LAW 3254: How to Ask a Question
Asking questions is at the core of the role of an attorney. Whether it is interrogating a witness in a deposition, or conducting a direct or cross examination at trial, knowing how to ask a question is an essential lawyering skill. We'll explore textual materials and real life case examples in transcripts, videotape and cinema to determine the principals and best practices for questioning. We'll learn how to prepare for questioning; how to focus, narrow, and broaden an examination; how to obtain key admissions; how to deal with a difficult opponent; when to stop asking; and how to use what's been obtained in court or otherwise to win for your clients. This course will give you the skills and tools needed for the critical roles of questioning, which has broad applicability for trial lawyers and non trial lawyers alike. Shanin Specter is a founding partner of Kline & Specter, P.C., in Philadelphia, concentrating in catastrophic injury litigation. He has obtained more than 200 settlements
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Asking questions is at the core of the role of an attorney. Whether it is interrogating a witness in a deposition, or conducting a direct or cross examination at trial, knowing how to ask a question is an essential lawyering skill. We'll explore textual materials and real life case examples in transcripts, videotape and cinema to determine the principals and best practices for questioning. We'll learn how to prepare for questioning; how to focus, narrow, and broaden an examination; how to obtain key admissions; how to deal with a difficult opponent; when to stop asking; and how to use what's been obtained in court or otherwise to win for your clients. This course will give you the skills and tools needed for the critical roles of questioning, which has broad applicability for trial lawyers and non trial lawyers alike. Shanin Specter is a founding partner of Kline & Specter, P.C., in Philadelphia, concentrating in catastrophic injury litigation. He has obtained more than 200 settlements or verdicts in excess of $1 million and is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, whose membership is limited to the top 100 plaintiffs' attorneys in the United States. Elements used in grading: assessment of two brief reaction papers, as well as classwork; class attendance is required. Class meets Tuesdays, 4:15pm to 7:15pm on January 16, January 30, and February 13.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
Instructors:
Specter, S. (PI)
LAW 3258: Responsibility for Risk: Perspectives on Liability Insurance
This seminar will explore the intellectual foundations of the institution of insurance, including the following key questions: How is insurance to be conceived: from a contract perspective? a tort perspective? a private governmental perspective? Correlatively, what are the economic and ethical dimensions of risk classifications and management? How serious are the concerns about moral hazard and adverse selection---core concepts of insurance law? What standards should be used to resolve insurance bad faith claims? And, when a party is sued and the liability insurer controls the party's defense, how should the defense lawyer hired by the insurer navigate---and conceive of---this triangular relationship? The pervasive role of insurance in addressing societal concerns about accidental harm is vitally important but has been remarkably under-examined in the traditional law school curriculum. Special Instructions: Grades will be based on class attendance, class participation, and either several short reflection papers (section (01)) or an independent research paper (section (02)). After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Students taking the course for R credit can take the course for either 2 or 3 units, depending on paper length. Elements used in grading: Class participation, class attendance, reflection papers or research paper. Early drop deadline.
Last offered: Winter 2020
LAW 3259: The Civil Justice System as an Agent of Change
The past 60 years have witnessed a dramatic expansion in the role of the courts as an agent of change in the United States. Constitutional, civil and economic rights have been created, such as marriage equality and strict liability in tort, but rights have also been limited through statutory restrictions and other means. The role of the judge has grown to activist and administrator in cases such as prison reform and housing desegregation. And through it all, it has been lawyers who have fought, won, and lost the battles of expansion and contraction of rights and remedies. Where the government fails to protect us, private practitioners serve a crucial role in challenging the legal "status quo" through civil litigation; vindication of a particular client's claim can simultaneously establish or clarify the rights in question on a societal scale. Taught by an experienced trial lawyer, along with guests from both plaintiff and defense practices, course readings and discussion will draw on a wealth of textual, law review, and lay media, and the arc of relevant case law, including real trial experiences and litigation documents. This course explores changes in motor vehicle and commercial product safety, medical malpractice, police misconduct, civil rights, marital rights, sexual harassment and abuse, firearms liability, school and housing desegregation, college hazing, privacy, school funding and consumer safety. We'll study the titanic struggle over appropriate remedies for wrongs in these substantive areas, ranging from immunity to limits on recoveries, compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief and other equitable remedies. We'll also study how a plaintiff or defense lawyer can make a difference for their clients and others similarly situated to catalyze significant societal improvement. Elements used in grading: The grade is based on class work (i.e., contribution to discussions and participation in class exercises) and a final paper. There is no exam. No automatic grading penalty for late papers.
Last offered: Winter 2019
LAW 3260: Dealing with Disasters: Perspectives on Tort and Regulation
We live in a time when disasters, tragically, have taken on new meaning. Natural disasters arise with great frequency and growing intensity. And responsible party disasters dominate the headlines, generating fear and a sense of disbelief. Both prospective preventive measures, and retrospective restorative efforts on behalf of victims, raise enormously difficult questions of how best to address these momentous events. This seminar will examine preventive measures and remedial relief for natural disasters, such as pandemics (COVID) wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. Similarly, we will focus on preventive and remedial relief in responsible party disasters, such as acts of terrorism, oil spills, and release of toxic substances. Students may elect to write a research paper for 3 units and R-credit with consent of the instructor. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section 01 (2 units) into section 02 (3 units), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance, class participation, written assignments, or final research paper
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Rabin, R. (PI)
LAW 3502: Art and the Law
This course covers the legal, public policy, and ethical issues that concern artists, art dealers, auction houses, museums, collectors, and others who comprise the world of visual art. Our focus will be on artists' rights (including copyright, resale royalties, moral rights, and freedom of expression issues), how the markets in art function (such as the artist-dealer relationship, auction rules, and issues faced by collectors), and the legal and ethical rules governing the collection, donation, and display of visual art, particularly for museums and their donors. The course focuses on certain recurrent themes: How do statutes and courts define (or attempt to define) art, and how is art defined differently for different legal purposes? How does the special character of art justify or require different treatment under the law from that accorded other tangible personal property, and how does (and should) the expressive nature of art affect the way it is owned, protected, regulated, or fun
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This course covers the legal, public policy, and ethical issues that concern artists, art dealers, auction houses, museums, collectors, and others who comprise the world of visual art. Our focus will be on artists' rights (including copyright, resale royalties, moral rights, and freedom of expression issues), how the markets in art function (such as the artist-dealer relationship, auction rules, and issues faced by collectors), and the legal and ethical rules governing the collection, donation, and display of visual art, particularly for museums and their donors. The course focuses on certain recurrent themes: How do statutes and courts define (or attempt to define) art, and how is art defined differently for different legal purposes? How does the special character of art justify or require different treatment under the law from that accorded other tangible personal property, and how does (and should) the expressive nature of art affect the way it is owned, protected, regulated, or funded? We anticipate having two or three visitors to the class during the quarter, such as a gallery owner, auctioneer, and museum director. In addition, we will also have the students participate in one or two interactive negotiation simulation exercises inspired by real situations and controversies in the art world. Graduate students from other departments and schools are welcome to take this course with the permission of the instructors. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, final exam.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Frankel, S. (PI)
;
Kernberg, A. (PI)
LAW 3504: U.S. Legal History
This course explores the legal history of what became the United States from the beginning of European colonization until the early twentieth century, focusing on the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It examines both the evolution of legal doctrine and the role of marginalized communities as targets, resistors, and creators of law. It emphasizes continental, borderlands, and transnational perspectives on U.S. legal history. Special Instructions: Any student may write a paper in lieu of the final exam with consent of instructor. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Take-home final exam or paper. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
LAW 3505: Law and Culture in American Fiction
How do we identify an owner? What does a citizen look like? Whose privacy requires protection? The stories we tell about the experience of being Americans bolster and undermine particular legal arguments and conclusions. In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, novels were an important source of these narratives. And over the last century movies, television and other forms of visual storytelling have recycled these stock narratives countless times. In this interdisciplinary seminar, a novel or story is paired with a contemporary legal text (and often historical material for context) each week. These pairings track the maintenance of personal identity, community stability, and even linguistic meaning across shifting legal constructions of citizenship, race, gender, and class; changes in the law of property, contract, and privacy; and other legal and extralegal deployments of the (violent) authority of the state. The writers whose work we will consider include James Fenimor
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How do we identify an owner? What does a citizen look like? Whose privacy requires protection? The stories we tell about the experience of being Americans bolster and undermine particular legal arguments and conclusions. In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, novels were an important source of these narratives. And over the last century movies, television and other forms of visual storytelling have recycled these stock narratives countless times. In this interdisciplinary seminar, a novel or story is paired with a contemporary legal text (and often historical material for context) each week. These pairings track the maintenance of personal identity, community stability, and even linguistic meaning across shifting legal constructions of citizenship, race, gender, and class; changes in the law of property, contract, and privacy; and other legal and extralegal deployments of the (violent) authority of the state. The writers whose work we will consider include James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Henry James, William Faulkner, Nella Larsen, John Okada, Katherine Anne Porter and Sherman Alexie. (These authors are known for great writing and cultural influence, but also, in some cases, overt racism and personal misconduct.) Reading and writing with an increased awareness of the background narratives implicit in our legal arguments is among the goals of the course. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, and written assignments. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers. For Research "R" credit, students may petition to complete one long paper based on independent research with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Sassoubre, T. (PI)
LAW 3506: Law and Empire in U.S. History
This course will examine the interrelationship between legal norms and empire in the history of the United States. Topics in this part will include the Constitution as an imperial document; law and the expansion of the United States in western North America, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii; the Insular Cases; and current debates over extraterritoriality and the War on Terror. Substantial readings will consist of scholarly articles, historical cases, and primary sources, and will be provided online. Requirements for the course include regular class participation and, at the students' election, either response papers or a historiographical essay. Students may also elect to complete a research paper, in which case they will receive 3 units and "R" credit. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Cross-listed with History (
HISTORY 354F).
Last offered: Winter 2020
LAW 3507: Law and the Rhetorical Tradition
The conventions of legal writing and reasoning taught in law school derive from a long tradition of argument and persuasion. This interdisciplinary seminar locates legal conventions in that broader intellectual history, starting with Aristotle and tracing (some of) the ruptures and continuities that have shaped our particular practices. The way we argue matters. The form we give our statements determines not just whether but whom they will persuade. So we will develop a tool kit for identifying the available means of persuasion, crafting sentences and paragraphs that suit the ideas they contain, voicing those ideas with an eye to audience and purpose as well as authority; noticing the way the language we choose implies a social world in which the argument unfolds. The goal is to become both more effective and more conscious in our deployment of those conventions -- as readers, speakers and writers. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, revision and writing assignme
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The conventions of legal writing and reasoning taught in law school derive from a long tradition of argument and persuasion. This interdisciplinary seminar locates legal conventions in that broader intellectual history, starting with Aristotle and tracing (some of) the ruptures and continuities that have shaped our particular practices. The way we argue matters. The form we give our statements determines not just whether but whom they will persuade. So we will develop a tool kit for identifying the available means of persuasion, crafting sentences and paragraphs that suit the ideas they contain, voicing those ideas with an eye to audience and purpose as well as authority; noticing the way the language we choose implies a social world in which the argument unfolds. The goal is to become both more effective and more conscious in our deployment of those conventions -- as readers, speakers and writers. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, revision and writing assignments. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers. Special Instructions: This course can satisfy the Research "R" requirement. The instructor and the student must agree whether the student will receive "R" credit. For "R" credit, the paper is substantial and is based on independent research. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Sassoubre, T. (PI)
LAW 3508: Law and Visual Culture
When we represent our experience today, we do so as much through images as language. When we seek to persuade, we offer photographs, charts, videos. When we witness misconduct, we pull out our smartphones. Social media has emerged as a powerful court of public opinion. AI has made it easy to generate realistic images out of thin air. And as images saturate our cultural discourse, they are increasingly part of legal practice. The power of an image often lies in its apparent simplicity: we know it when we see it. But how much of what we see is produced by the biases and expectations -- the habits of viewing -- that we bring to the encounter? What is left out when an infographic distills information for us? Lawyers and judges have historically tended to treat certain kinds of images as unmediated representations of reality, even though neuroscience, empirical research, and cultural theory all refute this so-called reality effect. Such naïve realism maps on to an ideal of definitive proof
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When we represent our experience today, we do so as much through images as language. When we seek to persuade, we offer photographs, charts, videos. When we witness misconduct, we pull out our smartphones. Social media has emerged as a powerful court of public opinion. AI has made it easy to generate realistic images out of thin air. And as images saturate our cultural discourse, they are increasingly part of legal practice. The power of an image often lies in its apparent simplicity: we know it when we see it. But how much of what we see is produced by the biases and expectations -- the habits of viewing -- that we bring to the encounter? What is left out when an infographic distills information for us? Lawyers and judges have historically tended to treat certain kinds of images as unmediated representations of reality, even though neuroscience, empirical research, and cultural theory all refute this so-called reality effect. Such naïve realism maps on to an ideal of definitive proof embedded in the adversary system. And it haunts our efforts to adapt legal practice to visual persuasion in ways that are consistent with our rule of law values. This interdisciplinary seminar tracks the legal reception of modern visual representation from confusion about the admissibility of photographs in the late 19th century (is it like a drawing? is it like eyewitness testimony?) to the trials of O.J Simpson and the police officers that assaulted Rodney King in the 1990s (how does race affect our perception of trails? do judges and jurors decide differently when the proceedings are televised?) to the frequent and strategic deployment of visual media in pretrial and litigation practice today. We will also consider the roles of visual persuasion in areas of doctrine (like privacy, qualified immunity, and freedom of speech) as well as applications in practice (like contracts and client communications). Throughout the quarter, we will attend to the ways American visual culture has resisted and reinforced systemic racism and inequality. Special Instructions: This course can satisfy the Research "R" requirement. The instructor and the student must agree whether the student will receive "R" credit. For "R" credit, the paper is substantial and is based on independent research. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements Used in Grading: Class Participation. Attendance, Written Assignments, Final Paper. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Sassoubre, T. (PI)
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