Civil Procedure syllabus (Stetson Law, section 2), Fall 2025

Note: prior to finalizing the syllabus, I will be seeking the input of the Deans’ office to ensure that my syllabus is consistent with Stetson Law policies and procedures. I’ll remove this notice when finalized.

CIVIL PROCEDURE SYLLABUS (Fall 2025)

Civil Procedure, Section 2, Fall 2025

Professor Ira Steven Nathenson

Stetson University College of Law

Email: inathenson@law.stetson.edu
Phone: (727) 562-7681
Homepage: https://www.nathenson.org/
Course page: https://www.nathenson.org/courses/civpro/
Assignments page: https://www.nathenson.org/courses/civpro/assignments
Class time & room: Mon. & Wed. 10:00-11:50AM, Crummer Hall REITER/D
Office hours: Mon. & Wed. 3:15-4:15 PM, typically in my office (AD room 123, in Elder Law Common), or online, and by appointment. Any modifications to this default schedule will be posted here.

ABOUT CIVIL PROCEDURE

We will study the procedures, principles, and rules that courts in the United States use to resolve civil disputes (not criminal cases). We will focus primarily on federal courts, examining the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the “FRCP”), Title 28 of the United States Code (the “Judicial Code”), the United States Constitution, and Supreme Court opinions construing them. Beyond learning procedural law, we will examine strategic, ethical, professional, and economic considerations pertinent to United States civil litigation.

COURSE WEBSITE AND ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments and course-related materials are posted to the course website at Nathenson.org. In addition the syllabus and assignments, this site offers extensive Civil Procedure study resources including handouts, problem sets, flowcharts, study questions, past essay exams, practice essays, and much more. (See links below for examples.) I also run a YouTube channel with Civil Procedure videos.

BOOKS

Required books, supplements, and online resources

You must bring both books to each class.

  1. Casebook (required): Joseph W. Glannon, Andrew M. Perlman, Peter Raven-Hansen, Civil Procedure: A Coursebook (Fifth Edition) (Aspen Publishers 2025). The bundle available through the bookstore includes both printed and digital copies.
  2. Statutory supplement (required): You’ll need the 2025 statutory/rule supplement. The bundle available through the bookstore includes a printed copy of the supplement.

Read this carefully: should you use print or electronic books?

Studies show that students tend to read with more depth and retention when working with paper books rather than eBooks. And in Civil Procedure, a student needs to switch deftly between their casebook, their briefs, their notes, and their statute book. Doing so is difficult to do when all these materials are on one screen and a student is not able to switch quickly between materials. More fundamentally, people tend to read in a cursory fashion on a screen, skimming rather than engaging. For these reasons, I have traditionally required students to use the paper editions of their casebook and statute book in class.

Having said that, I’m also respectful of modern realities: that the lawyers of today need to be computer-literate, and that eBooks are becoming increasingly common in undergraduate curricula.

Accordingly, students this year can choose whether to purchase the paper edition of the casebook, or work solely with the digital editions. The statue book should be printed. Information on obtaining these books is contained in the next section. But before you make your decision, consider the following:

  • Best of both worlds. If you want the best of both worlds, buy a print edition that the print book as well as digital materials. This will allow you to develop your own study skills without having invested in a set of materials that may turn out to be ineffective for you.
  • Whether print or digital, annotate.
    • Engage and annotate. As noted, law students are expected to read in depth and to engage with their materials. A paper book is easy to highlight and annotate, a digital text less so. Digital casebooks do have annotation tools, and if you rely on such texts then you must engage with those texts. Thus, as I will often say in class, don’t just read the materials. Engage with them, digest them. Doing so also helpfully slows down your reading and forces you to engage in more depth.
    • Spoiler alert: whether you use a printed book or eBook, I will come up to students and ask to see what they’ve done with their books, briefs, and statutes. An unmarked book is likely unread, unloved, and not understood. Thus, regardless of whether you choose print or digital, I expect you to do your own briefs and to annotate your readings and at times will want to see it myself.
  • Master your print or digital environment.
    • Be organized and intentional. If you use print, then be organized. Bring your casebook and statute book to every class. Also bring your briefs and notes. Make sure you set up your in-class workspace so that you can deftly switch between materials, as the books, briefs, and notes are all part of an integrated classroom learning experience. For example, cases discuss rules and statutes, and you’ll need them side-by-side to follow the discussion.
    • If you use digital-only, I expect you to do the very same thing and your obligation of digital competency mandates that you are able to switch competently between materials.
      • While in class, you’ll need to switch between materials often. And I will often ask students what page or paragraph contains the “rule” that governs a hypothetical. Students need to be able to “pinpoint cite,” by referring to the page, paragraph, and language. It is no excuse to say “Sorry, I don’t have that on my screen.” 
      • Thus, working from a device is no excuse for not being able to work with your notes, brief, casebook, and statutes. You’ll need to have all loaded and develop the skill to switch back and forth as needed and without thinking, just like you need to be able to pay attention to gas, steering, brakes, and mirrors when you drive a car.
      • Don’t forget: you are training to be a lawyer, and your obligations of preparation and performance as a student in my class remain the same, whether using print or digital. This means becoming adept, among other things, at annotating electronic materials, switching between documents or screens, and searching through documents at a fast pace. Remember, your printed casebook classmates will be able to flip to page “X” in seconds, and those using a digital casebook need to be able to do the same thing on screen. A judge won’t wait for you to find materials in a digital document, and neither will your classmates and I.
      • Spoiler alert: Use two screens, a laptop and a tablet to increase your screen real estate. Also consider using a device with a stylus to take notes by hand, which will slow you down and make you more of an engaged participant and less of a stenographer.
  • Do not be penny-wise. If you choose digital, do so because you know you will be able to work effectively in that environment, and that you are willing to engage and interact with the materials in a way that maximizes the effectiveness of your education. Do not make the choice based on saving a few dollars. First, a legal education is an expensive and significant life-event undertaking, so your choices should be based on what is the best tool for your learning. Second, you can purchase a print edition that includes digital materials anyway, so you can always experiment and develop your skills in case you are not sure if you can yet master the intensity of engagement required for studying complex legal materials.
  • Don’t worry about exams. The final will be closed-book (with laptops permitted for essay writing, subject to use of Stetson-approved software), so your choice of printed versus electronic casebook will have no bearing on any exam.

GRADING

Midterm exam: formative.

There will be a scored, open-book midterm examination intended as formative assessment. It will not be graded. Laptops will be permitted for answering essay questions, subject to law school policy.

Final exam: summative.

Your course grade will be based solely on a closed-book final examination administered on an anonymous basis at the conclusion of the semester. Laptops will be permitted for answering essay questions, subject to law school policy.

LEARNING OUTCOMES, METHODOLOGIES, AND ASSESSMENT

Outcomes and methodologies

Learning outcomes refers to skills, concepts, and other matters I want you to learn in our year-long course. Learning methodologies are the techniques we will use to learn these matters.

Learning Outcomes (the goal)

 Learning Methodologies (the means)
Civil Procedure law and concepts (outcomes # 1, 2) : Examples include subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, venue, notice, pleadings, joinder and supplemental jurisdiction, discovery, dispositive motions, trial, and preclusion. See assignments.  Reading, briefing, marking up, and discussing cases, rules, statutes and provisions of the Constitution, study questions, problem sets with explanations, and handouts such as tables and flowcharts.
Reading rules and statutes (Outcomes # 1,2): Developing skills of reading, marking up, interpreting, and applying statutory materials such as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the United States Code.  Handouts and exercises requiring students to mark up rules and statutes, and to identify components of these materials, such as textual structure, logical connectors, levels of discretion, and more; classroom discussion; problem sets and explanations. See also “Basics of reading and marking up statutes and rules” below.
Briefing and reciting (Outcomes # 1-4): Skills attendant to reading and reciting Civil Procedure cases.  In-class recitation and discussion. Regarding briefing, see handout on IFRAC. Regarding reciting, see “Basics of case recitation” below.
Multiple choice skills (Outcome # 1-2): Developing proficiency in multiple-choice assessment. Examinations, any quizzes, optional and possibly required problem sets or lessons.
Essay skills (Outcome # 1, 2, 4): Mastery of written legal analysis in expanded IRAC format.  Practice essay questions, essay writing workshop, handouts, essay examinations.
Understanding of U.S. court system (Outcome # 1): Conceptual and practical understanding of the complexities of the U.S. court system, which has horizontal (fifty state systems) and vertical (dual federal and state systems) components. This understanding should go beyond understanding the systems’ complexities to a readiness to utilize that knowledge in legal practice. Cases and statutes involving subject-matter jurisdiction, exclusive jurisdiction, removal jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, venue, transfer, and dismissal.
Concepts of procedural Constitutional Law (Outcome # 1, 2): Constitutional concepts such as Article III jurisdiction, Due Process, federalism, and more. Readings from the Constitution and cases construing the Constitution, along with in-class discussion, problem sets, and study questions.
Understanding of procedural justice (Outcome # 1, 2, 5, 6, 7): Identifying policies underlying procedural law, such as economy, efficiency, transparency, legitimacy, and participation, and using those policies to understand the law and to make legal arguments. Discussion aimed at understanding why procedural law is created, and how judicial decisions are shaped by choices made between often-competing principles of procedural justice. This is the “why things are the way they are” consideration.
Basics of jurisprudence (Outcomes # 1, 2, 7) : Understanding basic principles of law and judging, such as the differences between rules and standards, formalism versus realism, standards of review, and more.  Handouts, class discussion.

DAY-TO-DAY PREPARATION AND RECITATION

Be prepared.

  • Bring your books and briefs. Bring your Casebook and Rules Supplement to class every day along with your notes and your own casebriefs.
  • Do the work. Being prepared includes carefully reading the assigned materials more than once, marking up cases and rules or statutes, briefing assigned cases, and looking up unfamiliar words in a dictionary (legal or otherwise). For unfamiliar legal terms, an online legal dictionary is available at http://dictionary.law.com. Black’s Law Dictionary is also highly recommended. Don’t expect to come to class unprepared and to learn the materials by listening, that’s not how law school works. The only way class time will benefit you is by diligently preparing the materials before class and doing follow-up work after.
  • Read and mark up the rules and statutes. Reading and briefing the cases in the Casebook is not enough. If you have not carefully read and marked up the assigned rules, statutes, or constitutional provisions in your Rules Supplement, you are not prepared.
  • Canned briefs are a big no-no. Don’t bother trying to get through class with canned briefs. Using them is essentially plagiarism because you are required to do your own briefing, and using a canned brief is passing off somebody else’s preparation as your own. Additionally, many canned briefs contain errors and don’t focus on the issues pertinent to our class. Finally, canned briefs never substitute for the educational value of doing the work yourself.
  • How much time is enough? If you do not know if you are preparing enough, a good rule of thumb is that you should spend at least twice as much time preparing before class as you spend in class. In other words, for a two-hour class, you should prepare a minimum of four hours. Sometimes it may be less, but equally so, difficult or longer assignments may take longer.
  • Reading ahead? Some students like to read ahead but proceed with caution as you can get too far ahead and forget the materials by the time they are discussed in class. So, if you do read ahead, you must re-review the assigned materials immediately prior to relevant class. It is unprofessional to say “I read this a week ago but I forgot what it said.”
  • Day-to-day overlap. If we do not finish the materials assigned for a particular day, you must re-review those materials again for the next class. Along similar lines, you remain responsible for any new materials still posted for the next class unless and I post a revision to the assignments on the website. We are not “behind” until I tell you so expressly.
  • One-shot pass. One time per semester, you may tell me before class begins and I will not cold-call on you. However, if you do not tell me in advance, and I call on you and determine in my sole discretion that you are unprepared, you may be marked as absent.

Be engaged, respectful, and realistic.

  • Accept that confusion is part of learning. Law school is hard, and you should expect to find it difficult. Never feel guilty that you are not yet understanding, or that you are confused. Learned judges and scholars spend entire careers struggling with difficult questions of law; it would be unrealistic of you to expect to immediately “get it,” either. Civil Procedure in particular has a roller-coaster learning curve: some days you feel that you’ve “got” get it, some days you won’t, and yet other days, you will realize that there is more complexity to the things you initially thought you already got. But have faith that these peaks and valleys should head in an upward learning trajectory as you synthesize procedural law, concepts, and skills.
  • Ask questions. For the reasons above, don’t be afraid to ask questions and express opinions. You won’t understand everything right away, and I guarantee that even the most well-prepared students will err while they are new at this. Everyone — even professors — makes mistakes, so challenge me if after reflection you disagree. Part of being an aspiring professional is learning how to respectfully challenge your professors (and later on, your supervising lawyers, clients, judges, and opponents). Before raising your hand, be prepared and reflect on what you are saying. There are never “stupid questions” in my class.
  • Keep tabs on your confusion. For things that you find to be confusing, keep a list of questions. Some of your questions will likely be answered during class. For other questions, raise them in class or in office hours.
  • Come to office hours or seek me out. Make sure you seek out me and your other professors. I enjoy getting to know my students. More importantly, if you are struggling with the materials, please seek me out. I am accessible on campus and online. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me. It’s much better to do so early in the semester rather than later.
  • The Elephant Policy. An elephant never forgets, and neither will your classmates if you do not treat them or me with respect and empathy. (The same goes for me.) It is obvious to state that we live in socially and politically precarious times, but I intend on making my classroom an engaging and safe place for interesting, challenging discourse. So be willing to disagree with me or your classmates but do so with respect and kindness, relying on reasoned facts and law. Also keep in mind that as a lawyer, you sometimes need to advocate for positions that you might vehemently disagree with, so you should never assume that any class member (or professor) necessarily personally subscribes to a position posited in class. That is part of being a lawyer, and at times you may even be asked to argue a position and then argue the opposite position. Regardless, if you ever have concerns that you do not feel comfortable expressing before the group, I hope that you will feel comfortable sharing them with me, or Dean Edwards, or, if warranted, via the EthicsPoint website.

Finally, be professional.

  • Professionalism starts in law school. I expect the highest degree of professionalism from you toward your classmates and me. Remember, the reputation you earn while in school will follow you through a lifetime of practice. I therefore expect you to treat your College of Law colleagues, professors, and staff with respect, even (and especially) when you disagree with them. As the Florida Bar makes clear: “[t]he essential ingredients of professionalism are character, competence, commitment, and civility.” (Emphasis added.)

CLASSROOM POLICIES

Class discussion and participation.

I tend to take volunteers and cold-call. Some day days I will move around from student to student, and others I will focus on fewer persons. Please do not be intimidated if I stick with you a while; as a neurodivergent educator, I strongly believe that hard-working and well-prepared students can understand often difficult material, even if the material is confusing at first. If I stick with you, please know that it is not a punishment but rather a vote of confidence that I believe you have done the work and that we can find that wonderful “aha” moment together. Regarding participation in general, I strive to foster an engaging, inclusive environment where everyone feels open to participate. I do not, however, boost (or reduce) grades based on participation (or a lack thereof). I view being engaged as both the calling card of an excellent legal professional as well as a privilege of being in law school. Thus, in my classes, participation is expected but it is not scored or graded. I do recognize that the day may come (!) when you just are unable to be properly prepared. You may take one (1) pass per semester, but you must assert the pass prior to the beginning of class.

Placards. 

Please bring your placards to every class.

Accommodations.

In the higher education environment, students with disabilities have the option to self-identify and request ADA accommodations. While, in general, self-identifying and registering are not mandatory, students with disabilities must register with the ADA Coordinator before reasonable accommodations can and will be granted. ADA accommodations are not retroactive and will take effect on the date they are granted by the ADA Coordinator. ADA accommodations granted will be valid for the duration of a student’s need for accommodations at the College of Law, unless a student is notified that the accommodations granted are of limited duration or do not apply to a particular course. Students are encouraged to register early to have accommodations in place before they are needed. The ADA Coordinator will begin accepting and processing requests for accommodations at the conclusion of the previous semester’s or summer sessions’ final examination period. Please see the Academic Calendar for specific dates. Further information on accommodations and procedures can be found at Registering For and Requesting Accommodations – Stetson Law.

Attendance: be there.

Sign-in. Attendance will be tracked via Qwickly each class. Signing in from outside the classroom, signing in for another student, or giving a sign-in code to another class member is a violation of the Honor Code, with potentially significant consequences.

Attendance. Attendance means being in the classroom, on time, and not leaving the classroom without authorization. Moreover, class attendance is mandatory and in accordance with Stetson Law’s attendance policy, you may not obtain credit for any course for which you miss more than 20% of the classes. However, I strongly recommend that you do not miss even that many classes. In addition to the assigned materials, anything I say or that we discuss in class is fair game for quizzes and exams. Regarding punctuality, the reality of legal practice is that early is on time, and on time is late. You should be on campus at least ten minutes before class. That way, you will be in your seat and ready to go the moment class starts. Problems happen to everyone, so plan accordingly to avoid or minimize them. A professional arrives early and never makes excuses. Note additionally that late students are more likely to receive a cold call and that more than one late may result in you being marked absent, though you may stay in the classroom.

Leaving the room.

Leaving the room during class. Barring a genuine need, hold off on classroom exits until class ends or we take a break. Leaving the room during class without an extremely good reason is extremely unprofessional. Do it enough and your presence may be stricken from the attendance sheet for that day. See FRCP 12(f).

Email.

From time to time, course-related announcements (such as new online materials or assignment revisions) will be sent to your Stetson Law email account. My transmission to you of a class-related email shall constitute notice and you are responsible for the information contained in any such transmission, whether you read it or not. Cf. FRCP 4(e), FRCP 5(b)(2)(E). Check your email regularly.

Technology.

Phones. Cellphones may only be used when I indicate (I use them sometimes to poll the class). Your phone must otherwise be silenced and put away.

Class recordings. Class will be recorded and recordings will be available to all. You may also use your cell phone, tablet, or other device to take static images of anything I display on the screen. You may not, however, record audio or video; nor may you distribute or reproduce any class recordings or screen shots to or for anyone besides a current class member.

Technology policy. As you know from the sections above reading digital casebooks, I encourage law students to develop professional digital competency. So does the Florida Bar. Laptops and tablets are therefore permitted. In fact, you might find multiple devices to be useful, such as having one device open for note-taking and another for viewing the casebook or other materials, particularly for students using the digital casebook and interested in developing their professional digital skills. I am also a big believer in the power of a good stylus such as with an iPad or a Surface Pro.

Proper use of technology. As the superhero trope goes, with great power . . . well, you know. Use the privilege of classroom technology responsibly and smartly. So don’t abuse my willingness to encourage technology as the privilege is revocable. Please no goofing around on your computer. I do walk around the classroom and might ask you to leave (and will likely comment) if I find you surfing Amazon or playing Fortnite or the like. Regarding working smartly, don’t be a stenographer (the person who types up every word a witness says at a deposition or trial). Writing down every word is a horrible way to learn as the words will flow from my mouth to your fingers without taking a pit stop at your brain. So another part of being a law student/lawyer is learning how to take intelligent notes. Don’t fall into the trap of writing down every word, as not every word I say is that interesting or important. For that reason, another approach you might take is to take notes by hand and them type them up after class as part of your post-class work.

Online/Zoom attendance. Stetson Law does not offer “hybrid” classes; if you are going to be absent or sick, you cannot attend an on-campus class remotely. However, classes will normally be recorded and be made available to all students. We will, however, have a small number of classes that will be exclusively online. Any such class sessions will be noted on the Assignments page. Such classes will also be recorded, but the same live-attendance policy applies to online sessions as well.

AI policy. AI is an incredible tool, and one that you have good pragmatic, professional, and ethical reasons to learn to use responsibly. Thus, while AI can and must become part of your workflow, it is never a substitute for actually doing the work, including reading and briefing cases, and reading, marking up, and dissecting rules and statues.  Don’t use AI to make briefs, solve problem sets, or answer study questions; if you do, I and others will very likely notice, and at the very least, you will be depriving yourself and your future clients of the education you need to practice effectively. Having said that, my primary scholarly interest is law and technology, and accordingly, I will try from day one to model productive, ethical use of AI in the classroom. Indeed, when it comes to AI, we are all students learning together.

Posted for Decanal comments Aug. 17, 2025; clean-up Aug. 18.