Spring 2020 Course Offerings
1L Courses
Instructor: Michael Solimine
Description:
This course continues issues first explored in Civil Procedure I. It opens with joinder of parties in multi-party actions, interpleader, class actions and intervention. Modern discovery procedures, the trial process, and post-trial motions are considered. The course ends with procedures governing appeals, alternative dispute resolution, and the effect of res judicata and collateral estoppels by judgment in prior litigation. Prerequisite: Civil Procedure I.
Instructor: Elizabeth Lenhart
Description:
This course continues issues first explored in Civil Procedure I. It opens with joinder of parties in multi-party actions, interpleader, class actions and intervention. Modern discovery procedures, the trial process, and post-trial motions are considered. The course ends with procedures governing appeals, alternative dispute resolution, and the effect of res judicata and collateral estoppels by judgment in prior litigation. Prerequisite: Civil Procedure I.
Instructor: Aaron Bryant
Description:
This required course covers individual rights and freedoms, including the incorporation of the Bill of Rights as against the States, freedom of speech and religion, due process, economic and personal liberties and state action. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I.
Instructor: Ronna Schneider
Description:
This required course covers individual rights and freedoms, including the incorporation of the Bill of Rights as against the States, freedom of speech and religion, due process, economic and personal liberties and state action. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I.
Instructor: Mark Godsey
Description:
This course deals with substantive criminal law, although its focus is on the various principles that apply to all crimes rather than on the elements of specific crimes. Homicidal crimes are given separate attention, however. The various defenses, including insanity, are reviewed.
Instructor: Elizabeth Lenhart
Description:
The course is structured as a simulated law firm with students working on a case file to develop and apply advocacy skills. Students study and write one or more persuasive briefs to a court. The course culminates with students arguing a motion before a simulated judge. Students also continue their work on legal research and professionalism. Prerequisite: Lawyering I: Legal Research & Writing.
Instructor: Elizabeth McCord
Description:
The course is structured as a simulated law firm with students working on a case file to develop and apply advocacy skills. Students study and write one or more persuasive briefs to a court. The course culminates with students arguing a motion before a simulated judge. Students also continue their work on legal research and professionalism. Prerequisite: Lawyering I: Legal Research & Writing.
Instructor: Nancy Oliver
Description:
The course is structured as a simulated law firm with students working on a case file to develop and apply advocacy skills. Students study and write one or more persuasive briefs to a court. The course culminates with students arguing a motion before a simulated judge. Students also continue their work on legal research and professionalism. Prerequisite: Lawyering I: Legal Research & Writing.
Instructor: Rachel Smith
Description:
The course is structured as a simulated law firm with students working on a case file to develop and apply advocacy skills. Students study and write one or more persuasive briefs to a court. The course culminates with students arguing a motion before a simulated judge. Students also continue their work on legal research and professionalism. Prerequisite: Lawyering I: Legal Research & Writing.
Instructor: Jacob Cogan
Description:
This course surveys the varieties of property interests and relations available in Anglo-American law, with an emphasis on tracing their development and evolution in modern American society. Discussion usually covers adverse possession, the traditional estates in land, future interests, landlord-tenant law, concurrent ownership, land use regulation and eminent domain, and easements and other servitudes.
Instructor: Lin Bai
Description:
This course surveys the varieties of property interests and relations available in Anglo-American law, with an emphasis on tracing their development and evolution in modern American society. Discussion usually covers adverse possession, the traditional estates in land, future interests, landlord-tenant law, concurrent ownership, land use regulation and eminent domain, and easements and other servitudes.
Upper Level Courses
Instructor: Bradford Mank
Description:
Government agencies increasingly regulate the marketplace, health and safety, and provide basic services. This course explores the constitutional powers and limitations on agency action, judicial review of agencies, and the procedures with which agencies must comply in regulating or providing benefits.
Instructors: Susan Boland, Ronald Jones
Description:
This course builds upon the basic research skills and techniques learned in the required Lawyering I courses. Its problem-solving approach gives students practical research experience that will enhance their understanding of legal literature and legal research principles. Students will learn to assess and respond strategically to legal research problems using available resources in print and digital formats. Focus is on researching United States federal and state law. Multiple weekly assignments give students practical research experience and a foundation for learning research techniques and principles. In addition, each student is assigned a specific research problem that serves as the subject of a 20-minute class presentation. Recommended for all students, particularly those who plan to practice or pursue judicial clerkships.
Instructor: Louis Bilionis
Description:
This seminar will examine key constitutional challenges that the United States faces in the early 21st century – issues of public concern that have sparked significant debate about the proper role of constitutional values in contemporary American life. The topics that will be studied include:
- Racial Justice in Criminal Justice
- Constitutional Challenge and Change: The Case of Capital Punishment
- Fraction and Friction in 21st Century American Political Life
- Money, Speech, and Political Power
- Presidential Authority in Times of Global Challenge and Political Polarization
- The Changing Look of American Federalism
- Conscience, Religion, and Constitutional Objection
- Free Market Principles in Constitutional Law
Examination of the topics will draw on a broad range of readings to inform class discussion. Each student will prepare a seminar length paper (minimum of 30 pages in length) on a topic of her or his selection after consultation with the professor. Each student also will deliver a presentation on the paper to the class for discussion.
SPECIAL NOTE: Taking this course satisfies only one of the graduation requirements (seminar or writing). If you take this course and have not yet satisfied the seminar requirement, you will be deemed to have met the seminar requirement. However, if you take this course and you have already met the seminar requirement, you will be deemed to have met the writing requirement. Two, separate courses are required to satisfy both the seminar and writing requirements. No one course satisfies them both.
Instuctor: James Farmer
Description:
This course is designed for students who may not plan to have careers in national security law and who may not take any other courses in national security law. It is intended to be a short survey of areas of national security law and practice which are most frequently misunderstood by the public, so that the students can be better equipped to understand and assess such issues as citizens and as attorneys. Topics to be covered will include, among others, a brief overview and history of the U.S. Intelligence Community; a description of the roles of the agencies constituting the Intelligence Community; Legislative. Executive, and internal oversight of the Intelligence Community; regulation by Executive Orders; the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; classified information; and the role(s) of national security lawyers.
Instructor: Russell Wilson
Description:
This course will use an actual lease for commercial real estate as a template for the following: (i) a study of the provisions of the lease selected for the class and their legal and practical implications; (ii) a review of the process by which such leases are negotiated and completed and the tenant occupies the space; (iii) review of decisions by Ohio courts that relate directly to the either the provisions of the selected lease or the process described in (ii); and (iv) a review of the drafting used in the selected lease, with an emphasis on teaching several limited core principles for drafting contracts and communications to clients about business matters. In addition, the adjunct professor will use the class as a forum for discussing work experiences available in “Big Law” or corporate settings and providing practical suggestions for high performance in those types of workplaces.
Instructor: Julie LeMaster
Description:
This course will provide you with the fundamentals of asylum and refugee law in the United States, the policies underlying asylum and refugee law, and the federal agencies that implement and enforce those policies. The course will trace the history and development of the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, the 1967 Protocol, and the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980. Students will become familiar with the key actors in the asylum and refugee law arena, including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the U.S. Congress, the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, and the federal courts. Students will gain an understanding of the refugee definition as interpreted in the U.S. The course will address the limits of refugee law and will assess the current asylum system from both a practitioner’s and a policy perspective – contextualizing asylum law within the need for international and domestic policymakers alike to meet obligations under international conventions while maintaining national security, including addressing the challenges of terrorism and transnational crime.
Instructor: Kristin Kalsem
Description:
This course offers an introduction to the Bankruptcy Code. The course begins with brief coverage of non-bankruptcy debt collection; however, it primarily focuses on the basics of bankruptcy proceedings by consumer and business debtors under Chapters 7, 11, and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Topics covered include the creation of a bankruptcy estate, exemptions, the automatic stay, the trustee's avoidance powers, adequate protection, and executory contracts. Special Note: You must have taken Secured Transactions to take this class. However, if you have not taken Secured Transactions, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss this with Professor Kalsem to see if she will waive this prerequisite for you.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Malloy
Description:
Bioethics explores the development of American law as it relates to ethical and moral issues in the areas of health care and life sciences. Supplementing courses in health law and public health law, and law and biosciences, this course is intended to give students an appreciation of the ways in which the law’s regulatory powers have been used to guide decision-making in medicine and biomedical research, and, in turn, how theories of medical ethics and practice have informed modern legal developments. In this class, we will take up a range of issues including (but not limited to): end of life decisions, allocation of resources such as organs for transplantation, human reproduction, human subjects’ research, and developments in genetics and stem cell research and therapies. Bioethics raises difficult questions about the nature, meaning, and value of life and the importance and appropriate ethical and legal role of health care. Through an in-depth study and writing on these topics, I hope that you will develop and challenge our thinking about these issues. Students will be evaluated based on a final research paper. There are no prerequisites.
Instructor: Sean Mangan
Description:
This course covers major topics in the law of agency, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations, as well as selected aspects of the federal securities laws.
Instructor: Stephanie McMahon
Description:
This course will cover the fundamentals of the federal income tax as it applies to businesses. Its focus will be on the tax treatment of the most common business entities: C corporations, partnerships, and S corporations. This course is intended to provide a basic understanding of these entities’ most frequent tax issues for those interested either in a career in tax law or representing business entities more generally.
Instructor: Richard Cline
Description:
In this seminar, we will examine the doctrinal development of death penalty jurisprudence in the United States, the constitutional and procedural rules that govern capital litigation from pretrial through postconviction proceedings, and students participate in practice exercises related to capital litigation. Major themes will include: the historical development of capital punishment in the United States; the role of race, gender, and socioeconomic status in the administration of the death penalty; and arguments for and against the categorical exclusion of specific populations from capital punishment. This course has a heavy workload with demanding deadlines. Successful completion satisfies the College of Law seminar and writing requirements. Crim Pro II is a prerequisite for enrolling in this class.
Instructor: Marjorie Aaron
Description:
In this course, students consider the lawyer-client relationship in the context of realistic scenarios, examining the basic strategies and skills a lawyer must master in the lawyer-client relationship. Students will practice and demonstrate the skills of effective client communication and practice management. The instruction and simulations will be set in the business transaction context. This is an intensive course that meets over a condensed time period. Students must attend every class session. Do not sign up for this class if you must miss one of these sessions. Students may take only one (1) short course before the fall semester. Additional assignments outside of the classroom, a final skills exercise, and wrap-up classes will take place during the fall 2019 semester at times and dates to be announced. This is a required course that must be taken in the second year, unless you have met the requirement in another way. Students who participate in other experiences in the second year may have met the Client Counseling Requirement and are not required to take this course. These students, along with 3Ls who have not taken a client counseling course, will be permitted to take this Client Counseling class only if seats remain after students are placed in the sections of the course who must take it.
Instructors: Marjorie Aaron, Rishi Batra
Description:
In this course, students consider the lawyer-client relationship in the context of realistic scenarios, examining the basic strategies and skills a lawyer must master in the lawyer-client relationship. Students will practice and demonstrate the skills of effective client communication and practice management. The instruction and simulations will be set in the business transaction context. This is an intensive course that meets over a condensed time period. Students must attend every class session. Do not sign up for this class if you must miss one of these sessions. Students may take only one (1) short course before the fall semester. Additional assignments outside of the classroom, a final skills exercise, and wrap-up classes will take place during the fall 2019 semester at times and dates to be announced. This is a required course that must be taken in the second year, unless you have met the requirement in another way. Students who participate in other experiences in the second year may have met the Client Counseling Requirement and are not required to take this course. These students, along with 3Ls who have not taken a client counseling course, will be permitted to take this Client Counseling class only if seats remain after students are placed in the sections of the course who must take it.
Instructor: Eric Kearney
Description:
This section will focus on the public interest sector. In this course, students consider the lawyer-client relationship in the context of realistic scenarios, examining the basic strategies and skills a lawyer must master in the lawyer-client relationship. Students will practice and demonstrate the skills of effective client communication and practice management. The instruction and simulations will be set in the business transaction context. This is an intensive course that meets over a condensed time period. Students must attend every class session. Do not sign up for this class if you must miss one of these sessions. Students may take only one (1) short course before the fall semester. Additional assignments outside of the classroom, a final skills exercise, and wrap-up classes will take place during the fall 2019 semester at times and dates to be announced. This is a required course that must be taken in the second year, unless you have met the requirement in another way. Students who participate in other experiences in the second year may have met the Client Counseling Requirement and are not required to take this course. These students, along with 3Ls who have not taken a client counseling course, will be permitted to take this Client Counseling class only if seats remain after students are placed in the sections of the course who must take it.
Instructor: Timothy Armstrong
Description:
This course tackles the legal issues surrounding computer technology, including the protectibility of computer software; the misappropriation of computer technology; software licenses, support, distribution, and development agreements; ownership of online "content"; privacy in a computer age; and liability for tortious acts and computer crimes.
Instructor: Robert Behlen
Description:
This course will introduce students to Computer Crime Law. Areas of coverage include: computer misuse crimes, traditional crimes, sentencing issues, the Fourth Amendment, statutory privacy protections, jurisdiction, and national security. The course will also cover techniques used in computer crime investigations.
Instructor: Timothy Armstrong
Description:
This course examines copyright law in detail, with particular focus on the Copyright Act of 1976, its history, and its ability to respond to recent developments in technology. Copyright law offers protection for works considered to be within the "fine arts" (music, paintings, photographs, sculpture) and "literature" (books, stories, plays) as well as more mundane works, including commercial, i.e., applied art and even data directories. Copyright also covers architectural works and works reliant on technology, such as computer software. Students will gain an understanding of copyright law generally, as well as an understanding of how that law might apply to emerging technologies.
Instructor: Donald Caster
Description:
Using the Theory of Defense as the guide by which all else follows, this course will explore the components of an effective defense of the criminally accused, with special consideration being given to the unique problems presented when representing the indigent defendant. Beginning with the initial accusation and going up to the eve of trial, the course will address the various components of an effective defense. These include brainstorming, developing the Theory of Defense, client interview, witness interviews, effective case investigation, aggressive pursuit of formal discovery, and pre-trial motions practice. As the various topics are covered, the ethical issues commonly occurring will also be discussed. Students will be required to apply the lessons of the class in a final project where they act as defense counsel.
Instructor: Louis Bilionis
Description:
This introductory course deals with the constitutional aspects of various police practices, focusing primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the US Constitution. The course specifically addresses the right to counsel; arrest, search and seizure; wiretapping, electronic eavesdropping and the use of secret agents; police interrogation and confession; and the scope and administration of the exclusionary rules.
Instructor: Emily Houh
Description:
This course explores the foundations and central tenets of Critical Race Theory (“CRT”), a scholarly movement that emerged in the 1980s as an “offshoot” of Critical Legal Studies (“CLS”). Since then, CRT has developed into an expansive and diverse field of scholarship in its own right. Most, however, would characterize CRT as centrally concerned with 1) using critiques of liberalism and colorblind ideology to expose how racism (and, particularly, white supremacy) is structurally and discursively embedded in and perpetuated by the law, and 2) generating and applying more inclusive and liberatory modes of legal analysis, such as intersectionality, to effect lasting social change. CRT scholars committed to these central concerns over the past 30 years have produced a diverse range of robust CRT spinoffs, such as LatCrit, QueerCrit, AsianCrit, and ClassCrits (and, to be certain, several other “—Crits”); in fact, since its inception CRT has arguably overtaken CLS within the legal academy. CRT’s interdisciplinary reach and impact during the past three decades likewise cannot be overstated, as it has been widely influential across many fields, including (but not limited to) education theory, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and American studies. The course will begin with an exploration of CRT’s origins in Critical Legal Studies, as well as an introduction to “racial formation theory,” which was contemporaneously introduced in the mid 1980s in the fields of sociology and ethnic studies. Following the introductory study of CRT’s origins and key aspects of racial formation theory, several weeks will be spent reading and discussing foundational CRT texts, primarily comprising “first generation” works (in their full and unedited forms) from 1976-1993, as well as a few later writings. After mastering CRT foundations, the course will move on to the more difficult question of CRT “praxis.” That is, how can CRT insights be used to engage more effectively in social justice advocacy, lawyering, and organizing? To help answer these questions, we will turn in last few weeks of the course to studying methodologies of "participatory action research" ("PAR"), a form of community-based research whose values are aligned with those of CRT. Though the percentages are subject to change, the grade in this course will be based on quality of class participation (20%), weekly one-page papers responding to assigned readings (30%), and small-group or individual projects grounded in both CRT and PAR (25%), and an individually written 4-6 paper based on the small-group project (25%). Further details about all of these—especially the project component of this course—will be provided in the syllabus and in class.
Instructor: Anne Lucas
Description:
As part of collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati, students act as advocates for victims of domestic violence. Advocacy includes interviewing and counseling clients, helping clients in civil protection order cases as well as issues as they relate to family law. Second-year students, who cannot be licensed as legal interns in Ohio, participate in interviewing, case preparation, and other aspects of clinic work.
Instructor: Anne Lucas
Description:
2L Domestic Violence & Civil Protection Order Field Placement. You must also enroll concurrently in the 2L DV&CPO Class (IRTS 7039). As part of collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati, students act as advocates for victims of domestic violence. Advocacy includes interviewing and counseling clients, helping clients in civil protection order cases as well as issues as they relate to family law. Second-year students, who cannot be licensed as legal interns in Ohio, participate in interviewing, case preparation, and other aspects of clinic work.
Instructor: Anne Lucas
Description:
You must register concurrently in 3L DV&CPO Class (IRTS 7037). As part of collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati, students act as advocates for victims of domestic violence. Second-year students, who cannot be licensed as legal interns in Ohio, participate in interviewing, case preparation, and other aspects of clinic work. Third year students must apply for and obtain an intern license before the start of the semester. Under the direct supervision of a supervising attorney, students will represent clients in court.
Instructor: Anne Lucas
Description:
As part of collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati, students act as advocates for victims of domestic violence. Second-year students, who cannot be licensed as legal interns in Ohio, participate in interviewing, case preparation, and other aspects of clinic work. Third year students must apply for and obtain an intern license before the start of the semester. Under the direct supervision of a supervising attorney, students will represent clients in court.
Instructors: Thomas Allman, Scott Kane
Description:
Electronic discovery plays an important and increasingly high-profile role in modern litigation. This course will provide a comprehensive study of electronic discovery issues, blending an in-depth analysis of legal principles with the study of their application in practice. No special technological background or expertise is necessary for success in the class. In addition to the professors (a litigation partner who leads the ediscovery practice at an international law firm and a former general counsel of a Fortune 500 company who is the chair emeritus of The Sedona Conference), class instruction will include presentations by guest speakers from the ediscovery field (in-house counsel, technology professionals, and judges). The goal for the class is to provide students with a thorough understanding of legal issues in ediscovery and, for those who may pursue a litigation practice, the practical ability to apply that understanding in actual cases.
Instructor: Maria Schneider
Description:
This course will introduce students to employment-based immigration law. Students in the course will learn about visa classifications that require an employer/sponsor and permit the foreign national to work in the United States. Students will engage in one or more writing projects dealing with obtaining visas in the employer-sponsored immigration context. The course will be focused on the practice of law and assignments will be similar to those given to a first year associate in the practice.
Instructor: Sean Mangan
Description:
Students will also be concurrently enrolled in BCL7038. In this course, students will staff the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic (ECDC), obtaining “hands on” experience representing local businesses and entrepreneurs on transactional legal issues critical to their success, including assistance and counseling on entity selection and formation; regulatory compliance and licensing; trademark/copyright protection; lease review and negotiation; contract preparation/review/negotiation; tax-exempt applications; and other legal issues confronting small businesses, both for-profit and nonprofit. Students also will learn how a small law office operates, including procedures for client intake, file maintenance, project tracking, timekeeping, and scheduling. In addition to attending the weekly class, students will be expected to spend approximately 10-12 hours per week on their clinic work, with a minimum of 3 of those hours spent working in the clinic offices at the law school. The ECDC will represent primarily clients of limited financial means who cannot afford the services of the private bar and will not represent clients in litigation or in proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SPECIAL NOTES: Interested students should look for email announcements regarding information sessions about the Clinic and how to apply.
Instructor: Sean Mangan
Description:
In this course, students will staff the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic (ECDC), obtaining “hands on” experience representing local businesses and entrepreneurs on transactional legal issues critical to their success, including assistance and counseling on entity selection and formation; regulatory compliance and licensing; trademark/copyright protection; lease review and negotiation; contract preparation/review/negotiation; tax-exempt applications; and other legal issues confronting small businesses, both for-profit and nonprofit. Students also will learn how a small law office operates, including procedures for client intake, file maintenance, project tracking, timekeeping, and scheduling. In addition to attending the weekly class, students will be expected to spend approximately 10-12 hours per week on their clinic work, with a minimum of 3 of those hours spent working in the clinic offices at the law school. The ECDC will represent primarily clients of limited financial means who cannot afford the services of the private bar and will not represent clients in litigation or in proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SPECIAL NOTES: Interested students should look for email announcements regarding information sessions about the Clinic and how to apply.
Instructors: Mark Noel, Maria Moyer
Description:
This course explores the fundamental principles of estate planning, trust, and probate law, including the disposition of probate vs. non-probate property, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax fundamentals, and planning for the transfer and protection of wealth. The tax planning focus will include the study of various estate planning techniques, charitable planning, and other tax savings strategies. The non-tax planning covered will include the lawyer’s role and ethical duties, drafting wills and trusts for non-tax reasons, powers of attorney, and estate planning documents relating to health care matters and end of life decisions.
Instructor: Ann Hubbard
Description:
Primary focus is on the relationship between law and the family in the context of the creation, maintenance and restructuring of domestic relations. Special attention is given to the nature of marriage, separation, divorce, dissolution, support, alimony, and child custody.
Instructor: Michael Solimine
Description:
This course addresses issues of federalism and separation of powers raised by statutes and doctrines which establish and limit federal court jurisdiction. Among the matters addressed are standing, legislative courts, congressional power over federal jurisdiction, the Eleventh Amendment, and the abstention doctrines. Also considered are the role state courts play in the formation and application of doctrines.
Instructor: Brian Howe
Description:
This class will focus upon practical and procedural issues involving criminal post-conviction remedies at both the state and federal levels. The class will examine not only the constitutional aspects of collaterally attacking a conviction, but will also address the mechanics of litigating post-conviction appeals. While not excluding other types of cases, the class will concentrate on the death penalty. Criminal Procedure II is a recommended prerequisite, but not required.
Instructor: Kristin Kalsem
Description:
Feminist Jurisprudence is about putting theory into practice, and that is the guiding principle of this course. Students will study various schools of feminist legal thought, including liberal, radical, cultural, postmodern, critical race, and social justice feminisms, as well as related issues from LGBTQ studies. After grounding ourselves in these theories, we will shift our focus to studying methodologies of participatory action research which is a form of community-based research that is aligned with the principles of feminist legal theory, to put theory into practice through applied feminist scholarship in various substantive areas. Each student will be required to complete a project that "performs feminist jurisprudence," write a paper situating this project within the theoretical frameworks studied in the course, and lead class discussion on two scholarly articles. Opportunities will be available for students to work on projects in connection with various community organizations which may include Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, Women Helping Women, ProKids, and the University of Cincinnati Women's Center. Students also may design projects that correspond with their own particular talents and interests (e.g. creating an original work of art, doing archival research relating to some aspect of the College of Law’s gender history, writing a feminist revision of a unit in a Torts or Criminal Law casebook). Other requirements include a paper situating the project within the theoretical framework studied in the course and a class presentation
Instructor: Ronna Schneider
Description:
Directed principally at exploring freedom of speech and freedom of religion, this seminar enables each student to consider both the historical development of and contemporary cases and issues related to the First Amendment.
Instructors: Emily Houh, Kristin Kalsem
Description:
By permission of instructor. The Freedom Center Journal of Law and History engages its readership on issues historically driving African-American intellectual thought while challenging its student membership to fully develop their individual talents to compete on terms of academic equality in an international society governed by law and legal institutions. This class will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructors: Emily Houh, Kristin Kalsem
Description:
The Freedom Center Journal of Law and History engages its readership on issues historically driving African-American intellectual thought while challenging its student membership to fully develop their individual talents to compete on terms of academic equality in an international society governed by law and legal institutions. This class will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Joseph Tomain
Description:
Government Regulation is a course about government. More specifically, it is about the legal rules, principles, and institutions by which the government operates. In popular political discourse, the claim is often made that “there is too much government.” Similarly, the opposite claim is also often made that “there ought to be a law.” We all experience the fact that our daily lives are heavily affected by government rules and regulations from speed limits to securities regulations and from local zoning to national and international energy and environmental laws. In this way, then, government regulation may well seem ubiquitous. The range and ubiquity of government regulation is the subject of this course. During the weeks we will explore various topics including: (1) the history and structure of government regulation; (2) the economic and non-economic reasons for government intervention into private markets; (3) the regulatory tools available to government; and (4) instances of regulatory failure. One of the lessons from the course will be that even though government regulation is extensive, there are only a handful of reasons that the government uses to justify its regulations and the government uses only a handful of regulatory tools. Consequently, understanding the reasons of the tools will enable you to understand government regulation and a whole host of problems that we will confront in the future such as whether or not government should regulate such things as Uber, Airbnb, GMOs, vaping, marijuana, veggie burgers as “burgers,” and the like. The takeaways for the course, then, are to understand (1) the relationship between government and markets, (2) the reasons and tools of government regulation, and (3) their application to future issues.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Malloy
Description:
This class explores the financing and regulation of health care, bioethics, the various structures of health care organizations, the physician-patient relationship, professional liability of health care providers, and tort reform for medical injuries.
Instructor: Bert Lockwood
Description:
Editor Position: By permission of Instructor. Participating students engage in the selection and editing of articles for publication in the University of Cincinnati Human Rights Quarterly. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Bert Lockwood
Description:
Participating students engage in the selection and editing of articles for publication in the University of Cincinnati Human Rights Quarterly. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Bert Lockwood
Description:
This course examines the development of human rights and the substantive principles and practices of human rights as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other instruments. This course also reviews the regional and international procedures for the implementation of human rights.
Instructor: Lin Bai
Description:
Participating students engage in selection and preparation of articles for publication in the Review. Students also write notes and comments for publication in the Review. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Lin Bai
Description:
Participating students engage in selection and preparation of articles for publication in the Review. Students also write notes and comments for publication in the Review. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Jean Silverstein
Description:
Through the Office of the Hamilton County Public Defender, students provide representation to indigent criminal defendants in misdemeanor cases. Each student is closely supervised by a licensed attorney and handles all aspects of the case, from the initial client interview and investigation to motions practice and trial advocacy. During the year-long program, students must commit 15 hours each week to the clinic, including participation in a weekly Thursday evening classroom component. This is a continuation of the Clinic from fall semester; accepted and enrolled students commit to both semesters of their third year. Limited to students who participated in the Clinic in the previous semester; 3L’s only; students must qualify for the Ohio Student Intern License to enroll in this clinic.
Instructor: Jean Silverstein
Description:
Concurrent enrollment required in LITG 7051. Through the Office of the Hamilton County Public Defender, students provide representation to indigent criminal defendants in misdemeanor cases. Each student is closely supervised by a licensed attorney and handles all aspects of the case, from the initial client interview and investigation to motions practice and trial advocacy. During the year-long program, students must commit 15 hours each week to the clinic, including participation in a weekly Thursday evening classroom component. This is a continuation of the Clinic from fall semester; accepted and enrolled students commit to both semesters of their third year. SPECIAL NOTES: Limited to students who participated in the Clinic in previous fall semester; 3L’s only; students must qualify for the Ohio Student Intern License to enroll in this clinic.
Description:
Under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty, upper-level students engage in original research and prepare for credit a substantial written work product. The research project is selected jointly by the student and faculty member. Customarily, the final product will be a research paper, and, in that case, the paper must be 10-15 pages long for one credit, 20-30 pages long for two credits, and 35-50 pages long for three credits. SPECIAL NOTE: Students must register for the course and present a completed contract by the last day of the drop/add period. Contracts must be turned in on time or students will be dropped from the class. You are limited to five total credits of Individual writing per academic year.
Description:
Under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty, upper-level students engage in original research and prepare for credit a substantial written work product. The research project is selected jointly by the student and faculty member. Customarily, the final product will be a research paper, and, in that case, the paper must be 10-15 pages long for one credit, 20-30 pages long for two credits, and 35-50 pages long for three credits. SPECIAL NOTE: Students must register for the course and present a completed contract by the last day of the drop/add period. Contracts must be turned in on time or students will be dropped from the class. You are limited to five total credits of Individual writing per academic year.
Description:
Under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty, upper-level students engage in original research and prepare for credit a substantial written work product. The research project is selected jointly by the student and faculty member. Customarily, the final product will be a research paper, and, in that case, the paper must be 10-15 pages long for one credit, 20-30 pages long for two credits, and 35-50 pages long for three credits. SPECIAL NOTE: Students must register for the course and present a completed contract by the last day of the drop/add period. Contracts must be turned in on time or students will be dropped from the class. You are limited to five total credits of Individual writing per academic year.
Instructor: Matthew Lawless
Description:
Every business deals with private information of one sort or another. That information, often traversing legal boundaries at the speed of light, might concern medical care, payments, employees, clients, or consumers, and it may implicate different sectoral and jurisdictional rules. Businesses often have to consider state, national, and international laws to figure out what they can and cannot do with the information they possess, or want to possess, or what they need to do and might have to face when they lose it. Those laws come in various forms: torts, contracts, constitutions, statutes, and regulations (with a number of industry and self-regulatory schemes to boot). And they may have originated before information became either electronic or digital, often stem from a particular conception of “privacy,” represent a compromise among competing values, and aren’t always consistent with one another. This course is an introduction to all of that.
Instructors: Jennifer Bergeron, Donald Caster, Brian Howe
Description:
The Ohio Innocence Project (OIP), a part of the Rosenthal Institute for Justice, harnesses the energy and intellect of students to identify inmates in Ohio prisons who are innocent of the crimes they were convicted of committing. Innocence is often determined by DNA testing, but can include other types of new evidence such as new witnesses, new expert testimony, or evidence of police misconduct. Once an inmate's innocence has been established through investigation, the OIP sends the case back to court and litigates in the hope of obtaining the inmate's freedom. SPECIAL NOTES: Enrollment by permission of instructor; full year commitment required; must complete year if participated in the fall of 2018.
Instructors: Jennifer Bergeron, Donald Caster, Brian Howe
Description:
In this course, students examine the various types of evidence that might lead to the wrongful conviction of innocent persons. They will also consider the roles police, prosecutors, and defense lawyers play in the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on discovering how errors can lead to the conviction of the innocent. SPECIAL NOTES: Field Study in the spring semester is required. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Laurie Briggs
Description:
This course provides an overview of the U.S. insurance industry and its regulation. Specifically, we will learn what insurance is, how insurance is developed and sold, and the history, purpose and scope of insurance regulation. We’ll apply insurance regulations to common insurance activities and events and consider how we help our clients meet regulatory requirements. We’ll demystify life insurance, annuity, and property/casualty product terminology and explore the continuing evolution of insurance consumer protections applicable to those products. We’ll identify common areas of regulatory non-compliance, enforcement tools available to regulators, and ways insurers, agents and brokers can resolve regulatory problems. We’ll focus on concepts and issues most commonly arising in both claims and non-claims litigation and learn basic principles of insurance policy interpretation.
Instructor: Timothy Armstrong
Description:
Intellectual Property & Computer Law Journal Editor-in-Chief. By permission of supervising faculty/instructor. The Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal is dedicated to furthering knowledge associated with the research and practice of intellectual property law, computer law, and related fields concerning domestic and international media and telecommunications policy. The Journal will be published online. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Timothy Armstrong
Description:
The Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal is dedicated to furthering knowledge associated with the research and practice of intellectual property law, computer law, and related fields concerning domestic and international media and telecommunications policy. The Journal will be published online. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructors: John Bennett, Paul Linden
Description:
The goal of this course is to introduce students to the ins and outs of what new lawyers practicing in the area of intellectual property are likely to be exposed to in private practice or a corporate setting. Particularly, this course will focus on many areas of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets and will include discussions and projects related to these IP topics, including for example, recognizing your client’s IP rights, understanding how to protect those IP rights, and advising clients with respect to enforcement of IP rights. This course will also address numerous other practical issues for the new lawyer, such as, for example, the importance of client development, how to balance your workload, and do’s and dont’s in the law office setting.
Instructor: Timothy Armstrong
Description:
The Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal is dedicated to furthering knowledge associated with the research and practice of intellectual property law, computer law, and related fields concerning domestic and international media and telecommunications policy. The Journal will be published online. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Jacob Cogan
Description:
This course is intended to prepare students to represent clients in a variety of business transactions that contain international elements. The emphasis is on the formation and enforcement of agreements between private commercial parties and on the anticipation and recognition of issues that are peculiar to, or are especially prevalent in, international business. The course follows a sequence of increasingly complex transactions, from the isolated purchase and sale of goods, to sales through agents and distributors, license and franchise agreements, and foreign direct investment. Topics include: the formation of the basic commercial transaction; financing the international sale of goods; agency and distributorships; licensing of intellectual property; establishing and operating a foreign investment; prohibitions on corrupt payments; and dispute settlement. Although discussed in summary, the international regulation of national trade laws, through the WTO and regional agreements such as the NAFTA, is the subject of a separate course on International Trade.
Instructor: Robert Behlen
Description:
This course will examine the fundamentals of Criminal Law and International Law. It will consider the development of international criminal tribunals from the Nuremberg Tribunal to the International Criminal Court. The course will explore comparative criminal procedure and sentencing, principles of jurisdiction, the extraterritorial application of U.S. criminal statutes, and immunities. It will cover U.S. Constitutional rights in a transnational context, obtaining evidence abroad, and extradition. Next, the course will explore transnational crime: organized crime, trafficking, money laundering, corruption, and terrorism. Finally, the course will examine the International Criminal Court; modes of participation; defenses; international crimes: crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, the crime of aggression, torture, sexual violence; and alternatives to prosecution, such as truth and reconciliation commissions.
Instructors: Arthur McMahon, David Lopez-Kurtz
Description:
Cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-enabled payment systems have grown dramatically in recent years, despite frequent controversy and rampant uncertainty. To do their job effectively as modern lawyers, attorneys in all practice areas will need to understand these technologies, their applications, and their legal context. This course will provide the starting point for such an understanding by focusing on (i) how blockchain and cryptocurrencies work, (ii) how they are used in business today and how they are likely to be used in the coming years, and (iii) how they are regulated, with particular emphasis on the U.S. federal securities laws.
Instructor: Christine Szydlowski
Description:
The class component of the Judicial Extern Program covers writing for judges and proper conduct for judges and judicial clerks. The work performed in the judicial extern field placement is similar to that performed by a law clerk to a judge. It usually involves preparing memoranda on cases, reviewing case files, drafting opinions and orders, and attending court and conferences. The precise tasks performed, however, depend upon the type of court and the style of the judge. SPECIAL NOTES: Concurrent enrollment in Judicial Externship class and field placement required.
Instructor: Christine Szydlowski
Description:
The class component of the Judicial Extern Program covers writing for judges and proper conduct for judges and judicial clerks. The work performed in the judicial extern field placement is similar to that performed by a law clerk to a judge. It usually involves preparing memoranda on cases, reviewing case files, drafting opinions and orders, and attending court and conferences. The precise tasks performed, however, depend upon the type of court and the style of the judge. SPECIAL NOTES: Concurrent enrollment in Judicial Externship class and field placement required. Complete the Judicial Externship Application Form on Symplicity in the “Job Postings” section. Upload your completed application form along with your current resume and transcript to be matched with a judicial extern placement. Students may not enroll concurrently in Extern programs. You may only take this class once – it is offered every semester.
Instructors: Eric Palmer, Elizabeth Newman
Description:
This course examines labor unions and labor-management relations from both a legal and a social perspective. The course will utilize traditional legal materials such as statutes, regulations and judicial opinions, which will be complemented by social research such as theoretical perspectives and empirical studies from the social sciences. The course aims to provide students with an overview of significant issues and doctrines in labor law; to introduce students to theory and research on labor unions and labor-management relations; and to encourage students to consider how insights from social theory and research can inform legal practice.
Instructor: Nancy Cutler
Description:
Critical consideration and discussion of the federal, state, and regulatory framework applicable to land use controls, including the origins and contemporary application of law and policies concerning land use planning, zoning, historic preservation, eminent domain, transportation-oriented development, inclusionary housing, environmental review, the interaction of those laws with private property rights, and the legislative and administrative settings within which land use disputes are fought.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Malloy
Description:
The blog has student, professor and practitioner contributors. Knowledge of Bluebook and Texas Law Review Manual for Style and Usage, and ability to coordinate. The job responsibilities of the Blog Editor would include:
- Actively solicit and select practitioners for blog posts
- Ensure Contributing Members, Guest or Student Editors, and Student Contributors all meet posting requirements ensuring conformance with the Texas Law Review Manual for Style and Usage and that all footnote content conform with the Bluebook
- Coordinating promotion and utilization of the blog including monitoring any comments/feedback.
In recognition of the responsibilities of the Blog Editor, this position will receive 2 non-classroom credit hours; it would not meet the writing or seminar requirement. This position would only be open to 3L students. The UC Law Review Blog is of great importance to the future of the Law Review. With a dedicated position overseeing the blog, the maintenance and care of the blog can be guaranteed. By Permission Only
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Malloy
Description:
Participating students engage in the selection and editing of articles for publication in the University of Cincinnati Law Review. Some students also write notes and comments for publication in the Review or blog. Students must participate in a competition and be selected to participate. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Malloy
Description:
Participating students engage in the selection and editing of articles for publication in the University of Cincinnati Law Review. Some students also write notes and comments for publication in the Review or blog. Students must participate in a competition and be selected to participate. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Elizabeth S. Malloy
Description:
Participating students engage in the selection and editing of articles for publication in the University of Cincinnati Law Review. Some students also write notes and comments for publication in the Review or blog. Students must participate in a competition and be selected to participate. The Registrar will enroll students selected to participate in the necessary class through the registration system.
Instructor: Joel Chanvisanuruk
Description:
This course serves the dual purpose of equipping students to succeed on the written portions of bar examinations and preparing for legal practice by developing and honing skills relevant to legal analysis, professional and effective written communication, principled advocacy, and management of legal work. Students will receive instruction, practice, critical peer review, and coaching in these skills that will be valuable in taking a Uniform Bar Exam. Students will practice these skills using model and previously-administered essays from the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and Multistate Performance Tests (MPTs). Students will also engage in self-assessment exercises addressing learning styles and time/work management issues. Although students will have an opportunity to review some core legal concepts, the focus of this course will be on practicing and developing the professional skills necessary to pass a bar examination and enter the legal profession. This course is not intended to substitute for a bar preparation course taken after Hooding. Instead, this course will build a strong foundation in the skills necessary to be successful on a bar exam.
Instructor: Richard Moore
Description:
In this course students consider the lawyer-client relationship in the context of realistic scenarios, evaluating the complete choices an ethical lawyer must make to establish an effective lawyer-client relationship. Following an examination of the ABA Model Rules and the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, students consider the ethical components of the lawyer-client relationship, with an emphasis on competency, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. The course also includes substantial instruction in the history, goals, structure, values, and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members.
Instructor: Mark Vander Laan
Description:
In this course students consider the lawyer-client relationship in the context of realistic scenarios, evaluating the complete choices an ethical lawyer must make to establish an effective lawyer-client relationship. Following an examination of the ABA Model Rules and the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, students consider the ethical components of the lawyer-client relationship, with an emphasis on competency, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. The course also includes substantial instruction in the history, goals, structure, values, and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members.
Instructor: Rachel Smith
Description:
In this course, students consider the lawyer-client relationship in the context of realistic scenarios, evaluating the complex choices an ethical lawyer must make to establish an effective lawyer-client relationship. Following an examination of the ABA Model Rules, students consider the ethical components of the lawyer-client relationship, with an emphasis on competency, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. The course also includes multiple skills application exercises to introduce students to Performance Tests and Professional Responsibility Exams required by state bar examiners.
Instructor: Christine Szydlowski
Description:
The classroom component of the Legal Extern Program emphasizes practical lawyering skills, law office economics, and ethical issues. In their field placements, legal externs work under the supervision of attorneys in local, state, and federal public agencies, for legal aid and other non-profit organizations, and in businesses and other organizations in the private sector. SPECIAL NOTES: Concurrent enrollment in Legal Externship class and field placement required. Complete the Legal Externship Application Form on Symplicity in the “Job Postings” section. Upload your completed application form along with your current resume and transcript. Spots are limited and students will be chosen based on their placement preferences and availability. Students may not enroll concurrently in Extern programs. You may only take this class once – it is offered every semester.
Instructor: Christine Szydlowski
Description:
The classroom component of the Legal Extern Program emphasizes practical lawyering skills, law office economics, and ethical issues. In their field placements, legal externs work under the supervision of attorneys in local, state, and federal public agencies, for legal aid and other non-profit organizations, and in businesses and other organizations in the private sector. SPECIAL NOTES: Concurrent enrollment in Legal Externship class and field placement required. Complete the Legal Externship Application Form on Symplicity in the “Job Postings” section. Upload your completed application form along with your current resume and transcript. Spots are limited and students will be chosen based on their placement preferences and availability. Students may not enroll concurrently in Extern programs. You may only take this class once – it is offered every semester.
Instructor: Catherine Kuhl
Description:
This course will teach students the skills and strategic analysis necessary to successfully fulfill the role of neutral third-party mediator. Students will undertake a series of mediation role plays, and will receive intensive feedback on techniques, skills and intervention choices. Video-taping will be used to enable students to calibrate perception and reality of their own mediation style and effectiveness. The class will also view and critique the techniques used by other experienced mediators (on video-tape and through in-class demonstration), permitting us to see a range of mediator presence, styles and choices. In addition, this course will be valuable for students who may not plan to be a mediator, but who will represent clients in mediation. The course will provide the mediation advocate with an understanding of how the mediator operates, the role of the lawyer in mediation and what choices the mediation process offers for parties and lawyers. This course requires each student to recruit 1-2 volunteers to serve as parties in the Saturday class mediation simulations.
Instructor: Andrew Stephani
Description:
This course will focus on the private sector health care issues that arise frequently in mental health law. Issues to be covered include: guardianship, psychiatric malpractice and informed consent, mental health law confidentiality and privilege, duties to warn and other duties to third parties, the right to refuse treatment, the right to treatment and the influence of the ADA, the admissibility of mental health professional expert testimony, brief coverage of ERISA and the right to die.
Instructor: Nancy Oliver
Description:
Prerequisites: Moot Court Honor Board. Participating students represent the College of Law in various intercollegiate moot court competitions. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Nancy Oliver
Description:
Prerequisite for Moot Court Executive Editor and other positions. Participating students represent the College of Law in various intercollegiate moot court competitions. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Nancy Oliver
Description:
Prerequisite for Moot Court Executive Editor and other positions. Participating students represent the College of Law in various intercollegiate moot court competitions. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Nancy Oliver
Description:
Prerequisites: Moot Court Honor Board. Participating students represent the College of Law in various intercollegiate moot court competitions. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: Nancy Oliver
Description:
Prerequisites: Moot Court Honor Board; students in their fourth semester. Participating students represent the College of Law in various intercollegiate moot court competitions. Students will be scheduled by the Registrar.
Instructor: James Lawrence
Description:
In this course students learn the "science and art" of negotiation. Students are introduced to significant literature and theory in negotiation and have the opportunity to practice negotiating through a sequenced series of negotiations simulations.
Instructors: Sean Mangan, Nora Wagner
Instructor: Michael Morgan
Description:
This class will focus on practical, real life situations involved in residential and commercial real estate transactions. The emphasis of the course will be on drafting documents appropriately, in order to avoid disputes. Areas covered will include: attorney’s and broker’s roles in the transaction; the contract of sale; due diligence during the transaction; title assurance; and financing including mortgage foreclosures and distressed sales.
Instructor: Ann Hubbard
Description:
This course covers all forms of ultimate relief in civil actions: damages, restitution, and equitable relief. The first portion deals with the damage remedies in tort, contract, real property, and personal property litigation. The second unit analyzes the alternative remedy of restitution, in law and equity. The course concludes with those cases governing specific relief in equity, specific performance in contract, and injunctions in tort.
Instructor: Emily Houh
Description:
This course deals primarily with contracts for the sale of goods under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. In it, we will master code‐reading and basic Article 2 doctrines. Students also examine how the law of the sale of goods differs from the common law of contracts, particularly with respect to the relevant law of warranties, performance, risk of loss, and remedies. Students explore the reasons, both practical and theoretical, for the substantive differences between Article 2 and common law contracts. Finally, the course examines, to varying degrees, the related law of leases of goods (under Article 2A of the UCC) and contracts for the international sale of goods (under the Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods or “CISG”).
Instructor: Arthur McMahon
Description:
Securities Regulation presents an overview of federal securities laws with emphasis on the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the major exemptions from these requirements, including exemptions commonly used by small and early-stage businesses. The course also covers the reporting and disclosure requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
Instructors: Nathan Colvin, Colter Paulson
Description:
Students from both the UC College of Law and the Salmon P. Chase College of Law will be participating. In this clinic, students will work on cases for indigent clients whose cases are on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, a federal appellate court located in Cincinnati. Under the supervision of experienced attorneys, students will analyze trial records, identify arguments to be used in the appeals process, and write motions and briefs for their clients. This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn about federal courts, criminal law, appellate procedure, and improve writing skills. Students will also have the chance to learn from experienced lawyers, meet members of the federal bar, and meet federal judges. Students will be expected to attend oral arguments at the Sixth Circuit as well as present their own oral arguments in class. Some students have been able to argue before the Sixth Circuit, though such opportunities vary with timing and interest.
Instructors: Nathan Colvin, Colter Paulson
Description:
Concurrent enrollment in LITG 7043 is required.
Instructor: Eric Combs
Description:
This course is designed to introduce students to the substantive and practical aspects of the law as applied to the business of sports and athletic competition. Students will be exposed to a review of current and selected past case law, discussion of current events in the business and law of sports, a review and interpretation of the legislation governing sports, and analysis of the various contractual relationships and structures that govern the operation of amateur and professional athletics.
Instructor: Pierre Bergeron
Description:
Long neglected, people are starting to wake up and appreciate the significance of state constitutions. Gerrymandering is a great example – the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that federal courts could not consider federal constitutional claims regarding partisan gerrymandering, but state courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, relying on their state constitutions, granted relief and redrew political maps. This course will explore the role of state constitutions in our federal system and how can state constitutions be used to achieve a client’s litigation objectives when federal relief might be beyond reach. Taught by a sitting state appellate judge, with a unique vantage point on these questions, the class will cover recent developments in state constitutional law and explore what the future may hold for these type of claims.
Instructor: Stephanie McMahon
Description:
This courses covers advanced topics in the federal income tax as it applies to businesses. Its focus is on the tax treatment of liquidations, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions involving most common business entities: C corporations, partnerships, and S corporations.
Instructor: Jennifer Chacón
Description:
This course focuses on U.S. constitutional case law as it pertains to immigration and the rights of individuals seeking admission to the United States. Students will read major constitutional cases concerning the Fifth Amendment procedural and substantive due process rights of individuals seeking admission to the U.S. or being removed from the U.S., with a focus on immigration detention and family separation. Students will explore the limits on Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in the context of immigration enforcement. They will learn how immigration enforcement concerns intersect with (and limit) the equal protection doctrine – particularly limits on racial profiling. Finally, students will explore the ways that immigration control concerns impact the First Amendment rights of both citizens and noncitizens. By the end of this short, one-unit course, students should feel comfortable analyzing the constitutional questions raised by contemporary immigration developments, from family detention and separation to exclusionary policies aimed at particular groups. They will be asked to apply their knowledge through participation in class discussion (including in-class exercises) and on a 90 minute, open-book final examination.
Instructor: Lori Krafte
Description:
This course examines the law governing trademarks and other means of identifying products and services in the minds of consumers. Instruction primarily will focus on the federal statute governing trademarks and unfair competition, the Lanham Trademark Act of 1946, but students will learn about state laws and state law doctrines in the field as well. Topics include the protectibility of marks, including words, symbols, and "trade dress"; federal registration of marks; causes of action for infringement, dilution, and "cybersquatting;" and defenses, including parodies protected by the First Amendment.
Instructor: Marjorie Aaron
Description:
To be a trial lawyer is to be a story teller, stage director, and character in drama where the audience determines the resolution. This course will review and provide practice in each aspect of trial, from working with facts and developing strategy and then, to structure and techniques for effective opening statements, direct and cross examination, and closing argument. We will focus on those elements that are also applicable to professional presentations in other contexts: communicating to render complexity accessible, build your own and witness credibility and audience trust, and persuade the audience using emotion as well as reason.
Instructor: Marjorie Aaron
Description:
Students prepare for and participate in Trial Practice Competition Team events.
Instructor: Julia Meister
Description:
Administrative complexities and disputes (pre and post death) relating to disposition and management of personal and business assets are on the rise. This course reviews the fundamentals of property transfers on death via wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations; it also covers the creation and administration of trusts and associated rights and duties. Related topics of trust modification and reformation, decanting, trust advisors and protectors, guardianship, beneficiary designations, and powers of attorney for health and medical care will be covered. Disputes and means of resolution will be addressed. This is not a drafting or tax class. It is strongly recommended but not required that students enrolled have completed Wills and Estates prior to this class.
Instructor: John Pinney
Description:
The Vis Competition has two components. The first component (for which 1 credit hour will be given for up to 4 students) is the researching and writing of two 30 to 35 page memoranda, the first supporting the position of a hypothetical international arbitration claimant and the second supporting the position of the respondent. (This component is expected to involve about 45 hours of work beginning in October and running through the end of January when the respondent’s memorandum is due.) The second component (for which 2 credit hours will be given for up to 4 students) will include supervising and editing the memoranda plus traveling and participating in the week-long oral competition in either Vienna or Hong Kong. (This component, excluding travel time, is expected to involve over 100 hours of work beginning October and running through the close of the competition in late March or early April.)
Instructor: John Cruze
Description:
Through role play and other means, this course will teach techniques that trial counsel use to prepare themselves and their witnesses for testimony that is truthful, engaging, trustworthy and persuasive. Students will learn how to showcase witness testimony, reduce risks of unespected or damaging testimony, gain witness confidence, explain the witness' role, uncover information, lay foundations for admitting exhibits, and deal with cross-examinations, etc. Each exercise will be followed by critique and class discussion. IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an intensive course that meets over a condensed time period. Students must attend every class session. Do not sign up for this class if you must miss one of these sessions. Students may take only one (1) short course before the spring semester.