How accurate is The Paper Chase?

It may not be the best known law school film, but many consider 1973's The Paper Chase to be the best and most accurate portrayal. Based on a book by a then-recent Harvard graduate John Jay Osborn, Jr., the film stars Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner and John Houseman:

It's a fine film and thoroughly recommended. But, regardless of how well it captures the experience of either Harvard or American law schools as a whole (and as Harvard is traditionally one of the top US law schools it's not necessarily representative), as with many screen portrayals the relationship to a distance learning Law degree in the UK is somewhat limited. It does capture well how Law is very much about theory and application and that the ability to remember umpteen facts is not sufficient or even necessary (hence why many students, lecturers and lawyers do not instantly recall every case). There's certainly plenty of reading of cases and statutes then discussing them. It shows that Contract Law is not the easiest of subjects or the one everyone enjoys, sentiments definitely shared by many on our WhatsApp group when we took the module.

And a couple of the cases discussed in the film are from English Law. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co ([1893] 1 QB 256) is one of the best known of all contract cases and is discussed accurately in the film. Vigers v Cook ([1919] 2 KB 475) may be a little less well known (it didn't come up on my module nor is it covered in Poole's Casebook on Contract Law, at least not in the sixteenth edition) but is still an interesting precedent, especially as in the film the discussion of the case serves as background to a key silent confrontation between the protagonists whilst the rest of the class struggle to recall the facts of the case (as a starter, one of the parties' son died and the other party was the undertaker - but who was who?).

(The opening scene has brought to fame a case from New Hampshire, Hawkins v. McGee (84 NH 114, 146 A. 641 (1929)), also known as the "Hairy Hand" case. In part because of its appearance here, this case continues to be heavily used in American Contract Law classes, often at the start of the course, and is widely discussed. The opening scene delivers the common portrayal of the facts of the case but more recently this portrayal has been challenged, not least in a 2010 article by Daniel O'Gorman (full reference below) in which he went back to the original trial transcripts and came to some very different conclusions about the dispute. There's a good summary in Another Perspective on Dr. McGee and the Case of the Hairy Hand by Norman Otto Stockmeyer.)

But the classes in which the lecturer puts students through the fire with the Socratic Method of teaching, the study group trying to produce revision guides ("outlines") and descending into personal conflict, the chaotic preparation for exams, the intellectual struggle between the student and the lecturer and so forth all belong to a very different world from my studies. And results no longer come in envelopes, though as I've previously noted, it is still possible to make a paper aeroplane out of them in homage to the ending. As for the closeness to the US law school experience, here's Learn Law Better's take on it:

Still, it's definitely worth watching, especially for the Oscar winning performance of John Houseman as Professor Kingsfield, the Contract Law lecturer. There was later a television series as well in which Houseman reprised the role, but I've only seen the first episode and it's nowhere near as good.

Reference

O'Gorman, D. (2010) 'Expectation Damages, the Objective Theory of Contracts, and the 'Hairy Hand' Case: A Proposed Modification to the Effect of Two Classical Contract Law Axioms in Cases Involving Contractual Misunderstandings', Kentucky Law Journal, 99, pp.327-377. Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2815050

So just where is the Public Law banner image from?

The teaching website for each OU module comes with a special banner graphic that aims to represent the content of the module. It can be a cartoon image, a photograph, an AI image or a collage. Usually, it's clear what it represents and how it links to the module in question.

But one image in particular has stumped many a student. Just what is the repeated symbol on the Public Law banner and how does it relate to the subject?

The answer is surprisingly simple.

It's a picture of the carpet in the Supreme Court with its unique symbol.

The four plants represent the four nations of the United Kingdom:

• A flax for Northern Ireland
• A thistle for Scotland
• A Tudor Rose for England
• A leek for Wales

The symbol can be found repeatedly on many of the carpets in the Supreme Court building; this particular photograph was taken in Courtroom 2.

The four flowers can also be found on the formal badge of the court. Here's the one in Courtroom 2.

It's a surprisingly obvious image when you think about it. A glance at the covers of various Public Law textbooks show either abstract images or umpteen images of Parliament so it's nice to have some variety.

All these images were taken on a tour of the Court with members of the Open University Law Society as part of a very memorable evening. Both the Society and a visit to the Court are well recommended.

(All images my own.) 

Tutors and students

The word "tutor" is used in many ways across education, ranging from private tutors giving extra teaching to individual pupils or students through to being an alternative name for a housemaster or housemistress overseeing potentially up to a hundred different pupils in some schools. The focus can vary from academic to pastoral support though many straddle the two roles.

Within the Open University a "tutor" is assigned to a number of students on an individual module. Most directly they mark some of the assignments (literally the "Tutor Marked Assignments" and the "End of Module Tutor Marked Assignments"). They are there to offer direct support and advice to the student, which isn't always taken up. They often give advice and support to all their students through the online Tutor Group Forums, as well as reading and commenting on some of the posts students may put there as they discuss the material. And they can give individual advice which is available through emails and scheduled phone calls.

The tutors also run "tutorials", online sessions where a tutor takes students through a portion of the course material. However, there is no requirement for students to attend the ones taken by their own tutor, though if one's schedule allows it, it can be helpful to go to some of theirs to get more direct support. Each module has multiple tutorials covering the same material, offering different times to attend, and not every tutor takes one of every particular version. So it's not unusual to go to tutorials taken by several different tutors over the course of the module.

It's different from a single student physically going to meet a tutor for a one-on-one session but, as previously discussed, the method of Open University study is now rather different from the days depicted in Educating Rita.

Tutors are assigned just before the formal start of a module. At the point I'm writing this, I've just received details of my tutor for one module, someone I've not directly encountered on any previous module. Meanwhile, I await for my tutor on my other current module to be assigned. We'll see how each module goes.

(Image created with Microsoft 365 Copilot.)

Into the new academic year

We're now into a slightly strange period of the academic year at the Open University. On the one hand, the year has formally started and the module websites have opened, allowing students to start reading through the content. On the other, the introductory sessions have yet to happen, tutors have not yet been assigned, Tutor Group Forums (TGFs) have not yet opened, details of tutorials are not yet available for booking and some of the first assignments are still locked.

At a glance, this may seem confusing, especially compared to some bricks & mortar universities. Though looking deeper, it's actually not so different from those where module guides are provided to students in advance of the first (teaching) week, allowing them to start thinking ahead, doing early readings and so forth. It just seems a bit different because the module website itself fulfils the role normally taken by lectures.

As is so often the case, some of this comes back to flexibility. By opening the websites a few weeks early, students have the opportunity to start working through the material at their own pace and get ahead of the recommended schedule if needs be - and there are a lot of real life events that might encourage that. For example, students with children can get a week ahead at this stage and then take a week off studying for half-term.

But one of the side effects is that it isn't always possible to do all the early activities in the module units and some momentum can be lost. Some of them ask students to write a short piece, post it on their Tutor Group Forum and then discuss it with other students in replies. However, as the tutors haven't yet been assigned and the TGFs not yet opened, it isn't possible to do this activity. And so the students most likely to start building momentum for online discussions instead often wind up skipping over the posting, leaving some TGFs notably bare and consisting of little more than the tutor posting advice each week.

In addition, the tutorials broadly align to the recommended schedule for the units and the special tutorials to support assignments are close to the deadlines, so there is a risk of ending up out of sync with the plans. So I don't recommend getting too deep into the module at this stage.

However, it's good to get through the early material and in particular to go through as much of the introductory week material as possible. Some of my modules have had as many as seven different sections in the introductory week, ranking from quick introductions to the course to the Law Undergraduate Guide, which is lengthy and updated each year. So the extra time to get through it all is welcome. In addition, if one is taking more than one module at a time, it's good to get a sense of how long each will take and start pacing well.

As well, there are other general introduction activities laid on through Welcome Week, both in-person and online, so there are good opportunities to get (back) into things.

So this phase of the year is not as complicated as it may first seem.

(Image created with Microsoft 365 Copilot.)

Why every student needs a Law dictionary

Consider these words:

appellant, respondent, interlocutor, tort, counsel, dictum, Master of the Rolls, plaintiff, 

All are found in the first opinion in one of the most famous cases in British legal history (though this is not the most famous opinion in it; instead it's a dissent). All technical terms that a student may not have encountered before.

Law is full of such technical terms, though fortunately the use of Latin has seriously declined in recent years. A student coming to a case afresh (and this case could be one of the first judgments they ever encounter the text for) may struggle to navigate some of the words in them. But the course is Law, not Vocabulary. Students must learn to master the terminology by themselves.

And so if there's one resource they need more than any other it's a Law dictionary. Trying to read legal sources without a guide to the terms can often leave one stumbling. Time and again my own has brought enlightenment, whether basic terms at the start or more complicated concepts.

I use A Dictionary of Law (and yes, the title on the cover says "Oxford Dictionary of Law" but one should always use the title and capitalisation on the inside front page as a book's title), one of many from the Oxford Reference series. It's proved invaluable as have some other volumes in the series - I once found some key details for an assignment in The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists, not normally the first place to go on a Law degree.

So make sure you get a Law dictionary as early as possible.

Oh and the case? It's none other than Donoghue v Stevenson.

(Photo my own.)

Recent sudden changes on this blog

Some of you may have seen the blog constantly changing themes and settings in the last twenty-four hours. This has been because of some technical errors that have been a pain to (hopefully) fix. Apologies for the changes and problems in the meantime.

Normal service should now be resumed.

The blog has also had some problems with Google indexing. Looking around the internet, this is not the only Blogger blog suffering from this. Hopefully, this will sort itself soon. And in the meantime to help the poster who raised the problem there, here's a special link for their blog: Everyday Answer Lab — A Collector's Life: By Jerrad — A personal blog about figure collecting, One Piece, handmade pieces, displays, and the hobbies I genuinely enjoy.

How to deal with loneliness

Distance learning can be lonely. After starting my degree it was nearly two years before I met anyone from the Open University in person. I have never even had a phone conversation with any students on my modules.

This is invariably different from when I studied in person, regardless of whether I lived on campus, nearby or commuted in from further afield. As a result, it's much harder to share the experience with others, discuss everything from how to do a particular format for an assignment to discussing problems with university admin to just relaxing and sharing the joy of having completed something.

I have a life away from university study and so there are people I see, speak to and deal with regularly. And there are other ways to pass time. Doing a specific hobby alongside the degree is one way. Making guaranteed time to see friends or go places is another. Even just finding a good TV series or book to pass the time can help. But few people around you may know what it's like to be distance learning and even fewer will know about current courses.

But there are ways to connect with other students virtually.

The university provides online internet forums at various levels - tutor group, module, Level 3 route, degree amongst others - that allow some formal discussion and connection. They're also a way to post links to other places where students can connect directly.

Social media is the main way I've connected with others. Facebook has some groups for the Open University, but they can be a little quiet, especially if they've been running for many years. More active are WhatsApp groups. A number of students have set up WhatsApp communities for study with one or more groups for specific fields, usually individual modules. When run well - and all the ones I'm on are very well run - they can be a good way to connect with other students, discuss tips for studying, technical problems, future module choices, life away from studying and so much more. I have found them very helpful in knowing I am not alone.

But if social media messaging isn't your thing, then there are still other ways to handle loneliness.

There are dedicated groups and organisation that one can join. Students at the OU are automatically members of OpenSU (previously the Open University Students Association), the students' union. It runs many events and gives support and advice so check out their website. There are also societies, of which the most significant is the Open University Law Society (OULS) which runs a wide range of activities.

However you approach it, you are never truly alone. There are ways to connect with other students and get involved, even if you never meet them in person. They are still out there.

(Image created with Microsoft 365 Copilot.)