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Full-Text Articles in Law
A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp
A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp
ExpressO
The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.
The Case For American History In The Law-School Curriculum, Harold P. Southerland
The Case For American History In The Law-School Curriculum, Harold P. Southerland
ExpressO
This article argues for the teaching of American History throughout the first year of law school. I do not believe that students can fully understand the cases they are reading in other courses without a knowledge of environing context. Understanding American History -- which is many respects doesn't paint a flattering picture -- may also help students in making fundamental choices about what role they wish to play in their careers as lawyers. I believe it is time to recognize that too much of the profession is run as a business and not as a noble calling dedicated to helping …
Form And Substance: Standards For Promotion And Retention Of Legal Writing Faculty On Clinical Tenure Track, Melissa H. Weresh
Form And Substance: Standards For Promotion And Retention Of Legal Writing Faculty On Clinical Tenure Track, Melissa H. Weresh
ExpressO
This article compares standards for promotion and retention of legal writing faculty on a clinical tenure track. The article provides a brief history of legal writing professionals and examines specific employment criteria such as teaching, service, and scholarship. The article makes recommendations regarding those criteria based upon an assessment of institutional realities and the historical development of the profession.
Imagining The Law-Trained Reader: The Faulty Description Of The Audience In Legal Writing Textbooks., Jessica E. Price
Imagining The Law-Trained Reader: The Faulty Description Of The Audience In Legal Writing Textbooks., Jessica E. Price
ExpressO
In law schools today, first-year legal writing courses play a crucial role in helping students learn to communicate about the law. Many legal writing teachers approach legal writing education in a practical way, attempting to pass on their own experiences in law practice settings to students. Unfortunately, as other writers have observed, such reliance on personal knowledge about “what lawyers are like” may lead legal writing teachers to oversimplify a complicated matter – the needs and preferences of the audience for legal writing – and may even amount to indoctrination in stereotypes about law practice. This article offers a closer …
Learning To Writing In Code: The Value Of Using Legal Writing Exercises To Teach Tax Law, Scott A. Schumacher
Learning To Writing In Code: The Value Of Using Legal Writing Exercises To Teach Tax Law, Scott A. Schumacher
ExpressO
Traditionally, law school tax courses have been taught using a mix of problems, class discussion, the Socratic method, and one end-of-term exam. The goal of these courses is to introduce students to key concepts of tax law and to teach them the essential skill of reading and interpreting the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations. This traditional method of instruction is an efficient and cost-effective way of transmitting a great deal of complex information to a large number of students. It is also a good vehicle to teach the essential skill of reading and interpreting the Code. However, the time …
Explaining The Value Of Transactional Lawyering, Steven L. Schwarcz
Explaining The Value Of Transactional Lawyering, Steven L. Schwarcz
ExpressO
This article attempts, empirically, to explain the value that lawyers add when acting as counsel to parties in business transactions. Contrary to existing scholarship, which is based mostly on theory, this article shows that transactional lawyers add value primarily by reducing regulatory costs, thereby challenging the reigning models of transactional lawyers as “transaction cost engineers” and “reputational intermediaries.” This new model not only helps inform contract theory but also reveals a profoundly different vision than existing models for the future of legal education and the profession.
In Facetiis Verititas: How Improv Comedy Can Help Lawyers Get Some Chops, Steven Lubet
In Facetiis Verititas: How Improv Comedy Can Help Lawyers Get Some Chops, Steven Lubet
ExpressO
Lawyers can learn a lot from the theory of improvisational comedy, and it isn’t just a matter of thinking on your feet. As we will explain, the key concept in both disciplines is the creation of a new, temporary reality. In improvisation, the cast must draw the audience into sharing the constructed reality of the stage, such that they can actually “see” the objects and characters portrayed, without the use of props or costumes. In trial, the lawyer must draw the jury into sharing the re-constructed reality of past events, such that they “see” what happened, even though they were …
Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp
Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp
ExpressO
This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.
Paid Family Leave In American Law Schools: Findings And Open Questions, Laura T. Kessler
Paid Family Leave In American Law Schools: Findings And Open Questions, Laura T. Kessler
ExpressO
There exists a substantial literature on the status of women in the legal profession, including studies on women students’ experiences in law schools, gender bias on law school faculties, and family leave policies and practices among legal employers. However, no recent study examines the family leave policies and practices in American law schools. This study seeks to fill that gap. Its findings are threefold. First, almost three quarters of law schools provide wage replacement during a family leave that is more generous than required by federal law. Second, there is a positive relationship between teaching at top-tier and private law …
When The Inquisitorial And Adversary Systems Collide: Teaching Trial Advocacy To Latin American Lawyers, Leonard L. Cavise
When The Inquisitorial And Adversary Systems Collide: Teaching Trial Advocacy To Latin American Lawyers, Leonard L. Cavise
ExpressO
The first part of the article reviews the principal differences in the two systems as it affects trial procedure. The article then reviews those aspects of accusatorial trial proceedings that caused the greatest degree of discomfort to the foreign lawyers. Finally, the article attempts to posit a few recommendations that should help not only to ease the transition process but also to anticipate the next level of procedural and substantive obstacles.
When The Inquisitorial And Adversary Systems Collide: Teaching Trial Advocacy To Latin American Lawyers, Leonard L. Cavise
When The Inquisitorial And Adversary Systems Collide: Teaching Trial Advocacy To Latin American Lawyers, Leonard L. Cavise
ExpressO
"When the Inquisitorial and Adversary Systems Collide: Teaching Trial Advocacy to Latin American Lawyers" The first part of the article reviews the principal differences in the two systems as it affects trial procedure. The article then reviews those aspects of accusatorial trial proceedings that caused the greatest degree of discomfort to the foreign lawyers. Finally, the article attempts to posit a few recommendations that should help not only to ease the transition process but also to anticipate the next level of procedural and substantive obstacles.
Some Preliminary Statistical, Qualitative, And Anecdotal Findings Of An Empirical Study Of Collegiality Among Law Professors, Michael L. Seigel
Some Preliminary Statistical, Qualitative, And Anecdotal Findings Of An Empirical Study Of Collegiality Among Law Professors, Michael L. Seigel
ExpressO
This article is an empirically-based follow-up to a piece I published last year in the Journal of Legal Education entitled, On Collegiality, 54 J. Legal Educ. 406 (2004). It provides insight into the process of conducting empirical research and sets forth some preliminary – yet very intriguing – data and qualitative information gleaned from a survey responded to by more than 1200 law professors nationwide. The survey addressed a wide range of topics related to collegiality and job satisfaction in the legal-academic profession.
Readers' Expectations, Discourse Communities, And Writing Effective Bar Exam Answers, Denise D. Riebe
Readers' Expectations, Discourse Communities, And Writing Effective Bar Exam Answers, Denise D. Riebe
ExpressO
This article advocates that law schools should provide bar exam preparation for students, including instruction regarding effective writing for bar exams. Using the reader expectation approach and considering the unique conventions of the legal profession's discourse community as a theoretical backdrop, this article examines effective writing for bar exams. It also provides practical recommendations for instructing students to write effective bar exam answers.
Internationalizing U.S. Legal Education: A Report On The Education Of Transnational Lawyers, Carole Silver
Internationalizing U.S. Legal Education: A Report On The Education Of Transnational Lawyers, Carole Silver
ExpressO
This article analyses the role of U.S. law schools in educating foreign lawyers and the increasingly competitive global market for graduate legal education. U.S. law schools have been at the forefront of this competition, but little has been reported about their graduate programs. This article presents original research on the programs and their students, drawn from interviews with directors of graduate programs at 35 U.S. law schools, information available on law school web sites about the programs, and interviews with graduates of U.S. graduate programs. Finally, the article considers the responses of U.S. law schools to new competition from foreign …
Lawyers And Learning: A Metacognitive Approach To Legal Education, Anthony S. Niedwiecki
Lawyers And Learning: A Metacognitive Approach To Legal Education, Anthony S. Niedwiecki
ExpressO
The article discusses how the current methods of teaching law students hinder their ability to transfer the knowledge and skills learned in law school to the practice of law. I propose integrating learning theory into the law school curriculum, with a specific focus on teaching metacognitive skills. Generally, metacognition refers to having both an awareness of and control over one’s learning and thinking. Professors can help the students gain an awareness of their learning by focusing the students on which learning preferences and experiences they bring to law school and how they can match them to the skills required of …
Collaboration And Modeling: Reconsidering "Non-Directive" Orthodoxy In Clinical Legal Education, Harriet N. Katz
Collaboration And Modeling: Reconsidering "Non-Directive" Orthodoxy In Clinical Legal Education, Harriet N. Katz
ExpressO
Clinical legal education scholarship has primarily emphasized “nondirective” supervision of law students by lawyer supervisors, although some scholars have contended that other supervision methods may be helpful for some students and a few have contended that the method of supervision was not critical to student learning. Externship supervision provides examples of a varied repertoire of supervision methods that may be applicable to on-campus clinics as well, depending on the educational goals of the clinic. Student views of the teaching value of supervision they experienced in externship at the author’s law school support the view that collaboration and modeling, as well …
Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor
Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor
ExpressO
No abstract provided.
The Legal Employment Market: Determinants Of Elite Firm Placement, And How Law Schools Stack Up, Anthony M. Ciolli
The Legal Employment Market: Determinants Of Elite Firm Placement, And How Law Schools Stack Up, Anthony M. Ciolli
ExpressO
Data collected on 15,293 law firm associates from 1295 employers who graduated from law school between 2001 and 2003 were used to develop a “total quality score” for every ABA-accredited law school, both nationally and for nine geographic regions. Quantitative methods were then used to identify factors that help explain the variation in a law school’s national career placement success at elite law firms. The findings revealed that while a law school’s academic reputation is the single biggest predictor of placement, several other factors were also highly significant. Differences in grading system, class rank disclosure policies, and the number of …
Using Our Brains: What Cognitive Science Teaches About Teaching Law Students To Be Ethical, Professionally Responsible Lawyers, Alan M. Lerner
Using Our Brains: What Cognitive Science Teaches About Teaching Law Students To Be Ethical, Professionally Responsible Lawyers, Alan M. Lerner
ExpressO
Throughout our lives, below the level of our consciousness, each of us develops powerful values, intuitions, expectations, and needs that powerfully affect both our perceptions and our judgments. Placed in situations in which we feel threatened, or which implicate our values, our brains, relying on those implicitly learned, emotionally weighted, memories, can "downshift," to primitive, self-protective problem solving techniques - fight or flight. Because these processes operate below the radar of our consciousness, we react without reflection or the opportunity for interdiction. Thus, it may be that automatic, “emotional” reaction, rather than thoughtful, reasoned analysis leads to our responses to …
The New Japanese Law Schools, James R. Maxeiner
The New Japanese Law Schools, James R. Maxeiner
ExpressO
Japan is in the process of implementing a comprehensive reform of its justice system. At the heart of the reform is a complete overhaul of the system of legal education. The new system is intended to increase substantially the number of lawyers in the country. On April 1, 2004 as many as 72 new law schools are to come into existence. Japanese legal education is shifting from a German-inspired law faculty approach to an American-style law school system. Based on first-hand observations, this article discusses the present and future system of Japanese legal education with reference to its foreign counterparts.
Interpersonal Dynamics, Joshua D. Rosenberg
Interpersonal Dynamics, Joshua D. Rosenberg
ExpressO
This article explains the importance of relationship skills to attorneys. It explains why, despite the significance of these skills to attorneys, law schools and law firms ignore them. It then explains how these skills can be taught in law school, and how a relation al perspective can become not simply an important part of the law, but also an important part of the lives of lawyers. It develops and supports an ap proach that develops the cognitive, behavioral, perceptual and emotional skills and awareness essential to both accurate communication and productive and meaningful relationships. This approach is quite different from …