Law Commons^™

Teaching The Art Of Defending A White Collar Criminal Case, Katrice Copeland

Katrice Bridges Copeland

This Article discusses the author's experience with effectively teaching a white collar crime course.

Legal Education In The Era Of Globalisation: What Makes For Market Failure?, Darren O'Donovan

Darren O'Donovan

Extract: Higher education is increasingly viewed, particularly in the United States, as a market approaching systemic failure. Legal education has been singled out as a subset of this overall trend, emblematic of a growing disconnect between investment and outcome. Internationalisation adds another layer of complexity and volatility to designing effective interventions that connect students with globalised opportunity. Crucially however, it also provides a chance for a rigorous re-evaluation of the purposes and modalities of legal education, and a greater reflection on sustainable growth rather than the reinforcing of bubble logic. In this chapter, I want to use the concept of …

What The Actions Of Abe Lincoln Continue To Teach Us Today, Michael Slinger

Michael J. Slinger

No abstract provided.

Mission: Impossible, Mission: Accomplished Or Mission: Underway? A Survey And Analysis Of Current Trends In Professionalism Education In American Law Schools, Alison Kehner, Mary Ann Robinson

Mary Ann Robinson

No abstract provided.

The Elephant In The Law School Assessment Room: The Role Of Student Responsibility And Motivating Our Students To Learn, Cassandra L. Hill

Cassandra L. Hill

THE ELEPHANT IN THE LAW SCHOOL ASSESSMENT ROOM:

THE ROLE OF STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY AND

MOTIVATING OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN

Cassandra L. Hill

The American Bar Association’s proposed new accreditation standards call for law schools to assess the effectiveness of their academic programs. Law schools are now doing so, quickly giving rise to an assessment movement that closely examines desired educational outcomes and professors’ efforts to attain them. But assessment has to date focused on the professor, who is just one part of the professor-student partnership. All but ignored are the contributions and motivation of the other critical component—the student.

This …

One Small Step For Legal Writing, One Giant Leap For Legal Education: Making The Case For More Writing Opportunities In The "Practice-Ready" Law School Curriculum, Sherri Keene

Sherri Keene

Legal writing is more than an isolated practical skill or a law school course; it is a valuable tool for broadening and deepening one’s knowledge and understanding of the law. If experienced legal professionals, both professors and practitioners alike, take a hard look back at their careers, many will no doubt remember how their work on significant legal writing projects advanced their own knowledge of the law and enhanced their professional competence. Legal writing practice helps the writer to gain expertise in a number of ways: first, the act of writing itself promotes learning; second, close work on legal writing …

Lessons From Positive Psychology For Developing Advocacy Skills, Nancy Schultz

Nancy Schultz

Advocacy skills are crucial to law students and lawyers. One of the ways law students develop those skills is in the context of lawyering skills competitions. This article explores whether there is any psychological research that might offer more systematic guidance for advocacy coaches and instructors. Positive psychology does offer some principles that suggest useful approaches to coaching and teaching advocacy. Taken together with instinct and experience, these principles can help coaches and advocacy instructors be more effective in training young lawyers for litigation and dispute resolution practice.

Reproductive Rights In The Legal Academy: A New Role For Transnational Law, Martha Davis, Bethany Withers

Martha F. Davis

Most law school courses approach reproductive rights law from a purely domestic perspective, as an extensive survey of casebooks and course material reveals. The authors argue that a transnational perspective can enhance the teaching of sexual and reproductive health in all of the law school courses and doctrinal settings in which this topic in treated. While the topic of “Global Sexual and Reproductive Rights” can be presented in a free-standing course, transnational perspectives should also be integrated across the curriculum where sexual and reproductive rights are discussed. Expanding reproductive rights pedagogy to address transnational perspectives will aid in exposing a …

As The Twig Is Bent:Law Student Insights Regarding Pro Bono And Public Interest Law, Jan L. Jacobowitz Ms.

Jan L Jacobowitz

No abstract provided.

Legal Education For Sustainability: A Report On Us Progress, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article is an overview of sustainability efforts in US law schools. It describes two sets of drivers for these efforts—inside and outside the legal profession. Drivers from within the legal profession include the American Bar Association as well as several state and local bar associations; law firms and other law organisations; and current and prospective law students. Drivers from outside the legal profession include clients, universities and colleges, nongovernmental organisations, and government. This article then describes what US law schools are now doing in the areas of curriculum, research, buildings and operations, community outreach and service, student life, and …

Teaching Values And Lawyering Skills, John Capowski

John J. Capowski

No abstract provided.

Why I Teach, Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith

No abstract provided.

Writing Essay Exams To Succeed In Law School (Not Just To Survive), John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

An Interdisciplinary Framework For Understanding And Cultivating Law Student Enthusiasm, Emily Zimmerman

Emily Zimmerman

Anecdotal evidence abounds about the loss of enthusiasm experienced by law students. Law review articles too note this loss of enthusiasm and the demoralization of law students that occurs during their time in law school. However, although the loss of law student enthusiasm is frequently noted, little has been done to systematically analyze law student enthusiasm. Existing literature does not provide a definition of “law student enthusiasm” or a foundation of theory and research for understanding law student enthusiasm and its significance in legal education.

In an effort to fill the gap in our understanding of law student enthusiasm, this …

An Interdisciplinary Framework For Understanding And Cultivating Law Student Enthusiasm, Emily Zimmerman

Emily Zimmerman

Anecdotal evidence abounds about the loss of enthusiasm experienced by law students. Law review articles too note this loss of enthusiasm and the demoralization of law students that occurs during their time in law school. However, although the loss of law student enthusiasm is frequently noted, little has been done to systematically analyze law student enthusiasm. Existing literature does not provide a definition of “law student enthusiasm” or a foundation of theory and research for understanding law student enthusiasm and its significance in legal education. In an effort to fill the gap in our understanding of law student enthusiasm, this …

Sailing Against The Wind: How A Pre-Admission Program Can Prepare At-Risk Students For Success In The Journey Through Law School And Beyond, Julie M. Spanbauer, Sonia Bychkov Green, Maureen Straub Kordesh

Julie M. Spanbauer

ABSTRACT This article provides a scholarly analysis of an innovative and recently created summer special admissions program designed to provide an opportunity for “at-risk” students. This new program, the “Summer College to Assess Legal Education Skills” (SCALES), was created to provide access and opportunity to students who otherwise would not be admitted to law school because their law school indicators fall below the minimum requirements for admission. Thus, the students enrolled in the program include immigrants, minorities, and nontraditional returning students, many of whom represent the first generation in a family to earn a college degree. To the delight and …

Placing The Horse Before The Cart: The Need To Convince Law Firm Partners And Law Professors On The Inadequacy Of Legal Research Training At Law Schools As A First Step In Developing A Successful Training Solution, Michael Slinger

Michael J. Slinger

No abstract provided.

The Goals And Missions Of Law Schools, Larry Barnett, W. Van Alstyne, Joseph Julin

Larry D Barnett

This provocative study explores the reasons for the public perception of "too many lawyers" and the failure of current legal education to meet present needs for competent legal services at an affordable cost. The principal reason for that failure, the authors argue, lies in the unquestioning acceptance of a Prestige Model created almost a century ago. The success of that model, largely unaltered to this day, has acted as a constraint on curriculum modification geared to the realities of today's society. The explosions of knowledge, population and government regulation in recent decades require recognition of the need for substantial curriculum …