Constitutional Law II

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Constitutional Law I) (600-621) This required fall-semester, second-year course examines the constitutional norms of equal protection and due process with a focus on such issues as racial discrimination, sex discrimination, Abortion, voting rights, and disproportionate burdens on the poor. The course may also examine some questions of freedom of speech, press, association, and/or religion.

Evidence

4 Credits (Prerequisite – Civil Procedure) (600-629) This required upper level course teaches the system of rules by which the admission of proof at the trial of a lawsuit is regulated, including judicial notice, hearsay, the qualifications and privileges of witnesses, the conduct of examinations, the competency, relevancy and materiality of evidence, legal presumptions and the burden of proof, and the functions of judge and jury. Evidence is a prerequisite for other courses such as the clinics.

Legal Writing II

2 Credits (Prerequisite – Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing) (600-654) This required second-year, single-semester (either fall or spring) course builds upon and reinforces the reasoning, research, and writing skills taught in LRRW. It explores methods of persuasion both in speech and in writing. Students are required to research and write and rewrite an appellate brief on a relatively sophisticated problem. A final oral argument on the brief after participating in or observing numerous practice arguments concludes the course.

Legal Writing III

Credits (Prerequisite – Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing) This paper requirement must be completed before graduation. See the description of the legal writing program for a more complete description of the requirements.

Professional Responsibility

3 Credits (600-687) This required upper level course teaches the traditions of the legal profession, its obligations in a democratic society, including problems of charity practice, representation of minority groups, and unauthorized practice, fee determination, bar organization and function, and the canons of legal ethics and disciplinary action. Skills Course _Students must successfully complete an approved skills course before graduation.

Upper Level Elective Courses

Administrative Law

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Constitutional Law I) (600-623) _This course considers the implementation of legislative policy through the administrative process and addresses the structure, functions, powers and procedures of administrative agencies and their relationship to the courts, with emphasis upon the regulations consistent with the protection of liberty under law.

Administrative Procedure and Civil Rights

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisites – Constitutional Law I & II, Administrative Law) (600-622) This seminar surveys the procedural and substantive aspects of Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246, dealing with non-discrimination in the construction industry, and other legislation dealing with the administrative enforcement of civil rights.

Advanced Constitutional Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisites – Constitutional Law I & II) (600-624) This seminar examines the development and protection of civil and political rights under the Constitution and laws of the United States, focusing particularly on the denial and vindication of individual rights, and may include all or part of constitutional concerns under the First, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

Advanced Corporate Problems

3 Credits (Skills Course) (Prerequisites – Corporations and Federal Income Taxation of Individuals) (600-670) This business planning course combines advanced work in corporations and federal taxation. Students examine simulated problems that present a variety of corporate and tax issues for analysis and resolution. Students are required to prepare memoranda on certain aspects of the issues under consideration and selected corporate documents to complete the transactions for their clients.

Advanced Legal Research

3 Credits (600-625) This course offers a detailed and comprehensive examination of all legal research resources in all formats, including an in-depth comparative study of manual and computerized research. The course combines class lectures with research assignments on general and specialized topics so that the student can develop a research strategy and analyze research results. Examinations are given.

Advanced Tax Problems

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisite – Federal Income Taxation of Individuals) (600-671) This course examines substantive problems and issues in present federal tax laws, the reason for their existence and proposed solutions. The historical, economic, and policy background of the problem areas are also considered.

Advanced Torts

3 Credits (seminar) (300-620) This course explores a limited number of torts and torts concepts in depth. Coverage may vary from year to year and from instructor to instructor. African and Islamic Customary Law 3 Credits (600-701) _This rarely-offered course describes and analyzes the concepts and institutions of traditional African and Islamic Legal Systems and their adaptation and development in the independent states.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

3 Credits (Skills Course) (600-638) This course surveys the various methods for resolving disputes without formal litigation. Methods considered will include mediation, arbitration, summary jury trials, and negotiation. The theories for deciding when to choose which method and the procedural rules and tactical concerns governing each method will be the focus of class discussion. Students also will have the opportunity to practice some of the ADR techniques. Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic, 6 credits (skills course) (Prerequisite – Alternative Dispute Resolution)

Antitrust

3 Credits (600-626) Antitrust law concerns the development and structure of free markets and the processes whereby governments regulate competition. The primary focus of the course is the historical development of the economic and legal concepts of monopoly and competition, with particular emphasis on their current judicial interpretation under federal antitrust laws. (An economics background is not required.)

Appellate Advocacy

3 Credits (Skills Course) (Prerequisites – Civil Procedure I, Evidence, LRRW, Legal Writing II) (600-639) This skills course teaches the construction and designation of an appellate record, the preparation of a brief, standards of review on appeal, and oral argumentation of a case on appeal.

Agency and Partnership

3 Credits (600-627) This course presents an analysis of the legal nature of agency and partnership relationships and the rights and obligations arising from them. The doctrine of respondent superior is also examined.

Civil Litigation Clinic/D.C. Law Students In-Court Program

12 Credits (Pass/Fail) (Prerequisites – Civil Procedure I and Evidence) (600-800) This clinic is a yearlong program in which the first semester is devoted to academic orientation, including simulated skills exercise demonstrated through video presentations. During the second semester, academic coverage and litigation activity relate to landlord/tenant, consumer, and small claims representation. Students handle cases under the supervision of a staff attorney.

Civil Procedure II

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Civil Procedure I) (600-666) This course explores topics in civil procedure not normally covered in Civil Procedure I. Although the subject matter may vary, topics generally will include the nature and definition of complex litigation; joinder, particularly the use of class actions; multi-district or parallel litigation; discovery; and judicial management of complex litigation. Emphasis will be placed on identifying practical solutions to the problems posed by complex civil litigation in light of competing policy interests.

Civil Rights Planning

3 Credits (Seminar & Skills) (Prerequisites – Constitutional Law I & II) (600-665) This course is an introduction to the practical, procedural, and substantive planning engaged in by lawyers helping to develop remedies for violations of the rights of minorities and women. These remedies include litigation, legislative and regulatory advocacy, demonstrations, and public information campaigns. Students will write a research paper on the strategy and tactics of civil rights lawyering, based not only on library work but also on interviews with civil rights practitioners, which the instructor will arrange. Possible topics include “traditional” areas such as education, housing, voting and employment. Eligible topics also include newly-arising areas such as police brutality, racial profiling, hate crimes, media stereotypes, environmental racism, “consumer” racism, disparate application of penal laws, census undercount, application of immigration laws, educational discrimination in integrated contexts, and underfunding of minority schools.

Collective Bargaining and Arbitration

3 Credits (Skills course) (Prerequisite – Labor Law) (600-632) This course studies the collective bargaining process and the role of arbitration in establishing and maintaining the legal rights and duties of the employer and the union.

Commercial Paper

2 Credits (600-633) This course concerns negotiable instruments and their position in modern commercial transactions, with special emphasis on commercial paper as payment devices in sales transactions.

Communications Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-634) This course surveys the legal and practical problems in the practice of communications law before the Federal Communications Commission.

Comparative Law

3 Credit Hours (Seminar) (600-635) This course presents a comparative study of legal principles and selected institutions of non-common law systems. Aspects of the history, sources, methods, civil and criminal procedure, legal education, judicial system, codification and law of obligations are studied. A significant focus will be on the civil law tradition in its modern context, including its use and modification in third world or socialist countries.

Computer Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-636) This seminar course examines the law governing the legal rights and relationships arising in connection with the development, use, and dissemination of computer software, digital information, and similar kinds of intellectual property, in private, consumer and commercial transactions. Relevant state and federal statutes and common law mechanisms available under trade secret, copyright, patent, and trademark law are examined. The course emphasizes the economic and social policy objectives of intellectual property protection, including but not limited to the stimulation of creative enterprise and the beneficial dissemination of new achievements, and also considers some attendant policy questions, such as the “Digital Divide.”

Conflict of Laws

3 Credits (Prerequisites – Civil Procedure I, Constitutional Law I & II) (600-637) This course presents the body of principles relating to transactions with elements in more than one state. The problem of choice of law will be examined with respect to marriage and divorce, property, contacts, wrongs, and procedure, with consideration given to constitutional issues, the jurisdiction of courts and the enforcement of foreign judgments.

Consumer Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-702) This course addresses the wide array of social, economic, and legal problems that confront the consumer as purchaser of products and Services in a market economy. Topics may include: federal and state regulation of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices, including deceptive advertising; consumer warranty protection from defective or dangerous products; the rights of the consumer to obtain credit free from discrimination and usury; truth in lending; and the rights of the consumer/debtor.

Contemporary Problems and Developments in the Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisite – varies with topic and professor) (600-950 to 956) This seminar will explore selected contemporary problems or developments in the law. Topics will vary, and may be drawn from a wide range of doctrinal areas, including, but not limited to, torts, property, contracts, civil procedure, criminal law and procedure, and constitutional law. Topics considered may also include developments that span several doctrinal areas, e.g., critical legal studies, critical race theory, law and literature, etc. The problems or developments to be considered during a particular semester shall be posted prior to registration so that students will have notice of the course content.

Contemporary Developments in Criminal Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisite – Criminal Law) (600-650) This course focuses on substantive problems and issues in contemporary criminal law. A substantial research and writing project on a criminal law subject is required.

Copyrights and Trademarks

3 Credits (600-684) This course surveys the basic copyright law under the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, to include computer software and to conform to the requirements of the Berne Convention. The course also surveys basic trademark law, including the Lanham Act. Key concepts such as copyrightable subject matter, the scope of exclusive rights, fair use, ownership issues, infringement, federal preemption of state actions, and international copyright and trademark issues are studied.

Corporations

3 Credits (600-640) This course introduces the modern law of private corporations, including corporate organization, finance and management, dissolution, merger and reorganization, the rights and duties of subscribers, directors, shareholders and creditors.

Creditors’ and Debtors’ Rights and Remedies

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Contracts) (600-641) This course examines state and federal laws which govern the legal rights and relationships between debtors and creditors in consumer and commercial transactions. Both non-judicial debtor/creditor dispute resolution options and the range of judicial mechanisms and remedies available under law, including, but not limited to, the federal bankruptcy statute, are examined. The course is intended to familiarize the student with the salient legal issues pertinent to debt creation, collection, and/or satisfaction, the socio-economic equities and objectives of debtor/creditor law in general and of the Bankruptcy Code in particular, and the differing economic and social policies implicated in resolving personal/consumer and commercial debt issues.

Criminal Justice Clinic

6 credits (skills course) (Prerequisites – Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure I) The Criminal Justice Clinic (CJC) is a one-year clinical course for which a student receives twelve (12) credits. The classroom portion of this clinic includes two (2) seminar sessions per week each of which is two (2) hours in duration. These sessions are co-taught and include review of substantive criminal law and procedure, skill set practice sessions, mock trials, and case rounds. All skill practice sessions, mock trials, and case rounds sessions include case analysis and strategizing, and reflection on representation and skill development. The legal work includes representing indigent individuals charged with criminal misdemeanors in the District of Columbia. The students, with the assistance and guidance of the CJC faculty, are responsible for all aspects of client representation from preparation of the case (investigation, client consultation, drafting and filing of pleadings and plea bargaining) to appearing before the Court at all stages of the proceedings.

Criminal Procedure I

3 Credits (600-642) This course covers primarily pre-trial constitutional issues of criminal procedure and some significant discussion of the exclusionary rule and related statutes. Topics covered include searches and seizures, confessions, line-ups and photo-spreads, the right to counsel, and grand jury representation.

Criminal Procedure II

3 Credits (600-643) This course covers primarily trial and post-trial criminal procedure doctrines, as well as some pretrial doctrines not covered in Criminal Procedure I. Topics covered will include bail, speedy trial, guilty pleas, joinder and severance, jury selection, effective assistance of counsel, sentencing, double jeopardy, and collateral attack. Criminal Procedure I is not a prerequisite. This course is highly recommended for those contemplating criminal practice.

Elder Law Clinic

6 Credits (skills course) (Prerequisites – Evidence & Civil Procedure) (600-803)

Energy and Utilities Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisite – Administrative Law) (600-644) This seminar concentrates on the economic regulation of energy producing resources; focuses on legal and policy matters relating to state and federal regulation of oil, gas, coal, nuclear power, alternate sources of energy and electricity. Ratemaking aspects of public utility regulation are addressed to the extent that such aspects specifically concern energy-related public utilities.

Entertainment Law

3 Credits (600-645) This course explores the protection of intellectual property, contractual problems, statutory protection, and tax implications, examining business relationships in the entertainment field.

Environmental Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-653) This course deals with the various laws and regulations relating to waste disposal, smog and pollution control, conservation, aesthetic zoning, birth and population control, abortion, and nuclear testing. The constitutional implications of ecology and the development of a body of law dealing with the myriad problems of it will be investigation and studied.

Equal Employment Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (Prerequisites – Constitutional Law I & II) (600-691) This course presents full coverage of the wide range of laws and regulations governing employment discrimination and an analysis of their interrelationships. The following laws are considered: The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; The Civil Rights Act of 1986; Title VII of 1963; The National Labor Relations Act; The Age Discrimination in Employment Act; Federal Executive Orders dealing with Equal Employment; Equal Employment provisions in other federal laws; selected local and state laws.

Estate and Gift Taxation

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Federal Income Taxation of Individuals) (600-646) This course involves the study of provisions of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to federal estate and gift taxes. Special attention is given to marital deductions, joint interests and life insurance.

Externship

4 Credits (academic year); 6 Credits (summer/fall program), pass/fail (600-706) The Externship Program provides second and third year law students with exciting and varied learning opportunities in the work world through law-related field work. Students are placed with governmental or administrative agencies, public interest or legal service provider organizations, with members of the judiciary or, in limited instances, private law firms. Students work for one semester in a field placement under the supervision of an attorney, and participate in an Externship seminar which draws upon their work experience and enriches their understanding of the law, legal institutions, and the role of lawyers. The goal of the Externship seminar is to encourage student reflection on the practice of law, strengthen basic lawyering skills, and sensitize students to issues involving ethics and responsibilities. Seminar requirements include weekend attendance at the Externship seminar and the maintenance of a reflective journal of the student’s field work activities.

Family Law

3 Credits (600-647) This course concerns the formation and dissolution of family relations, including marriage, annulment, judicial separation and divorce, and rights and duties of husband and wife and parent and child.

Federal Courts

3 Credits (Prerequisites – Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law I) (600-648) This course critically examines the structure and authority of the federal courts. With a particular emphasis on the role the federal courts have historically played in vindicating federal constitutional and statutory rights, the course focuses on the persistent tensions that have arisen between the federal courts, the other branches of the federal government, and the states. Topics will generally include: the origins and scope of the power of federal judicial review, justiciability, the statutory and constitutional bases for federal court jurisdiction, Congress’ role in controlling the jurisdiction of the federal courts, the power of the federal courts to review state high court decisions and to enjoin state court proceedings, and civil rights litigation pursuant to Section 1983.

Federal Criminal Law

3 Credits (600-649) This course considers federal criminal law issues regarding federal criminal jurisdiction, and federal criminal statutes such as RICO, CCE, mail fraud, false statements, money laundering, and Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Federal Income Taxation of Individuals

3 Credits (600-662) This course is an introductory study of the federal taxation of individuals. Topics examined include identification of the taxpayer, concepts of gross income, deductions, exemptions, adjusted gross income, and credits. Consideration will be given to the goals of the tax law and the interaction of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government in the making, interpreting, and administering of the tax law.

Federal Taxation of Business Enterprises

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Federal Income Taxation of Individuals) (600-707) This course introduces the student to the federal taxation of business activities conducted in several forms: the sole proprietorships, partnerships, C corporations, and S corporations. In addition, the course will consider factors to be considered in selecting the form in which to conduct a business.

Food and Drug Law

3 Credits (600-663) This course introduces the student to the laws which have developed pursuant to the regulations in interstate commerce of food and drugs; identifies and isolates those legal theories, such as adulteration and misbranding, which are central to an understanding of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and also exposes the student to the particular set of legal enforcement tools including injunctions, seizures, criminal penalties, and recall used by the federal government in approving and regulating the interstate traffic in foods and drugs.

Gender and the Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-664) This course considers the effect of feminist jurisprudence and gender on the development of American law, legislative reforms and judicial doctrines, current civil rights issues, and the various judicial legislative, and administrative strategies that will be more effective in advancing the civil rights of women.

Government Contracts

3 Credits (600-665) This course is a survey of the law governing the placement and administration of federal government contracts. Topics covered include methods of awarding contracts; legal requirements for competition; concepts of responsiveness and responsibility; types of contracts; Minority Small Business, Small Business, and Women-owned Business programs and other federal socio-economic programs related to procurement; key contract provisions including Disputes and Changes Articles; contract termination; remedies and procurement litigation. Guest lecturers as appropriate.

Immigration Law

3 Credits (600-656) This course surveys the major laws and issues relating to immigration law and policy.

Independent Study

2 Credits (600-700) See the requirements for independent studies above. Permission is required to register and receive credit for independent study.

Insurance Law

3 Credits (600-658) This course presents a broad study of the law of insurance with special emphasis on the scope and effect of the insurance contract, insurable interests, warranties, representatives, waiver and estoppel.

International Business Transactions

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-668) This course will explore the law applicable to doing business internationally: the nature of overseas business (e.g., agency, branch, subsidiary); transfer of capital and technology; tax issues; regulation of investment and property by host governments; and dispute settlement. Applicable statutes, U.N. and OECD codes of conduct and other agreements will be studied. Specific case studies will be used.

International Economic Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-667) This course studies the nature, sources, and origin of international economic law and its impact on national law and policy. It covers Selected multilateral agreements, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as well as the laws and disputes resulting from their implementation. Particular attention is paid to the role of multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the United Nations. The specific focus of the course may vary from year to year.

International Law

3 Credits (600-661) This course introduces the basic principles and structures of international law and international legal institutions.

International Law of Human Rights

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-672) This course explores human rights as a subject of international law; the development in international law of human rights obligations on states both respecting their own citizens and citizens of other states; the interrelationship between civil and political rights and economic and social rights; the international and regional legal framework for individual and collective human rights. Emphasis will be on cases addressing human rights violations and the issues raised under international laws protecting human rights.

International Moot Court Team

2 Credits per year, pass/fail (year-long course) (skills course) (Prerequisite – LRRW) (600-807) The International Moot Court Team course is designed to guide interested students through the process of preparing for the Jessup International Moot Court Competition and other international competitions, if interest and class size permit or warrant participation in more than the Jessup competition. In the fall basic principles of international law are taught and approaches to analyzing the problem and writing the briefs are discussed. A competition is held to determine who will represent the school in which international moot court competitions.

International Sales

3 Credits (600-669) This course studies the law applicable to international sales (importing and exporting) and presents the transnational aspect of international trade. The course covers transnational issues (e.g., formation, warranties, breach, payment, remedies), financing (e.g., letters of credit), bills of lading, import restrictions and requirements, and dispute resolution, as well as other aspects of international sales. The U.N. Convention on the International Sales of Goods will be the focal point for certain aspects of the course.

Introduction to Anglo-American Legal System 3 Credits (LL.M. students only) (600-808)

Jurisprudence

2 Credits (Seminar) (600-673) This course is an introduction to the origin and development of the theories and philosophies of law including the perspectives of the Natural Law, the analytical and pure theory of law schools, the Historical and Sociological schools, and the American Realists as influencing our legal thought.

Labor Law

3 Credits (600-674) This course studies of the historical development of labor laws, the labor injunction, the constitutional aspects of picketing and strikes, collective bargaining, arbitration, and dealings between unions and members. Special attention is given to the Sherman, Clayton, Norris-LaGuardia and Taft –Hartley Acts.

Land Development and Planning

3 Credits (600-675) This course explores the methods and problems of private and public land-use controls including topics on the planning, regulation, allocation, conservation, development and renewal of urban land and its environs by private legal arrangements, the courts, and legislatures.

Land Finance

3 Credits (600-659) This course considers legal principles related to real estate finance, including mortgages, installment land contracts, mechanics; and materialmen’s liens, government financing aids, such as loan and mortgage insurance, and government regulation of private lending institutions.

Law and Aging

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-678) This seminar focuses upon the unique concerns of the aging population and the law, with emphasis on such topics as commitment and guardianship proceedings, estate planning, private pensions, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, nursing homes and age discrimination.

Law and Economic Analysis

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-676) This course surveys current developments with respect to the expanding role of economic analysis as a guide for the formulation of legal rules through critical analysis of competing political, economic, and social policy goals. Illustrative cases may be drawn from such areas as contract, property and tort, government regulation, the criminal justice system, and the civil litigation process. (An economics background is not necessary).

Law and Medicine

3 Credit (600-679) This course explores the areas in which law and medicine intersect, with special emphasis on protection of the patient’s legal rights, medical malpractice, consent, respondent superior as it relates to hospitals and employees, charitable immunity, good Samaritan statutes, malpractice (liability) insurance, hospital privileges and recent trends in the medico-legal area.

Law and Social Science

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-677) This course reviews the methodology of the social sciences (other than economics) so that future practitioners can use and understand social science research in representing clients. The course focuses on two primary roles for social science in the law: (1) using social science to create new law and (2) using social science to prove facts. The application of this methodology to a broad range of substantive legal areas will be examined, e.g., torts, constitutional law, criminal law. Prior training in social science methodology is not necessary.

Law Journal

4-6 Credits upon successful completion of 4 semesters participation, pass/fail (600-805) See the description of the Law Journal above. Students must commit to and complete all 4 semesters of work on the journal to receive credit.

Legal Accounting

3 Credits (600-660) This course teaches accounting theory and procedure in legal contexts, the analysis of problems of corporate and business finance and the interpretation of financial statements.

Legal Drafting

3 Credits (Skills) (600-681) This course teaches drafting techniques for non-litigation settings. Steps in the drafting process, canons of construction, style considerations, the plain language movement, and principles of organization are taught through textual readings, class discussion, and the study of legal documents. Students are required to complete selected drafting exercises.

Legal Problems in International Relations

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-708) This interdisciplinary seminar deals with interrelated novel problems confronting international law and related disciplines. Different topics will be examined from year-to-year with participation by other University faculty members and graduate students. Topics might include, e.g., the evolving international order systems relating to communications, information and economic relations; the development of the resources of the exosphere; the role of law, legal education and legal systems in the process of economic and social development; changing notions of state sovereignty and state and diplomatic functions, privileges and immunities.

Municipal Law

3 Credits (600-682) This course deals with the study of laws relating to the organization, development, control and maintenance of cities, towns, and communities, with special emphasis on black communities. The legal problems involved in decentralization are discussed. An investigation is under taken of the laws, ordinances and regulations involving municipal services and the constitutional implications regarding them.

National Moot Court

2 Credits per year pass/fail (Skills Course) (600-806)

Negotiating, Interviewing and Counseling

3 Credits (Skills Course) (600-683) _This course considers the ethical and practical roles of the attorney in interviewing witnesses and clients, in counseling clients , and in negotiating. Theories of effective interviewing, counseling, and negotiating, including a study of the underlying psychological processes, will be addressed. Students will be required to participate in simulations.

Patents and Trade Secrets

3 Credits (600-684) This course surveys basic patent and trade secret law. The course covers a variety of topics including patentable subject matter, conditions of patentability, enforcement of patents, and the basic law of misappropriation of trade secrets.

Pretrial Litigation Practice

3 Credits (Skills Course) (Prerequisite – Civil Procedure I) (600-685) This course focuses on the development of skills, strategies, and techniques required for effective pretrial lawyering. By integrating practice and theory through various simulation problems, the course emphasizes both written and oral skills development. Exercises will include the interviewing and counseling of clients; case management and planning, including development of case theories, both factual and legal; the formulation and drafting of pleadings; the drafting and presentation of motions; fact gathering techniques, including formal discovery; deposition strategy and taking; and the negotiation and settlement of disputes.

Property II

4 credits. No prerequisites. This is an intermediate course in real estate law. The course explores and discusses legal principles related to real estate conveyancing, finance planning and development.

We will cover the buying and selling of residential real estate – brokers, home purchase contracts, closings, deeds, recording acts, title insurance, contract remedies, promissory notes, mortgage loan fundamentals, and debtor’s and creditor’s rights.

We will also cover public and private land use controls which affect real estate development — easements, covenants, and equitable servitudes (“CC&R”), zoning, nuisance, subdivision regulation and eminent domain.

We will also take an introductory look at commercial land development, as well as government-sponsored and/or subsidized development, through field assignments.

Public Ethics Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-655) This course provides an overview of the law and legal issues associated with public ethics, focusing specifically on conflicts of interest; restrictions on outside and post-government service employment; gifts, gratuities and honoraria; and the disclosure of confidential information. The course also considers the selective enforcement of ethical standards; the ethical requirements associated with lobbying; and an analysis of the use of position and government property for direct or indirect personal gain.

Race, Law and Change

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-689) This course considers the impact of race on the development of American law legislative reforms and judicial doctrines, current civil rights issues, and examines the various judicial, legislative, and administrative strategies that will be most effective in vindicating and advancing civil rights.

Remedies

3 Credits (600-692) This course provides a substantive and procedural integration of equitable and legal remedies, including extraordinary writs and focusing primarily upon damages and other relief for the enforcement of contract, tort and trust rights. Sales and Secured Transactions 4 Credits (600-693) _This course provides an integrated study of the law of sales including C.I.F., F.O.B. and other sales agreements, and the law governing modern commercial credit transactions including embracing sales financing and security devices, with special emphasis on the Uniform Commercial Code Articles 2 and 9.

Securities Regulation

3 Credits (Prerequisite – Corporations) (600-694) This course focuses on federal securities laws. It explores the application of these laws to the distribution and trading of securities and the duties of participants in the securities transactions.

Small Business Law

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-695) This course provides a survey of the panoply of laws and regulations involved in the organization and maintenance of small business enterprises with special emphasis on the legal problems faced by black businessmen, such as financing, non-union shop restrictions, franchise acquisitions and zoning.

State and Local Taxation

3 Credit Hours (Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I & II) (600-696) This course focuses on the revenue sources used by state and local governments to finance governmental activities. A major portion of the course focuses on limitation imposed by the U.S. constitution (e.g., Commerce, Due Process, and Equal Protection clauses), federal statutes, and state constitutions on state and local governmental freedom to tax.

Trial Advocacy II

Credits (Pass/Fail) (Skills Course) (Prerequisites – Civil Procedure, Legal Reasoning, Research and Writing) (600-703) This yearlong course includes a demonstration of the trial of an action and common trial techniques; provides participation in simulated pre-trial practice, leading and strategy. It is oriented toward providing a laboratory experience in the presentation and introduction of evidence.

Urban Problems

3 Credits (Seminar) (600-699) This course is presented from the perspective of the lawyer’s function as an architect in devising or revising the framework of public and private institutions which deliver or should deliver urban services, e.g., health, housing, and human resources, and it is primarily concerned with an examination of the means by which the lawyer may enhance the prospects of “responsive” administration adequate to meet the pressing social tasks of metropolitan areas.

Wills, Trusts & Estates

4 Credit (600-651) This course addresses the doctrines of the law of interstate succession, wills, trusts, future interests and fiduciary administration which shape the non-commercial transmission of management of wealth at death or during life.

updated:September 21, 2012