Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2003

Abstract

Restitution needs some public relations work. The advent of the sexy class phenomenon in American law schools is bad news for a subject like Restitution. How can a student be expected to find fulfillment in a class whose very name suggests dusty books? Consider the rising upper-class law student who is pre-registering for next semester's classes and contemplating the choices. How can Restitution, or even the broader subject of Remedies, compete against more inviting courses like Sports Law? When I started teaching in 1975, my class in Restitution competed against courses like Conflicts and Admiralty and assorted Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) courses with dull names. The only courses with exciting names were seminars. Now, however, students are lured into a vast array of classes with names like Law of the Sea, Law in the Age of Technology, and Law and Literature, in addition to the wonderful offerings of seminars. The old standby courses are still there, but flourishing only if they are on the bar exam or if they are staffed by the “Teacher of the Year.”

The current environment is clear: It is now every course for itself. If other professors will not send students to Restitution, then we who profess the subject ourselves must find ways to lure them there. It is time to engage in some unmitigated advertising. Restitution must shake the cauliflower image and look more like ambrosia salad at the course buffet. We need to show students that Restitution is like the coconut in this wonderful fruit salad--a hard nut to crack but the benefits gained are large. This article proposes a couple of possible strategies for achieving this result.

Publication Citation

36 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 1027 (2003).

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