Dru Stevenson, Professor of Law

This semester I am teaching Administrative Law and the Law & Economics Seminar at my institution (South Texas College of Law) - two courses I really enjoy.  I'm a little disappointed that the enrollment is so high - I have 81 students in Administrative Law, and I'm fairly certain there are not that many students interested in the subject (lack of interest from a large portion of the students makes teaching the course more difficult). I've noticed an inverse correlation of class discussion to the size of the class - we had active class discussions  last summer in my Administrative Law course, which had about 15 students, but so far this semester (two weeks in) most of the students sit in stone silence while I prattle on about the nondelegation doctrine and such. I am also teaching Administrative Law at the University of Houston Law Center, but classes don't start there until next week. For students wanting to find me in my office this semester, Tuesdays and Thurs...

A new essay in the California Law Review  by the Dean there (Christopher Edley, Jr.)discusses the history of American law schools - in terms of their mission - and predicts the direction things are heading.  VERY refreshing after reading so many posts on law professor blogs about how we need to revert  to being more like a trade school (teaching skills rather than theory).  I really liked the abstract: This Essay describes the changing role of American law schools throughout the twentieth century and proposes a vision for the future’s Great American Law School. Since the founding of Berkeley Law, the definition of the legal profession has progressed from an interior orientation, which focused predominately on trial courts and appellate advocacy, to an exterior orientation with wide consideration of other forms of lawyering. Along a second axis, legal pedagogy has progressed from a careerist orientation, which focused on case analysis and advocacy skills, ...