Topic Selection
Published on Sep 15, 2016
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MORE DECKS TO EXPLORE
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Topic or Thesis
- Topic: General area, narrower legal issue
- Thesis: An argument or claim about the topic
Pick a topic in order to have a starting place to build a thesis. You start general and then refine it into a point of view.
Photo by trevor.patt
Examples
- Topic: "internet lending & investor protection laws"
- Thesis: "laws meant to protect investors actually end up harming them when it comes to internet lending, and thus require change"
Introduction
There are laws that protect investors
There is internet lending
Here is how those laws apply (badly)
Here is what we should do about it
Conclusion
You see a descriptive and prescriptive portion
There are laws that protect investors
There is internet lending
Here is how those laws apply (badly)
Here is what we should do about it
Conclusion
You see a descriptive and prescriptive portion
Photo by bmward_2000
Types of Papers
- Do the same thing, but better
- Do the same thing, but differently
- Do something different
3 is the easiest to write. But you need the idea
Photo by Socceraholic
1. Same Thing, But Better
Abortion
What does the 2d amendment mean
Michael Kent Curtis: what does the bill of writes say about states.
What does the 2d amendment mean
Michael Kent Curtis: what does the bill of writes say about states.
2. Same Thing, But Differently
- New Data (counting cases, international comparison, some powerful excel file)
- New Methodology
Photo by Omar Rodríguez-Rodríguez
Old Law, New Facts
- A new industry
- A new technology
- A new social or cultural fact
Many of my papers are this. P2P lending.
My sister wrote a paper about changes in cell phone technology that made positioning less secure for legal purposes
Fantasy sports
My sister wrote a paper about changes in cell phone technology that made positioning less secure for legal purposes
Fantasy sports
Photo by owly9
New Law, Old Facts
- New Supreme Court Decision or Circuit Split
- New rule or statute
- Usually (only) main implications are clear
law firm memos
Professor Gold's law school memo - supreme court ruled on privacy that your privacy rights can be waived by someone who looks like your agent. Gold saw: wow, those words, and this ruling, mean that anyone with a roommate has no privacy and more. Same old facts ,but linking them with a law that wasn't focused on them.
law always changing, so it is possible
Professor Gold's law school memo - supreme court ruled on privacy that your privacy rights can be waived by someone who looks like your agent. Gold saw: wow, those words, and this ruling, mean that anyone with a roommate has no privacy and more. Same old facts ,but linking them with a law that wasn't focused on them.
law always changing, so it is possible
Photo by ThatMattWade
Finding the New Out There
- Casebook TOC, notes
- Summer Internship, prior work
- Prior academic studies (fn)
- Professor Johnson's tools
- Legal blogs
- Your profossor
Looking for minority rules
Go to the professor only after some effort
Be narrow, or nuanced
Go to the professor only after some effort
Be narrow, or nuanced
Photo by modern_carpentry
"Scope" Fn
Finding the New Out There
- Casebook TOC, notes
- Summer Internship, prior work
- Prior academic studies (fn)
- Professor Johnson's tools
- Legal blogs
- Your profossor
Looking for minority rules
Go to the professor only after some effort
Be narrow, or nuanced
Go to the professor only after some effort
Be narrow, or nuanced
Photo by modern_carpentry
Finding the New in Here
- Confusion
- Anger
- Awe
- Surprise
If you haven't felt these ways. Wake up! Start developing feelings! Over the next week.
These feelings are clues that there might be something to say
They are also clues that you will find the topic interesting enough to keep going for a few weeks.
These feelings are clues that there might be something to say
They are also clues that you will find the topic interesting enough to keep going for a few weeks.
Photo by andronicusmax
Finding the New in Here
- Confusion
- Anger
- Awe
- Surprise
If you haven't felt these ways. Wake up! Start developing feelings! Over the next week.
These feelings are clues that there might be something to say
They are also clues that you will find the topic interesting enough to keep going for a few weeks.
These feelings are clues that there might be something to say
They are also clues that you will find the topic interesting enough to keep going for a few weeks.
Photo by andronicusmax
