Consumer Law

The Content of Consumer Law Classes

By Jeff Sovern

Want to know what is taught in consumer protection classes?  I've now posted to SSRN "The Content of Consumer Law Classes," which will appear in 12 Journal of Consumer and Commercial Law, No. 1.  The piece reports on the survey we conducted at Richard Alderman's Teaching Consumer Law Conference, under the auspices of the University of Houston Law Center.  The results in the paper are somewhat different from what I reported at the Conference because the paper includes more responses.  Here's the abstract:

Attendees at the University of Houston Law Center Conference titled Teaching Consumer Law: The Who, What, Where, Why, When and How were surveyed to determine what topics they covered in consumer law classes. Twenty-five responses were received, representing fourteen survey classes, five clinics, and six miscellaneous responses. The responses indicated considerable diversity in the topics covered. No topic was covered by more than 21 professors and each of the 32 topics listed on the survey instrument was discussed by at least four professors. Under the circumstances, it seems difficult to claim that consumer protection classes have a canon agreed upon by those who teach them. The responses, including those in survey courses, indicate that coverage is not static; many professors taught subjects that arose only recently, such as the subprime lending meltdown and statutes enacted since 1999.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on June 05, 2008 (boomark / email).