Family Law
Professor Rhonda Wasserman
Course Information and Requirements
Prof. Rhonda
Wasserman
Fall 2003
Office: Room
321
Telephone: (412) 648-1338
Fax: (412)
648-2648
E-mail: wasserman@law.pitt.edu
Required Reading:
1. D. Kelly Weisberg & Susan F. Appleton, Modern Family Law: Cases and Materials (2d ed. 2002) (the "Casebook")
2. Rhonda Wasserman, Supplementary Materials for Family Law (Fall 2003) (the "Wass. Supp.")
Reference Works:
1. Margaret F. Brinig et al., Family Law in Action: A Reader (Anderson 1999)
2. Martha Minow, Family Matters: Readings on Family Lives and the Law (The New Press 1993)
3. Homer H. Clark, Jr., The Law of Domestic Relations in the United States (2d ed., West Hornbook Series, Student ed., 1988)
4. John De Witt Gregory et al., Understanding Family Law (Matthew Bender 2d ed. 2001)
5. Walter Wadlington & Raymond C. O’Brien, Family Law in Perspective (Foundation 2001)
Electronic Discussion Group: You may reach me individually by e-mail at the address listed above, or you may communicate with the class as a whole (all students and me) by sending a message to the following address:
If you are sending e-mail to the group from a Pitt computer, you may omit @pitt.edu. I hope to use this vehicle for discussions of issues raised by the material, questions and answers and postings of assignments, announcements and other administrative matters.
Web Page: I have created a web page for the course, which contains a course description; course information and requirements; the syllabus; links to the electronic discussion group for the class, to my e-mail, and to my home page; and copies of last year’s exercises and exam. I hope to post the PowerPoint slides used in class on the web page if time and the capacity of the law school’s server permit. The address is:
http://www.law.pitt.edu/wasserman/family.htm
Home Access: If you have a home computer and a modem, you may access the electronic discussion group and the web page from home. The library has instruction sheets to help you set up your home computer to connect to Pitt.
Exam Accommodations: Students with disabilities who require special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications should notify the University Office of Disability Resources and Services (DRS) no later than the fourth week of the term. Students may be asked to provide documentation of their disability to determine the appropriate accommodations. The DRS office is located in 216 William Pitt Union. To schedule an appointment, please call (412) 648-7890 (voice or TTY). Once an assessment has been made, please meet with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the School of Law, Dean Kevin Deasy, who will assist you with notifying professors regarding classroom modifications, if any. Due to the anonymous grading policy, students should not discuss exam accommodations with professors. Dean Deasy and the Registrar, Beth Benz, will ensure that testing accommodations are provided through the DRS.