Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Teaching
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NY Times: Student Evaluations, Part Two
Following up on last week's post, NY Times Debate on Student Evaluations: New York Times, Student Evaluations, Part Two, by Stanley Fish: The deleterious effects of student evaluations extend beyond the personal injuries these comments rehearse; they infect the entire system of higher education. Teachers who fear (correctly) that student evaluations will determine their fate…
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NY Times Debate on Student Evaluations
New York Times, Deep in the Heart of Texas, by Stanley Fish: If a waiter asks me, “Was everything to your taste, sir?”, I am in a position to answer him authoritatively (if I choose to). When I pick up my shirt from the dry cleaner, I immediately know whether the offending spot has been…
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Younger Profs Teach Better in Introductory Courses, Older Profs Teach Better in Advanced Courses
Scott E. Carrell (University of California-Davis, Department of Economics) & James E. West (U.S. Air Force Academy) have published Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors, 118 J. Pol. Econ. 407 (June 2010): We find that less experienced and less qualified professors produce students who perform significantly better in the contemporaneous course…
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Caron, Kowal, Pratt & Seto: Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree — Where?
Jennifer M. Kowal (Loyola-L.A.), Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.), Theodore P. Seto (Loyola-L.A.) and I have posted Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Where? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article and a related article, Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Why and When?, provide information and advice about Tax LLM programs to American law students and JD graduates who…
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2010 Tannenwald Tax Writing Competition
For students writing tax seminar papers this semester: the Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship and American College of Tax Counsel are sponsoring the 2010 Tannenwald Writing Competition: Named for the late Tax Court Judge Theodore Tannenwald, Jr., and designed to perpetuate his dedication to legal scholarship of the highest quality, the Tannenwald…
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New Issue of The Law Teacher
The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning has published the Spring 2010 issue of The Law Teacher with these articles: Team-Based Learning — An Overview, by Sophie Sparrow (Franklin Pierce), p.1 The “Other Minority,” by Sabah Carrim (KDU College, Malaysia), p.3 The Socratic Method Outline, by Kelly A. Moore (Toledo), p.4 Student Self-Assessment Book (SAB): Reflective Thinking and…
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How to Boost Your Student Evaluations
Chronicle of Higher Education: Tricks for Boosting Student Evaluations, by Gene C. Fant Jr.: I often chuckle at how faculty members will sometimes wheedle and cajole their students to give higher marks. Local doughnut shops tend to see sales rise that week as professors buy treats for their classes. Extra-credit assignments seem to pop up…
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Tax Teachers of the Year
The AALS has announced that the following Tax Profs have been selected as the Teachers of the Year for 2008-09 at their respective law schools: Mitchell M. Gans (Hofstra) Thomas D. Griffith (USC) Lily Kahng (Seattle) Kirk J. Stark (UCLA) Lee-ford Tritt (Florida) Larry D. Ward (Iowa)
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IFA International Tax Student Writing Competition
The International Fiscal Association is sponsoring the 2010 International Tax Student Writing Competition: Subject: Any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties. Open to: All students during the 2009-10 academic year pursuing a graduate degree with a tax specialty. Submission Deadline: September 30, 2010. Prize: $2,000 cash, plus…
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Caron, Kowal & Pratt: Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree — Why and When?
Jennifer M. Kowal (Loyola-L.A.), Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.) and I have posted Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Why and When? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article and a related article, Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Where?, provide information and advice about Tax LLM programs to American law students and JD graduates who are thinking about…
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Rapoport: Where Have All the (Legal) Stories Gone?
Nancy B. Rapoport (UNLV) has posted Where Have All the (Legal) Stories Gone? (My answer: here.) Here is the abstract: This essay examines whether law schools are doing a good job of teaching the art of storytelling to law students. From the article: Every lawyer who wants to explain to the IRS why a particular…
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Mugel National Tax Moot Court Competition Results
Here are the results in the 2010 Albert R. Mugel National Tax Moot Court Competition held at SUNY-Buffalo: First Place: Gonzaga (Ryan Armentrout & Tyson Dobbs)Second Place: Gonzaga ( F. Colin Willenbrock & Kristal McCollum)Semifinalists: Gonzaga (Laura Miller & Jason Gray) Quinnipiac (Katherine A. McColgan & Brandon F. Yost) Best Brief: Gonzaga (Ryan Armentrout & Tyson Dobbs)Best…
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Florida Bar Association National Tax Moot Court Competition Results
Here are the results of the 2010 National Tax Moot Court Competition sponsored by the Florida Bar Association Tax Section in St. Petersburg, Florida: First Place: New England (right, John Keeney, Rachel Portnoy & Tax Prof Kent Schenkel) Second Place: Florida Third Place: Charleston Fourth Place: Ohio Northern Best Brief: Brooklyn
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Mugel Tax Moot Begins Today at SUNY-Buffalo
The 2010 Albert R. Mugel National Tax Moot Court Competition (announcement) kicks off today at SUNY-Buffalo: The Mugel Competition is the oldest national tax moot court competition in the United States. Each year, the competition gives law students from across the nation an opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in oral advocacy and brief writing on…
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Ms. JD 2L Fellowship Program
Ms. JD: Ms. JD is pleased to announce the Ms. JD Fellowship program, which will select 20 of the most promising second-year law students in the country and provide them with one-on-one career mentorship from an accomplished female attorney. Who Are The Mentors? Fellowship mentors will be assigned to the Fellows from among the ABA Commission…
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Tony Infanti Wins Chancellor’s Teaching Award
Tax Prof Anthony Infanti has reveived a 2010 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Pittsburgh: In making the award, the selection committee noted his innovation in developing teaching methods appropriate to different course contexts and aligned with the professional goals of his students, as well as his significant work with students on moot court…
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Dennis Rodman and the Basic Tax Class
Yesterday in the basic tax class here at Cincinnati, I taught §104(a)(2) (and the wonders of the Murphy case). This film clip of former Piston bad boy Dennis Rodman kicking a courtside photographer sparked a good discussion of the tax treatment of the photographer's damage recovery in Amos v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-329 (excluding $120,000 of $200,000…
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Lawdibles: $100 for 10-Minute Tax Recordings
The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) is offering $100 for 10-minute recordings on all areas of the law school curriculum, including tax: Lawdibles are simple recordings of law professors speaking straightforwardly about an area of law for less than ten minutes — like answering a question during office hours. We’ll give you a $100…
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Call for Presentations: Teaching Law Practice Across the Curriculum
The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning has issued a Call for Presentations for its annual summer conference, Teaching Law Practice Across the Currulicum: The Institute for Law Teaching and Learning invites proposals for conference workshops on techniques for teaching law practice across the law school curriculum. The Institute's summer conference provides a forum for…
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WNEC, UMKC Win 2009 ABA Law Student Tax Challenge
The ABA Tax Section yesterday released the winners of the 2009 Law Student Tax Challenge: The LSTC is a national tax planning and client-counseling competition designed to more closely reflect everyday tax practice than traditional moot court competitions. The semi-final and final rounds of the 2009 LSTC took place in January of 2010 in San Antonio,…
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Tax Prof Course Outlines
Over 37,000 law school course outlines are available on OutlineDepot.com, including outlines for these tax courses: Corporate Tax Corporate and Partnership Tax Estate & Gift Tax Estate Planning Income Tax Partnership Tax Real Estate Tax Tax Practice and Procedure Taxation of Business Entities Taxation of Financial Instruments Taxation of Mergers & Acquisitions Taxation of Property Transactions You can also search…
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2010 Tannenwald Tax Writing Competition
For students writing tax seminar papers this semester (or having completed a tax paper last semester): The Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship and American College of Tax Counsel are sponsoring the 2010 Tannenwald Writing Competition: Named for the late Tax Court Judge Theodore Tannenwald, Jr., and designed to perpetuate his dedication to…
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Brown Presents Teaching with Clickers Today at William & Mary
Dorothy A. Brown (Emory) presents If They Haven't Learned … Have You Really Taught: The Value of Teaching with Classroom Response Systems at William & Mary today as part of its Herbert V. Kelly, Sr. Teaching Program: The 2009-10 Kelly Teaching Program was designed by Professor Jayne W. Barnard, the James Goold Cutler Professor of…
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Wanted: Tax Casebook Authors (For $20k-$25k)
CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) has launched the eLangdell Electronic Casebook Stimulus Project to create an open repository of high-quality ebooks for teaching in various areas of law, including tax. CALI will pay law faculty a $500 stipend per chapter for contributions to its repository. The materials will be made available free of charge to faculty,…
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Albany, Chicago & Villanova Ban Laptops in the Classroom
Details at Above the Law: You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that Villanova, Albany, and Chicago have lost sight of the fact that students are [paying] to be in those classrooms. This isn’t high school. Students spending class time playing Warcraft aren’t truants — instead, they are bored out of their minds,…