Daily Archives: June 5, 2008

Bloomberg adds new enhancements

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Bloomberg is working to add new communications enhancements — as of 16 June 2008 — to its system, including in BLAW, for:

* Adding attachments to messages quickly
* Never losing a message by mistake
* Providing unlimited space to compose messages
* Sending to multiple recipients without creating a SPDL (Speed Dial) group
* Ensuring more powerful MSG (Message) search capabilities

In addition to the many topical areas (bankruptcy, corporate, insurance, litigation, securities, etc.) of law covered in Paul Lomio’s 29 May post to this blog

Bloomberg Law Reports – Good stuff for current awareness

Bloomberg has now created Sustainable Energy and Asia Pacific Law Reports.

About the Sustainable Energy report, one of the professors here just e-mailed this note to me:

This is very good and useful–I’d be keen to see it regularly.

When Secrecy Trumps Transparency

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Martin E. Halstuk writes about the OPEN [Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National] Government Act of 2007 in a recent issue of CommLaw Conspectus. ["When Secrecy Trumps Transparency: Why the OPEN Government Act of 2007 Falls Short," 16 CommLaw Conspectus 427 (2008)]

The OPEN Government Act of 2007 amends FOIA, and as Hastuk writes, “enhances public and press access to government-held information in several important procedural ways….However, the amendments fail to address systemic obstacles to a transparent government.”

“FOIA’s original crafters intended a policy that provided maximum disclosure. In past amendments — those of 1974, 1976, and 1996 — Congress revised the FOIA exemptions explicitly to override court opinions that contravened the statute’s legislative intent to preserve the democratic principles of government transparency. Yet, it has been more than thirty years since an exemption has been amended to strengthen FOIA…. In these times of increasing government secrecy, it is up to Congress to once again summon the political will necessary to strengthen FOIA.”

The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking About the Law

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In a recent issue of the Marquette Sports Law Review, Ryan M. Rodenberg reviews Ward Farnsworth’s book: The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking About the Law (U. Chicago Press, 2007).

I was a bit surprised to see this title reviewed in a sports law journal. The review starts off by saying that even though this isn’t a sports book…”it could be.”

Rodenberg writes that this book “should be on every sports lawyer’s bookshelf” — especially with catchy chapter titles like “Chicken” and “Baselines”.

Farnsworth “thinks that the law school curriculum focused on finite legal areas such as contracts, torts, property, and civil procedure should be tweaked to teach students certain tried-and-true analytical devices.”

Sounds useful, but how does this help the sports lawyer (or legal researcher)? Rodenberg explains that books provides very useful examples and analytical tools that the sports lawyer could and should use when solving legal problems. [The most notable example in the book, according to Rodenberg, is Farnworth's treatment of the slippery slope.]

And the review closes with the best plug of all — the reviewer not only recommends the book, but will be keeping “it within arm’s reach” of his desk.

Employing Active-Learning Techniques and Metacognition in Law School

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Interesting article here, one with particular relevance for teaching legal research.  The classes where we lecture the most are exhausting for us and, frankly, the message doesn’t appear to “stick” very well with our students.  We instructors need to talk less and have the students do more for successful learning, and this article offers some good ideas.

 

“Employing Active-Learning Techniques and Metacognition in Law School: Shifting Energy from Professor to Student”

University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, Vol. 81, 2003
St. John’s Legal Studies Research Paper No. 08-0125

ROBIN BOYLE, St. John’s University School of Law
edu

What is metacognition and why have your students engage in it? Metacognition is an instructional tool that “shifts energy from professor to student.” Researchers in fields of psychology and education have found metacognition to be an effective method to engage students in the learning process. Law students are diverse in their learning styles, according to assessments performed annually at St. John’s University School of Law. Law professors are encouraged to engage students in active learning and metacognitive exercises. This article presents examples of teaching techniques involving active engagement and metacognition.

Source: LSN: St. Johns University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series Vol. 10 No. 4,  06/05/2008