Teaching Law Online: Yesterday and Today, But Tomorrow Never Knows

Although the role of “online” in legal education has grown over the past several decades, online teaching became a lifeline in Spring 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered classrooms nationwide. Online teaching is now necessary, but also problematic. Schools and teachers therefore need to carefully consider how to make effective use of online tools and techniques. This essay reflects on the author’s career-long experiences in online law teaching, much of which predates the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With a little help” from a Beatles song or two, the essay reflects the yesterday, today, and tomorrow of online legal education. It closes with that most scholarly of prescriptions: The Beatles’ Top Ten hits relevant to teaching online.