2014-2015 Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2014-2015 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions


 

Elective Seminars

The law school makes all reasonable efforts to offer the following electives on a periodic basis but cannot guarantee that each course or seminar will be available to all students who wish to take it during their law school careers. More precise information on the courses and seminars that will be offered in a given semester, including those not listed here, is available from the registrar during the preregistration and general registration periods.

  
  • LAW - 775 Labor & Migration in the Global Economy


    (3 hrs.)

    Explores the dynamics of labor migration in the global economy, and efforts by governments and international institutions to manage this migration. The course will examine and assess diverse law and policy interventions designed to maximize the potential benefits and minimize the related costs of labor migration for countries (of origin and of destination) and the migrants themselves. The course begins with an in-depth look of the patterns and practices of global labor migration into both formal and informal labor sectors, focusing on the emigration push and immigration pull factors that lead individuals to migrate and governments to facilitate and encourage the migration. The course also looks to the growing role of recruitment agencies in facilitating the migration in response to increased border controls worldwide and its impact on the conditions of migrant work. Having established an understanding of the dynamics of global labor migration, the course examines international, regional, and national legal frameworks targeting migrant work, with an eye to identifying the gaps in coverage and implementation challenges. The course then assesses alternative law and policy interventions proposed and implemented to better manage labor migration and protect migrant workers. The course will include a strong gender perspective on these issues, analyzing the causes of the increasing feminization of migration for work, including the feminization of poverty and the social construction of demand for migrant women’s labor. Chuang Spring
  
  • LAW - 777 Legislative Practice Seminar


    3


    A seminar focusing on the federal legislative process and the elements of policy, law, and politics that drive that process, taught by faculty members with extensive background in the federal legislative and policy arena. The seminar  also emphasizes key skills vital to success in the legislative arena, including research, writing, legislative drafting, negotiation, and oral presentations.
      Yeomans, Flug Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 783 Property & the Environment Seminar


    (2-3 hrs.)

     

    This course examines the law of property and its relationship to the environment. Students will be challenged to read and think in a sustained way about property and its relationship to environmental concerns. The course is divided into three parts: (i) property and the social or cultural environment, (ii) property and the built environment, and (iii) property and the natural environment. English Hughes Spring

  
  • LAW - 812 Elder Law: Policy and Practice Seminar


    (2 hrs.)

    Explores issues confronting the elder law practitioner and examines policy issues concerning law and aging in America. Students acquire a basic working knowledge of various elder law issues, including planning for incapacity, guardianship, social security, Medicare coverage, and long-term care planning. The seminar also focuses on public policy issues, such as autonomy versus the need for protective action, death and dying, and the extent of medical and income protection for the senior population. Abravanel Spring
  
  • LAW - 813 Comparative Environmental Law Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Presents different approaches for protecting the environment through national environmental legislation. Emphasis is given to the major components of any modern environmental legal system, including, for example, environmental impact assessment, access to environmental information, science-based environmental standards, and implementation of international agreements including Agenda 21. The approach will be practical, designed to emphasize the policy trade-offs inherent in designing and implementing environmental law and policy. Will draw upon examples from civil and common law systems as well as from developing and industrialized countries. Hunter Spring
  
  • LAW - 817 Advanced Issues in International Trade Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Considers trade law as an instrument for economic development. The focus primarily is on trade problems and policy in the United States, comparing it with trade law and policy in other countries. Levinson Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 819 Law and Literature Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Topics include lawmaking and literary creativity as analogous acts of ordering, similarities (and differences) between reading legal and literary texts, legal conceptions of authorship and the creative process, competing visions of justice in nonlegal literature, literary critiques of law and the legal profession, and modern and postmodern critical theory and its impact on law. Jaszi, Phelps Spring
  
  • LAW - 821 Legislation Seminar


    (2-3 hrs.)

    Provides an overview of federal and state legislative processes. Topics include statutory interpretation, legislative organization, the appropriations process, legislative ethics, and exercises in legislative drafting and negotiation. Frost, Raskin, Yeomans Spring
  
  • LAW - 821B Legislative Process & Political Rhetoric


    (2 hrs.)

    Raskin, Blattner Spring
  
  • LAW - 822 Law, Policy, and American Intelligence Activities Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Examines the legal controls on the conduct of foreign intelligence activities by the United States, beginning with a review of what intelligence is and how it is obtained. The seminar also considers the history of United States intelligence activities in war and peace. Selected competing policy interests are identified and discussed as well. Litigation concerns inherent in national security cases also are examined. Zirkle Fall
  
  • LAW - 823 Problems in Advanced Securities Law Seminar


    (2-3 hrs.)

    Examines selected problems in trading and settlement in corporate and governmental securities. Siegel, Choi, Regan Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 827 Sexuality and the Law


    (3 hrs.)

    Focuses on the government’s regulation of sexuality, including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The course materials will cover constitutional law (including the doctrines of privacy, equal protection, freedom of expression and freedom of association) and statutory law (including employment law and family law). Topics to be covered may include the right to sexual privacy; theories of sexuality; military policies that discriminate based on sex and sexual orientation; government censorship of sexually explicit art; discrimination by private entities, primarily employers, on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression; and state control of family relationships, including marriage, custody and adoption. The course will also explore the intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law (LAW-503). Polikoff, Greer Fall
  
  • LAW - 828 Space Law and Satellite Communication Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Provides an overview of international and U.S. domestic law applicable to satellite communications, satellite remote sensing, launch vehicles, the space station, and other space projects. The focus is on international treaty interpretation, domestic licensing procedures for satellites and launch vehicles, launch service agreements, and satellite procurement contracts. Meredith Fall
  
  • LAW - 829 Trade and the Environment Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Provides an introduction to the legal issues pertaining to the interplay and conflict between classic trade law and domestic and international environmental law. Examines international trade law and corresponding U.S. law and specific cases of trade and environmental interactions. Also reviews international environmental laws that have an impact on trade and determines whether these laws would be found to violate free trade principles. Addresses the issue of global interdependence that gives rise to domestic and international systemic issues. Fall, Summer
  
  • LAW - 834 Public Health Law and Policy Seminar


    (2 hrs.)

    Focused on the use of law and policy tools to promote access to healthy living conditions as an important determinant of population health and community wellbeing. The course identifies priorities and opportunities for public health law and policy interventions that seek to characterize, prevent, and ameliorate risks to population health. We will examine the legal powers and duties of the state to ensure the conditions required for people to be healthy. Students discuss individual rights as limitations on the power of the state to act in furtherance of the common good. Through case studies and simulations on topics such as sexually transmitted infections, tobacco control, obesity, exposure to environmental hazards, and public health emergencies, students will engage in an experiential and problem-based study of law as a tool for promotion of population health, wellbeing, and equity. Wiley Spring
  
  • LAW - 836 Computer Crime Seminar


    (2 hrs.)

    Explores the legal issues that judges, legislators, and prosecutors are beginning to confront as they respond to the recent explosion in computer-related crime. In particular, students consider how crimes in cyberspace will challenge traditional approaches to the investigation and prosecution of crimes that have evolved from our experience with crimes in physical space. Topics include the Fourth Amendment in cyberspace, the law of electronic surveillance, computer hacking, computer viruses, encryption, on-line economic espionage and intellectual property protection, cyber-terrorism, federal-state relations in the enforcement of computer crime laws, and civil liberties on-line. C. McGovern Spring
  
  • LAW - 838 American Courts: Structure, People, Processes, Politics


    (2 hrs.)

    Explores the factors that shape trial and appellate courts. These factors are of major public policy interest to all lawyers and of direct practical interest to lawyers who anticipate working in the courts temporarily as law clerks or regularly as litigators. The seminar examines court organization and structure, including court personnel; the judicial selection process and roles of executive officials, legislators, political parties, the bar, judges, and would-be judges; and the ethical rules that govern judges and mechanisms for dealing with judicial disability and misbehavior. It also considers the public and private sources of education for (and influence of) judges about basic aspects of judging as well as complex scientific and technical matters, the processes and politics of adopting and amending rules of procedure, and other such topics. Wheeler Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 841 International Project Finance


    (2 hrs.)

    Examines legal, financial, and policy problems involved in investing across national borders while focusing on strategies and techniques of structuring and financing such investments. Topics considered include the differing business interests and perspectives of typical parties to such transactions, local law issues and the international legal and regulatory environment for foreign investment, and the role of political risk management. Selected international investment transactions, both actual and hypothetical, are used to illustrate recurring issues. R. Cohen, Adler, Nuri Spring
  
  • LAW - 850 International Criminal Law


    (3 hrs.)

    Surveys both substantive and procedural aspects of international and transnational criminal law. Examines historical origins as well as contemporary trends in the development of international crimes. Identifies the elements of major offenses including piracy, slavery, drug trafficking, terrorism, war crimes, environmental pollution, money laundering, genocide, and aircraft hijacking and explores the incorporation of international criminal law in domestic codes. Students examine the jurisdictional and enforcement responsibilities of international, transnational, and national agencies and tribunals. An overview of international and national enforcement mechanisms and techniques and of the procedures affecting the rights of offenders and victims is included. Prerequisite: Criminal Law (LAW-507). Kittrie, Mendez, Vladeck Fall
  
  • LAW - 852 Law of Nonprofit Organizations


    (2 hrs.)

    Introduces the regulation of nonprofit organizations from both the federal tax and state fiduciary regulatory standpoints. Students consider the major aspects of nonprofit regulation, including substantive law, and the major public policy controversies over the proper role of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations emerging today. K. Anderson, Leff Spring
  
  • LAW - 857 Banking Law and Regulation


    (3 hrs.)

    Examines banking, the regulation of banks, and the challenges facing this regulatory scheme. Includes background information and considers the ways in which banking is evolving due to technological and economic developments. The course looks at the conflicting pressures on banks to be more responsive to local community needs and to compete in a global and less easily regulated financial system. Considers the regulatory framework applicable to bank holding companies and explores the debate on the statutory separation between investment and commercial banks. Provides an overview of the regulations applicable to foreign banks operating in the United States and to U.S. banks operating abroad. Students may register for this seminar or Domestic Banking (LAW-724) but not both. Bradlow, Madden
  
  • LAW - 860 Criminal Defense: Theory and Practice


    (3 hrs.)

    Taught through a combination of lecture, discussion, and simulation, the course is designed to teach the fundamentals of zealous, client-centered criminal defense advocacy. The first part of the semester will focus on the role of the criminal defense attorney, defense ethics, and selected legal issues in defense practice. The second part will focus on the application of defense theory and client-centered advocacy in the pretrial and trial context through simulated exercises, including the initial client interview, opening statements, direct examination, cross-examination, and closing arguments. Prerequisite: Criminal Procedure (LAW-508). Recommended: Evidence (LAW-633). Instructor permission required for enrollment. A. Davis Spring
  
  • LAW - 876 Case Studies in Ethical Challenges for Government Attorneys


    3

    Detailed historical & contemporary exploration of development and application of ethical standards for government attorneys, from Watergate to Drones. Using cases of Presidents Nixon, Clinton, Bush and Obama, VP Agnew, Deputy AG’s Kleindienst & Comey, Congressional members & staff, Judges & Justices, Justice & Defense Department officials and line lawyers, and ethical issues in policy-making on Torture & Drones, the course examines effectiveness, and impact on public confidence, of existing ethical constraints on government lawyers. Surveys guidance and remedies from state & national bar rules, federal rules, regulations, statutes, Congressional ethics processes, Office of Government Ethics, Inspectors General, DOJ Professional Responsibility Offices, Judicial Conference, Circuit Councils, international agencies. LAw-550, Legal Ethics or LAW-551, Professional Responsibility: Theory and Practice Flug Fall
  
  • LAW - 881 Advanced Problems in Administrative Law and Regulatory Policy


    (2 hrs.)

    Combines a focus on advanced doctrinal issues in administrative law with a semester-long problem devoted to writing, commenting on, and presenting oral argument about a major proposed rule. Topics to be addressed include regulatory reform (role of the White House and Congressional initiatives), innovative regulatory approaches, negotiated rule making, cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment, the role of administrative law judges, the controversy over courts’ reliance on legislative history, the need for specialized courses for review of agency action, and openness statutes. Summer
  
  • LAW - 882 The Role of the Federal Prosecutor


    (2 hrs.)

    Explores the powers and responsibilities of the federal prosecutor. Focuses on how decisions are made by federal prosecutors throughout different stages of the criminal justice system, in light of legal, policy, practical, and ethical considerations. Using actual cases as well as federal statutes, guidelines, and other materials, the course will discuss the factors that influence the decisions and discretion of the federal prosecutor. The course also will examine the interaction between and among federal, state, and foreign jurisdictions, in particular the interests of competing sovereigns in the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity. Prerequisites: Criminal Law (LAW-507) and Criminal Procedure I (LAW-508). Recommended, but not required: Constitutional Law (LAW-503) and Evidence (LAW-633). Limited enrollment. (Class will meet at the main Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.) Hinton, Robinson Fall
  
  • LAW - 883 State Constitutional Law


    (3 hrs.)

    Explores the issues and alternatives presented by state constitutional litigation. Among the topics considered are the nature of state constitutions, relationship to federal constitution, state constitutional interpretation, and unique interpretation issues. Peck Spring
  
  • LAW - 888 Telecommunications Law and Regulation Seminar


    (2 hrs.)

    Examines legal and public policy issues in the regulation of telecommunications common carriers by the Federal Communications Commission and other administrative agencies. The course explores agency implementation of the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, focusing on recent developments in telecommunications law and regulation, such as competition in the telecommunications industry, treatment of Bell operating companies, universal service, wireless technologies, and other telephony, Internet, and Internet telephony issues. Janas Fall
  
  • LAW - 892 The Washington Lawyer


    (2 hrs)

    Gives students an overview of what it means to be an effective “Washington lawyer.” Topics include the importance of the Administrative Procedure Act; navigating the White House, Justice Department, and executive agencies; influencing the legislative process and the appointments process; using openness statutes and the media; and ethics and lobbying restrictions. Lubbers, Yeomans Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 893 Public Interest Practice


    (2 hrs.)

    This is a course about the concept and evolution of what is most broadly referred to as “public interest” law and practice; the broad themes that practice in this area raises - themes about race, gender, class, wealth, etc.; and some of the significant cross-cutting issues in this area of practice, such as funding and scarcity of resources, competing delivery models, third party interference or resistance to the work, and client voice or autonomy within a cause. The course will examine 1) who public interest lawyers were, at the origins of the movement, and who they are today; 2) what public interest lawyers do; and 3) challenges for public interest lawyering, with particular focus on ethical dilemmas, the globalization of law, and new directions in the field. The course will examine international human rights advocacy as well as domestic advocacy, with an eye toward preparing students for careers in the field of public interest practice, whether here or abroad. These stories include topics such as the following, told through particularly noteworthy cases or crises: human rights advocacy; international law; civil rights; famous trials; and/or race stories. R. Wilson Fall
  
  • LAW - 896 Law and the Visual Arts Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Introduces students to the full range of legal issues that arise concerning works of art, the art market, and the art world. Topics to be covered include the fate of works of art in wartime, the international trade in stolen and illegally exported cultural property, artistic freedom, censorship and state support for art and artists, copyright, moral rights and trademark rights, collectors and the art market, and art museums and their collections. Students will consider how the law has dealt with the profound question of what is art and also examine the practical legal problems of visual artists and the commercial art world relating to the protection, acquisition, exhibition, and sale of art works. Major themes of the course will be the policy balance between public and private interest, the impact of law on heritage, and the role that law plays in shaping cultural policy. Farley, J. Kaufman Spring
  
  • LAW - 904 International Petroleum Transactions Seminar


    (2 hrs.)

    Focuses on international oil and gas transactions involving exploration, drilling, production and marketing. Topics include concessions and production sharing contracts between petroleum companies and nation; joint development agreements; dispute resolution via courts and arbitration; tanker and pipeline transport; and petroleum contracts risk evaluation and negotiation. J. Day Fall
  
  • LAW - 915 Legal Ethics Trial Lawyers


    (3 hrs,)

    This class surveys the ethical terrain for litigators in both the criminal and civil context. The course uses case law, bar opinions, and role play exercises developed by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) to allow students to identify and resolve ethical issues through simulated exercises. This course is a practical, exercise driven course that sensitizes students to the common conflicts that arise in litigation, informs them of the rules that govern their conduct, and allows them to work through conflicts in a safe environment where mistakes are not costly to themselves or their clients. LAW-550 Legal Ethics (LAW-550) or LAW-551 Professional Responsibility: Theory and Practice Guggenheim, Uston Spring
  
  • LAW - 924 Advanced Copyright Law and Policy


    (2-3 hrs.)

    Focuses on recent and current controversies before Congress, the courts, and federal agencies. Topics covered include the effect of technological developments on copyright law and policy, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and more recent legislative proposals, an exploration of the legislative process in developing copyright policy, and the effect of the DMCA and other proposals on such traditional copyright principles as the doctrines of fair use and first sale. The course will explore these policy issues through and examination of relevant legislative history, statutory text, judicial review, and scholarly commentaries. Major themes of the course include the balance between public and private interest, incentive and control, technology and authorship, ownership and reasonable use, the impact of the law on society, and the role law plays in shaping cultural policy. Kasunic Spring
  
  • LAW - 935 Congress, Law-Making, and Foreign Affairs Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Explores the various levers of law-making power in the foreign affairs field that are available for exercise by Congress to affect U.S. foreign policy, including the “power of the purse” (authorization and appropriations statutes), the congressional war power, the Senate’s role in treaty-making, the enactment of international economic sanctions, border-control measures, the power to establish governmental offices and bodies, and the passage of nonbinding “policy” resolutions. Special reference will be made to post-9/11 statutes and related legal developments. The seminar will emphasize basic skills and exercises in the drafting of foreign relations legislation. Caple Spring
  
  • LAW - 959 Business Transactions in Latin America


    (2 hrs.)

    Provides an overview of practical issues involved in doing business in Latin America. The seminar focuses on, among other topics, contracts, corporate forms and finance, commercial practices, labor issues, privatization, joint ventures, and franchise agreements. Students also compare foreign investment laws among different Latin American jurisdictions; discuss choice of forum and law issues applicable to international commercial contracts executed in or applicable to Latin America; and examine relevant consumer protection legislation. In addition, students will consider the enforcement of arbitration agreements and foreign arbitral awards. D. Figueroa Fall
  
  • LAW - 962 Intellectual Property, Human Rights, and Development


    (3 hrs.)

    Examines international intellectual property rules through the lenses of human rights law and development policy. The course will study how different intellectual property frameworks possess the capacity to overcome or perpetuate global inequality, underdevelopment, and access to essential goods and services. It will also study the strategies and tactics of global movements mobilizing around issues of access to medicines, textbooks, and other essential knowledge goods. Flynn
  
  • LAW - 963 International and Comparative Patent Law


    (2 hrs.)

    Provides a general introduction to international patent law in theory and practice. The class examines patent laws from an international perspective and explores evolving international jurisprudence. The foundation is the fundamental principles and the black letter law of international treaties. Students also look at current themes in international policy debates, such as biotechnology and electronic commerce. The focus is on practical aspects of international patent acquisition and enforcement. The class considers various treaties, including the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and global enforcement issues, as well as the European Patent Office and PCT practice. Students also discuss unity of invention and other examination standards and U.S.-global harmonization. Recommended: Patent Law (LAW-688). Santamauro
  
  • LAW - 964 Introduction to the Continental Legal System


    (2 hrs.)

    Provides an introduction to foreign legal systems of the civil law tradition in the language of origin (Spanish). The course will consider the theoretical foundations of the continental system, the main differences as compared to the U.S. framework, and the sources of continental law. Students will gain an understanding of the role and function of the constitution in countries of the continental law tradition and the hierarchical structure and different weight that written laws, judicial decisions, doctrine, principles of law, and contracts play as a source of law in this system. The course will include analysis of legal concepts of civil law as opposed to criminal law, jus in rem, personal rights, pledge, mortgage, and property and ownership, among others. Saez Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 966 Advanced Topics in Appellate Litigation


    (2 hrs)

    Explores the work of the federal courts by focusing specifically on the output of a single court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The class administers the ABA’s Media Alert Project for the DC Circuit, watching the docket closely and reading all reported decisions. Students identify and digest key decisions to summarize objectively for a nationwide audience and explore a wide variety of legal issues confronted by appellate courts. Beske & Weistling Fall
  
  • LAW - 978 Women and Conflict


    (2 hrs.)

    Provides an overview and evaluation of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal law relating to women and conflict. Specifically, the course will explore how women in times of conflict are treated under the various categories of the laws of war, such as civilians, combatants, detainees, refugees, and internally displaced persons, but also question whether these laws are sufficient to encompass the considerable variety of ways women are affected by conflict. In particular, the course will examine feminist critiques of IHL and consider the links between conflict and issues such as women’s inequality and inequitable economic and social conditions, and query whether these conditions lead to new and different types of discrimination against women in times of conflict. The course will also look at the developing jurisprudence dealing specifically with gendered violence from the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and the “hybrid” or internationalized courts, as well as the provisions specifically relating to women in the Rome Statute and the practice of the International Criminal Court in implementing these provisions. The course will also examine from a critical feminist perspective, the consequences, both intended and unintended, of the prosecution of sex-based and gender-based crimes by these courts and tribunals. SaCouto
  
  • LAW - 979 Women’s Legal History


    (3 hrs.)

    Examines the history of women’s legal status and experiences in the United States from the colonial era to the 1970s. For each period, we will consider the legal status and experiences of women (including advocacy for reform of women’s legal status) with regard to citizenship, suffrage, education, marriage and divorce, domestic violence, rape, reproductive autonomy, parenthood, labor and employment, and property, as relevant. In addition, students consider topics particular to each period, including prevalent ideologies and/or social movements. Finally, the course charts the history of women in legal education and the legal profession throughout this period. M. Clark Fall
  
  • LAW - 982 Application of International Arbitration Fundamentals


    (3 hrs.)

    Focuses on actual, real world experience and situations in international arbitration. The course is case-based and takes students through the stages of an international dispute, promotes strategic thinking, as well as requiring drafting pleadings and arguments based on legal knowledge and the factual scenario presented. M. Jaffe Fall
  
  • LAW - 983 Presidential Strategies on Rights


    (2 hrs.)

    Most constitutional law is made outside of the courts. Presidents are especially well placed to make constitutional law within their sphere of action, as well as to influence the development of rights in others’ spheres of influence. Students will examine the opportunities available to modern presidents to advance or erode constitutional and statutory rights. They also will explore the social conditions-within bureaucracies and society as a whole-that must prevail for an administration to make the transformation of existing rights a priority. Finally, assuming the perspective of an executive branch actor, they will assess the tactics available when a president is committed to altering dominant conceptions of rights: when each strategy is most tempting, what the historical or legal precedents are for each tactic, how effective it is, and how we make such judgments. Tsai
  
  • LAW - 985 Housing Law


    (2 hrs.)

    Focuses on housing law from both theoretical and practice perspectives. The topics covered include in-depth examinations of materials introduced in the first-year Property course, in particular tenant protections, as well as other topics, such as urban development patterns, rent control, residential/racial sorting, gentrification, homelessness, and the subprime crisis. Rosser
  
  • LAW - 987 Gender, Inequality, and the State


    (3 hrs.)

    Examines gender, inequality and social policy in the United States by examining the feminization of poverty, as well as how the welfare bureaucracy, tax policy, the health care system and other government programs reinforce gender, class, and racial inequality. Students will discuss in detail some of the significant public policies and social welfare programs that affect the lives of women and their families, including welfare, job training, unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, health insurance, child protective services, taxes, credit, housing, food stamps, and community economic development. The course will emphasize the role that public interest lawyers, pro bono attorneys, government policy makers, and advocates can play in shaping responses to the challenges faced by low and middle income families in the current economic crisis. Kraiem
  
  • LAW - 989 International Protection of Vulnerable Groups


    (2 hrs.)

    An introduction to the concept of vulnerable groups: who they are, why they are considered “vulnerable,” and what their rights under International Human Rights Law are. We will appraise state and non-state actors’ responsibility vis-à-vis vulnerable groups. We will analyze in detail the tripartite typology of state obligations in the field of human rights and a framework detailing obligations of non-state actors. The first vulnerable group that we will examine will be children. To this aim, we will explore the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the mandate of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The examination of the practice of some regional human rights bodies that have enforced children’s rights will complete the overview of the protection of children under International Human Rights Law. Subsequently, the course will focus on the protection of people living with HIV/AIDS by analyzing Article 12 of the 1966 UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the practice of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights. We will also tackle challenges of the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs), both under International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law, and the legal protection of disabled persons at the UN, African and European level. The course will conclude with an analysis of the human rights of the Roma Population and the protection afforded to the human rights of the poor and destitute by the South African Constitutional Court and the Indian Supreme Court. Nifosi-Sutton Fall
  
  • LAW - 989S The Rights of Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Groups


    (2 hrs)

    This course examines legal practices that have been and should be developed for the weak and vulnerable and consequently require special protection. The first half of the course examines applicable international human rights standards, monitoring procedures and case‐law concerning certain disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, in particular minorities and indigenous peoples. Some of the issues are of a general character, like the equal enjoyment of all human rights, the prohibition of discrimination in that enjoyment, and the question of individual and group rights. Other issues concern special rights and/or special measures (also called preferential treatment or affirmative action) that have been designed and put in place to achieve equal rights for some of the different groups. What are some of the strategies that will allow the realization of the rights and measures designed for these groups? The second half of the course focuses on the protection of one particularly vulnerable group, internally displaced persons (IDPs) ‐‐ those forcibly uprooted within their own countries by civil war, generalized violence, human rights violations, and/or natural disasters. The tensions between national and international responsibility will be examined together with the role of the international community in addressing internal displacement both in conflicts and natural disasters, the relationship of IDPs to the concept of the responsibility to protect (R2P), and the meaning of a durable solution for IDPs. Nifosi-Sutton Summer
  
  • LAW - 990 International Business Negotiations Seminar


    (2-3 hrs.)

    The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, and to give students experience in drafting communications and actual negotiations. Students will also learn about the legal and business issues that may arise in joint ventures and licensing agreements. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, often working in teams of two or more, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as preparing for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Bradlow, Finkelstein, Frankel Spring
  
  • LAW - 997 Strategic Litigation in International Human Rights Law


    (2 hrs.)

     

    This seminar is an opportunity for both LLM and JD students to analyze, understand, and gain experience in some basic aspects of strategic litigation in the area of international human rights. Students will work in three areas of international human rights: corruption and due process of law; rights and conditions of incarcerated people in Latin America; and discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The seminar will involve the analysis and work on real cases before the Inter American system of Human Rights or the United Nations’ body treaties and the presentation, when possible, of amici briefs or participation in written and oral presentations of the ILP’s own cases. Spanish is NOT required.

      Saez Fall, Spring


Clinical Program

All clinics have their own seminar components for which students must register separately and which will be reported separately on their transcripts. Applications for enrollment in all clinics are due at the approximate time of preregistration during the preceding spring semester. Further information about the enrollment process is distributed to all students each spring.

  
  • LAW - 751 DC Law Students in Court Clinic


    (6 hrs. per year)

    Third-year students, in a closely supervised setting, represent indigents in the Landlord-Tenant and Small-Claims Courts Mediation Division of the D.C. Superior Court as part of the D.C. Law Students in Court Program. A seminar dealing with civil practice is an integral part of this course. DC Law Students in Court Clinic Seminar (LAW-757).
      Goemann Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 751 DC Law Students in Court Clinic


    (6 hrs. per year)

    Third-year students, in a closely supervised setting, represent indigents in the Landlord-Tenant and Small-Claims Courts Mediation Division of the D.C. Superior Court as part of the D.C. Law Students in Court Program. A seminar dealing with civil practice is an integral part of this course. Prerequisite: Evidence (LAW-633). Corequisite: DC Law Students in Court Clinic Seminar (LAW-757). M. Cook Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 752 Civil Advocacy Clinic


    (3-4 hrs.)

    Students in this one-semester clinic represent low-income residents of the District of Columbia and Maryland who have a wide range of legal problems. Legal issues vary but usually include family law, health law, consumer law, housing law, public benefits, and special education, among other civil bankruptcy law issues. Students represent clients in teams under the direction of clinical faculty and meet frequently in case supervision sessions. This clinic is open to second-, third-, and fourth-year students. Corequisite: the Lawyering Process (LAW-756). Chavkin, Coleman, Milstein, Ugelow, R. Wallace Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 753 Women and the Law Clinic


    (8 hrs. per year)

    Students represent indigent women in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Representation usually begins with a family law or immigration matter, and students then decide whether to represent their client in related matters. Students have full responsibility for their cases, while working under the supervision of the faculty. The program focuses upon learning the essentials of being a lawyer, including representation in court and administrative proceedings, as well as in transactional matters, and examining the role of gender and law in shaping women’s experiences with the economy, state programs (such as social welfare, immigration and housing) and their families. Through the mixture of matters in each case, students explore how as lawyers they can assist their clients with issues that are critical in their lives. In addition to representing clients under the supervision of clinic faculty, students participate in weekly rounds about their cases and in a seminar about the theory and practice of client-based advocacy. Through this clinic, students may participate in a specialized focus on representation in proceedings addressing domestic violence (Domestic Violence Clinic). Students represent clients in actions in the District of Columbia Superior Court to obtain a Civil Protection Order and in immigration matters under the Violence Against Women Act. They examine how lawyers assist clients who face violence in their lives, exploring the consequences of and alternatives to legal action, as well as the role of gender in relationships involving violence. Some students may spend one semester prosecuting domestic violence cases criminally in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. In addition to work on their cases, students participate in weekly rounds and in a seminar about the theory and practice of client-based advocacy. Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: Evidence (LAW-633) (for Domestic Violence Clinic). Corequisite(s): Evidence (LAW-633) (for general Women and the Law Clinic); Legal Ethics (LAW-550) and The Lawyering Process (LAW-756). Shalleck, Nanasi, Yakren, Weinroth Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 755 International Human Rights Clinic


    (8 hrs. per year)

    Students in the clinic handle cases involving the application of international human rights law and principles in domestic and international or foreign tribunals. Domestic cases are largely asylum and asylum-related claims in administrative immigration proceedings. Students represent individuals and groups who assert violations of a wide range of basic human rights, through litigation or projects. Litigation involving human rights issues will be prepared and argued by students where rules permit student practice. Students will also be involved in projects involving non-litigation dimensions of human rights law and policy: reporting, lobbying, press relations, and related aspects. In both human rights and asylum cases and projects, students will develop a sound case theory, investigate facts, prepare witnesses, and present evidence in hearings or trials. The clinic will focus particular attention on the issues of representation of clients in a cross-cultural context. Knowledge of a foreign language, especially Spanish or French, is extremely useful for the clinic but is not required. Pre- or co-requisites: The Lawyering Process (LAW-756), Evidence (LAW-633), and an international law or human rights course or any immigration course (LAW-656). Wilson, Baluarte, Tabak Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 756 The Lawyering Process


    (2-3 hrs.)

    The seminar component of the Women and the Law, Criminal Justice, Community and Economic Development, Civil Practice, Disability Rights, Intellectual Property, International Human Rights, and Tax Clinics. Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 757 The Lawyering Process


    (2 hrs.)

    The seminar component of the DC Law Students in Court Clinic. Goemann Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 758 Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic


    (8 hrs. per year)

    Prepares participants to be effective practitioners through direct experience with cases drawn from the full range of intellectual property specialties, including copyright, patent, and trademark. Students learn essential lawyering skills and acquire a critical understanding of the values and value conflicts that shape the development of intellectual property law and policy. Students gain experience in client counseling, transactional lawyering, and litigation, as well as administrative and legislative advocacy, as they represent individual creators and consumers, small businesses and communities of rights holders, and not-for-profit institutions and associations. Prerequisites or corequisites: Evidence (LAW-633) and one intellectual property course. Jaszi, Phillips, Isa-Odidi Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 759 Immigrant Justice Clinic


    (8 hrs. per year)

    The Immigrant Justice Clinic prepares students to be effective practitioners on issues affecting individual immigrants or migrants and their communities, both here in the U.S. and overseas. Students handle a broad range of cases and projects relating to immigration law, immigrant employment rights, civil rights, and international human rights. Cases are brought in Immigration Court, federal district court, the courts of Maryland and D.C., and before federal and state agencies. The Clinic is designed to develop core litigation and trial techniques, while also cultivating important non-litigation skills, including legislative/policy advocacy, community organizing, and working with the media. Knowledge of a foreign language, especially Spanish or French, is helpful, but not required. Pre- or co-requisites: The Lawyering Process (LAW-756), Evidence (LAW-633), and an international law or human rights course or any immigration course (LAW-656). Rathod, Sinha Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 761 Criminal Justice Clinic


    (4-6 hrs. per year)

    Third-year students may spend one semester prosecuting and one semester defending criminal cases in various local courts or may focus exclusively on defense work. Defense students, under the close supervision of faculty members, represent indigent clients, taking full responsibility for the conduct of the defense. Prosecution students work with prosecutors in conducting the trial of criminal cases on behalf of the State of Maryland. A seminar involving an exploration of the lawyering process, including professional responsibility, client interviewing, strategic decision making, negotiation, client counseling, and trial skills, is an integral part of this program. Students also meet regularly with the instructors. Most students participate for two semesters. Some students participate for one semester on either the defense or prosecution side. Prerequisite: Evidence (LAW-633). Corequisites: Legal Ethics (LAW-550), the Lawyering Process (LAW-756), and Criminal Procedure I (LAW-508). B. Miller, Roberts, Bach Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 762 Janet R. Spragens Federal Tax Clinic


    (3 hrs. per semester)

    This clinical program provides students with experience in federal tax practice before the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Tax Court. Students interview and counsel taxpayer-clients, provide assistance in framing legal issues and in preparing appeals before the Internal Revenue Service, and represent taxpayers in the IRS appeals conference or in subsequent tax litigation. Prerequisite: Federal Personal Income Tax (LAW-647). Corequisite: The Lawyering Process (LAW-756). Abramowitz, Mueller Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 764 Disability Rights Law Clinic


    (8 hrs. per year)

    Students in this two-semester clinic represent people with mental and physical disabilities in a variety of contexts-special education, admission/commitment for people with intellectual disabilities, the American with Disabilities Act, mental health system grievances, and international human rights settings, among others. The clinic focuses especially on the interaction between people with disabilities and the various systems that affect their lives. Students work in teams of two under the supervision of faculty members and are responsible for all aspects of the client’s case. The clinic is open to second-, third-, and fourth-year students. Corequisite: The Lawyering Process (LAW-756). Dinerstein, Harris Fall, Spring
  
  • LAW - 768 Community and Economic Development Law Clinic


    (8 hrs. per year)

    This program provides students with closely supervised lawyering experiences in a public interest law firm under the direction of members of the faculty. The teaching law firm concentrates on representing underrepresented clients through a variety of advocacy strategies: group and individual representation, litigation, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and public education. Currently, the clinic focuses on representing groups involved in tenant ownership and management in public and private housing, in community economic development, and in systemic advocacy. Individual meetings with the instructors, as well as a regularly scheduled two-hour seminar, are conducted each week. Unscheduled meetings may be called as required to conduct the work of the firm. Students are eligible for this program in either their second or third year. Corequisite: The Lawyering Process (LAW-756). Bennett, Smith Fall, Spring

Field Components

Students must enroll for credit in all field components and in any course or seminar which the faculty member supervising the field component feels the student must take as a condition of participating in the field component. Audits are not permitted in either the field component or in any required course or seminar associated with the field component.

  
  • LAW - 712B Human Rights Litigation Fieldwork


    (2 hrs.)

    Instructor permission required Beydoun Fall, Spring

Externship Program

The law school’s Supervised Externship Program allows students to learn about the legal profession through law-related fieldwork and, at the same time, to develop their reflective learning skills under close faculty supervision. Students are placed in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, courts, and law firms engaged in pro bono activities, where they work under the supervision of practicing attorneys. In tandem with the field placement, students meet weekly in a seminar led by a faculty member. The seminar draws on the placement work and assists students in reflecting on the work of the lawyer and on their own professional goals. Students also meet frequently in small groups or individually with the faculty member to discuss the progress of the externship. In some cases, students may participate in independent tutorial externships, which must be arranged with and supervised by a faculty sponsor.

  
  • LAW - 769 Externship Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Externship seminars provide students with an opportunity to engage in critical reflection about the legal profession, their own future legal careers, and their priorities and values as lawyers in conjunction with their field placement experiences. Externship seminars are open to students in a wide variety of field placements and, rather than emphasizing a particular area of law, focus on the lawyering experience, the legal profession, and the workings of legal institutions. Instructors choose various general themes for their own seminars, but within each seminar some specific topics are likely to include the nature of law practice in different settings (including private firms, public interest organizations, and government agencies), the varieties of lawyer-client relationships in these settings, and the dynamics and politics of the workplace. Other topics that may be covered include images of lawyers in fiction and popular culture, theories of bureaucracy in relation to the lawyering process, legal ethics in theory and practice, issues of gender, race, and difference in the legal profession, and the profession’s history. Finally, in all the seminars students have the opportunity to explore their own professional development through discussions of critique and self-evaluation, the transition from school to work, and career goals and career planning. Concurrent registration for field placement, LAW-899, is required. fall, spring, summer
  
  • LAW - 769 Externship Seminar


    (3 hrs.)

    Externship seminars provide students with an opportunity to engage in critical reflection about the legal profession, their own future legal careers, and their priorities and values as lawyers in conjunction with their field placement experiences. Externship seminars are open to students in a wide variety of field placements and, rather than emphasizing a particular area of law, focus on the lawyering experience, the legal profession, and the workings of legal institutions. Instructors choose various general themes for their own seminars, but within each seminar some specific topics are likely to include the nature of law practice in different settings (including private firms, public interest organizations, and government agencies), the varieties of lawyer-client relationships in these settings, and the dynamics and politics of the workplace. Other topics that may be covered include images of lawyers in fiction and popular culture, theories of bureaucracy in relation to the lawyering process, legal ethics in theory and practice, issues of gender, race, and difference in the legal profession, and the profession’s history. Finally, in all the seminars students have the opportunity to explore their own professional development through discussions of critique and self-evaluation, the transition from school to work, and career goals and career planning. Concurrent registration for field placement, LAW-899, is required.

Externship Component

Externship seminars are open to students in a wide variety of field placements and, rather than emphasizing a particular area of law, focus on the lawyering experience, the legal profession, and the workings of legal institutions. Instructors choose various general themes for their own seminars, but within each seminar some specific topics are likely to include the nature of law practice in different settings (including private firms, public interest organizations, and government agencies), the varieties of lawyer-client relationships in these settings, and the dynamics and politics of the workplace. Other topics that may be covered include images of lawyers in fiction and popular culture, theories of bureaucracy in relation to the lawyering process, legal ethics in theory and practice, issues of gender, race, and difference in the legal profession, and the profession’s history. Finally, in all the seminars students have the opportunity to explore their own professional development through discussions of critique and self-evaluation, the transition from school to work, and career goals and career planning. Concurrent registration for field placement, LAW-899, is required.

  
  • LAW - 754 Externship (Individual Faculty Supervision)


    (1-3 hrs.)

    Under the terms of a formal agreement among student, individual faculty member, and supervising attorney in the field, students receive academic credit for legal field experience in a government agency, nonprofit organization, or private law firm engaged in pro bono activities. Over the course of the semester, the student and faculty supervisor meet regularly to discuss the progress of the externship. Each independent tutorial student must also complete a writing project.
  
  • LAW - 803E Moot Court Executive Board


    (2 hrs.)

    Fall
  
  • LAW - 899 Externship Field Placement


    (1-3 hrs.)

    Students who have completed one year of law school may receive academic credit for performing substantive legal work under the supervision of an attorney in a government agency, nonprofit organization, court, or private law firm engaged in pro bono activities. Students registered in the externship program also participate in an externship seminar which draws upon the field placement experience to enhance each student’s understanding of legal institutions and of the work of the lawyer. Concurrent registration for LAW-769 (Externship Seminar) is required.

Research, Independent Study, and Journals

  
  • LAW - 765 International Law Review I


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 765 International Law Review I


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 766 International Law Review II


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 767 International Law Review III


    (4 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 770 Administrative Law Review I


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 771 Administrative Law Review II


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 772 Administrative Law Review III


    (4 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 795 Research Seminars


    (2-3 hrs.)

    These seminars afford qualified students an opportunity to participate in faculty research projects. They are offered on an ad hoc basis with the subject matter of the seminar approved by the dean. Examples include oceans policy, contract theory, protection of endangered species, prosecutorial discretion, transnational corporations, privacy, international terrorism, occupational safety and health, utility regulation, and civil rights.
  
  • LAW - 796 American University Law Review I


    (2 hrs.)

    First year on Law Review, 1 credit
  
  • LAW - 797 American University Law Review II (Senior Editors)


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 798 American University Law Review III (Editorial Board)


    (4 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 799 Independent Study Program


    (1-12 hrs.)

    A student may earn academic credit after the first year (subject to program requirements) for independent study under a contract between the student and a member of the faculty upon approval of the dean. Such study may be a research and writing project for a faculty member. To be approved for credit, an independent study project must be designed to contribute substantially to the student’s development as a lawyer. Additionally, it must be established firmly at the beginning of the project that student and faculty sponsor will work together closely during the course of the project. For precise information on this program, copies of the faculty policy statement are available from the registrar and the dean of students.
  
  • LAW - 800 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy, and the Law I


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 801 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy, and the Law II


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 802 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy, and the Law III (Managing Board)


    (4 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 803 Moot Court Honor Society


    (1-2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 803A Moot Court Executive Board


    (1 hr.)

    Fall
  
  • LAW - 803B Moot Court Executive Board


    Spring
  
  • LAW - 803C Moot Court Executive Board


    (1 hr.)

    Fall
  
  • LAW - 803D Moot Court Executive Board


    (1 hr.)

    Spring
  
  • LAW - 803F Moot Court Executive Board


    (2 hrs.)

    Spring
  
  • LAW - 871A Moot Court Competitions


    (1 hr.)

    Fall
  
  • LAW - 871B Moot Court Competitions


    (1 hr.)

    Spring
  
  • LAW - 871C Moot Court Competition


    (1 hr.)

    Fall
  
  • LAW - 871D Moot Court Competition


    (1 hr.)

    Spring
  
  • LAW - 871E Moot Court Competition


    (2 hrs.)

    Fall
  
  • LAW - 871F Moot Court Competition


    (2 hrs.)

    Spring
  
  • LAW - 871G Moot Court Competition


    (2 hrs.)

    Second year of Moot Court competition
  
  • LAW - 917 American University Business Law Review I


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 918 American University Business Law Review II


    (2 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 919 American University Business Law Review III


    (4 hrs.)

  
  • LAW - 995A Mock Trial Honor Society


    (1 hr.)

    Fall
 

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