THE PRUDENTS

In the long run the traumatic events of 1928 affected the direction rather than the quality of Columbia Law School. Smith continued as Dean until 1952. Throughout this period Columbia continued to grow in size and stature and more than held its own as one of the great law schools. Smith soon rebuilt an outstandingly strong team: the survivors included Dowling, Goebel, Medina, Michael, Patterson and Llewellyn, a nucleus of which most law schools would be envious. A number of distinguished scholars from other parts of the university maintained a close association, notably Robert Lee Hale, the economist, John Dewey, the philosopher, and two distinguished international lawyers, Charles C. Hyde and Philip C. Jessup. New recruits in the next phase included Adolf A. Berle, Elliott Cheatham, John Hanna, Milton Handler, Walter Gellhorn and Herbert Wechsler, now familiar names in American law. All of these men were positively in favour of a contextual approach to law, but they did not have, for the most part, a commitment to sustained empirical research.

From 1928–33 Smith succeeded in maintaining much of the momentum of reform. Wisely, piecemeal revision and continuing review were preferred to a dramatic break with the past. A major part of the effort was concentrated on editing ‘teaching materials’. In his report of 1933 the Dean was able to point out that in the previous three years his colleagues had published fourteen course books and that a further fourteen sets of materials had been prepared in connection with revision of the curriculum.