Ames, James Barr

Ames, James Barr, 1846–1910, American jurist, b. Boston, grad. Harvard Law School, 1873. At Harvard he became associate professor (1873), professor (1877), and dean (1895). A disciple of C. C. Langdell, Ames insisted that legal education should require the study of actual cases instead of abstract principles of law. He was instrumental in introducing the case method in the teaching of law, a method in general use by American law schools at the time of his death. Ames's careful historical and legal scholarship is displayed in his Lectures on Legal History (1913).

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Ames, James Barr (1846–1910) legal scholar; born in Boston, Mass. He was educated at Harvard and taught at Harvard Law School from 1872 until his death. He advanced the case method of instruction by compiling and publishing cases on torts, partnerships, trusts, and equity jurisdiction. He took part in founding the Harvard Law Review in 1887 and published Lectures on Legal History (1913).