Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Books Have The Power To Shape Public Policy, Barbara Mcquade

Michigan Law Review

In our digital information age, news and ideas come at us constantly and from every direction—newspapers, cable television, podcasts, online media, and more. It can be difficult to keep up with the fleeting and ephemeral news of the day.

Books, on the other hand, provide a source of enduring ideas. Books contain the researched hypotheses, the well-developed theories, and the fully formed arguments that outlast the news and analysis of the moment, preserved for the ages on the written page, to be discussed, admired, criticized, or supplanted by generations to come.

And books about the law, like the ones reviewed …

The Next Great Challenge: Making Legal Writing Scholarship Count As Legal Scholarship, Kristen K. Tiscione

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Legal Writing Journal published my first article. For that reason alone, it is special to me. As I am sure is true for many legal writing scholars, the Journal helped me find my voice, provided welcome validation, and conferred value on my scholarly effort. I have a copy of each print volume in my office, and like old friends, they are always there when I need them. I miss receiving each new cream and green issue in the mail, devouring it, and adding it to my collection, but the online version is equally pleasing in a different way and …

Gender Disparity In Law Review Citation Rates, Christopher A. Cotropia, Lee Petherbridge

William & Mary Law Review

Gender disparity in scholarly influence—measured in terms of differential citation to academic work—has been widely documented. The weight of the evidence is that, in many fields of academic inquiry, papers authored by women receive fewer citations than papers authored by men. To investigate whether a similar gender disparity in scholarly influence exists in legal studies, we analyze the impact of gender on citation to articles published in top 100 law reviews between 1990 and 2010. We find evidence of gender disparity in citation rates, but in surprising contrast to observations made in other disciplines, we observe that articles authored by …

Gender Disparity In Law Review Citation Rates, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

Gender disparity in scholarly influence – measured in terms of differential citation to academic work – has been widely documented. The weight of the evidence is that, in many fields of academic inquiry, papers authored by women receive fewer citations than papers authored by men. To investigate whether a similar gender disparity in scholarly influence exists in legal studies we analyze the impact of gender on citation to articles published in top 100 law reviews between 1990 and 2010. We find evidence of gender disparity in citation rates, but in surprising contrast to observations made in other disciplines, we observe …

New Beginnings: Embracing The Tradition And Innovation Of “Practice Greatness”, Gary Gildin

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

In Praise Of Legal Scholarship, Tamara R. Piety

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Fostering Student Authorship, Amy R. Mashburn, Sharon E. Rush

UF Law Faculty Publications

In this essay, we suggest that law schools may provide every student with the opportunity to become involved in the process of producing a publishable paper by establishing on-line repositories for student publications. We describe what such a program, which we call "student authorship," might look like and further explore several primary benefits that such a program would confer upon students.

Law Library Blog (August 2016): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Uneasy Case For The Retirement Of Douglas Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

In the fall semester of 1964, a young Douglas Kahn joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School. During the spring semester of 2016, he will teach his final course as a full-time faculty member. For the interim fifty two years, he has been a fixture of the Michigan law school community. As a tax professor, former student, and his son, I am pleased and honored to write this introduction for an edition of the Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review honoring Professor Kahn’s tenure at the University of Michigan.

Introducing The University Of Richmond Law Review Online Edition, P. Thomas Distanislao Iii, Carter Nichols

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Practical Tips For Placing And Publishing Your First Law Review Article, Robert Luther Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should Your Law Review Article Have An Abstract And Table Of Contents?: An Empirical Analysis, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

A review of the relevant literature turned up no studies examining the influence of abstracts on citation to law review articles. Nor were studies found examining the influence of tables of contents. To chart this territory, we explore whether abstracts and tables of contents impact the scholarly influence of academic work in the field of legal studies by using a large sample of law review articles published in top 100 law reviews. Part I describes our methodology while Part II reports the results. Part III summarizes the results and discusses them in view of the title question: should your law …

Student-Edited Law Reviews Should Continue To Flourish, Sudha Setty

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Law Reviews: Online-Only Journals, Katharine T. Schaffzin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Law Library Blog (January 2016): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Law School Institutional Repositories: A Survey, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of law libraries managing institutional repositories for their law schools. In 2011, there were some 30 law schools with such repositories; now, 80 of the top 100 law schools have their own or participate in a university-wide repository wherein the law school has an identifiable, school-specific collection or community. This article discusses a survey of the of the top 101 law schools, in hopes of facilitating an understanding of the breadth of material to be found in law school institutional repositories.

Foreword: Reflections On Our Founding, Guy-Uriel Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Law Journals have been under heavy criticism for as long as we can remember. The criticisms come from all quarters, including judges, law professors, and even commentators at large. In an address at the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference almost a decade ago, for example, Chief Justice Roberts complained about the “disconnect between the academy and the profession.” More pointedly, he continued, “[p]ick up a copy of any law review that you see, and the first article is likely to be, you know, the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in 18th Century Bulgaria, or something, which I’m sure was …

Law Library Blog (August 2015): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Enduring Value Of Books Related To The Law: A Librarian's Perspective, Linda S. Maslow

Michigan Law Review

In the 1979 inaugural issue of the Michigan Law Review’s annual survey of books related to the law, Professor Cavers wrote an enthusiastic and hopeful introduction. He characterized the journal’s effort as a “bold innovation” that would benefit lawyers; law professors, both domestic and foreign; scholars in other disciplines, such as the social sciences; and the marketplace of ideas generally. As the annual survey approached its twentieth anniversary, Professor Schneider provided a fascinating, frank description of the Book Review issue’s origins during his tenure as the Michigan Law Review’s Editor- in-Chief. Happily, this annual Book Review issue continues to thrive. …

Encouraging Engaged Scholarship: Perspectives From An Associate Dean For Research, Sonia K. Katyal

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Scholarship With Purpose: The View From A Mission-Driven School, Christine N. Cimini

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Associate Dean For Research In The Age Of The Internet, B. Jessie Hill

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Supporting And Promoting Scholarly Life In Turbulent Times, A. Benjamin Spencer

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice And Law Journals, Gabriel "Jack" Chin, Adam B. Wolf

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

What is the role for a law journal in advancing justice? What is the role of a justice-minded practitioner in furthering legal scholarship? And what is the intersection—practically and normatively—for law journals, legal scholars, practitioners, and justice? This brief Article attempts to lay a foundation for answering these important, but oft-neglected, questions. In the following conversation, a frequent contributor to the Michigan Journal of Race & Law (MJRL) and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal posit some ideas on how legal scholarship engages with justice, and how race-conscious practitioners can interact with race-conscious legal scholars.

Citations, Justifications, And The Troubled State Of Legal Scholarship: An Empirical Study, Jeffrey L. Harrison, Amy R. Mashburn

UF Law Faculty Publications

Recent pedagogical, economic and technological changes require law schools to reevaluate their resource allocations. Although typically viewed in terms of curricular changes, it is important also to focus on the very significant investment in legal scholarship and its impact. Typically this has been determined by some version of citation counting with little regard for what it means to be cited. This Article discusses why this is a deeply flawed measure of impact. Much of that discussion is based on an empirical study the authors conducted. The investigation found that citation by other authors is highly influenced by the rank of …

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing: Students, Scholars, And Sources In The Law Library, Jeanne Price

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Say The Magic Word: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Contract Drafting Choices, Lori D. Johnson

Scholarly Works

Drafters of complex contracts often face a thorny dilemma – determining whether to retain “magic words” included in form documents, especially when considering the advice of current contract style scholars advocating for the removal of all traditional contract prose. But the drafter need not remove all terms that serve as elegant shorthand for more convoluted legal concepts, particularly where the inclusion of the term advances client interests. The application of rhetorical criticism – the analysis of methods of communicating ideas – to drafters’ use of the term “time is of the essence” sheds light on the dominant motivations of drafters …

Jack Sammons As Therapist, Jospeh Vining

Articles

Jack Sammons is well known as a pioneer in making the practice of law a field of academic study and teaching. He is also an original and penetrating analyst of law as such. This essay comments on his recent work, especially his putting the way we understand law and the way we understand music side by side and drawing out the parallels between them. Many will find his work a revelation.

Law School Culture And The Lost Art Of Collaboration: Why Don't Law Professors Play Well With Others, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

I have an Erdős number. Specifically, I have an Erdős number of 5. For the uninitiated, the concept of an “Erdős number” was created by mathematicians to describe how many “degrees of separation” an author of an article is from the great mathematician Paul Erdős. If you coauthored a paper with Erdős, you have an Erdős number of 1. If you coauthor a paper with someone with an Erdős number of 1, you have earned an Erdős number of 2. Coauthoring a paper with someone with an Erdős number of 2 gives you an Erdős number of 3, and so …

What Books On Law Should Be, Richard A. Posner

Michigan Law Review

I have thought it might be useful to our profession, and appropriate to a foreword to a collection of reviews of newly published books on law, to set forth some ideas on how books can best serve members of the different branches of the legal profession — specifically judges, practicing lawyers, law students, and academic lawyers — plus persons outside the legal profession who are interested in law. I am not interested in which already published books should be retained and which discarded, but in what type of book about law should be written from this day forward. I will …