Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Creating Shared Understanding: Preparing Students For A Modern Client Base, Jaclyn Celebrezze, Mireille Butler

Presentations

The Legal Writing Institute hosted a series of one-day workshops at various law schools, including at CWRU, where the theme of the workshops was "Preparing Students for the Modern Practice of Law." This presentation discusses how to prepare students for a modern, globalized client base, and provides tips and tools to help create a shared understanding between clients and future practitioners.

Book Review Of Plain English For Lawyers, George Mader

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Schoolhouse Rock! Rules: Orthodoxies And Unorthodoxies In Congressional Procedure, John Cannan

Faculty Publications

Is the Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon version of the conventional legislative process really dead? According to some legal academics, traditional Congressional procedures, documented in the cartoon I’m Just a Bill, have been replaced by unorthodox lawmaking—frequent and significant procedural legislative deviations. In actuality, the iconic cartoon and the traditional process are not ready for the grave just yet.

This paper documents the many nuances in orthodox and unorthodox lawmaking by reviewing over 1,500 laws passed between the 111th to116th Congresses and the information sources produced for each to evaluate how pervasive unorthodox law-making really is. The results show the true balance …

Compliance Through Model Checking, Avishkar Mahajan, Strecker Martin, Seng Joe Watt, Meng Weng (Huang Mingrong) Wong

Centre for Computational Law (2022-2025)

In this short note, we describe part of a case study about Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act, which we first presented in-formally, then formally as interacting Timed Automata. From these, we derive desiderata on a language and verification framework for reasoning about compliance.

Driving-Decision Making Of Autonomous Vehicle According To Queensland Overtaking Traffic Rules, Hanif Bhuiyan, Guido Governatori, Avishkar Mahajan, Andry Rakotonirainy, Meng Weng (Huang Mingrong) Wong

Centre for Computational Law (2022-2025)

Making a driving decision according to traffic rules is a challenging task for improving the safety of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). Traffic rules often contain open texture expressions and exceptions, which makes it hard for AVs to follow them. This paper introduces a Defeasible Deontic Logic (DDL) baseddriving decision-making methodology for AVs. We use DDL to formalize traffic rules and facilitate automated reasoning. DDL is used to effectively handle rule exceptions and resolve open texture expressions in rules. Furthermore, we supplement the information provided by the traffic rules by an ontology for AV driving behaviour and environment information. This methodology performs …

By The Inch, It’S A Cinch: The Case For Go-Ing Slow In First-Year Legal Writing Courses, Patrick J. Long

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

An End-To-End Pipeline From Law Text To Logical Formulas, Aarne Ranta, Inari Listenmaa, Jerrold Soh, Meng Weng Wong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

We propose a pipeline for converting natural English law texts into logical formulas via a series of structural representations. Text texts are first parsed using a formal grammar derived from light-weight annotations. An intermediate representation called assembly logic is then used for logical interpretation and supports translations to different back-end logics and visualisations. The approach, while rule-based and explainable, is also robust: it can deliver useful results from day one, but allows subsequent refinements and variations.

American Voter Turnout: The Influence Of Education Levels On Voter Participation, Jack Thomas Bunzel-Hardie

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study is intended to explore the relevant relationship between mistrust in government officials and voter turnout. Within a research article such as this, it is important to distinguish the dependent and independent factors from one another so as not to get them confused. This article identifies the growing sense of mistrust that many Americans feel towards their government officials as the independent factor while examining the relationship that voter turnout has with that growing fear, therefore making that the dependent variable. While this issue has been studied in the past there have been many new events taking place and …

Implementing Equal Access To Legal Capacity In Canada: Experience, Evidence, And Legal Imperative – Final Report, Faisal Bhabha, Ruby Dhanda, Kerri Joffe, Lana Kerzner, Brendon Pooran

Commissioned Reports, Studies and Public Policy Documents

Many Canadians with disabilities have long been discriminated against in the enjoyment and exercise of their legal capacity, especially people with developmental, cognitive, or psychosocial disabilities.

The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) seeks to correct this pervasive discrimination. It recognizes the right to equality in the exercise of legal capacity without discrimination based on disability.

This study was motivated by two primary issues: 1) longstanding concerns in the disability rights community about this discrimination; and 2) the findings and recommendations made by the United Nations “Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” …

The “Food Blog” Scroll And Its Impact On Online Legal Research, Olivia Smith Schlinck

Library Staff Online Writings

After transitioning from a written to a “live” format for assignments in my Advanced Legal Research class, I noticed a vaguely familiar pattern of students unintentionally scrolling past relevant information on their screens.

Centering Black Women In Patent History, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Kara Swanson’s latest article is a remarkable example of legal historical scholarship that excavates stories from the past to illuminate the present. It is chock full of archival evidence and historical analysis that explains gaps and silences in the United States patent registry as evidence of marginalized inventors–particularly Black women–who should be named inventors but are not.

The article is arresting reading for anyone interested in antebellum history, intellectual property, and the intersection of racism and sexism in law. Mostly, I am grateful to Professor Swanson for doing the obviously very hard work of digging through archives, reading microfiche, …

Law School News: Omshehe Wins Top National Prize With Securities Regulation Article 11-4-2022, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

W&L Law Library Newsletter, Vol. 2, Iss. 1 (Nov. 2022), The Law Library At Washington And Lee University School Of Law

W&L Law Library Newsletter

W&L Law Library Newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 1 (November 2022).

Using Artificial Intelligence In The Law Review Submissions Process, Brenda M. Simon

Faculty Scholarship

The use of artificial intelligence to help editors examine law review submissions may provide a way to improve an overburdened system. This Article is the first to explore the promise and pitfalls of using artificial intelligence in the law review submissions process. Technology-assisted review of submissions offers many possible benefits. It can simplify preemption checks, prevent plagiarism, detect failure to comply with formatting requirements, and identify missing citations. These efficiencies may allow editors to address serious flaws in the current selection process, including the use of heuristics that may result in discriminatory outcomes and dependence on lower-ranked journals to conduct …

Legal Citations: A Foundation Of Written Advocacy, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

The article advanced this formula for achieving effective appellate advocacy: “First, you seek to persuade the court of the merit of the client’s case, to create an emotional empathy for your position. Then you assist the court to reach a conclusion favorable to the client’s interest in terms of the analysis of the law and the procedural posture of the case.”

Law Library Blog (November 2022): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

2022 Esther Clark Moot Court Competition Finals, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Using A Mindfulness And Gratitude Practice To Improve Student Wellness, Amanda K. Maus Stephen

Presentations

The University of Oregon School of Law hosted the annual, two-day conference for legal writing professors to share ideas and research on topics related to legal writing and legal writing instruction. This presentation described two experimental semester-long mindfulness activities—mindfulness minutes and gratitude journaling—and student reactions to them.

W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration 2022, Andrew Christensen, Michelle Cosby, Jennifer Mitchell, Christopher B. Seaman, Melanie D. Wilson

Library Events

On October 6, 2022, the Washington and Lee Law Library hosted the fourth W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration. The event was co-sponsored by the Frances Lewis Law Center and took place in the Law Library's main reading room from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

On display were dozens of scholarly articles, books, and chapters authored by the W&L Law faculty and student body between October 2019 and October 2022, with hundreds of additional works accessible online through the Scholarly Commons institutional repository.

Faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators mingled with law students over hors d'oeuvres and wine to peruse the formidable scholarly …

Debunking The Efficacy Of Standard Contract Boilerplate: Part V, David Spratt

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

After five installments, we can end our discussion of contract boilerplate. We have slashed the outdated language and emerged as a clear and contemporary legal writer. Be willing to adapt what has worked well in the past because change is the foundation of human ingenuity.

Unintended Repercussions: Copyright Termination And The Punitive Effect Of § 203(A)(3) On The Rights Of Creators, Loren E. Mulraine

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the unintended consequences of the copyright termination provisions under the Copyright Act of 1976, focusing specifically on the restrictive five-year termination window set forth in 17 U.S.C. § 203(a)(3). While Congress intended termination rights to rebalance bargaining power between authors and corporate transferees—particularly in industries such as music publishing and recording—the statutory framework has, in practice, imposed procedural burdens that frequently operate to the detriment of creators. Through historical analysis of U.S. copyright law, including the bifurcated renewal structure of earlier statutes and the legislative development of modern termination rights, the article argues that § 203’s rigid …

Friend Or Foe? Lexis Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In Legal Writing, Karin Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs in the law are becoming more popular, moving from downloadable forms, to generating and critiquing contracts and handbooks, and even generating text. Lexis has two major research products that appeal especially to first-year students. The first product is Brief Analysis, which analyzes documents and provides suggestions for additional research. Brief Analysis is more appropriately used to expand research for briefs, motions, and other types of persuasive writing, but could be used to review research and citations for objective memos. The second product is a downloadable add-on that enables research to be done side-by-side with the writing …

Covid, Climate Change, And Transformative Social Justice: A Critical Legal Research Exploration, Nicholas F. Stump

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article explores intertwined contemporary crises via the Critical Legal Research framework (“CLR”), as initially developed by the critical legal scholars Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. CLR as conceived of in this Article entails a truly radical approach to the legal research and analysis regime. While the traditional research regime—as taught in law schools and utilized in practice—functions to homogenize research outcomes towards hegemonic ends, a critically “reconstructed” approach to legal and broader socio-legal research permits more transformative futures. Specifically, CLR as deployed within such modes as radical cause lawyering can help engender genuine systemic “re-formations” of the ecological political …

Black And Barred: The Bar Examination's History Of Exclusivity And The Threat Of Further Exclusion Posed By Aba Standard 316, Nicola A. Boothe

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Interdisciplinary Legal Study Of The Organisation Of The Courts: The Methodological Consequences Of The Meeting Between Legal And Management Approaches (Penelitian Hukum Interdisipliner Pada Organisasi Peradilan: Pertemuan Pendekatan Hukum Dan Pendekatan Manajemen Serta Konsekuensi Metodologisnya), Dian Rositawati

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

This article presents the relationship between legal principles and management principles in the judicial organization and how they affect the judiciary's performance. As an organization, the judiciary is bound by the rule of law principles, especially the principle of judicial independence, as stated in the constitution and laws. However, the courts as an organization are also influenced by management principles, which include viewing public organizations from efficiency, effectiveness, and service quality perspectives. This paper discusses the interaction and tension between these principles in a judicial organization and their methodological consequences. In the discussion about methodology, this paper will elaborate on …

Drawing The Line Between Talent And Desire 09-23-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Swimming With Broad Strokes: Publishing And Presenting Beyond The Lw Discipline, Robin Boyle-Laisure, Stephen Paskey

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Non-Lawyer Judges In Devalued Courts, Maureen Carroll

Reviews

Recent legal scholarship has shed needed light on the vast universe of litigation that occurs without lawyers. Large majorities of civil litigants lack representation, even in weighty matters such as eviction and termination of parental rights, raising a host of issues worthy of scholarly attention. For example, one recent article has examined racial and gendered effects of the lack of constitutionally guaranteed counsel in civil matters, and another has shown that judges tend not to reduce the complexity of the proceedings for the benefit of unrepresented parties. In Judging Without a J.D., Sara Greene and Kristen Renberg add an important …

Cole Recognized As “Reviewer Of The Year” For Prestigious Economics Journal, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

A Maurer School of Law faculty member has been recognized for his contributions to reviewing interdisciplinary research for the Journal of Institutional Economics. Professor Dan Cole, Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law and a senior fellow with the Ostrom Workshop, was named one of three “Reviewers of the Year” by the journal on Wednesday (Sept. 7). The announcement was made during the annual World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research (WINIR) Conference. The award, which comes with a £400 prize, recognizes outstanding reviewers for the journal.

References To Robert Frost's Poetry In Advocacy And Judicial Opinions, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This article concerns courts whose written opinions have recently cited and quoted Frost and his poetry. By profiling Frost’s enduring influence, the article fortifies a theme I have presented in earlier “Writing It Right” articles. The theme begins in the courts, which in recent years often accent their opinions’ substantive or procedural rulings by quoting or citing well-known cultural markers from literature, sports, or popular entertainment.