American Legal Studies Association

is an international academic society dedicated to promoting science and teaching in the many fields of legal history around the world. The ASLH has created new fellowships honouring eminent scholars who have made outstanding contributions in the field of the history of law. Blumenthal was one of those lawyers, like Archibald MacLeish and John William Corrington, who became lawyers and then realized that what they really wanted to do was follow their literary aspirations. I started reading Blumenthal`s poems and it became clear that no one felt he was an amateur. In fact, his poetry was so good and his task of the legal profession so obvious that I did not try to associate him, for fear that as an important poet he would be interested in it only to be associated with the legal profession. And to make things even more complicated, whenever I thought about contacting Blumenthal, I found that he was a poet who didn`t seem to have a permanent home. Am I concerned that this work is not appreciated by the legal academic community? I can`t say it`s me. In an essay “Why Write?” in the Journal of Legal Education last year, I noted, “Law teachers dance to the rhythm of different drummers. We are driven by different visions of legal education as we adopt, adapt and approve the education regime of a law school. “I`ve never allowed what my colleagues do (or think they`re doing) to limit my view of what a lawyer`s education could be or what it should be. If I had sought to appreciate my work as a teacher, I would have given up writing many years ago. In fact, if it was appreciation that had motivated me, I would never have done my job with poet lawyers. The Academy provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and fosters the support and cooperation of those who teach and conduct research in the field of law.

The Academy publishes two world-class journals: the American Business Law Journal (ABLJ) and the Journal of Legal Studies Education (JLSE). Members receive printed copies of both journals and have access to them electronically through the Wiley Online Library on the members page. ALSA was founded as a second home for colleagues who taught law in the various social sciences (anthropology, sociology, psychology) and in the humanities (philosophy and history) and had a reason to identify their work with both law and the basic discipline that defined their academic existence. Some of these teachers had legal training, others did not. The people at UMass are beginning to think that the law curriculum they have developed could be the basis for law degree programs across the country. The late 1970s were also a period when paralegal programs appeared in undergraduate studies and teachers of these programs sought an intellectual foundation. Interestingly, in the early days of ALSA, there was a fear that the legal movement — and yes, there was an idea that a “movement” was underway — could drift toward paralegal programs, and you can be sure that Bonsignore, d`Errico and Pipkin didn`t feel like that was happening. They didn`t stop paralegal teachers from participating in ALSA, but ALSA`s mantra for their own law department – and for the journal – has always been: interdisciplinary, critical, and humanistic. That was enough to keep the paralegals under control. AM: I can understand that. I used to hope to gain the experience and skills to become a poet, but eventually gave up. Do you ever feel lonely when working on poetry and law? What I mean is that you have ever felt like you were going against the grain, doing something different and even not being appreciated by some members of the legal community? The strength of the LSA lies in its members.

The LSA`s international interdisciplinary network brings together social law researchers with a variety of perspectives, expertise and interests in the field of law and society. Benefits for members include networking opportunities, professional development, access to our collaborative research networks and more! We should probably finish soon, so just a few more questions. Since we are talking about pedagogy, I wonder what you think about the future of legal education. It seems that now every week there is a big article deploring the decline of law schools or pointing to a “fraud” or scandal of the law school. Many people predict that several law schools will cease to exist in the not too distant future, and there is no doubt that there is an abundance of lawyers, that law school and law school textbooks are too expensive for most young people, and that the legal job market today is very difficult. How does all this affect the future of the Law Academy? The LLM in American Legal Studies is designed for students with a law degree from outside the United States. Enhance your career opportunities and prepare for a global practice with the solid foundation you will receive in our Master of Laws program in the U.S. legal systems.

Vermont Law is the leading environmental law school in the United States and is known nationally in criminal law and clinical education. Our distinguished faculty has litigated important cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, testified as an expert before Congress, and held senior leadership positions in U.S. and international organizations. The ASLH supports members and the broader field of legal history in several ways. The company offers a number of thesis prizes, books and articles as well as research fellowships for young scientists. Many of these awards are made through the generosity of the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation; Others are funded by member donations and earmarked funds. ASLH also provides limited seed funding for new or early businesses in legal history for up to three years.

Is there a “legal studies movement” today? I don`t think so. Have the ideas and ideals associated with the “legal studies movement” found their place in legal education? I think they did. This immigration of ideas took various forms: the humanist movement of legal education (1977-1985), the legal and literary movement (now commonly attributed to James Boyd White`s The Legal Imagination published in 1973, a movement that attracted more attention in the late 70s and early 80s and has now acquired the status of “school” of contemporary jurisprudence); Critical Legal Studies (CLS entered legal education at the same time as ALSA was founded and has now, as far as most of us can see, abandoned its physical existence). I fear that I cannot offer anything new, surprising or subversive about the future of legal education. Over the past fifteen years, I have focused on my own teaching, writing, and redesigning the Legal Studies Forum as a literary journal. In some semesters, I have almost no students enrolling in my courses, and in other semesters, they arrive in large numbers. I`ve never been able to understand how it works. I`m always fascinated by how my own teaching works (and what to do if I admit to myself that sometimes it doesn`t work). I still write about what I teach and how I try to teach it. The more I focus on teaching, the less I think about the future of legal education. I sometimes think we have lost our focus in legal education, but we have been so obsessed with this for over 60 years that I no longer see it as a problem that awaits us in the future. The Summer Institute is a two-week meeting of 12 young scientists that takes place every two years in June of odd-numbered years.

Convened by a well-known high-ranking legal historian, it is designed to provide a supportive and substantial environment for those who are at the beginning of their careers as legal historians. The next one will be in June 2021 in Madison, Wisconsin. AM: You`re right: it`s the grain. I totally agree with that. And I`m glad you mentioned your essay “Why Write.” I read it recently and I had planned to ask you about it. In fact, it was this essay – and in particular the phrase on “a note of sadness” – that spawned my previous question.