Engaging and Assessing Our Students
Session 5 Workshops

Friday, June 3, 2011 – 10:45 a.m-Noon

[A] Teaching Lawyer Effectiveness Across the Curriculum

Kenneth R. Margolis, Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Robert F. Seibel, California Western School of Law

Throughout legal education, we are experiencing renewed enthusiasm for producing "practice and profession ready" law graduates. Marjorie Schultz and Sheldon Zedeck's 26 lawyer eff ectiveness factors can be used as the focal point for that eff ort. In this workshop, we will engage the participants in two queries: 1) What are the best learning environments for teaching the lawyer eff ectiveness factors; and 2) How can we assess how well students have mastered those factors? We will help participant's select eff ectiveness factors that they wish to emphasize, and to develop concrete methods for assessing their success.

[B] Capturing the Interest of Civil Procedure Students Through Real-World Exercises

Michael B. Mushlin, Pace Law School and Judge Lisa Margaret Smith, Southern District of New York

Professor Michael Mushlin and United States Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith have spent four years developing a method for teaching civil procedure to first-year law students using real-life exercises which illustrate how the Federal Rules apply in actual cases. Their presentation will highlight the value of using the joint experience of a law professor who was a practicing lawyer and a federal judge to demonstrate the rules in hands-on ways that are rarely used in introductory classes. The presentation will include the exercises developed and used by the presenters, and participants will try their hand at an exercise.

[C] A Day-in-the-Life of a Transactional Lawyer: Negotiation, Ethics & Professionalism

Susan M. Chesler, Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law; and Patrick Longan and Karen J. Sneddon, Mercer Law School

To engage students in a robust discussion about ethics and professionalism, the presenters have produced a series of professional quality vignettes that feature realistic interactions in the day-in-the-life of a transactional attorney. The presenters will showcase selected scenes and lead the audience through an interactive dialogue to analyze the issues, spot the potential ethical problems, and discuss appropriate lawyer responses. These scenes address a variety of issues including the attorney's role in the negotiation process, models of negotiation, and client responsibility. Each participant will receive a digital copy of the vignette, scripts, selected discussion questions, and suggested talking points.

[D] Lessons in Civic Engagement and Cross-Campus Collaboration from Interdisciplinary Clinical Programs

Paula Galowitz, New York University School of Law; John C. Lore, Rutgers School of Law-Camden; Beth Lyon, Villanova University School of Law; Adriana Merino, Villanova University; and Kevin Murphy, Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Jersey

This workshop will enable participants to consider and undertake cross-departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration in their own service learning coursework. Interdisciplinary service learning programs allow collaboration between faculty, pre-professionals and professionals in a wide range of fields. The opportunity to integrate services across the university or community with intentional reflection individually, with other students, and with faculty provides exciting and challenging learning opportunities. Presenters will briefly discuss their individual programs and work with participants to generate ideas for collaborative programs that meet the needs of their own program, home institution, and community. The workshop also will explore the diff erent pedagogies of these programs, and the potential political and institutional challenges.

[E] Rethinking "Thinking Like a Lawyer": Towards a New Paradigm

Robin Wellford Slocum, Chapman University School of Law

Paradoxically, our strategy of teaching students to "think like lawyers" by appealing solely to the analytical mind limits our eff ectiveness in teaching students to "think like lawyers." Modern neuroscience reveals that the "emotional" brain is so intertwined with the "thinking" brain that we literally cannot think or problem-solve without it. Using a short YouTube clip related to the wrongful rape prosecution of three Duke Lacrosse players, I will conduct a mock class demonstrating how we can help students counteract the emotional brain's hidden agendas that oft en sabotage eff orts to think clearly and dispassionately.