Free Speech on Campus

A recent storm at Yale Law School regarding a party invitation.

"Every first-year law student learns in torts class about the plaintiff with the “eggshell skull” — someone who suffers a greater injury than normal and must be compensated accordingly. But in the modern world, it seems, everyone’s skulls are susceptible to cracking at the slightest provocation. “Taking the worst possible reading and then twisting it to make it worse is a practice that is all too common,” Colbert told me."

See Washington Post

Vermont Law School sued as it wants to cover up slave mural

Vermont Law School is being sued to prevent it covering up a painting, depicting the Underground Railway and slaves.  The Law School commissioned with work in 1994.  The artist is fighting for the integrity of the art work.  The case concerns moral rights.

The centre of the case is the Visual Artists Rights Act.  Or is the case really about changing community standards? 

A local paper has this story about the case.  An earlier newspaper article.  It is hard to determine who is morally right.

Some Lawyers Work Can be Automated!

Experts say 23% of lawyers' work can be automated.  Law schools are trying to stay ahead of the curve.

See https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/02/06/technology-is-changing-the-legal-profession-and-law-schools.html

Should you go to law school in Australia?

You may have seen reference to the New South Wales Law Society report on the “Future Prospects of Law Graduates” in last Friday’s Australian. If you have not seen the full report here is the link to it. http://www.lawsociety.com.au/cs/groups/public/documents/internetcontent/980877.pdf

Machines v Lawyers

"Some observers, not implausibly, blame the recession for these developments. But the plight of legal education and of the attorney workplace is also a harbinger of a looming transformation in the legal profession. Law is, in effect, an information technology—a code that regulates social life. And as the machinery of information technology grows exponentially in power, the legal profession faces a great disruption not unlike that already experienced by journalism, which has seen employment drop by about a third and the market value of newspapers devastated. The effects on law will take longer to play themselves out, but they will likely be even greater because of the central role that lawyers play in public life."

See Full Article - Machines v. Lawyers

Too Many Lawyers

Law Schools’ Applications Fall as Costs Rise and Jobs Are Cut

Applications are headed for a 30-year low, reflecting increased concern over soaring tuition, crushing student debt and diminishing prospects of lucrative employment upon graduation.

http://nyti.ms/14xHPnF

Is Law School Worth The Money?

See NY Times Article

"The graying of baby-boom lawyers creates opportunities. As more senior lawyers retire, jobs will open, even in the unlikely case that the law business doesn’t expand with an improving economy. More opportunity will open to women and minorities, too. As with any industry in transition, changes in the delivery of legal services create opportunities as well as challenges. Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial lawyers will find ways to capitalize on this."

Law Schools That Teach Little About Legal Practice

From the NY Times:

Law Schools That Teach Little About Legal Practice
By DAVID SEGAL
Law schools have long emphasized the theoretical over the useful, leaving law firms fairly resigned to training their hires how to actually practice law.

Law Dog

Yale's dog: Click here.

Is Law School A Losing Game?

See this story from the U.S. To what extent is the situation the same in Australia?