Law Schools

The Future Of Legal Scholarship

Registration information and a list of speakers for this conference can be found here.

By  
on

I decided a while ago to annually hold a symposium about current issues in legal academia.  To me, the biggest issue in legal academia is: What the hell are we doing?  We’re writing a lot, and seeking to publish those pieces in “top law reviews,” even as some of those in the “top” change.  We look for acknowledgment of our research among an ever-increasing body of work.  We write to communicate ideas, but that communication is increasingly unidirectional in the large volume of articles that get published every year.

For some, the search for meaning has included social media.  Some have used it solely for self-promotion, others to express and extend ideas embedded in research.  Others use it as a bully pulpit for political ideas.  Others use it to be humorous, spread joy, and complain about meetings.

Meanwhile, school administrators seek to measure what we do.  Metrics have included the ranking of journals, the number of citations, the number of downloads on SSRN, and a variety of methods employed by law professors (who suspiciously enough do very well by their own metrics).

To address all of these issues, and to answer my existential question, the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, Professor Eric Segall at Georgia State, and I have assembled a star-studded cast.  The panel topics are as follows:

What is a Good Law Review Article?  We tend to use proxies to determine what a good article is, but what is it really?  Should it contribute in some meaningful way to existing legal questions, or is it sufficient that it generate a foundation for research that does so in the future?  How does an article get noticed in an ever-increasing sea of articles?

Does Scholarship Live and Die in A Vacuum?  The mantra of scholarship is to “publish or perish.”  Is this a false dichotomy?  Can an article be published and still perish?  Should law professors acting as advocates, engaging in amicus briefs, op-eds, and frequent press encounters to inform the public be considered to have engaged in scholarship?

How Do We Even Measure Scholarship?  While productivity is often measured in the economy, is the ability to measure scholarly success limited?  Do certain measurements of scholarship lead to bias based on race, gender, or for other reasons?

Sponsored

In addition to these panels, the lunchtime speaker will be retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner.  Judge Posner and I have not always seen eye to eye on issues of scholarship.  I’ll be excited to hear him provide insights into the direction of legal scholarship and legal education.  I’ll be tweeting furiously as he speaks.

Come join us!  If you’re in the Chicago area, or even if you’re not, come join the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, Judge Posner, Professor Segall, and great list of speakers for a fun-filled day discussing the halls of legal academe.  Oh, and I’ll be there, too.  Registration information and a list of speakers can be found here.

LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top-100 law school. You can see more of his musings here.  He is way funnier on social media, he claims.  Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg) or Facebook. Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , , , ,