Paula

Perhaps the most famous professor at Seton Hall School of Law is Paula Franzese. She is, first and foremost, beautiful. Dark, Italian skin, and long brown hair, radiant smile--plus her entire wardrobe is personally tailored. She is also brilliant--she graduated Columbia Law School at a young age, practiced for three years, and then began teaching at Seton Hall Law School at 26, while she still teaches an undergraduate class at Columbia. She is a nationally recognized expert on Property Law, and does lectures around the country on Property issues. She is extensively published on the subject. Third, she is very kind. I have never had class with her, and as far as she is concerned, I should be a nobody--but she remembers me, and makes kind conversation with me when she sees me. I have heard that in some of her classes, she gives out bottles of wine to people who answer questions. Every year that she is eligible to receive the award, she is elected Professor of the Year.

Now, coming into finals week here, students who have registered for BarBri, the bar review course, are allowed to attend a series of reviews of first-year classes for their finals. However, these reviews are not led by live professors, but are public showings of videotapes by nationally recognized scholars giving lectures on the material. And today, for the BarBri lecture on Property, who should I see on the screen in front of the classroom? None other than Paula Franzese.

Who would think that Property Law could be so entertaining? She is lecturing on future interests, and distinguishing between springing executory interests and contingent remainders, but she does it with incredible flair. Forest Gump was analogized as the prototypical remainderman, and Dr. Evil was the prototypical holder of the executory interest. She even did a pretty good Dr. Evil impression, complete with references to Scott. She quoted 50 Cent and Eminem ("Chris Kirkpatrick you could get your a** kicked"), and she told a cute story about the time she and her 7-year-old daughter met Justin Timberlake at a charity benefit in Manhattan, the relevance of which consisted of the N'Sync album title "No Strings Attached" as a good explanation of a vested remainder.

Captivating--brilliance and accessibility.