Joe Garcia kicks off his campaign for Congress in FL-25, now an open seat, tomorrow at Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus at 11:30 AM in the Dante Fascell Auditorium (Room K413).
Unfortunately I can't make it due to a conflicting obligation, but I'd appreciate a report if anyone reading this goes.
Today is, was, graduation day for the class of 2010. The ceremony went well. We had excellent speeches from Larry Tribe, and student speaker Brandon Thompson. If you want, you can view the video.
I went, marched and sat, and now I'm home resting up from my labors. Sitting is hard work.
Official statement just released on the IPS website,
Both Parties that now form the new Government stated in their manifestos that they will cancel Identity Cards and the National Identity Register. We will announce in due course how this will be achieved. Applications can continue to be made for ID cards but we would advise anyone thinking of applying to wait for further announcements.
First fruits of the Con-LibDem coalition.
This case, pitting the fatal-paprika-allergy-warning dog vs. the co-worker with the serious allergy to canines has great facts and a knotty legal problem — surely it is coming to a moot court or mock trial near you?
Fearing a fatal encounter with paprika, Ms. Kysel’s parents and grandparents chipped in to buy her an allergy-detection dog, which works much like a narcotics-sniffing dog. After she had extensive talks with her employer, the City of Indianapolis, officials gave her permission to take the dog to work. The golden retriever, named Penny, cost her family $10,000 — it jumps up on Ms. Kysel whenever it detects paprika.
On the first day Ms. Kysel took Penny to work, one of her co-workers suffered an asthma attack because she is allergic to dogs. That afternoon Ms. Kysel was stunned when her boss told her that she could no longer take the dog to work, or if she felt she could not report to work without Penny, she could go on indefinite unpaid leave. She was ineligible for unemployment compensation because of the limbo she was put in.
Perfect.
U. Miami Law is moving from a traditional legal writing program staffed primarily by adjuncts and part-timers (with a few one- or two-year contract LRW instructors) to one staffed by full-time legal writing faculty. On balance, this is a good thing, maybe a very good thing.
The mixed full time/part-time model had many virtues, not least that it put our students in contact with some really great local lawyers who were all but donating their time. Yet it also had defects. Three of the defects were particularly notable. First, while some of the part-time practitioners were and are great lawyers and excellent teachers, quality control was an issue; from time to time there were complaints that some practitioners would slight their teaching when work got busy. Second, practitioner adjuncts tend to be free only in the evening, which many first year students find difficult after a long day full of classes. Third, as the number of VAP programs and full-time post-JD fellowships grows at other law schools, it gets harder to recruit excellent full time writing instructors for one or two year contracts.
Meanwhile, the job of legal writing instructor has become increasingly formalized and professionalized due to self-organizing and pedagogic reform by leading writing instructors, pressure from the ABA to upgrade the instructors' status, and the fact that full-time staff count much more for purposes of calculating headline student-faculty ratios than do part-time staff.
As a result of these and other trends, law schools are increasingly moving to a purely or primarily full-time faculty model for their introductory legal writing programs. The University of Miami School of Law is joining the trend,
The University of Miami School of Law has selected associate professor Rosario Lozada Schrier to launch and direct the school’s new research and writing program, Legal Communication and Research Skills (L-Comm). Schrier will work with a team of full-time Legal Communication faculty to provide students with critical research and communication skills necessary to excel in today’s competitive legal environment. The program will begin in the fall semester.
“L-Comm reflects Miami Law’s commitment to preparing students to become skilled and professional communicators,” Schrier says. “From their first day of classes, students will interact in the classroom as a community of professionals. In this collaborative setting, they will master the fundamentals of legal research and analysis and learn to communicate effectively with diverse audiences at various stages of legal practice.”
Faculty with varied practice backgrounds will engage students in a dynamic classroom environment that integrates technology as a learning resource. The program will develop research skills in the context of a client’s simulated problem, which will evolve through initial case assessments, consideration of potential alternatives to litigation, pretrial pleadings, and appeals. At each stage of the process, students will advocate on a client’s behalf using both written and oral skills, all with the goal of preparing students for the reality of legal practice. L-Comm will emphasize active student participation by featuring small classes and frequent interaction with faculty through small group and individual conferences.
I can't say, though, that I'm particularly thrilled with the “L-Comm” branding. I don't know exactly what it sounds like — a bad summer movie? a branch of the Army? a new leg-band communications device? — but it doesn't sound very law school to me.
And while 'legal writing' is undeniably a very important skill, as traditionally taught it presumes a good command of ordinary writing. Sadly, this is no longer (if it ever was?) something you can assume every law student brings to campus at orientation. How to address the deficiencies (or absence?) of high school and college writing programs without stigmatizing, depressing, or overloading the people who most need writing help remains a problem I have yet to hear that any law school has solved.
Jotwell Blenderlaw