Legal Writing Prof Blog

CFP Institute for Law Teaching and Learning

CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROPOSALS

Institute for Law Teaching and Learning—Summer 2016 Conference

“Real-World Readiness”

June 10-11, 2016

Washburn University School of Law—Topeka, Kansas

The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning invites proposals for conference workshops addressing the many ways that law schools are preparing students to enter the real world of law practice.  With the rising demands for “practice-ready” lawyers, this topic has taken on increased urgency in recent years.  How are law schools and law professors taking on the challenge of graduating students who are ready to join the real world of practicing attorneys?  Can we be doing more?

The Institute takes a broad view of educational practices that promote real-world readiness.  Accordingly, we welcome proposals for workshops on incorporating such teaching techniques in doctrinal, clinical, externship, writing, seminar, hybrid, and interdisciplinary courses.  Workshops can address real-world readiness in first-year courses, upper-level courses, required courses, electives, or academic support teaching.  Workshops can present innovative teaching materials, course designs, curricular or program designs, etc.  Each workshop should include materials that participants can use during the workshop and also when they return to their campuses.  Presenters should model best practices in teaching methods by actively engaging the workshop participants. 

The Institute invites proposals for 60-minute workshops consistent with a broad interpretation of the conference theme.  To be considered for the conference, proposals should be one single-spaced page (maximum) and should include the following information:

• ·         the title of the workshop;
• ·         the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the presenter(s);
• ·         a summary of the contents of the workshop, including its goals and methods; and
• ·         an explanation of the interactive teaching methods the presenter(s) will use to engage the audience.

The Institute must receive proposals by February 1, 2016.  Submit proposals via email to Emily Grant, Co-Director, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning, at [email protected].

Conference Details

Schedule of Events:

Washburn University School of Law will host a welcome reception on the evening of Thursday, June 9, and the conference workshops will take place at the law school all day on Friday, June 10, and until the early afternoon on Saturday, June 11. 

Travel and Lodging:

Topeka is about 75 minutes away from the Kansas City airport (MCI).  You may wish to rent a car at MCI for the drive to Topeka.  There are a few shuttle services available. A block of hotel rooms will be reserved for a discounted rate at the Ramada Topeka Downtown Hotel and Convention Center.

Fees:

The conference fee for participants is $450, which includes materials, meals during the conference (two breakfasts and two lunches), and a welcome reception on Thursday evening, June 9, 2016.  The conference fee for presenters is $350. 

(mew)

“How to Conduct Free Legal Research Online”

Barbara Bavis, Senior Legal Reference Specialist in the Public Services Division of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., will present a program at the American Bar Association Midyear Meeting in San Diego on Friday, February 5, 2016, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel. We expect the program to be in the Newport Beach Room, but you can check the monitors and ABA Schedule that day if it isn't there. The program is free and well worth the investment of your time if you're attending the ABA Meeting in San Diego. The program is organized by the ABA Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress.

(mew)

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Law Library of Congress Outreach Program Shares Some Secrets on How to Conduct Free Legal Research Online

Legal Research and Writing Classes for Non-U.S. Lawyers

Here's another entry for your Dance Card at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, sponsored by the AALS Section on Graduate Programs for Non-U.S. Lawyers:

Saturday, January 9, 2016, 3:30 to 5:15 p.m.

New Law Teacher Program – Pedagogy:

Legal Research and Writing Classes for Non-U.S. Lawyers

This program will review legal research and writing assignments, materials, and teaching needs for non-U.S. lawyers attending LL.M. programs in the United States. The program will also consider how professors and law schools can better serve the needs of international students.

Moderators: Lauren Fielder (University of Texas School of Law)

Speakers:

Hether Clash Macfarlane (Pacific McGeorge School of Law)

John B. Thornton (Northwestern University School of Law)

Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago)

AALS Section on Teaching Methods

Here's a link to the newsletter for the AALS Section on Teaching Methods. The newsletter features several legal writing professors and teaching tips for a number of classes.

https://goo.gl/eMFwzz

Hat tip to Debbie Borman.

(mew)

More Updates to Congress.gov

As the Library of Congress prepares to retire THOMAS, it has made many enhancements to Congress.gov including the adding email alerts to notify users of the status of legislation, new issues of the Congressional Record, and when Members of Congress sponsor and cosponsor legislation.  It added treaty documents and a better default bill text and improved the search, browse, and accessibility in late spring; user driven feedback in the summer; and Senate Executive Communications and a series of Two-Minute Tip videos in the fall. They also introduced a new Quick Search for legislation, the Congressional Record Index (back to 1995), and the History of Bills from the Congressional Record Index. And they also imported the State Legislature Websites page that has links to state level websites similar to Congress.gov. Those are just some of the changes, which are well worth a few minutes of your time to explore. There's more than a million things to search.

Click here to read more about these and other updates on Congress.gov.

(mew)

AALS Legal Writing Outreach Committee

The Association of American Law Schools Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research has a tremendous outreach committee that plans activities and welcomes newbies navigating the massive AALS Annual Meeting.  Here's a reminder of the Outreach Committee's activities planned for New York.  This schedule does not include the substantive panels or section lunch, so be sure that those are also on your AALS dance card!

(mew)

Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research

2016 AALS Annual Meeting Outreach Activities

Happy Hour and Welcome

-       Wednesday, January 6, 6:00 p.m.–7:45 p.m. 

-       Bridges Bar at New York Hilton Mid-Town

-       Come socialize, meet new colleagues and catch up with old friends before going to the Blackwell Award Reception at 8:00 in the same hotel

-        

Welcome Coffee and Continental Breakfast for all LWRR Members

-      Thursday, January 6, 8:00-8:45 a.m.

-       Exhibit Hall

-       Enjoy some coffee, pastries, and conversation

 

Coffee/pastries and informal discussion on Global Legal Skills and the LWRR section

-      Thursday, January 7, 1:45-3:00 p.m.

-      Exhibit Hall

-       Enjoy some coffee, pastries, and conversation about Global Legal Skills

 

New Teachers Coffee and Continental Breakfast

-       Friday, January 8, 8:00 a.m. -8:45 a.m.

-       Exhibit Hall

-       Form connections with peers and mentors and enjoy some coffee and pastries

  

Afternoon refreshment Coffee/pastries for experienced teachers

-      Friday, January 8, 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.

-       Exhibit Hall

-       Catch-up with experienced teachers and enjoy some refreshments

 

Afternoon refreshment Coffee/pastries

-       Saturday, January 9, 1:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m.

-       Exhibit Hall

-       Decompress, catch your second wind, and socialize

 

Coffee/continental breakfast and conference recap and farewell

-       Sunday, January 10, 8:00 a.m.-8:45 a.m.

-       Hudson Market & Bistro (Sheraton)

-       Enjoy coffee and breakfast and wish your colleagues well

 

Casual good-bye lunch

-       Sunday, January 10, 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

-       Location TBA

-       Enjoy a meal for the road and see your colleagues one last time before traveling

 

Walking Tour of New York Neighborhood

-       Sunday, January 10, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

-       Meeting place TBA

-       Unwind and decompress with a walk, a little sight-seeing, and some visiting

Four Legal Writing Professors Promoted at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago

The John Marshall Law School in Chicago recently promoted one professor from Assistant to Associate Professor and three of its Associate Professors to Full Professors. All of these professors teach in the Lawyering Skills Program at The John Marshall Law School.

Kim Chanbonpin (Director of the Lawyering Skills Program at The John Marshall Law School and President-Elect of the Legal Writing Institute, pictured here) was promoted to the rank of Full Professor. Also promoted to full professor were Maureen Collins (new editor of the Scrivener, the newsletter of Scribes--The American Society of Legal Writers) and Steven Schwinn (an editor on the Constitutional Law Prof Blog). Hugh Mundy ws promoted to Associate Professor on his road to tenure.

Congratulations to all.

Hat tip to Mary Nagel.

(mew)

 

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Newsletter for the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research

Save the Dates! Upcoming AALS Annual Meetings in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, and New Orleans

The Association of American Law Schools holds its well-attended annual meeting each January. Here's the schedule of upcoming meetings for the next few years:

• January 6-10, 2016: New York
• January 4-7, 2017: San Francisco
• January 3-6, 2018: San Diego
• January 2-6, 2019: New Orleans

The Association of American Law Schools is a nonprofit association of 180 law schools. Its law school members enroll most of the law students in the United States.  The AALS describes its mission as "to uphold and advance excellence in legal education." The 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 local, national, and international communities.

Visit the AALS website for more information about the Association and its upcoming meetings and other activities. The AALS has a large number of Sections focused on various topics, including its Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. That section holds at least one program at each Annual Meeting and a luncheon at which it confers its prestigious Section Award in recognition of lifetime contributions to the teaching of legal writing and research. The section also publishes a newsletter with information about upcoming AALS events and news of legal writing professors across the United States.

(mew)

Call for Proposals

The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning has issued a Call for Proposals for its Summer 2016 conference on Real-World Readiness:

CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROPOSALS

 Institute for Law Teaching and Learning—Summer 2016 Conference

“Real-World Readiness”

June 10-11, 2016

Washburn University School of Law—Topeka, Kansas

 The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning invites proposals for conference workshops addressing the many ways that law schools are preparing students to enter the real world of law practice.  With the rising demands for “practice-ready” lawyers, this topic has taken on increased urgency in recent years.  How are law schools and law professors taking on the challenge of graduating students who are ready to join the real world of practicing attorneys?  Can we be doing more?

The Institute takes a broad view of educational practices that promote real-world readiness.  Accordingly, we welcome proposals for workshops on incorporating such teaching techniques in doctrinal, clinical, externship, writing, seminar, hybrid, and interdisciplinary courses.  Workshops can address real-world readiness in first-year courses, upper-level courses, required courses, electives, or academic support teaching.  Workshops can present innovative teaching materials, course designs, curricular or program designs, etc.  Each workshop should include materials that participants can use during the workshop and also when they return to their campuses.  Presenters should model best practices in teaching methods by actively engaging the workshop participants. 

The Institute invites proposals for 60-minute workshops consistent with a broad interpretation of the conference theme.  To be considered for the conference, proposals should be one single-spaced page (maximum) and should include the following information:

• the title of the workshop;
• the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the presenter(s);
• a summary of the contents of the workshop, including its goals and methods; and
• an explanation of the interactive teaching methods the presenter(s) will use to engage the audience.

The Institute must receive proposals by February 1, 2016.  Submit proposals via email to Emily Grant, Co-Director, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning, at [email protected].

hat tip:  Emily Grant

(njs)

congratulations to Sarah Ricks

The Black Law Students' Association at Rutgers is honoring Sarah Ricks at its annual event in January — the 20th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Banquet and Awards Ceremony.  Here are details from the announcement that just went out:

The event will be from 6-9PM on Friday, January 15, 2016. There will be a cocktail hour from 6PM to 7PM, with the program officially beginning at 7PM.

Honorees include Professor Sarah Ricks (Rutgers Law School Co-founder and Co-Director of the Pro Bono Research Project; Commissioner of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations; Co-chair of the ABA Section 1983 Subcommittee on Civil Rights Litigation)

hat tip:  Suzanne Rowe

(njs)

Newsletter for the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research

Just in time for the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, here's a link to the Fall Newsletter of the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. You'll want to have a look at the section newsletter even if you're not going to the annual meeting in New York.

Articles include:

• A column by Section Chair Jennifer Murphy Romig (Emory University)
• A description of the Joint Scholars and Scholarship Workshop on Feminist Jurisprudence, sponsored by the Legal Writing Institute, the Association of Legal Writing Directors, and the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research
• The list of AALS Section Officers slated by the nominating committee for election at some unbelievably early section meeting at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. (New York really is the city that never sleeps!)
• News about the presentation of the Section Award to Suzanne Rowe (University of Oregon) and of a remembrance of Molly Lien, former Legal Writing Director at Chicago-Kent College of Law and The John Marshall Law School
• An Update from the Section's Diversity and Inclusion Committee
• Tips from Heidi Holland (Gonzaga) on What to Do Over Winter Break to Make Your Spring Semester More Successful
• Reports (and photos) from LWI One-Day Workshops
• Announcements of Awards to legal writing faculty across the country
• New publications by legal writing faculty
• News of promotions, moves, and milestones for legal writing faculty

Click here to see the newsletter.

(mew)

President of the University of Iowa Apologizes for Suggesting that Unprepared Professors Should Be Shot

Several news sources are reporting today that the President of the University of Iowa, J. Bruce Harreld, has apologized for suggesting that professors who are unprepared to teach should be shot.

(mew)

Congratulations to Susan Stuart at Valparaiso

Associate Dean and Professor of Law Susan Stuart, a long-time legal writing professor, was appointed this week as the Louis & Anna Seegers Distinguished Chair in Law at Valparaiso University School of Law. She had practiced law for 11 years in Indianapolis after a three-year clerkship with the Indiana Court of Appeals. Her practice focused on education, labor and employment law, and included commercial litigation and bankruptcy matters. She join the faculty at Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington in 1996 and the Valparaiso University School of Law faculty in 2000.

 

Hat tip to Prof. Faisal Kutty/

 

(mew)

A Period in Your Text Message Makes it . . . Less Sincere?

A study by Professor Celia M. Klin, Associate Professor of Psychology at Binghamton University asked 126 undergrads to evaluate several one-word text message responses (like "Sure" and "Yep") that ended with various forms of punctuation. Texts that ended in periods were rated as being less sincere — but handwritten notes with the same message and punctuation weren't.  Click here to read more.  Period.

Hat tip r/w

(mew)

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Emoticons were invented 33 years ago today and they've basically saved human communication

So Apparently Ending Your Texts With a Period Makes You Sound Like a Jerk. - The Bert Show

Yale claims Bluebook as its creation

An article in the NYTimes yesterday explored the history of the Bluebook and presented two Yale librarians' historical research showing that Yale, not Harvard, originated the Bluebook.  Although the Yale librarians conceded that a claim of creation may not be a point of pride given the now-hyper-complicated nature of the citation classic, they point out the the first two versions of the precursor to the Bluebook were 1 and 15 pages long.

(njs)

Don't Call on Me (the Law School Music Video)

Thank you, UCLA Law Revue. Enjoy!

 

(mew)