Osborn, Vitiello Resume "The Paper Chase"
August 23, 2007John Osborn, the author of The Paper Chase, will speak at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 18 as part of the annual Gordon D. Schaber Memorial Lecture presentation with Professor Michael Vitiello.
The two law professors will discuss and debate “Professor Kingsfield and the Socratic Method: The Past, the Present and the Future.” Osborn is a member of the law faculty at the University of San Francisco. His 1970 novel spawned a movie and a short-lived TV series about the trials and tribulations of law school. Its most famous character, Professor Kingsfield, played by the late John Houseman, was an intimidating, god-like character.
Professor Vitiello wrote a 2005 article, “Professor Kingsfield: The Most Misunderstood Character in Literature,” that appeared in the Hofstra Law Review and rekindled the debate over the use of Socratic method in 21 st century law school.
The Schaber Lecture is sponsored by the Witkin Legal Institute and the Sacramento County Bar Association. Luncheon admission is $25 with student tickets available at $10.
“The study of law is something new and unfamiliar to most of you -- unlike any other schooling you’ve ever known before. You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush, and, if you survive, you leave thinking like a lawyer.”
Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman)