Law Commons^™

Practicing Practical Wisdom, Deborah J. Cantrell, Kenneth Sharpe

Publications

Wisdom is not an innate character trait; no one automatically is wise; wisdom is learned and acquired. More importantly, one can learn and acquire wisdom intentionally and skillfully — one can practice it. And, if the practice is structured in particular ways, the practice will improve one’s capacities to act with wisdom. This article clarifies theoretical muddiness and pedagogical imprecision by bringing together two important and robust strands of legal ethics literature. The first strand focuses on what the appropriate role of a lawyer is in a just society, while the second focuses on how a lawyer learns to be, …

Who Should Be Our Moral Compass Now?, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers conducted a survey of over 27,000 lawyers across the country about the qualities, skills and competencies necessary for new lawyers. Almost 73 percent said having a "strong moral compass" is necessary for a lawyer to be successful in the short term. Only 17 (out of 147) other skills, competencies and characteristics, received a higher percentage of votes. Included among these were "treat others with courtesy and respect" (91.9 percent), act with "integrity and trustworthiness" (92.3 percent), and "honor commitments" (93.9 percent).

The full results of the survey have not been published, but were presented to a small …

Letter To The Editor, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

Letter to the Editor of the New York Times in response to the articles "College for the Masses" and "Push, Don't Crush, the Students" in the April 26, 2015 edition of the New York Times.

When Experiential Learning Takes Center Stage - Not Yet, Wes R. Porter

Publications

While experiential learning for decades has been part of the law school experience, it was not the part traditionally portrayed as integral to a student’s path to becoming an attorney. Law schools today, however, appear to celebrate and even extoll experiential learning and the once isolated pockets of law schools which brought it into the mainstream. Unfortunately, closer inspection reveals that the experiential learning movement in law school may be more marketing and spin than an honest shift in pedagogy, curriculum and culture. The next step for experiential learning may be the most difficult: progressing beyond the marketing doublespeak and …

Notes From The Field: The Role Of The Lawyer In Grassroots Policy Advocacy, Hina B. Shah

Publications

In the past decade, domestic workers have built a national, grassroots, worker-led movement to address the systemic exclusion of domestic workers from basic wage and hour laws. They have been widely successful in the last three years with the passage of a state domestic worker bill of rights in several states, the adoption by the International Labour Organization of the Convention and Recommendation Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, and federal policy changes by the Department of Labor. Building visibility through worker leadership and broad-based coalitions, the domestic work campaigns have succeeded in gaining fairer treatment under the law. Behind …

The Cambodian Law Faculty: Blueprint For A Curriculum Rich In Research And Experiential Education, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

Publications

Experiential education. Rigorous research and writing. Scholarly engagement. A window onto the ASEAN nations and beyond. These should be the hallmarks of today’s law faculty in Cambodia. The objective is to provide a professional education for the future thinkers and leaders of a nation in the throes of rapid development.

A New Day: Prime Time To Advance Afghan Clinical Education, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

Publications

In a previous issue of the Journal, Richard Grimes discussed the role that legal clinics can play in facilitating access to justice in a post-­‐conflict society, such as Afghanistan’s, wracked by decades of civil war, external military intervention, and consequential regime changes. 1 ASIAN J. LEGAL EDUC. 71 (2014). As foreign military forces withdraw, this Central Asian nation faces renewed security concerns and uncertainty about its politico-­‐economic future. Yet, there is now a critical mass of law and Shari’a professors trained in the principles of experiential education, a few legal clinics are in place, and many deans are keen on …

Prepared For Practice? Developing A Comprehensive Assessment Plan For A Law School Professional Skills Program, Anthony S. Niedwiecki

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Part I of this Article will outline the accreditation requirements for developing and publishing learning outcomes. Part II will provide an overview of the process of curricular planning in light of the new ABA Standards. Part III will explain the steps schools can take to develop learning outcomes and map those across the curriculum. Part IV will discuss the elements of what makes an assessment plan effective, with a focus on the best ways to use formative assessment to improve the metacognitive skills of the students. Part V will detail the approach The John Marshall Law School took to improve …

From Access To Success: Affirmative Action Outcomes In A Class-Based System, Matthew N. Gaertner, Melissa Hart

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Scholarly discussion about affirmative action policy has been dominated in the past ten years by debates over "mismatch theory'"--the claim that race-conscious affirmative action harms those it is intended to help by placing students who receive preferences among academically superior peers in environments where they will be overmatched and unable to compete. Despite serious empirical and theoretical challenges to this claim in academic circles, mismatch has become widely accepted outside those circles, so much so that the theory played prominently in Justice Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion in Fisher v. University of Texas. This Article explores whether mismatch occurs in …

The More Things Change . . . : Exploring Solutions To Persisting Discrimination In Legal Academia, Melissa Hart

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No abstract provided.

Lawyers And Spoiled Identity, Paul Campos

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No abstract provided.

How Improving Decision-Making And Mindfulness Can Improve Legal Ethics And Professionalism, Peter H. Huang

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Lawyers who behave unethically and unprofessionally do so for various reasons, ranging from intention to carelessness. Lawyer misconduct can also result from decision-making flaws. Psychologist Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath, in their best-selling book, Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work, suggest a process to improve people’s decision-making. They introduce the acronym WRAP as the mnemonic for these decision-making heuristics: (1) Widen your options, (2) Reality-test your assumptions, (3) Attain distance before deciding, and (4) Prepare to be wrong. The WRAP process mitigates these cognitive biases: (1) narrow framing of a decision problem, (2) …

Research Analysis And Planning: The Undervalued Skill In Legal Research Instruction, Robert M. Linz

Publications

This article describes a method of research analysis and planning for legal problems. It introduces the framework of research plan, log, and product and provides a detailed research plan and log that students can use as a template for learning research. The article suggests how to teach the method in legal research classes, shares some of the author's experiences in teaching the method, and addresses some possible criticisms of this approach.

The Zombie Lawyer Apocalypse, Peter H. Huang, Corie Rosen Felder

Publications

This Article uses a popular cultural framework to address the near-epidemic levels of depression, decision-making errors, and professional dissatisfaction that studies have documented are prevalent among law students and lawyers today.

Zombies present an apt metaphor for understanding and contextualizing the ills now common in the American legal and legal education systems. To explore that metaphor and its import, this Article will first establish the contours of the zombie literature and will apply that literature to the existing state of legal education and legal practice, ultimately describing a state that we believe can only be termed "the Zombie Lawyer Apocalypse." …

Reflections On Teaching Business Associations: The Case For Teaching More Agency And Unincorporated Business Entity Law, Mark J. Loewenstein

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This paper argues for increased coverage of the law of agency and alternative entities in business associations courses.

Letter To The Editor, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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No abstract provided.

Learning From The Hope Of Our Veterans, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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I have previously written about the valuable perspective student veterans bring with them to law school and how their experiences and knowledge can enrich classroom discussion about the rule of law and democracy. More recently, I have been impressed with what I am learning about both the training military personnel undergo and their deployment experiences that can teach us all valuable lessons about resilience, grit and perseverance. Veterans also have a lot to teach us about hope. While preparing for combat is not at all the same as preparing to be a lawyer. there are similar mindsets and approaches that …

Viewpoint: Want To Learn To Think Like A Lawyer? It's 'Elementary'!, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

Legal education is often described as teaching students "how to think like a lawyer." Indeed, most lawyers will agree that law school pedagogy altered their intellectual approach to problems, arguments and analytical challenges. However, most attempts to define the old saw "think like a lawyer" prove elusive. Maria Konnikova's book, "Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes," effectively captures what it means to think like a lawyer in a way that is both meaningful and relevant to the transformations occurring in legal education and in the practice of law. The book contains some great lessons for cultivating the habits of …

Legal Education Takes Mentoring, Modeling And Trust, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

As the new academic year began. I decided to meet individually with each and every one of our first year students. I believe that this is one effective way to convey to students that the faculty, staff, alumni and other students - all members of our community - are committed to their success. In addition, my colleagues and I deeply appreciate that very soon these first year students will be our colleagues in the legal community - what an awesome opportunity and :responsibility to be able to cultivate the qualities and traits that we value in our future peers. I …

Clinical Legal Education In Afghanistan: Next Steps, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

Publications

Law and Shari’a faculties in Afghanistan now have a critical mass of professors trained in the principles of interactive teaching and experiential education. Many deans and other administrators are keen on the idea of hosting a legal clinic or an innovative educational model. Piloting a clinical program requires a team of junior and senior faculty members who remain in continuous and long-term contact with their peers and practitioners across the nation, and with clinicians in the Global South and North. This should include a partnership with a reputable law school abroad for study, clinical practice and clinic tutorials; assistance from …

Engaging Work, Working While Engaged, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

Several recent items have led me to reflect on the meaning of work. Law students often ask my advice about their careers, and I typically ask them what they enjoy. “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day” is one of my favorite quotes. Therefore, Gordon Marino’s piece in the New York Times, Sunday Review, A Life Beyond ‘Do What You Love’ (May 18, 2014), gave me pause. Marino questions whether the advice of do what you love is really sound advice, as well as whether it is advice only for the elite who might have the luxury …

Empathetic Advocacy - Law Schools And Our Veterans, Rachel A. Van Cleave

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GGU Law Dean Rachel Van Cleave discusses how to best advocate for veterans attending law school.

Citator Exercise, Jodi Collova

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This "Citator Exercise" was included in the American Association of Law Libraries 2014 National Research Teach-In Instructional Resources Kit. The entire Kit is available here: http://www.aallnet.org/sections/rips/teachin/2014.html.

The Courage Of Law Students, Rachel A. Van Cleave

Publications

The beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions, resolve and optimism. Thus, it is fitting that the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools meets at the beginning of the year. This year, law school deans, faculty and staff gathered to discuss the theme "Looking Forward: Legal Education in the 21st Century." Given the significant challenges facing law schools and the legal profession, many of the sessions focused on how law schools can better support, train and prepare students to ensure that they have fulfilling careers. Many sessions explored at a deeper level how our …

Returning To The Basics: Rethinking The Meaning Of “Practice” In Law School, Reichi Lee

Publications

Legal education is in crisis and everyone is talking about it. When the economy took a nosedive, legal jobs were no long-er handed out on a silver platter and law firms began to balk at the expense of training lawyers. You can’t surf the internet without reading yet another blogger’s lament on ‘what law school does not teach you’ or why one ‘should not go to law school.’ Those forces, coupled with the sky-rocketing costs of legal education, have even the United States President (himself a former law professor) suggesting that law school should be shortened to two years. In …

Beyond The Fakultas' Four Walls: Linking Education, Practice, And The Legal Profession, Stephen A. Rosenbaum

Publications

More than fifty years after the first post-colonial Southeast Asian regional conference on legal education, commentators and educators do not necessarily agree on the appropriate curricular balance between theory, doctrine, and practice, or what role the government should play in directing the orientation of legal studies and careers in Indonesia’s law schools. The author argues in favor of legal education that is rich in experiential learning and integrates the involvement of practitioners and doctrinal faculty. This objective may be a relatively new reality in Indonesia, but also one that needs revitalization in other Southeast Asian nations and beyond. This article …

Missing The Forest For The Trees: Gender Pay Discrimination In Academia, Melissa Hart

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Women in virtually every job category still make less than men. Academia is no exception. This Article will explore some of the structural explanations for this continued disparity and the continued resistance to seriously confronting those structural barriers to equality. Using the still-unfolding story of a charge of discrimination filed against a university, this Article examines the script that has become all-too-familiar in discussions about the gender pay gap, whether in academia or elsewhere. The basic storyline in pay discrimination litigation is this: Evidence is presented about the existence of a gap between men's earnings and women's earnings. The response …

Pragmatic Liberalism: The Outlook Of The Dead, Justin Desautels-Stein

Publications

At the turn of the twentieth century, the legal profession was rocked in a storm of reform. Among the sparks of change was the view that "law in the books" had drifted too far from the "law in action." This popular slogan reflected the broader postwar suspicion that the legal profession needed to be more realistic, more effective, and more in touch with the social needs of the time. A hundred years later, we face a similarly urgent demand for change. Across the blogs and journals stretches a thread of anxieties about the lack of fit between legal education and …

Internships As Invisible Labor, Melissa Hart

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No abstract provided.

The Story Behind A Letter In Support Of Professor Derrick Bell, Cheryl Nelson Butler, Sherrilyn Ifill, Suzette Malveaux, Margaret E. Montoya, Natsu Taylor Saito, Nareissa L. Smith, Tanya Washington

Publications

Professor Derrick A. Bell, Jr. had a long and proud history of disturbing authority. He is widely noted as one of the founders of Critical Race Theory. His scholarship on race was not only a direct challenge to the traditionally conservative legal academy, but also to the more liberal bastions within the academy, such as the Critical Legal Studies movement. His writings about the role of race in American law have made him one of the most prominent legal scholars of a generation.

However, Professor Bell did not merely write about racial injustices. He was willing to take risks to …