Legal Writing Prof Blog

Have wikis, those paradigms of collaborative publishing, lost their mojo?

According to one commentator- yes they have.  Although Wikipedia is well-established, some analysts argue that the use of wikis in general have lost steam:

Just a few years ago, it seemed nearly everyone, in academe and out, was hailing the wiki as the next great transformative technology — or, at the very least, a tool worth getting a bit excited about. Fast forward to 2009, though, and much of the enthusiastic talk has died down.

It’s worth noting that plenty of wiki-friendly concepts and innovations have been absorbed into other formats, as anyone who’s participated in group editing via Google Docs can attest. But there are other reasons that wikis never took the world by storm, according to some analysts. 'I always thought they were the nerdiest of the social tools,' says one social-media guru, 'and the one that requires the most established … oversight.'

Hat tip to the Chronicle of Higher Ed.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Number of law school applicants up 3.8% according to LSAC

This is a story we've been reporting on here, here and here, through all its up and downs.  While the number might change, yet again, as of today, this is where it stands.  Five schools have reported increases of at least 40%.

As we reported on Tuesday, one poll of law school applicants found that almost half of them have applied to avoid looking for a job.

Hat tip to the ABA Journal blog.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl).

More letter writing advice - this time it's how to write the killer cover letter

Students, especially, take note - these 5 tips come to us from the Let's Talk Turkey blog written by a former headhunter and present resume consultant.  This is a good one to pass along to your students during the last class. 

A big 'ol hat tip to Above the Law.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

The best and worst college rejection letters

This blog is devoted to effective writing, right?  Well, the Wall Street Journal is running a story that collects the best and worst examples of college rejection letters.  Read on to learn how to do it right, or wrong, as the case may be.

Here's one example of how the author's intent and the reader's perception can be like ships passing in the night:

To students who have family ties to the [Boston University], its [rejection] letter begins: 'We give special attention to applicants whose families have a tradition of study at Boston University. We have extended this consideration in the evaluation of your application, but I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission.' Consideration of family legacies is common practice at many universities. But Rob Flaherty, 17, a North Reading, Mass., recipient, said he felt the wording in BU's letter translated to 'we made it even easier for you and you STILL couldn't get in.'

Read the rest of the best, and worst, here.

Hat tip to Inside Higher Ed.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Ferris Bueller's crime spree

The film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Paramount Pictures 1986) continues to provide inspiration for law professors'  legal writing assignments and exams. David Dirgo contributed a great Bueller-inspired insurance-law memo problem to the Legal Writing Institute's Idea Bank in 2004 (including (1) whether Cameron was "occupying" the vehicle for purposes of an insurance policy's medical payments provision, when he was injured kicking the front end of the car and (2) whether the vehicle's damage was caused by the insured, within the meaning of a policy exclusion, when Cameron killed the car).

Now a post on AskMetaFilter asks contributors to list each crime against Illinois law (if committed by an adult) that Ferris and his buddies committed. Enjoy the responses, and add your own thoughts. Might be a good source for writing a memo or brief problem next fall.

hat tips: Millennial Law Prof and Faculty Lounge

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not just Garner's nightmare

from Courtoons (check it out):

 

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Professor Lisa McElroy receives favorable mention on PrawfsBlawg

For her article From Grimm to Glory: Simulated Oral Argument as a Component of Legal Education's Signature Pedagogy, 84 Ind. L.J. 589 (2009).  Read the full post here. 

Hat tip to Professor Marci Rosenthal.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

How to make your class lectures more interactive

Here's some very good advice from Inside Higher Ed.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Are lawyers using Craigslist to find clients?

That's the ABA Journal blog's question of the week.  Reader comments are posted here.  Presumably, the blog will post the best/most representative comments next week.  We'll be sure to let you know when they do.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Panel of "best lawyers" and deans meet to discuss future of legal education and the profession

A panel consisting of the "best lawyers" in America (as determined by their peers) along with a handful of law deans met in Atlanta last Friday to discuss the future of legal education as well as the future of the profession.  Among the predictions and observations made:

• Law schools are dealing with an unprecendented number of laid-off alums looking for career guidance - not just junior lawyers but also partners with decades of experience.

• Law schools need to retool but no one is quite sure how, or what, to do.  Suggestions included shortening the time it takes to get a degree, teaching organizational and managerial skills (which current admissions criteria do not assess), and generally creating a tighter fit between what skills the market demands and those being taught.

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A new hypothesis for the decline in newspaper readership - breakfast on the go

This post from the Volokh Conspiracy suggests that one reason for falling newspaper readership may be lifestyle changes resulting in the decline of the 'ol eat-at-home-breakfast routine.  Professor Zywicki admits that his hypothesis may be somewhat "far-fetched" and that it's based solely on anecdotal evidence, but his observation does remind us what a sea-change has occurred in the habits of yore, reading and otherwise.

For the record, I've never been much of a breakfast guy - except the very occasional Sunday brunch.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Ban the band . . . width, from your vocabulary that is

Here's a post you may find interesting courtesy of the Business Writing blog that complains about the word "bandwidth" creeping into the contemporary lexicon.  Bandwidth means "the transmissions capacity of an electronic communication device" and thus it's incorrect to say:  "Jason will take over most of the receptionist's duties. However, he will not have the bandwidth to order refreshments for meetings" or "Our customers use our service because they do not have the bandwidth to research products on their own."

Jason does not have bandwidth? Customers do not have bandwidth? Those sentences make me worry that Jason and our customers have limited abilities and poor time-management skills. I don't like to think of them that way.

Instead, the author suggests:  "Jason will be working on team goals and will not be available to order refreshments" and "Our customers are using their time well, focusing on what they do best."

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Reader comment(s) about USNWR rankings of legal writing programs

As mentioned in earlier posts, we invited your comments about the relatively recent decision by USNWR to include legal writing in its rankings of specialty programs (along with tax, environmental, trial advocacy, healthcare, and IP to name a few).  When USNWR first announced its decision to rank legal writing programs, it was a contentious issue within the field with many people opposed to the idea.  Now that the dust has settled, so-to-speak, we wanted to give you another chance to voice your opinion on this controversial subject to learn whether any of those opinions have changed.  We didn't get many responses - only one to be exact - but it's a thoughtful one that's worth sharing.  If any of you have further comments, please feel free to post them below.

Here's one reader's opinion:

The U.S. News & World Report rankings of legal writing programs are out again.  They include and celebrate a variety of programs that are doubtlessly  effective, innovative, and rigorous.  But they no doubt exclude programs equally effective, innovative, and rigorous.  My program is not on the list, so feel free to dismiss this post as sour grapes, though I hope civil, polite sour grapes.

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Great quote about writing - it's a classic

Among my favorite legal writing quotes are Professor Joe Kimble's oft repeated "Writing is thinking in ink" and William Zinsser's "Fuzzy writing is almost always the result of fuzzy thinking."

But here's an earlier variation on the same theme, this time attributed to Miguel de Cervantes, that predates the others by a few centuries:  "The pen is the tongue of the mind."

I like it.

Hat tip to The New York Law Journal.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

The most important skills law firms require new grads to possess - writing is among them

The New York Law Journal includes a special insert this week devoted to advising 3L's on how to hunt for jobs and what skills they'll need once they bag their prey.  One of the articles, What Law Firms Want in New Recruits, (if that link is wonky, try this one instead and click through to the story) includes an informal survey of several "practice chairs, hiring partners, and recruiters" about the things law schools can be doing to better prepare students for practice and what law students themselves can do better to ensure they hold whatever job they land. 

Among the most important skills law students need to develop, according to those surveyed, is the ability to write.  One partner said that very few law grads can write well.  "Constructing grammatically correct sentences is not the problem.  Rather, the ability to organize facts and principles in a crisp, logical way is what's lacking in many newcomers to the firm."

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Professionalism alert - Email etiquette for students along with book recommendation

Here's some useful advice you may want to pass along to your students (or even a colleague).  It comes to us by way of the career counselor column in the Chronicle of Higher Ed.  Among the nuggets of wisdom are the following:

The first rule for all grown-up e-mail messages is 'Be literate.' That means a proper opening ('Dear Professor Wise'), careful proofreading (a read-aloud helps), spell checking, and shunning text speak, which often communicates an odd attitude (why is the death of a cat, apparently, funny?). Or text speak may fail to communicate at all. Ms. Mentor believes that "plmkayecok" means "Please let me know at your earliest convenience, OK?" but it could mean something else entirely. (She welcomes readers' translations.)

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Professionalism alert - second jurisdiction pulls lawyer's license for failure to pay student loans

Last week, we reported on a story about a law school grad who passed the New York bar but was denied admission in that state for failing to pay back his student loans.  Now comes this story, from our good buddy Mitch Rubinstein at the Adjunct Law Prof blog, about a Texas court revoking a lawyer's license for also failing to pay back his student loans.  The Texas appellate decision is available here and you can read more of Professor Rubinstein's commentary about these cases here.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

How to handle having your article rejected by a journal

If you're a Harvard student, you can always enroll in their course on how to handle rejection. If you're not so lucky (perhaps you're still trying to recover from being rejected by Harvard yourself, years earlier), you may want to follow the sage advice from this column in Inside Higher Ed.:

1.  Read the review and put it away for several days. What seems shocking and rude on the first day may seem much more manageable by the third day. Getting some distance on the comments is useful for strategizing on how you are going to respond. Once you have done that, make sure you are clear on what decision you have received. You will have to proceed differently depending on whether the journal has rejected your article or asked you to revise and resubmit it.

2.  Remember that almost all scholars have had their work rejected at one point or another --between 85-90 percent of prominent authors admit to having their work rejected. Second, allow yourself to feel angry and depressed. You are only human

3.  After allowing yourself to feel down for a week or two, revisit the letter and its recommendations, if there are any. It is time to make a decision about how you are going to proceed. Your options upon rejection are (1) to abandon the article, (2) to send the article without a single change to another journal, (3) to revise the article and send it to another journal, or (4) to protest or appeal the decision and try to resubmit the article to the rejecting journal.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

English and foreign language departments promote men more quickly than women

According to this report from Inside higher Ed.:

English and foreign language departments promote male associate professors to full professors on average at least a year -- and in some cases, depending on type of institutions, several years -- more speedily than they promote women, according to a study being released today by the Modern Language Association. Over all, the average time for women as associate professor prior to promotion is 8.2 years, compared to 6.6 years for men.

The study follows years of complaints by academic women that they are left "standing still" -- the title of the report -- after they earn tenure, while male colleagues advance. While the finding may not surprise women, some of the survey results may. For example, many women in academe say that departments are insufficiently supportive of those who must balance career and family obligations -- and tend to reward those without child care duties. But the MLA found that the time gap on promotion (while varying somewhat in size) was evident for women who are single or married, those with children and without.

While the MLA didn't explain gaps in promotion through child-care duties, it did find significant differences in how male and female professors spend their time, with men likely to spend more time on research activities than do women, while the opposite is the case for teaching.

I am the scholarship dude.

(jbl)

Survey shows 40% of students applied to law school, in part, to avoid looking for a job

The survey also found that 67% of the 1040 respondents said they applied to law school, in part, because of the potential earning power lawyers enjoy.  Double-ouch!

Um, guys, did you do any research before applying?

The survey was administered by Kaplan Test Prep which also reported a 6.4% jump in applications to take the LSAT.  Among the other findings is that 54% of applicants also plan to run for political office some day.

Hat tip to the ABA Journal Blog.

I am the scholarship dude.