Torts - Fall 2010 Policies
Mondays 10:30 - 12:15 Wednesday & Thursday 11:00 - 12:25 Room 303
George W. Conk
Adjunct Professor of Law
Senior Fellow, Stein Center for Law & Ethics
Rm 409
212-636-7446
gconk@law.fordham.edu
office hours by appointment (email preferred)
Required casebook:
Franklin, Rabin & Green, Tort Law & Alternatives, 8th Edition, Foundation Press
NOTE: 2010 update is posted on Lexis webcourse.
Suggested reading:
Shapo & Shapo, Law School Without Fear: strategies for success, Foundation Press
Mark A. Geistfeld, Tort Law: The Essentials, Aspen/Wolters Kluwer
WEBCOURSE: Lexis
You must register or “enroll” in the Lexis webcourse. Go to Lexisnexis.com/lawschool. Much of the required reading material is there, as is the full text of principal cases excerpted in the casebook. I will post there (and email to you) the Powerpoint slides I use in class in outline format.
Laptops and power point slides.
Some teachers ban laptops as a distraction from listening and participating in discussion. I don’t. I used them at trial and deposition to take notes, so I allow the use of laptops. Notes are not a transcript but an editorial selection and supplement. You will find it distracting to try to copy the full text of slides and the remarks of me and others. The slides are usually not up long enough and there is a god bit of jumping around prompted by classroom discussion, etc. Notes should be edited, filled in, etc. after class!
When we finish a chapter I will send you (and post on Lexis) the slides I prepared in outline format. (Old slides are on Lexis too. Because the course changes every year the slides will change, so I recommend you take notes in class and wait for the new slides.)
Laptop abuse:Please resist any temptation to indulge in “IM’ing”, attending to email, etc. It is rude, distracting to me as well as to you, and unproductive.
Blogs:
Course blog: Torts Today http://tortstoday.blogspot.com
I have just started this blog. I cannot attach files, only copy, compose or link to files. The syllabus posted there has links to some materials which are freely accessible on the web, such as Supreme Court opinions or scholarly articles on SSRN (registration is free). As the semester goes on and I come across relevant material I may post it on Torts Today. Suggestions about how to make use of this blog are welcome.
Occasionally I may suggest you will find something of use or interest on my blog Otherwise, which as its name says, ranges far beyond law.
Otherwise - Commentaries on Law, Language and Politics
Otherwise has some material on torts and some useful material is already there. If I recommend or require you to read something there I will tell you.
You are not expected or required to pay any attention to anything I write that is not related to course material.
Attendance:
Regular attendance is expected and required. If you cannot attend class, please drop a note to me by email before the class. If anything is preventing you from attending class regularly, please feel free to discuss it with me privately. The Dean of Students office is always available to provide confidential assistance with any problem that interferes with your studies.
Reading: All reading listed on the syllabus is required unless otherwise noted. Slides developed by me are part of assigned reading, whether they are discussed in class or not. They are generally posted in outline form when we finish each chapter. (Previous courses slides are posted as archival material only and are not part of required reading.)
Lectures, slides, and classroom discussion supplement and explain the subjects of the required reading. Not all assigned reading material is discussed in class. Some is discussed in depth, some lightly, some not at all. Dialog is inherently unpredictable. Class will reflect that. Notes in the casebook and undiscussed material may be valuable resources for the final exam, which will be limited open book. You should read the notes that follow principal even though they are infrequently discussed in class.
Speaking in class: By all means. Dialog is key to learning to think like a lawyer. I will make every effort to recognize everyone who wants to speak. I may call on you but generally I will seek volunteers.
If you are not one who likes to speak in class, speak to me any chance you can find. You will learn that I enjoy discussions with students and am very approachable. To be sure to have my undivided attention make an appointment to see me.
Office hours: By appointment. On the hour and half-hour. Generally Monday and Thursday afternoons are best. Please make appointments by email.
Recommended reading
I recommend the Shapo book because their discussion on testing conveys very well what I look for in evaluating exams.
There are many nutshells, outlines, etc. that you may find helpful.
Mark Geistfeld’s concise treatment Tort Law: The Essentials is good.
Of the broad treatises on torts I recommend Dan Dobbs, Handbook of Torts, West (2000). You are not obligated to buy it. But if you want to have such a treatise - that is the best available.
Examination
There will be a three hour open book essay-type final examination which will constitute the sole basis for your grade. It can be hand written or done on laptop if you register with Exam 4. You can bring the casebook, class notes and anything distributed in class or posted on the webcourse. Prior years’ mid-term and final exams and model answers have been posted on the Lexis Blackboard as course documents.
Because my examinations are open book essays I expect you to cite to appropriate authorities among those materials. But the most important thing is make a coherent argument, making your reasoning plain in words. Reference solely to cases or statutes tends to be opaque unless the authority is so well known and the proposition it stands for is so precise that it is iconic. (E.g. `First Amendment rights’ may be an effective substitute for explicit statement of freedom of speech, assembly or press, in context. But coupled together each is stronger and more precise: Thus “John Peter Zenger’s case inspired the First Amendment protections of press freedom” is stronger than “John Peter Zenger’s case inspired the First Amendment”.
Judicial opinions are a good guide to what I consider to be model answers - as are model answers I have posted. The judicial opinions in the casebook are heavily edited. They generally omit the statements of facts and most citations to authority. The full text of all principal cases will be posted on the webcourse. They are valuable style guides to good legal writing. I consider the opinion of Judge Cardozo in the landmark product liability case MacPherson v. Buick Motor Company (p. 550) the north star for style and use of precedent and analogy to advance the law.
Strunk & White’s Elements of Style is, for me, the best guide to plain, effective modern prose. Comments by me on rhetoric (the art of persuasive speech and writing) are sometimes posted on Otherwise. Search in the google search box for “rhetoric”.
Judge Ruggero Aldisert is a master of legal prose. Check out this post Judge Aldisert receives Golden Pen Award.
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