Legal Writing Prof Blog

LRW job opening in Arizona

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University is inviting applications for an Associate Clinical Professor of Law to teach first-year and upper-level Legal Method and Writing courses. The position is on the clinical tenure-track. Information about Academic Professionals at ASU, including status, rank, titles, and appointment categories, can be found here.  

 Candidates must have a J.D. degree and a demonstrated ability teaching Legal Method and Writing courses. Preferred candidates will also have strong scholarly potential. The application deadline is October 15th, and if not filled, the 15th of each month thereafter until the search is closed. To apply, please submit a resume, a statement of interest, and references. Successful applicants may be invited on campus for an interview, though in rare cases an interview may take place by telephone or video chat. Direct your inquiries and applications to Ms. Gina Wilson, Coordinator for Appointments Committee, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, 1100 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287-7906, or electronically to GinaWilson@asu.edu.

1.  The position advertised is a tenure-track appointment.

2.  The professor hired will be permitted to vote in faculty meetings.

3.  The anticipated salary will be in the range $60,000 - $79,999.

4.  The number of students enrolled in each semester of the courses taught by the legal research & writing professor will be 31 - 40.

(spl)

Aspiring Law Professors Conference

Kudos to Arizona State University for coming up with this idea.  They are hosting an Aspiring Law Professors Conference at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.  The conference is designed for those seeking to go on the academic teaching market and provides insight on the Association of American Law Schools hiring process, the appointments process, and other advice about breaking into the academic job market. 

The conference will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2011.  The featured speaker will be Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law.  There will also be a number of other speakers from a variety of law schools. 

 

Visit http://conferences.asucollegeoflaw.com/aspiringlawprofs/ for more information about the conference and  to register. 

 

Hat tip to Kimberly Holst

 

(mew)

The number of law reviews keeps increasing

A graduating University of Washington librarianship student, Alena L. Wolotira, has posted a paper that discusses the current state of law reviews. Wolotira shows that the number of law reviews--student edited and peer reviewed, flagship and secondary--has increased dramatically in the last fifty years. She points out that the increasing number of student-edited journals raises a question about whether all of them can maintain high quality. That question is a likely factor in the increase in peer-reviewed journals. Wolotira's article and its appendices listing journals can be a helpful resource for students and professors who seek to place articles.

(jdf)

A former law clerk's hints about advocacy

Minneapolis attorney Rachel Clark Hughey has published an article titled Effective Appellate Advocacy before the Federal Circuit: A Former Law Clerk’s Perspective in the Journal of Appellate Practice and Process. The piece contains judges’ comments about each section of an appellate brief. For example, several judges say the Statement of the Issues is seldom helpful to them because it is usually too long and argumentative. Judges also stress that the Conclusion section should state what the party wants. The piece also emphasizes that “pejorative language has no place in a brief.” These and other suggestions in the article will be helpful to students in both brief writing and oral argument.

 (jdf)

Thirty books lawyers (and law students) should read

In the August ABA Journal, thirty lawyers recommend books that "every lawyer" should read. The list contains some law-related books, like Clarence Darrow's The Story of My Life, along with other books like Martin Seligman's Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being and even St. Exupery's The Little Prince. I often tell aspiring law students that reading good writing is one of the best ways to prepare for law school. I plan to recommend this list to both prospective and current law students.

(jdf)