Hot on the heels of the Legal Education Symposium blogged about yesterday comes news of an international Conference on the Future of Legal Education on 20-23 February 2008 in Georgia State University College of Law. Against the background of the Carneige Foundation‘s report on Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law (which I have already discussed on this blog), this conference will ask two related questions:

First, if one were charged with starting a new law school, how would one implement the Carnegie recommendations? …

Second, how would an existing law school transform itself into the kind of law school envisioned by the Carnegie Report?

I have already blogged about the first question, and both will be discussed by a wide selection of exciting speakers, including Martin Böhmer (Founding Dean, Universidad de San Andres School of Law; CV (.doc)), Gary Davis (Flinders), Jeff Giddings (Griffith), Richard Johnstone (Griffith), Patrick Longan (Mercer), Sally Kift (QUT), Paul Maharg (Strathclyde) (author of the superb Transforming Legal Education), Lawrence C. Marshall (Stanford), David McQuoid-Mason (KwaZulu-Natal), N.R. Madhava Menon (National Law School of India), James E. Moliterno (William & Mary), M.R.K. Prasad (Salgaocar, India), Suellyn Scarnecchia (New Mexico), William Sullivan (Carnegie Foundation; lead author of Educating Lawyers) and David Weisbrot (ALRC, formerly Sydney).

More information is available from Clark D Cunningham (Georgia).

Sure to feature in the discussions is the just-available book Law School Leadership Strategies: Top Deans on Benchmarking Success, Incorporating Feedback from Faculty and Students, and Building the Endowment (Aspatore Books, 2007) (hat tips: Law Librarian Blog | TaxProf Blog). The title, nearly as long as the book, provides a good idea of its coverage; nevertheless, expanding on this, the publishers’ blurb explains:

Law School Leadership Strategies is a smart and intriguing volume that outlines the role of today’s educational leaders and discusses the current state and future shape of law school management. Featuring deans representing some of the most highly recognized legal education programs, this book provides a broad, yet comprehensive overview of the ins and outs of the industry and the strategic thinking behind operating a law school. Discussing the ever-changing role and responsibilities of the dean and the importance of building a successful administration team, authors provide valuable insights into the business and offer indispensable advice for success. Identifying the need to strike a balance between a center for intellectual growth and a profitable institution, as well as the process of distinguishing their institution in the marketplace and measuring success, these leaders offer strategies for leading a center of legal education into the twenty-first century. From developing fundraising campaigns and generating revenue to utilizing technology and meeting students’ needs, these authorities articulate the finer points around the business now, and what will hold true into the future. The different niches represented and the breadth of perspectives presented enable readers to get inside some of the great minds of today, as experts explore in detail what it takes to build and sustain the organizations that educate the future’s great legal authorities.

Contributors include Claudio Grossman (American University), Donald J. Polden (Santa Clara), Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker (McGeorge), Glen Weissenberger (De Paul), James L. Huffman (Lewis & Clark), W. H. Knight Jr. (University of Washington), John Costonis (LSU), Maureen A. O’Rourke (Boston University), Rebecca Hanner White (Georgia), Robert H. Jerry II (UF Levin), Samuel Marion Davis (Mississippi), Rex R. Perschbacher (UC Davis), Nancy B. Rapoport (Houston), Edward Rubin (Vanderbilt), and Kellye Y. Testy (Seattle).