LAW 9520 Accounting for Lawyers
Credits: 1
Designed to equip the law student who has not previously taken an accounting course with the basic principles necessary to properly understand the materials taught in Corporations, Tax I, and other courses in which accounting and finance are relevant. The course includes reading and interpreting financial reports, generally accepted accounting principles, terminology and basic methods of bookkeeping, commonly used valuation techniques based upon both assets and income, investment analysis, evaluation of equity and debt as capitalization methods, and the basic principles and terminology of securities including stocks, bonds, futures, options and other debt instruments.
Recommended, but not required prerequisites: Tax I and Corporations
Offered fall or spring every year, typically as a 7 week class
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9301 Administrative Law
Credits: 3
Examines the powers and procedures of administrative agencies in investigation, rulemaking, adjudication, and informal actions; as well as the interrelation of administrative agencies with the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government in the development of public policy.
Offered every year
LAW 9580 Admiralty
Credits: 3
Introduces maritime law, including admiralty jurisdiction and selected topics of maritime law such as maritime liens, injuries to seamen, general average, carriage of goods, salvage, collision, and limitation of liability.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9502 Advanced Legal Research
Credits: 3
Provides in-depth training in efficient, cost-effective research methods covering a wide range of on-line and manual formats. Includes a review of basic research materials and techniques, starting with primary and secondary sources, and requires CALI lessons, exercises, group presentations, and a group written project.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9621 Advanced Litigation Practice
Credits: 3
Provides advanced in-depth training in advocacy skills for each stage of litigation through lecture, discussion, demonstration, simulation and critique. Includes examination of expert witnesses and voir dire instructions. Considers both civil and criminal trials. Students individually complete a simulated bench trial and jury trial.
Prerequisites: Litigation Practice or Trial Advocacy
Offered fall or spring every other year
LAW 9566 Agricultural Law
Credits: 2
This offering presents an overview of the legal issues surrounding agricultural law with a special focus on government regulation. The course will analyze the purposes underlying government regulation and whether those goals are well served. The class will also discuss issues that attorneys face on a day-to-day basis. Topics will include production contracts, food safety, organics, business structures, pesticides, and marketing programs.
Offered every other year
LAW 9905 American Legal System
Credits: 3
This class is for LL.M. and foreign exchange students only and is specifically designed to acquaint these students with the American legal system. The course includes a significant legal research and writing component.
Offered every year
LAW 9541 Antitrust
Credits: 3
Examines legal protection of the competitive system under the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, and related legislation, including monopoly power, horizontal and vertical restraints on competition, and related problems.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9562 Arbitration
Credits: 2
Examines statutes, rules and treaties related to international, federal, and state arbitration. Topics may include commercial, insurance, sports, medical, and labor arbitration with role plays and simulations throughout the course. Taught as a skills course with limited enrollment. Students may not enroll in this class if they have previously completed the Arbitration Certificate Program.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9324 Arbitration Advocacy
Credits: 1
In this hands-on course, advocacy is explored in the context of the cross-cultural environment of international arbitration. Using an interactive workshop format, the course leads students through the critical advocacy challenges and opportunities that inhere in the arbitral process. After an initial module on developing a winning theory of the case, the course will focus upon advocacy in the arbitral proceeding, including the art of opening statement, effective presentation of documentary evidence, the use of experts, cross examination, and overall interaction with the tribunal and opposing counsel.
Offered in the London Study Abroad program
LAW 9595 Arts and Entertainment Law
Credits: 2
The course emphasizes an understanding of copyright, publicity rights, trademarks, finance, labor law, and First Amendment through an exploration of the industry structure and practice for music, film, theatre, arts, online and related industries. The course emphasizes deal-making in the entertainment industry and helps students develop client-counseling and problem-solving skills using issues related to typical industry transactions and business planning.
Strongly recommended prerequisite: Intellectual Property or Copyright Law
Offered every other year
LAW 9503 Banking Law
Credits: 3
Examines the role of banks in a credit economy. Topics include bank charters, regulation of bank investments and deposits, bank holding companies, branch banking restrictions, the role of government in monitoring banks, and bank failures. Statutory material includes selected portions of the National Bank Act, the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the Bank Holding Company Act, and selected statutes and regulations.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9504 Bankruptcy
Credits: 3
Studies state collection remedies, such as executions, garnishment and attachment, and bankruptcy liquidation under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Prerequisite: Secured Transactions
Offered every other year
LAW 9505 Business Planning
Credits: 3
Integrates corporation, securities and tax law through a series of basic problems that commonly face business lawyers in the formation, financing, and restructuring of corporations.
Recommended Prerequisites: Tax II and Securities Regulation
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9535 Certificate in Advocacy and Problem-Solving Capstone Research Paper
Credits: 0
Working closely under the supervision of the CAPS academic advisor, students will identify a capstone topic, conduct research, and present the results in a 20-page thesis quality paper. Students will submit a bibliography, initial outline, first draft and final draft. Each semester, the top papers will be awarded "honors" designation and published to the Dispute Resolution Institute website. All students will be encouraged to prepare their capstone papers with future publication in mind.
Enrollment only with permission of the CAPS academic advisor and only in fall or spring of the student's final academic year.
Limited Enrollment.
Offered fall and spring every year.
LAW 9586 Children and the Law
Credits: 2
Considers issues faced by children in the legal system, particularly in custody, support, paternity, adoption, child neglect and abuse, and criminal proceedings, with attention to the role of lawyers and other professionals in the system.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9111 Civil Procedure I
Credits: 3
Focuses on the civil judicial process and dispute resolution. It includes a study of the constitutional and legislative grants of authority to the state and federal judicial systems, including questions of personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and venue. Studies each stage of the civil lawsuit including pleadings, motions, discovery, trial, post-trial motions, appeals, and finality of judgments. In addition, examines alternatives to the litigation process including mediation and arbitration and the role of negotiation in resolving clients' problems.
First-year required course
LAW 9111B Civil Procedure II
Credits: 3
Continuation of Civil Procedure I. The allocation of subject matter between Civil Procedure I and II may vary from year to year.
First-year required course
LAW 9543 Civil Rights
Credits: 3
Examines statutory and constitutional doctrine on discrimination, primarily that based on race, sex, and disability. Focuses on major areas of concern, such as housing, government contracts and benefits, transportation, public accommodations, education, and others (excluding employment).
Recommended Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I and II
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9610A Clinic: Child Advocacy
Credits: 3
This clinic offers students many opportunities to appear in juvenile court and administrative hearings concerning children. Students advocate directly for children who are involved in minor juvenile cases, cases for Child in Need of Protection or Services (CHIPS), truancies, school expulsions, adoptions, and minors seeking to live independently. Law students may work on guardian ad litem cases or juvenile delinquency cases as available. Students are required to complete 130 hours, including 60 hours of class work and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Recommended Prerequisites: Children & the Law, Law of Juvenile Delinquency, Lawyering Skills, Litigation Practice, and/or Evidence
Offered every year
LAW 9610I Clinic: Education Law
Credits: 3
This clinic offers students the opportunity to both study education law and represent clients at the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services office in Saint Paul under the supervision of an experienced education law attorney. The particular substantive focus of the course and case work will involve laws related to equal educational opportunities for children from low income families, educational rights of limited English proficient children, educational rights of children with disabilities, school expulsion, tracking, racial discrimination, and bias in schools. Students will be expected to spend some time at the legal services office working on their cases. Students also conduct community education and outreach. Students are required to complete 130 hours, including 60 hours class preparation and classroom work and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Recommended Prerequisite: Lawyering Skills
Offered every year
LAW 9610E Clinic: Employment Discrimination Mediation Representation
Credits: 3
This clinic offering takes advantage of a collaboration between Hamline and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Students represent victims of alleged employment discrimination in cases where the EEOC has offered early intervention mediation. The clinic complements theorizing in the classroom about redefining "winning" and "zealousness" by allowing students the opportunity to apply new visions of lawyering to clients' real problems. Students are required to complete 130 hours, including 60 hours of class work and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Recommended Prerequisites: Dispute Resolution Practices or Mediation Skills; Employment Law and/or Employment Discrimination; Lawyering Skills
Offered every year
LAW 9610Q Clinic: Health Law
Credits: 3
This clinic offers students the opportunity to represent individuals who are parties in health law related administrative hearings. Clients may include persons with medical needs or disabilities who encounter barriers to their eligibility for health care. Clients may also include healthcare workers with licensing issues. Students will gain experience in interviewing, counseling, and litigating these cases as well as exposure to law governing health care licensure and Medicaid eligibility and finance. Students are required to complete 130 hours, consisting of 60 hours of class work and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Offered every year
LAW 9610N Clinic: Immigration
Credits: 3
This clinic provides students with the opportunity to represent clients with immigration cases under the supervision of an experienced immigration practitioner at a local public service immigration office. Students will work with several clients with immigration cases. Case types may include family-based petitions, fiancee applications, naturalization, adjustment of status to permanent residence, visa processing, Violence Against Women Act or removal proceedings. Students will also have the opportunity to observer immigration hearings.
Students are required to complete 130 hours, consisting of 60 hours of class work and class preparation and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Recommended Prerequisite: Immigration
Offered every year
LAW 9610P Clinic: Innocence
Credits: 3
In this clinic, students will have the opportunity to investigate inmate claims of actual innocence. Students will obtain primary source material-police reports, forensic reports, court pleadings, transcripts, appellate briefs, and opinions. Students will be expected to prepare written summaries of these materials and to present and discuss these materials during class. Students will conduct interviews with inmates and potential witnesses. Students will have the opportunity to assist Innocence Project volunteers-private investigators, forensic experts, and attorneys-in preparing claims of actual innocence. The course will include lecture, discussion, and guest speakers about eyewitness identification, post-conviction remedies, and false confessions. Class time will be divided among class work, discussion of cases, and periodic guest speakers. Speakers will be selected both for the general subject matter and for the specific cases under review. Students are required to complete 130 hours consisting of 30 hours of class work, 30 hours of class preparation, and 70 hours of casework.
Prerequisite or concurrent requirements: Criminal Law; Professional Responsibility
Recommended Prerequisites: Wrongful Convictions, Criminal Procedure I
Offered every year
LAW 9610L Clinic: Mediation
Credits: 3
This clinic is a collaboration between Hamline and regional providers of mediation services. Students mediate cases referred by small claims or housing courts; those students with prior family mediation training may also co-mediate family law cases, including divorce and post-decree disputes. Students are required to complete 130 hours, including 60 hours of class work and simulation practice, and 70 hours of case work (actual mediation time and completion of required post-mediation reports).
Prerequisites: Professional Responsibility and one of the following: Mediation Skills, Family Mediation, completion of a state certified 30 hour civil mediation or 40 hour family mediation training
Required concurrent course: Professional Responsibility
Offered every year
LAW 9610K Clinic: Small Bus/Non-Profit
Credits: 3
Students will have the opportunity to provide legal advice to entrepreneurs in developing start up businesses and to individuals working with tax-exempt non-profits. The legal issues involved typically include choice of form of ownership, compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements, contract drafting and reformation, lease requirements, scope of insurance coverage, credit record adjustments, tax exemption procedures, and real and personal property transaction documentation. This clinic does not undertake litigation. Students are required to complete 130 hours, including 60 hours class preparation and classroom work and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Recommended prerequisites: Corporations and Tax I
Offered every year
LAW 9610D Clinic: State Public Defender
Credits: 2 TO 3
This clinic offers students the opportunity to provide criminal legal representation to low-income persons. Each student represents approximately four to six clients in a wide variety of criminal law cases, handling them from start to finish under the supervision of an experienced attorney at the Minnesota State Public Defender's Office. Students participate in many phases of practice, from client interviewing through any scheduled court hearing, and are exposed to a law firm setting where they do their work. Typical cases include post conviction motions on issues such as sentencing, restitution, conditional release, guilty plea withdrawal, parole and probation revocation, and end of confinement community notification. There may be the opportunity for appellate advocacy, as well as challenges to underlying convictions for persons facing deportation. Along with hands-on experience, classroom instruction on various aspects of practice is provided. Students work on cases at the office of the State Public Defender. Students are required to complete 130 hours consisting of 30 hours of class work, 30 hours of class prep and 70 hours of casework.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Offered every year
LAW 9610F Clinic: Student Director
Credits: 0 TO 3
Student directors will work in one of the Hamline Clinics and handle their own client caseload, as well as provide supervision to and collaboration with new clinic enrollees. Student directors will not attend regular weekly clinic classes, but are instead expected to devote a minimum of 45 hours per credit to client representation and supervision/collaboration with other clinic students as assigned by the clinic supervisor. Only students who have successfully completed one of the clinics are eligible to enroll as a student director; enrollment is by invitation of the instructor upon advance application. Preference will ordinarily go to students who have not yet been a clinic director. With permission of the supervisor this course can be repeated once for credit. Students may enroll for 1, 2, or 3 credits with faculty approval.
Prerequisites: Professional Responsibility and one of Hamline's clinics.
Recommended Prerequisite: Lawyering Skills, Litigation Practice and/or Evidence, Administrative Law, Dispute Resolution Practices, Children and the Law, Juvenile Law or Mediation Skills (depending on clinic focus).
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9610M Clinic: Trial Practice
Credits: 3
This clinic offers students the opportunity to represent individuals involved in unemployment compensation administrative trials. Students gain skills in interviewing, counseling, research, investigation and case management. They also prepare for and conduct one or more trials, gaining experience developing a theory of the case and preparing direct examinations, cross- examinations, closing argument, trial brief, and trial notebook. This course provides an excellent litigation experience in the employment law area.
Students are required to complete 130 hours, including 60 hours of class preparation and attendance and 70 hours of case work.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Professional Responsibility
Offered every year
LAW 9544 Collective Bargaining and Labor Arbitration
Credits: 2
Examines the law of collective bargaining and labor arbitration, and, through theory and practice, focuses on the aspects of negotiating labor agreements and arbitrating grievances arising thereunder.
Prerequisite: Labor Law or written permission of the instructor
Offered fall or spring alternate years
This is a skills course
Enrollment is limited
LAW 9313 Commercial Law: Payment Systems
Credits: 3
Studies the rights and liabilities of the parties in the various payment systems of negotiable instruments, letters of credit, wire transfers, and credit/debit cards, focusing on the normal course of business and the allocation of losses. Covers Articles 3, 4, 4A, and 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and the applicable federal regulations.
Offered fall or spring every other year
LAW 9315 Commercial Law: Sales and Leases of Goods
Credits: 3
Studies advanced issues involving the formation and interpretation of sale and lease contracts for goods. The course focuses primarily on Articles 2 and 2A of the UCC, but may also involve consideration of international sales of goods under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (?CISG?) and consideration of certain special federal statutes related to sales and leases of goods, such as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9314 Commercial Law: Secured Transactions
Credits: 3
Studies secured financing using personal property as collateral. The course explores the various types of creditors and purchasers who may establish claims to personal property and the law governing the priorities of their claims. The primary focus of the course is on Article 9 of the UCC and selected federal bankruptcy provisions.
Offered fall or spring, every year
LAW 9545 Commercial Real Estate Transactions
Credits: 2
Focuses upon complex, commercial real estate transactions. Various transaction types such as land purchase and development, wrap-around contracts, shopping center development, and sale and leaseback are examined through the discussion and analysis of hypothetical situations including the drafting of documents required in such cases.
Prerequisites: Property I and Modern Real Estate Transactions (may be taken concurrently)
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9581 Comparative Law
Credits: 3
Comparative study of the origins, development, and characteristics of the world's major legal systems, with emphasis on civil law systems.
Offered every other year
LAW 9736 Competitions
Credits: 0 TO 2
Law school competition participation offers students the opportunity to develop and refine writing and speaking skills for up to two academic credits with the assistance of faculty members as well as members of the bench and bar. The law school competitions at Hamline consist of a series of inter-mural competitions throughout the year, in which teams of Hamline students compete against students from other law schools. The appellate-type competitions require presentation of written appellate briefs and oral appellate arguments at a meet at which each team is scored and critiqued on briefs and oral presentations by judges and lawyers from the community. The client counseling, mediation, negotiation, mock trial, and similar competitions require a demonstration of conversational and advocacy skills directed towards achievement of client interests; no brief is submitted for these events.
Offered fall and spring every year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9737 Competitions Tutorial
Credits: 0
This is a zero-credit required lab for all students enrolled in a competition team.
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9426 Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Law
Credits: 2
This course will examine the legal, ethical, and policy issues raised by the delivery of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Special attention will be given to the definitions, theories, and practice of major CAM therapies, including chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, massage therapy, dietary supplementation, herbal medicine, and various cancer therapies; the role of evidence-based medicine in evaluating CAM therapies; the licensure, regulation, and certification (or lack thereof) of CAM providers; the historical bias of allopathic physicians and health insurance companies against CAM providers; legal issues relating to collaboration with CAM providers, including credentialing, medical staff memberships, clinical privileges, ordering, and referrals; informed consent to CAM therapies; CAM malpractice; other civil and criminal law issues cases involving CAM providers; truth-in-advertising by CAM providers; and insurance coverage of CAM.
Offered every other year
LAW 9547 Computer and Internet Law
Credits: 2
This course examines a wide-range of legal issues related to the protection and use of computer technology. It begins with an exploration of the various methods of protecting computer hardware and software and the means of distributing and using such technology. Next, it examines issues such as privacy, personal jurisdiction, liability (civil and criminal) and free speech that have arisen because of the Internet.
Recommended Prerequisite: Commercial Transactions or Intellectual Property Law
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9901 Conflict Resolution from Religious Traditions
Credits: 0 TO 3
As a religiously, politically, and culturally diverse society, the people of Israel are searching for both traditional and new methods for resolving disputes that arise among individuals and communities. This course will explore traditional dispute resolution methods such as the Beth Din, Christian and Muslim courts, and Palestinian silha; the ways in which the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious traditions have shaped dispute resolution values; some of the major conflicts which face Israeli society today and the ways in which modern dispute resolution methods have been adapted to the cultures within Israel to resolve these conflicts.
Optional additional independent study credit.
Offered in the Israel Study Abroad program
LAW 9507 Conflict of Laws
Credits: 3
The rules applied by courts in resolving cases involving transactions or occurrences with relationship to more than one jurisdiction. Emphasis on selection of appropriate rules where the laws of the jurisdictions differ. Also studied is recognition of judgments of other states; limitations imposed on state courts by federal law.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 91000 Consortium
Credits: 0 TO 20
The three Minnesota law schools have entered into a consortium arrangement that allows students at each school to enroll in classes at the other two schools if they are not offered at the home school in that academic year. Registration for consortium courses takes place at Hamline, and tuition charges are included in the Hamline tuition. Students register at their home school and will be notified by the registrar's office if they may attend the consortium class. This cooperative effort among the three law schools presents an exciting opportunity for students to take advantage of courses in each school's area of expertise. Grades earned in consortium classes will be treated as transfer grades and will not be computed into the law school grade point average. Students are allowed to earn no more than six consortium course credits during their law school career. Only grades of 2.0 on a 4.0 point scale, or its equivalent, or above, will receive credit into Hamline.
LAW 9101 Constitutional Law I
Credits: 3
Introduces constitutional interpretation, including doctrines and competing philosophies, and the framework of state and federal government under the Constitution. It includes the historical background of the drafting and interpretation of the Constitution, the development of the Supreme Court as an institution, the powers of the three branches of the federal government and of the states, and the structure of the Constitution, all as interpreted by the Supreme Court.
First-year required course
LAW 9304 Constitutional Law II
Credits: 3
Examines constitutional interpretation of the speech clause of the first amendment, the free exercise and establishment clauses
of the first amendment, and the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment.
Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9316 Consumer Transactions
Credits: 2
Studies the regulation of consumer transactions, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Truth in Lending, Uniform Consumer Credit Code, Uniform Consumer Sales Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FTC Credit Practice Rules, usury, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, as well as common law doctrines that protect consumers, such as deceit and unconscionable. This course is recommended in addition to Secured Transactions and Commercial Transactions for those students interested in a full treatment of both consumer and commercial transactions.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9121 Contracts I
Credits: 3
Studies the enforceability of promises. Focuses on the common law of contracts including creation, performance and breach of contractual obligations, remedies available for breach of contract, and the impact of contract on the legal status of non-parties. Modern statutory regulation of contract (the Uniform Commercial Code, Article 2) is also examined in detail.
First-year required course
LAW 9121B Contracts II
Credits: 3
Continuation of Contracts I. The allocation of subject matter between Contracts I and II may vary from year to year.
First-year required course
LAW 9600 Copyright Law and Related Rights
Credits: 3
Advanced investigation of the federal law of copyright, covering subject matter, ownership, infringement, remedies, and defenses; and related rights areas such as the Visual Art Rights Act of 1990, Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
Recommended Prerequisite: Intellectual Property
Offered every other year
LAW 9522 Corporate Finance
Credits: 2
Examines advanced issues in corporate structure. Coverage includes characteristics and rights of senior securities (equity and debt), valuation problems, divided policy and related corporate accounting problems, effect of trust indentures, and organic changes in the corporation.
Prerequisite: Corporations
Offered every other year
LAW 9311 Corporations
Credits: 3
Introduces the legal and business issues pertaining to corporations, both closely-held and publicly traded. Topics include corporate formation, structure and governance, as well as the rights and liabilities of management and shareholders.
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9131 Criminal Law
Credits: 3
Examines the functions of the criminal law as a means of social control, focusing on the process of crime creation and the elements of criminal liability-the criminal act, the criminal state of mind, and the absence of a defense of justification or excuse. Legislative definition and grading of offenses, and policy considerations relevant to those processes are studied in the context of the Model Penal Code and other penal statutes.
First-year required course
LAW 9306 Criminal Procedure I
Credits: 3
Studies the constitutional issues that arise in the administration of criminal justice, focusing specifically on problems connected with police investigation and other pretrial processes, as governed by the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth amendments.
Offered at least three semesters every two years
LAW 9552 Criminal Procedure II
Credits: 2
Studies constitutional and other issues relating to the criminal trial, appeals, and collateral attacks on conviction.
Prerequisite: Criminal Procedure I
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9622 Dispute Resolution Practices
Credits: 2
This is a survey course in dispute resolution processes designed to improve lawyers' abilities to advise and represent clients. It explores the full range of traditional and emerging alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, both court-annexed and extra judicial. It examines negotiation theory and strategy, mediation, arbitration, and various hybrid processes that utilize third-party intervention (such as early neutral evaluation, non-binding arbitration, summary jury trial and mini-trial). The course concludes with a review of emerging practice trends such as collaborative law, unbundled legal services, and online dispute resolution.
Enrollment in this course is limited to those who have not taken or are not currently taking two of the following three courses: Arbitration, Mediation, or Negotiation; and to student who have not taken Dispute Resolution Practices: ADR and Technology.
Offered every year
LAW 9598 Dispute Resolution Practices: ADR and Technology
Credits: 2
Global E-Commerce retail sales now are growing at an astronomical rate. As the amount of E-commerce continues to skyrocket, the number of disputes addressed online and the number of providers offering online dispute resolution services are growing at an explosive rate. This course will analyze ADR platforms such as Win2, Cybersettle, and iCourthouse, and will compare and contrast those services with the services provided by traditional neutrals. We also will discuss how online communication differs from face-to-face communication. The benefits and drawbacks of using video and audio technology both on- and offline also will be explored. Finally, students will attempt to resolve disputes using one or more of the existing online dispute resolution platforms.
Students who have taken Dispute Resolution Practices may not take this course for credit.
Offered every year
LAW 9126 Elder Law
Credits: 2
This course examines the legal issues raised by our nation's growing elder population. Special attention is given to the housing and health care needs of the elderly; liability and advocacy issues; financing of elder care; life and estate planning; guardianship; conservatorship, advance directives and end-of-life decisions; and elder abuse and neglect.
Offered every other year.
LAW 9553 Employment Discrimination
Credits: 3
Provides an in-depth examination of federal and state fair employment laws, particularly Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; and the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The focus of the course is discrimination on account of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age. Considers jurisdiction, administrative and judicial claims, proof and other litigation problems and the impact of the law on employment practices.
Offered every other year
LAW 9560 Employment Law
Credits: 3
Surveys the common law and selected state and federal statutory schemes that regulate the employment relationship in the United States. This course does not focus on the anti-discrimination statutes such as Title VII or labor-management relations statutes such as the National Labor Relations Act. The course explores how state court decisions have eroded the employment at will doctrine; employee hiring and discharge; federal and state fair labor standards acts; employee privacy rights; occupational safety and health acts; worker's compensation; and a variety of fringe benefit regulations.
Offered every year.
LAW 9509 Environmental Law and Ecology
Credits: 3
Introduces the law pertaining to environmental issues. Environmental problems are defined and alternative legal approaches for dealing with them are examined. Existing statutory efforts such as the National Environmental Policy Act are analyzed, as are regulatory schemes relating to environmental quality. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the scientific principles of ecology as they relate to environmental regulation.
Recommended Prerequisites: Administrative and Constitutional Law
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9510 Estate Planning and Tax
Credits: 3
Deals with the federal and state tax consequences of gratuitous wealth transfers. In particular, it provides basic coverage of the taxes on gift, estate and generation-skipping transfers and of the fundamentals of estate planning with emphasis on estates involving small business or farm assets.
Prerequisite: Wills & Trusts (may be taken concurrently)
Recommended Prerequisite: Tax I
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9307 Evidence
Credits: 3
Examines common law rules and modern rule systems for admission and exclusion of real evidence and testimonial evidence. Emphasis is on relevancy, competence, opinions, impeachment, the hearsay rule with exceptions, privileges, judicial notice, and presumptions.
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9651 Extended Practicum
Credits: 6 TO 12
The extended practicum provides a more extensive externship experience, allowing for 6-12 credits, depending on the nature of the placement. Registration requires advance approval by the full-time faculty supervisor for the extended practicum program, and the supervisor makes the final decision regarding the appropriate placement and corresponding credits. Enrollment is very limited and highly selective, and placements may not be available every academic year.
The extended practicum may include single semester or year-long placements. Each extended practicum includes a two-credit classroom component and field work equal to at least 50 hours for every credit awarded (beyond the classroom component).
Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite or concurrent requirement; specific academic and operational requirements for Practicums are presented in informational memoranda maintained by the program supervisors.
Students cannot take more than one extended practicum, although a pre-arranged year-long practicum counts as one. Students cannot take both a practicum and an extended practicum. Participants must be eligible for SUPREME COURT CERTIFICATION FOR STUDENT PRACTICE.
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9511 Family Law
Credits: 3
Considers state regulation of family relationships. Focuses on non-marital relationships, marriage, divorce, custody, child support, parents' rights, and procreative rights.
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9326 Family Mediation
Credits: 2
This course is a challenging high-energy 40-hour seminar in basic divorce mediation skills and practice development. Along with the basic content areas of divorce settlement--property division, parenting, child and spousal support, divorce tax issues--the course also addresses: the role of consultants and lawyers; conflict theory; psychological issues; power balancing; domestic abuse; drafting agreements; and mediation ethics. Although designed with the law student and family lawyer in mind, the course also is ideal training and specialization for therapists and other social service professionals. The instructor combines therapy techniques and family law practice that offers all students refined skills and new consumer-oriented service products in the era of managed care. Experiential learning is emphasized with the opportunity for individual feedback from experienced coaches.
Offered Summer
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9512 Federal Courts
Credits: 3
Examines jurisdiction of the federal courts over federal questions and a diversity of citizenship cases; distribution of powers between state and federal courts; use of state law in federal courts; civil procedure in federal district courts; and appellate review of federal and state court decisions.
Recommended Prerequisite: Constitutional Law
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9425 Food and Drug Law
Credits: 2
This course will focus on the regulation of food, drugs and medical devices by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Students will learn about the statutory framework involved with particular emphasis on the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Students will learn the FDA?s interpretation and enforcement of its status and regulations and will gain insight into the FDA?s decision-making processes and policies.
Offered every other year
LAW 9701 Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy - Associate Editors
Credits: 1
The Journal publishes significant public law articles. This experience provides an opportunity for law students to refine their writing and research skills while responding to the needs of the community. Requirements of membership/ criteria for credit: members must participate in 60 hours of research, drafting or production each semester. The faculty advisor authorizes credit based on his/her observations, evidence of specific work product, and recommendations of the board of editors. Staff members may receive up to two credits per semester, but in no event more than seven credits may be awarded to any staff member. All staff members, with the exception of third-year students who graduate in January, must complete sufficient work to qualify for credit in both academic semesters in order to receive credit for either semester. Exceptions may be made for students on leave of absence. Students may register for only one publication course in the same academic year. Members of the board of editors receive two credits per semester, and associate editors receive two credits per year.
Offered fall, spring and summer every year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9702 Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy - Board of Editors
Credits: 2
The Journal publishes significant public law articles. This experience provides an opportunity for law students to refine their writing and research skills while responding to the needs of the community. Requirements of membership/ criteria for credit: members must participate in 60 hours of research, drafting or production each semester. The faculty advisor authorizes credit based on his/her observations, evidence of specific work product, and recommendations of the board of editors. Staff members may receive up to two credits per semester, but in no event more than seven credits may be awarded to any staff member. All staff members, with the exception of third-year students who graduate in January, must complete sufficient work to qualify for credit in both academic semesters in order to receive credit for either semester. Exceptions may be made for students on leave of absence. Students may register for only one publication course in the same academic year. Members of the board of editors receive two credits per semester, and associate editors receive two credits per year.
Offered fall, spring and summer every year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9323 Health Law Organization and Finance
Credits: 3
This course addresses the regulation, structure, and financing of the American health care system. It will focus on the cost and access issues which permeate health care. The class will examine how health care is funded through both private and public insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. The obligations of hospitals and professionals to treat the uninsured will be reviewed, as well as the policy questions about addressing access to the large uninsured population. The course will also review the forms and structure of health care enterprises, with a focus on the creation and regulation of tax-exempt organizations. The fraud and abuse laws, including the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback law and STARK, will be reviewed both from the perspective of the compliance department and of the lawyer who must structure health care entities with these laws in mind. Finally, the course will review how the antitrust laws impact the structure and conduct of health care providers.
Offered every year
LAW 9322 Health Law: Quality of Care and Liability
Credits: 3
This is an introductory course examining how the regulatory and legal systems approach quality of care. The focus will be on mechanisms for assuring quality of care including self regulation, credentialing, the doctor-patient relationship, professional licensure, government regulation, and the tort system. Examination of the tort system will focus on confidentiality obligations (including HIPAA), informed consent, and hospital and managed care liability. The course will review the role of ERISA in both managed care liability and health plan regulation. Finally, the course will provide an overview of how the public health system operates to protect both our health care and our civil rights. At the end of the course, students will have examined both the law and policy issues such as the problems arising from medical errors and the struggle to balance the need for quality against rising costs and lack of health care access. The curriculum focuses on cases applying administrative and common law, as well as a variety of statutory schemes.
Offered every year
LAW 9599 Immigration
Credits: 3
Provides a survey of the cases, statutes, and procedures in immigration and nationality law. It is designed both for students who wish to practice immigration law, as well as those who wish to study the intersection of immigration law with criminal, employment, public benefits, and family law. The course will cover visa processing, family and employment based immigration, exclusion, deportation, asylum, refugee status, employer sanctions, administrative appeals, and judicial review.
Recommended Prerequisite: Constitutional Law II and Administrative Law
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9720 Independent Study
Credits: 1 TO 3
The Independent Study offers students the opportunity to explore a specific legal topic under the supervision of a full-time faculty member and with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The work will involve the production of a significant research paper or comparable project.
A student may take only one independent study
LAW 9609 Information Privacy Law
Credits: 2
The purpose of this course is to enable students to understand the development of the United States information privacy laws and the impact of privacy law on society. Privacy law is intertwined with many other areas of law, including constitutional law, tort law, federal and state law, as well as contract law. Topics in this course will include: medical privacy, financial privacy, and consumer privacy.
Offered every other year
LAW 9513 Insurance
Credits: 3
Considers principles governing the making, interpretation and regulation of various types of insurance contracts, and methods of resolution of insurance disputes.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9592 Intellectual Property
Credits: 3
This course provides an overview of intellectual property and unfair competition law by examining relevant common law principles and state and federal statutes. The substantive provisions of the laws governing trademark, copyrights, trade secrets and patents are explored in detail.
Offered every year
LAW 9555 International Business Transactions
Credits: 3
Examines international business issues involving the export sale of goods; letters of credit in financing export sales; and resolution of international commercial disputes, including alternative forms and enforcement of judgments, tariffs on the importation of goods, customs classification and valuation, antidumping and countervailing duties, national restrictions on the export of goods and technology, and international transfer of technology. Also covers franchising and agreements for the transfer of "know-how", foreign direct investment in developed and developing countries, doing business in the European Economic Community, and with non-market economics.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9593 International Civil Litigation
Credits: 3
Concentrates on the special problems created when disputes with transnational implications arise. Focuses primarily on jurisdiction, service of process abroad, taking evidence abroad, foreign sovereign immunity, the act of state doctrine, recognition of foreign judgments, and arbitration.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9327 International Commercial Arbitration
Credits: 1
This course explores international commercial arbitration and dispute resolution as they have evolved within the context of the principal multilateral United Nations treaty governing international arbitration (the 1958 New York Arbitration Convention), to which 140 nations have acceded. The course discusses factors affecting site selection for international arbitration, choice- of-law issues in international dispute resolution, the concept of arbitrability and the arbitration of regulatory law claims, the relationships between national courts and national laws and international arbitration, and the challenge and enforcement of arbitral awards. The course also examines unique procedural, substantive, and tactical issues pertaining to arbitrations involving parties from both Western and non-Western legal systems. The course will compare a variety of national arbitration laws and institutional rules of arbitration (UNCITRAL, ICC, AAA, LCIA, HKIAC, and others) with respect to all of these issues.
Offered in the London Study Abroad program
LAW 9597 International Human Rights Law
Credits: 3
This course studies the policy, principles, and enforcement mechanisms for protection of human rights under contemporary international human rights law within the framework of the United Nations and the regional systems of Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Topics include the way international human rights law functions within the domestic law of the United States. Current problems in human rights protection provide the context for study.
Recommended Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I, International Law
Offered every other year
LAW 9518 International Law
Credits: 3
Examines basic principles of international law, including the jurisdiction of states, making and the effect of treaties, recognition of governments, nationality of persons and corporations, extradition, expropriations, international legal forums, the law of war and the United Nations. A survey of international economic law is also included.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9328 International Trade and Investment Dispute Settlement
Credits: 1
The legal environment for international trade and foreign investment has changed dramatically since the end of the Cold War. As a direct result, international trade and investment dispute resolution, in particular through international arbitration and other non-judicial dispute settlement mechanisms, has become increasingly common. This course introduces students to the various investment dispute resolution options available to a foreign investor. After first providing an overview of the regulatory and institutional framework for international trade, the course reviews basic principles of dispute settlement, with specific focus on ICSID, Bilateral Investment Treaties, World Trade Organization, and NAFTA settlement procedures. The use of ad hoc arbitration, ICJ, and other tribunals also is addressed. The course closes with an examination of the challenges in enforcing trade investment decisions and awards.
Offered in the London Study Abroad program
LAW 9329 Introduction to Arbitration Law and Practice: Domestic and International Aspects
Credits: 2
The foundation course covers the salient aspects of U.S. arbitration law as it relates to domestic and international disputes. It also includes a workshop component which focuses upon the writing of arbitration agreements and the conduct of arbitral proceedings. The course begins with an introduction to the basic legal concepts that make up arbitration law and to the institutions that are central to arbitration practice. Consideration of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) follows, along with a systematic treatment of the role of contract in arbitration and the function of subject-matter inarbitrability. Problems relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards and other practical issues are also examined. The basic facets of international commercial arbitration are introduced. The course concludes with a workshop on writing arbitration agreements and the viewing of videos on the conduct of arbitral proceedings.
Offered in the London Study Abroad program
LAW 9721 Journal of Law and Religion
Credits: 1 OR 2
Journal of Law and Religion (JLR) student editorial assistants, and student associate editors may receive up to two credits per academic semester for participation on the staff of the JLR. Credit is awarded after review of their work by the technical editor, and approved by the associate dean for academic affairs. In order to participate on the JLR staff for credit, students must be chosen for membership through an interview process conducted by the technical editor. The number of students chosen for membership on the JLR staff will be based on the production needs of the JLR which may vary from time to time. Students may register for only one publication course in the same academic year.
Offered fall and spring every year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9556 Jurisprudence
Credits: 3
Examines fundamental philosophical problems that arise from the creation of legal and political institutions. Application of various jurisprudential theories to current legal problems is studied.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9514 Labor Law
Credits: 3
Deals with the National Labor Relations Act, and its administration by the National Labor Relations Board and by the federal courts. Examines federal regulation of labor relations in the private sector including such subjects as the organization and representation of employees, negotiation of collective agreements, and the regulation of strikes, boycotts, and picketing.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9557 Labor Relations in the Public Sector
Credits: 2
Includes origins and perspectives on public employment bargaining, the right to form and join unions, establishment of the collective bargaining relationship representation cases, the obligation to bargain, the right to strike and picket, dispute resolution mechanisms: compulsory interest arbitration, and the power of the legislature to appropriate funds as limited by bargaining agreements and arbitration awards.
Offered irregularly
LAW 9515 Land Use Planning
Credits: 3
Covers various private and public controls and powers utilized in the development of land. Attention is given to restrictive covenants, easements, zoning, subdivision regulations, public acquisition of land, and urban planning. Property II covered the same material, in less depth, as Land Use Planning and Modern Real Estate Transactions.
Prerequisite: Property
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9711 Law Review - Associate Editors
Credits: 1
Law Review staff may receive up to one credit per academic semester for Law Review participation. Credit is awarded after review of their work by the Law Review faculty advisor. All Law Review associates, with the exception of third-year students who graduate in January, must complete sufficient work to qualify for credit for both academic semesters in order to receive credit for either semester. Exceptions may be made for students on leave of absence from the law school for a semester. Students may participate for credit on only one publication per academic year. Members of the board of editors receive two credits per semester, and associate editors receive two credits per year.
Offered fall, spring, and summer every year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9712 Law Review - Board of Editors
Credits: 2
Law Review staff may receive up to one credit per academic semester for Law Review participation. Credit is awarded after review of their work by the Law Review faculty advisor. All Law Review associates, with the exception of third-year students who graduate in January, must complete sufficient work to qualify for credit for both academic semesters in order to receive credit for either semester. Exceptions may be made for students on leave of absence from the law school for a semester. Students may participate for credit on only one publication per academic year. Members of the board of editors receive two credits per semester, and associate editors receive two credits per year.
Offered fall, spring, and summer every year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9558 Law and Bioethics
Credits: 2
This course covers constitutional and statutory rights of patients, as well as ethical and policy concerns in the area of medical treatment, including confidentiality, informed consent, right to treatment, and bioethical concerns involving matters such as emerging reproductive, transplant and life support technologies.
Offered every other year
LAW 9546 Law and Economics
Credits: 3
Focuses on principles and theories of economics and their application to our legal system. Includes an examination of political, social and economic theories such as public choice, cost benefit analysis, and pricing mechanisms. The course also examines questions of distribution/ redistribution of wealth/income.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9585 Law of Juvenile Delinquency
Credits: 2
Study of the history and philosophy of the law of juvenile delinquency, and functioning of the juvenile court including jurisdiction, intake and hearing procedures, dispositions, the role of counsel and other professionals in the system, and constitutional limitations.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9624 Lawyering Skills
Credits: 3
Explores the lawyer's role in relation to the client. Focus is on effective communication skills with the client as well as with all contacts the lawyer has in practice. Examines a variety of lawyering roles through demonstration, simulation, critique, and an interactive video. Lawyering Skills addresses topics of interpersonal client counseling, client relationships, case planning, negotiation, mediation, rhetoric, and persuasive presentation. It uses legislative and administrative law materials in addition to case law materials.
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9724 Lawyering Skills - Small Groups
Credits: 0
This class meets as a whole in one one hour session each week and as performance groups of eight students for one two hour session each week. During the one hour session, subjects of study will be introduced and discussed. Students will frequently observe videotapes of performance of the skill being studied. In the performance sessions, students will present assigned problems. Students will have to schedule time outside class to complete performance assignments.
LAW 9201 Legal Advocacy
Credits: 2
Demonstrates how effective advocates use the spoken and written word. Students practice oral and written advocacy at the trial and appellate levels in a series of writing assignments and related oral argument exercises.
Prerequisite: Legal Research & Writing
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9567 Legal Drafting
Credits: 1 OR 2
This skills course involves the drafting of legal documents. Legal disputes often arise because of poorly-drafted documents, and this class will focus on drafting tips and strategies that optimize planning, risk prevention, creative problem-solving, and excellent writing. Because legal drafting is an important skill in many different substantive areas, this course will vary in content over time and may include topics such as contracts, wills and trusts, pleadings, and settlement agreements.
Student cannot exceed 4 total credits in Legal Drafting
Offered every year
LAW 9587 Legal History
Credits: 2
Study of the Anglo-American legal system: origins of contract, property, criminal, and tort law in England; reception and continuing adaptation of the common law in the United States.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9162 Legal Research and Writing I
Credits: 2
Teaches basic legal research, citation, and the drafting of legal memoranda. Weekly class meetings are supplemented by small group library research sessions and tutorial guidance in the preparation of memoranda, letters, and briefs.
First year required course
LAW 9164 Legal Research and Writing I - Weekend Program
Credits: 2
Teaches basic legal research, citation, and writing skills. Class meetings are supplemented by small group research sessions.
First year required course (for weekend program students)
LAW 9162B Legal Research and Writing II
Credits: 2
Continuation of Legal Research and Writing I. Students participate in an oral argument. The allocation of subject matter between Legal Research and Writing I & II may vary from year to year.
First-year required course
LAW 9165 Legal Research and Writing II - Weekend Program
Credits: 2
Continuation of Legal Research and Writing I (Weekend Program). Focus is on completing a closed memo. Students may also participate in at least one moot court exercise. The allocation of subject matter among Legal Research and Writing I, II, & III may vary from year to year.
First-year required course (for weekend program students)
LAW 9166 Legal Research and Writing III - Weekend Program
Credits: 2
Continuation of Legal Research and Writing II (Weekend Program). Focus is on written and oral appellate advocacy. The allocation of subject matter among Legal Research and Writing I, II, & III may vary from year to year.
Second-year required course (for weekend program students)
LAW 9167 Legal Research and Writing Lab
Credits: 0
This is the lab portion for the Legal Research and Writing courses. Please refer to the pertinent Legal Research and Writing course description for full course details.
LAW 9163 Legal Research and Writing Teaching Assistant
Credits: 2
Student Legal Research and Writing Teaching Assistants will work with Legal Research and Writing sections to teach research skills to first-year students. Each teaching assistant will be assigned to work under the supervision of one Legal Research and Writing Instructor. Teaching assistants will teach two fifty minute classes per week. The teaching assistant will prepare for class each week, including developing a class outline to be submitted to and reviewed with the supervising writing instructor before the first class of the week, hold office hours to assist first-year students, grade the research exercises submitted by the first-year students, and keep student records.
Teaching assistants must also attend one fifty minute teaching assistant training session per week, which will be conducted by a member of the library staff and a member of the legal writing faculty. The training session includes a review of the research material to be taught in the following week and a review of administrative issues and concerns. Teaching assistants will also independently complete the research exercises to be assigned to first-year students.
Teaching assistants are expected to devote a minimum of 150 hours during the semester to this course. Over the course of one week, the hours will be distributed approximately as follows: two class hours, four office hours, two meeting hours, three class preparation hours, and four grading hours. Teaching assistants will meet with students for approximately the first ten weeks of the semester.
Enrollment is by invitation of the Director of Legal Writing upon advance application.
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9516 Legislation
Credits: 2
Study of statutes and legislative materials as they are used in litigation. Emphasis is on the interpretation of statutes by courts and the use of extrinsic aids in determining legislative intent.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9625 Litigation Practice
4
This course involves the investigation, preparation and presentation of a simulated civil and criminal trial. It is both a theoretical and a practical course involving a) 2 hours per week of large group with a professor and a practitioner which addresses theory, practice through discussion, demonstration, stories and role-play; and, b) 2 hours per week in small group (8 students or less) with a practitioner in which the each student each week applies the theory and skills learned in large group by role-plays and simulations with the direct feedback of an experienced practitioner.
Each week the large and small groups focus on a different subject matter which is part of the preparation for and execution of a trial. Each week involves theoretical and skill development in areas such as interview of the client, investigation of the case; drafting of pleadings; filing of pleadings; interrogatories and depositions; motion practice; civility; jury selection; developing a theory of the case; preparation of a trial notebook; case evaluation and settlement; opening statement; direct examination; cross examination; objections; real, demonstrative and illustrative evidence; use of courtroom technology; closing statement; jury instructions, post-trial motions and appeal. The final two weeks of the class involve the drafting and arguing of trial motions, a trial notebook and a jury trial. Key objectives are investigation, preparation and presentation of a civil and criminal trial. The course is intended to educate and train the student in the trial theories and skills necessary to present to a jury and win a civil and/or criminal case.
Students may not receive credit for both Trial Advocacy and Litigation Practice.
Prerequisite or concurrent: Evidence
Offered every year
LAW 9725 Litigation Practice - Small Groups
Credits: 0
TBD
LAW 9588 Mass Media Law
Credits: 3
Examines topical issues and problems concerning the relationship of law and the mass media. Areas covered include defamation, invasion of privacy, and other common causes of action against the media, constitutional limitations on media liability, prior restraint, reporters' privilege, rights of access to governmental information and proceedings, governmental regulation of the mass media, and constitutional limitations on such regulation.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9623 Mediation
Credits: 3
Through discussion, simulations, and role-play, this course focuses on the structure and goals of the mediation process and the skills and techniques mediators use to aid parties in overcoming barriers to dispute resolution. The course also examines the underlying negotiation orientations and strategies that mediators may confront and employ, the roles of attorneys and clients, dealing with difficult people and power imbalances, cultural considerations, and ethical issues for lawyers and mediators. In addition, special attention is devoted to the art of successful representation of clients in mediation. This course will meet the requirements of the Minnesota Supreme Court to be included on the Court?s Roster of Qualified Neutrals.
Students may not enroll in this class if they have completed Mediation and Other Methods to Promote Democratic Dialogue (Budapest Study Abroad Program).
Offered fall or spring and every January Term and summer
LAW 9330 Mediation and Other Methods to Foster Democratic Dialogue
Credits: 3
Through lecture, discussion, demonstration, and role play, students are introduced to mediation models and scenarios from both the United States and Central and Eastern Europe. The task of translating hostile and adversarial communication into building blocks of collaborative dialogue will be explored, as well as the mediator?s role in identifying, framing, and ordering the issues in dispute. Analysis will highlight the persuasive techniques for moving parties from impasse to settlement. Special attention will be directed to the ethical dilemmas faced by mediators, particularly challenges to a mediator's impartiality, and the potential for abuse of discretion and power. The course also will examine a variety of strategies to foster and support democratic and constructive dialogue, particularly focusing on "high-conflict" situations involving inter-ethnic tensions. Students will study efforts in Central and Eastern Europe to promote meaningful democratic dialogue in times of national and international crisis. Participants should come prepared for a highly interactive learning experience. For each of six consecutive years, students and faculty from over 20 countries have participated in the program, making it an unparalleled cross-cultural learning experience.
Students may not enroll in this course if they have taken Mediation.
Offered in the Budapest Study Abroad program
LAW 9559 Medical Malpractice: Theory and Practice
Credits: 2
Introduces the law of medical malpractice, combining review of substantive law with simulation exercises from discovery to the trial of a malpractice case. Subject areas include tort and contract theories of liability, informed consent and right to treatment, procedural and evidentiary aspects of malpractice claims including expert testimony and scientific evidence, and defenses including indemnity and contribution and comparative fault.
Offered every other year
LAW 9517 Modern Real Estate Transactions
Credits: 3
Studies the basic legal elements of real estate transfer and financing, including land contract and mortgage law, option writing requirements, rights and duties of parties, remedies, and real estate recording systems.
Prerequisite: Property
Offered every semester
LAW 9590 Native American Law
Credits: 2
Studies the rights, duties and powers of Native American groups. Attention is given to history, sovereignty, jurisdiction, individual rights, and the relationships of Native Americans to their tribal groups and the groups to the local, state and federal government.
Offered every other year
LAW 9332 Negotiating International Business Transactions
4
This course will examine the skills, constraints, and dynamics of the negotiation process in the context of international business transactions. Course design follows from a simple premise: the skill of negotiation is not something people are born with, it is a science that people can get better at by understanding more. The course will begin by examining a theoretical framework for understanding negotiation practice. Topics to be covered include negotiator style and personalities, the tension between creating and distributing value, and the communication, psychological, and cultural barriers to successful negotiation. Students also will be introduced to the law of international deal-making with a focus on four types of transactions: sale of goods, electronic commerce, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing. Each doctrinal module will be complemented by negotiation exercises requiring students to apply their developing expertise in international business transactions in a cross-cultural setting.
Students may not enroll in this course if they have taken Negotiation or Negotiation and International Organizations.
Offered in the Rome Study Abroad program
LAW 9570 Negotiation
Credits: 2
This course examines the skills, constraints, and dynamics of the negotiation process. A theoretical framework for understanding negotiation practice in a variety of contexts will be developed through readings and highly interactive exercises and role-plays. The course addresses the fundamental skills of systematic and thorough negotiation preparation, the ongoing management of a negotiation process, and the identification and achievement of optimal agreements. Legal and ethical constraints of negotiation also are considered. Course content is drawn from the fields of law, psychology, business, and communication.
Students may not enroll in this course if they have taken Negotiating International Business Transactions or Negotiation and International Organizations.
Offered fall or spring and every January Term and Summer
LAW 9331 Negotiation and International Organizations
Credits: 2
This alternative dispute resolution course examines international organizations, devotes special attention to Norway's role as an international neutral, explores cross-cultural negotiation, and provides students with the opportunity to negotiate directly with other students. Whenever possible, students from other countries participate in the negotiation exercises. This simulation experience allows students to confront cultural differences and address alternative negotiating techniques and styles.
Students may not enroll in this course if they have taken Negotiation or Negotiating International Business Transactions.
Offered in the Norway Study Abroad program
LAW 9423 Nonprofit Organizations
Credits: 2
The world of nonprofit organizations includes charities, universities, hospitals, and foundations. This course examines the historical and public policy bases underlying tax-exempt status, as well as the rules governing the entities? formation and operation. Topics will include the fiduciary duties of nonprofit directors, and the liability of nonprofit entities, directors, and volunteers to third parties.
Recommended prerequisite: Tax I: Tax of Individuals
Offered every other year
LAW 9900 Norwegian Law and Legal System
Credits: 1 TO 4
This program offers students the opportunity to broaden their understanding of the American and Norwegian legal systems and allows students to study comparative law and international diplomacy in the setting of another country's legal system. The cultural setting and the contacts with legal scholars and practitioners create a unique educational opportunity for law students. While in Bergen and Oslo, students learn about the Nordic origins of law and discover a country whose people are known for their pioneering spirit and progressive attitudes toward social issues. Students visit a variety of state institutions and meet with members of the courts and parliament, practicing attorneys, police and prison officials.
Taught in Bergen and Oslo, Norway
LAW 9422 Oral Advocacy
Credits: 1 TO 2
This unique course teaches effective oral communication in diverse contexts, from client interactions to job interviews, motion practice to deposition-taking, promotional activities with potential clients to networking with colleagues. Utilizing a variety of on-your-feet practical exercises, this class provides a safe, stimulating environment for enhancing the forensic oratory abilities of both seasoned speakers and public-speaking novices.
Offered every other year
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9573 Patent Claims Drafting
Credits: 2
This course is designed for students who intend to pursue a career as a patent attorney. The course focuses on the language and strategy of patent claim drafting. Under the supervision of an experienced patent attorney, students will learn the legal and practical considerations that must be taken into account in the preparation of a patent application.
Prerequisite: Patent Law
Offered Irregularly
LAW 9594 Patent Law
Credits: 2
This course will focus on an advanced and in-depth investigation of patent law including the requirements of patentability, the patentability of various traditional and nontraditional subject matters (e.g., computer software and biotechnology), the process of securing patent protection including the procedures of the U.S. Patent Office as well as post allowance procedures, licensing of patents, and issues confronting the patentee and an alleged infringer including the burdens and presumptions surrounding patent validity, the standard for infringement, and available remedies.
Recommended Prerequisite: Intellectual Property
Offered fall or spring alternative years
LAW 9650 Practicum
Credits: 3
All practicums have limited enrollments. Each practicum includes a classroom component accounting for one credit hour plus a minimum of 114 hours of field work in the practicum area. Students are supervised by a full-time faculty member and the classroom component is taught by an adjunct professor experienced in the practicum area. Students are limited to one practicum and must be eligible for SUPREME COURT CERTIFICATION FOR STUDENT PRACTICE.
Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite or concurrent requirement for all practicums (other than the Judicial Practicum); other prerequisites are listed with the individual practicums.
Graded Pass/No Pass
LAW 9211 Professional Responsibility
Credits: 2
An in-depth study of the American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Canons of Judicial Ethics. Emphasizes the impact of these rules on the practice of law and procedures available for the improvement of the legal profession. The Model Code and Model Rules is compared to the actual rules adopted by the states and coverage of trust accounts is also included.
Offered fall and spring every year
This course is a graduation requirement
LAW 9142 Property
Credits: 3
Study of the concept of real and personal property in our legal system. Real property is emphasized, with the primary focus on estates in land from an historical and modern perspective. Future interests and landlord tenant problems are considered.
First-year required course
LAW 9305 Prosecution/Defense of White Collar Crime
Credits: 2
Explores the investigation and prosecution of federal white collar crimes. Covers all aspects of the investigation of white collar crimes including undercover investigations, wiretaps, financial investigations and the special rules regarding federal tax fraud investigations. Also covers the litigation of white collar cases in federal court. Specific areas of the law discussed include mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, RICO, tax evasion, and money laundering. In addition, students are given an ongoing fact pattern of an actual white collar case in order to devise an investigative and prosecutive plan. At the end of the semester, the trial of the case followed throughout the course is discussed.
Prerequisite or Corequisite: Criminal Procedure I
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9572 Public Health Law
Credits: 2
This course addresses governmental powers, duties, and limits as regards the health of the American population. It emphasizes the relationship between law and policy issues concerning state intervention in health affairs, which can implicate constitutional issues of federal power and individual rights. The course will include topics such as the regulation of public health research, governmental promotion of health practices, control of infectious diseases, the use of humans as research subjects, and governmental response to natural disasters, quarantine, forced inoculation, and bioterrorism.
Offered alternate years
LAW 9308 Remedies
Credits: 3
Studies remedies at law and in equity with emphasis on specific performance, restitution, injunction, and damages and explores the interrelation of civil procedure, contracts, and torts.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9333 Resolving International Business Disputes
Credits: 2
No matter how successful the deal-making, there will inevitably come time for the necessity of creative deal-saving, or end-of-deal dispute resolution. And, in contemporary international business practice, one thing is increasingly certain -- consumers no longer want to rely on adversarial domestic forums for dispute intervention. Rather, the processes of choice are mediation and arbitration. This course will provide students with an introduction to key concepts in international mediation and arbitration, including how to choose an appropriate dispute resolution process, how to draft enforceable dispute resolution clauses, and how to effectively represent clients in private dispute resolution forums.
Offered in the Rome Study Abroad program
LAW 9530 Restorative Justice: Practices & Principles
Credits: 2 OR 3
This course offers students an opportunity to study the four leading Restorative justice practices: (1) Talking Circles; (2) Victim-Offender Mediation; (3) Family Group Conferencing; and (4) Truth Commissions. The course will examine the principles underlying these Restorative Justice practices and explore the possibilities Restorative Justice offers to move beyond the limits of a retributive sense of justice toward embracing the importance of forgiveness, reconciliations, and social healing in the community. Application of Restorative principles and practices to disputes rooted in ethnic and cultural conflict in the United States will receive extended attention during the last third of the course. The class will be intensively experiential in nature with the practice of the talking circle serving as a core modality for class discussion. Due to the course's highly experiential nature, enrollment is strictly limited to 24 students. There is no prerequisite for this course.
LAW 9519 Securities Regulation
Credits: 3
Studies federal and state regulation of securities transactions, including marketing, registration, trading, and reporting.
Prerequisite: Corporations
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9450 Selected Topics
Credits: 0 TO 3
General Course Description of Selected Topics
Educates students to practice in emerging and specialized areas of law not covered by advanced courses in the curriculum. Topics covered differ from semester to semester; course descriptions for each topic area are approved by the associate dean for academic affairs. Students may take more than one Selected Topics course in their law school career as space permits.
Offered fall and spring every year
Selected Topics courses do not satisfy the seminar requirement for graduation
LAW 9400 Seminar
Credits: 3
A seminar is a rigorous writing experience requiring the production of a substantial research paper. Each student will complete at least one well-developed draft, which the professor will critique extensively. Each student will rewrite the draft(s) based on the faculty member's assessments.
Enrollment in the seminar class cannot exceed 16 students.
A student may take more than one seminar, but students who have not yet had a seminar have priority.
LAW 9320 Sexual Orientation Law
Credits: 2
This course is designed to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the legal issues relating to sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It examines laws relating to discrimination, family matters, marriage, the military, education and privacy.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9561 Social Welfare Law
Credits: 2
Examines government benefit and social services programs, such as Social Security, welfare, unemployment, housing, and health programs. Focuses on comparison of government policies and recipient rights in these programs.
Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9424 Sports Law
Credits: 2
Sports occupy a unique place in modern society; they are significant both economically and as a form of cultural expression. This course surveys the regulatory framework surrounding professional and amateur sports, and reaches a broad range of substantive legal areas, including contracts law, labor law, antitrust law, torts law, and intellectual property law.
Offered every other year
LAW 9462 State and Local Government
Credits: 3
Studies legal issues in the relationship among legislative, executive and judicial branches of state government, and within various levels of local government.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9564 State and Local Tax/Public Financing
Credits: 2
Surveys state and local government revenue sources and expenditure patterns. Examines government debt financing techniques and instruments, as well as the interrelationship of federal and state authority, including economic and political influences.
Recommended Prerequisite: Tax I and State & Local Government
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9309 Tax I: Tax of Individuals
Credits: 3
Considers federal income taxation law as set out in the Internal Revenue Code and its administrative and judicial interpretations. Emphasis is placed upon basic tax concepts and tax questions relating to the individual taxpayer.
Offered fall and spring every year
LAW 9521 Tax II: Tax of Bus Entities
Credits: 3
Examines the income tax law as it relates to corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates.
Prerequisite: Tax I: Taxation of Individuals
Recommended Prerequisites: Corporations and Accounting for Lawyers
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9334 The Arbitral Trial and National Legal Systems
Credits: 1
This course examines the various ways in which an arbitration can be organized from the perspective of the role of legal counsel, the role of the decision-maker, and the role of the parties. In conducting this examination, the course describes and assesses various prominent laws of arbitration, including French, English, Japanese, and Chilean national law, as well as the UNCITRAL model rules.
Offered in the London Study Abroad program
LAW 9335 Theories of Conflict
Credits: 2
This interdisciplinary course introduces students to important theoretical perspectives on our understanding of conflict and conflict response. Specifically, students explore the biological/ physiological, psychodynamic, social psychological, communication and sociological/political perspectives on conflict by reading and discussing major theoretical works within each perspective. Emphasis is on comparing and distinguishing key dimensions of these theories, such as the nature and sources of conflict, conflict escalation, conflict response, and the nature of the third party role. Classes follow an interactive format. Using case studies, exercises, and group discussion to draw upon personal experiences, including those involving race and social identity, the course explores the usefulness of each perspective to understanding the experience of conflict.
Offered Fall or Spring every year, January Term and Summer
LAW 9151 Torts I
Credits: 3
Focuses on civil actions for injury to person, property, or intangible interest on claims of intentional wrongs, negligence, or strict liability. Torts I is a vehicle to teach development of the common law.
First-year required course
LAW 9252 Torts II
Credits: 3
Extends the concepts learned in Torts I to specific modern torts. Emphasizes products liability actions and includes consideration of the action for defamation and invasion of privacy; and alternatives to the tort compensation system.
Prerequisite: Torts I
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9601 Trademark Law and Unfair Competition
Credits: 3
This course begins with an examination of the common law of unfair competition, including business torts such as false advertising, trade disparagement, interference with contract and trademark infringement. The federal law governing trademark registration and infringement is explored in detail including an examination of subject matter, ownership, remedies, defenses, and trademark dilution.
Recommended Prerequisite: Intellectual Property
Offered every other year
LAW 9596 Transnational Intellectual Property Law
Credits: 2
This course examines the law of copyright, patent, trademark, trade secrets, and other forms of intellectual property rights in the transnational setting, with special attention to multinational treaties and conventions. The course explores the flexibilities that exist in international intellectual property agreements and the policy choices that various countries have made in designing their own intellectual property regimes.
Recommended Pre/Corequisites: Concurrent enrollment in or prior completion of Intellectual Property Law or at least two core IP classes (i.e., the patent, copyright and trademark law courses).
Offered every other year
LAW 9321 Trial Advocacy
Credits: 3
Provides training in trial advocacy skills for each stage of trial. Areas covered include: ethics, psychology of persuasion, opening statement, direct examination, exhibits, objections, cross-examination, and closing argument. The teaching methods will include lecture, demonstration, discussion, simulation, instructor critique, and video critique. The final exam will be a trial. Students may not receive credit for both Trial Advocacy and Litigation Practice.
Prerequisite: Evidence
Offered every year
LAW 9317 Unincorporated Business Entities
Credits: 2
Studies the formation and operation of unincorporated business, including sole proprietorship, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Topics include agency concepts and the rights and liabilities of those owning and managing unincorporated business forms.
Offered fall or spring every year
LAW 9319 Water Law
Credits: 2
A study of the ownership and use rules regarding water in the United States. This includes riparianism, prior appropriation doctrine, federal water law, ground water law, and some consideration of laws regarding water pollution.
Prerequisite: Property
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9310 Wills and Trusts
Credits: 3
Studies property descent as governed by statute and court decisions relating to testate and intestate succession. Private express and charitable trusts are considered.
Prerequsite: Property
Offered at least three semesters every two years
LAW 9563 Workers' Compensation
Credits: 3
Surveys no-fault compensation laws covering personal injuries in employment, including substance, procedure, and benefits under workers' compensation law.
Offered fall or spring alternate years
LAW 9318 Wrongful Convictions
Credits: 2
This course will examine the reasons behind wrongful convictions in the United States. There are many people in this nation convicted of, and serving time for, crimes they did not commit. Over 214 people have already been exonerated of crimes for which they were convicted. The course will include lecture, discussion and guest speakers about eyewitness identification, false confessions, snitches and informants, government misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, forensic science including DNA testing, post-conviction remedies, the death penalty, media and investigative journalism, and racial bias. The course will also include in-class exercises designed to help deal with these issues as a practitioner.
Offered fall semester every year