Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School, and Institutional Change [Hardcover]

Lani Guinier (Author), Michelle Fine (Author), Jane Balin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807044040 | ISBN-13: 978-0807044049 | Publication Date: April 30, 1997

One of America's most innovative legal scholars and her colleagues explore diversity in legal education. Becoming Gentlemen tells the story of legal education through the experiences of women, chronicling their disappointments as they enter previously male-dominated institutions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Guinier argues here against what she calls "one-size-fits-all" legal education, which, given the lead author (Guinier is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Clinton's one-time nominee for assistant attorney general for civil rights) and the subject, should be interesting. Unfortunately, this is a lightly padded study conducted by the authors along with law students Ann Bartow and Deborah Lee Stachel. By analyzing the responses of 366 first-, second- and third-year U. of Pennsylvania law students (fairly evenly divided between genders), the authors argue that standardized tests may not identify who will become a good lawyer; that treating all students the same is not necessarily treating them all fairly; and that the present program of standardized tests and Socratic classroom instruction may not be what is best suited to the future needs of the legal profession, which may benefit more from teamwork and cooperation. This last point warranted a stronger argument to bolster the authors' call for less aggressive instruction. The survey results, too, would have been more persuasive had objective observation been added to the students' self-reporting and if the questionnaire had been applied to other law schools?particularly since the authors note that the relatively gender-neutral findings of a Stanford survey may be attributable to the "distinctive environment of Stanford." The converted may overlook some of these weaknesses, while the skeptical will be made more so by remarks from both students ("I really resent feeling like after I am laying out all of this money... I should be forced to participate") and authors ("law schools fail to equalize the experience and outcomes for all law students across gender").
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The Socratic method of teaching is one factor contributing to the lack of success of women in law school, according to a study by Guinier with coauthors Michelle Fine and Jane Balin at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Guinier, the assistant attorney general for civil rights- designate in 1993, writes eloquently of law school as "a gendered academic experience" that makes "gentlemen" out of both male and female law students, and she uses self-reported accounts of students to suggest alternatives to the status quo in legal education. Included is an analysis of a six-year collection of data, but Guinier's essays "Why Isn't She President?" and "Models and Mentors" are worthwhile in and of themselves. Recommended for curriculum designers, admissions counselors, women's studies scholars, and informed lay readers.?Kathie J. Sullivan, McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams Lib., Albany,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (April 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807044040
• ISBN-13: 978-0807044049
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,480,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent review of law school, November 11, 2000

By 

liz Callaghan (Ithaca, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School, and Institutional Change (Paperback)

As a lawyer who graduated from a good law school in the 1980's, I found this book to be excellent. The findings resonnated with my own law school experience, which was alienating at best and miserable at worst. I was finally able to make sense of what happened to me in law school and why I found the work so frustrating. I was taught to be competitive and my nature was more compromising. As my experience and that of so many others who have worked in the court system, a lawyer's best skill is negotiation. The vast majority of cases filed in court today are settled. Those skills could be developed in law school more than the aggressive winner takes all approach. I'm glad I read this book. It is not for casual readers, but I would highly recommend it for any women lawyer or women who is even thinking of going to law school.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding (and current) analysis, December 29, 2008

By 

Justitia (Washington DC, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School, and Institutional Change (Paperback)

The reviewer "A Customer" must be either anti-feminist or professionally jealous. (I am a law professor myself as Lani Guinier is.) The relevancy of her book , today in 2008, is evidenced by a forthcoming empirical survey study about Chicago-Kent law students by Felice Batlan, et al "Not Our Mothers' Law Students" forthcoming in University of Baltimore Law Forum, Spring 2009. (And no, I am not Professor Batlan either -- but I heard it presented at a conference and found it quite exceptional empirical work -- I am a statistician by training.)

4 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a research paper. Dry, dull and not helpful., April 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School, and Institutional Change (Hardcover)

This book is a dated snapshot of one school and its culture towards female law students. It was hard to find any applicability system-wide.