The Role of Reporter for a Law Project

Professor Little has served as the Reporter for the ABA's Task Force to Revise the Criminal Justice Standards for the Prosecution and Defense Functions since 2005. In this introductory essay for a unique joint publication Symposium between the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly and the Hastings Law Journal focused on the Standards, Professor Little provides his description of the role of a Reporter for a law project. Surprisingly, despite almost a century of academics serving as Reporters for law projects sponsored by the American Law Institute and the ABA, there is no literature providing the "inside story" of a Reporter's role. Professor Little explains the pragmatic details of what a Reporter does, as well as his views on what a Reporter should do.

The essay should provide helpful guidance for future professors who naively agree to take on such a job.