Contemporary Property

This title is a part of our CasebookPlus™ offering as ISBN 9798317703066. Learn more at Faculty-CasebookPlus.com. 

The Sixth Edition of Contemporary Property extends the legacy of the previous editions by offering a new perspective on property law and by grounding this new edition in practice-oriented skills.

Contemporary Property takes a holistic approach to the first-year Property course by framing property within the context of contest – the struggle for control over resources. We show how our legal system emerged from and continues to reflect these contests between individuals and institutions over what is considered a property object, who is a property owner, and what it means to have property rights. Contemporary Property’s framework brings together what many property teachers and students have viewed as fragmented topics – unlike those covered in the contract or tort courses – into a unified approach as seen in this basic outline.

Contemporary Property builds on the scholarship of authors Shelley Saxer, Andrea Boyack, Jamila Jefferson and Kali Murray, to explore how property contests have shaped the meaning of possession and dispossession across the history of U.S. property law, from the dispossession of Native American land to the legal regime of race-based chattel slavery that treated Black people and their labor as property objects. Contemporary Property shows how property law both catalyzes and reflects societal change, from the abolition of slavery to the emergence of new forms of property such as cryptocurrency. Moreover, Contemporary Property demonstrates that transactional practice can be a flexible vehicle for incorporating changes that result from property contests.

Contemporary Property also has several supports for teachers of Property Law, including:
 

• Updated cases that touch on topics important to contemporary property, including the lack of affordable housing, the government’s role in segregating communities, homelessness, common interest communities, water law, same-sex marriage, cohabitation, bitcoin, intellectual property, the sharing economy, blockchain, and recent U.S. Supreme Court cases relating to property interests.
• Complete coverage of all topics expected to be tested on the NextGen bar exam;
• Practice Applications that provide students opportunities to develop lawyering skills that intersect with doctrinal Property Law principles and mirror skills-based assessments that are part of the NextGen Bar Exam;
• Policy Applications that prompt focused classroom discussion on cutting edge property issues;
• Each case excerpt included is framed with a brief introduction and followed by focused questions and comments (Thinking about the Case) to enhance student engagement and understanding;
• Bolded terms throughout to aid student focus on important legal terminology and doctrinal elements;
• Chapter Takeaways to provide learning objectives for property courses and facilitate student self-assessment throughout the book; and
• A student-friendly “Estates Path” to guide students through the materials covering present and future estates and the process of classifying those estates as required for applying the Rule Against Perpetuities and understanding the trust process.

Contemporary Property is accompanied by a comprehensive Teacher’s Manual that is designed to minimize the time necessary for class preparation. The authors have won numerous teaching awards and have incorporated their teaching materials and techniques into the Teacher’s Manual. It is produced in an electronic format that can be downloaded and customized for an instant set of lecture notes. Key features of the Teacher’s Manual include:
 

• Sample syllabi for a four, five, or six credit hour Property course
• An extensive bank of PowerPoint slides to accompany the material in the casebook, with embedded links to helpful videos
• Briefs for every principal case in the textbook
• Answers to the exercises and problems in the textbook
• Suggested hypotheticals for additional class discussion

Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: American Casebook Series
Publication Date: 06/26/2026