Course Objectives

This course teaches substantive contract law so lawyers can understand and interpret contracts written in English, by American lawyers. It covers the central themes of American contract law, with particular emphasis on the business and commercial aspects of the law.

Topics will include: money damages as a preferred remedy to specific performance; the necessity for a writing to make some contracts enforceable; the extent to which oral understandings can be made part of a contract that is in writing; the rights of third parties; the necessity for and the nature of consideration (a bargained-for benefit or detriment) to make most contracts enforceable; and how conditions written into a contract can dramatically change and even nullify the rights of the parties. Distinctive aspects of American doctrine in relation to contract law in civil law systems will also be considered. The class will emphasize the significant doctrinal aspects of American contract law, not drafting or writing skills.

Course syllabus and materials are listed below. Please log in to view these items.

Student Comments

"It was interesting to focus on what would happen in contract cases in the United States. This helped me compare with my country's results." Anon., Summer 2009

"Before the Program, I wasn't sure if all of the topics founded in the classes would help to benefit my daily work...It definitely broadened my mind." Anon., Summer 2009

"I did not know that there are so many U.S. legal and business principles that I can use back home." Anon., Summer 2008

"The program was a very good exercise for me to improve my legal writing and speaking skills." Anon., Summer 2008 

Faculty Information 

Professor Ward Farnsworth is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at BU Law. After graduating from the University of Chicago law school, he worked as a clerk to Richard A. Posner, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and to Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He then served as a legal adviser to the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague. Since joining the Boston University law faculty in 1997, Dean Farnsworth has taught civil procedure, contracts, tort law, and rhetoric. He is author of The Legal Analyst, a wide-ranging guide to intellectual tools for thinking about legal questions; he also has written a book on rhetoric that will be published this year and a treatise on chess that is available on the Internet.

Course Syllabus and Materials

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