CONTRACTS

Rinehart Fall 2020

Course and Learning Objectives

In this course, you will master the legal rules and principles governing the formation, interpretation, performance, enforcement, and discharge of contracts. Additionally, you will practice using basic legal reading and writing skills to solve legal problems in the area of contract law, toward your goal of proficiency in the following: how to identify important issues within legal problems, how to research and find appropriate legal rules and associate them with the identified issues, how to classify and categorize facts relevant to these issues and rules, how to resolve disputes judiciously, and how to communicate your work product persuasively and professionally.

Contact Information

Email: amelia.rinehart@law.utah.edu

Telephone: 225 773 2628 (m), 801 581 6034 (w)

Physical Office: COL Building, Room 4245

Physical and Virtual Appointments: www.calendly.com/amelia-rinehart

Faculty Web Page: https://faculty.utah.edu/u0715850-AMELIA_SMITH_RINEHART

Twitter: @ameliarinehart

Instagram: @aksrinehart

About Dean Rinehart

I am trained in three professions: engineer, lawyer, and teacher. Each of these layers contributes to our learning in this course. I didn't like Contracts in law school because it felt old and impossible to understand. I approach every topic with the hope that you never feel that way about this subject matter. I'm a registered patent attorney, I grew up in a very rural area of Louisiana known for its good food and LSU football obsession, and I love that I get to be a small part of your legal education. My pronouns are she, her, and hers.

Required Texts

Charles L. Knapp, Nathan M. Crystal & Harry G. Prince, Problems in Contract Law: Cases and Materials (8th ed. 2016) (“KCP”)

  • This is an older edition to avoid high costs for you. If you are using a later or earlier edition, be sure to check the case names in our day-to-day assigned reading chart.

Contracts Texts: Restatement 2d of the Law: Contracts (James E. Byrne, ed. 2020 or any earlier edition) (“Supplement or Supp.”)

  • Note: R2d refers to Restatement (Second) of Contracts, in your Supplement, and UCC refers to Uniform Commercial Code, also in your Supplement.

  • You may use any recent edition of the Supplement that contains both of these sources, including free online versions, to prepare for class.

Canvas

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Whether you are serious or silly or somewhere in between, welcome!