Law Commons^™

Lawyer, Form Thyself: Professional Identity Formation Strategies In Legal Education, Professional Responsibility, And Experiential Courses, Susan S. Daicoff

Susan Daicoff

Professional identity formation as a learning objective in law school may appear to be nontraditional and perhaps even innovative. While perhaps not a new concept, it is not typically an explicit goal of legal education. Empirical data finds that law school has demonstrable effects upon law students’ professional development; it also finds that certain nontraditional skills and competencies (or “soft skills”) make lawyers most effective. This article argues for explicit planning for and inclusion of professional identity development, including training in these nontraditional skills, in legal education. Professional identity encompasses one’s values, preferences, passions, intrinsic satisfactions, emotional intelligence, as well …

Keynote Address: Remarks At The Workshop On Tapping Into The World Of Electronic Legal Knowledge , Muna Ndulo

Muna B Ndulo

Professor Muna Ndulo of Cornell Law School presented the keynote address at the 2007 Starr Workshop, “Tapping into the World of Electronic Legal Knowledge.” The workshop took place at Cornell Law School October 7-10, 2007 and was co-sponsored by the Starr Foundation, New York University Law Library, and Cornell Law Library. Professor Ndulo addresses the topic of new information technologies and their importance to legal research and teaching.

A Brief Exploration Of Space: Some Observations On Law School Architecture, Robert H. Jerry Ii

Robert H. Jerry II

The nature of the space in which we work, teach, and study is important. The design of our surroundings affects our attitudes, moods, self-esteem, efficiency, and sense of community. For our students, space makes a difference in the quality of the learning experience. It is possible to teach and learn in deficient space, but it is easier to teach and learn when both faculty and students are comfortable, happy, and not distracted by the inconveniences and annoyances of a poorly designed environment. Inadequate space prevents us from achieving all of which we are capable, thereby diminishing our productivity, creativity, and …

Public Forum 2.1: Public Higher Education Institutions And Social Media, Robert H. Jerry Ii, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky

Robert H. Jerry II

Like most of us, public colleges and universities increasingly are communicating via Facebook, Second Life, YouTube, Twitter and other social media. Unlike most of us, public colleges and universities are government actors, and their social media communications present complex administrative and First Amendment challenges. The authors of this article — one the dean of a major public university law school responsible for directing its social media strategies, the other a scholar of social media and the First Amendment — have combined their expertise to help public university officials address these challenges. To that end, this article first examines current and …

Reflections On Leadership, Robert H. Jerry Ii

Robert H. Jerry II

This essay discusses aspects and theories of leadership, focusing on the servant-leadership theory and the writings of Robert Greenleaf, among others. The author concludes that servant-leadership theory is particularly well-suited to academic leadership, which generally has a close nexus with public service.

The Use And Abuse Of Humanistic Theory In Law: Reexamining The Assumptions Of Interdisciplinary Legal Scholarship, Charles Collier

Charles W. Collier

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Legal Scholarship In Search Of A Paradigm, Charles W. Collier

Charles W. Collier

No abstract provided.

Socioeconomics: Choice And Challenges, Jeffrey L. Harrison

Jeffrey L Harrison

The crucial link between rules and policy is choice. Rules require people to make choices that further policy. In addition, a single rule that is claimed to advance a specific policy involves a behavioral assumption of one kind or another. In this Article, the Author offers some closing observations with regard to the collection of articles from the Teaching Law & Socioeconomics Symposium. The Author's comments fall into two categories. First, he discusses an important theme that he has found throughout the articles: the importance of linking policy with the rules that further those policies by examining the determinants of …

Post-Tenure Scholarship And Its Implications, Jeffrey L. Harrison

Jeffrey L Harrison

Periodically in the popular press and even in academic circles, the question arises of whether professors should be granted lifetime employment contracts based on a sample of four to six years of a probationary period. Further clouding the issue of how easily tenure should be granted is the question of what determines tenure. Is it a reward for past efforts or based on a forecast of future productivity? These concepts may seem like the same thing but they are not. Accordingly, the huge commitment of resources that occurs when tenure is granted paired with the Author's observations of pre-tenure scholars …

Faculty Ethics In Law School: Shirking, Capture, And "The Matrix", Jeffrey L. Harrison

Jeffrey L Harrison

The primary focus of this essay is the ethical dimension of the decisions faculty governance requires law professors to make. This essay is devoted to the proposition that conditions are ideal for most law schools to be governed for the benefit of the faculty at the expense of the welfare of students and others (stakeholders) who expect to be served by the law school. This section also suggests that faculty shirking, if it occurs, stems primarily from a lack of respect for those whom the law school serves. Section II addresses the second step. Having described shirking and capture in …

Teaching Contracts From A Socioeconomic Perspective, Jeffrey L. Harrison

Jeffrey L Harrison

This essay begins with a brief discussion of what socioeconomics is. In this section I also address whether one must be well versed in conventional economics in order to apply a socioeconomic perspective. I then discuss the basic themes that are present throughout my contracts class that stem from my interest in socioeconomics. Underlying these themes is the more fundamental goal of devising methodologies for assessing the quality of contracts. By quality, I mean something more and perhaps more subtle than whether the parties have conformed to all the formal requirements. Instead, I encourage students to examine whether all of …

Diversity In Law Schools: Where Are We Headed In The Twenty-First Century, Jon L. Mills

Jon L. Mills

While we had historically recruited a large number of minority candidates to campus, because of the departures of our minority faculty, we needed to evaluate both our ability to recruit and our ability to retain minority faculty. Discriminatory hiring based on race is forbidden by law. The University of Florida is an equal opportunity employer. As a practical and legal matter, and in contrast to our current student admissions policy, we can consider race in employment decisions only to remedy past discrimination and only if narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. First, it is important to understand the …

Diversity Matters: Race, Gender And Ethnicity In Legal Education., Nancy E. Dowd, Kenneth B. Nunn, Jane E. Pendergast

Nancy Dowd

This Article presents more evidence of the inequality that persists in legal education for students. Based on a survey of University of Florida law students conducted in 2001, this study reaffirms the existence of differential experience and an inegalitarian culture in legal education. However, it also demonstrates the importance of diversity and the recognition by a significant majority of students of the value of race and gender pluralism. These competing findings provide a clear guide to the future direction of legal education.

Widener Adds Support For A State-Sponsored Law School, Erin Daly

Erin Daly

No abstract provided.

Whose Article Is It Anyway? Student Editors And The Law Review Process, Josephine R. Potuto

Josephine R Potuto

Law professors publish in law reviews, not peer-reviewed journals. They are edited by law students. The editing process can be both irritating and exasperating. From experiences lived and those shared by colleagues across the country, I provide concrete examples of where law student editors go wrong, and also explain why.

Inventing The New Classroom, Jennifer Mart-Rice, Debra Denslaw, Susan Boland, Jesse Bowman

Jennifer Mart-Rice

No abstract provided.

Teaching Llcs Through A Problem-Based Approach, Michelle M. Harner, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

Case studies and case simulations can be used to teach LLCs with an eye toward training business lawyers. These tools can be used in the traditional four-credit Business Associations (BA) course to supplement traditional teaching materials with mini-case studies that accent and apply analysis of primary legal sources. Alternatively, case studies and case simulations can be the centerpiece of a specialized course on LLCs. We discuss both approaches in this short essay.

Deal Deconstructions, Case Studies, And Case Simulations: Toward Practice Readiness With New Pedagogies In Teaching Business And Transactional Law, Michelle M. Harner, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

In this short commentary, we explore the use of two interrelated pedagogical methods for teaching transactional and business law. The first method is deal deconstruction, which analyzes the set of final deal documents and outcomes. This method is backward-looking, conducting a post-mortem on business transactions and analyzing the parties’ choices memorialized in the agreement against the legal and financial alternatives. The second method involves case studies and simulations, which are commonly seen in business schools. This method is forward-looking, exposing students to the uncertainties and situational contexts of doing deals and deal-related litigation. Together, these complementary methods help students understand …

Deal Deconstructions, Case Studies, And Case Simulations: Toward Practice Readiness With New Pedagogies In Teaching Business And Transactional Law, Michelle M. Harner, Robert J. Rhee

Michelle M. Harner

In this short commentary, we explore the use of two interrelated pedagogical methods for teaching transactional and business law. The first method is deal deconstruction, which analyzes the set of final deal documents and outcomes. This method is backward-looking, conducting a post-mortem on business transactions and analyzing the parties’ choices memorialized in the agreement against the legal and financial alternatives. The second method involves case studies and simulations, which are commonly seen in business schools. This method is forward-looking, exposing students to the uncertainties and situational contexts of doing deals and deal-related litigation. Together, these complementary methods help students understand …

Can Law Schools Prepare Students To Be Practice Ready?, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Professional Identity & Creating Community: A Tale Of Two Innovations, Jan Jacobowitz

Jan L Jacobowitz

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw.

"When students realize that everyone has a philosophy of how to conduct their lives - even those…[who] are unconscious of the philosophy have one, just not a sound one - they can understand the importance of engaging in the process of developing a philosophy that will guide them in life and in their jobs as lawyers." - Benjamin V. Madison III.

Students enter law school to become lawyers, but what does that really mean? What are a student’s values, hopes and dreams upon entering law school? …

"Ancient" Wisdom: When East Meets West, Kenneth Fox, Joel Lee, Stephanie Mitchell, Vasudha Srinivasan

Kenneth H Fox

This article examines Eastern and Western "ancient wisdom" traditions and applies those traditions to cross-cultural negotiation practice.

(S)Killing Me Softly: Unifying The “Soft Skills” Of Law Practice And Legal Education (Synthesizing Leadership, Collaboration, Professionalism, Emotional Intelligence, Conflict Resolution, Problem Solving, And Comprehensive Lawyering), Susan Daicoff

Susan Daicoff

No abstract provided.

Globalization And The Monopoly Of Aba-Approved Law Schools: Missed Opportunities Or Dodged Bullets?, Carole Silver

Carole Silver

As the market for lawyers and for law itself has responded to global forces, legal education also is becoming accustomed to working within a global context. U.S. law schools routinely look beyond the country’s borders to attract new students and opportunities. As with law firms and business generally, it no longer is sufficient to be domestic only; in order to gain prestige and to effectively compete in the U.S. market, schools must have a credible claim to being globally connected, if not global themselves. But despite the reorientation of law schools toward globalization, the regulatory regime in which U.S. law …

Mindful Ethics—A Pedagogical And Practical Approach To Teaching Legal Ethics, Developing Professional Identity, And Encouraging Civility, Jan Jacobowitz, Scott Rogers

Jan L Jacobowitz

Aristotle spoke of virtue and ethics as a combination of practical wisdom and habituation—an individual must learn from the application of critical reasoning skills to experience. Perhaps one of the earliest proclamations of the value of experiential learning, the Aristotelian view, reappears throughout history and is captured once again by the Carnegie Foundation’s Report on Legal Education, which includes a call for instruction that provides practical skills and ethical grounding to complement the teaching of legal analysis. The Carnegie Report continues to play a role in the ongoing discussion of the need to reform legal education; a debate that is …

A Technological Trifecta: Using Videos, Playlists, And Facebook In Law School Classes To Reach Today’S Students, Dionne Anthon, Anna Hemingway, Amanda Smith

Anna P. Hemingway

Deals Or No Deals: Integrating Transactional Skills In The First Year Curriculum, Lynnise E. Pantin

Lynnise E. Pantin

No abstract provided.

The Short Paper, Scott Dodson

Scott Dodson

Short papers have been relegated to secondary status primarily because of their length. But many scholarly papers of under 10,000 words have had monumental impact in legal thought. I argue for a reassessment of the short paper's value and offer some prescriptions for assimilating more openness to the short paper going forward.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Is The Use Of Calling Emerson A Pragmatist: A Brief And Belated Response To Stanley Cavell, Allen P. Mendenhall

Allen Mendenhall

This essay investigates the relationship between Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in the context of the common law. Holmes’s Emersonian writings, in particular his dissents, fall within the theoretical framework of agonism, which Harold Bloom refers to as a revisionary and Emersonian “program.” Agonism as a political and aesthetic theory maintains that sites of contestation can be productive rather than destructive; it suggests that confrontational relationships can be at once mutually offsetting and generative. Drawing from the Greek word for an athletic competition, agonism applied to rhetoric underscores the importance of mutuality to conflict: writers struggling against …

Continuing Legal Education A Year In Review: Analysis And Recommendations, Shaun Jamison

Shaun Jamison

Continuing legal education (CLE or MCLE) is one way to help lawyers stay current with substantive law, skills, and prepare for potentially dramatic and fast moving changes to the practice of law. This paper examines one year of continuing legal education approved for credit in Minnesota. While Minnesota attorneys enjoy access to over 10,000 CLE courses in a variety of timely topics, there are opportunities to improve. In order to best address the rapid and dramatic change in the legal field, a more favorable regulation of law office management CLEs is required. More flexible regulation and partnerships between CLE providers, …