Legal Writing Prof Blog

ABA Midyear Meeting Goes Virtual

The American Bar Association's Board of Governors voted this week to move the ABA Midyear Meeting entirely online. The Midyear Meeting will be held February 9-14, 2022. Registration is free.

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ALWD Teaching Grant Deadline is January 31

Here's a reminder that the Teaching Grants Committee of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) is accepting applications for 2022 ALWD teaching grants. These grants reflect ALWD’s commitment to the professional development of legal research and writing faculty and enable gifted educators to produce teaching tools, materials, and curriculum that will assist others in the field.

The announcement and application are available by clicking here.
 
Eligibility: Teaching grants are open to both full-time and adjunct faculty who teach legal research and writing.
 
Deadline: Applications must be received by Monday, January 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. MST. Send applications to committee chair Jessica Gunder, at [email protected]. The subject line of the e-mail should read: ALWD Teaching Grants.

Hat tips to Jessica R. Gunder and the ALWD Teaching Grants Committee.

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Scribes Law-Review Award -- Submit Articles by January 29

Each year, Scribes—The American Society of Legal Writers—sponsors a competition to recognize an outstanding note or comment written by a law student who is associated with a student-edited law review or journal. This award has the distinction of being the only national award for student authors that places no limitation on subject matter.

Scribes hopes that your journals will enter this year’s competition by submitting an outstanding student note or comment that has been, or will be, published between June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022. The competition will be judged by the Scribes Law Review Committee. The winning journal and the author of the winning note or comment will each receive a plaque.

The deadline to submit a nomination for this year’s award is January 29, 2022. For more information and an entry form, please contact [email protected].

Hat tip to Philip Johnson, Executive Director of Scribes.

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Georgetown is Hiring

Georgetown Law is seeking a new Director of Academic Success. The Director is primarily responsible for supporting the academic skills development of first-year students, oversees the Barristers' Council competition program, and participates in developing Georgetown's wellness programming.

The listing is available by clicking here.

 Hat tip to Kristen K. Tiscione.

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Maryland is Hiring

Murray Fellow/Visiting Assistant Professor (for the first-year Lawyering program)

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in downtown Baltimore is hiring for its new Donald Gaines Murray Lawyering Teaching Fellows/Visiting Assistant Professor program. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, with a deadline of February 1, 2022, for the 2022-23 academic year.

Murray Fellows, who will jointly hold the title of Visiting Assistant Professor, will teach approximately 30 students each semester in the law school's first-year Lawyering program. They also will receive support for scholarship (junior faculty workshops, a law student research assistant, and a conference travel budget). A JD degree and three years of legal practice experience are required, and prior law school teaching experience is preferred.

Fellows will earn an annual salary of $75,000, plus benefits, and will serve for an initial year-long appointment, with the expectation of reappointment for a second year based on satisfactory performance (and may include an option to renew for a third year). 

Hat tip to Anne-MarieCarstens.

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Karin Mika to Receive 2022 AALS LWRR Section Award

Here's a reminder that Professor Karin Mika of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 AALS Section Award from the Section on Legal Writing, Research, and Writing. This prestigious award recognizes professors who have made significant lifetime contributions to the field of legal research and writing.

The award will be presented during the AALS Annual Meeting to take place online on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET, following the Section’s Main Program at 12:35-1:50 p.m.

Professor Mika has been associated with the Cleveland-Marshall Legal Writing Program since 1988. She has also worked as an Adjunct Professor of English at Cuyahoga Community College and is a research consultant for various firms and businesses in the Cleveland area. Professor Mika presents nationally on topics related to integrating technology and multimedia into classroom teaching, and has judged at numerous moot court competitions. She has lectured on essay-writing technique for several bar review courses and has written bar exam essay questions for both the California and Minnesota bar examiners. Prof. Mika's areas of scholarly research are varied and she has published in the areas of Native American Law, Employment Law, Learning Theories, and Health Care.

Professor Mika is also active in both the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) and Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD). She is currently the Archivist for the Legal Writing Institute, the co-chair of the website (content) committee of ALWD, and a member of the website (content) committee for LWI. She is also responsible for maintaining the history page of the Legal Writing Institute website. Recently, Professor Mika is also the National Publicity Director for the William C. Burton Awards, a yearly event that honors excellence in Legal Writing

Hat tip to Rosa Kim, AALS LWRR Section Chair

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Legal Writing Scholarship Grants

The Legal Writing Institute (LWI), the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD), and LexisNexis have announced the 2022 Legal Writing Scholarship Grants for professors of legal research and writing. These grants reflect the three organizations' commitment to the professional development of legal research and writing professionals.

Each year, LWI, ALWD, and LexisNexis award several research grants to legal research and writing teachers. These research grants enable gifted educators to spend their summers exploring scholarly ideas and producing scholarship that will assist others in the field of legal research and writing. While preference is given to proposals in the field of legal research and writing, consideration will be given to all proposals from legal research and writing professionals. The grants provide evidence of the three organizations' support for the scholarly pursuits of legal research and writing professionals.

In the past, the grants have varied from $2,000 to $10,000. The number of grants awarded depends on the quality of the applications and funds available.

The joint LWI-ALWD committee awarding grants consists of two groups that function independently. Committee members are either voters or mentors for the grant applicants. Voters review and score grant applications with no information about the identities of the applicants. Applicants may approach the mentors for advice on the grant application. Mentors will not score applications or participate in any way in deciding who receives a grant. Any applicant interested in a mentor for the application process should contact Jane Bloom Grisé, [email protected], or Sue Chesler, [email protected].

Application Procedures

1. Eligibility: The grants are open to both full-time and adjunct teachers of legal writing and research. Teachers who have previously received a scholarship grant are ineligible for this program for three years after they have received such a grant. LWI and ALWD Board members, officers, and members of the Joint LWI-ALWD Scholarship Committee or the LWI Scholarship Development Committee are ineligible to participate until they have been out of those positions for a full academic year. LWI, ALWD and LexisNexis encourage proposals from both veteran professionals and those new to the field.

2. Deadline: Applications must be received by 5 p.m. East Coast Time on February 21, 2022. Please email the application as a Word document to: Elizabeth Ruiz Frost, [email protected], Jane Bloom Grisé, [email protected], and Sue Chesler, [email protected].

3. Application materials: The Grant Application Form is a separate Word document accompanying this Announcement. If you are missing the Application, please check the announcements on the LWI ListServ or Dircon, or email Elizabeth Ruiz Frost, [email protected], Jane Bloom Grisé, [email protected]., or Sue Chesler, [email protected].

4. More information:. More information about the scholarship grants is available by clicking here.

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Stetson is Hiring

Assistant Professor of Law Position and Distinguished Visitor Position

STETSON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW seeks applicants for one entry-level tenure-track position in Legal Research and Writing. Prior experience teaching Research and Writing is helpful but not required. The ideal candidate will show potential for outstanding scholarship, teaching skill, and engagement with colleagues nationally. Research and Writing faculty teach the two-semester R&W sequence to first-year students. They also have opportunities to teach other courses, including courses in upper-level areas of interest. Stetson’s R&W sequence includes its R&W II where faculty can choose to offer subject-matter focused sections. These specialized sections have included topics such as Environmental Law, Social Justice, Elder Law, International Law, and Employment Law. Stetson has a unified tenure-track for all faculty and makes no distinctions among faculty in matters such as governance and sabbaticals. 

Stetson also continues to accept applications for a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law in the field of Legal Research and Writing, for either a semester or a full year. The ideal candidate for the Distinguished Visitorship will be an established scholar and teacher in the field seeking to engage with colleagues and students at one of the nation’s top Legal Writing programs. The Distinguished Visiting Professor will have the opportunity to work with faculty in Stetson’s Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication, which supports an active community of legal communication and writing scholars. https://www.stetson.edu/law/academics/lrw/. The Distinguished Visiting Professor will teach a section of one of our Legal Research and Writing courses, and possibly a small upper level writing or skills-focused course. The position will include the ability to hire teaching and research assistants and support for professional travel. 

Stetson encourages applications from women, minorities, LGBTQ+ candidates, and all others who will contribute to our stimulating and diverse cultural and intellectual environment. All applicants must have a strong academic record and be committed to outstanding teaching and scholarship. Stetson’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy is available at https://www.stetson.edu/administration/human-resources/media/hotline/eeo-non-discrimination.pdf.

The Faculty Appointments Committee will review applications until positions are filled.

Contact: Applicants should send a cover letter indicating teaching and scholarly interests, a current CV, and at least three professional references to Professors Ellen Podgor and James Fox at [email protected]  or by standard mail to Professors Podgor and Fox at Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st Street South, Gulfport, FL 33707.

Hat tip to Anne E. Mullins.

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ALWD Teaching Grants

The Teaching Grants Committee of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) announced its call for applications for 2022 ALWD teaching grants. These grants reflect ALWD’s commitment to the professional development of legal research and writing faculty and enable gifted educators to produce teaching tools, materials, and curriculum that will assist others in the field.

The announcement and application are available by clicking here.
 
Eligibility: Teaching grants are open to both full-time and adjunct faculty who teach legal research and writing.
 
Deadline: Applications must be received by Monday, January 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. MST. Send applications to committee chair Jessica Gunder, at [email protected]. The subject line of the e-mail should read: ALWD Teaching Grants.

Hat tips to Jessica R. Gunder and the ALWD Teaching Grants Committee.

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