Prior Course Descriptions 2010-2013
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| Two Credit Externship | A student may take an externship that he/she has been selected for through the Externship Application Process for 2 credits. Students may also secure their own externship placement which is subject to approval by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. For more information about Student Secured Externship contact the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or Externship Coordinator. Students work 12-15 hours a week for a total of 168 semester hours engaging in a variety of legal work under the supervision of a judge or attorney. Students may not receive compensation for work done in the Externship. Students must secure a full-time faculty member to be an advisor prior to registering for the externship. Students meet with the faculty supervisor at least every other week, and the faculty supervisor must contact the supervisory attorney monthly during the term. Students are responsible for completing weekly journals and time sheets and writing a paper reflective of the clinical experience and the substantive law involved in the placement. The faculty advisor must approve the terms and conditions of the work and the subject and length of the paper. Students may take no more than two externships for a maximum of six academic credits during law school. The externship placements must be substantively different. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in an externship. A student may not simultaneously enroll on more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. Other requirements and further information about this course are available from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or Externship Coordinator. A 2 credit Externship Form must be completed for enrollment in the 2 Credit Externship Seminar. The Mandatory orientation for all students doing an externship in the fall semester is Thursday, August 16, 10:00am to 2:00pm. |
| Access to Justice | Equal access to justice for all is a bedrock principle of our democracy but what does that mean? What constitutes equal access? How is justice defined? And how, as a practical matter, can this principle be realized for the vast number of people whose low and moderate incomes prelude their hiring an attorney? This course will explore these and other questions which arise and emerging initiatives designed to assist self-represented (pro-se) litigants, and the responsibility of the courts in access to justice. This will be a seminar style course, limited to 20 students, and will focus in particular on the Massachusetts justice system, including the courts. There will be a heavy emphasis on discussion and guest speakers, as well as opportunities for field trips. Students will be responsible for a final project designed to enhance access to justice. Enrollment is limited to 20 students. |
| Administrative Law | This course examines the system through which a vast array of government power is exercised in the United States: the administrative process. Its focus will be the ways in which private interests are arranged, rearranged, and/or protected in that system against the background of the public interest. The course will address agency powers to gather and utilize information, promulgate regulations, and adjudicate rights and remedies under applicable statutes and regulations. Judicial review of adverse agency action will also be explored. |
| Advanced Criminal Law | This course's goal is both to broaden and to deepen the students' understanding of criminal law. We will study in depth matter not addressed-or covered only briefly-in the first year. Topics may include crimes (such as theft offenses, rape, attempt, complicity, and conspiracy), defenses (such as self-defense, necessity, duress, diminished capacity and mental illness) and both constitutional and prudential limitations on criminalization and punishment. |
| Advanced Environmental Law Seminar | This seminar will examine advanced environmental law topics at the forefront of current policy debates about how we balance the needs of environmental protection in an industrialized society. The seminar will include an in-depth consideration of the law and policy concerning global climate change, energy law, disaster response, international environmental law, and the intersection between environmental law and land use development. Students enrolling in the seminar must prepare a final paper, make a presentation to the class, and actively participate in class discussion. Students will work with the professor to select a topic for the research paper, which can be drawn from topics covered in class or another topic of interest to the student and acceptable to the professor. Prerequisite: Environmental Law: Pollution Control. |
| Advanced Legal Research & Writing | Advanced Legal Research and Writing is a qualified writing course that will further develop and refine the research, analysis, citation, and writing skills introduced in the first-year course. With close supervision and guidance, students will be expected to develop their own research strategies using a wide range of research materials. Students will be responsible for maintaining a research log and bibliography for each project. The writing component of the course will consist of trial motion memoranda, nonlitigation-drafting projects, or appellate briefs. The students will also present an oral argument and serve on an appellate panel, based on the appellate briefs. The course will include peer assessment, self-editing, small group, and individual conferences, and class presentations. The class will meet once a week for two hours. Enrollment is limited to 24 students. |
| Advanced Topics and Evidence | Advanced Topics in Evidence is Evidence II. It builds on the basic Evidence course in two ways. First, it explores in detail topics that are either not covered or are covered somewhat quickly in the introductory course: privileges, expert witnesses, burdens of proof and presumptions, and best evidence and authentication rules. Second, it deepens one's understanding of several basic topics - hearsay, impeachment and character evidence -- by examining their constitutional law underpinnings through a study of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Prerequisite: :LAW 553 Evidence. |
| Advanced Business Torts | Business Torts loosely refers to causes of action for economic harm between businesses or individuals acting within a business context, other than for breach of contract. This course will survey a variety of such causes of action not covered in depth in the basic contracts and torts courses, but which form the core of many lawyers' civil litigation practices. Topics covered may include breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation, tortious interference with contract and economic advantage, investor litigation, trade secrets, employment torts, unfair competition, and violation of state unfair trade practices statutes. Throughout the course, an emphasis will be placed upon the practicalities of business-related civil litigation, including strategy, the economics of business litigation and "best practices" lawyering. There is no casebook required for this course. All case materials and readings are available electronically or as handouts. |
| Advanced Criminal Law | This course's goal is both to broaden and to deepen the students' understanding of criminal law. We will study in depth matter not addressed-or covered only briefly-in the first year. Topics may include crimes (such as theft offenses, rape, attempt, complicity, and conspiracy), defenses (such as self defense, necessity, duress, diminished capacity and mental illness) and both constitutional and prudential limitations on criminalization and punishment. |
| Advanced Independent Study | In this form of independent study a student undertakes substantial and innovative study and research culminating in the writing of an original, high-quality research paper. The student work shall be overseen by a panel of at least two faculty members and shall culminate in the student making an oral defense of the research paper before the faculty panel. The subject matter of the paper shall be mutually agreed upon by the student and faculty supervisors. Periodic meetings shall be held with the student and the faculty supervisors to discuss the substantive area of the law the student is writing about and to review progress on the paper. All of the faculty members involved shall participate in the grading process. Before the student begins work, the faculty members shall decide the grading policy for the Independent Study: Advanced Research and that policy shall be communicated to the student. The faculty members must choose either a numerical (55-99) or a pass/fail grading system and must settle upon a method under which each faculty member involved has a voice in determining the final grade. Requirements: A student who has successfully completed 43 credits of law studies may take Advanced Research with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. An Advanced Research Form must be completed and signed by the faculty instructors and approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs before registration in Advanced Research. Each Advanced Research, including its scope, coverage, credit hours (from 1 to 3 credits), course guidelines, and method of grading must be approved by the faculty instructors and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs after full disclosure by the student of the content and scope of all prior independent studies (LAW 951 and LAW 952) undertaken by the student. A student may take up to 3 independent study courses at the Law School (including both LAW 951 and LAW 952). No more than 2 of the 3 may be taken in any one semester, and no more than 1 of the 3 may be taken under the sole instruction of any one faculty member. |
| Advanced Legal Research | This advanced legal research and writing tutorial will further develop and refine the research, analysis, citation, and writing skills introduced in the first-year course. With close supervision and guidance, students will be expected to develop their own research strategies using a wide range of research materials including traditional and on-line sources. Students will be responsible for maintaining a research log and bibliography for each project. The writing component of the course will consist of either a trial motion memo or a non-litigation-drafting project and an appellate brief. The students will also present an oral argument based on the appellate brief. The tutorial will include peer assessment, self-editing, small group and individual conferences, and class presentations. The class will meet once a week for three hours. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. |
| Advanced Research | This course offers an in-depth analysis of legal research methods and sources, covering both print and electronic formats. Classes will include a combination of lectures, discussions of readings and techniques, online training, and hands-on research exercises. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating the content and organization of research resources, and understanding their appropriate use. No prerequisites. This course can be used to satisfy the Professional Skills Requirement. Limited enrollment: 24 students. |
| Alternative Reproductive Technology | Just days after the turn of the last century, Justice O’Connor commented in a family law case that, “[t]he demographic changes of the past century make it difficult to speak of an average American family. The composition of family varies greatly from household to household.” Among these demographic changes and family composition are families formed by access to alternative reproductive technologies (“ART”). While some states have attempted to update laws to reflect the reality of the growing number of families created and shaped by access to ART, many more have exclusively had their legal regimes shaped by common law developments and a mosaic of regulatory and non-regulatory public policy. This course will focus on the broad range of topics with which individuals and their families intersect when accessing ART. Topics included, among others, will be: surrogacy; use, ownership and control of frozen embryos, second-parent adoption for non-genetic (sometimes same-sex) parents, insurance coverage, regulation of donor insemination; relevant provisions of uniform laws; and, role and enforcement of contracts in this area. The course will include a practice component as well as coverage of doctrine. A basic family law course is a prerequisite for this class. |
| American Legal History | This course overviews the development of American legal culture from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century During the four centuries of its history America and its legal culture have constituted an important part of a long historical process of modernization of western civilization that entailed massive changes in human life and culture. The goal of this course is, within the broad process of modernization, to study selected law and lawmaking related to the development of three concepts that are foundational to American legal culture. They are democracy, the market economy, and community,(and the sources of its authority). Within the context of these themes, the course considers a wide range of law and lawmaking. Examples include property, contract, tort, debtor-creditor, and constitutional law, as well as historic movements to codify American law. Since this is a QWC, each student will write three papers, constituting thirty pages of writing, throughout the course. American Legal History is a course in the Public Interest concentration. Enrollment is limited to 20 students. *Occasionally offered as a QWC. |
| Analytical Methods for Lawyers | This course will provide an introduction to the analytical tools that help lawyers think and act more strategically and effectively regarding their clients problems and the lawyers practices. These tools are important to resolving increasingly complex decisions and understanding and applying commonly used quantitative analyses. Much of the subject matter will be taught through real world exercises that are derived from legal problems that lawyers must frequently resolve. The course's subject matter includes: decision analysis, game theory, strategical contracting, finance, and statistical analysis. |
| Antitrust Law | This course is a study of the legal devices used to control private economic power and competition among business enterprises. It includes an examination of the legal restrictions on monopoly, horizontal and vertical trade restraints, and, to the extent time allows, mergers under the Sherman, Clayton, and Federal Trade Commission Acts. |
| Bankruptcy | This timely course constitutes an intensive overview of federal bankruptcy law. The course begins with the Chapter 7 and 13 liquidation and reorganization provisions of the Bankruptcy Code available to consumer debtors and goes on to examine the Chapter 11 reorganization provisions of the Bankruptcy Code available to business entities. Students are exposed to the perspectives of both debtors and creditors in the bankruptcy process. Students may not enroll both in this course and in LAW 719 Debtor-Creditor Relations. It is strongly recommended that LAW 746 Secured Transactions be taken previously or concurrently. |
| Bar Prep | This Bar Exam Preparation Course is designed to prepare students for the bar exam and their eventual legal practice. The course will provide a refresher on the substantive law tested on the Multistate and State portion of the bar exams and delve into the development of test-taking skills, including both essay and multiple choice portions of the exam. This will include how to read, analyze, structure, and write essays. Further, the course will expose students to the multiple-choice questions on the Multistate exam. This will include teaching how to critically read fact patterns and answer/choices, to properly assess wrong answer choices, and to avoid common traps and pit-falls. The final syllabus and assignments will be based upon a diagnostic assessment to determine the areas where the class would benefit the most. Students will receive detailed feedback on their essay writing and multiple-choice skills. |
| Bioethics | This is a survey course that will cover a variety of bioethics topics through the lenses of law, ethics, medicine, and public policy. Topics may include reproductive technologies and rights, medical decision-making, end of life care, distributive justice topics, and research on human subjects. This course also serves as a prerequisite to the QWC: Topics in End-of-Life Law. |
| Business Organization | This course focuses on the fundamental conceptual framework of business organizations law including the formation and conduct of business in the partnership, corporate, and limited liability company forms. It provides an introduction to the terminology of business organizations and finance, and transmits some sense of what a business lawyer does. (Required Course) |
| Business Planning | The course focuses on the legal issues arising in connection with the start-up and operation of closely-held business enterprises and the role of the lawyer as an advisor to these entities and their owners. Numerous case studies are used to expose the student to a broad range of structural planning issues and the practical and analytical challenges of the planning process. There is a heavy emphasis on planning traps and creative planning strategies. Different types of closely held businesses are analyzed, compared, and contrasted in case studies that raise important issues in co-ownership planning, enterprise funding, choice of entity planning, multiple entity planning, owner compensation, life insurance planning, structuring profit and capital interests, profit distribution planning and diversification, exit and business transition planning, employee relations and benefits, and retirement planning. Numerous drafting considerations and implementation mechanics also are reviewed. The course is designed to broaden the student=s substantive knowledge on a broad range of issues and to help the student develop three essential planning skills: (1) the ability to identify and address business objectives, not just legal issues, (2) the ability to evaluate and apply specific strategic options, and (3) the ability to effectively communicate with non-lawyers. Prerequisite: Completion of LAW551, Business Organizations, although LAW 747, Income Tax I is NOT a prerequisite, students should be prepared to learn some tax matters during this course. |
| Business Planning & Advising | This seminar examines the legal problems faced by entrepreneurs during the early stages of start-up and operation. This course will acquaint students with many of the legal issues associated with entrepreneurial ventures including choice of entity, financing arrangements, ownership agreements, and general business issues. The objective is to give participants an introduction to the legal problems they are likely to encounter as lawyers for the enterprise. Prerequisites: Completion of LAW 551, Business Organizations and completion or concurrent enrollment in LAW 747, Income Tax II. Recommended, but not required: LAW 717, Corporate Tax or LAW 671, Partnership Tax. Limited to 16 students. |
| Chinese Law | China is the most populous country in the world, and in many respects its law and legal system are unique. This course will begin with a brief review of the historical development of law in China, and some of the forces that have shaped it. It will also take a look at how law is made in contemporary China, and at its legal profession. But in the main the course will consist of studying the various fields of contemporary Chinese law. There will be an examination at the end of the course that will constitute the primary basis for the grade each student receives. |
| Civil Procedure | The object of this course is to introduce the student to the civil litigation process, including the attendant jurisdictional questions, court organization, and pleadings and rules of practice in state and federal courts. In addition, an analysis of the litigation process is undertaken, with emphasis on discovery, pretrial procedures, trial, judgment, and appellate review of the decision. (Required Course) |
| Civil Rights & Policing Misconduct | This course offers an introduction to federal civil rights litigation, principally under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, in the context of claims of misconduct such as wrongful arrest, imprisonment, and other wrongful denials of liberty; wrongful prosecution; excessive force; illegal search and seizure; wrongful interference with first amendment rights; and failure to protect. It will also examine immunity, defenses, and supervisory and government liability. |
| Closely Held Business | As part of the advanced curriculum in the law of business organizations, this course provides an in-depth analysis of the myriad legal problems involved in the formation and operation of closely held businesses, i.e., those businesses whose ownership interests are not publicly traded. We will consider unincorporated business entities - including the general partnership, the limited partnership (LP), the limited liability partnership (LLP), and the limited liability company (LLC) - as well as the incorporated closely held business in the form of the close corporation. The main issues discussed for each form of business organization are the mechanics of entity formation; management and control of the closely held business; financial rights and liabilities of the entities owners; fiduciary duties among the entities owners; the transferability of entity ownership; and exit rights during dissociation and dissolution. Prerequisite: Law 551 Business Organizations. |
| Commercial Loan Documentation Drafting | The area of commercial law involves the application of practical skills introduced in payment systems, secured transactions and bankruptcy. This course will offer the student the opportunity to acquire ‘hands on’ experience in the drafting of commercial loan documents. Specifically, this drafting course will take the student through the particulars of a commercial lending transaction from the drafting of the commitment letter through the opinion letter at closing. Each student will prepare and submit certain assigned integral documents to close such a financing. |
| Comparative Constitutional Law | This course explores topics arising in the comparative study of constitutional systems and law, including those of Canada, Germany, India, South Africa and Great Britain. The course will first address structural issues, including comparative approaches to the separation of powers, judicial review and federalism. The remainder of the course will address comparative approaches to individual rights, including reproductive rights, freedom of expression and the rights of minorities. Throughout, we will consider how comparative constitutional study can offer insights into our own system, and the legitimacy of U.S. lawmakers or judges relying upon or referring to foreign constitutional law. Students will be evaluated on written thought responses to the reading assignments, a presentation and a short research paper. Limited to 20 students. |
| Conflicts of Law | This course deals with the legal ramifications of disputes involving connections with two or more states. When such disputes reach the courts, what law should be applied and how should the determination be made? The course explores choice of law questions and the various methods and theories courts and scholars have proposed and adopted to answer them. The contrasting points of view regarding choice of law are analyzed in terms of which policies best promote the goals of individual states, as well as harmony and efficiency in the federal system. The course may also deal, briefly, with constitutional questions concerning choice of law, judicial jurisdiction, and recognition of judgments. |
| Constitutional History | This course traces the institutional growth of the Supreme Court from its early tentative beginnings to its present strength while examining the Court's role in the historical development of the United States from the Founding to the Constitutional Revolution of 1937. Students will study selected decisions of the Court in their political, economic, and social context with emphasis on the changing character of the Court, the impact of great justices, and the influence of extra-legal elements in constitutional decision making. The class will address, among other topics, the Court's role in promoting economic development, slavery and race and the Constitution, civil liberties during wartime, and the limits of judicial power. Students will do significant reading in secondary materials in addition to reading the cases considered. |
| Constitutional Law | This course is a study of the allocation of governmental authority and the limitations on that authority as defined by the Constitution of the United States. The course will deal with the problems of defining the scope of federal power, the relationship between the federal government and the states, the scope of state authority, and the rights of individuals with an emphasis on those rights guaranteed by the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Constitution. (Required Course) |
| Consumer Protection | This course will deal with federal and state statutes and regulations that protect the consumer. This course will cover the fundamental causes of action and defenses in current consumer protection law. The course will examine common law antecedents of modern consumer protection law, contract and tort-based causes of action, consumer credit, compulsory disclosure statutes and consumer contract formation issues. Limited to 6 students. Prerequisite: Evidence and Consumer Protection |
| Contracts | This course introduces students to the law governing the entrance into legally enforceable agreements. With a focus on the rights and duties of contracting parties. In focusing on how promissory relationships are created by the parties, the course emphasizes how these relationships are interpreted, limited, discharged, breached, and enforced. Ethical and equitable considerations affecting the contracting parties, as well as professional and business utilization of contracts, are also studied. |
| Conveyancing | This course concerns the legal aspects of the purchase and sale of real estate, beginning with the real estate broker and concluding with the closing process. The course covers in detail the purchase and sale agreement and remedies for the breach of the agreement; title examination and title insurance; property description and deed drafting; RESPA forms and regulation and closing adjustments; the closing process; and ethical considerations in representation of parties in real estate transactions. Enrollment limited to 45 students. |
| Copyright Law | This course will focus on the legal protection given the creators of literary, artistic, musical, and related works. The course emphasis will be on copyright law's attempt to balance the rights of creators with the public's interest in access to creative works. |
| Corporate Tax | A study of that body of law devoted to the federal taxation of corporations with emphasis on the tax problems of small businesses, including the formation, structure, and distribution of profits by corporations. Also studied are stock redemptions, accumulated earnings, and personal holding company taxes. Taxation of partnerships will be included in the three-credit course. Prerequisite: LAW 747, Income Tax II. |
| Criminal Law | This course deals with the competing interests and policies that come into action when the individual clashes with society. The course also explores the underlying philosophical premises of various penal rules. The theories and purposes of punishment, the relationship between law and morality, definitions of criminal intent, principles of necessity, justification and excuse, and inchoate crime and group criminality may also be studied. (Required Course) |
| Criminal Law Clinic | Students in the Criminal Clinic work as student assistant district attorneys within the Hampden County District Attorney's Office. By court rule, students in the Clinic are authorized to practice in any District Court case, which includes a mix of both misdemeanors and felonies. Typical of the offenses litigated by students in the District Court are possession and/or distribution of controlled substances, domestic violence offenses including assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and violation of a restraining order, larceny, assault and battery on a police officer, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. During the course of the semester, a student attorney will appear in three different sessions of the District Court: the arraignment session (in which students represent the Commonwealth in bail hearings), the motion session (in which students prepare and litigate oppositions to motions to suppress and motions to dismiss) and, ultimately, the trial session (in which a student prepare and litigate jury and jury-waived trials.) This clinic allows students to gain substantial exposure over the course of the semester to the entire process of litigating a criminal case. In addition to the fieldwork as a student attorney within the Hampden County District Attorney's Office, there is a classroom component which operates as a combination seminar/simulation. This part of the course is quite intensive for the first three or four weeks of the semester as well as the week prior to the start of classes. Students must attend a two day orientation the week before classes begin, no exceptions will be made to this mandatory orientation. Following this initial training period, the class will meet at the designated time for a two-hour session on a weekly basis for the balance of the semester. Prerequisites: LAW 553, Evidence and LAW 706, Criminal Procedure Investigation. Enrollment is limited each semester to eight third-year full time and fourth-year part time students who have been selected through the clinic application process. No student may maintain outside legal employment while participating in this clinic. All students will be CORI/criminal records checked by the District Attorney's Office. A student is required to be SJC Rule 3:03 eligible. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in a clinic. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. |
| Criminal Pre-Trial Practice | This course is aimed at developing student written and oral advocacy skills in the pre-trial phase of criminal litigation. The course will concentrate on the pre-trial stages of a hypothetical criminal case. The course will allow students to work on this case from the pre-trial conference up to jury selection. Students will brief and argue typical evidentiary and discovery motions arising prior to trial. The course will also address pre-trial strategies and preparation, including motions in limine and jury instructions. At the end of the term students will present oral arguments on motions to suppress statements, identification and evidence. The course will require at least 4 hours of preparation per session. Class attendance is mandatory. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. |
| Criminal Procedure: Adjudication | This course examines the constitutional basis of criminally accused persons' post-arrest rights, in the context of, e.g.: bail and pretrial release, discovery, the right to counsel, guilty pleas, burdens and standards of proof, selection and composition of the jury, confrontation, effective assistance of counsel, jury instructions, double jeopardy, and other rights incident to criminal trials, appeals, and collateral review. Completion of LAW 706 Criminal Procedure: Investigation is NOT a prerequisite to enrollment in this course. |
| Criminal Procedure: Investigation | This course examines the constitutional limits on police investigations. The course focuses primarily on the development of federal constitutional law (4th, 5th, and 6th amendments) in the United States Supreme Court as a way to balance society's need for effective law enforcement against the rights of individuals to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, coercive interrogations, and unfair pretrial identification procedures. Completion of LAW 796 Criminal Procedure: Adjudication is not a prerequisite to enrollment in this course. |
| Criminal Procedure: Simulation | This course concentrates on the procedural stages of two hypothetical criminal cases from arraignment through trial. The principal purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to improve their writing and trial skills in the context of preparing and trying a state criminal case. Students will be required to research, write and re-write pretrial motions along with supporting affidavits and memoranda of law and to litigate two simulated exercises, a pretrial motion to suppress and a jury trial. Prerequisites: LAW 706 Criminal Procedure: Investigation and LAW 553 Evidence. Students, who have not taken or registered to take LAW 905 Criminal Law Clinic, will be given priority in registering for this course. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. |
| Critical Race Theory | (CRT) examines how the social category of race is defined and produced by the law but also how race shapes and gives meaning to the law. CRT challenges both the substance and style of conventional legal scholarship by rethinking or outright rejecting formal notions of equality, individual rights and color-blind approaches to solving legal problems. By deploying both controversial and innovative methodologies, Critical Race scholarship has transformed how we understand the relationship between race, social power, and the law. This course will discuss the origins and major tenets of Critical Race Theory, examine the development of Critical Race Theory as a significant paradigm of legal scholarship and advocacy, and outline its connection to Critical Legal Studies, Feminist Jurisprudence, and Queer Theory. |
| Cyber Crime & Digital Evidence | This course is designed to be an introduction to Cyber Crime and Digital Evidence. In this course, the students will explore how our current age of information and technology offers new challenges to the existing framework of not only criminal law but also criminal procedure, particularly within the investigative arm of the Fourth Amendment. We will discuss the use of digital evidence in criminal cases and offer a broader framework of digital evidence within the context of the Fourth Amendment. Key questions include: How has the age of information and technology spawned new types of crimes? What new techniques and practices are required to identify cybercriminal activity? How are law enforcement agencies responding to the dangers that cybercrimes create? This course will explore a range of central issues from deciphering the existence of a person's reasonable expectation of privacy in cyberspace to how law enforcement techniques are shifting from traditional mechanisms of crime control to new regulatory rules, including the use of technology. |
| Discovery & Depositions | Students will be provided with information upon which to write a complaint and answer, interrogatories, and request for production of documents. Students will then attend case theory sessions. The focus of the class shifts to skills-based training on how to take and defend effective depositions in the context of formal discovery. The main focus of the course will be on developing technical discovery skills. This course is interactive and will conducted in a style that replicates as closely as possible the actual discovery experience with an emphasis on the taking of depositions. Through a combination of classroom exercises and lectures, students will learn: What the discovery process is all about: Basic written discovery skills (complaint, answer, interrogatories, requests for production); How to develop a preliminary case theory; How to prepare one's own witness for deposition; How to prepare for the deposition of an adverse party/witness; Starting the deposition and the usual stipulations; How to take the deposition of an adverse party/witness; How to defend a deposition; The ethics of witness preparation and of taking the deposition; How to use a deposition (dispositive motions, settlement, trial, impeachment). Time permitting the class may also cover other aspects of litigation strategy and/or an exercise on negotiating and settling a case. Enrollment is limited to 16. *Occasionally offered as a Professional Skills Course. |
| Dispute Resolution: Negotiation, Arbitration, Mediation | NOT A SKILLS NOT LIMITED ENROLLMENT This course will focus on negotiation and other methods of dispute resolution, with emphasis on negotiated settlement, mediation and arbitration. Negotiation theory and alternative tactics and strategies will be examined, with focus on practical skills by way of example and simulated exercises. Various methods of alternative dispute resolution will be discussed in the context of different areas of legal practice and substantive law. Students who have taken LAW609, Negotiation: Strategies & Practice may not enroll in this course. |
| Domestic Violence | This course combines a scholarly and practice-oriented approach to understanding the legal response to domestic violence. Throughout the course, we will focus on the social context of battering, including how the experience of abuse is shaped by race, cultural identity, economic status, immigration status, sexual orientation, and disabilities. We begin with how the law recognizes domestic violence in relation to divorce, child custody, support, visitation, and the child protection matters. We will then cover the various legal remedies in both civil and criminal contexts and examine their efficacy. These include tort liability for batterers, federal remedies for survivors, such as the Violence Against Women Act, and the role of protective orders in both civil and criminal courts. Violence against women as a human rights violation, sexual assault law, and the role of the domestic violence movement are also introduced. The focus of this course is to examine current challenges and shortcomings in the legal response to domestic violence, then draft proposals for alternative strategies for systemic change. |
| Elder Law | This course will focus on the legal problems associated with the elderly and the aging. Areas of instruction will include social, psychological, legal, and financial aspects of planning for the elderly. Topics of special concern will include Medicaid benefits, nursing home institutionalization, estate planning, and social security benefits. Other topics to be discussed will include abuse of the elderly, insurance issues, tax issues, health care proxies and guardianship issues, and creating and maintaining an elder law practice. |
| Electronic Discovery | This course is an introduction to the legal and practical issues related to electronic discovery and the use of electronic evidence in legal proceedings. Attorneys engaged in litigation must ensure compliance with the rules and regulations governing the preservation and production of electronically stored information. Lawyers and clients nationwide are struggling with the practical challenges of electronic discovery and the law is continuously evolving. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the legal rules governing discovery and develop practical knowledge and key analytical skills that can be used in practice. |
| Employment Discrimination | This course concerns discrimination in the workplace, with emphasis on different theories of discrimination and the application of those theories in a variety of settings. The primary focus is on the text and interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991. Other areas studied may include the Age Discrimination Act of 1967, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Occasionally offered as a QWC. |
| Employment Law | This course provides a foundational survey of key state and federal laws that protect employee rights and employer interests in the workplace. After beginning with a discussion of the various legal paradigms implicit in workplace regulation, the course is organized around five themes: (1) The Rise and Questionable Fall of At-Will Employment; (2) Job Security, Employee Mobility & Workplace Freedom; (3) Wage and Hour Legislation; (4) The Laws Governing Workplace Accidents and Safety, and (5) Private Dispute Resolution and Arbitration in the Workplace. The course will address these themes in the context of a globalized labor market, the safety net protecting the low-wage workforce, non-standard work arrangements, and the impact of web-based communications in the workplace. For questionable pedagogical reasons, "employment law" is usually separated from the study of "labor law." and from "employment discrimination law." Consequently, by design the course does not cover in great depth the National Labor Relations Act public sector labor law, or the laws protecting workers from status-based discrimination (e.g. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act the Americans with Disabilities Act). However, the course does introduce these laws and the legal rules governing the right to form unions and collectively bargain as well as the protections afforded to employees because of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, etc. The readings are inevitably somewhat eclectic and the structure of this course attempts to grapple with what are truly academic distinctions separating one area of workplace law from another because employers and employees routinely grapple with workplace disputes that arise under a complex web of interrelated and sometimes conflicting legal rules. There is a final exam in this course. |
| Entertainment Law | This course is designed as an introduction to the legal, business, creative, and ethical aspects of the practice of law in the firm, television and music industries, providing an overview of key areas such as contractual practices, personal and intellectual property rights, compensation, and creative control issues. While not a course on copyright or contracts, our focus will include an examination of the interaction between these disciplines and the arts, as well as an exploration of current topics such as grants of rights, duration of copyright, licensing, fair use, exclusivity, rights of privacy and publicity, and litigation. Prior completion of a course in Copyright Law is highly recommended but not mandatory. |
| Environmental Law Pollution | This course is an intensive study of the major pollution control programs in the United States, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Superfund. In addition to the general characteristics shared by each, the course will consider several recurring issues of the administrative state, namely the interpretation of complex and programmatic statutes, the nature of administrative authority, and litigation strategies within statutory regimes generally. |
| Estate & Gift Tax | This course is a study of the fundamental principles of federal taxation on property transfers at death and during the life of the transferor, including those transfers in contemplation of death, and those with life estates retained and retention of power to control. Consideration is also given to the martial deduction, the tax effects on various types of property transfers, and the generation-skipping tax. Prerequisite: Law 511 Property |
| Estate Planning | This course is the study of the inter vivos and testamentary disposition of accumulated wealth. Students draft simple and complex estate plans. Emphasis is given also to the tax and non-tax considerations that influence the transfer and future management of wealth. Prerequisites: LAW 722 Estate and Gift Tax and LAW 748 Trusts & Estates. Enrollment limited to 20 students. |
| Evidence | This course is an introduction to the basic rules of evidence governing the proof of facts in criminal and civil trials, with a focus on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Topics covered may include the role of the judge and jury; relevance; hearsay and its exceptions; character evidence; and the competency, examination and impeachment of witnesses. Classroom method focuses on discussion of selected problems and cases and aims at providing a foundation for advanced courses in evidence (such as Advanced Topics in Evidence and the Scientific Evidence seminar, trial advocacy, and criminal procedure), while providing all students with a common grounding in the basic rules of evidence. (Required Course) |
Prior Course Descriptions
2010-2013
A-E
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| Family Law | This course examines the relationship between family and law. Topics addressed include legal definitions of "family" taking into consideration both the marital and non-marital family; rights and obligations among family members; the federal and state government's role in family life as well as the constitutional limits on government involvement; dissolution of family including issues of property distribution, alimony/support, and the implications of children; jurisdiction; and the role of the attorney in family formation and disputes. |
| Federal Courts & Jurisdiction | This course focuses on the role of the federal courts under the American system of dual (national and state) sovereignty and divided national governmental power among the branches. More specifically, we will study: (a) the constitutional allocation of power and responsibility to enforce federal rights between federal and state courts; (b) the power of Congress to control jurisdiction over federal claims; (c) the sovereign immunity of state governments; (d) Article III limitations of federal judicial power; and (e) the conditions under which federal courts abstain from deciding cases within their jurisdiction. |
| Federal Pension Rights | This simulation course focuses on the pre-trial stages of a hypothetical ERISA case in federal district court. Although some aspects of substantive ERISA law will be addressed, the chief aims of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to improve their writing, oral advocacy, and negotiation skills and to consider the strategic, political, and ethical dimensions of federal court litigation. Each student will be required to write several briefs and to present at least one oral argument. In addition, each student will draft a complaint or an answer, draft a discovery plan, prepare for a pre-trial conference, and engage in settlement negotiations. This is a Restricted Withdrawal class which means that a student enrolled in the class may not withdraw subsequent to the second class of the semester (see, Academic Standards Part A, VI, B). Enrollment limited to 24 students. |
| Federal Tax Practice & Procedure | This course will include the study of the U.S. tax system, the administration of the Internal Revenue Code by the Internal Revenue Service, procedural Problems in requests for administrative rulings, the handling of audits, the treatment of tax deficiencies and tax penalties, closing and compromise agreements, statutes of limitations, hearings before the Appeals Office, litigation in the U.S. Tax Court, the Federal District Court, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, collection matters, and criminal and civil aspects of fraud. Prerequisite: LAW 555 Income Tax I. |
| First Amendment Rights | This course is a basic introduction to the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment. Among the topics to be studied are the special problems of particular kinds of speech, including advocacy of violence as a political solution, libel, obscenity, profanity, hate speech, commercial speech, and symbolic speech such as flag burning. The course will also examine techniques employed by the government to censor speech, such as prior restraints and time, place, and manner regulations, as well as rights of access to public property such as streets and parks to engage in expressive activities. |
| Forensic Evidence | This course will examine the evidentiary foundations necessary for the introduction and use of forensic evidence in both criminal and civil trials. Special emphasis will be placed on the practical application and use of complicated scientific evidence including medical evidence, DNA, ballistics, arson, fingerprints, toxicology and psychological/psychiatric testimony. The frame work around which these issues will be discussed are the Daubert/Lannigan cases and their progeny. It is highly recommended that students have completed a course in basic evidence Law 553 prior to enrollment. |
| Franchise Law | Even in these challenging financial times, distribution through franchising continues to be a vital engine driving the U.S. consumer economy. An estimated ten percent of the gross output of the private sector is related to franchised business. In this course, we will create competing virtual franchises that will explore the areas of the law that define and shape franchising: trademarks, contracts, state and federal laws & regulations, antitrust and conflict resolution. |
| Gender & Criminal Justice | In Spring 2013, Professor Shay will be offering the Gender & Criminal Law course in an "Inside-Out" format. "Inside-Out" is a national program based at Temple University that trains professors nationwide to offer courses in which half of the participants come from their home academic institution and half are residents or inmates of correctional facilities. The goal is to produce a transformative educational experience for both sets of participants; to engage in meaningful dialogue about criminal justice and social issues; and to break down barriers and stereotypes. You can read more about Inside-Out at http://www.insideoutcenter.org. This spring WNE's "Inside-Out" class will be held in conjunction with the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center a minimum security residential treatment facility located on Howard St. in Springfield, MA http://www.hcsmass.org/wmcac.htm. Your classmates will include men and women who are completing their sentences at Howard St. working on their recovery and return to the community. The course will cover law reform movements in the areas of rape and domestic violence, as well as gender issues in sentencing, corrections, and reentry. Most of our classes will be held on Friday mornings at the Howard St. facility, although some might be at WNE. This course will be especially valuable for those who hope to work in the criminal justice system, as prosecutors, defense attorneys, lawyers for correction agencies, civil rights attorneys, or legal services lawyers. However, other students will also benefit from the unique educational experience. Enrollment will be limited. Applicants will need to undergo a background and criminal records check, and to submit a 250 word statement of interest to Professor Shay. You must submit the 250 word statement of interest to Professor Shay and be selected for the program before you can register with the Registrar's Office. Participants will also need to commit to adhering scrupulously to the rules of the program, which Professor Shay will outline during the initial class sessions. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Professor Shay at gshay@law.wne.edu |
| Gender & the Law | This course examines issues of gender in the law from the standpoint of feminist legal jurisprudence, particularly the way it is affected by and constructs gender in our society. Topics may include the law of sexual harassment, sexual autonomy and reproductive choice, workplace discrimination, legal regulation of welfare and low-income women, and the way in which a legal definition of sex (or the lack of it) influences law and social policy. |
| Genetics | The course will include reading assignments and class discussion on the following topics: Scientific overview, ethical and legal aspects of genetics research, genetic testing and screening, reproductive technology and genetics, germ line therapy and enhancement, behavioral genetics, privacy and confidentiality, discrimination, and forensic applications of genetic technology. All students enrolled in the seminar will be required to complete a substantial, original research paper on a topic of their choice. Limited to 15 students. |
| Housing Clinic | Students in the Housing Clinic will be representing tenants with complaints against landlords in the Western Massachusetts Housing Court. The Housing Clinic is currently cooperating with the Massachusetts Justice Project (MJP). Through MJP, students will acquire clients who have cases pending in the summary process (eviction) session of the Hampden County session of the Western Massachusetts Housing Court. Under the supervision of the Clinic's Supervising Attorney, students will represent tenants in the prosecution and litigation of their cases. Students will handle all phases of the case evaluation, client interviewing, negotiation of possible settlement, legal research and factual development of the claims, and representation of the litigants in court proceedings. If the case does not settle, trials are before a single justice of the Housing Court. Trial may include direct testimony of the witnesses, cross-examination, opening statements and closing arguments and introduction of evidence. Students are expected to commit between 12 and 20 hours per week to the fieldwork which includes being available to attend court on Thursday mornings. (This is when the Western Massachusetts Housing Court conducts its summary process session). In addition to the fieldwork, there will be regularly scheduled seminar meetings and training sessions in which students will engage in discussions and simulation exercises to develop the professional skills and perspectives which are essential to such a litigation practice. Students enrolling in this Clinic must be willing to return to school in advance of the official start of the semester to participate in a mandatory orientation. This course continues to be intensive during the first several weeks of the semester. Thereafter, the class will meet regularly for the balance of the semester. Prerequisites: The clinic is open to students who have successfully completed 32 hours of law studies and have successfully completed Law 553, Evidence. Evidence may be taken concurrently with the Clinic. A student is required to be SJC Rule 3:03 eligible. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. (Formerly Consumer Protection Clinic) |
| Immigration Law | This course will explore the American immigration system from constitutional, statutory, and policy perspectives. Topics considered include the source and scope of congressional power to regulate immigration, standards and procedures for entry, exclusion, and deportation, illegal migration, and the acquisition and loss of American citizenship. |
| Income Tax I | A study of the codified law as it relates to the federal taxation of the income of individuals. This course emphasizes the concepts of gross income, taxable income, and deductions. Special emphasis is given to the federal tax policy considerations inherent in resolving tax issues. A survey of selected topics such as the tax consequences of divorce and administrative practice before the Internal Revenue Service and the Tax Court may be included in the course. (Required Course) |
| Income Tax II | A continuation of the study of the law as it relates to the federal taxation of the income of individuals. This course explores the tax concepts of realization and recognition of income, the character of gains and losses from the disposition of property, and tax accounting methods. The course also explores the role of debt in property transactions and may include a discussion of assignment of income principles. Prerequisite: Law 555 Income Tax I. |
| Independent Study | In this form of independent study from one to three students can engage in tutorial study with a faculty member on a mutually agreed upon subject area. Typically the subject studied will not be covered in depth in a regularly scheduled law school course and the students shall have the necessary background knowledge to engage in specialized study in the area. A full-time faculty member with expertise in the area to be studied must agree to be the tutorial instructor. Although a tutorial may have a one to one student/teacher ratio, at the discretion of the faculty member up to three students may enroll in a tutorial. The one to three students will meet with the instructor for weekly or bi-weekly sessions to discuss substantive issues that the student(s) are studying based upon outside reading or research assignments. One or more papers related to the subject matter of the tutorial shall be written by each student during the semester. In cases where more than one student is enrolled in a tutorial, the instructor shall have the discretion to require that each student write separate paper(s) or to allow each student to do a substantial part of a larger project. The faculty member shall decide the grading policy for the Tutorial Study and that policy shall be communicated to the student. The faculty member must choose either a numerical (55-99) or pass/fail grading system. Requirements: A student who has successfully completed 43 credits of law studies may take a Tutorial Study course with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. A Tutorial Study Form must be completed and signed by the faculty instructor and approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs before registration in a Tutorial Study. Each Tutorial Study, including its scope, coverage, credit hours (from 1 to 3 credits), course guidelines, and method of grading must be approved by the faculty instructor and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs after full disclosure by the student(s) of the content and scope of all prior independent studies (LAW 951 and LAW 952) undertaken by the student(s). A student may take up to 3 independent study courses at the Law School (including both LAW 951 and LAW 952). No more than 2 of the 3 may be taken in any one semester, and no more than 1 of the 3 may be taken under the sole instruction of any one faculty member. |
| Insurance Law | This course provides students with a working knowledge of fundamental legal principles concerning insurance policy and coverage issues. Legal issues regarding the regulation, and underwriting of insurance will be reviewed as well as claims handling, good and bad faith, and punitive damages. The course will also examine life, disability, property and casualty, automobile, health, and various professional liability insurance coverage issues. At the conclusion of this course the student should have a basic understanding of how insurance coverage in general is created, regulated, interpreted, applied, and enforced, as well as the application of basic principles to several different types of insurance coverage. |
| International Business Transactions | This survey course will consider some of the major private and public law issues involved in international trade and investment. The emphasis of the course will be on the private, transactional aspects of International Business Transactions. In particular, we will examine typical legal arrangements for (i) the international financing and sale of goods (including extensive coverage of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International sales of Goods - CISG), (ii) the non-establishment forms of foreign investment employed by market participants in order to generate business internationally (including licensing of intellectual property rights, international distributorship contracts, transfer of technology agreement, etc.), and (iii) the foreign direct investment of capital through the establishment of business operations abroad (both within the European Union and China). We will also discuss selected issues crucial to the avoidance and resolution of international business disputes. The pedagogical approach will involve the discussion of problems and the study of judicial and quasi-judicial decisions, regulations, statutes, and international agreements. Although Public International Trade Law is not the emphasis of this course, an overview of the structure and operation of both international and regional trade organizations, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will also be provided. |
| International Criminal Justice | In this course we will discuss the application of domestic and international law to questions of jurisdiction over international criminal activities, international cooperation in criminal matters, substantive international law contained in multilateral treaties concerning war crimes and terrorism, and the permanent International Criminal Court. The course consists of a series of topics, organized around the principles and offenses of international criminal law, including: nature and sources of international criminal law; nature and elements of responsibility and defenses against responsibility; basis of jurisdictional competence of states under international law; methods for obtaining persons abroad; attempts over time, including through international tribunals, to secure punishment for international crimes; offenses against peace; war crimes; crimes against humanity; genocide; terrorism; and the intersection between international crimes and human rights. |
| International Human Rights | In this course, students work collaboratively on projects with domestic and international nongovernmental organizations, grass-roots organizations, solidarity networks, attorneys, stakeholders, and other institutions engaging in human rights work, to advance political, economic, social and cultural human rights across borders. Students are expected to commit at least 16 hours per week to the fieldwork. In addition to the fieldwork, there will be regularly scheduled seminar meetings and coursework. Enrollment is limited each semester to 8 students who have been selected through the clinic application process. |
| International Human Rights Clinic | A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in a clinic. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. |
| International Law | This course provides an overview of international law with attention to legal aspects of current international controversies. The course will examine how the doctrines, institutions and methodologies of international law have developed in recent years. The structure, goals, processes and institutions of international law will be examined through detailed consideration of issues such as human rights, jurisdiction, environmental law, and international criminal law. A final examination will be the primary basis for each student's grade in the course. |
| International Military Conflict | This course conducts a critical analysis of how military justice and the law impact the core values of a society both during periods of relative peace as well as periods of domestic and international conflict. While there is a focus on current US structures, comparisons with other systems including China, East Timor, Latin America and Russia are included. There will be a review of the history of military law as well as the structure and roles within court-martial proceedings. The validity of limitations on U.S. service members’ constitutional rights including freedom of speech, religion and association will be explored. The course will include study of military justice in operational settings to include the interaction of domestic law with the law of armed conflict as well as the implementation of military commissions and tribunals. The course is in no way limited to students interested in military law careers, but rather presented under the premise that the more lawyers, judges, legislators, public officials and citizens who educate themselves on this important aspect of domestic and international law, the better. The course will be presented in an online format. |
| Internet Law | This course will examine how the law is responding to the various challenges posed by the internet. It will look at the application of various sources of law to the internet, including the United Stated Constitution, state and federal statutes, and common law principles, as well as a variety of proposals for new or revised laws to regulate this means of both communication and commerce. The course will examine the differing legal treatment of various participants in the online world including internet service providers vs. creators of online content. Topics to be discussed include sovereignty and jurisdiction over cyberspace, censorship of internet content, online defamation and other forms of tortuous conduct, the regulation of intermediaries such as internet service providers, and the legal status of domain names. The course does not require any technical expertise, but instead will focus on the way in which the legal system responds to the creation of new technology either by reasoning by analogy and applying existing legal principles or by creating new legal categories and regulatory techniques. |
| IP Law: Product Design | This course will cover topics in copyright law, trademark law and design patent law respecting the legal protection of industrial design. More specifically, the course will cover how copyright law distinguishes between the protectable and unprotectable elements of such items as furniture, appliances, and other household goods, how trademark law provides limited protection to the shape of useful articles under the doctrine of trade dress, and how the United States Patent Office determines whether or not to grant design patent protection to similar products. This course provides students who have taken one or more of the basic Intellectual Property courses an opportunity to explore these three topics in depth and comparatively. The course also allows students who have not taken the basic courses to get an introduction to three different areas of Intellectual Property Law. |
| Judicial Externship | This course is the seminar component that accompanies a judicial externship placement that a student has been selected for through the externship application process. Students work 12-15 hours a week for a total of 168 semester hours engaging in a variety of legal work under the supervision of a judge. Students may not receive compensation for work done in an Externship. Externships include varied levels of research, writing, and observation depending on the student's placement. Seminar assignments and readings are designed to complement the individual work experience by providing structured reflection on many aspects of the roles of courts, judges and lawyers in society. Students are required to maintain weekly time sheets and journals and complete a paper and presentation. Students may take no more than two externships for a maximum of six academic credits during law school. The externship placements must be substantively different. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in an externship. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. Other requirements and further information about this course are available from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of Externship Coordinator. A 4 credit Externship Form must be completed for enrollment in the 4 Credit Judicial Externship Seminar. The Mandatory orientation for all students doing an externship in the spring semester is Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 10:00am to 2:00pm. |
| Jurisprudence Survey | This course examines the various schools of legal thought that have both influenced and criticized American law and decision-making. After discussing theories and characteristics of various schools, we will read legal opinions that reflect these schools, as well as writings that critique particular cases or legal rules. The schools of thought that we will consider include the Formalist, Legal Realist, and Legal Process schools, as well as contemporary critiques, such as Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, and Gay Legal Theory. *Occasionally offered as a QWC. |
| Juvenile Justice | This course concentrates on juvenile delinquency proceedings from pretrial procedure through trial and the occasional transfers of juvenile offenders to the adult criminal system. Developments in the area of due process for young people (United States Supreme Court cases) and effective client advocacy are stressed. Prerequisite: Law 505 Criminal Law. |
Prior Course Descriptions
2010-2013
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F-J
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| Labor Law | This course traces the development of American Labor Law, from its early beginnings at the dawn of the industrial revolution, through the great depression of the 1930s, the post-war years, and the modern era. It considers how workers have joined together to improve their material well-being, and how society regulates the inevitable conflict between workers and management. The course studies the National Labor Relations Act and its interpretation by the courts and the National Labor Relations Board. Areas covered include the right to join unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and the procedures to resolve labor disputes, jurisdictional disputes, board procedures, representation, elections, unfair labor practices, strikes and job actions, picketing, lockouts, secondary boycotts, arbitration of disputes, and union organizing. |
| Labor Law Arbitration | This course will present an in-depth view of the law of labor arbitration and the law of the labor contract. Because it is a QWC, the course will emphasize writing skills in the arbitration context. Rather than writing a large research project, the students will instead have weekly writing assignments of between five and ten pages per week. By breaking the writing down into smaller components, the student will be able to demonstrate a steadily improving understanding of the complexities of legal writing as well as learning about such issues as what disputes may be arbitrated, the drafting of the issue for arbitration, preparation of a pre-hearing memorandum, the content of arbitration, post-arbitration briefs, and actions to confirm or set aside awards. The course will explore the labor contract in a number of contexts, which may include discipline and discharge, pay disputes, promotion, layoffs and recalls, mandatory overtime or any of the other types of disputes which go to arbitration. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Prerequisite: Law 708 Labor Law and Law 781 Public Sector Labor Law. |
| Land Finance & Transfer | This course focuses on the law and practices that govern the financing of real estate transactions, from single-family residences and residential sub-divisions, to multi-family apartment buildings and commercial real estate. The course examines in great detail the law of mortgages, including the creation and transfer of mortgage interests, lien priorities, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. Prerequisite: Law 511 Property. |
| Land Use Planning | This course will cover the fundamentals of land use currently in place in the United States. This will begin with the "takings" issue and go on to examine public zoning schemes and private land use, control through the use of covenants and private associations. Subdivision control statutes, "approval not required" plans and design standards for residential and commercial developments will also be covered. Throughout the course there will be discussions on how the practitioner can work most effectively with the boards that administer the zoning regulations. The course will conclude, time permitting, by examining active topics such as special district zoning and the impact of non-zoning enactments such as wetlands protection laws and other environmental statutes on land use decisions. Students may not take both this course and LAW 624 Land Use Controls. |
| Landlord & Tenant | This course focuses on the landlord-tenant relationship in the residential rental market with emphasis on recent court decisions and various selected state laws that have attempted to lessen the problems of substandard or inadequate rental housing, housing discrimination, problems of lead paint poisoning, and related issues. Eviction proceedings, discrimination litigation and consumer remedies are covered in detail. Enrollment is limited to 45 students. |
| Law & Education | This course focuses on the legal issues in public education. Topics may include student and employee free speech rights, religion in the schools, Constitutional issues in the discipline and dismissal of school employees, teacher tenure, special education, desegregation, state constitutional issues regarding funding and access to education, state statutory provisions regarding financing of education, and reform of the public schools. |
| Law & Health Care Entity | This is a survey course that will cover a variety of issues relating to health care access, delivery and reimbursement for services. Topics will include the duty to provide care, discrimination in access to health care, insurance contract interpretation, federal regulation of insurance including ERISA, professional relationships in health care enterprises, and fraud and abuse. |
| Law & Social Change | This seminar offers an investigation of issues faced by lawyers representing low-income clients and serving under-represented, disenfranchised groups. Cases, theoretical readings and historical texts are interwoven with several ends in mind: first, to provide a glimpse into the range of public interest work lawyers are engaged in and the intellectual foundations that guide these efforts; second, to consider the contexts in which the tools of public interest advocacy are more or less effective, with particular emphasis on the relationship of public interest lawyering to social movements of disenfranchised groups in American society. Third, to expose students to ethical issues and career development challenges that arise for public interest practitioners. The course grade will be based on students completing a variety of short written exercises, class participation and a major research paper. There will be no final exam. Enrollment limited to 20 students. |
| Law & Terrorism | The attacks of September 11, 2001, have presented unusual and arguably unprecedented challenges to American legal values and institutions. This course will explore some of the ways in which our legal system is responding to those challenges. We will examine these responses from various perspectives: positive (How have legal institutions been engaged in combating terrorism?), normative (To what degree have responses of our legal system compare to responses to terrorism in other nations?). We will consider the USA Patriot Act of 2001, the confinement of suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, the indefinite detention of resident aliens since September 11, the seizure of assets of organizations suspected of ties to terrorism, the terrorism-related prosecutions commenced by the United States government and other related topics. We will consider each topic from the perspectives of statutory, constitutional, and where relevant, comparative and international law. Assessment is based on a research paper, brief written responses to assigned reading, a short presentation, and class participation. There is no final exam for this course. Enrollment is limited to 24 students. |
| Law of European Union | The course begins with some background on the history of European Union law, as well as the major lawmaking institutions of the European Union and the process and jurisprudence of how these institutions make law. It will then consider specific areas of the law of the European Union. Some of the areas of law covered during the course will include: human rights; antitrust law (competition law); labor law; intellectual property; and some other aspects of business law. |
| Law Office Management | This course will introduce students to the operation and management of solo practices, law firms, and corporate legal departments. Practices and techniques that assist in the ethical, professional, and profitable representation of clients while reducing stress and crisis situations will be presented through presentations, readings, and guest lecturers. Topics to be covered include: business planning; time management, accounting and billing; client recruitment and relations; technology and office systems; stress management and personal support; ethical responsibilities and professionalism. |
| Law Review | Students who are members of Law Review are required to attend the mandatory weekly Law Review staff meeting for both the fall and spring semesters. Members of the Junior Staff receive 2 credits in the fall and 1 credit in the spring for the successful completion of their Junior Staff year. Senior members of the Law Review receive between 2 and 6 credits per year, depending on their position on the Law Review. The Associate Dean must approve departures from these semester credit allocations. |
| Legal Services Clinic | In this course, students work in the office of Community Legal Aid (CLA), a local non-profit organization charged with providing free civil legal services to low-income and elderly persons. Under the supervision of the program's attorneys, students assume primary professional responsibility for actual cases, including client interviews, counseling, case development, negotiation and representation of clients in court and administrative proceedings. Students work at CLA for 16 hours a week and earn four credits for the fieldwork. Students must also enroll in a one credit seminar concurrent with their semester of fieldwork. Prerequisites: In the semester prior to the fieldwork, students must enroll in a two credit seminar (Laws 910 Legal Service Clinic: Skills Seminar) that uses simulations, reading and discussion to develop the lawyering skills necessary for client representation. Law 553, Evidence is also a required course. Evidence may be taken concurrently with the Clinic. A student is required to be SJC Rule 3:03 eligible. Enrollment is limited each semester to 8 students selected through the clinic application process. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in a clinic. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. |
| Legal Services: Skills Seminar | Students participating in the Legal Services clinic must complete a two credit lawyering skills seminar as a prerequisite to their semester of field placement. The class focuses on substantive law and issues related to poverty law practice, and developing basic lawyering skills, including professionalism and ethics, client interviewing, counseling, case planning, fact investigation, oral advocacy, negotiation and litigation skills. Enrollment is limited to the 8 students who have been selected for the Legal Services Clinic for the subsequent semester. |
| Legislative Advocacy & lobbying | This course examines lobbying and legislative advocacy. With legislatures central to our system of government, whether at the Federal or State level, attorneys need to be familiar with government relations practices and legislative processes. Topics may include the constitutional basis for and history of paid lobbying; the regulation of lobbying as a profession, including the legal and ethical restrictions; the role of money and politics in lobbying; and practical elements of how to be an effective lobbyist. Limited to 24 students. *Occasionally offered as a Professional Skills Course. |
| Litigation in the Pretrial Phase | This course is aimed at refining students' written and oral advocacy skills in the pretrial phase of litigation. In weekly exercises, students will brief and argue typical motions arising prior to trial. The course will also address pretrial strategy, both in preparing pleadings, planning discovery and drafting motions. At the end of the term, students will draft a larger memorandum and present a more extensive oral argument on a motion for summary judgment or to dismiss. The course will require at least four to six hours of preparation for each session. Class attendance is mandatory. Enrollment limited to 16 students. |
| LRW | Legal Research and Writing is a required first-year course designed to introduce students to the essential problem-solving and communication skills of the legal profession. The legal research and writing faculty work closely with students in smaller classroom settings to introduce techniques of legal analysis, the basic sources and processes of legal research, and the principles of legal writing and oral advocacy. Through a series of assignments of increasing complexity, students learn how to analyze legal problems, research legal issues, frame legal arguments, and gain experience in drafting the major forms of predictive and persuasive legal writing. This full-year course culminates in an oral argument in a simulated court setting during which each student argues a motion based on a brief written by the student. (Required Course) |
| Mass Practice & Procedure I | This Professional Skills course provides students with practical skills relating to litigation in the state courts of Massachusetts. Students engage in simulated litigation relating to civil cases, domestic relations cases and estate matters. In doing so, students develop a useful understanding of how the practice of law is grounded in the Massachusetts Rules of Court as well as relevant statutory and case law authority. Limited enrollment 24. |
| Mass Practice & Procedure II | This Professional Skills course provides students with practical skills relating to litigation in the state courts of Massachusetts. Students engage in simulated litigation relating to criminal cases, landlord/tenant cases, mental health cases and juvenile law cases. In doing so, students develop a useful understanding of how the practice of law is grounded in the Massachusetts Rules of Court as well as relevant statutory and case law authority. Class limited to 24. |
| Mediation | This course will provide training in both the theory and methodology of divorce and family mediation and essential mediation skills. The class is interactive, and students will have the opportunity, in almost every class to practice mediation skills. A basic understanding of Massachusetts divorce law and/or entry level family law course is strongly recommended. Some states, by statute or rule of court, set standards for court-based mediators. Massachusetts requires basic mediation training and professional practice under the supervision of a community-based mediation program before practitioners may serve as court-based mediators. This is a basic mediation course that qualifies successful students for an internship or practicum in a community dispute resolution program for supervised practice and for advanced mediation training. Mediators develop their skills through a lifetime of practice. This is the first step. Enrollment limited to 18 students. |
| Moot Court Tutorial Course | The Appellate Moot Court course will serve as the means to gain selection to one of the school-sponsored intramural appellate moot court teams. Students in the course will receive intensive instruction in appellate brief-writing, working with a teammate, and appellate oral argument. Students will have the opportunity to meet with faculty about their writing and to receive extensive feedback on their oral argument skills. The class will culminate with a moot court competition and the selection of the law school's Moot Court Board. For more information about selection to Appellate Moot Court teams, see Note on Appellate Moot Court at http://www1.law.wne.edu/academics/index.cfm?selection=doc.8116 |
| Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration | This course will focus on negotiation and other methods of dispute resolution, with emphasis on negotiated settlement, mediation and arbitration. Negotiation theory and alternative tactics and strategies will be examined, with focus on practical skills by way of example and simulated exercises. Various methods of alternative dispute resolution will be discussed in the context of different areas of legal practice and substantive law. Students will participate in both a simulated negotiation and a simulated mediation. In addition, the course will cover the arbitration process from both a substantive law and practical skills standpoint. Students will have an elective opportunity to write an Arbitrator's Decision and Award as their final paper, based upon the evidentiary submissions in an actual case. Enrollment is limited to 20 students. Students who have taken LAW 609 Negotiation: Strategies & Practice may not enroll in this course. |
| Negotiation: Strategies and Practice | This course will focus on developing an understanding of theoretical and conceptual models of the negotiation process. In-class simulations will provide students an opportunity to apply these concepts in an actual, interactive negotiation situation, both to reinforce their understanding and to allow an opportunity to develop an informed but personal approach to negotiating. Class attendance and participation are mandatory. Students who have taken or are taking LAW 769, Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration, may not enroll in this course. Limited Enrollment:20 students. This course can be used to satisfy the Professional Skills Requirement. |
| New York Practice & Procedure I | This description is designed to introduce the New York Court System and its procedure, pursuant to the Civil Practice Law & Rules (CPLR). The concept of jurisdiction in the state will be examined in detail as well as the commencement of a civil action and its interplay with jurisdictional principles, within, and outside New York's boundaries. A variety of issues will then be reviewed, such as service, defects of same, defenses to, and appearances. Important emphasis will be placed on limitations of time in actions, such as intentional torts, and medical malpractice, taking into account laches, tolls, extensions, and interposing other claims. |
| New York Practice & Procedure II | This course will build upon the concepts examined in New York Practice I, and address the intricacies of practice under the CPLR,(New York Civil Practice Law and Rules), focusing on what occurs after an action has been commenced. Topics to be covered include pleadings, affirmative defenses, bills of particulars, motion practice, motion to dismiss, summary judgment, default judgment, discontinuance of action, provisional remedies, disclosure, protective orders, selection of a jury, the trial proper, verdict, post appeal applications, and enforcement of judgments. New York Practice I is strongly recommended. |
| Non-Profit Law | This class will focus on the unique legal status of non-profit organizations. Particular attention will be given to the different types of non-profit entities (including universities, hospitals, and religious organizations) and their organization, governance and regulation by both the federal government and the states. Specific topics will include the scope of non-profit activities; choice of organizational form; the powers and fiduciary duties of non-profit directors/trustees and officers; standing to sue non-profits, charitable immunity and limitations on the liability of non-profits; qualifications for federal tax-exempt status and related tax issues; forms of charitable giving and the regulation of fundraising; the investment and use of charitable giving and the other issues unique to non-profits. |
Prior Course Descriptions
2010-2013
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| Patent Law | This course introduces the basic concepts of patent law - a system involving a government grant of limited proprietary rights in inventions in exchange for full disclosure of the invention. Areas to be examined include requirements for patentability, procedures for obtaining patents, interrelationships with trade secrets, rights to employee inventions, patent assignments and licensing, and a brief overview of patent litigation. Students should have an Engineering degree or a strong scientific educational background. |
| Payment Systems | Payment Systems is a general introduction to commercial transactions. It covers various ways of making payments (checks, credit cards, debit cards, letters of credit, wire transfers, and electronic payment devices), transactions for borrowing money (notes and guaranties), and also negotiable instruments and securitization. Doctrinally, it covers Articles 3, 4, 4A, 5, 7, and 8 of the Uniform Commercial Codes, as well as (among other things), major provisions of the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, and the Electronic Fund Transfers Act. |
| Post Conviction Rights | This course will examine state and federal rights and procedures to which a state criminal defendant is entitled after conviction. Topics will include state direct appeals, collateral challenges to convictions, and challenges to state convictions in federal court. Areas of study will also include applicable standards of appellate review, preservation and exhaustion doctrines, and raising constitutional issues during post-conviction proceedings. Prerequisite: Law 501 Constitutional Law. |
| Products Liability | This course presents an analysis and discussion of the American law of products liability. The focus of the course is on the major theories of liability with respect to injuries caused by the use of defective consumer products. We will cover the requirements of each of the major causes of action in product litigation, together with appropriate defenses and damages related to those causes of action.. |
| Professional Responsibility | This course examines the ethics of lawyering and the various roles of the lawyer. We will discuss the nature and scope of the attorney's responsibilities and obligations to clients, society, the administration of justice, the profession, and the self. It covers legal and ethical standards and aspirations relevant to regulating the conduct of lawyers and the development of professional ethics. (Required Course) |
| Property | Starting with the historical evolution of the concepts involved in real and personal property, this course will study the rights and duties of owners and possessors of property, priority of possession or property, and present and future interests in property. This course will also consider issues in landlord and tenant law, evidence of ownership or right to possession, methods of title assurance, commercial and noncommercial transfers of interests in property, the rescission, modification, interpretation and performance of transfer agreements and documents, and private controls on the use of property. This course may also explore conflicts between private ownership of property and community needs, the nature and purposes of types of shared ownership of property, and public controls on the use of property. (Required Course) |
| Public Interest | This course is the seminar component that accompanies a public interest or government externship placement that a student has been selected for through the externship application process. Students work 12-15 hours a week for a total of 168 semester hours engaging in a variety of legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students may not receive compensation for work done in an Externship. Externships develop students' lawyering skills through participation in activities such as legal research and writing, client interviewing and counseling, factual investigation, development and implementation of case theory and strategy, negotiation, mediation, litigation and other forms of advocacy. Externships experiences will vary depending on the student's placement organization. Seminar assignments and readings are designed to complement the individual work experience by providing structure reflection on many aspects of the roles of courts, judges and lawyers in society. Students are required to maintain weekly time sheets and journals and complete a paper and presentation. Students may take no more than two externships for a maximum of six academic credits during law school. The externship placements must be substantively different. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in an externship. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. Other requirements and further information about this course are available from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or Externship Coordinator. A 4 credit Externship Form must be completed for enrollment in the 4 Credit Government and Public Interest Externship Seminar. There will be a mandatory orientation meeting for all students participating in externships. |
| Public Sector Law | This course will examine the regulation of labor/management relations in public employment, with emphasis on distinctions from the private sector model. It will cover such areas as the historical development of public sector labor unions, the right to join unions, the collective bargaining relationship, union security, mandatory subjects of bargaining, settlement of impasses, enforcement of the agreement and constitutional rights of public employees. |
| Real Estate Development | This course will focus on the practical aspects of representing clients developing subdivisions and condominium projects. Through the use of existing Massachusetts subdivisions and condominium projects and guest lecturers you will be brought through the process from the planning stage to sale of the units or lots. The final exam shall be several take home development problems. Enrollment limited to 24 students. *occasionally offered as a Professional Skills Course. |
| Real Estate Drafting | This course will focus on fundamental drafting concepts and skills in the context of real estate transactions, both residential and commercial. Working individually and in teams, students will draft a variety of documents, ranging from purchase and sale agreements, boundary line agreements and easements to mortgage commitment letters, mortgage terms, commercial leases, construction contracts, and guarantor and indemnity agreements. There will be regular written homework assignments as well as in-class drafting exercises. Negotiations and ethical issues in transactional law practice will also be covered. LAW 730 Land Finance and Transfer is a prerequisite for the course. LAW 694 Conveyancing is recommended but not required. |
| Real Estate Planning | This course will focus on real estate planning using the development of a shopping center as the paradigm. In the course, we will take the development project from the acquisition of land, through financing and construction of the shopping center, and finish with the leasing of stores in the shopping center. Students will be assigned to law firms of two or three students each and over the course of the semester each firm will negotiate with another firm three separate aspects of the development process. For example, students in a firm may negotiate a long term ground lease, the construction financing of the shopping center, and an anchor tenant lease. The firms will also draft all of the documents appropriate to those transactions, prepare brief memos journaling their experience, and make short presentations on them in class. Course grade will be based on the document drafting, journal memos, and presentation. Enrollment limited to 16 students. Preference will be given to students who have not taken 657 Real Estate Development. Prerequisite for this class is Law 730-01 Land Finance & Transfer |
| Real Property Practice | In the Real Estate Practicum, students experience the world of real estate practice and real estate practitioners and discuss and reflect on those experiences and observations in a weekly seminar, all with the goal of helping each student to prepare for the practice of law. To accomplish this goal and to provide this experience, the practicum has three required segments: an initial training, an externship and a seminar. 1) Initial Training: In preparation for the externships, the first two weeks of the semester involve hands-on training, homework and simulations in title examination and residential real estate closings. 2) Externships: The externship involves placements with real estate professionals and requires a commitment on 10 hours per week (two sessions of 5 hours). You do your externship as a member of a two-person team. One member of the team is initially placed with a real estate attorney specializing in residential real estate, the other with an attorney at a title insurance company. Each team member works for six weeks with one attorney or the other and then switches right before spring break. In both placement, you will work on a variety of title, closing, contract and related problems and will observe the operation of a law office and the interaction with clients, staff and other real estate professionals (brokers, lenders, appraisers, surveyors). As indicated on the List of Pairings, two team placements are in Springfield; two are in Connecticut (Windsor Locks and Hartford); one is split between Springfield and Hartford. 3) Seminar: The seminar component consists of a weekly 2-hour seminar meeting, with required readings and discussions structured and led by the two faculty members and frequently featuring presentations by experts in different aspects of real estate transactions. As prerequisites for the course, students must have taken 2 or more of the following 6 courses: land Finance and Transfer, Conveyancing, Real Estate Transactions, Taxation of Property, Land Use and Landlord-Tenant. The more prerequisites you have taken, the better, and Professors Baker and Stonefield strongly urge students to take (and will give preference in selection to students who have taken or will take) Land Finance and Transfer or Conveyancing. Enrollment is limited to 10 students in the spring semester only who have been selected through the clinic application process. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in a clinic. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. |
| Regulations of Hazardous Substances | The course considers tort law, as well as some important state and federal statute law, that regulates harms to persons and property from toxic substances. Much, though not all of this law, is strict liability law. Causation is a central legal issue of the course. In addition, the course devotes some attention to theory that shapes this lawmaking, as well as to the application of toxic substances law to problems. |
| Religion & the Constitution | This course examines the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. The two Religion Clauses have been and continue to be a focus of extensive controversy in the legal and political arenas. The course will examine Supreme Court opinions interpreting the Religion Clauses. Topics arising under the Establishment Clause include prayer in public school classrooms, religious symbols on public property, and government funding of parochial school education. Topics arising under the Free Exercise Clause include the rights of religious objectors to be exempt from a vaccination requirement, the rights of members of religion to engage in animal sacrifice as part of a religious ritual, and the rights of employees to refuse to work on religious holy days. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. The reading material for the course has been prepared by the instructor. The specialized nature of the course subject matter allows students to gain expertise in the area by reading extensively in this one area of constitutional law rather than by surveying a variety of areas. |
| Remedies | This course will survey the law of remedies in civil litigation. Students explore the principal forms of legal and equitable relief available to civil litigants. Throughout the term, the course will afford multiple opportunities for students to receive formative assessment, including practice in answering typical bar exam questions. This course has limited enrollment; permission of the professor is required. Students taking this course may not take LAW 761 Remedies: Injunctions. |
| Representing Children | This course will review children's constitutional rights followed by a study in non-delinquency matters in which children are parties (Care and Protections, Children in Need in Services, etc.). Special emphasis will be placed on counsel's role in communicating with child clients and selecting litigation options (class actions, tort actions) to protect children's rights. Child-abuse matters and state's failure to provide children's services will be emphasized. |
| Sales | In this course students will study contract law in commercial settings governed primarily by Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Classroom discussion will focus on problem and case analysis and statutory interpretation, as well as practical problems in drafting, negotiating and enforcing agreements. (Taught by Prof. Reich-Graefe in Fall) |
| Secured Transactions | Secured Transactions is an intensive study of consensual security interests in personal property under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The course also involves a cursory examination of relevant provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, and side-glances at other Articles of the UCC. |
| Securities Litigation | From the billion dollar lawsuits that threaten Wall Street titans to claims by "mom and pop" investors that their broker sold them a bad stock, securities litigation has become big business for lawyers of all walks of life. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, investment-related litigation has exploded, dominating media headlines and court dockets. At the same time, as America's baby-boom generation approaches retirement relying on stock portfolio nest eggs, investor-related disputes have the potential to affect virtually all future lawyers' clientele. This course is intended to provide an introduction to securities litigation, not only for students who are interested in developing a practice in the area, but also for those who plan to practice business law and those that simply seek a sufficient knowledge base to competently advise clients who present problems regarding their investments. The course will also explore topics concerning disputes common to the owners of small businesses organized as closely held corporations, limited partnerships and limited liability companies, providing students with an overview of the typical issues arising in resolving internal business disputes. Expected topics include federal securities claims, shareholder derivative litigation, litigating state "Blue Sky" claims, internal corporate governance issues and broker-dealer investor litigation. There are no prerequisites but students are strongly encouraged to have completed the required course in Law 551 Business Organizations prior to enrolling. Limited to 20 students. |
| Securities Regulation | This course is a study of the law relating to the basic structure of the system by which dealings in securities are regulated. The course will focus on the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as they relate to fundamental regulatory issues, such as what constitutes a security, the nature of controls over the distribution and trading of securities and exemptions from those controls, as well as liability for misconduct. Prerequisite: LAW 551, Business Organizations, completed or currently enrolled. Prerequisite or take concurrently: Law 551Business Organization |
| Sexual Orientation & Law | This course is an examination of the legal and policy issues surrounding state and private attempts to regulate and/or discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Topics covered in the course include (1) the due process right to privacy, (2) equal protection analysis (addressing current challenges to the military’s exclusionary policy s well as some states’ per se ban on adoptions by gay men and lesbians), (3) the right of free expression and association (e.g., the challenge to the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay members as well as on-going challenges to university non-discrimination policies by the religious right), (4) employment discrimination, with particular emphasis on possibilities to pursue non-discrimination law by transgender people (5) sexual orientation and gender expression as gender discrimination, and (7) family law issues affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people such as the rights to marry, to child custody and visitation, to adopt and to provide foster care. |
| Skills | This Skills Lab is designed to provide first-year students with an introduction to the practical skills that are an important part of the lawyer's role. The course will help students appreciate the relationship between the course content of the doctrinal courses they are studying and the practice of law. The course begins with a simulation exercise in which students represent a client. Students will need to evaluate the client's interests. The Skills Lab will also include other lawyering skills such as translating the elements of a tort into a complaint filed to commence a lawsuit, resolving a legal dispute through settlement negotiations, constructing a discovery plan, drafting a contract, and arguing a motion. Students will also be introduced to the ethical rules that govern the practice of law. This course will meet once a week throughout the year. It will be taught by various faculty members. It is a not-for-credit element of the first year curriculum that will contribute to assuring that students become ready for the practice of law while in law school. |
| Small Business Clinic | The Small Business Clinic will provide selected students with the opportunity to handle legal matters for small business clients under the supervision of the professor. Students work on transactional legal matters that are typical in the start-up phase of a business. The goal of the clinic is to expose students to the methodology and mindset of business lawyering. Law students work with the entrepreneurs to identify the legal issues new businesses confront. The course will consist of two full days of a mandatory orientation (prior to the start of the semester), weekly seminar classroom meetings, weekly one-on-one meetings with the professor, meetings with clients (often in the evenings) and participation in walk-in legal assistance. The clinical component will involve client interviewing, assessment and intake, along with legal research, drafting, and counseling as the situation requires. In an effort to operate the clinic as close to an actual law firm as possible, students are required to maintain client billing records through use of the clinic's time/document management software. Client work will require a minimum of 16 hours of work per week and other course commitments will require an additional four to five hours per week. The seminar portion of the course incorporates business and legal practitioners from the local area. Prerequisites: LAW 551, Business Organizations, LAW 553, Evidence. Evidence may be taken concurrently with the Clinic. A student is required to be SJC Rule 3:03 eligible. Enrollment is limited each semester to 8 students who have been selected through the clinic application process. A student must successfully complete 32 hours of law studies before enrollment in a clinic. A student may not simultaneously enroll in more than one clinic, more than one externship, or a clinic and an externship. |
| Title IX: Sex Discrimination In Education | Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions receiving federal funds. In the course, students will examine Title IX's applications in the context of athletics, curriculum, single-sex education, sexual harassment, pregnancy and parenting, and employment of teachers and coaches. Students will be invited to analyze and evaluate the statute's efficacy at securing gender equality in education, both in absolute terms and relative to other sources of law such as the federal and state constitution equal protection clauses, and state and local antidiscrimination statutes. Title IX will also serve as a lens through which students will engage with broader topics such as statutory and regulatory interpretation, damages and immunity, feminist legal theory, and cultural studies. |
| Torts | This is a course concerning civil liability for harm inflicted on another. Topics studied may include negligent, reckless and intentional acts that inflict harm; defenses to claims of liability; the liability of owners or occupiers of land; and strict liability. (Required Course) |
| Toxic Torts | This course will examine how the pre-trial stages of a complex environmental toxic tort case unfold. The course will develop students’ written and oral advocacy skills by requiring them to research and draft two client-focused briefs, two judicial bench memoranda, and to engage in simulated oral argument. This course will use actual cases to illuminate key phases of the litigation process including pleadings, management of complex document discovery, and the intricacies pre-trial advocacy and advanced application of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The interplay between environmental statutory regulation and the common law will be explored, as will the unique challenges presented by trial management and the settlement of toxic tort litigation. Enrollment limited to 16 students. This course requires an even number of students and is a Restricted Withdrawal class which means that a student enrolled in the class may not withdraw subsequent to the second class of the semester (see Academic Standards Part A, VI, B). At the end of summer school registration, before the schedules are finalized, there will be a lottery if there is an odd number below the 16-person limit. A student who is randomly dropped from the course will have the option to find a partner and re-enroll in the course. This course can be used to satisfy the Qualified Writing Requirement or the Professional Skills Requirement. |
| Trademark Law | This course surveys the legal rules and policies governing how producers of goods and services use trademarks, logos, product designs, and other devices to identify the source of their goods and services in order to protect their good will and prevent confusion in the marketplace. The course focuses primarily on the federal trademark statute and its recent amendments, as applied in both the traditional and electronic marketplaces. |
| Transactional Lawyering | This course emphasizes that thought processes and legal skills involved in the practice of transactional law. In this simulation course students will be broken up into "law firms" and will provide legal counsel to a party in a business transaction. One half of the class will represent one side of the transaction and the other half will represent the other side. Using a simulated transaction as the reference point, students will acquire an understanding of the lawyer's role in business transactions and will develop an appreciation of the business and legal issues that arise in transactional practice. As part of the simulation students will be required to interview a client, draft deal documents, and negotiate some deal points. Prof. Gouvin will use this course as the basis for selecting students to participate in the Transactional Law Meet Competition in the spring. |
| Trial Methods | This course utilizes a clinical approach to trial advocacy. Emphasis is given to the two complementary abilities necessary for effective trial advocacy - preparation and execution. Students will learn effective methods for analyzing and preparing a case for trial. In addition, students will practice the technical skills necessary to present their side of a case persuasively during a trial, including tactics and strategy in the courtroom, opening statements and closing arguments, examination of witnesses, admission and exclusion of evidence, questions of burden of proof, and preservation of rights on appeal. Prerequisite: LAW 553, Evidence. Enrollment limited to 20 students per section. |
| Trusts & Estates | This course is a study of the inter-vivos and testamentary gratuitous transfer of property, including intestate succession, wills, and trusts. Also discussed are the duties and liability of the fiduciary, the use of charitable donations, and the raising of constructive and resulting trusts. Prerequisite: Law 511 Property. |
| White Collar Crime | This course offers an overview of the law of business (white collar) crime. Topics include: individual and corporate responsibility for malfeasance; complicity; conspiracy; mail fraud; public corruption; RICO; securities fraud; perjury and false statements; obstruction of justice; the 5th amendment protections for business speech and documents. Completion of, or concurrent enrollment in, LAW 551 Business Organizations and LAW 505 Criminal Law are prerequisites to enrollment in this course. |