{"id":1080,"date":"2016-03-08T14:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T19:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/?p=1080"},"modified":"2016-03-07T16:37:29","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T21:37:29","slug":"amescard-creating-effective-legal-scenarios-for-experiential-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/03\/08\/amescard-creating-effective-legal-scenarios-for-experiential-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"AmesCard: Creating Effective Legal Scenarios for Experiential Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new role play on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues faced by legal organizations. These cases focus on real life situations and are suitable for law school classrooms as well as professional development programs. The following blogpost is a Q&A with the authors of the case study.<\/em><\/p>\n

NEW PRODUCT: AmesCard\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>By Karina Shaw and John Coates<\/p>\n

We are pleased to announce a new case geared for law school classrooms titled AmesCard<\/a>. It is a contracting and negotiation exercise about a small start-up (AmesCard) that is evaluating several options to raise capital. The case explores the dangers that start-ups face when looking for financing options and asks students to negotiate, playing the roles of an AmesCard representative and two people who present potential financing options: a trusted banker and a broker . One of the financing options turns out to have disastrous consequences for the company and its leaders. Professor John Coates, the John F. Cogan, Jr. Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School and Research Director of the Center on the Legal Profession, spoke to us about the development of the case and its key takeaways:<\/p>\n

Karina Shaw (KS): What inspired the AmesCard simulation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Coates (JC):<\/strong> I had three inspirations for the case. \u00a0First, there was a client need. \u00a0Many lawyers work from time to time for start-ups, struggling companies, and other companies that need finance and investors but are having a hard time finding them. \u00a0At the same time, and for the same reason, their clients are often eager to keep legal costs low. \u00a0This combination can lead clients to take on (or consider taking on) dangerous legal risks, often without realizing it, in the form of one-sided \u201cgotcha\u201d contracts. \u00a0Second, in my research and consulting, I follow M&A litigation, and have come to appreciate the importance of two doctrines \u2014 tortious interference with contracts and tortious interference with prospective advantage \u2014 that are often neglected in law school and may be unfamiliar in how they operate in courts even to many experienced practitioners. \u00a0This was vividly illustrated by several very large verdicts in real disputes, including the ones on which the case was loosely modelled. Third, law schools are increasingly looking to give students the ability to engage in \u201cexperiential learning\u201d \u2014 learning by doing. \u00a0Developing materials to do this effectively is not easy, and I saw an opportunity to provide students with a hands-on negotiation exercise with good learning takeaways, while at the same time designing the case to keep the classroom management of the exercise within what a single professor can reasonably manage.<\/p>\n

KS: What challenges and opportunities did the writing process present?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JC<\/strong>: It\u2019s important but challenging to strike a balance between enough realistic detail to make the exercise have the feel of an actual negotiation, while not overwhelming students with so much information that they either flounder or feel unconnected to the task. \u00a0On the opportunity side, the advantage of a case like this is that it does not involve a lot of lengthy reading, so there\u2019s an opportunity for the case writer to instead think carefully about design and implementation.<\/p>\n

KS: What advice do you have for case writers and teachers in the legal classroom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JC:<\/strong> Keep things as simple as they can be, but no simpler. \u00a0Focus on a non-intuitive, important, and underappreciated legal issue, and find a way to make it come alive, either in a narrative case, an exercise, or an analytical case. \u00a0Be realistic about how long things take to cover in class (almost always longer than you think), and at the same time don\u2019t short-change the students \u2014 they can and like to move quickly when they\u2019re motivated and interested.<\/p>\n

KS: How did the students react to the simulation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JC<\/strong>: \u00a0Some students were surprised or amused at the outcome, and others were satisfied at having played a realistic role in an important type of business negotiation.<\/p>\n

KS: What is a major takeaway from AmesCard and the AmesCard role play?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>JC:<\/strong> Real world lawyers draft badly designed, and sometimes even quasi-fraudulent contracts, all the time. \u00a0Holmes\u2019s \u201cbad man\u201d really does exist, and lawyers need to be alert for them, particularly in settings where their clients are under pressure. \u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s better to have no contract at all than to agree to a badly designed one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new role play on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues faced by legal organizations. These cases … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7947,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CR8M-hq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1090,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/03\/23\/new-product-the-allergan-board-under-fire-a-and-b\/","url_meta":{"origin":1080,"position":0},"title":"NEW PRODUCT: The Allergan Board Under Fire (A) and (B)","author":"Amanda Reilly","date":"March 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues faced by legal organizations. These cases focus on real life situations and are suitable for law\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Coates (5)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/03\/Coates-5-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/03\/Coates-5-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/03\/Coates-5-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":84,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/01\/14\/the-case-development-initiative-at-harvard-law-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":1080,"position":1},"title":"The Case Development Initiative at Harvard Law School","author":"Lisa Brem","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI), including Ashish Nanda, Faculty Director and Robert Braucher Professor of Practice (pictured left), Dechert Fellow Nicholas Haas (right), and Program Coordinator Rachel Gibson (center), focuses on producing cases for use in a variety of business-oriented courses at HLS. \"We're currently working on a professional service\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2012\/01\/CDI-group-500x375.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1061,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/01\/12\/vieira-de-almeida-vda-legal-innovation-pioneers-in-portugal\/","url_meta":{"origin":1080,"position":2},"title":"Vieira de Almeida (VdA): Legal Innovation Pioneers in Portugal","author":"Amanda Reilly","date":"January 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI is a program that develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues that those in the law and other professional settings encounter. These cases focus\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1047,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/12\/08\/reforming-partner-compensation-at-mattos-filho\/","url_meta":{"origin":1080,"position":3},"title":"Reforming Partner Compensation at Mattos Filho","author":"","date":"December 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI is a program that develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues faced by those in the law and other professional settings. These cases\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":603,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/09\/10\/new-beginnings-for-cdi-exec-ed-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":1080,"position":4},"title":"New Beginnings for CDI, Exec Ed Leadership","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"September 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"HLS Professor Ashish Nanda\u2014who founded the Case Development Initiative, a leading contributor to the Case Studies portal\u2014was recently appointed Director of his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management\u2013Ahmedabad. Nanda held three appointments at Harvard Law School\u2014Robert Braucher Professor of Practice, Faculty Director of Executive Education, and Research Director at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1108,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/04\/12\/new-product-tiantong-partners-transforming-litigation-in-china\/","url_meta":{"origin":1080,"position":5},"title":"NEW PRODUCT: Tiantong & Partners: Transforming Litigation in China","author":"nsoubani","date":"April 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"photo by \u00a0yeowatzup post by Dr. Lisa Rohrer, Executive Director of the Case Development Initiative at Harvard Law\u00a0 School CDI is pleased to announce the publication of its first case on the Chinese legal market: Tiantong & Partners: Transforming Litigation in China, co-authored by Ashish Nanda, Director of the Indian\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"yeowatzup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/04\/yeowatzup-1024x679.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/04\/yeowatzup-1024x679.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/04\/yeowatzup-1024x679.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7947"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1080"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1087,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080\/revisions\/1087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}