The Civil Procedure teacher faces the problem of explaining a system that appears to be in disarray to bewildered law students, often in a course with reduced hours. Many of us also confront the challenge of mapping out a scholarly agenda in a procedural world with multiple and competing perspectives. Consider the possibilities for gaining insight: empiricism, history, critical race theory, feminist thought, law and economics, international law, comparative law, political science, anthropology, sociology, critical legal studies, law and literature, the legal profession, procedural justice, etc. And, of course, like the students, we need to know the doctrine itself. We are teachers. So add pedagogy to the list of relevant perspectives.

This conference for civil procedure professors, our first in eight years, is designed to provide multiple perspectives on contemporary civil procedure, exploring our current predicament from a variety of viewpoints. We intend to take a fresh look at such foundational topics as personal jurisdiction and Erie, while also exploring the impact of ADR and international procedure on our field. In conjunction with tort professors, who will simultaneously be holding their conference at the same location, we will examine issues of aggregation, settlement, and discovery in the context of mass torts and products liability. In smaller groups, we will discuss different ways of teaching the substantive topics we have examined in plenary sessions.

This is a conference designed to benefit civil procedure teachers of all levels of experience. Our speakers and group leaders will include many of the most prominent and established people in the field, and also a substantial number of newer voices. At this critical juncture in the evolution of civil procedure, each of us has a stake in teaching ourselves and our students, and in learning from one another.