Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Festschrift for Steve Burbank (Feb. 12 & 13, 2021): Civil Procedure, Judicial Administration, and the Future of the Field
The University of Pennsylvania Law Review and the Journal of Constitutional Law are hosting a Festschrift in Honor of Steve Burbank entitled Civil Procedure, Judicial Administration, and the Future of the Field. It will be held virtually on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13.
Details are on the following flyer:
Download Law Review Symposium 2021
You can register here.
(H/T: Tobias Wolff & Andrew Bradt)
February 3, 2021 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, February 1, 2021
Spring 2021 Unavailability Civil Procedure Workshops
With the new year comes three new monthly installments of the Unavailability Civil Procedure Workshop. This semester, they’re happening on the first Tuesday of the month at 3:00pm ET / 2:00pm CT / 1:00pm MT / 12:00pm PT. Here’s the lineup, which starts tomorrow:
February 2, 2021: Pamela Bookman & David Noll -- Ad Hoc Procedure
March 2, 2021: Beth Burch -- Multi-District Litigation
April 6, 2021: David Engstrom & Jonah Gelbach -- Legal Tech
May 4, 2021: Open Discussion --- Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct.
February 1, 2021 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, January 29, 2021
Call for Submissions: SEALS Works-In-Progress Series
Below is the call for submissions for the Southeastern Association of Law Schools Works-In-Progress series, which will occur at the 2021 SEALS Annual Conference (July 26 - August 1, Amelia Island, Florida).
The deadline to submit an abstract is February 5, 2021.
Download 2021 Works-in-Progress Letter (Second Revision)
(H/T: Lou Virelli)
January 29, 2021 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
2021 AALS Annual Meeting (January 5-9, 2021)
It’s going to be an unusual, entirely virtual 2021 annual meeting for the Association of American Law Schools. Here’s the full program, and here’s a list of panels that may be of particular interest (all times are eastern)…
December 23, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, December 21, 2020
Dangerous Secrets: Confronting Confidentiality in Our Public Courts
The Pound Civil Justice Institute has published the report of its 2020 Judges Forum, Dangerous Secrets: Confronting Confidentiality in Our Public Courts. It features academic papers by Dustin Benham and Sergio Campos, plus commentary and discussion by the legal experts and judges who attended.
You can find previous Judges Forum reports here.
December 21, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Discovery, Recent Scholarship, State Courts | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 9, 2020
Spring 2021 Unavailability Civil Procedure Workshops
The Unavailability Civil Procedure Workshop has its final fall session tomorrow (Tuesday, November 10). We’ll resume again in Spring 2021 with the following workshops:
February 2, 2021: Pamela Bookman & David Noll -- Ad Hoc Procedure
March 2, 2021: Beth Burch -- Multi-District Litigation
April 6, 2021: David Engstrom & Jonah Gelbach -- Legal Tech
November 9, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 12, 2020
Next Session of SALT's Virtual Series, "Social Justice in Action"
We covered earlier the new virtual series Social Justice in Action, brought to you by the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT). Here are details on the next session:
Anti-Racist Hiring Practices
– October 16, 2020 3pm ET - 4pm ET –
Register here: https://bit.ly/307SZ6M
Featuring
Tamara Lawson, Dean, St. Thomas University School of Law
Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Dean, Boston University School of Law
Sean Scott, President and Dean, California Western School of Law
(H/T: Allyson Gold)
October 12, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Steinman on Appellate Courts and Civil Juries
I posted on SSRN a draft of my article, Appellate Courts and Civil Juries. Here’s the abstract:
In federal civil litigation, decisionmaking power is shared by juries, trial courts, and appellate courts. This article examines an unresolved tension in the different doctrines that allocate authority among these institutions, which has led to confusion regarding the relationship between appellate courts and civil juries. At base, the current uncertainty stems from a longstanding lack of clarity regarding the distinction between matters of law and matters of fact. The high-stakes Oracle-Google litigation—which is now before the Supreme Court—exemplifies this. In that case, the Federal Circuit reasoned that an appellate court may assert de novo review over a jury's verdict simply by characterizing a particular issue as legal rather than factual. But this approach misperceives the approach demanded by Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which permits judicial override of a jury's verdict only when "a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis" to reach such a verdict.
Rule 50's reasonable-jury standard does not permit de novo review of a jury's verdict on a particular issue. Rather, it requires deference to the jury's conclusion on that issue unless the reviewing court can explain why principles of substantive law or other aspects of the trial record render that verdict unreasonable. This deferential standard of review faithfully implements the text and structure of the Federal Rules and respects the jury's role in our federal system. Yet it also preserves appellate courts' ability to provide meaningful clarification that will guide future decisionmakers.
As the abstract indicates, the Supreme Court may be wrestling with this issue this coming Term in Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., which is scheduled for oral argument (telephonically) next Wednesday.
Thanks to the Southeastern Association of Law Schools for letting me present an earlier draft of this paper back in July at the SEALS 2020 Annual Conference Federal Courts and Procedure Panel. I got a lot of great feedback.
September 29, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Federal Courts, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Recent Scholarship, Supreme Court Cases | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, September 25, 2020
Call for Submissions: Cardozo Law Review Special SCOTUS Nomination Issue
Below is an announcement from the Cardozo Law Review seeking submissions for a special issue on Supreme Court nominations.
Download Call for Submissions - Special SCOTUS Nomination Issue
September 25, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0)
Campos on the Civil Procedure Unavailability Workshop
Today on the Courts Law section of JOTWELL is Sergio Campos’s essay, Stay (Faraway, So Close!) in Touch with Civil Procedure, which discusses the Civil Procedure Unavailability Workshop series (covered earlier here).
September 25, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Online Civil Procedure Workshop Resumes Today
After a brief hiatus, the Unavailability Civil Procedure Workshop resumes today, on a monthly basis. Here are the fall sessions:
September 1, 2020: Howie Erichson -- Distinguishing Between Facts And Conclusions Under Iqbal
October 6, 2020: Portia Pedro -- Remedies and Civil Procedure
November 10, 2020: Zach Clopton & Colleen Shanahan -- State Civil Procedure
September 1, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Sixth Annual Civil Procedure Workshop (Online - October 23, 2020)
The Sixth Annual Civil Procedure Workshop—originally scheduled to be held at Northwestern this Fall—will now take place virtually on October 23, 2020.
Register here by October 16.
H/T: Zach Clopton
August 25, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, August 14, 2020
Upcoming Sessions of SALT's Virtual Series, Social Justice in Action
We covered earlier the new virtual series Social Justice in Action, brought to you by the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT). Here are details on three upcoming sessions:
Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Online Teaching
– August 21, 2020 3pm ET - 4pm ET –
Register here: https://bit.ly/2DbiMli
Featuring
Goldie Pritchard, Director, Academic Success Program, Michigan State University College of Law
Tasha Souza, Associate Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Boise State University
Carwina Weng, Clinical Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Sha-Shana N.L. Crichton, Director, Legal Writing Program, Howard University School of Law
If you have questions for our panelists in advance of the event, please submit them here: https://forms.gle/5PuV1LSznYKWQ4Gc9
Racialized Trauma and Fatigue Among Academic Activists
– September 18, 2020 3pm ET - 4pm ET –
Register here: https://bit.ly/2BDeToN
Featuring
Nikita Gupta, GRIT Coaching Program Director, University of California, Los Angeles
Carla Pratt, Dean, Washburn University School of Law
Rosario Lozada, Associate Professor of Legal Skills and Values, FIU Law
Anti-Racist Hiring Practices
– October 16, 2020 3pm ET - 4pm ET –
Register here: https://bit.ly/307SZ6M
Featuring
Tamara Lawson, Dean, St. Thomas University School of Law
Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Dean, Boston University School of Law
Sean Scott, President and Dean, California Western School of Law
(H/T: Allyson Gold)
August 14, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Pound Civil Justice Institute's 2020 State Appellate Judges Forum: Confidentiality & Public Courts
The Pound Civil Justice Institute has posted video and materials from its 2020 Forum for State Appellate Court Judges, Dangerous Secrets: Confronting Confidentiality in Our Public Courts, including papers by Dustin Benham and Sergio Campos and a state-by-state and federal compendium of statutes, decisions, and articles on confidentiality in litigation.
August 6, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Recent Scholarship, State Courts | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Cabraser & Steinman on Class Action Objectors and the 2018 Amendments to Rule 23
Elizabeth Cabraser and I have posted on SSRN our recent article, What Is a Fair Price for Objector Blackmail? Class Actions, Objectors, and the 2018 Amendments to Rule 23, 24 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 549 (2020). Here’s the abstract:
As part of a symposium addressing what the next 50 years might hold for class actions, mass torts, and MDLs, this Article examines a recent amendment to Rule 23 that offers a new solution to the persistent problem of strategic objections. Most significantly, Rule 23 now requires the district judge to approve any payments made to class members in exchange for withdrawing or forgoing challenges to a class action settlement. Although the new provision is still in its infancy, it has already been deployed to thwart improper objector behavior and to bring for-pay objection practice out of the shadows. The 2018 changes — along with other on-the-ground developments — are important steps toward improving the class action settlement process.
Thanks once again to the Pound Civil Justice Institute, Lewis & Clark Law School, and Bob Klonoff for organizing a great symposium last fall.
August 4, 2020 in Class Actions, Conferences/Symposia, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Recent Scholarship | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, July 31, 2020
SEALS 2020 Annual Conference (July 30 – August 5)
The Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) is holding its annual conference online this year (July 30 to August 5).
You can find the full program here.
Looking forward to seeing folks!
July 31, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, July 13, 2020
SALT Virtual Series: Social Justice in Action
The Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) has shared the following information about a new virtual series, Social Justice in Action:
SALT encourages law schools across the country to take affirmative steps to promote justice, eradicate racism and support their law school communities in light of pervasive injustices. SALT is proud to announce a virtual series featuring law school teachers sharing their expertise on how to educate the next generation of lawyers, support students of color and dismantle structural inequality and racism in the United States. We will host monthly panel discussions on ways to combat racism and promote equity in law school. This work will include presentations on the integration of anti-racist frameworks in classes, promoting equity and inclusion in online teaching, anti-racist faculty hiring practices, and racialized trauma and fatigue.
The first session, Incorporating Anti-Racism Frameworks into Core Law School Classes, will be on July 30, 2020 at 3pm ET.
To attend, please register in advance at: https://msu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpf-msqzgiG91326VGLxmLZpW9GUHGbiCn
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
See below for information on upcoming panels. More to come!
July 13, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, July 10, 2020
AALS Federal Courts Section: Calls for Nominations
Below are two announcements from the AALS Section on Federal Courts:
AALS Federal Courts Section - Daniel J. Meltzer Award: Call for Nominations
The AALS Section on Federal Courts is pleased to announce that it is seeking nominations for the Daniel J. Meltzer Award, which is designed to honor the life and work of the late Professor Meltzer. The Award recognizes a professor of Federal Courts who has exemplified over the course of their career Professor Meltzer’s excellence in teaching, careful and ground-breaking scholarship, engagement in issues of public importance, generosity as a colleague, and overall contribution to the field of Federal Courts.
Eligible nominees are those who are full-time faculty members at AALS member or affiliate schools, have not previously won the award, and have not served as an officer of the Federal Courts Section in the two previous years. It is not required that the award be given out in any particular year, and it may not be given out more frequently than every three years.
Nominations (and questions about the award) should be directed to Prof. Seth Davis at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (sethdavis@berkeley.edu). Without exception, all nominations must be received by 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 15, 2020. Nominations will be reviewed by a prize committee consisting of Professors Seth Davis (Berkeley), Gillian Metzger (Columbia), James Pfander (Northwestern), and Carlos Vázquez (Georgetown). If the committee decides to make the award, it will be announced at the Federal Courts section program at the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting.
AALS Federal Courts Section - Best Untenured Article on Federal Jurisdiction: Call for Nominations
The AALS Section on Federal Courts is pleased to announce the annual award for the best article on the law of federal jurisdiction by a full-time, untenured faculty member at an AALS member or affiliate school—and to solicit nominations (including self-nominations) for the prize to be awarded at the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting.
The purpose of the award program is to recognize outstanding scholarship in the field of federal courts by untenured faculty members. To that end, eligible articles are those specifically in the field of Federal Courts that were published by a recognized journal during the twelve-month period ending on September 1, 2020 (date of actual publication determines eligibility). Eligible authors are those who, at the close of nominations (i.e., as of September 15, 2020), are untenured, full-time faculty members at AALS member or affiliate schools, and have not previously won the award.
Nominations (and questions about the award) should be directed to Prof. Seth Davis at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (sethdavis@berkeley.edu). Without exception, all nominations must be received by 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 15, 2020. Nominations will be reviewed by a prize committee comprised of Professors Samuel Bray (Notre Dame), Seth Davis (Berkeley), Allison Orr Larsen (William & Mary), Marin Levy (Duke), and Leah Litman (Michigan), with the result announced at the Federal Courts section program at the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting.
July 10, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Federal Courts | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, July 3, 2020
Symposium Issue on Federal Appellate Procedure
The Akron Law Review has published its symposium issue on federal appellate procedure, featuring contributions by Andrew Pollis, Joan Steinman, Andra Robertson & Greg Hilbert, Mike Solimine, Bryan Lammon, and Adam Steinman.
Unfortunately we were unable to gather together for the in-person symposium because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s great to see the issue “in print.” Thanks to the law review editors for their terrific work!
July 3, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia, Federal Courts, Recent Scholarship | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, June 26, 2020
Workshop on Civil Procedure Pedagogy and Racial, Social and Economic Justice (July 22)
Following up on last week’s workshop on civil procedure pedagogy and distance learning, here’s an announcement from Dave Marcus about a second session for July:
[A]s mentioned last week, the co-organizers of the Civil Procedure Workshop wanted to put together a second session on how our courses can meaningfully engage with themes of racial, social, and economic justice during such extraordinary times. I'm happy to announce that this session will proceed on Wednesday, July 22, from 1:00-3:00 east coast time. The format will be similar to last week's, with several plenary presentations and breakout room discussions. Deseriee Kennedy (Touro), Sarah Krakoff (Colorado), Jaya Ramji-Nogales (Temple), and Tobias Wolff (Penn) have very generously volunteered to present.
If you’re interested, email Dave at marcus@law.ucla.edu.
June 26, 2020 in Conferences/Symposia | Permalink | Comments (0)