Law Commons^™

Why I Teach Water Law, Joseph L. Sax

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

I began my first law school job in 1962 and water law is the only subject I have taught every year since then. Though I am enthusiastic about all the courses I teach, I confess that water law remains my favorite. I have often asked myself why, because few subjects are considered more peripheral to the central mission of the law schools. In the East and Midwest the course is rarely taught, and in the West-where it has long been a staple- it is pretty much treated as a "nuts-and-bolts" offering for students who will practice in appropriation doctrine states. …

Why Would Law Students Benefit From Studying Economics?, Michelle J. White

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Why would law students benefit from studying economics? Three reasons come to mind. First, knowing some economics should enable students to understand more fully the issues encountered in a variety of areas of the law. Second, in a variety of areas of the law, economic analysis constitutes a central component of the legal arguments made in prosecuting and defending the case. Third, many law students will become involved in policy-making, whether because they end up working in the executive branch of government or because they become legislators, lobbyists, or legislative staff.

In the following sections, I treat each of the …

Clinical Legal Education: Is Taking Rites Seriously A Fantasy, Folly, Or Failure?, Steven D. Pepe

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article assesses the primary product of law schools-the practicing lawyer-and reviews the criticisms of the adequacy of the initial training for attorneys that law schools provide. After a brief. review of goals of legal education and goals of clinical teaching methods, the article argues that properly structured clinical programs are not based on flawed premises and that the nation's law schools, particularly the leading schools, should not abandon their clinical experiments without further efforts to help clinical legal education achieve its unfulfilled promises. The premises and assertions of this article are not new. Indeed, they are reiterations of a …

The Law School Of The University Of Michigan: 1859-1984: An Intellectual History, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The intellectual history of the University of Michigan Law School is recorded in the titles of contributions to legal literature published from its organization in October 1859 to the present. These writings demonstrate a continued commitment to legal scholarship and illustrate both the changing patterns in the subjects chosen for research and writing, and the methods utilized for treatment of the subjects.

Mediation And Negotiation: Learning To Deal With Psychological Responses, Andrew S. Watson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this essay I analyze some of the emotional events that occur during mediation and negotiation; the analysis may help us understand many of the problems that arise during the development and application of these legal practice skills. Following the analysis I present a few suggestions about how this teaching might best be accomplished.

The Nobel Prize For Law, Alfred F. Conard

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

There is no Nobel prize for law. This lack is not in itself a cause for concern, since the discipline of law is replete with its own rewards. But some cause for concern inheres in the implication that law provides very few examples of the kinds of contributions to humanity that merit Nobel prizes.