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And Best Practices For Legal Education

15th Annual Transactional Clinical Conference – Call for Proposals

via Professor Jaime Lee

 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

 

DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 19, 2016

 

15th Annual Transactional Clinical Conference—“Tools of Translation”

 

This year’s Transactional Clinical Conference (TCC) will be held on Friday, April 29, 2016 at the University of Baltimore School of Law (our host), immediately preceding the AALSClinical Conference. Conference Registration (https://www.squadup.com/events/tcc2016)

 

The conference will explore how both lawyering and teaching employ “tools of translation.” Very often our work as clinical instructors is the work of translation: How can we help our students translate the solid legal understandings gained in their foundational courses (corporations, IP, corporate finance, etc.) to accommodate the real-world needs of their clients, and especially to accommodate the needs of small businesses and community-based organizations? How do we as teachers translate our own knowledge of the law, of lawyering, and of our local communities into meaningful learning experiences for our students?

 

In keeping with this theme, there will be two tracks: (1) a new clinicians “Launch Pad” designed to support those new to the teaching profession, and (2) various teaching workshops focused on “Serving Client Enterprises.

 

TRACK 1 – New Clinicians “Launch Pad”

 

Our ranks continue to grow, and this year’s TCC will extend a special welcome to our new and newish clinicians, as we’ll mix our newest colleagues with those who have at least a few years under their belts. If you’re one of the latter and willing to share some of your wisdom, we hope you’ll submit a proposal or share in one of the ways suggested below. The AALS Clinical Conference will feature a comprehensive program for new clinicians; our goal is to complement but not duplicate the AALS program by providing very interactive discussions between new and experienced clinicians.

 

·       What I wish I knew then

·       Top 5 practical tips

·       Setting priorities as a new clinician

·       Concrete tools for nondirective teaching for new clinicians

 

TRACK 2 –  “Serving Client Enterprises” Client Service/Teaching Workshops 

Many of our prior programs have made available teaching and practice tools focus on larger enterprises. We hope to continue building on this rich set of resources while also providing some programs for clinicians whose law school clinics serve smaller, limited-resource, community-based organizations. These workshops will aim to share tools that serve smaller enterprises.

 

These sessions might include:

 

·       Serving LLCs: challenges and tools

·       How a resource-limited company protects its IP, addresses HR issues, etc.

·       How to teach what every clinical student needs to know about nonprofit organizations

·       Helping students translate the law into “plain English”

·       Special issues in teaching students how to serve group clients, solo entrepreneurs, start-ups, for-profit-non-profit hybrids, those in the underground economy, limited English proficiency clients, etc.

 

Proposals for either Track

·       The Planning Committee seeks individual or group proposals.

·       For individual presentations, we may put presenters together on panels based on the lawyering skill or tool presented.

·       The Planning Committee encourages sessions that focus on the practical application of tools and the sharing of useful resources.

·       Proposals for Track 1 may be provided in any format.

·       Proposals for Track 2 ideally should:

  • Identify a lawyering skill or tool that the clinician teaches effectively;
  • Explain the clinician’s learning objectives with respect to the lawyering skill or tool;
  • Explain in detail how the clinician teaches this lawyering skill or tool; and
  • Share written and other materials (such as class handouts or videos) that will assist the conference audience members in adopting the discussed teaching method.

 

The TCC can accommodate presentations and workshops of various sizes, lengths, and formats.

Please submit proposals (which need to be no longer than 1-2 pages) to the full committee by sending them to Jeff Ward at ward@law.duke.edu by February 19, 2016, and feel free to contact any committee member with questions.

 

Also, we are extending a special invitation this year to our newer colleagues. Please share this call for proposal and the registration link with all who may be interested.

 

Thank you, 15th Annual Transactional Clinical Conference Planning Committee:

 

Mary Landergan (Northeastern)

Jaime Lee (U Baltimore)

Frances Martinez (Texas)

James Niemann (Mizzou)

Jeff Ward (Duke)

Chip Lowe (Drake)