That is exactly my thinking. In my travels visiting various law schools, as I have met with students and sat in on classes, it has always been my experience that the more engaging and energetic instructors never had any problems keeping their students on track and interested, regardless of the laptop situation. I have found that to be the case in my own classrooms, as well. If you love teaching and have a profound vested interest in making sure your students are learning, then no amount of technology can truly distract a student. Professors need to be taught (oh, the irony) how to be teachers. Getting a Masters or a Ph.D. does not qualify you to teach, but many schools don’t require incoming instructors to have a proven teaching background. In my mind, it should be the primary requirement for any teaching position.

I would also venture, however, that some of the fault does rest with students. Many students, I find, choose to apply and then attend law school almost as a “default” option, without giving any thought to whether it is the best career path for them. This then manifests itself in a disengagement with the material which, in turn, manifests itself in an inability to focus in the classroom and a penchant for “wired” distractions. While you may not want to be represented by an attorney that was denied a laptop in a classroom, I wouldn’t want to be represented by one that was all to willing to give in to the temptations of Facebook and Twitter when they should have at least attempted to focus on the classroom at hand.

Do I think laptops should be banned? No. Students, as you said, will always find ways to become distracted, regardless of the technology given or banned. I think it’s important to treat the root of the problem, and not the symptoms. It’s a two-way street. Professors need to be better teachers, no doubt. But students also need to be better learners.