So You Think You Can Bring Peace to the Middle East?

I’ve never used a computer game in my teaching, but Andrea Schneider and Kathleen Goodrich ‘o8 make a good case that the game PeaceMaker has a lot to teach dispute resolution students.  The game puts players into the position of either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President, with an opportunity to achieve peace and win a Nobel Prize or fail and lose office.  Andrea and Kathleen describe how the game can be used to teach principles of dispute resolution in a new paper entitled “The Classroom Can Be All Fun & Games.”  Their paper, which is available on SSRN here, was recently published at 25 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 87.  The abstract appears after the jump.  Do readers have any other suggestions for computer games that can be usefully incorporated into law-school teaching?

Continue ReadingSo You Think You Can Bring Peace to the Middle East?

A Rainy Day in Boston

4226435693_8378885c16Our National Appellate Advocacy Competition adventures came to an end today.  One team advanced to the semifinal rounds, and I tried to explain to the teams that their performances were really outstanding accomplishments.  But I don’t think it helped much.  We also learned that the Labor and Employment Law team failed to reach the finals; though, again, from my perspective, their performance was terrific.

The rainy day here suited our mood pretty well.  We consoled ourselves with Italian food and desserts at the North End.  I think we’d all recommend Mike’s pastry.

It’s easier for me to say, being the coach and not the advocates, but I really do hope that the students can appreciate what an accomplishment it is to make such a good showing in these national competitions.  Eventually, anyway.  (I told them that I think it only took me about ten years to get over my own team’s loss in the National Moot Court Competition, when I was in law school.)

Continue ReadingA Rainy Day in Boston

Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Team Advances

780px-New_York_Law_School_jehI also received news today that our moot court team competing in the Wagner Labor and Employment Law Competition has advanced to the octo-final round.  The students on that team are Allison Luczak, Michael Miner, and Jesse Dill, coached by Professors Phoebe Williams and Paul Secunda.

The Wagner Competition is in its 34th year, and more than 40 teams compete in it each spring.  It’s taking place at New York Law School.  I am proud that our team is doing so well in this prestigious competition.

Continue ReadingLabor and Employment Law Moot Court Team Advances