Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Legal Writing Scholarship, Making Strange, And The Aesthetics Of Legal Rhetoric, Jack L. Sammons

Mercer Law Review

Some of the central issues addressed at the 2009 Mercer Law Review Symposium "Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of the Legal Writing Institute" involved questions about the scholarship potential of the discipline of legal writing. Those on the fringe of the academy, as legal writing professors are now and as clinicians were in the 1960s, often offer the clearest perspective on it, and in the case of the legal academy, on the practice itself. What scholarship, I wondered as I listened to the speakers, would best take advantage of this privileged perspective and of legal writing's necessary focus …

A Writing Life, Linda H. Edwards

Mercer Law Review

This Essay is written on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Legal Writing Institute (LWI), celebrated at the Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law, the LWI's current home. In a sense the Essay is retrospective, for it is written to honor the scholars whose work has moved us toward a vision of legal writing scholarship and all it can offer. Many of those experienced and inspiring scholars have kindly offered their advice for inclusion in this Essay. That advice is probably the most important content included here, and it is placed, appropriately, at the end of …

Reflections, Remembrances, And Mimesis: One Person's View Of The Significance Of The 25th Anniversary Of The Founding Of The Legal Writing Institute, David T. Ritchie

Mercer Law Review

I. INTRODUCTION

In a planning meeting for the 2009 Mercer Law Review Symposium celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Legal Writing Institute (LWI), a colleague of mine asked what I thought the significance of that event was to legal education. Not having a pithy and erudite answer ready at hand, I simply said "considerable." This answer seemed to me self-evident; the LWI had, after all, changed the way legal writing is taught in American law schools. It had also worked hard-along with the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD)-to increase the pay and status of legal writing …

Stem Cell Research And Cloning For Human Reproduction: An Analysis Of The Laws, The Direction In Which They May Be Heading In Light Of Recent Developments, And Potential Constitutional Issues, Catherine D. Payne

Mercer Law Review

I. INTRODUCTION

The world is continuously changing before our eyes. New scientific and technological developments are constantly being made. Not surprisingly, these changes usually occur well before the law is ready to respond and accommodate them. One of the most recent developments that will soon be pushing the limits of the law is in the world of science. Researchers around the world have been independently working to see if they can unlock the secrets to the development of reproductive cells. Ultimately, the research teams are hoping to learn what causes stem cells to differentiate into sperm and egg cells. One …

Legal Writing: The View From Within, J. Christopher Rideout, Jill J. Ramsfield

Mercer Law Review

"[Wiriting is an act of identity . . . ."

We have seen that law professors systematically focus their students' attention on layers of textual and legal authority when deciphering the conflict stories at the heart of legal cases. But what happens to the people in these stories? What aspects of their identities and lives remain important when refracted through this legal lens? We can ask as well: What aspects of the law students' and professors' lives and experiences are considered to be salient during the conversation?

Why is writing hard to do? For lots of reasons, most people would …

Introduction To The Legal Writing Institute: Celebrating 25 Years Of Teaching & Scholarship, Kristin B. Gerdy

Mercer Law Review

The Legal Writing Institute (LWI), which was founded in 2004, is a professional organization dedicated to improving legal writing through teaching, discussion, and scholarship about legal writing, analysis, and research, both in law practice and in the academy. LWI boasts a membership of more than 2500, including members from more than thirty-eight countries, and it is the second largest organization of law professors in the United States. LWI also sponsors Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute, a peer-reviewed scholarly journal established in 1988 as a forum for exchange of scholarly ideas and opinions about legal writing.

As …

Plenary I: The Historical Perspective Featuring Laurel Currie Oates, Jill J. Ramsfield & Mary Beth Beazley With Mary Garvey Algero As Moderator, And Plenary Ii: Teaching Marilyn R. Walter, M.H. Sam Jacobson & Carol Mccrehan Parker With Robin Boyle As Moderator

Mercer Law Review

The Legal Writing Institute: Celebrating 25 Years of Teaching & ScholarshipA Symposium of the Mercer Law Review
November 6, 2009Morning Session

Jill J. Ramsfield, Introduction: J. Christopher Rideout, Luncheon Speaker; And Kristin B. Gerdy & Pamela Lysaght, Presentation Of Mary S. Lawrence Award

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Curse Of Tradition In The Law School Classroom: What Casebook Professors Can Learn From Those Professors Who Teach Legal Writing, M.H. Sam Jacobson

Mercer Law Review

The typical law school pedagogy suffers from a ham butt problem. As the story goes, a woman was preparing a ham dinner when she carefully cut off the ham butt before putting the ham in the oven to bake. A friend asked her why she did that. She said she did it because her mother did it. Why did her mother do it? She had no idea. So she asked her mother, why do you cut off the ham butt before putting it in the oven? Her mother said she did it because her mother did it. What was the …

Plenary Iii: Scholarship Featuring Linda Berger, Linda H. Edwards & Terrill Pollman With Kirsten Davis As Moderator; And Plenary Iv: Program Design Featuring Suzanne R. Rowe, Susan Hanley Duncan, & Eric B. Easton With Brooke Bowman As Moderator

Mercer Law Review

The Legal Writing Institute: Celebrating 25 Years of Teaching & Scholarship

A Symposium of the Mercer Law Review November 6, 2009

Afternoon Session