Law Commons^™

Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It’S Intended To Help, And Why Universities Won’T Admit It (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Mismatch is one of the most important books about law and public policy published recently. The authors, Richard H. Sander and Stuart Taylor, Jr., offer a provocative and deeply researched conclusion: empirical evidence strongly suggests that affirmative action in the admission of African-Americans and Hispanics to selective colleges and law schools is more harmful than helpful.

The problem of underrepresentation of African-Americans and Hispanics in the American legal profession is a continuing problem. But the work of Richard Sander strongly indicates that relying on the power of affirmative action has generated deleterious effects for those this “solution” was designed to …

George P. Fletcher And Steve Sheppard, American Law In A Global Context: The Basics. Oxford And New York, Oxford University Press 2005 (Book Review), Janet Stearns

Articles

No abstract provided.

Observations On The Evolution Of Minorities In The Law: From Law School To Practice, Charles E. Cantú

Faculty Articles

The St. Mary’s University School of Law has a rich history in promoting the representation of minorities in its faculty and student body. Moreover, its history in this area was a tradition long before the country found its social conscience, and before the American government, prodded by the civil rights movement, urged institutions of higher learning to engage in affirmative action. St. Mary’s and Hispanics led the way in this national movement. This year, as St. Mary’s University School of Law celebrates its seventy-fifth year, it is a perfect time to reflect upon the evolution of minorities in the Law …

The Word And The Law, By Milner S. Ball (Book Review), Emily A. Hartigan

Faculty Articles

Milner Ball’s The Word and the Law has become a widely quoted work, and has already taken its place in the continuing tale of law and religion. The text presents itself in typical Ball fashion: richly and eloquently written, densely noted with weighty references, alive with stories and the voices of those with whom Ball has conversed.

A striking innovation in this book is Ball’s creation of a space in his text for the stories of those who are both his peers and not his peers, giving over the “pulpit” to women, edgy Jews, and Native Americans, all of whom …

Modern Legal Times: Making A Professional Legal Culture, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Lawyers’ belief in their professionalism was fostered by the creation and development of modern legal institutions. Law schools, bar associations, organizations like the American Law Institute, as well as the system of legal directories, the regional case reporter system, and continuing legal education groups all contributed greatly to the making of a distinctly professional culture of law in America. These institutions prospered in part because of their ideological fit with the professionalizing ethos embodied in Christopher Columbus Langdell’s statement that “law is a science.”

Legal institutions, then, must be evaluated through the ideological lens which encouraged and fostered the notion …

Book Review. The Magic Mirror: Law In American History By Kermit L. Hall, Michael Grossberg

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Dutiful Justice (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Sheldon Novick’s biography, Honorable Justice: The Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes, is a traditional biography of one of the most important public figures in the United States since the Civil War.

Although the author disclaims it, Honorable Justice is a defense of Holmes. Novick writes of some of Holmes’ faults, but too often Holmes’ human imperfections are defended as strengths. It appears that Novick was trying hard to defend Holmes from late twentieth century critiques. This defense of Holmes seems a misguided attempt to re(de)ify Holmes to a group of readers which will likely include a large proportion of skeptical, …

Just A Bigger Fish (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Shark Tank: Greed, Politics, and the Collapse of Finley, Kumble, One of America’s Largest Law Firms is a non-fiction potboiler written by Kim Isaac Eisler. The story is generally about the decline and fall of an institution instrumental to capitalism that prospered during much of the 1980s. In particular, it is about the decline and fall of men whose hubris and greed make the decline and fall so satisfying to read.

While it would be easy to dismiss the demise of Finley, Kumble, because it was not an old, established “white shoe” law firm, or to analogize it to the …

On The Transformation Of The Legal Profession: The Advent Of Temporary Lawyering, Vincent R. Johnson, Virginia Coyle

Faculty Articles

The structure of the legal profession and the nature of law practice have changed dramatically during the past quarter of a century. Indeed, the transformation has been so thorough that it is difficult to say with confidence which of the many developments has had the greatest impact on the culture of law practice. The growth in the number of attorneys and law firms has been exponential; women and minorities comprise increasingly larger percentages of law school graduates, practitioners, and the academic bar; law firms are taking on greater and greater numbers of associates; starting salaries in major firms now approach …