Unpopular contracts and why they matter: burying Langdell and enlivening students

Over three years of study, most law students take a single course on the subject of contracts in which they rarely (if ever) negotiate, draft, or even review a written agreement. Thus, the purpose of this piece is to provide an alternative: a transformation of how Contracts is taught in law schools so that it meets a variety of educational objectives. This Article is organized into three parts. Part I, entitled "Teaching Contracts: Obstacles and Opportunities," shares outsider and insider critiques and data about the current Contracts classroom. Part II, entitled, "Lawrence Cunningham's Contracts in the Real World: Stories of Popular Contracts and Why They Matter," provides an example of a contemporary innovative approach to teaching Contracts. Part III, entitled, "Modernizing the Contracts Classroom," sets out recommendations for modernizing the teaching of contract law, theory, and transactional skills.