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Legal Writing Prof Blog 

By law professors Coleen M. Barger, Sue Liemer and Nancy Soonpaa
Post Frequency: 31.6/day Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:42:31 Recent Entries: 2529
Go to Legal Writing Prof Blog, find other Legal Writing blogs, or browse all law blogs.
APPEAL - A Great Story of Success
Posted on November 17, 2008APPEAL (Academics Promoting the Pedagogy of Effective Advocacy in Law) has been in existence now for just a year and a half. But within that short time, it has achieved remarkable things. They raised close to $20,000 to bring seven...
Legal Writing in Bologna, Italy
Posted on November 14, 2008I am on sabbatical this year, and living in Italy and Switzerland. Yes, I know. Thanks. It IS great. I recommend it to all my professor friends. But am I completely removed from the world of legal writing? Hardly. This...
how do your 1Ls read cases?
Posted on November 12, 2008A poem by Billy Collins, Introduction to Poetry, describes teaching students to read poetry. But it also holds well as an analogy for teaching 1Ls to read cases. Click on the linked poem title, think "cases" where it says "poetry"...
the joy of lightbulb moments
Posted on November 12, 2008I've been conferencing with students over the past couple of weeks, and I'm here to attest to the joy of the lightbulb moment. To see if others share my experience, I did a web search and found this review of...
surviving the first year of law school
Posted on November 11, 2008The how-to wiki on surviving your first year of law school includes many helpful tips, some of which of course will be more helpful to some than others. It's nice that it includes advice to "do a good job" in...
the effects of non-tenure-line positions in legal writing teaching
Posted on November 11, 2008For those who read this blog and do not work in academia, if you want a window into what our lives are really like, please take five minutes to read this essay on Gender, Contigent Labor, and Writing Studies, by...
myths about learning writing
Posted on November 10, 2008For those who haven't seen it yet, the Chronicle of Higher Education has published a great essay on Writing Is Not Just a Basic Skill. This one is worth forwarding to your students. My favorite part: "Writing is not the...
teaching legal writing overseas
Posted on November 09, 2008Professor Jane Schukoske is an advisor to the Jindal Global Law School, which is being established in Sonipat, Haryana, India, about an hour outside of Delhi. She has announced that the school anticipates enrolling 200 three-year LL.B. students (like a...
AALS Section on Teaching Methods
Posted on November 09, 2008The Association of American Law Schools Section on Teaching Methods is soliciting articles related to teaching for the next issue of the section's electronic newsletter. Also invited are recommendations regarding new books, articles, videos, or websites related to law teaching...
Florida Journal of International Law
Posted on November 09, 2008The Florida Journal of International Law invites submission of articles for possible publication. Click here to contact the journal, or click here to contact the Editor in Chief, Mohammed Jazil, or click here to contact the Managing Editor. . Hat...
Call for Papers: Santa Clara Journal of International Law
Posted on November 09, 2008The Santa Clara Journal of International Law invites submissions for its spring issue. There is no particular theme, so papers are welcome on any area of international law. For details on deadlines, length, and all of that other fun stuff,...
subtly sexist language
Posted on November 08, 2008The abstract below summarizes a very interesting article on Subtly Sexist Language, by Pat Chew and Lauren Kelley-Chew: "Sometimes, sexist language is blatant and universally shunned. Other times, it is more subtle and even socially acceptable. For instance, as summarized...
deadline approaches for NE Consortium conference
Posted on November 07, 2008If you are interested in attending the New England Consortium of Legal Writing Teachers (NECLWT) Regional Conference, Teaching Through Technology ? Making Chalkboards Obsolete, --you must register by November 17, 2008. The conference, hosted by Suffolk University Law School in...
"mixed" value for unpublished, nonprecedential cases
Posted on November 07, 2008On the 'Net: Jessica Slavin (Marquette) blogs about the recent article by Amy Sloan (Baltimore), If You Can?t Beat ?Em, Join ?Em: A Pragmatic Approach to Nonprecedential Opinions in the Federal Appellate Courts, 86 Neb. L. Rev. 895 (2008), available....
Buon Compleanno a Mark!
Posted on November 07, 2008Our cheerful, globe-trotting editor who is spending a sabbatical semester in Italy, Mark Wojcik, celebrates a birthday today. On behalf of your co-editors and readers, Mark, we wish you a great day! Buon Compleanno! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Bon Anniversaire!...
Grading Distraction: Totally Cool Maps of Election Results
Posted on November 07, 2008Need a quick break from grading? Take two minutes to look at these very cool maps. (mew)
birthday party for a legal writing program
Posted on November 06, 2008We now have a few legal writing programs old enough to celebrate three decades in existence. At the University of Oregon, the Legal Research and Writing Program recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Click on that blue type, and you can...
Congratulations to Richard Neumann
Posted on November 06, 2008Richard Neumann was named as the 2009 Recipient of the annual award presented by the Association of American Law Schools Section on Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing. We have often written about Richard on this blog (you can use the...
comparing print and computer-based research
Posted on November 05, 2008Here's an article of interest, as found by Dr. Natalie Tarenko, the writing specialist at Texas Tech: Last week (Oct. 27), the Legal Writing Prof Blog posted an announcement about a new column in the Virginia Bar Association News Journal...
Former Law Professor is Elected President of the United States
Posted on November 05, 2008Barack Obama taught at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004. Last night he was elected President of the United States. Congratulations. (mew)
assessments signal our priorities
Posted on November 04, 2008From Australia (where the first degree in law is an undergraduate degree), comes an article to help us re-assess what we're assessing, how we're assessing, and what signals we're sending our students via the process. Molly O'brien, of the Australian....
"no good deed goes unpunished"
Posted on November 04, 2008If you watch Saturday Night Live, you may have seen the Starbucks ad promising free coffee to voters. Seattle news sources and other sources report that state officials in Washington have advised the company, however, that it may be violating...
Unexpected Benefits of Having Students Submit Papers Electronically
Posted on November 04, 2008When our federal courts went electronic and started requiring the submission of papers electronically, I thought I should at least think about giving students the option of submitting papers electronically. I thought it would be easier for students, particularly at...
The New York Times admits to repeatedly misspelling Justice Ginsburg's name
Posted on November 03, 2008In an article reporting the controversy surrounding the award by Fordham Law School, a Jesuit school, of an ethics prize to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who has written decisions supporting abortion rights, the venerable New York Times admitted...
Thanks, Blog Readers
Posted on November 03, 2008More records for the Legal Writing Prof Blog! Last month we again broke our records for visits and page views. We had more than 8,300 visits to the blog and more than 13,000 views of pages. Thanks for your continued...
Center for Plain Language
Posted on November 03, 2008The Center for Plain Language will hold its 2008 Symposium on November 7, 2008, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., with a reception to follow from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The symposium and reception will be held at the National Press...
recent scholarship of interest
Posted on November 03, 2008A number of articles recently published may be interesting to blog readers. The links should take you to the article on Lexis or Westlaw, respectively. Note that Kristin and Penny have the lead articles in those issues; congratulations! Benjamin Barton,...
Remembering Studs Terkel
Posted on November 02, 2008Studs Terkel, one of the best things that ever happened to the great city of Chicago, died last Friday at the age of 96. He was an absolutely wonderful man. Click here to read more about him. (mew)
Are you a communication jerk?
Posted on November 02, 2008According to this article in the New York Times, Professor Alex Pentland at MIT has developed a device to measure verbal and non-verbal cues during conversation that tells the speaker whether the audience is responding positively or not. The so-called...
J. ALWD seeking articles on metaphor & narrative
Posted on November 01, 2008The Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (J. ALWD) has issued a Call for Articles for the Fall 2010 issue. This early call gives authors more time to plan and an opportunity to submit articles throughout the year....
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Did I harass someone?
Oh, yes. This can be taken in as so many things, especially since you had testif...
How to evict a roommate?
First, in most jurisdictions "self-help" is not a remedy available to any party ...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
Can a probation officer make a decision that involves a medical decision and prohibit a person from leaving a state to get medical help?
well if you could get him to a mental health facility they could screen him for ...
This has happened 3 or 4 times a month now- they have turned the electric off 2 days consecutively, the water off about 9 or 10 times now, and our heat has broken 5 times (once it would not shut off, and we were forced t
i say stick with the apartment. eventually, everything possible will be replaced...

Did I harass someone?
Oh, yes. This can be taken in as so many things, especially since you had testif...
How to evict a roommate?
First, in most jurisdictions "self-help" is not a remedy available to any party ...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
Can a probation officer make a decision that involves a medical decision and prohibit a person from leaving a state to get medical help?
well if you could get him to a mental health facility they could screen him for ...
This has happened 3 or 4 times a month now- they have turned the electric off 2 days consecutively, the water off about 9 or 10 times now, and our heat has broken 5 times (once it would not shut off, and we were forced t
i say stick with the apartment. eventually, everything possible will be replaced...








