First Week Assignments

Fall 2026

First Week assignments

Civil Procedure (LAW 183) | Professor Michael S. McGinniss 

Required Textbook:

Second Edition (2024) of Howard M. Erichson & J. Maria Glover, Civil Procedure (Aspen Publishing) (“Textbook”). You are welcome to use either a print copy or an electronic version of the Textbook as you prefer. The required Supplement is a print copy of A. Benjamin Spencer, Federal Civil Rules Supplement 2026-2027 (West Academic), which contains the complete Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”), as well as the United States Constitution and selected federal statutes. The final examination in this course will be closed book.

At about 8:15 am on Monday, August 17 via Campus Connection, I plan to email to students registered for the course the password for accessing (on TWEN) the Syllabus, certain materials that will be included along with the Text and Supplement in assigned readings during the semester, and other materials of interest. If you register for the course after 8:15 am on August 17, please email me at michael.mcginniss@und.edu (note spelling “ss”) to request the password.

Class 1 - Tuesday, August 25

• Introduction to Civil Procedure                    

  Textbook: 1-32 (including Spahr file)      

  Supplement: FRCP 1, 2; U.S. Const. amends. 5 & 14

Class 2 - Thursday, August 27

• Pleadings:                                                                                               

  Complaint, Summons, Service                            

  Textbook: 33-34, 36-66

  Supplement: FRCP 3, 4(a)-(c),(e),(m); 6(a)(1), 8(a),(d)-(e); 10, 12(b)(6)

 

Environmental Law (LAW 263) | Professor James Grijalva 

Required Textbook:

JOHNSTON & FLATT, LEGAL PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT (5th Ed. 2024, West Academic Publishing) ISBN: 9798887864464

(Not required: Connected Casebook, Casebook Plus or other electronic features)

Assignment for Monday, August 24

1-43 Introduction to Environmental Law

Assignment for Wednesday, August 26

92-99, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimond handout (on course Blackboard page)
Judicial Review of Agency Decision-making

 

Evidence (LAW 222) | Professor Margaret Moore Jackson

Tuesday/Thursday, 8:30-10:20 a.m., Room 334

Required Textbooks (new or used):

1. David Alan Sklansky, Evidence: Cases, Commentary, and Problems, (Aspen 6th ed. 2025)

(you do not need electronic access to Casebook Connect Study Center or the Quiz features, so a used book is fine)

2. Daniel Capra, Stephen Saltzburg, Principles of Evidence (West 9th ed. 2022)

(includes appendix with full text of the Federal Rules of Evidence).

Assignment for first class —Tuesday, August 25, 2026:

• Read Federal Rules of Evidence, Rules 101-105, 401-402 (in the Capra appendix).
• Read Casebook, pp. 1-24 (Sklansky).
• Review the syllabus and course schedule (on Blackboard)
• Check the Expert Panel assignment list on Blackboard to see which group you are in.
  
  • Group #1 is on call for our second class. If you are in Group #1, you will want to know this as soon as possible, so you can prepare.

 

Professional Responsibility (LAW 232) | Professor Michael S. McGinniss 

Required Textbook:

Eighth Edition (2024) of Nathan M. Crystal & Grace M. Giesel, Professional Responsibility: Problems of Practice and the Profession (“Textbook”). The required Supplement is the 2025 and 2026 Edition of Lisa G. Lerman, Philip G. Schrag, & Anjum Gupta, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law: Model Rules, State Variations, and Practice Questions, which contains the complete ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (with Comments) (“MR”), as well as an excellent selection of multiple-choice questions that will be assigned for class, along with very helpful explanatory answers. You are welcome to use either a print copy or an electronic version of the Textbook and/or Supplement, as you may prefer. The final examination in this course will be closed book.

At about 8:15 am on Monday, August 17 via Campus Connection, I plan to email to students registered for the course the password for accessing (on TWEN) the Syllabus, certain materials that will be included along with the Text and Supplement in assigned readings during the semester, and other materials of interest. If you register for the course after 8:15 am on August 17, please email me at michael.mcginniss@und.edu (note spelling “ss”) to request the password.

Class 1 - Monday, August 24     

• Foundations of Professional Responsibility:               

      Lawyers as Responsible Fiduciaries,               

      Officers of the Court, and Persons       

  Textbook: 1-20

  MR: Preamble; Scope; 8.4; 4.3

Class 2 - Wednesday, August 26                    

• Going Beyond the Rules:                                                 

     Conceptions of the Lawyer’s Role and 

     Developing Your Philosophy of Lawyering                

  Textbook: 21-28, 30-38, 55-59

  MR: 1.2(b), 2.1, 1.16(b)(4), 6.2(c)

  TWEN: Tenn. Bd. on Prof. Resp. Op. 96-F-140

  Problem: 1-1 (p. 26)