"A client of mine," said a lawyer, "was on the point of
death when his wife was about to present him with a child. I drew up his
will, in which he settled two-thirds of his estate upon his son (if it should
happen to be a boy) and one-third on the mother. But if the child should
be a girl, then two-thirds would go to the mother and one-third to the daughter."
"As fate would have it, after his death, twins were born--a boy and
a girl. Alegal point then arose. How was the estate to be equitably divided
among the three--the mother, the son, and the daughter-- in the closest
possible accordance with the spirit of the dead man's will?"
1. Argue the case from the point of view of the lawyer
for the son.
2. Argue the case from the point of view of the
lawyer for the daughter.
3. Argue the case from the pont of view of the
lawyer for the mother.
4. Develop an argument from the point of view of
a judge who must weigh all of the aalternatives and decide what
is in the closest possible accordance with the spirit of the dead man's
will.