::Hess, Gerr

Biographical Information

Professor Hess has taught at Gonzaga University School of Law since 1988. Professor Hess founded the Institute for Law School Teaching in 1991 and was its director until 2004. He has served as a co-editor of The Law Teacher, as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Journal of Legal Education, and as an inaugural member of the editorial board of the Canadian Legal Education Annual Review.

Professor Hess is a co-author and co-editor of two books on teaching and learning in law school: Techniques for Teaching Law and Teaching the Law School Curriculum. He co-produced two videotapes and accompanying faculty development materials: Principles for Enhancing Legal Education and Teach to the Whole Class: Barriers and Pathways to Learning. He has published articles in the areas of commercial law, civil procedure, environmental law, and teaching and learning in law school.

Professor Hess is a frequent speaker at national conferences about legal education. He conducts workshops on law teaching at law schools in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Professor Hess has been the chair of the AALS Teaching Methods Section and is a faculty member and educational consultant at the National Judicial College.

Before attending law school, Professor Hess taught wonderful and challenging children in grades 2, 4, and 5. He is married to Dr. Layne Stromwall and has two children, Mike and Amanda.

Teaching Areas

• Civil Procedure
• Environmental Law
• International Environmental Law
• Legal Education

Publications

Monographs:

• Teaching Law by Design: Engaging Students from the Syllabus to the Final Exam (with Sophie Sparrow and Michael Schwartz) (To Be Published By Carolina Academic Press in 2008).
• Teaching the Law School Curriculum (with Steve Friedland) (Carolina Academic Press 2004).
• Techniques For Teaching Law (with Steve Friedland) (Carolina Academic Press 1999).
• Judicial Ethics (Russian-American Judicial Partnership, USAID, 2000).
• Selection of Judges (Russian-American Judicial Partnership, USAID, 2000).

Journal Articles:

• Collaborative Course Design:  Not My Course, Not Their Course, But Our Course, to be published by Washburn Lw Journal
• What Helps Law Professors Develop as Teachers: An Empirical Study, co-authored with Professor Sophie Sparrow of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, 14 Widener L. Rev. (2007).
• Improving Teaching and Learning in Law School: Faculty Development Research, Principles, and Programs, 12 Widener L. Rev. 443 (2006).
• The Trail Smelter, the Columbian River and the Extraterritorial Application of CERCLA, 18 Geo. Intl. Envtl. L. Rev. 1 (2005).
• Learning to Think Like a Teacher: Reflective Journals for Legal Educators, 38 Gonzaga L. Rev. (2003).
• Hearts and Heads: Creating an Effective Teaching and Learning Environment in Law School, 52 J. of Legal Educ.75 (2002).
• Monographs on Teaching and Learning for Legal Educators, Special Edition, Gonzaga Law Review 63 (2000).
• Principle 3: Good Practice Encourages Active Learning, 49 J. Legal Educ. 401 (1999).
• Seven Principles of Good Practice for Legal Education: History and Overview, 49 J. Legal Educ. 367 (1999).
• Student Involvement in Improving Law Teaching and Learning, 67 UMKC L. Rev. 343 (1998).
• The Legal Educator's Guide to Periodicals on Teaching and Learning, 67 UMKC L. Rev. 367 (1998).
• Listening to Our Students: Obstructing and Enhancing Learning in Law School, 31 U.S.F. L. Rev. 941 (1997).
• Hanford: Cleaning Up the Most Contaminated Place in the United States, 38 Ariz. L. Rev. 168 (1996).
• Rule 11 Practice in Federal and State Court: An Empirical Study, 75 Marq. L. Rev. 313 (1992) (reprinted in the Trial Lawyer's Guide).
• Priority Conflicts Between Security Interests and Washington Statutory Liens for Services or Materials, 25 Gonz. L. Rev. 453 (1990).

Revisions:

• A revision of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, to bring those rules into compliance with the 2003-2007 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (2007).

Presentations

• Capital Litigation Improvement Initiative, The National Judicial College, May, 2008
• Value of Variety, Phoenix School of Law, May, 2008 
• Collaborative Course Design, Humanizing Legal Education Conference at Washburn University School of Law, October 20, 2007
• Creating an Active Learning Environment, The National Judicial College, July, 2007
• Using Active Learning to Engage Students, University of Wisconsin Law School, February 2007
• Learning Theory, AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers, June 2006
• Using Active Learning to Engage Students, Capital University Law School, March, 2006
• Teaching and Learning Values, AALS Annual Meeting, January 2006
• Law School Survey of Student Engagement, From Anecdote to Analysis,” AALS Annual Meeting, January 2006
• Designing, Preparing, and Presenting Effective Learning Activities, National Judicial College, December, 2005
• Active Learning and Student Engagement, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, September, 2005
• Creating an Active Learning Environment, National Judicial College, June, 2005
• Legal Reasoning and Torts, Pacific Islands Legal Institute, February, 2005
• Resources for Teachers, AALS Annual Meeting, New Teachers Section, January, 2005
• Designing and Delivering an Active Learning Environment, Midwest Clinical Teachers Conference, October, 2004
• Principles for Enhancing Legal Education, Midwest Clinical Teachers Conference, October 2004
• Creating an Active Learning Environment, National Judicial College, September 2004
• Keynote Address-American Legal Education, Japan Legal Education Symposia, Tokyo and Osaka, March 2004
• A Day in the Life of Law School Teaching, Japan Legal Education Symposia, Tokyo and Osaka, March 2004
• Active Learning, Japan Legal Education Symposia, Tokyo and Osaka, March 2004
• The Teaching and Learning Environment in American Law Schools, Nanzan University, Nagoya, March 2004
• Innovative Teaching Techniques, Northwest Clinicians Law Conference, October 2003
• Creating an Active Learning Environment, National Judicial College, June 2003
• Teaching: Nuts and Bolts, AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers, June 2003
• Principles for Enhancing Legal Education, Queen's University Faculty of Law, March 2003
• Heads and Hearts: Creating an Effective Teaching and Learning Environment, Queen's University Instructional Development Centre, March 2003
• Enhancing Legal Education-Better Teaching, Better Learning, Albany Law School, March 2003
• Reflecting on Teaching and Learning, Washburn University School of Law, February, 2003
• Creating an Active Learning Environment, National Judicial College, June 2002
• Good Days and Bad Days, Institute for Law School Teaching, June 2002
• Manageable Feedback in Large Classes, AALS Annual Meeting, January 2002
• Exams and Other Methods of Assessment, AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers, June 2001
• Helping Students Learn in the Classroom, AALS Conference on New Ideas for Experienced Teachers, June 2001
• Principles for Enhancing Legal Education, Brooklyn Law School, May 2001
• Faculty Development Workshop, The National Judicial College, April 2001
• Principles of Good Practice for Legal Education, University of Minnesota Law School, March 2001
• Teaching and Learning Principles for Law School, Loyola University-Chicago School of Law, February, 2001
• Principles of Good Practice for Legal Education, Loyola University-Chicago School of Law, February 2001
• Principles of Good Practice in Legal Education and Reflecting on Our Teaching, University of Montana School of Law, January 2001
• Teaching Effectiveness, Michigan State University Detroit College of Law, December 2000
• Faculty Development Workshop, The National Judicial College, April 2000
• Active Learning, Dickinson School of Law; January 2000
• Seven Principles of Good Practice for Clinical Legal Education, Northwest Clinicians Conference, September 1999
• The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching, AALS New Teachers Conference, July 1999
• Seven Principles of Good Practice for Clinical Legal Education, AALS Workshop on Clinical Legal Education, May 1999
• Learning Principles for Clinical Legal Education, AALS Workshop on Clinical Legal Education, May 1999
• Teaching and Learning Law, William S. Richardson School of Law, January 1999
• Seven Principles of Good Practice for Legal Education, AALS; Annual Meeting, Teaching Methods Section, January 1999
• Seven Principles for Good Practice in Legal Education, McGeorge School of Law, October 1998
• Seven Principles for Good Practice in Legal Education, Institute for Law School Teaching, July 1998
• Teach to the Whole Class: Barriers and Pathways to Learning, AALS Annual Meeting; Teaching Methods Section, January 1998
• Teaching and Learning, University of Montana School of Law, August 1997
• Effective Teaching Methods for a Diverse Student Body, Institute for Law School Teaching, July 1997
• Ideas to Improve the Quality of Your Clinical Teaching, AALS Workshop on Clinical Legal Education, May 1997
• Listening to Our Students-Obstructing and Enhancing Learning in Law School, University of San Francisco Symposium on Legal Education for a Diverse World, March 1997
• The Science and Art of Law Teaching, Institute for Law School Teaching, June 1996; July 1995; July 1994
• Legal Reasoning, The National Judicial College; March 1998; March 1997; March 1996; June 1995; June 1994; July 1993; November 1992
• Remedies, The National Judicial College, June 1993; November 1992; July 1991; May 1990
• Proposed Changes to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, Charles L. Powell Inn of Court, December 1992
• Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules of Civil Procedure, and Statutes Dealing with Frivolous Claims and Defenses, Spokane County Bar Association, December 1991
• CR 11, Charles L. Powell Inn of Court, December 1991
• Code of Civility, Charles L. Powell Inn of Court, April 1991
• Legal Research, The National Judicial College, May 1990; March 1989; October, April, March, February 1988

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