Law Commons^™

A Simple Low-Cost Institutional Learning-Outcomes Assessment Process, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Law school institutional learning outcomes require measuring nuanced skills that develop over time. Rather than look at achievement just in our own courses, institutional outcome-measures assessment requires collective faculty engagement and critical thinking about our students’ overall acquisition of the skills, knowledge, and qualities that ensure they graduate with the competencies necessary to begin life as professionals. Even for those who believe outcomes assessment is a positive move in legal education, in an era of limited budgets and already over-burdened faculty, the new mandated outcomes assessment process raises cost and workload concerns. This essay addresses those concerns. It describes a …

Addressing Social Loafing On Faculty Committees, Andrea A. Curcio, Mary A. Lynch

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

Institutional Failure, Campus Sexual Assault And Danger In The Dorms: Regulatory Limits And The Promise Of Tort Law, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Data demonstrates the majority of on-campus sexual assaults occur in dorm rooms. At many colleges, this fact receives little, if any, attention. This article discusses how schools' failure to raise awareness about, and develop risk reduction programs for, dorm-based assaults is another example of long-standing institutional failures when it comes to addressing campus sexual assault. Ignoring where most on-campus assaults occur provides students with a false sense of security in their dorms, limits the efficacy of bystander intervention programs, and results in scant attention and research directed at the efficacy of dorm-based awareness and risk-reduction efforts. This article suggests that …

Addressing Barriers To Cultural Sensibility Learning: Lesson From Social Cognition Theory, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Understanding subconscious biases, their pervasiveness, and their impact on perceptions, interactions, and analyses, helps prepare lawyers to represent people from cultural and racial backgrounds different from their own, and to address both individual and institutional injustice. Two law student surveys suggest many students believe lawyers are less susceptible than clients to having, or acting upon, stereotypes or biases. The survey results also indicate that many students suffer from bias blind spot – i.e. they believe that while others cannot recognize when they are acting based upon stereotypical beliefs and biases, the students know when they are doing so. The survey …

China's Future Lawyers: Some Differences In Education And Outlook, Malinda L. Seymore, Patricia Ross Mccubbin, Andrea Curcio, Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons

Andrea A. Curcio

The number of Chinese lawyers and law schools is burgeoning as China's legal system undergoes significant substantive changes. Whether in business transactions or in legal disputes about products liability, intellectual property, or any number of other issues, U.S. lawyers in this era of globalization will begin to have more frequent interactions with their Chinese counterparts. Additionally, more and more U.S. law students and professors are involved in international exchanges with Chinese law schools. These growing opportunities for interaction among U.S.- and China-trained legal professionals bring with them unique challenges and opportunities because of cultural, political, and legal system differences.

The …

Empirical Evidence That Formative Assessments Improve Final Exams, Carol Springer Sargent, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

Does Practice Make Perfect?: An Empirical Examination Of The Impact Of Practice Essays On Essay Exam Performance, Andrea A. Curcio, Gregory Todd Jones, Tanya M. Washington

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

Addressing Barriers To Cultural Sensibility Learning: Lessons From Social Cognition Theory, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Understanding subconscious biases, their pervasiveness, and their impact on perceptions, interactions, and analyses, helps prepare lawyers to represent people from cultural and racial backgrounds different from their own, and to address both individual and institutional injustice. Two law student surveys suggest many students believe lawyers are less susceptible than clients to having, or acting upon, stereotypes or biases. The survey results also indicate that many students suffer from bias blind spot – i.e. they believe that while others cannot recognize when they are acting based upon stereotypical beliefs and biases, the students know when they are doing so. The survey …

Rule 412 Laid Bare: A Procedural Rule That Cannot Adequately Protect Sexual Harassment Plaintiffs From Embarrassing Exposure, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

Addressing Barriers To Cultural Sensibility Learning: Lesson From Social Cognition Theory, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Understanding subconscious biases, their pervasiveness, and their impact on perceptions, interactions, and analyses, helps prepare lawyers to represent people from cultural and racial backgrounds different from their own, and to address both individual and institutional injustice. Two law student surveys suggest many students believe lawyers are less susceptible than clients to having, or acting upon, stereotypes or biases. The survey results also indicate that many students suffer from bias blind spot – i.e. they believe that while others cannot recognize when they are acting based upon stereotypical beliefs and biases, the students know when they are doing so. The survey …

The Georgia Roundtable Discussion Model: Another Way To Approach Reforming Rape Laws, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

Georgia's Public Service Bar Exam Alternative, Andrea A. Curcio, Clark D. Cunningham

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

Testing, Diversity, And Merit: A Reply To Dan Subotnik And Others, Andrea A. Curcio, Carol L. Chomsky, Eileen Kaufman

Andrea A. Curcio

The false dichotomy between achieving diversity and rewarding merit frequently surfaces in discussions about decisions on university and law school admissions, scholarships, law licenses, jobs, and promotions. “Merit” judgments are often based on the results of standardized tests meant to predict who has the best chance to succeed if given the opportunity to do so. This Article criticizes over-reliance on standardized tests and responds to suggestions that challenging the use of such tests reflects a race-comes-first approach that chooses diversity over merit. Discussing the firefighter exam the led to the Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DiStefano, as well as …

Addressing Barriers To Cultural Sensibility Learning: Lessons From Social Cognition Theory, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Understanding subconscious biases, their pervasiveness, and their impact on perceptions, interactions, and analyses, helps prepare lawyers to represent people from cultural and racial backgrounds different from their own, and to address both individual and institutional injustice. Two law student surveys suggest many students believe lawyers are less susceptible than clients to having, or acting upon, stereotypes or biases. The survey results also indicate that many students suffer from bias blind spot – i.e. they believe that while others cannot recognize when they are acting based upon stereotypical beliefs and biases, the students know when they are doing so. The survey …

Testing, Diversity, And Merit: A Reply To Dan Subotnik And Others, Andrea A. Curcio, Carol L. Chomsky, Eileen Kaufman

Andrea A. Curcio

The false dichotomy between achieving diversity and rewarding merit frequently surfaces in discussions about decisions on university and law school admissions, scholarships, law licenses, jobs, and promotions. “Merit” judgments are often based on the results of standardized tests meant to predict who has the best chance to succeed if given the opportunity to do so. This Article criticizes over-reliance on standardized tests and responds to suggestions that challenging the use of such tests reflects a race-comes-first approach that chooses diversity over merit. Discussing the firefighter exam the led to the Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DiStefano, as well …

Rule 412 Laid Bare: A Procedural Rule That Cannot Adequately Protect Sexual Harassment Plaintiffs From Embarrassing Exposure, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

No abstract provided.

China's Future Lawyers: Some Differences In Education And Outlook, Patricia Ross Mccubbin, Malinda L. Seymore, Andrea Anne Curcio, Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons

Andrea A. Curcio

In this short essay, four U.S. professors who recently served as Fulbright Lecturers in Law in China share important observations about China's future lawyers. The authors discuss key differences in the legal education systems of the two countries, noting that the most significant difference is the lack of Chinese training in the critical legal analysis so familiar to U.S.-trained lawyers. The authors also discuss Chinese law students' limited knowledge of the U.S. legal system and U.S. culture generally. This essay seeks to help members of the U.S. legal community understand the different skill sets and information that Chinese lawyers may …