Law Commons^™

Practicing The Be Practice Ready: Making Competent Legal Researchers Using The New Process And Practice Method, Jason Murray

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Repealing The Statute Of Wizarding Secrecy In Legal Education, Mark Burge

Faculty Scholarship

In the fictional Harry Potter universe, J.K. Rowling has fashioned a parallel world based on our own, but with the fundamental difference of a separate magical society grafted onto it. In Rowling’s fictional version, the magical population lives among the non-magical Muggle population, but we Muggles are largely unaware of them. This secrecy is by elaborate design and was brought about by centuries-long hostility toward wizards by the non-magical majority. But what if secrecy is precisely the wrong approach? What if widespread wizard-Muggle collaboration were precisely the thing needed to address the enormous and pressing problems of the day?

The …

The 'Other' Market, Cody Jacobs

Faculty Scholarship

The hiring market for tenure-track non–legal writing positions is a world unto itself with its own lingo (i.e., “meat market” and “FAR form”), its own unwritten rules (i.e., “Do not have two first-year courses in your preferred teaching package.”), and carefully calibrated expectations for candidates and schools with respect to the process and timing of hiring. These norms and expectations are disseminated to the participants in this market through a relatively well-established set of feeder fellowships, visiting assistant professor programs, elite law schools, blogs, and academic literature on the subject.

But there is another market that goes on every year …

Tenure Matters: The Anatomy Of Tenure And Academic Survival In American Legal Education, Stephen J. Leacock

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal Education In Disruption: The Headwinds And Tailwinds Of Technology, Jon M. Garon

Faculty Scholarship

By harnessing improvements on communications and computational systems, law firms are producing a revolution in the practice of law. Self-help legal manuals have transformed into sophisticated interactive software; predictive coding can empower clients to receive sophisticated legal advice from a machine; socially mediated portals select among potential lawyers and assess the quality of the advice given; and virtual law firms threaten to distintermediate the grand edifices of twentieth century Big Law. These changes may profoundly restructure the legal practice, undermining the business model for many solo and small firm practices.

This paper focuses on the implications of these profound disruptive …

Law School Deans And The “New Normal.", Peter C. Alexander

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal Education At A Crossroads: Innovation, Integration, And Pluralism Required!, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez, Robert F. Seibel, Peggy Maisel, Karen Tokarz

Faculty Scholarship

We conclude in this Article that expanded practice-based, experiential education will provide foundational learning for the successful transition from law student to law practice, and that clinical education (in-house clinics, hybrid clinics, and externships) is crucial to the preparation of competent, ethical law graduates who are "ready to become professionals." We urge law schools to require each graduate complete a minimum of twenty-one experiential course credits over the three years of law school, including at least five credits in law clinics or externships. Twenty-one required credits (or roughly 25 percent of the eighty-three required credits for graduation from an American …

Legal Ethics For The Millennials Avoiding The Compromise Of Integrity, Helia Garrido Hull

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Professor Kingsfield In Conflict: Rhetorical Constructions Of The U.S. Law Professor Persona(E), Carlo A. Pedrioli

Faculty Scholarship

At least since the 1960s, a “‘two cultures’ phenomenon” has become quite apparent within the legal field in the United States. On one hand, some lawyers, usually those within the university, have been more academically oriented, and, on the other hand, other lawyers, usually those in legal practice or sitting on the bench, have been more pragmatically oriented. Problems arise when these two groups begin to talk differently from each other. In a way, the field of law has developed into at least two different legal professions, and, not surprisingly, scholars and practitioners have experienced tension because of this situation. …

Beyond Aristotle: Alternative Rhetorics And The Conflict Over The U.S. Law Professor Persona(E), Carlo A. Pedrioli

Faculty Scholarship

Prior research has sketched out a picture in which, at least since 1960 and continuing to the present, advocates of the differing personae, or roles, of the U.S. law professor have been sharply divided over such personae. Lawyers have advocated two major personae for the law professor to perform. One major persona is that of the scholar, who is a full-time teacher, researcher, and sometimes public servant, but who often has limited practical experience. The other major persona is that of the practitioner, who has a substantial number of years of practice at the bar and is prepared for hands-on …

Integrating "Alternative" Dispute Resolution Into Bankruptcy: As Simple (And Pure) As Motherhood And Apple Pie?, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

Today, there can be little doubt that “alternative” dispute resolution is anything but alternative. Nonetheless, many judges, lawyers (and law students) do not truly understand the dispute resolution processes that are available and how they should be used. In the shadow of the current economic crisis, this lack of knowledge is likely to have negative consequences, particularly in those areas of practice such as bankruptcy and foreclosure in which clients, lawyers, regulators, and courts work under pressure, often with inadequate time and financial resources to permit careful analysis of procedural options. Potential negative effects can include: (1) impairment of a …

Class, Classes, And Classic Race Baiting: What’S In A Definition?, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Amber Fricke

Faculty Scholarship

Overall, in this Article, we briefly lay out each of our challenges to Sander's arguments in Class in American Legal Education. In Part I, we first address the very problems that Sander's article highlights about the difficulties of defining class and SES, problems that may make classbased affirmative action programs less feasible and effective than Sander suggests. In so doing, we identify what we consider to be defects in Sander's class/SES groupings. We also highlight the complexities around class and race that already exist within law student populations, answering in part the important questions about to whom black law students …

Does Westlawnext Really Change Everything: The Implications Of Westlawnext On Legal Research, Ronald E. Wheeler

Faculty Scholarship

WestlawNext, Thomson Reuters’ newest electronic research service, has been around for over a year now. Ron Wheeler shares his thoughts on how this service may impact various aspects of legal research, and he suggests further study and research are necessary to fully evaluate and comprehend the system.

Teaching Employment Discrimination, Angela Onwuachi-Willig

Faculty Scholarship

In this Essay, I explore and discuss various methods for effectively teaching civil rights to this "post-racial" generation. Specifically, I examine the following four classroom challenges: (1) this generation's general lack of understanding about the historical context in which many civil rights laws-for purposes of this Essay, Title VII-arose; (2) the general lack of real-life work experience among many law students; (3) a growing decline in the racial and ethnic diversity of law school classes; and (4) the increasing complexities of discrimination in the workplace, including forms of discrimination such as proxy discrimination and demands for covering. 11 I analyze …

The Education And Licensing Of Attorneys And Advocates In South Africa, Peggy Maisel

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the current organization of the South African bar and describes the legal education system and the licensing requirements for both attorneys and advocates, as well as those for foreign attorneys. Interspersed throughout the article are discussions of the system’s strengths and weaknesses, particularly in light of the transformation required after the end of apartheid, including some of the key challenges still facing South Africa.

Cry Me A River: The Limits Of 'A Systemic Analysis Of Affirmative Action In American Law Schools', Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Kevin Johnson

Faculty Scholarship

This article is a response to Richard H. Sander's article, A Systemic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law Schools, which recently appeared in the Stanford Law Review. In his article, Professor Sander argues that affirmative action in law schools harms, rather than helps, African American law students by setting up African American students, who are out-matched by their white peers in terms of undergraduate grade point average and LSAT scores, for failure. Specifically, Professor Sander contends that because affirmative action enables African Americans to attend law schools for which they are unqualified, they are more likely to perform poorly …

Educating And Training Of Lawyers In Japan: A Critical Analysis, Setsuo Miyazawa

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Video-Conferencing Technology In Legal Education: A Practical Guide, Catherine Arcabascio

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the use of advanced computer technologies to offer distance learning programs in United States law schools. It begins with an explanation of the original distance learning methods and differentiates them from current methods that incorporate computer-based technologies. The article also explains the different types of technologies available for use in distance learning and describes the model currently in use at the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University ("Law Center"). Finally, it discusses the pedagogical and planning issues that arise when using this technology, the hardware that is required, and the costs associated with this type …

Learning Through Service In A Clinical Setting: The Effect Of Specialization On Social Justice & Skills Training, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez

Faculty Scholarship

Arguing against the trend toward specialization in clinical legal education, this essay addresses potential limitations of specialized legal clinics in furthering the dual mission of clinical legal education: social justice and skills training. It points out that specialized clinics limit access to justice by leaving the myriad needs of clients partially unmet. They limit students' learning about the complex needs of clients and students' ability to discover broad inequities in the legal system. Specialization makes it more difficult to train students to be creative problem solvers, and affects their professional socialization

Legal Education And The Reproduction Of The Elite In Japan, Setsuo Miyazawa

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mandatory Prelicensure Legal Internship: A Renewed Plea For Its Implementation In Light Of The Maccrate Report, Stephen R. Alton

Faculty Scholarship

Since its publication in 1992, virtually everyone who has any opinion about American legal education has been talking about the Mac- Crate Report. Relatively few among this multitude seem actually to have read the report itself. The purpose of this essay is to present an overview of this thoughtful document, along with some thoughts of my own regarding its implications for the future of legal education, particularly its implications for a mandatory prelicensure legal internship.

Skills For Diversity: Description, Evaluation And Recommendations, Eric S. Janus

Faculty Scholarship

In May 1991, the William Mitchell College of Law Faculty voted to offer to all first year students the following fall a program to assist students "in learning how to work effectively with diverse others in professional situations." The faculty directed that the program be supervised by a member of the full time faculty, and that reaction to the program be evaluated by the Curriculum Committee. During the Summer 1991, the dean appointed me to supervise the program, and I asked Assistant Dean Joan Bibelhausen to assist me. The two of us worked closely with an informal group called the …