AALS Midyear: Blurring Boundaries in Financial & Corporate Law—Washington, DC

The AALS 2014 Midyear Meeting Workshop, Blurring Boundaries in Financial and Corporate Law, will be held June 7-9, 2014, at the Westin City Center Hotel, Washington, DC. The organizers invite proposals to participate in this two-day program, which is designed to explore the various ways in which the lines separating distinct, identifiable areas of theory, policy, and doctrine in business law have begun to break down. Specifically, they seek presentations for the plenary panel (and associated breakout discussions) that will focus on teaching and other pedagogical aspects of financial and corporate law in an era of blurred and blurring boundaries. Proposals are due by Oct. 25, 2013. Details about the program, including instructions for the submission of proposals, are available here.

We are seeking proposals on teaching financial and corporate law in an era of blurred and blurring boundaries. Associated legal and regulatory challenges and changes force us to reconsider our pedagogy and the business law curriculum in very fundamental ways. Structuring courses and choosing and employing effective teaching tools are, of course, part of the discussion. But it is our hope that proposals also will engage larger issues, such as the role of different types of courses (e.g., clinics, practicums, externships, field placements, simulation courses) and pedagogies in teaching financial and corporate law. We are also interested in pedagogical methods to develop the financial literacy, numeracy, and professional values that students concentrating in financial and corporate law should have when they graduate from law school. Finally, we believe that it could be beneficial to address the value for law students in joint degree (e.g., JD/MBA) and advanced degree (LLM, Masters in Law, Juris Masters, etc.) programs, if any, and the overall place and prominence of financial and corporate law in the current and future program of legal education in the United States. Although we are interested in receiving and reviewing all proposals, special consideration will be given to proposals that demonstrate practical knowledge and application of research on teaching and learning. In other words, we hope that the program will involve a significant amount of “show and tell,” rather than predominantly focusing on traditional academic presentations.

More information will be available in coming months. The planning committee is: Joan MacLeod Heminway, Chair (U. Tennessee), Kristin N. Johnson (U. Washington), Frank Partnoy (U. San Diego), Daniel Schwarcz (U. Minnesota), and Robert B. Thompson (Georgetown U.).

Hat tip: Washington and Lee Law Faculty Scholarship Blog.

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