Bar Law Research Articles

Shaping the Future of Education: Exploring the Potential and Consequences of AI and ChatGPT in Educational Settings

Over the last decade, technological advancements, especially artificial intelligence (AI), have significantly transformed educational practices. Recently, the development and adoption of Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), particularly OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has sparked considerable interest. The unprecedented capabilities of these models, such as generating humanlike text and facilitating automated conversations, have broad implications in various sectors, including education and health. Despite their immense potential, concerns regarding their widespread use and opacity have been raised within the scientific community. ChatGPT, the latest version of the GPT series, has displayed remarkable proficiency, passed the US bar law exam, and amassed over a million subscribers shortly after its launch. However, its impact on the education sector has elicited mixed reactions, with some educators heralding it as a progressive step and others raising alarms over its potential to reduce analytical skills and promote misconduct. This paper aims to delve into these discussions, exploring the potential and problems associated with applying advanced AI models in education. It builds on extant literature and contributes to understanding how these technologies reshape educational norms in the “new AI gold rush” era.

Freedom of association (associations) as the dominant organizational and legal forms of legal entities

The article is devoted to the study of freedom of Association as a variety of political freedoms and the infl uence of the constitutional and legal method of securing freedom of Association (associations) on the organizational and legal forms of legal entities. The author consistently analyzes the French, German and British models of freedom of Association and gives examples of the infl uence of these models on other countries. Freedom of Association has a constitutional and legal form of consolidation in the Russian Federation, which receives the necessary specifi cation in civil legislation by constructing such organizational and legal forms as Association and Union. The author comes to the conclusion that in Russian law, an Association is a constitutional legal institution, while an Association and a Union are civil law institutions. In accordance with paragraph 18 of article 22 of the Federal law “on advocacy in the Russian Federation” and article 23 of the law on relations arising in connection with the establishment, operation and liquidation of the bar Association and law offi ces. The article focuses on the essence of a legal entity and a Corporation. The author believes that the legal structure (concept) of the Corporation originates from the activities of legists and canonists. The corporatist concept of legists covered any legal entities that did not coincide with a natural (natural) person. According to the author, the real turning point in the study of the nature of a legal entity occurred in connection with the activities of F. Savigny and his followers: B. Windscheid and G. Pukhta. The legal entity was also studied by R. Iering, I. Blunchli, O. Gierke and outstanding Russian scientists G. F. Shershenevich, N. M. Korkunov and others. Freedom of Association (associations), French, German, British model of freedom of Association (associations), Constitution, Corporation, ideal goal, business companies, non-profit partnership, bar Association, law office.

Reframing the Wellness Challenges in the Legal Profession as Opportunities for Christian Lawyers to Be Salt and Light

In August 2017, the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being published its seminal report titled The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change. Although other sources had for years expressed concern over the state of well-being of those in the legal profession, the alarming findings in the report and comprehensiveness of its recommendations intensified the calls that more needs to be done to address the problems with mental health, substance abuse, addiction, and related challenges faced by far too many judges, lawyers, and law students. State bars, local bar associations, law schools, and other key stakeholders have since responded to these calls by enacting ethics rule changes, conducting CLEs, drafting new reports, and taking other actions designed to improve the state of well-being in the profession. Then, early this year, the COVID-19 pandemic swept throughout the globe and created new challenges, some of which are still unknown at the time of this writing, but some of which have already harmed the struggling state of lawyers’ and law students’ wellness.How can Christian judges, lawyers, and law students be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-15) in the midst of these wellness challenges? This Article first will discuss these challenges and then will offer approaches Christians in the legal profession might take to address them and ultimately work to improve the profession.

The High Cost of Lowering the Bar

State bar licensing authorities and law schools have been debating whether the passing score on the bar exam is set at the right level or should be lowered. Much of the debate centers on generalizations without evidence about the effect that changes to the bar exam may have. We present data suggesting that lowering the bar examination passing score will likely increase the amount of malpractice, misconduct, and discipline among lawyers. Using a large dataset drawn from publicly available California State Bar records, our analysis shows that bar exam score is significantly related to likelihood of State Bar discipline throughout a lawyer’s career. We investigate these claims by collecting data on disciplinary actions and disbar-ments among California-licensed attorneys. We find support for the assertion that attorneys with lower bar examination performance are more likely to be disciplined and disbarred than those with higher performance. Although our measures of bar performance have only modest predictive power of subsequent discipline, we project that lowering the passing score would result in the admission of attorneys with a substantially higher probabil-ity of bar discipline over the course of their careers. But we admit that our anal-ysis is limited due to the imperfect data available to the public. And we do not infer a causal relationship between low bar scores and high discipline rates. For a precise calculation, we call on state licensing authorities to use their in-ternal records on bar scores and discipline outcomes to determine the likely impact of changes to the passing score.

Legal Regulation of Alcohol Sale in Retail Sectors of Hospitality Industry in Accra

This research examines the legal regulations governing the sale of alcohol in retail sectors of the Hospitality Industry in Accra, Ghana. The objectives of the study were to find out whether there are laws governing the sale of alcohol in the retail sectors and to establish what these laws are. Determine which governmental body is responsible for the enforcement of the alcohol regulations and how well they execute their duties. Examine the knowledge level of operators observing alcohol laws and ascertain the necessary requirements for operators to acquire license to operate. Descriptive survey design was used to quantitatively and qualitatively collect the data from drinking bar operators and law regulators/law enforcement body respectively. The sample procedure employed was the cluster sample method. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse and process the data from the questionnaires and thematic analyses was used to qualitatively analyse the interview to augment the data from the questionnaire. Findings reveal that there are laws/regulations governing the sale of alcohol, regulated by the statutory boards, yet there is a big gap between the laws governing the sale of alcohol and what is being practiced /observed on the Ghanaian market. Majority of the alcohol sellers/operators did not know these laws and those who knew also find it very difficult to observe them. In conclusion, the knowledge and adherence of these laws is vital and beneficial to all, therefore the need to educate the citizenry. This study also offer suggestions to the regulators, that they should endeavour to reinstate these laws and help operators to obey them by educating, monitoring and administering punishment to those who do not abide by them.

Smoke-Free Laws and Hazardous Drinking: A Cross-Sectional Study among U.S. Adults.

Tobacco and alcohol use are strongly associated. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship of smoke-free law coverage and smoke-free bar law coverage with hazardous drinking behaviors among a representative sample of U.S. adult drinkers (n = 17,057). We merged 2009 National Health Interview Survey data, American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation U.S. Tobacco Control Laws Database, and Census Population Estimates. Hazardous drinking outcomes included heavy drinking (>14 drinks/week for men; >7 drinks/week for women) and binge drinking (≥5 drinks on one or more days during past year). Chi-square tests compared hazardous drinking by sociodemographic factors. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine if smoke-free law and bar law coverages were associated with hazardous drinking, controlling for sociodemographics and smoking status. Subset analyses were conducted among drinkers who also smoked (n = 4074) to assess the association between law coverages and hazardous drinking. Among all drinkers, smoke-free law coverage was not associated with heavy drinking (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.99–1.50) or binge drinking (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.93–1.26). Smoke-free bar law coverage was also found to be unrelated to hazardous drinking. Similar results were found among those drinkers who smoked. Findings suggest that smoke-free laws and bar laws are not associated with elevated risk for alcohol-related health issues.

Teaching Law for the Real World:

This article looks at changes which need to be made on two levels. First, on the role of law schools: in terms of practitioners, a new thought process should be developed at law schools to bring on board practitioners either as full-time faculty members or sessionals to teach law courses, and this would help bridge the gap between academia and the legal profession. In terms of curriculum, there is a need to update curriculum and course choices to include some necessary courses that should be considered part of any law programme. In terms of global understanding, law schools should not only offer more international law courses, but can simply incorporate comparative law into existing courses, and study abroad programmes would be an asset to form more international legal understanding. In terms of practicums, there should be a practical component added to law courses to allow for the students to learn day-to-day skills one would encounter in practicing law, including the legal implications of running a company, managing a staff and dealing with stakeholders and boards of directors, and a partnership within universities beyond the faculty of law to incorporate other departments would be of benefit to students who would like to use their law degrees in other fields. Second, on the role of the bar associations and the law society: mentoring programmes are essential in the teaching of law and are so often overlooked, and a mentoring partnership should be created between bar associations or law societies and law schools, which would not only allow for an increased learning experience invaluable to the student but it would also allow students to be better prepared for when they graduate, allowing for a better transition from law school to law practice. The ability of an organization, especially a learning organization like a university or a college of law, to learn from its past is the key to growth for its present and survival for its future for a better legal profession.

The Emergence and History of the “Gentlewomen of the Bar” into the Legal Profession in the South West Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

This research paper focuses on the emergence of women into the legal profession in Nigeria and the gender inequality that pervaded the legal profession in the colonial days of Nigeria’s judicial history. Essentially, most professions in Nigeria were dominated by the male gender and the legal profession was not exclusive, thereby, this paper seeks to understand the historical emergence of women into the legal profession. This paper utilized radical feminism theory in understanding the subject-matter. The paper engaged qualitative research method. The primary data were sourced from historical information such as oral information, observations and interviews. It also includes fieldwork, visits to the Nigerian Bar Association office, Law Schools and Law Faculties in some Universities in Nigeria to obtain vital data for the study. Purposive sampling was engaged in selecting the interviewees. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings were able to espouse the genesis and how women emerged into the legal profession in Nigeria.

Entry Bar as Surreptitious Deportation? Zapret na v'ezd in Russian Immigration Law and Practice: A Comparative Perspective

Since 2013, a three-year entry bar (zapret na v'ezd) has been issued in Russia to migrants with a record of two or more administrative offenses. This article examines the sociolegal characteristics of zapret na v'ezd by situating it in a global, comparative perspective, vis-à-vis the legal developments in the areas of deportation and removal in the United States and the United Kingdom. This article argues that the Russian entry bar law experienced a shift, established by other migration-receiving jurisdictions, from controlling the migration process to controlling the social conduct of migrants, toward an increased reliance on deportability as a form of post-entry control of the migrant population. At a broader level, I aim to shed more light on the migration governance processes in Russia—the third largest destination of migrants worldwide—by moving away from the intellectually dead-end explanations that consider Russia as a deviant exception.

Relationship of Smokefree Laws and Alcohol Use with Light and Intermittent Smoking and Quit Attempts among US Adults and Alcohol Users

IntroductionLight and intermittent smoking (LITS) has become increasingly common. Alcohol drinkers are more likely to smoke. We examined the association of smokefree law and bar law coverage and alcohol use with current smoking, LITS, and smoking quit attempts among US adults and alcohol drinkers.MethodsCross-sectional analyses among a population-based sample of US adults (n = 27,731) using restricted data from 2009 National Health Interview Survey and 2009 American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation United States Tobacco Control Database. Multivariate logistic regression models examined the relationship of smokefree law coverage and drinking frequency (1) with current smoking among all adults; (2) with 4 LITS patterns among current smokers; and (3) with smoking quit attempts among 6 smoking subgroups. Same multivariate analyses were conducted but substituted smokefree bar law coverage for smokefree law coverage to investigate the association between smokefree bar laws and the outcomes. Finally we ran the above analyses among alcohol drinkers (n = 16,961) to examine the relationship of smokefree law (and bar law) coverage and binge drinking with the outcomes. All models controlled for demographics and average cigarette price per pack. The interactions of smokefree law (and bar law) coverage and drinking status was examined.ResultsStronger smokefree law (and bar law) coverage was associated with lower odds of current smoking among all adults and among drinkers, and had the same effect across all drinking and binge drinking subgroups. Increased drinking frequency and binge drinking were related to higher odds of current smoking. Smokefree law (and bar law) coverage and drinking status were not associated with any LITS measures or smoking quit attempts.ConclusionsStronger smokefree laws and bar laws are associated with lower smoking rates across all drinking subgroups, which provides further support for these policies. More strict tobacco control measures might help reduce cigarette consumption and increase quit attempts.

Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Young Adult Sexual Minority Bar and Nightclub Patrons

We compared exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) and attitudes toward smoke-free bar and nightclub policies among patrons of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and non-LGBT bars and nightclubs. We conducted randomized time-location sampling surveys of young adults (aged 21-30 years) in 7 LGBT (n = 1113 patrons) and 12 non-LGBT (n = 1068 patrons) venues in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2011, as part of a cross-sectional study of a social branding intervention to promote a tobacco-free lifestyle and environment in bars and nightclubs. Compared with non-LGBT bars and nightclubs, patrons of LGBT venues had 38% higher adjusted odds of having been exposed to SHS in a bar or nightclub in the past 7 days but were no less likely to support smoke-free policies and intended to go out at least as frequently if a smoke-free bar and nightclub law was passed. The policy environment in LGBT bars and nightclubs appears favorable for the enactment of smoke-free policies, which would protect patrons from SHS and promote a smoke-free social norm.

The economic impact of smoke-free laws on restaurants and bars in 9 States.

IntroductionSmoke-free air laws in restaurants and bars protect patrons and workers from involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke, but owners often express concern that such laws will harm their businesses. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the association between local smoke-free air laws and economic outcomes in restaurants and bars in 8 states without statewide smoke-free air laws: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. A secondary objective was to examine the economic impact of a 2010 statewide smoke-free restaurant and bar law in North Carolina.MethodsUsing quarterly data from 2000 through 2010, we estimated dynamic panel data models for employment and sales in restaurants and bars. The models controlled for smoke-free laws, general economic activity, cigarette sales, and seasonality. We included data from 216 smoke-free cities and counties in the analysis. During the study period, only North Carolina had a statewide law banning smoking in restaurants or bars. Separate models were estimated for each state. ResultsIn West Virginia, smoke-free laws were associated with a significant increase of approximately 1% in restaurant employment. In the remaining 8 states, we found no significant association between smoke-free laws and employment or sales in restaurants and bars.ConclusionResults suggest that smoke-free laws did not have an adverse economic impact on restaurants or bars in any of the states studied; they provided a small economic benefit in 1 state. On the basis of these findings, we would not expect a statewide smoke-free law in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, or West Virginia to have an adverse economic impact on restaurants or bars in those states.

Smoke-Free Air Laws and Asthma Prevalence, Symptoms, and Severity Among Nonsmoking Youth

MS Dove, DW Dockery, GN Connolly. Pediatrics. 2011;127(1):102–109 To investigate the relationship between smoke-free laws and asthma prevalence, symptoms, and severity among nonsmoking children aged 3 to 15 years. The data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2006 (NHANES). Survey sites were designated as having or not having at least 1 smoke-free work location, restaurant, or bar law at the county or state level that …

Smoke-Free Air Laws and Asthma Prevalence, Symptoms, and Severity Among Nonsmoking Youth

We investigated the association between smoke-free laws and asthma prevalence, symptoms, and severity among nonsmoking youth (aged 3-15 years). We examined data from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey designed to monitor the health and nutritional status of the US population. Survey locations were dichotomized as having or not having at least 1 smoke-free workplace, restaurant, or bar law at the county or state level that covered the entire county population. Asthma prevalence was assessed as self-reported current asthma and as ever having asthma with current symptoms. Asthmatic symptoms included persistent wheeze, chronic night cough, and wheeze-medication use. We also examined asthma severity (asthma attack or emergency-department visit for asthma) and persistent ear infection. Smoke-free laws were not associated with current asthma but were significantly associated with lower odds of asthmatic symptoms (odds ratio [OR]: 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48-0.93]) among nonsmoking youth. The association between smoke-free laws and ever having asthma with current symptoms approached significance (OR: 0.74 [95% CI: 0.53-1.03]). Smoke-free laws were associated with lower odds of asthma attacks (OR: 0.66 [95% CI: 0.28-1.56]) and emergency-department visits for asthma (OR: 0.55 [95% CI: 0.27-1.13]), although these results were not statistically significant. Our results suggest that smoke-free laws reduce asthmatic symptoms, including persistent wheeze, chronic night cough, and wheeze-medication use in nonsmoking youth.

A Question of Rank

In this paper I will address the question of whether law schools act strategically in order to maximize their ranking, with a focus on their admissions process. Since U.S. News and World Report rankings dominate the market for law school rankings, I will examine possible strategies available to law schools who wish to maximize their ranking according to the U.S. News ranking algorithm, deriving specific hypotheses from this process. I will then use data from a variety of sources, including the American Bar Association and law schools themselves in order to test these hypotheses. I will also include some anecdotal case study evidence corroborating statistical findings, as well as a more general discussion of U.S. News's ranking methodology, and possible implications to affirmative action and minority admissions in law schools.

WHAT FAMILY LAWYERS ARE REALLY DOING WHEN THEY NEGOTIATE

How should lawyers negotiate? This article outlines an empirical study of how lawyers rate each other in negotiation behaviors. After discussing what skills are needed for effective negotiation behavior, we then look more closely at how family lawyers in particular are negotiating. Examining some troubling data, we find that family lawyers appear to be more adversarial and less problem solving than other types of practitioners. We conclude by discussing why this might be so and what the family law bar and family law professors should be doing in the future to address this problem.

Smoke‐free laws and bar revenues in California – the last call

California was the first state to implement smoke-free restaurant and bar laws, in 1995 and 1998, respectively. We analyze how these laws affected the distribution of revenues between bars and restaurants. Critics of smoke-free bar laws have often claimed that a prohibition on smoking reduces bar revenues. Similar claims are made for the effects of smoke-free restaurant laws. Such claims implicitly assume that a smoke-free law reduces expenditures by smokers by more than it increases expenditures by non-smokers. Using tax revenue data from 1990 to 2002, our analysis suggests that the actual effect is just the opposite: the 1995 smoke-free restaurant law is associated with an increase in restaurant revenues, while the 1998 smoke-free bar law is associated with an increase in bar revenues.

Print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law

OBJECTIVETo assess the print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law in the state of California.DESIGNContent analysis of newspaper, trade journal, and magazine items.SUBJECTSItems regarding the smokefree bar law published...

Woolf, the adversarial system and the concept of blame.

Woolf, the adversarial system and the concept of blame.

The new battleground: California's experience with smoke-free bars.

This study examined the tobacco industry's tactics in the political, grassroots, and media arenas in attempting to subvert California's smoke-free bar law, and the efforts of health advocates to uphold and promote the law by using the same 3 channels. Interviews with key informants involved in the development and implementation of the smoke-free bar law were conducted. Information was gathered from bill analyses, internal memoranda, tobacco industry documents, media articles, and press releases. The tobacco industry worked both inside the legislature and through a public relations campaign to attempt to delay implementation of the law and to encourage noncompliance once the law was in effect. Health groups were able to uphold the law by framing the law as a health and worker safety issue. The health groups were less successful in pressing the state to implement the law. It is possible to enact and defend smoke-free bar laws, but doing so requires a substantial and sustained commitment by health advocates. The tobacco industry will fight this latest generation of clean indoor air laws even more aggressively than general workplace laws.