Perspective

In 1779, Thomas Jefferson got the William & Mary Law School started. His goal was to train citizen lawyers - people who would be good citizens and leaders in their communities, states and nation, as well as good lawyers. This course will examine whether Jefferson's model continues to represent an achievable "life's work" for lawyers in the 21st century. We will look at the different roles traditionally played by lawyers in the United States; the extent to which lawyers have provided community, state and federal leaders for all sorts of venues, public and private; reasons why legal training and experience so well equip lawyers for leadership; and the nature of today's societal distate for lawyers and what might be done to restore a more balanced view. The course will include practical advice for fledgling lawyers. Close Window

A study of the many applications of economic reasoning to problems of law and public policy including economic regulation of business; antitrust enforcement; and more basic areas such as property rights, tort and contract law and remedies, and civil or criminal procedures. No particular background in economics is required; relevant economic concepts will be developed through analysis of various legal applications. Close Window

'Law & Literature' will be coordinated by Jim Heller and Chris Byrne. There will be up to 18 students enrolled in the class, which will focus on how legal issues and themes are developed in works of literature. The class will meet four times during the semester, in the homes of participating faculty members. All those participating in the class are expected to bring food and/or drink each month to share as we dine together. The class will meet on the following days, from 6:00-8:30 PM Tuesday, January 15 Tuesday, February 12 Tuesday, March 12 Tuesday, April 2 The faculty will select four books that the students must read and write papers on. The books will be available to purchase in the bookstore, but you may use any edition you already have or purchase/borrow elsewhere. No later than the Thursday prior to each meeting, students must send via email to Jim Heller and Chris Byrne a 3-5 page paper responding to at least one of the questions previously given out by the faculty member responsible for each book. These papers will be distributed electronically ahead of time to other students in the class and to the faculty, and will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Students are required to prepare papers for all four books and attend all four sessions, unless their absence is excused in advance. Students will participate in discussion sessions with five or six students and one or two faculty members in each group, lasting for approximately one hour. Then, for the second hour the entire class will discuss the book. Students may also be asked to draft discussion questions for the books. There will be an organizational meeting the first week of the Spring 2013 semester. Students must attend this session in order to enroll in the course. Close Window

Law & Politics is a series of presentations by leading academics, practitioners, and government officials about a range of issues related to the intersection of law and politics. Students are required to attend at least seven presentations over the course of the semester. At present, there are eight scheduled presentations (seven on Thursday afternoons and one on Monday, April 1). Some presentations require students to read papers and write short 3-page pass/fail response memos (4 over the course of the semester); other presentations have no formal paper component (there will be background reading for some but not all of these sessions). The schedule for spring 2013 speakers are January 24 Stanley Fish (Floridal International and New York Times opinionator columnist; formerly at Yale, Columbia, Duke); February 7 David Cole (Georgetown Law; columnist for Nation and New York Review of book; Supreme Court advocate); February 14 Walter Dellinger (O'Melveny & Myers; former Duke law professor, former head of Office of Legal Counsel and Acting Solicitor General; Supreme Court advocate); February 21 Heather Gerken (Yale Law School); March 21, Michael Toner (Wiley, Rein; former chair Federal Election Commission); Monday April 1 Mike Klarman (Harvard Law); April 4 Rob McDowell (Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission); April 18 John Green (University of Akron Political Science). . . . Close Window

Exploration of law and lawyering as seen through various works of literature. Readings drawn from novels, short stories, and film. Students may take the seminar for two or three credits. For two credits, students take a final exam. For three credits, students take the exam and write a paper in addition. Close Window

This course will provide students with a comprehensive insight into state legislative process from the perspective of the advocate. The course will examine the legislative process from the conceptual stage ("there ought to be a law"), through drafting and filing of a bill, coalition building ("nose counting" and "horse trading"), grass roots advocacy and direct lobbying ("arm twisting"), and culminating in presentation of the bill before a committee ("the shad treatment"). Students will gain insight into how political and public policy concerns, the vested interests of various constituencies, as well as the personalities of the lobbyists, staffers and legislators themselves, combine to influence the legislative process. The course will include a series of exercises in which students will practice the skills necessary to effective legislative advocacy. Close Window

A survey of problems generated by philosophical reflection on the law. The central topic will be the fundamental nature of the law. Is the law reducible to social facts? To morality? To neither of these things? But other topics will also be dealth with, including: the structure of legal systems, the nature and possibliity of authority, whether there is a moral duty to obey the law, the status of international law, the lawmaking role of courts, and the effect of semantic and moral theories on adjudication. Classics in the field - including John Austin, H.L.A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Joseph Raz and the American Legal Realists - will be discussed, as will arguments by some more recent writers. Close Window

This course examines the increasingly prominent role legal history plays in modern U.S. Supreme Court opinions. The class will survey recent cases decided primarily with historical reasoning, examine the cited historical sources directly, and consider academic praise and criticism of the judicial invocation of legal history all toward the goal of equipping students to confidently incorporate historical argument into their legal thinking as well as their future advocacy. Close Window

This seminar will consider various topics regarding English legal history. The nature of the topics will change from term to term. Close Window

This seminar will consider various topics regarding American Legal History. The nature of the topics will change from term to term. Close Window

This seminar will consider various topics regarding judicial administration. The nature of the topics will change from term to term. Close Window

State and Local Government Finance: Power, Debt, and Special Interests. This seminar first will consider the basic structures restricting the borrowing of money by state and especially local government entities, the common state constitutional limitations on debt incurrence and the historical and policy reasons for such limitations. It also will consider the increasingly common devices by which such limitations are avoided or undermined. The seminar then will address the legal and policy issues raised by the increasing use of tax abatements, government funds and government borrowing to support a wide range of 'private activities,' including public private partnerships, inducements to businesses to locate or expand and subsidies to professional sports teams. Close Window

Statistics for Lawyers This course introduces basic statistical analysis and its application to problems that arise frequently in litigation. It covers the concept of distributions and summary statistics; statistical sampling; analyzing the validity of data collection methods; basic hypothesis testing; and methods for studying correlations in data. The course will cover a variety of legal applications of statistics, including discrimination litigation, use of DNA to identify individuals, products liability, and discrimination in jury selection. The course assumes no prior knowledge of probability or statistics. It will emphasize broad understanding over the details of calculation. Grading will be based on weekly homework assignments and a final exam. Close Window