In January 2009, UM Law Professor Bruce J. Winick, will become chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Balance in Legal Education, succeeding current chair Michael Hunter Schwartz from Washburn University School of Law. Professor Winick was named chair-elect of the organization at the 2008 AALS Annual Meeting and has served on the section’s Executive Board for nearly three years.

The Balance Section was accredited by the AALS in 2006. It developed from an organization called “Humanizing Legal Education” which Professor Winick was also a member of. The Balance Section works to improve students’ experience in law school and devote significant amounts of energy researching, teaching and engaging in the broader community with that object in mind.

“It is a very important initiative. We’re trying to look at all aspects of legal education to explore ways of modernizing and reforming its institutions and practices,” said Professor Winick. “We think that law schools should be more student centered than they have been in the past.”

Like other AALS sections, the Balance Section is composed primarily of members of the faculty and professional staff of AALS member schools. The sections present programs at the AALS Annual Meeting each January, provide newsletters for their membership, and conduct other activities of interest to their members, such as mentoring programs, exam exchanges, directories, and listservs.

Among the initiatives that Professor Winick says are in the works for the upcoming year is a written symposium on “what balance in legal education means to me,” where law school deans, administrators, professors and students will address the topic in short essays. In addition, in March 2009,  exiting chair Michael Hunter Schwartz will visit UM Law to discuss teaching innovations with the law faculty.

The 2009 AALS Annual Meeting will be be held January 6 -10 in San Diego, California. The same week, on January 7, Professor Winick will host a wine and cheese reception at California Western Law School for section members and conference attendees.

The Balance Section has profiled Professor Winick in the November 2008 issue of its newsletter, Equipoise. Click here to view a PDF of the issue.

posted 10-December-2008