Products liability syllabus

Personal and professional responsibility during this pandemic

1. As a scholar who studies risk, I take the ongoing covid-19 pandemic seriously. As a member of this community, I take our responsibility to each other seriously. As a lawyer, I take the obligations of our profession -- particularly to the more vulnerable and the less powerful -- seriously. As your professor, I expect that you do as well.
2. I expect that you will not attend class physically if you are sick, feel sick, think you might be sick, have been exposed to covid-19, or have reason to believe that your presence could endanger your colleagues. I will work with you on alternative arrangements.
3. I expect that you will respect requests from colleagues to wear an appropriate mask and/or maintain an appropriate distance when interacting with them. When community transmission of covid-19 is medium or high, you must wear an appropriate mask when interacting with me in close proximity (e.g., in my office or at the podium before or after class). An appropriate mask is one that fits closely and is designated as or equivalent to N95, FFP2, KF94, or KN95. If you cannot find or afford appropriate masks, I will help you.
4. If you have any concerns at any point about the safety, propriety, or practicality of your attendance or participation, I invite you to talk with me. If you qualify for a formal accommodation from the Student Disability Resource Center, I encourage you to seek one. If you do not qualify for a formal accommodation, I will still offer as much flexibility as my discretion allows.

Professor

1. My name is Bryant Walker Smith, and you are welcome to call me Bryant.
2. My office hours are after class and by appointment.
3. You can contact me by email.
4. My Twitter handle is @bwalkersmith, but this is not a reliable way to reach me.
5. My bio is at here, and my publications are available here. You absolutely need not read these.

Logistics

1. Our class is on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 1:30pm to 2:30pm (except as announced) in room 389, online, or outdoors (as announced).
2. Our course website (which includes assignments) is Products Liability.

Objectives

1. Understand products liability’s roles in regulating behavior and compensating injury.
2. Recognize and analyze potential products liability claims and defenses.
3. Distinguish between straightforward and marginal claims.
4. Make policy arguments for and against recognizing certain claims.
5. Appreciate the systemic and individual consequences of particular rules.
6. Recognize the assumptions inherent in products liability principles.
7. Understand how different sources of products liability law interact with each other.
8. Strategically frame concepts broadly and narrowly.
9. Relate the theory of products liability to the practice of products liability.
10. Read, listen, think, write, talk, and behave like a competent lawyer.

Expectations

1. Try!
2. Prepare.
3. Respect others.
4. Challenge yourself.
5. Comply with the honor code.
6. Behave like the lawyer you will become.
7. If you have concerns (general or specific), talk with me.

Sensitivity of subject matter

1. Recognize and respect that our colleagues’ experiences may be different than your own.
2. Some students may be personally familiar with the kinds of tragedies, biases, and circumstances present in our materials.
3. All of us (including me) will make mistakes in what we say and how we say it.
4. If you have concerns about particular topics, I invite you to talk with me.

Multitasking

1. You must be fully prepared prior to class.
2. You may not participate in any class session or other course activity while driving.
3. Use the bathroom and take a break when you need to do so.
4. During class, you may engage in activities conducive to your learning and participation, including communications that are relevant to our discussion.
5. During class, you may not engage in activities that are distracting to you or your classmates, including communications that are irrelevant to our discussion.
6. Familial obligations are an exception to this last rule: While I strongly encourage you to arrange for the care of your dependents during class time, I recognize that this is not always practicable, and I support your efforts to balance these multiple responsibilities.

Grading

1. Participation.
2. Final exam.

Participation

1. Participation means preparing for, attending, and contributing to class.
2. Preparing means:
   1. Completing all readings and other assigned tasks.
      1. Prior assignments may be discussed in later classes.
      2. Unless otherwise announced, you should complete the next assignment for the next day.
   2. Briefing all cases in whatever way enables you to effectively participate in class.
   3. Reflecting on each assignment and relating it to larger course themes.
   4. Bringing the materials to class that you need to meaningfully engage.
   5. Reviewing assignments and discussions after each class.
3. Contributing means:
   1. Volunteering.
   2. Expecting to be called on.
   3. Showing you are prepared.
   4. Coming ready to stimulate at least ten minutes of discussion each class. This does not mean that you speak for ten minutes; rather, it means that you contribute information, insights, ideas, or questions that can spark ten minutes of discussion among our colleagues.
   5. Respecting your colleagues.
   6. Challenging yourself.
4. Otherwise: Make arrangements in advance (or, in the case of an emergency, contact me when practicable).

Final exam

1. The final exam tests your meaningful engagement with the readings, exercises, and discussions over the entire semester.
2. You may take the exam over any four consecutive hours at any point during the approximately two-week exam period. You should use the full time that is available to you.
3. You may use any inanimate materials that were accessible to you when you began your exam. In other words, you may use notes, course readings, and online resources, but once you begin the exam you may not ask anyone (including the professor) to supply additional materials or to otherwise assist you in answering the questions.
4. If you use tools or materials, other than those that are assigned, to answer a question, you must in each instance cite them and explain how you used them. This includes queries for and results from search engines, chatbots, and text generation algorithms.
5. You are likely to find that the only materials that help you on the exam are those that you have made or already read, understood, reviewed, and used.
6. Past exams are available.
7. I am open to alternative examination formats.
8. A useful book for law school exams is Richard Michael Fischl & Jeremy Paul, Getting to Maybe (1999).

Community norms

1. Student Handbook Section VIII(B) contains our law school's honor code. Read it, know it, and comply with it.
2. Students who commit to the Carolina Creed "oppose intolerance by promoting integrity within our campus community."

Accommodations

1. You deserve equal access and opportunity.
2. You may, but you need not, speak with me about your SDRC-directed accommodations.

Interpersonal violence and mandatory reporting

1. You deserve to be safe.
2. Confidential reporting officers can provide confidential and anonymous support.
3. All other employees (including faculty) must report incidents of sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and partner or relationship violence to the university’s Title IX Coordinator.

Wellness generally

1. Law school is stressful, and the practice of law is stressful. Your physical, mental, and emotional health matters.
2. If you are lonely, scared, desperate, insecure, or unsure, you are not alone. Please reach out. Every semester I hear from students in crisis.
3. Our law school, university, and community have people who care about you and resources that are available to you. These include:
   1. Our in-house counselor, who provides free mental health support services to the law school community.
   2. Our Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Office of Student Affairs.
   3. Food pantries at our law school (room 106), university, and community.
   4. Our university's crisis hotline (+1-803-777-5223) and counseling services.
   5. A specialized team dedicated to helping people you identify as potentially in need.
   6. Lawyers Helping Lawyers (+1-855-321-4384).
   7. An expansive network of creative and connected people throughout the state and country.
   8. And many others.
4. For people in their early 20s, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death. Aggressive, distracted, drowsy, and intoxicated driving are unlawful and irresponsible. Jokes that trivialize texting-while-driving are not funny. We owe better to each other.
5. Please take care of yourself and others. Prepare now by visiting MyHealthSpace.