"PCs and CALR: Changing the Way Lawyers Think"

How have computers and legal databases affected
the way law students analyze and perform legal
research?

Elizabeth M. McKenzie (Professor of Law and
Director of Suffolk Law Library) and Susan Vaughn
(Suffolk Law Library Reference Librarian) tackle
this issue in a thought-provoking SSRN article,
PCs and CALR: Changing the Way Lawyers Think.

The authors measured differences in analogical reasoning
in briefs and decisions written before computers were
used in law, and now. They argue that the changes found
mandate changes in legal education and that students
need more emphasis on careful reading and analysis.