Law Commons^™

Survival Strategies For "Ordinary" Law Schools, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

This analysis is focused on approaches and actions that involve “ordinary” American law schools located in the middle range of competition that are not insulated from the worst of the trends. It is important to understand that for those “ordinary” law schools there is no single choice that could be effective in their struggle to adapt to the changing environment. The specific conditions for creating and implementing effective strategies vary depending on the particular law school, and the applicant and employment markets to which the school has access. These are further influenced positively or negatively by reputational and programmatic realities …

Self-Interest And Sinecure: Why Law School Can’T Be “Fixed” From Within, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

The issue of how best to do a legal education is being approached as if it were an intellectual and pedagogical question. Of course in a conceptual sense it is. But from a political and human perspective (law faculty, deans and lawyers) it is a self-interested situation in terms of how does this affect me? The reality is that for law faculty and deans it is mainly a life style, status, economic benefit and political situation in which the various interests protected by the traditional faculty slot placeholders [as well as the non-traditional practice-oriented teachers) are being masked by self-serving …

Law School Enrollments And Adaptive Strategies, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

There is no “national” or “global” law school enrollment crisis but a serious enrollment decline being experienced by a large number of law schools that requires adaptive strategies. Those strategies are not general but need to be designed and applied within a realistic understanding of the specific competitive marketplaces within which individual law schools are operating. In some cases not all obstacles can be overcome or problems fixed within a relevant timeframe. It is likely that some law schools will be forced to close their doors. And it is difficult to argue against that outcome in a number of instances. …

The Aging Of The American Law Professoriate, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

A recent (rather tasteless) article argued: “Professors approaching 70 … have an ethical obligation to step back and think seriously about quitting. If they do remain on the job, they should at least openly acknowledge they’re doing it mostly for themselves.” In “The Forever Professors: Academics Who Don’t Retire Are Greedy, Selfish, and Bad For Students”, the insensitive author added: “the number of professors 65 and older more than doubled between 2000 and 2011.” The author’s most intellectually savage comments were that: “faculty who delay retirement harm students, who in most cases would benefit from being taught by someone younger …

A Third Semester Of Lrw: Why Teaching Transactional Skills And Problems Is Now Essential To The Legal Writing Curriculum, Karin Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The article advocates including drafting and transactional courses in Legal Writing programs to better prepare students for practice. The article also advocates teaching various upper level skills courses so that students learn "soft skills," such as dealing with clients and understanding their personal legal needs.

"Practice Ready" Law Graduates, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

Whatever view one holds on the idea of “practice ready” law graduates in the abstract it seems clear that it does not and could not mean that a new graduate can be fully capable of providing high quality services across the board to clients unfortunate enough to be using the services of the neophyte lawyer. If that were the case I can hear a client’s conversation with the brand new lawyer in a complex corporate merger with numerous parties, millions of dollars at stake, estate and tax issues, patent rights and differing valuations for the deal. “How many of these …

The Paradox Of Being An Interim Dean: The Permanent Nature Of A Transitory Position, Phyllis L. Crocker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

No abstract provided.

Teaching American Legal History In A Law School, Peter D. Garlock

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Professor Peter Garlock describes his legal history course.

Using Visuals To Enhance Student Learning, Karin Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Professor Karen Mika describes how visuals can enhance student learning.

Teaching Persuasion And Critical Thinking Using The State Of The Union Address, Claire May

Law Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Simulations In Clinics, Contract Drafting, And Upper-Level Courses, Carole O. Heyward, David M. Epstein, Helen S. Scott, Daniel B. Bogart

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

I teach in a transactional clinic called the Urban Development Law Clinic. In my Clinic, we represent non-profit tax-exempt organizations that engage in real estate, economic, and community development. Some of our clients include Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity and Karamu House, which is a theater and community arts center. We serve as general counsel for some clients and provide legal advice on an as needed basis for others. The Clinic provides legal advice on real estate matters, corporate governance, transactions, and tax issues. The complexity of matters that we handle ranges from drafting a code of regulations to representing …

Redesigning The American Law School, David R. Barnhizer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

American law schools are an integral part of a vertically integrated system of production in which the end product is lawyers. Law schools are having rapidly increasing problems “selling” their “products” to potential employers/purchasers. Even if the law schools do not voluntarily cut back on the numbers of admitted students some states will decide there should be no public subsidy for educating students for employment areas such as law where there is no demand. Even though many private law schools will be affected negatively, publicly-funded law schools will also be dramatically affected due to declining state budgets and competition for …

Book Review: For The Common Good: Principles Of American Academic Freedom, By Matthew W. Finkin And Robert C. Post, Lauren M. Collins

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In For the Common Good: Principles of American Academic Freedom (2009), law professors Matthew W. Finkin (University of Illinois) and Robert C. Post (Yale) "articulate basic principles of American academic freedom" (p.6) as a means of grounding the ongoing debate over the concept. The authors succeed in providing an account that is both comprehensive and surprisingly concise. Though slow starting, their book aptly sets the scene for all who wish to participate in a continuing conversation about the state of academic freedom.

Would You Say That To Your Children? Enhancing Learning Through Improved Communication, Karin M. Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This paper discusses how an aging professor must change how she teaches in relation to how her relationship with her student changes. Sometimes professors see themselves in one way and do not realize that they are not perceived the same way they were years ago. The paper sets out advice for appearing less intimidating to students as they grow younger while we grow older.

From Reconstruction To Obama: Understanding Black Invisibility, Racism In Appalachia, And The Legal Community's Responsibility To Promote A Dialogue On Race At The Wvu College Of Law, Brandon Stump

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Note focuses on legal education in the United States and West Virginia in particular. Discussions on race, racism, and American law should take place in every legal classroom where race is relevant to the subject being discussed as a way to bridge gaps between communities. This is especially true for the West Virginia University College of Law ("College of Law"), which sits in the third whitest state in the country. The College of Law is the only law school in the state, and a majority of students at the College of Law are white and West Virginian. Thus, at …

Games In The Law School Classroom: Enhancing The Learning Experience, Karin M. Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Educators have always been concerned with devising ways to make education fun while engaging students in an activity that will be intellectually beneficial. This article explores the use of games in the legal writing classroom.

Before You Log-On: Incorporating The Free Web In Your Legal Research Strategy, Lauren M. Collins

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In 2006, the American Bar Association (ABA) published its Legal Technology Survey Report, which included a volume on Online Research. In the report, attorneys responded that 91% are conducting at least some of their research online. Though 39% report that they start their research using a fee-based service like Westlaw or Lexis, the report shows that even those who start their research with a fee-based resource eventually get it right-87% of attorneys report using some free online resources at some point over the course of a research project.

What's In A Name? A Gen Xer And Gen Yer Explore What It Means To Be Members Of Their Generations In The Workplace, Lauren M. Collins, Elizabeth A. Yates

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In the NextGen Librarian's Survival Guide by Rachel Singer Gordon, the author cites several reasons this time is different than times before in librarianship. Those that are most relevant to law librarianship include:

• Flattening workplace hierarchies and participative management increase the input of newer librarians in workplace decision making

• New technologies require changing skills that affect attitudes toward the integration of those technologies into our daily work

• Outside pressures, such as the prevalence of the Internet, impose a need for librarians to continually prove our relevance and improve relations with younger patrons

• The much talked about …

Review: Voices Of American Law: Us Supreme Court Cases Meet The 21st Century, Lauren M. Collins

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Review of documentary series Voices of American Law (Thomas B. Metzloff & Sarah Wood, producers)

Law Students Who Learn Differently: A Narrative Case Study Of Three Law Students With Attention Deficit Disorder (Add) , Leah M. Christensen

Journal of Law and Health

More law students than ever before begin law school having been diagnosed with a learning disability. As legal educators, do we have an obligation to expand our teaching methodologies beyond the typical law student? What teaching methodologies work most effectively for law students with learning disabilities? The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of law students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) about their law school experience. The case study yielded four themes relating to the social, learning and achievement domains of the students.First, law students with ADD experienced feelings of isolation in law school; second, the more …

Creating Online Tutorials: Five Lessons Learned, Lauren M. Collins

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

In the fall of 2005, two librarians, a legal research and writing program director, and an instructional technologist at Wayne State University received a grant to create online tutorials introducing novices to the basics of legal research. Tutorials were planned on subjects that the library and the legal research and writing program had traditionally covered jointly via library workshops, coordinated with classroom instruction for first-year law students. Since the mission of the law library is to support campus-wide activity and to assist members of the general public with legal research needs, the content of the tutorials was designed to serve …

A Frank & Honest Talk: Aall’S Diversity Symposium Takes On Hard Questions Of Creating And Maintaining Diversity In The Legal Community, Lauren M. Collins

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

"Getting a Rise Out of Diversity: Celebrating the Challenge" took on hard questions of diversity, while keeping the spirit of New Orleans alive through celebration. With speakers who work to maintain diversity in legal practice and education every day, participants engaged in a lively discussion of what diversity actually is and how to create and sustain it.

The Mystery Of David Barnhizer, Sheldon Gelman

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Professor Sheldon Gelman recalls the professional contributions and personal qualities of his colleague Professor David Barnhizer upon the occasion of his retirement.

What I Did Last Summer: A Few Thoughts On Getting Tenure, Christopher Sagers

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Professor Sagers shares his humorous reflections on obtaining tenure, noting that even if tenure is not really all that funny, and even if it courts some controversy, it turns out that it is nevertheless really interesting.

Transactional Law In The Required Legal Writing Curriculum: An Empirical Study Of The Forgotten Future Business Lawyer, Louis N. Schulze Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article will examine whether the expansion of required LRW courses into the realm of transactional drafting is justifiable. Part II will assess the need for required transactional drafting instruction by showing, empirically, that many students lack a disposition towards litigation or have an affirmative inclination towards non-litigation work. This Part includes both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the issue: It includes a survey of nearly one-thousand first-year law students nationwide and a set of questions and responses from a number of law students who self-identified as future transactional lawyers but who were members of traditional litigation-centric LRW courses. …

Too Long Neglected: Expanding Curricular Support For Public Interest Lawyering, Louis S. Rulli

Cleveland State Law Review

In short, as the academy sends more students than ever to corporate law firms, law schools need to do more to cultivate, nourish, and prepare the next generation of public interest lawyers. By making public interest lawyering more prominent in the curriculum, and offering students greater opportunity to work with faculty and students of similar interest on public interest issues, the academy can take an important step forward toward helping students overcome feelings of isolation and survive the formidable obstacles that discourage public interest careers. This article describes one such course, Lawyering in the Public Interest, which is offered as …

A Chilling Of Discourse, David R. Barnhizer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

I argue that the key consequence of the collectives of multicultural, postmodernists, radical feminists, critical race activists, sexuality advocates and others working for radical change is not only the politicization of knowledge in what is after all a realm of politics we call law, but the incoherence of knowledge and the loss of the quality and integrity of our pursuit of knowledge through scholarship. One result is that much of the scholarship and teaching found in the humane and political or noncumulative disciplines such as law are forms of self-interested propaganda in which honesty is muted or excluded and truth-seeking …

Ariadne's Thread: Leading Students Into And Out Of The Labyrinth Of The Rule Against Perpetuities , Maureen E. Markey

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article focuses partly on my own approach to teaching the Rule Against Perpetuities, but it addresses the approaches of others based on the survey responses. Although I have developed a method that works fairly well for my classes, I am always open to suggestions from others for modifying and improving that approach. Of course, a single method, no matter how good it appears to be, will not work for everyone. Therefore, I have incorporated a number of approaches into this Article so that those wanting to develop or improve their teaching of the Rule can pick and choose among …

Does Counterfactual History Have Any Lessons For Law Teachers And Lawyers? Does It Have Any Value For You, In Particular, In Your Area Of Research Or Teaching?, Arthur R. Landever

Law Faculty Presentations and Testimony

A counterfactual is speculating on the consequences if particular events had not happened as they did. For example, suppose the British had won the American Revolutionary War. What would have been the British policy in North America? As law teachers, lawyers, and perhaps policy makers, counterfactual history has much value for us. Its value, however, clearly depends upon the care we take in choosing a plausible counterfactual assertion, the degree of its breadth or, alternatively, its limited nature, and how we make use of the counterfactual.

Active Learning Benefits All Learning Styles: 10 Easy Ways To Improve Your Teaching, Barbara Tyler

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Two things made me a better teacher: my blind student and my deaf student. I realized when forced to confront my deficiencies several years ago that I did not speak enough for the blind student's auditory needs, nor did I provide enough images for the deaf student's visual learning needs. I corrected those deficiencies. Yet, I was still dissatisfied with the extent of my students' retained knowledge when I assessed their learning through class questions, exercises, quizzes, and tests.Then I learned that I was a kinesthetic learner. I began to read about learning styles and found that my own impatience …