Clinical Law Prof Blog

Georgetown Law Center to Host Town Hall Meeting on Juvenile Justice

Georgetown Professor Wallace Mlyniec has announced the law school will host A Call to Action for Juvenile Justice on November 6, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.:

Just two days after the 2008 Presidential Election the American Bar Association's Juvenile Justice Committee of the Criminal Justice Section and Georgetown's Juvenile Justice Clinic will host a Town Hall meeting at Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC.  Committee co-chair, Professor Charles Ogletree from Harvard Law School will moderate the discussion.  Georgetown Law Professor Kristin Henning, a juvenile justice specialist, will join the panel.  Juvenile Justice Advisors to John McCain and Barack Obama, along with other lawmakers, have been invited.   

To attend the event, please RSVP to Christopher Gowen at gowenc@staff.abanet.org

-jl

UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Promotes and Grants Tenure to Professor Leticia Saucedo

On Friday, September 26, 2008, UNLV Law Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical Studies David Thronson announced that the tenured faculty of the law school voted unanimously to recommend the tenure and promotion of Leticia Saucedo. Professor Saucedo has been at UNLV Law since 2003 and teaches Torts, Immigration Law, and co-directs the Immigration Law Clinic. A hearty congratulations (¡felicitaciones!) go out to Leticia and UNLV! -jl

Clinical Legal Education Workshop: May 5-9, 2009 in Cleveland, OH

A Workshop on Clinical Legal Education entitled Emerging Lawyers: Clients, Complexity and Collaboration in a Cross-Disciplinary Lens will be held in Cleveland, OH on May 5-9, 2009. The workshop's Planning Committee has provided the following description:

Our students are adult learners entering a multifaceted profession. We expect them to learn how to interact professionally with us, with each other, and most importantly, with clients. They are faced with complex problems to solve just as they are trying on their new professional role. When we ask them to commit a semester, a year or even multiple terms to this endeavor, they rightfully expect that we are aware of how to teach adults about the ethical, legal and practical complexity of this unfamiliar role. They may also expect that we will draw on the expertise of teachers of other professional disciplines to shape our approaches to their learning.

This workshop will help clinical teachers meet these expectations by inviting adult learning experts and colleagues from multiple professional disciplines to shape our discussion of three specific issues clinical teachers routinely face: how do lawyers solve complex problems; how do lawyers learn to shoulder the moral responsibility and weight of representing clients; and how do clinical teachers ensure and enhance their students’ abilities to learn from the classmates who will soon be their colleagues.

To shake us all up a little as we address these issues, we have reorganized the structure of the workshop. The most significant change is that we are organizing working groups by level of experience rather than affinity groups (don’t worry; there’s a significant opportunity for affinity group meetings as you’ll read below). Working groups will also play a more central role in the overall workshop, allowing the groups to grapple with the issues presented by the plenary presentations. The concurrent sessions, which will occur only twice, will be structured around these learning themes. The last afternoon will be set aside for affinity group meetings which the planning committee will assist the groups in organizing.

Cleveland will provide us with two organizing principles: addressing social justice and having fun. We will be identifying ways in which legal and social justice organizations are tackling Cleveland’s stark reality of being the poorest big city in the United States and integrating that knowledge into the program. But Cleveland is also a city rich in activities we all enjoy: baseball, art, classical music, and of course, rock and roll. We’ll find time for all of these plus, in honor of our rock and roll location, the program will include opportunities for clinicians to sing, make music and boogie the night away.

Requests for Proposals will be issued in October for the two concurrent sessions and the affinity group meetings. The Planning Committee is also soliciting clinicians who can double as musicians and singers (you know who you are), to organize some of the musical activities. The May 5th Directors Day is also being organized and more information will be provided shortly.  The Planning Committee for the Workshop on Clinical Legal Education includes:

Elizabeth B. Cooper, Fordham University

David Anthony Santacroce, The University of Michigan

Alexander Scherr, University of Georgia

Jane M. Spinak, Columbia University, Chair

Paulette J. Williams, University of Tennessee   -jl

Fellowship Opportunity - Loyola's Center for Juvenile Law and Policy

Loyola Law School’s Center for Juvenile Law and Policy will award two summer fellowships made possible by the W.M. Keck Foundation, to law students who have demonstrated a commitment to public interest law, criminal defense and children’s issues.  The fellowship provides a generous stipend for two months beginning June 1, 2009. 

The summer fellowship will be a unique opportunity for law students to practice law under the supervision of clinical faculty at the Loyola Law School Center for Juvenile Law and Policy.  Fellows will provide case management for our active clients and will be responsible for all other aspects of legal representation.  Summer fellows will be required to appear in court on behalf of our clients and, as such, must be certified by the California Bar in order to provide legal services under the supervision of an attorney.  Candidates must have completed civil procedure and evidence prior to the appointment.  Fellows can expect to be exposed to a broad range of juvenile justice issues and will be expected to participate in initiatives that the Center undertakes during the summer. 

Applications are to be submitted to the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School, 919 Albany Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015, by 5 p.m., November 18, 2008.  Faxed applications will not be accepted.  The application should include: a cover letter, a copy of the applicant’s resume, an official law school transcript through Fall 2008, and one letter of reference.  The reference letter should be sent directly to the Center from the author.  The cover letter should describe the candidate’s interest in juvenile criminal defense practice and how the fellowship fits into the candidate’s future professional interests.

For information on certification by the State Bar of California, please go to the California Bar website. -jl

St. Louis University Law Groups Organize Largest Naturalization Ceremony in St. Louis History

The Saint Louis University School of Law made history on Friday, September 19, 2008, when 1,000 new citizens were sworn in at the new Chaifetz Arena on campus. Clinic students and members of the Public Interest Law Group organized the event.  Prof. John Ammann, Clinic Director and Faculty Adviser for the Public Interest Law Group, reports:

Third year student Meggie Biesenthal welcomed the new citizens in a speech before a crowd of several thousand family and friends, and the keynote speech was delivered by Assistant Professor Amany Ragab Hacking, herself a naturalized citizen and member of our Clinic Faculty. 

While our Clinic has joined with others to sue the federal government in the past for delaying citizenship for our clients, this is an example of how Clinics can help work to alleviate the delays in the citizenship process through partnerships with the agencies we often see on the opposite side of a lawsuit.

Photos of the event are posted on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch web page.  -jl

Tax Court - University of Idaho Tax Clinic Victorious in § 6015 Petition

Congratulations go out to the University of Idaho Tax Clinic for their recent victory in Tax Court:

       The United States Tax Court decision granted full relief to a client after a trial conducted by student Casey Carter in Las Vegas last October (Tax Court Docket No. 023720-05, T.C. Summ. 2008-121, September 16, 2008).  The case involved a doctrine commonly known as innocent spouse relief, an area of tax law in which full relief is typically difficult to obtain at trial.

            Additionally, student Chelsea Kidney, with outstanding trial preparation assistance from Tayah Renfro, conducted an excellent trial in United States Tax Court in Boise last week (Tax Court Docket No. 020851-07S, bench opinion, September 10, 2008).  The result was partial relief for the client, in a case that Prof. Stewart felt would be very difficult to win. 

University of Idaho law students currently enrolled in the tax clinic are preparing several cases set for trial next month in Spokane and Las Vegas. -jl

CSALE SURVEY RESULTS ARE HERE

The Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education (CSALE) is happy to announce that the results of its 2007-08 Survey of Applied Legal Education are now available free of charge at www.CSALE.org. The results provide valuable insight into the state and nature of applied legal education in areas including program design and structure, pedagogical techniques and practice, and the treatment of applied legal educators in the legal academy. Over 147 schools provided data on their overall programs, challenges they face, and the rights and responsibilities of those teaching in them. Four hundred and ten in-house, live client clinics and 235 field placement programs provided detailed information on how they teach and operate. And hundreds of individual clinicians provided information on a wide range of topics including voting rights, promotion and retention standards, and compensation. For a report summarizing the results, or to get the raw data, please visit www.CSALE.org. (N.B. Special thanks go out to Prof. David Santacroce for patiently working with me while I recently mined the comprehensive and invaluable data sets provided by CSALE.-jl )

Tax Court - CDP Constitutional Appointments Clause Challenge Progresses

Cardozo Professor Carlton Smith reports progress in a Tax Court case where he filed a motion and supporting memorandum on behalf of a client denied OIC relief by IRS Appeals. Prof. Smith based his motion:

"On the IRS' admitted failure to appoint CDP hearing officers at Appeals pursuant the the requirements of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution (Art. II, sec.2, cl. 2). All other ALJs in non-tax departments of the Executive Branch are appointed, and I did not see why CDP hearing officers were exempt from the Constitution's mandate."

Last week Prof. Smith informed tax clinicians that his case was awaiting rulings on cross motions for summary judgment separate from the constitutional motion and the case at that time was under the jurisdiction of Special Trial Judge Dean. However, on Thursday the motion was restyled to remand the case to Appeals and it was ordered that cross motions for summary judgment be held in abeyance with jurisdiction reassigned to Chief Trial Judge Colvin.

The IRS was ordered to file a response to Prof. Smith's motion by October 31. In support of his motion, Prof. Smith includes:

"Supreme Court cases, such as Freytag v. Commissioner, 501 U.S. 868 (1991) (holding that Tax Court Special Trial Judges had to be appointed), and a DOJ Office of Legal Counsel memorandum from April 2007 (2007 OLC LEXIS) setting out the DOJ's position on which government employees need to be appointed."

Further, Prof. Smith advises tax clinicians:

"Any of you who are representing petitioners in the Tax Court who are contesting CDP notices of determination and are facing the abuse of discretion review standard should consider raising the Appointments Clause issue yourselves in your case. The issue is a nonjurisdictional one, according to the Supreme Court in Freytag, so if you do not raise it in your case before a decision becomes final, you can not raise it later."

Prof. Smith welcomes any amicus briefs (for or against). Tax Court practice requires the filing of a motion for leave to file an amicus brief before the due date of the parties' briefs and a copy of the proposed amicus brief must accompany the motion for leave to file. In this case, any such motion and amicus brief must be filed by October 31. -jl Download Memo_of_law_-_Appointments_Clause.doc

What Does Justice Scalia Think About Clinical Legal Education?

I am not sure, but a Chicago Sun-Times article provides a glimpse of his position on "made up" courses like Law and Poverty.

At a Federalist Society meeting in Chicago, Justice Scalia recounted how as a law student:

"I took nothing but bread-and-butter classes, not "Law and Poverty," or other made-up stuff, Scalia said to laughter. He said his advice to law students was: "Take serious classes. There's so much law to learn. Don't waste your time."

The question posed to Scalia was what he thought of the ideological change at the University of Chicago Law School since he was a teacher there. "I regret it," Scalia said. "I don't think the University of Chicago is what it was in my time. I would not recommend it to students looking for a law school as I would have years ago. It has changed considerably and intentionally. It has lost the niche it once had as a rigorous and conservative law school." 

The University of Chicago Law School has consistently ranked as one of the nation's top five or 10 law schools in national surveys. Scalia, a Harvard Law grad like Obama, taught at U. of C. from 1977 to 1982. Obama taught there part-time from 1992 through 2004 while he practiced civil rights law and worked as a state senator.  -jl (Hat Tip: George Bell)

Latest Edition of CLEA Newsletter Now Available

The September 2008 issue of the CLEA Newsletter is now available by going to the CLEA website http://www.cleaweb.org and clicking on the link for CLEA Newsletters. - jl (Hat Tip: Larry Spain)

Job Posting Tuesday - Director of the Litigation Skills Program - Univeristy of Miami

Job Description for Director of the Litigation Skills Program

The University of Miami School of Law invites applications for the
Director of the School's Litigation Skills Program beginning fall of
2009.  This is a tenure-track position.  Appointment will be made at the
associate or full professor level, depending on experience.

The School is interested in recruiting an individual with a proven
record of achievement who will enhance the national reputation of this
outstanding program. The Director should have extensive expertise and
experience in trial practice and in teaching trial skills and a
substantial record or a demonstrable interest in scholarship related to
trial skills or related substantive areas.

The University of Miami School of Law Litigation Skills program is an
award winning program that provides top quality simulation training in
pre-trial and trial practice. Approximately 80 percent of the School's
students take the voluntary six-credit Litigation Skills I class. The
Director designs skills problems, teaches litigation skills classes, and
recruits, trains, and supervises the work of approximately 60 adjunct
faculty. The adjunct faculty are leading practitioners and judges who
work with students in small groups to develop their skills.

The Director also oversees the development of Litigation Skills II, a
course for students who complete Litigation Skills I. Skills II includes
advanced litigation matters such as jury selection, expert witnesses and
multiparty or multi-claim lawsuits.  Students who complete Skills I may
also enhance their skills through a one-semester clinical placement
(externship).

The Director supervises the Litigation Skills Program Manager and an
Assistant to the Director. The Director works with clinical faculty to
identify and coordinate externship placements with public agencies and
public interest law offices.  The Director develops and fosters
relationships with the various agencies, courts, and firms from which
Litigation Skills faculty are recruited and clinical externs are placed.

The Director should be prepared to teach one or more core courses on an
annual or rotating basis, depending on the needs of the School and the
scope of other responsibilities.  In addition, the Director should be
prepared to work with students to enhance the School's efforts in
inter-school skills competitions.

Interested persons should contact Professor Terence J.  Anderson c/o
Detra Davis, University of Miami School of Law, P.O. Box 248087, Coral
Gables, FL 33124-8087 or ddavis@law.miami.edu.