When you pause to consider the problem indicated by the title, your first reaction may be that it is too general to be meaningful. Is there any justification for using the broad label Continental lawyer ? Can we lump together European lawyers from various countries, east and west? Is the topic not inextricably bound up with the great controversies raging over the existence, distinguishing characteristics, and interrelationships of various families of law? Is there any consensus on common features of legal education here or abroad? In sum, are there not so many qualifications on anything one may choose to say on this subject that the toal view is lost? Even with all these difficulties in mind, the more I reflect on the problem and exchange experiences with people who have gone through the same process of adjustment, the more I become persuaded that a number of significant points can be made on the general theme suggested in the title. Notwithstanding the great differences existing among them - and in spite of orientation programs - most lawyers trained in Continental law schools face rather similar difficulties in approachign the study of law in an American educational institution
