Class Assignments
Spring 2020
Please review the information relevant to your classes below for first week assignments and/or syallbi.
Some of your faculty will provide first week class assignments for posting below. Others will post their first week assignments and/or syllabi on BbLearn, LexisNexis, or Westlaw TWEN. Be sure to check those online course pages for assignments and/or syllabi.
Students are added to BbLearn courses automatically about two weeks before the start of the semester. If you do not see your course in BbLearn, please contact your instructor.
Spring 2020
First Week Assignment: Please read pages 191-211 in the casebook and review Restatement sections 159, 162-163, and 167-169.
First Week's Assignment: The reading for my first class (Jan. 14) is “An Advocate Persuades: Ch. 1.”
First Week's Assignments:
January 13: Chapter 1
January 15: Chapter 2
First Day Assignment for Public International Law:
Bring in a case that involves international law of interest to you to share with the class. (The case may be from the United States, another national jurisdiction, or an international law case.)
Bring to class a law review note covering an international law subject. The law review note can be connected to the case you are bringing in.
Be prepared to describe in class to other seminar participants what international laws are at issue in the case and law review note you chose.
Reflect on the following statement by the pre-eminent international lawyer Louis Henkin: “It is probably the case that almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law and almost all of their obligations almost all of the time.” (Emphasis in original How Nations Be have, 2d Ed. 1979)
First Day's Reading Assignment
(The first day’s reading is Chapter 1.A (pages 15-43) of the course text. This is probably the longest reading assignment of the class, but the technical material is important for understanding the legal materials for the rest of the semester. The syllabus (including reading assignments for the rest of the semester) is posted in BBLearn).
First Day Assignment for Conflict of Laws Law 960:
1) Question to Think About: Why do we need to have a set of “conflict of laws” rules? Why can’t we just apply lex fori?
2) Review the following fact pattern and come to class prepared to discuss how you might approach this problem.
Bearco is a corporation incorporated under the laws of State A. Bearco maintains its corporate and administrative offices in State A; its factories are located in State B. Bearco’s popular stuffed toy bear, “Griz,” is sold throughout the United States. Bearco has registered the trademark “Griz” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Copyco is a corporation incorporated under the laws of Country X, a foreign country, where Copyco has its manufacturing facilities and corporate offices. Copyco sells a line of toy bears called “Griz,” which look remarkably similar to the Bearco “Griz” bears. Copyco sells its bears to consumers throughout the United States. However, it sells only on the Internet.
Bearco has filed an action against Copyco in the United States District Court for State A, properly invoking the court’s federal question and diversity jurisdiction. Bearco alleges both trademark infringement (a federal law claim) and unfair competition (a tort claim that, in the United States, is based on state law).
State A and State B have materially different unfair-competition laws. Unfair competition is not actionable under the law of Country X.
To address choice-of-law problems, State A follows the “most significant relationship” approach of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws. State B applies the “territorial” approach of the Restatement (First) of Conflict of Laws. Country X’s choice-of-law methodology is unknown.
Which jurisdiction’s procedural law should the United States District Court for State A apply to resolve Bearco’s unfair-competition claim? Which jurisdiction’s substantive law should the District Court apply? Explain.
First Week Assignment: Please read pages 1-16 and 19-63 in the casebook, review Model Rules 1.6 and 8.1, and be prepared to discuss Problems 1-2 and 1-3.
For the first week of class, please read the following pages:
- Jan. 15, Wednesday - Chapter 1 (first two introductory pages, Sec. 1.1, and Sec. 1.2 only)
- Jan. 17, Friday - Chapter 1 (Sec. 1.3, and Sec. 1.4 only)
Required textbook: Principles of Legal Research (Concise Hornbooks, 2nd Edition, 2015), by Kent Olson. This book is available to you for free via the West Study Aids Subscription site, as well as through the Law Library's catalog.
Immigration Law and Policy – First Week Assignments
- Mon. Jan 13th – Immigration and Citizenship Process and Policy (ICPP), Eighth Edition, pp. 1-23. Please send me a short email describing your interest in immigration law and the areas you most want to learn about.
- Weds. Jan. 15th – ICPP, pp. 23-61, plus ICPP 2018 Supplement pp 6-13 (I will give you a link to this on Mon.).