Georgetown Law Faculty Blog

Professor Luban's Newest Book: Legal Ethics and Human Dignity

Legal Ethics and Human Dignity, Professor David Luban's newest book, has recently been published by the Cambridge University Press.

From the Cambridge University Press description:

"In this collection of his most significant papers from the past twenty-five years, he ranges over such topics as the moral psychology of organisational evil, the strengths and weaknesses of the adversary system, and jurisprudence from the lawyer's point of view. His discussion combines philosophical argument, legal analysis and many cases drawn from actual law practice, and he defends a theory of legal ethics that focuses on lawyers' role in enhancing human dignity and human rights. In addition to an analytical introduction, the volume includes two major previously unpublished papers, including a detailed critique of the US government lawyers who produced the notorious 'torture memos'. It will be of interest to a wide range of readers in both philosophy and law."

Georgetown Prof in law school documentary

I received an email from Porter Heath Morgan, whose documentary on the challenges of law school features both Randy Barnett and Georgetown emeritus professor Mark Tushnet.  Here is the press release he sent:

Law School Documentary to Premiere at dallas video festival

The Trials of Law School, a documentary film on the U.S. Law School system, will premiere at the 20^th Annual Dallas Video Festival.  The film will screen Sunday, August 5^th, at 4:30 in the Kalita Humphries Theater.  Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.videofest.org/film.aspx?id=198 by purchasing a Single Day Pass for $25.00. 

The Trials of Law School captures the stress and emotion both inside the classroom and out.  The film follows eight students, with different backgrounds and expectations, as they try to juggle family and relationships with a new curriculum, a new language and a new way of life.  Their journey is contrasted with insight from over 25 acclaimed law professors and legal scholars from around the country, including Taunya Banks (Maryland,) Randy Barnett (Georgetown,) David Becker (Washington St. Louis,) Angela Davis (American,) Charles Daye (Former LSDAD president,) Rich Freer (Emory, George Washington) Elizabeth Garrett (USC,) John Goldberg (Vanderbilt,) John Kidwell Wisconsin,) Paula Lustbader (Seattle,) Ruth McKinney (UNC,) Judith McMorrow (Boston College,) Rob Miller (Author, Law School Confidential,) Martha Peters (Elon,) Eric Posner (Chicago,) Richard Primus (Michigan,) Patrick Schiltz (U.S. Federal Judge,) Chris Slobogin (Florida, Stanford) David Sokolow, (University of Texas,) Mark Tushnet (Harvard,)and Elizabeth Warren (Harvard.)

The film is directed and produced by attorney and filmmaker Porter Heath Morgan, who began production during his second year at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.  Before law school, Morgan received his B.A. in Film and B.B.A in Marketing from Southern Methodist University.  This is Morgan’s first feature documentary film.   

Watch the trailer online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksyC6dZ2HCQ. For more information on The Trials of Law School visit: www.thetrialsoflawschool.com. For more information on the Dallas Video Festival, visit: www.videofest.org.

Teaching law without a Yale degree

I attended a lunch organized by Debevoise & Plimpton for its summer associates, on a panel of Debevoise alumni of various kinds who’d gone into academia. There I heard a question that I know students have at NYU and Georgetown, and I’m sure elsewhere: Given the dominance of Yale grads among law professors, what should I do if I’m interested in teaching?

NYU has several initiatives to inform and encourage its graduates to teach, including the Furman Fellowship, and Georgetown has some similar endeavors (fellowships, seminars for working on publishable writing, etc.). But here are two key points: (1) Yale grads, while vastly overrepresented in law teaching purely on the numbers, are not even a majority. The modal law professor may be a Yalie (I haven’t checked the statistics recently) and certainly is either a Harvard or a Yale alum, but that leaves a lot of slots to fill. (2) Every single fulltime professor from whom a law student has taken a class knows how to find a law teaching job. There are caveats: a senior professor who isn’t much involved in hiring won’t be a great guide. Because of what Yale is, information about how to get a teaching job transmits from all the professors more by osmosis than explicit instruction, though even Yale has formal policies. Nonetheless, students at any law school who are interested in teaching should be able to find some professors they liked to consult.

No post on this topic would be complete without mention of Brian Leiter’s excellent and honest guide.

Georgetown's Supreme Court moot program in the news

As reproduced by Howard Bashman: an article with many nice things to say about the program.

James Forman's new blog

Our colleague James Forman has a new blog, Extra Credit, on race, justice, and education issues.

Happy snow day, Washingtonians.

Robert F. Drinan, S.J.

Our beloved colleage Father Drinan passed away yesterday.  The Boston Globe has a feature on his varied career, unflagging generosity, and deep compassion.  Our colleague Peter Rubin shares more memories here.

Institute for Public Representation in the news by Rebecca Tushnet

Slate has a story on Baby Einstein and the at best ambiguous evidence supporting its claims to enhance infants' mental development. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids younger than 2 years old, and the concern is that the shows crowd out activities like unstructured play that are superior for mental and physical development.

As the Slate story notes, in May, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (represented by Georgetown Law's Institute for Public Representation) filed a complaint with the FTC seeking to have Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby investigated and enjoined from making unsubstantiated claims. This is an obvious case where government can do what Lanham Act suits won't: no competitor has any incentive to challenge the basic efficacy of baby videos. Likewise, consumers are unlikely to have the resources or the information to challenge these claims.

FTC rules require substantiation for advertising claims, unlike the private actions that require plaintiffs to prove falsity. The big question here is whether any research-based substantiation is required for claims to enhance infants' mental development, or whether anecdotal testimonials suffice. Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby have plenty of satisfied customers, but the research all goes the other way, and it's certainly possible that customers' babies would be as smart or smarter if they'd been playing with blocks instead. For health claims, the FTC requires more rigorous substantiation than for ordinary claims, in part on the ground that consumers expect that health claims are backed by scientific evidence. Are "brain development" claims similarly likely to be interpreted as claims that controlled/replicable studies show that the videos are good for babies? I would say yes, especially given parents' susceptibility to claims that things are good for their babies.

Full disclosure: as a parent of an infant, I own a Baby Einstein video, but I've never opened it -- like other anxious parents, I'm vulnerable to lots of pressure and advice and prone to second-guessing. It would be awfully nice if I could guarantee him admission to the college of his choice by careful video selection now. My son also watched a Sesame Beginnings DVD once, but he showed little interest in the Muppet Babies, and we haven't been back.

Georgetown Law featured in story on local food movement

Salon has a feature here.  As someone with a deep interest in the food at the cafeteria, I have to say my experience has been overwhelmingly positive.  I especially appreciate the organic yogurt, though it's obviously not local.

Legal Profession Blog

A hearty welcome to the Legal Profession Blog, part of the Law Professor Blogs Network, whose contributors include Michael Frisch of Georgetown.

Welcome to the GULC Faculty Blog

GULC is an intellectually vibrant place, but also a large one.  This blog is an attempt to corral some of GULC's scholars to talk about their work and about recent legal developments of note.  My own intellectual property/advertising law blog is here, but for most posters this will be a new adventure.  I expect great things.