TortorNot.com
At the prodding of a classmate, and after an e-mail to the Yahoo list-serv, I'm creating this as a general thread for people to ask and receive input about profs.
Also, Shawn's website for enrollment is http://www.essentially.net/misc/boalt/index.jsp
Also, Shawn's website for enrollment is http://www.essentially.net/misc/boalt/index.jsp
Labels: Classes/Professors
posted by Armen Adzhemyan at 4:03 PM
15 Comments:
There's a possibility Schwartz will be teaching a section of Intro to IP in the Spring. I'm taking his class now and highly recommend him.
Thank you, Shawn! You even had a course control number that was not correct in the course guide that really helped me out.
does anyone anyting about kostant for negotiations? avila also teaches negotiations and has a waitlist. my guess for an explanation is that kostant's class is on friday. don't know this for sure but i just want to confirm.
What's with the high waitlist numbers for CivPro II and Swift's Evidence? A 71-person waitlist? Were the 1Ls allowed to sign up for classes before 2Ls and 3Ls?
Bundy (Civ Pro II) and Swift are perennial favorites. I know a lot of people (myself included) only want to take Civ Pro II with Bundy because he's such a fantastic instructor. Plus they don't always teach those courses, so a lot of people want to take them with those specific instructors.
Also the 1Ls have a separate list, so I don't think their numbers are accounted for in Shawn's page (though i could be wrong).
I just learned today that Professor Bundy is interviewing for the Dean's job at UCHastings School of Law across the bay.
While Hastings is a great school, it would of course be sad to lose Professor Bundy.
With that said, you may want to take a class from him ASAP while you can.
The fact that 75 people are waitlisted in Civil Procedure II shows that there's a serious curricular problem at Boalt.
By breaking Civil Procedure into I and II and making II an elective, Boalt has forced its largely litigant-oriented studentry to compete for spots in Civil Procedure II - a class that should be part of the first-year curriculum.
Most law schools, as well as Boalt up to a few years ago, consolidate Civil Procedure I and II into one semester and make it count for more units. Alternatively, Civil Procedure is taught over a full year. Jurisdiction, which is the heart of Civ Pro II, usually is the first subject in first-year Civil Procedure. Jurisdiction is one of the trickier subjects on the bar and is essential to a career in litigation. In fact, if we don't learn jurisdiction, then we increase our chances of committing legal malpractice.
Boalt students know the importance of getting jurisdiction under their belts. So they try to enroll in Civil Procedure II. A throng of 3L's rush to Civil Procedure in their third year. But only two teachers offer Civ Pro II in a given year. And one of them, Vetter may be a genius and an excellent teacher, but Boalt students say to each other that his speaking style makes him incomprehensible to students who are not sitting in the front row of his class. That's likely why Vetter's Civ Pro II class in the fall couldn't attract more than 30-40 students. And a good chunk of the 540 2L's and 3L's at Boalt know they need to learn what's in Civil Procedure II. So students wait for Bundy in the spring, who seems to have capped his class at 100.
Boalt should either make first-year Civil Procedure a more comprehensive course (like other top-ranked law schools) or provide more sections of Civil Procedure II for 2L's and 3L's.
Why doesn't Boalt offer to make Bundy dean of Boalt Hall instead of losing him to Hastings? He's a Boalt alum and an inspiring educator who can articulate a noble vision. He also has the fortitude to lead Boalt forward with minimal hand-wringing.
In any event, Boalt's losing Bundy would be a major blow.
4:00 am. Perhaps because Boalt already has a dean who seems to be doing a great job. More importantly all of the alumni (read donors) that I've spoken with love dean Edley.
wt: how did you learn of Bundy's desire to head over to the other side of the bay to helm UC Hastings? How reputable is the source? Thanks in advance.
I can independently confirm from sources at UC Hastings that Bundy interviewed with them some time toward the end of last week (either Thursday or Friday). In between cheering on the glorious Bruins against the vile Stanford Cardinal, I managed to express my anger that they might steal my CP prof from us.
I'm trying to figure out whether Hastings's poaching of Bundy is a signal of Boalt's weakness. It's not clear either way.
On the one hand, Boalt would have failed to retain another great professor if Bundy leaves. See Robert Post and Mark Lemley. Sure, Boalt is recruiting lots of newbie professors with decent publishing records with little teaching experience. But recruiting the newbies, who could jump ship in a few years as Lemley did, is not as impressive as recruiting and retaining the established folks (Sklansky - good job, Boalt!). Bundy, then, would be a great loss. Hastings may be realizing that, with the budget cuts paralyzing both Boalt and Hastings, Hastings has a decent shot at catching up to Boalt during these uncertain years, starting with the poaching of Bundy.
On the other hand, Bundy's departure to become dean of UC Hastings is a unique event independent of the barometer of Boalt's strength. The Bundy family, as some may know, have university administration running through their veins. Being a school dean from the Bundy family is akin to being a political leader from the Kennedy family. It's what the Bundys do! So, even if Boalt were ascendant and stable right now, Bundy's being recruited for deanship elsewhere could have likely happened anyway.
Seconding WT's praise for Bundy.
Definitely take something from him if you haven't already... and I have a very low tolerance for most law school profs, so that's really saying something.
While I'm commenting, I'll also say take Securities Reg from Larry Sonsini if you can. It's a real honor that he continues to make time to teach the class every other year, and he (obviously) really knows his stuff and explains it extraordinary well. It was probably the most useful class I took at Boalt.
3:44, you are a jackass. Do you honestly think that Hastings is anywhere near taking the place of (or even equaling) Boalt as one of the very elite law schools on the west coast? Quite laughable. Even more laughable is that you think Bundy is that big of a deal. Bundy is one (1) professor and not even one of Boalt's stars. He may be a solid citizen and teacher but he is not one of the top scholars on the faculty. There are very few open law school dean jobs in a given year and fewer still in the Bay Area. So it is natural that a Boalt prof. interested in being a dean would be very interested in Hastings (the only two better law schools in Northern California are Boalt and Stanford and they're not hiring).
By the way, did you know that Margaret Radin may be coming to Boalt permanently from Stanford? That would be a great hire. Perhaps then all of these "Boalt in decline" idiots will shut up.
I would like to know where does Shawn gather all this info about course enrollment from.
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