Legal Profession Commons^™

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Even Heroes Need To Talk: Psycho-Legal Soft Spots In The Field Of Asylum Lawyering, Tehila Sagy

ExpressO

This research identifies emotional pressure points pertaining to the asylum seeking client’s narration of her traumatic past persecution in the process of preparing the asylum claim. A typology of psycholegal soft-spots was offered, which includes the potential impact of the work done by the asylum seeking client and her lawyer on both parties. Interviews with Bay Area lawyers who represented asylum seekers were conducted in order to assess the level of asylum lawyer’s awareness to special needs dictated by the psycho-legal soft spots during asylum representation. Lawyers were asked about how they handle those issues and about training and support …

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Price, Path & Pride: Third-Party Closing Opinion Practice Among U.S. Lawyers (A Preliminary Investigation), Jonathan C. Lipson

ExpressO

This article presents the first in-depth exploration of third-party closing opinions, a common but curious – and potentially troubling -- feature of U.S. business law practice. Third-party closing opinions are letters delivered at the closing of most large transactions by the attorney for one party (e.g., the borrower) to the other party (e.g., the lender) offering limited assurance that the transaction will have legal force and effect.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of legal opinions are delivered every week. Yet, lawyers often complain that they create needless risk and cost, and produce little benefit. Closing opinions thus pose a basic question: …

Using Our Brains: What Cognitive Science Teaches About Teaching Law Students To Be Ethical, Professionally Responsible Lawyers, Alan M. Lerner

ExpressO

Throughout our lives, below the level of our consciousness, each of us develops powerful values, intuitions, expectations, and needs that powerfully affect both our perceptions and our judgments. Placed in situations in which we feel threatened, or which implicate our values, our brains, relying on those implicitly learned, emotionally weighted, memories, can "downshift," to primitive, self-protective problem solving techniques - fight or flight. Because these processes operate below the radar of our consciousness, we react without reflection or the opportunity for interdiction. Thus, it may be that automatic, “emotional” reaction, rather than thoughtful, reasoned analysis leads to our responses to …