Crystal Clear and Riddled with Problems!
Written: Nov 22 '06 (Updated Nov 22 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: problems & certain explanations
Cons: Cons are in criminal law, not contracts!
The Bottom Line: I think it is worth using again for teaching law students in an introductory Contracts course.
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| mht's Full Review: C. Knapp, Harry G. Prince, Nathan M. Crystal - Pro... |
This is the text I selected to teach first year (1L) law students Contracts, for 4 credit hours. I had looked at various other candidate texts, such as Dawson, Harvey & Henderson, and Epstein, Markell and Ponoroff, but this one seemed like the best choice among the ones I examined. This one seemed best because: 1) it contained problems for students to apply the doctrinal knowledge and to cultivate lawyering skills; 2) it contained helpful explanations of sometimes challenging to grasp legal concepts; 3) a number of the cases featured seemed apt, interesting and unavailable in certain other texts, such as the cases in the electronic contracting section. 4) the prose is lucid and well-researched.
Since publishers know that if they persuade a professor who is teaching a course in that subject to adopt their text, all the students get that text, they freely load them upon professors. My share of such "desk copies" or "examination copies" sit together on my bookshelves, including the contracts section.
Actual Use in a Law School Course
I have taught Contracts with this text just this fall, and it is very fresh in my mind. While it always takes more time to switch to a new text from the one that was used by one's own professor or a different one that one has used in teaching, for the most part, it seems that this effort has been worthwhile.
Student Response
The students seem to jump into the problems in this text with greater gusto and enthusiasm than the coverage of the cases. It seems that they catch a sense of what it is to actually practice law. I have used the problems in a variety of ways to give the students a range of experience that could help them in practice. The simulations have included negotiation, mediation, moot court, client interview/counseling, and written exercises (for which I gave them detailed, personal feedback).
I think the students have found some of the cases more interesting than others. This has been one of the reasons that I have supplemented the materials from this book with materials from other fine sources. Cases involving well-known people such as Clint Eastwood or Martin Luther King, Jr. adds to the interest for some. Other students, especially those with related experiences or those who could imagine themselves in a similar experience, seemed to connect with such cases.
The notes after the cases seemed to garner less student interest and attention. The materials before the cases, as well-written as they often are, were also not as readily grasped by certain students.
Editors
I wrote to the professors who put together this casebook via the Contracts listserve for professors who teach contracts. They all wrote personally to me and were ready/willing to receive feedback, give input and answer questions. While it turns out that I haven't written to them in this vein, what they already wrote to me indicates an open attitude always seeking to improve the text if they can. The work they have already poured into this book is obviously gargantuan, demonstrating broad and deep research into the field, along with considerable pedagogical consideration.
Order
While not a major issue, I think the prior ordering that they had of putting enforceability/consideration after formation makes more sense to me. I simply inverted the order for the purposes of this class. A colleague at the University of Texas had recommended this order to me: I was persuaded.
Strengths
The biggest strengths of the book are: 1) the problems, which help students apply what they learn, which prepares them for practice; 2) the clarity of some of the explanations by the editors; 3) the depth of scholarship reflected by the notes, which not all my students seem to appreciate as much; 4) some of the featured side articles, such as historical pieces and practice related pieces.
PC
As much as I agree and support certain of the PC (politically correct) elements of the book, I sometimes thought that what is PC in the law professor world carried a bit too much sway. There are casebooks that really go overboard in this regard, but this one, by comparison, is relatively mild. This slant emerges in certain notes after cases, the selection of certain cases, and less often in the introductory materials. Generally, this tilt isn't too obtrusive, but occasionally, this dimension of the text enters in ways that could rub some people the wrong way.
Final Thoughts
This text is the best one that I'm aware of among the current choices of contracts texts for legal education. I have largely remained appreciative of what the editors have put together. It is well-organized, well-constructed and gives students a fine introduction to the field. I currently am inclined to use the text again if I teach contracts another time next fall, which is the present plan.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mht
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Member: Morse Tan, Esq.
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Reviews written: 115
Trusted by: 31 members
About Me:
HappyHubby, DevotedDad, BookAddict, investor, TennisBrain, cellist, TravelNut, DogLover, law professor: learning to play!
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