Law Commons^™

Baker V. State And The Promise Of The New Judicial Federalism, Charles Baron, Lawrence Friedman

Charles H. Baron

In Baker v. State, the Supreme Court of Vermont ruled that the state constitution’s Common Benefits Clause prohibits the exclusion of same-sex couples from the benefits and protections of marriage. Baker has been praised by constitutional scholars as a prototypical example of the New Judicial Federalism. The authors agree, asserting that the decision sets a standard for constitutional discourse by dint of the manner in which each of the opinions connects and responds to the others, pulls together arguments from other state and federal constitutional authorities, and provides a clear basis for subsequent development of constitutional principle. This Article explores …

Chinese Women In Legal Education, Xiaonan Liu

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This paper examines the history and development of women entering legal education in China. Based on a survey, interviews, and archival research, this paper attempts to analyze Chinese women's current status in legal education and reaches the conclusion that although women have made significant gains in legal education, they are still facing gender discrimination and bias in the legal sector. The paper also looks into the reasons why women have in the past belonged to "the other" in the legal area, and whether there is any conflict between legal characteristics" and "feminine characteristics." It attempts to break the constraint caused …

Social Change Requires Civic Infrastructure, Harold A. Mcdougall Iii

School of Law Faculty Publications

Article explores how civil society might become sufficiently organized to hold business accountable beyond consumer choice, and government beyond merely voting.

Justice For All, Patricia Kay Oliver

Pepperdine Law Review

Fourteen years into her career at a top U.S. law firm, no one would have imagined that Patricia K. Oliver would walk away from her private practice to return to the world of her poverty-filled childhood in Compton. But in 2011, she left her practice to serve as the President and Executive Director of Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles (CLA-LA). This is the story of her journey, which she was honored to share at the Pepperdine Law Review's The Lawyer of the Future symposium.

Louis D. Brandeis And The Lawyer Advocacy System, Robert F. Cochran Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

The law practice of Louis Brandeis serves as an appropriate vehicle for examining both the history of the legal profession in the United States and the role of lawyers as philanthropists. Brandeis was one of America's most successful and innovative lawyers at the turn of the twentieth century, and serves as a role model for lawyers in his dedication to public service. Brandeis, of course, is best known for his work as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court; however, he is less well known for his work as a lawyer-though he practiced law for 40 years before he …

Reimagining Merit As Achievement, Aaron N. Taylor

AARON N TAYLOR

Higher education plays a central role in the apportionment of opportunities within the American meritocracy. Unfortunately, narrow conceptions of merit limit the extent to which higher education broadens racial and socioeconomic opportunity. This article proposes an admissions framework that transcends these limited notions of merit. This “Achievement Framework” would reward applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds who have achieved beyond what could have reasonably been expected. Neither race nor ethnicity is considered as part of the framework; however, its nuanced and contextual structure would ensure that racial and ethnic diversity is encouraged in ways that traditional class-conscious preferences do not. The overarching …

Four Ways To Fix Law School, Vincent Rougeau

Vincent D. Rougeau

No abstract provided.

Getting Real About Globalization And Legal Education: Potential And Perspectives For The U.S., Carole Silver

Carole Silver

This article addresses whether US law schools are preparing their JD students to work in the global environment that many - if not most – law graduates will encounter. It begins by considering the significance of globalization for legal education, drawing on research analyzing its influence on legal practice as well as on higher education. It then explores possible settings and opportunities for learning to work in a global environment. For the vast majority of students whose learning must occur in the US, the presence of international students in their law school offers the potential for creating a global learning …

Social Change Requires Civic Infrastructure, Harold A. Mcdougall Iii

Harold A. McDougall III

Article explores how civil society might become sufficiently organized to hold business accountable beyond consumer choice, and government beyond merely voting.

Gaining From The System: Lessons From The Law School Survey Of Student Engagement About How Students Benefit From Law School, Carole Silver, Lindsay Watkins, Louis Rocconi, Heather Haeger

Carole Silver

This paper considers the factors that influence law students’ assessment of their development professionally and academically during law school. It uses responses of 5,612 third- and fourth-year law students to the Law School Survey of Student Engagement to identify student activities and behaviors that influence professional and academic gains; individual and law school characteristics also are examined. Four aspects of the law school experience emerge as common influences of students’ professional and academic development.

When Socrates Meets Confucius: Teaching Creative And Critical Thinking Across Cultures Through Multilevel Socratic Method, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

Keeping It Real: Using Facebook Posts To Teach Professionalism And Professional Responsibility, Anna P. Hemingway

Anna P. Hemingway

A Strategy For Teaching Objectivity To The Domestic Relations Student: Utilizing Psychodrama To Explore Attorney Empathy Toward Improving Family Law Outcomes, Bruce L. Beverly

Bruce L. Beverly

The basic domestic relations law course is often taught by the casebook method, with little reference to actual underlying human drama. In order to produce effective advocates, it is necessary for student to be brought out of the sterile case recitation model and into a role where the student experiences, in a controlled and directed fashion, some of the hardships faced by the players in a family law case. This article proposes that, in line with new emphasis on experiential learning and alternate learning styles, one might employ a psychodramatic approach to teaching the domestic relations course, in order to …