Faculty Information

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  • Biography

    B.A., New York University  
    J.D., Harvard Law School

    Assistant district attorney in New York County from 1985 until joining the faculty at Albany Law School in 1989. Worked as an appellate and trial attorney in the district attorney's office. In 1997, while serving as director of the School's Domestic Violence Law Project, Prof. Lynch and seven Albany Law School students won clemency for an incarcerated battered woman. This marked the first time in New York that an incarcerated battered woman who killed her abuser was granted clemency.

    Prof. Lynch is the editor and frequent contributor to the Best Practices for Legal Education blog. The goals of this blog are to create a useful Web-based source of information on current reforms in legal education arising from the publication of Roy Stuckey's Best Practices for Legal Education and the Carnegie Foundation's Educating Lawyers; and to create a place where those interested in the future of legal education can freely exchange ideas, concerns, and opinions.

  • Evaluation Process

    Evaluation is an important part of the clinical process. Students enrolled are evaluated throughout the semester. Feedback is shared with them formally and informally throughout the semester as well.

    Formal Evaluations

    Written Reviews of Simulations - After all major simulations students are given a written evaluation of their performance in the simulation.

    Mid-semester Evaluation

    At mid-semester all of the students have an individual meeting with the professor to discuss the students performance to date. The student is asked to complete a self evaluation form at that time.

    End of Semester Evaluation

    At the end of the semester the students have an individual meeting with the professor to discuss the students performance. The student is asked to complete a self evaluation form at that time. After the end of semester meeting the student is sent a written evaluation of their performance.

    Grading and Evaluation Criteria

    There are four general criteria used in assessing your performance. These criteria are described briefly below.

    I. Pre-performance skills/planning: Students are expected to demonstrate competent skills in case-planning, case organization, collaboration and time management. Students are also expected to demonstrate that they have acquired knowledge of the applicable law and procedure and familiarity with the necessary facts to plan for activities on the assigned case(s).

    II. Performance skills: Students are expected to demonstrate competent ability in engaging in lawyering activities such as: client counseling, interviewing, fact investigation, negotiating, research and writing, drafting legal documents, examining witnesses, oral advocacy, and corresponding with clients and relevant parties. Students are also expected to demonstrate sensitivity to client needs, concerns and goals during the course of representation.

    III. Post-performance skills/reflection and correction: Students are expected to be reflective and self-corrective. Students must demonstrate the ability to assess and critique their own and others' performances. Students must show that they have learned from their initial experiences and can incorporate that knowledge in the next experience. Students are expected to share their experiences with other students in a positive way to foster cooperative decision making. Students must demonstrate the ability to critically review and evaluate the legal system through the clients' experience and reflect on their role within the system.

    IV. Professional Responsibilities: Students must behave in a professionally responsible manner at all times in dealings with clients, the community, colleagues and opposing counsel. Students must demonstrate knowledge of ethical rules. For example, students must represent their clients zealously, preserve client confidences, respect client autonomy and exercise independent professional judgment on client's behalf. Students are also expected to act responsibly and sensitively in their lawyering roles.

    The Following forms are used by the students and faculty during the evaluation process:

    Additional Evaluation Information (.pdf)
    Self-Evaluation Form (.pdf)
    Individual Planning Form (.pdf)

  • Presentations

    Theories about Gender Differences Regarding Institutional and Communal "Housework" in American Law Schools in a Time of Economic Distress, Oxford Interdisciplinary Roundtable, 15th Annual Conference on Women and Education, Harris Manchester College, Oxford, England, March 2013

    Redeeming Law Schools: How Do “OUTCOMES” Fit In?, Touro Faculty Colloquium, February 2013

    Interpersonal Violence: The Intersection Between The Legal and Medical Fields, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, January 2013

    An Evaluation of Ten Concerns About Using Outcomes in Legal Education, William Mitchell Faculty Workshop, St. Paul, MN, April 2012

    Bringing Ideas for Setting and Assessing Learning Objectives Back to Your Institutions, CELT Inaugural Conference, Albany, NY, March 2012

    Introduction of Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, Great Women, Great Chiefs, Albany Law Review State Constitutional Law Symposium, Albany, NY, February 2012

    Beyond Best Practices: Integrating Cultural, Competence Training in Legal Education, AALS Clinical Conference, Seattle, Wash., June 2011 

    Best Practices for Skill Building in Teaching Land Use, Environmental, and Sustainable Development Law, Co-sponsor of Conference, Introductory Overview, White Plains, N.Y., May 2011 

    Best Practices in American Legal Education, Quatar University, Doha, Quatar, May 2011

    Using Critical Perspectives to Inform Change, (with Profs. S. Ashar, M. Montoya and T. Steinbach), AALS Clinical Section annual Conference, Plenary, Baltimore, Md., May 2010

    Re-vision Quest: Choices, Context and Consequences for Experiential Education in Law School (with D. Maranville, P. Goldfarb, R. Engler & S. Kay), AALS Clinical Section Annual Conference, Concurrent Workshop, Baltimore, Md., May 2010

    Best Practices, Carnegie, Outcomes Based Learning & ABA Revisions: A Conversation about Current Initiatives & Reforms in Legal Education, Roger Williams University School of Law, Faculty Workshop, Bristol, R.I., February 2010

    “Where to Go Now on Best Practices?” Workshop at AALS Conference, January 2010

    Current Legal Education Reform Movement, Co-presented with Prof. C. Kaas, half-day workshop, Southern New England School of Law, Faculty Workshop, North Dartmouth, Mass., October 2009

    Incorporating Effective Formative Assessment in Course Planning: A Demonstration and Toolbox, (with Profs. Barbara Glesner-Fines, Carolyn Grose, & Peter Joy), Crossroads Assessment Conference, Panel Presentation, Best Practices for Legal Education Update, N.Y. State Bar Association, Committee on Legal Education & Admission to the Bar, New York, N.Y.

    Implicit Bias and Cross-Cultural Competence in Legal Practice (with Lillian Moy), N.Y. State Legal Partnership Conference, Albany, N.Y., September 2008

    Challenges and Assumptions about Business as Usual in Legal Education, Concurrent Session, (with Profs. M. Moore - Jackson P. Joy, A. Selillo-Lopez & R. Stuckey), AALS Annual Clinical Conference, New Orleans, La., May 2007

    Dealing with External Challenges to Clinical Education (with Profs. R. Dinnerstein and Dean R. Morgan), AALS Annual Clinical Conference, Clinical Directors Workshop Plenary Session

    The Impact of ‘Best Practices’ and Carnegie on Clinics: Evaluating Ourselves Internally & Evaluating Our Place in Legal Education, Co-Presented Full Day Workshop (with Prof. C. Kaas), Upstate-Western New York Regional Clinical Conference, Syracuse, N.Y., December 2007

    "Can You Be a “Good” Clinician and Teach in a Prosecution Clinic?” Clinical Conference, Crossing the Digital Divide, AALS Annual Clinical Conference, Technology Track, San Diego, Calif., May 2005

    Messages Regarding Professionalism, Panel Coordinator & Presenter, (with Profs. A. McCaffrey & M. Aaronson), AALS Annual Clinical Conference, Clinical Directors Workshop, Vancouver, Calif., May 2003

  • Publications

    First Domestic Violence Law Seminar Taught in a United States Law School: The Legacy of Professor Katheryn D. Katz, Albany Law Review (forthcoming)(with Breger)

    Chapter 12: Law School Clinics in the Community in Higher Education and Local Government: Effective Town Gown Strategies (Co-editors Cynthia Baker and Patricia Salkin) (spring 2013)

    First Domestic Violence Law Seminar Taught In A United States Law School: The Legacy Of Professor Katheryn D. Katz and Her Impact on the Curriculum at Albany Law School and Beyond (with Melissa Breger) (forthcoming).

    An Evaluation of Ten Concerns about Using Outcomes in Legal Education, 38 William Mitchell Law Review 976 (2011)

    Re-Vision Quest: A Law School Guide to Designing Experiential Courses Involving Real Lawyering, 56 New York Law School Law Review (2011, 2012) (with Maranville, Engler, Goldfarb and Kay)

    Designing a Hybrid Domestic Violence Prosecution Clinic: Making Bedfellows of Academics, Activists and Prosecutors to Teach Students According to Clinical Theory and Best Practices, 74 (no.4) University of Mississippi Law Review 1177 (Spring 2005)

    The Application of Equal Protection to Prospective Jurors with Disabilities: Will Batson Cover Disability-Based Strikes, 57 Albany Law Review 289 (1993)

    Who Should Hear the Voices of Children With Disabilities: Proposed Changes in Due Process in New York's Special Education System,55 Albany Law Review 179 (1991)

  • Related Links

    Unity House
    NYS Crime Victims Board
    Equinox
    NYS Coalition Against *Domestic Violence
    OPDV
    GULP
    OCA forms (NYS)
    Nicholson Briefs & Webcast
    ABA Commission on Domestic Violence
    The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern NY
    The Legal Project
    YWCA Services to Families in Violence
    NACC
    Family Violence Prevention Fund
    The Department of Justice Violence Against Women
    National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
    American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence
    National Network to End Domestic Violence
    Listing of All State Domestic Violence Coalitions
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