Critique is Critical in Teaching Lawyering Skills
by
Ralph M. Cagle

Learning lawyering skills, such as negotiations, requires students to participate in exercises that encourage them to consciously develop their skills. Teachers should provide informed and impartial critiques immediately after the exercises.

This quickly becomes a resource problem. Teachers (at least, this teacher) cannot individually critique many (more than two per student) of the student exercises unless the number of exercises or students is unduly restricted. Also, critique by a single instructor can narrow perspectives from which students envision the dynamics of the skill and risk the perception that there is a "right" way (i.e., the instructor's way) to practice the skill.

Part of my solution has been to make extensive use of practitioners and student peer evaluators. There are many collateral benefits to this beyond the availability of evaluators. I train these evaluators in the techniques of the critique method, although time for training is always at a premium. Training is essential because critique is a powerful learning tool. If used inexpertly, it can do more harm than good. I also train students, whose work will be critiqued, about techniques they can use to maximize the learning experience. Again, time restraints are a limitation.

Guide for evaluators

You will be teaching students basic lawyering skills (client interviewing, oral advocacy, and negotiations) by seeing them perform the skills in simulation exercises and then providing an individualized critique of their performance. We know that "learning by doing" is a very powerful experience. However, its success depends on whether the critique helps the students to understand how they need to improve and encourages them to do so. This learning method demands hard work by faculty and students alike in the form of thorough preparation and diligent application. Here are some guidelines for performing effective critiques:

• Be prepared to critique. Read and know the case file. Anticipate what problems may arise. Think about how you would perform the exercise. Take a minute or two to organize your critique before delivering it.
• Be selective. Select one or two points on which to critique and fully develop these points.
• Start with a positive comment. People tend to be more open to constructive criticism if they hear it after being reassured of their "worth." In every performance, there is something that can be praised.
• Be specific. Relate your critique to specific events in the student's performance of the simulation. To do this well, you need to take accurate, detailed notes during the exercise.
• Be constructive. If you offer negative feedback, don't just criticize but suggest alternatives of what the person could have done differently. Focus your critique on an area that you think the student will be able to improve.
• Be succinct. Get to the point of your critique. Don't ramble on.
• Be honest. Your job is not to be popular, but to help the student improve. Tell it like it is, but be supportive. Note what was done well, but only if it was done well.
• Take responsibility for your critique. Present the critique in the first person ("I think . . ."; "In my experience . . ."; "I think the better practice is . . . "). Avoid presenting points of critique as universal principles unless, of course, they are (i.e., "Never address the court as 'Hey, dude!").
• Critique the performance, not the person. Do not be judgmental or sarcastic. Tell the person what you saw or heard and the effect it had on you. Don't just label it as "good" or "bad."
• Make the student a partner in the critique. Ask questions. ("What were you trying to achieve?"; "What do you think went wrong?"; "What alternative approaches might you have tried?")
• Teach by example. A critique is a performance unto itself. People learn as much or more from how we say things as from what we say. Incorporate good communications skills into your critique. Use eye contact. Listen intently. Use gestures. Put emphasis in your voice. Be adaptable. Speak in plain English.
• See the larger picture. Remember to teach the class as well as the individual student. The students will listen to your critiques of others and compare them to their own. Excessive praise for one may affect how students receive your critiques of others.

Guide for students

You will be learning basic lawyering skills by practicing these skills in exercises that realistically simulate law practice. You will then receive individualized feedback from experienced practitioners, who have been trained in the techniques of effective critique. To maximize the learning opportunities afforded by this learning method, you need your own "critique skills" -- that is, the techniques of how best to receive and implement critique. The following guidelines should be helpful to you:

• Listen to the critique with care and an open mind. Try not to take the critique as personal criticism. Don't get defensive or immediately argue with or reject the critique.
• Be sure you are clear about what has been said. If you are not clear or don't understand, ask.
• Focus on specifics. Try to learn as specifically as possible things you might do to improve your performance in the future.
• Keep your perspective. See the critique as offering you new choices, rather than dictating the one right way to do something.
• Clarify. If you disagree with the critique, respectfully -- but directly -- raise the issue and ask for comment (but only after the instructors have completed their critique).
• Ask questions. If you want feedback on a specific matter and didn't receive it, ask (time permitting).
• Don't overly rely on any one person's critique. Compare it, to the extent possible, with others' (including other students participating in the exercise). Ask others who may know you and whom you trust about the substance of the critique.
• Pay careful attention to the critique of other participants in the simulation. This is an opportunity to learn additional aspects of the skills involved. It also is a more objective perspective from which to observe the dynamics of the critique method.
• Look for ways to use the information. At the end of the critique session, ask yourself, "What do I know now (or know better than before)?" Write it down. That is the standard of success of a simulation/critique exercise.
• Say "thank you."
• Look for opportunities to implement what you learned from the critique.
• Save your evaluation forms (self and faculty) and any notes of what you learned. Review them the next time you are about to perform the activity that was the subject of the critique. Learning fundamental skills is an incremental process.