Instructor: Attorney Jeanne Condurelli
Email: condurelli@mslaw.edu
Phone: 978.794.1906
Required textbook:
Family Law- Cases and Materials
Judith Areen & Milton C. Regan, Jr., 5th Edition 2006
TO: Students Enrolled in Family Law/Family Law On-Line
FROM: Atty. Jeanne E. Condurelli
If you have registered for Family Law this fall, please send an e-mail to me at condurelli@mslaw.edu informing me of your participation in the class as soon as possible. Please indicate whether you are in the on-line class or whether you will be taking the class in-person. This will enable me to compile a class e-mail list and I will be able to use e-mail to contact you for the purposes of class-related news, such as the Lawyer for the Day/Rounds schedule. Students who fail to e-mail me will not receive such news.
GRADING CRITERIA FOR FAMILY LAW ON-LINE RESPONSES
Student in Family Law On-Line will submit weekly responses to questions posted during each week. Students will earn a grade ranging from 1 to 5 for each set of responses. At the end of the term, these individual weekly grades will be averaged to comprise the student’s “midterm”* grade. The on-line “midterm” average will count as 25% of the students total course grade. The in-class final exam will make up the other 75% of the on-line student’s course grade.
Here is the explanation for each grade, 1 through 5, for on-line responses:
GRADE of 1. Answers are not very well thought out and many important points are not addressed. Some weeks very submitted very late or not at all. It will take a lot of work in a very little time to get your act together to pass this course.
GRADE - 2. While answers respond to the issues, a number of important issues are not addressed thoroughly or some answers are only a cursory response to the question posted. I think you can do better work.
GRADE - 3. Good Answers: Answers recognize the issues, and properly explain the law. Answers to questions are reasonably well written and thoughts are clearly expressed. With some minor improvements this would have been much better.
GRADE - 4. Well Above Average Answers: The answers address most issues and explain the relevant law. Answers are well-written, logical responses to the questions. The knowledge of the law is clearly evident. Nice work.
GRADE -5. Outstanding Answers: The answers respond to all questions in a well-written fashion. The law is explained clearly and issues are addressed in a logical manner. It is clear that the questions were clearly examined, and student put a great deal of thought into organizing answers to clearly address and respond to relevant matters. Great work.
* Family Law On-Line students will not be required to sit for the scheduled midterm in class in October.
ROUNDS:
All Family Law students will be required to participate in Rounds for one day during the term. You will be working in the Lawyer for the Day office at the Probate & Family Court in Lawrence under the supervision of an experienced practitioner. Generally speaking, I will be offering one or two days out of each week of the term for students to select for participation.
SYLLABUS:
A syllabus will be posted on-line for Family Law/Family Law On-Line about two weeks prior to the first class. There will also be an "Additional Cases" list posted on the MSL website. A copy of these cases will be on reserve with the library for you to photocopy, or, as most students have preferred, you may download the cases and statutes from Westlaw, as you need them.
At least one week before classes begin, please go to http://www.mslaw.edu/Courses_Syllabi.htm to obtain a copy of the syllabus and prepare for the first class.
ON-LINE INSTRUCTIONS:
If you are enrolled in Family Law ON-LINE, you may have questions about how to participate in the on-line class. Please do not call the front office with your questions on this. You may e-mail me with your questions.
If you are enrolled in Family Law On-Line, the audio for Family Law On-Line will be uploaded to the website shortly after each Monday evening class. You can access the audio through http://www.mslaw.edu/online. Then, click on "Family Law On-Line". Use CONDURELLI as both the user name and password, if you need to do so. You must check e-mail frequently; it will be our regular means of communication during the term.
Each week three to five questions will be posted for On-Line students to answer in written form. These will be posted on the Family Law On-Line site. Please be sure that you respond by e-mail to the questions posted for each week's assignment within two weeks of their posting. You must respond to these questions in a timely manner as your grade is, in part, based upon your answers to those questions. Late answers will not be accepted. Your responses will be evaluated and they will comprise your midterm grade.
FINAL EXAM:
Both sections of Family Law (ON-LINE and in-person) will be expected to sit for the final exam that will be scheduled during exam week.
I look forward to meeting all of you in Family Law and Rounds. |
