Teaching, Scholarship, Service … and Blogging? Decanal Encouragement of Law Faculty Blogging

Blogging among legal academics was for a long time virtually unheard of, the province of a few (seemingly oddball) hobbyists. Then, with the remarkably successful efforts of Brian Leiter, Stephen Bainbridge, Prawfsblawg, Concurring Opinions, Moneylaw, and many others, legal-academic blogging became more mainstream. While the extent of blogging’s utility is still debated, and while blogging still remains a gratuitous undertaking rather than a formal faculty duty, blogging’s potential as a medium for serious legal discourse can no longer be doubted. Outside of law, blogging’s success has led some organizations to consider recognizing blogging’s value in an official way: by making it mandatory. Will law schools follow suit? Can and if so under what circumstances should law faculty be expected to blog as part of their formally defined duties?

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Real Estate Development and Environmental Consciousness

My colleague Matt Parlow has a new article suggesting that real estate developers are becoming more sensitive to environmental concerns. The article, “Greenwashed: Developers, Environmental Consciousness, and the Case of Playa Vista,” appeared as part of a terrific symposium issue of the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review on “The Greening of the Corporation.” (The entire issue is available here.)  Matt’s article centers on a fascinating case study of Playa Vista, an enormous (and enormously controversial) mixed-use development project in Los Angeles near environmentally sensitive wetlands.

Playa Vista and Wetlands
Playa Vista and Wetlands

As Matt relates in the abstract to his article, he finds the Playa Vista saga to be a hopeful one:

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Dean’s Welcome

Marquette Law ReviewWelcome to the Marquette University Law School faculty blog. While I cannot guarantee similar longevity, this new undertaking calls to my mind the launch some 92 years ago of the Marquette Law Review. On the opening page of the journal it was maintained that “the institution which would expand and fulfill its mission must make known its ideals and communicate its spirit.” W.A. Hayes, Foreword, 1 Marq. L. Rev. 5 (1916). At that time it was clear that “[t]he most effective way of doing both is by means of a suitable magazine.” Id. Today Marquette Law School, which is expanding and fulfilling its mission in impressive and unprecedented ways, requires in addition to the Marquette Law Review (as well as our other journals and the Marquette Lawyer alumni magazine) other “effective way[s]” to make known our ideals and communicate our spirit. I believe that this blog will be one such, as it will highlight our talented and thoughtful faculty and others associated with the Law School. I commend Professor Michael M. O’Hear, our new (and first) Associate Dean for Research and Managing Editor of the blog, upon his leadership of this effort, and I look forward to both reading and contributing to the blog. I invite all with a stake in Marquette Law School and in law and public policy, especially in this region, to be frequent visitors.

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