For those who do public-interest transactional work in the academy

TO: Faculty Members interested in Transactional Law

FROM: Planning Committee on 2009 AALS Conference on Transaction Law

Lisa Fairfax, University of Maryland, Chair
Victor Fleischer, University of Illinois
Peter Pitegoff, University of Maine
D. Gordon Smith, Brigham Young University
Alfred Chueh-Chin Yen, Boston College

We are planning the AALS 2009 Mid-year Program on Transactional Law, which will be held on June 10-12, 2009 in Long Beach,California.  "Transactional law" refers to the substantive legal rules that influence or constrain planning, negotiating, and document drafting in connection with business transactions, as well as the "law of the deal" (i.e., the negotiated contracts) produced by the parties to those transactions.  We are seeking proposals from (1) faculty members interested in presenting on innovative methods of teaching transactional law, and (2) faculty members interested in presenting new scholarship that relates to transactional law.

About the Program: In 1994, the AALS held a Workshop on Transactional Approaches to Law which inspired significant innovation and experimentation in transactional teaching and scholarship.  This Program provides a unique opportunity to take stock of developments in this area since that influential workshop.  One important goal of the Program is to bring together faculty from different doctrinal areas of law to exchange ideas and information on teaching and scholarly innovations in the area of transactional law. Toward this end, we encourage proposals from faculty members with an interest in transactional law in any discipline including such specialties as bankruptcy, business associations, clinical law, contracts, commercial law, intellectual property, international business, labor and employment law, real estate transactions, securities regulation, and taxation.

Please note that the AALS 2009 Mid-Year Meeting will include three programs: A Program on Business Associations: Taking Stock of the Field, followed by Concurrent Programs on Transactional Law and Work Law.   As a result, you may have received, or be receiving, Request for Proposals in connection with these other Programs. We would encourage you to submit proposals to any or all of the programs in which you have an interest in participating.  We also encourage submissions from junior faculty.

Request for Proposals on Transactional Law Scholarship: In keeping with the conference theme, the Program will host a series of concurrent works-in-progress sessions designed to give interested faculty members an opportunity to present new scholarship related to transactional law.  We are seeking works-in-progress proposals on transactional law scholarship broadly understood.  Thus, we are seeking proposals on scholarship that focuses on the legal, financial, and practical implications of business transactions in a variety of different settings.  In addition, we welcome proposals on the transactional side of the legal profession and the role of lawyers in consummating such transactions.  We do not mean to limit the range of proposals in this area, and would welcome proposals on transactional scholarship of all types.

Request for Proposals on Innovative Methods of Teaching Transactional Law:  We are planning a 75 minute plenary session on innovative methods of teaching transactional law, and are seeking proposals for faculty members interested in presenting in the session.  Many law professors teach transactional skills in a variety of contexts, from stand-alone "Deals" or Business Planning courses to in-class exercises as part of doctrinal classes.  A number of law schools have developed innovative courses or programs in transactional law.  We are interested in hearing discussion of the various  approaches with an eye towards discovering what works and what doesn't.  To anchor the discussion, participants may wish to explore how they use (or choose not to use) case studies as a method for teaching transactional law.  We welcome proposals from faculty members who wish to share their insights on using case studies and other innovative techniques and the manner in which those techniques enhance student development of transactional skills.  As with the request for works-in-progress, we do not mean to limit the range of proposals in this area.

Submission Guidelines: Interested faculty should submit a 300-500 word written proposal of the proposed work-in-progress or proposed presentation not later than July 15, 2008. Faculty may submit proposals for both the work-in-progress and the presentation.  In addition, as noted above, faculty who has submitted proposals in connection with the Business Association's Request for Proposals also may submit to the Program on Transactional Law.  Please submit the description by email to transactional@aals.org. The presentations will not be published.  Chosen presenters must register for the Workshop and will be responsible for their own travel and other expenses.  Any questions should be directed to Professor Lisa M. Fairfax, University of Maryland School of Law, lfairfax@law.umaryland.edu.

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu