Law Commons^™

Developing Career Paths In Legal Academia: Prospects And Challenges, Christian N. Okeke

Publications

Presentation given at the Academic & Career Advancement Symposium (ACAS) 2019 Held at the Faculty of Law, Enugu State University of Science & Technology, Friday, 5 July 2019.

Pulling Back The Curtain: Implicit Bias In The Law School Dean Search Process, Michele Benedetto Neitz

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This Article stems from the author’s experience chairing multiple dean searches and research interest in the existence, genesis, and effects of implicit bias. Part II of this Article will review the role of a law school dean, with special consideration of the ways the Great Recession and its outcomes transformed the role of the dean. Part III will describe the typical dean search process and evaluate decanal diversity statistics to determine which candidates are selected for these powerful roles in today’s law schools. Part IV will introduce the concept of implicit bias, specifically focusing on ingroup favoritism. This part will …

Respect For Community Narratives Of Environmental Injustice: The Dignity Right To Be Heard And Believed, Helen H. Kang

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Part I of this article covers the history of the shipyard at Hunters Point in San Francisco and, as told through stories and voices of residents, the disregard government agencies overseeing the cleanup showed the community. Part I also discusses the massive cleanup fraud that has prolonged the cleanup of nuclear contamination at the shipyard. Part II of the article connects environmental injustice storytelling to the dignity of communities overburdened by pollution. Part Ill discusses how advocates and teachers, in particular professors of environmental clinics, can better integrate these narratives in environmental justice advocacy and teaching, in the classroom and …

A Year Of Reading, Jennifer Babcock

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How reading improves legal writing.

Master Gardeners, Kathleen Morris

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In legal education, we tend to focus first and foremost on producing graduates who can effectively serve and thrive in the private for-profit, non-profit, and federal government economies. There are pressing reasons to maintain these priorities. And yet, assuming legal educators come to believe -- as Schragger has (and I have) -- that cities belong "at the center of economic and constitutional thinking," it stands to reason that law schools should find a way to place cities among the subjects at the center of legal educational thinking. Now is the time to consider how law schools can help raise up …

The Best Public Defenders Are Anarchists, Rachel A. Van Cleave, Peter Keane

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After decades in criminal defense and in legal education, Golden Gate University School of Law Dean Emeritus Peter Keane is retiring. In addition to serving as dean and leading the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, Keane has also taken on leadership roles with the State Bar and with numerous tasks forces and commissions. He sat down recently with Rachel Van Cleave, the current dean of GGU Law, to reflect on his career.

Law Schools And Learning Outcomes: Developing A Coherent, Cohesive, And Comprehensive Law School Curriculum, Anthony S. Niedwiecki

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This Article will detail a process that law schools can use to comply with the ABA Standards requiring schools develop their learning outcomes for the entire institution, academic programs, and courses. At the same time, this process can be used as a roadmap for curricular review and planning. As an example, this Article will use the steps that The John Marshall Law School took to review and change its professional skills curriculum. Part I will outline the accreditation requirements for developing and publishing learning outcomes. Part 11 of the Article will provide an overview of the process of curricular planning …

Who Should Be Our Moral Compass Now?, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers conducted a survey of over 27,000 lawyers across the country about the qualities, skills and competencies necessary for new lawyers. Almost 73 percent said having a "strong moral compass" is necessary for a lawyer to be successful in the short term. Only 17 (out of 147) other skills, competencies and characteristics, received a higher percentage of votes. Included among these were "treat others with courtesy and respect" (91.9 percent), act with "integrity and trustworthiness" (92.3 percent), and "honor commitments" (93.9 percent).

The full results of the survey have not been published, but were presented to a small …

Letter To The Editor, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

Letter to the Editor of the New York Times in response to the articles "College for the Masses" and "Push, Don't Crush, the Students" in the April 26, 2015 edition of the New York Times.

When Experiential Learning Takes Center Stage - Not Yet, Wes R. Porter

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While experiential learning for decades has been part of the law school experience, it was not the part traditionally portrayed as integral to a student’s path to becoming an attorney. Law schools today, however, appear to celebrate and even extoll experiential learning and the once isolated pockets of law schools which brought it into the mainstream. Unfortunately, closer inspection reveals that the experiential learning movement in law school may be more marketing and spin than an honest shift in pedagogy, curriculum and culture. The next step for experiential learning may be the most difficult: progressing beyond the marketing doublespeak and …

Notes From The Field: The Role Of The Lawyer In Grassroots Policy Advocacy, Hina B. Shah

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In the past decade, domestic workers have built a national, grassroots, worker-led movement to address the systemic exclusion of domestic workers from basic wage and hour laws. They have been widely successful in the last three years with the passage of a state domestic worker bill of rights in several states, the adoption by the International Labour Organization of the Convention and Recommendation Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, and federal policy changes by the Department of Labor. Building visibility through worker leadership and broad-based coalitions, the domestic work campaigns have succeeded in gaining fairer treatment under the law. Behind …

The Cambodian Law Faculty: Blueprint For A Curriculum Rich In Research And Experiential Education, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

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Experiential education. Rigorous research and writing. Scholarly engagement. A window onto the ASEAN nations and beyond. These should be the hallmarks of today’s law faculty in Cambodia. The objective is to provide a professional education for the future thinkers and leaders of a nation in the throes of rapid development.

A New Day: Prime Time To Advance Afghan Clinical Education, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

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In a previous issue of the Journal, Richard Grimes discussed the role that legal clinics can play in facilitating access to justice in a post-­‐conflict society, such as Afghanistan’s, wracked by decades of civil war, external military intervention, and consequential regime changes. 1 ASIAN J. LEGAL EDUC. 71 (2014). As foreign military forces withdraw, this Central Asian nation faces renewed security concerns and uncertainty about its politico-­‐economic future. Yet, there is now a critical mass of law and Shari’a professors trained in the principles of experiential education, a few legal clinics are in place, and many deans are keen on …

Prepared For Practice? Developing A Comprehensive Assessment Plan For A Law School Professional Skills Program, Anthony S. Niedwiecki

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Part I of this Article will outline the accreditation requirements for developing and publishing learning outcomes. Part II will provide an overview of the process of curricular planning in light of the new ABA Standards. Part III will explain the steps schools can take to develop learning outcomes and map those across the curriculum. Part IV will discuss the elements of what makes an assessment plan effective, with a focus on the best ways to use formative assessment to improve the metacognitive skills of the students. Part V will detail the approach The John Marshall Law School took to improve …

Letter To The Editor, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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No abstract provided.

Learning From The Hope Of Our Veterans, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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I have previously written about the valuable perspective student veterans bring with them to law school and how their experiences and knowledge can enrich classroom discussion about the rule of law and democracy. More recently, I have been impressed with what I am learning about both the training military personnel undergo and their deployment experiences that can teach us all valuable lessons about resilience, grit and perseverance. Veterans also have a lot to teach us about hope. While preparing for combat is not at all the same as preparing to be a lawyer. there are similar mindsets and approaches that …

Viewpoint: Want To Learn To Think Like A Lawyer? It's 'Elementary'!, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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Legal education is often described as teaching students "how to think like a lawyer." Indeed, most lawyers will agree that law school pedagogy altered their intellectual approach to problems, arguments and analytical challenges. However, most attempts to define the old saw "think like a lawyer" prove elusive. Maria Konnikova's book, "Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes," effectively captures what it means to think like a lawyer in a way that is both meaningful and relevant to the transformations occurring in legal education and in the practice of law. The book contains some great lessons for cultivating the habits of …

Legal Education Takes Mentoring, Modeling And Trust, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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As the new academic year began. I decided to meet individually with each and every one of our first year students. I believe that this is one effective way to convey to students that the faculty, staff, alumni and other students - all members of our community - are committed to their success. In addition, my colleagues and I deeply appreciate that very soon these first year students will be our colleagues in the legal community - what an awesome opportunity and :responsibility to be able to cultivate the qualities and traits that we value in our future peers. I …

Clinical Legal Education In Afghanistan: Next Steps, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

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Law and Shari’a faculties in Afghanistan now have a critical mass of professors trained in the principles of interactive teaching and experiential education. Many deans and other administrators are keen on the idea of hosting a legal clinic or an innovative educational model. Piloting a clinical program requires a team of junior and senior faculty members who remain in continuous and long-term contact with their peers and practitioners across the nation, and with clinicians in the Global South and North. This should include a partnership with a reputable law school abroad for study, clinical practice and clinic tutorials; assistance from …

Engaging Work, Working While Engaged, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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Several recent items have led me to reflect on the meaning of work. Law students often ask my advice about their careers, and I typically ask them what they enjoy. “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day” is one of my favorite quotes. Therefore, Gordon Marino’s piece in the New York Times, Sunday Review, A Life Beyond ‘Do What You Love’ (May 18, 2014), gave me pause. Marino questions whether the advice of do what you love is really sound advice, as well as whether it is advice only for the elite who might have the luxury …

Empathetic Advocacy - Law Schools And Our Veterans, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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GGU Law Dean Rachel Van Cleave discusses how to best advocate for veterans attending law school.

Citator Exercise, Jodi Collova

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This "Citator Exercise" was included in the American Association of Law Libraries 2014 National Research Teach-In Instructional Resources Kit. The entire Kit is available here: http://www.aallnet.org/sections/rips/teachin/2014.html.

The Courage Of Law Students, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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The beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions, resolve and optimism. Thus, it is fitting that the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools meets at the beginning of the year. This year, law school deans, faculty and staff gathered to discuss the theme "Looking Forward: Legal Education in the 21st Century." Given the significant challenges facing law schools and the legal profession, many of the sessions focused on how law schools can better support, train and prepare students to ensure that they have fulfilling careers. Many sessions explored at a deeper level how our …

Returning To The Basics: Rethinking The Meaning Of “Practice” In Law School, Reichi Lee

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Legal education is in crisis and everyone is talking about it. When the economy took a nosedive, legal jobs were no long-er handed out on a silver platter and law firms began to balk at the expense of training lawyers. You can’t surf the internet without reading yet another blogger’s lament on ‘what law school does not teach you’ or why one ‘should not go to law school.’ Those forces, coupled with the sky-rocketing costs of legal education, have even the United States President (himself a former law professor) suggesting that law school should be shortened to two years. In …

Beyond The Fakultas' Four Walls: Linking Education, Practice, And The Legal Profession, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

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More than fifty years after the first post-colonial Southeast Asian regional conference on legal education, commentators and educators do not necessarily agree on the appropriate curricular balance between theory, doctrine, and practice, or what role the government should play in directing the orientation of legal studies and careers in Indonesia’s law schools. The author argues in favor of legal education that is rich in experiential learning and integrates the involvement of practitioners and doctrinal faculty. This objective may be a relatively new reality in Indonesia, but also one that needs revitalization in other Southeast Asian nations and beyond. This article …

Golden Gate University's 14 New Year's Resolutions For Law Schools In 2014, Wes R. Porter

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New Year's resolution-making isn't just for people, but should be a requirement for higher education, particularly law schools, according to Professor Wes Porter, Director of Golden Gate University's Law Litigation Center. "Law schools that continually embrace fresh teaching techniques graduate the smartest students possible," says Professor Porter. To help law schools kick-start 2014, he offers 14 New Year's Resolutions for Law Schools.

Your Career: A Path To Scholarship, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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Golden Gate Dean Rachel Van Cleave interviews Professor Benedetta Faedi Duramy about her journey through academia.

Viewpoint: Coming Together, Crafting Solutions, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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I have previously called for greater collaboration among a broad variety of lawyers to address the critical issues facing legal education and the legal profession. Private lawyers, government attorneys, public interest lawyers, legal educators, and even law school regulators must come together at the table for the betterment of the profession. Last week, two conferences made some initial and very positive strides in this direction. The NALP Foundation and West LegalEdcenter held a one-day forum, Tomorrow's Law Practice: A Forum on the Market, Demand and Opportunities for Lawyers; and the Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Initiative held its annual conference entitled, Connecting …

Value(S) Of Lawyers, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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Top concerns facing legal educators and the legal profession today are the cost and quality of a legal education and the job market for graduates. President Barack Obama's comments in August about whether law school should be shortened to two years have generated healthy discussions about the trifecta we are grappling with: cost, quality and employment. These are critical issues. However, it is important not to lose sight of both the value of the legal profession as well as our fundamental values as lawyers and what model might best support these.

Law Schools’ Untapped Resources: Using Advocacy Professors To Achieve Real Change In Legal Education, Wes R. Porter

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If the current law school model is dilapidated, then the remodel requires more than a face-lift; it requires real structural and architectural changes. Legal education (finally) must cater to the needs of students. By most accounts, that means teaching students the knowledge, skills, and values required to serve clients and solve problems. However, to reinvent legal education in a meaningful way, law schools must involve and elevate their former second-class citizens on the faculty: advocacy professors, clinicians, and legal writing instructors. These faculty members already teach, and have long taught, in the way that would represent real change in law …