Oscar J. Salinas

Areas of Expertise

• Academic Support
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Client Counseling
• Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
• Interviewing and Client Counseling
• Legal Education
• Legal Profession
• Legal Research
• Legal Writing

Biography

A native of South Texas, O.J. Salinas is the first Hispanic to hold a full-time faculty position at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Salinas is a Clinical Professor of Law, and he serves as the law school’s Director of Academic Excellence. As Director of Academic Excellence, Salinas oversees academic support services to all Carolina Law students from Orientation through the bar exam. His teaching and research interests include academic and bar support, negotiations, and client counseling. He is the author of A Short and Happy Guide to Effective Client Interviewing and Counseling (West 2016) and MBEs for the MBE: Mnemonics, Blueprints, and Examples for the Multistate Bar Examination (West 2022).

In 2017, Salinas received the Charles E. Daye Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. He also received the Frederick B. McCall Award for Teaching Excellence from the graduating Class of 2017. He is an honors graduate from the University of Dayton School of Law, where he was a Thurgood Marshall Scholar. Following law school, Salinas practiced civil litigation in Texas. He also received a Master’s in Counseling from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he worked with individuals suffering from severe mental illness to students seeking educational academic support.

Education

• M.A., Counseling, University of Texas at San Antonio (2007)
• J.D. (Cum Laude), University of Dayton (1999)
• B.A. (Summa Cum Laude), Psychology & Philosophy, Saint Mary's University (Texas) (1996)

Selected Publications

Secondary Courses Taught by Secondary Faculty: A (Personal) Call to Fully Integrate Skills Faculty and Skills Courses into the Law School Curriculum Ahead of the NextGen Bar Exam, 107 MINN. L. REV. 2663 (2023).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein

Distinguished Commentary: On the Sidelines, RAISING THE BAR: EVIDENCE-BASED THINKING ABOUT THE BAR EXAM (AccessLex Institute), Fall 2023 at 2.
Document Link

MBES FOR THE MBE: MNEMONICS, BLUEPRINTS, AND EXAMPLES FOR THE MULTISTATE BAR EXAMINATION (West Acad. Press 2022).
KF303 .S25 2022

Book Review of TAMMY PETTINATO OLTZ, LAWYERING SKILLS IN THE DOCTRINAL CLASSROOM: USING LEGAL WRITING PEDAGOGY TO ENHANCE TEACHING ACROSS THE LAW SCHOOL CURRICULUM (2020), 70 J. LEGAL EDUC. 181 (2020).
Westlaw | Hein | BEPress | Document Link

Improving Bar Success: Curricular Changes at University of North Carolina School of Law, 88 BAR EXAMINER (Summer 2019).
SSRN | Document Link

A SHORT AND HAPPY GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE CLIENT INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELING (West Academic) (March 2016).
KF311 S25 2016

Beyond the Socratic Class: Helping Prepare Practice-Ready Students by Incorporating Client Interviews in the 1L LRW Class, THE LEARNING CURVE (AALS Section on Academic Support), Summer 2015.
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Do as I Say, Not as I Do: Maintaining the Foundation of Strong Individual Professional Development, THE LEARNING CURVE (AALS Section on Academic Support), Winter 2014 at 12.
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Law School Learning Communities: A Community of Learners for the Benefit of All Learners, 19 THE LAW TEACHER 28 (Fall 2012).
SSRN | Hein | BEPress | Document Link