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Judges, Lawyers, And A Predictive Theory Of Legal Complexity, Benjamin H. Barton

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This Article uses public choice theory and the new institutionalism to discuss the incentives, proclivities, and shared backgrounds of lawyers and judges. In America every law-making judge has a single unifying characteristic, each is a former lawyer. This shared background has powerful and unexplored effects on the shape and structure of American law. This Article argues that the shared characteristics, thought-processes, training, and incentives of Judges and lawyers lead inexorably to greater complexity in judge-made law. These same factors lead to the following prediction: judge-created law will be most complex in areas where a) elite lawyers regularly practice; b) judges …

Successor Liability In Michigan, George Kuney

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No abstract provided.

Welfare Reform, Privatization And Power: Reconfiguring Administrative Law Structures From The Ground Up, Wendy A. Bach

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Since welfare reform in 1996, privatization has led to a radical reconfiguration in the dominant mode of governance in public benefits programs. The United States has largely moved from systems controlled through law and regulation to systems controlled through contracts. With this shift has come a significant diminishment in public accountability in general and, more specifically, a diminishment in the ability of poor communities and their advocates to intervene in the making of welfare policy. At the same time, privatization has proven to be an extraordinarily effective mechanism for imposing highly punitive welfare programs on poor communities. Building upon the …

Legal Advocacy And Education Reform: Litigating School Exclusion, Dean Rivkin

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School exclusion has existed as a dark side of public education since the creation of America's public schools. Several cases in the United States Supreme Court memorably invalidated State and school system efforts to deny equal educational opportunities to marginalized school children and youth. In these cases, the over-riding multiple values of education were poignantly articulated in the majority decisions.

School exclusion has stubbornly persisted. It takes many forms. This article surveys the most prominent pathways to school exclusion, highlighting what has been called the "School-To-Prison-Pipeline." Various legal challenges are also evaluated. The pros and cons of litigating school exclusion …

The Bologna Process And German Legal Education: Developing Professional Competence Through Clinical Experiences, William A. Woodruff, Andreas Bucker

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No abstract provided.

Justice Education And The Evaluation Process: Crossing Borders, Martin A. Geer, Margaret Martin Barry, Catherine F. Klein, Ved Kumari

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If social justice is a teaching goal, how do we effectively assess it? An analysis of a multi-cultural teaching workshop and lessons learned and unanswered.

Vico's "Ingenious Method" And Legal Education, Francis J. Mootz Iii

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Contemporary discussions about the need to reform legal education, culminating in the 2007 Carnegie Report, should be put into a broader historical, philosophical and ethical perspective. Three hundred years ago the Italian humanist, Giambattista Vico delivered his famous oration, "On the Study Methods of Our Time," in which he lamented the rise of Cartesian critical philosophy at the expense of the cultivation of imagination, prudence and eloquence. Vico discussed law and legal education as his primary example, and his oration therefore provides an incredible resource for our contemporary deliberations.

Part One considers the literature addressing the demise of legal professionalism …

Beyond Cardboard Clients In Legal Ethics, Katherine R. Kruse

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This Article argues that the construction of cardboard clients in legal ethics has disserved legal ethics by obscuring what is arguably a more central problem of legal professionalism: the problem of legal objectification. The problem of legal objectification is the tendency of lawyers to "issue-spot" their clients as they would the facts on a blue-book exam, overemphasizing the clients' legal interests and minimizing or ignoring the other cares, commitments, relationships, reputations and values that constitute the objectives clients bring to legal representation. This Article proposes an alternative ideal of legal professionalism for "three-dimensional clients" based on helping clients articulate and …

Do Judges Systematically Favor The Interests Of The Legal Profession?, Benjamin H. Barton

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This Article answers this question with the following jurisprudential hypothesis. Many legal outcomes can be explained, and future cases predicted, by asking a very simple question: is there a plausible result in this case that will significantly affect the interests of the legal profession (positively or negatively)? If so, the case will be decided in the way that offers the best result for the legal profession.

The article presents theoretical support from the new institutionalism, cognitive psychology and economic theory. The Article then gathers and analyzes supporting cases from areas as diverse as constitutional law, torts, professional responsibility, employment law, …

"Lawyers" Not "Liars": A Modified Traditionalist Approach To Teaching Legal Ethics, Lonnie T. Brown

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As attorneys, we undeniably should be faithful confidantes to, and staunch allies for, our clients, but we must also never lose sight of the fact that we are not simply client representatives; we are concurrently officers of the court and keepers of the public trust. Though I strive diligently to make my students aware of the specific ethical duties owed to clients, I always stress even more intently the importance of these latter two components of their professional obligation. They are what set the practice of law apart from other occupations, and they are what should serve to inspire us …

The Rehnquist Court: A "By The Numbers" Retrospective, Lori A. Ringhand

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The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist presided over the U.S. Supreme Court for nineteen years, longer than any other Chief Justice in the 20th century. Despite this longevity, however, there is little consensus on just what the legacy of the Rehnquist Court is. Was the Rehnquist Court a restrained Court that embraced a limited, text-based reading of the Constitution? Or was it a much more aggressive Court, responsible for a resurgence of conservative judicial activism? Is it best epitomized by the “swaggering confidence” that put a President in office, or the cautious minimalism that disappointed its conservative supporters by failing …

"He Said," "She Said," And Issues Of Life And Death: The Right To Confrontation At Capital Sentencing Proceedings, Penny White

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No abstract provided.

The Curious Incident Of The Law Firm That Did Nothing In The Night-Time, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This essay argues that organizations (here, the Milbank, Tweed law firm) often ignore obviously bad behavior by their employees because of various psychological and sociological factors that prevent them from recognizing the behavior as bad in the first place.

Reconsidering The Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege: A Response To The Compelled-Voluntary Waiver Paradox, Lonnie T. Brown, Jr.

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The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has adopted guidelines that seem to make waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work product protection a prerequisite for being deemed “cooperative,” a significant designation that carries with it the prospect for more favorable penal treatment. In addition, the United States Sentencing Commission underscored the potential importance of such waivers by approving an amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in 2004 that, under certain circumstances, makes privilege waiver a factor in assessing a corporation's “culpability score,” which is used in determining the appropriate sentencing range.

This perceived ever-present concern has caused many corporate executives and …

Let The Damages Fit The Wrong: An Immodest Proposal For Reforming Personal Injury Damages, Elaine W. Shoben

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The modern legislative approach to tort reform has been a piecemeal process of altering single rules rather than reconsidering the fundamental principle of compensatory damages--the goal of making victims whole. When some aspect of damage doctrine has become disfavored, such as joint and several liability, legislatures and sometimes courts have made a change in that one rule. Lawmakers have focused little on the overall remedial scheme in tort and even less on the basic premise of compensatory damages and whether it is still justifiable.

Rather than comment on the wisdom of piecemeal reform, this article questions the premise of compensatory …

Frontier Justice: Legal Aid And Unhcr Refugee Status Determination In Egypt, Michael Kagan

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Where UNHCR conducts refugee status determination (RSD), its reactions to legal aid for asylum-seekers have been mixed. Statistical evidence collected from Egypt in 2002 indicates a correlation between receiving some form of legal aid service and an asylum-seeker's increased chances of gaining refugee protection from UNHCR. Unconventional forms of legal aid, including limited services by supervised non-lawyers (including volunteers from the refugee community) showed a positive impact on first instance cases, while traditional legal aid models showed an impact at the appeal stage. Legal aid should form an essential part of UNHCR's RSD procedures, and NGOs should work to expand …

Bringing Families In: Recommendations Of The Incarceration, Reentry And Family Roundtables, Ann Cammett, Johnna Christian, Nancy Fisherman, Lori Scott-Pickens

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Building on the findings of the New Jersey Reentry Roundtable and a growing concern around the state about how to improve outcomes for the more than 70,000 individuals expected to return home from prison over the next five years, the roundtable examined the complex role that families – broadly defined – play in the lives of prisoners during incarceration and after their release. This document presents a set of recommendations emerging directly from roundtable sessions and provides a road map for individual and collaborative efforts accepted by a range of key players in New Jersey, including government officials, community and …

Introduction: Assessing The Future Of The Legal Profession Symposium, Alex B. Long

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No abstract provided.

The Hidden Costs Of Contracting: Barriers To Justice In The Law Of Contracts, Teri Dobbins Baxter

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No abstract provided.

Going On-Line With Justice Pedagogy: Four Ways Of Looking At A Web Site, Fran Ansley

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No abstract provided.

Adr: The New Equity, Thomas O. Main

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No abstract provided.

Anatomy Of A Disaster Under The Internal Revenue Code, Francine J. Lipman

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No abstract provided.

Making Work Pay: Promoting Employment And Better Child Support Outcomes For Low-Income And Incarcerated Parents, Ann Cammett

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The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice prepared this report in response to concerns about child support debt—in particular as it creates a barrier to employment for low-income parents and works at cross-purposes with the goals of the child support program. Drawing on examples from other states, this report identifies a range of policies that inform child support practice in New Jersey and offers administrative, legislative, and programmatic solutions to address child support arrears owed by low-income and incarcerated parents.

Law Student Field Projects In Community Law, Fran Ansley

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An online teaching and learning portfolio.

Protecting The Unpopular From The Unreasonable: Warrantless Monitoring Of Attorney Client Communications In Federal Prisons, Teri Dobbins Baxter

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No abstract provided.

The Integration Of Law And Fact In An Uncharted Parallel Procedural Universe, Thomas O. Main

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No abstract provided.

An Institutional Analysis Of Lawyer Regulation: Who Should Control Lawyer Regulation - Courts, Legislatures, Or The Market, Benjamin H. Barton

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No abstract provided.

Supreme Court Section 1983 Decisions: (October 2001 Term), Martin A. Schwartz

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No abstract provided.

The Working Poor Are Paying For Government Benefits: Fixing The Hole In The Anti-Poverty Purse, Francine J. Lipman

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No abstract provided.

A Correct Analysis Of The Tax Treatment Of Contingent Attorney's Fee Arrangements: Enough With The Fruits And The Trees, Gregg D. Polsky

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The tax treatment of contingent attorney's fee arrangements has been the subject of much recent debate and litigation. Some courts and commentators conclude that a plaintiff must include the entire settlement amount, including attorney's fees, in her gross income, while other courts and commentators conclude that a plaintiff must include only her recovery net of attorney's fees. Because of the alternative minimum tax, the resolution of this issue may have a significant effect on the plaintiff's tax liability. In analyzing the issue, courts and commentators have focused on the assignment of income doctrine by inquiring whether, upon execution of a …