[110 Items Found]
Description:
Not required. Courses providing units towards graduation but do not meet any specific requirements
Academic Achievement Workshop: CA Civil Procedure
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s):
Administrative Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: Administrative Law affects almost every area of law practice. It is of increasing interest today with so many of the current political divisions and controversies centering on issues of administrative law. Of course immigration lawyers must deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but it also affects business planning, healthcare, the protection of intellectual property, company formation and finance, employment law and workplace safety, the environment, local land use planning, real estate development, consumer protection, telecommunications, national security, taxation, social security, prison administration, and more. In this course we will survey the basic structure of administrative law and the administrative process and learn how lawyers in number of different areas of legal practice view administrative law and its impact their work. Guest lecturers who practice in different areas of administrative law will be invited to talk about their practice and experiences.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Closed to students who have taken Administrative & Legislative Law. Relationship to Law Practice: This course is helpful to anyone who practices in an area of law that is affected by the actions of an administrative agency. You will gain an understanding of how administrative agencies function and learn practical legal skills that can be used before any agency, such as applied reasoning and creative problem solving.
Advanced Criminal Defense
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: Students are placed in the role of attorney and taken through each stage of a criminal case via realistic performance exercises involving interviewing, investigation, negotiation & courtroom skills. One exercise, for example, is based upon an actual burglary which occurred one block from the law school. Student defense attorneys are able to investigate the crime scene and then cross-examine the police officer who made the arrest in the actual case. In another exercise student prosecutors are graded on a problem designed to confront them with the ethical dimensions of discovery. Other exercises involve plea negotiations; jury selection; suppression hearings relating to eye-witness identification, search & seizure, and confessions; trial strategy and sentencing problems. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Sequence and Prerequisites: Criminal Procedure I, Evidence, and either Trial Practice or Trial Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates are all prerequisites to this course. Relationship to Law Practice: The objective of this course is to serve as a bridge between law school and the real world of law practice by enhancing the professional skills, judgment, and analytical thinking of those who seek careers as prosecutors or criminal defense counsel.
Advanced Legal Analysis
Units: 0
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s):
Advanced Legal Analysis (ALA) is a workshop-style course, designed to strengthen students’ test-taking skills, the aim of which is to help students
improve their performance on law school exams and ultimately improve first-time bar passage. The course uses bar-style essays and multiple-choice fact patterns to review approach, timing, effective analysis, and other important test-taking skills while familiarizing students with the components of the bar exam and how frequently tested topics appear on the bar exam. The course also provides an opportunity for students to review selected Real Property principles, a subject that is tested on both the essay and multiple-choice components of the California Bar Examination. All the work for ALA is done during the class period. Successful completion of ALA is a graduation requirement for certain students.
Advanced Legal Research
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: This course focused on the development of legal research skills beyond those taught in the first-year program. The process of legal research is emphasized along with the ability to utilize legal resources in all formats. Students view recorded lectures as well as complete readings, tutorials, and/or videos on a topic, and then perform corresponding assignments consisting of research exercises, discussion postings, review questions and the creation of a concept map on legal research. Contact the instructor with questions on the above. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Relationship to Law Practice: This course will familiarize students with legal research materials that are used by attorneys.
Advanced Negotiation
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Creative problem Solving
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content: This is a practical applications course involving simulated negotiations and communication skills exercises. Students will be assigned negotiation fact patterns and will conduct negotiations in class in a variety of legal and non-legal subject areas. Students will write analyses before and after negotiation exercises in a journal format. The course will emphasize identification of legal and factual issues, communication skills and techniques, appropriate use of negotiation tactics and responses to tactics used by others, and using creative problem solving skills to approach the subject matter of the negotiation in a way that is customized to your audience. Grading for the course is based 50% on a multiple choice examination based on the reading materials and class discussion, 25% on the journal kept throughout the term and 25% on class participation. In order to maximize the benefits and learning experience for all students, class attendance is very important. The CWSL attendance policy will be strictly enforced. Attendance at the first class meeting is mandatory.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Both trimesters of STEPPS
Relationship to Law Practice: Negotiation training is essential to successful legal practice in virtually every area of specialty. Students who complete this course will approach negotiations with a sense of confidence no matter who the opponent is.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Advanced Prosecution Function
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content: This course is a "Transition to Practice" practicum for students interested in becoming prosecutors. It is designed to bridge the gap between law school and the real world. Modeled after National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) "hands on" training workshops, students are assigned the role of prosecutor in a series of performance exercises that involve factual investigation, bail representation, pre-trial motion practice, discovery, plea-bargaining, strategy & tactics and jury selection. Special emphasis will be given to the decision to prosecute, discovery obligations of the ethical prosecutor, use of informants, and prosecution theories. There will be numerous opportunities to perfect courtroom advocacy skills such as direct and cross-examination. For their final exercise student attorneys will interview live witnesses rather than being given a fact pattern, investigate a real crime scene, brainstorm the theory of the case, file and litigate pre-trial motions and conduct an actual jury trial. They will be opposed by student defense counsel enrolled in Advanced Criminal Litigation.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation, Creative problem Solving
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content: The ADR course offers students the opportunity to examine various alternative dispute resolution techniques utilized by courts, attorneys, and others. Specifically, the course focuses on specific ADR techniques such as arbitration, mediation, and negotiation. The majority of the course focuses on binding arbitration and mediation of contract and tort disputes. Because this is a practicum, there is a major emphasis on practical learning utilizing role-playing, stop action videos, negotiations, and preparation for ADR processes. Additionally, the basic legal aspects of arbitration are reviewed and discussed.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Taking Evidence prior to or concurrently with ADR would be helpful.
Relationship to Law Practice: The field of ADR is growing rapidly, touching upon almost all aspects of civil litigation. This course will help familiarize prospective trial attorneys and transactional counsel with the fundamentals of ADR that they will use in their practice. Only a very limited portion of the course will address bar exam subject material.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
American Indian Law: Native Sovereignty & Rights
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
This course focuses on Indian Nation sovereignty, Native American rights, and the historical and present-day relationships between the United States (federal, state, and local governments), American Indians, and Indian Nation ("tribal") governments, including issues like tribal sovereign immunity, scope of Congress's power over tribes, criminal, civil, and tax jurisdiction, Indian treaty rights, Indian Child Welfare Act, hunting, fishing, land, and water rights, and Indian gaming and economic development.
Appellate Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates (“Bootcamp”)
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
This is a practical course addressing both the written and oral elements of an appeal. This class is designed for students who wish to be on a competitive appellate team. The focus of the course is teaching the art of persuasion in every aspect of appellate work and how to apply these skills to both competition teams and real life. The skills addressed In this class include understanding the structure of an appellate brief, how to research in preparation of writing an appellate brief, and how to write important parts of an appellate brief, including question(s) presented, statement of facts and case, arguments, and conclusions. In addition to this, students will learn the structure of an appellate argument, the ability to present a persuasive oral argument through language, demeanor, and overall presentation. Finally, students will develop professional courtesy, ethics, and teamwork as moot court competitors and future practicing attorneys.
For the midterm and final grades, students, working in pairs, are assigned two cases which they will apply the above skills to.
Sequence and Prerequisites: In order to take this class you must first earn a Distinguished Advocate Award in an intraschool competition. This distinction can be earned in a school trial competition, the ADR competition, or in the Legal Skills II competition.
Format: The class is divided into numerous Small Sections of four students. These small sections meet once a week for two hours. The small sections are taught by adjunct professors who include practicing attorneys from civil and criminal backgrounds with a career focus on appeals. During these classes, each student will perform and be critiqued on oral skills or review and be critiqued on their submitted written briefs. The small class size is meant to model small groups of students that are usually placed on a competitive team.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will prove helpful in the Performance sections of the California bar examination. The course provides invaluable background experience for anyone contemplating a possible practice in appellate law, whether civil or criminal.
*Please note that if you wish to be on a competitive appellate team, you must take this class first. Please also note that prospective students may be allowed to sit in and observe final exams to learn more about the class. If you are interested in learning more about competitive appellate teams, or if you have additional questions about this class, please reach out to the Competitive Advocacy Program Director, Professor Paul Parisi at pparisi@cwsl.edu.
Art Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This will be a 2-credit hour introductory study of the law of art and cultural heritage. Students in this seminar will study the various aspects of art and cultural heritage law in both the domestic and international landscape. Throughout the course, students will develop an understanding of the varying legal definitions of “cultural heritage” and will examine the tension between the notions of “cultural nationalism” and “cultural internationalism.” Students will study several international and national legal regimes, including international law governing the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict, protections for indigenous cultural heritage, and the legal instruments devised to restrict the illicit trade in ancient artifacts. Students also will examine the interminable issues arising from repatriation and restitution cases, with particular emphasis placed on the ongoing efforts to resolve World War II-era restitution claims. Additional topics will include forgery and authenticity issues, artists’ rights and protections, (copyrights, freedom of expression, and VARA), and legal disputes relating to museum management.
Artificial Intelligence and the Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
AI tools are being used by judges to decide on bail hearings of criminal defendants, sentencing of the criminally convicted, and probation decisions for those to be released from incarceration. AI is also in us to create (albeit inaccurately) briefs that are submitted to courts. AI helps with generation for closing documents, due diligence, discovery, legal research, and client opinion letters. AI is also being utilized to write legislation in Congress. Law students have likewise turned to large language models to write final papers and generate legal arguments for moot court competitions. Lawyers are using AI tools to select arbitrators and jurisdictions in which to
Since the entry of ChatGPT in November 2022, there have been prescient calls to slow down the development of AI for fear of the displacement of so many industries and the looming loss of livelihood that will attend it. Law is one such sector. Indeed, the exponential use of AI in law has forced many law schools, judiciaries, and bar associations to issue warnings about the future study and practice of law. Many questions pervade our collective mental space: Will AI further exacerbate the inequities that exist in our society? Will the systemic discrimination that permeates our justice system be replicated and perfected by the use of machine learning? Will law students be mere tools in a bigger machine of algorithmic bias? What areas of law will be most affected by AI tools?
This course aims to answer these questions and more. To realize the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, lawyers must be part of the solution. We are all aware of the tall claims made by AI boosters, investors, and technologists and acknowledge the myriad dystopian warnings of gender, racial, and sexual orientation bias that may come with this emerging technology. Lawyers are increasingly going to be tasked to deal with much of the fallout from the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Asylum and Refugee Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This course examines the U.S. refugee law regime, with a focus on asylum law in the United States. This course will look at the standards for asylum and the challenges asylum-seekers face when seeking protection in the United States. In addition to studying asylum and refugee law doctrine and policy, we will do some experiential exercises to enable you to learn the practical skills of being an asylum lawyer. The course will thus consider asylum and refugee law through a doctrinal lens as well as both a practitioner’s and a policy perspective.
Bankruptcy
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course provides students with a comprehensive review of U.S. bankruptcy law. The course is designed to provide students with a complete theoretical understanding of bankruptcy law, as well as a practical understanding of the administration of actual bankruptcy cases. The course commences with a brief survey of creditors' remedies under state law (attachment and judgment liens, assignments for the benefit of creditors, composition and extension agreements). The bulk of the course is devoted to the analysis and application of the Bankruptcy Code and will provide a strong foundation for the practice of bankruptcy law.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Secured Transactions is recommended, either prior to or concurrently.
Relationship to Law Practice: Knowledge of bankruptcy law is essential to all commercial lawyers and helpful to all lawyers in civil practice. The federal bankruptcy laws preempt inconsistent state law and have a dramatic impact on the law of contract, torts, civil procedure, property and family law. Specialists in bankruptcy litigation are in high demand. Many students who have taken the course in Bankruptcy have become interns and/or full-time clerks for the Bankruptcy Judges of the Southern District of California, the Southern District of New York, and other bankruptcy courts
Bar Exam Fundamentals
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Other
Bar Exam Fundamentals (BEF) focuses on all three components of the California Bar Exam: the essays, performance tests, and Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) multiple-choice questions. The course provides an overview of highly tested substantive legal topics on the essay and MBE portions of the bar exam and performance test formats. The primary goals of this course are to provide feedback on essay and performance test writing; instruct students on multiple-choice strategy; and teach students how to effectively self-assess their performance on each component of the bar exam. Bar Exam Fundamentals is a weekly three-unit, uncurved, letter-graded course that focuses on the skills required to pass the bar exam on your first attempt. BEF uses a hybrid learning environment to maximize in-class skills development. Prior to each class meeting, students must complete assigned reading and view all substantive lectures in their entirety. In-class students will apply this knowledge through varied practice and assessment activities. Note: BEF is not a replacement for post-graduation commercial bar review courses, it is advance preparation for them.
Business Organizations
Units: 4
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Creative problem Solving
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course explores laws relating to different types of business entities including those relating to agencies, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. The course is designed to familiarize students with general case law and practical problems associated with business organizations as well as common bar exam issues. In addition, it incorporates experiential learning through “experiencing assignments,” problems, collaborative learning and other pedagogical tools. The course includes several “flipped classroom” videos and in class exercises, as well as a guest speaker series, a mid-term, and a final exam. The goal is to provide a variety of teaching formats and formative assessments to help you understand practical applications of the principles we cover and the relationship between concepts, as well as to get hands-on experience and receive assessment opportunities.
Key objectives are to contribute to your understanding of business law, enhance your legal reasoning and improve your ability to anticipate and creatively solve business problems.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites but the following courses are helpful: Business Planning, Accounting for Lawyers, and Income Tax.
Relationship to Law Practice: Every law graduate will be involved with business entities, whether forming, counseling, representing, or operating them. After taking this class, students will have a strong base to make informed decisions about the type of entity to form considering liability, taxes, management, transferability and continuity, and students will be familiar with common legal issues which businesses address as well as how to avoid them and resolve them.
Business Planning: Representing Modest Business Enterprises
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation, Creative problem Solving
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: Business Planning takes a practical approach to transactional work to help you “hit the ground running” if you choose to practice law in a transactional setting. To accomplish this objective, this course uses a simulated deal format to bring together the theory (i.e., mastering the substantive rules of a particular doctrinal area) and the practical reality of “doing deals” (i.e., developing skills that are essential to applying these doctrines to the type of projects typically assigned to first year corporate associates).
Over the course of the semester, students will get a realistic sense of what it is like to be a junior corporate associate at a law firm, both what is expected of young associates and the type of work assignments that they are likely to be asked to do when they start practicing law as a transactional lawyer.
The subject matter of this class is hybrid in nature in that it is designed to incorporate new substantive learning by covering topics related to business planning that are not generally covered elsewhere in the law school curriculum. In addition, this class is also going to include a more practical, skills-related component by incorporating a heavy emphasis on the development of the drafting and analytical skills needed to be successful as an entry level corporate associate in a transactional practice. Areas of coverage may include: interviews and negotiations; ethical considerations in transactional practice; pre-formation considerations, including liability, control, taxes, costs, and administrative matters; selection of the appropriate business entity; business entity formation; planning and drafting documents including terms sheets, operating agreements, buy-sell agreements, devices for controlling management, employment agreements, stock options, and financing agreements; intellectual property; financing the business; and state and federal securities registration/exemption requirements; dissolution. Prerequisites: Business Organizations is a prerequisite for this course. There are no exceptions.
California Civil Procedure
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in the California Code of Civil Procedure as well as an introduction to the problem-solving tasks that lawyers face in the litigation process.
Topics covered include pleading, venue, service of process, the revised California discovery act, lis pendens, summary judgment, default practice, statutes affecting trial and settlement, appellate writ practice and the impact of "fast track" rules. There will be a final examination.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course is particularly useful to students who are interested in civil litigation in California.
California Evidence
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course teaches a law student who expects to take the California Bar Exam how to use the California Evidence Code. It is primarily a lecture class that focuses on trial and motion use of the Evidence Code by both civil and criminal practitioners. The class will contrast the important differences between the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Rules of Evidence. There will be a final examination. Class participation and preparation (during lecture and some vignettes) will also be factored into grading.
Sequence and Prerequisites: The required Evidence course (Federal evidence) is a prerequisite. It is also helpful to have previously taken Criminal Procedure I, but not required.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course is particularly useful to students who are interested in civil or criminal litigation in California.
Cannabis and the Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
This course offers the student a historical perspective of the science, toxicology and legalities of cannabis followed by a snapshot of the real world legal issues related to the current marijuana laws. It is focused on the impact that these laws are having on American Jurisprudence including on the roadways; in the workplace; on the constitution; in the courts; civil matters; criminal matters; youth issues; regulations; and the interplay between the federal, state and local jurisdictions. It will prepare and assist the soon to be attorney with the practical skills necessary to represent the client in marijuana related litigation.
Child Welfare Law & Policy
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Seminar
Content: This course will introduce students to child welfare law and policy. Course will provide an overview of this specialized area of law, including a discussion of the causes and consequences of child maltreatment, the legal framework of child welfare law and the child welfare legal process. Course will also include a discussion of current policy issues and a mock juvenile court hearing.
Students must purchase the book, Child Welfare Law and Practice – Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases (Marvin Ventrell & Donald Duquette, General Editors). Students will also be required to read portions of California Juvenile Courts, Practice and Procedure (Seiser and Kumli), which is available in the law library. Students will be graded on the completion of a short policy paper as well as participation in a mock juvenile dependency hearing, utilizing the laws and concepts learned in class.
Children and the Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course examines the rights of children and the allocation of power between parents and the state in decision-making affecting children. Topic areas focus on parentage; the right of children to support from their parents; issues of child abuse and neglect; adoption; adoption and cultural issues; emancipation of children; and the impact of state action in children's day-to-day lives. Topic areas also addressed: special applications of constitutional, tort, property, and criminal law to children; and decision-making regarding education, day care, and health care for children. The course uses a case law approach with some emphasis on policy and an emphasis on practice. There is a combination of lecture and discussion. Sequence and Prerequisites: This course is related to Family Law, although Family Law is not prerequisite to taking this course. The course is also related to the interdisciplinary course in Children & Families. Relationship to Law Practice: This course would be of interest to anyone practicing in the areas of family law, school law, health law, dependency law, juvenile law or interested in a career as a child advocate or policymaker.
Civil Rights Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
This is a three-credit introductory study of American civil rights law with a focus on general civil rights enforcement. In this course, you will study the primary sources of law defining “civil rights,” the means by which a plaintiff may litigate a civil rights claim against individual actors and entities, and the limitations and defenses that may be available to a party defending against such a claim. Specifically, you will examine the doctrine of constitutional tort law as applied to state and federal actors, civil rights limitations and defenses like absolute and qualified immunity, supervisory and municipal liability, the enforcement of certain statutory rights, available remedies, and matters of institutional reform or “impact litigation.” The topical focus will be on policing, prisons, and public employment.
Commercial Real Estate Transactions
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: This course examines the elements of modern commercial real estate transactions. Topics covered include considerations in structuring transactions, review of contemporary documents now used in the market; hazardous substance liabilities and environmental assessments; property sales agreements and escrows; commercial real estate finance and legal opinions for lenders; construction lending; liens; title insurance; the role of the public sector in major project development; and commercial leasing. The course also introduces some basic federal income tax considerations pertinent to commercial property transactions, such as depreciation and like-kind exchanges. As a practicum, this course emphasizes skills in negotiation, document drafting, and problem-solving used by attorneys in transactional law. Students will draft portions of several documents used in commercial real estate ventures and engage in negotiation of a typical real estate agreement.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course is directly related to the actual practice of real estate law. While of particular interest to students who plan to emphasize real estate in their professional work, the course could be considered preparation for transactional law practice generally.
Community Law Project - Academic Component
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content: This course combines classroom learning with actual experience providing legal assistance to low income clients. In addition to the weekly 1-hr seminar and in lieu of extensive casebook readings, students will spend approximately 4 hours a week at one of the Community Law Project’s two sites (downtown or in Lemon Grove). While on site, students will engage in client intakes, research legal issues for clients, assist clients with paperwork, collaborate with interdisciplinary partners and work with specialty attorneys to provide clients with an understanding of how best to resolve their legal issues. Through this combined experience, students will learn the necessary skills and substantive knowledge needed to best work with low-income clients, as well as enhance their understanding of issues facing homeless and low-income clients. In addition, through class time and time working with various volunteer attorneys at the clinic, students will gain a basic understanding of the many areas of law that most affect the poor, including immigration, family, public benefits, bankruptcy, criminal and personal injury. During class time, students will learn and practice new skills, discuss the readings, and debrief their clinical experiences. Sequence and Prerequisites: This clinic will be open to and is required of students who have been accepted as legal interns for the Community Law Project. Enrollment is limited to 8 students. Students must be available for clinical participation either Mondays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or Mondays from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Interested students should apply by submitting a cover letter and resume via email to Dana Sisitsky, Esq. at dsisitsky@cwsl.edu explaining their interest in this clinic. Relationship to Law Practice: Learning how to effectively work with low income and homeless clients will help future lawyers become more sensitive to the unique barriers faced by the poor. Getting hands on experience working with the poor will instill a commitment to public service in students. Working in an interdisciplinary setting will enhance students’ understanding of the interconnectedness of medical, legal and social issues and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the provision of services to the poor. Grading: Grades will be based on classroom participation, written journals, professionalism at the clinic, and a community education presentation to be presented to clients at the end of the trimester.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Community Property
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course provides a comprehensive study of California community property law. The areas of law covered include the need for a marital property system; the statutory scheme in California; premarital, marital and marital termination agreements; presumptions affecting the characterization of property; classification of specific marital property such as pension plans, professional degrees and licenses, and insurance benefits; apportionment between the separate and community property estates; management and control of community property and the rights of third-party creditors; community property distribution at dissolution and death; and choice of law at dissolution and death. The text combines the study of both case and statutory law from a problem-oriented perspective. Since community property is a highly policy-driven area of the law, the course will examine the theoretical bases for legislative and judicial decisions. Additional time will be spent comparing the California system to other community property and to common law systems.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: Because community property principles pervade so many other areas of substantive law, a comprehensive course in community property is essential for those students who are going to practice civil law in California or other community property states. California community property law has become increasingly complex and this course familiarizes students with concepts and legal doctrine that are an integral part of the practice of law in California. Community property is a subject tested on the California Bar Exam
Comparative Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: Comparative Law is a unique course because it describes a method of study rather than a body of rules. It involves the use of the comparative method -- that is, how to look at legal issues and institutions from a comparative perspective. A globalized economy requires for its lawyers. This course considers the advantages of the comparative method as well as the inevitable difficulties that arise in its application. It examines several macro-level legal systems such as International Law, International Trade Law, and European Union Law. It also provides a micro-level analysis of several legal systems including common law, civil law, Islamic law and indigenous law.Through this course, students will gain a greater awareness of the diversity of law and legal institutions on local, regional, and global levels. They will also gain a better understanding of the U.S. legal system. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Legal Scholarship Training Seminar is a co requisite for students who want Scholarly Writing credit. Relationship to Law Practice: The study of Comparative Law develops skills in recognizing, analyzing, and studying legal problems involving foreign elements. It is a particularly important course for those interested in international commerce.
Conflict of Laws
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content : This course examines legal problems in which parties or critical events are situated in more that one state or jurisdiction. Particular areas addressed include: the jurisdiction of courts; recognition and enforcement of judgments of sister states and foreign countries; and the choice-of-law rules and approaches used where at least one of the parties or operative facts is connected with a state other than the place of the suit. Most of the subject matter of Conflict of Laws concerns United States law, although application of principles to international situations is also addressed. Instruction is by a review of case and materials, supplemented by use of the problem method. Sequence and Prerequisites : There are no prerequisites for Conflict of Laws. However, the substantive issues in the cases that provide the vehicles for studying Conflict of Laws principles cover a range of upper-class, as well as first-year, subjects. For this reason, most students take Conflict of Laws in their fifth or sixth trimester. Relationship to Law Practice : A working knowledge of Conflict of Laws is essential in today's mobile society. In every area of law, a lawyer can expect that much of their business will concern people, events or transactions connected with more than one state. The course will be of particular interest to students interested in family law, business planning, international law, or litigation.
Constitutional Law II
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course provides an introduction to the basic individual liberty issues in constitutional law: issues related to the restrictions on the manner in which federal, state and local government officials treat "the governed." These specific topics are covered: freedom of speech; freedom of press; freedom of religion; equal protection, particularly as it relates to racial discrimination and affirmative action; procedural due process; and rights to privacy and substantive due process.
Sequence and Prerequisites: This is an elective upper-class course. Students taking Constitutional Law II must already have taken Constitutional Law I, or with the instructor's permission they may take both courses concurrently.
Many upper-class courses discuss subjects for which Constitutional Law II provides a foundation (Criminal Procedure I; Administrative & Legislative Law; Advanced Criminal Justice; American Legal History; Children and the Law; Criminal Procedure II; Family Law; First Amendment; Labor Law; Law and the Political System), so it is a good idea to take Constitutional Law II (and, therefore, Constitutional Law I) early on in a student's upper-class course schedule.
Relationship to Law Practice: A knowledge of the issues examined in Constitutional Law II is very helpful to any practitioner working for a federal or state governmental agency or representing clients who have matters involving these governmental agencies. (This includes practitioners in such seemingly "private law" fields as land use and property disposition, representation of corporate entities, personal injury practice involving workers compensation schemes, etc.)
In addition, Constitutional Law II is taught through a methodology emphasizing problem-solving and critical analysis and argumentation. These generic skills are broadly useful to all legal practitioners.
The materials in Constitutional Law II are given significant weight on the MultiState Bar Exam, and are often tested in the essay portion of bar exams, including the California Bar Exam. (Materials relating to Constitutional Law II have been tested on the Performance Exam portion of the California Bar Exam.) It is the experience of most students that the materials in Constitutional Law II are difficult to learn for the first time during bar exam preparation.
Consumer Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Practicum
Content : This course is intended to introduce students to selected areas of consumer law - specifically how these areas affect consumers and the major litigation areas within the statutes that will be studies [FDCPA/TCPA/CA Penal Code 630 et seq.].The statutes that the course is centered around can be very technical and as a result the course will look at:- Statutory interpretation and the litigation surrounding it; AND- Major issues that have historically been litigated within these statutes; AND- Cutting edge issues that have recently been brought the forefront of litigation as they pertain to these statutes; AND- How these statutes can or cannot be used for purposes of class actions in order to protect consumer rights. The classes will be theoretical and practical. The first hour of the class will concentrate around the readings and the understanding of core terms and concepts. The latter section of each class will be dedicated to practicum - fact patterns based around the concepts being discussed in class. Students will be asked to act as both Plaintiff and Defense counsel in the fact patterns presented so that students can understand the issues and difficulties of the case from both sides of the V. Grading : Grading will be done in three portions:- Midterm – this will be a take home where students will be asked to draft pleadings and discovery based on a fact pattern presented to them on theories taught up to the point of the midterm. This will represent 35% of the final grade.- Final – Students will be given a take home where they will be asked to draft a motion or opposition to motion surrounding the consumer issues taught. This will represent 50% of the final grade.- Class attendance and participation – students will be judged on their professionalism, attendance and class preparation and willingness to participate in class hypotheticals. This will represent 15% of the final grade. Sequence and Prerequisites : No prerequisites. Relationship to Law Practice : This course will be very useful to those that may wish to pursue a career in consumer law. It will also be useful to those that wish to pursue litigation generally as the course will be taught with litigation in mind.
Copyright Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: Emphasizing current practical applications, the course covers the extent of copyright protection for print, film, tape, computer programs, music, painting, sculpture, dance, design, architecture, and other original works of authorship. The boundaries of copyright protection, including its overlap with the law of patents, trademarks, trade-secrets, and unfair competition are also explored. Teaching is by casebook and informal discussions directed at problem-solving. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. However, your interest in or familiarity with copyrightable media or legal principles will enrich class discussions. The course complements Entertainment Law, but the two courses can be taken together or in any order. Relationship to Law Practice: Many practicing attorneys avoid the conceptually difficult field of intellectual property. This course aims to eradicate that fear, and enable general practitioners or specialists to practice effectively.
Corporate Finance
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: The course seeks to introduce the student to corporate finance and to examine, through case law and business case studies, some of the prominent issues that legal counsel and clients face in evaluating both transactions and litigation in the context of a public corporation.
The course examines how corporate entities raise capital, the common types of instruments used to raise capital (common stock, warrants, preferred stock, secured debt, and unsecured debt), and the rights of the holders of these instruments together with the decision-making considerations that face the corporate client in making these decisions.
While some course time is devoted to valuation techniques and other quantitative topics, these subjects are examined with the assumption that course members have not had any recent or significant quantitative prior course work or background.
Criminal Law Theory
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: In its current iteration, this course is dedicated close readings of cases in which principles of responsibility (actions and their justifications, excuses, and punishment) are examined more closely than in the first year of criminal law. In this respect the course could be titled “criminal law II” in that it is an extension of the introductory criminal-law course, examining many of the same materials, but with considerably more depth. To do this, the number of cases is reduced while the intensity (and length) of the discussions of and around those cases is increased.
Crimmigration
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program, International Law
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course will introduce students to the many issues at the intersection of immigration law and criminal law. From the moment of arrest through completion of any sentence, the criminal legal system functions differently for noncitizens, with significant immigration consequences flowing from decisions at every stage. Meanwhile, immigration proceedings and/or benefits are greatly affected by any involvement in the criminal legal system. But “crimmigration” isn’t only about the practice of law. "Crimmigration" is a “new form of social control” that relates to how and on who the law is enforced. Consequently, the course will have both theoretical and practical components. We will examine how the "crimmigration" system developed historically and its current features, and then how it affects the practice of both criminal and immigration law.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will provide students with the knowledge required to recognize and analyze the potential immigration consequences of a variety of criminal pleas and convictions. Judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys must be aware of these consequences and prepared to address them in the course of criminal proceedings. Immigration attorneys, meanwhile, need to understand criminal law to properly represent their clients in immigration proceedings. Throughout the course students will also be introduced to novel legal arguments that rely on social and legal history. This course will thus help in improving statutory analysis, legal argumentation, and litigation strategies.
Critical Race Theory
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This seminar examines law and legal institutions from the perspective of race. Through critical race theory, we will review the social construction of race and its use to marginalize the Black community. We will study both implicit bias and structural racism. We will consider the relevance of history, including the legacy of slavery, segregation, and racial violence perpetrated against Blacks and other people of color. We will use critical race theory to study current issues, including poverty, mass incarceration, and affirmative action. Because critical race theory calls for interrogation of all forms of subjugation, this course will also consider other forms of inequality, including gender and sexual orientation.
Employee Benefit Law & ERISA
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Labor & Employment Law
Designation(s): Practicum
Content: This practice-oriented course focuses on ERISA, “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,” through a survey of employee benefits laws and a review of selected types of retirement and health and welfare employee benefit plans. First, the survey introduces students to the practical application of employee benefits, including available methodologies for structuring employee benefits, typical qualified plans, nonqualified plans, and executive compensation. The survey examines existing and anticipated statutes and regulations, and the agencies responsible for administration of employee benefits matters. Second, selected retirement plans are examined, including employee stock ownership plans, pension and profit-sharing plans, and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Selected health and welfare plans examined include the myriad of employer provided plans. A review is made of the requirements for selected plans under the Internal Revenue Code and applicable provisions of ERISA. Sequence and Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites. Courses in the Employment Law concentration may be taken in any sequence. Recommended classes include administrative law, income taxation, accounting, and health law. Relationship to Law Practice: ERISA matters are the most litigated volume of cases in the federal courts. Employment Law and Employee Benefit Law are areas of practice in great demand. Employee benefits need to be understood by employment lawyers, corporate counsels, family lawyers and general practitioners. Employee Benefit Law is a relatively complex area of law. This course provides both a general back-ground and greater depth in selected areas, to provide future practitioners with a foundation in employee benefits law.
Employment Discrimination
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Labor & Employment Law
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course is an in-depth study of the laws forbidding discrimination in employment on the basis of race, national origin, sex, religion, age and handicap, as well as other protected characteristics. While the focus will be on federal employment discrimination laws, some time will be spent on comparable state/local laws. This course will be taught with a strong emphasis on the practical and strategic aspects of doctrines that we will study, focusing not only on the legal elements of such doctrines, but also on the real-world applications of these doctrines, including how these doctrines affect (and are affected by) the modern workplace.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Employment Discrimination is one course of a three course group which also includes Employment Law and Labor Law. These courses may be taken in any sequence. Together, these three courses provide a comprehensive examination of the law of the workplace and of employment relations.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course is not limited to those who are interested in pursuing employment law as a career. Anyone who plans to work with employers or employees in any capacity will be served by this course, in that it will address issues likely to be of great significance to your future clients.
Employment Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Labor & Employment Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course provides a basic overview of the most common issues to arise in the relationship between an individual and an employer. The general structure of the course will follow the employment relationship from beginning to end, discussing such issues as the hiring process; discrimination in employment; wage and hour rules; employee privacy and freedom of expression; workplace health and safety; wrongful discharge; and post-employment restrictions on employees. This course will be taught with a strong emphasis on the practical and strategic aspects of doctrines that are covered, focusing not only on the legal elements of such doctrines, but also on the real-world applications of these doctrines, including how these doctrines affect – and are affected by – changes in the modern workplace.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Employment law is one of a three-course group including Employment Discrimination and Labor Law which together provide a basic and comprehensive preparation to practice in this area. Courses may be taken in any sequence.
Relationship to Law Practice: Employment law is one of the fastest growing areas of practice and is a subject matter that general practitioners are likely to encounter frequently. It also is a very complex area of the law, with an enormous number of statutes and interlinking common law doctrines, making it virtually impossible to practice competently without prior course work. An employment practice can range from government employment to solo practitioner work to firm practice to working as in-house counsel, among other options.
Energy & Climate Change Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This course focuses on the challenge of reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change through decarbonizing the electricity sector, while addressing problems of social justice, with an emphasis on the potential structure of a global climate change agreement. The rationales for achieving global climate and justice goals, the major sources of stocks and flows of greenhouse gases, and the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and poverty will be explored. Proposed public and private policy architectures and measures for reducing carbon emissions and alleviating poverty will be evaluated, including the incentives for renewable power and associated infrastructure. Students will learn how the electricity system is organized, the division between federal and state authority, the mechanics of the competitive markets for generated power, and the regulation of rates for transmission and distribution. These topics will be situated within the challenge of bringing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero and doing so without exacerbating existing problems inequality and energy poverty.
Entertainment Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course scrutinizes the entertainment industry's six branches-- movies, television, theater, music, print, and videogames-- for cutting-edge issues in idea-submission, copyright. power relationships, unions, publicity, warranties, artistic control, credit, transfer of rights, and profit participation. Probing crucial business practices that shape the controlling legal principles, the course's text draws from caselaw, statutes, collective-bargaining agreements, trade journals, and news articles that delineate the daily activities within each branch. Grading: In the Fall 2024, this course is taught as a scholarly writing class.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Prereq Copyright Law
Relationship to Law Practice: A fast-growing legal specialty, even students who don't intend practicing in the field will find it a professional advantage in understanding the industry that dictates our nation’s (and increasingly the world’s) cultural norms, trends, and consciousness. By itself this course won't land you a job in Hollywood, but you'll at least be able to handle the interviews.
Entrepreneurship Law & Ethics
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Experiential
This course acquaints students with legal issues associated with starting a new business. These include choice of entity, intellectual property, financing and fundraising strategies, and ethics. Students are also exposed to entrepreneurial and business case studies, experiential presentation skills development, and practical realities and insights about entrepreneurship.
Environmental Law [U.S.]
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This course surveys major US federal environmental laws and is suitable for students who are considering a career in the field and those who are interested in environmental issues generally. The class will examine the sources and values underlying US environmental law, traditional environmental law topics (such as water, air, and land pollution laws), as well as natural resources topics (such as endangered species conservation). We will also examine the science and law of global climate change, the overriding issue of our time. The class is a paper course (there will be no final exam). In addition to paper submittals, students will take several quizzes over the course of the trimester and give a short presentation to the class on their paper topic. There will be a variety of guest speakers, field trips, and documentary films on various covered topics.
Coreq. for SW credit is the Legal Scholarship Training Seminar.
Estate & Gift Tax
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Practicum
Content: This practice-oriented course focuses on federal and state taxation of estates, trusts and gifts, with an emphasis on estate and gift planning in community property states, such as California. It provides an overview of the federal estate and gift tax, federal income tax on trusts and estates, and state inheritance taxes. Topics covered include probate avoidance techniques, suitability and use of revocable ("living") trusts, irrevocable trusts, planning for non-U.S. citizens and spouses, planning with insurance, and computation of the gift tax, estate tax and income taxes imposed on trusts and estates. The matters covered in class are illustrated by examples drawn from current and expected future estate planning laws. The federal government is in the process of substantially modifying the estate and gift tax laws, to once again make the taxes applicable to many more American families.
Prerequisites: Federal Income Tax is recommended but not required. No business or accounting background is needed.
Relationship to Law Practice: Useful in the fields of probate, wills, trusts, estate planning, family law and business law for owners and investors.
Externship Seminar
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Family Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This class is an immersion into to the daily practice of family law. It covers temporary and permanent relief available to litigants. Students will learn how to initiate the proceeding, select an appropriate remedy, manage the case, draft various family law motions, how to seek emergency relief, and prepare for trial or an evidentiary hearing. Students will become familiar with the Judicial Counsel Forms they must use to initiate a divorce or separation proceeding, paternity action, custody and visitation disputes, child and spousal support, property issues, fees, orders, settlement agreements, and judgments. It covers the frequently used Local Rules, California Rules of Court, key family code provisions, case law, discovery, and procedure.
Grading is based on a multiple choice mid-term exam, and the 3-hour final exam consisting of a mix of essay, short answer, and multiple choice questions.
Sequence and Prerequisites: It is recommended that students have taken or are simultaneously taking a Community Property course.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course is a must for students who would like to specialize in family law, or take on family law related contract work post-bar. This class will prepare student to take on their first case, know what to expect throughout the proceeding, how to draft the documents, and prepared for their court appearances.
FDA Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Health Law & Policy
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course is a case study approach to learning about the way in which the Food and Drug Administration regulates the development of new drugs, biologics (such as vaccines and injectable protein drugs), medical devices, and food additives; particular emphasis will be placed on the statute, regulations, and FDA materials intended to assist FDA users in interpreting the FDA's authority and procedures.Students will write a paper for swr credit which examines a current problem involving the FDA and in which the students propose a solution or evaluate alternative solutions.
Sequence and Prerequisites:No prerequisites. Administrative Law is helpful but not required. Legal Scholarship Training Seminar is a co requisite for students who want Scholarly Writing credit
Relationship to Law Practice: Very useful for lawyers intending to represent or work for biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, or major agricultural companies or food processors.It is also useful for students seeking a better understanding of the way the law deals with complex issues of science and public policy.
Federal Crimes
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s):
In this course we will examine commonly prosecuted federal crimes with a special emphasis on federal border crimes, including drug smuggling, human smuggling, and illegal reentry. Other areas of study will include federal firearms offenses, racketeering, national security, and corruption cases. Related legal issues, such as the application of 4th Amendment principles at the border, will be examined. The course will be graded based upon a practical exercise and class participation.
Federal Income Tax
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Child, Family and Elder Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Exam Class, Practicum
Content: This course examines Federal Income Taxation of the individual. It includes the basic principles of the federal income tax, including the concepts of gross income, exclusions, deductions, elements of tax procedure, judicial review, and tax research. Tax concepts and theory as well as practical application are covered. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. No business, accounting, or math background is needed. The course should be taken in the first or second trimester of the second year. Many students unexpectedly decide to take additional tax courses after taking the basic course. If the course is taken early in the second year, this leaves the possibility of other electives in the third year. Also, it is good background for other business and commercial courses. Relationship to Law Practice: Federal taxation affects almost every legal transaction and most fields of law. For instance, it is involved in all commercial law areas as well as such areas as divorce law, sports law, entertainment law, tort law, etc.
Prof. Kovacic teaches the class without exam.
Food Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Health Law & Policy
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This is a survey course on American food law. In this class, we will discuss the regulation of food, the structure and process of our food system, the abuses within the food system, and the mechanisms by which we can address food safety, nutrition, environment, and security.
Forensic Evidence
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: The curriculum will be drawn from topics such as arson investigation, DNA evidence, firearms identification, gun shot residue, fingerprint identification, toxicology, serology, forensic pathology (including entomology & time of death), handwriting comparison, computer evidence, tool mark identification, voice identification, blood spatter, forensic neurology & psychiatry (including insanity and mitigation evidence relevant to sentencing) and other common microanalysis (hair, fiber, paint, glass, etc.) After giving students a basic grounding in the information necessary to understand the science, practical hands-on training exercises would then be undertaken to teach students how to effectively consult with experts, present their testimony on direct examination, and challenge such expert testimony thru cross-examination.
Foundations of Law
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Seminar
This course is a required first semester course. Foundations of Law is a course designed to introduce law students to the skills necessary for success in law school and on the bar exam. In this course, students will work individually and collaboratively to develop the skills that can be transferred to other courses, the bar examination, and legal practice.
Gender, Power, Law & Leadership
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This seminar is inspired by the glaring omission of women from positions of power and leadership in the legal profession and beyond. While women continue to enter law school and the legal profession in relatively equal numbers as men, they remain outside of the structures of power---in the judiciary, law firms, the corporate world and even law school. A great deal of time, energy and resources are devoted to trying to change the landscape, yet very little attention is paid to the site where it all begins: law school and legal education. This seminar exposes students to various theories of leadership and pursues the inquiry of how leadership intersects with gender, power and law. As but a few examples, the seminar explores the leadership landscape, identifies barriers and obstacles to advancement, and considers whether gender matters, using the judiciary and judicial decision making as a case study. Recognizing the power of narrative and storytelling, students select and read a biography about a transformative lawyer during the semester.
Health Law & Policy
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Health Law & Policy
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course examines the systems by which the United States accesses, finances and delivers health care. To that end, we will look at the history of health care and the influences that have led us to a status quo of a $2.5 trillion system that excludes approximately 50 million Americans and where an estimated 100,000 Americans die each year as a result of preventable error. In March 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (the PPACA) designed to radically improve the state of health care in the U.S. The course will use the PPACA as a prism to discuss such health care and policy issues as access, affordability, third-party payment, provider reimbursement, regulation, cost-control and rationing, and the effects, sometimes perverse, that law has had on the development of the system. Assessment for the course will be an analytical research paper on a relevant topic that may be also submitted for scholarly writing credit. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Human Rights Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Exam Class, Scholarly Writing
Content: This course examines both the domestic and international protection of human rights. Among the topics that will be discussed are the contributions of diverse philosophical and cultural traditions to the development of human rights law, the role of multilateral and regional institutions in the protection of human rights, and the impact of human rights on international relations. The course also examines how national legal systems can protect human rights and punish perpetrators of human rights abuses. The goals of this course are twofold. It is designed to introduce students to the normative and institutional components of human rights law. It is also designed to introduce students to the methods they can use to protect human rights in both domestic and international fora.
Requirements: Students can choose to write a research paper or take the final exam. Additional information about the class requirements will be discussed at the first class session.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites although some exposure to international law is desirable.
Immigration Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course explores the application of the immigration laws of the United States including the Immigration and Nationality Act (which has recently passed through sweeping changes), the INS regulations, and relevant case law. Subjects emphasized include criteria for admission into the United States for all nonimmigrants, and both family based and employment based immigrants; removal provisions (previously exclusion and deportation provisions), relief from removal; asylum; citizenship; and the most recent legislative amendments affecting the rights of immigrants. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: The objective of this course is to provide a practical foundation that a novice practitioner needs in order to practice immigration law after graduation. Additionally, the course will explore the social policies and motivations driving recent legislative amendments. A good portion of the course is devoted to examining the latest administrative actions and relevant cases. It also provides a means for refining basic lawyering skills, especially the capacity for close reading of an intricate statute, the discipline of mastering a specialized technical vocabulary, and legal analysis.
Immigration Seminar & Clinical Field Placement: Helping Victims of Domestic Violence
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content:This course combines classroom learning with actual experience in the field of immigration. In addition to the weekly 2-hr seminar and in lieu of extensive casebook readings, students will spend 8 hrs a week at the Operation Samahan medical-legal clinic in National City assisting with new client intake and working on 2 assigned cases under the supervision of Access, Inc. immigration attorneys. Through this combined experience, students will learn the necessary skills and substantive knowledge needed to represent immigrant victim clients as well as broaden their understanding of issues facing immigrant victims of domestic violence. Specifically, students will interview immigrants seeking relief, prepare an immigration case under VAWA or the U visa process. The work is interdisciplinary; students will collaborate with social work and healthcare professionals to address the unique barriers immigrant victims of domestic violence face in seeking help. During class time, students will learn new skills, discuss the readings, and debrief their clinical experiences and assigned cases.
Sequence and Prerequisites: This clinic will be open to students who have taken or are currently enrolled in Immigration Law or Women and Immigration Law. Enrollment is limited to 4 students. Students must be available at least one morning, Monday to Friday from 9am to 11 am, to do legal intake at Operation Samahan in National City, and be available an additional 6hrs, anytime between 9 to 5 pm. Monday to Friday, to work on their assigned cases at the clinic.
Interested students should submit a cover letter and resume via email to Anne S. Bautista, Esq. abautista@access2jobs.org explaining their interest in this field placement.
Relationship to Law Practice: Learning how to effectively work with immigrant victims of domestic violence will help immigration, criminal defense, and family lawyers become more sensitive to the unique barriers faced by immigrant victims. Getting hands on experience working with victims in this highly specialized area of immigration law helps enhance the understanding of immigration law in general and the importance of working with social workers and health care professionals in a community medical clinic setting that is culturally accessible to victims who do not or cannot readily access mainstream legal services.
Grading: Grades will be based on classroom participation, professionalism, and case work, including the student’s ability to work with clients and other professionals, gather necessary information, research the relevant law, and prepare a detailed declaration.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Innocence Clinic
Units: 4
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
Students enrolled in the Innocence Clinic at Cal Western will work alongside experienced post-conviction attorneys to seek the release of wrongfully convicted prisoners in the state of California.
The summer course is comprised of a seminar and a clinical component.
The 2-unit seminar will meet once a week for 130 minutes. This course will explore the issue of wrongful convictions, from causes to remedies. Students will study real cases to examine the causes of wrongful convictions. Students will then learn how post-conviction lawyers evaluate, investigate, and litigate wrongful convictions to bring decades-old cases back to court and free the innocent. Finally, during the seminar, students will learn the anatomy of post-conviction motions and petitions, and how to persuasively draft these important pleadings.
Students will receive two additional credits for case work performed under the supervision of their assigned attorney. Students will be required to spend a minimum of 15 hours per week outside of the class session on assigned readings and case work. During the clinical portion of this course, law students will work alongside their supervising attorneys and private investigators to evaluate claims of innocence, investigate these claims, research the law pertaining to the cases, draft legal documents including motions, witness declarations, briefs, legal memoranda, petitions, letters to attorneys and clients, expert reports, and case round memos. Students also attend and participate in court proceedings and advocate for clients.
To receive the most fulfilling experience, students should be prepared to travel for investigations and court hearings throughout Southern California, from Kern County down to the Mexico border. To that end, it is suggested that students keep at least one full weekday completely available for this case work.
There is no final exam. Students are graded on the written work they produce in the course and on their closing memo and presentations.
Sequence & Prerequisites: No prerequisites, but enrollment is strictly limited to 14 students.
For an application, please email info@calinnocence.org
Insurance Law & Litigation
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course focuses on the development and application of “Bad Faith” insurance law in the State of California. It also addresses a wide variety of insurance coverage issues and emphasizes how insurance plays an integral part in civil cases. Contract law, discovery and trial litigation tactics and conflicts of interest are embraced in the study of insurance litigation.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: Insurance is the lifeblood of personal injury and other kinds of litigation. Without it, often there are no funds to pay settlements and attorneys' fees. To properly represent clients, a working knowledge of coverage and proper claims handling practices is essential.
International Business Transactions
Units:
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, International Law
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course covers private contractual aspects of international trade and as well as some public (government regulation) aspects as well. Specific topics covered include the role of counsel in international business, international sales contracts and the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), use of distributors and agents, investing overseas, private international dispute resolution, choice of forum and choice of law clauses, international commercial arbitration, enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, extraterritorial legislation, responses to fairly and unfairly traded imports, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
International Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Exam Class, Scholarly Writing
Content: An introduction to the substance and process of public international law as applied among independent nation-states and other legal entities. By means of cases and materials, the course addresses selected problems dealing with the following: the sources, development, and authority of international law; the scope of international law application in U.S. courts and in international courts and tribunals; the making, interpretation, enforcement, and termination of treaties; recognition; territory; nationality; jurisdiction and immunities; the United Nations and other international organizations; state responsibility and international claims for wrongs to citizens abroad; the rights of individuals under international law; terrorism; and certain aspects of the law of war, including war crimes trials.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
International Law is the basic, introductory course in international law. Students interested in a basic knowledge of international law should take this course, and students interested in an international law area of concentration typically start with this course. International Law is either a prerequisite or a recommended course for many of the other international law course offerings.
Requirements: Students can choose to write a research paper or take the final exam.
International Legal Research
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: The purpose of this course is to enhance research skills in the areas of international and foreign law. Students will learn how to locate and use sources of public international law, such as treaties and customary international law. Students will also learn to locate and use sources of information from or concerning international tribunals, international organizations, the European Union, and international legal scholars. Additionally, students will learn legal research tips for selected foreign jurisdictions (e.g., Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and China). The class will be exposed to both print and online resources of international and foreign law.
Grading: Grades will be based on the completion of a series of essays on a topic relevant to international and foreign law.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course familiarizes students with legal research materials that are used by attorneys in the international arena.
International Lititgation
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Seminar
This course introduces you to international litigation in connection with disputes among businesses or individuals based in different countries. We will examine the following topics: personal jurisdiction, evidence from abroad, deposition of foreign witnesses, application of attorney-client privilege, recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration award under the New York Convention, and recognition of foreign judgment under the Uniform Foreign Monetary Judgment Recognition Act
Internet & Social Media Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Seminar
Content: This course examines cutting edge issues that arise at the intersection of social media technologies and the law. These technologies include social networks, wikis, blogs, podcasts, mashups, virtual worlds, and online video/image/audio sharing websites. Popular examples of these services include Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Youtube, and Wikipedia, which enable users to communicate, share and distribute content in unprecedented ways. With a particular focus on these social media services that rely heavily on user generated content (UGC), this course will provide a foundation for understanding the state of the law regarding these technologies. The areas of law that touch social media are vast, ranging from Intellectual Property, to free speech, to privacy, to contract, to many other areas of law. This course highlights the unique applications of law to social media that result from both the nature of the technologies involved, as well as from specific legal frameworks designed to treat social media and the Internet in unique ways. The course will emphasize recent and upcoming cases, unresolved questions, and scenarios students are likely face as attorneys. The specific learning outcomes for this course are included at the end of this document, and will be discussed explicitly in our first class.
Intimate Partner Violence and the Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law, Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Seminar
The goal of this course is to educate students about the dynamics of Intimate Partner Violence cases within the criminal and quasi-criminal and civil legal justice systems.Students will receive practical information about the challenges involved in legal advocacy for battered persons, as well as theoretical, ethical and historical approaches to the problem of
Intimate Partner Violence and its intersection with child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse, and human trafficking. This course will explore the history of the battered women’s movement, the evolution of case and statutory laws, policies, and best practices related to advocating for
victims. The course will include training on Intimate Partner dynamics, evidence collection strategies, trauma-informed approach to communicating with victims, how Intimate Partner Violence intersects with child abuse, traumatic brain injury and other negative health outcomes, how
intimate partner violence cases are analyzed within the criminal justice system and prosecutorial agencies, the role of expert witnesses, analyzing landmark legal cases, and how intimate partner violence connects with the civil, immigration, child welfare, healthcare and other systems. Students will get the opportunity to learn about local resources, learn from the
perspectives of survivors of abuse, and tour the local courthouse to observe Intimate Partner Violence cases in court, as well as a local Family Justice Center.
Below are the following course objectives:
• Students will learn the history and roots of the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
movement and how IPV touches the civil legal system, the child welfare system, the
child dependency system, and intersects with human trafficking.
• Students will learn the barriers that exist for victims of intimate partner violence and
human trafficking to escape their abusive situation and solutions and interventions
locally to assist vicitms of crime
• Students will learn the legal protections that exist for victims of IPV and child victims
within the courtrooms and how the California Constitution protects victims of IPV
• Students will learn “Three Ps” of providing safety and service to victims of Intimate
Partner Violence: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution
2
• Students will learn and debate current topics in Intimate Partner Violence including the
combination of IPV and firearms, IPV and non lethal strangulation, and IPV and
suspicious injiry reporting for health care professional.
Each student, along with other assignments, will write a 20-page paper that explores the law,
policy, history and theory of domestic violence intervention work with the goal of advancing
the academic conversation pertaining to that topic. Writing assignments will include an
emphasis on current legal, ethical, and policy matters related to intervention and prevention
efforts associated with domestic violence. Students will also provide a 10-minute presentation
summarizing their writing assignment. Students are expected to complete reading assignments
on time, fully participate during class and attend the entire class session.
Jurisprudence
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This seminar will examine selected current issues in the philosophy of law. Specifically, the seminar will focus on certain topics which lie on the border between law and philosophy. In the exploration of these topics, we will inquire into the extent to which philosophical analysis can help resolve legal problems. The specific topics taken up in the seminar will vary, but might include some of the following:
(1) abortion; (2) “reverse discrimination,” preferential treatment and affirmative action; (3) the relation between law and society's moral norms, focusing on the right of society to enforce moral norms by legal sanctions, as in, e.g., laws against pornography, homosexuality, prostitution, etc.; (4) the issue of whether there can be a moral obligation to disobey the law (i.e., the problem of civil disobedience); (5) the justification of punishment: deterrence vs. retribution; (6) the right to die.
The course consists of discussing leading judicial decisions and a range of philosophical analyses from the main contemporary schools of legal philosophy, including economic analysis and the critical legal studies movement. The course will focus on the extent to which these different approaches to the issues of jurisprudence reflect very different visions of what law is, what a just society would look like, and how law functions in contemporary American society.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No background in philosophy is required or needed. All that is needed is a willingness to confront and think through these issues. The course may be repeated at the discretion of the instructor as the course topic varies.
Relationship to Law Practice: The intent of the course is that students will come away from the course with an increased awareness of what it means to be a lawyer and to be implicated in and responsible for the contemporary legal system.
Juvenile Justice
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law, Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This class will explore juvenile delinquency law from a national perspective with an emphasis on California jurisprudence. The exam plan includes a mid-term and a final examination.
Sequence and Prerequisites: None required, however the class will examine constitutional law, criminal law and criminal procedure law as it relates to juvenile offenders.
Relationship to Law Practice: This class relates directly to the practice of criminal law and will overlap with child advocacy and family law.
Labor Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Labor & Employment Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course examines workers' rights to organize unions, and employer responses, under the National Labor Relations Act. Topics include how unions become collective bargaining representatives, unfair labor practices, strikes, and relations between unions and their members. A major focus is on policy issues, including power relationships in the workplace, the roles unions play in our society, the role of legislative supports for collective bargaining, the impact of NLRB and court interpretations in affecting how justice is administered, and union strategies for dealing with complex social and workplace issues in an international economy. The course also introduces employment law and administrative law concepts.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites
Labor Law is one of a three-course group including Employment Law and Employment Discrimination which together provide a basic and comprehensive preparation to practice in this area. Courses may be taken in any sequence. Administrative Law is highly recommended.
Relationship to Law Practice: Employment is currently the fastest growing area of practice and is one that general practitioners are likely to encounter frequently. It is also a very complex area with an enormous number of statutes and interlinking common law doctrines, making it virtually impossible to practice competently without prior course work. An employment practice can range from solo work to firm practice through house counsel and personnel offices.
Land Use Regulation
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Practicum
Content: This course explores who decides how land is used and what goes into the decision-making process. Land use law is complex and involves many different constituents, policies and bodies of law. This course explores how to find and apply relevant law, to identify and analyze influential factors in land use decision-making, and to ascertain and promote development and conservation objectives. It explores zoning and planning, with many other topics woven in such as sustainable development, growth management, new urbanism, and emerging trends.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Students must have completed Property I and II and it is helpful if students have taken Environmental Law, Real Property Finance or Commercial Real Estate Transactions.
Relationship to Practice of Law: This is a practically oriented course where we integrate law, policy and practice.
Law & Religion
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course is an in-depth study of the religion clauses of the first amendment to the constitution (free exercise and establishment), focusing on the interrelation, even tension, between the two clauses, and exploring the meaning and extent of the famous “wall of separation” in a society which is probably the most religious of all modern industrialized societies.
This is an SW/EO course, which means that students may choose either to write a scholarly writing paper or to take a final examination to determine their grade.
Law and Ethics of Big Data
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
From employment and housing opportunities to politics and social networking, decisions made using personal data are affecting our lives in intimate ways. The increasing availability of data has the potential to create vast financial and social benefits, but could also harm interests in areas such as fairness, freedom, security, privacy, and preventing discrimination. This course is designed to introduce students to the legal, policy, and ethical issues that arise from the collection, aggregation, use, and analysis of big data, and examines responses to address these unintended consequences. The course will discuss examples from real world controversies, including the use of data by Facebook, Google, Twitter, and YouTube. The seminar depends on contributions and discussion to facilitate understanding of different perspectives. Each student will be required to actively engage and participate.
Law and Lawyers in Pandemic
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Experiential
This 3-credit, experiential class will explore the law surrounding pandemic, and how being a lawyer changes because of pandemic. No time like the present! The class will be entirely grounded in what is happening right now due to COVID19. The basic structure of the class will be to present panels of subject matter experts on each of these topics – the law surrounding pandemic (for example, FDA regulation of development of treatments and vaccines, emergency powers, insurance issues for both people and businesses, and public health police power), and how being a lawyer changes because of pandemic for example, we will learn about impacts on courts, civil lawyers, criminal lawyers, and businesses). Our panelists will include the Presiding Judge of San Diego Superior Court, two federal judges, the District Attorney of San Diego, a law firm managing partner, a variety of health insurance experts, several prominent academics, and a Gilead virologist currently working on a COVID19 vaccine. Each panel will determine what you should read in advance, and a set of issues for you to follow-up on in the wake of the panel. Students will be asked to navigate these matters as lawyers do: the basic rhythm of the class will be learn from a panel=>generate a project framed by the panel=>make a presentation to the class=>-reflect in a journal on what you did how you think you did, and what you learned. As a condition of taking this class, every enrolled student must email to Professor Klein (kklein@cwsl.edu) – before the first class – at least two questions that members of the student’s community (family, friends, etc.) have about COVID19 and its impact on that person’s life or livelihood; questions must be ones that law either answers or informs on (I am confident that if your community is not asking these questions, they certainly at least have them and would be delighted to share them with you). Final projects in the class will be answering some of these questions. Most work in the class will be collaborative.
Law Office Technology: Case Management & Marketing
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content: Good technical skills are essential for the emerging lawyer. There are applications for case management, litigation support, document assembly and management, Web depositions, electronic court filing, Web site creation, electronic newsletters, court presentations, and the burgeoning use of e-discovery. The course will address many of the technology issues that students will face upon entering the profession that deal with calendaring, docketing, marketing, and presentation skills. With these technologies come a new set of professional responsibility issues; the course will address these concerns as well.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will contribute to the development of a skill set that is tailored equally well to the lawyer in a large firm or in a small office.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Law, Science & Medicine
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Health Law & Policy
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: This course explores the interaction between scientific/medical advances and the law. Often the law lags behind scientific and medical developments. One historical example is the rise and fall of nuclear energy – which came about, in large part, through a failed interaction between science and the law. Recent examples include sequencing of the human genome and assisted reproductive technology. These developments in the scientific and medical worlds potentially create legal issues, including, for example, privacy concerns. This course addresses how these problems arise and explores the ways to approach the scientific, medical and legal landscapes. No background in science or medicine is necessary.
Legal Drafting
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Practicum
Content: This is an advanced legal writing class, including a review of fundamental principles of word choice, grammar, punctuation, style and cite form; pre-drafting research and preparation; organization and structure of contracts, letters, and pleadings; and use of objective, persuasive and other tones in the preparation of written materials. Typical drafting assignments include transactional instruments, letters, and several litigation documents.
Sequence and Prerequisites: It is desirable to take Legal Drafting as early as possible in a student's upper-class schedule because the course is very practically oriented to make a student a better writer during law school and in the student's first clerking jobs.
Relationship to Law Practice: What all lawyers hope to offer their clients is an ability to communicate their clients' needs or interests clearly; and the effective use of language is perhaps the lawyer's most frequently-used tool (others being drama, the art of persuasion, meticulous research, etc.). This Legal Drafting course is designed to de-mystify the process of legal writing, and to provide a structure with which to organize any legal writing task. Bad writing equals bad thinking; but good writing probably equals good thinking, and it almost certainly equals a better grade on a law school exam, a bar examination, or on those first, critical, professional writing assignments.
Mediation for Lawyers
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Creative problem Solving
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
Content: The primary objective of this course is to provide students with an intensive exposure to, and practice in, negotiation and communication skills which are essential to problem solving. Students engage in extensive role playing in mediation and negotiation simulations, learning how to involve the disputants and assist others in reaching peaceful and fair resolutions to their disagreements. Students are required to read mediation materials from a loose-leaf binder prepared by the instructor, a basic book on interest-based negotiation and prepare a research paper.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Students cannot take Mediation or Mediation Advocacy either at the same time or subsequent to Advanced Mediation. Students cannot take both Mediation and Mediation Advocacy, as the course content is similar.
Relationship to Law Practice: Much of what lawyers do is assist others in solving problems. This course provides an opportunity to learn techniques for doing that in a no adversarial manner.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Mental Health Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Health Law & Policy
Designation(s): Seminar
Content: This seminar will consider a broad range of legal issues involving the mental health professions, and the place of mental health professions in advising and helping the legal system. Discussions will concentrate on practical problems involving the subject of mental health and its effect on the practice of law. Topics to be covered may include issues relating to liberty and property interests of mentally disabled persons, the legal impact of expert testimony in mental health cases, criminal responsibility and punishment, civil commitment, the right to refuse treatment, competency in the criminal justice system and involuntary commitment. The initial class sessions will be devoted to a general introduction to psychological testing, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. Grading is by a combination of written and oral presentations.
Sequence and Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites. Previous education in psychology is not necessary.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course is relevant to students who are interested in criminal law, family law, juvenile law, general civil trial practice or other areas in which law and social work intersect.
Motion Picture Contract Drafting
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation, Labor & Employment Law
Designation(s): Seminar
Content: This course is a “hands-on” practicum course focusing on a number of important aspects of the motion picture industry. Students will be required to draft, revise, interpret and negotiate motion picture documents, draft inter-office memos, and negotiate deals. Course materials will consist primarily of form documents actually used in the motion picture industry and applicable collective bargaining agreements. The focus of the course will be on major motion picture studio transactions, although there will be some work dealing with independent productions. Students will approach the work from either the perspective of representing the production company or the talent. Subjects covered will be: Personal service contracts (including loanout agreements), deal checklists, licenses, distribution, production and financing agreements, miscellaneous production agreements, internal deal memorandums and negotiation. Sequence and Prerequisites: Relationship to Law Practice: The purpose of this course is to enable a new lawyer, recently hired by a motion picture studio, independent production company or entertainment law firm, to perform entry level entertainment legal matters under customary supervision.
New Media Rights - Internet & Media Rights Clinic
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Experiential
This Clinic provides students with experience working one-on-one with Internet & Media law clients in the field, as well as knowledge and skills regarding regulatory and policy work, scholarship, and public education and outreach. During clinic time, students will help clients including creators, entrepreneurs, and internet users with an array of cutting edge internet, media, communications, and intellectual property law issues. The units include fieldwork and a weekly 2-hour class. Final grades will be based primarily on students’ classroom participation, preparation, casework, self assessment, and community and final case presentations. For more information please go to https://www.cwsl.edu/clinics-and-programs/new-media-rights-clinic.
Patent Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This is an introductory course examining patents and their role in society, especially as it pertains to innovation and business. NO TECHNICAL BACKGROUND IS REQUIRED. The course will cover basic aspects of patent law including when and why you would want to obtain a patent, the requirements for patentability, the patent preparation and examination process, patent enforcement including validity and infringement, and patent strategy as it impacts technology and drug development. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Relationship to Law Practice: Students with an interest in becoming patent attorneys or in practicing intellectual property litigation will learn the basic principles of patent law. In addition, all attorneys working for or with technology-oriented businesses (e.g., as general counsel, in corporate transactions, etc.) need to be familiar with the basics of patent law.
Patent Preparation and Prosecution
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Seminar
The course will provide an overview of how to prepare and prosecute a patent application before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Emphasis will be placed on issues that will be faced by junior patent attorneys when attempting to prepare and prosecute a patent application before the USPTO. Strategic and practical prosecution considerations will be discussed in addition to the applicable law. Preparation of Responses to USPTO nonstatutory subject matter, anticipation, obviousness and indefiniteness rejections will be covered. The course will also cover issues relating to ownership, assignment, and licensing of patent rights, including when the invention is developed by federal funding. In addition, ethical issues related to inequitable conduct, duty of candor, and proper representation of clients will addressed. Students will complete a series of real-world assignments, including the drafting of claims and other patent application content. The course goal is for the successful student to be able to prepare and prosecute a patent application before the USPTO and the conclusion of the course, with very little supervision from a senior attorney.
Prerequisite: Patent Law (or prior permission of the professor). No technical background is required; however, if you are not eligible for the Patent Bar, you should contact the professor to see if this course is a good fit for you. Grade will be based on a series of practical projects over the course of the semester.
Pharmaceutical Law and Policy
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Health Law & Policy
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
The course provides a basic introduction to a number of areas of law that affect the development and use of pharmaceuticals in order to give students an understanding of the complex interaction of law and science in this field. The areas of law surveyed in the course include the regulation of pharmaceutical R&D, university-industry technology transfer, FDA regulations for drug testing and drug approval, drug marketing, physician prescribing, and insurer reimbursement. It is a scholarly writing course and students should acquire in depth understanding of the area of law in which they are writing with the goal of writing a lengthy and original analysis of a complex issue in pharmaceutical law or policy for possible publication.
Prison Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This course is a three-credit introductory study of the law of confinement in the United States. In this course, we will examine the landscape of incarceration in America, the governing legal framework of the American prison system, and the theoretical underpinnings of incarceration policy. Students will learn the relevant legal doctrine, as derived from the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes, as well as the principles underlying past and present incarceration policy and theories regarding the future of American incarceration. Students will also review and analyze rules and principles of federal civil procedure as applied to the field of prison law and be exposed to practical skills related to the practice of prisoners’ rights law and the representation of clients who are incarcerated.
Privacy Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Experiential
With the rapid growth of technology, Privacy Law is more relevant than ever. Privacy is a central social and legal issue in the interconnected world we live in. The challenge is balancing privacy rights while enabling businesses and technological innovation. This course will familiarize students with the legal issues arising from conflicting interests in data privacy and its business uses, in particular in the areas of commerce and consumer data, health privacy, children’s privacy, employment issues and data breaches. The class focuses on the main concepts of privacy law, exploring domestic and international laws. This is an experiential class that will provide students with a hands-on approach and expose each student to the practical considerations faced by those working in the privacy field and provide opportunities for students to self-assess as part of the learning process.
Professional Ethics for LLM Students
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s):
After taking this course, students will be able to articulate the reason why professional responsibility rules for attorneys were created and the purpose they serve. We will learn whether attorneys have discretion to decide which cases to take and whether there are limitations to which cases an attorney may work on. The issue of pro bono work will be discussed, including whether there are minimum hours requirements for pro bono work. We will go over the different ways that attorneys can charge fees for their professional services, including permissible and impermissible fee structures and the requirements for fee agreements. We will dive deep into the duties of client confidentiality and client loyalty, including exceptions to each duty and how a lawyer's own personal interests can create a conflict of interest. Examples of complicated areas of ethics include the duties of each attorney when information is accidentally shared. Students will learn how attorney-client privilege operates and the special duties that criminal law attorneys must follow. We will explore the role of modern technology and the increased risk to attorney ethics when you utilize such technologies. Students will explore the concept of business entity as clients, and how that differs from the representation of a natural person. Insurance claims and the ethical ramifications of representing insurance companies will be discussed. We will discuss whether the client or lawyer makes decisions regarding the goal of the representation, whether to accept a settlement, whether to plea or testify, and the strategy to be used in the matter. Students will explore the complicated issues of mental health and substance abuse in the legal industry, and the duty to report attorney malfeasance. We will talk about advertising and marketing issues related to attorney ethics. Lastly, we will learn the judicial ethics rules that apply to judges.
Race and the Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Race and the Law will examine the role law has played and continues to play both in “defining and inscribing the meaning of racial categories, assigning specific legal rights and privileges, establishing parameters of individual and collective social identities, and directing the distribution of material resources.” Students will examine and present oral case studies on the legal construction of race, including the racialization of individuals and various ethnic groups, and do so by exploring the stories behind those presented in traditional race law casebooks. By engaging in the backstory, students are exposed to a behind the scenes view to the construction of racial identity. What is the racial story being told? For example, does labeling Native American’s as a political group, instead of as a racial group, suppress race consciousness? Can Japanese be considered white? Can a person who self-identified as white, be deemed legally black based on blood classification? One of the theories underlying the course is called Critical Race Theory, which is at its core race-conscious, and challenges traditional legal discourse that says the law is neutral and colorblind. It urges us to conduct a process of critical self-evaluation so that we become aware of our own biases and the cultural beliefs and practices that reinforce those biases.
In the second half of the course, after probing the backstories of race, students will present their personal scholarly writing on a race-related issue. Finally, we cannot simply discuss racial issues in the classroom and be apathetic to the racial crisis that exists outside the classroom. To that end, the course will regularly incorporate discussions on current race relations, and conclude with an analysis of race and the future of America.
Racial Justice & Resentencing
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
Students will work under the direct supervision of Professor Hane to confront and address the racialization of the criminal legal system, focusing on the ameliorative efforts of the Racial Justice Act and
recent criminal resentencing reforms. Students will attend a weekly seminar and should be prepared to participate in robust discussion.
We will be discussing racism, gender bias, ethnic bias, and biases towards other members of our community. Many of the cases involve serious issues spanning from mental health and substance abuse diagnoses to trauma and violence. In discussion of these cases and issues, we must commit to an
environment that is inclusive, supportive, empathetic, and respectful.
At the beginning of the semester, students will each be assigned to a particular client seeking resentencing relief. Students will be given a flash drive with legal records, questionnaires, and other relevant information to review. They will be reviewing the documents while learning the relevant and applicable law in the seminar. The main assignment will consist of writing a robust resentencing memorandum answering questions on the following:
(1) whether the client has a valid claim pursuant to the Racial Justice Act;(2) whether the client has other claims pursuant to sentencing laws adopted after he or she was incarcerated; and (3) whether there are challenges to resentencing despite valid claims,such as poor performance in prison. Students will learn how to properly cite to the documents they have
and are referring to. They will also be expected to rely upon sociological literature in supporting their claims. They may also have the opportunity to speak to their client directly in order to answer questions they might have about the case or current claims. Students are encouraged to reach out to field experts and contribute their findings to a localized database for future reference.
Prerequisites & Requirements
Law students looking to enroll in this course should already have taken Criminal Procedure. Evidence is not required, but highly recommended.
Students will be required to read the assigned materials, attend the weekly seminar, and participate in the seminar discussion. There will also be “Course Rounds” during which students will be expected to
meet with the professor in teams of two
Real Property Finance
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s):
Content: While real property security and finance issues arise in some form in nearly every aspect of legal practice, this course addresses such issues from the real estate practitioner's perspective. How do we counsel and assist our developer, homeowner, lender, buyer, seller, landlord and tenant clients to achieve their goals? Topics include: who the players are in the real estate industry, how they play and why; how real estate projects get financed; how security interests in real estate are created and enforced; what protects borrowers or guarantors from personal liability; how and when to foreclose or "work it out"; how to finance affordable or special needs housing; and how bankruptcy changes the rules of the game. This course not only analyzes the relevant substantive law but also addresses transactional approaches to deal making and conflict resolution. Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Other courses highly recommended for the student intending to specialize in real estate include Commercial Real Estate Transactions, Bankruptcy, Land Use Regulation, Legal Drafting, Business Organizations, Federal Income Tax, and Partnership Tax. These courses may be taken before or after Real Property Finance. Relationship to Law Practice: Because the majority of legal matters, whether litigation or transactional, involve some aspect of real estate finance (as a primary subject matter or as a method of enforcing a settlement or judgment), this course is beneficial to nearly all California civil lawyers. Nevertheless, this course is of most direct relevance to students who plan to focus on real estate in their practice.
Remedies
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: Unlike most law school courses which focus on liability, Remedies is about what happens after a court determines that the substantive law has been violated. At a nuts and bolts level, this course covers the most common legal and equitable remedies, including damages, temporary and permanent injunctions, declaratory judgments, restitution, punitive damages and ancillary remedies. At a more theoretical level, this course explores the goals and purposes served by various remedies. This course will be taught with a strong emphasis on the practical and strategic aspects of various remedies, focusing not only on the legal elements of the remedies we will study, but also on why a litigant may choose one remedy over another, and how an attorney might make best tactical use of such devices.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Since the course considers cases from several different subject areas, most students take the course in their third year, after having been exposed to diverse substantive courses.
Relationship to Law Practice: Every lawyer (and not simply those who plan to litigate) must have a solid understanding of legal and equitable remedies in order to provide sound legal advice to a client. Indeed, a lawyer cannot provide useful guidance to a client without having some knowledge of the potential judicial consequences of any action taken. Accordingly, this course provides fundamental tools to every student who intends to practice law. Remedies is tested on both the MBE and the essay portions of bar exams.
Reproductive Justice
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Seminar
Course Description: This seminar explores Reproductive Justice ("RJ") as a paradigm for understanding reproductive oppression--that is, the subordination of individuals through their bodies, sexualities, and abilities to reproduce. The RJ paradigm picks up where a reproductive rights framework ends. It contends that the fight for equality and dignity in matters relating to reproduction continues beyond a successful argument that the Constitution ought to protect a "right” to privacy, "right" to access contraception, or "right" to an abortion.
An RJ framework observes that "rights" are given meaning - and lose meaning - according to the race, class, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and physical and mental ability (among other attributes) of the rights bearer. As such, RJ analyzes reproductive experiences within a complex context and with respect to the multiple statuses of the persons involved. This seminar will explore RJ as it speaks to assisted reproductive technologies, health care policy, immigration, incarceration, environmental justice, and economic inequality, among other topics.
Research-Based Independent Study
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s):
Students may earn credit for a Research-Based Independent Study and/or an Independently-Supervised Field Placement (collectively, “Independent Study”). Credit for Independent Study is limited to one course per trimester and a total of two. Any student who wishes to obtain credit for an Independent Study must be supervised by a full-time faculty member and must follow the Application Process as outlined below.
Application Process for and Grading of Research-Based Independent Study: To enroll in a Research-Based Independent Study, a student must obtain prior permission from a full-time faculty member who agrees to supervise the Independent Study and from the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs or Vice President of Student Life. The availability of Research-Based Independent Study may be limited. Students are strongly encouraged to arrange for a faculty supervisor well in advance of the trimester in which they plan to enroll in an Independent Study and to include that course in their preregistration for that trimester.
The Petition for a Research-Based Independent Study shall identify the topic and nature of the Independent Study (e.g. empirical research, work on a pending case, etc.), a statement of the reasons the student wishes to enroll in Independent Study, and a substantial description of the topic and the project being undertaken. The petition shall bear the signature of the supervising faculty member indicating that he or she has reviewed the proposal and that he or she agrees to supervise the student.
Petitions in proper form that are submitted before the start of classes for the following trimester shall be approved by the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs or Vice President of Student Life. Petitions to enroll in Independent Study that are submitted during the first ten days of classes will be approved by the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs or Vice President of Student Life only upon a showing of good cause.
Independent Study courses will be evaluated and given one of the following designations: Honors, High Pass, Pass, Low Pass and Fail. Except in the case of a "fail," these designations will be reported on the transcript but not computed in a student's grade point average. In accordance with Academic Policy 6.03, if a student is given a "fail," that student will have a grade of F computed into his or her grade point average and will not obtain credit toward graduation for that Independent Study.
Sales
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course addresses the law governing the domestic and international sale of goods. It focuses on Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, but it may also cover other relevant sources of law, including other Articles of the Uniform Commercial Code and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The topics will include the formation, modification, and excuse of contractual obligations, the creation and disclaimer of warranties of title and quality, performance stage controversies, and remedies for breaches of contract.
Sequence and Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.
Relationship to Law Practice: The material covered in this course is frequently covered on the bar exam. It also frequently arises in the practice of business and commercial law.
Secured Transactions
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This is a course in the law of secured transactions. It focuses on Article 9 of the U.C.C. (as well as relevant parts of other Articles) to provide an understanding of the ways in which personal property is used to secure the financing of business transactions. It also provides a broad exposure to commercial transactions and relevant principles of contracts and property.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: This is an advanced course in commercial law. It is highly recommended for any student who intends to practice transactional law or commercial litigation, and it is extremely important for students interested in bankruptcy.
Securities Regulation
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: The application of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and related state law statutes regulating the public and private distribution of securities. The course will have an emphasis on securities litigation and transactional practice. Topics include the structure of the securities markets and the underwriting process; the registration process; the definition of security; transactional exemptions; and offerings by dealers and underwriters; and litigation issues.
Sequence and Prerequisites: There are no formal prerequisites; however, the course in Business Organizations would be helpful. Also, some understanding of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will be helpful. Relationship to Law Practice:& This is an advanced-level course which should be considered by those students interested in law as it relates to the litigation of matters involving corporations, business, real estate, securities, and other financial instruments.
Sexual Violence and the Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
This course introduces students to a range of legal areas in which sexual violence victims need legal assistance, with an emphasis on the civil legal issues that experiencing sexual violence creates for victims in areas like education, employment, family, housing, and immigration. The course is three credits, provides a general grounding in the legal areas touched by experiencing sexual violence, and can be used as a foundation for more advanced and specialized law studies in sexual violence as well as other forms of gender-based violence. Students’ grades are based 50% on class exercises, research assignments, and participation, and 50% on a final exam.
Sexuality, Gender Identity and the Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
Content: The basic goal of this course is to examine and understand how issues of sexuality arise in various legal contexts: the regulation of sexual conduct, sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in contexts ranging from employment to education to health care, family law protections for sexual minorities, and constitutional protections of reproductive and sexual autonomy and sexual minorities. We will touch upon contemporary controversies beyond “traditional” sexual orientation and gender identity issues, such as recent abortion law developments; forced sterilization and other medical issues pertaining to reproductive and sexual/gender identity autonomy; competing rights when businesses and individuals use religion as a sword or shield in opposition to anti-discrimination laws; bisexual erasure and jurisprudence; sexual power and consent issues, including legal issues facing sex workers and other nontraditional but consensual sexual expression and conduct; issues related to non-binary identities and polyamorous families; and other issues. The more ambitious goal of the course is to critically analyze how courts have handled issues of sexuality and to develop your own theories and solutions to problems related to issues of sexuality, gender identity and the law. Because the field is rapidly evolving, more rigorous theorizing is necessary than in the usual doctrinal law course. By the end of the term, students should have a solid overview of this evolving field of law and be prepared to intelligently confront new issues as they arise in the policymaking and practice realms.
Corequisite for students who want scholarly writing (SW) credit: Legal Scholarship Training Seminar.
Slavery’s Imprint on the US Constitution
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Scholarly Writing
This course will endeavor to introduce students to the history of the institution of slavery in the United States, specifically as it relates to the United States Constitution as it was ratified in 1787 and amended during the Reconstruction Era. Topics will include the international slave trade, slave rebellions and the domestic insurrections clause, the three-fifths clause, and the fugitive slave clause and the Northwest Ordinance. We will also more generally discuss the status of slavery as a legal institution in the United States at the time of the founding, as well as the impact of abolitionism as a social movement on Constitutional development. Required reading will include a variety of primary and secondary sources designed to provide students with a broad perspective on these topics.
Students will be expected to write a paper further exploring one of these topics. In addition to the required readings, suggested readings for each week provide background for further study and should be helpful in building the bibliography for your own scholarly research paper.
Students may receive Scholarly Writing Credit for this course. Students seeking SW credit must simultaneously enroll in the Scholarly Writing Legal Training Seminar.
Spanish for Lawyers
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: This is a two-credit course. It is designed for students who anticipate working with Spanish-speaking clients or who may work in Mexico or Latin America. At the end of the course, students will have a general knowledge of the legal systems in Latin America; be able to interview and counsel Spanish-speaking clients; draft a letter to Spanish-speaking clients; be prepared to represent Spanish-speaking clients in court; identify essential legal terminology and compare legal expressions from other Spanish-speaking countries.
Sequence and Prerequisites: A basic speaking and reading knowledge of the Spanish language is required. Many reading materials will be in Spanish. As such, students should have a good command of the language. It you have any concerns regarding your level of fluency, please contact Professor Lopez at yvet.lopz@gmail.com
Specialized Legal Research: Business Resources
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law
Designation(s): Experiential
Content: In this course, students will learn of resources available to assist with legal research in the area of business law. The course will include coverage of resources for incorporation, corporate dissolution, company information, statistical information, SEC filings, employment law issues, intellectual property issues, corporate taxation, and international trade agreements. There will be 5 research assignments throughout the course in which students can apply their knowledge of these resources.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Sports Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Labor & Employment Law
Designation(s): Practicum
Content: This course is designed to give students who are interested in exploring this area of the law some background about the field. The course materials will provide students with information about the structure of the professional sports industry and the legal relationships among the participants. Substantive topics will include labor law, antitrust, remedies, and contracts. In addition, the course will provide some skills training through simulated negotiations and/or arbitrations.There will be guest speakers who are active in the field. Other non-classroom activities may also be scheduled.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will be helpful to those interested in practicing Sports Law, as it will give an overview of the industry and the legal problems that arise. In addition, Sports Law is valuable for any student who expects to do transactional work in labor or other commercial areas. The course will review some topics that are routinely tested on bar exams, such as contracts and remedies.
State & Local Taxation, California & Multistate
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Experiential
This course examines U.S. State and Local Taxation, California and Multistate, and topics on basic and advanced state tax planning, return preparation and audit defense including:
(1) The history, development and impact of state and local taxation, (2) The application and interpretation of U.S. federal and state constitutions, statutes, regulations and judicial opinions pertaining to uniformity, equal protection and commerce clause restrictions on interstate and foreign commerce; (3) The myriad types of state, county and city taxes imposed and special taxation of unique industries; (4) “Nexus” standards and the
jurisdiction to impose taxes for various types of taxes and various types of taxpayers, (5)The methodologies used by states in the adoption, modification or paralleling of the laws under the Internal Revenue Code; (6) The division, allocation and apportionment of the tax base; (7) The legislative methods and limitations in California for imposing taxes and fees; (8) the substantive and procedural rules in California for income taxes, property taxes (real and personal), and sales and use taxes; and (9) the differences in federal and California income taxes.
The objective of this course is to allow law students to understand and apply fundamentals of state and local taxation. The course addresses the fundamental State and local taxation principles, and presents practical applications concerning state & local taxation. State taxation applies to almost every type of legal entity, and to almost every type of legal
practitioner.
The Judiciary as Gatekeeper of Democracy
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration:
Designation(s): Seminar
This seminar provides students with a unique opportunity to closely examine one of the essential roles of the judiciary in a democratic society: the protection and preservation of democracy. Through comparative analysis, this course explores how judges, regardless of whether a formal constitution exists, have a duty to safeguard democratic values. The seminar will focus on the Israeli judicial system's role in defending democracy since the state's founding, alongside comparisons with other democratic systems.
Democracy is not self-sustaining; it requires vigilant protection. Historical lessons, such as those from Germany’s Cultural Age, demonstrate that no society is immune to the erosion of democratic norms. Currently, Israel is experiencing a 'legal revolution' under a radical government seeking to implement 'legal reforms' that may undermine judicial independence and human rights. This seminar will engage with the implications of these reforms and the judiciary's role in resisting such threats.
Trademark Clinic
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
The Trademark Clinic simulates a small, busy law office focused on trademark prosecution before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Student practitioners have traditional reading assignments, administrative duties, filing requirements, and must manage their own docket of clients. Since the process to obtain a federal trademark registration can take several months, a student will typically have clients in several stages of the application process ranging from intake to dealing with a refusal.
In each course meeting we cover the readings, discuss particular client or administrative issues that have come up that week, review the docket to discuss client status and matters that may be of assistance to other students, and occasionally make calls to clients or USPTO examiners. A significant portion of client communication takes place through email outside of the course meetings, since the clinic serves clients from all around the country.
Success in the Trademark Clinic is dependent on effective time management and relationship building with clients to meet deadlines throughout the semester.
This course also satisfies the PRAC requirement for students admitted before Fall 2016.
Trademark Law
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Telecommunications & Technology Regulation
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: The law of trademarks and unfair competition; subject matter of trademark protection; acquisition and retention of trademark rights; application and prosecution of trademark registrations; infringement; remedies; and international aspects of trademark protection. The course goal is to teach students the applicable law and procedures in the area of trademark and related unfair competition law.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Relationship to Law Practice: Upon successful completion of the course, students will have developed a knowledge and understanding of the kay principles and theories of trademark law, including limitations and remedies, the registration process, and the practical application of these principles to law practice, including assessment of rights, infringement risk and due diligence.
Trial Practice
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Practicum, Experiential
This is a practical course addressing each element of a jury trial. The focus of the course is teaching the art of persuasion in every aspect of trial work. The skills addressed include voir dire, opening statements, direct and cross-examination, objections, presentation of documentary evidence, examination of expert witnesses and closing arguments. For the midterm and final grades, students, working in pairs, are assigned two cases which they will fully litigate.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Evidence is a prerequisite for Trial Practice or may be taken concurrently with Trial Practice In order to enroll during your third trimester you must have had a first trimester GPA of 2.25 or better. You are not permitted to take this class if you have already taken the Trial Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates class.
Format: The class meets in one large group once a week for fifty minutes (Trial Practice Lecture). During this session the students are taught one aspect of trial advocacy through a lecture and demonstrations of a particular skill. Additionally, the class is divided into numerous Small Sections of six students. These small sections meet once a week for two hours. The small sections are taught by adjunct professors who include trial and appellate judges, civil litigators, prosecutors and defense attorneys. During these classes, each student will perform and be critiqued on one aspect of litigation, ranging from opening statements to closing arguments.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will prove helpful in both the Performance and Evidence sections of the California bar examination. The course provides invaluable background experience for anyone contemplating a possible practice in litigation, whether civil or criminal.
*Please note that if you wish to be on a competitive trial team, you should be taking the Trial Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates class instead of this class. Please also note that prospective students will be allowed to sit in as mock jurors and watch the final exams to learn more about the class. If you are interested in learning more about competitive trial teams, serving as a mock juror, or if you have additional questions about this class, please reach out to the Competitive Advocacy Program Director, Professor Paul Parisi at pparisi@cwsl.edu
Trial Practice Lecture
Units: 1
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Practicum
This Lecture is linked to the Trial Practice Small Sections. This is a practical course addressing each element of a jury trial. The focus of the course is teaching the art of persuasion in every aspect of trial work. The skills addressed include voir dire, opening statements, direct and cross-examination, objections, presentation of documentary evidence, examination of expert witnesses and closing arguments. For the midterm and final grades, students, working in pairs, are assigned two cases which they will fully litigate.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Evidence is a prerequisite for Trial Practice or may be taken concurrently with Trial Practice In order to enroll during your third trimester you must have had a first trimester GPA of 2.25 or better.
Format: The class meets in one large group once a week for fifty minutes (Trial Practice Lecture). During this session the students are taught one aspect of trial advocacy through a lecture and demonstrations of a particular skill. Additionally, the class is divided into numerous Small Sections of six students. These small sections meet once a week for two hours. The small sections are taught by adjunct professors who include trial and appellate judges, civil litigators, prosecutors and defense attorneys. During these classes, each student will perform and be critiqued on one aspect of litigation, ranging from opening statements to closing arguments.
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will prove helpful in both the Performance and Evidence sections of the California bar examination. The course provides invaluable background experience for anyone contemplating a possible practice in litigation, whether civil or criminal.
*Please note that if you wish to be on a competitive trial team, you should be taking the Trial Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates class instead of the Trial Practice Small Section class. However, by special permission of the director of the Advocacy Program, this lecture can be taken with the Trial Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates class for an additional unit. If you are interested in learning more about competitive trial teams, serving as a mock juror, or if you have additional questions about this class, please reach out to the Competitive Advocacy Program Director, Professor Paul Parisi at pparisi@cwsl.edu.
Trial Skills Training for Distinguished Advocates ( Bootcamp)
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Experiential
This is a practical course addressing each element of a jury trial. This class is designed for students who wish to be on a competitive trial team. The focus of the course is teaching the art of persuasion in every aspect of trial work and how to apply these skills to both competition teams and real life. The skills addressed include opening statements, direct and cross-examination, objections, presentation of documentary evidence, examination of expert witnesses and closing arguments. For the midterm and final grades, students, working in pairs, are assigned two cases which they will fully litigate. Students will also learn how to play witnesses during the trials. Finally, students will develop professional courtesy, ethics, and teamwork as moot court competitors and future practicing attorneys.
Sequence and Prerequisites: In order to take this class you must first earn a Distinguished Advocate Award in an intraschool competition. This distinction can be earned in a school trial competition, the ADR competition, or in the Legal Skills II competition. Evidence is strongly encouraged as a prerequisite or taken concurrently. You are not permitted to take this class if you have already taken the Trial Practice class.
Format: The class is divided into numerous Small Sections of four students. These small sections meet once a week for two hours. The small sections are taught by adjunct professors who include trial and appellate judges, civil litigators, prosecutors and defense attorneys. During these classes, each student will perform and be critiqued on one aspect of litigation, ranging from opening statements to closing arguments. The class of four is meant to model a group of four students that are usually placed on a competitive team.
All sections also meet some weeks in large group lectures for 30 minutes after normal class times. During these sessions the students are taught one aspect of trial advocacy through a lecture and demonstrations of a particular skill.,
Relationship to Law Practice: This course will prove helpful in both the Performance and Evidence sections of the California bar examination. The course provides invaluable background experience for anyone contemplating a possible practice in litigation, whether civil or criminal.
*Please note that if you wish to be on a competitive trial team, you should be taking this class and not Trial Practice. Please also note that prospective students will be allowed to sit in as mock jurors and watch the final exams to learn more about the class. If you are interested in learning more about competitive trial teams, serving as a mock juror, or if you have additional questions about this class, please reach out to the Competitive Advocacy Program Director, Professor Paul Parisi at pparisi@cwsl.edu.
Trusts & Estates
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Child, Family and Elder Law
Designation(s): Exam Class
Content: This course examines the gratuitous disposition of property, including transfers under (1) intestate statutes; (2) wills, including the formalities of execution, testamentary capacity, undue influence, and fraud; (3) will substitutes, such as gifts and joint tenancies; (4) trusts, including methods of creation and termination, rights and interests of beneficiaries, and special problems relating to resulting, constructive, and charitable trusts. In addition, the course will examine the growing body of law relating to the termination of medical treatment and health care powers of attorney.
Sequence and Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Trusts & Estates is prerequisite to Estate Planning.
Relationship to Law Practice: The creation, management and transfer of property is basic to a general, business, or family law practice. Not surprisingly, the material covered in the course frequently appears in bar examinations. The course is essential to students who wish to enter estate planning, elder law, or probate practices.
White Collar Crimes
Units: 3
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Practicum
Content: White Collar Crime class serves as an introduction to the many different crimes under the umbrella of white collar crimes. The class will include hands on analysis of actual criminal cases, the applicable law, and preparation of criminal legal documents and a paper addressing an emerging idea and case law in the area of white collar crime.
Women & Immigration Law
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: International Law
Designation(s): Seminar
Content: This is an interdisciplinary course designed to introduce law students to immigration law as it applies to the experience of women who immigrate to the U.S. Students will be encouraged to think critically how past and current immigration policies affect the status of women immigrating to the U.S. Through the intersection of feminist theory and study of immigration policies, we will explore different methods of immigration to the U.S. In doing so, the law student will develop the analytical and critical skills for understanding particular women=s lives in the larger social, political, and cultural structures to have a deeper understanding of immigration law and the policies behind them. Through selected readings, guest speakers, and interactive projects, students will be asked to reflect on their own understanding of immigration process as it applies to immigrant women.
Grading: The course grade is divided as follows: 10% for class participation and professionalism, 10% for the Reflective Essay on an outside activity related to the course, 20% for the Presentation, and 60% for the Final Paper.
Wrongful Conviction Seminar
Units: 2
Area(s) of Concentration: Criminal Justice Program
Designation(s): Seminar, Experiential
Content: This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the causes and procedures related to wrongful convictions. The course is divided into a series of topics related to wrongful conviction including ineffective assistance of counsel, misidentification, prosecutorial and police misconduct, DNA, false confessions, innocence investigations, and appellate and habeas procedures. It is also designed to give the students practical experience working on one potential wrongful conviction case. Each student in the class will be given a case to investigate and will be required to prepare written memorandums evaluating from a factual and legal perspective whether the case is worthy of pursuit by the California Innocence Project. Each student will also be asked to write a short paper analyzing a problem within the criminal justice system and proposed solutions.