I will pass around a seating chart on the first day of class.  You must be on the seating chart to receive credit for the course. This includes anyone making up an incomplete, as well as those registered for the class. If you are not on the seating chart, I will not turn in a grade for you at the end of the semester, even if you take the exam. It is your responsibility to see to it that your name is on the seating chart.

You must sit in your assigned seat for each class. If you would like to move to a different seat after the first day, just let me know and I’ll be happy to adjust the seating chart.

Break in the Middle of Class:

We will generally take a short break about half-way through the class, usually around 4:20 or 4:25. When we break, I will tell you when class will resume. It is important to return to class for the second half by the time I announce.

Attendance:

• Attendance is mandatory, as is preparation. Class discussion is crucial to your understanding of the materials.
• Number of absences:
  • You may have 4 or fewer absences with no direct effect on your final grade -- in other words, 4 or fewer absences will not have any impact on the determination of your final grade. Of course, having more than one or two absences may have an indirect impact on your final grade, because attendance and class discussion are crucial to learning the material.
  • If you have 5 absences, I may lower your final grade by one level (e.g., from a B to a B-).
  • In addition, if you have 6 or more absences, I may ask the Dean of Students to remove you from the class roll.
• What constitutes an absence:
  • Signing the attendance sheet is necessary. You are absent for any day on which you have not signed the attendance sheet, except for the first day of the semester, when I will pass around only the seating chart.
    • The fact that you actually attended does not excuse you from the requirement of signing the attendance sheet. No one else can sign it for you:
      • It is an Honor Code violation to ask someone else to sign your name for you on the attendance sheet.
      • It is an Honor Code violation for you to sign someone else’s name for them on the attendance sheet.
    • You must sign the attendance sheet in class when it is circulated.
      • If for some reason the attendance sheet does not reach you during class, then you need to come up immediately after class, before I leave the room, and sign it then.
      • If there is a day when you attend but do not, for whatever reason, sign the attendance sheet during class or immediately after class, you may -- one time only -- email me and let me know that you were in fact there, and I will have you marked present for that day. You must send me this email within two weeks of the date of the particular class.
  • Signing the attendance sheet is not sufficient. You are absent from a given class if you are not present for the entire class, before and after the break in the middle of class. This is so even if you have signed the attendance sheet for that day.
    • Exception: You may miss 1/2 of a class (i.e., a segment before or after the break) and have it counted as 1/2 of an absence, if you clear it with me in advance, by email. You may do this for a maximum of 2 half classes.
  • The reason for the absence does not matter, whether it is illness, other personal commitments, traffic jams, etc., and whether it is planned or unplanned.
• In general, the aim of this policy is to leave it to you to manage your own commitments and circumstances through a fairly generous allowance of absences. Accordingly, I will be very reluctant to make any exceptions beyond the one specifically mentioned above. But if you believe there are circumstances that might make compliance with this policy uncertain, please raise the matter with me well beforehand and I will be happy to talk with you about it.

• Please arrive on time. It’s better to aim for at least a few minutes early so you can get settled.
• Please don’t talk during class except to participate. I welcome class participation, but side conversations -- even whispering, even if it’s about class-related materials -- disturbs other students around you, as well as me.
• Please don’t let any electronic device you bring make any noise in class. You may bring your cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc. into the classroom, but you need to make sure that any electronic device you have doesn’t create a disturbance in class. This means:
  • Before each class, turn off cell phone or set it to vibrate.
  • Set your laptop to start running silently, with no sound sequence when it starts up.
  • If you arrive late, don’t turn your laptop on unless you’re certain it will make no noise when you start it. If you’re not certain it will start silently then take your notes by hand that day.
  • If an electronic device of yours does go off during the class, please come up and see me after class to let me know what you’ll do to prevent it from happening again.
• Use of laptops. Laptop use is permitted, but only if you use it exclusively for class purposes, primarily note-taking or looking at the Supplementary Materials on your laptop (with an occasional lookup of a case, if you wish). Use for other purposes, such as playing games, sending or receiving messages, or checking non-class-related web pages, is inconsistent with the class is not permitted. It distracts students around you and makes you unprepared when I call on you, which slows down the class. If I call on you and you are looking at your laptop and are not prepared to answer the question, or if I discover that you are using your laptop for other than permitted purposes, I may revoke your right to bring a laptop to class.
  • Keep in mind that for many students, using a laptop to take notes is counter-productive. It is very tempting to try to take a transcript of what is said in class. That will prevent you from thinking about the discussion. It is much better to take your notes by hand, which forces you to distill your thoughts and discourages any attempt to write down everything said.
• Please don’t leave class before it’s over, even briefly, unless it’s unusually urgent.
  • Coming and going during class, like arriving late, distracts everyone, including me. Occasional instances where someone has to step out for an urgent need won’t be a problem, but keep in mind that being a lawyer -- examining witnesses in the courtroom, dealing with clients, negotiating a deal, making a presentation, and the like -- often involves staying put for longer than the 80 minutes class takes.
  • If there is too much coming and going during class time, I may impose a requirement that anyone leaving before class is over not return for the rest of the class, which will at least cut the disruption in half.

In class I typically address students with an honorific (e.g., Mr. Diaz or Ms. Garner). If you wish to designate one or the other or a non-binary honorific (e.g. Mx. Olsen) please let me know.

Taping/Live-streaming classes:

You may tape or live-stream the class only with my prior permission.

Disability:

If you have or suspect you have a disability that might affect your ability to comply with any of these ground rules or otherwise affect your performance, please contact the Law School’s Coordinator of Disability Services at the Office of Disability Services for information about available opportunities, resources, and services. The phone number is 305-284-9907, and the email address is disabilityservices@law.miami.edu. You may also visit the Office of Disability Services website.

Class e-mails:

I will send e-mails to the class e-mail list that the IT department creates for this class. I will try to post anything in an e-mail on the web page, but there may be times when you will need to see the e-mails. For example, I might occasionally change an assignment for the next day.

This class e-mail list is generated with your law school e-mail address. If you have another e-mail account you prefer to use, you can have your law school account direct the e-mails to that address. If you can’t do that, you can ask my assistant Ms. Sue Demmings to include that other e-mail address on the class e-mail list by clicking here.

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