Law Commons^™

The Dynamic Cycle Of Legal Change, John Martinez

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

Justice Holmes's observation that the law is a product of empirical experience, not a problem of mathematics, leaves us with the task of figuring out how the legal system actually works. Although Holmes made his statement over 130 years ago, there is still no universally accepted analytical approach for describing how the American legal system creates and changes the law. This article proposes a "Dynamic Cycle of Legal Change" as a model for understanding the structure and operation of the American legal system.

Part I first posits that we should consider the legal system from an "information systems" perspective. Part …

The Role Of The Attorney And The Attorney Client Relationship: The Keys To Improved Public Perception Of Attorneys And The Lexus, Jeanne Marie Zokovitch Paben

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

It is a pivotal time for the legal profession. Economic challenges are making it harder and harder for the historical law firm to survive. According to the National Law Journal's annual survey, "the 250 biggest firms ... shed more than 9,500 lawyers in 2009 and 2010, nearly 8% of the total [lawyers at those firms]." This represents the largest multiyear decline in the thirty-four years the National Law Journal has conducted this survey.

These same challenges are making it harder for law graduates to get "typical" law jobs. The job statistics for recent law school graduates have not been good. …

Fixing A Broken System: Reconciling State Foreclosure Law With Economic Realities, Yianni D. Lagos

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

The housing crisis ignited a chain reaction of events that resulted in the U.S. economy cascading to the worst contraction since the Great Depression. In response, not only has the Federal Government proposed and implemented various legislation, but the financial industry has also joined in the effort to find a solution. However, large-scale mortgage restructurings already show signs of failing. These results should not be surprising, because general loan modifications suffer from the problems that created the housing crisis. Namely, mortgage originators did not examine whether the borrower could afford the monthly payments.

Euthanizing The Profoundly Mentally Incapacitated: A Simple Economic Analysis, Bernard A. Eskandari

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

Throughout history, the killing of those that society deems unfit has gone in and out of fashion. Typically, the targets of such programs are the mentally disabled, the physically disabled, and the insane. Sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, and propensity for criminality may become part of the criteria as well, depending on society's commitment and fervor for such a program. The apparent reason for killing the unfit is to create a superior population-a citizenry that is both mentally and physically superior-while reducing the incidence of those in society that constitute a drain-those who ostensibly take more from society than …

Toward Equal Access To Justice: Rethinking The Role Of Law Schools, Douglas A. Blaze

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

If the goal is equal access to justice, as it must be, the pro bono efforts of lawyers are relatively insignificant. Despite years of exhortation by an impressive assortment of judges and bar leaders and the addition of increasingly strong aspirational language in professional rules,' an abysmally small percentage of lawyers engage in pro bono representation. According to the best national estimate, lawyers provide on average less than a half-an-hour per week of assistance to the poor. Staff attorneys from federally-funded legal aid programs provide most of the civil legal services available to low-income clients. The pro bono efforts of …

Anomalies In Intentional Tort Law, Alan Calnan

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

All intentional torts are governed by three basic principles: (1) intent is a necessary and sufficient basis for holding someone liable; (2) each intentional tort must violate its own specific behavioral rule; and (3) all intentional torts require proof of the defendant's fault. Together, these principles appear to make intentional tort law both unique and self-contained. The first principle justifies creating an intentional tort theory of recovery. The second principle distinguishes that theory from negligence, which bases liability on the fixed standard of reasonable care. The third principle separates intentional torts from the no-fault theory of strict liability.

Of course, …