Business Ethics: "Dead Peasant" Insurance Policies

"Dead Peasant" insuarnce policies are "common."  Are they ethical?  students may be interested in considering the ramifications of companies cashing in on the death of rank and file employees.  Something seems amiss when a company recognizes that being a convenience store clerk working at night is such a dangerous job that it is financially justified in buying a life policy on its employees - but feels no obligation to purchase a policy for the employee's own benefit or even to offer the employee the opportunity to purchase one for herself.

Law Music Video - Not Guilty Blues

This week's installment in the "Law Music Videos" series is Not Guilty Blues by Brownie McGhee. There's nothing like a wrongful prosecution to cause one to sing the blues. Law music videos played before your class starts will positively contribute to learning.

Introduction to Torts . . . or is it "Sorts?"

Professor Robert Emerson at the University of Florida maintains a YouTube channel with a host of delightful videos, many featuring his unique talents for student engagement. I use the video below to introduce the Torts unit in my Legal Environment class. If you visit Professor Emerson's channel, you are certain to find a video resource that will enhance your class presentations.  Thank you, Prof. Emerson, for sharing these valuable resources with your colleagues by making them available on the web.

Law Lessong - You Owed a Duty to Me

The next installment in the “Law Lessong” series is You Owed a Duty to Me. The lyrics for this song were written by Asley Dorman, a student in my Legal and Ethical Environment of Business class at the Univeristy of Connecticut. Students may submit law songs for credit. In order to fashion a rhyming scheme that matches a melody, a student must carefully examine and distill legal principles and the language that expresses the legal principles. This simple video and song from a Power Point presentation helps students consider the element of "duty" in a negligence claim as a basis for civil liability.

Learn more about Law Lessongs from the post found here.  More videos may be found at my youtube channel. Please feel free to use them in the classroom or as assignments or in any way that they work for you as an educational resource.

"It's Not What You Know, It's What You Can Prove in Court"

Students seem to be quite familiar with the movie Law Abiding Citizen and from time to time send me clips to illustrate a point.  I have not seen the movie, but from some of the scenes that I have viewed there seems to be a lot of action and swearing. The courtroom scenes that I have viewed exhibit that liberties have been taken in portrayals of the legal system.  Yet, the short clip linked below rang true for me.  If it speaks to students, all the better.

Click HERE or on the image below to see the video.

Featured Website: The Georgia Civil Justice Foundation

The Georgia Civil Justice Foundation maintains a website with a wealth of materials to assist in educating students about the law. I have made regular use of their videos and animations, accessed by scrolling over the book titles on the bookshelf exhibited at the webpage.  Some of the videos are available at a YouTube channel, if that gives you more flexibility in using these resources.

Ponzi Scheme Lawyer: What Does This Story Say About the Profession?

Upon viewing the 60 Minutes report on NY lawyer Marc Dreier's ponzi scheme a cold chill ran up my spine. The video was brought to my attention by Mark Spurling, a colleague at the University of Connecticut.  Mark uses the video for a discussion of Business Ethics in his Legal Environment class.  I hope to use the video in the class that I teach for freshman honors students entitled, Law and Lawyers in Song and Story.  In that class we examine popular cultural representations of the legal profession and the legal system and compare them to reality.  A recurring exercise in that class is to analyze various movie character lawyers as either "good lawyers" or "bad lawyers" in an effort to distill out the characteristics of each designation.

While viewing this video, I couldn't help but think that the qualities that made Dreier a "good" lawyer may also have served him well in his criminal enterprise. What does that revelation say about the legal profession?

Click on the image below to be linked to the video: