Law Commons^™

Ethics: Informal Opinion 1151 - Lawyers And The Title "Doctor", Milard King Roper Jr.

Akron Law Review

The legal profession is the only professional group in the United States that has ever prohibited its practicing members with doctorates from using the title "Doctor." Now, with D.R. 2-102(F) of the Code and its interpretation in Informal Opinion 1151, lawyers have been given the opportunity to take advantage of the recognition of their education as being on a par with other doctoral training.

Interviewing And Counseling Clients In A Legal Setting, Mark K. Schoenfield, Barbara Pearlman Schoenfield

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this article is to point out some of the factors that, in the experience of the authors, contribute to the success, or lack of success, of an interview and to help the attorney discover the source of any difficulties which s/he may have so that the impact of factors leading to unsatisfactory encounters with clients may be reduced or eliminated.

Criminal Justice Act Of 1964; State Malpractice Suit Against Appointed Counsel; Ferri V. Ackerman, Sandra J. Branda

Akron Law Review

The United States Supreme Court in Ferri v. Ackerman reversed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and held that an attorney appointed by a federal judge to represent an indigent defendant in a federal criminal trial is not, as a matter of federal law, entitled to absolute immunity in a state malpractice suit brought against him by his former client. In a unanimous opinion, the Court decided that the function of appointed counsel is more closely analogous to that of private retained counsel, who enjoy no immunity from malpractice prosecution than to that of judges and prosecutors who have traditionally been accorded …

The Legal Profession: A Time For Self-Anaylsis, Ralph M. Nader

Akron Law Review

Law Day is always a good occasion to look over the role of the profession. Traditionally in many gatherings around the country, the profession has used Law Day to praise itself. This is an occupational trait of the legal profession which is not restricted to Bar Association banquets. I was asked to speak to a number of New York lawyers recently at one such event in New York. As I sat awaiting my turn, the lawyers first praised themselves and after they finished, they began praising judges and gave them awards, scrolls, and plaques. Finally I got up and I …

Book Review: To Set The Record Straight By Judge John J. Sirica, Richard L. Aynes

Akron Law Review

One of the recent and more worthy accounts is that presented by Washington D.C. District Court Judge John Sirica in his To Set the Record Straight. Judge Sirica's sixteen chapters generally cover five topics: 1) a prologue outlining his early experiences and how he attained his position of federal district judge; 2) the first Watergate break-in trial; 3) Judge Sirica's attempt to "break" the silence of the cover-up following the initial proceeding; 4) the controversy over the production of the Presidential tapes; and, 5) the ultimate trials of Nixon administration officials for conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Hohfeld's Cube, Mark Andrews

Akron Law Review

The thesis presented here is that the eight jural relations may be effectively graphed as the eight corners of a cube, and this image unifies all eight into a single logical structure. This structure symbolizes real legal relationships and assists an understanding of the way legal relations work. This article, then, is about Hohfeld's Cube.

The validity of the cube will be shown in three stages. First, the eight jural relations will be arranged on the cube in a manner which seems to best characterize the way Hohfeld intended his concepts to be used and which also seems to construct …

Lawgical An Approach To Computer-Aided Legal Analysis, John T. Welch

Akron Law Review

L AWGICAL is a system for computer-based information management designed to aid in legal analysis. The phrase "computer-aided legal analysis" used in the title of this article should not be interpreted here to imply to any degree the takeover of the legal analyst's task. LAWGICAL is intended, rather, as a practical tool of limited scope which enhances, but does not change, existing analysis technique. It is not an application of artificial intelligence. It is an application of computer technology on the same order as legal retrieval services or word processing equipment.

Search: A Computer Program For Legal Problem Solving, Robert Hellawell

Akron Law Review

This article describes a computer program called SEARCH which is designed to assist a lawyer in legal analysis. SEARCH deals with a single subject in corporate taxation, but its approach can be used for a variety of legal problems. SEARCH's subject is the attribution rules of section 318 of the Internal Revenue Code (hereinafter Code). These rules, heartily disliked by many, are seemingly complex and often both difficult and time consuming to apply. Essentially, the attribution rules provide that a taxpayer, in certain cases, will be considered to own corporate shares that he does not actually own. Such shares are …

Developing Standards For The Imposition Of Sanctions Under Rule 11 Of The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Adam H. Bloomenstein

Akron Law Review

This article will argue that the standard for imposing sanctions under Rule 11 should focus on the nature of the conduct alleged to violate the rule. Sanctions under the rule can be triggered by different types of conduct. Certain types of conduct should be scrutinized more closely, requiring the imposition of sanctions more frequently. Factors such as whether a party subject to Rule 11 sanctions is acting pro se or through counsel should also impact on a decision to assess sanctions under Rule 11. Each type of conduct should be evaluated under an independent set of standards. Part I will …

Computer-Aided Law Decisions, Stuart S. Nagel

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this article is to describe how microcomputers can aid in making law decisions, including decisions that relate to the judicial process, law practice, and law management.

Lawyer Liability In Third Party Situations: The Meaning Of The Kaye Scholer Case, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this analysis is to explain what Kaye Scholer was about, what are the basic concepts of lawyer liability to third parties, and why the practicing bar should heed a "wake up call."

How Valid Is The Often-Repeated Accusation That There Are Too Many Legal Articles And Too Many Law Reviews?, Howard A. Denemark

Akron Law Review

Law professors working at terminals with an Internet connection to the Web need not worry any more about whether the subject of a piece is too esoteric, too doctrinal, too complicated or even too impolitic for law review editors; we are free to write and publish on the topics of our choice. This freedom might give us a useful antidote to the substantive . . . sameness of the reviews as they now exist. On the Web, we need not endure months of frustrating or embarrassing delay while our papers are judged, peer reviewed, edited or printed in formal journals; …

Remembered Justice: The Background, Early Career And Judicial Appointments Of Justice Potter Stewart, Joel Jacobsen

Akron Law Review

During Potter Stewart’s 23 years on the Supreme Court he served with 17 other justices. All but four of the 17 have been the subject of at least one book-length biography, and the careers or decisions of the remaining four have been closely examined in scholarly monographs. Potter Stewart is the only one in his cohort of justices who has not had a book written about him or his work. If a person runs a search for “Stewart, Potter” in the Library of Congress on-line catalogue, the only hits that person will receive are for two collections of letters deposited …

The Zen Of Grading, Ruthann Robson

Akron Law Review

As law professors, we spend a substantial amount of time engaged in the activity of reviewing exams, papers, and other “evaluative devices” with the purpose of assigning our students grades. Personally, I estimate that I have spent over four thousand hours (almost six months of days and nights, or a year of long summer days) hunched over student work during my teaching career. It can be difficult not to consider student exams as a mere obstacle, a chore of the most unpleasant type to endure, and the worst part of our otherwise usually rewarding work as professors. Grading law school …

In The Wake Of White: How States Are Responding To Republican Party Of Minnesota V. White And How Judicial Elections Are Changing, Rachel Paine Caufield

Akron Law Review

The selection of state court judges in the United States has been the subject of vigorous debate. The controversy continues to build as some scholars contend that only the appointment of judges ensures the independence of the judiciary by insulating the judge from retaliation for unpopular decisions. Yet volumes of evidence unfold each day to reveal a judiciary under attack for making legal albeit unpopular decisions. While the cloak of a lifetime appointment with no effective method of removal does little to instill confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary, an election riddled with partisan rhetoric or one-sided attacks is …

Public Financing For Non-Partisan Judicial Campaigns: Protecting Judicial Independence While Ensuring Judicial Impartiality, Phyllis Williams Kotey

Akron Law Review

The selection of state court judges in the United States has been the subject of vigorous debate. The controversy continues to build as some scholars contend that only the appointment of judges ensures the independence of the judiciary by insulating the judge from retaliation for unpopular decisions. Yet volumes of evidence unfold each day to reveal a judiciary under attack for making legal albeit unpopular decisions. While the cloak of a lifetime appointment with no effective method of removal does little to instill confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary, an election riddled with partisan rhetoric or one-sided attacks is …

Financing Ohio Supreme Court Elections 1992-2002: Campaign Finance And Judicial Selection, Nancy Marion, Rick Farmer, Todd Moore

Akron Law Review

The 2000 Ohio Supreme Court election renewed interest in judicial selection reform. The election was noted for interest group issue advocacy and undisclosed campaign spending. Advocacy groups spent millions attempting to unseat incumbent Justice Alice Robie Resnick, leaving the impression that Ohio justice is controlled by special interests and trial lawyers. The uses of negative campaigning and issue advocacy seemed to confirm suspicions that the Ohio Supreme Court had become dependent on campaign contributions from those with cases before the court. After the election, legal academics and public interest organizations began discussing changes to Ohio’s semi-partisan system. Legal scholarship focused …

Commission On The 21st Century Judiciary, Thomas J. Moyer

Akron Law Review

We approach the centennial of one of the most famous critiques of the legal profession with a new set of challenges facing the judiciary. When Roscoe Pound delineated “The Causes of Popular Dissatisfaction with the Administration of Justice” in a 1906 speech to the American Bar Association, he attributed the dissatisfaction to what citizens decried as “the necessarily mechanical operation of legal rules.”

The “arbitrary technicalities,” as Pound described them, are still a frustration for those who represent themselves in legal disputes or those untrained in the liberties protected by those technicalities. Pound also noted that the public is frustrated …

The Modern University And Its Law School: Hierarchical, Bureaucratic Structures Replace Coarchical, Collegial Ones; Women Disappear From Tenure Track And Reemerge As Caregivers: Tenure Disappears Or Becomes Unrecognizable, Marina Angel

Akron Law Review

Recent changes in the organizational structure of law schools and universities have not been positive from the perspective of all women and men of color, the last hired. Tenured positions are disappearing rapidly and the nature of those that remain is changing drastically. Organizational structures are becoming more hierarchical, with women at the bottom of the hierarchy.

The Corporatization Of Academic Research: Whose Interests Are Served?, Risa L. Lieberwitz

Akron Law Review

The following article is the text of a speech given at the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting in January 2005, which has been edited and footnoted for publication in the Akron Law Review.

Forty-Two: The Hitchiker's Guide To Teaching Legal Research To The Google Generation, Ian Gallacher

Akron Law Review

This article is a meditation on contemporary legal research and possible changes in the way the subject should be taught. Absent from this article is any mention of the importance of teaching students about the mechanical workings of the various tools lawyers use to conduct legal research. It seems so resoundingly obvious that law schools should be doing this that any discussion of the issue would appear contrived and sterile. The much more interesting, and more difficult, questions to answer are what else law students should learn, who should teach it to them, and why they should learn it. These …

Do Law Schools Mistreat Women Faculty? Or, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Dan Subotnik

Akron Law Review

How much fire, if any, is there to charges, first leveled more than fifteen years ago and continuing today, that a harsh law school culture oppresses women faculty? As Martha Chamallas, a well-known feminist law critic, writes,—and perhaps professes in class as well—“[f]or both new and senior women law professors, gender bias is still a major fact of life.”... After evaluating the complaints against law schools, which I spell out below—and renouncing any presumption in my favor—I conclude, unindignantly, that the charges are almost entirely unproven...The principal charges leveled against the male establishment in terms of hiring, retention and promotion …

In Memoriam Professor Malina Coleman (1954-2009)

Akron Law Review

Article about and written in memory of Professor Malina Coleman.

Scholar, Father, And Friend: A Tribute To Professor Justice T. Modibo Ocran, Edward L. Gilbert

Akron Law Review

Last November, the Akron community lost a dear friend. For twenty years, he was a faculty member at the University of Akron School of Law, teaching students the intricacies of international and corporate law. His name was Tawia Modibo Ocran, and he was one of the smartest men I have ever met. Born and educated in Ghana, Professor Ocran brought to the classroom a unique perspective; he inspired generations of students with his real-life experiences and understanding of international global issues. He had an impressive, detailed knowledge of international issues and never ceased to amaze me with his ability to …

What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us: The Need For Empirical Research In Regulating Lawyers And Legal Services In The Global Economy, Carole Silver

Akron Law Review

My goal here, however, is not directly to challenge the framework of lawyer regulation. Instead, I write to suggest an adjustment to the existing regulatory regime, setting aside, at least for the moment, any challenge to the merits of the system itself. My proposal is quite modest: In order to inform the choices implicit in rulemaking, regulation ought to be based upon sound empirical evidence. This is particularly important because of the complexities brought about by globalization.

The Changing Landscape For In-House Counsel: Multijurisdictional Practice Considerations For Corporate Law Departments, Carol A. Needham

Akron Law Review

This article contains an overview of areas to consider regarding the ability of in-house attorneys licensed in one or more jurisdictions in the United States to continue providing legal services when in a new location. The focus in this article is on matters relevant for attorneys engaged in transactional work, rather than those who are interested in representing their clients in courtrooms, administrative tribunals, and similar forums.

Law Schools And The Legal Profession: A Way Forward, Peter A. Joy

Akron Law Review

This essay proceeds in four parts. Part II briefly examines the disengagement of law schools from the legal profession both in much of the scholarship produced and through courses required for graduation. Part III analyzes why some state bar regulators are imposing admission requirements in response to law schools failing to prepare students better for the practice of law. Part IV discusses the types of bar admission requirements being considered. Finally, in Part V, I argue that rather than being reactive and resistant to change, law schools should be forward looking and incorporate changes that will not only better prepare …

Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor: A Legacy Of Judicial Independence, Pierce J. Reed

Akron Law Review

An introduction to a special edition of the Akron Law Review, which celebrates the work of Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor during her first decade as a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio.