to think really quickly on my feet, or does it mean seeing everyone as a potential client and seeing every traffic situation as a potential case for negligence?

One professor led an academic support program in the first semester which I somewhat desperately attended after the release of midterm grades. He explained legal thinking to us using the metaphor of thinking on various planes simultaneously. These planes are planes of fact, legal rules, and policy.

A fact plane is the filter in your brain that catches all of the factual information about one specific case that you are learning about. The relevant facts in a case depend on the legal question, but examples may be the relationship of one person to another, the timing of an event, etc.

A rule plane is the filter in your brain where you ask all questions and store all the information about the specific legal rules of law that you use as tools in deciding who wins and loses a case. Legal rules are written to apply to all cases and fact situations, but the cool part about that is that they are tools that can be used broadly. Basically, my argument with my neighbor about his fence may be solved using the same rule of law as the one used to settle your fight with your neighbor about sprinklers. When analyzing a case, you have to pinpoint the one, specific rule of law that is disputed and then filter your facts through the rule to see who wins.

A policy plane is the broader pane of information that answers questions like "Why is this rule even a rule?" and "What purpose does this rule serve to society?". Sometimes, it can be helpful to use this policy plane when a judge is deciding between using one rule of law or using another rule of law. When a judge or attorney uses the policy plane, he is, in effect, trying to establish a rule that is in line with the broader values of society.

Our professor claims that much of legal analysis comes from thinking and filtering your information through these planes. The analysis grows out of the interplay between the facts, rules, and policy of a case. The job of the law student is to learn what is filtered where, and then to not confuse the planes.

….I think I am going to try legal analysis using these planes, but they will inevitably crash and burn a few times in the next few months.Get ready for smoke!