How does the case method teach law students through court decisions?

The case method, pioneered by Christopher Columbus Langdell at Harvard Law School in the 19th century, fundamentally changed legal education by shifting the focus from traditional lectures to the study of original authorities.12

Instead of listening to a teacher lecture, students read reported court decisions and other materials collected in a casebook. During class, students engage in a dialogue where they answer questions about these cases, allowing them to derive legal principles for themselves.21

This approach emphasizes the core nature of the common law—the evolution of legal principles through actual judicial decisions. By analyzing these cases, students focus on the processes of inductive reasoning, specifically the use of analogy and distinction to understand how law is applied and developed. While the method is highly effective for teaching the mechanics of judge-made law, it is often supplemented today by lectures and seminars to address the complexities of modern statutory and regulatory systems.2