Photo of the Week

Faces

This week’s photo is courtesy of Joyce Lo, ’12.

Inter Alia: August Legal Recap

Brooklyn Law School

Are prospective BLS students “reasonable consumers?” [NLJ]

Film producer and BLS Alum Irving Fein passed away. [Variety]

New York

Twitters appeals order to release Occupy Wall Street protester data. [CBS]

“What pepper spray?”  [WSJ]

NY Judge wants us stranded in Brooklyn forever. [NBC]

NYPD coughs up $22 million in civil rights suits. [NYMag]

National

Texas Voter ID Law blocked. [NYT]

Apple wins patent suit. [Verge]

Why people hate lawyers: big tobacco plaintiffs’ attorneys start attacking hot chocolate.[NYT]

NIED #14: Outlining

DISCLAIMER:

INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

Restatement of Torts, Second, §46: “One who by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress.”

Comment d:

“Liability has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” 

NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

“Almost all states have adopted the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, but only a minority of courts have been willing to recognize an independent cause of action for emotional distress alone against defendants who are no more than negligent.”  (Shapo, Principles of Tort Law, 3d ed., 381).

BY READING THIS COLUMN, YOU HEREBY AGREE TO FORFEIT ALL POSSIBLE CLAIMS AGAINST THE AUTHOR

“…Have you started outlining?”

After “What kind of law do you want to practice?” this is probably the most annoying question you will hear over the next few weeks. Not only is there a fair amount of disagreement over what constitutes a “good outline,” but the question leads to the Gordian Knot that is the choice to make your own, or use a previous student’s outline who “got an A.”

I tend to side with the “do it yourself” camp. I personally endorse Professor Feldman’s Academic Success Program and its manual on outlining, and I do believe that there is value in creating your own outline. However, a few points deserve commentary:

Tip #1: “Some outlines are as short as 10 or 12 pages; others are 50-60 pages. You should be able to read through your outline in its entirety at least twice in a day.”

I take this tip to mean that those shorter outlines will be used for closed-book exams, and longer ones for open-book exams. But no matter its length, the real question is: how much does your outline affect your grade? Nobody reviews your outline as painstakingly as you will, so no one can tell you definitively that you have a “good outline” or a “bad outline.” But here are my inconsistent findings:

Criminal Law

Outline: Approx 60 pages

Type of Exam: Closed

Self-Grade for Outline: B- (too long for closed book; too much ambiguity on the law)

Final Course Grade: C+

Civil Procedure

Outline: Approx 80 pages

Type of Exam:  Open

Self-Grade for Outline: B+ (too long; multiple misstatements of law)

Final Course Grade: A-

Torts

Outline: 35 pages.

Type of Exam: Closed with 1 page double-sided cheat sheet

Self-Grade for Outline: B

Self-Grade for Cheat Sheet: A

Final Course Grade: B+ (including 20% “C” grade on Midterm)

Contracts

Outline: 100 pages+

Type of Exam: Open

Self-Grade for Outline: C+ (too long; too much ambiguity on the law)

Final Course Grade: B-

Constitutional Law

Outline: 84 pages (approx.)

Type of Exam: Closed

Self-Grade for Outline: B

Final Course Grade: B

Property

Outline: 100 pages+

Type of Exam: Open

Self-Grade for Outline: C

Final Course Grade: B+

Now, in general, you will see that each of my grades (save Property, in which I only did comparatively well because most of my classmates were just as lost as me) is only 1/3 of a grade off from what I “self-grade” my outline, which of course is a subjective process. For many courses, you will have some idea of how well you did before or after you take the exam. Grading exams is a primarily objective process—but this column is not about exams, only outlining.

However, almost none of my outlines conformed to Tip #1, and when they did, they were not useful (Torts being the exception). In fact, almost none of my outlines from my first year were useful.  Perhaps this is because of the next tip.

Tip #2: “Do not try to do any outlining when a writing assignment is due.”

For 2Ls and 3Ls, it’s not hard to follow this advice. For 1Ls, it is almost impossible. Both semesters have substantial writing assignments that do not become due until about, oh, Thanksgiving, or the end of March. While you may have a little more time to outline in the spring, after you are done with legal writing assignments, you still have to do at least one of the two Moot Court competitions! What a drag.

The key, I guess, for 1Ls, is to outline before you get those initial materials for writing assignments. While you generally don’t need to balance a job during 1L year with reading assignments, the writing assignments kind of moot that point out. It’s not easy to find the time, and I never found the time, and I suffered.

But I did much better my second year. And it wasn’t until that spring semester that I discovered “the secret” to outlining. Now, “the secret” is not applicable to closed-book exams, though you may attempt to practice using it. But, if you have an open-book exam, this method is practically guaranteed to get you at least an A-. What is the method?

You do your outline. And then you take a practice exam from the same professor. You answer each question with a paragraph—the type of paragraph you’d write for an exam answer. You leave blank the “party” (or defendant or creditor or debtor or whatever) and you have the pre-determined issue, the rule, the application, and boom, you are done, and boom, you bring this practice exam in with you, and boom, you connect the dots and you’ve got a stress-free exam.

I knew a 3L last year who swore by the process of collecting old “A” outlines, and just studying off of those from day one. He didn’t believe in making his own, and he apparently did quite well. The problem with law school is that you can work super-duper hard and not get any reward for it, and some people can do almost no work, have the answers in front of them, and essentially “cheat their way through.” Class participation should be factored into classes more heavily for this reason.

I hope to start my outlining around September 25^th. Odds are that I’ll have about 5 pages for each course come November 25^th, but it’s good to set goals. It is.

Christopher J. Knorps is a 3L. He enjoys studying bankruptcy law. Please e-mail him at Christopher.knorps@brooklaw.edu if you are interested in participating in the Monthly Expense Project or Batman in Brooklyn. 

Overheard…

Sleep is debatable but eating is one of the things I think is allowed.

-A 1L discussing school policy with her classmate in Starbuck’s

5 Questions

Questions For…

Professor William Araiza and Jordan Zimolka, ’16

1.  First things first: New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets?

Professor Araiza: Brooklyn Nets

Jordan: New York Knicks

2.  You are exiled to a desert island.  What three material things did you bring with you?

Professor Araiza: Kindle, Bagel Slicer, and Reading Glasses

Jordan: A Flint, a Lifetime Supply of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (because you can eat anything with that stuff), and a Desalination Device.

3.  Have you ever snuck into an abandoned house?

Professor Araiza: No.

Jordan: Yes.

4.  If you had a super power, what would it be?

Professor Araiza: Power to fly.

Jordan:  Power to heal.

5.  What is your spirit animal, and why?

Professor Araiza: Dog, because I love them.

Jordan: Sir David Attenborough, because he values life.  Nobody values life as much as Sir David Attenborough.

Student Organizations Fair Kicks Off Events Calendar

On Thursday, Brooklyn Law School held its annual Student Organizations Fair. Students gathered in the courtyard and took full advantage of the weather, the free food, and the opportunity to meet student leaders face to face and learn about what their organizations do. Numerous membership organizations spanning a diverse range of legal and cultural interests were present, from Art Law to Environmental Law to the Irish Law Students Association. Notable new organizations included BLS Students to Reelect Obama, the Brooklyn Law Immigration Society, and BLS Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Several pro bono projects were also present. Pro bono projects offer students the opportunity to work first-hand on legal issues and provide critical advice and support to people who otherwise may not be able to obtain it. For example, students participating in Motivating Youth Through Legal Education (MYLE) help high-school students from disadvantaged backgrounds prepare for national debate competitions on Constitutional Law. Similarly, the Suspension Representation Project (SRP) helps students fight their suspensions in a hearing before an administrative judge. For more on pro bono groups and other public service opportunities, see http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/probono/lawschools/12.html. Note that clinics, which concern pro bono work, are not available to first-year students.

For those who did not attend the fair, a full list of school organizations and their contact information can be found on the BLS Web site. If you are interested in an organization or a pro bono project, send its student contact an e-mail to receive more information and be added to its mailing list.

Additionally, in order to help BLS students stay up to date with the numerous opportunities that school organizations provide, The Advocate now features the SBA calendar on our main page. Look for future events that are currently posted and check back frequently for new additions.

Alexander Goldman also contributed to this article.

Cartoonist’s Corner: Hourly Rate

Text of Dean Allard’s Convocation Remarks

Sunday, August 12, 2012

6 p.m.

Ceremonial Courthouse

U.S. District Courthouse

I offer you my own personal welcome with words I can assure you I have never used before and will never be able to use again: you are the brightest, most talented and promising new class I have ever greeted as Dean of Brooklyn Law School.

Professor Kelly, I would have been flattered by your warm and generous introduction had I not heard your description of the marvelous incoming class. Candidly, I feel like an old dim bulb compared to such bright stars and I am jealous.  And I ask you all to give a big hand of applause in appreciation for Admissions Dean Haverstick and Director Chaitovsky and their entire staff for assembling the new class.  What a class!

Well, members of the great Class of 2015 and 2016, including our part-time students and our new international graduate students – don’t ever let anyone say we waste any time getting you into a court room.  And judging by the speed of your march from 250 Joralemon Street, across Cadman Plaza and the park, through security, and into the ceremonial courtroom in the federal district courthouse, you were eager to get here.

I offer you my own personal welcome with words I can assure you I have never used before and will never be able to use again: you are the brightest, most talented and promising new class I have ever greeted as Dean of Brooklyn Law School.

In your first moments as law students you have already been embraced by our distinguished faculty, which I note with great pride is recognized as one of the top communities of scholars in the nation, by the Brooklyn Law School student and alumni bodies; and by leaders in the legal profession and the Brooklyn community renaissance.[1]

Please believe me when I say that your future success, in very practical terms, is very much our priority.

By focusing on the communities you are now part of, this convocation program is meant to convey to you that you are not alone.  That simple stark fact provides you with enormous potential opportunities and obligations.  You can get a lot and you can give a lot to the communities you belong to as a student at Brooklyn Law School.

Law school has never been easy, and much of what you experience will be new.  On top of that, you are entering law school at a time of unprecedented change and enormous challenges facing legal educators and practitioners. So it is understandable, even normal, for you to be perhaps a “little bit” nervous.  I hope it is reassuring to you to hear from us that we have great confidence in you and to hear a bit about our own expectations for you and for the law school.

Brooklyn Law School has a tradition as a pioneer and innovator in legal education and our graduates have long had a well-deserved reputation for being well prepared, dedicated, capable and effective lawyers when they graduate.

-       We are one of the first law schools to regularly admit women and minorities, and to open the doors of the profession to aspiring lawyers who come from incredibly diverse social, cultural and economic backgrounds, students who are often the first in their families who study to become lawyers.

-       We are one of the first law schools to have had a woman as its Dean, Joan Wexler, and to have people serve in academic and administrative leadership positions who reflect the full range of diversity of our community and the nation.

-       We are one of the true pioneers in public interest law, clinical and pro bono programs.

-       We are one of the first to embrace entrepreneurship as demonstrated, for example, by our technology incubator clinic, our programs for business literacy and our courses on opening and running a law firm.

Our aspiration is for you not only to be ready to begin a worthwhile career when you graduate, but also for you to be leaders who can handle challenges and tackle problems that no one has seen before.

We intend to stay ahead of emerging trends.  We intend that Brooklyn Law School traditions will continue to lead the way to the future of legal education and the profession. Standing still is not an option.  Think of this:

-       Information technology is transforming how law is studied, how it evolves from the elegant common law tradition of legal change driven by metaphor and serendipity to the new opaque logic of computer-driven digital communications. Technology is also totally revamping how lawyers practice law in ways we do not yet fully comprehend.

-       The business model of law practice is changing dramatically. What lawyers will be asked to do, what they can get paid for, to be crass, is changing.  Lawyers will not be routinely asked to do work that can be commoditized and given to non-lawyers or machines, or even shipped off-shore.  The good news is that lawyers increasingly will be expected to provide the 3 A’s: analysis, advice and advocacy, and that is a worthy professional endeavor deserving of the effort and investment you will expend to earn your J.D. degree.

-       Established regulatory regimes that govern law practice in health, financial services, and communications, for example, have been completely overhauled.  New regulatory regimes will be shaped as you go through law school that will determine how law is practiced for decades in the future.  These are essentially new fields, and you can be the new experts.

-       And in the future, both scholarship and expertise will be needed in areas, as you heard a few moments ago[2] – like cyber security, online privacy, or establishing the rule of law in emerging democracies – that barely existed in the recent past.

If you are not convinced that our legal institutions are facing enormous currents of change eroding their very foundations, consider for a moment the potential impact of biomedical advances on law.  Throughout the history of mankind, the nature of government and law has depended on our understanding of the nature of man.[3]

-       If you believe life is nasty, brutish, and short, as Thomas Hobbes did, then you might think a powerful Leviathan is needed to govern.

-       If you believe man is a rational sentient being, as John Locke did, then a social contract will do.

-       Or if, like our own Founders, you believe in the rights of man and the corruptibility of power – you establish the brilliant self-correcting, counter-levered system of limited government and individual liberties under the rule of law with which we are all familiar.

Regardless of national affiliation, we lawyers speak a common language in the discharge of these basic responsibilities.  We speak the language of liberty.

Now, in contrast, for the first time in human history – because of biomedical breakthroughs – we can imagine the possibility of not having to accept the nature of man, but the frighteningly appalling possibility of being able to shape and determine the nature of man.  Imagine that.  What will be the impact on society and what are the questions of justice and ethics that this 21^st century of biomedical discovery will pose?  Well, don’t ask me.  I know the questions, not the answers.  I leave that to our brilliant faculty and to you, our newest students.[4]

Now, you are sitting there listening to me babble on about the golden oldies –  Hobbes, Locke, Madison and Jefferson – while you are thinking about more grounded topics like how to read a case, or write a brief or, with any luck, find a job.  You might say “Earth calling Dean Allard – please return to the Planet Reality – come back to the real world.”

Please believe me when I say that your future success, in very practical terms, is very much our priority.  We know that you need to pass the bar, get jobs, and begin worthwhile careers, and believe me, we will help you. You will be hearing a lot more about that from me and from faculty and staff at the law school.

For now, consider this – for almost all of you, your legal degree will be your terminal degree.  It will mark the last time you are immersed in an intellectual community of scholars and students.  And we feel very deeply the importance of providing you with the skills of critical thinking, the intellectual tools to be leaders in the profession in the future.

Our aspiration is for you not only to be ready to begin a worthwhile career when you graduate, but also for you to be leaders who can handle challenges and tackle problems that no one has seen before.

I know that is possible because it is what BLS graduates have been doing for over 110 years.

Another great tradition of Brooklyn Law School is public service.  You will be involved in continuing this tradition through signature programs such as our Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law Fellowships, which is in its 27^th year, or our outstanding, award-winning clinical and pro bono programs.  I encourage you to embrace this tradition, and throughout law school and the rest of your professional career to use your legal education as a tool to do good.  Remember what we said about being part of a community – you have both opportunities and obligations.  You can do a lot of good, working and learning in our public service offerings, and by giving, you get.  Specifically, you get invaluable experience, you learn the art and science of being a lawyer, and you gain immeasurable satisfaction from completing a project and being useful to those in need.

Thurgood Marshall took the trolley from his home in Baltimore to Washington D.C. to study law at Howard University.  Those of you who have a commute to school can relate.  He made that trip because he was not admitted to his segregated home state university law school.  Marshall greatly admired Professor Charles Hamilton Houston, the Dean of Howard Law School and the first general counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  “The law is a weapon,” Houston taught, “If you know how to use it.”  It was a lesson Marshall never forgot.  As they say, the rest is history.  I look out at you today and I see each of you who has such promise. I truly hope we can inspire you to use law as a weapon to fight the good fight, to correct wrongs, to uphold justice.  Make us as proud of you tomorrow as we are today.

Recently I’ve been reading biographies of great groundbreaking lawyers like Marshall and Brandeis and thinking a lot about the characteristics of what makes a consummate lawyer. William Reece Smith was a leader in the bar, and a practicing lawyer for over six decades.  His views on that subject, taken from a recent biography, are certainly worth sharing.

Smith said:

As lawyers we must understand that we do not exist merely to make money and to live “the good life.”  We must remember always that we are members of an honorable, independent profession committed to the unselfish service to others.

As lawyers, we protect the rights of persons and property and facilitate the flow of commerce.  But our basic function is far more important.  We serve both to secure through ordered government the collective interest of society’s members and to protect the individual interests of those members from the excesses of government. Above all, we serve to assure freedom, peace and opportunity.

Regardless of national affiliation, we lawyers speak a common language in the discharge of these basic responsibilities.  We speak the language of liberty.[5]

So, to you, a class which forever will be uniquely special to me as we begin our time at Brooklyn Law School together, I wish you well as you prepare for worthwhile careers, with the hope that each of you will prosper, and succeed and find ways to use law to make a difference.  I sincerely hope you master and speak the language of liberty.

Photo of the Week

Looking Westward

Diya Liu is an incoming student and photographer. Check out more of her work at What’s Up Brooklyn Law?

Sidebar

Presenting “Sidebar”: Our new column, where the editor asks the Dean and the SBA President about your concerns!

Dwayne Allen Thomas: Gentlemen, since this is our first column, could you please state your names and titles for the record?

Nick Allard, Joseph Crea Dean and Professor of Law.  The only person who calls me Nicholas is my mother, and that is only when she is upset with me.

Colin D. Hedrick, President, Brooklyn Law School Student Bar Association.

DT:  In your positions, what are you responsible for? More to the point, what concerns can students come to you with?

CH:  Any concern, anytime. My door/email is always open and I strongly encourage students, faulty, and staff to come to me with any and all concerns they may have.

The biggest responsibility for any SBA President is to be a voice for the student body. It is my job to know what issues are on the minds of the BLS students and to make sure that those issues are addressed timely, and in the best way possible. I’m doing my best to build a strong relationship with the entire administration in order to see this goal through.

My other major responsibility is the management of student organizations and their budgets. Each year the SBA distributes roughly $102,000 in student fees to the various organizations on campus. We evaluate each group’s needs on a yearly basis and distribute the money accordingly.

Finally I am responsible for overseeing the creation of new student groups on campus. On average, three or four new groups are created each year. I help them create their constitutions and budgets.

NA:  The Dean of Brooklyn Law School has many responsibilities, including working with President Wexler, developing strong working relationships with all key constituencies of the law school, developing a robust and inclusive strategic planning process, building on and enhancing the strong reputation nationally and internationally of the law school, and fund raising. With respect to students, the Dean oversees all aspects of the academic and professional training program, faculty recruiting and advancement, admissions, financial aid and career services. If a student has a concern, it is my concern.

DT:  I know that both of you have only been on the job a short time, but have the students come to you with any pressing concerns yet?

NA:  Jobs, career advice, and finances. We are very focused in these difficult times on providing more help to students in their efforts to find jobs. I have been working with the Career Center since before I officially started and we will be rolling out several new initiatives this fall designed to help our students find jobs. You will be hearing about the details very soon.

Since the day it was announced I would be your Dean, I have heard from and met with many, many students and recent graduates. It is one of the great pleasures of this position. I am finding BLS students to be incredibly impressive: intelligent, hardworking, self-reliant and engaging. If I am able to give a student some encouragement and support in starting a worthwhile career – well, that is a good day.

CH:  From the very first day after my election people have been coming to me with concerns and ideas. Knowing that BLS has a student body so willing to speak up and to get involved is incredibly gratifying. The issues that have come up are mainly the ones that students would expect. I have been asked to help resolve clinical and internship issues. There have been several good suggestions for the Curriculum Committee, a few of which have already been implemented.

The most common concerns are with how the Career Center interacts with job seekers. Some of the feedback is good, some of it is bad, but mostly people are expressing ideas on how the Career Center can better serve the student body.

DT:  In November, The New York Times published an article, which claimed that law schools generally do not teach their students practical lawyering skills. Do you feel this criticism is true of BLS?

DT:  I know that I’m just supposed to be asking questions here, but I believe BLS does an excellent job in this area.

CH:  I would say that BLS is better than most, but could do a lot more in the way of practical training. We have one of the best legal writing programs in the country and it shows when our students are placed in jobs with students from other New York area schools. Therefore, a BLS student may need less training upon entering the professional world, but they still require a lot of training.

Making BLS students the most prepared to practice in the New York City area is a sure way to make sure more BLS students get hired. Firms are finding it harder and harder to bill clients for what is essentially extensive legal training of first year associates, and most BLS students don’t get the kind of jobs that provide that training. A move towards more practical legal skills education could benefit BLS students by making them more hirable for firms that can’t afford training. Hiring more practicing professionals to teach practical skills and classes such as how to start and run a solo practice would be hugely beneficial to many students. Further expanding those clinics that are taught by practicing professionals would be an easy way to build on a pre-existing strength at BLS.

NA:  Our tradition of preparing students to be outstanding lawyers is what many critics of legal education feel is lacking, but has never been a weakness for Brooklyn Law School. In the future, more law schools will adopt what for us is tradition. More law schools will be following our lead. It is no coincidence that our convocation, our opening exercises for the incoming class, included a short march from the law school through the heart of the downtown legal community to the federal district court where we gathered in the ceremonial courtroom. Our students don’t need a map to find experience. Still, we are not content to rest on our laurels. Our aim is to make BLS a place that students and scholars from all over the United States and the world come to become leaders in their fields – not only ready to practice today but equipped with life skills of critical thinking and the intellectual firepower necessary to be leaders in the future. We want our students to be able to help solve problems and navigate changes that no one has seen before. A specific example is how the faculty with strong alumni support is expanding our offering in the nascent field of entrepreneurship studies. If you want to be a lawyer for new businesses, or a lawyer who starts a new business, BLS will be the place to be. In many respects it already is.

DT:  On that same note, is there anything you feel that can be added to the curriculum to further help BLS students with their practical lawyering skills?

NA:  With respect to entrepreneurship, we are, for example, providing a business boot camp under the leadership of Professor Gerber and offering courses to students about how to start and run a law firm, and are working with business incubators through the BLIP clinic. We are also working with an outstanding group of alumni who are themselves incredibly successful entrepreneurs to determine how to establish a scholarly and practical environment that fosters entrepreneurship. You can’t teach genius, and you probably can’t teach entrepreneurship, but you can provide skills and experience necessary to succeed in starting and growing new businesses. You can also teach how to be a lawyer for an entrepreneur. It helps that we are a national and increasingly international law school located at the epicenter of business innovation and entrepreneurships – the number of enterprises supporting the creation of new businesses in Downtown Brooklyn is startling. Just ask Prof. Askin about what is happening. Over 1000 new startups opened their doors in the entire borough in the first half of this year. And that is the tip of the iceberg of what BLS is doing to provide a premier legal education to students. Whether it is outstanding training in the fundamentals of evidence, civil procedure, torts, and criminal law, or unrivaled clinical experiential learning and public service, or study of the many issues concerning how to establish the rules of law and justice to emerging democracies, BLS is on the move and in the forefront of 21^st century legal education.

CH:  As mentioned above, a class on solo practice would be a great addition to the curriculum.  Most if not all clinics should be taught by practicing professionals and be mainly focused on the in-office/day to day of being a lawyer. Hiring more professors that have actually practiced and are able to create a real world link between the subject matter and the professional world is essential to breaking down the ivory tower mentality of students at BLS. We are a good school that produces good lawyers, but our rank does not allow us to teach in the same manner as Columbia or NYU. Their teaching model is based on rank, reputation, and the fact that no matter what 50% of their students will get law firm jobs. Outside of drastically changing the law school/firm world BLS needs to make sure its students are unlike any others out there. We need to be able to show employers that hiring a BLS student is just as good as hiring an associate with a year or two of experience. This goes for public service type employers even more so. They can’t afford to train anybody and despite our stellar public service reputation and record our students are getting hired for these jobs at a rate considerably lower than NYU or Columbia. We need to give our students something that lets them overcome the reputational bias that influences most hiring in the legal world. Practical experience and the ability to practice law on day one seems like the best thing we can give our students.

DT:  Is there any way to make that kind of change without losing either the scholastic or theoretical aspects of law school?

CH:  Probably, but I wouldn’t be too focused on this aspect. Breaking down some of the focus on scholarship and theoretical examination of the law would be a good thing for BLS and the law school community at large. The New York Times article cited above said it best, the vast majority of all scholarship is never read, cited, or used in any meaningful way other than to ensure the tenure of professors. Why are law students subsidizing scholarship that very rarely benefits them or the legal profession? There seems to be a fear that law school is really a glorified trade school, and while this fear is reasonable, it shouldn’t be driving all decisions on how we teach. Lawyers are serious professionals and for the most part theory stops being important the moment one passes the bar, so why do we spend all our time teaching it? Something closer to half practical and half theoretical might be better for all.

NA:  Dwayne – I like your question.  It gives me a chance to speak about what I believe is a false dichotomy. It is a cliché to say that there is a trade-off between the dual missions of law schools:  the scholarly mission versus the profession preparation mission. It is tempting to say that because almost all of our students will not become academics and that the job market is so incredibly difficult, that we should shift the balance decidedly in favor of practical training at the expense of scholarship.  I say, why choose?  We need to do both, and do both well. Here is why.  Precisely because, for most of our students their J.D. is their terminal degree, their time at BLS will be the last time they are immersed in a full time intellectual community of scholars and fellow students. This is a time where we must equip our students for a lifetime of intellectual and critical thinking. Our worthy aspiration is to prepare our students not just to practice when they walk out our doors, but to be leaders in their chosen careers in the future, and be lifelong thinking, creative, innovative lawyers.

DT:  Gentlemen, thank you for your insight. I look forward to speaking with you next time.

Do you have a question that you’d like to ask Dean Allard or President Hedrick? Email our editor!