We’re taking a couple weeks off for spring break (March 12-26), but in the meantime, we want to share the following idea with our loyal and patient readers. Our friend and colleague Tyler Cowen (via Marginal Revolution) gave us the following idea:

Imagine giving all lawyers and law professors an essay exam. Determine their area of legal expertise, give them a blue book, and then ask them to write out by hand a ten-page essay max on one of the most basic questions in their field, such as: “What remedy should courts give for breach of contract?” Or “How should courts measure tort damages?”

They can use some empirical data or refer to some cases or statutes, but mostly they should write out the best answers they can.

Then grade the blue books.

At which law schools would the law professors do the best? In which fields would the lawyers do the best, recognizing that some face more difficult problems than do others? In which countries?

How much should the legal academy or the legal profession be focused on being able to write good answers to such questions?