Anatomy of a Lawsuit

What Every Education Leader Should Know About Legal Actions
Robert J. Shoop - Kansas State University, USA
Dennis R. Dunklee - Emeritus, George Mason University, Virginia, USA
Anatomy of a Lawsuit
October 2005 | 160 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781452235776
Available from January 0001
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ISBN: 9781412915465
Available from January 0001

Description

Arm yourself with the facts educators need to respond effectively when litigation is imminent!

While jury trials are popularly construed as criminal matters, it is civil litigation that increasingly involves the participation of school educators. In recent instances, education leaders have been parties to, or participants in, legal cases ranging from employee discrimination to alleged criminal negligence. In response to this trend, legal experts and frequent consultants to attorneys Robert Shoop, a network news program regular on legal topics, and Dennis Dunklee, a 2005 participant in the Oxford University Roundtable on Education Law, have authored this indispensable text to arm educators with the essential information they need to understand and prepare for potential litigation.

Five sections cover the legal basics necessary to:

  • Understand the court and jury system
  • Support and work effectively with attorneys
  • Appreciate the nuances of litigation
  • Reduce the potential risk of litigation by understanding and practicing preventive law
  • Assist in the legal process by serving as an expert witness

With this essential resource, educational leaders can learn how to prepare effectively, respond appropriately, and help achieve positive outcomes when faced with litigation.  

Contents

Advisement

Advisement

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Introduction

Introduction

Section I. A Review of the Legal Environment and the Function of Law

  • 1. Why Me?
  • 2. Overview of the Organization of Courts and the Legal Environment

Section II. The Process of Litigation

  • 3. Annie’s Case
  • 4. The Litigation Process
  • 5. Working With an Attorney: Attorneys’ Considerations in Deciding Whether to Accept a Case
  • 6. Courtroom Environment: You May Feel Small
  • 7. The Trial
  • 8. Managing and Surviving Litigation Stress

Section III. Verdict and Analysis

  • 9. Smith v. Red Ridge Unified School District No. 435 (Annie’s Case)

Section IV. Your Role as an Expert Witness

  • 10. Serving as an Expert Witness

Section V. Managing Your Risk of Litigation

  • 11. Concluding Thoughts
  • Index

Additional materials

Description

Arm yourself with the facts educators need to respond effectively when litigation is imminent!

While jury trials are popularly construed as criminal matters, it is civil litigation that increasingly involves the participation of school educators. In recent instances, education leaders have been parties to, or participants in, legal cases ranging from employee discrimination to alleged criminal negligence. In response to this trend, legal experts and frequent consultants to attorneys Robert Shoop, a network news program regular on legal topics, and Dennis Dunklee, a 2005 participant in the Oxford University Roundtable on Education Law, have authored this indispensable text to arm educators with the essential information they need to understand and prepare for potential litigation.

Five sections cover the legal basics necessary to:

  • Understand the court and jury system
  • Support and work effectively with attorneys
  • Appreciate the nuances of litigation
  • Reduce the potential risk of litigation by understanding and practicing preventive law
  • Assist in the legal process by serving as an expert witness

With this essential resource, educational leaders can learn how to prepare effectively, respond appropriately, and help achieve positive outcomes when faced with litigation.  

Contents

Advisement

Advisement

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Introduction

Introduction

Section I. A Review of the Legal Environment and the Function of Law

  • 1. Why Me?
  • 2. Overview of the Organization of Courts and the Legal Environment

Section II. The Process of Litigation

  • 3. Annie’s Case
  • 4. The Litigation Process
  • 5. Working With an Attorney: Attorneys’ Considerations in Deciding Whether to Accept a Case
  • 6. Courtroom Environment: You May Feel Small
  • 7. The Trial
  • 8. Managing and Surviving Litigation Stress

Section III. Verdict and Analysis

  • 9. Smith v. Red Ridge Unified School District No. 435 (Annie’s Case)

Section IV. Your Role as an Expert Witness

  • 10. Serving as an Expert Witness

Section V. Managing Your Risk of Litigation

  • 11. Concluding Thoughts
  • Index

Additional materials

SAGE Publishing Logo

Anatomy of a Lawsuit

What Every Education Leader Should Know About Legal Actions


October 2005 | 160 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781412915465 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781452235776 $35.00

Arm yourself with the facts educators need to respond effectively when litigation is imminent!

While jury trials are popularly construed as criminal matters, it is civil litigation that increasingly involves the participation of school educators. In recent instances, education leaders have been parties to, or participants in, legal cases ranging from employee discrimination to alleged criminal negligence. In response to this trend, legal experts and frequent consultants to attorneys Robert Shoop, a network news program regular on legal topics, and Dennis Dunklee, a 2005 participant in the Oxford University Roundtable on Education Law, have authored this indispensable text to arm educators with the essential information they need to understand and prepare for potential litigation.

Five sections cover the legal basics necessary to:

  • Understand the court and jury system
  • Support and work effectively with attorneys
  • Appreciate the nuances of litigation
  • Reduce the potential risk of litigation by understanding and practicing preventive law
  • Assist in the legal process by serving as an expert witness

With this essential resource, educational leaders can learn how to prepare effectively, respond appropriately, and help achieve positive outcomes when faced with litigation.  


Table Of Contents:

  • Advisement
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Authors
  • Introduction
  • Section I. A Review of the Legal Environment and the Function of Law
  • 1. Why Me?
  • 2. Overview of the Organization of Courts and the Legal Environment
  • Section II. The Process of Litigation
  • 3. Annie’s Case
  • 4. The Litigation Process
  • 5. Working With an Attorney: Attorneys’ Considerations in Deciding Whether to Accept a Case
  • 6. Courtroom Environment: You May Feel Small
  • 7. The Trial
  • 8. Managing and Surviving Litigation Stress
  • Section III. Verdict and Analysis
  • 9. Smith v. Red Ridge Unified School District No. 435 (Annie’s Case)
  • Section IV. Your Role as an Expert Witness
  • 10. Serving as an Expert Witness
  • Section V. Managing Your Risk of Litigation
  • 11. Concluding Thoughts
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"In their timely and terse treatise, the authors assert that school leaders should view litigation as a routine function of successful practitioners who, in our increasingly litigious society, must be fully cognizant of basic principles of civil and criminal law."
The School Administrator, October 2007
"This is a remarkable book. The authors provide concise, user-friendly descriptions of the various players in civil lawsuits and a definition of their roles and functions."
PsycCRITIQUES, April 2006

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