Howard Siegel
How do you approach teaching your favorite topics? Your least favorite?
The predictable response would be, "I approach them exactly the same." For me, predictability is a price I am willing to pay for honesty. I strive always to present the course material in the most effective, interesting and informative manner I can, irrespective of my personal affection (or lack thereof) for a specific topic. For example, and although I enjoy nearly all facets of the legal aspects of the music industry, I readily confess to the students my lack of facility with numbers (e.g., the process of determining the computable royalty base price of records, and then calculating the actual royalty value based on sales). Indeed, these personal challenges inspire me to come up with more inventive, and hopefully more palatable, ways to convey the information to the class.
When students ask you what they should read outside the required textbooks and other law-related books, what do you suggest?
Given the ever-changing landscape of the music industry (due in large part to the pervasive impact of new and emerging technologies), students seeking recommendations for outside reading typically do so because they are looking for the most current developments on a specific issue. There are music industry publications, such as Billboard Magazine, that provide updates concerning topical business, legal and talent-related aspects of the music business. Several online sites and blogs also discuss current issues. These same resources can also be helpful for students seeking to learn more about employment opportunities in the music industry by pinpointing the companies and individuals who feature prominently in topical subjects.
What is it about being a law school professor that inspires or motivates you?
This is an easy question for me -- one with respect to which I have the benefit of well over 30 years of teaching to confirm the validity of my answer. What has always motivated me as a professor are the students. Specifically, there is nothing more inspiring, or more satisfying, than witnessing the acquisition of knowledge through the discussion the massive body of information that will help to shape the minds and careers of our future lawyers. Never has the character, spirit and commitment of these students been more tested, or more apparent, than over these past several months of having to go through the learning process remotely. The opportunity for a Socratic exchange of ideas is, by having the classroom relegated to a computer screen, severely undercut. Yet these law students adapt, focus and persevere. It is difficult for me to imagine an ongoing collective effort more motivating or inspiring.