Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Uncertainty Revisited: Legal Prediction And Legal Postdiction, Ehud Guttel, Alon Harel

Michigan Law Review

Legal scholarship, following rational-choice theory, has traditionally treated uncertainty as a single category. A large body of experimental studies, however, has established that individuals treat guesses concerning the future differently than guesses concerning the past. Even where objective probabilities and payoffs are identical, individuals are much more willing to predict a future event (and are more confident in the accuracy of their predictions) than they are willing to postdict a past event (and are also less confident in the accuracy of their postdiction). For example, individuals are more willing to bet on the results of a future die toss than …

Practice Makes Perfect? An Empirical Study Of Claim Construction Reversal Rates In Patent Cases, David L. Schwartz

Michigan Law Review

This Article examines whether U.S. district court judges improve their skills at patent claim construction with experience, including the experience of having their own cases reviewed by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In theory, higher courts teach doctrine to lower courts via judicial decisions, and lower courts learn from these decisions. This Article tests the teaching-and-learning premise on the issue of claim construction in the realities of patent litigation. While others have shown that the Federal Circuit reverses a large percentage of lower court claim constructions, no one has analyzed whether judges with more claim construction appeal …

". . . See Erie.": Critical Study Of Legal Authority, Kris Franklin

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

Good citation requires critical analysis because well-supposed legal analysis requires a layered understanding of how legal authority may be used in different ways. Simultaneously, it demands good judgment in making the best decisions about how to introduce and employ the relevant cases on a particular case. Teaching how to cite legal authorities includes framing because all legal authorities are potential tools for argument. In deciding whether and how to deploy cases, statutes, and other forms of legal authority, advocates must resolve two interrelated questions in rapid sequence:

1. Can I frame or characterize the authority in question in a particular …

Putting It All Together: Law Schools' Role In Improving Appellate Practice, Stella J. Phillips

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

Lawyers make four critical mistakes in current appellate practice. First, many appellants' lawyers do not seem to understand that only some orders may be appealed. Second, appellants often lose their appeals because of the issues about which they argue have not been preserved in the lower court for appellate review. Third, many appellants are unsuccessful because they frame their argument without reference to the appropriate standard of review. Finally, the pressure of client’s expectations and filing deadlines often leads lawyers to become careless when preparing their briefs.

Appellants must know and adhere to court rules about the content, composition, and …

C. English, Ed., Essays In The History Of Canadian Law, Volume Ix: Two Islands: Newfoundland And Prince Edward Island, R Blake Brown

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History has played a vital role in encouraging legal history research in Canada, and one of its most important programs has been the Essays in the History of Canadian Law series. Canada lacks a legal history journal, but since 1981 the Osgoode Society has provided an opportunity for scholars to publish their work in one of its collections. Two Islands is the ninth such edited volume by the Osgoode Society that bears the title Essays in the History of Canadian Law. The first two volumes, published in 1981 and 1983, were general collections containing …

Legal Writing: Did Harvard Get It Right?, Laurel Currie Oates

Mercer Law Review

For most law students, there is a moment when, in frustration or exhaustion, they throw up their hands and scream, "There must be a better way." While many of the cases in the casebooks are interesting, learning the law one case at a time seems, at best, inefficient, and at worst, just plain stupid. Wouldn't it be much easier, and better, if law schools used the same pedagogy that is used in many other disciplines: reading assignments, lectures, and exams that test whether students have learned the information set out in those textbooks and lectures?

When students question law school …

The Google Dilemma, James Grimmelmann

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Seventh Annual John Marshall Law School International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law:Summary Of Bench Memorandum, 26 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 259 (2008), Robin Ficke, James Lai, Steven Tseng, Panagiota Kelali

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Petitioner, Alex Romero (“Romero”), appeals to the Marshall Supreme Court from an order granting summary judgment in favor of Respondent, Windbucket Entertainment, LLC (“Windbucket”). Romero’s lawsuit alleged that Windbucket and a third party (not a party to the present appeal) were liable to him for invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion. Romero then sought discovery sanctions against Windbucket for violations of Marshall Rule of Civil Procedure 37. The issues in the case concern whether a subscriber to an Internet-based, multiplayer computer game can state a valid invasion of privacy claim against the game’s publisher, when liability is based on …

Wikipedia Made Law? The Federal Judicial Citation Of Wikipedia, 26 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 229 (2008), Amber Lynn Wagner

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

In this comment the author examines the new and growing body of federal opinions citing Wikipedia an authoritative source. The comment details how Wikipedia articles are generated, and the ease with which anyone can edit them, to illustrate their shortcomings as sources for making judicial determinations. The author provides examples of federal cases where judges rely on Wikipedia to define terms ranging from colloquial phrases to medical equipment. The author points out that in spite of several academic institutions and the U.S. Trade and Patent Office banning it as a source, federal judges continue to rely on Wikipedia in their …

The Twenty-Seventh Annual John Marshall Law School International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Brief For The Petitioner, 26 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 283 (2008), David Caras, Jennifer Robbins, Zach Rudisill

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Seventh Annual John Marshall Law School International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Brief For The Respondent, 26 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 321 (2008), Adam Powell, Erin Blake, Kris Kokotayo

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Sixth Annual John Marshall International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Bench Memorandum, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 305 (2008), Leslie Ann Reis, David E. Sorkin, Panagiota Kelali, Jessica Diehl, Carlos A. Encinas, Matthew Hector, Gina Spada, Steven Tseng, Priya Krishnamoorthy Venkat

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Sixth Annual John Marshall International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Brief For The Petitioner, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 337 (2008), Joshua Deitz, Kakuti Lin, Lindsey Shinn

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

International Legal Practice Involving England And New York Following Adoption Of The United Kingdom Legal Services Act Of 2007, Sydney M. Iii Cone

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article deals with the regulation of legal services in England and New York in the context of, first, multidisciplinary practice ("MDP") and, second, permitted investment in legal practice. The article summarizes both the background of and potential differences between the regulations in those two jurisdictions, and comments on the possible reconciliation of those differences. Because, chronologically, New York was the first of the two jurisdictions under consideration to adopt rules on MDP, the New York rules will be considered first, and the more recent statute, known as the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007 (hereinafter "U.K. Act"), will then …

The Core Values Of The Legal Profession For Lawyers Today And Tomorrow, Jonathan Goldsmith

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This Article began life as a speech I gave on the fifth anniversary of the Flemish Bar in Belgium (Orde Van Flaamse Balies) on 24 May 2007. It addresses the changes which are taking place in Europe and elsewhere in the world in relation to the regulation of lawyers, particularly insofar as the core values of the legal profession are concerned.

Introduction, Richard Marsico

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Re Cardinal Health, Inc. Securities Litigation, Lucas T. Charleston

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Implementing A New City Charter: Thoughts On My Tenure As Corporation Counsel In A Time Of Transition, O. Peter Sherwood

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reflections On My Years As Corporation Counsel, Peter L. Zimroth

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Response: Why William Nelson’S Analysis Of The Law Department 1946–1965 Is Wrong, Paul A. Crotty

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taking The Offensive: New York City’S Affirmative Suits, Gail Rubin

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The History Of The New York City Law Department: Fighting For The City By William E. Nelson, Ross Sandler

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Between Finance And Intellectual Property: Trade Secrets, Hedge Funds, And Section 13(F) Of The Exchange Act, Erin E. Martin

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States V. Grier, Lyndsay V. Ruotolo

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law And Values—Version ’08 (Not Necessarily An Upgrade), Nadine Strossen

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Giuliani Years: Corporation Counsel 1994–1997, Paul A. Crotty

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Institutional Reform Litigation, Leonard Koerner

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Defending The Historian’S Art: A Response To Paul A. Crotty’S Attack On Fighting For The City, William E. Nelson

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Podcasts, Powerpoint, And Pedagogy: Using Technology To Teach The Part-Time Student, Joyce D. Saltalamachia

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sim City: Teaching “Thinking Like A Lawyer” In Simulation-Based Clinical Courses, Kris Franklin

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.