Was it David Lodge who said that conference going is to the academic community what pilgrimages were to folk generally in medieval Europe — you leave loved ones and home behind, go on journeys to unfamiliar places, meet new people, encounter new things, and come back home with an increased reputation for seriousness.
It’s been a great conference. John Mayer wound up with a final plenary in which he got feedback from the delegates that showed how much they all appreciated the work that the CALI (and U. of Maryland Law School) team had put into the conference. I think it’s remarkable that the conference holds together the interests of such disparate groupings — techies, librarians, faculty and others — and brings them together. In the feedback session one delegate said that for her the conference had really been less about the generic sub-title (Conference for Law School Computing) and more about title — Transforming Legal Education. I couldn’t agree more: if we’re not involved in this process, what are we involved in? I’m sitting in the courtyard of the U. of Maryland Law School, finishing off this last post before I head off. Very handsome building, great IT facilities. There’s a fountain, with a biblical text, Amos 5:24, engraved on it: Let justice roll down like waters. Substitute learning for justice…