Legal Writing Prof Blog

positions available at Univeristy of Richmond

Posted on behalf of Professor Jim Gibson from University of Richmond School of Law: 

First-Year Legal Writing Professors 

The University of Richmond School of Law is hiring up to five full-time legal writing professors to help build and to teach in our newly redesigned legal writing program for first-year students.  The program has been revamped to emphasize core principles of communication and expository writing, such as clarity and structure, and is based on the work of Stephen Armstrong and Timothy Terrell (see Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing and Editing).  The program will also teach legal analysis and, in conjunction with our law library faculty, legal research.

The first-year legal writing course is part of a two-year required skills program that falls under the general oversight of the faculty Curriculum Committee and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.  It will not have a separate director.  Each professor will teach approximately 30 to 35 first-year students and may also play a role in the upper-level skills program once the first-year course is fully established.  Appointments are by nine-month renewable contract and allow for long-term security of position.  The legal writing professors will have faculty status within the law school and the university, participate fully in faculty governance, and have voting privileges.

The ideal candidate will have a law degree, a passion for teaching, a demonstrated commitment to excellence in legal writing, a collaborative nature, and a willingness to embrace innovative pedagogy.  Experience as a writing instructor is a plus, but we welcome applications from both inside and outside the academy. 

We will accept applications beginning immediately.  Starting dates are flexible, but newly hired faculty will begin teaching in August 2013, with a substantial period for preparation beforehand.  Applicants should submit a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to the chair of the legal writing appointments committee, Professor Jim Gibson, at [email protected]. 

* * * 

The University of Richmond is a private, highly selective institution with a $1.8 billion endowment.  The School of Law features a collegial and collaborative environment, with widespread support for innovation in teaching and scholarship.  Both the University and the School of Law are committed to developing a diverse workforce and student body and to supporting an inclusive campus community.  We encourage applications from candidates who will contribute to these goals. 

Disclosure Form:

 1. The position advertised: 

__ a. is a tenure-track appointment.

_X b. may lead to successive long-term contracts of five or more years.

__ c. may lead only to successive short-term contracts of one to four years.

__ d. has an upper-limit on the number of years a teacher may be appointed.

__ e. is part of a fellowship program for one or two years.

__ f. is a part-time appointment, or a year-to-year adjunct appointment.

 

Additional information about job security or terms of employment, any applicable

term limits, and whether the position complies with ABA Standard 405(c): 

Complies with 405(c). Appointment will be three renewable one-year terms, followed by a three-year term, followed by successive five-year terms with presumptive renewal.

 2. The professor hired: 

_X a. will be permitted to vote in faculty meetings.

 3. The school anticipates paying an annual academic year base salary in the range checked below. (A base salary does not include stipends for coaching moot court teams, teaching othercourses, or teaching in summer school; nor does a base salary include conference travel or other professional development funds.) 

__ a. $90,000 or more

_X b. $80,000 to $89,999

__ c. $70,000 to $79,999

 4. The number of students enrolled in each semester of the courses taught by the legal research

& writing professor will be: 

__ a. 30 or fewer

_X b. 31 - 35

 

(njs)

Hurray for the Law Library of Congress!

You should know about the Law Library of Congress.  It's an abosolute treasure.  Their website allows you to ask obscure research questions.  And get answers.  For free.

Many of you DO know it because we had a field trip there during the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools.  About 100 people attended that program organized by the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.

So a few weeks ago I had to find a Lagos (Nigeria) State Statute.  It was the 2007 Lagos State Law to Provide Protection Against Domestic Violence and Connected Purposes.  Most law libraries don't have Nigerian statutes -- and much less the statutes of the various Nigerian states.  So I sent an email to the "Ask a Librarian" link on the website for the Law Library of Congress, which found the law for me and sent me a PDF of 40 Lagos State of Nigeria Official Gazette, No. 53, A187-201 (Jul. 30, 2007).  It took a couple of weeks, but that's ok -- I got what I needed.  

If you have a sticky research question, remember to test out the stunning resources of the Law Library of Congress.  And if you're in Washington DC, be sure to pay them a visit.  You owe it to yourself -- and your students.

(mew)

A Short Video on How to Cite Illinois Cases (now that they are no longer being published in the official reporters)

One of our more popular videos is from The John Marshall Law School.  It shows how to cite decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court and the various districts of the Illinois Appellate Court using the new citation rules.  Have a look (even if you're not in Illinois).

 

(mew)

Jessup Moot Court Competition

Click here for an update on the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

(mew)

Global Legal Skills Conference 2013 in Costa Rica

The 8th Global Legal Skills Conference is being held in San Jose, Costa Rica, from March 11-13, 2013.  Speakers and attendees are coming in from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the United States.  The conference focuses on teaching and learning "Global Legal Skills" -- a concept broadly defined over the life of the conference to bring together a large number of people working together on international skills education.

The 2013 Conference includes these sessions:

• Lurene Contento (The John Marshall Law School) and Alissa Hartig (Department of Applied Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University) on "The Importance of Teaching International Students to Read Before Teaching Them How to Write."
• Mireille Butler (Pepperdine University School of Law) in a bilingual session (in English and Spanish) on "Academic Legal Writing."
• Sammy Mansour and Daphne O'Regan (both of the Michigan State University College of Law) on the "Benefits and Challenges of Using the Socratic Method to Teach Foreign-Trained Attorneys."
• Iselin Gambert (The George Washington University Law School) on "Connecting the Law School Writing Cetner to the International Human Rights Clinic"
• Michael Murray (Valparaiso University School of Law) on "Comparative Synthesis" and "Visual Rhetoric"
• Laurel Currie Oates and Mimi Samuel (both of Seattle University School of Law) and Ann Nowak (of Touro Law School) on "Teaching Skills Online"
• Deborah B. McGregor and Cynthia Adams (both of Indiana University) on "Using Contrastive Rhetoric to Balance LL.M. Students' Past Legal Experiences with their U.S. Legal Education."
• Ruth Thompson (University of Saskatchewan) on "Implementing Human Rights in Law School"
• Robert Somers (Whittier Law School) and Maureen Collins (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago) on "Technology in the Classroom" 
• Diane Kaplan (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago) and others in a Roundtable on Teaching Materials
• Leo Ciano (Kansai University of Foreign Studies, Japan)
• A roundtable on Teaching International Law with Cindy Buys (Southern Illinois University), Gregory Gordon (University of North Dakota School of Law), and William B.T. Mock, Jr. (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago)
• Kathryn Mercer (Case Western Reserve University School of Law), David Austin (California Western School of Law), and Ruth Hargrove (California Western School of Law) in sessions diversity and on "How Gender and Cross-Cultural Communication Can Enhance or Interfere with Global Legal Skills"
• Attorney Matthew Rooney, Senior Counsel at Meyer Brown, Chicago, on "Teaching Legal Writing and Advocacy in Iraq and South Africa"
• Jennifer Davis (University of New Hampshire) on incorporating field trips to teach the U.S. legal system.

Also planned are sessions for bilingual contract negotiations (in Spanish and English) where law students and lawyers can improve their legal Spanish--and legal English--in simulated contract negotiations.

There will also be sessions on law and legal education in Costa Rica and Central America, and other panels as well.  

There is also a "Legal Field Trip" that will visit the Supreme Court of Costa Rica and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 

There are special GLS8 rates at these hotels:

• Holiday Inn Aurola Downtown, San Jose
• Hotel Presidente, San Jose
• Gran Hotel Costa Rica
• Hotel Balmoral, San Jose

Registration information is available by clicking here.

For more information about attending the conference, contact Mark Wojcik (hey, that's me) at mwojcik [at] jmls.edu.  

(mew)

some great legal fiction

Sometimes wonderful writing appears in some unlikely places. If you have the most recent issue of the Journal of Legal Education sitting around and have not yet delved in, take a look. It's filled with the winning entries to their legal fiction contest -- short stories that are well written and on themes any lawyer will recognize. Most law professors get the JLE in their law school mailboxes, but for the rest of you, the issue is available here.

(spl)

Legal Writing Checklists

We have mentioned Jennifer Romig's excellent work on checklists before, but she has a new blog post on the subject worth mentioning over at Think Like a Lawyer:

The key to success with checklists is in using them. Not just when time permits. Not just on a new type of project you’re trying to learn. Not just when you’re working with a new supervisor and want to make a good impression. Selective use of checklists is probably better than nothing. But it isn’t likely to produce the kind of real, recognizable benefits that individuals want for themselves and professional groups want for their professions.

The post appears to be the first in a series on the topic.

hat tip: Hollee Temple

(dbb)

 

 

ABA TIPS Law Student Writing Competition

We love writing competitions because, well, because we love writing.  And we know that these competitions are important for law students to build their skills and reputation as strong legal writers.

The Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) of the American Bar Association has established an annual Law Student Writing Competition with $1,500 cash, plus paid air and hotel accommodations to the ABA Annual Meeting awarded to the first place winner.  (This year's ABA Annual Meeting is in San Francisco.)  The second place winner gets $500 cash, which isn't so bad either.

Who won last year?  Have a look by clicking here.  

Hat tip to Linda Wiley.

(mew)

Is most of what we think we know about grammar wrong?

This fascinating post from the Smithsonian Magazine identifies several "false prohibitions" of English grammar and hypothesizes as to their origins.  The authors' plea to "let English adverbs fall where they may" might strike fear into the hearts of LRW profs, but their advice "not to turn [your] writing upside down to sidestep imaginary errors" may be worth heeding.

Hat Tip: Smithsonian.com

(ldj)

Law Student Writing Competition (International Humanitarian Law)

Here's a reminder that the American University Washington College of Law Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Center) and the American Society of International Law’s Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict (ASIL) have announced their Third Annual International Humanitarian Law Student Writing Competition. 

The Competition seeks submissions of academic papers on the topic of international humanitarian law (IHL) from students currently enrolled in a law degree program in the United States or abroad. The purpose of the Competition is to enhance scholarship and deepen understanding among students in this important area of international law. The winning authors will be flown to Washington, DC to present their papers at a conference at American University Washington College of Law focused on emerging issues in IHL with a panel of expert professors and practitioners. In addition, winners will receive a complimentary registration to the ASIL 2013 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on April 3-6, 2013, and a one-year student membership in the American Society of International Law. Last year, the Competition received over 50 submissions from 13 different countries.

This Competition is part of a multi-pronged initiative to expand and support the teaching and study of IHL among both students and professors in which both the Center and ASIL have been deeply involved.  In 2007, the Center published a study with the International Committee of the Red Cross on Teaching International Humanitarian Law in US Law Schools(available at www.wcl.american.edu/humright/ center/ihl_report.cfm). The study identified a growing need for resources to support and expand the teaching of IHL among law faculty, but also a desire to support the interest of students in learning about IHL. The IHL Student Writing Competition promotes and supports student interest and deepening scholarship in IHL by providing students with a tangible way to become more directly involved in the global discourse around IHL.

The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2013 at 12:00 pm (noon) EST. Send any questions to [email protected] or call them at 202-274-4180.

Hat tip to the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law

(mew)

Law Student Writing Competition: Recent Developments in Admiralty and Maritime Law

The Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee of the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) has announced its annual writing competition.  The topic is a broad one:  Recent Developments in Admiralty and Maritime Law.  The winner gets: (1) $500; (2) another $500 toward attending the TIPS Spring Meeting in Washington, DC or the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco; and (3) possible publication in the Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee newsletter or other TIPS publication. 

Current J.D. and LL.M. students are eligible.  Entrants must be a member of the ABA Law Student Division at the time of entry.  (They might also want to be a student member of TIPS, since it's free once you join the ABA as a student!)

Maximum length: 20 pages, double-spaced, 12 point Book Antiqua (or similar) font, with footnotes and Bluebook formatting.  (It doesn't have to be 20 pages of course!)

Submit essays to James Koelzer at [email protected] on or before April 5, 2013. Include your ABA membership number with your submission.  Please click here for the official rules and a complete description of the competition.

Hat tips to Erin Ruehrwein and Linda Wiley.

(mew)

Related articles

Do the Carnival Triumph Passengers Have a Legitimate Lawsuit Against the Carnival Cruise Line?

Careers in Admiralty and International Law

ABA TIPS Law Student Writing Competition

More lawsuits filed in Carnival Triumph incident

job posting: Savannah Law School

Savannah Law School seeks to hire one or two full-time tenure-track professors to teach in its Legal Skills & Professionalism program. This boutique law school is located in the heart of the historic district in Savannah, Georgia. In August 2012, we welcomed our first class after receiving ABA acquiescence the year prior, and the dynamic group of faculty includes nationally-recognized scholars. Our rigorous research and writing program focuses on predictive writing in the first semester and persuasive writing in the second. Thereafter, students must complete two upper level writing courses that may include appellate advocacy, transactional drafting, or pretrial advocacy. Professors hired for this program will typically teach one first year legal writing course and one upper level writing course each semester. Ideal candidates should have at least one year experience teaching legal writing or analysis. Additionally, part of our tenure process requires completion of quality scholarship, so candidates should have at least a demonstrable desire to engage in scholarly writing if not a body of work already developing. Salary is commensurate with experience. Qualified applicants should submit a current CV and cover letter via email to Elizabeth Megale at [email protected].  

Elizabeth Berenguer Megale, Director Legal Skills & Professionalism, Savannah Law School, 516 Drayton Street, Savannah GA 31401, phone: (912) 525-3905, fax: (912) 525-3915, email:                                  [email protected], website: www.savannahlawschool.org

1.  The position advertised:

     _X   a.   is a tenure-track appointment.

     __   b.   may lead to successive long-term contracts of five or more years.

     __   c.   may lead only to successive short-term contracts of one to four years.

     __   d.  has an upper-limit on the number of years a teacher may be appointed.

     __   e.  is part of a fellowship program for one or two years.

     __   f.   is a part-time appointment, or a year-to-year adjunct appointment.

2.  The professor hired:

     _X   a.   will be permitted to vote in faculty meetings.

     __   b.   will not be permitted to vote in faculty meetings.

3.  The school anticipates paying an annual academic year base salary in the range checked

below.  (A base salary does not include stipends for coaching moot court teams, teaching other

courses, or teaching in summer school; nor does a base salary include conference travel or other

professional development funds.)

     _X   a.   $90,000 or more

     _X   b.   $80,000 to $89,999

     __   c.   $70,000 to $79,999

     __   d.   $60,000 to $69,999

     __   e.   $50,000 to $59,999

     __   f.   $40,000 to $49,999

     __   g.   $30,000 to $39,999

Additional information about base salary or other compensation:  Salary is commensurate with experience.

4.  The number of students enrolled in each semester of the courses taught by the legal research & writing professor will be:

     __   a.   30 or fewer

     __   b.   31 - 35

     _X   c.   36 - 40

     __   d.   41 - 45

 

(njs)      

Ever wonder how to pronounce case names?

If you've ever wondered how to pronounce Supreme Court case names, check out The Green Bag's recent pronunciation guide. A print essay explains that students and scholars at Yale and Princeton law schools scoured sources to find the correct pronunciations for hundreds of case names. Among the list's notable entries: The name Grutter in the landmark diversity case rhymes with rooter; Padilla (of Rumsfield v. Padilla) is pronounced pə -DEE-yə; Boumediene rhymes with boo-BETTy-ən; and in the heat-sensor case, Kyllo is pronounced KI-loh. The list is available on line, along with helpful audio pronunciations. It's a good reference for students preparing for oral arguments.

(jdf)

Wanna teach LLM's this summer in Istanbul?

The Open Society Foundations is currently recruiting instructors of academic writing to teach at the Open Society Scholarship Programs’ 2013 Pre-Academic Summer Program in Istanbul. Two summer school sessions will be held in 2013: from July 1-24 and from July 29 - August 23. Both sessions will be identical in structure and instructors can apply to teach at one or both sessions. Instructors will be expected to attend two days of preparation as a part of each session: June 28-29 for the first session, and July 26 - 27 for the second session.

The summer school program is designed to prepare scholarship finalists from Western CIS, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia for graduate studies or faculty exchange programs primarily in the US and Europe. The curriculum is an integration of academic writing courses with intensive seminar-style social science courses. All courses will be taught in English.

Participants in the summer school take one academic writing course (2 hours a day, 4 days a week) and one social science course (1.5 hours a day, 4 days a week). Academic writing instructors will work closely with social science instructors during the pre-program preparation to coordinate their course approach and writing/research assignments. Each course is expected to have approximately 12 students. The expected total number of students attending each summer school session is approximately 100. Students attending the summer school will be entering graduate programs in a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including political science, human rights, international relations, education, environmental studies, public health, anthropology, economics, gender studies, sociology, law, history, and development studies. 

The Open Society Foundations is calling for experienced instructors of academic writing to submit here a letter of interest, CV (including references), and sample syllabus for an intensive 3.5 week course of their choice. The deadline is February 8, 2013. Final syllabi and assignments will be worked out during the three day preparation in cooperation with the social science instructors. Candidates are required to hold a graduate degree, preferably in linguistics, applied linguistics or a related field, with significant experience teaching advanced level non-native speakers. Preference will be given to individuals with significant experience teaching in a western institution and experience living/teaching in the participants’ home regions (Western CIS, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, South and South East Asia). Due to budgetary considerations, preference will also be given to those who are able to travel inexpensively and conveniently to Istanbul.

In addition, the Open Society Foundations is seeking an academic writing instructor with specific experience teaching legal writing to LLM students for the July session.

Academic writing instructors will teach one course lasting 3.5 weeks for each summer school session.  The total number of classes will be 12 per session, with the three last days of the program set aside for instructors to grade projects and work closely with social science instructors on final student evaluations.

Teaching hours: Approximately 2 teaching hours per day for four-days a week, plus a required minimum of 2 hours a day for student consultations.

Additional responsibilities: Instructors will be called upon and are encouraged to assist with extra-curricular activities and special events during the course of each session. They will also be expected to conduct additional lectures in their field or to facilitate presentations that orient students to graduate studies in the US and Europe.

Remuneration: Instructors will receive $4,400 USD per summer school session, round-trip travel to Istanbul, and accommodation. Applicants should specify which session they are applying for, or whether they are applying to teach at both.

hat tip: Michael Higdon

(spl)

Global Legal Skills Conference

The 8th Global Legal Skills Conference, being held in San Jose Costa Rica March 11-13, 2013.  Here's a link to the registration site.  

Law professors, lawyers, law students, and other attendees are coming from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the United States.

An additional track was added to make some speaking slots available, in case you are able to attend.  

(mew)

Call for Proposals, Empire State Legal Writing Conference

The Fourth Annual Empire State Legal Writing Conference will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2013, at Albany Law School in Albany, New York. They invite proposals for presentations on a broad range of topics relevant to those who teach legal writing and research and welcome proposals from those who have previously presented, as well as from those presenting for the first time.

Possible topic suggestions in this tumultuous time in legal education include everything from practical suggestions for teaching to point-counter-point dialogue about plain language; effective methods for teaching rapidly-changing legal research at a state, national, or even international level; teaching writing for email or social network sites; creating effective methods of both formative and evaluative assessment; and making do with fewer resources. Individual and panel presentations are both welcome. 

 Please limit your proposal to one single-spaced page and include the following:
1. Presenter(s), title(s), and school affiliation(s);
2. Title of the proposed presentation;
3. A short description of the proposed presentation and teaching method (lecture, simulation, small group exercises, etc.);
4. A two-sentence summary of the proposed presentation for the program brochure;
5. Whether the presentation would benefit new or experienced instructors (or both);
6. The time needed: no longer than 50 minutes (we try to accommodate requests, but make no guarantee);
7. Technology needs for your presentation (please describe);
8. Contact information for one presenter, including email address, mailing address, and phone; and
9. Whether you have previously presented at any national or regional conferences.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 8, 2013. The organizers hope to have program selection completed by the first week of March. Please e-mail proposals as a Word Document attachment to: Pam Armstrong, Conference Chair, Albany Law School, [email protected]  (518) 445-2364, with a copy to [email protected] .                    

If you have questions or would like to see sample proposals, please contact a Planning Committee member. They look forward to reviewing your proposals!

The Empire State Legal Writing Conference Planning Committee:
Pam Armstrong, Albany Law School, Conference Chair, [email protected]
Robin Boyle, St. John’s University School of Law, [email protected]
Ian Gallacher, Syracuse University College of Law, [email protected]
Ann Nowak, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, [email protected]
Stephen Paskey, SUNY Buffalo Law School, [email protected]
Amy Stein, Hofstra University School of Law, [email protected]
Marilyn Walter, Brooklyn Law School, [email protected]
Michelle Whelan, Cornell University Law School, [email protected]

(njs)

conference on Technology and the Teaching of Legal Research & Writing

Technology and the Teaching of Legal Research & Writing is the theme of this year's Third Colonial Frontier Legal Writing Conference, taking place Saturday, March 16, 2013, at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, PA.

This conference is intended to give law professors the opportunity to improve the ways in which they use computer technology for teaching legal research and writing.

The cost of registering for the one-day conference is $50, which includes on-site parking, a continental breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and a closing open-bar reception. Attendees will be able to receive CLE credits.

Duquesne has arranged for a block of discounted rooms at the Marriott City Center hotel, which is adjacent to the campus and within walking distance from the law school and downtown Pittsburgh.  A double room will cost $124 per night, plus tax.  

You will find the agenda and be able to register for the conference here. The conference website also has information about travel to the conference and Pittsburgh attractions. Direct any questions to Prof. Jan Levine at [email protected]. 

(spl)

 

Is it "Pleaded" or "Pled"?

The two women pleaded guilty.

Or maybe they pled guilty.

Read more at the online ABA Journal by clicking here.

(mew)

Reminder: 2013 Legal Writing Scholarship Grants deadline

Applications for the 2013 Legal Writing Scholarship Grants are due on February 15.

You can find details in the original announcement.

(kem)

Going Paperless

While getting ready for class this week, I realized that even though I use my iPad for reading and grading papers, doing my own research, and presenting at conferences, I'm still pretty dependent on paper when I'm in the classroom. I use technology in my teaching, but I walk into the classroom with an armful of paper--a binder of teaching notes, a hard copy of the syllabus and class list, and various other materials. 

Then I came across this Lawyerist post about not going paperless at trial, which got me thinking about why I'm still so paper-dependent. I think the answer is that I originally organized my materials in a teaching version of a "traditional trial binder" (I am a former litigator, after all) and I've just updated those materials every semester since. I also have lots of post-its and scribbled notes that I probably haven't looked at in years but am afraid to throw away casually.

But I've decided it's time to go paperless in the classroom, too. There will be some start-up cost to organizing my materials electronically, in a way that makes them easy to access and flip through during class. However, once I make this investment, I expect I'll be able to use those same materials (with some updating) for many semesters to come. And I'm already thinking about how liberating it will be to recycle all those old teaching notes and clear off the shelf in my office.

(kem)