Spring 2012 Course Syllabus: Lawyer Malpractice: Hofstra Law School
LAWYER MALPRACTICE COURSE SYLLABUS
SPRING SEMESTER, 2012
Maurice A. Deane School of Law
HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Prof. Bennett Wasserman
E: Bennett.Wasserman@hofstra.edu or benwasserman@legalmalpractice.com
C: 201.803.6464 Law Office: (201) 907.5000
Purpose of the Course:
This course explores legal malpractice law, policy, and problems. In addition to studying the civil liability claims and defenses relating to lawyer and law firm malpractice, the course will survey the development of new theories of liability that over the past two and a half decades have expanded the accountability of practicing lawyers for their professional services. In addition, the course will cover approaches to managing risk, avoiding malpractice claims and defending them.
This course is designed to: 1) enable students to learn the law and policy related to the professional liability of lawyers; 2) expose students to legal malpractice issues encountered by practicing lawyers in a variety of substantive areas of law; 3) familiarize the student about the central role played by expert witnesses in legal malpractice litigation; 4) enable students to identify, analyze, address and prevent common malpractice traps 5) familiarize the students with the litigation process that is unique to legal malpractice litigation and 6) to see how different states have developed their own unique approach to the legal malpractice law. The class will combine lecture and class discussion of assigned reading materials, a substantial portion of which is taken from actual cases in which the professor has been professionally involved as either an advocate or expert witness. By the end of the course, students will have command of the most important concepts involved in legal malpractice from both the plaintiff and defendant perspectives. Moreover, the course will be entirely based on resources and materials that are available on the internet.
Course Materials:
Almost all course materials will be posted on line at www.legalmalpracticelawreview.com under the link entitled "Topics" / "CLE & Law School Course" on the left hand column. The class will also use this blog to have on line class discussions in addition to in class discussions. Also, the class writing assignments will be posts to the blog in order to continue to build an online archive of reported and important unreported court decisions, statutes and authorities that affect the substantive law of lawyer malpractice.
Non-internet based materials that may be referred to during the semester include the following, all of which are available at the Reference Desk of the Law Library or the Bookstore:
1) Mallen & Smith, Legal Malpractice (Thomson/West)
2) Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers (ALI, 2000)
3) Fortney & Johnson, LEGAL MALPRACTICE LAW: PROBLEMS and PREVENTION (Thomson/West, 2008). (Available in the Bookstore).
4) A Concise Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers (American Law Institute, 2007). (Available in the Bookstore)
Classes:
This class is scheduled to meet on Thursdays between 12:10 and 2:00 pm in KOPPL Room 0206.
Attendance and Preparation:
Students are expected to attend classes regularly and to prepare for classes conscientiously. If you miss class frequently or are unprepared several times, your grade may be lowered. Alternatively, I may ask the Registrar to withdraw you from the course. Sometimes you can’t avoid missing a class. If you know in advance that you will be missing a class for a compelling reason, or if you have missed a class due to illness or emergency, please send me an e-mail at Bennett.Wasserman@Hofstra.edu or at benwasserman@legalmalpractice.com briefly explaining the situation. As required by the Law School’s attendance policy, an attendance sheet will be circulated at each class, which the student must sign. No student is permitted to sign the attendance sheet on behalf of another student who is either absent or late for class. All students must be familiar with the Law School’s attendance policy and abide by it.
Lateness:
Students are expected to be on time to class. However, it is better to come to class late than not at all. You may walk in late if you have a good reason, as long as you don’t abuse this privilege.
Final Grade for the Course:
The final grade for the course will be determined as follows: Twenty percent (20%) will be based on class participation and your level of preparedness for class discussions. Five percent (5%) will be based on the quantity and quality of your postings on line at www.legalmalpractice.com. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the final grade will be based on your final writing assignments.
Final Writing Assignment:
There is no final exam in this course. Instead, students are required to submit their writing assignments on a regular basis during the course of the semester. The details of the writing assignment will be discussed at the first class meeting. It is expected that this course will satisfy the Law School's writing requirement #2.
Computer Policy: Because this course is based almost entirely on internet resource materials, access to a laptop computer with an internet connection is important for class participation as well as for your assignments. During class, please do not use your computers to “surf the net”, email, text message or shop. If any student does not have access to a laptop, please see Prof. Wasserman so that arrangements can be made to have one available.
Communications:
The best way to communicate with me is by email at Bennett.Wasserman@Hofstra.edu or at benwasserman@legalmalpractice.com. I will get back to you within 24 hours. While I do not maintain regular office hours at the Law School, if you need to speak with me in person, we can set up an appointment either before or after class. You may also call me at my law office: (201) 907.5000 extension 473. If I am not there, please ask for my assistant, Renee Schell at extension 471. My cell phone is (201) 803-6464, which you should always feel free to call after first trying to reach me by email. You can also text me at my cell number.
Welcome to the Spring 2012 semester and to this exciting course.
Prof. W.
