I was thinking about what Eben said in class last week about how one dimension of Thauraud and Carriere's relationship was a state of mutual economic dependence. Eben paralleled their relationship to that of Skadden and Wachtell in the 70's and 80's -- Skadden represented major companies in hostile takeovers and Wachtell represented the smaller ones. My thought was that mutual dependence also in some sense informs our relationship with CLS. The curve coerces us into participating in the norms of law school learning (reading beyond the optimal point of fatigue, reading for volume as opposed to for memory) only because we treat the curve as a Prisoner's Dilemma -- If we collectively refused then the system would lose its potency as a form of control. The law school's influence depends therefore on our continued participation.

But the flip side of the coin is that we too depend on the law school. The legitimacy of a CLS degree in the job search (the oft quoted line that one can hear in the hallways on a semi-daily basis "and a degree from CLS certainly won't hurt haha wink" or whatever the chosen phrasing) and the reliance of 2Ls on EIP for finding a job are two examples of ways in which CLS students buy into (and therefore reinforce) the co-dependence.

But this doesn't have to be the case. There is a difference between the type of dependence the law school has on us and the dependence we have on it. The curve, by it's very nature, in fact relies on us falling for the fallacy. But our dependence is self-imposed and is therefore voluntary. As Eben says in class, EIP is not the end all be all for the job search. The name "Columbia Law School" on one's degree is not necessary for a creative law student to find ways to meaningfully impact the lives of others with his/her legal knowledge or make money for that matter. Anyone who has been to any of the presentations put on by Law Students for Social Enterprise know this to be true. Skills and drive are necessary; pedigree is not. What do people think?

-- PrashantRai - 04 Apr 2012