As an attorney, an important skill or practice is staying abreast of legal and non-legal trends, news, and current events. It is critical to be aware of changes in the law, new ways in which laws are being interpreted, and new cases on the horizon. It is also important to learn about how your clients may be perceived in the media, how your own firm is discussed in the news, and major changes to…, Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, and, Oyez! Oyez! Bulletin of the Section of Judicial Administration., Still another way to stay up to date on legal news is by reading legal blogs. While these can be searched online, generally, if you are looking to search for blogs on particular subjects, check out Fastcase which allows you to search the LexBlog library of curated analytical materials. The blogs available in Fastcase are from the (15,000!) legal bloggers in the LexBlog network. The aforementioned…
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Due to the growing concerns surrounding COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Thurgood Marshall Memorial Lecture., --, "A Roadmap to Educational Excellence and Equity for Rhode Island", Keynote Speaker:, Kimberly Jenkins Robinson, ,, Elizabeth D. and Richard A. Merrill Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law;, Professor of Education, Curry School of Education, * * * * *, RSVP | lawevents@rwu.edu, Sponsored by Hinckley Allen, Special Accommodations, Persons who, because of a special need or condition, would like to request an accommodation for an event should contact the Office of Programs & Events, as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours before the event, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. lawevents@rwu.edu
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This time of year there tends to be a lot of talk about weather. Students and faculty and librarians talk about how cold it is or how much snow we are having or how cold it is AND how much snow we are getting. In honor of the typically coldest and snowiest time of year, here are some interesting intersections between weather and the law that do not involve you shoveling to go to law school! One…, Time, article . For more information about researching federal legislation, check out the RWU Law Library’s LawGuide on U.S. Research ! Another intersection between weather and law is this local ordinance in Provo, Utah , which states, “Every person who shall willfully or carelessly within the limits of this City throw any…snowball… whereby any person shall be hit, or any window broken or other…, Weather Modification and the Law, . It is a book that contains information from a two-day lecture-workshop program scheduled by the Institute of Aerospace Law of the S.M.U. Law School for Dec. 7-8, 1967. Weather modification , according to at least one consultant to attorneys from Massachusetts named Dr. Ronald B. Standler, is the effort by humans “to change naturally occurring weather, for the benefit of someone. The best-…
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The, Black Law Student Association (BLSA), and the, Office of Diversity and Outreach, present a panel discussion on the issues and struggles of seeking environmental justice for lower income and Black and Brown communities, with a focus on the environmental issues surrounding the South Side of Providence, RI., Panelists:, Dean Jared Goldstein, RWU Law Court King, Climate Justice Policy Associate Kevin Budris, Conservation Law Foundation Ray Watson, RWU Law '22 RSVP | rtavares@rwu.edu
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The first thought when many individuals hear the phrase "legal history" is undoubtedly of dusty volumes discussing matters that do not reflect our modern society. Perhaps that is because history is often the narrative of the dominant culture and sometimes omits those in the margins. This month at the law library we are featuring a book display and online guide on American Legal History which…
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While not a Millennial himself, Ben Gold '06 has had ample opportunity to study lawyers in that category. After receiving his J.D., Gold worked in the legal departments of two city housing authorities -- in New Haven and then Danbury, Conn., and is now executive director of North Central Massachusetts Housing Authorities in Leominster, Mass. Talking with some lawyer friends in 2017, he was struck…
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Rachel Feiden ’19 was sitting in a business law class in high school when she first realized that she wanted to be lawyer. “I was totally enthralled by [the idea],” Feiden recalls. However, that was 2011, and the aftermath of the Great Recession was hurting the legal profession just as badly as the finance industry. “Everyone at that point told me going to law school would be the worst decision I…, Story courtesy of Lawyer Stories .
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Though long accepted as a cornerstone of the criminal justice system in the United States, the tradition of cash bail in fact perpetuates injustice and inequity. This was the message of Robin Steinberg, CEO of The Bail Project – a national nonprofit revolving bail fund that she founded in 2017 – when she delivered Roger Williams University School of Law's 15th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,…, ‘Decarceration Strategy’, The Bail Project was born one night over Chinese takeout in New York City, Steinberg said. She was venting to her husband David over this frustrating state of affairs when he suggested, “Why don’t we just raise a bunch of money and create a fund, and then we can start bailing clients out? Why not?” The idea was straightforward enough: money would be placed into “a sustainable, revolving bail fund…, ‘The Larger Edifice’, Community Release with Support involves three elements, Steinberg explained: (1) effective court reminders, (2) transportation assistance, (“one of the biggest obstacles around the country,” she noted), and (3) individualized needs assessments to determine what voluntary services or community-based programs a client might need (“whether it is housing, food, drug treatment, or mental health…, ‘The Wind is at Our Backs’, The ultimate goal, however, is not an infinite expansion of the Bail Project – but rather, a step-by-step effort to be rid of the bail system altogether. “If we want to end mass incarceration and create a justice system that works for all, eliminating our current cash bail system is a necessary first step,” Steinberg said. However, such a change is “not going to be easy. Systems and ideologies…
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Gillian Lester , dean of Columbia Law School, advised and inspired on Tuesday evening as guest speaker for the Inaugural Women in Law Leadership Lecture at Roger Williams University School of Law, urging women lawyers and law students to claim "a place at the table." Conversing in a relaxed “fireside chat” format before a sizeable audience in the Honorable Bruce M. Selya Appellate Courtroom,…, I’m, the interim dean!’ I started thinking about the gender dynamics at work there, and that was part of what spurred me to throw my hat in.” Still, it wasn't an easy decision. “I felt a lot of trepidation,” Lester said. “In my own mind, I didn’t fit the profile of a dean. I had a lot of fears about both my skills and abilities as well as the stakes of taking on a role like that. I worried about my…, this, room! – I slow down, shoulders back, and I take a deep breath. So I really think mentors are critically important, particularly for women, who sometimes need that tap on the shoulder and that piece of encouragement.” From her powerful position today, Lester said, she still tries to encourage young women lawyers and law students in the same way. “You receive it and you pay it forward,” she said. “…, Family Issues, Returning to the question of work-family balance, Sack asked about Lester’s approach during her deanship. “I was pretty clear from the beginning that I had children,” Lester said. “And I committed – though I know that not everybody can do this – to trying, not, to go out for evening events more than two nights a week, wanting to be home at the dinner table for the rest of the week.” She also lists parental and other familial obligations on her calendar. “Once you become a dean, everybody sees your calendar,” she said. “So when I had a parent-teacher meeting or some kind of school-related thing, I asked that we call it what it is – rather than just…, Lessons in Leadership, Lester is particularly interested in leadership education, particularly for women and underrepresented groups. Sack asked about her activities in that area. “So many lawyers go into positions of leadership,” Lester replied. “Yet for a long time, law schools didn’t specifically teach leadership. So now we have [at Columbia Law] a marquee course as well as a number of experiential laboratory…, all, its forms." Lester continued, "A vision can be articulated quietly as well as loudly. Inspiration, encouragement and mentorship can be delivered in ways that don’t necessarily involve an iconic person standing alone at the front of the room. I think some of the most powerful kinds of leadership involve a quiet assist – through listening, deep collaboration, give and take. Qualities that are…, Addressing a New Reality, Asked about ways in which women can improve their position in the legal profession, Lester made a few impromptu suggestions:, Adapt the partnership track., “People go to law school a little bit later in life now. So often the time when women are talking with their partners about whether or not to have a child is now exactly the time when [law firm] partnership decisions are being made. So extending the partnership track – the duration of the period of being an associate – a little bit longer has been found to be a way of helping women get through…, Act collectively., A pressing question for women lawyers, Lester said, is: “How do I fulfill my obligations in the workplace as well as my obligations at home?” The best way to answer that question is by “working collectively, talking through and sharing your stories, and then finding mentors and sponsors – people you can cultivate to be advisors and coaches to you.” When Lester was a young, untenured…, Guard against implicit bias., “There are a lot of ways that implicit bias can creep into the process of assessing men’s performance versus women’s performance. The kinds of descriptions that are used for men are often things like ‘fire in the belly.’ The descriptions that more frequently come up for women who’ve been performing well include things like ‘well-organized.’” The problem is, “while people might say about the woman…, everybody, is responsible for, all, of those things. And if you don’t perform on any of those qualities, then it’s weighted equally. Or if you, do, perform well on any of those qualities, that’s also weighted equally.”, Be confident., “It’s really about confidence," Lester said. "What I wish for the next generation is that they have a deep belief that when they walk into a room, they have a place at the table. That they have the confidence to know they don’t need to sit in the back row.” The Inaugural Women in Law Leadership Lecture was made possible by RWU Law’s Presenting Sponsor, Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC , along with…
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