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2017 Fall Residential Classes

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Students, please note: CampusWeb is the authoritative source for class information, so please refer to CampusWeb when making final registration decisions.

2017 Fall Residential Classes

ADR6410/Alternative Dispute Resolution

This class presents the theory and practice of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration that constitute the foundation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).  This survey course focuses on the theory and practice of these techniques that are used as alternatives or as additions to formal litigation.  Students will examine the different theories, approaches and the wide range of issues (e.g.

Professor(s)

Joan Vogel

Semester

2017 Fall

ADR6420/Negotiation

THIS IS AN INTENSIVE COURSE TO BE OFFERED OVER THE COURSE OF 4 DAYS. This course is designed to help you explore what it means to be an effective negotiator and to practice the skills needed to improve on this important life skill. You will be expected to learn and apply theories from a broad range of disciplines including law, economics, psychology, sociology and management. These theories will be discussed and debated in class discussions and practice through highly interactive simulations. The course examines the dynamics, constraints, and skills needed to be an effective negotiator.

Professor(s)

Donald "Tad" Powers

Semester

2017 Fall

ADR6424/Interviewing and Counseling

This is a simulation based course in which we explore and practice important tasks lawyers must perform skillfully when interviewing and counseling clients. We will: • Share and learn theories regarding core behaviors needed to prepare, conduct, and evaluate legal interviews and counseling conferences effectively; • Create opportunities to practice fundamental interviewing and counseling behaviors to develop new skills and improve existing competencies; and • Increase awareness of ethical and other core values that comprise effective interviewing and counseling.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

BUS6235/Corporations

This course will prepare you to understand and provide advice on the principal organizational forms used to structure businesses in the United States. These forms include corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, general partnerships and sole proprietorships. We will also examine the law of agency. Course coverage includes an introduction to securities regulation through the lens of insider trading. Method of evaluation: Final exam

Professor(s)

Oliver R. Goodenough

Semester

2017 Fall

BUS6361/eLaw: Discovery Data

95% of cases never go to trial; they are litigated to conclusion through pre-trial strategy and discovery. Discovery today is largely (estimates around 85%) based on discovering ESI. This course will prepare you for the modern practice of law, and teach the skills necessary to request, produce and manage documents in this age of electronically stored information. Beginning with the intersection of big data and the law and moving into data as ESI, this course will cover the forms and formats of modern production.

Professor(s)

Jeannette Eicks

Semester

2017 Fall

BUS6362/eLaw: Practice Management

Law firms require general business knowledge, legal practice specific business knowledge and knowledge of the technologies that enable support those functions. Today solo practices to large law firms are using practice management and litigation software to assist with the day to day operation of firms. Courts have in the direction of paperless filing and calendaring, indeed many courts only allow e-filing. Modernized courts have many opportunities for counsel to use technology to make a stronger case or as needed to present electronic evidence.

Professor(s)

Jeannette Eicks

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9302/Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic

Credit Hours: 6, 9, or 13 The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic functions as a public interest environmental law firm with a collegial atmosphere that encourages interaction and feedback among students and Clinic faculty. Under the supervision of experienced environmental attorneys, student clinicians represent community groups and conservation organizations in real-world cases and projects.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9310/South Royalton Legal Clinic - Full Time

Students work on a variety of civil cases, representing persons unable to afford private counsel. Cases are in such areas as Social Security; income maintenance; unemployment compensation; domestic relations; bankruptcy; landlord-tenant relations; consumer protection; juvenile law; representation of children; immigration; and assistance to prisoners. Student practice rules in state/federal courts allow students to file pleadings, conduct discovery, and make court appearances with the consent of the court and under attorney sponsorship.

Professor(s)

James C. May

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9312/South Royalton Legal Clinic - Part Time

Students work on a variety of civil cases, representing persons unable to afford private counsel. Cases are in such areas as Social Security; income maintenance; unemployment compensation; domestic relations; bankruptcy; landlord-tenant relations; consumer protection; juvenile law; representation of children; immigration; and assistance to prisoners. Student practice rules in state/federal courts allow students to file pleadings, conduct discovery, and make court appearances with the consent of the court and under attorney sponsorship.

Professor(s)

James C. May

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9315/South Royalton Legal Clinic - Class

Classroom component: Fall 2017-- two sections, students must attend one of the following daily for the first 3 weeks: 8:30 -- 9:45 AM or 2:10 -- 3:25 PM. NOTE: For both Fall sections, classes are held as scheduled Monday – Friday for the first 5 weeks. There are 5 consecutive class days to start; after that 11 (eleven) class days are spread throughout the following 4 weeks. Registration: You must apply to enroll in SRLC through the VLS Clinical Communication application system.

Professor(s)

James C. May

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9326/Advanced Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic - 6 Credits

Advanced ENRLC provides students an opportunity to take the Clinic for a second semester and build on their previous ENRLC experiences. Students will further develop their understanding of relevant substantive law and the lawyering skills introduced in the initial Clinic course. They will be expected to take greater responsibility for counseling clients, developing cases, and reaching resolutions consistent with client goals. They will also be expected to help novice clinicians approach the work of the Clinic.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9329/Advanced Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic - 9 Credits

Advanced ENRLC provides students an opportunity to take the Clinic for a second semester and build on their previous ENRLC experiences. Students will further develop their understanding of relevant substantive law and the lawyering skills introduced in the initial Clinic course. They will be expected to take greater responsibility for counseling clients, developing cases, and reaching resolutions consistent with client goals. They will also be expected to help novice clinicians approach the work of the Clinic.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9333/Advanced South Royalton Legal Clinic - 13 Credits

Students will further develop their understanding of law, broad philosophical, economic and scientific underpinnings of their work, and lawyering skills introduced in their initial SRLC experience. Students will be expected to take greater responsibility for cases and to mentor novice clinicians. Enrollment is by permission of the clinic director. Credits awarded are appropriate for the number of clinic hours worked.

Professor(s)

James C. May

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9336/Advanced South Royalton Legal Clinic - 6 Credits

Students will further develop their understanding of law, broad philosophical, economic and scientific underpinnings of their work, and lawyering skills introduced in their initial SRLC experience. Students will be expected to take greater responsibility for cases and to mentor novice clinicians. Enrollment is by permission of the clinic director. Credits awarded are appropriate for the number of clinic hours worked

Professor(s)

James C. May

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9339/Advanced South Royalton Legal Clinic - 9 Credits

Students will further develop their understanding of law, broad philosophical, economic and scientific underpinnings of their work, and lawyering skills introduced in their initial SRLC experience. Students will be expected to take greater responsibility for cases and to mentor novice clinicians. Enrollment is by permission of the clinic director. Credits awarded are appropriate for the number of clinic hours worked.

Professor(s)

James C. May

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9411/Semester in Practice

The Semester in Practice (SiP) Program is a field-based externship in which students apprentice (without pay) to lawyers in all areas of practice. The SiP is appropriate for students interested in self-directed learning under the supervision of an experienced legal professional or professionals with a JD (where appropriate) who work with and within: government (state, federal and local), NGO's, non-profit organizations, corporations and law firms.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9425/JD Externship - Part Time

The Part-Time JD Externship Program is a field-based externship in which student’s apprentice (without pay) to lawyers and JD professionals in all areas of practice. The part-time externship program is appropriate for students interested in self-directed learning under the supervision of an experienced legal professional working with and within: government (state, federal and local), NGO's, non-profit organizations, corporations and law firms.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9427/Energy Clinic

Through this course students will be introduced to the practical aspects of real world energy projects. Students will become involved in some aspect of the development or evaluation of sustainable energy projects and may have the opportunity to support the legal and policy requirements of a particular project or through the development of model legal documents to facilitate future projects. Current project areas include community solar development and other alternative energy systems.

Professor(s)

In Memoriam - Kevin B. Jones
Jeannie Oliver, LLM'14

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9428/Food and Agriculture Clinic

In the Food and Agriculture Clinic, students collaborate with local, regional, national and international partner organizations to develop and publicly disseminate law, policy and market tools that provide guidance to food system constituencies, including farmers, food entrepreneurs, consumers, legislators, and advocates, on how to advance law, policy and market initiatives that directly or indirectly promote (1) environmentally and economically sustainable agriculture, (2) public health, (3) food access and food security, (4) local and regional agriculture economies and (5) animal welfare.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9429/Food and Agriculture Clinic - Seminar

In the Food and Agriculture Clinic seminar, students explore the substantive laws and advocacy skills that underlie their clinic project work. Method of evaluation: The seminar is a letter grade A-F.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9430/Judicial Externship

The Judicial Externship Program is a field-based externship in which students apprentice (without pay) in judicial chambers. The Judicial Externship is appropriate for students interested in self-directed learning under the supervision of an experienced judge and judicial law clerk. The Judicial Externship will provide students the opportunity to learn about the process of judicial decision making by observing the function of a particular court while thinking about the management and administration of the court system.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9431/Judicial Externship - Seminar

The Judicial Externship Program is a field-based externship in which students apprentice (without pay) in judicial chambers. The Judicial Externship is appropriate for students interested in self-directed learning under the supervision of an experienced judge and judicial law clerk. The Judicial Externship will provide students the opportunity to learn about the process of judicial decision making by observing the function of a particular court while thinking about the management and administration of the court system.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CLI9437/Advanced Energy Clinic

The Advanced Energy Clinic explores at an advanced level, the practical aspects of real world energy projects from the stage of conceptualization, development, contracting, financing, regulatory approval and construction. Students will be further exposed to the state and federal statutes, rules, tax codes, and ordinances that apply to the development of energy projects particularly those that promote sustainability at the community level. Students will also review and/or develop purchased power and other commercial agreements governing these projects.

Professor(s)

Jeannie Oliver, LLM'14
In Memoriam - Kevin B. Jones

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7305/Advanced Criminal Law Seminar

Alternative Criminal Justice Programs This seminar will focus on Alternative Criminal Justice Programs and Responses. Using a national template known as the Sequential Intercept Model, students will be introduced to evidence-based approaches and programs at every stage of the criminal justice system that provide effective alternatives to the traditional model from arrest through release from incarceration.

Professor(s)

Robert Sand

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7307/Criminal Practice and Procedure

The course will focus on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Students will examine the constitutional principles of criminal procedure and how those principles are actually utilized in practice. This course will give students the basic understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of constitutional criminal law and procedure while at the same time learning the practical application of theory to practice.

Professor(s)

Anna Saxman '85

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7313/Capital Punishment

This seminar examines capital punishment as a legal process, using interdisciplinary materials and theory, litigation documents including briefs and recordings of oral arguments, and appellate opinions. The seminar also employs written narratives, movies, and popular cultural images and artifacts to explore this subject matter.

Professor(s)

Philip N. Meyer

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7318/White Collar Crime

White Collar Crime balances black letter law with current, high-profile examples of corporate felonies and fiascos. Topics include: conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, perjury, obstruction of justice, RICO, tax fraud, money laundering, and environmental crimes. In addition, we’ll cover administrative investigations, grand jury investigations, pleas, trials and sentencing. Method of evaluation: Take home exam or paper (AWR yes for paper)

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7331/Impaired Driving

Combining substantive law with actual criminal case documents, simulations, and hands-on practice in class, the Impaired Driving Course for 2L and 3L students will cover all aspects of DUI cases from arrest through prosecution and sentencing. This 3-credit course will meet one day per week and will be graded on a High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail basis. There are no prerequisites, although students might benefit from taking an upper level criminal law class before this course. The semester will culminate with a mock hearing or trial.

Professor(s)

David Cahill

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7350/Criminal Law Clinic

This course gives students the opportunity to experience criminal practice in either prosecution or defense settings under the close supervision of our distinguished practitioner-faculty members. Students will be placed in the prosecution, defense or appellate defense practice settings, and will receive classroom instruction once per week for two hours covering foundational aspects of Vermont criminal.

Professor(s)

Anna Saxman '85

Semester

2017 Fall

CRI7903/Race and the Criminal Justice System

Requirements: Can meet AWR This course will explore the connection between racial subordination and mass incarceration in the United States. The course is designed to develop some of the undercurrents of the introductory Criminal Law course, encouraging students to make connections between our emphasis on criminal law enforcement and the social costs. It will do so by reading the required text, Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow (2010) and related readings and film.

Professor(s)

Margaret Martin Barry

Semester

2017 Fall

DIV7610/Race and the Law Seminar

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to race as it relates to and is reflected in the law. The focus will primarily be on the role and experience of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans, and Native-Americans in American society, with attention to questions concerning critical race theory, class, family, and feminism. The course will also examine the way law relates to racial diversity in the United States. Method of evaluation: Final paper and AWR yes.

Professor(s)

Shirley Jefferson

Semester

2017 Fall

DIV7620/Native Americans

This course will focus on the constitutional, statutory and jurisprudential rules that make up the field of Federal Indian Law. Attention will be given to the historical framework from which the rules were derived. After tracing the development of the underlying legal doctrines which are prominent today, we will consider subject-specific areas of Indian Law like hunting and fishing rights, stewardship of natural resources, economic development (including tribal gaming and natural resource development) and protection of religion and cultural lifestyles.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5108/Intro to the Law and Policy of Agriculture, Food and Environment

This survey course brings together American law impacting agriculture and food and explores the traditional divisions between agriculture, food, and environmental regulation. The course provides a hard look at the agriculture and food production sector and involves not only an examination of traditional farming and food safety policies but the ways in which these policies intersect with environmental law and health care policy, as well as important sectors from local land use planning to international trade.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5112/Science for Environmental Law

This class: (1) Broadly surveys the science most relevant to environmental law, including i) climate science, ii) air pollution including both atmospheric chemistry and health impacts, iii) toxicology of pesticides, food additives and industrial chemicals, iv) forest and endangered species management, and v) human population and resource use. (2) Discusses how scientific thinking and culture differs from legal thinking and culture.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5115/Environmental Law

This course is an introduction to the law pertaining to environmental issues such as population, economic growth, energy, and pollution. Environmental problems are defined and alternative approaches for dealing with them are examined. Existing statutory efforts such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act are analyzed. Method of evaluation: Final exam

Professor(s)

David B. Firestone

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5122/Communication, Advocacy, and Leadership

This course reviews the broad spectrum of strategies and institutions through which public and environmental policy are changed, from legislation and litigation, to science and education, to grass-roots organizing and public messaging—each with its own important role and path to success, as well its real world practical and policy limitations. The larger lesson of the course is that there is no one single way to change public policy in a democracy, but rather there are a number of sites and agents of change; knowing what to use, how to use it, and when to use it are the keys to success.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5125/Land Use Regulation

This course reviews and evaluates the traditional American legal controls available to regulate the use of land, including local zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations, as well as more innovative techniques such as growth tempo controls, growth boundaries and transferable development rights. It examines the relevant statutory basis for these techniques and the constitutional limitations on their use, evaluates their effectiveness in controlling “sprawl,” and explores the relative roles of state and local government in land use regulation. Method of evaluation: Final exam. AWR: No

Professor(s)

Janet Milne

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5209/CERCLA Law and Policy

Examines CERCLAs broad liability and cost recovery provisions, emergency response and cleanup requirements that extend beyond the usual Superfund sites. Brownfields, natural resources damages, community involvement, recent Supreme Court decisions and statutory amendments will also be addressed. The course will examine how parties escape or limit liability through due diligence, defenses, pollution prevention, settlement, and cost allocation. Please see individual class descriptions by term.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5212/Climate Change and the Law

Climate change is the most profound social and environmental issue of the 21st century. This course will integrate the emerging science and law of climate change along with economic and inter-generational equity aspects of the problem. We will consider how existing federal laws such as the Clean Air Act may be used to address climate change as well as how new more comprehensive laws may be fashioned. Different policy instruments will be considered including carbon taxes and emissions trading.

Professor(s)

Pat Parenteau

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5218/International Climate Law

Students at Vermont Law School have the opportunity to learn about international climate change law and policy through both theory and first-hand observation. Selected students do applied learning in international environmental law by representing VLS as a non-governmental observer delegation at the annual Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The delegation is led by Professor Tracy Bach.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5226/Energy Law and Policy

The energy industry is both a key to the life that billions seek and America's most significant source of pollution. Environmental problems are the energy industry's most important constraint. This course examines key issues in American energy policy, and searches for ways to resolve or ease the strains which that policy puts upon environmental sustainability. We will review fundamental vocabulary and facts about our energy demands, evaluate sample regulatory orders and statutes and consider legal writings that address many of those elements from the perspective of legal review.

Professor(s)

Michael Dworkin

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5229/Environmental Issues in Business Transactions

An exploration the types of environmental risks and issues that are commonly confronted in a variety of business-related transactions such as the acquisition of all of the stock of a company, asset purchases, real estate deals, leases and financings. Special focus on how the environmental issues in transactions are identified and managed in the course of a deal. The unique environmental issues associated with the purchase and redevelopment of contaminated properties or so-called Brownfield sites are also covered.

Professor(s)

Mark Latham

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5235/Natural Resources Law

One third of the nation’s land base belongs to the American public and much of it is managed by the United States Forest Service and agencies of the Department of the Interior. Beginning with the creation of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, in 1872, and the protection of federal forest reserves in the 1890s, the United States practically invented the concept of public lands and in the process have left an enduring gift to the nation and the world. These federal lands traditionally provided timber, minerals and forage for a growing nation.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5245/Water Resources Law

Water is the planet's most precious natural resource. Deciding how it will be shared among competing demands is one of a society's most challenging questions. Water Resources Law is a review of the law and policies concerned with the allocation of water resources in the United States. This course will examine the three main systems of water law in the United States: Eastern riparian systems, the prior appropriation doctrine of the West, and the nationally diverse laws regulating the use of groundwater.

Professor(s)

John Echeverria

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5304/Comparative Environmental Law Research

This seminar is a research and writing seminar that will provide a framework and faculty supervision for students to engage in comparative environmental law research. The seminar will provide opportunities for students to work on U.S.-China environmental law research projects that will provide technical assistance to partners who engage in environmental advocacy and environmental law reform in China.

Professor(s)

Yanmei Lin

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5310/Environmental Health Law Seminar

This seminar will cover in a chronological fashion the events of the Flint water crisis with these on-going questions discussed and analyzed: What actually did happen at key steps during the crisis and what did each key leader/player specifically do? What could have been done differently by those key leaders at that step that would have changed what did happen for the better? The weekly reading materials will include press clippings from the news coverage of the crisis, along with the actual scientific studies, agency enforcement orders, court decisions, and other documents.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5335/Extinction and Climate Change

Human activities are causing a global extinction of plants and animals that rivals the five great extinction events over the earth's geologic history. Habitat loss, overharvest, invasive species and pollution have been the principal causes of this "Sixth Extinction." Climate change exacerbates all of these problems and poses even graver threats to global biodiversity. Ocean acidification –global warming's evil twin –threatens major damage to marine ecosystems.

Professor(s)

Pat Parenteau

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV5349/Regulating the Marine Environment

This course examines the laws and policies regulating natural resources management and environmental protection of the marine environment. The course considers conflicts between public and private uses of the coastal zone, as well as state and federal laws. The course also briefly addresses the interplay between domestic law and policy and applicable principles and rules of international law. The course will cover coastal management, the public trust, fisheries law and the law of the sea, the protection of marine mammals, ocean renewable energy development, and marine reserves.

Professor(s)

Laurie Beyranevand '03

Semester

2017 Fall

ENV6365/Climate Change - The Power of Taxes

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires long-term changes in behavior, and in a capitalist society, industry, businesses, and consumers respond to prices. Increases in the cost of greenhouse gases can reduce emissions, and reductions in the price of alternatives to fossil fuels can increase their use. This seminar explores the ways in which tax systems in the United States and elsewhere can send these negative and positive price signals.

Professor(s)

Janet Milne

Semester

2017 Fall

FAM7710/Estates

This foundation course examines gratuitous transfers of property. Included are practical studies of the drafting, execution, revocation, and construction of wills; will substitutes; inheritance; the administration of decedents’ estates; trusts and fiduciary relationships; inter vivos gifts; powers of appointment; future interests; and end-of-life planning. Special emphasis is placed on the relationship between lawyer and client in this context. Method of evaluation: Final exam. AWR (No)

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

FAM7715/Family Law

This course will examine the roles of law and of private ordering in family law contexts. Topics which may be included are marriage and divorce, child custody and support, alimony, property division, tax consequences of divorce, and family violence. The course will also look at various means of dispute resolution in the domestic relations area, including negotiation, mediation, and litigation. The course will include simulations and other exercises designed to develop practical skills and to consider substantive law through skill exercises.

Professor(s)

Susan B. Apel

Semester

2017 Fall

FAM7717/Family Law Practice Lab

This simulation-based course is designed to compliment the Family Law doctrinal course taught by Professor Apel. Students will develop litigation skills through simulated family law scenarios that can be carried into many general practice fields. Students will draft documents, argue motions, and learn from guest speakers during the two-hour workshop with ample opportunity for immediate feedback and support. The class will meet bi-weekly: 9/11, 9/25, 10/16, 10/30, 11/13, 12/4.

Professor(s)

Cara Cookson

Semester

2017 Fall

GPP7814/International Intellectual Property

The acquisition, transfer, valuation, and enforcement of intellectual property rights play an increasingly important role domestically and internationally. During this course, students will develop a fundamental understanding of patent, trademark, and copyright law and policy, and how these policies govern the design and implementation of national laws and the influence of culture on country practices involving protection of intellectual property.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

GPP7817/Criminal Procedure - Bail to Jail

Criminal Procedure: Bail to Jail is a 2 credit course designed to simulate practice using criminal cases. Students will be expected to complete two writing assignments and two in-class oral exercises. The focus of the class is substantive and practical criminal law and procedure. The class will also incorporate related issues, such as professional responsibility and ethics, client and witness contact and control, and issues collateral to criminal cases.

Professor(s)

Elizabeth Kruska

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7425/International Law

This course provides an introduction to international law and the international legal system. Using real-world examples, it examines the processes through which international law is made, interpreted and applied, exploring the role of states as well as that of international bodies, non-governmental organizations, and corporations and other non-state actors. The application of international law in domestic legal systems is examined, as is the reach of domestic law in the international arena. Method of evaluation: Final exam and class participation.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7426/Comparative Constitutional Law

This unique two-credit-hour course provides students with an opportunity to study Spanish constitutional law in Seville, Spain, during the week of Fall Break. The course is designed to provide students with an in-depth comparison of the U.S. and Spanish constitutional systems. An important objective of the course is to expose students to a constitutional system different from the U.S. system toward the end of making them aware that the U.S. approach to constitutionalism is not the only possible one.

Professor(s)

Peter Teachout

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7427/International Human Rights

This seminar provides an introduction to international human rights law and procedures, and provides students with initial training in how to use the advocacy tools available in this field to make a difference in the community and the world. The course examines what are "human rights" and explores the law of treaty interpretation; how human rights law is incorporated into domestic legal systems; and the role of international governmental organizations, international and regional courts, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in protecting human rights.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7428/International Regulation of Trade

There has never been a more critical or important time to study international trade law. In the recent U.S. presidential campaign, leading candidates on both the left and the right took aim at existing and proposed international trade agreements, threatening to drop out of proposed agreements and rip up existing ones with the promise of restoring American manufacturing jobs by doing so.

Professor(s)

Peter Teachout

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7437/Introduction to Chinese Law

This course intended to provide an introduction of contemporary Chinese law and legal institutions from a historical and comparative perspective. The course begins with a brief examination of the traditional Chinese legal system and an evaluation of China's legal reform before the establishment of the People's Republic of China (the PRC) and in the post-Mao era.

Professor(s)

Yanmei Lin

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7443/Forced Migration

This course will take as its focus the greatest instance of forced migration in Europe since the immediate aftermath of World War II. More than just an examination of the protection of migrants and refugees in general, this course will consider how the enormity of this particular migrant crisis has revealed the considerable fault lines in the law of this area.

Professor(s)

Pamela Stephens

Semester

2017 Fall

INT7456/Advanced International Legal Research

Advanced International and Foreign Legal Research The goal of this class is to clearly understand the sources of international and foreign law resources, which differ from the sources of common law. Article 38 of the International Court of Justice Statute provides the generally accepted basic sources of international law: treaties, custom, the general principles of law, judicial decisions, and the writings of the publicists. Foreign law research has its own peculiarities.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

JUR7303/Federal Courts

This course studies the role of the federal courts in our federal system and is designed to help equip students to effectively litigate challenging and complex civil matters.

Professor(s)

John Echeverria

Semester

2017 Fall

JUR7320/Judicial Opinion Writing

This seminar explores the judicial opinion writing process as distinguished from adversarial legal writing. Class readings, discussions, and written assignments will encourage students to critically examine decision and opinion writing of prominent jurists. Class assignments will encourage students to develop the understanding and skills needed to assist judges by drafting opinions, bench memos, and judicial research memoranda based on the briefs and records in previously litigated state and federal cases.

Professor(s)

Michael Hogan

Semester

2017 Fall

JUR7330/Moral Philosophy for Professionals

2/3 Credits
Enroll Limit 18

Professor(s)

Reed Elizabeth Loder

Semester

2017 Fall

JUR7333/Animal Law and Ethics

This course surveys American law affecting animals and examines its ethical foundations with an eye toward preparing students to advance legal reforms underway. The legal contexts of animal law include criminal law, torts, property, and estates. Interdisciplinary readings draw from ethology (study of animal behavior, mental processes, and capacities), moral theories on the status of animals as having rights and/or welfare interests, and applied ethics materials on animals used as resources in science, agriculture, entertainment, and conservation.

Professor(s)

Reed Elizabeth Loder

Semester

2017 Fall

LIT7210/Evidence

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

LIT7211/Evidence Lab

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

LIT7220/Trial Practice

This course covers the important aspects of a trial, including jury selection, opening statements, direct and cross examination, exhibits, objections, expert witnesses, and closing arguments. Each week students are assigned problems which present specific advocacy issues and which require role playing and examination of witnesses. The course culminates in a full, simulated trial. This is a “learn by doing” course and requires active class participation. Prerequisite: Evidence; may NOT be taken concurrently.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

LLM9606/LLM Seminar

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

MSC7905/Dean's Fellow

In this seminar, Dean's Fellows meet with the Director of the Legal Writing Program to discuss teaching strategies for the course. The Director begins each seminar by describing the lesson plan and expectations for the upcoming class. He then opens the floor for discussion. The seminar is a collaborative environment where Dean's Fellows share ideas to improve the experience for everyone.

Professor(s)

Greg Johnson

Semester

2017 Fall

PUB7500/First Amendment Law

This course covers the core issues of free speech, free press, freedom of religion, and the establishment clause. We will discuss important Supreme Court cases dealing with the following topics among others: advocacy of unlawful action; fighting words; hate speech; libel; revelation of private facts; obscenity; pornography; commercial speech; prior restraints; content-based vs.

Professor(s)

Peter Teachout

Semester

2017 Fall

PUB7510/Legislation

This course will focus on the composition and organization of legislatures and the Congress, legislative procedure, and the interpretation of statutes – the legislative product. The course will also explore the extent and limits of legislative powers vis-a-vis the executive and judicial branches of the federal and state governments. This course is actually two courses in one: a course on legal theory, and a course on legal writing. In that vein, it has both a theory component and a practical skills component, both of which are reflected in the weekly assignments.

Professor(s)

David Hall

Semester

2017 Fall

PUB7550/National Security Law

Legal and policy developments affecting war, peace, and related civil liberties interests have come quickly in the new Trump administration. These involve immigration and the role of courts in our democracy, the ongoing war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, targeted killing of terrorist suspects, security implications of climate change, cyber warfare, and NSA spying on Americans' email and phone calls.

Professor(s)

Stephen Dycus

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7102/Civil Procedure I

Professor(s)

Sean Nolon
Pamela Stephens

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7120/Legal Analysis and Writing I

Professor(s)

Greg Johnson

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7122/Legal Research

Professor(s)

Jane Woldow
Cynthia Lewis
Christine Ryan

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7130/Contracts

Professor(s)

David B. Firestone

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7140/Criminal Law

Professor(s)

Philip N. Meyer

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7150/Torts

Professor(s)

Mark Latham
Joan Vogel

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7175/Foundations of Legal Analysis

Professor(s)

Joe Brennan

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7185/Legislation and Regulation

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7186/Legislation and Regulation Survey

This course provides an introduction to public law, which consists of the rules and procedures that legislatures and administrative agencies develop and implement, subject to review and correction by the courts. Public law can be contrasted with private law, which traditionally has been developed primarily, if not exclusively, by the courts; private law includes, for example, the rules governing torts, like negligence.

Professor(s)

Melissa Scanlan

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7255/Appellate Advocacy

Professor(s)

Jared Carter
Beth McCormack
Brian Porto

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7265/Professional Responsibility

This course examines an attorney's obligations under ethical codes and law related to professional conduct. Students should acquire comprehensive knowledge of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and learn how to apply the Rules to resolve concrete ethical issues they may face in practice and on the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). Diverse areas of legal practice are covered with some special attention to issues facing environmental lawyers. Case studies and problems are the primary vehicles for learning. At least one simulation will be included.

Professor(s)

Reed Elizabeth Loder

Semester

2017 Fall

REQ7265/Professional Responsibility

Problem based study of lawyer's professional ethical obligations and issues of professional formation. Includes ABA Model Rules, ethical rules from selected jurisdictions - especially the jurisdictions where students may practice - and other laws and traditions governing lawyer's conduct. Class focus is on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to identify ethical dilemmas and the tools to help resolve them.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Fall

WRI7352/BEST - Bar Exam Skills and Tactics

Professor(s)

Kerriann Stout

Semester

2017 Fall