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Full-Text Articles in Law

Dismantling The "Other": Understanding The Nature And Malleability Of Groups In The Legal Writing Professorate's Quest For Equality, Mitchell J. Nathanson Sep 2007

Dismantling The "Other": Understanding The Nature And Malleability Of Groups In The Legal Writing Professorate's Quest For Equality, Mitchell J. Nathanson

Mitchell J Nathanson

This article examines the nature of groupings within law school faculties and analyzes why some groups are inherently considered in-groups whereas others (in particular, legal writing faculties) are considered out-groups. The article first explores the science behind the unconscious mind and why we categorize individuals the way we do. Next, this article demonstrates that members of an undesired out-group can be easily transformed into members of the more desirable in-group by modifying the relationships among individuals. This is particularly important to members of the legal writing professorate because, although groups themselves are nothing more than artificial compositions of the unconscious …


The Plot Thickens: The Appellate Brief As Story, Kenneth D. Chestek Aug 2007

The Plot Thickens: The Appellate Brief As Story, Kenneth D. Chestek

Kenneth D. Chestek

Why are appellate briefs boring? Does overreliance on structural paradigms like IRAC lead to formulaic, and overly legalistic, writing? The author suggests that, by conceiving of briefs as stories and consciously using the elements of narrative (character, conflict, setting, theme, and plot, among others), the brief writer can make the client's story come to life for the reader, hopefully producing a more interesting, and therefore compelling, brief. The author has written a brief in a mock case (Rubin v. Old York County Department of Social Services), and then deconstructs the brief in the article to show how the author of …


Unlocking The Secrets Of Highly Successful Legal Writing Students, Anne Enquist Feb 2007

Unlocking The Secrets Of Highly Successful Legal Writing Students, Anne Enquist

Anne M Enquist

Abstract Unlocking the Secrets of Highly Successful Legal Writing Students Anne M. Enquist Seattle University School of Law Why are some law students successful in their legal writing classes and others are not? To identify the secrets to success, I did a case study of six second-year law students as they wrote a motion brief and an appellate brief for their 2L legal writing course. Based on their 1L legal writing course, two of these students were predicted to be highly successful, two were predicted to be moderately successfully, and two were predicted to be only marginally successful. Through daily …


Texts, Lies, And Changed Positions, Judith D. Fischer Jan 2007

Texts, Lies, And Changed Positions, Judith D. Fischer

Judith D. Fischer

This review of Judge Richard Posner's Little Book of Plagiarism concludes that the book adds to the discussion of plagiarism by noting the topic’s gray areas and proposing criteria for identifying plagiarism. Posner states that plagiarism occurs when a writer who copies another's language or ideas both conceals the copying and induces readers' reliance. By discussing plagiarism in different settings, including novels, court opinions, professors' work, and student work, the book shows why analysis of the offense and its consequences must be nuanced. Professors should be warned that in places Posner seems to minimize the gravity of student copying, especially …


A Practical Guide To Legal Writing And Legal Method, John Dernbach, Richard Singleton, Cathleen Wharton, Joan Ruthenberg, Catherine Wasson Dec 2006

A Practical Guide To Legal Writing And Legal Method, John Dernbach, Richard Singleton, Cathleen Wharton, Joan Ruthenberg, Catherine Wasson

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.


Teaching Professional Responsibility And Ethics, Ronald D. Rotunda Dec 2006

Teaching Professional Responsibility And Ethics, Ronald D. Rotunda

Ronald D. Rotunda

This article discusses the development of teaching legal ethics in light of the changes in the ethics rules over the years. The thesis is that many ethics rules reflect the needs of a cartel (the legal profession) to protect itself, rather than the need to protect the clients of lawyers. The author uses stories and examples to illustrate this thesis.