Law School Academic Support Blog

Associate Director of Academic Skills Opening at UCI Deadline is May 1st

UCI Law is hiring an Associate Director of Academic Skills (Bar Specialist)!  The person will hold a working title of “Associate Director of Academic Skills.”  Under UCI’s Academic Personnel Manual, the person will hold an “Academic Coordinator” title.  Here is a link to the official posting:  https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF06689.

Jennah Jones, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence ([email protected]), is heading up the search process.  If you have any questions about the position, please contact Jennah.  

If you're interested in applying, please submit your materials by May 1, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight III

This is the last of today's scholarship spotlight posts, scholarship of interest to those in the ASP/ bar field.  Congratulations to each of the authors highlighted in today's posts and to our community for such a prodigious output of ideas.

1.    Steven K. Homer (New Mexico), Hierarchies of Elitism and Gender: The Bluebook and The ALWD Guide, 41 Pace L. Rev. 1 (2020).

From the abstract:

Hierarchies persist in legal academia. Some of these, while in plain view, are not so obvious because they manifest in seemingly small, mundane choices. Synecdoche is a rhetorical device used to show how one detail in a story tells the story of the whole.

This Article examines hierarchies of elitism and gender through a lens of synecdoche. The focus is on the choice of citation guide. Even something as seemingly benign and neutral as choosing a citation guide can reveal hierarchies of elitism and gender bias in legal education and the legal profession. Put another way, the choice of citation guide exists in—is inextricably embedded in—structural hierarchies of the legal profession. This Article examines the ways the choice of a citation guide reinforces elitism and gender bias by examining the use of two common citation guides, The Bluebook and the ALWD Guide. The Bluebook was developed by law students engaged in prestige activities at top-ranked law schools and retains the traits of its birth. This is in contrast to the ALWD Guide, which was written by experienced, professional legal writing professors who have dedicated their careers to teaching lawyers how to practice law. The Article describes the ALWD Guide’s focus on educating students to be practitioners, and the role of elitism and gender bias in keeping the ALWD Guide from displacing The Bluebook, despite The Bluebook’s well-documented deficiencies in training attorneys.

This Article describes how learning citation gives students a kind of social capital through explicit and implicit messages they receive about the relationship of citation to their aptitude for the study of law, the connections between citation and prestige activities like law reviews, and the rhetoric of citation as a proxy for “good lawyering.” It explains how the elevation of The Bluebook elevates and perpetuates elitism as a substitute for quality over the expertise of women—in this case, women working in lower-status, lower-paying positions.

It ultimately uses the example of the choice of a citation guide to examine the distribution of authority, power, and resources along gender lines in society in general and in legal education. The choice of citation guide is a locus of power, and resistance to small choices that shift power accumulates into the perpetuation of the hierarchical status quo. It concludes that by using this example of synecdoche, we can examine and perhaps shift our awareness of who has power, authority, and expertise within the legal profession and move toward rebalancing this power and authority based upon real expertise. (h/t Tax Prof Blawg).

2.    Edwin S. Fruehwald, Theory-Induced Blindness in Legal Scholarship (2021).

From the abstract:

The truth matters, and, consequently, how scholars seek the truth also matters. Scholars use theory as a framework to help them attain the truth. Accordingly, a scholar's theoretical approach must be accurate; it must not be tainted in any way. Theory-induced blindness taints truth-seeking. Theory-induced blindness has contaminated legal scholarship in many ways.

This article will examine theory-induced blindness in legal scholarship and demonstrate how it has affected the truth of that scholarship on both ends of the ideological spectrum. Part II will introduce the basics of theory-induced blindness. Parts III-VII will present examples of theory-induced blindness in Classical Legal Thought, writing legal history, traditional law and economics, post-modern legal scholars' social constructionist arguments, and two professors' defense of learning style theory. Finally, the conclusion will discuss the best solution for avoiding theory-induced blindness--evaluating theories with critical thinking.

3.    Adam Chilton (Chicago), Peter A. Joy (Wash. U.), Kyle Rozema (Wash. U), James Thomas (Federal Trade Commission), Improving the Signal Quality of Grades (2021).

From the abstract:

We investigate how improving the signal quality of grades could enhance the matching of students to selective opportunities that are awarded early in academic programs. To do so, we develop methods to measure the signal quality of grades and to estimate the impact of changes to university policies on the identification of exceptional students for these opportunities. We focus on law schools, a setting where students are awarded important academic and professional opportunities after just one year of a three year program. Using transcript data from one top law school over a 40 year period, we document large gains in identifying exceptional students if selective opportunities were awarded with more grades and if law schools were to change certain personnel, course, and grading policies. Our findings provide motivation and a blueprint for how law schools and universities more generally could leverage their internal records to ensure that fewer exceptional students miss out on selective opportunities.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

 

 

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight II

The second of today's posts, this one focuses on books authored by those in the field.

Mary Basick (Southwestern) & Tina Schindler (Southwestern), MBE Decoded – Multistate Bar Exam (Wolters Kluwer, April 30, 2021).

From the publisher's description:

MBE Decoded provides a fresh approach to MBE study which makes the vast amount of MBE tested rules manageable while providing guidance on the best way to solve MBE questions to maximize scores. The authors exhaustively studied and analyzed the construction of the MBE, and conducted detailed analysis of every NCBE released MBE question and many non-NCBE questions. As a result, the book identifies rule coverage patterns, and equally importantly, shares the tactics utilized by the bar examiners to entice students into selecting the wrong answer. The book also provides instruction on the MBE test taking techniques bar takers can employ to maximize their scores. The result is a clear, concise, user-friendly MBE resource that also works well for early bar prep or as a textbook for an MBE course.

(Louis Schulze, FIU)

 

 

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

Our scholarly cup runneth over again this week.  So much so that I need to have three posts and not just one.  The first includes law review articles written by those currently in the ASP/ Bar field.  The second will include books written by those currently in the ASP/ Bar field.  The last will note articles of interest to those in the ASP/ bar field.

1.    Beth A. Brennan, Explicit Instruction in Legal Education: Boon or Spoon? __ Memphis L. Rev. (forthcoming 2021).  

From the abstract:

While legal education unquestionably hones students’ critical thinking skills, it also privileges students who are faster readers and have prior background knowledge or larger working memories. According to the prevailing mythology of law school pedagogy, students learn by struggling to find their way out of chaos. Only then is their learning deep enough to permit them to engage in critical thinking and legal reasoning.

Learning theory and research suggest this type of “inquiry” learning is not an effective way to introduce novice learners to a subject. Lacking basic substantive and procedural knowledge, students’ struggles are often unproductive and dispiriting.

Initial explicit instruction early in a student’s learning more predictably creates stable, accurate knowledge. Because higher-order thinking depends on having some knowledge, ensuring students have a strong foundation of substantive and procedural knowledge increases the likelihood that they will develop critical thinking skills.

However, legal education uniformly dismisses anything that looks like “spoon-feeding.” If the academy is going to incorporate learning theory into its pedagogy, it must understand and articulate the differences between spoon-feeding and explicit instruction.

This Article examines explicit instruction as a pedagogical tool for legal educators. Part I examines cognitive psychological theories of thinking and learning to understand the differences between spoon-feeding and explicit instruction and explain why initial explicit instruction is useful. Part II delves into the cognitive differences between novices and experts that support initial explicit instruction. Part III examines experts’ cognitive barriers to effective teaching. Part IV provides examples of how explicit instruction can be used in the law school classroom.

The Article concludes that the time is ripe for the academy to bring explicit instruction out of the shadows, and to incorporate initial explicit instruction into legal education.

2.    Steven Foster, Does the Multistate Bar Exam Validly Measure Attorney Competence?, 82 Ohio St. Law J. Online 31 (2021).

From the abstract:

2020 brought many challenges, which included administering the bar exam. States jumped through numerous obstacles to continue administering the current form of the exam. However, the current bar exam has never been proven to be a valid measure of attorney competence. This article offers evidence the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), is invalid. The exam, in other words, does not measure the knowledge and skills that lawyers use in practice. On the contrary, it is an artificial barrier to practice—one that harms the public by failing to screen for the knowledge and skills that clients need from their attorneys.

3.    Kris Franklin & Paula Manning, Make it Work! Teaching Law Students to Get Great Supervision (Even When Supervisors Aren't That Great), NYLS Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3797175 (forthcoming 2021).

From the abstract:

In an ideal world every single meeting between law students and professors, or between beginning lawyers and their supervisors, should leave supervisors impressed by their charges and junior lawyers/students with a clear sense of direction for their work. We do not live in that ideal world.

This Article seeks to improve those supervisory meetings, and to do so from the perspective of the ones under supervision. We posit there is a genuine art to getting the best supervision possible, and that doing so can be both learned and taught. We first unpack some of the disconnects and hidden assumptions that can hinder effective supervisory meetings. We observe that participants in supervisory meetings may have very different expectations about the roles of the participants. We further explore the relational aspects of supervision and note that a shared sense of responsibility for supervision promotes more effective supervisory interactions. Next, the Article turns to considering what law professors can do to prepare law students to get the most out of feedback from their supervisors. We conclude that teaching law students to adjust their attributions toward growth, to set clear and achievable goals, and to be thoughtfully self-reflective, will maximize their learning in any academic and professional supervision.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

AASE Awards!

AASE will once again provide awards to acknowledge excellence in the academic support field at the annual conference.  AASE developed the following recommendations for the Award Committee:

• AASE should recognize members’ valuable contributions to law school academic support
• AASE awards should have as an important objective the recognition of early and mid-career ASP professors
• AASE Awards should be for specific work or in specific categories
• The goal of AASE awards should be honoring contributions, not covering categories

The 2021 Awards committee, DeShun Harris, Twinette Johnson, and Antonia Miceli (chair), are soliciting nominations for contributions by individuals, or in appropriate circumstances, groups, in any of the following areas:

1. Specific ideas or innovations—whether disseminated through academic writing, newsletters, conference presentations or over the listserv
2. Specific services to the profession—e.g., advocacy with the NCBE, etc.
3. Providing services to students
4. Promoting diversity in  the profession and expanding access to the legal profession
5. Mentoring and supporting others in ASP

Recognition may be given to more than one individual or group in any of these categories, and no category requires an award in any one year. We fully recognize just how many ASP educators have made heroic contributions to their students and to the profession. For these reasons, the Awards Committee will consider all nominations received, while keeping in mind there must be a reasonable limit for awards in any one year. Anyone in law school academic support may offer nominations, but current AASE Board members and AASE Awards Committee members are ineligible for recognition. Awards recipients must be members of AASE at the time an award is bestowed. 

Please send your nominations to Antonia Miceli by Monday, May 3, 2021.

Thank you,

AASE Awards Committee 2021

 

Also, remember to register for our conference! May 1st is the deadline if you want SWAG!

https://associationofacademicsupporteducators.org/events/2021-aaseconference/

AASE Seeking Award Nominations

AASE will once again provide awards to acknowledge excellence in the academic support field at the annual conference.  AASE developed the following recommendations for the Award Committee:

• AASE should recognize members’ valuable contributions to law school academic support
• AASE awards should have as an important objective the recognition of early and mid-career ASP professors
• AASE Awards should be for specific work or in specific categories
• The goal of AASE awards should be honoring contributions, not covering categories

The 2021 Awards committee, DeShun Harris, Twinette Johnson, and Antonia Miceli (chair), are soliciting nominations for contributions by individuals, or in appropriate circumstances, groups, in any of the following areas:

1. Specific ideas or innovations—whether disseminated through academic writing, newsletters, conference presentations or over the listserv
2. Specific services to the profession—e.g., advocacy with the NCBE, etc.
3. Providing services to students
4. Promoting diversity in  the profession and expanding access to the legal profession
5. Mentoring and supporting others in ASP

Recognition may be given to more than one individual or group in any of these categories, and no category requires an award in any one year. We fully recognize just how many ASP educators have made heroic contributions to their students and to the profession. For these reasons, the Awards Committee will consider all nominations received, while keeping in mind there must be a reasonable limit for awards in any one year. Anyone in law school academic support may offer nominations, but current AASE Board members and AASE Awards Committee members are ineligible for recognition. Awards recipients must be members of AASE at the time an award is bestowed. 

Please send your nominations to Antonia Miceli by Monday, May 3, 2021.

Registration Open for AASE!

American University Washington College of Law is pleased to host the 2021 AASE conference beginning Tuesday, May 25^th – Thursday, May 27^th from 12:00pm-5:00pm EST. Conference registration is NOW OPEN! You can register for the conference here. Conference fee is $25. https://associationofacademicsupporteducators.org/events/2021-aaseconference/

We are excited to virtually bring you plenary and conference presentations on mental wellness, post-COVID academic and bar success best practices, diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices and much more. In addition, join us for “after hours” social gatherings for fun and exciting opportunities to reconnect with colleagues. Stay tuned for more information on these “after hours” activities.

 

Students Speak

As one of my colleagues Visiting Prof. Chris Newman mentioned, "reading week" is a bit of a  misnomer (at best) and a disaster (at worst). That's because preparation for final exams requires, well, lots of preparation with lots of activity and engagement in learning and doing. 

With that in mind, I asked my students to share one thing they learned this semester.  

Here's a sample of the many suggestions from my students to you that can help you engage in successfully preparing for your final exams too:

"Practice even if you think you don't need it."

"Practice makes perfect."

"Re-reading is not the best way to study."

"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever's left has to be right."

"because"

"Practice and don't be afraid to fail."

"Keep the hope high and practice!"

"Believe in the growth mindset!"

"Embrace failure and learn from it."

"Because, Because, Because!"

"Failure is a part of learning."

"Start with the call of the question."

"Making mistakes and getting things wrong helps you learn even more."

"Do vs. Memorize."

"Think Forward."                                                                                                                                          

So, good luck to all of you as you put these sorts of tips into action in preparing for your final exams!  (Scott Johns). 

P.S. For more information along with concrete strategies and action items, please see Prof. Steven Foster's blog post, entitled: Foster, S., Effective Finals Preparation (Apr. 18, 2021).  Not sure where to find practice problems, here's a resource of old bar exam problems, organized by subject matter (and they are available free of charge!): Practice Essay Exams.

So You Failed The Bar.....

So You Failed the Bar?

Now what?

First and foremost, this does not define you. Trust me, we have all heard stories of prominent lawyers, judges, and politicians that have failed the bar, sometimes multiple times. I could make you a list of all of the successful lawyers that were unsuccessful on the bar exam their first time.  But I won’t, because failing the bar does not define them. If you try to make a list, you won’t find “failed the bar” on Wikipedia pages, or official biographies, or resumes. It’s not because it’s some secret shame, but because no one cares. In 5-10 years, no one will care how many times it took you to pass the bar. In fact, they won’t care in 6 months or a year. It seems like a defining moment right now, but it isn’t. Your defining moments come from the way you treat clients, the way you treat colleagues, and what you choose to do with your license once you have it.

I write this twice a year, every time results come out, because I think the message is that important. So let me repeat, this does NOT define you.

Having said that, it’s ok to take a few days to be upset. Do what you need to do. But then dust yourself off, and start looking towards the next bar. Also, remember that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s a part of success. Every successful lawyer has failed – on the bar, at trial, in a negotiation, not getting a job. Every failed politician has lost a race. Every failed Olympian has lost a game or a match. That failure is a normal way to achieves success in the future. However, for that to be true, you have to learn from failure.

So how to learn from this?

Step 1: Request your essays back.  Many states allow you to request, or view, your essays.  There are often deadlines for this, so make sure you do it right away.

Once you have your essays, I want you to do a couple things. Review your answers. Now that you are removed from the day of writing, what do you notice? Then, if possible, compare them to the sample answers. See if you can pick out patterns. Don’t just focus on the conclusions, or the issues spotted. Did the sample answers use more facts? Or have a more in depth analysis? Be honest with yourself. Also, if you have a varied set of scores (one essay is a 1, while another is a 5) compare the 2. What is the difference? Don’t just shrug it off as you know one subject better. Pay attention to the writing in both.

In addition, here is a CALI lesson on assessing your own work. It may seem geared towards law students, but it can help you assess your essays: https://www.cali.org/lesson/18101

Assessing your essays is the really important first step. I have seen so many students that know the law, and know it well. But they don’t put enough explanation in their essays, and that costs them. So really take that time to be critical, and see what you need to work on.

Step 2: Analyze your score  How close or far away are you from passing? Did you do better on a certain subject? Is your written score considerably better than your MBE score? This is an excellent place to start. Some things to keep in mind:

• If your essay score is higher than your MBE, it may be tempting to place most of your energy into MBE practice, and forget about essays. This will only result in your score “swapping.” So, while it is good to note that you might need more work on the MBE, don’t forget that you aren’t carrying the score with you so you still need to practice essays. The reverse is true if you did better on MBE than the essays.
• Perhaps you did really well on the torts MBE, but your lowest score was civil procedure. Again, do not just focus on civil procedure, and forget other subjects. Your scores will just swap places, and not improve overall.
• You might be only 2 points away from passing. Great! However, your score is still starting from scratch. Meaning, in one sense, you only need 2 more points, but that’s not how the bar works, obviously. You have to still work to get the points you already got AGAIN, and it is likely you forgot things, and are out of practice.

Step 3: Think about external things  Did something unrelated to the bar impact your studying? Perhaps a health issue, physical or mental? Perhaps a family emergency, or ongoing family issues?

Have you suffered from anxiety in general or related to exams? If you do, are you being treated for the anxiety?

These things can and will impact your studying. Not matter how much time and effort you put in, if you are not physically and mentally healthy, you won’t process the information correctly.

Not to mention, if there is something in your life that is distracting you, that will also impact how you process information.

And again, we were in a pandemic. This likely impacted your ability to study and focus. That’s ok, and that’s normal.

Step 4: Accommodations  If you were entitled to accommodations in law school, did you use them on the bar exam? If not, make sure you apply for them this time around. If you were denied accommodations, still try again. They likely need more recent testing, or paperwork.

Step 5: Think about your Study Habits.  The most important thing you can do is practice. Many bar students get caught up in trying to memorize every sing law, or master every subject. While this is admirable, and takes quite a bit of time and effort, it's not a surefire way to find success.  This is because mastering the bar is a SKILL. You need to practice. When I work with repeat takers, I often find that they knew the law, and they studied hard, but didn’t practice enough essays or enough timed MBE.

This matters for a few reasons. One is timing. You can know all the law in the world, but if you can’t write an essay in 30 minutes, you will struggle to get the scores you need. Similarly, doing 100 MBE questions in 3 hours is not easy, even if you DO know the law. You need to practice the timing, and practice for the stamina.

Secondly, the skill being tested on the bar is applying the law to the unique set of facts. Yes, you need to know the law to do this, but knowing the law is not enough. You need to practice the application. The application is typically where you will get most points. 

This means that writing essays, fully out, not just passively reading sample answers or issue spotting, is key. It has to be a priority in studying.

In fact, all of your studying should be active. Don’t focus on rewriting, or reviewing, outline after outline. Again, yes, you need to know the law, but you are also more likely to remember the law if you apply it – in MBE questions, writing essays, and so forth.

Step 6: Change it Up.  Different study habits work for different people. If you studied at home and found that you were easily distracted, find a space at the library or nearby coffee shop to study. If you did go the library/school/coffee shop every day, maybe try studying at home.

Finally, if you can, reach out to your school's bar prep person!

And good luck!

(Melissa Hale)

Effective Finals Preparation

The semester is nearing the end.  Most students are in finals study mode, so I want to provide a few pieces of studying advice.

1. Create a good study calendar.  The calendar focuses on what you will study on which days.  Start with putting your final exams on the appropriate days.  Then, work backwards to today adding in what classes you will study each day.
2. Create a good daily/hourly schedule.  The next schedule to create is an hourly schedule for each day.  When will you wake up, work out, study, have lunch, etc.  The more you write down, the more efficient you will be with your time.
3. Utilize ACTIVE studying techniques.  Re-reading an outline for the 5th time probably won't help you remember the material.  Test whether you understand and can recall the material by:
   1. Trying to recite the structure/skeletal outline out loud;
   2. Talking to a non-lawyer friend and explaining a concept in a way the non-lawyer would understand;
   3. Issue spotting practice essay questions;
   4. Creating hypos that would test each major sub-topic in the course;
   5. Taking practice multiple choice quizzes; and
   6. Writing out essay answers.
4. Ignore external non-emergency distractions until after finals.
5. Ignore rumors from classmates.  Only worry about what you can control, which is your preparation.

The semester flew by, and finals are right around the corner.  Make sure to study both efficiently and effectively to be as prepared as possible.  Good luck to everyone on finals.

(Steven Foster)

Assistant Director of Academic Support at Vermont

The Academic Success Program at Vermont Law School serves students in the Juris Doctor (J.D.) program, various master’s programs, and Master of Laws program.  The Program reinforces vital academic skills, provides support in substantive instruction areas, and emphasizes organizational and time management skills. Academic Success is a growing and vibrant department.  The Assistant Director is eligible for a series of initial one or two-year contracts with the possibility of a long-term contract following a successful review.  This is a year-round position.

Academic Success answers directly to the Vice Dean for Students. The Assistant Director reports to the Director of ASP and works closely with the ASP Program Manager, ASP student mentors, and other faculty and staff.   The Assistant Director teaches core ASP courses, including Foundations of Legal Analysis, Legal Methods, and Bar Exam Skills & Tactics (BEST). The Assistant Director is also responsible for coordinating either the July Education for the Bar (JEB) program, a course designed to prepare students to sit for the July iteration of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), or the February Early Bar (FEB) program, a six-credit course designed to prepare students to sit for the Vermont (UBE) February bar exam before graduating in May.

The Assistant Director is also responsible for presenting at ASP workshops, meeting with students individually, collaborating with faculty and staff, serving on faculty committees, and assisting the Director with administrative duties, including compiling, and filing mandatory reports. Additional responsibilities include attending school functions such as graduation, faculty meetings, and various other events throughout the year.  Occasional availability on nights or weekends is required.

Essential Functions and Principal Accountabilities:

• Provide individual counseling and tutoring for students about study habits, skills, tools for improvement, time management, outlining, exam preparation, and bar-related issues.
• Assist ASP Director in planning, implementing, and designing academic support programs for all students at VLS.  
• In conjunction with Director, develop and implement student programming for all three classes, including but not limited to curriculum design and implementation of first-year skills-based course, second-year bar information session, and third-year bar-passage course.
• Design and implement workshop series and informational resources for all students including maintenance of TWEN, ASP web sites, bulletin boards, flyers, and emails, working closely with Director and ASP Program Manager.  
• Aid in design and implementation of pre-orientation and orientation activities for incoming students.  
• Collaborate with ASP team to increase awareness of department services.  Provide support to doctrinal faculty in utilizing those services.
• Help students in connecting and maximizing usage of institutional and community resources.
• Work with Director and Program Manager to coordinate activities of Student Mentors and assist in Mentor selection, training, and support.  Meet regularly with Student Mentors to monitor both mentor and mentee progress. 

Requirements

Education: 

• Juris Doctor degree required with a license to practice law.

Experience: 

• Four years of experience in higher education administration and/or teaching at the JD or Master’s level or comparable relevant work experience.
• Experience in legal practice is a plus, but not required.
• Working knowledge of or ability to learn adult learning theories.

Required Skills: 

• Familiarity with first-year law curriculum. 
• Knowledge of or ability to learn FERPA regulations.
• Strong legal analysis skills.
• Excellent writing ability.
• Strong interpersonal communications skills.
• Ability to navigate basic technology systems in a Windows/Office environment for email, scheduling, online meetings via Teams or other platforms, and various school-specific databases.
• Understanding of and appreciation for inclusion, including the ability to work with students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds, identities, and viewpoints.

Vermont Law School is mission-driven, guided by its motto: “Lex pro urbe et orbe,” law for the community and the world. This mission is apparent in the Law School’s longtime commitment to environmental law and social justice and the varied careers that its students have pursued in those fields. The Law School’s students, faculty, staff, alumni, and board share a strong sense of this mission.

Vermont Law School is located on the White River in the historic village of South Royalton, VT, which is approximately a 30-minute drive from Hanover, NH, and a 45-minute drive from Montpelier, VT. For more information on the law school please go to www.vermontlaw.edu.

Vermont Law School is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We are able to grow and learn better together with a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students. In recruiting for faculty, we seek unique backgrounds in education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. As part of our commitment to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, candidates who meet the qualifications for this position and who require accommodations to apply should contact Human Resources at [email protected]. Vermont Law School is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Interested applicants should apply through this link, attaching a cover letter, C.V., and two professional references. Applications received by April 23, 2021, will receive first consideration; the position will remain available until filled.

Associate Director of Academic and Bar Success at IU McKinney

The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law is conducting a national search for its next Student Support Specialist - Associate Director of Academic and Bar Success

Essential job duties include the following:

• Reporting to the Director of Academic and Bar Success, the Associate Director will assist in designing and implementing McKinney’s academic and bar support initiatives in order to provide a comprehensive and meaningful academic experience for law students.
• Create content for and lead a comprehensive 1L workshop program focusing on the development of academic skills such as case synthesis, outlining, legal analysis, critical reading, and exam preparation. Workshop series includes online modules. Development of online modules will implement best practices of online education.     
• Provide individual assistance and counseling, including regularly scheduled meetings, with students in academic difficulty and at-risk students. Develop and monitor academic plans and recovery plans for individual students. Review and provide critical and constructive feedback on exercises and practice exams. Advise at-risk students on course selection.
• Meet with and counsel students on their academic skills development; develop and oversee the execution of individualized learning plans; and provide one-on-one assistance for at-risk students.
• Track student success and academic performance for students in academic difficulty and at-risk students. Utilize Canvas e-learning management system to help develop student skills and track student progress.
• Serve as the primary manager of the Dean’s Tutorial Society (DTS), including hiring, training, and managing peer tutors, developing and revising skills lessons for peer tutors to utilize with 1L small groups, and developing and revising training materials and handbook for tutors.
• Assist with supplemental bar prep program, including conducting practice exam sessions, assisting with skills and strategies workshops, and providing critical and constructive feedback on essays and MPTs.
• Assist with collection and organization of data for long-term assessment of: (a) student participation in Academic and Bar Success programming and course offerings, (b) individual student academic and bar exam performance, and (c) McKinney School of Law retention and bar passage rates.

Qualified candidates should have a Juris Doctor degree along with one to three years of related professional experience, preferably post-law school experience or higher education experience; current or previous admission to a state bar in the United States, preferably Indiana or a UBE jurisdiction; teaching, advising, tutoring, counseling, or related experience preferred.

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities for this position include strong legal writing, research, and analysis skills, strong communication and public speaking skills, ability to build rapport with a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff, commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive community, and ability to identify methods to enhance learning for multiple learning styles.

Review of materials will begin immediately and will continue until the appointment is made. All applications must be submitted online prior to May 8, 2021. For a description of the position and to apply for posting #293524, please visit https://jobs.iu.edu.

Indiana University is an equal employment and affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.

Ensuring Equality in Legal Academia: Strategies to Dismantle Caste

Dear Academic Support Community,

I’m very pleased to announce, through the hard work of Kirsha Trychta and our programming committee, we are Co-producing a webinar with the Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Section.

https://www.aals.org/sections/list/legal-writing-reasoning-and-research/ensuring-equality-in-legal-academia-strategies-to-dismantle-caste/

Co-produced by the Sections on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research and Academic Support

Date: Monday, May 10, 2021, 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST

Webinar Description:

Moderated by AALS Past President Darby Dickerson, this webinar will explore the caste system in legal education and will discuss potential solutions to the problem, with a particular focus on legal writing and academic support programs and professors. The moderator and a panel of law school Deans (comprised of former academic support and legal writing professors) will discuss how their schools and others can address this issue by mobilizing institutional support for skills professors, capturing the value-add that skills professors bring to legal education, opening up pathways to tenure, and addressing inequities, among other topics.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the problems with the academic caste system in legal education
• Identify one concrete step professors can take to help develop their career or their program at their institution
• Identify one concrete step law school administration can take to help develop the profession of skills professors

Click Here to register for the Webinar. *Registration is required

 

I hope to see many of you there, and feel free to spread the word!

Kind Regards

Melissa Hale

Chair, AALS Section on Academic Support

Last Call

Have you ever been at a bar at last call, when they turn on the lights and what was a magical place in the darkness transforms into a dirty, tacky room that you would not have entered if you had seen it this way at the beginning? I think that is where our students are in this year of pandemic teaching and learning.

Yesterday, at the end of class, I told my students that I was there for them, I saw them and asked what I could do to help them get to the finish line this semester. We had about four minutes of class time left, and I wanted to acknowledge that our once-a-week class had two boxes left to check off before the semester ended. A student raised her small yellow emoji hand and asked, “where can I find the motivation to move forward? I seem to have lost it just when I need it.” There was a lot of nodding. Cameras that had been off for the past hour came back on. I sighed, took a deep breath, summoned my inner Kate McKinnon, and paraphrased her entirely accurate statement on the Dec. 20, 2020 episode of Saturday Night Live, "It's like the light at the end of the tunnel has shown us how stinky and bad the tunnel is." There is so much truth in this. Seeing what we have been through as we near the end of it is an exhausting place to be stuck as finals approach.

So, I tried to find something that might re-ignite motivation. I had to admit that the semester ending wasn’t enough of an incentive to get to the end of it. I had to also admit that there is no easy answer to that question except maybe, while it seems like a time where things don’t matter and that the pandemic blip will explain any so-so grades, the truth is that the pandemic excuse will have a pretty short half-life. So, I told them it does matter. The grades will start to matter; the approach they take to getting them will matter more, and most important of all: they matter. We have not given up on making sure they learn because their learning-even under these strange circumstances-will always be what matters.
I asked them to find a morsel of normalcy every day from now until exams end and make a list of these things. I showed them the flowers I bought at Trader Joes in cheerful shades of yellow, coral and orange and urged them to find something beautiful to look at when they are down. Spring is exactly the right time of year to see these things changing daily. I suggested going to the ocean (but no swimming yet, it is still cold here in Massachusetts!) and understanding in its vastness that they should, occasionally, feel that they can be small and not in control and that is okay. But I also told them that nothing I say is a one size fits all pep talk: flowers and water will not solve all problems and that my advice was not meant in any way to diminish their very real feelings of despair. I offered to meet individually with anyone who wanted a tailored pep talk. I reminded them about the counseling center and our Dean of Students office.

But truly, I had no answer that might find lost motivation. I am hoping it is merely misplaced and that time, light, flowers, waves, vaccines and kindness will help us find it.
In the meantime, I will pull out my virtual pom-poms, cheer students towards the goal and raise my glass to the day that we can consider this awful and now illuminated tunnel completely behind us.

(Elizabeth Stillman - Guest Blogger)

Seeking Out Learning & Growth

With just a few more weeks of classes for most law students, many of us are afraid. Sorely afraid because we know that we've got a lot to do and a lot to learn.  

Facing those fears is key.  I recall when I was growing up that parents constantly told me to be "careful."  "Watch your step."  "Play more gentle."  

Sometimes I wish that the advice was instead: "Be courageous!"

You see, without bruises there can be little growth and thus little learning.  

Nevertheless, it need not be all hard-knock lessons.  After all, you as law students are paying valuable consideration to earn your law degrees.  So take advantage of the resources that are available to you.

Let me give you a suggestion based on a column that I saw from a behavioral economist in response to the question "[w]hat's the best way to get useful feedback and make the most of...conversations?" D. Ariely, Dear Can Column, Wall Street Journal (Feb. 4, 2021).

The short answer is don't ask for feedback.  

Instead, "...research shows that in general, looking at the past isn't the best way to figure out what we should be doing differently in the future.  Instead of asking for feedback, which is backward-looking and usually vague, try asking your [professor] for advice.  That will encourage them to look ahead and give you concrete suggestions and actionable items."  Id.

So, be courageous.  Seek out advice. Ask for concrete action items to improve future performance.  Skip the feedback and instead ask for "feed for the future," i.e., advice.  (Scott Johns).

AASE Mentoring Event, April 23rd!

Come join us for a mentoring and networking event!

Here is the link to register,

https://forms.gle/RbTcGZqMhr4WTzLf6

 

 

Complete the AASE Survey before Wednesday

Members of the Association of Academic Support Educators,

Please complete the AASE 2021 Short Survey before April 7^th. A link was sent out on March 25^th. Search your inbox for an email from AASE Membership. A reminder email should follow shortly. If you cannot locate the link, please email me or Goldie Pritchard.

The AASE Assessment Committee compiled this short nationwide survey to supplement the longer survey conducted by AASE in 2018. This short survey (maximum 20 minutes if all sections of the survey apply to your school) compiles the following:

1. general data about each law school,
2. information about the content of academic success programs and workshops,
3. information about the content of bar prep programs and workshops, as well as,
4. salary and status data.

To ensure that all teaching philosophies and that all job statuses and salaries are captured, the committee recommends that each non-clerical faculty and/or staff member within the academic success community complete the AASE 2021 Short Survey. Only the general data about each law school would be duplicative.

Further, since the AASE Assessment Committee exists to support and promote the assessment of programmatic effectiveness within AASE, the committee looks forward to compiling the data and presenting the results at the annual AASE Conference in May. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact me at [email protected] or board member, Goldie Pritchard at [email protected].

Special thanks to my fellow committee members, Matthew Carluzzo, Jeanna Hunter, Diane Kraft, Dyann Margolis, Chenay Weyble, and our board liaison, Jodi Wiredu, for their valuable insights and tireless energy developing this survey. This truly was a team effort and it was an honor to work with all of them!

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey!

All the best,

Anne G. Johnson

AASE Assessment Committee Chair

Adjunct Professor of Law

Assistant Director of Academic Success

Mercer University School of Law

1021 Georgia Ave., Macon, GA 31207
T: 478-301-5030
[email protected]| law.mercer.edu

Associate Director of Academic and Bar Success at NYLS

Associate Director of Academic and Bar Success Initiatives

New York Law School (NYLS), an independent law school in the heart of Tribeca, seeks an Associate Director of Academic and Bar Success Initiatives who will assist the Associate Dean for Academic and Bar Success and the Assistant Dean for Bar Success with the overall management of the School’s academic and bar success initiatives. The Associate Director will collaborate, design, coordinate, and deliver academic and bar support programming to assist J.D. students with the development of the critical skills necessary to succeed in law school, on the bar exam, and in practice.

The Associate Director of Academic and Bar Success Initiatives will work under the leadership of the Associate Dean for Academic and Bar Success. The primary focus of the Associate Director‘s position is bar success initiatives. This is a full-time, year-round position.

Responsibilities
• Under the direction of the Associate Dean for Academic and Bar Success, work closely with the Assistant Dean for Bar Success to collaborate, design, coordinate, and deliver bar support programming.
• Use bar passage predictive data to perform targeted outreach to students in need of intensive support to pass the bar exam.
• Work with these students in their final year of study and with graduates during the bar preparation period by evaluating and providing both groups with individualized feedback, monitoring progress in their bar preparation courses, and mentoring them throughout the bar preparation period.
• Serve as an individual support to bar takers, and provide the encouragement and empathy necessary to help them pass the bar exam.
• Assist in coordinating work with other departments to address the needs of students and graduates studying for the bar exam.
• Teach bar study-focused courses in the fall and spring, and assist in the design and teaching of bar-preparation workshops.
• Under the supervision of the Assistant Dean for Bar Success, develop, coordinate, evaluate, and monitor study plans and activities for upper-level J.D. students. Provide students with timely feedback on individual writing assignments, and work with students to improve learning strategies, as well as test-taking, time management, and organizing skills.
• Stay abreast of trends in the academic and bar support field. (The Assistant Director will be provided with opportunities for professional development and training on learning theory and pedagogy.)

Requirements
• J.D. from an American Bar Association-accredited law school, license to practice law in the United States, and excellent academic record.
• Prior academic or bar support teaching experience preferred. A suitable combination of 1 to 3 years of practice experience and adjunct teaching may be substituted for academic or bar support experience.
• Superior written, verbal, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency at project management, including, but not limited to, developing, planning, and implementing goals.
• Ability to work collaboratively with all members of the Law School community.
• Ability to collect, interpret, and analyze data.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Some evening and weekend availability required.
• Knowledge of academic programs pertaining to law students.
• Working knowledge of formats for written legal analysis (e.g., IRAC, CIRAC, CREAC).
• Knowledge of educational theories and learning styles.
• Working knowledge of the Uniform Bar Exam.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, and the ability to learn new programs as needed.

Compensation and Benefits
The position offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits package.

How to Apply
Submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and a copy of the applicant’s official or unofficial law school transcript to Kitty Montanez, Associate Director of Human Resources, at [email protected].

Director of Academic Achievement at Miami

Director of the Academic Achievement Program at the University of Miami.  

Please submit a cover letter, resume, list of references, and teaching evaluations (if applicable). Applications must be submitted using the University of Miami online portal, and questions can be emailed to [email protected]. Candidates applying early will be given first consideration, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled. We anticipate conducting interviews for the position in April and May 2021 with an anticipated start date no later than August 2021.   

https://umiami.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMFaculty/job/Coral-Gables-FL/Lecturer_R100045861

Meaningful Presence

Let me ask a question.  What's one thing you learned today?  Often times, I move so fast through my day that I learn very little.   Maybe you're a bit like me.

Unfortunately, class can be like that too.  

I often find that in a rush to teach I sometimes leave little time for my students to learn.  It's sort of like I feel as though my students' learning is dependent on me filling them with all that I know. Stuffing them full of legal jargon, techniques, and principles.  In short, mush.  

But that's not learning.  Learning takes time, practice, trial, thoughtfulness, experience, creativity, struggle, rest, pursuit, and failure, just to list a few of the sensations and practices that we go through as we are learning.  

In order to help me gauge what my students are learning in our class meetings, I try to end each online zoom class with a one-minute reflective chat.  All participate because I use this chat as a chance to take attendance.  I ask my students to post one thing that they have learned in class today.  Just one thing.  

Most of the time the comments are related to what we covered in class, but not always.  But all of them are valuable, not just for me, but for the rest of the class too, because the responses are visible to all. 

It's one way - in this world of online teaching - for me to learn from my students.  Because, truth be told, learning is a two-way street, filled with bustling activity as we learn together with, through, and from each other.

So next time you end class, ask your students what they have learned today.  

That's not just a great way to end class; it's also a great way to honor and respect your students as learners.  (Scott Johns).