clinicians with not enough to do

Conference on Alternatives to the Bar Exam

Dear Colleagues,

In late April 2010,  Franklin Pierce Law Center and the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) are co-hosting a small national conference of law faculty, law deans, state Supreme Court justices, and state Bar Examiners interested in learning more about Franklin Pierce Law School's Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program (DWS) with an eye toward potentially developing a similar program in their states. 

DWS is designed to help make students “client ready.”  Students enrolled in DWS take a variety of doctrinal courses, simulation courses, clinics, and externships.  Professionalism experiences are infused through this course of study.  DWS students develop a portfolio containing both written and videotaped material.  Their portfolio and skills performances are assessed by law faculty, practitioners, Justices of the NH Supreme Court , NH Bar Examiners, and “standardized clients.” Students successfully completing the DWS program are licensed in NH without having to take the traditional bar exam.  The program integrates doctrine, skills, and ethics, and successful completion of the program serves as an alternative to the traditional two-day NH bar exam.

DWS came into being through the collaborative efforts of law faculty, deans, members of the bar, state bar examiners, and state supreme court justices.  If you believe that these stakeholders in your state may be interested in exploring an alternative licensing program based upon the DWS model, please contact Tim Floyd, Chair of the SALT Subcommittee on Alternatives to the Bar Exam, at [email protected] to get more
information about the upcoming April conference.  (Also, I will be at AALS this week, and I will be glad to meet with anyone in person to discuss this.)

More detailed information about DWS can be found in an article co-authored by John Garvey, the DWS Program Director: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1477391. 

Thanks,

Tim Floyd

Timothy W. Floyd
Professor of Law
Director, Law and Public Service Program
Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law
1021 Georgia Avenue
Macon, Georgia 31207-0001
Telephone: 478-301-2631
Fax: 478-301-2259
[email protected]

News from Poverty Law Listserv

Hello!

 

(A)   First two quick reminders: (1) if you haven’t sent an update to on what  you have been up to for the Poverty Law Newsletter (see instructions at the end of this email), please do so by Jan. 5^th!  Right now there are a few submissions but it would be great to have more; (2) if you have nominations (or self-nominations) for the Section on Poverty Law’s Executive Committee, please email those to [email protected] by Jan. 3^rd. 

 

(B)   The Section on Poverty Law’s AALS program is on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010 from 4-5:45pm.  (info below) 

 

(C)   Attached is the Section on Socio-Economics Newsletter, courtesy of Professor Robert Ashford.  The focus of the many panels listed in the newsletter is “Economic Recovery and the Obama Presidency” and there is also a description of socio-economics.  Download Socio-Economcs Newsletter 091218

 

Thanks,

Ezra

 

INFO BELOW

 

(A)

It’s time for the 2009 edition of the Poverty Law Newsletter.  Please let me have your news items by Friday, December 11 Jan. 5, 2010.  If you would like to be included, tell me which category(ies), listed below, the entries go in.  Format your entries by starting with your name in bold and your school in parentheses.  If you refer to someone else (eg, a co-author), please do the same for their names.

 

Categories:

 

·         Upcoming Conferences

·         Books and Book Updates

·         Articles and Other Publications

·         Speeches and Presentations

·         Legislative and Regulatory Activities

·         Personal Notes

 

For inclusion in the newsletter, please do not hit reply!  Instead, email me directly at [email protected]. 

 

 

(B)

 

Association of American Law Schools
Section on Poverty Law
Annual Meeting Program
Friday, January 8, 2010
4:00 to 5:45 p.m. Prince of Wales, Third Floor, Hilton New Orleans Riverside

The New Anti-Poverty Advocacy: Constructs, Strategies and Tactics

Representing Families in Distress
Bernadette D’Souza, Managing Attorney, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

Litigating to Break the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Ron Lospennato, Director of the School to Prison Reform Project, Southern Poverty Law Center

Building Power for Workers Across Boundaries of Race and Immigration Status: the Role of the Law and Community Lawyering
Jennifer J. Rosenbaum, Legal Director, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice
Saket Soni, Executive Director, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice

Professor William P. Quigley, Moderator and Discussant, Loyola University New Orleans and Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights

The recent pronounced shifts in American politics and economics intensify the need for sustained reflection, as we consider how to shape legal activism, scholarship, and policy-making against poverty. The re-emergence of the Democratic Party in national politics and the renewed support for government action simultaneously create openings for activists and advocates and invite caution. Similarly, the failures of the American banking system, massive government deficits, and the continued restructuring and globalization of the U.S. economy cause great misery for those at the bottom and present opportunities to press for fundamental and progressive reform. It remains unclear whether this period is one in which power will be redistributed downward and outward to poor and working people or whether the defining values and hierarchies of the political economy in the last thirty years – variously labeled neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism, or free market fundamentalism – will be reinforced.

This program will feature the work of five innovative advocates working in the crucible of post-Katrina New Orleans.  Their legal strategies both stem from and transcend the particular conditions facing poor people in a former disaster zone.  Professor Quigley will situate their approaches in the larger contexts of poverty law scholarship and the current complex political moment.

*   *   *   *   *

Service Day in New Orleans

Where: New Orleans

Starts: January 7th, 2010 9:00 AM.  Ends: January 7th, 2010 1:00 PM

On Thursday, January 7, SALT and the Poverty Law Teachers are co-sponsoring a Day of Service in New Orleans to coincide with the AALS Annual Meeting. The day begins at 9:00 A.M. with volunteer service coordinated by the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, the New Orleans Group of the Sierra Club, and other local organizations. Immediately following will be a lunchtime session during which local providers and advocates will educate law school participants about needs in the Gulf Coast region and work with us to devise creative responses to the continuing calls for law-related assistance. Buses will be provided to transport participants to and from the Annual Meeting Hotel site.

Participation in the event is limited. Advance registration is required.  The cost for the event is $60.00, which covers bus transportation to and from the hotel, lunch, and a contribution to the host service providers.  Registration begins October 1.

Please note that the AALS has scheduled Saturday afternoon bus trips through affected areas of New Orleans, with host faculty from Louisiana law schools serving as guides.  These bus tours are not directly connected with this service event. In addition, a separate field trip co-sponsored by AALS and the Environmental Law Section is scheduled for January 7. Registration for any AALS sponsored field trip must be done separately.

For more information about the service day program, contact Nancy Cook at [email protected] or Lisa Martin at [email protected].