Call for Proposals, Empire State Legal Writing Conference

The Fourth Annual Empire State Legal Writing Conference will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2013, at Albany Law School in Albany, New York. They invite proposals for presentations on a broad range of topics relevant to those who teach legal writing and research and welcome proposals from those who have previously presented, as well as from those presenting for the first time.

Possible topic suggestions in this tumultuous time in legal education include everything from practical suggestions for teaching to point-counter-point dialogue about plain language; effective methods for teaching rapidly-changing legal research at a state, national, or even international level; teaching writing for email or social network sites; creating effective methods of both formative and evaluative assessment; and making do with fewer resources. Individual and panel presentations are both welcome. 

 Please limit your proposal to one single-spaced page and include the following:
1. Presenter(s), title(s), and school affiliation(s);
2. Title of the proposed presentation;
3. A short description of the proposed presentation and teaching method (lecture, simulation, small group exercises, etc.);
4. A two-sentence summary of the proposed presentation for the program brochure;
5. Whether the presentation would benefit new or experienced instructors (or both);
6. The time needed: no longer than 50 minutes (we try to accommodate requests, but make no guarantee);
7. Technology needs for your presentation (please describe);
8. Contact information for one presenter, including email address, mailing address, and phone; and
9. Whether you have previously presented at any national or regional conferences.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 8, 2013. The organizers hope to have program selection completed by the first week of March. Please e-mail proposals as a Word Document attachment to: Pam Armstrong, Conference Chair, Albany Law School, parm@albanylaw.edu  (518) 445-2364, with a copy to empirestatelw@gmail.com .                    

If you have questions or would like to see sample proposals, please contact a Planning Committee member. They look forward to reviewing your proposals!

The Empire State Legal Writing Conference Planning Committee:
Pam Armstrong, Albany Law School, Conference Chair, parms@albanylaw.edu
Robin Boyle, St. John’s University School of Law, boyler@stjohns.edu
Ian Gallacher, Syracuse University College of Law, igallach@law.syr.edu
Ann Nowak, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, anowak@tourolaw.edu
Stephen Paskey, SUNY Buffalo Law School, sjpaskey@buffalo.edu
Amy Stein, Hofstra University School of Law, Amy.R.Stein@hofstra.edu
Marilyn Walter, Brooklyn Law School, marilyn.walter@brooklaw.edu
Michelle Whelan, Cornell University Law School, michelle-whelan@lawschool.cornell.edu

(njs)