Law School Academic Support Blog

Sacred Pause

I hope my students are having better luck at refocusing after this Thanksgiving break than I am.  I watched my son (a college sophomore) navigating his break with one foot in the family world and another in the end of classes/exam world and I wished he would have felt more comfortable jumping alternatively with both feet into both puddles.

We are entering our last week of classes here and while it is a great relief in some ways, calling it an end while having to rev up to get ready for what comes after it seems a little cruel[1]. The timing isn’t ideal.

Yet, we all needed this break. In the post[2] pandemic world, I feel like there is no way to avoid work and meetings and scholarship and everything we need to do unless it is a universal holiday. In short, there is no more “sacred time” in anyone’s schedule these days. I am on a bunch of committees that meet on Fridays. Evidently, Fridays are the new Thursday[3]. I understand why. Back in the before times, Friday was usually a freer day-sure you might have a class or two, but no one expected more than that and certainly nothing happened after 1:00 p.m. However, now that we can work from home (at any time--on any day—in any hoodie), chances are people are still more free on Fridays, so it is a good time for a group to meet.  I know that frittering away the resource of a relatively free weekday is not good time management. Our students know that too.

Back when I was in law school,[4] we used to make a point of taking a really long walk home from classes on Friday afternoons. We would put our books in our lockers and walk relatively unencumbered down Huntington Avenue, turn left on Mass. Ave, turn right on Newbury (or Boylston, or Beacon, or Comm. Ave depending on the season) and walk through the Massachusetts State House (totally not allowed anymore), out the back, down the hill, and home. We would stop for coffee, to look in a bookstore, and on one occasion to adopt a kitten. We put physical distance between us and the law school, and it was freeing and relaxing. Sure, we got up early and joined our books back at the law school the next morning, but that walk was a signal to our minds and bodies that it was time for well-deserved break at the end of a long week.

These days, I see students worry if they are not constantly working.[5]  But not of all that time is productive. Sometimes, students engage in repetitive busy work to feel that they have accomplished something and not squandered any time. I will absolutely admit that I take great satisfaction in crossing things off my to-do list even if I have just added them because I did something I hadn’t planned on. But the constant feeling of never being caught up or finished takes its toll on students. I think this break, albeit a poorly timed one, is one we all needed. Experts at the National Institute of Health (as well as many others) agree that taking breaks helps students to retain content and perform better on tests of their knowledge.[6] Allowing a brain to hold the information it needs for exams is something law students need more than an all-night study session. We all know that an all-nighter is never a good idea in law school. Students need to hold space for holding space.[7]

So please add, “took a well needed break” to your to-do list for last week, and then cross it out.

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] That is also how I felt about graduating from law school a week into the bar review course back in the day.

[2] I really hope it is the after times for COVID.

[3] Could be a TV show title?

[4] Yes, it was the 1^st edition of the Bluebook times…not really, but that is what one of my undergrads guessed this year and I hope they understand where that F is coming from….

[5] Some should, of course, work more than they do.

[6] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/study-shows-how-taking-short-breaks-may-help-our-brains-learn-new-skills#:~:text=However%2C%20they%20also%20saw%20activity,possibly%20facilitate%20rehabilitation%20from%20stroke.%E2%80%9D

[7] Yes, I did see the Wicked movie over this break, why do you ask?

The Terrific Twelfth

 

Happy Monday AASE!

As you know, AASE has an amazing annual conference. Last May, we were in Boise for a wonderful week of presentations, events, camaraderie, and genuine learning (shout out to U. of Idaho for hosting a great one!).

As you may know, this year's conference will be in Boston at Suffolk University Law School. And while the official theme will be released soon, we are already starting to plan what we hope will be a fabulous twelfth AASE national conference. I know you all want to come to Boston and see the Old North Church, Sam Adams' grave, the Freedom Trail, and, of course, all the Dunkins!!!! I am actually writing this blog entry in the shadow of Fenway Park. We are looking into historical walking tours, a baseball game (the Red Sox are playing the Mets that week in inter-league play), and of course more of everything we love about AASE conferences. 

To that end, we are seeking AASE members who would like to join our Programming Committee to help plan, shape, and organize this conference. It is not a tiny ask, but it is a fun one.

Please join us so this conference can be everything you want and need in these crazy times. 

Please use the linked form to express your interest in joining the AASE Programming/Planning Committee for the 2024-2025 academic year:

AASE Programming Committee Interest Form 

 

(Liz Stillman, Sarah Schendel, and Kirsha Trychta)

Words Matter

When I was in law school, I took a criminal trial practice class where the "final" was a trial. The case I had to try (as a prosecutor) for that assessment was a rape case (it was a different time) and the issue was whether there was consent (maybe not that different....). I made my opening argument, prepped, examined, and cross-examined witnesses, had evidence admitted, and then did my closing argument. After all the work that went into the trial, the jury (composed of undergraduates) decided in my favor and convicted the defendant. Was it the evidence or the skillful examination of witnesses that persuaded them? Nope. It was one line in my closing argument where I speculated that no one would chose a romantic moment in a car with the engine off on a cold February night. I hadn't even practiced that bit, it was impromptu, but the jury agreed that consent didn't seem likely under those circumstances. And that is when I learned that, in law, words really matter. An unscripted sentence could have changed things against me just as easily. 

Late last week I got an email from a frantic 1L. At their first TA "law school bootcamp" session, the teaching assistant had told an entire section of property about the "real reason behind the grading curve" and how it is requires that professors fail some students. They also explained the academic standards that lead to being put on probation.  I suppose if any of what the TA had said had been truthful, I would have been frightened too. Telling students that the curve is intended to prevent them from being able to transfer to another school because of a perceived low GPA was creative-- but entirely made up. Further admonishing them that the curve required professors to issue unsatisfactory and even failing grades was utterly false. And advising students that if their GPA was below a 3.0, they would be put on academic probation was just fake news. 

I cannot imagine why a TA would do this. Were they engaging in the ultimate flex by trying to make 1Ls impressed that they, the TA, had not fallen into any of these traps? Were they gatekeeping by making it seem as if 2L was only available to a chosen few? Were they trying to emulate a 'scared straight' session for 1Ls? Again, I will never know. But I do know that there are over 100 students in that class and certainly more than the four or five I heard from attended that session. If more students were frightened by this misinformation, I hope they are friends with the students I spoke to and were able to hear the truth. I did report this to our TA coordinator who in turn also gave our Dean of Students a heads up in case frightened students went there. 

It made me really look back at what I have said in orientation lectures and other classes. If you know me, you know I talk a mile a minute and attempt to be funny, but you never know what will actually come out of my mouth. I tend to avoid scripting my lectures and sometimes go rogue with improvisation. What if I inadvertently started a group scare? I hope I didn't and haven't heard that I did-but I am comforted to know that the students certainly received the message that I was someone who could speak truth to flexing in a pinch. 

In ASP, we sometimes deal with the most vulnerable students in law school. And while a glib turn of phrase can make all the difference in a mock trial, it won't always hit right.

Words matter.

(Liz Stillman)

Animal Farm (and the 11th Annual AASE Conference).

I am just now coming down from the high of attending the 11^th Annual AASE Conference last week, hosted --in the most gracious way-- by the University of Idaho College of Law in Boise. As one might expect, it was an incredibly collegial and informative academic conference. I know I have mentioned how academic support folks are by the far the kindest, most generous, and scholarly academicians. It is refreshing to be in room after room with colleagues who just get “it.”   “It” is how to get students to: attend workshops, participate in bar review, pay attention to how they learn, and create processes that are efficient and effective. But “it” also is: how to get doctrinal faculty to: attend workshops, keep an eye on students who are falling behind, keep an eye on students who may learn differently. “It” is finally the collective[1] search for information about the NextGen bar exam and whether your jurisdiction will adopt it (and if so, when).

One of the social events at the conference was a dinner and drinks at the Zoo. I mean, who doesn’t love a Zoo?[2] There were giraffes, zebras, lions, and a red panda who I think should have their own Instagram account. It was Tuesday, so there were tacos. It was a different and fun way to build community and enjoy a lovely evening in Boise.

However, I have to wonder if our monkeying[3] around trying to get a handle on a test that we do not know a lot about-including whether it will actually be a thing in many of our jurisdictions- is just caging up the academic support predator that would love to set its sights on this prey by getting to know it (and actually figuring out if knowing it is necessary).

We spent a lot of time talking about the NextGen bar exam together. There were wonderful sessions about how to get ready, or adapt, or prepare students for the NextGen bar exam. In fact, every presentation about bar readiness (and some that were not) discussed the NextGen bar exam. One example was a great presentation about how to use Professional Responsibility as a golden ticket for teaching skills for both the UBE and NextGen bar exams. Another talked about teaching IRAC from a NextGen perspective. We had amazing presentations about how to use AI to Draft Next Gen practice questions, how to prepare students for the new legal research components of the NextGen exam, creating rubrics and learning objectives based on NextGen foundational skills, and more.

But what if after all this careful planning and preparing for NextGen, we, like Columbus, do not find ourselves in the destination we had planned to reach? What if the unknowns we are so carefully trying to infer[4] have been calculated incorrectly? We may already have, or are about to welcome, students who could be taking this bar exam and we have been left with penumbras and emanations.  We have become like Academic Support Ninja Warriors[5] who are trying to get to the goal without knowing exactly what challenges lie ahead. Some of this is the NCBE not being entirely forthcoming about the exam, and another piece of it resides in jurisdictions who have not shown their hands either. Together, that leaves us no better off than the animals in the Zoo: we are at their mercy in terms of getting fed the information we need, and then we wonder if all our hard work to know more than we have been currently told is going to end up being merely entertaining -- but not freeing in any way.

A very special thank you to Karen Wellman and her amazing team at U. of Idaho and the AASE Executive and Programming teams for making this another memorable conference. We are lucky to have each other on this quest. AASE will be posting all the materials and slides from the conference-look in your emails and on the website for more information.

And finally, I am crazy excited that all these amazing people will come to me next year. We will see you in Boston for the 12^th Annual AASE Conference-Suffolk University Law School, May 2025!

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] But not universal, some jurisdictions have committed with clear timelines in place.

[2] Yes, the animals there may not love it, but bear (get it?) with me for a moment.

[3] The puns will be fast and furious-please feel free to groan-or just shoot me an email that says, “UGH!,” I deserve it.

[4] And asking ChatGPT to help us infer as well.

[5] Which will be the name of my second ASP themed band.

No Winners

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Last week, in summarizing our discussion of Plessy and Brown v. Board of Education, one of my undergraduate students used a word that, while not the most offensive when referring to race, was nonetheless unwelcome in my classroom community. And when she said the word, I stopped her cold and informed her that it wasn’t a word that is appropriate in reference to race. She asked which one of the words she said was offensive and I told her that I would not repeat it but would happily explain the issue after class. I encouraged her to move on with her summary, she did, and I thanked her. End of story, I thought.

Not end of story. About twenty minutes later, she threw on her jacket, her headphones, and backpack and quite dramatically left the class. Now, this is a student who has left each class this semester at least 15 minutes before it ends to get to a work shift that she assured me in January was a holdover from the Winter break and was only going to be, “this once,” but this was much earlier than her usual (far more subtle) exits.

After class was over, I e-mailed her because I was pretty certain my callout was the reason for her hasty departure. I explained why the word was offensive and apologized if she felt I was both blunt and vague. I told her that as the person in front of the class, I could see something she couldn’t--and that was the reaction of her fellow classmates. I would have stopped her in any event and do not (in any way) regret stopping her, but I understand that undergraduates are young and still learning. I thought the discussion we had had as a class about Plessy and Brown had been very clear (and I had discussed these cases using critical race theory as a backdrop). Then I thought perhaps she might have been a freshman who could not have known better. It turns out that she is actually a junior majoring in something in the Political Science department, so no, that wasn’t it either.

I very quickly got a reply from the student. It wasn’t pleasant, professional, or respectful. There was no remorse, no lesson learned, or any understanding (or desire to form one) of why the word was offensive. And she told me that as a “white woman,” I had no place telling her anything. I do not know her race, nor would it matter since no one can use that word in reference to race in my class. And while there were dozens of other inconsistent and misinformed points in the unpunctuated masterpiece she sent me, that was the worst.

Because I was the right person to tell her.

Because I carry the burden of civility in my class.

Because it is not the job of BIPOC students to correct her.

Because when something is wrong, it is wrong regardless of who informs you of it.  

Because not saying something publicly would have been worse.

Because sometimes being uncomfortable and sitting in that space is learning.

I invited her to come see me about all of this I have received no response. And I don’t expect one anytime soon.

I don’t feel great about how this ended (if it has), and I hope it will go better next time. Most of all, I hope there is no next time.

(Liz Stillman)

We Are the Champions, My Friends

Lately, a list-serv I have subscribed to has been a hotbed of political group-wide emails. It is not a political list-serv, so this volley is something of a surprise. The emails are about the war between Israel and Hamas-and they have been ugly. Am I a coward for not engaging in the group email chain but rather writing about it in a blog entry? Perhaps, but I contend that the professionals (that I suppose I can call colleagues) on this list-serv are engaging in behavior that they are absolutely free to engage in but is also demeaning and chilling. One thing some posters on the list do is launch personal attacks.  Others basically argue that if you do not agree with them, it is because you are ignorant and uneducated about the subject area, so they offer a lot of links--some from questionable sources-and one, in a total twist of fate, written by my sister-in-law (a reputable source!). The same email accusing people of being essentially unintelligent is signed, “Yours in Solidarity…” Um, I am not going to actually agree with you that I am an imbecile because I don’t see things exactly as you do, so that’s a big nope on the solidarity.

Some of these posters could learn a lot from Academic Support folks about how to be collegial. That is why I am thankful this year for the amazing community of ASP folks who are the champions:

1. We share well. ASP conferences are the best because we share everything. We share materials, techniques, statistics, joy, triumph, frustrations, and passion.
2. We care about each other. I have had more people in this community inquire about my family in Israel than I ever anticipated. It actually brought me to tears.
3. We care about our students. We always use the possessive when we talk about them-they belong to us and while we cannot help every single student, we would if we could (and they came to office hours, just saying).
4. We celebrate and uplift each other’s work. Think of the work Louis does on this blog every Tuesday to announce recent scholarship-and that is just one example of how we amplify the community.
5. We respect each other. We would never call each other names or require acquiescence to be deserving of solidarity.
6. We are family. We know each other. We welcome newcomers with offers of help and materials.
7. And even if you don’t agree with the above points, I still think the world of you and your intelligence and accomplishments.

Happy end of classes!

(Liz Stillman)

NECASP Conference Registration is now open!

Please join us in White Plains, NY for the annual North East Consortium of Academic Support Professionals conference. December 15, 2023 from 11:00-3:00 ET. 

This year's program is entitled ASP Expanding our Reach: Are We Reaching Out and Are We Reachable?  We have an amazing line-up of presenters and are excited to spend the day sharing ideas both in-person and virtually. 

The conference will be hosted in person at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. However we will also have a zoom option for those who cannot travel to NY. 

There is no registration fee but we ask that you please register (whether coming in person or virtually) using this link so that we can adequately prepare. 

https://forms.gle/raNAwUUZxGJYLCYc7

We are reserving a block of rooms at Sonesta White Plains Downtown and will share hotel information with registrants next week. 

We look forward to seeing many of you next month! 

 

Danielle, Stephen, Erica, and Liz

NECASP Conference Call for Proposals Extended to November 3!

Request for Proposals: Presentations and Scholarly “Works in Progress”

Northeast Consortium of Academic Support Professionals (NECASP) Conference

Friday, December 15, 2023, 11am-3pm ET, in-person and via Zoom

Hosted by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

 

NECASP will be holding its annual one-day conference this December. We are excited to return to an in-person conference this year, although we will still be including a remote option to accommodate those participants and presenters unable to travel to New York. Our topic this year is ASP Expanding our Reach: Are We Reaching Out and Are We Reachable?

 

Description: In order to adjust to the ever-changing needs of our students, it’s imperative we do a yearly audit of our messaging and our services to our students. So, this year, let’s get together (in person!!!) to discuss ways we can ensure we are reaching out to all of our students consistently and make sure we are accessible to them.

 

We welcome a broad range of proposals –from presenters in the Northeast region and beyond –and at various stages of completion –from idea to fruition. Please note that we may ask you to co-present with other ASP colleagues depending on the number of proposals selected. Our conference will be in-person on the Pace Law campus in White Plains, NY; however, we will have a Zoom option and will consider proposals from both in-person and remote attendees. If you wish to present, the proposal process is as follows:

 

1. Submit your proposal by NOVEMBER 3, 2023, via email to Danielle Kocal at [email protected]
2. Proposals may be submitted as a Word document or as a PDF
3. Proposals must include the following:
4. Name and title of presenter
   b. Law School
   c. Address, email address, and telephone number for presenter
   d. Title
   e. If a scholarly work in progress, an abstract no more than 500 words
5. Whether you will be attending in-person or remotely
   g. Media or computer presentation needs
6. As noted above, proposals are due on October 27, 2023. The NECASP Board will review the proposals and reply to each by November 17, 2023.
   
   
   

If you have any questions about your proposal, please do not hesitate to contact one of us, and we look forward to seeing you at our conference!

 

Information such as hotel blocks and zoom links will be forthcoming. As always, there is no fee to attend this conference.

 

 

 

 

 

2023-24 NECASP Board Members

 

Chair:   Danielle Kocal, Director of Academic Success The Elizabeth Haub School of Law / Pace University, [email protected]

Vice Chair:   Erica Sylvia, Assistant Director of Bar Success & Adjunct Professor of LawUniversity of Massachusetts School of Law, [email protected]

Treasurer:   Stephen Iannacone, Director of Academic Success, Cardozo Law, [email protected]

Secretary:   Elizabeth Stillman, Associate Professor of Academic Support, Suffolk University, [email protected] 

 

The AASE 4th Biennial Diversity Conference

The fabulous 4th AASE Biennial Diversity Conference finished up Friday at the lovely American University Washington College of Law. It was three days of amazing presentations by our colleagues in ASP and graciously hosted by American. It was welcoming and enlightening.

The theme, "The Choices We Make Matter: Building More Inclusive Spaces for Historically Excluded Communities," was timely and needed. I know the hosts and AASE Diversity Committee are working on posting all the presentations and slides on the AASE website, but they deserve a rest for at least a few days after all the work they put in. Please take a look when the materials are available: you will be awed at what our community has been working on but not really surprised since we already know that we are passionate about our students and their success. 

Community and collaboration were key topics during this conference-and no one does this better than ASP folks. We sat in our discomfort together and peeked around the corner of it to find better ways for our students. No one likes learning more than teachers.

A special shout out to AUWCL's Joni Wiredu, Rachel Gordon, Michael Levine, Sarah Schenkman, Lisa Sonia Taylor, Alisa Lopez, and the AASE Diversity Committee for making this a wonderful conference.  I am sure I missed some names (as one always does when making a published list, or printing a team t-shirt).

(Liz Stillman)

 

Annual North East Academic Support Professionals (NECASP) Conference-Call for Proposals

Request for Proposals: Presentations and Scholarly “Works in Progress”

Northeast Consortium of Academic Support Professionals (NECASP) Conference

Friday, December 15, 2023, 11am-3pm ET, in-person and via Zoom

Hosted by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

 

NECASP will be holding its annual one-day conference this December. We are excited to return to an in-person conference this year, although we will still be including a remote option to accommodate those participants and presenters unable to travel to New York. Our topic this year is ASP Expanding our Reach: Are We Reaching Out and Are We Reachable?

 

Description: In order to adjust to the ever-changing needs of our students, it’s imperative we do a yearly audit of our messaging and our services to our students. So, this year, let’s get together (in person!!!) to discuss ways we can ensure we are reaching out to all of our students consistently and make sure we are accessible to them.

 

We welcome a broad range of proposals –from presenters in the Northeast region and beyond –and at various stages of completion –from idea to fruition. Please note that we may ask you to co-present with other ASP colleagues depending on the number of proposals selected. Our conference will be in-person on the Pace Law campus in White Plains, NY; however, we will have a Zoom option and will consider proposals from both in-person and remote attendees. If you wish to present, the proposal process is as follows:

 

1. Submit your proposal by October 27, 2023, via email to Danielle Kocal at [email protected]
2. Proposals may be submitted as a Word document or as a PDF
3. Proposals must include the following:
4. Name and title of presenter
   b. Law School
   c. Address, email address, and telephone number for presenter
   d. Title
   e. If a scholarly work in progress, an abstract no more than 500 words
5. Whether you will be attending in-person or remotely
   g. Media or computer presentation needs
6. As noted above, proposals are due on October 27, 2023. The NECASP Board will review the proposals and reply to each by November 17, 2023.
   
   
   

If you have any questions about your proposal, please do not hesitate to contact one of us, and we look forward to seeing you at our conference!

 

Information such as hotel blocks and zoom links will be forthcoming. As always, there is no fee to attend this conference.

 

 

 

 

 

2023-24 NECASP Board Members

 

Chair:   Danielle Kocal, Director of Academic Success The Elizabeth Haub School of Law / Pace University, [email protected]

Vice Chair:   Erica Sylvia, Assistant Director of Bar Success & Adjunct Professor of LawUniversity of Massachusetts School of Law, [email protected]

Treasurer:   Stephen Iannacone, Director of Academic Success, Cardozo Law, [email protected]

Secretary:   Elizabeth Stillman, Associate Professor of Academic Support, Suffolk University, [email protected] 

 

 

 

Invisibility

Many of you probably received an email from AALS last week with a link (and “unique PIN”) to a “Faculty Survey.”  The email said,

“The Association of American Law Schools is interested in your experiences as a law school faculty member. AALS wants to know more about you, your career trajectory, current workload, time allocation across your various responsibilities, and perceptions of tenure. We are asking you to take part in the American Law School Faculty Study…

The survey itself, being conducted by an outside vendor, (NORC) has the following preamble (again, the bold is in the original):

“This survey focuses on the experiences of individuals who currently serve in the position of law school tenured, tenure-track, long-term contract, clinical, or legal writing faculty.”

It is a well-established canon of construction that, “the expression of one thing implies the exclusion of others (expressio unius est exclusio alterius).”[1] So, the preamble alone should have made it clear to me that ASP and Bar Prep faculty members were not their intended audience-and yet, it was sent to all of us. If I had not checked off “long term contract,” my survey would have ended right there. Luckily, a colleague alerted me to this before I started, and I was able to voice my displeasure at being intentionally excluded as part of my response. Otherwise, I would have remained invisible.

As we know from the AASE Survey last year, not all of us could click on long term contract and avoid being entirely canceled from being considered faculty by an organization that our institutions are likely members of and actually has an Academic Support Section[2]. In fact, only 26% of AASE respondents are on multiyear contracts and 17% have presumptively renewable contracts. 47% of respondents are at-will employees and another 11% have year to year contracts.[3] This means that less than half of our ASP colleagues would be eligible to participate in this survey. Surely, our experiences are as relevant as other traditionally non-tenured faculty such as clinical and legal writing. While there has been progress in tenure for these other groups, ASP tenure (or tenure track) is currently unavailable to 92% of professionals who responded to our survey.[4]

My esteemed colleague, Matt Carluzzo, who is Assistant Dean of Students and Academic Success at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law responded to NORC with an email where he expressed his disappointment and went on to say, “[M]any law schools still see and accordingly treat ASP as an afterthought - something necessary, but still very ‘other’ … I was initially disappointed (though not surprised) when there was no "academic success/support" option listed on the opening page.  I was genuinely shocked, however, when upon selecting "Other," I was instantly directed to the curt, "Thank you for your time today" completion screen.  Apparently this survey is not for ASP professionals.  This is hard to interpret as anything other than yet another example of ASP being either unintentionally overlooked, or intentionally excluded…Your website says that AALS ‘hired NORC to learn more about law school faculty hiring, voting rights, tenure policies, and other key issues[5].’  In my opinion, this is a key issue that is blatantly overlooked and/or ignored.  Any doubt, disbelief, or resistance to this idea is contradicted by the old cliche: the proof is in the pudding.” I could not have said it better. We await a response from AALS, NORC, and perhaps even the AccessLex Institute (who was another sponsor of the survey).

In the meantime, I am convinced that when clicking “other” brings you to a dead end, it is not a good look for an organization that claims that their “...mission is to uphold and advance excellence in legal education. In support of this mission, AALS promotes the core values of excellence in teaching and scholarship, academic freedom, and diversity, including diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints, while seeking to improve the legal profession, to foster justice, and to serve our many communities–local, national, and international.[6]” I would also add that the introduction to the survey expresses AALS’s interest “in examining the work-life balance and career trajectories of law faculty.”[7] 

If the opinions of legal writing and clinical faculty merit consideration, ASP faculty opinions should not be overlooked and disregarded. While the doctrinal faculty that seem to be the target of this survey do not always know all that we do in ASP, they no doubt are glad it is done.  Their students certainly are. We should be seen and heard. We deserve-—no, wait—we have earned better.

If AALS truly wants to know more about the “career trajectories of law faculty,” why not study the folks who have nowhere to go but up?

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/a-dozen-canons-of-statutory-and-constitutional-text-construction/

[2] However, there were some issues about ASP’s inclusion at the AALS conference this past January as well, see, https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2023/01/academic-support-programs-should-be-included-in-us-news-rankingsmaybe.html

[3] Please feel free to contact any of us who serve on the AASE Assessment Committee for the full survey report: https://associationofacademicsupporteducators.org/committees/assessment/

[4] See, note 3.

[5] https://www.norc.org/research/projects/2023-american-law-school-faculty.html

[6] https://www.aals.org/about/mission/

[7] https://www.norc.org/research/projects/2023-american-law-school-faculty.html

Rainy Days and Mondays

It is gray and rainy here in Boston at the beginning of week three of law school classes. This weather seems appropriate for the shift in student mood judging from the meetings I have had with students so far today. They have many questions....

So, in keeping with my success syllabus, I have compiled a week by week list of answers to frequently asked questions:

1. Week One:
   1. Yes, it is going to be a lot, but you can do it!
   2. My advice? Do your reading! Brief your cases! And don’t forget to do something fun every now and then.
2. Week Two:
   1. Yes, the reading does seem to increase exponentially.
   2. No, I am not really using that word in the math sense, this is a math free zone.
   3. Yes, I know case briefing takes a while early on, but you will winnow it down from boxers to a thong shortly…and if not, come see me.
   4. Yes, that was an underwear reference.
3. Week Three:
   1. No, the model penal code is not the law anywhere.
   2. Yes, I’ve heard of Pierson v. Post[1].
   3. Yes, you should start outlining now, oh, but you are only through half of mens rea and that is the only thing you have discussed in Crim? Hmm. Maybe wait until you finish.
   4. Yes, we have a whole website devoted to videos and other resources on how to outline, and,
   5. Yes, we are sending you about 1.3 million emails a week about that, so you should know about it, but here is the link if you haven’t seen our billboard…
4. Week Four:
   1. No, we can not set up weekly two-hour meetings. Why? Um, because I have reached an age where I cannot commit to that much time for anything!?
   2. Yes, you should be outlining.
   3. Yes, we have a whole library full of study aids (on line and in person).
   4. Yes, you can still borrow mine (I finished law school, so I am not currently using it).
   5. Yes, I know that that class only has a final and no graded midterm.
   6. No, I don’t think that is a good idea.
5. Week Five:
   1. Yes, all questions about homicide will involve someone being dead.
   2. Yes, there are many crimes under the umbrella term of homicide.
   3. No, I don’t find that dark and creepy.
   4. Yes, this is hard and I know you have more legal writing assignments due soon as well.

This is just a start.  In the next installment, we will provide answers to questions about midterms, hitting the wall, and why they are called number 2 pencils.

(Liz Stillman)

 

[1] But, interestingly, have never read it. My property professor started with INS v. AP and didn’t look back….

Unique--and call for proposals for the AASE Diversity Conference

Unique:

For the last two weeks, I taught a class for undergraduates who wish to attend law school. I had 20 amazing students from historically excluded communities in the study and profession of law. As an ice breaker on the first day, we did a bingo game where we needed to find people who played a sport, or an instrument, or currently had nail polish on. The rules stated that you needed to find one person for each square (no doubles), and you could not count yourself. The grand prize went to someone who filled out the entire board.

One square that appeared on every board was (to find) "someone who was left-handed." There were 25 people playing this game: all the students, the faculty teaching in the program, and the program coordinators. And only one left-handed person amongst all of them. That was me. While this was a tiny and trivial example of how it feels to be the "only" in a room, the fact that everyone needed to find me in order to succeed--but I could not possibly win-- was very clear. 

Let me preface this next part by saying that I am not sure this is my story to tell. The stakes for me were extremely low and had virtually no impact on me or how I value myself. But I thought, in that moment, that it may be similar to how purely performative diversity initiatives feel to students. Do students of color (or first gen students, or any historically excluded law student) feel that everyone needs their presence to "win," but that the student cannot?

Remember, being left-handed (at least in this current time and place) is a relatively neutral difference-the stereotypes associated with being left-handed are not particularly negative (sure, feel free to think I am artistic or clumsy); and being left-handed doesn't really have implications for me academically or professionally. But the stereotypes and assumptions and micro-aggressions (or just aggressions) associated with race, gender, socioeconomic status etc. are toxic to students. Are law schools guilty of valuing the presence of a diverse student body, but still setting them up to fail? In the the game we played to break the ice, the rules were the reason I couldn't win.

Rules can be changed. 

Call for Proposals:

The AASE Diversity Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for the 4^th Biennial AASE Diversity Conference, October 11-13, 2023 at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC. Please see attached document or visit the following link to submit your proposal. (be sure to click through the ad if it pops up). The conference will offer an in-person and virtual experience. The theme for the October 2023 Diversity Conference is “The Choices We Make Matter: Revisioning Legal Academia’s Structures and Systems to Build More Inclusive Spaces for Historically Excluded Communities.” We welcome proposals on diversity, inclusion and belonging as it relates to legal education, academic support, bar examination and licensure. Proposals are due by July 31, 2023. Presenters will be notified no later than August 31, 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]

(Liz Stillman)

 

Best Practitioners

Greetings from Santa Clara, California, and 10th Annual AASE conference! The sun is shining, and it is amazing to see everyone-the people I have missed in our pandemic years as well as people I had not met in person before today (like the amazing editor of this blog, Steven Foster!)

Here are the things I've learned so far (today was the day for "newbies" to learn the ins and outs of Academic Support):

1. There are palm trees here-but they are not indigenous to this area. But they are so pretty swaying in the wind. I know they'd not survive a New England winter, but I wouldn't mind giving a try....
2. ASP People are the best people-actually, I already knew that, but proof of this fact was undeniable today. We are the kindest, most generous, and collegial academics out there. And if you argue with me about that, I'll most likely ask you for your sources and then have you frame a counterargument because that is what we do, but I won't be thrilled about it.
3. Although I am far from a newbie, I was bolstered by listening to the most respected folks I know tell me what their process is, and even more exciting: it is my process too!!! Which is not to say I didn't learn amazing new things, but I am so happy I am engaging in best practices. Phew!
4. We are doing world class scholarship and lifting each other up with it. This is wonderful!!
5. I cannot wait to see what else (and who else!) I will encounter tomorrow.

I am looking forward to spending more time learning from, as well as hanging and laughing with the amazing community. We value each other when we aren't universally valued in other realms. we are family.

(Liz Stillman)

 

Double Digits!!

Happy Monday! Our conference begins in about a week, and it is a big one (double digits!). Please see the note below from Afton Cavanaugh about a cool project that we are undertaking to commemorate our 10th Anniversary. We need your input-having a national organization is an important step towards our professional goals, so we should celebrate its longevity and our dreams for the future together.

My personal countdown of school lunches left to prepare (ever, since my youngest is graduating in a few short weeks) is a 9 to go. More on that next week.

(Liz Stillman)

Hi Everyone -

I am working on putting together a short slideshow for the AASE Business Meeting to commemorate 10 years of AASE. I have pictures to add to the slideshow, but I would love to add quotes and short video snippets of no more than 10-20 seconds that answer any of the following questions:

• In one sentence, what has AASE meant to you?
• What word or phrase would you use to describe the AASE community?
• In 1-2 sentences, tell us about something you learned from a past AASE conference that you have used in your role?
• In 1-2 sentences, tell us how a member of AASE helped you.

Please address only one question per video. You may upload multiple videos though. These videos do not need to be fancy, the only thing you should ensure is that you record in a well-lit area. Upload your video to this folder: AASE Memories. 

You can also answer one or more of these questions on the word document located here if you prefer not to create a video: Quotes.docx. 

You may also email me, but videos are often too big to send via email. If you record via Zoom and make the file downloadable, you can email me the Zoom recording link. I won't be able to use everything I receive, but we can add everything with the conference materials so that you can see what anyone that shared had to say. 

Best,

Afton Cavanaugh
Assistant Dean of Law Success 

Service Professor in Law

St. Mary’s University School of Law
                                                                      

Ghosted

­This past semester I’ve been lucky that my classes don’t actually begin until noon at the earliest. I haven’t had this schedule since I was a second-semester senior in college with very few credits left to finish. But, as a result of this scheduling bonanza, I have been able to set up one on one meetings with 1L students before their classes begin in the morning. This is a both a good and bad thing. I have had one student who prefers only in-person meetings on Mondays when I may not start classes until 12:30 p.m., but my last class ends at 8:00 p.m. That student’s classes began at 9:30 a.m., so that makes a very long day for me. And this student didn’t always show up or communicate that they would be absent from our early meetings either before, during, or after our scheduled time.  I would get into my office by 8;45 a.m. at the latest to be there and ready to meet and would usually end up getting some coffee when they didn’t show. I left a note on my door when I did that in case they were running late.

After two straight weeks of this non-communication or attendance, I was, understandably (I think) a bit pissed. I assumed I was being ghosted by a student who decided that Academic Support just wasn’t something they needed. I felt disrespected and devalued because my time was clearly not worth anything to them.

But then I remembered that when this student did come to meet with me, they were fragile. They had recently left the military and had some mental health issues-and above all, the military background combined with coming from the South meant that they were unbelievably polite when they sat across from me in my office. They used so many ma’ams that it made me feel old and I asked them (jokingly) to stop to which they replied, “my apologies ma’am.” We both laughed.

I also realized that this student was not someone who would ghost me, or anyone else, if they were okay, which I now doubted they were. It was a good reminder that a student can get lost. They can get lost in big classes, they can get lost in a big building, and they can get lost socially when other students are also stressed and hurried. Instead of being someone this student disrespected, I was someone this student had, in a way, trusted to see their absence and go looking for them.

I sent an email to the student expressing my concern at their absence without judgment or hints of being pissed. I got no answer. I took this information to our Dean of Students and asked her to check in. I was the only one who asked.

Sometimes I need to look for the red-flags and not just see the red.

(Liz Stillman)

Survey reminder no. 3,564,722

Last week, we sent out another email with the individual and institutional survey links to all AASE members. If you didn't receive it, please email me at: [email protected] and I'll get it to you!

The data that we amass as a result of this survey will help our profession know a number of things:

1. Who we are: who are the ASP professionals in our nation's law schools
2. What we do: so, so much, but more specifically we will have information on what classes we teach, workshops we offer, bar prep (during and after law school), orientation programs...really everything we offer to our students.
3. How we are valued, classified, and compensated. This cannot change if we do not know the baseline.
4. How we spend our time in these roles, doing all this work.

 As promised (threatened?), here is a limerick for the occasion:

There once was a survey from AASE     

That didn’t take up all that much space

It asked for the info we need

To help us succeed

In making our tenure track case!

The deadline to answer (APRIL 14TH!!!) is TOMORROW!!!.

Please do not make me resort to sonnets.

(Liz Stillman)

BOLO

Please be on the lookout for the 2023 AASE surveys later this week. We plan to launch the individual and institutional surveys on Wednesday and have them remain open until April 14^th.  We are looking to collect data on who we are, who we serve, our status in the academic hierarchy, and what we do both inside and outside the ASP/Bar Prep paradigms. We will be presenting our findings at the AASE 10^th Anniversary Conference in May.

Please, everyone, fill out your individual survey when you receive it!  It is entirely anonymous. If you are a program director, you get to fill out two surveys (yay!): one for yourself and one for your school.

Our quest for equity begins with the collection of data. We are valuable members of every law school’s faculty team, and while it seems unsavory (and sometimes outright unfair) to have to prove ourselves to get the respect (and salary) we deserve, we must. More participation gives our data more credibility for use later on.

Be counted and seen!

(Liz Stillman)

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

It is that time of year when ASP folks are inundated with students who have had an epiphany about their study habits -- usually brought on by grades that were less than stellar. It is also the time of year when students with grades that our law school is concerned about are told to come visit ASP. These students all have a few Cs and have been told that this GPA might not be good enough to continue after the first year. They are frightened, chastened, and often need the tissues and the chocolate I've stocked for this season. I have a general plan for working with these students-almost a template: go over the bad exams, let's see where the deficiencies are (not phrased that way!), and let's get started with building the skills to avoid them for the next set of exams. If the issue is output (lack of IRAC, multiple choice questions that were confusing, etc., time), I get them started on practice questions ASAP. If it is input (didn't outline, didn't study efficiently, missing classes, other distractions), I get them started on building better habits and practice. If it was a mental health issue, or some outside trauma, I ask if they are in a better place, make sure that they are getting help, and then send them to practice (but very gently). I'm sure you do something very similar. This is the bread and butter of ASP. Time-proven technology that is individualized for each student.

But (you knew there would be a but), what do you do with the students who come to you with very good grades? Recently, before I even got a chance to email the 1Ls who will be notified that they should be seeing me, another first year student asked to meet with me to discuss improving their grades. Their grades were: A, A-, A-, and the dreaded B+. I had some good advice about improving their social life--i.e., don't complain to anyone else about these grades--that I kept to myself. I also did not want to dismiss the student with a "those are great grades, whatever you are doing, keep doing it." Although, I will admit this was my first thought along with, "do you realize that there are students here who would kill for those grades????" All I could think of was that Michael Jackson song, "[k]eep on, with the force, don't stop. Don't stop 'til you get enough¹." Sigh.

Yet, I would never turn away a student who asked for help-even if my knee jerk reaction was that they did not need it. So, I followed the protocol-I told them to go talk to the professors and ask what was good, what might have been better on the exams,  and then to come back to me so we can start working on those things. I warned them that the professors might be seeing students with lower grades first so that they would need some patience.  I'm guessing I'll see them again by late February-hopefully.

In a way, I respect this student's drive, and in another way, I am a little concerned about it as well. So rather than act as a surly gatekeeper to the ASP resources in this situation, I thought it might be a good idea to keep an eye on this student to remind them every now and then that the goal is learning. I fully understand that if their grades are worse in the spring, I might be considered the reason. 

Academic support is more than academic. We all know it, so while this student may not need academic help, they do seem to need support. So, if I am their personal Stuart Smalley² who helps them see that they are good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, they belong in law school, maybe that will be enough.

(Liz Stillman)

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURRmWtbTbo
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Smalley#:~:text=%22I'm%20good%20enough%2C,%2Ding%20all%20over%20yourself.%22

Mark Your Calendar - ASP Presentations January 2023 at AALS Conference