Course Descriptions
Appellate Advocacy
(3 credit hours) focuses on the art of oral advocacy and provides further instruction in persuasive writing. Students write appellate briefs and present oral arguments.
Business Associations
(4 credit hours) is a study of the law concerning business entities, including: the factors affecting the selection of the form of a business enterprise; the nature of corporate entities; and the promotion, organization, activities, financing, management, and dissolution of business corporations. In addition to discussing the law of corporations, the course covers the principles by which one party may act as agent for another and the law governing unincorporated business organizations such as partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and limited liability partnerships.
Capstone Courses
(2 or 3 hours) are designed to provide students with a comprehensive review of various subject matters essential to the practice of law. Third year students are required to take a fixed amount of Capstone Courses, including one State Practice Elective. Capstone Courses (and State Practice Electives) vary from year to year, but include such courses as:
Administrative Law
(3 credit hours) Examines the role of the formal and informal administrative processes in our society, and emphasizes the powers and procedures common to all administrative agencies and the relationships among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches in the development of public policy. (Capstone and State Practice Elective)
Advanced Torts
(3 credit hours)Expands on the issues examined in the first year Torts course. It focuses on privacy and business torts. (Capstone)
Advanced Criminal Procedure
(3 credit hours) provides an overview of constitutional and other procedural issues inherent in the criminal process. Course coverage includes double jeopardy, entrapment, grand jury, confrontation clause, joinder and severance, and various jury issues.
Conflict of Laws
(3 credit hours) is a study of the law relating to transactions with elements in more than one state or nation, jurisdiction of courts and enforcement of foreign judgments, constitutional issues, and the theoretical basis of choice of law. (Capstone and State Practice Elective)
Debtor-Creditor Law
(3 credit hours) offers a comprehensive study of the legal principles governing the relationship of debtors and creditors, with primary emphasis on federal bankruptcy law and focus on the rights of unsecured creditors. Traditional state remedies such as attachment, garnishment, execution, fraudulent conveyance, and debtors' exemptions also are covered. (Capstone and State Practice Elective)
Federal Income Taxation
(3 credit hours) gives a basic understanding of federal income taxation relating to individuals and teaches the use and interpretation of complex statutes and regulations. (Capstone and State Practice Elective)
First Amendment
(3 credit hours) deals with the complex and ever-evolving jurisprudence regarding the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Primary emphasis will be on the many facets of freedom of expression, but freedom of religion will also be covered. Classes will trace the long history of First Amendment interpretation in the United States Supreme Court to illuminate the cutting-edge state of the law as it now stands. Focus will be on modern variations in First Amendment law generated by such phenomena as the internet, mass media communications, the war on terror, and other revolutionary developments in society and technology. Topics will include national security restrictions on free speech, obscenity/pornography, defamation, hate speech laws, and flag burning, among many others. (Capstone)
Remedies
(3 credit hours) is a study of the forms of legal and equitable remedies, the substantive law of restitution, and the problems of measuring damages and non-monetary forms of remedy. Various remedies are explored in both litigation and alternative dispute resolution contexts. (Capstone and State Practice Elective)
Sales
(3 credit hours) is the study of the law of contracts for the sale of tangible, movable items. The course focuses on Articles II and IIA of the Uniform Commercial Code. (Capstone)
Virginia Procedure
(3 credit hours) covers the subject of procedure from the point of view of practice in the Virginia state courts, with heaviest emphasis on civil procedure. Expected topics include self-help, subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, service of process, venue, parties, pleading, discovery, pre-trial motions, motions at trial, post-verdict motions, judgments, costs, and appeals. (Capstone and State Practice Elective)
Civil Procedure I
(2 credit hours) is a general survey of court procedure in civil cases using federal civil procedure as a model. The course covers the jurisdiction of courts (both personal and subject matter), venue, pleading, discovery, disposition without trial, joinder of claims and parties, and effects of judgments.
Civil Procedure II
(3 credit hours) is a continuation of Civil Procedure I.
Constitutional Law I
(3 credit hours) is a study of the provisions in the United States Constitution governing our form of government and the powers of the federal judiciary, legislature, and executive. The course also reviews relations between the federal government and the states.
Constitutional Law II
(3 credit hours) is a study of the limitations on governmental power over individuals inherent in constitutional provisions relating to due process and equal protection and freedom of speech and religion. The course evaluates the restrictions on private action mandated or permitted by these constitutional provisions.
Contracts I
(3 credit hours) encompasses the study of legally enforceable promises, termed “contracts.” The course encompasses the study of what types of promises are legally enforceable, what it takes to form a contract, what the obligations of the parties are, what constitutes breach, and what remedies are available upon breach.
Contracts II
(3 credit hours) is a continuation of Contracts I.
Criminal Law
(3 credit hours) is an inquiry into the sources and goals of the criminal law, general principles of liability and defenses, and the characteristics of particular crimes.
Criminal Procedure
(3 credit hours) is a survey of federal procedures and constitutional safeguards applicable in the criminal justice system, focusing on police investigation and arrest. Particular emphasis is given to Fourth Amendment issues.
Dispute Resolution
(2 credit hours) provides students with a working knowledge of dispute resolution theory and practice. The major dispute resolution processes are examined critically with discussion of their strengths and weaknesses. Particular emphasis is given to negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and ethics. Legal, ethical, and policy issues that arise in the use of dispute resolution processes also are examined. A major theme throughout the course is the selection of appropriate dispute resolution forums and representation of clients in dispute resolution.
Estates and Trusts
(4 credit hours) is a study of the devolution of property by descent and wills, including a study of intestacy, and related problems of construction. The course also covers a study of the formation and management of trusts, including the rights and responsibilities of settlors, rights and responsibilities of trustees, rights and responsibilities of beneficiaries, the doctrine of cy pres, and the concept of fiduciary duty. In addition, the course introduces the federal transfer tax system and related estate planning opportunities and techniques.
Evidence
(4 credit hours) is an examination of the rules governing the admissibility of evidence in civil and criminal trials, with particular emphasis on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Topics covered include relevancy, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, examination, cross-examination, and impeachment of witnesses, witness competency, opinion and scientific evidence, admissibility of writings, judicial notice, and burdens of proof and presumptions.
Externship
(3 credit hours) allows students to apply the skills learned in the core curriculum. Students typically take this course during the summer following their first year of studies at the Law School. Students work for a total of approximately 200 unpaid hours in a judge's chambers, public law office, or public interest organization under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney. Each student is assigned to a full-time faculty coordinator and the faculty coordinators conduct an orientation and a debriefing session before and after the externships. Externship placements for students have included federal magistrate, district court, and circuit judges; state Supreme Court justices in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina; state trial judges in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice; Virginia Attorney General's Office; Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky Legal Services offices; Tennessee District Attorneys; Virginia Commonwealth Attorneys; West Virginia District Attorneys; North Carolina District Attorneys; Kentucky County Attorneys; Georgia District Attorney; South Carolina Solicitor’s Office; and the Air Force Legal Office. Extern students’ experiences typically include a combination of the following: observe court proceedings, research legal issues, perform factual investigations, draft pleadings and legal memoranda, draft judicial opinions, update law libraries, and assist with trial strategy and problem solving.
Family Law
(3 credit hours) covers various subject areas in family law, and introduction on how to practice in the family law area. The main topics covered are marriage, divorce, division of property, spousal support, child custody and visitation, child support, adoption, and domestic violence.
Independent Study
(one to 3 credit hours) involves assigned readings, conferences, research, and writing in specialized or advanced areas of the law. Proposals for Independent Study must be approved by the supervising professor and by the Curriculum Committee.
Introduction to Law
(one credit hour) is an introduction to legal analysis and the legal process. The course introduces the student to the structure of the judicial system and the thought processes used in it. In addition, there is significant emphasis on the nature of the legal profession, rules of conduct for lawyers, and the ideal of professionalism.
Law Journal
(2 credit hours) credit is awarded to students who successfully complete two years of service on the Appalachian Journal of Law, including at least one year as a member of the Board of the Journal, and who produces a note of publishable quality. Successful completion of the requirements is determined by the Journal's Faculty Advisor. This course is graded on a pass/fail basis, and credit is awarded during the student's final semester in law school. Successful completion of the course will substitute for the Seminar requirement or for a 2-credit-hour elective course, at the student's option.
Legal Process I
(3 credit hours) explores the basic methods of legal analysis and legal research, and how to write clear and concise predictive legal analyses. Students are assigned a number of research and writing projects, which may include briefing cases and drafting office memoranda and client communications. Students also gain experience in editing and rewriting.
Legal Process II
(3 credit hours) is a continuation of Legal Process I in which students receive further detailed instruction in and extensive practice with combining research and writing by doing the research for problems and preparing extensive written memoranda or other legal documents in response to assigned problems. Persuasive writing and advocacy are introduced.
Moot Court
(2 credit hours) credit is awarded to students who successfully complete two years of service on the Moot Court Board, who compete in an interscholastic Moot Court competition, and who independently prepare at least one brief. Successful completion of the requirements is determined by the Moot Court Program's Faculty Advisor. This course is graded on a pass/fail basis, and credit is awarded during the student's final semester in law school. Successful completion of the course will substitute for the Seminar requirement or for a 2-credit-hour elective course, at the student's option. appellate brief and present oral arguments.
Payment Systems
(3 credit hours) is a study of the laws governing the mechanisms for the transfer of value from one party to another, including the law governing credit cards, letters of credit, and electronic funds transfer, with a primary focus on the law governing negotiable instruments. Also covered is the law governing the check-collection process and the bank-customer relationship. This is also a course in statutory construction, focusing on Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code, as well as certain federal statutes.
Practicum
(4 credit hours) courses are designed to give students practical, skills-based training. These courses combine skills training with additional instruction in a particular substantive area of the law. Practicum courses are open to third-year students only, and enrollment in each course is limited. The Practicum offerings vary from year to year; the Law School expects to offer the following Practicum courses during the 2006-2007 academic year.
Advanced Legal Research
Expands on the skills first year students learned in Legal Process I and II. It focuses on the type of research projects lawyers face in the first few years of practice.
Advanced Negotiations
Offers students the opportunity to develop further the skills learned in Dispute Resolution. It will focus on simulations and negotiation exercises intended to give students more first-hand experience in applying interest-based negotiation techniques. The course examines the skills, constraints, and dynamics of negotiation. Students will also learn a theoretical framework for understanding negotiation practice in a variety of contexts through readings from the fields of law, psychology, business, and communication. Prior successful completion of Dispute Resolution is a prerequisite for this course.
Certified Civil Mediation
Will help students progress towards the entry-level mediator certification required by the Supreme Court of Virginia for persons who want the court to list them as court-referred mediators. The course will provide students with the first element of the certification requirements by providing at least 20 hours of professional mediation skills training. For students who will practice outside Virginia, this class may receive reciprocal recognition as the basic mediation training required in other states. Mediation requires a diverse set of skills that consider the legal context of the dispute, the interests and psychological needs of the parties, the emotions fueling the dispute, the parties' need for apology and forgiveness, and the techniques for helping parties reach reconciliation. Good mediators are skillful at listening, questioning, paraphrasing, and reframing. This course will give students the ability to develop these skills through readings, demonstrations and role-play exercises. The course also will satisfy the upper level writing requirement. Students will write an 18-20 page paper analyzing a "difficult conversation" they had with another person. Students also will conduct a complete mediation role-play as the second component of the grade in this class.
Client Interviewing and Counseling
Will introduce students to fundamental lawyering skills involved in the critical process of client interviewing and counseling. This course will cover basic interviewing techniques; psychological factors affecting the interviewing process; facilitating and structuring the interview; clarification of statements and ascertaining legal issues; dealing with client resistance and hostility; efforts towards resolution; and the nature and conduct of the counseling process. It will also introduce students to an emerging approach to client representation called Collaborative Law. Students will read materials on communication, psychology, and law. Interactive role-plays and simulations will help students to put the concepts from the reading material into direct practice and application.
Criminal Practice
Includes both substantive instruction and skills training on pre- and post-trial criminal practice issues. Students will prepare written motions and participate in simulated in-class exercises involving indictment and charging decisions, client relations, bail and release, investigation, discovery, preliminary hearings, pre-trial motions, guilty pleas, sentencing, and probation. The course focuses on both defense and prosecution issues and students will have the opportunity to experience both sides of criminal practice through in-class exercises.
Employment Law and Practice
Practice surveys common law, statutory, and constitutional regulation of the employment relationship. Topics covered will include employment at will, employment contracts, employment discrimination under both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans With Disabilities Act, and various federal wage and hour statutes. If time permits, the course may cover OSHA regulations governing safety in the workplace. The course does not include any coverage of laws pertaining to unionization of workers. This course will also contain a writing component, including but not limited to short research papers based on the law of the state where a student will be taking the bar, interviewing clients and drafting an employment contract, interviewing clients in preparation for filing both an EEOC complaint and a Title VII complaint, and drafting the complaints and other pleadings associated with a multiple-count Title VII complaint.
Estate Planning
Develops students’ skills relating to the disposition of property during lifetime and at death. The first part of the course will examine federal estate and gift taxation. The second part of the course will focus on developing estate plans and drafting the instruments (e.g., wills, trusts, etc.) necessary to implement such plans so as to accomplish a client’s non-tax objectives while minimizing estate taxes, gift taxes, and income taxes.
Family Law & Mediation Practicum
Taught in two parts. The first portion of the course covers selected subject areas in family law, and introduction on how to practice in the family law area. The main topics covered may include marriage, divorce, division of property, spousal support, child custody and visitation, child support, adoption, and domestic violence. Special emphasis may be placed on a study of specialized aspects of family law affecting juveniles, including the law of delinquency, adoption, paternity, abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, foster care, and the role of the guardian ad litem. Class time is used for lecture, discussion, and debate regarding text materials and relevant statutes. This course may include a limited service learning opportunity for some students to work on client cases through a legal service provider. The second half of the course provides students with family mediation training. The training topics include: information gathering; communication skills; problem-solving skills; ethics; interaction and conflict management; family dynamics, including the dynamics of the divorce process; Virginia and U.S. laws and procedure regarding divorce (West Virginia and Kentucky laws will be made available, depending upon enrollment); tax laws relevant to divorce; financial planning; child development; and domestic violence.
Family Law Practice
Will focus on substantive instruction and skills training in issues most prevalent to a family law practitioner. The course will cover selected subject areas in family law, such as annulment, divorce grounds and defenses, spousal support, child support, property division upon dissolution of marriage, ante-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, and child custody and visitation. Students will receive instruction in the preparation of pleadings, motions, court orders, and agreements. Students will also participate in simulated in-class exercises, including in-class simulated client interviews and court hearings.
Insurance Law Practice
Will focus on substantive instruction and writing skills training in issues most relevant to an insurance law practice. The course will include study of selected subject areas in insurance law, including automobile, fire and casualty (homeowners), liability, health, and disability. Among other topics covered will be the formation and operation of the insurance contract, coverage and exclusions, insurable interests, the claims process, subrogation, and vehicles to determine coverage issues such as declaratory judgment actions.
Law Office Practice
Provides grounding in lawyering skills in several areas: legal drafting, interaction with clients, and the management of a small law office. The legal drafting component emphasizes the drafting of transactional documents, e.g., various types of contracts, rather than litigation documents. The course includes practice exercises simulating work with clients and the other parties on business transactions. Topics covered in the office management component include: structure of law firms; financial issues (including compensation, billing, fees, and trust accounts); business development (marketing and advertising); law practice tools; and personnel, office, and operational issues.
Pretrial Practice
Focuses on the handling and preparation of a civil case from the time a client walks in the lawyer’s office to the eve of trial. Specific topic covered will include: client interviewing and counseling; tactical considerations of where and what to file; preparation of the pleadings; taking and defending discovery; interviewing witnesses; preparation of pretrial motions. Students will prepare a series of written documents and take part in a variety of in-class exercises.
Real Estate Transactions
Focuses on how commercial and residential real estate is conveyed. Lecture will discuss legal theories of title, transfer, and ownership issues. Students will prepare written projects that will require research of title records, statutes, and precedent. Projects will follow real property as it is conveyed, mortgaged, leased, and foreclosed. Condominium issues and mineral rights transfers will be addressed. Students will work with a local attorney to gain experience in current issues. Skills elements of this course include real estate title search; drafting of purchase and sales agreements, deeds, mortgages, UCC statements, closing settlement statements, and leases; drafting and review of easements, attachments, and other encumbrances; and drafting and scheduling of foreclosure sale.
Small Business Entities
Includes a study of issues relating to the formation of a small business. Coverage will include an understanding of business governance structures needed for a choice of the most appropriate business entity to meet the client's needs; the drafting of basic organizational documents, such as articles of incorporation, bylaws, resolutions, and minutes for corporations, partnership agreement provisions, and articles of organization and operating agreement provisions for limited liability companies (LLC's). It also will include a review of accounting and tax issues and other issues related to the purchase of a business.
State and Local Government Practicum
Will give students the opportunity to explore the multitude of problems faced by state and local governments (including New Orleans) and to draft statutes designed to address such problems. It will examine current cases of interest to state and local governments and discuss their merit. Issues such as homelessness, affordable housing, voting rights, juvenile rights, eminent domain, economic development, and the Freedom of Information Act will be addressed.
Sustainable Energy Law Practicum
will focus on the legal implications of policies and technologies that seek to minimize carbon emissions in the development and delivery of energy. Specific topics covered will include international agreements with respect to carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, and the challenges posed by the legitimate concerns of developing and poorer nations; in-depth analysis of pending federal, state and local laws with respect to emission controls and renewable energy; the legal implications of carbon capture and sequestration efforts; the legal implications of carbon cap and trade, and carbon taxation, programs; a review of legal issues unique to various renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, ocean and tidal and biofuels; and other legal issues pertinent to burgeoning “green” technologies, such as intellectual property obstacles to the spread of green technology, government subsidies and other encouragement for the development of green technologies, and land-use issues. This course contains a writing component, which includes a research paper on a sustainable energy law area of interest. Other writings required may include items such as drafting position papers of various nations heading into post-Kyoto negotiations; revising contractual documents related to the underground storage of carbon, the landfill capture of methane, or oher burgeoning technologies; commenting on proposed regulations designed to address carbon emissions; answering client questions on the impact of pending carbon control legislation; revising and/or drafting agreements for buying and selling carbon credits; developing plans for siting a green energy project; and developing proposals for grants and/or funding of “green” projects. There are no prerequisites for this class although basic environmental law or natural resources law may be helpful.
Techniques of Mediation and Negotiation
Provides students the opportunity to understand in greater depth the theory and practice of negotiation and mediation. The ability to participate successfully in negotiations and mediations depends on a combination of analytical and interpersonal skills. Analytical skills allow the negotiator and mediator to develop promising strategies based on a deeper understanding of conflict, the context of the negotiation, the interest of the parties, the barriers to negotiation, and negotiating styles. Interpersonal skills development allows the negotiator or mediator to communicate better with other parties to the process, engage in relationship and trust building, and appreciate the importance of identity issues and emotions in the negotiation. Students will participate in several exercises designed to increase self-awareness as it relates to conflict. They also will participate in negotiation simulations and mediation role-plays that will allow them to experiment with different negotiating styles, develop negotiating tactics, and respond to impasse that develops in negotiation.
Trial Advocacy
Intensive course in the analysis, skills, and techniques of trials. The course includes simulated exercises on all aspects of in-court trial practice including opening statements, development of witness testimony on direct and cross examination, use of illustrative aids and exhibits in evidence, impeachment, expert testimony, and summations. Each participant will take part in at least one full simulated trial.
Professional Responsibility
(3 credit hours) is the instruction in the history, structure, goals, duties, values, and responsibilities of the legal profession, including instruction in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The course focuses on a lawyer's responsibilities and duties to clients, the legal profession, courts, and the public.
Property I
(3 credit hours) is an introduction to the law of personal property and real property, including estates and other interests in land, real property marketing and conveyancing, landlord and tenant issues, nuisance, regulatory limitations on land use, and eminent domain and inverse condemnation.
Property II
(3 credit hours) is a continuation of Property I.
Secured Transactions
(3 credit hours) studies credit transactions in which a loan is secured by an interest in personal property, as governed by Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. With secured loans, the debtor and lender agree that if the debtor does not pay, the lender can take certain items of property (collateral) from the debtor. The course examines the mechanics of making secured loans, the rules that govern repossessing the collateral if the debtor does not pay, and what can happen to security interests if the debtor goes bankrupt. The course also examines the priority rules that rank competing claims to the same collateral.
Seminar
(2 credit hours) courses require students to complete an expository or argumentative research paper under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. Each third-year student elects one seminar course. The Seminar offerings vary from year to year; the following Seminar courses were offered during recent academic years.
Alternative Dispute Resolution in Criminal Cases
Recognizes that the vast majority of criminal cases in the United States never go to trial but are instead resolved through an alternative form of dispute resolution. In this seminar, students will critically examine these processes, both as forms of dispute resolution and for their greater policy implications. This seminar will focus on more traditional forms of ADR in criminal cases such as negotiation of settlements through plea bargaining. In addition, this seminar will examine restorative justice, a victim/community-centered approach to crime and its impact. Restorative justice is increasingly used in criminal cases in the United States through a variety of different techniques including victim/offender conferencing, victim/family conferencing, and victim impact panels. This seminar will also examine truth and reconciliation commissions as a form of alternative dispute resolution in societies torn apart by war or by regimes that engaged in serious and long term violations of human rights.
Appalachian Legal Issues
Devoted to topics of particular significance or applicability to central Appalachia. Students are given a reading list to familiarize them with central Appalachian cultural and political history and environment. They choose a research topic and produce a scholarly research paper. The first third of the course includes instruction in research and scholarship and discussion of themes suggested by the research topics. The remainder of the course consists of student presentation of research findings and peer review of seminar papers. Students are encouraged to think about their personal histories in the context of regional history and politics, to analyze social problems in the legal context, and to develop solutions that will be likely to succeed in Appalachia.
Arbitration
Will expose students to the great breadth of the field of arbitration, including arbitration in the commercial, labor, employment, consumer, construction, insurance, sports, securities, health care, and international context. The course will consider the following topics: the origins of arbitration; how arbitration compares to other dispute resolution processes; binding versus non-binding arbitration; how arbitration fits in the system of justice; historical judicial attitudes about private binding arbitration; goals in drafting agreements to arbitrate; the use of third party administrators (like the American Arbitration Association); how agreements to arbitrate are enforced and challenged (including international agreements to arbitrate); the arbitrability of federal statutory claims; the pre-emption of state arbitration law; how arbitral awards are enforced and challenged; and arbitral ethics. The course also requires students to independently research and write a 20-page seminar paper. Students will share their research with other students during the last part of the class. The instructor will also ask students to research the appellate briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in several significant cases. The instructor will ask those students to prepare short oral arguments based on those briefs.
Church and State
Focuses on the constitutional law that governs the relations of church and state in this country. The course will examine developments in church-state law through the major cases concerning the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment. In addition to addressing areas of overlap and tension between the two clauses, the seminar may also consider issues such as religion and public education, what counts as religion for constitutional purposes, accommodating religious minorities, and public aid to religious institutions.
Corporate Governances
Premised on the belief that, as corporations gain more power over our lives, it is vitally important that an examination be undertaken regarding how corporations are governed and what responsibilities they have to the people. This seminar will begin with an examination of the Enron scandals, focusing specifically on Congress' role in facilitating the disaster and the remedial statutes that Congress enacted in an attempt to prevent such fiascos. The seminar will examine the impact of major corporations like Wal-Mart on both the American and the global landscape. The course will also explore whether corporations should have an obligation to act in socially responsible ways.
Cyberlaw
Will explore legal issues created by the emergence of global digital networks, such as the Internet, and by the creation of digital technologies that make it easier for individuals to access, store, copy, manipulate, and transmit information. The issues discussed will include the applicability of traditional personal jurisdiction approaches to persons acting online, the role of privacy rights in the online world, the effect of the Internet and the digital medium on copyright laws, and the problem of cybersquatting.
Disability Law
Examines federal and state legislation governing compensation of disabled persons.
Dispute Resolution
Recognizes in the Workplace that mediation and arbitration have been used for decades to resolve labor disputes in unionized workplaces. In the last 20 years, there has been a major increase in the use of mediation and arbitration to resolve employment disputes in non-unionized workplaces. This course will examine the law, theory, practice and policy for resolving workplace disputes in unionized and non-unionized workplaces.
Environmental Law
(3 credit hours)This Seminar examines selected topics in the law governing the protection of air, water, and land from pollution.
Early class sessions will cover: (1) brief overviews of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; (2) the impact of Climate Change on the permitting process; (3) additional areas of environmental law having regional connections, including mine permitting and regulation; (4) competing conceptual approaches to environmental regulation; (5) the political and bureaucratic aspects of environmental regulation as a model of regulation generally; (6) emerging notions of environmental justice; and (7) the role of citizen enforcement, including the implications of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions dealing with the issue of standing.
Reading materials will focus on judicial decisions, administrative materials, and case law but will also include selections from the literature of science, economics, and political science that underlie current legal debates in environmental law.
Early classes will involve the students in informal presentations based on the reading materials. The last few classes will be devoted to presentation and discussion of student research papers.
Family and Juvenile Law Seminar
A study of specialized aspects of family law affecting juveniles, including the law of delinquency, adoption, paternity, abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, foster care, and the role of the guardian ad litem.
Intellectual Property
Focuses on the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law.
Natural Resources
Examines the specialized property rules governing estates in natural resources, the correlative rights of surface and mineral owners, and the rights to explore, mine and extract, develop, and transport natural resources, with primary emphasis on "hard" minerals. As a compliment to existing courses in Administrative and Environmental law, the course examines selected issues of natural resources regulation from the perspective of the regulated community.
Practice Before The Social Security Administration
Addresses the substantive and procedural law and various practice skills applicable to representing clients with disability claims before the Social Security Administration.
Public International Law Seminar
Serves as an introduction to general principles of public international law, generally including: the definition and sources of international law; mechanisms for international dispute resolution; conflict of laws; the doctrine of sovereign immunity; international human rights; the law of sea, air, and outer space; environmental law; research tools for international law; and the use of armed force.
Selected Topics in Criminal Procedure
Builds upon the required course in Criminal Procedure. Course coverage will be selected by the instructor, but may include the following topics: discovery; motion practice; plea negotiations; jeopardy; prosecutorial discretion; entrapment; ex post facto; speedy trial; sentencing options and procedures; appeals; post-conviction remedies; pardon and parole; detainers; and related matters.
Torts
(4 credit hours) reviews the standards and principles governing legal liability for intentional and unintentional invasions of interests of personality and property, including such topics as assault, battery, negligence, strict liability, and products liability.
