Judith D. Fischer

Texts, Lies, and Changed Positions

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:29:18 PST

This review of Judge Richard Posner's Little Book of Plagiarism concludes that the book adds to the discussion of plagiarism by noting the topic’s gray areas and proposing criteria for identifying plagiarism. Posner states that plagiarism occurs when a writer who copies another's language or ideas both conceals the copying and induces readers' reliance. By discussing plagiarism in different settings, including novels, court opinions, professors' work, and student work, the book shows why analysis of the offense and its consequences must be nuanced. Professors should be warned that in places Posner seems to minimize the gravity of student copying, especially when he states that plagiarism may be a rational choice for the student who derives benefit from it. He also says the main victims of student plagiarism are the student and his or her peers, omitting reference to clients and the courts, who reap the long-term consequences of incompetent student work. Those points, though, can be balanced against Posner’s statement elsewhere in the book that student plagiarism may deserve harsh penalties.

Bareheaded and Barefaced Counsel: Courts React to Unprofessionalism in Lawyers' Papers

Judith D. Fischer — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 12:10:41 PDT

This article analyzes hundreds of cases involving unprofessionalism in legal writing. Lawyers’ errors included poor research, misrepresentation of facts, poor organization, wordiness, typographical errors, untimely filings, breach of court rules, and grammar, spelling, punctuation, and citation errors. Consequences for the lawyers included disbarment, suspension from practice, monetary sanctions, dismissal of cases, and judges’ reprimands.

Foul Is Fair: What Shakespeare Really Thought about Lawyers

Judith D. Fischer — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:19:25 PDT

This is a discussion of the meaning and background behind some of Shakespeare's references to lawyers. It explains the common misinterpretation of the famous quotation “Let’s kill all the lawyers." The line actually compliments lawyers, indicating that those who want anarchy must first get rid of lawyers. Review of Daniel J. Kornstein’s book, Kill All the Lawyers? Shakespeare’s Legal Appeal (1994).

Streamline Your Writing

Judith D. Fischer — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:05:26 PDT

This article presents examples of lawyers who were fined or rebuked for filing wordy documents and suggests practical ways to eliminate wordiness from legal writing.

Walling Claims In or Out: Misappropriation of Human Gametic Material and the Tort of Conversion

Judith D. Fischer — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 10:51:28 PDT

This article discusses fraudulent consent to sexual intercourse as a defense to paying child support. In two separate cases, men had intercourse with women they were not married to. The women bore babies as a result, and they sought child support payments from the fathers. The men said that the women had fraudulently obtained their consent to intercourse by falsely representing that they were using birth control. Therefore, they alleged, the women were liable for “conversion” of their semen, and the men should be excused from paying child support. The article concludes that, even if the men have viable claims for conversion, public policy prevents their obtaining a waiver of child support as damages.

Public Policy and the Tyranny of the Bottom Line in the Termination of Older Workers

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:25:18 PDT

This article discusses whether termination of an older worker in order to hire a younger worker for less money should be construed as a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Drawing on scholarship from the fields of education, business psychology, sociology, and the law, the article concludes that allowing salary-based terminations is bad public policy. In additional to harming the terminated workers, such terminations also affect the remaining employees’ morale and send younger workers the message that if they work hard and achieve high salaries, they will become prime targets for termination. The article also critiques the current corporate climate of excessive reliance on the bottom line and excessively high executive salaries.

Portia Unbound: The Effects of a Supportive Law School Environment on Women and Minority Students

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:16:36 PDT

This article compares students at a new law school in the spring of 1996 with students studied in previous surveys. The respondents’ school had a student-supportive environment and a faculty that was more diverse than average. Respondents reported that some women and minority students felt less competent in law school than before, but the percentage of such students was lower than the percentages at previously-studied law schools. The study also reported that some student respondents (although a lower percentage than in previous studies) thought women and minority professors had a higher burden of proving competence than did white male professors. The students also reported a positive effect from having diverse role models on the faculty. The article concludes that minority and all women students at the new school fared better in self-esteem and classroom involvement than respondents in comparison studies.

Misappropriation of Human Eggs and Embryos and the Tort of Conversion: A Relational View

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:08:39 PDT

Based on an analysis of the Irvine fertility scandal and other fertility cases, this article recommends that a conversion claim should be available to those whose genetic material has been misappropriated in fertility treatment.

How to Improve Student Ratings: Views from the Trenches

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:00:08 PDT

This article reports a study about student ratings of professors (sometimes called “student evaluations of teaching”). Survey respondents were teachers of legal writing in U.S. law schools. Their advice about improving teaching included being prepared for class, respecting the students, and caring about the students. Advice tailored specifically to the student ratings included being “upbeat,” not giving grades before the students complete the evaluation forms, and laying groundwork before presenting unpopular topics. The article also references biases and negative effects of student ratings.

Avoiding Plagiarism in Legal Documents

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:54:52 PDT

Lawyers may believe they know what constitutes plagiarism in student papers, but the rules about plagiarism in the practice of law are less clear. Forms from form books and law firm files are meant to be copied, so there is no issue of copyright violation. Still, the lawyer who uses such a form must tailor it to the needs of the specific case. And lawyers have been disciplined for filing documents containing language they copied from treatises without attribution. This problem was exacerbated in one case where the lawyer asked for fees for preparing material he had not written. Professionalism means that documents filed with a court must analyze the facts and issues in the pending case, and any material from published sources must be properly attributed.

Dismiss Those Sixth-Grade Hobgoblins

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:50:57 PDT

Legal writers may have internalized false rules about writing. For example, they may believe the myths that a sentence cannot begin with a conjunction, that it is incorrect to split a compound verb or an infinitive, that a word should not be repeated in the same sentence or paragraph, and that one-sentence paragraphs are always incorrect. Writers should dismiss these hobgoblins when they are obstacles to writing clear, idiomatic English.

Implications of Recent Research on Student Evaluation of Teaching

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:46:34 PDT

This article discusses recent research about student evaluations of professors (sometimes called "student ratings.") Recent studies identify factors that bias the ratings, including the effect of the students' expected grades. Studies also identify negative effects of the ratings, including a lessening of course rigor. The author's own study found that student ratings negatively affected rigor in the classrooms of 25% of the respondents and that 31% of the respondents believed the ratings contribute to a lessening of course rigor in law schools. The article concludes that universities place undue weight on student ratings in light of their biases and negative effects. It recommends that teaching be evaluated holistically through such means as peer classroom visits and teaching portfolios.

Pleasing the Court: Writing Ethical and Effective Briefs

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:39:27 PDT

This book examines professionalism in legal writing by analyzing more than two hundred examples of judges’ reactions to lawyers’ errors. The errors range from serious ethical breaches, like misrepresenting the law or the facts, plagiarism, and lack of civility, to matters of form like wordiness, lack of clarity, and grammatical and citation errors. The erring attorneys incurred consequences ranging from disbarment to strong verbal rebukes. This book promotes high standards in brief writing and demonstrates that the U.S. legal system includes restraints on incompetent lawyering and the filing of frivolous claims.

God and Caesar in the Twenty-First Century: What Recent Cases Say about Church-State Relations in England and the United States

Judith D. Fischer et al. — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:33:21 PDT

This article analyzes current jurisprudence concerning the relationship of church and state in the U.S. and England, with special attention to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in the Ten Commandments cases. The co-authors, law professors from the United States and the United Kingdom, present background about the history of religious establishment and church-state jurisprudence in the two countries. They then discuss the effects of each country’s recent cases on the subject. The authors conclude that the two countries are moving closer to each other on the continuum between establishment and disestablishment.

Why George Orwell’s Ideas about Language Still Matter for Lawyers

Judith D. Fischer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:21:46 PDT

This article examines George Orwell’s theories about language and applies them to contemporary legal discourse in the United States. It concludes that Orwell’s advice about the importance of clear, plain English comports with today’s accepted legal writing style. However, his warnings about deceptive language in legal and political discourse have not been well heeded. The article suggests that lawyers can assume a role in changing that.