Customer Reviews

Contracts (The "Outstanding Professor" Audio Tape Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have two S&S sets, Contracts and Torts. The difference is night and day. The Torts CDs are dare I say it... fun! The Contracts CDs are sooo dry and boring as to make them almost unlistenable. It's almost like listening to someone read from a textbook. I gave it 3 stars because some people might be looking for that type of "just give me the facts" approach. But my preference is for an entertaining listen that makes the CDs fun and memorable. You will NOT find that here.

Having listened to the CD's multiple times, I regretably have to agree with the reviewer who says Whaley's mind is elsewhere. Over and over Whaley seems to forget what he's talking about, and struggles to find a simple word. His knowledge is evident, but the delivery is substandard. There appears to be little to no editing of this recording.

To Whaley's credit, he does deliver several "nuggets" of lawyering tricks to hang on to for general practice. They're interesting, but offer little relevance to the general topic.

I have not yet listened to any of the other subject related Sum & Substance CD's, but do intend to give them a try. I can't say Contracts was a waste, but it could have been much better.

I would recommend taking a look at Flemings Fundamentals of Law, a great series of exam-prep tapes and videos, and have heard that the LEWS (Legal Exam Writing Workshop) series is excellent, but that is purely second hand information.

Best of luck

Usually I am a fan of the Sum & Substance series, but this one is very weak. In the beginning it is very obvious that Whaley's mind is somewhere else, he is correcting himself constantly (I wonder why the publisher sells it this way instead of editing it) and often you lose him because he is straying totally off the topic. Later on in the lecture he is getting better, but covers every topic only very lightly. You can only follow him if you know a lot about contracts and then you don't need the CDs anymore.

The tapes are very helpful if you have done the basic reading. These tapes are an excellent review tool. They lay out the bare structure of contracts where all the major issues are organized by topic. Obviously no one can cover everthing in detail on only four tapes, but if you are already somewhat familiar with the issues - these tapes by Whaley are great. I recommend them for reviewing for finals or as an everyday brushup.

Upon receiving my copies of "Contracts" audio CDs (Douglas J. Whaley), I am surprised at the negative reviews. Having completed two masters degrees, I have plenty of experience with poor instructors, poor textbooks, poor audio lessons; and poor universities. In my opinion, these Contracts CDs are excellent. Professor Whaley provides: (a) a clear speaking voice; (b) excellent inflection to keep the listener's attention; (c) good humor and vocabulary; (d) humorous case examples (e.g., minors as chimpanzees, dog law, paid-in-full checks, etc.); (e) well-organized lectures; and (f) plenty of detail to support further research. While I am not a Law student, these CDs are providing an excellent refresher for my MBA Business Law classes. These CDs are worth the price, and I will be ordering Professor Whaley's CDs on "Sale & Lease of Goods" (as well as the Finz CDs on Torts).

The Sum & Contract CD by Professor Whaley is very boring and lacking substance. The last CD-summary out of all the 7 Cds in the case was slightly helpful. Got rid of my CD after a week. I am about to try the Legend series or Fleming Fundamental of Law series.

Having listened to this CD numerous time (its a requirement for my law school) - I found that it is presented in a very confussing fashion. There is no clear progression from basics to putting it all together.

In contrast, the Dressler Sum and Substance on Criminal Law and Criminal Procedures are excellent. He is a fantastic instructor and makes you want to listen.

My vote: Get the Dressler S&S, avoid the Whaley materials at all costs!

I really enjoyed Professor Whaley. He does stammer a bit, but he speaks very fast and covers a lot. I love his viewpoints and he clearly loves the subject. He has a great sense of humor and makes the lectures dynamic.

He even contacted me personally and I received it early. Great human being and company. PLEASE send you business to this man.

I listened to the sum & substance crim law set with Dressler and was really impressed, so I thought I would try contracts as well. The professor is clear and easy to understand. He gives good case examples and tries to tie in relevant sections of the restatement and UCC. However, there are a few problems with the disks. Most obviously, there is a portion of the lecture missing on cd 5 §3. I'm going to assume that this was a mistake and merely seek reformation of my contract to obtain the missing material, rather than presume fraud and go for punitive damages.