The Aspen Advisor Week in Review for August 31, 2018
School is back in session, so this week’s legal education roundup features a diverse reading list. The good news is, there’s no test.
Law students may find the article, “Should You Take Law School Classes Online?” helpful in balancing their curriculum requirements with their preferred learning style. And, if they are struggling with a well-intentioned helicopter parent, they might learn valuable tips in the podcast “Halting the Hover: Dealing with Helicopter Parents in Law School.” And finally, many students go to law school because they are passionate about making a difference in people’s lives. Several students got to see this first hand while working at an immigration detention center in Texas as detailed in the article, “'Two Skins': Hard Lessons for Law Students at Immigration Detention Center.”
There are also several articles on issues such as diversity, social justice, and freedom of speech. Law schools are thinking deeply about these topics as they mold identities and build communities. I was interested to read about the launch of ScotusOA (“Law Professors Launch ScotusOA Focusing on Supreme Court Oral Arguments”), a website dedicated to empirical analysis of Supreme Court oral arguments. Its mission is to provide insight on the patterns and trends in judicial behavior analyzing data from 1955 to present day. Are women more likely to be interrupted? Last but not least, artificial intelligence and high-speed data analysis are a strategic piece of every business and publishing is no exception. Read about Pearson’s plans to automate education in the article, “Building Brains: How Pearson Plans to Automate Education With AI.”
Distance Education
Should You Take Law School Classes Online?
How do you know if it's right for you?
Law School Students
'Two Skins': Hard Lessons For Law Students at Immigration Detention Center
"I still wake up at night thinking about many of these people. Not the cases, but the people that we met," said Florencia Cornu, law student at St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens.
Five Summer Reads for Law Students
Recommendations for when you can’t face another textbook
Legal Education
USD School of Law Has New Scholarship for DACA Students
University of San Diego School of Law has a new scholarship fund for unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
Halting the Hover: Dealing with Helicopter Parents in Law School (podcast)
As a new academic year begins, Tennessee shares her advice with the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward on how students, parents and school administrators can halt the hover and foster students’ independence and success.
Classism In Academia
Law schools are all mixed up with hierarchies.
Law Schools are Finally Starting to Do Their Part
Now it’s your turn, Corporate America
AZ Summit Law School, Art Institute of Phoenix Pushed to Shut Down
The law school, already on probation for failure to produce enough students who can pass the state bar exam, has been kicked out of its building in downtown Phoenix for allegedly not paying rent, according to legal news site Above the Law.
Texas A&M's New Law Dean Discusses Rankings and Importance of Diversity
"At this law school, there is a great deal of passion for being part of A&M in every sense. In the practical, functional sense, but also in the sense of the community and the network and the family that our law students are becoming a part of," Bobby Ahdieh said.
After Professor's Alleged 'N-Bomb,' Emory Law Rally Calls for Tolerance, Respect
A Wednesday rally organized by the Emory Black Law Students Association refrained from criticizing a professor accused of using the toxic term, instead calling for tolerance and a need to "be comfortable being uncomfortable" in discussing charged language and attitudes.
Other News
Law Professors Launch ScotusOA Focusing on Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Tonja Jacobi, professor of law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and law professor Matthew Sag of Loyola University of Chicago, decided to launch ScotusOA, a website dedicated to empirical analysis of Supreme Court oral arguments.
Classism In Academia II: Your Improbable Path from Lower Socioeconomic Status (SES) to Professor at a Top 10 Law School
If you're still throwing anecdotal evidence at LPB, then you're never going to let go of privilege.
Publishing
Building Brains: How Pearson Plans to Automate Education with AI
Instead of just telling them that an answer is right or wrong, a future update to Pearson’s math homework tool will give more detailed feedback on how they went wrong in the steps taken to get an answer, Marinova told Forbes in an interview.
The Aspen Advisor Week in Review is a collection of interesting articles from the past week that pertain to Legal Education. Some may be especially relevant to law professors and others to law students. Many stories focus on the pedagogical, technical, and financial innovation occurring in law schools today. We hope that these articles inspire you.
Nicole Pinard is the Executive Director of Market Development for the Legal Education division of Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory Solutions U.S.