Law Commons^™

Of Wigs, Wickets, And Moonshine: Leadership Development Lessons From An International Collaboration, Douglas A. Blaze

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants, Paula Schaefer

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Myth Of The Country Lawyer, Judy Cornett, Heather Bosau

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Lawyer As Public Figure For First Amendment Purposes, Alex B. Long

Scholarly Works

Should lawyers be treated as public figures for purposes of defamation claims and, therefore, be subjected to a higher evidentiary standard of actual malice under the Supreme Court’s decision in New York Times v. Sullivan? The question of whether lawyers should be treated as public figures raises broad questions about the nature of defamation law and the legal profession. By examining the Supreme Court’s defamation jurisprudence through the lens of cases involving lawyers as plaintiffs, one can see the deficiencies and inconsistencies in the Court’s opinions more clearly. And by examining the Court’s defamation cases through this lens, one can …

Four Reasons Why Readers Hate Go Set A Watchman (And One Reason Why I Don't), Judy Cornett

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The True Value Of A Law Degree, Or, Why Did Thurgood Marshall Go To Law School?, Gregory M. Stein

Scholarly Works

There has been vigorous debate in recent months over whether a law degree is a worthwhile investment. Much of this discussion has focused on whether the economic costs of obtaining a degree pay off over a lawyer’s career. This conversation has largely overlooked the many non-economic benefits of a law degree. In this essay, we seek to re-introduce several non-economic factors back into this important dialogue. We suggest that prospective law school applicants would be wise to consider these non-economic factors in addition to economic ones.

Judges, Lawyers, And A Predictive Theory Of Legal Complexity, Benjamin H. Barton

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article uses public choice theory and the new institutionalism to discuss the incentives, proclivities, and shared backgrounds of lawyers and judges. In America every law-making judge has a single unifying characteristic; each is a former lawyer. This shared background has powerful and unexplored effects on the shape and structure of American law. This Article argues that the common interests, thought-processes, training, and incentives of Judges and lawyers lead inexorably to greater complexity in judge-made law. These same factors lead to the following prediction: judge-created law will be most complex in areas where a) elite lawyers regularly practice; b) judges …

Against Civil Gideon (And For Pro Se Court Reform), Benjamin H. Barton

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the pursuit of a civil Gideon (a civil guarantee of counsel to match Gideon v. Wainright’s guarantee of appointed criminal counsel) is an error logistically and jurisprudentially and advocates an alternate route for ameliorating the execrable state of pro se litigation for the poor in this country: pro se court reform.

Gideon itself has largely proven a disappointment. Between overworked and underfunded lawyers and a loose standard for ineffective assistance of counsel the system has been degraded. As each player becomes anesthetized to cutting corners a system designed as a square becomes a circle.

There is …

Do Judges Systematically Favor The Interests Of The Legal Profession? , Benjamin H. Barton

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article answers this question with the following jurisprudential hypothesis: many legal outcomes can be explained, and future cases predicted, by asking a very simple question, is there a plausible legal result in this case that will significantly affect the interests of the legal profession (positively or negatively)? If so, the case will be decided in the way that offers the best result for the legal profession.

The article presents theoretical support from the new institutionalism, cognitive psychology and economic theory. The Article then gathers and analyzes supporting cases from areas as diverse as constitutional law, torts, professional responsibility, employment …

Do Judges Systematically Favor The Interests Of The Legal Profession? , Benjamin H. Barton

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article answers this question with the following jurisprudential hypothesis: many legal outcomes can be explained, and future cases predicted, by asking a very simple question, is there a plausible legal result in this case that will significantly affect the interests of the legal profession (positively or negatively)? If so, the case will be decided in the way that offers the best result for the legal profession.

The article presents theoretical support from the new institutionalism, cognitive psychology and economic theory. The Article then gathers and analyzes supporting cases from areas as diverse as constitutional law, torts, professional responsibility, employment …