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Thinking Like a Lawyer
Critical thinking is the essential tool for ensuring that students fulfill their promise. But, in reality, critical thinking is still a luxury good, and students with the greatest potential are too often challenged the least. Thinking Like a Lawyer : Colin Seale, a teacher-turned-attorney-turned-education-innovator and founder of thinkLaw, uses his unique experience to introduce a wide variety of concrete instructional strategies and examples that teachers can use in all grade levels and subject areas. Individual chapters address underachievement, the value of nuance, evidence-based reasoning, social-emotional learning, equitable education, and leveraging families to close the critical thinking gap.
168 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2020
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July 29, 2020
Summary: Applies the framework law students learn to teaching critical thinking for all school students.
Colin Seale was a disruptive student in school until a perceptive teacher had him tested and got him into a gifted program. Later, when he slacked off on studies, a school counselor leaned into his poor performance based on his past grades, got him into a summer school, where he was thought smart, and he decided to live up to it. In college, he almost gave up on his course of study, but his mother told him, "You have always figured things out, and you just have to figure this out. I have to get back to work."
Three people saw through his behavior and refused to allow him to waste his potential, resulting in him getting into law school, where he ended up at the top of his class. There he learned what it meant to "think like a lawyer." Something else happened as well. To work his way through law school, he taught school. He discovered that the critical thinking methods and skills he used so successfully in his classes could help his students -- even those who were academic under-achievers. He discovered that instead of critical thinking being some high level skill only advanced students could use, it was a key skill that motivated all sorts of other kinds of learning. This book reflects his efforts to apply the teaching of critical thinking throughout the educational process.
He defines critical thinking as:
1. the set of skills and dispositions we need
2. to learn what we need to learn
3. to solve problems across disciplines
4. that are grounded in the spirit of doing right instead of being right
He calls his approach the "thinkLaw framework." It involves:
1.Analysis from Multiple Perspectives: understanding all sides of an argument. He unpacks this further as the DRAAW+C framework
-Decision: Who should win?
-Rule/Law: What is the rule or law for this case?
-Arguments plaintiff will make:
-Arguments defendent will make:
-World: Looking at the big picture, why is your decision better for the world than other possible decisions?
-Conclusion: Re-write the Decision as a Conclusion
2. Mistake analysis: identifying what mistake we should really care about and what mistake "Joe Schmo" is most likely to make.
3. Investigation and Discovery: what do we know and what do we need to know?
4. Settlement and Negotiation: Determine the underlying interests, Identify the best outcome if you fail to negotiate a settlement, and Make a proposal that addresses interests and exceeds your best outcome without a settlement.
5. Competition: in law school, being a good student is not enough. success requires creative analysis that uses all these other skills to argue a conclusion better than one's classmates.
The rest of the book unpacks how all this can work to make everything from literature and social studies to math and science fertile ground for critical thinking. He outlines a variety of structures that can be woven into instruction, contrasts it with "engagement," discusses the use of thinkLaw in classroom management, test prep, and with families--particularly with not enabling learned helplessness by intervening in homework struggles (kind of like his mother did with him as a college student).
Reading this, on one hand, felt like thinkLaw was the silver bullet for whatever ails education. What I would love to see is a more detailed study of the difference his methods make in a school or school system that adopt them. At the same time, what comes through in every page of the book is the conviction that we under-estimate what students are capable of, and particularly in this matter of critical thinking. If more students have to look at a question from all sides, work rigorously to discover what is known, learn to analyze mistakes, including the ones they make, and to think how their solutions work in the real world, we certainly would have students equipped for whatever innovations in technology and the nature of work are thrown at them.
What comes through on every page, unmistakably, is Colin Seale's passion that we "simply have to stop leaving genius on the table." Sometimes that genius comes in the form of those most creative in disruption, more often seen as a problem than as genius. Can Seale's critical thinking methods develop that disruptive genius? He suggests one of the real payoffs in observing that often the people companies turn to when they need to innovate or turnaround are those skilled in "creative disruption." Likely they weren't the good students in class--more likely the cut-ups or disruptive ones. Like Colin Seale.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Colin Seale was a disruptive student in school until a perceptive teacher had him tested and got him into a gifted program. Later, when he slacked off on studies, a school counselor leaned into his poor performance based on his past grades, got him into a summer school, where he was thought smart, and he decided to live up to it. In college, he almost gave up on his course of study, but his mother told him, "You have always figured things out, and you just have to figure this out. I have to get back to work."
Three people saw through his behavior and refused to allow him to waste his potential, resulting in him getting into law school, where he ended up at the top of his class. There he learned what it meant to "think like a lawyer." Something else happened as well. To work his way through law school, he taught school. He discovered that the critical thinking methods and skills he used so successfully in his classes could help his students -- even those who were academic under-achievers. He discovered that instead of critical thinking being some high level skill only advanced students could use, it was a key skill that motivated all sorts of other kinds of learning. This book reflects his efforts to apply the teaching of critical thinking throughout the educational process.
He defines critical thinking as:
1. the set of skills and dispositions we need
2. to learn what we need to learn
3. to solve problems across disciplines
4. that are grounded in the spirit of doing right instead of being right
He calls his approach the "thinkLaw framework." It involves:
1.Analysis from Multiple Perspectives: understanding all sides of an argument. He unpacks this further as the DRAAW+C framework
-Decision: Who should win?
-Rule/Law: What is the rule or law for this case?
-Arguments plaintiff will make:
-Arguments defendent will make:
-World: Looking at the big picture, why is your decision better for the world than other possible decisions?
-Conclusion: Re-write the Decision as a Conclusion
2. Mistake analysis: identifying what mistake we should really care about and what mistake "Joe Schmo" is most likely to make.
3. Investigation and Discovery: what do we know and what do we need to know?
4. Settlement and Negotiation: Determine the underlying interests, Identify the best outcome if you fail to negotiate a settlement, and Make a proposal that addresses interests and exceeds your best outcome without a settlement.
5. Competition: in law school, being a good student is not enough. success requires creative analysis that uses all these other skills to argue a conclusion better than one's classmates.
The rest of the book unpacks how all this can work to make everything from literature and social studies to math and science fertile ground for critical thinking. He outlines a variety of structures that can be woven into instruction, contrasts it with "engagement," discusses the use of thinkLaw in classroom management, test prep, and with families--particularly with not enabling learned helplessness by intervening in homework struggles (kind of like his mother did with him as a college student).
Reading this, on one hand, felt like thinkLaw was the silver bullet for whatever ails education. What I would love to see is a more detailed study of the difference his methods make in a school or school system that adopt them. At the same time, what comes through in every page of the book is the conviction that we under-estimate what students are capable of, and particularly in this matter of critical thinking. If more students have to look at a question from all sides, work rigorously to discover what is known, learn to analyze mistakes, including the ones they make, and to think how their solutions work in the real world, we certainly would have students equipped for whatever innovations in technology and the nature of work are thrown at them.
What comes through on every page, unmistakably, is Colin Seale's passion that we "simply have to stop leaving genius on the table." Sometimes that genius comes in the form of those most creative in disruption, more often seen as a problem than as genius. Can Seale's critical thinking methods develop that disruptive genius? He suggests one of the real payoffs in observing that often the people companies turn to when they need to innovate or turnaround are those skilled in "creative disruption." Likely they weren't the good students in class--more likely the cut-ups or disruptive ones. Like Colin Seale.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
November 22, 2024
This book is incredibly self-congratulatory and I found it incredibly annoying as a result. I have no idea who this guy is. I’ve no idea about his work. He proceeds to take a victory lap at every chance for how great his process and thinking is. It’s like being trapped in a conversation at a networking dinner with a person thinks they’re a really big deal, but like if you were genuinely a big deal, why are you at a networking dinner? It’s the tell, not show method of writing a non-fiction book made manifest.
The framework is fine. Teach people to critically analyze what they interact with. Think about things from multiple perspectives. Saved you three hours.
The framework is fine. Teach people to critically analyze what they interact with. Think about things from multiple perspectives. Saved you three hours.
August 13, 2020
I loved this book! Gave me everything I needed to introduce key critical thinking strategies to my students in a meaningful way. I highly recommend, both for teachers and parents.
September 10, 2020
A lot of great ideas and questions about the nature of education. Unfortunately, the gems of the book were often hidden by a lack of practical detail (the most vital processes often got only a few meagre paragraphs outlining how to do them) and a LOT of arguably unnecessary background. I am not exaggerating when I say that the first 30% of the book was spent describing the author's education, career, and philosophy - the thinkLaw content itself didn't appear until about the fifth chapter. The disproportionate amount of time spent describing his journey, celebrating the framework and generally talking it all up made it seem like a slightly more fleshed-out sales pitch at times - and given the modern "edupreneurial" name thinkLaw (ugh), perhaps it was.
I'm mostly glad that I stuck it out, but I often found myself getting irritated with the tone. Did Seale mean to come off as "that educator" - the one who escaped to do something prestigious, and so is now especially qualified to tell you what you're doing wrong? Did he mean to rattle off his law school accolades so as to actually *celebrate* the bell curve, that notorious spectre of education? Perhaps not, but some careful editing out of these more self-promotional moments might have saved me the annoyance anyway.
I'm mostly glad that I stuck it out, but I often found myself getting irritated with the tone. Did Seale mean to come off as "that educator" - the one who escaped to do something prestigious, and so is now especially qualified to tell you what you're doing wrong? Did he mean to rattle off his law school accolades so as to actually *celebrate* the bell curve, that notorious spectre of education? Perhaps not, but some careful editing out of these more self-promotional moments might have saved me the annoyance anyway.
January 20, 2022
this is not a bad book, but this is a book about teaching critical thinking in schools— not abt how to stop being a dumb bb lawyer. whoops!
August 23, 2025
Our new principal gifted each of us this book at our first meeting of the year so I put it at the top of my reading pile. The author pointed out how much teaching students critical thinking skills will encourage more classroom engagement and can be used as a way to bridge underachieving students to higher results. He pointed out that critical thinking is usually used in classrooms for advance students but should be taught to all students. He made some really good points that I would like to try in my classroom this year.
March 28, 2022
Well that was boring. Does not have to be. Author himself admits that and yet.... Nothing new here for me and just a lacklustre experience. This could have been so much more fun.
June 4, 2025
This was lovely and made me realize how terrible our education is. Made me want to homeschool my children even more because no one has any brains anymore. Scary. Ok bye.
July 31, 2020
This is rare: a book about teaching that offers practical ideas teachers can use to motivate their students and enrich instruction.
Those of us who haven't been to law school probably can't consistently use legal case histories to illustrate our teaching, as author Colin Seale does. But all of us can take something from his ideas on how to encourage critical thinking. We can lead students to think about problems from multiple perspectives, or ask them to analyze mistakes. (I will definitely add his "Which mistake is worse?" exercise to my college math courses.)
Above all, we can adopt his main theme: we can't just ask our top-performing students to think critically: all students deserve these opportunities.
Those of us who haven't been to law school probably can't consistently use legal case histories to illustrate our teaching, as author Colin Seale does. But all of us can take something from his ideas on how to encourage critical thinking. We can lead students to think about problems from multiple perspectives, or ask them to analyze mistakes. (I will definitely add his "Which mistake is worse?" exercise to my college math courses.)
Above all, we can adopt his main theme: we can't just ask our top-performing students to think critically: all students deserve these opportunities.
October 20, 2022
This book is basically an infomercial for the author’s thinkLaw program. Additionally, there are some flaws in the author’s presentation. The first problem involves a five year old pulling a chair out from under his aunt as she sat down. She broke a bone and her lawyer sued the 5 year old for battery. Should the boy be found liable for battery. The task was to make arguments on both sides of the question. For me the burning question was should the aunt’s lawyer be sued for malpractice? Why didn’t he file suit for negligent infliction of injury? This would be a much easier sell than trying to prove the intentional tort of battery. Next, he gives an erroneous definition of battery. Battery is causing bodily harm by intentionally touching or striking someone against their will. The author defines battery as an intentional act that involves contact, is harmful or offensive, and causes damage. This was a real case from Washington State. Maybe Washington has a weird definition of battery. Maybe there was some legal bar to suing for negligence. If so, the author should have included those facts in the problem.
The second problem involves his D.R.A.A.W.+C. model for critical thinking. D. What is the desired decision? R. What is the rule to apply? A. What are the arguments for the desired decision? A. What are the arguments against the desired decision? W. What are the real world consequences of deciding one way or the other. C. Rewrite the desired decision as a conclusion. This does not look like critical thinking in search of the correct answer. It looks like goal-driven reasoning in search of the best arguments to use in arriving at the desired decision. That’s thinking like a lawyer, but it is not the best model for critical thinking.
The second problem involves his D.R.A.A.W.+C. model for critical thinking. D. What is the desired decision? R. What is the rule to apply? A. What are the arguments for the desired decision? A. What are the arguments against the desired decision? W. What are the real world consequences of deciding one way or the other. C. Rewrite the desired decision as a conclusion. This does not look like critical thinking in search of the correct answer. It looks like goal-driven reasoning in search of the best arguments to use in arriving at the desired decision. That’s thinking like a lawyer, but it is not the best model for critical thinking.
June 10, 2022
I have just one question for all of those who have reviewed this book before me: Did we really read the same book? Because the book I read had nothing - I mean nothing - to do with critical thinking (unless you do what the author did and bastardized the term "critical thinking" to such an extent that it comes to mean the same thing as "behaving nicely").
Nothing against behaving nicely. All the power to those of us in the world who do that. But in this particular case I downloaded this book, which professes to provide a framework for teaching critical thinking, in order to learn - you guessed it - learn critical thinking. And so regardless of whether the author makes a few good social justice-related points or not, I couldn't possibly rate this book more than 1 star.
*Reviewers note: I closed this book for good after chapter three, and decided I had better things to spend my time on. So it's always possible that this book magically turned into the book I thought it may, and that I missed out big time. But I doubt it.
Nothing against behaving nicely. All the power to those of us in the world who do that. But in this particular case I downloaded this book, which professes to provide a framework for teaching critical thinking, in order to learn - you guessed it - learn critical thinking. And so regardless of whether the author makes a few good social justice-related points or not, I couldn't possibly rate this book more than 1 star.
*Reviewers note: I closed this book for good after chapter three, and decided I had better things to spend my time on. So it's always possible that this book magically turned into the book I thought it may, and that I missed out big time. But I doubt it.
February 11, 2021
The first 50 pages of this book are pretty slow. The next 50 pages give you some information about what critical thinking is and some examples of how to use critical thinking via breaking down court cases. The last 50 pages are the most informative and have the most applicable suggestions for teaching critical thinking in schools. This includes how to use critical thinking skills with classroom management, test prep, and in partnership with parents. I’d give the last 50 pages a 4 or even 5 star review but the rest of the book is a solid 3 stars. For a short book it has useful information and is worth the read for the perspective and tips.
July 25, 2021
I liked this book. It had a lot to say that I agreed with. We need to make sure engagement is meaningful and purposeful. We need to teach kids the difference between being right and doing right.
Here were some of my notes....
Critical thinking is:
the set of skills and dispositions that we need.
to learn what we need to learn
to solve problems across disciplines
being grounded in the idea of doing right instead of being right.
Who gets access to critical thinking instruction? Is it equally important for all students to be taught this skill where they will need this skill to be successful in real life in the 21st century. The sheer quantity of information makes the ability to think critically more important. We have a generation that is not able to discuss politics and religion respectfully and is unable to see different points of view. Whose fault is that? Gone are the days where you can just teach skills, judgements and critical thinking are tested as they must choose more than one answer or be able to justify their answers. How we handle conflict and being able to disagree without being disagreeable are not taught equally across all student groups. There are so many GT programs that are only GT in name only. What we are doing for the best and brightest students, especially those in the low income areas is not enough. They are less likely to go on in their studies. How are we unlocking their potential and their ability to be lifelong learners? Students (ELLs and low income) especially those with “street smarts” are really just a group of students who have had to figure it out on their own. Their intelligence / critical thinking has helped them survive.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a huge determinant of student instruction. It implies there is an order that create is always last, it implies there is always rigor present regardless of the verb. We want the students to be doing most of the work and moving away from the teacher being the expert on all things. How can we get students to do the heavy lifting? Critical thinking is not devoid of emotion. A court’s decision is not always right, but it is simply an opinion such as interracial marriage, Japanese internment camp, etc. We need to teach children to think about how the world ought to be. Analyze problems deeply with and without fondness for the different parties involved. How do we teach kids to think critically even when they do not like someone else?
Here were some of my notes....
Critical thinking is:
the set of skills and dispositions that we need.
to learn what we need to learn
to solve problems across disciplines
being grounded in the idea of doing right instead of being right.
Who gets access to critical thinking instruction? Is it equally important for all students to be taught this skill where they will need this skill to be successful in real life in the 21st century. The sheer quantity of information makes the ability to think critically more important. We have a generation that is not able to discuss politics and religion respectfully and is unable to see different points of view. Whose fault is that? Gone are the days where you can just teach skills, judgements and critical thinking are tested as they must choose more than one answer or be able to justify their answers. How we handle conflict and being able to disagree without being disagreeable are not taught equally across all student groups. There are so many GT programs that are only GT in name only. What we are doing for the best and brightest students, especially those in the low income areas is not enough. They are less likely to go on in their studies. How are we unlocking their potential and their ability to be lifelong learners? Students (ELLs and low income) especially those with “street smarts” are really just a group of students who have had to figure it out on their own. Their intelligence / critical thinking has helped them survive.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a huge determinant of student instruction. It implies there is an order that create is always last, it implies there is always rigor present regardless of the verb. We want the students to be doing most of the work and moving away from the teacher being the expert on all things. How can we get students to do the heavy lifting? Critical thinking is not devoid of emotion. A court’s decision is not always right, but it is simply an opinion such as interracial marriage, Japanese internment camp, etc. We need to teach children to think about how the world ought to be. Analyze problems deeply with and without fondness for the different parties involved. How do we teach kids to think critically even when they do not like someone else?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2020
This was such an amazing book, and I absolutely love Colin Seale's mission. I hadn't heard of him until I saw this book recommended on Twitter, but his mission is to help teach kids how to think critically, which is something our school systems severely lack. When you think like a lawyer, you're going passed the surface-level question and asking deeper questions, which is a great practice to develop. As I read his book and the examples he gives of teaching children, it sounded a lot like how I try to teach my 12-year-old son to be a critical thinker as well. This is a must-read for every parent and teacher out there.
With that being said, although I loved this book, the biggest turn off was that there are many points where it reads like a promotion for Colin's company ThinkLaw. His company trains teachers, and throughout the books, there are these little ads for the ThinkLaw program. I'm not sure who in the final editing process thought this was still a good idea, but it really screws up the flow of the book. My concern is that people will be turned off from the book when it seems like it's trying to sell them something. The book is so good that if the author left out all the marketing stuff, people would find out about his business just because they want to learn more about him. He could have easily added this to an appendix or even the introduction, but instead, it's littered throughout the book. I still suggest you read it, but just get past those parts.
With that being said, although I loved this book, the biggest turn off was that there are many points where it reads like a promotion for Colin's company ThinkLaw. His company trains teachers, and throughout the books, there are these little ads for the ThinkLaw program. I'm not sure who in the final editing process thought this was still a good idea, but it really screws up the flow of the book. My concern is that people will be turned off from the book when it seems like it's trying to sell them something. The book is so good that if the author left out all the marketing stuff, people would find out about his business just because they want to learn more about him. He could have easily added this to an appendix or even the introduction, but instead, it's littered throughout the book. I still suggest you read it, but just get past those parts.
September 11, 2022
While Thinking Like a Lawyer is a book targeted primarily to elementary and secondary school educators, I found a wealth of valuable reminders, insights and practical advice through the frameworks that Colin Seale shares in this tightly written and engaging analysis. What drew me to this book was the author’s own bio, noting him as an “educator, attorney, and critical thinking evangelist” who is committed to “no longer leave genius on the table”.
Some key takeaways for me:
- “critical thinking was and still is a luxury good” (p. 2)
- the likely reason that many great leaders were trained to think like lawyers
- the danger of a world where top achievers are conditioned to find a “right” answer vs employing creativity and multiple perspectives (arguments) to seek best alternatives to a negotiated agreement
- why becoming a better collaborator and problem solver requires learning how to disagree without being disagreeable
Seale’s 4 guiding principles to help students become better critical thinkers are delivered in the acronym ECHO which contains wisdom every parent, leader and educator can benefit from applying
- Encourage productive struggle…
- Combat learned helplessness…
- Help without being too helpful…
- Object for no reason…(explained in the framework)
Seale’s own backstory is an inspiration to how beautiful thinking, that is critical thinking, will continue to be the essential ‘future-ready’ skill. It was a worthwhile weekend read for me.
Some key takeaways for me:
- “critical thinking was and still is a luxury good” (p. 2)
- the likely reason that many great leaders were trained to think like lawyers
- the danger of a world where top achievers are conditioned to find a “right” answer vs employing creativity and multiple perspectives (arguments) to seek best alternatives to a negotiated agreement
- why becoming a better collaborator and problem solver requires learning how to disagree without being disagreeable
Seale’s 4 guiding principles to help students become better critical thinkers are delivered in the acronym ECHO which contains wisdom every parent, leader and educator can benefit from applying
- Encourage productive struggle…
- Combat learned helplessness…
- Help without being too helpful…
- Object for no reason…(explained in the framework)
Seale’s own backstory is an inspiration to how beautiful thinking, that is critical thinking, will continue to be the essential ‘future-ready’ skill. It was a worthwhile weekend read for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2020
Colin Seale uses his life experience as a young boy in Brooklyn combined with the knowledge he gained in law school to create a critical thinking plan that all teachers can use. Colin’s voice comes through loud and clear throughout the book as he addresses the importance of critical thinking. Even though it is a soft skill, Colin makes the argument that now more than ever, critical thinking is a vital skill for children’s future success. In addition becoming a lawyer, Colin was a math teacher so he understands what we face in the classroom. What I like the most about this book is how practical it is and how easy it is to read. The chapters are short, but engaging and thought provoking. The framework he presents for thinking like a lawyer uses the skills he needed as a lawyer and presents them in a way that teachers can use. He highlights the importance of seeing issues from multiple perspectives, disagreeing without being disagreeable and analysis. He uses real court case examples, but also shows how you can use the tools within each subject area. The last chapter gives advice on how to become partners with parents in developing critical thinking at home and is a great way to end the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it to anyone in the field of education!
August 16, 2020
This book arrives at a pivotal moment in American education and, for that matter, history. As such, "Thinking Like a Lawyer" is a great resource for the times.
Colin Seale provides a much needed framework to help students think critically and develop productive habits. The gist of the process is: make a persuasive claim, support it with valid and relevant evidence, consider multiple perspectives, weigh consequences, and then draw a conclusion based on analysis.
The book has dozens of useful nuggets but one that stood out for me is "wait time". Essentially, we live in a society that rewards (demands?) quick, banal answers. To get students to think more critically, Seale asks them to consider a question and answer for 10 seconds before responding. This "wait time" is essential for the deeper thinking required by the framework.
Colin Seale provides a much needed framework to help students think critically and develop productive habits. The gist of the process is: make a persuasive claim, support it with valid and relevant evidence, consider multiple perspectives, weigh consequences, and then draw a conclusion based on analysis.
The book has dozens of useful nuggets but one that stood out for me is "wait time". Essentially, we live in a society that rewards (demands?) quick, banal answers. To get students to think more critically, Seale asks them to consider a question and answer for 10 seconds before responding. This "wait time" is essential for the deeper thinking required by the framework.
September 4, 2020
As a former retired Social Worker I spent 27 years in Group Homes/TLP’s/Foster Care Programs(with a Adoption specialty)
and though I am not lawyer I do have a M.S. in the field. So the book was recommended by a retired lawyer and not only caught my interest it surprisingly held on to it to the point I was in “ponder & pontificate mode”. What if? It is just lawyer logic-similar to LSAT study book if I recall (smirk), but so much more as well!
Enjoy the experience & internalize and project. This is for our next generation and theirs-if we are meant to survive we must shift our paradigms and move in this direction. My Educators & Curriculum Creators I have contributed & will continue to do so, but we/they need you! Our children need to process information better-they need to think like lawyers!
~Namaste’
and though I am not lawyer I do have a M.S. in the field. So the book was recommended by a retired lawyer and not only caught my interest it surprisingly held on to it to the point I was in “ponder & pontificate mode”. What if? It is just lawyer logic-similar to LSAT study book if I recall (smirk), but so much more as well!
Enjoy the experience & internalize and project. This is for our next generation and theirs-if we are meant to survive we must shift our paradigms and move in this direction. My Educators & Curriculum Creators I have contributed & will continue to do so, but we/they need you! Our children need to process information better-they need to think like lawyers!
~Namaste’
January 27, 2023
Enjoyed Thinking Like a Lawyer, but it dramatically overpromises. Seale, a former "lousy" student turned top lawyer, identifies what he calls the "critical thinking gap," and wants all learners to have access to curriculum that shrinks it. I'm all in for that. His strategy is to have students examine and debate complicated court cases. I think it's a terrific idea, but it hardly feels like the cure for what's truly ailing education. My Spider Sense tells me this is another case of, for lack of a better term, the "Superstar Effect," by which I mean I'm wary of (supposedly) terrific results achieved by a teacher with a unique skill set, not easily, despite their claims, adoptable by anyone else. Worth a read though!
November 28, 2021
I really enjoyed Thinking Like a Lawyer. It was short, practical, and had helpful ideas for promoting critical thinking. I particularly liked his ideas about getting kids to consider a variety of viewpoints. His DRAW-C method of analysis was alone probably worth reading the book. I also liked his ideas about how we must not teach kids helplessness by doing too much for them. Although the book made a strong case for teaching critical thinking, and for using the lawyer framework to do it, I didn't think there were enough specific teaching ideas to make it a five star book. My hope is that Colin Seale will write a follow-up book filled with strategies.
August 12, 2021
Loved the definition of critical thinking requiring a moral aspect- if what we are doing is not good for others, it doesn't matter how good of a solution it is in other ways. While I appreciated the learning that happened using law cases, I ultimately was left wanting because the book just wasn't long enough. When example methods were given, it would be three or so methods that would come close to helping a teacher understand how to really use it in the classroom. Maybe this book is more of a brochure for his paid curriculum?
September 16, 2021
My daughter entered Law school this year. She said year one of law school is learning to think like a lawyer. I downloaded this book to attempt to learn what that means.
The author of this book is a teacher who became a lawyer. In this book he explains how teachers can utilize critical thinking to enhance the learning ability of their students.
This book was an audio book. I think having the book to see the charts would have been beneficial. I used some of the lessons which Seale taught as a substitute teacher. Think Law and critical thinking would be beneficial fir anyone to learn
The author of this book is a teacher who became a lawyer. In this book he explains how teachers can utilize critical thinking to enhance the learning ability of their students.
This book was an audio book. I think having the book to see the charts would have been beneficial. I used some of the lessons which Seale taught as a substitute teacher. Think Law and critical thinking would be beneficial fir anyone to learn
January 26, 2023
While I did not read this cover to cover this time, I think it will be something I refer to often as my kids grow up. I hope/ wish that this type of conversation and training is happening with educators in our schools. Sometimes the school days and school work my kids are doing feels very rote and formulaic. Would be fun for all of us if teachers spent some time on these types of critical thinking exercises. I also appreciate Colin's story of how he was identified as gifted and how it changed his path once he was influenced by certain teachers and counselors - it's relatable.
April 11, 2021
Every educator should read this book, especially those teaching gifted students and students who need to learn to think outside the box. The book offers hands on activities and ideas for teaching students to think critically in the classroom. I have already started implementing some of the activities into my GT and Honors ELA classes and look forward to using more of the strategies between now and the end of the year!
June 9, 2021
My major critique of most education-pedagogy books is too much theory, not enough application. This book doesn’t have much of either.
It takes Mr. Seale an ambling 40 or so pages to stop with his autobiography and get to the content of thinkLaw. The end of the book offers some solid strategies for critical thinking but nothing too revolutionary (e.g. wait time, engagement vs. learning).
Skim don’t read, my education people. :-)
It takes Mr. Seale an ambling 40 or so pages to stop with his autobiography and get to the content of thinkLaw. The end of the book offers some solid strategies for critical thinking but nothing too revolutionary (e.g. wait time, engagement vs. learning).
Skim don’t read, my education people. :-)
July 2, 2021
As with most professional development books, I cannot give 5 stars because there is never a one size fits all method. While many of the ideas are valuable, they just will not work for every student. That said, I feel this book offers great strategies for helping promote the essential skill we must teach our students: critical thinking! And I would definitely recommend this to any educator and/or parent.
March 23, 2022
If you can get past all of the anecdotal stories of his education and law school experience, there are some great nuggets of teaching wisdom and strategies to help build student critical thinking skills. I have seen my “toughest” students excel at what he prescribes, which builds their confidence in other areas too, so there is evidence that this works. It is worth the quick read if you’re a teacher.
July 7, 2025
The book was not aimed for me
as a person who does not have interactions with kids what so ever
however, the subject was interesting
it was one of the books which imo every parent should at least go through it and make sure they give this type mindset to their kids as the society needs more deep thinking kids.
I was hoping there was more hints and ideas for everyone else as well and not just be towards the parent or teachers only.
as a person who does not have interactions with kids what so ever
however, the subject was interesting
it was one of the books which imo every parent should at least go through it and make sure they give this type mindset to their kids as the society needs more deep thinking kids.
I was hoping there was more hints and ideas for everyone else as well and not just be towards the parent or teachers only.
July 27, 2020
Excellent book! I teach gifted students so I read it to sharpen my Critical Thinking Skills with students but this would be a fabulous book for regular ed teachers!! In fact I would highly recommend it to teachers who teach all levels!! Loved the last chapter about supporting parents in unleashing critical thinking with their children.
July 29, 2021
There are many instances, while reading this book, I said to myself, "Huh. I did something like that in my classroom." Or, "Yeah, that's a great strategy to help kids work through how to articulate their thinking about...." My classroom was always loud (collaboration), full of productive struggle, and debates about all those grey areas in life. Yup. There is lots of good stuff in this book.
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