September 2006
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Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) to be Discussed at Special Forum with Dean Garth
Did you know that Southwestern students spend an average of more than
19 hours per week on reading associated with their classes in their
first year, and just over 13 hours per week in their third year? Or
that they average 6.5 to 7 hours per week commuting to school? And that
first and second-year students here are more likely to have had
"serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity"
than students at other law schools?
These and a variety of other findings about Southwestern students'
experiences were collected from the 2006 Law School Survey of Student
Engagement (LSSSE) this past spring. Thanks to all of our students who
participated in the survey, the Southwestern faculty, staff and
trustees have a better sense of how the law school is doing in terms of
"the extent to which law students devote time and energy to
educationally sound activities and the policies and practices that
induce students to take part in such activities." Dean Garth has
scheduled an open meeting with students to present a report on the
survey results on October 24 at 12:30 and 5:00 p.m.
This was the second year that Southwestern participated in the LSSSE,
providing the law school with an opportunity to compare results with
other participating schools as well as with our own results from last
year. The 2006 national survey included 64 schools and nearly 25,000
individual respondents. More than 53% of our students answered the
survey, just under the national average, but an increase of close to
20% over the Southwestern participation rate of the previous year.
The survey poses questions regarding how students organize their time,
what they feel they've gained from their classes, their assessment of
interactions with faculty, staff and peers, and their involvement in
campus activities. Students complete the survey online through a secure
website.
By and large, the results show that Southwestern students are
significantly more satisfied than a year ago regarding the "quality of
relationships with administrative staff and offices," as well as with
their overall experience at the law school. Results also indicate that
there is room for improvement in the general areas of advising and
planning, and in the development among Southwestern students of a
strong professional identity.
According to Dean Garth, who chairs the LSSSE Advisory Board, "I am
optimistic that we can continue to use the survey results to understand
and improve legal education and student life at Southwestern. Over this
past year, we have successfully addressed many of the issues that were
of concern and have begun to focus on new areas this year through a
variety of avenues." He is encouraging students to come to the October
24 presentation. "Those who attend will learn quite a bit about
numerous aspects of the Southwestern Community," he said.
Among the many changes implemented recently that are related to survey
results as well as to faculty initiatives designed to improve the
overall academic program are: curriculum, grading and attendance
policy reforms; improvement of final exam procedures; the
implementation of WebAdvisor; the expansion of the wireless internet
network; and increased staffing in the Accounting, Computer Services,
Financial Aid, Library, and Records and Registration offices.
Co-sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and The
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the LSSSE survey
is designed to collect information about student behaviors and law
school environments to help law faculty and administrators focus
attention and resources in ways that will enhance student learning and
law school effectiveness. It provides law schools with information they
can use almost immediately to improve various aspects of their
performance and help students get the most out of their law school
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The Alliance for Children's Rights to Honor Southwestern Trustee
John Schulman
On November 13, 2006, The Alliance for Children's Rights will award
their prestigious Champion for Children Award to Southwestern Trustee
John Schulman and
his wife Toni. Dedicated and remarkable individuals, the Schulmans have
been personally involved with the Alliance since it was established 14
years ago. "They are an incredible duo, passionate about helping
kids and inspiring everyone around them to do the same," says Dennis
Codon '77, Alliance board member, partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi
LLP and Chair of the Southwestern Board of Trustees. "In the midst
of their busy lives, they find time to ensure that the children we serve
continue to have a voice."
Southwestern and the Alliance have more in common than the benefit
of John Schulman's support. Students have put their skills to practice
at Alliance adoption days as a component of our "Children in the
Law" class taught by Commissioner Amy Pellman, a member of Southwestern's
adjunct faculty and the former Legal Director at the Alliance. Southwestern
is also collaborating with the Alliance on "Street Law," a
clinical externship in which students teach a 10-week course of law-related
critical life skills to youth in the Los Angeles dependency, delinquency
and special education systems. And, in addition to Codon and Schulman,
Southwestern trustees Daniel Petrocelli ' 80 and James Coufos are members
of the Alliance board.
One of the most respected attorneys in the entertainment industry
today, John Schulman serves as Executive Vice President & General Counsel for Warner
Bros., in charge of all of Warner Bros.' legal needs from negotiations to litigation.
Prior to arriving at Warner Bros. in 1984, John was a founding partner of the
law firm then known as Weissman, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman & Schulman, LLP.
Like Toni, John has been involved with the Alliance from its start. Of his considerable
drive to help these children, John says "the kids the Alliance serves aren't
responsible for their plight. They didn't put themselves in that position, and
it's all of our responsibility to help them out of it." In addition to
his work with the Alliance, John currently serves on the board of directors
of Bet
Tzedek Legal Services. He's a former member of the board of directors of California
Legal Corps, the Constitutional Rights Foundation and the Youth Law Center;
he is also a former member of the board of trustees of the Center for Early
Education.
Toni, a devoted child advocate, has tirelessly invested her time and passion
in the mission of the Alliance and to vulnerable children throughout the Los
Angeles community.
The Alliance for Children's Rights is the only free legal services
organization in Los Angeles dedicated solely to protecting impoverished
and abused children. Since its inception in 1992, the Alliance has
served more than 60,000 abused and impoverished children: children
living in foster care, children in need of medical treatment, children
with educational challenges, and children who are waiting for legal
guardianship or adoption.
For more information about The Alliance for
Children's Rights or the tribute event, visit www.kids-alliance.org or contact Joni Lucarelli
at 213-368-6010. |
FACULTY ACTIVITIES
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PROFESSOR RONALD ARONOVSKY
- Appointed, Executive Committee, LACBA Environmental Law Section
PROFESSOR PAUL BATEMAN
- Quoted in "Win the Game of Law School," The National
Jurist (September 2006)
PROFESSOR ALAN CALNAN
- Quoted in "DUI 'Conspiracy' Charged: Civil Suit Claims
Defendants Helped Put an Alcoholic on the Road," ABA Journal
eReport
PROFESSOR MARK CAMMACK
- Changing Indonesia's Constitution: A Review Essay 81 INDONESIA
151 (2006)
PROFESSOR CATHERINE CARPENTER
- Participant, Accreditation Committee, ABA Section on Legal
Education and Admissions to the Bar, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Presenter, The Chairs' Workshop on Site Evaluations, ABA Section
on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Chicago, Illinois
PROFESSOR MICHAEL EPSTEIN
- Eyes Off the Prize: Copyright Clearance and the Disappearance
of One of Television's Cultural Treasures, 36:3 TELEVISION QUARTERLY
12 (2006)
- Presenter, Standards of Review of Administrative Decision Making
and the Role of Deference in U.S. Telecommunications Law and Policy,
U.K.
Administrative Law Bar Association Conference, St. John's College
of Cambridge University
PROFESSOR JAMES FISCHER
- External Control Over the American Bar, 19
GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF LEGAL ETHICS 59 (Winter 2006)
DEAN BRYANT GARTH
- Lecture "Rebuilding International Law after the 9/11 Assault," Induction
Ceremony of Gregory Shaffer, Wing-Tat Lee Chair in International
and Comparative Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
PROFESSOR WARREN GRIMES
- Mentioned as one of nine antitrust scholars in an article about
the proposed Wright Amendment compromise, arguing the deal is bad for
competition
and consumers, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (August 2006)
PROFESSOR PAUL HORWITZ
- Or of the [Blog], 11 NEXUS: A JOURNAL OF OPINION 45 (2006)
PROFESSOR DAVID KOHLER
- "The White House's 'nuclear option'" Commentary
Series, Fulton County Daily Report (American Lawyer Media, August
2006)
- Quoted in "Even Burning Man Must Exist Within the Legal Matrix," Los
Angeles Daily Journal
PROFESSOR JAMES KUSHNER
- HEALTHY CITIES - THE INTERSECTION OF URBAN PLANNING, LAW AND HEALTH
(Carolina Academic Press, forthcoming)
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PROFESSOR ROBERT LUTZ
- Appointed, Chairperson, ABA GATS Task Force
- Re-Elected, Board of Directors, Dispute Resolution Services
- Elected, Member, Chancery Club (composed of "distinguished
lawyers who are active in professional, civic and philanthropic activities")
- Lecturer, NAFTA and Dispute Resolution, NAFTA Summer
Law Program, California Western School of Law, San Diego
- Presentation, U.S. International Dispute Resolution Development,
2005-2006, NAFTA 2022 Advisory Committee Meeting, Moriela
(as Chair of the Legal Issues Subcommittee)
- Organizer, "Asian Summit for Bar Leaders on Legal Services;" Organizer, "European
Summit for Bar Leaders on Legal Services;" Participant, ABA-Africa
Legal Initiatives Council Meeting; Participant, American Bar Foundation
Fellows' Advisory Research Committee Meeting; and Participant as
Council Member, Section of International Law Meeting, ABA Annual
Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii
PROFESSOR AUSTEN PARRISH
- Changing Territoriality, Fading Sovereignty, and the Development
of Indigenous Rights, AMERICAN INDIAN LAW REVIEW (forthcoming)
- Quoted in "Unwanted: A Global Pollution Policeman," Financial
Times USA
- Interviewed regarding Proposition 64 and Changes to California's
Unfair Competition Law in the context of an animal rights lawsuit,
NBC4-TV News
PROFESSOR ROBERT PUGSLEY
- Interviewed about the potential implications and ramifications
of a U.S. District Court's (Eastern District of Michigan) ruling
that the Executive Branch's Terrorist Surveillance Program is unconstitutional
and illegal, "Air Talk, KPCC and "Dateline Washington," Radio
America Network
PROFESSOR MYRNA RAEDER
- EVIDENCE, CASES, MATERIALS AND PROBLEMS, 3rd ed. (Matthew Bender
Publishing, 2005)
- Advisory Board Member, California Forensic Science Institute
- Board Member, Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Meeting Participant, ABA Commission on Youth at Risk, Washington,
D.C.
- Quoted in "Doubt and DNA," ABA Journal
PROFESSOR BUTLER SHAFFER
- Panelist, "Authority and Autonomy in the Family," Resources
for Independent Thinking, Association of Libertarian Feminists, and
Civil Society Institute, Santa Clara University
PROFESSOR LON SOBEL
- Appointed Chair-Elect, ABA Forum Committee on the Entertainment & Sports
Industries (appointed to a two-year term)
- Interviewed for story about intellectual property in light of Fred
Goldman's recently filed lawsuit for control of O.J. Simpson's publicity
rights, NBC4-TV News
PROFESSOR BYRON STIER
- Named Editor, Mass Tort Litigation Blog, Law Professor Blogs Network
(lawprofessorblogs.com)
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ADJUNCT FACULTY
PROFESSOR JEFFREY LENKOV
- Organizer and Presenter, Dinner for former Gov. Jerry Brown (candidate
for Attorney General)
- Acknowledgement for "Littles in the Law" Program, Contributor
Commemorative Book, Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization
PROFESSOR JOSHUA WATTLES
- Quoted in "Universal May Get Publishing Unit of BMG," Los
Angeles Times
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ABA • American Bar Association
AALS • Association of American Law Schools
LACBA • Los Angeles County Bar Association
NALP • National Association for Law Placement
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Southwestern Law School is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is fully approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association (321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60654, Tel: 312.988.6738). Since 1911, Southwestern has served the public as a nonprofit, nonsectarian educational institution. Southwestern does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, or prior military service in connection with admission to the school, or in the administration of any of its educational, employment, financial aid, scholarship or student activity programs. Non-discrimination has been the policy of Southwestern since its founding.
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