Law Commons^™

Correlation Versus Causality: Further Thoughts On The Law Review/Law School Liaison, Ronen Perry

Ronen Perry

This Essay is the third in a series of articles discussing the relative value of American law reviews, and a response to Professor Alfred Brophy's elaboration of my initial study of the high mathematical correlation between law review quality, as manifested in citation-based measures, and law school reputation. Given my prior interest in the relative value of American law reviews, I have used the abovementioned correlation as a means to explain some of the variance in quality among law reviews. Brophy's empirical findings overlap mine, yet the extent of his analysis, as well as his interpretation and utilization of the …

The Relative Value Of American Law Reviews: Refinement And Implementation, Ronen Perry

Ronen Perry

This Article complements a recently published paper in which I discussed the theoretical and methodological aspects of law review rankings. The purpose of this Article is twofold: refinement of the theoretical framework, and implementation. It proposes, defends, and implements a complex ranking method for general-interest student-edited law reviews, based on a judicious weighting of normalized citation frequency and normalized impact factor. It then analyzes the distribution of journals’ scores, and the diminishing marginal difference between them. Finally, it examines the correlation between law schools’ positions in the U.S. News & World Report 2006 ranking and their flagship law reviews’ positions …

The Relative Value Of American Law Reviews: A Critical Appraisal Of Ranking Methods, Ronen Perry

Ronen Perry

Ranking law reviews is not a novel initiative. Data regarding the relative value of legal periodicals was first published in 1930, in an article primarily concerned with the overall contribution of legal periodicals to the development of positive law. Since then many attempts have been made to rank American law reviews by various criteria. This Article, however, focuses not on actual rankings but on ranking theory and methodology. It offers an introductory discussion of the goals of law review rating, and the essential attributes of reliable and beneficial ranking methods, followed by a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the advantages …

Internationalizing U.S. Legal Education: A Report On The Education Of Transnational Lawyers, Carole Silver

Carole Silver

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 …

Building On Strong Foundations: Rethinking Legal Education With A View To Improving Curricular Quality, Veronica Henderson

Dalhousie Law Journal

Recent increases in law school tuition provide an occasion for criticalreflection on precisely what law students are being offered in their formal education. The aim of this article is to help catalyze discussion of what quality legal education entails. It begins by outlining the current underpinnings of Canadian legal education, especially the foundation of issue identification. Newer developments in legal education are also canvassed.A foundational critique is then applied to elucidate the main weakness of thepresent curricular structure: students are graduating with a flat understanding of the law Employing Dr Oliver Sacks's critique of medical education as a starting point, …

Foreword To The Special Issue On The Family Law Education Reform Project, Andrew Schepard, Peter Salem

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this issue is to promote a dialogue between the family law academic community and stakeholders in the family law system about how future family lawyers should be educated. Family law practice has undergone dramatic change in the last quarter century, perhaps more than any other area of practice. Virtually everything about it has changed—the role of the family court, the procedure for resolving family disputes, the role of the family lawyer, and the substantive law. It is a vibrant and exciting field, with great influence on the lives of families and children.

The family law curriculum in …

Franklin Pierce Law Center: Leading The Way In Legal Education For New Hampshire, John D. Hutson

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "This issue of the Pierce Law Review is the first devoted entirely to the practice of law in New Hampshire. This venture is appropriate because the Franklin Pierce Law Center is the only law school in the State. We are truly New Hampshire’s law school. Our Trustees, faculty, staff, and students feel this responsibility profoundly. Pierce Law serves as both a state law school and a national and international school. While we send a greater percentage of our graduates out of state than any other law school in the country except one, our alumni comprise fully one-third of the …

Reconceptualising Legal Education After War, Christopher P. Waters

ExpressO

This paper considers the impact of war on legal education and assesses the contributions of legal education to post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation.

Working With Len, James E. Westbrook

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Len Riskin joined the MU faculty in 1984. Our faculty had voted in response to a recommendation of Dean Dale Whitman to begin a new emphasis on alternative dispute resolution. My recollection is that we had a group of very capable teachers with a traditional bent. On the other hand, they had an open mind about trying something new and they got along with each other very well. The kind of faculty we had and the leadership provided by Len, Dale Whitman and a few faculty members such as Tim Heinsz enabled us to do something that surprised a lot …

An Essay On Strategies For Facilitating Learning, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

There is a convenient assumption among many American law teachers that the existing model of the American law school works effectively. This includes the belief that the dominant methods and goals are not only appropriate and comprehensive but are being achieved. The reality is quite different. Law teachers tend to be amateurs from the perspective of the quality of our teaching. We are largely unaware of the most effective ways to structure a curriculum, integrate course offerings and design and execute individual courses. This essay focuses on goals, strategies and techniques for the facilitation of student learning. It reflects a …

The Importance Of The Secret Ballot In Law Faculty Personnel Decisions: Promoting Candor And Collegiality In The Academy, Ira P. Robbins

ExpressO

Law school faculty personnel decisions are often controversial. Debates may be heated, votes may be close, and ill will may be incurred. One way to avoid this enmity and to promote or maintain a collegial atmosphere is to vote by secret ballot on hiring, retention, promotion, and tenure questions. The use of secret ballots, however, allows for the possibility of voting for the wrong reasons (e.g., bias, discrimination). But open voting allows for the same possibility (e.g., political correctness, fear of reprisals).

This Article discusses the evolution and significance of the secret ballot and considers the arguments for and against …

The Law Of Sprawl: A Road Map, Michael Lewyn

ExpressO

In the fall of 2004, I taught a seminar on “The Law of Sprawl” at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Law. This essay seeks to guide would-be teachers of a course on sprawl by showing how I taught the course.

Specifically, the article asserts that a seminar on sprawl belongs in law school curricula as well as planning school curricula, because a wide variety of legal rules contribute to sprawl. The article then goes on to discuss those legal rules and how I addressed them in my course. For example, the article discusses land use regulations that encourage automobile-dependent …

Beyond Litigation: Legal Education Reform In Japan And What Japan's New Lawyers Will Do, George Schumann

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

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

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.

The Case For A Flat-Earth Law School, Erik M. Jensen

Faculty Publications

This essay suggests - usually politely - that the American legal academy has been overdoing its push for globalization, and, as a result, education in the basics has suffered. That's a pity because law school graduates need to know the basics to be successful not only in Smalltown USA, but also on a world stage.

Misuse And Abuse Of The Lsat: Making The Case For Alternative Evaluative Efforts And A Redefinition Of Merit, Deobrah W. Post, Phoebe A. Haddon

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Transnational Materials Into Traditional Courses, Franklin A. Gevurtz

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Law Schools And The Idea Of The University, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

Thomas Baker is one of the founding faculty members of the Florida International University College of Law and this article is based on a speech delivered in October of 2002 during the university's Annual Faculty Convocation. It details the composition of both the entering classes and the law faculty and discusses the law school's mission to provide opportunities for minorities to attain representation in the legal profession that is proportionate to their representation in the population. It explores the role of law schools in higher education and notes the FIU College of Law's efforts to incorporate important developments in the …

Teaching As Art Form - Review Of The Elements Of Teaching, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The authors of this gem of a book—both retired college teachers who gave their professional lifetimes to teaching—write simply and passionately about what it takes to be an effective teacher, and manage to reduce the key aspects of a complex process down to nine primary elements. In so doing, they provide not only a road map of aspiration for the new teacher, but also signposts of inspiration for the experienced teacher.

Rhetoric Of Academe, Curtis E. A. Karnow

University of San Francisco Law Review

This piece explores the ways in which legal education moved from clerkships in law offices to receiving law degrees from academic institutions. As such, this piece also tracks the formation of legal precedent over time, which too, has shifted from rigid reliance on case law, to more reliance on academic rhetoric propounded by legal scholars.

Lawyers And Learning: A Metacognitive Approach To Legal Education, Anthony S. Niedwiecki

Publications

This article will detail the concept of metacognition, how current law school teaching does not teach metacognitive skills, and how legal educators can incorporate metacognitive learning into the law school curriculum to help students better transfer knowledge and skills to the practice of law. Teaching metacognitive skills to law students should focus on explaining learning theory and modeling appropriate planning, monitoring, and evaluating techniques across the curriculum. Part II of this article details how law schools have been slow to integrate and apply learning theory to the law school classroom. Part III details the theory behind metacognition and how it …

As A Last Resort, Ask The Students: What They Say Makes Someone An Effective Law Teacher, James B. Levy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Everything I Wanted To Know About Teaching Law School I Learned From Being A Kindergarten Teacher: Ethics In The Law School Classroom, Debra Moss Curtis

Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the ethics of teaching law school. It was not until the 1920s and 1930s that full-time law teachers, rather than part-time practitioners or judges, held the main responsibility for teaching at many law schools. When this shift began to occur, the field of "law professor" was born, and there arose the need for rules in all areas governing law professors, including ethics. Today, most law professors in the United States are members of both the legal and teaching professions and therefore must comply with the ethical rules of each profession. However they may be professionally licensed, law …

Teach The Children Well: Incorporating Cultural Literacy Into The Law School Learning Experience, Debra Moss Curtis

Faculty Scholarship

This article is an examination of what and how we teach in law school. Much attention has been given to the concept of the Socratic Method and whether teaching in this manner "hides the ball" from students. Rather than focusing on whether the ball is hidden, my work shall focus on whether students know what the ball is in the first place.

Building The Emotionally Learned Negotiator, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This essay reviews three recent books on the significance of emotion in negotiation and dispute resolution (Fisher & Shapiro: BEYOND REASON: USING EMOTIONS AS YOU NEGOTIATE; Peter Ladd: MEDIATION, CONCILIATION AND EMOTION: A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE FOR UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION; and Lacey Smith: GET IT! STREET-SMART NEGOTIATION AT WORK: HOW EMOTIONS GET YOU WHAT YOU WANT), situating each work within a theory of practice for emotionally learned negotiators. After discussing the how the appearance of emotional sterility became synonymous with “professionalism” (and the toll this has taken on professional interaction), the piece sets forth a functional theory of emotion …

Misuse And Abuse Of The Lsat: Making The Case For Alternative Evaluative Efforts And A Redefinition Of Merit, Phoebe A. Haddon, Deborah W. Post

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Teacher's Teacher, Lonnie T. Brown Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Jackie Robinson once said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." By that measure, Harold Maier has led an extraordinarily important life. I know that he has had a profound impact on innumerable students throughout his career and upon one in particular. I continue to learn because Professor Maier inspired me, and I teach others because of the wonderful example he set. Though he has now left the classroom, Professor Maier's legacy as a teacher will always endure through the countless minds he has awakened and lives he has touched.

Four Decades Later, Robert Covington

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hal Maier and I have taught on the same faculty for four decades. I still like him and enjoy his company, and there are not many people of whom I can say that forty years later. We have agreed and differed with one another on a whole range of issues, from the shape of the first-year curriculum to politics and back again, but have managed to stay friends through it all. Perhaps this is because we could put our differences to one side in the interest of what we insisted was music back when Hal was the drummer and I …

Choosing A Text For The Family Law Curriculum Of The Twenty-First Century, Catherine J. Ross

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article describes the Family Law Education Reform (FLER) Project Report and provides recommendations as to how a family law professor should select a course textbook. I note that the FLER Report focuses on the importance of new lawyers being sensitive to gender, race, and class and discuss how a textbook focusing on policy, practice problems, and collaborative skills will satisfy the FLER project’s recommendations.