Law School Academic Support Blog

Dirty Laundry

I would imagine that almost all of us in the ASP world see students who are in academic difficulty: those who are on warning, probation, and even double secret probation now and then.[1] I know I work with students in classroom settings and one on one who have been told they must seek my help to stay in school. Some students are right on the (wrong) edge of the standards that would exclude them from these graduation conditions, and they are, usually, unhappy about the circumstances. And they are right-because some of the requirements and limitations may only serve to dig them deeper into the hole they barely fell into in the first place.

One example of this is a list of required classes that students must take depending on their GPA. The classes are carefully curated to correlate to bar passage. Yet, they also tend to be bigger upper-level classes (at least 40+ students), so chances are that there is a mandatory grading curve applied to these classes. Sometimes the grading curve (required by many schools especially in the 1L Year) may be the reason the student is in this predicament in the first place. And thus, students who might have easily dug themselves out of academic difficulty in their 2L year by being able to choose classes that are better suited to their interests and strengths, find themselves further entrenched. To make matters worse, these classes also tend to have one summative assessment to earn that curved grade. Sometimes the issues students face are far more exam related than comprehension related.

These same students are also often locked out of, or put at the bottom of the list for, clinics and other programs that give them experience (needed for graduation) and confidence (also needed for graduation). This is exactly the kind of class experience that students who struggle with exams need. This is where they could shine, if they could just reach the light switch.

A student who is currently occupying this space met with me last week and told me that she felt, particularly in light of the pandemic and the chaotic atmosphere of her first year, that she was being kicked while she was down. Even more disheartening, she felt that she was still being kicked while on her way back up. It reminded me of the song Dirty Laundry (Don Henley-and if you also remember this song, we are both officially pretty old).[2] The chorus of this song, “kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down, kick ‘em all around,” is what came to mind in that moment.  Considering the NextGen bar exam that incoming classes (next year’s incoming evening students at my school, for example) will be taking, perhaps we need to rethink how we handle students when they’re down. The new edition of the bar exam will emphasize competencies over memorization.[3] While we will still all encounter students who may not be up to the task, there are many students clinging to edge of the cliff who are absolutely capable of finding solid ground-given the chance. Let’s throw them a rope. I don’t want students to think that we, “love it when people lose.[4]”

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] Ok--that is not a real thing, but I thought it was clever to slip in a reference to the movie Animal House and see if anyone noticed. Of course, explaining the reference in a footnote kind of defeats the humor….

[2] https://playback.fm/charts/top-100-songs/video/1982/Don-Henley-Dirty-Laundry

[3] https://abovethelaw.com/2022/01/new-bar-exam-will-test-future-law-grads-on-skills-actually-related-to-being-a-lawyer/

[4] https://playback.fm/charts/top-100-songs/video/1982/Don-Henley-Dirty-Laundry

Assistant Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation at Thomas Jefferson

Assistant Director of Academic Success & Bar Preparation

Full-time, Exempt

GENERAL SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Reporting to the Director of Academic Success & Bar Preparation, the Assistant Director of Academic Success & Bar Preparation (“Assistant Director”) is responsible for helping coordinate and supervise integrated academic success and bar support programs for students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. The successful candidate will help support law school students and graduates to succeed in law school and as they prepare for their bar examinations, including by teaching bar-related and academic success courses. The Assistant Director will also provide assistance with and will monitor learning outcomes, academic performance, academic support and bar preparation activities to all students, and will participate in other student retention activities as needed.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work collaboratively with Director of Academic Success & Bar Preparation, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the faculty to assess and address the current needs for academic success and bar-related programming and support.

• Work with the Director of Academic Success & Bar Preparation and other department members to administer the integrated academic success and bar preparation program for current students and bar-takers, including by teaching classes; providing one-on-one and small group tutoring; developing and teaching workshops; providing support and guidance to Learning Assistants; and completing other tasks as assigned.

• Teach sections of bar-related and academic success skills courses as needed (including fall, spring, and summer).

• Work collaboratively to tailor programming including courses and workshops to meet the needs of students and bar-takers each term (fall, spring and summer, including the February and July bar cycles).

• Collaborate to improve and implement the Continuing Bar Candidate and Commercial Bar Support Programs. This includes, but is not limited to, one-on-one student meetings, essay and performance test grading, teaching workshops, and providing other general bar study support.

• Provide structured writing, organizational, and analytical assistance to current students and recent graduates, including through workshops and presentations.

• Participate in the presentation of academic success program activities beginning with Week One, the student orientation program.

• Help to track and report information regarding bar passage, workshop and programmatic usage, and programming assessments and evaluations.

• Provide support, academic advice, and counseling to students and recent graduates. This involves counseling students on both academic issues and other issues that might be affecting their academic studies.

• Enforce campus policies regarding commercial bar preparation access to campus.

• Participate in committees as assigned by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

• Oversee student workers as needed.

• Represent the law school at and participate in outside conferences and other events organized for

  and/or by academic support or bar preparation professionals, as applicable.

  KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

• J.D. from an ABA or CBE-accredited law school and a proven record of academic achievement during law school.

• Admission to a state bar in the United States, California preferred.

• At least 2 years of experience practicing law or delivering writing or other instruction in an

  academic institution, law firm, or commercial bar prep company.

• Familiarity with California bar-tested subjects and California bar exam format.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

• Prior experience with academic support and bar preparation strongly preferred.

• Experience with curriculum design, including an understanding of educational learning

  theory, best practices in teaching pedagogy, and individual learning styles preferred.

• Experience teaching writing and/or working with students for whom English is their second

  language preferred.

• Experience with assessment and with data collection preferred.

• Familiarity with online technology, Zoom included, preferred.

• The ability to think imaginatively and critically about techniques to improve our law students’

  academic development and bar passage, and to design, implement and manage innovative programs

  to assist adult learners in reaching their potential.

• The ability to work well with a diverse student body, including having a cultural awareness of

  different learning styles.

• Strong teaching, interpersonal and counseling skills.

• Strong public speaking skills.

• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty and staff and other team members on tasks including

  course design and implementation.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities under deadlines.

  PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Able to sit or stand, type, read or write for extended periods of time.

• Able to handle high level of stress in a useful, constructive manner.

• Able to lift/carry materials and publications up to 20 pounds.

• Able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation.

 

AASE Communication!

Hello everyone! Just a reminder that our AASE website - https://associationofacademicsupporteducators.org/ - has a fantastic message board! We built it for communication when we lost the official listserv, hoping that it would also allow us to archive communication, and it does! Maybe sure you go visit.

I also started a topic about conference presentations - I'd love for us to support one another when we present at conferences, but we need to know about them. Post your presentation information to let other members know. That also means AASE can tweet about it!

If you haven't been to the message board, log in as a member and you will see "dashboard" - and if you click on dashboard you will see "message board"

Once there you can see all of our lovely topics - within those main categories, you can start your own topic, or respond to others. This makes it easy to organize and search, so we don't worry about the emails we can't find!

Fore example, here is the topic thread about conference presentations!

In the member's section, we also have presentations up from past AASE conferences! 

So, be sure to check out our website!

And don't forget -  the deadline to submit proposals for our Annual Conference in San Antonio!

Our theme for the May 2022 Conference is "Making Waves, Breaking Barriers: Building Better Lawyers." We welcome proposals on the usual topics – Diversity, Mental Health, Bar Prep, Academic Success, Online Learning (*usual topic as of last year*), etc. – in alignment with the theme.

We will be accepting proposals until midnight on January 31, 2022.  Submit your conference proposals HERE.  

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

Recent SSRN posts on academic and bar support:

1. Catherine Martin Christopher,  Modern Diploma Privilege: A Path Rather Than a Gate (SSRN Post, October 5, 2021). 

From the abstract:

This article proposes a modern diploma privilege, a licensure framework that allows state licensure authorities to identify what competencies are expected of first-year attorneys, then partner with law schools to assess those competencies. Freed from the format and timing of a bar exam, schools can assess a broader range of competencies over longer time horizons. This will allow the development of law school curricula aimed at preparing students to assist clients rather than to pass the bar exam. The modern diploma privilege is structured as an ongoing partnership between licensure authorities and schools, which means that changes can be easily made to the list of desired competencies and/or the assessment methods. This in turn allows for a more nimble licensure mechanism that can quickly adapt to changes in the evolving market for legal services.

2.  Katharine Traylor Schaffzin, First-Generation Students in Law School: A Proven Success Model, 70 Arkansas L. Rev. 913 (2018).  

From the abstract:

This article addresses the ever-increasing population of first-generation college students and the academic challenges they face both in undergraduate school and in seeking to matriculate to law school. This demographic has been heavily studied at the undergraduate level, but very little data is available about the challenges and success of first-generation college students in law school. The article describes the best practices for the academic success of first-generation college students as researched and implemented by various colleges and universities. It also summarizes the findings of the only study done on the experiences of first-generation college graduates who matriculated to law school.

This research serves as the backdrop for the description of a unique program with proven success directed toward securing the academic achievement of first-generation college students in law school. The University of Memphis School of Law Tennessee Institute for Pre-Law (TIP) program is decades old and has been recording the successful outcomes of such students. This article analyzes data collected since 2012 on the academic outcomes of first-generation college graduates who participated in TIP to conclude that the program leads to successful results for these students in graduating law school and passing the bar exam. The article details the program itself and explains how a law school can implement the promising methods uncovered at the undergraduate level. It offers TIP to readers as a proven intervention and success model for law schools seeking to ensure the academic success of first-generation college graduates in law school.

Recent book:

Charles Calleros (New Mexico),  Law School Exams 3rd edition, VitalSource (2021).

From the publisher:  

Law School and Exams: Preparing and Writing to Win, Third Edition is the third edition of a popular book whose first edition Bryan Garner reviewed and judged to be “the best on the market.” It combines:

1. 1. Clear and comprehensive explanations of study and exam techniques
   2. Numerous illustrative samples that are truly instructive
   3. Twenty in-class exercises or take-home assignments on everything from case briefs to essay and multiple-choice exam questions.

Comprehensive and self-contained, the Third Edition is suitable for use as the textbook for a sophisticated Prelaw course, 1L Orientation, or a 1L Academic Success course. Alternatively, incoming freshmen can work through it independently over the summer to be optimally prepared for law school in the fall.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

Trust

Yesterday, I came across a tweet from someone who must be either law school legal writing or clinical faculty where they pointed out that a school’s faculty might very well have an atmosphere of “cordial hypocrisy[1]” depending on how doctrinal (and I assume tenured) faculty treat their legal writing or clinical colleagues. Various sources define “cordial hypocrisy” as having a pleasant demeanor towards each other in a way that seems like trust, but actually having an underlying distrust[2]. It is a no-no in the world of leadership and team building.

As someone in ASP, I see this cordial hypocrisy every day. We can be trusted to get a lot of work done, ensure our students’ success, and create curriculum for numerous classes, but we are not always (institutions obviously vary) able to, for example, teach some doctrinal courses, enjoy tenure, or even be considered faculty in some cases. I find that doctrinal professors are (usually pleasantly) surprised about what we do (or can do) despite the billboards and parades we organize to tell them.

Last week, I was in a committee meeting where I advocated strongly for the inclusion of ASP (and career development) in a new, potentially required, course devoted to student wellness. I really believe that these topics go hand in hand. After I made my point (concisely, I promise) that ASP assistance is never required until things have gone terribly awry (which is why embedding ASP into a required class would be a great thing), the facilitator of the meeting asked if anyone else had anything to add who hadn’t yet spoken. I was dismissed. My point was deemed not even worthy of comment or response-I mean even Ariana Grande said, “thank u” before she went right on to “next.[3]”  Was this brush-off permitted because I was merely ASP faculty and had no leverage in that moment to rectify it? I should note that this is not a common occurrence at my school, I was honestly surprised. You could see me mouthing, “wow, really?” because I had politely muted myself after I spoke. I guess any “cordial hypocrisy” I had enjoyed up until then ended when I didn’t agree completely with the facilitator. It was a blatant and public kiss-off and it stung. A lot.

I deserved better. We in ASP deserve better. We deserve respect, job security, and recognition for all we do. We deserve the time it takes for other members of the faculty to learn about what we do. We deserve to be as genuinely trusted by our colleagues as we are by our students.

And ASP surely deserved to be listed in that tweet.[4]

(Liz Stillman)

[1] Term attributed to Charles Feltman from: https://insightcoaching.com/trust_book/

[2] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/trust-the-new-workplace-currency/201702/why-effective-leaders-dont-confuse-loyalty-trust

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k

[4] I did tweet a reply that said we should not overlook ASP faculty, and the poster agreed.

Fly Further, Fly Together: Advancing Equity by Positioning DEI Professionals for Success

On Friday, March 4, 2022, American University Washington College of Law and Saint Louis University School of law, will partner with AMDiP and LSAC’s RISE Alliance to host Fly Further, Fly Together: Advancing Equity by Positioning DEI Professionals for Success. This will be a convening of law school leaders focused on furthering their diversity, equity and inclusion goals through the intentional design of DEI positions and support for the professionals who do the work.

Date:  Friday, March 4, 2022

9 AM to 3 PM

Themes:

• Best practices for designing and hiring for DEI positions to meet your current needs

• DEI strategic planning

• Challenges and opportunities for DEI Professionals

• Caring for the health and wellness of DEI professionals

Who should attend:

• Members of law school leadership teams

• Law school staff and faculty who have opportunities to collaborate with and support DEI professionals

• DEI Professional

Be sure to register!

 

Assistant Dean of Academic and Bar Success at Akron

The University of Akron School of Law is seeking to hire an Assistant Dean of Academic and Bar Success Programs.

Responsibilities:
The University of Akron, School of Law Dean's Office, is seeking an Assistant Dean of Academic and Bar Success Programs.  Primary responsibilities include: leading the design and implementation of strategies and programs to enhance student learning and bar exam preparation, so that students can perform more effectively in their law school courses and on the bar exam; working under the direction of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and in conjunction with the Academic Committee and the Curriculum Committee; leading a process to identify optimal approaches, in both the curricular and co-curricular components of academic support, for communicating a cohesive institutional message to students about their learning and bar preparation goals and methods throughout their time in law school; providing faculty with creative approaches they may use to enhance the performance of underperforming students as part of an overall institutional teaching and learning strategy; and teaching appropriate courses.

Required Qualifications:
A Law Degree and Admission to the bar of a U.S. jurisdiction (could be inactive).  A strong history of relevant teaching / program planning experience, and a strong commitment to service and evidence of ability to work well with faculty, students and staff in a variety of settings are essential. Effective and professional written and oral communication skills. Demonstrated record of effective self-starting and follow-through. Demonstrated success in assisting student learning is required. Ability to identify methods to enhance learning for multiple learning styles. Supervisory skills.

Preferred Qualifications:
Background in education or skills training, including effective involvement in academic support programs.

Salary:

The salary range for this position is commensurate with experience and qualifications. We offer a competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package.

Comments:
This is a Senior Administrative position.

Application Instructions:
To apply for this position, you must complete the on-line application and attach a cover letter, resume and a list of three professional references to your profile. Please include contact information, including email addresses for your professional references.

After submission of your application, return to the "My Activities" link and upload the required documents to your profile under the "Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

Applicants should fully describe their qualifications and experience with reference to the minimum and preferred qualifications.  This is the information on which the initial review of materials will be based. 
A resume/curriculum vitae will not be accepted in place of any information requested on the application.  For assistance with your application or attachments please call Cindy Harm in Human Resources at (330) 972-8399.

Application Deadline:

Open until filled, however, review of applicants will begin February 7, 2022.

For complete position details, visit:

https://www.uakron.edu/hr/job-openings/openings.dot
Job ID # 13333

Director of Academic Success at Georgetown

Director for Academic Success, Office of the Dean of Students - Georgetown University Law Center

Job Overview

America’s largest single-campus law school, Georgetown University Law Center is deeply committed to the holistic education of the whole law student, and to helping students develop the personal, academic and professional skills that will enable them to thrive in law school, in the modern legal profession, and in the pursuit of justice and the common good.

In that spirit, the Law Center is seeking a talented and experienced legal educator to serve as the Director for Academic Success (DAS) in the school’s Office of the Dean of Students. The DAS is a crucial member of the Dean of Students’ senior leadership team, and serves five primary roles at the law school, each of which supports the academic, personal and professional success of JD students outside the classroom:

• Developing and managing academic support services for JD students, including teaching academic success skills development programs, engaging in individual advising, and overseeing a large scale peer-to-peer tutoring program. The academic support program focuses on the school’s approximately 600 first-year JD students, with a special focus on students who may need additional support adjusting to law school pedagogy. 
• Overseeing and advising the Barristers’ Council, the school’s nationally acclaimed moot court and mock trial competition program and largest student organization. 
• Serving as an academic and personal advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS), in direct connection with the academic support program. 
• Partnering with the Dean of Students, faculty, and senior administration to develop and deliver co-curricular programs that enhance students’ leadership and related professional success skills.
• Participating in formulating and delivering a holistic wellness promotion strategy for the Law Center, and assisting in developing and implementing co-curricular wellness programming and communications.

Work Interactions

Reporting directly to the AVP/Dean of Students, the DAS participates in ODOS director meetings and full staff meetings, collaborates daily with the AVP/Dean of Students, collaborates closely with hundreds of full-time and adjunct law faculty, works closely with the Directors of Student Life and Disability Services, and helps to supervise the Assistant Director of Student Life and the Office Manager of Student Life in support of the Barristers’ Council.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school
• Highly successful academic record in law school
• At least 4 years of lawyering and/or law teaching experience
• Track record of innovative program and/or course development and management
• Ability to think imaginatively and critically about how to measurably improve law students’ academic development and writing, analytical, and organizational skills; and to design, implement and manage programs and advising approaches to promote that development
• Ability to work collaboratively with a highly diverse and at times demanding population of students, faculty and administrators
• Ability to counsel, advise and instruct individual students from highly diverse backgrounds, including many students from historically under-represented backgrounds
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities
• Excellent judgment, discretion and professionalism
• Superior written, oral and interpersonal communication skills
• An understanding of recent developments and trends in legal pedagogy and the legal profession
• High emotional intelligence and empathy

Preferred Qualifications

Teaching experience, especially in Legal Writing or a related legal discipline

Click Here to go to their site.

Swallowed Up

I have a confession.  I realized today that I've spent most of the day letting the little things swallow up my day such that I let the big things lay waste.  I suspect that many students share similar experiences.  

Why is it that I lose such focus?  That email prompts capture my immediate attention?  That I can't seem to prioritize the important from the mundane?

Part of it has to do with me. I'm impulsive.  The other reason is that I haven't reminded myself of who I am and what I am supposed to do.

As one of my old Sunday school teachers used to say, don't read good books. Only read great books because if you waste your time on the good then the great never gets done.  

So I am writing to encourage us, me and you, to say no.  To take control over our time.  To prioritize the great.  To remember our purposes as we choose the activities of importance.  It's okay to let things go. But the things that we let go should be because we have chosen - wisely - to let them go rather than because, as happened to me today, I just let the day control me rather than me controlling the day.

Be of good cheer.  Tomorrow is almost here and by the time you read this tomorrow will be here.  Then, you might try what I try to do prior to every class. I remind myself of the there things that I hope my students will learn together with me because of our experience in the classroom.  That's a good day, a mighty fine day.  (Scott Johns).

Call for Proposals!

On behalf of the Association of Academic Support Educators, I am excited to announce the 9th AASE National Conference, which will be held both in person and virtually May 24-26, 2022. The 9th Annual Conference is hosted by St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. 

 

Our theme for the May 2022 Conference is "Making Waves, Breaking Barriers: Building Better Lawyers." We welcome proposals on the usual topics – Diversity, Mental Health, Bar Prep, Academic Success, Online Learning (*usual topic as of last year*), etc. – in alignment with the theme.

 

We will be accepting proposals until midnight on January 31, 2022.  Submit your conference proposals HERE.  

True Education

On this (very rainy in Massachusetts) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we as law educators need to remember that every fight for civil rights was only a fight because there were lawyers on the side of denying civil rights. The people advocating for denying rights were trained lawyers who had been to law school (or the equivalent in some states) and were admitted to the bar to practice law. They had been taught basically the same subjects we teach students today. As we educate this new generation of lawyers, we need to be sure to remind them that lawyers, above all, should seek justice (which is not the same as law) and truth (again, not the same as law). Law is just a tool we can use to walk these paths.

Martin Luther King noted that, “[t]he function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Nelson Mandela added that, “[e]ducation is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

The same way a construction worker, a surgeon, or a Jedi knight would be carefully trained to use equipment safely, we need to make sure our students know the consequences of unsafely operating the tools we are giving them -- as much as they know how to use the power.

As we start our new semester tomorrow, and while I am still reeling about the events in a Texas Synagogue this weekend, I renew my vow to engage in true education. Lawyers have an almost sacred relationship with truth and justice that should not be dismissed or forsaken. We need to teach our children well that, “[i]njustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." (Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963).

Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Boston Common in 1965-also in the rain.

(Liz Stillman)

Director of Academic Success at University of Houston

University of Houston is looking for a Director of Academic Success.  The internal posting and application portal is here.

The Director leads the development and implementation of academic success programs designed specifically to address the educational needs of students in the Law Center. Evaluates counseling and advising activities and makes recommendations for new initiatives and/or enhancement to existing practices.

1. Plans, designs, and implements workshops and develops programming for students to enhance their test-taking and study skills, in collaboration with Law Center faculty.
2. Assesses and monitors student performance and provides guidance to students to assist with their progress in the academic program.
3. Collects and manages data and resources related to academic success and drafts reports regarding student performance.
4. Creates educational development plans for at-risk students, monitors and provides interventions, as needed.
5. Collaborates with internal and external partners to design comprehensive academic and bar support curriculum.
6. Works with JD students, and on occasion LL.M students, individually and in small groups to assist with individualized bar-preparation plans.
7. May participate in academic advising and career counseling.
8. Maintains knowledge of University of Houston campus resources and policy and procedures relating to academic success.
9. Integrates antiracism and diversity, equity and inclusion principles and practices in all plans, programs and practices.
Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Doctoral and 3 years experience

Education: Requires singular knowledge of a specialized advanced professional discipline or the highest level of general business knowledge, normally acquired through attainment of a directly job-related terminal degree or equivalent formal training in a recognized field of specialization that is directly related to the type of work being performed.  J.D. required.

Experience: Requires a minimum of three (3) years of directly job-related experience.

Certification/Licensing: Requires professional licensing, certification or registration. Bar Membership required

Salary: 4,463.00 - 5,800.50 

Required Attachments by Candidate: Resume, Cover Letter/Letter of Application

Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills at Western State College of Law

Western State College of Law (WSCL) at Westcliff University is seeking to hire one Assistant Professor of Lawyering Skills for our Academic Support Program beginning August 1, 2022. Candidates should have strong academic backgrounds and commitment to teaching excellence. This position is designed to lead to a long-term contract that culminates, after five years of meeting standards in terms of teaching, service, and professional development, in successive five-year contracts with voting rights (on everything but promotion and tenure issues).

WSCL is located in the city of Irvine, California – close to miles of famous beaches, parks, recreation facilities and outdoor activities as well as the many museums, music venues, and diverse cultural and social experiences of greater Los Angeles.

Founded in 1966, WSCL is the oldest law school in Orange County, California, and is a fully ABA approved for-profit, private law school. Noted for small classes and personal attention from an accessible faculty focused on student success, WSCL is proud that our student body is among the most diverse in the nation. Our 11,000+ alumni are well represented across public and private sector legal practice areas, including 150 California judges and about 15% of Orange County’s Deputy Public Defenders and District Attorneys.

WSCL is committed to providing workplaces and learning environments free from discrimination on the basis of any protected classification including, but not limited to race, sex, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, genetic marker or on any other basis protected by law.

Confidential review of applications will begin immediately. Applications (including a cover letter, complete CV, teaching evaluations (if available), a diversity statement addressing your contributions to our goal of creating a diverse faculty, and names/email addresses of three references) should be emailed to Professor Elizabeth Jones, Chair, Faculty Appointments Committee: [email protected] For more information about WSCL, visit wsulaw.edu 

Peer Pressure, Vaccine-or-Test Requirements, and Legal Analysis

In working with bar applicants preparing for the February 2022 bar exam, I keep hearing concerns about analogical reasoning, one of the legal analysis skills tested on the bar exam.  And, for first-year law students, many whom are taking persuasive legal writing courses this semester, analogical reasoning is a key persuasion method.

I noticed the power of analogical reasoning while reading an article describing the Supreme Court oral arguments last week in the vaccine requirement case. J. Bravin, et al, "Supreme Court Shows Skepticism over Biden Vaccine or Test Mandate," WSJ (Jan. 7., 2022).

As a bit of background, the Court was considering two issues, first, whether the federal executive branch had power through OSHA via Congressional authorization to mandate covid-19 vaccines in workplaces with more than 100 employees, and second, whether the federal executive branch through its Medicare and Medicaid Office had congressional authorization to mandate covid-19 vaccines for medical personnel working in medical settings and receiving funds from the federal government.

The U.S. Supreme Court split the issues (with a split court too).  In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that OSHA did not have the regulatory power to mandate vaccines in large workplaces while, in contrast, in a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the executive branch has such power in the medical field for those receiving federal government medicare and medicaid funding.

Already, we see a tension between the two holdings.  Those tensions require explanations and that's where you, as an attorney, are critical.  It's your explanation of similarities or differences that constitutes analogical reasoning. And, to the extent that your explanation of those differences or similarities is persuasive is what I call "analogical reasoning as a form of peer pressure." In short, analogical reasoning suggests that you have friends, powerful friends and powerful tradition that backs the position that you are now arguing on behalf of your client.

Take last Friday's oral argument over the "vaccine or test" requirement.  In the workplace requirement case, Justice Sotomayor asked of attorneys: "What’s the difference between this [vaccine or test requirement] and telling employers, where sparks are flying in the workplace, your workers have to wear a mask?"  Id.

In other words, the Justice is asking an analogical question, seeking an explanation as to why the vaccine requirements are any different than other normative OSHA workplace safety requirements, such as masks to protect industrial workers from flying sparks and fire hazards.  That's not an easy question to answer. It requires much of us - curiosity, courage, and showing connections.

The premise behind the question is that no one doubts that OSHA has congressional authority to regular workplace hazards with reasonable tools to prevent harm that, at the same time, allow workers to complete their work successfully.  Masks to prevent workers from suffering eye injuries due to flying sparks is just such a prototypical regulation that is, obviously, permissible.  That's the "peer pressure" component.  Once that is settled, the party who opposes the vaccine or test requirement now has the burden to show how covid-19 is different from other types of workplace hazards, such as flying sparks.  It's not impossible to do but it requires deep thinking.

As a tip, you might try an exercise, listing in one column the precedent situation (masks to prevent spark hazards) and the other column the disputed situation (vaccines to prevent virus hazards).  Then, under each column, brainstorm possible differences and similarities, as many as possible.  Once you've finished brainstorming, now look for connections that might explain how the two situations are similar (and why) and for differences that might explain how the two situations are dissimilar (and why).  

The art of analogical reasoning is then explaining which of those two (similarities or differences) is more persuasive, moving, and powerful and why that is the case.  That's analogical reasoning.

For the OSHA requirement, we might say that the two situations (masks for spark mitigation versus vaccines for virus mitigation) are similar in that both are hazards that are preventable, that are prevalent in the workplace because of the close working conditions between workers and the hazards faced, and that the workplace situation exacerbates the hazards because of the duration of time that workers are present in the workplace.  In contrast, one might say that the two situations (masks for spark mitigation versus vaccines for virus mitigation) are dissimilar in that sparks are hazards not common to the public at large, tied specifically to the type of work done, and limited to particular workplace activities while the virus is widespread regardless of whether one is working or not, the virus is not the byproduct, like sparks are, of producing products or services for the employers, and that the virus is not limited to specific workplace activities but is present everywhere and in all such that if OSHA has that power it has virtually unbridled power, at least one might say.

At bottom, analogical reasoning is about using comparisons and contrasts to bedrock principles and trying to extend or prevent extension of those principles to new or novel situations.  In short, it's a form of peer pressure, which, in my own case, is one of the most powerful pressures of all.  So be friendly when you engage in analogical reasoning.  Don't press too hard.  Let your explanations do the pressing.  (Scott Johns).

 

Using Exam Reviews to Promote Metacognition and Foster Learning.

I sent this email yesterday to my students from last semester.  

Good morning, I am happy to meet with individual students to discuss exam performance.  However, you must take some steps before we meet.  First, access your essays from your dropbox.  Second, access the exam questions and two Student Model Answers.  Third, in a 1-2 page Word document, compare your exam answers to the model answers.  Please attach that Word document when scheduling your appointment.

Why do I do this?   Metacognition, of course!  If I sat down and just explained the exam and your errors to you, like the "Sage on the Stage," I would be doing the work FOR you.  While that approach would satiate my ego and make me feel like the knower-of-all-things (which my kids say I am not), it would do little to foster your learning.  Instead, when YOU have to flag your errors, you build the ability to find your weaknesses.  This will help you tremendously in bar exam study and in the practice of law. 

I will be happy to comment on the accuracy of your metacognition, but I am going to make you do the work first!!

The added benefit of this method is that it tends to "educate" the grade increase seekers.  Instead of an unproductive meeting defending my grading choices, the grade seekers instead realize through their reading of the top essay that they indeed have some work to do.  For more information on this method, see Sarah J. Schendel, What You Don’t Know (Can Hurt You): Using Exam Wrappers to Foster Self-Assessment Skills in Law Students, 40 Pace L. Rev. 154 (2020).  

Louis Schulze, FIU Law

Rebuttable Presumptions

When I was in high school, and college and law school, I would tell my parents when I was nervous about exams like SATs, midterms, finals... And they would always answer, “you’ll be fine.” I’m not complaining about the faith they had in me, but even after I explained the reason for my extra concern, the answer remained the same. I was dismissed. It didn’t help me feel better in any way and certainly didn’t help me prepare for what was ahead.

Grades were released last week at my law school, and it has been…a lot. I can hear a lot of you nodding in agreement right now. In between extremely interesting AALS sessions, I spent hours speaking with students towards the end of the week. And like most of you, I met with students at all positions on the grade spectrum from, “I don’t know how I got an A-“ to “Am I going to get dismissed?”

Our list-serv has also been full of amazing emails and messages we [1]send students to get them through this time-all starting with the basic idea that “your grades do not define you.” I wholeheartedly agree that students are more than their grades and that their grades do not define them. Collectively, in the next few weeks, we will help students make study plans, assure them that they have more exam experience going forward, and remind them that we are here to help. We will give advice to talk to professors about exam performance, diagnose the issues or types of questions that plagued their exam, and offer practice materials. We will take action.

Yet, there is an elephant in the room: how can I tell students that they are not their grades and at the same time fail to acknowledge the reality that until they have some legal work experience, they may, in fact, be defined by their grades. I am telling them to transcend the grades at the same time I am helping them make plans to get better ones. They know, and they know that I know, that potential employers do care about class rank even I don’t agree with that as a bright line rule for granting interviews (and trust me, “don’t agree” is an extremely diluted way to express how I feel about that)[2]. I worry that I am being dismissive if I say it shouldn’t matter-or even worse-misleading some students to blame circumstances (or people) they cannot control for the grades they received. I absolutely know that some students are laid low by circumstances outside of their control (I had a student whose house burned down last year), but frequently students need to own (or adversely possess) the bad grades to make positive changes.

I think some of the hardest work I have done these past few days (and I assure you, my dance card is full today as well) is speaking to students who need to plead their case to a committee to be allowed to stay in law school (after one seemingly catastrophic semester). There is, per our academic rules, a presumption of dismissal (albeit rebuttable). We advise our students to share all the distractions, traumas, and circumstances that led to this situation. No doubt, this pandemic will be the underlying cause of trauma and academic distress long after we box up our masks and hope they get moldy in the basement from non-use.  More importantly, students need to tell the committee about the plans they have made to deal with these issues. I remind them to tell the committee that they are taking control over what is in their power to control and talk about their plans to ask for help when what is uncontrollable becomes too much. I assure them that asking for, and receiving, help is a sign of maturity and resilience-not weakness. And we should not forget that the next time these students take an exam, they will have an extra layer of stress added because they need to do better and are still frightened by how things went last time.

I will definitely tell students that things are going to be okay (and more often than not, they will be)-but it cannot be the only thing I tell them. I know students need to hear those words in my voice, but I also need to be certain that they will benefit from hearing it more than I will.

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] Thank you to Melissa Hale, Susan Landrum, and Kirsha Trychta!

[2] I don’t even agree with ranking them, but that will be another post.

ASPalooza

Happy New Year!

I know that we are still basking in the (blue light) glow of the ASP sessions of the AALS annual meeting, but I wanted to make sure that I mentioned a few of the highlights (ones that I saw-I probably missed some important things since the AALS session schedule is like a Cheesecake Factory menu).

First, my amazing colleague at Suffolk University Law School, Sarah Schendel, was honored with the Trailblazer Award at the annual meeting of our section on January 4th. This was a richly deserved recognition of her scholarship and contributions to ASP! Also, we welcomed new leadership to our executive board and thanked our past leaders for their amazing work.

The Academic Support and Technology, Law and Legal Education Joint Program (Co-Sponsored by Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School) panels on “Leveraging Technology to Increase Student Engagement in Online Courses” and “Who Should Own the Course Content Created for Online Delivery?” on January7th were informative and timely--considering that many schools will likely reopen remotely this spring (we are going remote for the first two weeks). Charles Calleros wonderfully explained the best practices to establish and maintain student engagement. I loved the idea of creating a more flipped experience with DIY videos paired with short quizzes that Martha Ertman discussed. Our own Louis Schulze’s methods of using the Zoom chat to empower students to be experts was incredibly interesting. The other methods he outlined to keep students engaged were really helpful as I organize classes for the upcoming semester.  Jane Grise’s discussion of how screens effect our reading and attention was something I will be absolutely be more cognizant of in planning my two weeks (hopefully!) of remote classes -she also presented us with an opportunity to get up and dance (well, she said to stretch, but it was a Friday and all).

The next panel on the ownership of created materials used in online delivery was eye-opening (and full of twists and turns). While the work-for-hire doctrine might make our scholarly writings and course materials (absent contractual provisions to the contrary), the property of the schools we work for since we are employees, the panelists (and some great questions from the crowd) have left me wondering who has rights to our created ASP study techniques and skills materials since these are mainly expressions of ideas and whether writing is actually within the scope of my employment. I will be looking at my employee handbook more carefully to determine our institutional intellectual property policies. I took three pages of notes on the applicable intellectual property law during this panel-and later this weekend, I’ll be sure to put them in outline form (little ASP humor).

All in all, I was reminded, yet again, of how amazing the ASP community is-we are intelligent, prolific, and generous.

(Liz Stillman)