New York Times Op-Ed Read More ...

New York Times op-ed Read More ...

Clinical cases at public law school clinics are not subject to New Jersey's Open Public Records Acts Read More ...

Pew Research Center study on men's and women's views Read More ...

Data from the annual survey Read More ...

San Quentin is a leader in higher education program for inmates Read More ...

News coverage of today's hearing at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco Read More ...

The number one recent tax paper download Read More ...

ASU conference examining how to educate lawyers Read More ...

Supreme Court oral argument on Monday Read More ...

Do online forms make the process easier or more difficult? Read More ...

Conference proceedings online Read More ...

Gun control argument at SCOTUS Read More ...

Annual report available online Read More ...

Issues Related to Law School Cost and Access Read More ...

Cook County Prosecutor subpoenas student records Read More ...

The issue of laptops in law school classrooms has been debated for a number of years now. Some law schools have instituted policies either requiring, or banning, the use of laptops in law school classrooms. In response to this, the law school consortium CALI (Computer Assisted Legal Instruction) has created a video tutorial on how to use CALInstapoll and Google Moderator in classrooms to better engage laptop users. Read More ...

There is an interesting article on the blog, Law School Innovation, about the future of simulations in legal education. The article discusses the work of Paul Maharg, author of Transforming Legal Education. He argues that the future of legal education heavily involves the use of virtual worlds and simulations. He helped to create the system, SIMPLE, which is used in law schools in Scotland and England. Read More ...

Seattle University conference examines legal teaching tools and methods Read More ...

Marking the first time that CLE credit is available for an entirely "in-world" event, the Second Life Bar Association announces an event on "Virtual World Legal Issues". The event will be free for SL Bar members (dues are currently at an amazingly low $2.20 a year). The event is accredited for CLE credit in California and the United Kingdom. Read More ...

Northwestern's accelerated J.D. program Read More ...

2007 LSSSE released Read More ...

Links to an article by Leah M. Christensen entitled Legal Reading and Success in Law School: An Empirical Study Read More ...

This week on TortsProf Blog, academics, practitioners, and at least one judge have been submitting guest posts on the topic “What should be taught in torts?” Information about these and other recent postings on a variety of law blogs is noted in Juris Novis, Legal Headlines and News, an online aggregator created by Greg Smith.

Most law students know about the helpful online exam preparation exercises and resources offered by CALI, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.  But did you know that CALI is now offering podcasts as well?  You can find podcasts on constitutional law, contracts, property, torts, and exam preparation strategies on CALI Radio.  For legal educators who are curious about trying podcasts, you can listen to interviews with law professors who participated in CALI’s Legal Education Podcasting Project on CALIopolis, CALI’s blog on legal education and technology. 

Commencement season is just about over across the United States, and the New York Times had a nice round-up of commencement speeches from across the country a few days ago that’s worth reading.  I thought it would be nice to feature a selection of some of my commencement speech favorites:

• David Gergen asked Duke Law’s Class of 2006 to be "lawyer-statesmen" and work to reform "the insanity of the billable hours regime."
  
• Judge John Kane’s 2004 address at the University of Colorado School of Law warned graduates that "you will seldom see people at their best" and told them that, to succeed as a lawyer, "you need to feel a fire in your belly."
  
• Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall reminded graduates at Washburn University School of Law’s 2002 commencement that "doing basic legal research is really not below your station in life" and encouraged them to "accept the job you want -- not the job your parent or spouse wants for you."
  
• And finally, historian David McCullough didn’t address law students, but his advice to Bates College’s graduating seniors is perfect for all of us:  "How ever little television you watch, watch less.  Read.  Read for pleasure.  Read for happiness."

 

According to this story in the Boston Globe, major changes may be brewing in the Harvard Law School curriculum.  The law school’s curriculum review committee has proposed that Harvard law professors begin introducing "real-world," practical legal problems in their classes as early as the first year of law school.  The committee chair, Martha Minow, stated that "we’re trying very much to help students think how to practically solve problems rather than only solve problems the way academics would . . . In talking with many lawyers, it has been clear to us that we have the opportunity to help very, very smart and motivated students make better use of the time they’re in school."  If Harvard adopts the curriculum committee’s proposals and deemphasizes the case method of teaching, will others follow?  It should be interesting to watch the development of Harvard’s curriculum over the next few years.  Thanks to Out of the Jungle for the tip.

Professor Rick Bales at Salmon P. Chase College of Law maintains a list of upcoming law school symposia, which is a handy reference source for law faculty and law review editors.  Professor Bales also blogs at Workplace Prof Blog -- an excellent current awareness tool for those who need to stay abreast of breaking labor and employment law developments.

Orin Kerr is playing host to a fascinating debate on laptops in the law school classroom on his blog.  Professor June Entman decided to ban laptops in her classroom (she’s teaching Civil Procedure at the University of Memphis). Law professors and students from all over the country are weighing in on her decision in the comments to Orin Kerr’s post.  So far, the comments are heavily in favor of allowing laptop use. 

Forty percent of law students participating in an ABA Quick Poll reported that legal research and writing was their most useful first-year course, and 48 percent expected that legal research and writing would prove to be the most useful course throughout the remainder of their law school career.  Student respondents had to choose among the following courses: civil procedure; contracts; criminal law; torts; legal research/writing; constitutional law; and property.  As others have pointed out, a poll with just 172 students isn’t necessarily an adequate sampling of the law student populace.  Nevertheless, it is interesting that legal research and writing fared so well among those who took the poll. 

Given the high volume of posts about legal scholarship and blogging, I suppose it was inevitable that a law school would host a symposium on how blogs are transforming legal scholarship.  And who better to organize such an event than Harvard Law School?  The symposium, "Bloggership: How Blogs Are Transforming Legal Scholarship," will be held on April 27-28 at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society.  The discussion promises to be lively because the scheduled speakers include both blogging enthusiasts (a sizable portion of the Volokh Conspiracy profs are participating) and folks such as Kate Litvak who scoff at the idea that blogs offer serious scholarly content.  Stay tuned for posts from attendees who are live-blogging the event.

Indiana University School of Law will host a symposium, "The Next Generation of Law School Rankings," on April 15, 2006.  The one-day symposium is free and open to the public.  According to the conference organizers:

The goal of this symposium is to deepen our understanding of rankings and their effects on legal education. The participants in this symposium will examine the need for law school rankings; the effects of rankings on legal education; and the various new approaches to addressing the public’s insatiable demand for ever more and increasingly sophisticated rankings, which permeate not only legal education but also all aspects of American life.

 

PrawfsBlawg’s guest blogger, Julian Ku, has an interesting post about Hofstra’s recent decision to require first-year law students to take a course in international and comparative law called "Transnational Law."  The post spurred an interesting discussion in the comments about the wisdom of Hofstra’s decision that’s worth reading.   

Legal Affairs is hosting a lively online debate this week about the role of law school clinics in legal education.  Participants include the Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald and Yale Law School’s Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr.  Ms. Mac Donald has recently argued that law school clinics are little more than a vehicle for left-wing activism by law school professors.