Digital Commons Network^™

Saying “Yes, And” To A Changing Legal Profession Through Improv, Ben Bratman

The Journal of Law Teaching and Learning

As legal practitioners confront the potent impacts of society’s latest technological innovation, legal education can and should say “yes, and” to all the change and uncertainty by leaning into the teaching of human skills. That’s “yes, and,” as in the guiding principle of improvisational theater, or improv. As a form of embodied learning through play, improv exercises are a proven tool for building and refining fundamental human skills, often called the “soft” skills, within a low-stakes learning environment. They can and should be a part of any law school’s effort to graduate confident and skilled communicators who are strong team …

Class Of 2026 Hooding Of Candidates For The Degree Of Juris Doctor And Advanced Degrees, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School Of Law

Law School Commencement / Hooding Programs, 1942-present

No abstract provided.

Archdiocese Disclosure For Joint Plan

Catholic Dioceses in Bankruptcy

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Social Disorganization In Rural America: Persistent Poverty, Institutional Fragility, And Crime, Addison Finch

Theses and Dissertations

Social Disorganization Theory (SDT) links structural disadvantage to crime through mechanisms such as residential instability, weakened social networks, and reduced informal social control in urban neighborhoods. Less is known about whether these mechanisms operate similarly in persistently poor rural communities where disadvantage is enduring rather than destabilizing. This study examines whether variation in poverty intensity predicts county-level crime in nonmetropolitan, persistently poor counties in Kentucky and Tennessee from 2016 to 2023. A balanced county-year panel (N = 344) integrates incident-based crime data with measures of poverty intensity and institutional capacity. Pooled ordinary least squares models with year fixed effects and …

After The “Partner Run”: The Dewey & Leboeuf Diaspora, Andrew Granato

UC Law Business Journal

“Partner runs”—mass, near-instantaneous departures of partners from distressed law firms—are a distinctive feature of the American legal profession, produced by an interaction of legal ethics rules, partnership governance, and bankruptcy law. A partner run means that even large and profitable law firms can abruptly liquidate. Given this fragility, it is urgent to learn: do partner runs and the governance law that enables them impose lasting harm on the legal profession by permanently damaging the careers of the lawyers caught in them?

This Article provides the first comprehensive empirical examination of this issue using the 2012 bankruptcy of Dewey & LeBoeuf, …

Mail To Amp And Ruth

Lloyd Clark Papers

Copy of an article discussing changes at The University of Texas at Arlington, sent to Amp and Ruth Miller.

Becoming Our Best: Professional Identity Formation As A Pathway To Lawyering Excellence In The Age Of Generative Ai, Jessica Lynn Wherry, Frances C. Delaurentis

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Regulating The Australian Legal Profession The Law Societies And Bar Associations, Don Fleming

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

“Justice” By Deception: The Immigration Regime’S Longstanding Reliance On Fraud And Coercion, Lori A. Nessel

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Back To The Drawing Board? Overdraft Fees, The Congressional Review Act, And The Cfpb’S Path Back To Consumer Protection, Kaitlin Ainsworth Caruso

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Lone Star Luminarias: 1880–1980, Dolores Atencio, Tracy C. Almanzán

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The Lone Star Luminarias recovers and documents the lives, careers, and legal contributions of the first Latina lawyers licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. This article is a series of articles based upon the original research conducted by Visiting Scholar, Dolores Atencio (2016–2022) to identify and document the accomplishments of the first generation of Latina attorneys in the country, circa 1880–1980, Luminarias. The Luminarias Study involved archival research of 167 law

schools across the country, and a review of bar records, state bar records, past and contemporary news accounts, oral histories, and other records such as U.S. …

Choi V. Linc Lic L.L.C.

All Decisions

In this rent overcharge action, the Appellate Division modified the lower court's order, granting summary judgment to the tenant on liability. The court held that the landlord's rent concessions, exceeding three months, functioned as a preferential rent under post-HSTPA law, rejecting pre-HSTPA DHCR guidance. It also found lease provisions allowing the landlord to assess attorneys' fees without a court order unconscionable and unenforceable under Real Property Law § 234-a and Rent Stabilization Law § 26-512(g). The landlord failed to rebut the presumption of willfulness, as post-commencement refunds do not defeat it, thus warranting treble damages. The case was remanded for …

Pro Se Community Clinic Effect On Eviction Diversion, Meltia Hickman, Crystal Bell, Sydney Fisk, Keenan Carroll

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

This poster highlights the Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI), funded by the National Center for State Courts with services provided through Utah Legal Services, and the role of the Pro Se Community Clinic in helping prevent evictions before they reach the courtroom.
The clinic creates a space where tenants and landlords can connect early with attorneys, mediators, and service providers to work toward practical solutions. So far, more than 20,000 individuals have accessed diversion resources across 24 jurisdictions. Among those who engaged with the program, 89% were able to resolve their cases through settlement or dismissal, avoiding a formal eviction judgment.

2026 Utah Conference On Community Engagement Program, Utah State University, Erin Jensen

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Conference Program

Topics In Accounting: A Case-Based Analysis, Forrest B. Foster

Honors Theses

This body of work is representative of materials produced through the Accountancy Practicum course, under the advisement and supervision of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. This course allows students in the Patterson School of Accountancy to complete their thesis requirement for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College through a series of case studies, primarily covering current topics in the accounting industry. The six case studies completed through this course cover a variety of accounting topics that are new or controversial, including the Corporate Transparency Act and the effects of the current political administration on the financial statements of food companions. Additionally, some …

Dept Of Hous. Preserv. & Dev. Of The City Of N.Y. V. Parnes

All Decisions

In this HP action, the court grants HPD's motion for civil contempt and civil penalties after the landlord failed to comply with a so-ordered stipulation requiring roof repair on a 60-unit building. The landlord's arguments of economic infeasibility and inability to access units were rejected. The court imposed a contempt fine, attorneys' fees, a $60,000 AEP penalty, and an additional $257,770 in civil penalties.

Human Rights In The Americas Symposium: An Examination Of Past, Present, And Future, Caroline Bettinger-López, Tamar Ezer, Shantanice Vaxter, Hannah Garry, Alexzandrea Bartle, Austin Brewster, Brittany Findley, Ana Garcia-Velez, Andrew Kiliment, Christian Kruger, Ana Luiza Potgornik Ferreira, Abigail Matherne, Genice Nadal, Lucia Niño Junyent, Yasmin Rizvi, Amanda Sarmientos, Megan Schutzen, Roberta Spehl, Sara White, Meg Williams

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

Human Rights in the Americas Symposium: An Examination of Past, Present, and Future documents a week-long convening hosted by the University of Miami School of Law in November 2025, held in conjunctions with the 194th Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Symposium brought together scholars, advocates, policymakers, students, artists, and community members to assess the evolution, current challenges, and future trajectory of human rights in the Americas.

Through interdisciplinary panels, thematic hearings, artistic exhibitions, and community-based engagements, participants examined pressing regional issues, including democratic backsliding, migration, housing justice, racial and gender inequality, environmental harm, and …

Mutual Redevelopment Houses, Inc. V. Manyevitch

All Decisions

In a licensee holdover proceeding in a cooperative PHFL Article V (Mitchell-Lama), the landlord and tenant both moved for summary judgment regarding succession rights. Tenant, the spouse of a prior successor, was granted summary judgment, with the court finding she met spousal succession requirements under Section 210(d)(i) of the City Agreement, notwithstanding the prior successor's lack of formal shares or an occupancy agreement. The landlord's motion for summary judgment was granted against co-occupant, who failed to provide admissible evidence for Braschi-type succession, resulting in a possessory judgment against him. The petition was dismissed against John and Jane Doe. The court …

What Attorneys “Ott” To Do: The Supreme Court Clarifies Judgmental Immunity In Georgia, Valeria Notte

Mercer Law Review

The Supreme Court of Georgia dealt a swift blow to the Court of Appeals of Georgia’s interpretation of judgmental immunity in a recent decision. For over three decades, the court of appeals recognized a subjective defense that shielded attorneys from liability for mistakes made while representing a client. Under this interpretation of judgmental immunity, attorneys prevailed on motions for summary judgment by demonstrating that they had exercised their honest professional judgment in making the challenged decision. Now, in Cox-Ott v. Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, a unanimous opinion by the supreme court held that attorneys are no longer entitled to the …

Betting On The Body: Private Equity Portfolio Funding Of Medical Malpractice Litigation And The Financialization Of Patient Justice, Barry J. Cohen

Journal of Law and Health

Portfolio-level third-party litigation funding in medical malpractice creates conflicts of interest that existing professional responsibility doctrine under Model Rule 1.7 was not designed to address. Unlike single-case consumer funding, which may improve access to justice, portfolio funding aggregates dozens or hundreds of malpractice claims into diversified investment vehicles, optimizing for internal rates of return on the portfolio instead of outcomes for individual plaintiffs. What follows, is the first sustained analysis of this gap.

Drawing on clinical and legal perspectives, the analysis distinguishes a single-case from portfolio funding and identifies four portfolio-specific conflicts under MRPC 1.7: the swing-for-the-fences problem, cross-subsidization, information …

Beyond The Ivory Tower: Perceptions, Practices, And The Institutionalization Of Community Engagement At St. Augustine University Of Tanzania, Delphine Kessy

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability

This qualitative study provides a comprehensive analysis of academic staff perceptions and practices of community engagement (CE) at the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT). Framed by Boyer’s theory of the scholarship of application and contemporary models of university engagement, both a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design and thematic analysis of open-ended responses from 14 academic departments at SAUT were used, with a total of 35 participants informing this study. The findings revealed a robust, practice-driven understanding of CE as a collaborative and reciprocal partnership, widely regarded as a core university function alongside teaching and research. Staff reported a rich spectrum …

Current Atmosphere Of Artificial Intelligence Liability: Implications And Best Practices For Legal Professionals And Ai Providers, Alyssa Heinze

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into the legal profession has transformed legal research, drafting, and decision-making, while simultaneously introducing novel ethical, regulatory, and liability risks. As attorneys increasingly rely on generative AI systems, concerns surrounding hallucinations, bias, confidentiality breaches, and deceptive outputs have led to heightened scrutiny for both legal professionals and AI developers. This paper examines the current and emerging landscape of artificial intelligence liability in the United States. It gives particular attention to the absence of a comprehensive federal regulatory framework, the constitutional controversy surrounding Executive Order 14179, and its preemption of state AI legislation.

By analyzing …

A.I. And The Law: How Ethical Guidelines Affect The Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Legal Work, Andre Asher

Honors Theses

Artificial intelligence is a quickly growing industry that is beginning to integrate itself into various aspects of our lives. Regarding the legal portion, the American Bar Association has an extensive set of ethical guidelines which, although they themselves do not hold any disciplinary weight, have been adapted to many state grievance committees where sanctions can be imposed. The use of AI in the legal field has introduced a whole new set of ethical concerns, which the already existing rules of professional conduct must now adapt to. Looking at the ABA’s ethical rules 1.1: Competency, 1.3: Diligence, 1.5: Fees, 1.6: Confidentiality, …

Sign Of The Times: School Desegregation In Richland County Schools District One, 1944-1974., Otiana Thompson

All Theses

This paper explores how school desegregation in Richland County Schools District One  between 1940 to 1974 reshaped racial and political dynamics in Columbia, South Carolina. Although twenty-two students successfully desegregated the district's public schools in 1964, the process proceeded slowly, facing local and state resistance. By 1969, fewer than 1,300 Black students attended formerly White schools, while White flight to private institutions and neighboring county school districts accelerated. National challenges to this gradualist approach resulted in the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Green v. New Kent County case (1968), that determined “freedom of choice” plans to be insufficient to establish …

Men’S Courts Or Women’S Laws? Domestic Violence, Men’S Rights Activism, And The Specter Of False Cases, Arushi Gupta

LL.M. Essays & Theses

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Indian newspapers and magazines began reporting stories of domestic abuse in matrimonial homes ranging from women subjected to dowry demands, beatings, everyday mistreatment, financial control, expulsion from the home, and even being burnt to death. Feminists recognized this as an urgent issue to respond to as these reports highlighted that domestic violence is endemic. Everybody knew a victim. Their own mothers, sisters, friends and, in some cases, they themselves were facing violence within marriage. The lobbying of women’s groups helped prompt the passage of Section 498A in 1983, which criminalized cruelty against women …

Teaching Legal Thinking In The Age Of Ai: Reimagining Legal Education Through Cognitive Science And Deliberate Practice, Joan R. M. Bullock

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workplace Monitoring Platforms Are Sharing Your Data: An Investigation & Roadmap To Address Data Abuses, Stephanie T. Nguyen, Levi Kaplan, David Choffnes, Alan Mislove, Seth Frotman, Erie Meyer

Center for Law and the Economy

This report investigates the data collection practices of nine widely used workplace monitoring platforms to determine the extent to which they track and analyze employee activity, behavior, or performance during work, including how these platforms transmit worker information and to which third-parties. This report finds that (1) nine out of nine workplace monitoring platforms studied directly shared identifying worker data to third parties, (2) nine out of nine workplace monitoring platforms studied shared information about workers’ online activities with third parties, and (3) three out of nine workplace monitoring platforms studied utilize features to track workers’ precise location. This report …

Unity In Design: Life As An Immigrant In The Built Environment, Julia Sainz

Interior Design Capstones

In the United States, Latinx immigrant communities often face social and systemic challenges that contribute to heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and displacement. While the built environment plays a critical role in shaping emotional and social well-being, architectural and interior design practices frequently overlook the lived experiences and cultural identities of these populations. This study explores how culturally responsive and participatory design strategies can foster safety, access, and empowerment for Latinx immigrants. By examining the intersection of migration, identity, and the built environment, this project proposes design as a tool for community resilience, cultural expression, and holistic well-being.

Upr Report Submissions: Compiled By The International Human Rights Clinic At The University Of Illinois Chicago School Of Law And The Human Rights At Home Litigation Clinic At The Saint Louis University School Of Law, Sarah Dàvila A., Lauren E. Bartlett

Faculty White Papers

This unofficial summary compiles information from reports submitted by civil society and others for the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the United States.

The authors reviewed the submissions, which are reports from civil society and others, and grouped issues thematically, using the 2020 UPR themes and recommendations as the organizing framework. Within each theme, the authors synthesized recurring issues, patterns, and concerns identified across multiple submissions. For each issue, the unofficial summary follows a structured approach that presents international obligations first, followed by United States domestic law, and then facts drawn from the submissions. However, where reports …

Luz E. Herrera, Luz E. Herrera

Faculty CVs

No abstract provided.