March 2019 - First Monday
Dear Alumni & Friends,
Remaining competitive in providing a legal education means innovating—for our students, for each other, and for our community. Innovation is more than a throw-away word in a strategic plan. It means challenging ourselves and each other, advancing our thinking, improving our teaching methods, and, in general, becoming something better tomorrow than we were yesterday. At the College of Law, we are constantly looking for ways to improve—not only through technological advancements in teaching or access to materials but also through scholarly and creative products produced by faculty, staff, and students. Each effort paves the way forward for all of us, and, of course, couldn’t be achieved without your support.
Digital Commons Launch
The College of Law Library recently announced the launch of a research and records repository that serves as the only online source for Idaho Supreme Court records and briefs as well as College of Law research and scholarship. The free repository, Digital Commons @ UIdaho Law, offers members of the Idaho State Bar and other legal professionals and scholars around the globe access to court documents and law research previously available only in print.
Three signature collections form the backbone of the repository: more than 10,000 Idaho Supreme Court and Idaho Court of Appeals records, briefs and transcripts; work authored and produced by faculty at the College of Law; and recent issues of the Idaho Law Review, our student-edited journal.
Already, there have been over 4,000 document downloads made by 92 institutions across 49 countries. I encourage you to carve out a minute or two to watch the live readership map, which cycles through all documents downloaded in the past week and pins on the map from where in the world they were accessed.
Annual Law Symposia
Each year, our student-run scholarly legal journals—the Idaho Critical Legal Studies Journal and Idaho Law Review—host symposiums, bringing together lawyers and scholars from across the country to discuss and debate important issues of law and policy. This year, each symposium focuses on an aspect of modernity and technology:
Critical Legal Studies Symposium
Technology in the Law: Is It Leveling the Playing Field?
- Panel 1: How Technology is Affecting People of Limited Means and Their Access to Courts
- Panel 2: E-Filing in the State of Idaho and Automated Transactions and the Implications on Access to Courts
- Panel 3: Social Media from the Bench and Its Effects on the Court
- Keynote Speaker: Blair Janis, Director of Software and Technology at WealthCounsel
#TwitterLaw
- Panel 1: Lawyers and Social Media: Standards for Tweeting the Law and Opinion
- Panel 2: From Professor/Practitioner to Pundit: Risks to Legal Discourse from Social Media Legal Debate
- Keynote Panel: Lawyers and Social Media: The View from the Bench
- Panel 3: Informing the Public: Twitter Law
- Panel 4: Debates and Controversy Over Social Media: Getting in Trouble
For both symposiums, CLE credits are available. If you’d like to register to attend, learn more about the details on the respective symposium websites provided above.
Vandal Giving Day
On April 2nd the University of Idaho will hold the annual Vandal Giving Day: a 1,889-minute celebration of the institution we all love. On this day, our entire Vandal family joins together to support our students and programs through giving and sharing.
Please consider supporting the College by signing up to be a Vandal Giving Day Ambassador. In this role, you’ll use your influence on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to spread the word. If competition is your thing, there will be an ambassador leaderboard for those raising the most dollars.
This year, the College of Law will highlight the following funds for support:
Excellence Fund
A direct investment in the success of our students and faculty, this flexible-use fund allows the dean to support urgent and strategic opportunities in the college, such as moot court teams and classroom technology upgrades.
Scholarship Fund
As tuition costs continue to rise, it is more important than ever that we provide financial support to our students and make legal education as affordable as possible. This fund helps Idaho Law attract the best and most promising applicants and ensures that deserving students can pursue an Idaho legal education.
Legal Aid Clinic Fund
The Legal Aid Clinics allow third-year students to represent clients in a variety of different matters under the supervision of clinic faculty. This fund supports all six of the College’s Legal Aid Clinics: Community Law Clinic, Immigration Litigation & Appellate Clinic, Mediation Clinic, FACES Domestic Violence Clinic, Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, and the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic.
If you have questions about Vandal Giving Day, or would like to establish a match or challenge, please contact Michele Bartlett at bartlett@uidaho.edu or 208-364-4044.
During my short tenure as dean, I have been consistently amazed and encouraged by the love you all have for the College, and the amount of support you continue to provide. The College would not be the wonderful place it is without your time and your dedication to the special community we all share. Thank you
Sincerely,
Jerrold A. Long
Dean
College of Law
Upcoming Events
Idaho Critical Legal Studies Symposium
March 29, 2019
TBD – Boise
Vandal Giving Day
April 2-3, 2019
Idaho Law Review Symposium
April 5, 2019
Legacy Pointe Room, Idaho Water Center
University of Idaho Boise
Law Advisory Council Meeting
April 26, 2019
Idaho Law Justice & Learning Center
Boise
