Category: Discipline

LWI 2018: Sessions on empirical study of legal communication

Posted onAuthorBrian LarsonLeave a comment

The schedule for the Legal Writing Institute 2018 biennial conference in Milwaukee, July 11 — July 14, is published (version as of June 27), and it looks terrific, with a great focus on pedagogy and pedagogical research in the field! This blog post is about a subset of the sessions, those devoted to empirical study of legal communication.  In that category, I include any study that systematically examines some class of legal communication outside the law-school context (so, not including classroom and pedagogical research). I’m excited to see scholars pursuing such projects. I’ve made the argument in the past that Read More …

Empirical research into legal comm’n & professional status of LRW faculty

Posted onAuthorBrian Larson2 Comments

I was delighted to finagle an invitation to speak on a panel at the Legal Writing Institute in Portland on July 12, during the meeting of the LWI Professional Status Committee. The committee met in a plenary session with a larger audience and conducted its business, and then we panelists were asked to comment in short form (two minutes each) on an angle or issue relating to the professional status of legal research and writing faculty. (For readers outside the legal academy, teachers of communication in that field face status challenges similar to those faced by teachers of writing in the broader academy Read More …

Reflections on October 18 readings for 8011

Posted onAuthorBrian Larson5 Comments

I didn’t think I’d have time to write a reflection on this week’s readings, as we have a big assignment due in 8011 tonight. As it happens, though, I’ve managed to get the assignment mostly completed and I’ve managed to get through this week’s readings to boot. So, here are my reflections: MacNealy, Chapters 4 & 5 MacNealy, M. S. (1998). Strategies for Empirical Research in Writing. Longman. I feel like my feet are touching ground again, after a couple of weeks focused on cultural studies and critical methods. MacNealy offers a very practical overview of basic issues in quantitative Read More …