BYU Law Celebrates a Decade of Law and Corpus Linguistics Advancements
The J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University (BYU Law) is excited to announce that it will host its 10th annual Law and Corpus Linguistics Conference on October 24. This prestigious conference is co-sponsored by Schaerr Jaffe, LLP, and the Judicial Education Institute and has become a significant platform for legal and linguistic scholars alike. The event promises to bring together some of the brightest minds in the field, including judges, academics, and practitioners, all focused on enhancing the application of corpus linguistics in understanding the law.
This year’s conference celebrates a significant milestone, marking ten years since it began from humble origins. As Thomas R. Lee, a professor at BYU Law and former Utah Supreme Court Justice, noted, what started as a simple initiative linked to a law student’s review note has bloomed into a dynamic community deeply engaged in corpus linguistics. The inaugural conference attracted a modest group of attendees, but today, the initiative has garnered widespread attention, affirming the growing importance of corpus linguistics in legal interpretations. Tools derived from corpus linguistics have appeared in judicial opinions across various courts, highlighting the shift towards this analytical approach to understanding legal language.
Keynote speaker Abbe Gluck from Yale Law School, renowned for her work in corpus linguistics, will lead the discussions this year. Her talk, 'Ordinary Meaning and the Supreme Court,' promises to delve into the challenges and intricacies of interpreting the average meaning of terms and how faithfully the Supreme Court adheres to that understanding in its rulings.
The conference agenda is rich and diverse, featuring presentations that will cover critical topics such as the usage of corpus linguistics in constitutional interpretation, advancements in corpus infrastructure, and the intersection of corpus tools with modern technology, including artificial intelligence. Attendees will also explore how these methodologies can improve the public's comprehension of legal directives, particularly jury instructions, which often lead to confusion and misinterpretation.
In addition to the main conference, BYU Law will organize a workshop geared towards linguists eager to apply their skills in legal contexts. Scheduled for October 23, the workshop aims to demystify legal concepts and highlight challenges faced by those working within legal frameworks. This initiative seeks to promote collaboration between linguists and legal professionals, encouraging graduate students and early-career scholars to engage with this multidisciplinary field.
BYU Law’s commitment to advancing the integration of corpus linguistics into legal studies extends beyond this annual conference. The law school continuously develops state-of-the-art legal research corpora, serving as pivotal resources for both legal practitioners and language scholars. One notable tool, the Corpus of Founding Era American English (COFEA), focuses on the historical context surrounding the drafting and ratification processes of the U.S. Constitution. Initially intended to encompass over one million words, this corpus has exceeded 138 million words, providing extensive data for those studying the ordinary meanings of legal language.
Since 2011, more than 146 judicial opinions have invoked corpus linguistics, reflecting the relevance of this analytical approach in contemporary legal discussions. A recent landmark case, United States v. Robinson, underscores how corpus linguistics can clarify nuanced legal interpretations, paving the way for more equitable judicial outcomes.
As a leading institution founded in 1971, BYU Law stands out for its innovative approach to legal education, emphasizing the intersection of faith and intellect while nurturing legal scholars dedicated to service. The law school aims to foster a community where integrity and academic excellence converge, reflecting its recognition as one of the best-value law schools in the nation, according to National Jurist.
For those interested in attending the 10th Annual Law and Corpus Linguistics Conference, registration details, the event schedule, and information on continuing legal education credits are available on the BYU Law website. The upcoming conference is undoubtedly a landmark event that will shape the future of how legal language is interpreted and understood, contributing to a more just legal system that resonates with the linguistic realities of our society.
This year’s conference celebrates a significant milestone, marking ten years since it began from humble origins. As Thomas R. Lee, a professor at BYU Law and former Utah Supreme Court Justice, noted, what started as a simple initiative linked to a law student’s review note has bloomed into a dynamic community deeply engaged in corpus linguistics. The inaugural conference attracted a modest group of attendees, but today, the initiative has garnered widespread attention, affirming the growing importance of corpus linguistics in legal interpretations. Tools derived from corpus linguistics have appeared in judicial opinions across various courts, highlighting the shift towards this analytical approach to understanding legal language.
Keynote speaker Abbe Gluck from Yale Law School, renowned for her work in corpus linguistics, will lead the discussions this year. Her talk, 'Ordinary Meaning and the Supreme Court,' promises to delve into the challenges and intricacies of interpreting the average meaning of terms and how faithfully the Supreme Court adheres to that understanding in its rulings.
The conference agenda is rich and diverse, featuring presentations that will cover critical topics such as the usage of corpus linguistics in constitutional interpretation, advancements in corpus infrastructure, and the intersection of corpus tools with modern technology, including artificial intelligence. Attendees will also explore how these methodologies can improve the public's comprehension of legal directives, particularly jury instructions, which often lead to confusion and misinterpretation.
In addition to the main conference, BYU Law will organize a workshop geared towards linguists eager to apply their skills in legal contexts. Scheduled for October 23, the workshop aims to demystify legal concepts and highlight challenges faced by those working within legal frameworks. This initiative seeks to promote collaboration between linguists and legal professionals, encouraging graduate students and early-career scholars to engage with this multidisciplinary field.
BYU Law’s commitment to advancing the integration of corpus linguistics into legal studies extends beyond this annual conference. The law school continuously develops state-of-the-art legal research corpora, serving as pivotal resources for both legal practitioners and language scholars. One notable tool, the Corpus of Founding Era American English (COFEA), focuses on the historical context surrounding the drafting and ratification processes of the U.S. Constitution. Initially intended to encompass over one million words, this corpus has exceeded 138 million words, providing extensive data for those studying the ordinary meanings of legal language.
Since 2011, more than 146 judicial opinions have invoked corpus linguistics, reflecting the relevance of this analytical approach in contemporary legal discussions. A recent landmark case, United States v. Robinson, underscores how corpus linguistics can clarify nuanced legal interpretations, paving the way for more equitable judicial outcomes.
As a leading institution founded in 1971, BYU Law stands out for its innovative approach to legal education, emphasizing the intersection of faith and intellect while nurturing legal scholars dedicated to service. The law school aims to foster a community where integrity and academic excellence converge, reflecting its recognition as one of the best-value law schools in the nation, according to National Jurist.
For those interested in attending the 10th Annual Law and Corpus Linguistics Conference, registration details, the event schedule, and information on continuing legal education credits are available on the BYU Law website. The upcoming conference is undoubtedly a landmark event that will shape the future of how legal language is interpreted and understood, contributing to a more just legal system that resonates with the linguistic realities of our society.
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