Call for Proposals for WCCASP Conference

 

Save the Date!

West Coast Consortium of Academic Support Professionals

2015 Conference

California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA

Friday, November 6, 2015

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

 

We all say to our students, “You’re going to have to do this as a lawyer.” Yet saying so is only the beginning, especially as “practice-ready” continues to be the buzzword driving legal education reform nationwide. Learn from your colleagues how to build practice-ready programming into academic support and bar preparation efforts, and join a discussion about how we can highlight our contributions to the practice-ready movement to our law schools and to the legal education community at large.

We are pleased to announce our keynote speaker, Karen Barbieri. Karen is a former California bar examiner and calibration session leader who will share her valuable insights on “practice-ready skills” from the perspective of the professional bar examiner.  (Her comments will address all of us in ASP, not just those teaching at California law schools.)

Call for Proposals:

We are now accepting proposals for 45-minute presentations that show how ASPers have incorporated practice-readiness into their programs.  Have you used a practice-centered exercise to build academic skills as well as contribute to the overall mission of producing practice-ready lawyers – for example, an interview simulation, sample oral argument, drafting assignment, client letter, or even a performance test from a bar exam?  Can you share insights from participating in and grappling with practice-ready initiatives, such as learning outcomes and assessment efforts that examine practice-ready objectives? How have you handled changes to experiential learning requirements, and any challenges posed to required-course and early-bar-prep programs targeting at-risk students? Can you help inform colleagues as to how to promote such innovation to their home institutions? 

These are just suggestions; we welcome all proposals relating to practice-ready legal education, from both ASP and “ASP-friendly” faculty.  Though preference will be given to presentations that fit at least generally within this theme, if time and space permit, we also may be able to accommodate a few presentations on other topics of interest.              

Please submit your proposal to [email protected] by September 28, 2015, and please include the following:

-          The presenter(s) name(s), school(s), and contact information

-          Whether your presentation requires outside equipment (e.g., PowerPoint projection)

-          Your presentation title

-          A description of your presentation (not to exceed one page)

-          A short blurb (100 words) to include in the conference materials, if accepted