bob tarantino

The Transformation of the Legal Journal

The Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship (signed by law librarians at some of the largest US law libraries) calls for the transition of all law school legal journals from print to digital publication.  There are a variety of rationales for this (cost savings, shelf room) but the obvious one is that there's simply no need to retain the print version of law journals: most titles are available via online sources (HeinOnline, LexisNexis, etc.) and those online sources are vastly preferable to paper versions for research purposes (searchable, accessible anywhere, etc.) - if you need a paper copy, just print it up at your desk, rather than lugging a small brick over to the photocopier and trying to get the margins correct so things don't cut off 3/4 of the way through the page.

This also follows a "dramatic decline" in the number of paid subscriptions to some law journals.  The Law Librarian Blog posited a number of likely causal factors for the decline, of which online availability is only one: falling alumni subscriptions, lack of relevance to practitioners and declining subscriptions from courts and law firms (which themselves are likely prompted by online availability).  As noted by the Law Librarian Blog, the sheer ubiquity of law journals perhaps plays some role as well: it is absolutely staggering how many law journals are out there, and how many articles are published each year.  There may be a psychological factor at play in some cases: devoting funds to a particular journal can seem almost futile.

Bu the greatest potential in the nascent movement heralded by the Durham Statement is actually buried a bit in the Statement itself:

Additionally, and potentially most importantly, a move toward digital files as the preferred format for legal scholarship will increase access to legal information and knowledge not only to those inside the legal academy and in practice, but to scholars in other disciplines and to international audiences, many of whom do not now have access either to print journals or to commercial databases.

I think that's actually a little bit coy: the goal should be to increase access to everyone outside "the legal academy and practice", not just "scholars" or "international audiences" - laypersons right here in Canada or the US should have free access to journal articles as well.  The unspoken problem with just moving publications to digital formats is that access writ large is not addressed: even if articles are on HeinOnline or LexisNexis, having an academic or firm subscription is still critical in order to get inside the walled garden.  Which is why this statement by Wendy Reynolds at slaw is so critical:

I’d also love to see the functionality of CanLII extended to include secondary literature - either by scraping websites, or by functioning as a permanent repository for this material.

Now that would be revolutionary (for those who aren't familiar with it, CanLII (the Canadian Legal Information Institute) is a website which provides completely free access to Canadian caselaw, statutes and regulations (including powerful search functions and noting up features).  Run by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, CanLII's goal is "to make Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet".  There are, of course, immense cost, time and copyright issues which would come into play in the endeavour of making journal articles available on CanLII, but hopefully we are moving in that direction.

U of T Centre for the Legal Profession

Like a big dope, when I wrote this post and queried where the Canadian equivalent of Stanford's Center on the Legal Profession was, I completely managed to overlook the University of Toronto's own Centre for the Legal Profession.  The U of T CLP has lots of good stuff at its website, including this paper by Adam M. Dodek, which surveys academic writing on Canadian legal ethics (which includes lots of jumping-off points for anyone looking to do graduate work in that area).

The U of T CLP is also hosting (on Friday, February 20, 2009 - i.e., today) a Symposium on Lifelong Learning in Professionalism which will be webcast.  (Personally, I think that for purely alliterative purposes it should have been called the symposium on "Lifelong Learning in Lawyering".)

Free Academic Lectures (not as boring as it sounds)

Farhad Manjoo writes about Academic Earth which provides free access to videotaped lectures from premiere academics at prestigious institutions - it currently boasts "fifteen hundred videos from MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale".  (I should also note that Oxford launched its own portal at iTunes U, which provides access to lecture and interview podcasts.)  As Manjoo notes, perhaps the best part is that "Academic Earth doesn't require you to participate in weekly discussion sections, chemistry labs, midterms, essays, or final exams".

Facebook Friends

The posts at Volokh and at PrawfsBlawg about the "ethics" of law professors (and academics more generally) being "Facebook friends" with their students has prompted long strands of commentary at both sites.  One matter of the debate which seems not to have been articulated is that Facebook is simply a platform for relationships - not a new relationship in and of itself.  To the extent that there are "ethical" or other professional concerns with relationships between professors and students, they apply in exactly the same fashion whether the relationship exists on Facebook or not.  If a friendship or relationship would be inappropriate when taking place in the student lounge, then that same friendship or relationship would inappropriate, and to the exact same extent, if it takes place on Facebook.  I think there's decent reasons for professors and students to preserve their social interactions at some distance, but Facebook has no bearing on that conclusion.

"this course is unique"

Jeremy de Beer offers a look at the kind of innovation which can be unleashed when a motivated prof meets enabling technology.  Looks awesome.  What's particularly interesting is that the course he is offering ("Global Intellectual Property Policy and Social Justice") is a first year course, part of "an innovative curriculum reform at the University of Ottawa" - whereas traditionally first year course offerings are limited to "black letter" law (e.g., contracts, torts, criminal, etc.), it looks like Ottawa is trying to broaden the palette.  It will be interesting to see how that works out (assuming any kind of programmatic review is being undertaken).

Infringement, Theft, Piracy

When, if ever, is copyright infringement "theft"? What are the rhetorical advantages of describing "copyright infringement" as "theft"? Patricia Loughlan ponders those questions in "You Wouldn't Steal a Car" Intellectual Property and the Language of Theft, a short, incisive paper which is available for download here.  Loughlan argues that infringement is, in most cases, not properly (i.e., as a legal matter) described as "theft", and that "the insulting and inflammatory language of theft, in short, reduces a difficult policy debate, with significant economic and cultural consequences, to a crude and simplistic moral drama". (ht: Media Law Prof Blog)

Law Commission Jobs

The Law Commission of Ontario is looking for student researchers (both undergraduate and graduate law students).

Launch of Osgoode Hall Review of Law and Policy

Shouts to the Osgoode Hall Review of Law and Policy, which recently launched an "online legal journal", which aims to "highlight jurisprudential and legislative activities in Canada and other parts of the world".  The inaugural issue can be viewed here (.pdf), and includes a piece from David Vaver doing what he does best (i.e., offering his incisive and comprehensive thoughts on IP law).  What makes the OHRLP particularly note-worthy is its commitment to taking advantage of the technology available to it: online, searchable, RSS feeds, a discussion forum - some of the features aren't yet functional, but it augurs well for the future.  The ability (and apparent commitment) to publish material "without the delays associated with print publications" is just one of the exciting aspects to be celebrated.