Legal Clinics

CALI presentation on Monday

Submitted by Tom Boone on June 13, 2007 - 10:23pm.

I'm presenting on Monday morning at the CALI Conference for Law School Computing here at UNLV. Here's the program summary of the session I'm co-leading with Prof. Megan Chaney:

What Can You Do for Me? Using Web Technology to Expand Library Service for Law School Clinics
Audience: All
Technical Level: Low

With experiential learning playing a prominent role in legal education, law school librarians need to expand the level of service they provide to law school clinics, moving beyond scholarship and curriculum support, offering the same kind of practice support found in law firms.

Professors Boone and Chaney argue that clinics and libraries must make some fundamental changes in the ways they work together. This includes the implementation of digital library technologies for clinics, as well as the creation of a new professional clinical position: clinic library coordinator.

The presenters will demonstrate some of the methods they have used this semester to implement these changes, including a walk-through of an clinic website that incorporates knowledge management for student case practice, electronic research tools for practice and scholarship support, course management for the classroom, enhanced communication tools, and full case management, all using open-source tools.

Tom Boone
Head of Electronic and Information Services
University of Nevada William S. Boyd School of Law
tom dot boone at unlv dot edu

Megan F. Chaney
Visiting Associate Professor of Law
University of Nevada William S. Boyd School of Law
megan dot chaney at unlv dot edu

New guide profiles law school public service programs

Submitted by Tom Boone on April 1, 2007 - 12:27am.

Washington nonprofit organization Equal Justice Works has created an interactive guide to public service opportunities at U.S. law schools...

The E-Guide to Public Service at America's Law Schools is a free
interactive online resource that provides a broad range of information
about public interest programs and curricula at 116 law schools.[...]

The E-Guide details how the nation's law schools are preparing the next
generation of lawyers. It provides comparable information on a range of key factors such as:

-- Availability of clinical and externship programs

-- Number of staff dedicated to administering public service programs

-- Loan repayment assistance for graduates who enter public service.

Newsweek.com hosts the guide on its website.

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Insider's view of Supreme Court clinics

Submitted by Tom Boone on April 1, 2007 - 12:08am.

Appellate litigator Howard J. Bashman shares his experience working with the University of Virginia's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic in a column for Law.com...

I recently had the opportunity to consult with several law school U.S. Supreme Court clinics on behalf of a pro bono client of mine who had received an unfavorable ruling from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in a case involving an issue that had a reasonable prospect of U.S. Supreme Court review.[...]

The UVA clinic drafted very persuasive papers to be filed in the case, and I was provided with the proposed filings sufficiently in advance of the deadlines to allow me to offer meaningful substantive comments and suggestions. The case presented the U.S. Supreme Court with a 13 to 12 division among state courts of last resort over whether a grandparent had to prove harm or potential harm to the child before a court could order grandparent visitation over the objection of a fit parent.

The Supreme Court eventually denied certiorari on Bashman's case and never actually heard the appeal.

[Law.com] A User's Guide to Law School Supreme Court Clinics

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