University of Wisconsin Law School

The University of Wisconsin Law School is located on historic Bascom Hill in the heart of the beautiful UW–Madison campus. It boasts a renowned faculty, an extensive curriculum and a dynamic student body. As part of a world-class university located in the state’s capital, the Law School also offers an unparalleled wealth of experiences beyond its walls.

Our curriculum emphasizes the dynamics of the law—how the law relates to social change and to society as a whole—while at the same time stressing skill development. In addition to nationally recognized programs in several substantive areas, the Law School also has one of the largest clinical programs in the country. UW Law School offers many dual degree programs, concentrations and certificate programs.

With a focus on skills-based learning, our students graduate practice-ready and prepared for success. Most UW Law School students are pursuing a J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree, while many others are earning an LL.M. (Master of Laws) or the S.J.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science).

The UW Law School's nationally recognized faculty and staff work together to provide an outstanding learning environment for our students. Our faculty and staff come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring varying experiences, views and approaches to the Law School. They are inspired by the UW’s distinctive law-in-action approach, and they are committed to helping students develop into confident, successful lawyers.

Website: https://law.wisc.edu/
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University of Wisconsin Law School Blogs

Wisblawg

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Emma Babler
Bonnie Shucha
Kris Turner

Latest from University of Wisconsin Law School

Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

Against the backdrop of declining crime rates, gun violence and gun-related homicides have only risen over the last three years. Just as it historically has, the brunt of that violence has been borne by poor Black and brown communities. These communities…
Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship

This week, the ABA released its first formal opinion covering the growing use of generative AI in the practice of law. To ensure clients are protected, the opinion mandates that lawyers using gen AI must “fully consider their applicable ethical obligations” including duties to provide competent legal representation, protect client information, communicate with clients, and charge reasonable fees.

Here are some excerpts from the opinion:

  • “To competently use a GAI tool in a client representation, lawyers need not become

…
Continue Reading Read It or Weep: ABA Issues Opinion on the Growing use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law

In recent months, web developers and SEO experts have noted significant changes in Google’s indexing practices, observing a shift towards more selective indexing of web content.  Two blog posts, one by Red Revolution and another by Vincent Schmalbach, highlight these shifts and their potential impact on content discovery.
Here’s what they observed:

  • Decreased Indexing Frequency: Web pages are being crawled less frequently than in previous years.  Red Revolution found that existing, high-quality content is crawled approximately 47% less

    • …
    Continue Reading Is Google Becoming More Selective? Implications for Content Discoverability

    Following up on our post last week on Tips on Detecting & Improving AI-generated Text, I discussed a new study that suggests one of the “tells” of AI-generated text is the use of excess, sophisticated-sounding words. Inc discusses that study in more detail, identifying these 7 Words That Suggest a Text Was Written With AI.

  • Delves
  • Showcasing
  • Underscores
  • Comprehensive
  • Crucial
  • Intricate
  • Pivotal

    • As suggested last week, you, the human author, can and should provide specific prompts and…
    Continue Reading Avoid These ‘7 Words That Suggest a Text Was Written With AI’

    The State Democracy Research Initiative and the Elections Research Center at UW-Madison invite you to join them for the “Year in Review: Democracy Litigation in SCOTUS and the States” on Thursday, July 11th from 3:00-4:15pm, with a reception to follow. The event will take place at the UW School of Education in the Wisconsin Idea Room, with the option to attend virtually. This panel is approved for 1.5 CLE credits.

    The panel will serve as a case law year…
    Continue Reading Free CLE Event: ‘Year in Review: Democracy Litigation in SCOTUS and the States’

    As generative AI tools become increasingly sophisticated and widely used, the ability to distinguish between AI-generated and human-written text has become a hot topic. While AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for writing and research, it’s important to understand its strengths, limitations, and potential “tells” that may indicate its use. Below are some tips for detecting AI-generated text and, more importantly, how to improve and personalize AI-assisted writing to make it truly your own.

    Last week’s Inside Higher …
    Continue Reading Tips on Detecting & Improving AI-generated Text

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    A new statue honoring Vel Phillips, a pioneering figure in Wisconsin’s legal and political history, will be unveiled at the Wisconsin State Capitol on July 27, 2024, at 5 p.m. This monument marks a significant milestone as the first commemoration of a Black leader on the Capitol grounds.
    Vel Phillips, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1951, achieved many firsts in her career:

    • First Black woman to graduate from UW Law School
    • First woman and

    …
    Continue Reading Vel Phillips Statue to be Unveiled at Wisconsin State Capitol on July 27th

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    The University of Wisconsin Law Library is excited to announce significant upgrades to the Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room, thanks to a generous donation from the firm. These renovations further enhance a space already recognized for its beauty – ELLE Decor named UW Law Library one of “The 50 Best Libraries In The United States,” largely due to the stunning Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room.
    Key improvements include:

  • Increased Seating Capacity: By removing several book stacks,

    • …
    Continue Reading UW Law Library Enhances Student Experience with Renovated Habush, Habush & Rottier Reading Room

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    Wisconsin is home to 12 tribal nations, each with its own unique history, culture, and government. As sovereign entities, these nations have the inherent right to create, enforce, and adjudicate laws to protect and enhance the well-being of tribal members within tribal territory. This authority is an intrinsic right that has been present since time immemorial.
    However, under the mainstream conception of American law, tribal governments are often overlooked. This narrow perspective fails to acknowledge the significant contributions of…
    Continue Reading Exploring and Teaching Indian & Tribal Law

    Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

    Election-related litigation is soaring. Litigants regularly challenge every aspect of an election cycle, from who can vote to how votes are cast and counted to the certification of results. Courts…
    Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: Standing for Elections in State Courts; White-on-Black Crime: Revisiting the Convict Leasing Narrative; Function Versus Consequence in Restraint of Trade Analysis; and Judicial Biography of Australian Justice, Sir Gerard Brennan Book Review

    Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

    Community supervision agencies and officers do not just supervise people on probation and parole. They also play a unique and privileged role at sentencing. In nearly every state, community supervision officers investigate and write the presentence report, which is often the judge’s…
    Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: Supervising Sentencing; Robust Electoral Competition: Rethinking Electoral Systems to Encourage Representative Outcomes; Independence Reconceived; Is the Constitution of 1787 a White Supremacist Document? Against Essentialism in Constitutional Interpretation; and May 30, 1787

    On April 12 and 13, the UW Law School Indigenous Law Students Association will host the Coming Together of Peoples Conference, the longest-running student-led Indigenous law conference.  It is open to both in-person attendance and virtual participation via Zoom.
    Registration Information: The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is now available. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are currently pending for Wisconsin and Minnesota.
    Conference Highlights:

    • Keynote Address: JoAnn Jones, a former Ho Chunk Judge and the tribe’s

    …
    Continue Reading UW Law Hosts Coming Together of Peoples Indigenous Law Conference on April 12-13

    Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

    303 Creative purports to resolve a tension between freedom of speech and public accommodations laws as applied to “creative professionals” whose products or services are expressive.
    Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: Making Sense of 303 Creative: A Free Speech Solution in Search of a Problem; The Lost Promise of Private Ordering; Time & Punishment; Pooling and Exchanging Competitively Sensitive Information Among Rivals: Absolutely Illegal Not Just Unreasonable; The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning

    Last week in our Advanced Legal Research course at UW Law, we delved into the topic of legislative research including 50 state surveys.  Inevitably, there are a few students every year who have been tasked with compiling and comparing laws across states and spent hours searching the laws of each state.
    Then we show them the various 50 state survey tools and they shake their heads at the amount of time they could have saved if they had known…
    Continue Reading Save Time on Comparative State Statutory Research with 50 State Surveys

    Last week, the University of Wisconsin Law School was recognized by Bloomberg Law in the 2023-24 Law School Innovation Program. The program recognizes law schools and their faculty and staff that have implemented and led innovative programs into their curricula that advance new methodologies and approaches to student instruction, legal technology implementation and usage, experiential learning, and other facets of legal education.
    The UW Law School was recognized in the “Beyond the Law” category for the Law Library’s…
    Continue Reading UW Law School & Library Recognized for Law School Innovation

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    On Friday, April 12th, and Saturday, April 13th the Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA) at the University of Wisconsin Law School will host the 38th Coming Together of Peoples Conference (CTOPC).  Registration is now available.
    This is an excellent conference and I encourage any attorneys, professionals, and students interested in Indigenous law to attend.  In-person and Zoom options are available.
    [For more information, see WisBlawg post dated 3-19-24]
     
    Continue Reading Save the Date for the Coming Together of Peoples Conference at UW Law