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INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW (LAW5HAL)

INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW (LAW5HAL). LA TROBE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Global Business Law Professor Thomas Lundmark 10-12, 15-16 February 2010. Wednesday, 10 February 2010 morning session: historical background

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INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW (LAW5HAL)

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  1. INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW (LAW5HAL) LA TROBE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Global Business Law Professor Thomas Lundmark 10-12, 15-16 February 2010

  2. Wednesday, 10 February 2010 morning session: historical background reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 1-13, Lundmark pp. 5-15, 53-55, 74-77 afternoon session: legal training reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 15-35 Thursday, 11 February 2010 morning session: legal profession reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 23-35 afternoon session: judicial systems reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 37-45, Lundmark pp. 74-81, 85-86, 90-91 Friday, 12 February 2010 morning session: legislation reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 61-81, Lundmark pp. 93-101, 105-106 afternoon session: case law reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 47-60 Monday, 15 February 2010 morning session: civil procedure reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 99-110, 115-117 afternoon session: constitutional rights reading assignment: Farnsworth pp. 147-155, Lundmark pp. 109-120 Tuesday, 16 February 2010 morning session: fundamental rights reading assignment: Lundmark pp. 160-168 afternoon session: equal protection readingassignment: Lundmark pp. 169-175, 179, 184-200

  3. Common (Law) Lawyerslecture topics history of the profession training of lawyers in the US dress (wigs, gowns, morning coats) duty of candor

  4. Henry I (1068-1135) extended jurisdiction of royal courts sent (French-speaking) members of the small council as judges on circuit who applied universal, i.e., ‘common’ law, lex communis in Latin, commune lei in Norman-French to gain favour with Saxons, Henry married daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and his Saxon wife

  5. bifurcated or "split" profession United Kingdom (barrister/solicitor) - (Scotland advocate/solicitor) Ireland New Zealand Australia (partly)

  6. fused profession United States Canada Australia (mostly)

  7. Ranulf de Glanvil (? - 1190) Commissioned Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England first serious book on the common law influenced by Roman law, but English in substance standard textbook of English law until Bracton’s treatise

  8. 1155-1187 ruling class speak French establishment of primogeniture meant younger sons would mingle with the non-aristocratic, native population 1167 Henry II banned English students from attending University of Paris 1187 Oxford University founded

  9. early painting of Divinity Schools, Oxford

  10. Henry de Bracton, c. 1210-1268 built on work of others rational systematization of entire English law examples from cases largely in terms of the ius commune, a combination of Roman and canon law taught at universities

  11. The Year Books unofficial, verbatim reports of legal proceedings over 20,000 cases recorded 1268 to 1535 in French, the language of the courts 1270 most of the new French vocabulary had been settled

  12. inns of court under the Edwards (1274-1377) lodging and meals libraries instruction, including language Thomas More (later, of course) and others lecturers "third university"

  13. Thomas More (1478-1535)

  14. instruction in English law Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, the Inner Temple, and the Middle Temple The Temple was originally the English seat of the Knights Templars date from before the 14th c. educated as qualified apprentices (barristers) and were then allowed to practice law After successful apprenticeship one might be conferred with the degree Sergeant-at-Law and no longer be an apprentice

  15. mid 14th century 1348-50 Black Death kills 1/3 to ½ of population, reducing population to < 3 million 1356 the "opening" of Parliament was conducted in English instead of French 1385 English taught in the grammar schools in place of French English replaces Latin at schools, but not at Oxford and Cambridge 1362 Statute of Pleading: all cases in court should be pleaded, showed, defended, answered, debated and judged in the English tongue legal French began steady decline

  16. STATUTE OF PLEADING (1362) 36 Edw. III c. 15

  17. STATUTE OF PLEADING (1362) 36 Edw. III c. 15

  18. 1387 Canterbury Tales,Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 1400)

  19. 18th century 1704 Newton publishes "Opticks" in English 1750 population of England estimated at 5.8 million 1770 population of England estimated at 6.4 million 1770 Cook discovers Australia 1776 start of American revolution 1788 British penal colony established in Australia 1789 start of French Revolution throughout the 18th century about one fifth of the population were likely to be paupers

  20. Common (Law) Lawyerslecture topics history of the profession training of lawyers in the US dress (wigs, gowns, morning coats) duty of candor

  21. law school rankings U.S. News and World Reports criteria reputation average GPAs and LSATs bar-passage rate job placement upon graduation

  22. law school admissions undergraduate major and grade point average (GPA) Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT) recommendations/connections experience 'diversity‘ is constitutional

  23. "college"

  24. Percentage of the population ages 25 to 64 that has completed at least a first university degree, by age group and country: 1999 SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Education at a Glance, 2001, table A 2.2b.

  25. av. College fees per semester (USA 2007-08)

  26. women and minorities in law school women 47% of law students minorities 22%

  27. Arabella Mansfield (1846 –1911) • 1869 admitted to practice law in Iowa • Considered first woman lawyer in US • 1870 census recorded five female lawyers • 1900 census records 1,010

  28. Lutie A Lytle (1871-1950?) • 1898 First female law professor • Also first African-American • Central Tennessee College of Law • Same year Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett founded co-ed Washington college of Law in DC (now American U)

  29. Myra Bradwell (1831 - 1894) • 1855 apprenticed under her husband's supervision • 1869 passed bar exam in Illinois • Denied admission to practice and lost litigation • 1872 Illinois statute: “No person shall be precluded or debarred from any occupation, profession, or employment (except the military) on account of gender.“ • 1890 admitted Illinois • 1892 admitted USSCt • Bradwell’s daughter also became a lawyer

  30. Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong (1890-1976) • 1913 graduated from UC Berkeley • 1915 Berkeley Law School • 1915-1919 practiced law in San Francisco • 1919 appointed first woman professor at a major US law school • 1921 PhD economics

  31. Christopher Columbus Langdell • Introduced the case method in 1890 • previous instruction had used treaties • Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England • Commentaries on the Constitution of the US • Commentaries on American Law • “conceptualist” criticized as a “formalist”

  32. law school curriculum undergraduate degree usually prerequisite 6 semesters first two semesters usually prescribed, e.g. property torts contracts civil procedure criminal law confers degree of Juris Doctor (JD)

  33. law school: practice-oriented aspects moot court legal writing classes legal clinics law review summer clerkships

  34. published law school fees per year

  35. cost of legal education 2008 median annual tuition fees at private law schools $33,985 median annual at public law schools for in-state residents $15,621 for out-of-state residents $26,436 Scandal at Berkeley for admitting so few Californians

  36. need or merit-based grants public law schools 21% private 17%

  37. average amount borrowed public $71,436 private $91,506

  38. job prospects 90% find jobs within 6 months 74% in positions requiring admission to practice 8% in positions where JD was preferred

  39. law school rankings admissions criteria LSAT – law school apptitude test GPA – grade point average reputation in the profession library, prof/stud ratio, etc. bar-passage rate

  40. federal court practice no federal bar must be sworn in by a federal judge to each federal court

  41. bar examinations multi-state (all but two states) essay questions multi-state professional responsibility examination (all but three states) multi-state performance test draft memorandums, write closing argument, summarize deposition, etc. required in 21 states

  42. bar passage rates 2008 Puerto Rico 44% California 54% New York 69% average 71% Montana 91%

  43. The Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of CaliforniaGENERAL BAR EXAMINATION PASS RATE SUMMARY Date of Examination Total % Passed 2005 July 48.8 2005 February 40.0 2004 July 48.2 2004 February 35.3 2003 July 49.4 2003 February 37.3 2002 July 50.5 2002 February 33.4 2001 July 56.9 2001 February 37.3 2000 July 55.3 2000 February 40.0 1999 July 51.2 1999 February 41.1 1998 July 52.5 1998 February 40.0 1997 July 62.9 1997 February 48.8

  44. Even Top Lawyers Fail California Exam, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL December 5, 2005 Kathleen Sullivan is a noted constitutional scholar who has argued cases before the Supreme Court. Until recently, she was dean of Stanford Law School. In legal circles, she has been talked about as a potential Democratic nominee for the Supreme Court. But Ms. Sullivan recently became the latest prominent victim of California's notoriously difficult bar exam. Last month, the state sent out the results of its July test to 8,343 aspiring and already-practicing lawyers. More than half failed -- including Ms. Sullivan. Although she is licensed to practice law in New York and Massachusetts, Ms. Sullivan was taking the California exam for the first time after joining a Los Angeles-based firm as an appellate specialist. But it's unusual for the exam to claim a top-notch constitutional lawyer at the peak of her game. "She is a rock star," says William Urquhart, who last year recruited Ms. Sullivan to join his firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP. "Practically every lawyer in the U.S. knows who Kathleen Sullivan is." If anyone should have passed, Mr. Urquhart says, it is Ms. Sullivan. "The problem is not with Kathleen Sullivan, it is with the person who drafted the exam or the person who graded it."

  45. ABA • founded in 1878 • campaign to establish uniform, minimal standards for law schools • until second half of 19th century, law schools were not parts of universities • presently 200 are approved • in 30 states only graduates of ABA approved law schools may take their bar examinations

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