Legal Writing Prof Blog

Last Call: Nominations for the Teresa Godwin Phelps Scholarship Award

The Teresa Godwin Phelps Scholarship Award honors individual works of outstanding scholarship specific to the legal writing discipline that are published in any given calendar year. The award is meant to set aspirational standards for others writing in the field.

In making an award, the selection committee and the Legal Writing Institute Board of Directors will focus solely on whether an individual work is specific to the discipline of legal writing and on whether it makes an outstanding contribution to the discipline. Neither the selection committee nor the Board will take into account long-term contributions to the field or contributions in service, program design, teaching, or improving status for the legal writing field.

The selection committee may recommend and the LWI Board may give more than one award for any given year.

Eligible works

Published articles and books are eligible for the award. To be eligible for an award made for any given calendar year, the work must be nominated for the award, and the work must have been published in its final form in that calendar year.

Anyone, except a member of the selection committee in that year or author of the nominated work, may nominate a work for consideration by the selection committee. Nominations must be in writing, briefly summarize the reasons for the nomination, include a copy of or link to the work, and must be received by the deadline for nominations.  Nomination deadlines and contact information for that year’s selection committee will be posted on the Legal Writing Institute website.

The publication date assigned by the publisher determines eligibility regardless of whether the work is actually available on that date. If the final form of the work is not actually available to the public in the year of its official publication date with the result that a nomination is untimely or the selection committee lacks time to consider the work before making award(s) for that year, the selection committee may evaluate the work and recommend an award for the subsequent year even though its official publication date was in the previous year.

Eligible authors

Any person, except a member of the selection committee in a given award year, is eligible to win the award.  The author’s faculty status, level of experience, and areas of teaching will not be taken into account.

Annual Nomination Deadline and Process

For works published in 2016, the nomination deadline is June 30, 2017.  The LWI Board plans to announce the Award winner or winners by September 30, 2017.

Send nominations to Kate George, administrative assistant to Ian Gallacher, the secretary of the 2016 selection committee, at [email protected].

Nominations must be in writing, briefly summarize the reasons for the nomination, provide a copy of or link to the nominated work, and must be received by the deadline for nominations.  The committee will not accept nominations by the author of the nominated work or by any member of the committee in that year.

Questions:  Please contact Kate O’Neill, Chair of the 2016 selection committee, at [email protected].

Hat tip to Ian Gallacher.

(mew)

Nominations for AALS Section Award for Significant Lifetime Contributions to Legal Writing and Research

As announced in the Section Newsletter for the Association of American Law Schools Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, the Section is pleased to solicit nominations for the 2017 Section Award for the AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research. This prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made a significant lifetime contribution to the field of legal writing and research. The award was created at the AALS Section Business Meeting in January 1995 and conferred for the first time in January 1996 at the AALS Annual Meeting. The award has sometimes been described as the "Lifetime Achievement Award in Legal Writing Education."

The 2017 AALS Section award will be presented at the AALS  Annual Meeting in San Francisco on Thursday, January 5, 2017, during the section luncheon.  That event is a ticketed event.

Past winners of the AALS Section Award include:

• 2017 - Linda Berger (UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law)
  
• 2016 - Suzanne Rowe (Oregon)
• 2015 - Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago)
  
• 2014 - Jan Levine (Duquesne)
  
• 2013 - Terrill Pollman (UNLV) and Jill Ramsfield (Hawaii) [two winners that year]
  
• 2012 - Susan Brody (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago) and Mary Barnard Ray (Wisconsin) [two winners that year]
  
• 2011 - Elizabeth Fajans (Brooklyn)
  
• 2010 - Joe Kimble (Thomas Cooley)
  
• 2009 - Richard K. Neumann, Jr. (Hofstra)
• 2008 - Eric Easton (Baltimore)
  
• 2007 - Anne Enquist (Seattle)
• 2006 - Terri LeClerq (Texas)
• 2005 - Marilyn Walter (Brooklyn)
  
• 2003 - Laurel Currie Oates (Seattle)
• 2002 - Helene Shapo (Northwestern)
• 1997 - Ralph Brill (Chicago-Kent)
• 1996 - Mary Lawrence (Oregon)
  

Please submit nominations before October 1, 2017. There is no particular form required to nominate someone. A simple letter or email message naming the person and describing some of his or her work should be enough. (If it isn't, we'll contact you for more information.) You can also submit additional letters of support, but the nomination form by itself is enough. Nominations are carried over to the subsequent year, so if you nominated someone for the 2017 award that person will be considered for the 2018 award. 

Please send nominations to the Awards Committee Co-Chair, Prof. Mark E. Wojcik, The John Marshall Law School, 315 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604. Email: [email protected]. Please put "AALS Section Award Nomination" in the re line. You can also send a copy to the Awards Committee Co-Chair, Linda Berger, at linda.berger@unlv.edu.

The 2018 AALS Awards Committee for the Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research is co-chaired by Linda Berger (UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law) and Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School). The Awards Committee Members are Janet Siegel Brown (Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law), Alyssa Dragnich (Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law), J. Lyn Entrikin (William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock), Suzanne Row (University of Oregon School of Law), and Helene Shapo (Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law).

The AALS Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research is chaired by Professor Sabrina DeFabritiis (Suffolk Law School). The Chair-Elect is Suzanna Moran (University of Denver School of Law) and the Section Secretary is Wendy Adele Humphrey (Texas Tech School of Law). The immediate past Section Chair is Bob Brain (Loyola Law School, Los Angeles). Other members of the Section Executive Committee, which will approve the recommendations of the Awards Committee, are Rebekah Hanley (University of Oregon School of Law), Allison Martin (Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law), Joseph Mastrosimone (Washburn School of Law), Anne Mullins (University of North Dakota School of Law), and Nancy Soonpaa (Texas Tech University School of Law).

(mew)

Call for Presenters for the AALS Section on North American Cooperation at the 2018 AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego

The Association of American Law Schools Section on North American Cooperation is pleased to announce a call for presenters from which two or more additional presenters will be selected for the section’s program during the AALS 2018 Annual Meeting in San Diego. The session topic is: “What Would a New NAFTA Look Like?” The program will be held on the last day of the AALS Conference, Saturday, January 6, 2018, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The session will be co-sponsored by the AALS Section on Graduate Programs for Non-U.S. Lawyers and the AALS Section on International Legal Exchange.

 

In April 2017, the Trump Administration indicated that it would seek to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. A few hours later, the Trump Administration indicated that there were no immediate plans to renegotiate NAFTA, an agreement that Trump once called the worst trade deal ever signed by the United States. The inconsistent messages on NAFTA and U.S. trade policy generally concern our trading and business partners around the world. This roundtable will discuss several questions relating to a new NAFTA, if one is negotiated, including whether NAFTA should be expanded to include other countries (such as Chile and Peru), whether negotiators should create provisions to summarily dismiss frivolous suits (such as challenge to new regulations that corporations complain will diminish their profits), and whether a new agreement should have even stronger enforcement mechanisms for environmental and worker protection.

 

The panel moderators will be Section Chair Gerardo Puertas (Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey, Mexico) and Section Chair-Elect Professor Lisa Black (California Western School of Law). 

 

To submit your name as a possible presenter, please submit your name and a brief description of what you would like to contribute to the discussion. Please send an email to Professor Mark E. Wojcik at [email protected]. The due date for submission is Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Members of the Section’s Executive Committee will review the proposals and select presenters. Final decisions will be made by September 20, 2017. 

 

Like others on the panel, presenters will be responsible for paying the AALS registration fee as well as their own hotel and travel expenses.

 

If you have any questions about the call for presenters, please contact Professor Lisa Black at California Western School of Law or Professor Mark E. Wojcik at The John Marshall Law School-Chicago, [email protected] or (312) 987-2391.

 

Call for Presenters for the AALS Section on International Legal Exchange Program at the 2018 AALS Annual Meeting in San Diego

The AALS Section on International Legal Exchange has announced a call for presenters from which one or two additional presenters will be selected for the section’s program during the AALS 2018 Annual Meeting in San Diego. The session topic is: “A Global Guide to International Legal Exchange: Practical Secrets of Success and What to Do When Things Go Horribly Wrong.” The program will be held on the first day of the AALS Conference, Wednesday, January 3, 2018, from 1:30 to 3:15 p.m. The session is co-sponsored by the AALS Section on North American Cooperation.

This program will review recent changes to the ABA standards that make it easier to send U.S. law students on overseas programs sponsored by their own schools. That presentation will be made by William E. Adams, Jr. (Deputy Managing Director, ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar). That introduction will be followed by a survey of successful international exchange programs, including an objective assessment of the value these exchanges should have for law students. We will also review the responsibility of schools to look after non-U.S. law students and exchange ideas on how to prevent and respond to problems that might arise in international exchange programs.

The panel co-moderators will be Professors George Edwards (Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law) and Gabrielle Goodwin (Indiana University Maurer School of Law). Confirmed speakers also include Charlotte Ku (Texas A&M University School of Law), Sue Liemer (Elon University School of Law), and Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago).

To submit your name as a possible presenter, please submit your name and a brief description of what you would like to contribute to the discussion. Please send an email to Professor Mark E. Wojcik at [email protected]. The due date for submission is Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Members of the Section’s Executive Committee will review the proposals and select presenters. Final decisions will be made by September 20, 2017.

Like others on the panel, presenters will be responsible for paying the AALS registration fee as well as their own hotel and travel expenses.

If you have any questions about the call for presenters, please contact Professor Mark E. Wojcik at The John Marshall Law School-Chicago, [email protected] or (312) 987-2391.

(mew)

Seton Hall is Hiring

Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey is looking to hire a part-time Adjunct Professor of Legal Practice to teach in it Introduction to Lawyering course for the fall 2017 semester, with the likelihood that the position will be renewed for the spring 2018 semester.  The Introduction to Lawyering course is a full-year, six-credit course. The course covers legal writing, legal research, client interviewing, client counseling, negotiation, oral argument, and professionalism. The course is taught by doctrinal and legal practice professors in a coordinated and collaborative manner. In teaching the course, the faculty member will be responsible for the following:

• Teaching Introduction to Lawyering classes twice a week during weeks when classes are scheduled.
• Meeting with students in individual and joint conferences to discuss writing assignments and interactive skills exercises.
• Providing students with detailed written feedback on writing assignments and interactive skills exercises.
• Attending Introduction to Lawyering faculty meetings to prepare for upcoming classes and activities.
• Teaching several sessions at the Introduction to Lawyering Day at law school orientation on Friday, August 18.
• Meeting with students outside of class time and conferences as needed to discuss assignments and other law school topics.
• Other assignments consistent with the needs of the program.

Most weeks, the faculty member will be expected to come to the law school at least two days a week to teach classes and meet with students and faculty.  However, some weeks will require a more substantial time commitment.

Qualifications: Seton Hall seeks individuals with stellar legal writing, interpersonal, and practice skills. Candidates must have 3-5 years of practice experience and excellent academic records. Teaching experience is preferred.  Please send a resume and cover letter to: Maya Grosz, Director of the Legal Practice Curriculum and Associate Professor of Law, Seton Hall University, School of Law, One Newark Center, 1109 Raymond Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102; [email protected]. Deadline for applications is June 30, 2017.  

Seton Hall University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. It honors diversity and respects the religious commitments of all its employees. In turn, its employees respect Catholic beliefs and values, and they support its mission as a Catholic institution of higher education.

The position is a part-time appointment, or a year-to-year adjunct appointment.The professor hired will not be permitted to vote in faculty meetings. The law school anticipates paying a salary of less than $50,000. The number of students will be 30 or fewer.

Hat tip to Maya Grosz.

(mew)

 

Registration Open for the 2017 ALWD Conference

The 2017 Association of Legal Writing Directors ("ALWD") Conference Committee invites you to the 2017 conference, Acknowledging Lines: Talking About What Unites and Divides Us.  Speaker details, and a link to the registration page, are available on the conference website: http://alwd.umn.edu/.  The ALWD Conference will be held at the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from July 19-21, 2017.

 

Hat tip to the 2017 ALWD Conference Committee: Amy Vorenberg, Anne Mullins, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff, Alyssa Dragnich, Chris Soper, Brad Clary, Anne Ralph, David Krech, Rosi Lozada Schrier, Joe Mastrosimone, Shakira Pleasant, Tanya Bartholomew, Sam Moppett, Norm Plate, Mary Garvey Algero, Greg Johnson, Scott Farley, Christine Coughlin, and Michelle Falkoff.

 

(mew)

Teresa Godwin Phelps Scholarship Award

The Teresa Godwin Phelps Scholarship Award honors individual works of outstanding scholarship specific to the legal writing discipline that are published in any given calendar year. The award is meant to set aspirational standards for others writing in the field.

In making an award, the selection committee and the Legal Writing Institute Board of Directors will focus solely on whether an individual work is specific to the discipline of legal writing and on whether it makes an outstanding contribution to the discipline. Neither the selection committee nor the Board will take into account long-term contributions to the field or contributions in service, program design, teaching, or improving status for the legal writing field.

The selection committee may recommend and the LWI Board may give more than one award for any given year.

Eligible works

Published articles and books are eligible for the award. To be eligible for an award made for any given calendar year, the work must be nominated for the award, and the work must have been published in its final form in that calendar year.

Anyone, except a member of the selection committee in that year or author of the nominated work, may nominate a work for consideration by the selection committee. Nominations must be in writing, briefly summarize the reasons for the nomination, include a copy of or link to the work, and must be received by the deadline for nominations.  Nomination deadlines and contact information for that year’s selection committee will be posted on the Legal Writing Institute website.

The publication date assigned by the publisher determines eligibility regardless of whether the work is actually available on that date. If the final form of the work is not actually available to the public in the year of its official publication date with the result that a nomination is untimely or the selection committee lacks time to consider the work before making award(s) for that year, the selection committee may evaluate the work and recommend an award for the subsequent year even though its official publication date was in the previous year.

Eligible authors

Any person, except a member of the selection committee in a given award year, is eligible to win the award.  The author’s faculty status, level of experience, and areas of teaching will not be taken into account.

Annual Nomination Deadline and Process

For works published in 2016, the nomination deadline is June 30, 2017.  The LWI Board plans to announce the Award winner or winners by September 30, 2017.

Send nominations to Kate George, administrative assistant to Ian Gallacher, the secretary of the 2016 selection committee, at [email protected].

Nominations must be in writing, briefly summarize the reasons for the nomination, provide a copy of or link to the nominated work, and must be received by the deadline for nominations.  The committee will not accept nominations by the author of the nominated work or by any member of the committee in that year.

Questions:  Please contact Kate O’Neill, Chair of the 2016 selection committee, at [email protected].

Hat tip to Ian Gallacher.

(mew)