Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Child Protection

An intricate weave of public/private, legal/emotional, and inter-disciplinary elements make child protection law capable of attracting rich analyses from a therapeutic jurisprudence perspective. This article considers avenues that professionals working within the child welfare system can adopt to facilitate the emotional well-being of the parties involved while respecting the legal system values that apply to the regime. It calls for a stronger understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the array of professionals regularly involved in child protection matters, and better communication amongst these professionals so that they do not inadvertently end up working at cross purposes. Finally, the work offers preliminary suggestions for teachers and child protection professionals aimed at maximizing the therapeutic aspects of what is arguably one of the most devastating areas of law to parents and their children

A Preliminary Exploration of the Elements of Expert Performance in Legal Writing

This paper describes results of focus group research conducted with senior advocacy lawyers in relation to the lawyers\u27 characterization of expert legal writing. The results suggest an important interplay between product and process, and are consistent with general theoretical models of expertise that characterize the writing process as exploratory, recursive, reflective and responsive. The results may also be linked with existing studies of school to work transitions. The authors also describe how the research results tie into a longer term research project aimed at developing a description of increasingly sophisticated writing competencies that can be expected of lawyers as they progress through their careers

Learning Professionalism in Practice

This paper describes exploratory research into learning professionalism, ethics and civility in the legal workplace. We begin by setting out the issue as described by scholars, regulators, insurers, courts, and practicing lawyers, then examine the literature on developing a professional identity through learning at work. We employed a focus group method to gather data on the issues that practicing lawyers experience during their working day, as well as how they learn to define, identify, and manage these professionalism and ethical issues

Text Work as Identity Work for Legal Writers: How Writing Texts Contribute to the Construction of a Professional Identity

The authors conduct an analysis of a number of first year and practitioner legal writing texts in order to examine whether and how these texts focus on the development of a legal identity: in particular, through the creation of a personal, professional, or discoursal voice. The question of creation of a legal identity is significant, in part, because of the increased focus on teaching and learning professionalism and professional behaviors, both within law schools and in practice. The authors conclude that there is a limited focus within the texts on the identity work inherent in learning to write with authority under conditions of uncertainty. The social practice of writing tends to be under-emphasized

Learning Professionalism in Practice

This paper describes exploratory research into learning professionalism, ethics and civility in the legal workplace. We begin by setting out the issue as described by scholars, regulators, insurers, courts, and practicing lawyers, then examine the literature on developing a professional identity through learning at work. We employed a focus group method to gather data on the issues that practicing lawyers experience during their working day, as well as how they learn to define, identify, and manage these professionalism and ethical issues

Text Work as Identity Work for Legal Writers: How Writing Texts Contribute to the Construction of a Professional Identity

The authors conduct an analysis of a number of first year and practitioner legal writing texts in order to examine whether and how these texts focus on the development of a legal identity: in particular, through the creation of a personal, professional, or discoursal voice. The question of creation of a legal identity is significant, in part, because of the increased focus on teaching and learning professionalism and professional behaviors, both within law schools and in practice. The authors conclude that there is a limited focus within the texts on the identity work inherent in learning to write with authority under conditions of uncertainty. The social practice of writing tends to be under-emphasized