Learning About Law Through Taylor Swift

Fun little article from a while back in the ABA Journal: Swift Justice: Students learn about the law through Taylor Swift cases.

It describes a few US law schools that offer law classes, often about intellectual property but covering other legal topics as well, using the legal troubles of mega-starTaylor Swift:

As stated by Vivek Jayaram, co-director of the University of  Miami Law’s Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law LL.M program:

"I bet Swifties know more about IP law than a lot of lawyers..."

University of Toronto Podcast Course on the Charter of Rights

I recently came across Charter: A Course podcast, a series of classes about Canadian constitutional law and litigation.

"In each episode, we highlight the accomplishments of U of T Law’s faculty and alumni involved in leading constitutional cases and issues. Each episode also includes a 'Practice Corner,' where we talk about the ins and outs of what it means to be a constitutional litigator."

"Whether you are a law student, a lawyer, or just an interested person, we hope that you learn about an aspect of constitutional law and litigation that interests you in our podcast."

The series was created by the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights at the University of Toronto and is now in its 3rd season.

November/December 2023 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The November/December 2023 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available online.

It is a publication of the American Association of Law Libraries. 

This issue has a series of feature articles on innovation, including articles on:

• a "Leveraging Technology to Promote Access to Justice" class at Villanova University (in Pennsylvania)
• a bootcamp about artificial intelligence at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee)

Law Librarian Opinions About Dealing With Generative AI in Legal Research & Writing Classes

Hannah Rosborough, Instruction & Scholarly Communications Librarian at the Sir James Dunn Law Library, Dalhousie University (Halifax), has written an article for Slaw.ca that looks at how the issues surrounding generative artificial intelligence are addressed in the law classroom:

"Many legal information professionals have valid concerns about how generative AI’s application in legal research may impact the integrity of the profession. Meanwhile, social media (e.g., LinkedIn and Twitter) is flooded with legal tech companies’ commentary on how it can be harnessed to streamline legal research, improving efficiency and productivity. I reached out to several colleagues to hear their thoughts and ideas on how to address this contentious topic in their legal research classrooms."

She has asked for opinions from:

• Annette Demers, Reference Librarian at the Paul Martin Law Library, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
• Marcelo Rodriguez, Assistant Librarian & Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian at the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, University of Arizona
• Dominique Garingan, Sessional Instructor, University of Calgary Faculty of Law
• Matthew Renaud, Law Librarian, E.K. Williams Law Library, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba

Free Online Workshop on The Open Casebook Revolution

On July 6, 2022, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers is hosting a free, online workshop entitled The Open Casebook Revolution at noon Eastern time:

"The open access law book 'revolution' ... is gaining momentum. Open access law books are materials compiled and edited for law students, practitioners and/or the public that are freely hosted on websites and as downloadable, searchable, printable, mark-up-able PDFs. In the United States, dozens of open access law casebooks are popping up on platforms such as SSRN, Open Textbook Library, eLangdell and H2O."

"In Canada, CanLII hosts Professor Beswick’s casebook, Tort Law: Cases and Commentaries, and Messrs Fiddick and Wardell’s handbook, The CanLII Manual to British Columbia Civil Litigation. These materials are freely available alternatives to commercial casebooks and handbooks, which are typically expensive, heavy, and have a short shelf-life."

"Open access law books have clear practical, pedagogical and societal advantages. On the practical side, compared to commercial alternatives, open access books are simpler to edit, faster to publish, easier to update, and free. On the pedagogical side, they empower flexibility and innovation. They can be more readily structured to suit the editor’s teaching aims. They can link to podcasts 🎧, videos 📺, blogs, news, articles, books, and judgments. Readers can keyword search and highlight text. Students don’t break their backs carrying them. They can also be integrated with quizzes and exam exercises. On the social side, open access legal materials advance access to justice. Commercial materials are often beyond the reach of the public and, in some cases, students."

The session will feature the 3 Canadian authors mentioned above:

• Samuel Beswick, Assistant Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
• John Fiddick, Director, Whitelaw Twining.
• Cameron Wardell, Partner, Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP

 It will be chaired by Sarah Sutherland, President and CEO, Canadian Legal Information Institute

List of Fastcase 50 Legal Innovators for 2021

Fastcase, an American-based provider of electronic versions of U.S. primary law (cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and constitutions), has unveiled its list of Fastcase 50 winners for the year 2021:

"Created in 2011, each year the Fastcase 50 award honors a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, policymakers, judges, law librarians, bar association executives, and people from all walks of life. In many cases, honorees are well known, but in many others, the award recognizes people who have made important, but unheralded contributions."

" 'The past year has presented challenges that provided opportunities to advance the law, and even accelerated some innovations into the mainstream,' said Fastcase CEO Ed Walters. 'We celebrate the diligence, discipline, passion, and creativity of these Fastcase 50 honorees. We are as proud as ever to spotlight the eleventh class of the Fastcase 50, highlighting now 550 people who have inspired our profession, since our first class in 2011'."

There are a number of law librarians in the list. 

In 2020, Kim Nayyer, current President of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, was named to the list.

Michael Mills, one of the Fastcase 50 in 2012, wrote in 2015 on LinkedIn about how the winners of the previous 5 years had begun to form an ecosystem of innovation:

“They champion transparency—in lawyer/client relations, in government data, policy, and practice, in judicial proceedings, and in legal education. They advocate for access—to the law itself, and to justice. They build structures, systems, and tools for access, quality, economy, and efficiency.”

“They also collaborate. A tour of the five classes found time and again 50’s who are working together across organizations and projects, who influence and inspire one another.” [my emphasis]

Using his company as an example, Mills writes that “from any one person among the Fastcase 250, there are lines linking in many directions to many others.”

That has only become truer with time.

CanLII Adds Law School Course Readings to Its Commentary Collection

CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute, has started adding law school course readings to its commentary collection.

The first ever class materials added to the site are for An Introduction to Civil Procedure: Readings, by University of Windsor Faculty of Law Professor Noel Semple. The materials include decisions, legislation, articles, and lecture videos.

CanLII is a portal funded by Canada’s provincial and territorial law societies to make legal information content (court judgments, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations, commentary) available to Canadians free of charge.

In recent years, it has been expanding its offerings of legal commentary, including law reviews, reports, newsletters and thousands of case commentaries.

Canadian Association of Law Libraries VP Kim Nayyer Named to Fastcase 50

Kim Nayyer, Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, has been named to the 2020 list of Fastcase 50 legal innovators. 

Kim is currently the Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Associate Dean for Library Services, Cornell Law in the state of New York.

“Created in 2011, each year the Fastcase 50 award honors a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, policymakers, judges, law librarians, bar association executives, and people from all walks of life. In many cases, honorees are well known, but in many others, the award recognizes people who have made important, but unheralded contributions.”

“ 'Every part of the legal market is changing right now – from law school through every part of the practice,' said Fastcase CEO Ed Walters. 'That change can be daunting or discouraging to many people. And that’s one reason that our team enjoys celebrating the accomplishments of the Fastcase 50. These are people who inspire us by their intelligence, creativity, and leadership. We hope they will inspire others as well, especially during a time of great change for the profession'. ”

Here is what Fastcase published about her:

Fastcase is an American-based provider of electronic versions of U.S. primary law (cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and constitutions).

Simon Fodden, the founder of Slaw.ca, Canada's preeminent online legal magazine, was recognized as one of the Fastcase 50 in 2014.

Michael Mills, one of the Fastcase 50 in 2012, wrote in 2015 on LinkedIn about how the winners of the previous 5 years had begun to form an ecosystem of innovation:

“They champion transparency—in lawyer/client relations, in government data, policy, and practice, in judicial proceedings, and in legal education. They advocate for access—to the law itself, and to justice. They build structures, systems, and tools for access, quality, economy, and efficiency.”

“They also collaborate. A tour of the five classes found time and again 50’s who are working together across organizations and projects, who influence and inspire one another.” [my emphasis]

Using his company as an example, Mills writes that “from any one person among the Fastcase 250, there are lines linking in many directions to many others.”

That has only become truer with time.

Papers from Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Thinking About Law, Law Practice, and Legal Education

As F. Tim Knight, librarian at the Osgoode Hall Law School Library, wrote earlier today on Slaw.ca:

" 'Artificial Intelligence: Thinking About Law, Law Practice, and Legal Education' was a two-day conference which covered topics 'ranging from autonomous vehicles to robotic surgery, and from smart phones to smart speakers.' Presenters included legal educators, practitioners, policy makers, and computer scientists. The speakers addressed the many ways that the development of artificial intelligence is affecting the legal profession, legal education, law and society."

"Jan M. Levine, Professor of Law and Director, Legal Research & Writing Program at Duquesne University School of Law, provides more information in his foreword to the Duquesne University Law Review issue featuring papers from the symposium."

The conference took place in 2019 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. 

The complete list of papers is available on the conference website.

One-Day Legal Research and Writing Workshop in Toronto

On December 6, 2019, Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law will jointly host a One-Day Legal Writing Institute Workshop entitled Research and Writing in the Experiential Learning Context.

The event takes place at Osgoode Hall and includes the following workshops:

• Supporting the Development of Rigorous Legal Writing Skills Using a Clinician’s Toolkit
• Problem-based Law Clinic Workshops 
• Minding the Gaps: Making Students Mindful of Weaknesses in their Legal Analysis and Writing 
• Experiential Learning and Legal Technology Proficiency
• Maximizing the Experiential Experience: How to Boost Research Skills Instruction for Long-Term Retention
• Teaching Contracts and Commercial Contracts as an Upper Level Legal Writing Experiential Course
• Two for the Price of One: Integrating Transactional Drafting into Traditional Legal Writing Assignments

List of Fastcase 50 Legal Innovators for 2019

Fastcase, an American-based provider of electronic versions of U.S. primary law (cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and constitutions), has unveiled its list of Fastcase 50 winners for the year 2019:

"Created in 2011, each year the Fastcase 50 award honors a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, policymakers, judges, law librarians, bar association executives, and people from all walks of life. In many cases, honorees are well known, but in many others, the award recognizes people who have made important, but unheralded contributions."

" 'Every part of the legal market is changing right now – from law school through every part of the practice,' said Fastcase CEO Ed Walters. 'That change can be daunting or discouraging to many people. And that’s one reason that our team enjoys celebrating the accomplishments of the Fastcase 50. These are people who inspire us by their intelligence, creativity, and leadership. We hope they will inspire others as well, especially during a time of great change for the profession'. "

There are a number of law librarians in the list:

• Marlene Gebauer Global Director of Strategic Legal Insights, Greenberg Traurig LLP
• Darla Jackson Research and Electronic Resources Librarian, The University of Oklahoma College of Law
• Jim Shelar Former Chief Law Librarian, Arnold & Porter (In Memoriam)

Simon Fodden, the founder of Slaw.ca, Canada's preeminent online legal magazine, was recognized as one of the Fastcase 50 in 2014.

Michael Mills, one of the Fastcase 50 in 2012, wrote in 2015 on LinkedIn about how the winners of the previous 5 years had begun to form an ecosystem of innovation:

“They champion transparency—in lawyer/client relations, in government data, policy, and practice, in judicial proceedings, and in legal education. They advocate for access—to the law itself, and to justice. They build structures, systems, and tools for access, quality, economy, and efficiency.”

“They also collaborate. A tour of the five classes found time and again 50’s who are working together across organizations and projects, who influence and inspire one another.” [my emphasis]

Using his company as an example, Mills writes that “from any one person among the Fastcase 250, there are lines linking in many directions to many others.”

University Affairs Article on Rise of Aboriginal Law in Canada

University Affairs, the journal of the organization Universities Canada (formerly the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada), published an article last week on The rise of Aboriginal law.

It describes how Canada's law schools are quickly revamping their programs to introduce more courses on Indigenous issue and legal traditions:

"... a string of Supreme Court challenges, land claims disputes and clashes over billion-dollar resource developments have vaulted Indigenous issues into the spotlight and transformed Aboriginal law into the fastest-growing sector of the legal landscape. Most major legal firms in Canada now employ an Aboriginal law group and there are dozens of smaller boutique firms that focus solely on the topic (...)"

"In reaction to this rapidly evolving legal landscape, and in response to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, law schools have not only bolstered their Aboriginal law offerings but are also introducing new courses aimed at enhancing students’ understanding of Indigenous issues and legal traditions (...) "

"One of the TRC’s list of 94 recommendations is aimed directly at law schools. Number 28 requires that all law students take a mandatory course in Aboriginal people and the law, which 'includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism'. "

September/October 2018 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The  September/October 2018 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available online.

It is a publication of the American Association of Law Libraries.

Among the feature articles are:

• Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work in Law Firms
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Getting Started with Reference Tracking Systems & Data Analytics
• Let's Teach Our Student Legal Technology ... But What Should We Include?

List of Fastcase 50 Legal Innovators for 2018

Fastcase, an American-based provider of electronic versions of U.S. primary law (cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and constitutions), has unveiled its list of Fastcase 50 winners for the year 2018.

"Created in 2011, each year the Fastcase 50 award honors a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, policymakers, judges, law librarians, bar association executives, and people from all walks of life. In many cases, honorees are well known, but in many others, the award recognizes people who have made important, but unheralded contributions."

There are a number of law librarians in the list:

• Kenton Brice, Director of Technology Innovation, The University of Oklahoma College of Law
• Femi Cadmus, Edward Cornell Law Librarian, Associate Dean for Library Services, and Professor of the Practice, Cornell Law School
• Kate Hagan, Executive Director, American Association of Law Libraries
• Saskia Mehlhorn, Director of Knowledge Management & Library Services, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Simon Fodden, the founder of Slaw.ca, Canada's preeminent online legal magazine, was recognized as one of the Fastcase 50 in 2014.

Michael Mills, one of the Fastcase 50 in 2012, wrote in 2015 on LinkedIn about how the winners of the previous 5 years had begun to form an ecosystem of innovation:

“They champion transparency—in lawyer/client relations, in government data, policy, and practice, in judicial proceedings, and in legal education. They advocate for access—to the law itself, and to justice. They build structures, systems, and tools for access, quality, economy, and efficiency.”

“They also collaborate. A tour of the five classes found time and again 50’s who are working together across organizations and projects, who influence and inspire one another.” [my emphasis]

Using his company as an example, Mills writes that “from any one person among the Fastcase 250, there are lines linking in many directions to many others.”

Law Library of Congress: First Women Lawyers and Judges

To mark International Women's Day later this week, In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., asked foreign law specialists, analysts, and interns of the institution to list who the first women lawyers and judges were in different countries around the world.

The questions they were asked were:

"When did a woman first graduate from law school? When were women first admitted to the practice of law? When was the first female judge appointed?  How many of the current judges of the highest court are women?"

University Of Ottawa Will Host Revived Court Challenges Program

According to the CBC, the University of Ottawa will host a revived Court Challenges Program to help Canadians launch constitutional rights cases in court.

The Program, which provided funding to help minority, women's and other disadvantaged groups to help them launch "test court cases" challenging laws that may violate equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, was dismantled under the previous federal government.

According to the CBC story:

"The university will create a new Canadian Centre for the Court Challenges Program, which will be independent of the school aside from administrative support."

"Its role will be to assist the two expert panels who decide which cases to fund: one devoted to official-language cases and the other to human rights (...)"

"[Professor Richard] Clément said the centre will soon hire a small staff, including two lawyers to receive and analyze requests. The lawyers will present each case to the relevant expert panel, who will decide independently whether to provide funding."

The government has committed to spend $5 million per year on the program.

Earlier Library Boy posts about the Court Challenges Program include (older links may not work):

• Court Challenges Program Challenged? (September 7, 2006): "Newspapers of the CanWest Global chain distributed a Janice Tibbetts article today that claims that the federal government may be considering the elimination of the Court Challenges Program as part of an overall review of government programs (...) The CanWest News Service article entitled Funding for minority groups to challenge federal laws under review reports that the program, first set up under former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, 'has been the target of harsh criticism from social conservatives and critics of so-called judicial activism, who assert the initiative is a slush-fund for left-leaning groups to circumvent the will of elected legislators by challenging them in court'."
• Lawsuit to Reinstate Federal Court Challenges Program (January 8, 2008): "According to [the Osgoode Hall Law School blog] The Court, 'Last month, a coalition of eight organizations representing equality-seeking communities announced that it will file a motion in Federal Court to intervene in a case challenging the decision of the federal government to cut funding to the Court Challenges Program (...) While operating, the program funded cases dealing with issues such as same-sex marriage, accessibility rights for people with disabilities, sex discrimination, violence against women, criminal law provisions regarding the use of disciplinary force against children, and racial discrimination in the immigration system'. "
• Impact on Language Minorities from Court Challenges Program Cancellation (January 22, 2008): "The most recent issue of the Canadian government's Weekly Checklist of official publications lists the December 2007 report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages on the Court Challenges Program." 
• Partial Restoration of Court Challenges Program (June 20, 2008): "The government is only reestablishing the official languages minority component of the program, under the name Program to Support Linguistic Rights. However, funding has not been restored for Charter challenges by other groups such as ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians or people with disabilities."

Primary Research Group Report on Use of Law School & Other Digital Repositories

New York-based Primary Research Group has just published a report called Survey of Law School Faculty: Use of Law School & Other Digital Repositories:

"The study defines how faculty use law school and other digital repositories, answering with hard data questions such as: what percentage of law school faculty have deposited a journal article into a repository? A book? Newspaper and magazine articles? Blog posts? Videos of classroom lectures? Other forms of intellectual property?  How do faculty use repositories in research and teaching? Do they use the repositories of law schools other than their own? General university repositories?"

"The study also gives detailed information on how faculty assess their law school and other repositories, including assessments of how well the repositories are marketed, how well they help faculty with obtaining permissions, how well they report usage data and other repository services to faculty."

Among the respondent were professors from the University of Alberta Law School.

Print and PDF versions are available for $139(US). Site licenses are also available.

List of Fastcase 50 Legal Innovators for 2017

Fastcase, an American-based provider of electronic versions of U.S. primary law (cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and constitutions), has unveiled its list of Fastcase 50 winners for the year 2017.

"Created in 2011, each year the Fastcase 50 award honors a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, policymakers, judges, law librarians, bar association executives, and people from all walks of life. In many cases, honorees are well known, but in many others, the award recognizes people who have made important, but unheralded contributions."

There are a number of Canadians in the list:

• Rian Gauvreau, Co-Founder and COO, Clio
•  Monica Goyal, Founder, My Legal Briefcase and Aluvion Law; Adjunct Professor of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School
•  Thomas G. Martin, Founder, LawDroid; Co-Founder, Vancouver Legal Hacker 

Simon Fodder, the founder of Slaw.ca, Canada's preeminent online legal magazine, was recognized as one of the Fastcase 50 in 2014.

Winter 2017 Issue of Law Library Journal

The Winter 2017 issue of Law Library Journal is now available online. It is published by the American Association of Law Lbraries.

Featured articles include:

• The Law School Library or the Library at the Law School? How Lessons from Other Types of Libraries Can Inform the Evolution of the Academic Law Library in the Digital Age: "Academic law libraries must adapt to the new digital environment of reduced funds, smaller physical collections, and greater use of electronic resources. This article examines the historical development of academic law libraries and the current challenges they face, different approaches libraries take to change, and lessons about how to thrive from nonlaw libraries."
• Law Libraries and the Future of Public Access to Born-Digital Government Information: "As government publications have shifted from print to electronic, mechanisms for guaranteeing the public’s right to access government information have not kept pace. Because legal resources are among the publications most at risk of loss, law libraries should participate in efforts to ensure that born-digital government information remains freely available to all." 
• Increasing Article Findability Online: The Four Cs of Search Engine Optimization : "As researchers increasingly and exclusively conduct legal research online, authors must learn the essential skill of ensuring that their articles are both findable and among the top-ranked results in a search. This article highlights four search engine optimization best practices to apply to legal scholarship: creating effective titles, abstracts, and metadata; cross-discipline marketing to multiple disciplines; crossposting to multiple locations; and converting to searchable PDFs."

Upcoming Ottawa Conference on the Charter and Emerging Issues in Constitutional Rights and Freedoms: From 1982 to 2032

The University of Ottawa is organizing a conference entitled Charter and Emerging Issues in Constitutional Rights and Freedoms: From 1982 to 2032 on March 8-10, 2017:

"Our conference will bring together leading constitutional scholars, as well as community leaders and policy makers to discuss and examine the possibilities and challenges for constitutional rights and freedoms over the next 10-15 years. The conference will begin on the evening of Wednesday, March 8, 2017 with a public debate on 'Resolved: The Charter Revolution is Over'. There will be a reception at the Supreme Court of Canada on the evening of Thursday, March 9, 2017."

"The Honourable Mr. Justice Richard Wagner of the Supreme Court of Canada will deliver a keynote address."

The conference is part of the Constitution 150 project, a year-long partnership of the Public Law Group at the University of Ottawa, the Centre for Constitutional Studies, the University of Alberta, and the Université de Montréal.