Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Introduction To Symposium: Reasoning From Literature, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

The “literary turn” in legal studies manifests in many ways in our legal discipline and practice. Be it with the birth of the study of law and literature in the 1980s, the growing attention to narrative theory and storytelling in the law in the 1990s, or the “cultural turn” in legal studies in the 21st century (as some scholars have called the cultural analysis of law), reasoning from literature seems commonplace. And yet it is still marginalized in legal studies as interdisciplinary, not “really law,” and lacking the core persuasive power that legal argumentation and doctrinal analysis do. This Symposium …

When The Truth And The Story Collide: What Legal Writers Can Learn From The Experience Of Non-Fiction Writers About The Limits Of Legal Storytelling, Jeanne M. Kaiser

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines what can be gained and what can be lost by using storytelling in legal writing. After reviewing some basic principles of legal storytelling, the Article reviews some lessons that can be learned from the experience of the New Journalists who adopted literary techniques in their non-fiction work. In the end, the Author concludes that while there is much value in using the tools of fiction in legal writing, it is only with a blend of narrative and analysis that we most successfully do our jobs as lawyers.

Feminism As Liberalism: A Tribute To The Work Of Martha Nussbaum Symposium: Honoring The Contributions Of Professor Martha Nussbaum To The Scholarship And Practice Of Gender And Sexuality Law: Feminism And Liberalism, Tracy E. Higgins

Faculty Scholarship

In this essay, I revisit and expand an argument I have made with respect to the limited usefulness of liberalism in defining an agenda for guaranteeing women's rights and improving women's conditions. After laying out this case, I discuss Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach to fundamental rights and human development and acknowledge that her approach addresses to a significant degree many of the objections I and other feminist scholars have raised. I then turn to fieldwork that I have done in South Africa on the issue of custom and women's choices with regard to marriage and divorce. Applying Professor Nussbaum's capabilities …

Keeping Up With Legal Technology: Five Easy Places, Jennifer L. Behrens

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Interactive Group Learning In The Legal Writing Classroom: An International Primer On Student Collaboration And Cooperation In Large Classrooms, Roberta K. Thyfault, Kathryn Fehrman

Faculty Scholarship

Research has long shown that students who work in small groups learn and retain more than students who are taught by other techniques. This crucial bit of information has led many scholars and educators to explore a variety of models for supporting and involving students in group learning. Part II of this article will provide an overview of the scholarship of collaborative and cooperative learning and the associated definitions and techniques. Part III discusses the application of collaborative and cooperative learning techniques in the law school classroom and special considerations and suggestions for international and large law school classrooms. Finally, …

Legal Research Assessment, Simon Canick

Faculty Scholarship

Legal research instructors seek to provide their students with a working knowledge of important research tools, strategies with which to develop a rational research plan, and the skill to conduct research efficiently, among other things. A well-conceived legal research class may utilize short-answer assignments, quizzes, and scavenger hunt exercises as a means to establish a baseline of knowledge with critical sources; a series of research problems, with grading based upon students' ability to describe a coherent and logical progression; and a pathfinder or process-oriented final exam, all depending on the instructor's goals. Ultimately, the variety of available assessment tools suggests …

The Definitional Hub Of E-Commerce: "Record", Christina L. Kunz

Faculty Scholarship

This Article is a drafting history and a white paper on “record,” setting out the ABA's Working Group on Electronic Writings and Notices' (WG) deliberations and choices, the WG's interactions with concurrent and subsequent UCC redraft committees, the principles and policies underlying the WG's final decisions, and uses of “record” in subsequent statutes.

The World Trade Organization: A Legal And Institutional Analysis, Anu Bradford

Faculty Scholarship

The law of the WTO can be complex and the intricacies of the WTO hard to grasp even by someone who has spent years studying this area of law. In providing a clear, well-structured and highly accessible introduction to the legal and institutional aspects of the WTO, Jan Wouters and Bart De Meester offer a refreshingly uncomplicated book that walks the reader through the basic legal doctrine underlying international trade.

A Jag In La La Land, Charles J. Dunlap Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reasons To Write, Charles J. Dunlap Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Remembering Mary C. Daly: A Legal Ethicist Par Excellence, Bruce A. Green

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Untold Stories: Restoring Narrative To Pleading Practice, Elizabeth Fajans

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

What Do Federal District Judges Want?: An Analysis Of Publications, Citations, And Reversals, Mitu Gulati, Stephen J. Choi, Eric A. Posner

Faculty Scholarship

We report evidence from a dataset of federal district judges from 2001 to 2002 that district judges adjust their opinion-writing practices to minimize their workload while maximizing their reputation and chance for elevation to a higher court. District judges in circuits with politically uniform circuit judges are better able to predict what opinions will get affirmed by the circuit court, leading to higher publication rates and a higher affirmance rate. In contrast, district judges in circuits with politically diverse circuit judges are less able to predict the preferences of the reviewing circuit court panel, leading district judges to publish fewer …

Sovereignty As Discourse, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

This is a review of Howard Schweber's book, "The Language of Liberal Constitutionalism" (Cambridge University Press, 2007). Schweber argues that "the creation of a legitimate constitutional regime depends on a prior commitment to employ constitutional language, and that such a commitment is both the necessary and sufficient condition for constitution making." I critique the power and limits of this reformulated Lockean thesis, as well as Schweber's secondary claims that, for constitutional language to remain legitimate, it must increasingly become autonomous, specialized, and secular.

Brief Amici Curiae Of Iowa Professors Of Law And History, Frederick Adams, Victoria Bissell Brown, Patricia Cain, Lois Cox, Ann Laquer Estin, Sally Frank, Elizabeth Heineman, Linda K. Kerber, Karen Leroux, Suzanne J. Levitt, Jean Love, Linda A. Mcguire, Kevin Mumford, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Sarah J. Purcell, Margaret Raymond, Mark E. Schantz, Johanna Schoen, Leslie A. Schwalm, Mark Sidel, Peggie Smith, Maura Irene Strassberg, Shelton Stromquist

Faculty Scholarship

This case calls upon the State of Iowa to reaffirm its historic commitment to protecting the equality and individual liberties of all of its citizens, including its lesbian and gay male citizens. It requires this Court to interpret Iowa’s unique constitution with due respect for both text and tradition. The case must be analyzed against the backdrop of Iowa’s leadership and courage in the areas of civil rights and family law, and the willingness of its judiciary to uphold constitutional mandates in the face of efforts to legislate prejudice and discrimination.

Plaintiff-Appellees seek nothing more than to share in the …

Proof Brief Of Professors Of Family Law And Jurisprudence As Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellee, Joseph M. Barron, Richard T. Greenberg, Shannon Price Minter, Carlos A. Ball, Naomi Cahn, June Carbone, Ann Laquer Estin, Joan Heifetz Hollinger, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Sarah H. Ramsey, Michael S. Wald

Faculty Scholarship

The plaintiffs in this case met their burden of demonstrating the irrationality of Iowa’s statutory exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. They did this, in part, by presenting social science research regarding the irrelevance of sexual orientation to parental ability and the psychological and social well-being of children raised by same-sex parents. In addition to arguing that the marriage exclusion is irrational, the plaintiffs also alleged that the exclusion should be subject to heightened scrutiny because it violates the fundamental right to marry and discriminates on the bases of gender and sexual orientation. Amici agree that the exclusion of same-sex …

The Ownership Delusion: When Law Libraries "Buy" Electronic Documents, Are They Getting More, Or Simply Paying More?, Simon Canick

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the issues surrounding electronic document ownership in academic libraries. It discusses the guidelines of AALL with regard to licensing electronic materials, and how it measures up to what vendors are willing to offer. The author takes a critical stance on who benefits from the electronic document ownership agreements.

Using Actual Legal Work To Teach Legal Research And Writing, Michael A. Millemann

Faculty Scholarship

Legal research and writing (LRW) teachers should use actual legal work to teach their courses, including (indeed, especially) first-year courses. The legal work might come from a planned or ongoing lawsuit, transaction, or other matter. What is important is that it is real, although in my model, the teacher can add hypothetical features to customize the legal work to the particular LRW course. For example, in an appellate advocacy course, the teacher could present the legal issues arising out of a pretrial matter by summarily “deciding” them in a hypothetical trial court opinion, thus allowing the students to fully explore …

Putting The "I" In Wrtng: Drafting An A/Effective Personal Statement To Tell A Winning Refugee Story, Stacy Caplow

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Before You Log-On: Incorporating The Free Web In Your Legal Research Strategy, Lauren M. Collins

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Tyranny Of The Available: Under-Represented Topics, Approaches, And Viewpoints, Katherine Topulos, Marci Hoffman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal Writing Beyond Memos And Briefs: An Annotated Bibliography, Carrie Teitcher

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Together We Can: Imagining The Future Of Employee Pensions, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

Reviewing Teresa Ghilarducci & Christian E. Weller, Eds. Employee Pensions: Policies, Problems & Possibilities (LERA 2007)

A little over thirty years ago Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA),¹ a comprehensive reform of the existing system of pension regulation.² Solidly into its fourth decade, ERISA has been the object of much commentary as the various federal courts have struggled to infuse its complicated and sometimes imprecise pieces with coherent meaning. ³ Some have suggested that ERISA's primary goal of reducing the risk to employees of employer default has largely been achieved.⁴ Others believe that almost …

About Facebook - Change At The Social-Networking Juggernaut Creates New Opportunities For Law Library Outreach, Jennifer L. Behrens

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Bluebook At Eighteen: Reflecting And Ratifying Current Trends In Legal Scholarship, A. Christine Hurt

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rebooting The Approach To Teaching Research: Embracing The Computer Age, Carrie Teitcher

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"In A Case, On The Screen, Do They Remember What They've Seen?" Critical Electronic Reading In The Law Classroom, Debra Moss Curtis

Faculty Scholarship

In 2005, we produced a well-received article and presentation entitled, "'In a Case, In a Book, They Will Not Take a Second Look!' Critical Reading in the Legal Writing Classroom." The article examined the educational foundations of critical reading, as well as, critical reading techniques. The purpose was to establish that law students need instruction in critical reading. In the article, we offered creative solutions that had been successfully used in our legal writing classes. In the two years since, we have found it necessary to reconsider the problem of critical reading in the law school classroom, in light of …

Beware The ‘Monological Imperatives’: Scholarly Writing For The Reader, Joan A. Magat

Faculty Scholarship

This article describes principles of effective academic writing - offered not as edicts, but as guidelines - for legal scholars in particular. The overall focus is style, but the discussion begins with observations of format. These are followed by a few stylistic principles that govern clear and effective writing. None of these principles is a revelation to the student of method or to the accomplished writer. But for the academic writer less focused on or less familiar with such principles, being aware of and practicing them can clear the fog from syntax, illuminate the writer's thesis and its development, and …

Creating Online Tutorials: Five Lessons Learned, Lauren M. Collins

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Contract Law And Distribution In The Age Of Welfare Reform, Daniela Caruso

Faculty Scholarship

This Article tracks the ongoing adaptation of U.S. contract law to the 1990s’ contraction of the welfare state. Some courts strive to compensate for the shortage of welfare services and to pursue redistributive goals. This Article provides examples of this trend and then analyzes the non-linear relation between doctrines, judicial redistribution, and welfare politics in both case law and scholarship. Finally, this Article discusses the role of socially sensitive judicial discourse in light of contemporary welfare politics and explains its continuing importance.