Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Futures Of Law, Lawyers, And Law Schools: A Dialogue, Sameer M. Ashar, Benjamin H. Barton, Michael J. Madison, Rachel F. Moran

Articles

On April 19 and 20, 2023, Professors Bernard Hibbitts and Richard Weisberg convened a conference at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law titled “Disarmed, Distracted, Disconnected, and Distressed: Modern Legal Education and the Unmaking of American Lawyers.” Four speakers concluded the event with a spirited conversation about themes expressed during the proceedings. Distilling a lively two days, they asked: what are the most critical challenges now facing US legal education and, by extension, lawyers and the communities they serve? Their agreements and disagreements were striking, so much so that Professors Hibbitts and Weisberg invited those four to extend their …

Listening To Our Students: Fostering Resilience And Engagement To Promote Culture Change In Legal Education, Ann N. Sinsheimer, Omid Fotuhi

Articles

In this Article, we describe a dynamic program of research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law that uses mindset to promote resilience and engagement in law students. For the last three years, we have used tailored, well-timed, psychological interventions to help students bring adaptive mindsets to the challenges they face in law school. The act of listening to our students has been the first step in designing interventions to improve their experience, and it has become a kind of intervention in itself. Through this work, we have learned that simply asking our law students about their experiences and …

A Systematic Review Of Information Seeking Behavior & Information Needs In Female Lawyers, Jibran Jamshed Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to determine the legal information-seeking behavior of female lawyers. The study explores the legal information needs, methods, and barriers faced by female lawyers while seeking legal information.

Methodology: In this quantitative study survey design is used. The population of this study consists of female lawyers from which a sample (n=305) is taken. A structured questionnaire was distributed among the female lawyers of Punjab province in Pakistan. The questionnaire collected data regarding demographic information, information-seeking behaviors, information needs, and barriers faced by female lawyers while seeking legal information. SPSS (Statistical Package …

Women In Law: Exploring Expectations For Women In A Man's Profession, Taylor Carroll, Jacqueline M. Zalewski Dr.

Anthropology & Sociology Student Work

Over the winter break I read the following about gender inequality in the workforce: (a) Gender Trials by Jennifer L. Pierce, (b) Women in Engineering: Gender Power and Workplace Culture by Judith S. McIlwee and J. Gregg Robinson, in preparation for an independent research project on Women in Law. I am planning to do interviews with several female attorneys that I have contacted via the West Chester University Alumni Association. These attorneys will be surveyed about their experiences with pursuing law as undergraduates, Law School students, and as licensed attorney. Working with Dr. Zalewski, I will then compile the data …

Access Law Schools & Diversifying The Profession, Deseriee A. Kennedy

Scholarly Works

Lawyers do not reflect the racial diversity in the United States. The legal profession continues to struggle with ways to achieve and maintain racial diversity. Law schools play a critical role in the path to practice, and therefore an examination of the barriers to the profession they created is warranted. This essay critiques the over-reliance on standardized testing in law school admissions and advocates for an open admissions process that prioritizes racial and academic diversity. It suggests that the benefits of minimizing the role of standardized tests far outweigh any perceived costs in legal education. This essay concludes that the …

Innovation Tournament, Wendy Moore, Allison Reeve, Andre Davison, Martin Korn, Erik Adams

Presentations

Innovation tournaments are opportunities to leverage the expertise of a group to come up with solutions that can address a particular challenge. First implemented within corporations to generate creative input among employees, innovation tournaments have now crossed into other sectors, such as academia, the tech world, and the AALL Annual Meeting & Conference. Simply put, innovation is change that adds value, and AALL members are doing this every day—this is an opportunity to showcase their ideas.

For the culmination of the tournament, finalists will present their innovation plans to the audience, which will include a special panel of judges. At …

Data Visualization: Tips & Tricks, Amy Taylor, Carol A. Watson

Presentations

Data visualization has quickly become a fixture in daily life, from presentations of charts and graphs by media organizations to presentations of data analytics and case relationships by legal database providers. This program will walk participants through the four conceptualizations of data presentation, as well as an exploration on using data visualization to persuade your audience. We will present law library examples for each concept, using free and low cost data visualization tools.

From Decoder Rings To Deep Fakes: Translating Complex Technologies For Legal Education, Rachel S. Evans, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

“Technological developments are disrupting the practice of law” is a common refrain, but the last few years has seen some particularly complex pieces of technology become the hot new thing in legal tech. This session will look at blockchain, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and ‘Deep Fakes’ as examples of how librarians can stay abreast of technological developments and inform themselves about their impacts in the legal profession. Then we will look at how to translate the complexities and jargon of these examples into lessons for for-credit courses, one-off informational sessions, or meetings with stakeholders.

Tidying-Up Your Digital Life: Knowledgement Management In Law School & Beyond, Amy Taylor

Presentations

Taylor delivered a session full of tips and tricks for gathering information and keeping it all organized in the age of info-overload. Portions of the session focused on apps, cloud storage, label systems, customizing news alerts and developing your own trusted method for intake and synthesis. Specific applications that were discussed in greater detail included Evernote, Pocket, OneNote and AirTable. Attendee's walked away with ideas about how to best manage their own busy inboxes, news and articles by off-loading working memory anxiety's to a personal system that fits their professional life needs.

An Invitation Regarding Law And Legal Education, And Imagining The Future, Michael J. Madison

Articles

This Essay consists of an invitation to participate in conversations about the future of legal education in ways that integrate rather than distinguish several threads of concern and revision that have emerged over the last decade. Conversations about the future of legal education necessarily include conversations about the future of law practice, legal services, and law itself. Some of those start with the somewhat stale questions: What are US law professors doing, what should they be doing, and why? Those questions are still relevant and important, but they are no longer the only relevant questions, and they are not the …

Is It Time To Welcome Our Robot Overlords?, Carol A. Watson, Kris Niedringhaus

Presentations

You've probably heard of ROSS Intelligence, Kira Systems, or Lex Machina but what about Premonition, Docubot, or the Do Not Pay chatbot? Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the practice of law. Or does it? Skeptics predicted a legal apocalypse while optimists predict positive outcomes. Either way, it's a revolution. Find out more about how AI is, and will, impact the legal industry. Topics will include defining artificial intelligence, the history of AI’s development, as well as big law’s approach to AI, ethics implications, and how AI is currently being used in the legal environment. We’ll also discuss whether …

Decision Making Models In 2/2 Time: Two Speakers, Two Models (Maybe), Sharon Bradley, Tim Tarvin

Presentations

Our students have to learn so many new skills to be successful in law school and law practice. Legal research, client interviewing, and case analysis just for starters. Our teaching methods have to engage our students while preparing them to “think like a lawyer.” We also have the responsibility to familiarize students in evaluating the “benefits and risks associated with relevant technology” and to develop efficient practices and processes. The speakers will look at decision making models that are practical and useable.

One speaker will discuss his experiences in a clinical setting using decision trees, teaching his students to visualize …

The Legal Tech Audit: Focus On Pdfs, Rachel S. Evans, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

In addition to discussing the legal tech audit, these sessions focused on how-to skills for using Adobe Acrobat in the legal profession.

The Legal Tech Audit: Focus On Word, Rachel S. Evans, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

In addition to discussing the legal tech audit, these sessions focused on how-to skills for using Microsoft Word in the legal profession.

The Legal Tech Audit: Focus On Excel, Rachel S. Evans, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

In addition to discussing the legal tech audit, these two sessions focused on how-to skills for using Microsoft Excel in the legal profession.

Tech Skills For Staff: Excel & Pdfs, Rachel S. Evans, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

This informal instruction session covered Microsoft Excel and Adobe Acrobat Pro. Staff were encouraged to bring their own computers and follow along as each program was explored. Practical tips for using both programs were shared and discussed.

Introduction To The Legal Tech Audit, Rachel S. Evans, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

A brief introduction and discussion of the legal tech audit, why it matters and three mini tech lessons for Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Law Firm Internships And The Making Of Future Lawyers: An Empirical Study In Singapore, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the findings of an empirical study of law students from the Singapore Management University on their internship experiences at private law firms. As internships are frequently undertaken by law students, it is necessary for stakeholders to understand their impact on the values and ideals of law students in relation to the law and legal practice. This article seeks to increase the consciousness of law school educators, lawyers, and the professional bar about how law firm internships are contributing to the making of future lawyers, so as to facilitate the reflection by these parties as to their roles …

No Alternative: Resolving Disputes Japanese Style, Eric Feldman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article critiques the simple black/white categorisation of mainstream versus alternative dispute resolution, and argues that what is needed is a cartography of dispute resolution institutions that maps the full range of approaches and traces their interaction. It sketches the first lines of such a map by describing two examples of conflict resolution in Japan. Neither can justly be called “alternative”, yet neither fits the mould of what might be called mainstream or classical dispute resolution. One, judicial settlement, focuses on process; the other, compensating victims of the Fukushima disaster, engages a specific event. Together, they help to illustrate why …

"Nudging" Better Lawyer Behavior: Using Default Rules And Incentives To Change Behavior In Law Firms, Nancy B. Rapoport

Scholarly Works

This article examines how incentives in law firms can affect lawyer behavior and suggests some possible changes to incentive structures and default rules that might improve the ethical behavior of lawyers.

In the changing landscape of law practice — where law firm profits are threatened by such changes as increased pressure from clients to economize and the concomitant opportunities for clients to shop around for the most efficient lawyers — are there ways to change how things are done in law firms so that firms can provide more efficient and ethical service? This article suggests that an understanding of cognitive …

The Role Of Foreign Languages In Educating Lawyers For Transnational Challenges, Vivian Grosswald Curran

Articles

In a world in which every other country seems intent on teaching English to their youth, and in which the United States educational system does not place a high priority on teaching foreign languages, the American law student, dean and professor may doubt if foreign language knowledge is anything more than marginally helpful to law graduates. Similarly, educators at the primary school level may not be likely to assess foreign language education as warranting a greater allocation of scarce public resources.

The usefulness of foreign languages to the United States lawyer gradually has been gaining increased recognition in the profession, …

Report To Economics Committee: First National Conference On Automated Law Research, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Debunking The Computer Mystique, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey: 1966, F. Reed Dickerson, Paul R. Beath, Louis F. Del Duca

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Automation And The Lawyer, F. Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Computers and automation have brought about what some have called the "Second Industrial Revolution." But automation is most frequently considered and discussed as it applies to industry or to scientific research. In this article, Professor Dickerson points out that lawyers, too, are already greatly affected by the age of automation. Computers can probably be most useful to lawyers in the area of research, but as the writer indicates, they can and are being used for such diverse things as estate planning, legislative redistricting and predicting in advance the outcome of judicial decisions.

Book Review. Lawyers In Politics: A Study In Professional Convergence By H. Eulau And J. D. Sprague, A. Dan Tarlock

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Some Jurisprudential Implications Of Electronic Data Processing, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. The Paradoxes Of Legal Science By Benjamin N. Cardozo, Fowler V. Harper

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.