I had Professor Steinberg for the Civil Rights Litigation class (pre-cursor to Civil Rights Litigation Initiative). He was the legal director of the Michigan ACLU for 22 years and has an amazing amount of experience practicing impact litigation and civil rights law. As a professor, he really doesn’t give you feedback on assignments unless you ask to meet with him and go over them, and even then, you don’t really get a grade. There’s a lot of reading for class (especially in the first half) with about three large writing assignments throughout the term and no final. There are mock interviews, oral arguments, and negotiations as well, some of which are recorded. He’s really great one-on-one, but it’s hard to know where you stand in the class throughout the term. I learned a lot and would absolutely take the class again but go into it knowing that you will need to follow up with him on your own if you want to get feedback on any of your assignments.
First and foremost, this class is a Professor Pick and can be competitive to get into. Second, if you are interested in enrolling in the Civil Rights Litigation Clinic you must have taken this course first.
Professor Steinberg sets up the course so that you are experiencing what it is like to handle a civil rights case from the very beginning (interviewing witnesses, taking statements, researching issues) to the end (drafting a complaint, drafting a motion in opposition to a motion to dismiss, mooting your motion, negotiating a settlement). Overall, this was an excellent and in-depth way to learn the mechanics.
My one caveat, however, is that the course only does a precursory review of the underlying law. This is in no way required — but I would recommend taking Federal Courts before taking this course. Federal Courts will better prepare you to understand how to bring a 1983 case including who can sue, what officers can be sued and for what remedy, municipality liability, and sovereign immunity.
MLaw Prof Reviews
I had Professor Steinberg for the Civil Rights Litigation class (pre-cursor to Civil Rights Litigation Initiative). He was the legal director of the Michigan ACLU for 22 years and has an amazing amount of experience practicing impact litigation and civil rights law. As a professor, he really doesn’t give you feedback on assignments unless you ask to meet with him and go over them, and even then, you don’t really get a grade. There’s a lot of reading for class (especially in the first half) with about three large writing assignments throughout the term and no final. There are mock interviews, oral arguments, and negotiations as well, some of which are recorded. He’s really great one-on-one, but it’s hard to know where you stand in the class throughout the term. I learned a lot and would absolutely take the class again but go into it knowing that you will need to follow up with him on your own if you want to get feedback on any of your assignments.
I completely agree with the other review.
First and foremost, this class is a Professor Pick and can be competitive to get into. Second, if you are interested in enrolling in the Civil Rights Litigation Clinic you must have taken this course first.
Professor Steinberg sets up the course so that you are experiencing what it is like to handle a civil rights case from the very beginning (interviewing witnesses, taking statements, researching issues) to the end (drafting a complaint, drafting a motion in opposition to a motion to dismiss, mooting your motion, negotiating a settlement). Overall, this was an excellent and in-depth way to learn the mechanics.
My one caveat, however, is that the course only does a precursory review of the underlying law. This is in no way required — but I would recommend taking Federal Courts before taking this course. Federal Courts will better prepare you to understand how to bring a 1983 case including who can sue, what officers can be sued and for what remedy, municipality liability, and sovereign immunity.