Poverty Law Prof Blog

Northeast People of Color Conference 2009: America's New Class Warfare?

From the Legal Scholarship Blog:

The Northeast People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference (NEPOC) 2009 will take place October 23-25 at the University at Buffalo Law School in Buffalo, New York.

During last year’s NEPOC, we experienced the monumental collapse of Lehman Brothers and subsequently, our financial and real estate sectors. Our nation and economy have been suffering since that time and there have been many interesting changes. This year our theme is “America’s New Class Warfare?”

For more details on the theme, please see the conference webpage

Instead of relying solely on invitations, this year’s NEPOC will also do a call for papers for the plenary panels. In addition, we are seeking works in progress, leaders for professional development workshops and nominees for the Haywood Burns – Shanara Gilbert Awards. The deadline for the submission of all these materials is June 30th.

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

Call for Papers from Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law

From the Legal Scholarship Blog:

The Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, the legal publication of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, is currently seeking submissions from students, professors, and practitioners. The Journal publishes full-length articles, book reviews, and shorter commentaries on a wide range of affordable housing and community and economic development issues.

The Fall 2009 issue will focus on “Housing and Community Development in the Economic Crisis.” Submissions of papers or proposals for papers should be e-mailed to Paulette Williams at pwillia8@utk.edu no later than June 15, 2009.

Writer’s guidelines can be found here.

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

Call for Papers from The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Minority Issues

The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Minority Issues is soliciting articles for upcoming volumes. Our publication is committed to raising the awareness of those individuals in our society who traditionally have been voiceless. The Scholar furthers legal discourse on issues that concern race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, and sexual identity, as well as other countless groups in our society. Accordingly, we will consider any article that focuses on a legal issue of concern to disenfranchised groups.

We are currently looking for articles to begin editing on June 29, 2009.  Accordingly, we would need to have a version to review by June 17.  Any author extended an offer would be published by August 3, 2009.  Additional information regarding The Scholar may be found at The Scholar's website. 

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.  Elizabeth Kaigh, Executive Articles Editor, The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Minority Issues, elizabethkaigh@gmail.com.

Call for Papers: Children and the Law Junior Faculty Workshop

Call for Papers

Children and the Law Junior Faculty Workshop

July 16 -17, 2009

The Frances Lewis Law Center at Washington & Lee University is sponsoring a workshop for junior scholars working on legal issues related to children.  The workshop will be held this summer on the campus of Washington & Lee in Lexington, Virginia.  It is expected that this will be the first in a series of junior faculty workshops on topics related to family law and children and the law.  Several institutions, including William and Mary Law School and the George Washington University School of Law, have expressed an interest in hosting workshops in the future.

The workshop will include both junior and senior scholars.  Each junior scholar will present his or her paper to the group, with comments from a senior scholar and from the audience to follow.  The senior scholars will also participate in two panel discussions during the conference, one on innovations in teaching and one on new directions for scholarship.  Senior scholars who are expected to attend include Vivian Hamilton of William and Mary Law School, Sacha Coupet of Loyola University, Chicago School of Law, and Robin Wilson and Joan Shaughnessy of Washington and Lee.

The workshop can accommodate eight junior scholars.  Applications are welcome from untenured faculty and recently tenured faculty and from those who will be joining a faculty in the upcoming academic year. Junior clinicians are very welcome. There is no registration fee for this conference and the Frances Lewis Law Center is pleased to furnish meals and lodging for the participants.  The workshop will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 16 and end at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, July 17.

Junior scholars wishing to participate in the workshop are asked to e-mail an abstract and a curriculum vitae by June 8, 2009 to Administrative Assistant Diane Hamilton-Figgers Cochran at Washington & Lee (cochrand@wlu.edu). Senior scholars participating in the workshop will select papers no later than June 15.

For information, please contact Professor Joan Shaughnessy (shaughnessyj@wlu.edu)  or Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson (wilsonr@wlu.edu) at Washington & Lee University School of Law, 540-458-8400.

-E.R.

Social Welfare Action Alliance 2009 Conference: "Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference to Abolish Poverty"

The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign and The Social Welfare Action Alliance are sponsoring a conference, "Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference to Abolish Poverty," July 16-19, 2009 in Louisville, KY at Spalding University.  From the organizers:

This conference is being organized to provide a forum for people to share ideas, inspire, and motivate each other. We will strive for collective actions based in sound analyses - actions that can be taken locally, regionally, and nationally when we leave this gathering. Abolish poverty in these times of increasing joblessness, homelessness, hunger, and unemployment? We say "yes" and turn to the wisdoms of Martin Luther King, who envisioned an organized "unsettling force" built across racial lines that would spark a "revolution of values" to reorganize our society.

The call for participation deadline is May 15, 2009.  

-Thanks to Rick Wilson for the heads up.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Poverty Conference at Harvard Law this weekend

Sorry for the late notice, I just came across this!

The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute and the Advanced Leadership Initiative, both at Harvard, are sponsoring a workshop on "Poverty, Justice, and Jobs," today through May 2nd.  The agenda includes an impressive group of people, many from Harvard but also a range of social entrepreneurs. 

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

Reminder of upcoming deadlines! Poverty Law Section AALS & LatCrit

Though I have already posted info, this is a final reminder that deadlines are fast approaching for submissions for both the AALS Poverty Law Section's panel (due May 1) and LatCrit 2009 (due Today, Apr. 27).  The Poverty Section info can be found below and the LatCrit info can be found here.

*CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The New Anti-Poverty Advocacy: Constructs, Strategies, and Tactics

AALS Section on Poverty Law

AALS Annual Meeting Program, January 2010

New Orleans, Louisiana*

 

*Statements of Interest Due May 1, 2009*

 

The recent pronounced shifts in American politics and economics

intensify the need for sustained reflection, as we consider how to shape

legal activism, scholarship, and policy-making against poverty. The

re-emergence of the Democratic Party in national politics and the

renewed support for government action simultaneously create openings for

activists and advocates and invite caution. Similarly, the failures of

the American banking system, massive government deficits, and the

continued restructuring and globalization of the U.S. economy cause

great misery for those at the bottom and present opportunities to press

for fundamental and progressive reform. It remains unclear whether this

period is one in which power will be redistributed downward and outward

to poor and working people or whether the defining values and

hierarchies of the political economy in the last thirty years -

variously labeled neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism, or free market

fundamentalism - will be reinforced.

 

The Section on Poverty Law seeks participants who might approach this

complex and contradictory moment from differing vantage points and using

diverse methods of analysis but with a shared sense of purpose and

opportunity. Proposals may focus on new developments in the areas of

access to justice, legal advocacy, and law reform and policy-making.

Proposals may integrate intersecting legal frames, such as corporate

law, criminal law, critical race theory, environmental law, family law,

feminist theory, immigrants' rights, international human rights, and

labor and employment law. The Section will give special attention to

proposals that include consideration of the post-Katrina experience in

New Orleans. Above all, we seek presenters excited to share useful and

provocative ideas that can be integrated into our teaching, practice,

and scholarship.

 

The statements of interest should be no longer than 1 page. We will

remove all references to the name and affiliation of those who submit

proposals prior to review. Presenters will be selected on or before July

31, 2009. The Section will seek a venue for publication of papers

stemming from the panel on the basis of the interest of selected

participants.

 

Please send statements of interest as an email attachment to Bernice

Cohn at cohn@mail.law.cuny.edu <mailto:cohn@mail.law.cuny.edu>.

Questions should be directed to Sameer Ashar, Chair of the Poverty Law

Section, at 718-340-4180 or ashar@mail.law.cuny.edu

<mailto:ashar@mail.law.cuny.edu>.

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

Conference: Third Annual Indian Law Clinical Conference on Communities of Color, Economic Justice and Poverty Law

From Christine Zuni Cruz:

We invite everyone to join us at our 3rd Annual Indian Law Clinical Conference.  This year we will be focusing on Poverty and Economic Justice issues and lawyering for  Indigenous Peoples and other Communities. 

Interconnections of Law and Poverty and Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Other Communities of Color

Sunday, June 7 to Tuesday, June 9, 2009; Isleta Resort & Casino

The Goal of this symposium is to provide a forum where Indian law clinicians, and Indian legal scholars can gather together with community lawyers and poverty lawyers, working with indigenous peoples or other distinct populations, to present and discuss the interconnections of law and poverty for indigenous peoples at the international, National, regional, and Tribal levels – Some questions we have:

From the War on Poverty to Globalization and Affluenza to the crash of ’08-09:

• What does the economic crisis mean for social justice in indigenous communities and communities of color?
  
• What is the 2009 picture of “poverty” in Indian Communities?
• What does poverty for Indigenous Peoples in the 21st Century look like?
• What are the impacts of economic hard times for different areas of (Indian) law: criminal, family, civil rights, public benefits?
• What can Indian law and other clinics teach to be responsive, and how?

The Symposium is designed to promote solidarity and sharing among Clinics and clinicians working with Native Americans, minority populations, and those working in the areas of poverty law and community lawyering. It is our hope that through sharing we will strengthen existing programs and help emerging programs to succeed; find new solutions to old problems and support creativity in clinics and legal practice.

The Symposium is organized by the University of New Mexico Southwest Indian Law Clinic, Washburn University School of Law, University of Denver Sturm College of Law and Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in cooperation with the University of New Mexico Tribal law Journal.

The Download 2009 Conf Description Indian Clinics and the Download 2009 Conf Registration Form.

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

Maine Law Review Call for Papers: Accessing Justice in Hard Times

The Maine Law Review plans to publish a symposium issue in the Spring of 2010 entitled Accessing Justice in Hard Times: Lessons from the Field, Looking to the Future. The purpose of this symposium is to gather together, in one place, the perspectives, experiences, and insights of Maine’s top legal scholars, jurists, and practitioners in order to explore the problems created or exacerbated by the state’s, and the nation’s, worsening economic climate. What is happening? Whom is it affecting? How do we begin to address the problems of increasing barriers to justice and provide solutions? The Law Review is committed firmly to the idea that this symposium issue will be relevant, practical, and useful to all segments of the legal population here in Maine and abroad. The Maine Law Review is in the process of soliciting submissions for this important symposium topic. The topic is construed broadly in order to provide an opportunity for a wide variety of viewpoints on a nearly limitless range of sub-topics. This symposium will not be a "traditional" law review publication, as such. The issue will present an interdisciplinary perspective on the subject and include theoretical, empirical, and practical pieces by authors with a variety of backgrounds.

We also are welcoming unsolicited submissions for the symposium for our consideration. The deadline for expressions of interest for submitting to this symposium is June 1, 2009. The deadline for submissions for this symposium is October 1, 2009. Please see the Submissions page for complete details on how to submit an article or email Tina H. Nadeau, Editor-In-Chief, at  tina.h.nadeau@maine.edu for more information.

Conference: Color of Wealth 2009 Policy Summit | March 23-24, 2009 | Washington DC

From The Insight Center:

The Insight Center is proud to announce the “Color of Wealth 2009 Policy Summit: Wealth Building for All: The Foundation for Economic Growth in the Global Marketplace” to be held on March 23rd and 24th in Washington DC. This year’s Policy Summit is a gathering of OVER 75 asset-building experts of color from around the country that will engage and educate policymakers about the racial wealth gap and the need to take immediate action to help close it.  Homepage here. 

To learn more about the racial wealth gap, please download the Executive Summary, "Laying the Foundation for National Prosperity. The Imperative of Closing the Racial Wealth Gap.".

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

Call for Papers and Panels: LatCrit XIV, Oct 1-4, 2009, American University (DC)

LatCrit XIV is being hosted by American University Washington College of Law on Oct. 1-4, 2009.  The theme of this year's conference is: OUTSIDERS INSIDE: CRITICAL OUTSIDER THEORY AND PRAXIS IN THE POLICYMAKING OF THE NEW AMERICAN REGIME.  The conference also includes the LatCrit/SALT Junior Faculty Development Workshop.  The complete call for papers/panels is here.

Please submit your panel and paper proposals through the online process at the LatCrit website (www.law.du.edu/latcrit/index.htm) no later than MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009. 

-Note: By way of full disclosure, I am a member of the host school's LatCrit committee.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Call for Papers: Subprime Mortgages Database Project

Courtesy of SSRN:

CALL FOR PAPERS: INVESTIGATING LENDER PRACTICES IN THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE MARKET

Proposal Deadline: MARCH 31, 2009

The Valparaiso University School of Law and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) invite proposals for papers based on a unique set of data from the National Mortgage Data Repository (NMDR), a joint project between NCLC and the University of Connecticut. Authors whose projects are selected will be invited to present their work at a Spring 2010 symposium at Valparaiso.

More info here, including the full call for papers. 

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

Call for Law and Society Roundtable Participants: Teaching Gender Inequality in Law Schools

CALL FOR ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS; CRN No. 9 (Gender and Legal Education)

LAW AND SOCIETY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING, May 28-31, 2009, Denver, CO

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSAL: FEBRUARY 25, 2009 

Roundtable: Teaching Gender Inequality in Law Schools

Conversations about gender and sexuality in core law school courses are often focused on equality—constitutional doctrines of formal equality meted out by high courts – rather than underlying causes, effects and forms of inequality.  Law students are rarely asked to consider if inequality itself is undesirable, and whether law has a role in perpetuating, creating, resisting or eliminating it. While these concepts are foundational in most sociology or anthropology programs, they are not central to the law school curriculum, especially in the first year.

While there is no doubt that court cases eliminating legal barriers to gender and sexual equality are important for all law students to learn, the conversation is impoverished if they are the only vehicle used to examine gender, sexuality and other intersecting forms of inequality in a typical course of law school study. Teachers of today’s generation of students also must grapple with the fact that gender inequality looks different to students than it did even fifteen years ago. The generation of women entering law school—the beneficiaries of equal opportunity to education under Title IX and employment under Title VII – are members of a community in which young women have excelled. Many of them do not perceive gendered inequality operating in their lives. This creates a displacement where students who are interested in women’s rights are more comfortable examining the inequality of women in exotic foreign locales (such as inequalities suffered by Muslim women, victims of sex trafficking or of mass sexual violence). At the same time, however, they are slow to recognize the structural nature of gendered inequalities that persist closer to home. They may be quick to dismiss their own anxieties as problems that can be overcome by making perfect individual choices. Students interested in eliminating the inequality of the LGBTQ community might perceive that inequality more starkly, but still often lack the vocabulary to discuss questions of law, power and sexuality outside of the bounds of formal equality.

In the climate of change created by recent critiques of legal education, roundtable participants will take up the question of how social scientists and law teachers can become allies in the creation of materials, techniques and strategies to teach law students about the gender, sexual, and intersectional inequalities in the U.S. legal system and culture. Possible topics might include: innovations in legal pedagogy; strategies for exploring gender and sexual inequality in core law school courses (e.g., contracts, torts, criminal law); whether the training of lawyers should include an apprenticeship of identity and purpose that has at its core a commitment to reducing inequality; teaching techniques for reinvigorating courses on discrimination with more nuanced and sophisticated understandings of how structural inequalities play out in the lives of lawyers and their clients; exploring the role of experiential and clinical education in both fighting inequality and teaching students about its nature; incorporating questions of how law enables corporations and consumer culture to create and perpetuate gender inequality into law school teaching; and addressing inequality created or sustained by culture and religion in U.S. domestic as well as international settings.

If you would like to join the roundtable, please email Daniela Kraiem, CRN No. 9 Organizer and Associate Director, Women and the Law Program, American University Washington College of Law at kraiem@wcl.american.edu with a brief paragraph describing your interest in participating in the roundtable by February 25, 2009. 

LSA roundtables are generally informal discussions, guided by the questions and themes raised by the panelists. Panelists should be prepared to offer 7-10 minutes of remarks, followed by discussion of roundtable themes.

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

Upcoming Conference: Property Ownership and Economic Stability

Saint Louis University School of Law Public Law Review is hosting "Property Ownership and Economic Stability: A Necessary Relationship?" on Feb. 27, 2009.  The schedule can be found here and the participants here.  The overview of the conference is below:

The recent instability in the nation's housing markets has demonstrated the complex relationship between property ownership and economic stability for lower-income families. Until recently, many experts argued that such families could not hope to achieve the "American dream" without owning their own homes. Increasingly, events from the past year are calling the assumptions underlying these assertions into question. This symposium brings together a group of leading scholars and practitioners to examine the relationship between property ownership and economic stability, both domestically and abroad. Among other issues, speakers will discuss barriers to creating affordable housing, property rights in the international context and changing definitions of property ownership in the United States.

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

Upcoming Conference: The Evolving Definition of the Immigrant Worker

The University of San Francisco's Law Review Symposium is "The Evolving Definition of the Immigrant Worker: The Intersection Between Employment, Labor, and Human Rights Law," Feb. 27, 2009.  The registration information is here and the participant bios can be found here. 

-Thanks to Legal Scholarship Blog for the heads up! E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Conference Announcement: "Getting It Right: The Government's Role in Housing and Economic Development"

Brooklyn Law School and the Brooklyn Law School Journal of Law and Policy are sponsoring "Getting it Right: The Government's Role in Housing and Economic Development" on Friday, March 27, 2009.  The program is here. 

-Courtesy of of the Legal Scholarship Blog. E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Upcoming Conference: Housing and Economic Development at Brooklyn Law, March 27, 2009

GETTING IT RIGHT: GOVERNMENT'S ROLE IN HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL SPARER SYMPOSIUM

Friday, March 27, 2009

LOCATION: Brooklyn Law School; 250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201;

 

OVERVIEW:

Historically, all levels of government have taken an active role in housing and economic development. As the federal government undergoes a change in administrations during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, this conference will take a fresh look at two of the key roles that government plays in this arena. The two morning panels will evaluate the role of federal and state governments in housing finance, especially in light of the ongoing crisis. The two afternoon panels will explore local government innovations in the economic development sector. Panelists will explain and evaluate how government's role is changing in response to this new political and financial environment. Papers from the symposium will be published in the Journal of Law and Policy. CLE credits are available (see web site for information). RSVP: http://www.brooklaw.edu/rsvp.

Call for Papers: Journal of Law & Public Policy at the University of Florida

The Journal of Law & Public Policy at the University of Florida Levin College of Law is currently accepting submissions for its poverty law issue. This issue will be published in August 2009 and will focus on cutting-edge poverty law topics. If you would like to submit either an article or essay, then we prefer to have your finished piece no later than March 23, 2009. For additional information or to submit an article please contact Assistant Editor-in-Chief Tiffany L. Anderson at tianderson@ufl.edu.

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

William Mitchell Law Review seeking completed articles for a Poverty Law Issue

The William Mitchell Law Review is currently seeking completed papers that examine current issues and recent developments in Poverty Law. The William Mitchell Law Review is highly regarded both regionally and nationally.  Our Law Review recently ranked twenty-second in citations by judges and ranked fifty-seventh in citations by other law journals, culminating in an overall ranking of seventieth.  Over the years, the William Mitchell Law Review has featured the works of various scholars and practitioners such as Congressman Tim Penny, and former Vice President Walter Mondale. The William Mitchell Law Review has also published nationally known legal experts ranging from Philip Bruner, to Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Byron White, and Harry Blackmun. Please send submissions to Executive Editor Shira Shapiro at shira.shapiro@wmitchell.edu.

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

Update on Yale's Rebellious Lawyering Conference, Feb. 20-22, 2009

Update on Yale's Rebellious Lawyering Conference, Feb. 20-22, 2009 with speakers/panel info and registration info, available here. 

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

Two upcoming CLE programs from the ABA Commission on Homelessness & Poverty

The ABA Commission on Homelessness & Poverty is presenting "Foreclosing on the American Dream: The Housing Crisis and the Role of Lawyers and Laws in Securing Housing Justice," Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 in Boston, MA.  And on Feb. 13th in Boston they are also sponsoring "What is the Role of Lawyers and the ABA in Promoting Public School Reform for At-Risk Students," which includes a panel on the educational rights of homeless children and those on welfare. 

-Thanks to Amy E. Horton-Newell for the heads up!  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

National Network for Youth Symposium 2009: Celebrating Youth, Inspiring Leadership, Creating Change

Co-sponsored by the ABA's Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, Center for Children and the Law, and Commission on Youth at Risk, the 2009 Symposium of the National Network for Youth is entitled "Celebrating Youth, Inspiring Leadership, Creating Change" and takes place Jan. 25-28, 2009 in Washington, DC.  The keynote speakers include David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager.  The schedule can be found here. 

-Thanks to Amy E. Horton-Newell for the heads up.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Upcoming Conference: Indian/Poverty/Economic Justice/Community Lawyer Clinic Conference

Third Annual Indian Law Clinics and Externship Programs:  Symposium and Workshop, Isleta Casino & Resort, Pueblo of Isleta (located just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 7-9, 2009. 

The conference is for “Professors, Directors, Clinicians and Staff of Indian Law, Poverty Law, Economic Justice and Community Lawyering Clinics and those interested in carefully considering their work with Communities through the provision of legal representation.” The goal is to “dedicate time and space for Indian law clinics and other clinicians working with minority populations to work in solidarity on Poverty Law and Community Lawyering issues, to discuss our shared mission and differing perspectives, and to support new ideas.” 

Sponsored by Southwest Indian Law Clinic UNM School of Law and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law; contributors also include The Tribal Law Practice Clinic Washburn University School of Law and Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. 

For more information on the conference, contact Christine Zuni Cruz (UNM) or Aliza Organick (Washburn), or for registration information contact Mitzi Vigil, 505-277-0405. 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu
 

22nd Annual Robert M. Cover Retreat, Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2009

SALT's Robert M. Cover Retreat (see also ereis Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2009, at the Sargent Center in Peterborough, NH.  Here is a letter from the organizer.  The overview of the conference is below:

Every year, public interest law students, professors, and practitioners from the Eastern, Mid-Eastern, and Southern United States gather together at the Robert M. Cover Public Interest Law Retreat to network, strategize, and socialize in a beautiful, secluded setting.

The retreat brings to life the vision of Robert Cover, a Yale Law School professor and social change activist. Cover’s vision encompassed four principal goals: 1) to connect students with common goals and interests from across the country; 2) to create a network of professors, peers, and practitioners for students headed toward careers in public interest; 3) to provide a forum for discussions about change and growth pertaining to public interest law; and 4) to provide a platform for change in the public interest sector and perceptions about public interest law.   

For more information about the 2009 Retreat, contact:  Heidi M. Pushard, University of Maine School of Law, heidi.pushard@maine.edu.

(I am pushing this because I'm involved this year; please do contact Heidi if you are interested in coming.) -E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

SEALS 2009 Panels/Tentative Schedule

The Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) annual conference is from Aug. 2-Aug. 8, 2009, at the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach, FL.  The tentative schedule includes panels such as: Critical Race Theory, The School-to-Prison Pipeline, Theories of Equality, The NAACP at 100, Economic Inequality and the Role of Law, and Legal Issues Related to the Crisis...  The registration page is here.

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

Call for Papers: Political Science Conference on Poverty

The Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions at Emory University is hosting "Reducing Poverty: Explaining Recent State Policy Innovations and Strategies," Nov. 19-20, 2009.  The call for papers seems fairly open to academics and practitioners and has a Jan. 16, 2009 deadline. 

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

Law and Society 2009 Denver

The annual Law and Society conference will be in Denver, May 28-May 31, 2009.  The call for papers and panels deadline is Dec. 8, 2008.  More information can be found here.  The theme this year is "Law, Power, and Inequality in the 21st Century." 

-For new (and older) law professors, law and society is a good conference that brings together a lot of people so check it out.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Conference Announcement: Urban Child Symposium at Univ. of Baltimore

The University of Baltimore School of Law's Center for Families, Children and the Courts' first Urban Child symposium, "Solving the Drop-Out Crisis: Getting the Other Half to Attend and Achieve," April 2, 2009. 

From the website: "Panelists will focus on the correlation between truancy and drop-out rate in a series of discussions about the challenges facing urban children and the best ways to help children face those challenges successfully." 

-Thanks to the Legal Scholarship Blog for the heads up.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Critical Race Theory Conference at Iowa

The University of Iowa College of Law is hosting: CRT 20: Honoring Our Past, Charting Our Future.  The conference schedule available here includes talks/speeches by many of the major players in Critical Race Theory, April 2-4, 2009.  An email forward that I got indicates that drafts for abstracts for workshop papers are due by Dec. 15, 2008 and that draft papers are due by Jan. 30, 2009, but I have been unable to find this same info on the the conference website. 

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

Call for Book Reviews: Women and the Law

Call for Book Reviews: Women and the Law
Proposals Due September 25, 2008

The editors of Pace Law Review invite proposals from scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals for contributions to a special book review issue to be published in Winter 2008.  We seeks proposals for reviews of any book published in 2008, 2007 or 2006 that contributes to the understanding of women’s experiences with the law.

Please submit book review proposals of no more than 500 words by attachment to plr@law.pace.edu by September 25, 2008.  Proposals should include (a) the intended reviewer’s name, title, institutional affiliation and contact information; (b) the title and publication date of the book proposed for review; (c) a description of the importance of the book to the general topic; and (d) any other information relevant to the book or proposed review (e.g., the proposed reviewer’s expertise or any relationship with the author).  Authors are welcome, but not required, to submit a CV as well.  We expect to make publication offers by October 1, 2008.  Complete manuscripts from authors of accepted proposals will be due November 1, 2008.  Completed book reviews should not exceed 8,500 words.

-Thanks to Bridget Crawford.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Call for Papers: Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities

The Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities is accepting proposals for panels and papers until Oct. 15, 2008 for their annual conference, meeting in 2009 at Suffolk Univ. Law School in Boston, Apr. 3-4, 2009.  The call for papers is here.  The Association's focus is broad (bringing together a wide range of people engaged in scholarship on legal history, legal theory, jurisprudence, law and cultural studies, law and literature, law and the performing arts, and legal hermeneutics. We want to encourage dialogue across and among these fields about issues of interpretation, identity, ideals, values, authority, obligation, justice, and about law's place in culture) and when I went a couple of years ago, I found that other participants were very supportive of junior faculty.  Many poverty law topics would fit into their coverage. 

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

Call for Papers: Property Ownership and Economic Stability: A Necessary Relationship?

The Saint Louis University Public Law Review invites abstracts of articles relating to its Spring 2009 symposium theme: Property Ownership and Economic Stability: A Necessary Relationship?  The symposium, which will be held on Friday, February 27, 2009, will consist of three round-table panel discussions examining the relationship between property ownership and economic stability for lower-income households, both in the United States and internationally.

 

• Property Ownership in the U.S.: New Definitions for a New Era?  This panel will focus on the impact of both private and public land use restrictions, including common interest community servitudes and governance rules, on residential property rights.
• Property Rights and Economic Stability in the International Context  This panel will consider how legal reforms in other countries, such as changes to the titling process and the role of homeowners associations, have affected the ability of low-income people to occupy or dispose of their residences.
• Ownership in Flux: the Role of the Federal Government in the Homeownership Debate  This panel will examine the implications of a national emphasis on homeownership, as opposed to support for rental programs.

 

 

Invitations to present and publish will be made by the Editorial Board following review of abstracts submitted, which should be limited to 300 words and represent original, unpublished work. Abstracts must be received by October 1, 2008 to be considered, and responses to submissions will be sent on or before November 1, 2008. Drafts of papers selected must be received by January 21, 2009.  Following the February 27, 2009 conference, final drafts of papers to be published must be received by April 1, 2009. The papers will be published in the Fall 2009 edition of the Public Law Review.  Abstracts may be submitted to Laura Schwarz, Lschwa13@slu.edu

-Thanks to Jeff Selbin for the heads up.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

William Mitchell Law Review Call for Papers: Poverty Law

The William Mitchell Law Review is proud to dedicate its third issue to Poverty Law in its upcoming Volume 35 (spring 2009). We are currently seeking papers that examine current issues and recent developments in this important area of law. Submissions may either take the form of shorter commentaries or longer law review articles. We are also accepting submission proposals at this time.  Download william_mitchell_call_for_papers_poverty_law.pdf . 

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

Conference: Northeast People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference 2008 - "Education and the Economy"

The schedule for the Northeast People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference 2008, Sept. 12-13, 2008 at Boston University School of Law (hosted also by St. John's Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development) has been posted online.  The main conference website is here and the the brochure with schedule is here.  The conference includes a panel on "The Current Economic Recession and Communities of Color," as well as many other talks on education, diversity in legal education, immigration policy, and many works in progress presentations. 

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

Call for Papers: The Global Repercussions of the U.S. Subprime Mortgage Meltdown

Courtesy of the Legal Scholarship Blog: The Journal of Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems is hosting a symposium on "Financial Markets and Systemic Risk: The Global Repercussions of the U.S. Subprime Mortgage Meltdown," on Feb. 20, 2009, with papers published by the Journal.  The deadline for Submissions: Monday July 21, 2008.  Click on the above link for more info. 

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

National Conference on Homeless Youth and the Law

From the Legal Scholarship Blog: The University of Washington School of Law, the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, the National Network for Youth, and with the support of Casey Family Programs hosted the National Conference on Homeless Youth and the Law yesterday and today.  For more links see the Legal Scholarship Blog posting here.

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

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

Labor and Employment Law & Law and Society Conferences

Two Call for Papers from the Legal Scholarship Blog:

1. 3rd Annual Colloquium on Current Scholarship in Labor & Employment Law, San Diego Oct 23-25, 2008, Call for papers deadline July 31, 2008. 
2. Midwest Law and Society Retreat, Univ. of Wisconsin, Sep. 19-20, 2008, Call for papers deadline June 1, 2008. 

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

Conference Announcement: Labor History

The Pacific Northwest Labour History Association and the Labor & Working Class History Association are sponsoring a conference entitled Indigenous, Immigrant, Migrant Labour & Globalization, June 6-8, 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  The call for papers deadline has passed. 

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

From the Editors of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy

Dear Professor or Practitioner,

On behalf of the Editorial Board, I would like to invite you to submit an article to be considered for publication in Volume 16 of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy (GJPLP).  The GJPLP is the nation's premier law journal on poverty and it publishes articles from distinguished law professors and practitioners in poverty-related disciplines. Highly-regarded and widely-distributed among attorneys, policy-makers, academics, students and public interest groups, the GJPLP plays a key role in forging the national debate on poverty issues by raising awareness, offering analysis, and crafting solutions.
For the 2008-2009 academic year, the GJPLP will continue its commitment to publishing high-quality articles related to poverty.

• Our first issue, 16.1, will explore housing and poverty.
• Our second issue, 16.2, will focus on the unique issues involving poverty and the elderly.
• Our third and final issue, 16.3, will focus on the intersection of juvenile justice and poverty.

In addition, our third issue, 16.3, will correspond with a symposium on the intersection of juvenile justice and poverty, to be held in Spring 2009. Those interested in participating in this symposium should contact the Symposium Editor, Kate Rhudy, at kar79@law.georgetown.edu.

The GJPLP considers traditional law review articles, as well as case studies, case comments, and narrative submissions for publication.  Additionally, the GJPLP welcomes all methodologies and seeks innovative approaches to poverty law and policy.

Please share this information with colleagues, practitioners, students, or others who may be interested in publishing in the GJPLP.  The deadlines for article submission are as follows:

• Volume 16.1 - August 1, 2008;
• Volume 16.2 - September 1, 2008; and
• Volume 16.3 - November 1, 2008.

There are no deadlines for abstracts.  Please note that the GJPLP reserves the right to accept or reject any article, outright or conditionally.

For your reference, attached are the GJPLP's submission guidelines.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly by e-mail at

jplp@law.georgetown.edu

or by phone at 512.796.9195.  Additional information about the GJPLP, including titles and abstracts of past articles, can be found on our web site at  http://www.law.georgetown.edu/journals/poverty/. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Northeast People of Color Conference Call for Papers

This year's Northeast People of Color Conference will be held September 12-14, 2008 at Boston University School of Law, and there's still time to sign up either to present a work in progress or to comment on a work in progress.

These sessions provide the opportunity to present a scholarly work in progress and receive feedback, both from an assigned commentator and from the audience. This is an excellent way to develop and refine a scholarly project in a supportive environment.  Work in progress submissions from junior faculty and faculty of color are particularly welcome.  A project can address any subject matter and need not be
limited to the conference themes (this year: Education & the Economy: The Real Lives of People of Color).

Those interested in applying to present a project should submit a working title and brief (200 word) abstract by May 15, 2008.  If you are a professor willing to comment on a work in progress, please contact us with a list of appropriate subject matters.  All correspondence should be sent to either Professor Fabio Arcila, Jr., at farcila@tourolaw.edu or Professor Alafair Burke at lawasb@hofstra.edu.

-Thanks to Fabio Arcila for emailing about this opportunity.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Aboriginal Economic Development Summit at University of Toronto May 1, 2008

The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is hosting "A Summit on Aboriginal Economic Development: Developing Aboriginal Economies" on May 1, 2008.  The Summit features among many others Paul Martin (former Prime Minister of Canada) and Stephen Cornell (co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development).  The program is available here. 

-Thanks to Kerry Rittich for the heads up.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Conference: Poverty alleviation & environmental protection Nov. 10-15, 2008 Mexico City

From the Legal Scholarship Blog

The Sixth Annual Colloquium of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law will focus on Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Protection. It will be hosted by the Metropolitan Autonomous University–Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Nov. 10-15, 2008. The call for papers deadline is June 30, 2008.

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

Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal's 2008 Symposium: Confronting Hidden Borders: Immigration and Uniting Communities of Color

Thursday April 17, 2008 UC Hastings College of Law's Race & Poverty Law Journal hosts its 2008 Symposium: Confronting Hidden Borders: Immigration and Uniting Communities of Color.  It features Eva Paterson (President and Founder of the Equal Justice Society), Lucas Guttentag (ACLU Immigrant Rights Project Founder), Bill Hing (Immigrant Legal Resource Center Founder), and Jennifer Chacon (Professor UC Davis). 

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

Conferences around the world perhaps of Interest

As you think about travel plans for the summer/fall, here are some conferences related to poverty taking place...

(1) The University of Glasgow is hosting "Critical Legal Strategies" (one of the major themes is "the Class Problematic in Legal Studies") on Sep. 5-7, 2008, with a call for papers deadline of May 31, 2008. 

(2) "Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Conference 2008" will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, June 19-21, 2008, with Abstracts due May 15, 2008. 

(3) The "Human Development and Capability Association Annual Conference" will take place Sep. 10-13, 2008 in New Delhi, India.  The proposal deadline has already passed. 

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

Northwestern Symposium "Ten Years After Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay" Apr. 4, 2008

Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy
        Second Annual Symposium       

Friday, April 4, 2008
        Northwestern University School of Law        
        375 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago IL      

      

Ten Years After Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay

      

We are excited to announce our Spring 2008 symposium, "Ten Years After Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay", which will take place Friday, April 4, at Northwestern University School of Law.

      

While much of welfare reform in the 1990s focused on moving people off of the welfare rolls and into work, many of those who have entered the work force are still struggling to survive. These individuals are often working multiple jobs, yet are still unable to support their families. The symposium explores the many components, beyond just finding a job, that are necessary in order for individuals to truly become self-sufficient.

      

One of the issues we will explore is the work supports needed by low-wage workers in order to rise out of poverty, including health insurance, child-care, and stable housing as well as how to improve awareness of and access to these critical programs.

      

We will also explore ways to enhance the income of low-wage workers through mechanisms like the Earned Income Tax Credit, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, living wage laws, and government funded savings programs. Additionally, our authors will suggest how low-wage workers can avoid high cost financial services and the “credit addiction.”

      

Finally, we will explore the history of the welfare reform movement, by examining its political and legal origins and by evaluating current and alternative methods of reform.

      

Thus, in order to encourage people to enter the work force and become independent, society must provide support in order to truly make work pay.

      

Schedule of the Day’s Events

      

8:30-9:00 a.m. Light Breakfast Reception       

9:00-9:20 a.m. Welcome & Introduction             

9:20-10:20 a.m Improving Income Supports             

       

• Richard K. Caputo, Ph.D., Director, Doctoral Program at Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University (New York)
          • Dory Rand, Supervising Attorney, Community Investment Unit, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
          • Audra Wilson, Northwestern University School of Law
      • Michael van Zalingen, Lead Attorney, Neighborhood Housing Services      

      

               10:20-10:30 a.m. Break

      

          10:30-11:30 a.m. Improving Work Supports

      

       

•John Bouman, President, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
          •Greg J. Duncan, Professor, Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
          •Liz Schott, Senior Fellow, Welfare Reform and Income Support Division, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities         

                     

11:30-12:00 p.m. Tour of Law School and Bluhm Legal Clinic       

              12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch

      

              1:00-1:30 p.m. Keynote Address       

      

•Julie Nice, University of Denver Sturm College of Law       

      

                 1:30-3:00 p.m. The History and Future of Welfare Reform       

       

•Peter B. Edelman, Professor, Georgetown Law
          •Ron Haskins, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
          •Felicia Kornbluh, Assistant Professor, History, Duke University

      

      

                3:00-3:30 p.m. Closing Remarks              

      

Registration and Contact Information
        For questions or to register, please send an email to welfaretowork@law.northwestern.edu. Please indicate which sessions you will be attending and if you will attend the lunch session. Registration by March 31st would be appreciated.

      

3.5 CLE Credits are available. $175 for the entire event ($50 per credit). This will be collected the day of at the registration table and is payable by cash, check, or credit card.

      

-Thanks to Jeff Selbin for highlighting this event.  There is a lot going on in Chicago that Friday with both this and Valparaiso's Poverty conference. -E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Conference: Debtor World, Univ. of Illinois, May 2-3, 2008

The University of Illinois College of Law, with the American Bankruptcy Institute, is hosting "A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium on Debt," May 2-3, 2008.  From the conference website:

Perhaps the most common American experience today is debt. While debt can enable individuals and companies to do useful things they would otherwise be unable to do, excessive debt can cause serious financial problems for individuals, businesses and society at large. Debt is pervasive in the U.S. today. According to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve, there is almost $30,000 outstanding in consumer credit and home mortgages for every man, woman, and child in the United States. Even on an inflation-adjusted basis, that represents a thirteen-fold increase since 1946 when the figure was only $2,200. There are 900 million credit cards in circulation in the United States. Debt growth has not been restricted to consumers. Business debt is nine times as large as it was in 1946. Put simply, Americans have committed their future cash flows at an unprecedented rate.

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

National Equal Justice Library Symposium at Georgetown March 25, 2008

On Tuesday, March 25, from 1:30-6pm, Georgetown University Law Center is hosting a “Symposium and Celebration of the National Equal Justice Library’s Arrival at Georgetown Law and the Library’s Acceptance of the Papers of Gary Bellow.”  The National Equal Justice Library has moved around some, but it is great that Georgetown is taking this on. 

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

Seeking others interested in AALS Open Source Idea

For law professors:

The AALS just sent out a request for Open Source proposals for the next annual meeting.  See Below.  I am writing to see if others are interested in joining me in putting together a proposal focusing on (tentatively): "legal implications of the new gilded age."  I am interested in working on such a proposal and if you are as well, please get in touch with me. 

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

Announcement below:

Association of American Law Schools

Request for Open Source Proposals   AALS is requesting proposals for Open Source programs for the 2009 AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. Open Source sessions at the Annual Meeting are innovative programs proposed by groups of faculty members and selected by a committee in a competitive search. The goal is to encourage a "bottom up" process in which scholars collaborate to develop fresh and exciting ideas for a program at the Annual Meeting. It is not a Section, law school, organization or institution-sponsored program. It is a program developed by a group of faculty members in various subject matters, who have an innovative topic that they would like to present at the Annual Meeting.   When developing the proposal you should consider the following: · Is the format innovative? · Is there a diversity of presenters and multiplicity of planners? · Is there junior and senior teacher involvement?  · Does the topic cross over common issues and transcend a particular subject area? · Would there be a publication coming out of the submission? · Will the program format require expensive audio-visual equipment? Proposals should not feature a program or subject that could be offered by an AALS Section or conflict with other programs being presented at the 2009 AALS Annual Meeting. Submissions of novel ideas for programs should be e-mailed to: opensource@aals.org by April 10, 2008. Please include information identifying the planners of the program; the process of how the program idea was generated; the topic with a description and explanation of what the program is trying to accomplish; the list of proposed speakers; if there will be a publication of the program; and any other pertinent information that you believe would be helpful to the reviewing committee.

Valparaiso: Law, Poverty and Economic Inequality Conference Schedule

Valparaiso University School of Law is hosting "Law, Poverty and Economic Inequality," a two day conference April 3-4, 2008, and has not posted the schedule as well as a press release (you'll see if you check it out that I am one of the participants but don't let that dissuade you from coming, there are many much better scholars also speaking).  Penelope Andrews deserves a lot of credit for her organization of this. 

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