Elective Courses
As a student-centered institution, Chapman University School of Law’s elective courses are responsive to student needs and ambitions and will therefore evolve over time. The following is a current listing of regular elective courses. We expect to offer each one of these courses at least every other year.

Access to Civil Justice Seminar (2 or 3 units)

The California Access to Justice Commission estimates that approximately 7.5 million Californians earn below the median income and do not qualify for subsidized legal services. This seminar explores the availability of legal services in California for middle-income clients and the working poor. The readings provide a historical and comparative perspective on existing legal aid programs and explore current efforts to increase access by promoting self-help centers, on-line legal services, pro bono work, unbundling programs, prepaid systems and other efforts. The grade shall be based on class participation, a visit to a self-help center or legal services office and a final paper where students are asked to propose novel approaches to closing the access gap.

Accounting for Lawyers (2 units)
This course represents an introduction to accounting for students with little background in the field. Initial emphasis is on established accounting principles and the analysis of financial statements. The course’s perspective is that of a business attorney using financial statements to advise clients in various legal settings (e.g., the drafting of buy-sell agreements and the valuation of businesses). Students are expected to consider state and federal privileges between accountants and their clients, as well as the professional responsibility of an attorney to a corporate client.

Administrative Law (3 units)
This course provides a study of the processes of decision making by administrative agencies and their control by legislators and courts. It centers on the tension between the need for delegation of power to agencies sufficient to ensure effective government, and the need to limit that power and protect the citizen from government oppression. The course focuses particularly on administrative procedure and deals with the concept of administrative discretion and the constitutional, statutory, and common law doctrines that control discretion in administrative decision making. Also considered are contemporary issues that bear upon the fairness of governmental action (e.g., the right to notice and hearing, confrontation of witnesses, ex parte communications, institutional decisions, and combination of functions).

Advanced Evidence (3 units)
This is an applied evidence course. Complex evidentiary issues are presented in a simulation environment. Students are expected to apply legal theories in developing a theory of the case, and in developing and making evidentiary arguments. Students are given opportunities to organize and present evidence to establish a theory of the case. Students learn how to introduce evidence, and how to exclude evidence that should not be introduced. The grade is based on written exercises and performance simulations.

Advanced Federal Income Tax (2 units)
This course is a continuation of the basic Federal Income Taxation course for students in the tax law program. It includes federal income tax topics that are not generally addressed in detail or at all in the basic course, such as: in-depth coverage of tax accounting issues, imputation under IRC section 7872, involuntary conversions, alternative minimum tax, "kiddie tax," employee benefits and deferred compensation (including IRC section 83), and tax law policy issues.

Advanced Land Use Seminar
This course examines advanced topics relative to the government regulation of land use, planning and development. Students will be expected to have a basic understanding of land use to build a foundation for an in depth examination of topics including affordable housing, overlay zones, restrictive zoning, entitlement and planned community development. The course will also incorporate facets of constitutional law, environmental law, real estate, and local government, as well as discussions of the policy implications of various land use decisions.

Advanced Legal Research (2 units)
Following a review of basic research procedures, with emphasis on primary source materials, bibliographic research is conducted in the areas of legislative materials, including legislative histories, administrative materials, and secondary sources of the law. Emphasis is placed on the availability and use of treatises, forms, records and briefs, microforms, and other materials used in practice.

Advanced Real Estate Finance (2 units)
This course explores various types of financing mechanisms used to finance the acquisition, lease, development, and improvement of real property. Attention is given to legal doctrines, the development of professional judgment and lawyering skills, and the financial and business considerations of clients. Prerequisite: Real Estate Transactions and Finance.

Advanced Seminar in Jurisprudence/Legal Process (3 units)
This course covers various perspectives on law and/or public policy. These perspectives may be jurisprudential or theoretical in nature, or may examine the law as a dynamic process shaped by social, political, and institutional forces. For example, students may be exposed to theories like Natural Law, Positivism, American Realism, Scandinavian Realism, Law & Economics, Critical Legal Studies, Critical Race Theory, Legal Feminism, and Law & Literature. Although the means of examining these perspectives and the precise perspective examined may vary from semester to semester, students will enrich their skills of creative legal analysis by considering several different lenses with which to view legal principles and institutions.

Advanced Topics in Constitutional Law (2-3 units)
This course deals with advanced topics in constitutional law and constitutional history.

Advanced Topics in Copyright Law (2-3 units)
This course offers an in-depth analysis of the rights and remedies afforded to copyright owners under U.S. law.

Advanced Topics in Criminal Law and Procedure (2-3 units)
This course deals with advanced topics in criminal law and procedure, such as capital punishment or juvenile justice.

Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property (2-3 units)
This advanced course in intellectual property may cover topics such as patent and trade secret law, biotechnology law, copyright law, or trademarks and unfair competition.

Advanced Topics in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution (2-3 units)
This course focuses on specialized, advanced topics in advocacy and dispute resolution. Topics may vary from semester to semester and may include arbitration, persuasive techniques and methods of advocacy, comparisons between varied means of dispute resolution, or law practice management.

Advanced Topics in Business Law (2-3 units)
This course focuses on advanced topics in business law, such as mergers and acquisitions, franchising, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Advanced Topics in Civil Procedure (2-3 units)
This course focuses on advanced topics in civil procedure, such as California civil procedure.

Agency, Partnerships, and Other Unincorporated Organizations (3 units)
This course covers the law of agency and unincorporated business entities, focusing on individual and organizational accountability for the actions of authorized and unauthorized agents and independent contractors.  Topics include the nature, creation, and termination of the agency/employment relationship; the rights, powers, and fiduciary responsibilities of agents; and the contract and tort liabilities of principals.  The course also addresses the law of general and limited partnerships, examining partners’ fiduciary obligations; partners’ management and property interests; creditors’ rights; and the overall nature, formation, operation, and termination of partnerships.  Unincorporated business entities, including limited liability limited partnerships and limited liability companies will also be discussed.

American Indian Law and Policy (2 or 3 units)  

This course explores both traditional Native American tribal law and the legal relationship between Native Peoples, state governments, and the federal system.  Special emphasis is placed upon the foundation cases and the policy eras including the formative years, the treaty era, allotment and assimilation, reform and New Deal, termination, and self-determination.  Students will prepare and present a paper on a selected issue of Indian law and policy. 

American Legal History (2 or 3 units)

This course examines the interaction between the legal system and social change in the United States. The course materials will draw from the colonial period to the present day, although the twentieth century will receive special emphasis. Topics may include colonial law and social control; claims to sovereignty and clash with indigenous peoples; slavery and White Supremacy; male privilege and the regulation of women; the Revolution and the Framing of the Constitution; the nineteenth century transformations in the legal treatment of crime, property, corporations, and family law; the New Deal and the Civil Rights movement; and the rise of the social welfare state and the resistance to and reactions against it. Rather than a mere chronological survey, this course will introduce students to central developments and recurrent issues in American law, and will encourage students to think broadly about the place of law in American society.

Animal Law (2 or 3 units)

This course examines the way that the legal system and culture treat non-human animals.The course will consider legal doctrines addressing a broad array of issues about human-animal interaction, including legal definitions of animals, animals as property, tort liability for harms caused by and to animals, criminal liability, contracts concerning animals, federal and state regulation concerning both domestic and wild animals, and animal rights. The course will also consider theoretical, ethical, and socio-political perspectives on human-animal dynamics. This course, however, does not cover the Endangered Species Act and similar state laws, which are covered in several other classes (such as Environmental Law, Land Use Regulation, Ecosystems & Legal Problem-Solving, and Natural Resources Law & Policy Seminar).

Antitrust Law (3 units)
This course involves a study of the benefits and dangers of competition in a free enterprise system, with emphasis on the federal and state efforts to adjust the competitive balance. The course examines private actions for treble damages as well as the procedure governing federal enforcement and reaction to practices such as price fixing, monopolization, boycotts, exclusive dealing, franchises, and illegal tie-ins. The course provides an examination of the law and policy embodied in the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act which are the major federal statutes concerned with the control of private economic power.

Appellate Law Clinic (3 units fall, 3 units spring)
This two-semester, year-long clinic offers the opportunity for students to participate in real appellate proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The course begins with a brief review of federal jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, standards of appellate review, and the intricacies of Ninth Circuit practice. Then, students will be assigned one appeal before the Ninth Circuit. With supervision from the instructor, the student will research the legal issues and draft an opening brief.

During the second semester, the class focuses on filing effective reply briefs and oral advocacy. Students prepare and draft a reply brief for filing in the Ninth Circuit. Students will then prepare for oral argument before the Ninth Circuit by engaging in mock trial arguments. Prerequisites: top 50% class rank and permission of professor; completed two years of law study; completion of or concurrent enrollment in Evidence and Civil Procedure.

Appellate Practice/Procedure (2 units)
This course focuses on the procedures involved in bringing an action to the appellate level. Subjects include jurisdiction, evaluating a lower court ruling in determining the appropriateness of appeal, the finality of the lower court ruling, the one final judgment rule, time limitations, effective appellate brief writing, and effective oral advocacy.

Art and Cultural Property Law  (2 units) 
In this interdisciplinary course we explore how the law shapes and constrains artistic expression. We will focus on the censorship of art, as well as moral rights, the right of publicity, and issues that arise in the art market: stolen art, forgeries, authentication, and agreements for the transfer and commission of works of art. The class frequently considers contemporary art controversies as a means of examining these broader issues. We will also discuss the protection of Indigenous cultural resources and religions, including tangible and intellectual cultural property, its identity, ownership, appropriation and repatriation. We will examine the various domestic legal regimes as they concern areas of Indigenous cultural property, focusing on the preservation of the cultural property of groups as a means to maintain group identity, and assert sovereignty and self-determination. (Prerequisite:  IP).

Bankruptcy Procedure and Practice, Part I (2 or 3 units)

This course will explore adjustment of the debtor/creditor relationship through the federal bankruptcy laws, beginning with background discussion on the history and purpose of insolvency laws and continuing with the sources of both secured and unsecured creditor claims.  The course will cover security interests, attachment and judgment liens, filing of the bankruptcy petition and schedules, the automatic stay, and creation of the estate and discharge.  Chapter 7 liquidation and Chapter 13 wage earner plans will both be explored in depth.  Other subjects explored will be relief of stay, dischargeability litigation and the avoiding powers of the trustee.

Bankruptcy Procedure and Practice, Part II (2 or 3 units)

This advanced course will cover both individual and business reorganizations in Chapter 11, including assumption and rejection of leases and other executory contracts, preparation of disclosure statements, and negotiation and confirmation of plans.  Students will be expected to engage in role-playing exercise to simulate the competing interests of debtor, unsecured creditors and secured creditors in the reorganization effort. Bankruptcy Procedure and Practice, Part I is a prerequisite.  

Business Planning (2 units)
This course utilizes a problem-method study of corporate and tax issues entailed in forming and operating a small enterprise, forming a closely held corporation, and in public financing of an existing enterprise. The course addresses similar problems arising from the need to readjust shareholder interests because of the impending retirement of older shareholders and the shift of control to younger persons. Problems arising on the death of a major shareholder are also considered. Moot clinical training is included, from drafting corporate documents to conducting client interviews and corporate meetings.

California Civil Procedure (2 or 3 units)

This course concentrates on the major structural institutions that shape the division of adjudicatory authority in the State of California.  Because the federal and State Constitutions control many aspects of civil litigation, the study of procedure links the details of civil adjudication to the larger questions about the division and limitation of power in the government.  During the course of the semester, we will examine how the state of California deals with such issues as jurisdiction, venue, conflicts of laws, pleading, joinder, discovery and disposition without trial.  Prerequisite:  Civil Procedure I and Civil Procedure II

California Evidence (2 or 3 units)

This course provides a survey of the rules governing the presentation of evidence at trial in California. Topics will include relevance, character evidence, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, expert testimony, and privileges. The course focuses on the California Rules of Evidence, related case law, and constitutional provisions that may limit proof at trial. The class will consider differences between California evidence rules and the Federal Rules of Evidence, and considers both tactical and theoretical approaches to the rules of evidence. Prerequisite: Evidence.

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California Real Estate Finance (2 or 3 units)

This course covers legal problems that arise out of financing and purchasing real property, and the law governing security interests in land. The course is especially concerned with the foreclosure process and debtor protections, including redemption and antideficiency laws. Although the course examines doctrines that are common in other jurisdictions, it is primarily focused on California law.  Prerequisites: Property I and II, and Real Estate Transactions.

Civil Rights Law (2-3 units)
This course will study legal actions that seek redress for violations of the Constitution or federal statutes by state and local government officials, as well as private individuals, acting under color of law. There is also some consideration of similar claims against federal officials. This class will focus on Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code, the main statutory basis for the bringing of federal civil rights actions. Topics will include the elements of a section 1983 claim, defenses to civil rights actions, remedies available in civil rights actions, and the interaction between section 1983 and other laws and legal principles such as habeas corpus, statutes of limitations, and the right to a jury trial. This course will not review the history of the civil rights movement nor any particular civil right, but will instead focus on the prosecution and defense of civil rights lawsuits.

Client Interviewing and Counseling (3 units)
Practice with gathering and evaluating facts supplied by clients, followed by presentation of advice based on consideration of facts and applicable law. Discussion of interpersonal aspects of client relations and ethical problems that may come up in the context of client representation. Students participate in simulated interviews, portraying both clients and attorneys. Students are required to write several papers, including a client letter, a memo to the file, and papers analyzing the counseling process from the perspective of attorney, client, and neutral observer.

Commercial Leasing (2 units)
This course introduces students to one of the most important areas of real estate practice: commercial lease law and negotiation. Students are required to master elements of legal substance and theory concerning the leasing of commercial property, as well as methods of practice and negotiation. In addition to studying sophisticated commercial leases, case opinions, and other textual materials, students draft and revise provisions of commercial leases, and ultimately, negotiate an entire lease transaction. Strongly recommended: successful completion of Real Estate Transactions and Finance.

Commercial Paper (2 units)
This course revolves around an analysis of problems involved in the creation and transfer of negotiable instruments, as well as the role played by these instruments in commercial and consumer transactions. Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code and cases arising thereunder are the primary materials considered.

Community Property (2 units)
California is one of nine community property jurisdictions in the United States. Community property law affects the residents of each of these states and, in the case of migratory clients, persons who move to common law states as well. This course provides a survey of the peculiar ownership, creditor rights, testamentary rights, and family law problems that may result from even a passing domicile in a community property jurisdiction. Practical problems and solutions are emphasized.

Conflict of Laws (3 units)
A study of the problems that arise when the domiciles of the parties or other significant facts of a controversy are connected with states other than that where the litigation occurs. Among the topics explored are the choice of applicable law, jurisdiction of courts, the effect of state judgments, and the rules of decision applicable in multi-state transactions.

Constitutional Jurisprudence Clinic (1-3 units)
This clinical program, conducted under the auspices of The Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, provides students an opportunity to work on pending litigation representing clients or participating as amicus curiae in significant matters of constitutional law. Depending on the availability and current status of cases, students can, under the supervision of the course instructor or cooperating counsel, prepare initial case strategy, conduct client interviews, research legal issues, draft a complaint and prepare it for filing, draft discovery plans and requests, prepare summary judgment motions, draft appellate briefs, and perhaps, depending on the jurisdiction, argue a motion before the trial court or the case before an appellate court. Prerequisites: successful completion of Civil Procedure; successful completion of or current enrollment in Constitutional Law I and Constitutional Law II; top 25 percent class rank and permission of professor.

Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (3 units)
“Poison Pills,” “Bear Hugs,” “Saturday Night Specials,” and “Lady Macbeth” are all characters in the continuing drama of corporate mergers and acquisitions. In this course, we will come to know them and develop an understanding of the specific roles they play. This course has a real-world, practical bent. Thus, in addition to exploring the merits of displacing inefficient management, context-specific director fiduciary duties, and the importance of capitalizing on potential corporate synergies, we will devote a portion of our work to the analysis of relevant state and federal statutes to develop an understanding of both what must be done to effect the transactions (or what is explicitly forbidden) and the policies underlying those formal requirements/prohibitions. We will give attention to key merger agreement terms as well as the various legal issues presented in high-profile Wall-Street type deals (which occasionally have hostile origins and evoke equally hostile responses) and the less glitzy, “friendly” deals which frequently involve small, closely-held businesses (“Main Street M&A”). On completion of the course, students should have a firm sense of how the deals are executed and a skill set enabling them to make a real, first-day-on-the-job contribution in terms of evaluating, documenting, and implementing M&A deals. Though the course has no formal prerequisites, students should either have taken Corporations or be concurrently enrolled in that course.

Criminal Procedure/Police Practices (3 units)
This course provides a close examination of the laws of criminal investigation. Topics include constitutional limits on arrests and stops, search and seizure, interrogation of suspects, right to counsel, and the privilege against self-incrimination.

Criminal Procedure/Adjudicative Process (3 units)
This course involves a study of the adjudicative stages of criminal justice: initial appearance, bail, prosecutorial discretion, grand jury proceedings, preliminary hearing, joinder and severance of offenses and defendants, right to speedy trial, guilty pleas, discovery, trial by jury, publicity, double jeopardy, and post-conviction remedies.

Directed Research (1-3 units)
Individual directed research may be undertaken by students for credit. A descriptive outline of a proposed project must be submitted to the supervising faculty member and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for their approvals prior to registration to determine the feasibility of the project and the number of credits merited. During the course of their enrollment, students may undertake a maximum of two Directed Research papers, each prepared under a different professor.

Disability and the Law (2 units for law students)

for cross-listing with Political Science 347  Disability and the Law, taught by Dr. Art Blaser, Chapman University Political Science Professor)

This course will examine state and federal laws governing access, employment, education and transportation for people with disabilities. It will identify litigation that has and will come from the disability rights movement.

Ecosystems and Legal Problem-Solving (2 units)
This course examines problems in the human interaction with the natural environment. Topics include biodiversity and the management and conservation of ecosystems such as coastal areas and estuaries, forests, watersheds and river basins, grasslands and prairies, wetlands, deserts, and mountains. Students study the content and effectiveness of legal and non-legal mechanisms. Particular emphasis is given to case studies, methods of problem solving, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Strongly recommended: Environmental Law or Land Use Regulation.

Elder Law: Theory and Practice (3 units)
This clinical class teaches the theory and practice of elder law, which focuses on the legal problems of older adults. The class covers health care decision making, medical ethics and end-of-life issues, public benefits for the elderly, Medicaid planning, mental capacity issues and conservatorships for the elderly, property management for the elderly, and ethical problems that arise when representing the elderly. In addition to the classroom component, students work directly with clients and engage in interviewing, counseling, preparation of draft and final documents, and possible representation of clients in administrative hearings. The class is useful for students interested in the growing practice area of elder law or in a general practice that includes representing elderly clients. The class develops legal skills useful in almost any practice. Prerequisites: successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in Evidence and Civil Procedure; willingness to become a Certified Law Student ($55 fee).

Employment Law (3 units)
This course explores selected topics in employment law in the non-union workplace. The course covers the evolving common law and statutory approaches to regulating the employer-employee relationship from hiring to firing. Topics include employee privacy, protections against workplace discrimination, regulation of wages and hours, sexual harassment, and remedies for wrongful termination.

Entertainment Contracts and Negotiations (2 or 3 units)

This seminar offers an overview of entertainment law as it relates specifically to negotiating contracts in the entertainment industry.  Negotiations will be analyzed from the point of view various parties, including talent, studios, independent producers, writers, financiers and distributors.  Students will review and negotiate contracts which may include: purchasing a screenplay, securing services from actors, directors, and other film and television talent, and licensing the use of pre-recorded music.  Students will also learn the basic terms for production, financing and distribution agreements, the role of the various unions and guilds, and explore the role of 'new media' in contract negotiations and drafting.

Entertainment Law (2 or 3 units)

This course explores legal issues connected with the development, production, and exploitation of entertainment product, focusing predominantly on filmed entertainment and news media, to some extent on musical compositions and recordings, and incidentally on other forms of entertainment. Topics include life story and personality rights (defamation, invasion of privacy, etc.); celebrity publicity rights; profit participations; collective bargaining agreements and artistic credits; non-copyright protection of ideas; contract formation and duration; ethics and regulation of talent representatives such as agents, lawyers, and managers; and selected copyright and trademark issues. Copyright is not a prerequisite, and this class should not be considered as a replacement for the copyright course.

Externship (up to 8 units over two semesters for part-time externships or up to 10 units over one semester for a full-time externship)
Externships combine academic training in lawyering skills and the issues that arise in legal practice with practical experience in a placement with a legal office. Part-time externs earn academic credits while working part-time in government or non-profit institutions. Full-time externs earn academic credits in full-time placements with selected federal and state courts. Externs work under the supervision of qualified and experienced practicing attorneys or judges who provide guidance and training in practical lawyering skills. The classroom component is mandatory for all first-time externs and provides students systematic training in specific lawyering skills that may be relevant to their placements. There are up to three different sections of the externship class: 1) Civil Section, in which students will learn and use skills in legal research, client interviewing and counseling, and legal drafting, among others; 2) Criminal Section, in which students will learn and use skills in preparing for and participating in preliminary hearings, admission of evidence, and trial strategies, among others; and 3) Judicial Section, in which students will learn and use skills in advanced legal research and analysis, drafting of court documents, and the use of judicial process. In all sections, students will consider issues related to professionalism and ethics. Students wishing to do an externship must apply a semester in advance. Students may enroll in up to two part-time externships with a maximum of five credits per semester and a cap of eight credits over two semesters. Full-time externs enroll for one semester of ten credits. Consent of the professor is required for all externships.

Family Law (2 units)
This course is a study of the extent to which the state may and does regulate family relationships. The instructor may select topics from among the following: informal and nontraditional familial relationships; control of reproduction and current reproductive technology; antenuptial and separation agreements; legitimacy, adoption, and termination of parental rights; divorce, child custody, support, and paternity proceedings; and the role of the lawyer as counselor. 

Federal Courts/Jurisdiction (3-4 units) 
This course examines the scope of the federal judicial power and the role of the federal judiciary in our constitutional system. It considers the relationship of the federal courts to the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, and the relationship of the federal courts to the state courts. As such, class discussion naturally focuses on separation of powers and federalism principles. Topics may include Supreme Court jurisdiction, congressional control of federal court jurisdiction, justiciability, Article I courts, state sovereign immunity, federal court abstention, section 1983, federal review of state court decisions, and federal habeas corpus. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I.

Federal Tax Procedure (3 units)
A study of administrative procedures and taxpayer rights and remedies in dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, including assessment procedures; refund procedures; administrative appeals, conference and settlement procedures; interest; collection procedures, including tax liens and levies on property; transferee liability; limitation periods and their mitigation; burden of proof; choice of forum; IRS summons; requests for rulings and technical advice; and civil penalties. Prerequisite: Federal Income Tax.

Federal Tax Procedure – Clinical (1 unit)
This course will involve students in the representation of actual clients on a pro bono basis before the IRS in connection with audits and appeals.

Film and Television Law (2-3 units)
This course offers a detailed look at how the law affects the development, financing, and distribution of motion pictures and television programs.  Because contracts play an especially important role in this field, the course will emphasize how people in the film and television business negotiate, draft, and interpret agreements.  The course also examines the background rules, such as intellectual property and labor laws, that shape those agreements.  Rather than court opinions arising out of litigation, the course will focus on case studies illustrating the law's role in the film and television industry.

First Amendment Law (3 units)
This course is a study of the fundamental freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion. In addition to considering the historical background, the course focuses on specific challenges in First Amendment jurisprudence, including regulation of speech in a public forum, access to the media, regulation of the press, symbolic expression, libel, obscenity, commercial speech, picketing, right of association, loyalty oaths, legislative investigations and government demands for information, separation of church and state, free exercise of religion, state aid to religious schools, and regulation of religion-based conduct.

Gambling Law  (2-3 units)
This course covers the law and policy of regulating gambling, one of the fastest growing segments of the entertainment industry. The course will examine the history and current development of, as well as possible future changes to, gambling regulation in California, the United States, and other parts of the world.  Topics discussed will include casino gambling, lotteries, pari-mutuel wagering, sports-betting, Indian gaming, and Internet gambling.

Gender & the Law (3 units)
This course focuses on gender-related case law, doctrine, theory and practice.  It explores the legal history of the United States as a gendered system, including the development of modern equal protection analysis as applied to gender in various areas of the law, including employment, immigration, family, and property. Using feminist theoretical perspectives as a guide for readings and discussion, we will examine how the pursuit of women's political rights have shaped not only American jurisprudence, but also gender relations for both women and men through regulation of such issues as marriage, divorce, work, reproduction, and the family. Readings will include court cases, historical documents, and scholarly essays on sexual inequality in the United States.  Students will be responsible for researching and writing a paper on a relevant topic. There are no prerequisites for this subject. Students of both sexes and all political views are encouraged to enroll. 

Immigration Law (2 units)
This course provides an introduction to the examination of US law (constitutional, statutory and administrative) governing the entry, presence, and expulsion of foreign nationals.

Intellectual Property (3 units)
This course surveys the primary types of intellectual property under federal and state law. It emphasizes trademarks, copyrights, and patents while also addressing unfair competition, rights of publicity, trade secrets, and protection of designs. The course analyzes the rights and remedies associated with each type of intellectual property that it covers, as well as the relationships between different types of intellectual property.

International Business Transactions (3 units)
This introductory survey course studies the major issues in international business law. While the course will not focus heavily on international trade law, it will review the subject. In addition, the course will cover two other major forms of international business, namely foreign direct investment and the licensing of technology such as trademarks and patents. The course will also deal with the regulation of international business transactions, particularly with respect to corruption, human rights, the environment, and antitrust, as well as issues of particular interest in foreign business deals such as political risk, currency devaluation, and acquiring insurance. Finally, the course will discuss the resolution of legal disputes in the international arena through litigation, arbitration, and other means.

International Energy Security and Climate Change (2 or 3 units)

Energy security and climate change are inextricably linked. Nations’ energy policies and strategies have influenced the current international climate change regime, and will shape the future post-2012 legal regime. This course examines international energy security policies and the international climate change regime. It addresses recent developments in U.S. foreign and domestic policies on climate change and compare them with other approaches, such as that of the European Union.

International Intellectual Property (2-3 units)
This course addresses the law and policy of international intellectual property.  From a domestic point of view, it analyzes how local courts and legislatures enforce international intellectual property rights.  From a more general point of view, the course examines a variety of treaties, such as the Berne and Paris Conventions, TRIPS, and NAFTA, and the mechanisms of international dispute settlement.  The course will also compare U.S. and foreign intellectual property regimes and discuss cross-border licensing issues. (Recommended Prerequisite: IP)

International Law and Organizations (3 units)
This is the introductory course in international law, covering the nature and sources of international law and its major developments. This course introduces students to the basic law of the international organizational system, including the United Nations and UN specialized agencies. The course introduces concepts of international law and how they achieve legitimacy in the international system through United Nations organs and conferences, the International Court of Justice, the International Law Commission, treaty bodies, and state practice. The law of foreign sovereign immunity and the act of state doctrine are considered along with the role of international law in the U.S. legal system and the allocation of foreign affairs powers between the President and Congress. Selected topics that may be explored include international claims (including expropriation law), human rights, norms governing the use of force, and the law of the sea and environmental issues.

International Regulation and Corporate Social Responsibility (2 or 3 units)

With globalization, investments of multinational enterprises abroad are growing. This development raises concerns about the erosion of social standards. Corporations are increasingly getting involved in addressing these problems directly, in addition to the existing international legal regimes. This course examines the impact of voluntary initiatives on enforcement of international legal standards on concerns such as human rights, labor and environment. It analyzes the merits and shortcomings of corporate social responsibility. Discussions will include U.S. domestic law and policy on corporate citizenship and the ongoing experiment within the United Nations through the Global Compact.

International Trade, Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Law (2 or 3 units)

This seminar covers federal legislative protection of wildlife and biodiversity, including such federal statutory protections as the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It considers international protection efforts, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Biodiversity Convention, as well as limits to protection imposed by international trade law, including World Trade Organization cases and appellate body decisions. Finally, it explores development issues, including the role of multilateral institutions and trade agreements in both the exploitation and protection of wildlife. Prerequisites: Animal Law, Administrative Law, or International Trade Law)

International Trade Law (2 or 3 units)

This course addresses two international trade law regimes—WTO and NAFTA. It will examine the basic legal structure of WTO, including GATT and other agreements, and NAFTA, including the side agreement on environment. There will be an emphasis on the dispute settlement mechanisms under both trade systems. Discussions will include a comparison of the two legal regimes and their implications for public international law, particularly the notion of state sovereignty. 
 
Internet Law (3 units)
This course explores the legal issues arising out of the Internet’s growing role as a personal, commercial, and public forum. Topics include Internet regulation policy, free speech issues, enforcement of intellectual property rights, jurisdictional puzzles, encryption, and Internet commerce. Students need no technical expertise beyond knowing how to use electronic mail and the World Wide Web.

Land Use Regulation (3 units)
This course examines the government regulation of land use and development. It is a course in applied constitutional, administrative, and property law. The material covers land use planning, zoning, advanced and flexible zoning mechanisms, subdivision controls, constitutional and state law constraints on regulation, the economics and politics of land development, growth controls, the environmental regulation of land use and ecosystems, and alternatives to regulation. Students are exposed to business decision making, public problem solving, regulatory permitting, and social science analyses.

Law and American Culture (2 or 3 units)

This course explores both the historic and contemporary relationship between law and American culture with emphasis upon the impact of change.  Focus is upon news reporting, film, theatre, literature and art.  Students prepare and present a paper on selected topics including historic events, contemporary films, legal myths and legends, the evolving nature of the legal profession, and the legal challenges of change.

Law & Economics (3 units)
This course focuses on the application of economic analysis to legal issues, rules, and institutions. Students will study fundamental economic principles that are relevant to legal problems, and will examine various areas of law through the insights of economic analysis.

Law and Literature Seminar (2 or 3 units)

The law in its various manifestations -- somber, tragic, grotesque, comic -- has furnished themes for many great works of literature.  In this seminar, we will explore some literary classics and the visions they suggest of law's relation to human possibilities, violence, disorder, and injustice.  Among the works we'll be reading are Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor (H. Hayford and M. Sealts, edition), Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Sophocles' Antigone, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure, and an Icelandic saga (Njal's Saga).  Possible additions include Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers and selections from Dickens's Bleak House.  Students are expected to contribute energetically to discussions and to write a seminar paper.  We'll have an opportunity to consider some of the new law and humanities journals as well as the harvest of books published in the last twenty or so years by scholars and jurists.

Legal Analysis Workshop (3 credits)

This is a skills-development course that provides students with an intensive substantive review of selected legal material routinely tested on the bar exam and relevant to law practice, including contracts, torts, civil procedure, criminal law and procedure, real property, evidence, corporations, constitutional law, professional responsibility, wills and trusts, community property, and remedies.  Through the use of problems and exercises in a bar exam format, students will become familiar with the techniques for analyzing, organizing, and writing essay questions based on California law.  This is not a substitute for a bar review course, but a course on how to write good legal analysis in a particular area in a short window of time.

Legal and Equitable Remedies (3 units)
This course presents students with an analysis of the judicial remedies available in the American system of jurisprudence. The course is designed to familiarize students with the principles of the law of damages, the law of restitution, and equity and equitable remedies.

Legal Drafting (2 units)
This course develops the student’s legal writing skills in a variety of areas not covered in a traditional first year legal research and writing course. The student learns to draft wills, contracts, pleadings, discovery plans, discovery, closing arguments to a jury, legislation, client letters, demand letters, settlement proposals, tactical memoranda, and more.

Legislation (3 units)
Increasingly, lawyers find themselves practicing in an age of statutes.  Legislation constitutes the largest source for judicial decisions in the United States.  This course considers various aspects of legislation, with emphasis on the political processes by which statutes are adopted and the principles of statutory interpretation.  It focuses on the processes of making laws through the legislative branch, the interpretation of those laws by the judicial branch, and the interaction of the legislature with the executive in applying law.  Topics examined include the nature of legislative power, the legislative process, legislative advocacy, drafting and statutory interpretation.  

Local Government Law (2-3 units)
A study of the powers of local government with attention to both general principles and California law. Topics include the organization and operation of local government, the police power, public participation and access to information (including the Brown Act, initiatives and referendums, and public records), eminent domain, redevelopment, annexation and political geography, local government finance, particular school district issues, and intergovernmental relationships. This course does not cover the land use regulatory powers of local government, which are covered in Land Use Regulation.

Local Government Real Estate Practice Seminar
This course examines advanced topics concerning real estate transactions as they relate to local government practice. Topics may include real estate document drafting, eminent domain, redevelopment, affordable housing loans, title practice, commercial leasing, landlord/tenant issues, and administration of public lands, including parklands and open spaces, and the policy considerations that influence this practice.  Students will be expected to have a basic understanding of local government and real estate law.

Mediation (3 units)
This course focuses on different theories and approaches to mediation. Mediation is gaining in importance as a mechanism for parties to heal differences without the expense and trauma of litigation. The competent practitioner should understand how mediation works and how to represent clients effectively in a mediation setting. Students in this course have an opportunity to function as both advocates and mediators, using a variety of techniques to resolve disputes. The course grade is based primarily on papers assigned by the instructor.

Movie Making and the Law (2 or 3 units)

This course provides a detailed review and analysis of the contracts involved in the making of a documentary, short film, low budget feature film, or big budget feature film. Students will have hands-on experience with contracts from the inception of an idea or purchase of underlying rights to distribution and merchandising, and may have the opportunity to work directly with filmmakers.  Domestic and international financing and “Standard Terms” will be examined.

Music Publishing & Licensing (2-3 units)
This course explores the contractual issues that surround the publishing and licensing of music, spoken word, and music synchronized with moving pictures.  Students will study general copyright issues, publishing and administration, licensing, performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, etc.), and digital (internet) rights.  Students will apply skills learned in intellectual property, agency, and other introductory courses.  Topics within the course can include: sources of music - writers vs. publishers; commercials & jingles, copyright filing; mechanical, synchronization and master licensing; residual royalties; establishing & administering a publishing company; music libraries; sub-publishing; public domain works; foreign royalties; venue licenses; and producer points.  To fully understand these topics students may be exposed to an overview of record label positions, (music director, music supervisor, director, contractors, A&R, copyists, marketing, promotion, publicity, etc.), AFM agreements, sessions sheets, sample re-use fees, compilation albums and soundtracks. (Required Prerequisite: IP; Recommended Prerequisite: Agency & Partnership)

Negotiations (3 units)
Practice preparing for and conducting settlement negotiations. Discussion of negotiations theory, strategy, communications skills, and ethical issues. Students negotiate several different types of situations, both transactional and in anticipation of litigation. Students research the problems to be negotiated, prepare written evaluations of each negotiation, draft a contract, and write a final analytical paper discussing some aspect of the negotiations process.

New Media and the Entertainment Industry (2 or 3 units)

In this course students will examine some of the newest media formats such as cell phones, ipods, digital cinema, video games and the Internet and their impact on traditional systems of media production and distribution.   Topics may include the effect of new technology on the value of libraries and catalogues of older media, the impact on film and television, and protection of copyright and intellectual property.  Course speakers may include industry representatives and practicing entertainment law attorneys. 

Patents and Trade Secrets (2 units)
This advanced course in intellectual property covers topics related to patents and trade secrets.

Practice Preparation (2 units)
This course will focus on the analysis and drafting of legal documents commonly prepared during the first few years of law practice, including memoranda, briefs, declarations, separate statements in support off motions for summary judgment/adjudication, discovery plans, and written discovery.  The course will also focus on the identification of client issues and the use of case precedent to predict the outcome of client problems.  Enrollment in this course is limited to third and fourth year students and is by application only.

Pre-trial Civil Practice (3 units)
This course centers on practical exercises in the preparation of litigation documents. Exercises may include the preparation of a complaint, cross-claim or counter-claim, answer, discovery documents, pre-trial and post trial motions, and trial briefs.

Private Tort Law as Public Policy (2 or 3 units)

This course will be a consideration of the social and political choices that are reflected in certain areas of contemporary tort law.  It will explore the benefits and costs of tort liability as a mechanism for the allocation of social costs and for providing compensation for injuries, and for expressing social and political judgments about moral condemnation and appropriate levels of care and safety. As such, this course will be an inquiry into public policy, social choice, economic incentives, and theories of justice.  It will also reflect on how society makes such decisions, and on who in society is given the authority to make such decisions for the rest of us.

Real Estate Development and Law (2 units)
This course covers the essentials of the real estate development process and real estate industry that are critical for real estate attorneys to know, and examines specific legal issues that arise in real estate development. Particular emphasis is given to a lawyer’s judgment and skills in representing clients on real estate and land development matters. Prerequisite: Real Estate Transactions & Finance.

Real Estate Tax Planning (2 units)
Tax planning issues for those who develop and/or operate real estate, including choice of business entity, financing techniques and syndications, handling of pre-opening expenditures, capital gain/loss issues, selling or disposing of the property, charitable easements, depreciation and amortization, repairs and capitalization, tax shelter rules (at risk and passive loss rules), and special concerns with rehabilitation credits, low income housing, condominiums, time share projects, and homeowners associations. Prerequisites: Federal Income Taxation, Property I, and Property II. Successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in Real Estate Transactions and Finance, and Taxation of Business Organization is recommended.

Real Estate Transactions and Finance (3 units)
A study of various aspects of real estate transactions and financing. Topics may include contracts of sale, brokerage, buyer-seller rights and obligations, title insurance, development, commercial leasing, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens, foreclosure, receivership, priorities, subordination, suretyship, securitization, tax considerations, and strategies of negotiation and drafting.

Sales (3 units)
This course explores the law of the sale of goods primarily through a series of problems designed to facilitate study of the Uniform Commercial Code and related statutes, and a review of the fundamentals of contract law. 

Secured Transactions (3 units)
“No Money Down,” “0% A.P.R.,” “No Payments until 2009.” Innocent enough in their own right, each of these familiar phrases openly welcomes the consumer to the world of secured transactions. Generally speaking, a secured transaction is one in which a debtor borrows money from a creditor and designates property as collateral to secure repayment of the loan. A classic example would be the financed purchase of an automobile. Should the debtor fail to make the required payments, the secured party may take legal action or (in some instances) repossess the property. Secured transactions fuel a substantial part of the American economy. In this course, we will examine various rules governing debtor/creditor and creditor/creditor relationships, addressing several key questions: how do financial institutions protect themselves against borrower default, what happens when the debtor files for bankruptcy protection, and who wins when similarly-situated creditors must square off against each other in the fight for the debtor’s vulnerable assets? Given that many of the rules governing secured transactions in personal property are found in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, we will frequently consult its provisions. In laying a core conceptual foundation, we will also address secured transactions in real property, including the ramifications of mortgaging property and the legal and equitable rights of mortgagors and mortgagees prior to and during the foreclosure process. In each session, we will apply the law to hypothetical problems presented, and as a result, students completing the course will have a knowledge base critical to the effective representation of average consumers, growing businesses, insolvent/bankrupt debtors, and sophisticated financial institutions. The course provides a solid foundation for courses in Bankruptcy Law.

Securities Regulation (3 units)
This course covers the federal regulation of the distribution and sale of stocks and other securities as a means of financing business operations.  Students will closely examine the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The course will explore such topics as the definition and nature of securities; the registration and sale of securities to investors; exemptions from registration for public and private offerings; the philosophy of mandatory disclosure rules; the work of the Securities and Exchange Commission; the role of underwriters; civil and criminal liability of corporate issuers, directors, and officers for fraud and manipulation of securities markets; the regulation of brokers and dealers; and the unique professional responsibilities of attorneys who practice in the securities field.  It is recommended that students successfully complete Corporations prior to this course.

Seminar in Land Use Law, Planning, & Policy (2 units)
This course is an advanced, interdisciplinary seminar that explores selected land use issues from legal, urban planning, and public policy perspectives. Land use law, urban planning, and public policies are integrally connected, sometimes in complementary ways and sometimes in conflicting ways. Students will be expected to grasp the insights and essentials of urban planning, policy studies, and cognate disciplines as presented in the course, and to consider their relationship to legal theory and practice. Prerequisite: Land Use Regulation.

Seminar in Natural Resources Law & Policy (2 units)
An advanced study of legal and public policy issues surrounding the use and conservation of one or more natural resources, including public lands, timber, livestock forage, minerals, energy, wildlife, or water. Legal analysis will be informed by insights from other disciplines. Depending on the specific topics chosen by an individual instructor, the instructor may require prior relevant coursework if the prerequisite is listed in the registration materials.

Sexuality, Gender Identification & the Law (3 units)
This course explores the history and trends in American law as it responds to diversity in sexual orientation. Legal developments to be covered include equal protection, privacy, discrimination and prejudice, issues in the workplace, family rights and roles, definition of family, and immigration and asylum policies.

Sports Law (2-3 units)
This course will cover selected legal issues in amateur and professional sports including player draft and option systems; labor and employment relations in professional sports; eligibility and discipline issues; agents and player representation; inter-league disputes; buying and moving teams; sex discrimination in sports; and Olympic competition.

Tax Research (3 units)
An area often ignored in traditional legal research courses is the array of materials dealing with tax matters. Such material is often separated from other library materials, and many practicing attorneys possess little ability to research tax matters for their clients. This course explores the fundamentals of tax research and provides students with a foundation for further work in the tax arena. 

Taxation of Business Organizations (3 units)
Problems in the taxation of subchapter K partnerships, subchapter C corporations, and subchapter S corporations are covered by this course. Topics pertaining to partnership taxation include the formation, operation, and termination of general and limited partnerships. Class discussion is held concerning the definition of the partnership and the possible treatment of a partnership as an association. Topics pertaining to corporate taxation include tax treatment of a corporation and a corporate shareholder with respect to corporate formation; organization and property transfers, dividends, and distributed income; accumulated earnings and undistributed income; non-liquidating corporate distributions; and, sale or liquidation of a corporation.

Toxic and Mass Tort Law (3 units)
Our technological society has spawned an explosion of toxic tort actions. Topics include special statute of limitations problems in toxic cases, the complexities of mass litigation, and problems of proof in toxic tort actions.

Trademarks and Unfair Competition (2 units)
This advanced course in intellectual property covers topics related to trademarks and unfair competition.

Trial Practice (3 units)
This is a practical skills course in advocacy which introduces students to the fundamental components of a typical civil and criminal trial and requires students to perform exercises involving each component, and try a mock civil or criminal case from provided problem materials. The course requires student participation in discrete exercises, including jury voir dire, opening and closing statements, and direct and cross-examination.

U.S. Tax Court Clinic (3 units)
Under a special rule of the United States Tax Court, students in this clinical education course are permitted to handle actual cases before the Court. Attorneys admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court provide student supervision. Actual cases with no more than $50,000 in controversy per year that have been docketed with the Court in Washington, D.C., are assigned to students on a pro bono basis. Cases are referred to the clinic by the Court to be handled in the Los Angeles venue based in the Roybal federal building. Each student first learns the procedures applicable to tax cases and then handles all aspects of the case(s) including trial.

Victimless Crimes (2 units for law students)

This course examines various criminal offenses that often lack a complaining “victim” and tend to generate intense social debate due to their consensual nature (e.g., drug use, prostitution, certain sexual activities, gambling). The societal implications of social control policies will be discussed.

Video Games and the Law (2-3 units)
 The course addresses the wide variety of legal issues that affect the video game industry, a large and growing part of the entertainment world.  In covering the creation of video games, the course discusses the impact of intellectual property rights, employment and labor regulations, and content and cross-licensing agreements.  In terms of marketing, the course examines how far the First Amendment goes in protecting video games from censorship.  The use of video games raises still other topics for the course to consider, such as video game makers' tort liability for real-world wrongs and players' rights to virtual property. (Recommended Prerequisite: IP)
 
Water Law (3 units)
This course examines legal controls on a scarce natural resource that is essential to human life and economic development. Topics include the prior appropriation doctrine; riparian water rights; groundwater; the public trust doctrine; federal and Indian reserved water rights; water development and distribution; the relationship between water and economic development; water quality; government regulation; and the role of interested groups in water policy.

Wills and Trusts (3 units)
This course examines rules pertaining to intestate succession; testamentary dispositions; execution, modification, and revocation of wills; testamentary capacity and will contests; interpretation of wills; protection of spouse and children; and the use of will substitutes. The creation, types, and characteristics of trusts are also examined, including coverage of the construction of trusts, trust administration, and wealth transfer taxation.