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Harvard praises UW legal minds
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by Nick Penzenstadler
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Two faculty members and one graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School were recently included in a book highlighting the 20 most important legal works since 1890.
The book, "The Canon of American Legal Thought," by Harvard law professors David Kennedy and William W. Fisher III features essays by UW professor emeritus Marc Galanter, professor Stewart Macaulay and former graduate student Kimberle Crenshaw, who has since become a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and Columbia University.
The three UW writers join an esteemed list, including former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
According to UW Law School spokesperson Carolyn Lazar Butler, the new book shows the practicality of the UW program and it's "law-in-action" approach.
"The importance is that it shows the legacy of the law school in terms of scholarship that is both academic, but at the same time has very practical origins," Butler said.
According to Macaulay, the works produced from UW represent "law-in-action" style — the unique brand of law rooted in the state's progressive background.
"If you're interested in 'law-in-action,' this is the leading place in the county. You can trace it back in our history, to our progressive period in 1912," Macaulay said. "We've been at this awhile, so it's very much a tradition of our school."
Although officially acknowledged by Harvard, Macaulay said UW does not traditionally rank as highly as other schools on national surveys such as the U.S. News & World Report because Wisconsin is "playing a different game."
Butler said the traditional model of law has now accepted UW's style with the inclusion in the book.
"What Wisconsin has done for the past many decades is now becoming more mainstream. … We have a lot of clinical programs, the way you approach a problem is very practical," Butler said. "The law school has a long history of intellectual scholarship but the focus is on law-in-action. That's how we differentiate ourselves from a lot of other law schools."
Macaulay said his works have been frequently cited, but Harvard recognition does not necessarily confirm their progress.
"Harvard's a wonderful place but they don't cover everything in the world," Macaulay said. "We have a different approach. They have a tool for doing things but it's only one tool."
Anonymous (February 6, 2007 @ 3:14am):
...the state's previously progressive background... <cough> <anti-gay-marriage amendment...> <cough>
Anonymous (February 6, 2007 @ 3:12pm):
The UW Law School's collapse in the national rankings is mainly due to the inadequate facility and library at the school. The University of Minnesota Law School has built a great facility and has a million volume library, and it now ranks in the top 20 in national rankings of law schools.
Anonymous (February 9, 2007 @ 2:30pm):
True. The UW Law School needs a new facility and bigger library. It retains some national influence, however, with its LLM and SJD degrees.
Anonymous (March 4, 2007 @ 10:20pm):
The Leonard Kaplan controversy won't help them raise money for a new building/library.
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