Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Manuscript Selection Anti-Manifesto, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Joining a conversation begun by James Lindgren, An Author's Manifesto, 61 U. Chi. L. Rev. 527 (1994), Prof. Tobias discusses the process of submission, review, and editorial work on articles published in student-edited law reviews.

An Author's Manifesto (Manifesto) constructively criticizes the amazingly arcane process of law review publication and affords salient suggestions for its improvement. The essay treats two aspects of this process-the selection of manuscripts and the editing of articles which sustain that venerable institution: student-edited law journals. Manifesto regales readers with many terrible tales of travesties which involve article editing but recounts comparatively few sordid stories that …

The Reports Of The Supreme Court Of Pennsylvania, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

The history of court reporting in Pennsylvania dates from the early days of the Republic and the establishment of Pennsylvania as a Commonwealth. Mr. Fishman helps to document that history by reviewing the publication of the reports of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from the early nominative reports of the mid-eighteenth century to the present. A bibliography is appended.

The History Of Statutory Compilations In Pennsylvania, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

Pennsylvania was the last state in the country to codify its statutes. Mr. Fishman reviews the various editions of unofficial compilations of Pennsylvania laws that have been published from the early eighteenth century to the present. A bibliography is appended.

Catalogue Of Modem Law Books, 1855, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

In his recent work on A History of American Law Publishing (1990), Professor Erwin Surrency emphasized the need to learn more about how lawyers purchased books in nineteenth-century America, especially since few book catalogs have survived to the present day.¹ A random searching of older periodicals located in my library drew my attention to the "Catalogue of Modem Law-Books," consisting of three parts.

Twentieth-Century Virginia Legal Periodicals: A Bibliography And Commentary, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

Periodicals have played an important role in the Virginia legal community, serving as a medium for scholarly legal commentary and debate, for keeping practitioners abreast of developments in the law, and for providing information on current events and activities in the legal community. Although the fundamental purposes of the legal periodical have remained somewhat constant, the number and circulation of Virginia legal periodicals have expanded greatly and, as a result, so has their role in the Virginia legal community. A chronological examination of legal periodicals in twentieth-century Virginia reveals that the role of the legal periodical has significantly increased from …

Teaching Legal Research: Past And Present, Joyce Manna Janto

Law Faculty Publications

For years librarians have debated which procedures will most effectively instruct law students in the art of legal research. Ms. Janto and Ms. Harrison-Cox trace the history of these efforts and propose a model program for the teaching of legal research.

Elixir For The Elites, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Tobias offers the editorial board tongue-in-cheek advice in the matter of law review rankings.

Foreword: Law And The Library, Timothy L. Coggins

Law Faculty Publications

A Foreword for the North Carolina Libaries Journal on "Law and the Library."

In Praise Of Student-Edited Law Reviews: A Reply To Professor Dekanal, John Paul Jones

Law Faculty Publications

Prof. Jones responds to a previous writer's arguments that the student-edited law review be replaced by journals edited by law faculty members. He argues that there are not enough willing faculty editors and staff members to sustain the present number and production rate of law journals.

Book Review (M. Ray & J. Ramsfield, Legal Writing: Getting It Right And Getting It Written (1987)), Ruth C. Vance

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Introduction To Legal Reasoning, Writing, And Research Techniques; And Trial Preparation And Appellate Advocacy, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pennsylvania Practice Materials: A Select Annotated Bibliography, Joel Fishman, Marc Silverman

Law Faculty Publications

The authors provide an annotated listing of Pennsylvania legal publications, including both primary source materials and treatises focusing on Pennsylvania law.

Review Of State Legislative Sourcebook, Paul M. Birch

Law Faculty Publications

Review of Hellebust, Lynn. State Legislative Sourcebook--1986: A Resource Guide to Legislative Information in the Fifty States.

Techniques Of Legal Drafting: A Survival Manual, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to identify and demonstrate various legal drafting concepts and techniques in order to give the law student and legal practitioner a working knowledge of the fundamental principles of legal drafting. Although this article does not purport to be an exhaustive treatise on the subject, it is offered to law students and practitioners alike for what it is-a basic survival manual for the aspiring legal draftsman.

Teaching Legal Reasoning In Law School, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

With the understanding that reasonable scholars and critics may differ, it is nevertheless this article's contention that law schools today must still strive to teach the basic logical principles-and process-of legal reasoning. By analogy, a swimmer must learn at least a few basic strokes in order to survive in his new environment. The same is true with law students and legal reasoning. An elementary foundation in legal reasoning skills, limited though it may be, is still better than nothing at all-especially when the latter alternative offers only confusion and misunderstanding.

The purpose of this article is to discuss one such …

The "Plain English" Trust, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Johnson argues in favor of, and then provides an example of, a trust drafted in "plain English."

A Note On Robinson's Brief Collection Of ... Courts Of Records, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

IN 1953 R. L. Rickard edited for the Camden Miscellany a short tract by Richard Robinson which describes briefly the various English courts of law as they were at the end of the sixteenth century: 'A Briefe Collection of the Queenes Majesties Most High and Most Honourable Courtes of Recordes.' In addition to the three manuscript copies which Rickard mentioned in his preface, fourteen others have recently been identified of which he appears to have been unaware. Since one of these is more complete and several are more interesting than the copy which was edited, a short note is required …