Be Our Valentine
Please join us on Thursday morning, February 14, Valentine’s Day, for special treats, juice and coffee.
Be Careful
We are fortunate to live in a wonderful community with a low crime rate and lots of very friendly colleagues, but this is not a guarantee that you’re personal belongings are safe from the occasional thief who may pass through the library. There have been some recent reports of thefts downtown at Love Library, so please be careful with your computers, backpacks, etc.
Group Study in the Library
Please don’t use the library tables in the open rooms for group study. There are several study rooms available that groups can use without disturbing other library users.
STIRring It Up
(After each STIR Talk, we’ll sum it up and offer a bibliography of books, articles, etc., that are relevant to the talk. Here’s the first in the series.)
by Professor Brian Striman
Links in any bibliography list will take you directly to the library's online catalog record so you can see if each highlighted book is available for check out.
PROFESSOR KEVIN RUSER
(http://law.unl.edu/facstaff/faculty/resident/kruser.shtml)
"Why We Should (Mostly) Stop Teaching Doctrine After the First Year of Law School." [Talk given February 5, 2013]
Starting out his talk with a reality check, Professor Ruser highlighted what he sees as the brutal job market for new law grads. There is no going back to the old law firm models. Citing a survey by Winston and Crandall (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304192704577402140768087330.html)
The Law Firm Business Model is Dying", he said economic downturn has forced law firms to learn and adjust to practicing with fewer associates. Law firms were forced into reducing their existing and future staff. In addition, clients no longer want to "pay" for new associates to learn the nuts and bolts of real law practice.
That set the tone for the rest of the talk with Professor Ruser quickly moving into reasons why second and third year law students should no longer be taught "doctrinally"--- Limited time in law school; Students are actually being taught legal analysis and not doctrine; That there are better ways to teach doctrine; and, Because law students need to know a lot of other really important things to better prepare them to hit the ground running from day one.
He showed some slides and spoke about a 2005 Survey conducted by Hess & Gerst.
(http://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1106&context=vulr&sei-redir=1&referer=http)
The survey looked at responses given by Arizona judges and lawyers as to what they believe to be are essential doctrinal courses (i.e., courses covering fundamental principles of law as taught using the Socratic method). The survey reported on essential lawyering skills and essential professional values. Quoting one of his PowerPoint slides "We need less practice on legal analysis and more on the other areas listed in the survey, especially in the second and third years.
The meat of his 15-minute presentation was summed up on a slide in his presentation titled "Best Practices for Legal Education: A Vision and A Road Map."
First year – provide students with building blocks they need for progressive acquisition of knowledge, skills and values
Second year – continue to develop problem-solving, self-efficacy and self-reflection. Focus on factual analysis. Abandon casebooks in favor of treatises and problems.
Third year – continue to develop problem-solving and cultivate “practical wisdom” to help students become reflective practitioners. Teach multiple doctrinal subjects in integrated contexts.
Professor Ruser's short list of what he called "required reading" is:
Legal Education and Professional Development: An Educational Continuum (“The MacCrate Report”) (1992). (http://library.unl.edu/record=b1973589~S0)
Best Practices for Legal Education (2007). (http://library.unl.edu/record=b3880977~S0)
Educating Lawyers: Preparing for the Profession of Law (“The Carnegie Report”) (2007). (http://library.unl.edu/record=b3874777~S0)
Failing Law Schools (2012). (http://library.unl.edu/record=b4221022~S0)
New Books @ Schmid Law Library
These materials are shelved just behind the reference desk, and may be checked out for two weeks unless otherwise indicated. The links under each title take you directly to IRIS, where you’ll find more information about each title and whether or not it is currently checked out.
The Trial War Room Handbook: Effective Strategies from the Trenches by G. Christopher Ritter, Amie J. Bailey & Michael Skrzypek, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252519~S0
The National Security Implications of Immigration Law by Aurthur L. Rizer III, 2012 http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252514~S0
Guide to Protecting and Litigating Trade Secrets by Amy E. Davis, Paula M. Bagger, Joanna E. Kim and Jeffery K Riffer, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252577~S0
Corporate Crime & Financial Fraud: Legal and Financial Implications of Corporate Misconduct by Miriam F. Weismann, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252352~S0
Clean Water Act, 2nd ed. by Joel M. Gross & Kerri L. Stelcen, 2012 http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252548~S0
New Practitioner’s Guide to Intellectual Property by David R. Gerk & John M. Fleming, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252408~S0
The Law of Lawyer’s Liability: 50-State Survey of Legal Malpractice edited by Merri A. Baldwin, Scott F. Bertschi & Dylan C. Black, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252450~S0
Legally Mom: Real Women’s Stories of Balancing Motherhood & Law Practice by Anne Murphy Brown, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252471~S0
The Portable UCC, 5th ed., 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252515~S0
Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 2012 ed. by ABA Center for Professional Responsibility
http://library.unl.edu/record=b1997554~S0
ABA Compendium of Professional Responsibility: Rules and Standards, 2012 ed., http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252409~S0
Environmental Liability and Insurance Recovery by David L. Guevara & Frank J. Deveau, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252347~S0
A Guide to Federal Agency Adjudication, 2nd edited by Jeffrey B. Litwak, 2012 http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252354~S0
Invention Analysis and Claiming: A Patent Lawyer’s Guide, 2nd ed. by Donald D. Slusky, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252355~S0
The NEPA Litigation Guide, 2nd ed edited by Albert M. Ferlo, Karin P. Sheldon & Mark Squillace, 2012
http://library.unl.edu/record=b4252356~S0
Tip of the Week
Mac users, if you’ve been annoyed that there is no “forward-delete” function on your keyboard, then you simply aren’t aware of a very simple trick: fn-delete, will do the trick.