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The worst professor I have ever had...
Phillips is ok in contracts class, he does try to encourage an open forum and it can be very interesting. However, his evaluations and tests really did not reflect class time and he is a difficult and hard grader. He is also not very personable outside of class
I will second the motion - he is the worst teacher i have had since high school. Terribly impersonable, unfunny, boring. can't teach. I would say that all 10 people I knew in this class agreed, some were even more harsh. Do not take this class with Phillips if you have the option.
He's clear, concise, easy to understand (all elements of a good teacher) and will spend hours and hours with you if you have a question outside of class. Make sure to set up an appointment though and NOT right before exams. I agree that if you do the reading and come to class, you'll do fine. I actually thought he was pretty generous with his buzz words.
I had Phillips for Contracts in SP-2002. I think he was a great professor and that his exam was completely fair. In fact it was the *only* one I remember taking which allowed me sufficient time to finish and go back over my answers. His assessment was also very fair. If you take the time to contribute a few meaningful thoughts to the TWEN site, he'll also make a kind note of it. In terms of instruction, hey, it's contracts -- not often riveting stuff. Nevertheless, I think he did a great job of conveying all the important principles and covering a lot of ground. I think there are a lot of people who feel put off by his politics (though I've never heard him say anything politically motivated in class -- here comes the debate) and that's certainly their choice. I let you decide whether that should reflect on his assessment as a professor. There's no point in me recommending the class since it's for 1Ls and you have no choice anyway. Good luck.
I had him for Contracts - Spring 2004. He is very, very smart, and I think he's a very good professor. The subject matter is dry and technical, so it's not lots of fun, but if you've been assigned this class, don't go in with a closed mind. You'll learn a tremendous amount and will benefit from a very experienced professor. He also was very generous on my evaluation - gave me more than I deserved.