Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Federal Law And U.S. Government Information: Exploring A Wealth Of Resources, Carol A. Watson

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

The federal government provides a plethora of free legal resources that are useful for attorneys conducting legal research tasks. In addition to providing inexpensive alternatives to commercial databases, online federal resources offer many bells and whistles such as multimedia, unique searching options, and even crowd-sourcing, that enhance their content.

Legal Research In The Age Of Social Media, Endia S. Paige

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Provides an overview of the most popular social media platforms used by adults i the United States and gives insight into how attorneys can use them to conduct legal and investigative research.

Lucky 13: Research Resources For Georgia And The Other States, Sharon Bradley

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

The title refers to the fact that Georgia was one of the original thirteen colonies and that Georgia researchers are lucky to have access to a good number of free, online legal resources.

Don’T Worry Be “Appy” Valuable Legal And Productivity Apps For Attorneys, Thomas J. Striepe

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Explains different types of apps, and presents helpful ones to make legal research and general office work more efficient and portable.

Good, Bad And Ugly: Finding Intelligence Online, Suzanne R. Graham

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

For investigative research, the internet is a helpful tool, but it is not a perfect or a complete toolkit. For a variety of reasons, not all types of questions can be found, and not all people or businesses have significant digital footprints. Social media sites, public databases, and search engines facilitate the kinds and success of research possible online. However, it remains important to know which tools offer what types of information and any limitations in accuracy and currency.

Found It! Getting The Most Out Of Your Web Searches, Anne Burnett

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Aims to provide advanced tips and strategies for crafting effective search queries as well as providing suggestions for resources useful for specific purposes. Emphasis on Google's advanced searching tools, because of that search engine's popularity, but most other general search engines allow for similar strategies to increase relevancy in retrieving results.

Fraud And Abuse Panel, Ellen Bowden Mcintyre, Patsy Powers, Brian Roark, Daniel Patten

Belmont Health Law Journal

A panel discussion on some concerns that we have about value based reimbursement structures. The panel today consists of two private practice attorneys and one government attorney. We have litigators and regulatory attorneys, so a good mix of attorneys across the spectrum.

What's Next?, Jim Cooper

Belmont Health Law Journal

This is the way I see the progression of recent American history. Unfortunately, the South was always a bastion of fee-for-service care; it still largely is. Managed care has largely failed us because it was largely managing costs, not care, in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Providers talk about value-based care, and “better” is better, but “better” is very hard to define. This field is very trendy right now. I’m a big advocate for pay-for-performance, but you have to be able to measure performance. So, what’s next? The bottom line is that “better” is still way too expensive. Health costs are …

Industries Perspective On Healthcare: Delivery In An Uncertain Policy Future, Dick Cowart, Darin Gordon, Michael Regier, Debbie Farringer

Belmont Health Law Journal

Our panelists are here to give their Industry Perspectives. The Industry seems like it changes day to day, with everything that is happening. It is currently a moving target, in terms of where things are going and what can be expected. The discussion today will be about “what are some of the various things that have been thrown out there that might be changing the landscape of healthcare and what can practitioners think about?” and “What do we need to consider?” Hopefully can just have some good conversation about various policy proposals and pieces and parts of health care reform.

A Legal Practitioner's Guide To Indian And Tribal Law Research, Kelly Kunsch

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Georgia Journal Of International And Comparative Law

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Liba2j! The Continuum Of Access To Justice Services, Yolanda Jones

Library Faculty Publications

Some have urged law libraries to undergo what appears to be a large-scale transformation, where access to justice in incorporated as a core feature of the library mission. While Access to Justice (A2J) services are provided by many libraries, they can be seen by law library managers as costly, unfunded mandate. One way of approaching the issue is to consider library access to justice services as a continuum within the broader range of legal services. Within this Library Access to Justice Continuum (LIBA2J), librarians can select access to justice services consistent with their mission, budget, and general library resources. For …

Capital Lawyering & Legislative Clinic, Rex D. Frazier

Duquesne Law Review

This article outlines an approach for teaching law students about advocacy beyond the judicial branch, with particular emphasis on legislative advocacy. Given the long and well-documented shift away from the judicial branch as the primary source of original public law, it is critical to teach law students that legislative advocacy is more than just an "alternative"o r "non-traditional" legal career option and, instead, is one which regularly involves "real lawyering." Just as law students learn practical trial skills through moot court, shouldn't they learn practical legislative advocacy skills through simulated legislative hearings? Further, can law students move beyond traditional approaches …

Leveraging Academic Law Libraries To Expand Access To Justice, Paul Mclaughlin

Law Library Faculty Scholarship

Published in Law Library Journal (volume 109, issue 3), 2017.

Academic law libraries are in a unique position to help citizens gain access to the court system and legal information. By creating clinics that focus on helping pro se patrons find and complete legal forms, academic law libraries would not only benefit their schools but also the justice system.

Finding The Theory And Method For The Pedagogy Of Teaching Legal Research: A Response To Callister’S “Time To Blossom”, Paul Mclaughlin

Scholarly Works

In his article “Time to Blossom,” Callister invites legal research experts to begin a discussion as to what theory and methodology would be most effective for teaching legal research. This article suggests that utilizing a tailored form of systems theory in conjunction with active learning methods would allow legal educators not only to teach students in an effective and understandable manner but also to adapt their teaching methods to correspond to changes in the legal research field.

Leveraging Academic Law Libraries To Expand Access To Justice, Paul Mclaughlin

Scholarly Works

Academic law libraries are in a unique position to help citizens gain access to the court system and legal information. By creating clinics that focus on helping pro se patrons find and complete legal forms, academic law libraries would not only benefit their schools but also the justice system.

Conveying The Merits Of Print Sources To The Google Generation, Paul Mclaughlin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Public Pension Reform And The Takings Clause, Michael B. Kent

Belmont Law Review

Of the many current issues facing state and local governments, perhaps one of the most pressing is public pension reform. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are nearly 4,000 public pension systems in the United States, the vast majority (3,742) of which are administered by local governments. As of 2014, these systems had more than 19,000,000 members and more than 9,000,000 beneficiaries receiving periodic payments. But many of these systems are in serious financial trouble, collectively facing unfunded liabilities that, by some estimates, equal approximately $4.7 trillion. In light of these shortfalls, many states have enacted a variety of …

Is There A Law Of Regional Planning?, Brian W. Ohm

Belmont Law Review

This Article examines the law through the lens of regional planning. Globally, the twenty-first century has been called “the urban century,” with more people living in urban areas than in rural areas. In the United States in particular, our urban areas are often not comprised of a single city. Rather, our urban areas are comprised of numerous local governments: cities, villages, towns, and counties. The modern metropolis connotes an agglomeration of adjacent and interconnected local governments (often cities) clustered around a major urban center (often an older central city). This Article will provide a brief overview of some of the …

The Middle Class, Urban Schools, And Choice, Michael Lewyn

Belmont Law Review

It is common knowledge that middle- and upper-class parents tend to disfavor urban public schools, and that they often move to suburbs in order to avoid having to send their children to those schools. Thus, the condition of urban public schools contributes to suburban sprawl—that is, the movement of people and jobs from city to suburb. Because most suburbs are highly dependent on automobiles, such sprawl makes it more difficult for people without cars to reach jobs and other destinations, as well as increasing greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of automobile related pollution.This Article discusses a variety of possible …

Regionalism Panel Discussion, Jon Cooper, Ralph Schulz, Michael Skipper, Karl Dean

Belmont Law Review

Regionalism Panel Discussion Featuring: Mr. Jon Cooper, Mr. Ralph Schulz, and Mr. Michael Skipper. Moderated by Mayor Karl Dean. October 7, 2016

Strengthening Our Cities, Raumesh Akbari

Belmont Law Review

Belmont Law Review Symposium Presentation: Representative Raumesh Akbari, Strengthening Our Cities. October 7, 2016

Slicing The Pie: A Call For Congress To Enact Single-Factor Payroll Apportionment Of Interstate Business Revenue, Michael Bowen

Belmont Law Review

Almost all states levy some form of corporate income tax. In administering a corporate income tax system, states must make a series of policy decisions, including the tax rate and tax base. A more interesting problem arises, however, when considering corporations that do business in multiple states: how to determine the portion of income attributable to business within each state. This policy of apportionment is a crucial element of a corporate income tax system. Although the federal government has considered involving itself in determining how this income is apportioned to the various states, it never has. States have very little …

Skills & Values: Lawyering Process, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This legal writing text is unlike others in that it is a hybrid text, with a smaller portion in print and the rest available to professors as supplemetary materials. This offers several advantages over other books. First, it is somewhat less expensive than a traditional text, and with the significant burden of textbook costs on our students, this is an advantage they appreciate. Second, it is based on the belief that students today need to read less and do more, and be active, rather than passive, in their learning.

It is no secret to educators that our students are changing, …

Fifth Colonial Frontier Legal Writing Conference Drafting Statutes And Rules: Pedagogy, Practice, And Politics, Jan M. Levine

Duquesne Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Art And Craft Of Drafting Public Law: Statutes, Rules, And More, J. Lyn Entrikin, Richard K. Neumann Jr.

Duquesne Law Review

For centuries, lawyers have been notorious for long-winded writing filled with legalese, hyper-technical expression, and convoluted sentence structure. Legal writing in memos and briefs has been characterized as wordy, unclear, pompous, and just plain dull. Legal drafting, defined as the specialized skill of creating legal rules, is even more fraught with problems. In particular, no standardized, consistently used methodology exists in the United States for drafting federal and state statutes, agency regulations, and court rules.

In 1954, the late Professor Reed Dickerson observed, "It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of knowing how to prepare an adequate legal instrument. …

Experiential Learning And Assessment In The Era Of Donald Trump, Jamie R. Abrams

Duquesne Law Review

Law teaching is turning a critical corner with the implementation of new ABA accreditation standards requiring greater skills development, experiential learning, and student assessment. Years of debate and discourse preceded the adoption of these ABA Standards, followed by a surge in programming, conferencing, and listserv activity to prepare to implement these standards effectively. Missing from the dialogue about effective implementation of standards has been thoughtful consideration of how implementing these requirements will intersect with the challenges, realities, opportunities, and complexities of political divisiveness and polarization so prevalent in society and university campuses today.

Law schools are notably implementing these pedagogical …

Writing The Law: Developing The 'Citizen Lawyer' Identity Through Legislative, Statutory, And Rule Drafting Courses, Ann L. Schiavone

Duquesne Law Review

At the time of the American Founding, Thomas Jefferson, among others, viewed lawyers as the class of citizens most suited to lead the American institutions of government, as well as preserve and protect them. Jefferson valued the ideal of the "Citizen Lawyer" who would have a broad liberal education, experiential learning, and be capable of using knowledge of the law to promote the public good.

In more recent years, American law schools have been criticized for failing to achieve many of these goals first envisioned by Jefferson. Particularly, law schools have often failed to promote strong public service identities in …

Teaching Public Policy Drafting In Law School: One Professor's Approach, Lisa A. Rich

Duquesne Law Review

This article provides an overview of the Drafting for Public Policy course offered at the Texas A&M University School of Law. The article addresses the theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings of the course, including how such a course easily encompasses the teaching of cultural context and awareness, as well as professional identity, and encourages students to engage deeply in the policymaking process. It also explores the continued relevance of the work of Harold D. Lasswell, as well as that of Myres McDougal and Anthony Kronman. These works, from 1943 and 1993 respectively, resonate now because they called on law schools to …

A Law And Economics Critique Of The Law Review System, Timothy T. Lau

Duquesne Law Review

The law review system prizes placement of articles in highlyranked journals, and the optimum method to ensure the best placement, which many scholars have intuited, is a saturation submission strategy of submitting articles to as many journals as possible. However, there has neither been an explanation as to what incentivizes this submission strategy nor any analysis as to what happens to scholars who cannot afford this strategy. This article uses a law and economics approach to study the incentive structures of the law review system, and identifies two features of the system that encourage saturation submission and punishes the poorly-resourced: …