Digital Commons Network^™

Against Practice, Anthony V. Alfieri

Michigan Law Review

This Review examines the theory/practice dichotomy in legal education through the prism of the Carnegie Foundation's Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law. Descriptively, it argues that the Foundation's investigation of law school curricular deficiencies in the areas of clinical-lawyer skills, professionalism, and public service overlooks the relevance of critical pedagogies in teaching students how to deal with difference-based identity and how to build cross-cultural community in diverse, multicultural practice settings differentiated by mutable and immutable characteristics such as class, gender, and race. Prescriptively, it argues that the Foundation's remedial call for the curricular integration of clinical lawyer …

Who We Were And Who We Are: How Michigan Law Students Have Changed Since The 1950s: Findings From 40 Years Of Alumni Surveys, David L. Chambers, Terry K. Adams

Articles

For 40 consecutive years, from 1967 to 2006, the Law School surveyed its alumni regarding their lives and careers. The project began in 1967 with the mailing of a questionnaire to the class of 1952 shortly before their 15th reunion. The results proved interesting enough that surveys were sent each year thereafter to the class 15 years out. In 1973, the classes 5 years out were added to the survey.

Ensuring Defense Counsel Competence At International Criminal Tribunals, Sonja B. Starr

Articles

This article addresses the problem of incompetent representation by defense counsel in international criminal tribunals. According to the author, the ineffectiveness of a particular attorney may be attributable to a number offactors, including a lack of experience with international criminal law, unfamiliarity with the procedures of international criminal tribunals, and the simple failure to be fluent in the languages used by the court. Starr explains that the problem of incompetence persists because of obstacles to the recruitment, retention, and appointment of proficient defense lawyers, as well as the lack of administrative or judicial oversight concerning competence. The author points out …

Letting Good Deeds Go Unpunished: Volunteer Immunity Laws And Tort Deterrence, Jill R. Horwitz, Joseph Mead

Articles

Does tort law deter risky behavior in individuals? We explore this question by examining the relationship between tort immunity and volunteering. During the 1980s and 1990s, nearly every state provided some degree of volunteer immunity. Congress followed with the 1997 Volunteer Protection Act. This article analyzes these acts, identifying three motivations for them: the chilling effects of tort liability, limits on liability insurance, and moral concerns. Using data from the Independent Survey’s Giving and Volunteering surveys, we then identify a large and positive correlation between immunity and volunteering. We next consider the implications of the findings for tort theory and …

Vol. 59, No. 1, August 25, 2008, University Of Michigan Law School

Res Gestae

•All I Ever Needed to Know About OCI I Learned Doing My Laundry •How to Succeed at OCI Without Really Trying •Baby I'm an L-STAR •Dining for Dollars •Summertime Blues •Expert Advice •Kicking It Old School •Between the Briefs •No Other Warranties, Expressed or Implied •The On-Campus Interview ad Lib •Vintage RG: OCI R(G)ad Lib

Special Features, University Of Michigan Law School

Law Quadrangle (formerly Law Quad Notes)

Approaching the nation’s highest bench – Project for new facilities gets underway – The transformation of private practice

Vol. 59, No. 3, September 30, 2008, University Of Michigan Law School

Res Gestae

•The Inaugural ELPP Conference •Letter to the Editor •MLawLive •Kennedy •Best of LawOpen •Generation Project •Kicking it Old School •Mamdouh •The Food Court •Between the Briefs •LSSS Statements

A New Frontier Or Merely A New Medium - An Analysis Of The Ethics Of Blawgs, Justin Krypel

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The purpose of this Note is to investigate those rules of ethics which interact with attorney blogs, placing a special emphasis on advertising rules. The central finding is that, under the Supreme Court's current First Amendment jurisprudence, attorney blogs (or, more cleverly, "blawgs") are not subject to regulation by the ethics codes of the ABA or the various state bars. Furthermore, if the Supreme Court were to, for some reason, construe blawgs as falling outside of First Amendment protection, evidence suggests that regulating this new medium would be neither desirable nor effective. Part II outlines the historical framework which underlies …

University Of Michigan Law School Faculty, 08/09, University Of Michigan Law School

Miscellaneous Law School History & Publications

Biographies of the University of Michigan Law School faculty.

Operationalizing Deterrence Claims Management (In Hopsitals, A Large Retailer, And Jails And Prisons), Margo Schlanger

Articles

The theory that the prospect of liability for damages deters risky behavior has been developed in countless articles and books. The literature is far sparser, however, on how deterrence is operationalized. And prior work slights an equally important effect of damage actions, to incentivize claims management in addition to harm-reduction responses that are cost- rather than liabilityminimizing. This article works in the intersection of these two understudied areas, focusing on claims management steps taken by frequently sued organizations, and opening a window into the black box of deterrence to see how those steps may end up serving harm-reduction purposes as …

Did Bankruptcy Reform Fail? An Empirical Study Of Consumer Debtors, Robert M. Lawless, Angela K. Littwin, Katherine M. Porter, John A. E. Pottow, Deborah K. Thorne, Elizabeth Warren

Articles

Before 2005, many people went broke and many filed for bankruptcy. After 2005, many people still go broke, but not so many file for bankruptcy. Why has the number of bankruptcies declined? Surely it is not the economy. All throughout the 2000s, families have been under increasing economic pressure. Median family incomes have declined, basic expenses have risen, and families are shouldering unprecedented debt loads. Defaults remain high for credit cards and car loans, while mortgage foreclosures have soared. By 2008, over half of all Americans reported that their incomes were falling behind their cost of living. These data all …

In Defense Of The Indian Child Welfare Act In Aggravated Circumstances, C. Eric Davis

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) affords various protections to Indian families throughout child welfare proceedings. Among them is the duty imposed upon the state to provide rehabilitative services to families prior to the outplacement of an Indian child, or termination of parental rights. An analogous provision for non-Indians in the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) excuses rehabilitative services in "aggravated circumstances" of child abuse. The ICWA contains no such exception, and that absence has been controversial. In 2002, the Alaska Supreme Court applied ASFA's aggravated circumstances exception to the ICWA, thereby excusing services when a father severely abused …

The Upc Authorizes Notarized Wills, Lawrence W. Waggoner

Articles

This article reports on a 2008 amendment to the Uniform Probate Code that permits notarization as a method of will execution.

Requiem For Section 1983, Paul D. Reingold

Articles

Section 1983 no longer serves as a remedial statute for the people most in need of its protection. Those who have suffered a violation of their civil rights at the hands of state authorities, but who cannot afford a lawyer because they have only modest damages or seek only equitable remedies, are foreclosed from relief because lawyers shun their cases. Today civil rights plaintiffs are treated the same as ordinary tort plaintiffs by the private bar: without high damages, civil rights plaintiffs are denied access to the courts because no one will represent them. Congress understood that civil rights laws …

Preserving The Rule Of Law In America's Jails And Prisons: The Case For Amending The Prison Litigation Reform Act, Margo Schlanger, Giovanna Shay

Articles

Prisons and jails pose a significant challenge to the rule of law within American boundaries. As a nation, we are committed to constitutional regulation of governmental treatment of even those who have broken society’s rules. And accordingly, most of our prisons and jails are run by committed professionals who care about prisoner welfare and constitutional compliance. At the same time, for prisons—closed institutions holding an ever-growing disempowered population—most of the methods by which we, as a polity, foster government accountability and equality among citizens are unavailable or at least not currently practiced. In the absence of other levers by which …

Testimony Before The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, The Role Of Courts And Litigation In Regulating Prison And Jail Prevention Of Sexual Violence And Misconduct, Margo Schlanger

Other Publications

I have been asked to focus my testimony on litigation and how it contributes to oversight of jails and prisons, in particular to incentivizing appropriate prison and jail supervisory practices and policies that minimize sexual misconduct and sexual violence behind bars. Litigation is an accountability mechanism operative in many spheres, of course, but whereas in most other areas of governmental activity, other such mechanisms have pride of place, we have as a polity largely failed to implement any other effective regulatory system to govern our burgeoning incarcerative apparatus. At least in many states prison and jail systems, litigation is one …

Testimony Before The House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee On Crime, Terrorism, And Homeland Security, Hearing On: "Review Of The Prison Litigation Reform Act: A Decade Of Reform Or An Increase In Prison Abuses", Margo Schlanger

Other Publications

Statement of Margo Schlanger, Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis on behalf of the American Bar Association presented to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives, at the hearing entitled "Review of the Prison Litigation Reform Act: A Decade of Reform or an Increase in Prison Abuses?"

Criminal Justice And The 1967 Detroit 'Riot', Yale Kamisar

Law Quadrangle (formerly Law Quad Notes)

Forty years ago the kindling of segregation, racism, and poverty burst into the flame of urban rioting in Detroit, Los Angeles, Newark, and other U.S. cities. The following essay is excerpted from a report by Professor Emeritus Yale Kamisar filed with the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission) regarding the disorders that took place in Detroit July 23-28, 1967. The report provided significant material and was the subject of one article in the series of pieces on the anniversary of the disturbances that appeared las summer in The Michigan Citizen of Detroit. Immediately after the disturbances …

Clinic Times, University Of Michigan Law School

Newsletters

Fall 2007 issue of the University of Michigan Law School Clinics' newsletter.

Alumni, University Of Michigan Law School

Law Quadrangle (formerly Law Quad Notes)

Beijing recognizes

Class Notes, University Of Michigan Law School

Law Quadrangle (formerly Law Quad Notes)

Reunions; A look at Russia's legal System; Notes; ABA recognizes Michigan Law graduates' pro bono work; Son's diagnosis spurs Stanley P. Jaskiewicz, '85, to reach out; In Memoriam

Why Children Still Need A Lawyer, Marcia Robinson Lowry, Sara Bartosz

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Every day approximately 500,000 children across the United States wake up in foster care, most in foster family homes, though many others in group homes and institutions. These children entered the state foster care system as innocent victims of abuse or neglect occurring in their birth homes. As wards of the state, they depend completely on the government to provide for their essential safety and wellbeing and to reconnect them with a permanent family, hopefully their own.

Though state child welfare agencies possess fundamental legal obligations under the United States Constitution and federal and state statutes to provide adequate care …

Child Well-Being: A Beneficial Advocacy Framework For Improving The Child Welfare System?, Sarah H. Ramsey

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article explores the advantages and disadvantages of child well-being as a child welfare system advocacy framework. It examines the use of the concept of child well-being as a social indicator and the importance of poverty rates to the child welfare system. It also examines the use of child well-being as an outcome measure for the child welfare system, in particular in Child and Family Service Reviews ("CFSRs") and court evaluations. The possible impact of the child wellbeing concept is considered in the context of several programs, including income supports and problem-solving courts. The Article concludes that, overall, well-being provides …

Advancing The Future Of Family Violence Law Pedagogy: The Founding Of A Law School Clinic, Melissa Breger, Theresa Hughes

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article advocates for law schools to integrate family violence law further into their curricula and proffers reasons why family violence training is critical in preparing students to practice law. The authors posit that although live-client specialty clinics are the most in-depth way to teach family violence law, the topic should also be offered through doctrinal courses, externships, or general subject matter clinics. The Article then describes the authors' own experiences in cofounding a child advocacy clinic in New York City, outlining the steps taken to transform a vision into the actual formation of a clinic. Finally, the authors conclude …

Looking Ahead: A Personal Vision Of The Future Of Child Welfare Law, Donald N. Duquette

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The participants in the Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic were all challenged to envision the future of child welfare and to address these questions: What should the law and legal institutions governing children's rights and child and family welfare look like in thirty more years? What steps are necessary to achieve those goals? After setting out the historical and optimistic circumstance in which the Child Advocacy Law Clinic was founded, this Article responds to the organizing questions by presenting the author's vision of the future of child welfare law and practice. When families fail children, what …

Kidsvoice: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Child Advocacy, Scott Hollander, Jonathan Budd

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

There is growing recognition that effective child advocacy requires a broad range of knowledge that often goes well beyond the legal needs of the child. This Essay details the multidisciplinary approach to child advocacy that KidsVoice, a Pittsburgh legal services organization representing almost 5000 dependent children each year, has implemented to better develop uniquely tailored recommendations regarding which placement and services might create better possibilities of success for each child and family.

Vol. 58, No. 3, September 25, 2007, University Of Michigan Law School

Res Gestae

•Rear Admiral Houck '85 Speaks at Law School •Don't be a Slave to the Curve •Elections to be Held for LSSS 1L Reps and Junior Board of Governors Rep •An Open Letter from BLSA •Six Tips to Contributing to a Cleaner Environment •Environmental Law at UM •Save Yourself •The Grade Curves •Bar Night Pics •Between the Briefs •Primus Enters The Pantheon

Vol. 58, No. 2, September 11, 2007, University Of Michigan Law School

Res Gestae

•Student Groups Struggle to Find Space in the Law Quad •Too Law Open? •LSSS Presidential Welcome •Meet the Class of '10 •Prof. Primus' Bid for Immortality •Perspective •Crossword Puzzle

Vol. 58, No. 1, August 27, 2007, University Of Michigan Law School

Res Gestae

•Nuggets of Wisdom from OCIs Past •How to Succeed at OCI Without Really Trying •Learn How to Find a Firm Job and Be Happy •Prof. Schneider on OCI and Your Future as a Lawyer •Expert Advice •Questions Imponderable and Strange •No Other Warranties, Expressed or Implied •10 Things Not to Do as a Summer Associate •Crossword •The OCI Drinking Game!

Sox And Whistleblowing, Terry Morehead Dworkin

Michigan Law Review

The language of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("SOX") leaves no doubt that Congress intended whistleblowing to be an integral part of its enforcement mechanisms. The Act attempts to encourage and protect whistleblowers in a variety of ways, including providing for anonymous whistleblowing, establishing criminal penalties for retaliation against whistleblowers, and clearly defining whistleblowing channels. Unfortunately, these provisions give the illusion of protection for whistleblowers without effectively providing it. There is increasing evidence that virtually no whistleblower who has suffered retaliation and pursued remedies under SOX has been successful. Additionally, social science research and studies of whistleblowing laws indicate that SOX is …