Keith Lewis

Washington DC-based attorney, legal journalist and multimedia content creator focused on the law, litigation, and public policy.

The Docket (Denver Bar Assn) • April 1 2015

Interview Segment to be Added to the Bar Exam to Improve Professionalism | The Docket

Shakespeare wrote, in Henry VI, Part II, “the first thing we do is kill all the lawyers.” Since that line was spoken by an evil character bent on throwing society into chaos to seize power, the statement is really emphasizing the crucial role of lawyers in a free society. Yet, the public still sides with such unbridled chaos over us lawyers. Ouch. That’s where some state bar examiners are taking drastic action to improve our image.

The Docket (Denver Bar Assn) • April 1 2015

Entire Law School Curriculum Merely An Elaborate Practical Joke | The Docket

Harvard historians recently uncovered a never-before-seen letter found among the writings of the late Dean of Harvard Law School and founder of the Socratic case method, Christopher Columbus Langdell. The letter, which is dated April 1, 1882, appears to outline his whole scheme in which he conceived the entire method of law school instruction as a ruse to fool a rival professor at another school.

The Docket (Denver Bar Assn) • November 1 2014

The Robes and Wigs of History’s Courtroom | The Docket

As we reflect on the past with this month’s nostalgia issue, I cannot help but admire certain traditions of the past. For example, the old robes and wigs once donned by both judges and lawyers in colonial and early American history were especially awesome. Okay, maybe the wigs went too far (even looking at them makes me itchy), but there is something to be said for sartorial formality in the courts.

In reflecting on the yesteryear of our profession, my own personal experience with the old days