Law (LAW)

An intensive study of the basic doctrines underlying the criminal law, including actus reus and mens rea; the principal substantive and inchoate crimes; the accountability for the criminal acts of others; and the general defenses to criminal liability.

This course focuses on the strategic options federal law provides to persons attempting to resolve disputes through litigation. It introduces students to basic concepts involved in the federal civil adversary system, federal jurisdiction, choice of law, and finality. Students will explore in depth the policies governing and the mechanics involved in pleading, discovery, and disposition before trial.

A survey of the legal system's responses to problems arising from personal injury and property damage. Concentration on the legal doctrines relating to liability for harm resulting from fault and to strict liability. Analysis of the goals and techniques of accident prevention and compensation for loss.

Property focuses on the rules for acquiring, using, dividing (in various dimensions), and losing rights over scarce resources. Most material concerns realty, with limited consideration of personal property. Property will introduce the rudiments of capture, finds, and adverse possession; landlord-tenant law; the system of estates; co-ownership; easements; and restrictive covenants. In addition to these private law subjects, the course will introduce zoning and takings.

A study of the structure of government, from the role of the courts and the concept of judicial review, through the distribution of power in the federal system and the allocation of power among the three branches of the government, followed by a study of individual rights protected by the Constitution.

This course explores legally enforceable promises, normally exchanged as part of a bargain between private parties. Among the topics that may be covered are: bases of enforcement, capacity to contract, contract information, interpretation, conditions, excuse of performance, and remedies for breach.

This course will cover a variety of topics relating to lawyers' obligations as members of the legal profession, such as the duty of competence, fees and billing, creating and ending the lawyer-client relationship, the duty of confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. The class will cover both lawyer regulations (such as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct) and other ethical concerns in the practice of law. This course satisfies the law school's and the ABA's professional responsibility requirements. NOTE; LAW 115 is equivalent to LAW 117, The Legal Profession. Students may not take LAW 115, Professional Responsibility, if currently enrolled in or completed LAW 117, The Legal Profession.

This course, which satisfies the law school’s and the ABA’s professional responsibility requirements, will cover lawyers’ obligations as members of the legal profession, as defined by the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other bodies of law, but will also examine deeper questions of what it means to be a lawyer. The course will examine how lawyers over time and in various settings have constructed their identities, established their power, viewed their duty, and articulated their missions. Topics to be covered will include traditional professional responsibility topics, such as the lawyer-client relationship, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and competence, but will also include the historical development of the legal profession in England and America, the emergence of an adversarial legal culture, the changing nature of legal education, and the development of a professional identity. NOTE; LAW 117 is equivalent to LAW 115, Professional Responsibility. Students may not take LAW 117, The Legal Profession, if currently enrolled in or completed LAW 115, Professional Responsibility.

In this course, students will develop the critical skills of legal analysis, writing, and research. Under the instruction of research librarians, students will learn to conduct thorough research using a number of different legal sources. Students will work with full-time writing professors to learn how to analyze legal rules and precedent to assess the legal position of a client or other party. With close guidance and feedback from the writing professors, students will learn how to successfully communicate legal analyses in objective legal memoranda, using clear and concise language and employing the fundamental principles of effective legal writing.

In this course, students will learn various skills essential to the successful practice of law. With instruction and feedback from practicing attorneys, students will learn by preparing for, and executing, several simulations designed to ready students for what they will encounter in the day-to-day life as an attorney. These simulations include presenting an oral report to a supervising attorney, interviewing a client, and counseling a client. Prior to each simulation, students will read about and discuss the underlying doctrine, theory, and goals that are fundamental to understanding the lawyer’s role. Through integrating coursework and simulations, students will also receive guidance on navigating daily practice and the importance of professional ethics.

In this course, students will continue to develop the critical skills of legal analysis, writing, and research. Under the instruction of research librarians, students will expand their knowledge of legal sources, databases, and research methods. Building on the analytical and writing skills developed in Legal Research & Writing I, students will apply their abilities in a persuasive context. With close guidance and feedback from the writing professors, students will focus on how language can be crafted to persuade instead of just inform and will learn how to draft effective legal arguments in pretrial memoranda, settlement letters, and other documents.

In the second semester of Lawyering Skills, students will reinforce and build upon the skills learned in Lawyering Skills I, and apply their practical communication abilities to a new range of settings. With the instruction and feedback from practicing attorneys, students will advance their advocacy skills through simulating a pretrial oral argument and a negotiation with an opposing counsel. As in Lawyering Skills I, prior to each simulation, students will read about and discuss the underlying doctrine, theory, and goals that are fundamental to understanding the lawyer's role. Through the continued integration of coursework and simulations, students will become increasingly able to navigate daily practice and uphold professional ethics.

International LL.M. students will explore professional expectations and the roles of lawyers in law firms and other organizations in the United States. This course features a “learning by doing” component that highlights skills essential to the successful practice of law. Students will develop their oral and written communication skills by drafting professional correspondence, delivering reports to supervising attorneys, and conducting client interviews, courtroom simulations, and negotiations and alternative dispute resolution exercises. All students will gain exposure to key elements of the practice of law in any field, including ethics and professional responsibility, analytical and critical thinking, communication and presentation skills, and norms for interaction with clients and other stakeholders. Grades will be based on written assignments, in-class exercises, and overall participation. Student improvement over the semester will factor significantly in the final grade. While students may sometimes work in teams, each student will be graded individually.

The Appellate Advocacy course will provide in-depth instruction and practical training in appellate advocacy, emphasizing both written and oral skills. Students will learn how to prepare for an appeal, file an appeal, write effective appella briefs, and make effective appellate oral arguments. The skills involved include the ability to analyze, write, make strategic decisions, and speak effectively. Students will complete several practice writing assignments culminating in one final written brief. At the end of the semester, students will present oral arguments based on their final written brief. NOTE: Students who take Law 730 Advanced Brief Writing may NOT take this course.

The Pretrial Civil course is designed to introduce students to persuasive pretrial advocacy in a civil case. The course will prepare students for practice in civil litigation by focusing on the application and expansion of their legal writing skills in a civil context. Students will learn civil litigation skills through written assignments and class discussions that will expose them to some of the issues and challenges civil practitioners must address when drafting documents, motions, and briefs in the course of client representation.

The Pretrial Criminal course is designed to introduce students to persuasive pretrial advocacy in the criminal case. Unlike what you might see on television, criminal cases are not usually won in 22 minutes in the courtroom. Rather, the bulk of criminal litigation is handled pretrial through pleadings, discovery, witness interviews, and pretrial motions. The course will prepare students for practice in criminal law by focusing on the application and expansion of their legal writing skills in a criminal law context. Through written assignments and class discussions, students will engage in various pretrial activities found in criminal practice, which may include moving for discovery and preparing other motions and briefs for trial.

The Transactional Practice course is designed to introduce students to several elements of transactional practice in a deal-based context. Students will learn transactional practice skills through a variety of drafting exercises and assignments designed to familiarize students with the most common issues found in drafting transactional documents. Students will encounter and draft different types of agreements used in transactional practice and will work on understanding, analyzing, and drafting critical sections of contracts. The course will stress the importance of using clear and concise writing skills to articulate agreements accurately and precisely.

This course introduces the fundamentals of the U.S. legal system to international LL.M. students. Students will explore the structure and content of U.S. law and legal institutions, the U.S. Constitution, federalism, separation of powers, the role of precedent in common law, the theory and practice of the adversary system of justice, and the legal profession. This course is designed to provide students a broad understanding of U.S. law and the U.S. legal system, especially aspects that may be unfamiliar to LL.M. students who received their legal education outside the United States.

This one-credit upper-level seminar uses three high-profile federal cases to examine the ethical and strategic considerations that shape complex litigation. Through guided analysis of real-world prosecutions and civil litigation, students will engage with legal dilemmas at the intersection of law, policy, and public influence. The course is structured around three detailed case studies: • United States v. Newtown Gang: A federal capital case raising questions of prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, and the ethical ramifications of seeking the death penalty in multi-defendant prosecutions. • The Deepwater Horizon Litigation: A hybrid civil-criminal matter involving a corporate executive confronting congressional investigations and DOJ scrutiny, alongside disparities in compensation outcomes among similarly situated plaintiffs. • Otto Warmbier v. North Korea: A human rights case highlighting the role of media and executive influence on civil litigation strategy against a foreign sovereign. Each module challenges students to consider how external forces, such as the media, political actors, and public sentiment, can shape legal outcomes. Students will develop an understanding of how to navigate competing ethical duties to clients, courts, and the public interest. The course will strengthen students’ ability to apply professional responsibility standards, assess litigation strategy in politically charged environments, and confront the ethical complexities inherent in high-profile legal practice. This seminar is especially relevant for students interested in criminal law, civil litigation, public interest law, or legal practice involving policy and public accountability. The course will be held in person and will be assessed by way of a short paper due two weeks after the end of the course

Many law school classes touch on election law subjects ranging from voting rights, to redistricting, to election law and campaign finance. This course will focus on the legal issues you will need to understand to advise a candidate. The goal of this course to help students understand the basic statutory framework that candidates must navigate. While there are state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction differences, the basic frameworks are well known by practitioners. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that have arisen at various stages of the candidate / election administration process and that have been presented to federal and state courts across the county.

An introductory examination of the law applicable to corporations. This course examines the process of formation and capitalization of corporations, the concept of limited liability, and the role of fiduciary duties in corporate governance. We will examine how these duties are enforced in different settings (public corporations and closed corporations); under state and federal law; and some other recurring litigation and planning issues. Students who take Corporations may not take Business Associations.

A study of the law governing inter vivos and death time gratuitous transfers of property. Aspects covered include transfers under intestate succession statutes; the law of wills, including the formalities of execution, testamentary capacity, undue influence and fraud, interpretation, and revocation; non-probate transfers; the law of trusts, including methods of creation and termination, rights and interests of the beneficiary, and special problems relating to resulting, constructive and charitable trusts; and fiduciary administration, including an introduction to probate proceedings and problems of trust administration.

This course will introduce students to the federal law of bankruptcy, which allows debtors to restructure and discharge their obligations to creditors. Although both consumer bankruptcy and corporate reorganization will be touched on, the course will focus on business bankruptcies under Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. We will not cover the adjustment of personal debts under Chapter 13. There are no prerequisites for the course.

Insurance is ubiquitous, both in our society and in the practice of law. Corporate lawyers as well as litigators often find themselves poring over insurance policies to figure out which risks or losses the policies cover and which they do not. Although general rules governing contracts apply to insurance policies, there are idiosyncratic concepts and regulations to be considered. This course will survey the fundamental legal principles of insurance in the context of property and casualty coverages, the two types of policies that students are likely to encounter in their future representation of businesses or multi-line insurers. Among the topics examined will be the formation of insurance policies in general, the terms of property and liability policies, and the scopes of their coverage. An understanding of basic contract law will be helpful but not required for this course. Students will be assessed by way of a paper graded pass/fail, due two weeks after the end of the course.

This four-credit course combines all of the elements of a traditional evidence course along with basic oral and trial advocacy and courtroom technology. The course will concentrate on the Federal Rules of Evidence from a pragmatic perspective. It will also address the evidentiary implications of modern electronic evidence. In addition to the study of fundamental evidentiary concepts, students will try a simple bench trial with traditional and electronic evidence using the McGlothin Courtroom's state-of-the art courtroom technology. This course is supported by the Center of Legal and Court Technology which will train students in the use of the McGlothin Courtroom's evidence presentation technology and provide clerk of court administrative support. Students who take Applied Evidence in a Technological Age may not take Law 309 Evidence. This course satisfies the Third Year Practice requirement.

An intensive study of the law of evidence primarily utilizing the Federal Rules of Evidence. Topics addressed by the course include relevance, authentication, real evidence, competence, hearsay, impeachment of witnesses, and privileges. This course satisfies the Third Year Practice requirement.

This course addresses the legal and practical issues inherent in conducting electronic discovery in civil cases, especially under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. No special information technology knowledge or background is required. NOTE; students may not register for this course if they are registered for, or successfully completed, Electronic Discovery, LAW 358.

A study of the basic laws relating to federal income taxation of the individual. Included are problems relating to computing gross income, the reduction of gross income to taxable income, and the recognition and character of gains and losses from disposition of property.

This course considers the topic of land title and the potential encumbrances and defects that might exist. It will focus on title insurance as an evolved form of risk management with special attention given to the principal title insurance policies currently in use. In particular, the course will discuss the insuring provisions of both the lender's and the owner's policy, exclusions from coverage, claims and claim processing, significant other policy provisions and risk analysis. This class is highly interactive with an emphasis on practical solutions.

Practical Legal Ethics: Failure, Accountability, and Professional Responsibility in Real Practice is a practice-centered course examining professional responsibility not merely as a bar-tested subject, but as a lived, professional reality. This course bridges textbook ethics and real-world law firm practice management. Using the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, disciplinary opinions, malpractice cases, and law firm management scenarios, students will explore how ethical violations develop—not from dramatic misconduct—but from incremental lapses in supervision, workload management, communication, and financial oversight. A central feature of the course is a structured, reflective case study drawn from the instructor’s own professional experience: the growth of a small law practice that outpaced its internal controls, culminating in disciplinary action and long-term reputational consequences. This longitudinal case study will serve as a semester-long framework for analyzing competence, diligence, supervision, trust accounting, candor, and public accountability. The course emphasizes: · Bar exam readiness in Professional Responsibility · Risk management for solo and small firm practice · Ethical infrastructure and law firm systems · Crisis response and disciplinary procedure · Reputation, public scrutiny, and long-term consequences · Leadership, humility, and accountability in legal careers Noteworthy distinction: This course is distinct from Business Ethics & Compliance courses because it focuses on individual lawyer responsibility, disciplinary systems, law practice management failures, and professional identity formation, not corporate compliance structures. This course does not substitute for the Law School's Professional Responsibility requirement.

This course will introduce students to Remedies & Relief in Criminal Law. This is an in-depth exploration of remedies and relief in criminal cases. The first half of the course examines competing theories of punishment; how the prominence of competing theories changed over history; critiques and modern scholarship on sentencing theory; and the relationship between theories of punishment, the structure of sentencing regimes, and substantive sentencing law. The second half of the course will examine other forms of relief that arise in criminal cases (suppression of evidence, dismissal of charges, adverse jury instructions, judgments of acquittal and so forth) with special attention given to examining the relationship between rights and remedies.

The typical first-year Torts class focuses on torts that primarily cause personal injury and/or property damage. Business torts have a different focus – such torts often cause pure economic loss, i.e., economic harm without any accompanying personal injury or property damage. Think of a business tort, therefore, as tortious conduct that primarily harms a plaintiff’s wallet rather than her person or things. This course will emphasize the operation of various business torts and will examine the torts' applicability to particular business or economic settings. This course will be graded primarily by a final examination.

This course will provide an in-depth examination of a specialized area of environmental law – toxic substances and hazardous waste. Principal coverage will focus on federal regulation of hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the remediation of hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). The course will also address, to a more limited extent, the manufacture, import and use of industrial chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the sale and use of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The basic science of toxic substances and their effects and the policy foundations upon which the law of toxic substances and hazardous wastes has been built will also be reviewed. There is no pre-requisite; however, LAW 424 Environmental Law is recommended.

An introductory examination of the law applicable to contemporary forms of business enterprise: the general partnership, the limited partnership, the limited liability partnership (LLP), the limited liability company (LLC), and the corporation. The course begins with an introduction to the principles of agency, which govern all these forms of enterprise. The course then explores the process of organization, formation and capitalization, limits on investors personal liability, and the role of fiduciary duties in different business contexts. We will then examine how these duties are enforced under state (and some federal) law. This course is a general introduction to the field. Students who take Business Associations may not take Alternative Business Entities, or Corporations, or Small Business Entities.

This three-credit course emphasizes fundamental trial advocacy skills adapted for international LLM students. The course features a “learning by doing” component that highlights the trial process from start to finish, focusing on direct and cross-examination, expert testimony, jury selection, opening statements and closing arguments. The focus of this course is on advocacy techniques that can be applied in trials, arbitrations, and other forms of fact adjudication. Specific rules of evidence and procedure particular to the U.S. legal system will be limited to the essentials. This course extends benefits beyond a solid foundation in the art of trial advocacy. All students, including those interested in transactional or corporate careers, will gain exposure to the key elements of the practice of law in any field, including ethics and professional responsibility, analytical and critical thinking skills, communication and presentation skills, and norms for interaction with clients and other stakeholders. Grades will be based on written assignments, in-class exercises, and overall participation. Student improvement over the semester will factor significantly in the final grade. While students may sometimes work in teams, each student will be graded individually.

The State and Local Taxation course considers taxation imposed by states and local governments in a variety of contexts including the taxing of income, sales and use, property, and business licenses. This course will benefit students entering either a tax practice or a general business practice. Topics to be covered in the course will include: the key elements of the major business taxes and individual state income tax; the constitutional restrictions applicable to the taxation of interstate businesses; the handling of audits; and the conduct of administrative and judicial appeals. The course will use Virginia's tax system as an illustrative model for issues that are common to most jurisdictions. Students will be evaluated on the basis of their class participation and on a series of written assignments including administrative protests of hypothetical audit assessments and initial court pleadings.

Digital Constitutionalism? Comparative Approaches to Regulating Technologies: This 1-week mini-course offers an overview of the EU and Chinese models of tech regulation, contrasting them with the American approach to the topic. Mixing theoretical studies and empirical findings, it focuses on key notions of privacy and data protection and on the most recent AI regulations. It explores the potentials of AI, especially in the fields of healthcare, media, and the legal process; it ponders the AI-related risks of social scoring, misinformation, political polarization, and mind manipulation. The course explains how the American, EU, and Chinese models have become a point of reference for several jurisdictions. It shows how each of them echoes a specific understanding of public powers, their relationships with civil society, and how competing interests should be balanced. It compares how they tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the field: securing transparency, accountability, and explainability; avoiding biases; devising realistic and fruitful human-and-AI interactions. This pass-fail course will be assessed through a paper due after the end of the course.

This seminar focuses on gender-related issues in the contemporary workplace. Among the topics to be examined are workplace gender stereotyping, dating and relationship policies at work, gender-related workplace privacy issues, employer dress and appearance policies, pay equity issues, workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination, and gender-specific employment. The course’s orientation will be more practical than theoretical, with an emphasis on real-world fact patterns and challenges viewed from the problem-solving perspective of a working employment law attorney. Students may find it helpful to have successfully completed either Employment Law (LAW 456) or the Employment Discrimination (LAW 641) course prior to enrolling in this class.

This course examines the role, responsibilities, and decision-making of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Department of Justice. Using Title 9 of DOJ’s Justice Manual “Principles of Federal Prosecution” as a guide, as well as selected readings, case studies, and class discussions, students will understand the structure and function of the Department, how federal prosecutors investigate crime and make charging, plea bargaining, and sentencing decisions. Students will also become familiar with the ethical obligations of a federal prosecutor and explore the broader concept of what it means to do “justice.” The American Bar Association standards for accrediting law schools require not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week for each credit awarded for a class. According to the standards, fifty minutes suffice for one hour of classroom time, while an hour for out-of-class time is sixty minutes. You should expect to spend at least 60 minutes out of class preparation time per in-class hour.

Legal Public Speaking: Commanding Presence, Persuasion, and Professional Confidence is a performance-based, confidence-building course designed to train law students to become powerful, fearless, and effective public speakers in any professional setting. This course develops the lawyer as communicator, not simply the lawyer as litigator. This course is not Trial Advocacy. It is not Appellate Oral Argument. It is not Moot Court preparation. Instead, it focuses on what many lawyers lack despite technical training: · Vocal projection and clarity · Physical presence and command of space · Media interview performance · Crisis communication · Speaking without notes · Handling hostile or rapid-fire questioning · Persuasive messaging outside the courtroom · Executive-level confidence

The course expands from and builds on the standard PR course in a few ways. First, it exposes students to the organization and basic law governing the legal profession in various parts of the world. The contrast between lawyer regulation in the US and that in the civil law world is critical for anyone who seeks to practice internationally. Second, it explores a few key concepts (such as confidentiality and conflicts of interest) in a comparative way, exploring the ways these core concepts are treated in Europe, the UK (Australia, etc), and China. Third, the course connects legal profession issues with rule of law challenges outside (and now inside) the US. I worked on rule of law projects in a dozen countries over twenty-plus years, and I bring that experience to the course. The American Bar Association (“ABA”) standards for accrediting law schools require not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week for each credit awarded for a class. According to the standards, fifty minutes suffice for one hour of classroom time, while an hour for out-of-class time is sixty minutes. Since this is a two-credit course, we will spend 100 minutes together every class time (2 classroom hours), and you should expect to spend at least 4 hours preparing for each class, for a total of at least 6 hours each week on course-related activities.

Research Seminar: Reforming the Criminal Jury: A central tenet of the American criminal justice system, as enshrined in the Sixth Amendment, is the right to a public trial by an impartial jury. Juries make laypeople legal actors, introducing public opinion, cultural norms, and diverse analytical perspectives into processes of evidence-evaluation. Each year, an estimated 32 million citizens are summoned for jury service in the United States, making it, alongside voting, one of the key fora in which people participate in our democracy. Yet, in recent years, the American jury system has suffered a crisis of legitimacy—and not because, as the media puts it, juries sometimes seem to “get it wrong.” Rather, as empirical legal researchers have shown, the jury is a site for the pervasive exclusion of people based on race, socioeconomic status, and previous experiences, such as negative interactions with police officers. The result? People of color and poor people are disproportionately barred from participating in our legal system as jurors. But there is a struggle to change this. In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court attempted to fashion a remedy for the disparate removal of jurors based on race in a now famous case called Batson v. Kentucky. After Batson, defense attorneys could scrutinize individual trial records to make a prima facie case that eligible jurors had been dismissed based on race—and to seek redress. In the wake of this ruling, judges, lawyers, social scientists, and journalists have nonetheless highlighted the lingering shortcomings of the Batson doctrine, and clamored for reform. This course will focus on three central themes: (1) How the contemporary American jury system operates day to day; (2) The extent to which discrimination—in both routine and unlawful forms—permeates the jury system; and (3) How the jury system might be reformed in the future. The original student research papers developed as part of this course will engage thoughtfully and critically with this rapidly shifting legal terrain.

Corruption, money laundering, and trafficking in drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods are not crimes limited to organized crime groups. Legitimate businesses and front companies are often involved as well. What unites these offenses is their transnational nature and the substantial social and economic harm they inflict. This short course will introduce you to the key international legal instruments and institutions that address cross-border criminal conduct that impacts businesses and the societies in which they operate. We will explore the underlying causes, costs, and justifications for these crimes, and examine the roles and interests of stakeholders, from domestic authorities to international organizations, in preventing and responding to such activities. Goals: -Understand basic notions of the international instruments and institutions addressing the transborder criminal behavior that affects business and the societies where they operate. -Comprehend structural causes, costs, implications of and rationalizations for such criminal behavior. -Grasp substantive concepts, principles, and procedures in international Business and transborder crime. -Identify stakeholders and constituencies, as well as the roles played by various domestic and international actors.

This one-credit course focuses on the complex and emerging world of artificial intelligence (“AI”), cybersecurity, and data privacy contract negotiation. High-stakes software deals now involve the negotiation of these complex terms, often in entire ""supplements"" to agreements. Centering on both the legal and practical aspects of these agreements, this seminar will provide a full view of how new statutory frameworks require specific elements in contracts between parties sharing or processing information. There are nineteen state data privacy laws in varying states of enactment, spanning from California's Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) to Virginia’s own Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”). Each of these laws requires language that must be included in parties’ contracts concerning the processing of personal data. Globally, Europe, China, and a host of other countries have similar concerns, including over the transfer of personal data to the United States. These issues, layered on top of cybersecurity provisions, create a highly technical and complex web of agreed terms that are necessary in modern contracts. With the advent of AI and the new regulatory frameworks (including contractual provisions) that are emerging in Europe and, stateside in Colorado, students will learn how to apply these laws to contracts. Students will also learn the dynamic “market” of negotiations, the give-take between data privacy and security, and how to manage high-risk scenarios. Students will be assessed with hands-on assignments and graded on pass/fail.

Violence Against Women: Unfulfilled International Commitments: Women worldwide are victimized by violence and exploitation. In developed and developing countries, women are subjected to discrimination, human trafficking, rape, sexual assault, beatings, and femicide. Abuse stems from complex cultural practices and long-held beliefs that women are property. It happens in domestic settings and in the workplace. During armed conflicts, violence against women is used to assert control and spread terror among populations. They are forced to be combatants and concubines. Those responsible for violence against women often act with little fear of consequences and are seldom held accountable. We will examine these issues through the lens of international law and how states meet or fail to live up to their obligations to protect and empower women, prevent crimes against them, and punish perpetrators. Course materials will be provided. Readings must be done before each class meeting and brought to the class for discussion.

It is axiomatic that without plea bargaining our criminal justice system would collapse under its own weight. Every attorney whose practice involves even a small portion of criminal law must bargain for pleas. Yet practitioners have few options to train and learn this essential art before becoming emersed in it. This course will provide instruction on the essential skills of successful plea bargaining, including: -Case evaluation -Assessing the client’s best interests -Client control -Gauging the opposition -Negotiating and striking a bargain -Predicting judicial reaction Students will participate in role-playing scenarios designed to develop these skills and test their flexibility and creativity. They will learn how to negotiate obstacles commonly encountered, and the importance and value of professionalism and resiliency in the plea bargaining process. This is a pass/fail course.

This course surveys the variety of treaties and laws governing worldwide intellectual property rights. In addition to the major multi-lateral treaties governing intellectual property rights protection, the course will compare various relevant national laws to see how different social and economic policy goals drive differences in laws governing copyrights, patents, trademarks, and related rights. International intellectual property laws have become increasingly important to companies with a global business footprint. Therefore, the course will explore business strategies in the context of this network of laws. Students will be evaluated primarily based on a final exam and a short presentation during the course; there will also be a participation component. Students who have successfully completed LAW 430, Selected Topics in International Intellectual Property and International Trade, may not enroll in LAW 336.

This course will provide an overview of the area of Employee Benefit Law and the Federal law applicable to the same including ERISA, COBRA and tax law. Employee Benefit Law is a practice area of significant importance to corporations, insurance companies, labor unions, plan administrators, law firms, benefit consulting firms and employees and their family members. The course will cover employer provided benefit plans including health insurance, traditional pension and defined benefits plans such as 401(k)s, cafeteria plans and others. The course will cover topics including vesting, nondiscrimination provisions, disclosure requirements, reporting requirements, notice requirements, fiduciary rules and duties and spousal rights. The course will also examine the impact of employee benefit law as well as ERISA on other practice areas including employment law, health law, labor law, tax law, divorce, corporate mergers/acquisitions, bankruptcy and specialized litigation. There is no prerequisite for this course. The class will be graded by final exam (70%), classroom assignments (23%), and class participation (7%).

The European Union (EU) is different in many ways from a Federation, although the exercise of power in the Union has some federal traits and one can draw some useful comparisons. 'European Union Law', in any case, is a heading that today refers to as many topics as 'US Law' would. Therefore, it is impossible to study with some depth in one single course all relevant and substantive aspects of European Union Law. In this introductory course we will study the basic Law of European Union (institutions, law- making procedures, legal remedies, role of the European Court, relationship between EC law and national law, all of this taking into account the recently passed Constitution). This will provide you with analytical tools to feel comfortable when you have to work in any area of substantive EC law. The method of instruction will be the typical interactive approach used in US law schools, although at times I will introduce or summarize a topic with a lecture. We will be using a set of teaching materials that you should obtain before the course starts. These materials are included in the book 'Foster on EU Law', by Nigel Foster. Class attendance is mandatory. Participation will be counted as an important part of the grade (50%). The exam will be a take home (open book) exam with two or three questions based on cases pending before the European Court or important current issues in the legal development of the EU.

The course provides an introduction to federal natural resources law, with an emphasis on living resources. We will examine the theoretical conflicts that underlie various approaches to resource management, as well as the special qualities of natural resource problems that render management efforts difficult. Focusing on the legal treatment of fisheries and marine mammals, wildlife and biodiversity, water resources, forests and preserved public lands, we will probe the complex interplay between environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors in natural resource decision making. Note: this class does not meet every year.

Data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents are making headlines on a regular basis. While no two cybersecurity incidents are the same, they all have one thing in common—they are fraught with a variety of legal risks. This course examines a lawyer’s role in preparing for and responding to cybersecurity incidents, from directing forensic investigations to working with law enforcement to assessing notification obligations and more. Students will review relevant legislation, regulatory guidance and enforcement actions, and case law. Students will also discuss policy considerations at play in the quickly evolving legislative and regulatory landscape. The course concludes with a mock scenario where students put what they’ve learned into practice. This course is graded pass/fail based on class participation and contribution during the mock scenario.

A Prosecutor's Decision-Making Process in a Capital Case. Students will learn how a major state attorney's office handled death penalty eligible cases from the initial crime scene visit through the conclusion of the case. The course focuses on a specific case, the 2009 Thanksgiving Day murders of four family members in Jupiter, Florida, to examine how the charging decisions were made, including the relevant legal criteria and other non-legal influences. One of the exercises will involve having students conduct a mock capital case review committee meeting in a first-degree homicide. The course will identify the type and nature of cases that qualify for death penalty consideration. We explore factors that influence the decision to charge and/or resolve a capital case (including community pressures, views of victims' family members, and police/investigator influences). We will note the differences with regard to the death penalty in the various state systems and the federal system. The class includes a case study of the recent very public (and legal) conflict that occurred between then Florida Governor Rick Scott and State Attorney Aramis Ayala (Ninth Judicial Circuit in Florida). The dispute stemmed from SA Ayala's announcement after she took office that she would not seek the death penalty in any of her office's cases. We also will engage in a discussion of the federal death penalty prosecution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to highlight the federal capital case process. The course also surveys the current state of the law regarding the death penalty in the United States. The discussion will include the evolving law relating to jury decision-making in capital cases using recent US Supreme Court cases. This course component will use a more traditional case analysis teaching method. Finally, the course delves into possible reforms of the death penalty decision-making process.

This course is intended primarily for students in Law, Public Policy and related disciplines. It is cross-listed with PUBP 600. It is designed to introduce the students to the science of natural systems and ecological processes. Through readings, lectures and discussion, the first half of the course examines the current state of our understanding in terms that will give the student confidence and the facility to critically assess theories and observations in environmental science. With this as a foundation, the second half of the course begins with an instructor led discussion of the enhanced greenhouse effect followed by student led discussions of other major case examples such as coastal eutrophication, biodiversity loss, water resources, sea level rise, environmental contamination, land use trends, and invasive species impacts. Student expectations include mid-term and final exams, and the development of a case study presentation extending over two class periods. This is a non-law course crosslisted with Law and the course materials will be found in Blackboard.

Public policy analysis is vital for defining problems and evaluating alternative solutions that lead to new laws, regulations or government policies. This course prepares students to deal with an increasingly regulated business environment, rapidly changing regulations in environmental science, and the widening scope of the practice of law. Offered one evening per week throughout the semester, the course is team taught by an economics professor and a political science professor in an engaging seminar format using provocative materials with practical application. Topics include markets, political economy, market failure, equity and efficiency, government failure, regression analysis and surveys (including political option polling) and data collection for public policy analysis. Prior exposure to economics or statistics is helpful but not required, and college algebra is sufficient mathematical preparation for the course. Satisfactory completion of this course is a prerequisite for enrollment for graduate students outside Public Policy in subsequent Public Policy courses, whether or not they are cross listed outside of Public Policy. This is a non-law course crosslisted with Law and the course materials will be found in Blackboard.

Should the NSA tap Americans' phone calls? Should Target be liable to consumers for data breaches? What if Snapchat doesn't really delete images but stores them--should users have recourse? Given modern technological realities, is privacy dead? This course will review the historical roots of the concept of privacy in U.S. law, the common clash between privacy and the public good, and the shifting balance of privacy rights in rapidly changing technological contexts. We will aim to understand privacy's place amidst the swirl of commercial and national security interests and the rise of the global Internet. Grades will be determined by class participation and a final exam.

Protecting Kids Online: Law, Policy, and Emerging Technology: This course examines laws governing children's online privacy and safety during a fundamental shift that will shape how the internet operates for years to come and touch nearly every area of legal practice. For 25 years, U.S. children's privacy law relied primarily on notice and parental consent. That model is giving way to one requiring companies to design products with young users in mind. Thirty-two states have enacted child-focused online laws, with approaches ranging from age-appropriate design codes to algorithmic feed regulations to social media access restrictions. Courts are working out in real time how far governments can go in the name of child safety. State attorneys general are pursuing enforcement actions against major platforms. And novel lawsuits against AI companion companies are raising new questions about product liability and duty of care. At the federal level, Congress is considering bills that would reshape how platforms interact with minors—including bipartisan proposals to ban users under 18 from engaging with AI companions. The FTC has updated child privacy rules for the first time in over a decade and is bringing unprecedented enforcement actions. Meanwhile, AI integration in toys, household items, and schools accelerates without clear guardrails, and a proposed federal moratorium on state AI laws could freeze youth-specific protections. Topics covered include: COPPA and its recent amendments; federal proposals including KOSA and COPPA 2.0; federal and state enforcement; state regulatory approaches including age verification, design codes, duties of care, and consumer privacy law protections for minors; litigation strategies bypassing Section 230 to impose platform liability; international frameworks including the UK Age Appropriate Design Code and Australia's social media ban for users under 16; and child privacy in educational settings. The course also examines tensions inherent in this space: First Amendment limits on child safety regulation; distinguishing legal treatment of young children from teenagers; the scope of parental authority versus children's autonomy; and the practical challenges of age-gating the internet.

The course explores the legal and policy issues surrounding cryptocurrencies and related technologies. Students will acquire a working understanding of Bitcoin, Ethereum, smart contracts, and blockchains, but technical details will be kept to a minimum. The course will examine legal doctrine as applied to cryptocurrencies and related technologies; coverage includes anti-money laundering regulation, securities regulation, and other topics selected as the field evolves. The course will also examine how the technology fits within legal policy and theory and how it may affect legal practice.

Knowledge about dispute resolution processes outside the realm of litigation is indispensable to the practice of law. This survey course will introduce students to important legal principles associated with negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. Students will develop practice skills and intuitions to help clients resolve disputes. The goal is to develop students’ remedial imagination and to recognize that conflict can present opportunities for lawyers to help clients understand their interests and craft dispute resolution mechanisms most appropriate for the conflicts they face.

This course will provide an overview of the common legal structures employed in the formation, capitalization, compensation, and governance of private equity funds. We will study as an example the structure of an existing private equity fund operating in the Canadian real asset space. In particular, we will spend considerable time on contractual interpretation of the fund’s limited partnership agreement. This course will also explore a number of topical issues in private equity, most notably securities regulatory oversight of private equity managers and taxation of their compensation. In examining all of the foregoing, we will consider the extent to which legislators and public regulators should oversee and intervene in private contractual relationships. An understanding of basic income tax law will be helpful but not required for this course. This course will be graded by a final exam.

This course surveys the law's construction and regulation of gender, gender identity, and sexuality, and it examines the effects of U.S. legal structures on the lives of marginalized sex and gender groups. Parts of the course will explore advanced issues in constitutional law, addressing how litigants have sought to leverage federal or state constitutional provisions to assert a range of gender- and sexuality-related claims. The remainder of the course focuses on statutory and other sources of law, while throughout we employ an interdisciplinary approach to study the interaction between social and political forces and legal doctrine. Issues we will address include, for example: family and privacy rights, discrimination in education and employment, the rights of queer youth, and religion-based exemptions to non-discrimination laws.

Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone is about a divided society reckoning with the consequences of a mass conflict and violence. It shows the profound difficulty of healing in societies undergoing transitions from violent conflict situations to peace. By what laws should such transitions take place? What are the most important objectives in these situations, and it is possible to achieve them all? Are extraordinary initiatives required and if so which ones? Transitional justice is a legal and normative framework meant to guide these processes in the contemporary world. It builds on the diverse experiences of societies having undergone transitions from dictatorships to democratic forms of governance (e.g. Chile, Argentina) as well as of conflict thorn societies seeking to create or maintain the conditions of peace (e.g. Guatemala, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Syria). The framework identifies a set of basic values that should guide all these transitions, including accountability, truth and healing. It also recommends different mechanisms for translating these values into practice, including criminal justice, truth commissions, vetting and institutional reforms. However, several challenges complicate these processes, including apparent conflicting values, scarce economic resources, political divisions, and fragile justice systems. The objective of this two-unit course is to provide students with essential knowledge of the legal foundations for transitional justice and the challenges of achieving accountability, truth and healing in practice. Students actively explore the interplay between different fields of international and national law with a focus on historical developments, comparative practice and contemporary cases. We analyse and compare different transitional justice strategies developed in different contexts, including the role of courts.

This 3-credit course examines the topic of AI governance through newly emerging legal and policy developments. AI governance aims to provide oversight structures to constrain the risks associated with the deployment of AI systems. We will explore conceptual questions surrounding how AI governance systems and liability regimes are framed, implemented, and enforced, especially within the lens of national security. We will also trace the historical and theoretical underpinnings of significant doctrinal and policy developments in AI governance, giving particular attention to the Constitutional law dimensions of AI governance. Assessment includes class participation and a final research paper (No final exam). No prior technical or legal knowledge is required. Students cannot also take AI & More, Law 428

With computers and mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, dominating every aspect of business and personal life, the nature of civil discovery has changed. Lawyers need to know how to request, identify, preserve, collect, process, review and produce electronically stored helps students identify and avoid signficant pitfalls arising from the collection, processing and production of ESI to better represent their clients. Law students will learn about the nuances of the quickly evolving world of e-discovery and gain practical skills they can utilize immediately upon entering the legal profession. This class does not require a technical degree or even significant technical proficiency. NOTE; students may not register for this course if they are currently registered for, or successfully completed, Electronic Discovery and Data Seizure, LAW 310.

Reviewing the Debt Limit Law: A Study of Constitutional Doctrine: This course examines the current debt limit law from the perspective of key constitutional doctrine, as originally understood by the Framers and later determined by the Supreme Court. Topics include the scope of congressional powers, the meaning of the Necessary and Proper Clause, the separation of powers, Fifth Amendment due process, equal protection, the significance of the Tenth Amendment, and the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment Public Debt Clause. Additionally, we discuss the reasons the debt limit remains in effect despite the evidence of its unconstitutionality, including the difficulty in plaintiffs establishing standing. The course will highlight how the provisions of Article I, the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment combine to establish harmonious constitutional doctrine reinforcing Congress’s responsibility to pay the public debt. Finally, we will examine the argument that Congress has a duty to repeal the debt limit law under agency law principles purposefully incorporated by the Framers in the Constitution.

This course will introduce students to the substantive knowledge, thought process, and writing skills needed for success on the Bar Exam. The learning methodology will be iterative, consisting of substantive lectures and materials followed by practice-testing and analysis. This course is recommended for all Virginia applicants, as well as other students seeking a rigorous approach to Bar Exam preparation. The course will begin by reviewing the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) subjects; the majority of the course will then cover heavily-tested Essay Examination subjects. The course will use Virginia as a default jurisdiction in order to benefit the greatest number of students, but will also benefit applicants in other jurisdictions. Practice-testing will use actual MBE and Essay Examination questions, and all substantive materials will be written by the instructor specifically for this course. The UBE Examination will also be covered. Students will be able to quantify their progress during the semester, both individually and relative to their peers. All students will also meet individually with the instructor to discuss their progress and specific steps they can take to maximize their success on the Bar Exam. Grading will be Pass/Fail based on timely and complete submission of assignments. Students will be expected to complete weekly assignments.

An examination of principles of school law by use, in part, of the care study approach. Legal foundations of public and non-public schools are studied with consideration given to the Virginia School code. Basic legal principles and guidelines for assisting teachers, administrators and professional support personnel are developed.

Applied Corporate Restructuring & Special Situations Strategy: This advanced business law seminar focuses on advising companies during periods of crisis, including financial distress and other so-termed “special situations,” with emphasis on restructuring strategies (both in and out-of-court) and liability management. A centerpiece of the course will be an interactive multi-stakeholder advisory project (likely) incorporating LegalTech / AI-based tools. Doctrinally, the primary focus will be on the bankruptcy code, with associated discussion of the UCC, securities law as well as corporate law / governance. More broadly, the course will draw on business, strategy and finance concepts to help students develop a holistic analytical framework for advising companies and Boards of Directors during critical periods. LAW 306 Bankruptcy and/or LAW 320 Business Associations encouraged but not mandatory (background reading will be provided).

The $1.2 trillion syndicated loan market rises and falls based on the terms and conditions lawyers draft into credit agreements and bond indentures. Over the past 6 years, the loan market has evolved drastically as borrower lawyers face off against lender lawyers in structuring distressed transactions and then fighting over the fallout in state and federal litigation. Ultimately, it is contracts and the covenants therein that govern the legality of distressed transactions and decide who wins and who losses. This class will provide an overview of the leveraged loan market, how credit document terms often decide the fate of companies in distress and how companies can leverage loose document language to execute liability management transactions to provide a second lease on life. This class will highlight the principles of contracts, secured transactions and bankruptcy and demonstrate, through real-world examples, how the rules of law come to life and how borrowers and lenders use the legal principles to ensure their interests are protected. Importantly, this class will also focus on the litigation that so often arises from distressed transactions, including the J. Crew “trapdoor” litigation, the Neiman Marcus spinoff lawsuit and the Serta Simmons “priming” case. Recommended: Law 320 Business Associations

Higher education is a complex, idiosyncratic institution. Universities and colleges have a unique mission--teaching, research, and public service--and a uniquely challenging task of accommodating the various constituencies and organizations, both internal (governing boards, faculty, employees, students, alumni) and external (legislatures, courts, governmental agencies), that influence how they are managed. This course will explore the dynamic tensions, high expectations, and complex legal-policy issues universities and colleges face in fulfilling their mission.

This course will examine important cases in the field of Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and Anti-Terrorism Act litigation and other areas involving claims against or the defense of foreign governments before United States federal courts and administrative agencies. Students will consider litigation involving Holocaust survivors, victims of the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, victims of Hamas suicide bombings and other incidents of terrorism sponsored by foreign states or aided and abetted by international banks. Discussion will focus on the practical implications and challenges of pursuing civil remedies, the enforcement of outstanding judgments and the intersection of such efforts with U.S. foreign policy concerns. Students will be required to write a 10-15 page paper due after the conclusion of the course. 1 credit (pass/fail).

This course is designed to assist students to develop a practical understanding of oil and gas issues. To achieve this understanding on the legal side, the course will focus on private property and contract law concepts specific to oil and gas development, terminology that is unique to the industry and the oil and gas lease, the document that generally governs the relationship between the mineral interest owner and the mineral developer. On the practical front, students will be introduced to the business side of the industry including oil and gas development, transportation and refining as well as domestic and global market considerations. Approximately half of the class sessions will be taught in person by the instructor, while approximately half will be taught remotely.

This course will examine the ways in which Congress, the Food and Drug Administration, and the courts have gone about regulating the medical products industries. We will highlight current issues which may include the FDA’s jurisdiction and enforcement authority concerning drugs, devices, biologics, and combination products; development, approval, advertising, and promotion of medical products; exclusivities for drugs and biologics and related competition issues; “orphan drugs;” and the relationship between federal regulation and state law. The course will be graded on the basis of in-class participation and a final examination.

Complicated business transactions occur in numerous regulated industries. For our course, we will focus on aviation and will explore transactions in the aviation industry. After providing a general overview of the international and domestic regulatory structures in commercial and private aviation, the course will then use an aircraft purchase to introduce students to specific applications of aviation regulations and the laws of contract, insurance, finance, security interests, tax, and civil procedure in the aviation industry. The focus will be a practical application of legal principles in the context of complex transactions within a regulatory framework. This course will be graded pass/fail. Students will be given a fact pattern and will draft an aircraft purchase agreement.

Law, medicine, science, and ethics are often inextricably intertwined. This course considers the relationship between the law and bioethics, with an emphasis on how the law can impact medical practice and how ethical principles can impact legal structures and judicial decision-making, health care, and policy. Course topics include abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, assisted reproductive technology, organ sales and transplantation ethics, research genetic modification, and human enhancement. The course will be graded based on a paper.

Law does not stand alone. It influences and is influenced by other disciplines. This course explores the inter-relationship between law and: economics, psychology, sociology, political science, and other disciplines. Led by distinguished scholars from across the university, students in this course will examine materials from other fields and meet to discuss law’s relationship with them. Students will discuss core principles from each discipline, how the field influences legal doctrine and analysis, and how scholarship might impact the law in the future. The course will be graded pass/fail. Students will be evaluated based on class participation as well as three reaction papers that will be due ten days after the pertinent class session. Students must attend all class meetings.

This course will focus on the prosecution of national security offenses (e.g., terrorism, espionage and piracy) and the unique issues that arise during the litigation of such cases. In addition to examining the substantive statutes for the offenses, the course will address jurisdictional and venue provisions and the acquisition of evidence both domestically and overseas for these prosecutions. In doing so, the application of Miranda, the Confrontation Clause and other constitutional rights in the national security context will be examined. Particular emphasis will be given to the handling of classified information and its use pursuant to the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA). Finally, the course will explore the ability of the Article III courts to handle national security prosecutions in contrast to military tribunals. Grades will be based on a final examination, graded by anonymous number (although class participation will also be considered).

This course will introduce students to the legal regulation of efforts to influence government action in our democracy, focusing on the interrelated legal regimes governing the advocacy industry, including federal lobbying disclosure laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and state lobbying regulations. A key goal of the course will be to enable students to gain some appreciation of the difficulty and complexity of the issues raised by the attempt, in fashioning these legal regimes, to balance the goal of curbing corruption and improper influence with the need to permit the legitimate advocacy and expression of views that is protected by the First Amendment, to some degree, and that is desirable in any event in a vibrant democracy.

This course examines how federal tax and campaign finance laws shape public and political engagement by tax-exempt organizations. Students will study the principal statutory, regulatory, and doctrinal decisions that distinguish different types of nonprofits, including 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, and 527s, the limits and opportunities each framework creates, and the ways tax law and campaign finance law intersect to regulate speech and advocacy. The course will consider the legal boundaries that have been established and challenged as organizations have sought to strategically leverage these distinctions through examination of tax and campaign finance administrative rulings and court precedent. Throughout, the course emphasizes close engagement with practical legal analysis drawn from legal authority and instructor practice as well as the broader normative debate over the growing role of tax-exempt organizations, especially § 501(c)(4)s, in electoral and policy advocacy.

The primary goal of this course is to introduce second- and third-year law students to the basic legal framework of U.S. and international financial sanctions. A secondary goal is to identify emerging issues in financial sanctions law and regulation, in order to prepare law students for the future development of this area of practice.

This course introduces and compares sources of law, underlying values and goals, and applications of the major legal traditions of the world, including civil law, common law, Islamic law, Talmudic law, customary law, and Asian legal systems as they originally developed and as they are evolving and changing in the world today.

This course will explore the mental health aspects of the law. Virginia laws that focus on mental illness will be compared with other mental health laws in the United States. The course will explore mental heath conditions/illnesses as justifications and/or mitigating factors in a criminal context and explore the civil commitment and involuntary detention process in Virginia and across other states. This course will also take a deeper dive into mental health conditions and illness. Professionals from the legal and mental health fields will discuss how the brain works, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and trauma; how a person’s – a client’s - conduct and behavior may be affected from birth to adulthood. Whether engaged in criminal or civil law, the mental health of our clients will be a factor for consideration in representation. Understanding mental health and illness will improve our advocacy. Professionals who will be asked to contribute to the classroom lectures and learning are special justices, mental health clinicians, magistrates, attorneys who represent respondents in commitment hearings, mental illness advocates, and others. This exploration will help students better communicate with and understand their everyday clients and others they interact with in the legal field. Resiliency will also be discussed and how this relates to effective and efficient representation of clients. Mental health, vicarious trauma and wellness are also components of this course. As attorneys and legal professionals, we must make sure that our own mental health is a priority. We will explore our ethical duties and how our own mental health can affect our work.

This course will cover fundamental international human rights law. It will address the sources of international law, United Nations human rights instruments, domestic jurisdiction, organizations for enforcement for human rights law, non-governmental organizations that promote human rights enforcement, and current issues in human rights law.

This course will explore the law that governs sentencing criminal defendants, with particular emphasis on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Students will analyze federal statutes, caselaw, and the complex federal sentencing guidelines that guide judges in determining the appropriate sentence for persons convicted of federal crimes – including length of incarceration, non- incarceration alternatives, and compensation due to crime victims. The course will also briefly the sentencing law and guidelines that govern state cases in Virginia. In addition to scheduled class sessions, there will be one mandatory class session at either the Newport News or Norfolk federal courthouse for students to observe an actual federal sentencing hearing. The date for the class session at the federal courthouse will be announced after the drop/add period. This course will be graded on a pass/fail basis.

This course examines the emergence of international criminal law during the last century and assesses the desirability and efficacy of international criminal prosecutions as a response to large-scale violence. The course traces the development of international criminal law, focusing primary attention on events taking place since the Nuremburg and Tokyo Tribunals, and concentrating in particular on the work of the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and East Timor, as well as the International Criminal Court. The court traces the substantive development of international criminal law through an examination of the core international crimes over which these bodies have jurisdiction: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. The course will likewise trace the development of international criminal procedure, a unique body of law that blends features of adversarial and non-adversarial criminal justice systems in an effort to meet the challenges of prosecuting large-scale crimes that can span many years, many miles, and feature many thousands of victims. Finally, the course will examine the political context in which the prosecution of international crimes takes place. It will consider the effect of such prosecutions on peace negotiations and the desirability of international prosecutions in comparison with other responses to mass atrocities, including domestic and transnational criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, lustration efforts, and reparations schemes. Completion of Public International Law is desirable though not compulsory.

The purpose of this course is to examine international election standards based on the rule of law. The ultimate goal is to establish knowledgeable, predictable, rule-based decision-making that limits the power entrusted to government officials, while concurrently encouraging the widest development of democratic systems. The course will cover each step in the electoral process: (1) recognition of political parties and which candidates will be qualified to stand for election (2) voter registration including registration, maintenance of lists, grounds for suspension and reinstatement; (3) absentee ballots, if they are to be used, as well as the procedures for their issuance and as to their counting; (4) early voting and remote voting if it is accepted as a means of increasing participation; (5) ballots, ballots design, machinery, pre-vote verification, the observation of that process so that it is transparent, ballot collection, computerized and other mechanical voting systems, ballot audits, physical security, and the availability of election day remedies; (6) verification of who is, and is not, a voter; (7) the conduct of the election itself, including how officials are trained and qualified; (8) the process for recounts; (9) the process for challenges and contests; and, (10) administration and supervision applying objective standards. Each of these steps will involve the class in discussion of the development of concrete standards for the international community to apply in the election process. Pass/Fail.

This course will provide students with a practical “hands on” introduction to the legal and regulatory issues faced each day by the in-house practitioner or human resource executive. This course will focus on enabling students to recognize and manage the breadth of legal issues that arise in both the public and private sector. Each class will focus on the actual application of the law as it affects employees and employers. The course will help the successful student appreciate and understand the legal environment of human resource management and better prepare students for their roles in business.

Broker-Dealer and Exchange Regulation: This course concerns the structure, business operations, and regulation of broker-dealers in the securities markets, as well as the securities markets themselves. These firms, the professionals who work in them, and the securities markets in which they operate perform important social functions: facilitating investments and capital raising, providing liquidity for investors and companies, and incorporating information into prices. The effectiveness with which these markets perform these functions and their costs of operation are determined in significant part by the rules governing exchanges, broker-dealers, and market makers. After an overview of the securities markets, trading platforms, and exchanges, we will focus on the regulation of brokerage firms and their associated persons. We will cover how firms are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the securities self-regulatory organizations (SROs), such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Over the course of the semester, we will review the specialized SEC and FINRA rules that regulate the activities of Wall Street firms in connection with the underwriting and trading of securities; learn how market-making activities are performed and governed; evaluate retail sales and trading practices and rules protecting retail brokerage customers; and study how regulators use the anti-fraud and manipulation provisions of the federal securities laws to safeguard market integrity. The course will explore several key topics in depth to illustrate how these concepts and rules work, using SEC actions involving high frequency trading (HFT) practices, manipulation, fair pricing and mark-ups, and payment for order flow (PFOF) practices to provide students with insight into current and ongoing issues confronting broker-dealers and the lawyers who advise them. The course will be helpful for students who may advise financial-services firms or who intend to work in the corporate and securities area more generally, either in private practice, in an in-house capacity, or as part of a regulatory authority such as the SEC, the securities SROs such as FINRA and the stock exchanges, or at various state securities regulators.

This course examines fraud and abuse in the delivery of health care through discussions of the criminal, civil, and administrative laws and regulations that combat various forms of health care fraud. Students will explore, among others, federal and state Anti-Kickback Laws, the federal physician self-referral law (Stark), the federal civil monetary penalty and exclusion laws, and the federal and state false claims acts. Students will learn the processes by which such abuse is discovered and investigated, the challenges that such investigations face, and the ways in which both prosecutors and defense counsel can most effectively overcome those challenges and benefit their respective clients. This course will also explore the complexities and challenges that arise in developing and maintaining an effective compliance program for health care providers.

This course introduces students to the legal regime governing information privacy and data protection in the European Union. It examines how the EU legal framework recognizes privacy rights or interests and balances them against competing interests, and the ways that laws, regulations, actions by stakeholders, and societal norms protect individual privacy against government, corporations and private actors. The course combines a practical approach to the daily problems that a privacy lawyer will face with the theory necessary to understand how the law is developing. We will learn about the policy questions arising from data-driven technologies, the theory behind them, and the questions to ask when assessing information practices. The course may also address briefly privacy issues and laws in additional jurisdictions, such as the United States and China, for purposes of further comparison. Students will gain a broad understanding of the breadth, diversity and growing importance of the privacy field.

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview and in depth understanding of the finance system at the federal and state levels. This will be accomplished through the analysis of the Federal Election Campaign Act or 1971 as amended (FECA) including extensive analysis of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). The course will provide a guide to the practice of campaign finance law from a practitioner’s perspective. The course will be a thorough review of federal law as it applies to the entities that it affects, including candidates, party committees, PACs, 527’s, corporations, non-profit organizations and individuals. The course will emphasize a practical preparation for the practice of law in this area through the review of case law, regulatory trends, as well as a review of the institutions that regulate campaign finance law. Students will be encouraged to follow current developments in campaign finance law during the course and should expect broad discussion about the practical, policy and political aspects of the practice of campaign finance law.

This course will cover two aspects of post-conflict justice: retributive and restorative justice with respect to human depredations that occur during violent conflicts and mechanisms for restoring and enhancing justice systems that have failed or become weakened as a result of such conflicts. Areas of study will include policy issues relating to accountability, mechanisms for assessing accountability, post-conflict peacekeeping and justice, and (re-)establishing the rule of law in post-conflict environments.

This three-credit course provides a comprehensive examination of human trafficking (HT), a complex crime and human rights violation occurring on both domestic and international levels. Students will explore the multifaceted dimensions of HT, including its economic, social, and legal aspects, while gaining both substantive knowledge and practical skills to address the issue. The course covers various legal frameworks, including international conventions, human rights instruments, and national laws aimed at combating human trafficking and forced labor. Students will analyze the different approaches to HT, from criminalizing prostitution and addressing organized crime to focusing on migration issues, economic drivers, and corruption. Additionally, the role of state and private actors, such as government officials, corporations, and non-governmental organizations, in enabling or combating HT will be examined. Through case studies, students will explore real-world examples of trafficking for sex, labor, and organ harvesting across different regions. The course also delves into the ways in which corruption at public and private levels sustains human trafficking networks. The skills component of the course equips students with practical tools to address policy, legal, and social issues related to HT. This includes analyzing trafficking cases, developing policy responses, and engaging in advocacy. By the end of the course, students will understand the complexity of human trafficking and the necessity of a coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach involving governments, businesses, civil society, and the media.

A review of the Virginia statutes and Rules of Court governing criminal procedure in Virginia's courts. Covers Va. Code Title 19.2, Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia affecting criminal and traffic litigation and a large number of cases interpreting the statutes and rules. The course also lightly covers appellate procedure for criminal cases. Some of the topics covered are jurisdiction, venue, pre-trial motions and procedures, competency and insanity issues, trial, sentencing and appeals. It is not a constitutional law course but there is discussion of how state statutes and rules mesh with constitutional requirements. Course is structured for students who wish to do criminal litigation, either as defense counsel or prosecutor in Virginia. This course is open to 2L and 3L students. Either having completed or being enrolled in Criminal Procedure I & II is helpful, but not required.

The law of democracy is a building block of democratic citizenship too few Americans understand. This course will examine laws governing the political process in the United States. Topics will include laws governing the right to vote, legislative redistricting (political and racial gerrymandering, one person one vote, and the Voting Rights Act), candidate ballot access, election administration, political parties, ballot initiatives, campaign finance, and more. The goal of the course is to provide students with a solid foundation in the basic principles of election law in this country.

This course will provide an overview of medical professional liability law and practice, and is designed to introduce students to the essential elements of and issues related to medical professional liability litigation. The primacy topics to be covered will include: medical malpractice litigation history; doctor-patient relationship; legal duty and standard of care, breach (informed consent, misdiagnosis, failure to treat and treatment errors); causation and damages; documentation and record keeping; medical insurance crisis and tort reform, including pre-suit notice, claim review, mediation and certification requirements; litigation strategies: plaintiff and defense; discovery and trial issues; expert witness requirements and other unique evidentiary issues and related Rules of Evidence, Rules 702, 703, 706 and 705; special liability protections, immunities and exceptions; and recovery caps and damage limits. The class will also touch on related issues such as insurance coverage, credentialing, licensure, privileged communications, peer review, and automation and artificial intelligence. Appreciation for common tort issues and the unique nature and complex issues involved in medical professional liability law and other professional liability areas (accounting, financial advisor, architectural, engineering, legal, etc.) The course will have a practical focus, emphasizing relevant legal concepts, relevant recent practical, social, and legal issues, practice tips and strategies. The course will be graded on in-class participation and final examination. No special information, knowledge or background is required.1

This 3-credit course offers an in-depth examination of contemporary doctrines relating to First Amendment free speech, press, and associational rights. It covers First Amendment theories or justifications, various categories of unprotected expression, and the general requirement of governmental neutrality toward the content of expression. In addition, the course examines the regulation of various forms of expressive conduct, the right not to be compelled to speak or associate with others, and the regulation of hateful and derogatory speech. Students will learn about the standards that apply to government when it acts in special capacities, including as an employer, educator, property manager, subsidizer of private speech, and speaker. Regarding freedom of press, the course covers issues relating to libel, reporters’ privileges, newsgathering rights, and prior restraints on publication. Finally, the course will examine the regulation of speech on social media, including laws that require platforms to carry certain content, standards that apply to public officials’ social media pages, and government efforts to persuade or coerce platforms to remove posts or users.

An in-depth study of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution including criminal procedure. Considered are general due process concepts; the right to counsel; arrest, search and seizure; police interrogation and confessions; identification procedures; and the scope and administration of the exclusionary rules. Students who take Criminal Procedure I may not take Criminal Procedure Survey, LAW 403, for credit.

A study of the constitutional and non-constitutional procedural components of the criminal process. Included are discretionary aspects of the decision to charge; the preliminary hearing; pre-trial release; grand jury proceedings; venue; jury selection; trial procedures; sentencing; double jeopardy; appeals, and post-conviction proceedings. Criminal Procedure I (Investigation) is not a prerequisite. Students who take Criminal Procedure II may not take Criminal Procedure Survey, LAW 403, for credit.

A survey of all of the major elements of the trial of a criminal case including search and seizure, interrogation, identification procedures, the right to counsel, arrest and prosecution, preliminary hearings, grand juries, jury selection, trial procedure and sentencing. The course will address all of the major issues covered by Criminal Procedure I and II but will do so in less depth. Students who take Criminal Procedure Survey may not take either Criminal Procedure I (Law 401) or Criminal Procedure II (Law 402) for credit. NOTE; both Criminal Procedure I & II are required coursework for the Criminal Law Concentration; therefore, enrollment in Criminal Procedure Survey LAW 403 prevents students from pursuing the Criminal Law Concentration.

This course addresses how, mostly via Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, (a) banks and other lenders and (b) businesses that sell goods on credit may try to obtain collateral to secure those sales and loans and what happens to the collateral when the buyers or borrowers default on their obligations. It also addresses the priorities that competing secured creditors may claim in the same collateral. The course will be graded on the basis of in-class participation and a final examination. NOTE: you may not register for this course if you have successfully completed or are currently enrolled in Commercial Law.

Legal organizations require leaders with vision, organizational skills, drive, compassion and a strong sense of self - to ensure premium service, profitability and growth. The course will introduce students to the law firm leader's role in six major leadership functions: (i) Culture and Strategy, (ii) Governance and Execution, (iii) Compensation and Financial Management, (iv) Talent/Leader Recruitment, Development, Promotion and Accountability/Reward, (v) Practice Management and Business Development, and (vi) Risk Management and Industry Challenges. Course materials will include the writings of prominent law industry commentators (e.g., William Henderson, Gillian Hadfield, David Maister, etc.) and general business thought leaders (e.g., Larry Bossidy, Robert Kelly, Sonja Lyubomirsky, etc.). Students will be given the opportunity to engage in leader self assessments (e.g., Clifton Strengths Inventory and Meyers-Briggs), and will be exposed to law firm leader skills through guest speakers (lawyers and CEOs), from the private and public sectors. The course will be pass-fail and graded primarily by a paper on a topic chosen from 12 leader dilemmas (2 from each of each of the 6 functions).

A study of employee-union-management relations as regulated by the National Labor Relations Act, as amended. Issues considered include the organizational process, representation elections, collective bargaining and picketing activities.

This course will survey the fundamental legal principles governing selected kinds of insurance including: automobile, fire and property (homeowners), liability, life, health, and disability. Among the topics examined will be the formation and operation of the insurance contract, coverage and exclusions, insurable interest, the claims process and subrogation. A practical approach will be featured, placing students in the roles of attorneys for the insurer, insured and third party claimant as issues are discussed.

This course provides a general introduction to public international law. We will examine the sources of international law (e.g., treaties, custom); the relationship between international law and domestic law in the United States; the role of international organizations, such as the U.N. Security Council and the International Court of Justice; and international legal norms governing territorial sovereignty, natural resources, environmental protection, the law of the sea, international human rights, the law of armed conflict, refugees, and international crimes. Over the course of the semester, we will discuss a variety of recent and current controversies, including Russian aggression in Ukraine, the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, Israel’s responses to terrorist attacks from Gaza and the West Bank, and the South China Sea dispute.

How the courts of a state address the fact that other states and nations, with their own laws, exist. The primary focus is choice of law--which state's or nation's law should apply to a case with multi-jurisdictional elements. Also covered will be the constitutional restrictions on choice of law and state court recognition of sister state judgments. Other possible topics are: the extraterritorial application of federal (including constitutional) law, state and federal court recognition of the judgments of foreign nations, and conflicts between federal and state law, including the Erie doctrine.

A study of restraints of trade, mergers and monopolies. The central concern of the course is to analyze what laws are necessary to protect a system in which goods are allocated by competitive markets.

Much of the law school curriculum, especially in the first year, focuses on judge-made common law. But for many lawyers today, reading and interpreting statutes is more important. This course will provide you with an overview of the legislative process, which is the source of those statutes. It will consider the distinctive features of statutory law as opposed to other forms of law. Most importantly, the course will introduce you to various approaches to interpreting statutes and teach you the rules and doctrines of statutory interpretation used in federal and state courts – material with great practical value as well as theoretical interest. The course will also give some attention to the role of administrative agencies as implementers and interpreters of statutes. Grades will be based primarily on a final examination. Students who are taking or have previously taken Statutory Interpretation, LAW 638, are not eligible to enroll.

This course involves a study of the law of judicial remedies, both legal and equitable, and focuses on the nature and scope of available relief. The course emphasizes the various remedies available, including compensatory and punitive damages, injunctions, declaratory judgments, restitution, and enforcement proceedings. It provides a brief study of the development of chancery courts and the continuing distinction between equitable and legal remedies. Special attention is given to the appropriateness of various remedies to given situations. Substantive examples will come primarily from contract and tort law, but property interests, statutory violations, and constitutional harms also will be discussed.

This course provides an overview of legal, technical, and law enforcement issues involving cybercrime. Contemporary events have led to a growing awareness of the interrelationship between information security and data privacy. Prominent cyberattacks, data breaches, and hacking incidences have led to high profile cases and rapid developments in the law. The internet, ecommerce, social media, and other developments in the digital age has expanded the vulnerability of online identities to theft and misappropriation. At the same time, the digital economy vastly increases law enforcement access to digital evidence. Examining cybercrime and digital law enforcement tools allows for an interrogation of the strength of constitutional protections afforded to users, the law that governs cybercrime detection, and developments in prosecutorial techniques that are dependent upon cybersurveillance. Cybercrime is especially challenging as an area of law and policy where criminal activities can be hidden and where geographic boundaries for an investigation are not readily understood. Consequently, this course will cover cybercrime, cybersurveillance, and digital forensic evidence, as well as tensions in constitutional law that may be strained under these technologies.

An examination of the federal judicial system encompassing such topics as allocation of federal judicial power; original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; the Eleventh Amendment; suits in federal court against state officials; restrictions on federal adjudication of state-created rights; federal question jurisdiction and federal common law.

In this course, students will study and then critique from theoretical, policy, and social science perspectives the core topics in family law: state assignment of children to legal relationships with adults—paternity, maternity, and adoption; parental power over children’s lives—schooling, medical care, and social interactions; limits on parental treatment children; allocation of child rearing rights and duties among parents whose own relationship has dissolved; bases for state certification (marriage) and decertification (divorce) of adult intimate relationships; contracts between intimate partners before, during, and at the end of marriage; default rules governing financial matters between partners and ex-partners when they do not contract; and legal limits on inter-partner conduct. Class meetings involve much discussion of fundamental normative questions. 

Covers procedural law for both law and equitable claims, including applicable statutes, rules of court and cases interpreting the statutes and rules. Appellate procedure for both the Court of Appeals of Virginia and the Supreme Court of Virginia are covered. Prerequisite: Third year status

This one credit course will review all aspects of a typical commercial real estate transaction, with particular focus on the various aspects of a commercial real estate purchase and sale contract. The course will also review documents often utilized in the financing of a commercial real estate project and the due diligence involved in the examination of a commercial real estate project, including title, survey, land use and other matters. Students will draft certain portions of a commercial real estate purchase and sale contract and will be involved in a negotiation session in class based upon a hypothetical scenario presented to the students. Students should obtain a basic understanding of how to conduct a commercial real estate transaction. The course is taught by an attorney with forty years of commercial real estate experience and will be taught from the prospective of a practitioner. The course will teach basic legal concepts as they are reflected in actual documents and practical situations that arise in the practice of commercial real estate. In hypothetical situations, students may be asked to assume they have already graduated from law school, passed the bar exam, are now practicing law, and must provide specific advice to their client. The class grade will be based upon class participation, understanding of basic real estate concepts, document drafting and negotiation skills.

This course will be taught as a practicum on the fundamentals of election law litigation, with a focus on issues in voting rights. By the end of this course, students will understand key issues in voting rights, and how to bring forth an action in court on behalf of a voter client. The areas covered will include a study of a variety of issues that may impact individuals’ voting rights, including voter identification, early/absentee voting, and ballot counting; required course readings will maintain a focus on cases brought forth by voter plaintiffs and will include complaints filed in selected cases. The course will include a review of Virginia and federal laws with respect to jurisdiction, venue, standing, and timing as applied to causes of action under the election laws. The course will apply the Virginia Election Laws set forth in the Constitution of Virginia and Title 24.2 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended, as well as the United States Constitution and the federal Civil and Voting Rights Acts. The course will require students to prepare complaints as though they were preparing to litigate a voting rights case in court while representing voters under the laws of Virginia. Students will have two (2) written assignments as a part of this course. First, students will have an individual assignment to draft a complaint based upon a prompt provided in the first class; this complaint will be due the Wednesday before the second class. In the third session, students will have the opportunity to conference with professors about their individually- drafted complaints. For their second written assignment, students will be provided a hypothetical fact pattern during the third class and will be required to draft complaints in small groups on behalf of voter clients. This is a one credit course, graded on a pass/fail basis. Students will be assessed on their (1) class attendance and participation; (2) individual preparation of a complaint due the Wednesday before the second class session; and (3) small group preparation of a complaint drafted during the third class session. The complaints should demonstrate the student’s ability to apply voting rights precedent while using state law to advocate for a client. NOTE; Sept 19 class meets in Washington D.C.; location to be determined and communicated to students by instructor.

This course provides an introduction to accounting and finance for students who have had little or no coursework in either area. Accounting topics include the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of cash flows, and financial-statement analysis. Finance topics include risk, return, time, value of money, valuation, financial instruments, and capital markets. All topics will emphasize implications for the legal profession. The following students are ineligible to take the course without permission of the instructor. - Students who have completed three or more undergraduate-level courses in accounting and finance (counted on a combined basis). For example, a student with two accounting courses and one finance course is ineligible. - Students who have completed any graduate-level course in either accounting or finance (including Law 437 Corporate Finance). - Students who are enrolled in the joint JD / MBA program.

This course studies the disclosure philosophy of the federal securities laws and the nature and regulation of the securities markets. The relevant statutes are the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, primarily, as well as changes brought by recent legislation including the JOBS Act. Among the topics covered are the initial public offering (IPO) process and exemptions from registration under the 1933 Act; we also study the mandatory disclosure regime for public companies under the 1934 Act. Civil liabilities under both the 1933 and 1934 Acts are also explored. The course also studies the economics of the disclosure and liability rules and the workings of an efficient market. Students are able to enroll in both Securities Litigation and Securities Regulation while pursuing their degree.

A study of the natural environment and the history of laws designed to balance environmental protection with industrial development. The course will consider the basic regulatory framework for water, air, natural resources, and solid and hazardous waste through the lens of state and federal law, with consideration given to the changing legal landscape presented by today's U.S. Supreme Court, politics, and science.

An analysis of the legal principles governing the use and management of land and the fundamental values underlying those principles. While focusing primarily on government regulation of land use, the course also will examine common law rules which affect the way that land is used. Topics that might be considered include judicial control of land use, zoning and the rights of landowners, zoning and the rights of neighbors, land use planning, public regulation of land development, aesthetic regulation, and the preservation of natural and historic resources.

Energy law is at the intersection of natural resources, environmental, and economic laws and policies, which gives energy lawyers a real opportunity to influence the world in which we live. This course covers the laws that govern how energy is produced, delivered and regulated in the United States. It is taught by a former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and its state counterpart, the Virginia State Corporation Commission. A major course focus is the jurisdictional bifurcation between federal and state authority over energy. In the electrical sector, the course examines the federal regulation of electricity under the Federal Power Act, with a detailed look at federal regulation of regional power markets and transmission planning and rate-setting, and a comparison to state regulation of retail rates. The course also examines regulation of natural gas production and delivery under the Natural Gas Act, and state regulation of local natural gas companies. The course reviews laws governing the permitting of power infrastructure, from electrical power generation including wind, solar, coal, gas and nuclear, to the permitting of natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities.

This course examines the regulation of alcohol, tobacco/nicotine, and marijuana/THC, including emerging areas such as "legalized" cannabis products and vapes. Focus will be on federal and state regulatory approaches and related legal and constitutional authority and limitations, including the regulatory classification, regulated users and uses, prohibition, sale, marketing, product design and product approval of these “vices.” Risk management approaches from the perspective of consumers, government, manufacturers/marketers, public health, society et al. will be explored. There is no coursebook; reading assignments will consist of statutes, regulations, cases, agency guidance, actions by regulators and other relevant sources.

New products, tools, and processes incorporating artificial intelligence, the Internet-of-Things, blockchains, and other emerging technologies are an increasingly common part of modern life. Some, such as driverless cars and smart homes, may change fundamental aspects of daily life. Others, such as complex algorithms have already altered the nature of financial markets. This seminar provides an introduction to these issues so that students will be better prepared for our complex future. The course will address the implications of A.I. and other emerging technological solutions on subjects such as liability, contracts, intellectual property, criminal procedure, and the administration of justice. A paper is required in lieu of a final examination. Students cannot also take AI Law & Policy, LAW 357.

This course examines the scope and nature of local government powers and their relationship to state and federal governmental authority. Particular emphasis is placed upon matters of concern to cities, counties and other units of local government. Special consideration will be given to questions of governmental design. Specific topics may include state constitutions, theories of authority, boundary changes, Dillon's Rule and home rule, preemption, interlocal conflict and cooperation, finance and fiscal distress, and service delivery.

This three (3) hour course will survey the law of commercial transactions within the scope of the three primary areas of the Uniform Commercial Code: (1) Sales transactions governed by Article 2 of the UCC; (2) Secured transactions governed by Article 9 of the UCC; and (3) Payment transactions governed, primarily, by Articles 3 and 4 of the UCC. There may also be consideration of complementary areas of commercial law (e.g., Article 5, "Letters of Credit") and consumer protection law (state and federal). Students will approach the subjects from both litigation and transactional perspectives. Students who have taken the separate Sales or Secured Transactions courses would not be eligible to enroll.

This course is designed to provide law students with an introduction to the fundamental concepts and analytical methods used in the practice of corporate finance. The topics covered in this course will be similar in many respects to those of a first-year MBA level course in corporate finance, but the organization of the syllabus and the method of instruction will be geared to the needs of law students preparing to be practicing lawyers. The focus of this course will be on the "finance" of corporate finance, rather than the "law" of corporate finance, but the course will be less quantitative than the equivalent course taught in business school. This course is particularly suitable for students interested in the practice of corporate and securities law, but it will also be useful to students intending to pursue careers in business law more generally, including related fields such as commercial litigation, trusts and estates, real estate, tax and government regulation of business. Note: Accounting & Finance for Lawyers may be taken prior to enrolling in Corporate Finance; however, students may not enroll in Accounting & Finance for Lawyers after successfully completing Corporate Finance.

This course is an introduction to the federal income taxation of corporations and their shareholders. Topics covered will include the tax classification of business entities, incorporation and capital structure, taxable and non-taxable dividends, stock redemptions, corporate liquidations, corporate reorganizations, and an overview of "S corporations." Pre- OR co-requisite: Law 311 Federal Income Tax Recommended: Law 303 Corporations or Law 320 Business Associations.

Bankruptcy permeates the modern business cycle and current events. It is the unique area of law that involves aspects of all of the first-year law school courses with the gloss of a detailed federal statute and almost 50 years of case law since enactment of the Bankruptcy Code in 1978. Americans are statistically more likely to encounter the bankruptcy court than any other court in the US. Most commercial case law in the US is developed in bankruptcy court where prepetition transactions are tested in a zero-sum game. This 2-hour course will examine current bankruptcy events and trends and notable cases, including: Purdue Pharma and mass tort bankruptcy cases; the travails of Rudy Giuliani; FTX and crypto issues in bankruptcy; the discharge of student loans; municipal bankruptcy; Chrysler, GM, and other bankruptcy sales; bankruptcy fraud; the Puerto Rico utility bankruptcy; and the chapter 11 venue competition. Occasional guest lecturers will include bankruptcy judges and experienced practitioners. There are no prerequisites for the course.

This is an advanced criminal law course that will cover procedural, substantive and practice issues related to white-collar criminal law. The class will cover the principal federal white-collar statutes, including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, securities fraud and insider trading, false statements, obstruction of justice, money laundering and public corruption. Corporate criminal liability and business crimes will be a course focus. The course will also cover practice related issues such as attorney-client privilege, internal investigations, grand jury practice, document production, plea bargaining, and cooperation agreements with the Department of Justice. The class will conclude with an in-class examination. Prerequisite: Criminal Law. Recommended: Evidence and Criminal Procedure.

A comprehensive survey of contemporary maritime law. Topics to be addressed include admiralty jurisdiction and procedure, the creation and enforcement of maritime liens, limitation of liability, maritime contracts, ship mortgage law, marine insurance contracts and principles, bills of lading, general average, and other maritime cargo issues, pilotage, towing, salvage, the law of seaman's injury and death, mariner's licensure, dealing with the modern piracy challenge, and an introduction to maritime environmental law. The course will have a practical focus, emphasizing legal concepts and practice tips of particular use to counsel representing ship owners, operators, seamen, marine insurance carriers, cargo interests, and others on a day-to-day basis.

An overview of federal trademark law and policy, including the acquisition and loss of trademark rights, the trademark registration process, issues relating to scope and enforcement of rights across geographic boundaries, trademark infringement and dilution, lawful unauthorized use, and remedies. Related issues such as federal false advertising law and state right of publicity law may be considered.

This course will commence with an overview of the U.S. Intelligence Community, its organization, functioning and the issues it faces. The heart of the course will be an in-depth study of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978, its amendments, Executive Order 12333, Section 215 of the US PATRIOT ACT, the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA); the National Security Act of 1947, and related statutes. Students will examine the background for the creation of this framework, how it has evolved over the past 40+ years into the current legal framework utilized by the National Security community, and proposals for changes to FISA. The course will also identify the circumstances for pursuing different types of FISAs, e.g., electronic surveillance, physical searches, pen registers and trap and trace devices, and the production of certain business records; discerning the specific provisions of FISA that apply to a set of circumstances; the composition of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, and the requirements for an application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Grades will based on class participation and a final research paper.

This course explores the ways in which law and literature intersect in addressing various issues. Students will read and write papers on fiction and non-fiction (books to be determined each term) to examine how legal texts and the legal system affect individuals, society, and culture. Students will submit a response paper prior to each class meeting, focusing on the assigned primary text, in preparation for discussion of the readings. This class will be graded pass/fail.

This course is designed for students interested in working as a judicial law clerk and will enhance students’ writing skills as they prepare written legal opinions. Each student will receive one civil and one criminal case assignment which will include a written case synopsis, trial exhibits, and other legal documents related to the cases. Students will also be expected to participate in interactive classroom discussions. Discussions will be designed to provide guidance and feedback regarding the writing assignments. During the course, each student must submit two draft written opinions – one for each case scenario. Grading will be pass/fail and will be based on classroom participation and the written assignments.

Globally, sovereign states have amassed over $60 trillion in debt. This course will examine the law governing this massive pool of obligations and the unique policy challenges that it presents. Our emphasis will be on the role played by lawyers and the financial industry, but we will also examine the parts played by government actors, the International Monetary Fund, and academic commentators. Government lending is governed by contracts written by the states and their creditors. Such contracts present complex legal questions. They often sprawl across multiple national legal systems. Because states can claim sovereign immunity, there are special challenges involved in enforcing such contracts. Finally, when sovereign states get into financial trouble there is no international financial trouble there is no international bankruptcy process that governs debt restructuring. We will examine all of these issues through the lens of historical and contemporary cases of government borrowing and default. There are no pre-requisites for this class.

The course will present the essential principles of the patent law, as well as significant policy considerations which are the basis for many patent doctrines. Highlighted will be decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

A review of the legal protection of artistic, technical and business creativity through the law of copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets.

This 3-credit course will explore topics related to the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), election security, and democratic governance. AI is transformative, disrupting all aspects of society and governing practices, including the constitutional power balancing tools and mechanisms for rights preservation that are embedded within the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. This seminar examines how legal frameworks regulate AI technologies and how AI is impacting democratic governance first principles, including elections, lawmaking, and judicial interpretation. It particularly examines topics surrounding AI and elections, including AI-driven microtargeting of voters and social media surveillance, cognitive security in election influence campaigns, and the impact of deep fakes on election security. This seminar will fulfill the upper-level writing requirement.

A survey of problems generated by philosophical reflection on the law. The central topic will be the fundamental nature of the law. Is the law reducible to social facts? To morality? To neither of these things? But other topics will also be dealt with, including; the structure of legal systems, the nature and possibility of authority, whether there is a moral duty to obey the law, the status of international law, the lawmaking role of courts, and the effect of semantic and moral theories on adjudication. Classics in the field - including John Austin, H.L.A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Joseph Raz and the American Legal Realists - will be discussed, as will arguments by some more recent writers.

This course will focus on the development of the theories of liability for personal injuries and property damage caused by defective products. Among the areas to be considered are the roles of warranty, negligence and strict liability law in today's products liability litigation, as well as important related issues such as expert testimony, causation proof, the role of science, and the effects of mass tort litigation.

This course surveys the laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. In particular, the course emphasizes case law under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (race, religion, sex, or national origin), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students will learn the basic doctrinal frameworks applicable to disparate treatment, disparate impact, and mixed-motives cases and trace their evolution through statutes and judicial decisions. The course also will include brief overviews of remedies for and economic theories of employment discrimination. Employment Law (LAW 456) is not a prerequisite.

Administrative law establishes the legal controls over the operation of government and hence it relates to almost every legal practice, from security regulation to social programs to criminal justice. This coure is an introductory examination of the rules and procedures government federal agencies. It explores: (1) the Constitutional background and limitations on agency action, (2) the procedural requirements (from various sources) that an agency must follow, and (3) the doctrines of judicial review that apply whenever a court evaluates agency decisions.

A study of the many applications of economic reasoning to problems of law and public policy including economic regulation of business; antitrust enforcement; and more basic areas such as property rights, tort and contract law and remedies, and civil or criminal procedures. No particular background in economics is required; relevant economic concepts will be developed through analysis of various legal applications.

This course will address the basic common law and contemporary statutes governing the employment relationship, with an emphasis on their practical application in today's private-sector workplace. Topics to be addressed will include establishment of the employment relationship, wage and hour regulation, conditions of employment, discharge and termination, and non-competition and other post-employment obligations. The course will also include a brief review of unemployment compensation and workplace health and safety issues, as well as an introduction to employment discrimination law and private-sector labor law. This course will not significantly overlap with Employment Discrimination or Labor Law.

This class will give students an overview of the U.S. health care system. We will examine various legal and policy issues related to the health care system, including: the legal structure of the patient-physician relationship; how our legal system addresses issues of quality and choice; structures and mechanisms of the Affordable Care Act; Federal-State tensions regarding insurance regulation; how our legal system regulates the behavior of medical professionals and institutions; and patient privacy and confidentiality. Students will develop an understanding of the trajectory that the U.S. health care system has taken in these areas, as well as the current reforms implicating them. In addition, we will examine laws and policies that surround issues of public health, such as vaccines, obesity rates, and State-mandated screenings and data collection.

An examination of how government lawyers shape policy in-and-outside of court. In part, the course will look at the different roles that government lawyers play—speaking the government’s voice in court and shaping government decision-making (drafting statutes and regulations, advising presidents/governors, etc.). The course will also examine whether litigation authority should be centralized in the Department of Justice or spread out among agencies, whether the U.S. Attorney General or state Attorneys General have a duty to defend statutes they think unconstitutional, and the competing incentives of careerists and political appointees. In pursuing these objectives, we will meet with current/former government lawyers, including lawyers who work in the federal government (the White House, the Congress, the Department of Justice, independent agencies) and for state/local governments (district attorney, state solicitors general). Students will write three (800-1,000 word) reaction papers.

This 2-credit seminar will explore the intersection of environmental and constitutional law, with a particular focus on how constitutional limits on governmental power shape, and often complicate, environmental protection, as well as on efforts to locate constitutional rights in the federal or state constitutions. Potential topics to be covered include the commerce power, commandeering, regulatory takings, standing, the dormant commerce clause, the property clause, conditional spending, and environmental justice, and due process. Readings will largely consist of court opinions, commentary, and (for ongoing cases) litigation materials. Students will be asked to submit brief reflections on assigned readings, as well as to complete a substantial paper on an environmental law topic of their choosing, as well as to make a class presentation. There are no prerequisites for this course. Supplemental readings may be recommended for students with little familiarity with environmental law.

This 1-credit course will introduce students to the essential aspects of commercial real estate leasing, including property types, essential business terms, common lease clauses, and various aspects of the landlord–tenant relationship. Various types of commercial leases will be explored, including ground leases, retail leases, multi-tenant leases and commercial/industrial leases, as well as ancillary commercial real estate agreements such as estoppels and subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements (SNDAs). Students will also consider related legal matters, such as environmental risks, zoning and building code regulations. We will discuss the role of the attorney in commercial leasing and identify other key participants, including brokers, contractors, insurers and lenders. Advanced lease topics will include permitted use, tenant improvements, maintenance and repair, casualty and condemnation, subleasing and assignment, events of default, insurance and indemnification. Students will have an opportunity to review, draft and negotiate relevant commercial lease clauses. Students will be evaluated based upon class participation, understanding of basic commercial leasing concepts, document drafting and negotiation skills. This course will be graded on a pass/fail basis and will be taught in person.

Generative AI is here—how do citizen lawyers contend with its impact on our profession? This seminar introduces students to Gen AI fundamentals while examining its real-world deployment across the legal landscape—from law firms and corporate legal departments to courts, public interest organizations, and legal tech companies. Students will gain hands-on experience using Gen AI tools in litigation and transactional contexts, with emphasis on responsible innovation that serves client needs and promotes access to justice. The course explores how different jurisdictions are responding to Gen AI's challenges, considering both U.S. and international approaches. Through practical exercises and guided experimentation, students will develop technical proficiency with Gen AI tools while learning to navigate the ethical considerations and professional responsibilities unique to AI-augmented legal practice. A final project demonstrating competence with Gen AI applications in a legal setting is required in lieu of an exam.

This seminar examines the roles and responsibilities of both prosecutors and law-enforcement officers in the United States. Specifically, this course will identify and critique various models of policing in the United States and how and whether these models are consistent with contemporary notions of public safety. This course will explore the discretion police officers enjoy and the rules that govern police interactions with individuals and communities they serve. The course will identify and critique various legal mechanisms and policy solutions that are currently used or proposed to hold police officers accountable for their conduct, evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions, and contemplate new proposals. This course will also explore the unique role of the prosecutor in the U.S. and what it means to do justice. Similar to law enforcement officers, prosecutors enjoy vast discretion, and this course will explore the advantages and disadvantages of that discretion. The course will explore prosecutors’ role in wrongful convictions in the U.S. and ways to minimize errors in the criminal justice system. In addition to caselaw, policy documents, and legislative materials, the class will focus on historical and contemporary case studies.

A survey of various forms of business combination transactions, including mergers, share exchanges, tender offers and asset purchases. This course will focus on planning for and structuring such transactions to address business, corporate law and securities law issues from the standpoints of both the acquiring company and the target company.

A study of the Copyright Act, with coverage of the subject matter of copyright, copyright ownership and transfers, the nature of copyright rights, copyright infringement, remedies, and First Amendment considerations.

The metaverse, which encompasses a broad spectrum of digital worlds and associated enabling technologies, has engendered a myriad of new legal challenges and considerations in areas of intellectual property, business law, privacy, government compliance and litigation. These issues have caused lawmakers to grapple with how to regulate and otherwise govern virtual life and business activities in digital environments. In this course, we will explore the metaverse from its technical origin to its current presentation in the marketplace. We will examine the legal implications of various business models within the metaverse which involves its cybereconomy. Students will be introduced to current research, case law, articles and other materials that shape legal thought in connection with the metaverse. Ultimately, students will become acquainted with the evolving body of law relating to the metaverse and other digital technologies.

This course surveys significant issues in elder law. It will explore the role of the practicing attorney involved in representing elderly clients, as well as key statutes and regulations of particular importance to seniors. Topics of study will include, among other things, models of elder law practice; ethical issues in representing older adults; age discrimination; advance planning and guardianship/conservatorship; income maintenance and the Social Security system; access to health care and the role of Medicare and Medicaid; housing concerns (including nursing home and assisted-living issues); elder abuse and neglect; and end-of-life care. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of the cognitive and physical impairments can have on legal rights and the ability to exercise those rights

This course will combine a general survey of U.S. water law and policy with an examination of water law doctrines, institutions, and policy issues. One goal of this course is to give students a basic introduction to the laws and institutions that have shaped the use, development, and preservation of water throughout the United States. Thus, we will examine the legal principles and doctrines that have shaped the use of surface water and groundwater in different jurisdictions across the United States, as well as the evolution of public and private rights in these resources. In addition, this course will examine how water law doctrines and water law institutions have evolved to influence the development and preservation of other important resources, including but not limited to biodiversity, coastal and marine resources, energy, and land use.

The course introduces students to the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Collectively, these taxes apply to donative transfers of wealth during life and at death. Despite the relatively narrow application of these taxes, they account for a significant amount of planning and are at the center of some of the most contested tax policy debates of the 21st century. Accordingly, the course will consider tax planning objectives of taxpayers while giving proportionate coverage to policy concerns and perspectives of the government. The course has no prerequisites, but it is not a substitute for taking Federal Income Taxation or Trusts & Estates.

This course will focus on antitrust enforcement in the big tech sector of the economy. Using the FTC’s case against Meta as a base, the course will explore the concepts of nascent and potential competition, market definition in industries that offer free products, the effects of potential and actual innovation on market analysis, and monopolization through technological development versus traditional exclusionary conduct theories. In December 2020, the FTC challenged Facebook’s consummated acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as alleged exclusionary conduct. The case in the two consummated mergers went to trial in March 2025. The underlying theory in the cases is that Facebook saw Instagram as a growing competitor and threat to its business. It, therefore, acquired Instagram to remove this threat, the FTC alleged. The FTC also alleged that Facebook subsequently acquired WhatsApp in order to prevent it from developing into a personal social network. At the time of the merger, TikTok was not a competitive force, but Facebook argues that the FTC's personal social networking market is unduly narrow by excluding networks like LinkedIn and competitors like TikTok and YouTube. These issues will be explored during the course and looking back at seminal cases on market definition and monopolization. The course will begin with background on the Facebook case, and then move to look at each of the antitrust concepts both at the time of the challenged mergers and today, with more than a decade of technological development since the challenged mergers.

Nonprofit organizations are an influential and significant sector in America. They range from small volunteer organizations to large corporations. This course will concentrate on understanding the unique tax and legal concepts applicable to non-profit organizations as well as the practical procedures utilized in forming a nonprofit, operating and governing a successful nonprofit, dealing with nonprofit tax, business and fundraising issues, understanding the state and federal regulation of nonprofits and, finally, effectuating the merger or dissolution of a nonprofit organization. The principal objective on this course is to introduce the law student to the world of nonprofit law so that as a lawyer, he or she can be prepared for an active role in establishing, advising, serving on the board or even working as in-house counsel for a nonprofit organization. Classes will be a combination of lectures, discussions, preparation of documents, group problem solving, and evaluation of solutions to actual practice queries. Grading criteria for the course will include participation, assignment and project/memo preparation, and a final examination. Regular attendance is required.

The National Security Law course will examine the law of war, executive power, and constitutional rights in the national security context. The course will also explore Article III standing and the ability of federal courts to hear national security matters. The focus will be on the legal framework that justifies the right to wage war and national defense, foreign intelligence operations, cyber policies, and safeguard classified information. In addition to examining sources of law that support national security decisionmaking, this course will also consider how constitutional rights are uniquely challenged by new surveillance developments in national security programs deployed since 9/11. Finally, the course will explore foreign interference of US elections, information warfare, and cyberattacks. This discussion will include the significant policy impact of technological developments in ongoing defensive and offensive operations, and the increasing reliance on AI and data analytics by the military and intelligence community to inform actionable intelligence. Students who are registered in or have successfully completed LAW 797, War Powers, may not register for nor enroll in LAW 475.

The course will focus on litigation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983—the statute most commonly used to protect Americans’ constitutional rights. Topics covered will include the history of the statute, the categories of defendants who can be sued under the statute, theories of liability, available remedies, defenses to suits, immunity from suit, and awards of attorneys’ fees. The course will also cover the relationship between substantive rights and the litigation tools provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The course will explore the major Supreme Court cases that define the principles of § 1983, and the class will discuss how the principles apply to actual cases that have arisen and been litigated in Virginia. Students will be graded based on a paper (approximately eight to ten pages) based on facts provided to the students, and classroom participation.

Looking for a cutting-edge way to take your legal writing to the next level? This course will introduce you to the latest technology in natural language processing ChatGPT and show you how to integrate it into your legal writing to improve efficiency, accuracy, and overall impact. Through a combination of lectures, hands-on exercises, and interactive discussions, you'll learn how to use ChatGPT to streamline your legal writing process, generate high-quality drafts, and enhance the clarity and persuasiveness of your arguments. Topics covered in the course include An overview of natural language processing and its applications in the legal field How to use ChatGPT to generate legal documents, such as contracts, briefs, and pleadings Strategies for using ChatGPT to improve legal research and citation Techniques for editing and proofreading documents generated by ChatGPT to ensure accuracy and consistency Ethical considerations for using ChatGPT in legal writing, including issues related to confidentiality, privilege, and malpractice. (Note: This course description generated by ChatGPT, with minor editing by a human.)

In this course we will study the First Amendment's religion clauses - the Free Exercise clause and the Establishment Clause. The core of the course examines how government interacts with religion, and the interplay between free exercise and establishment, in three key areas: government regulation of religious activity and institutions, government funding of religious activity and institutions, and governmental attempts to promote a common culture or political ethos. Our primary focus will be on current First Amendment doctrines concerning religion. Time permitting, we may also examine the intersection between the religion clauses and the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause.

In recent years, numerous conflicts have erupted on university campuses over classroom speech, revocation of invitations to "controversial" outside speakers, student disruptions of scheduled speaker events, the extramural speech rights of faculty, limits on faculty research, and restrictions on faculty expert testimony. This course will examine the general principles of academic freedom applicable on university campuses, the relationship between academic freedom and the free speech rights of faculty and students, and the role of university leaders in supporting academic freedom and free speech on campus.

What do rivers on fire, giant floating mats of seaweed, and coal mining in Appalachia all have in common? The Clean Water Act. This course will explore the history of the Clean Water Act, discuss its mechanisms for limiting water pollution, and analyze how far we've come in achieving Congress' goal of protecting water quality so that America's water bodies are 'fishable and swimmable.'

This course will examine federal immigration law and policy. Topics include citizenship, admissions, deportation, an introduction to refugee law, and the role of the courts in reviewing the actions of executive officials. We will examine the history of immigration to the United States, the constitutional rights of non-citizens, the federal agencies that administer the immigration and citizenship laws, undocumented immigration, and the balance between national security and openness to non-citizens.

In 2021, Dominion Voting Systems filed billion-dollar defamation suits against Fox News and others based on their claims that Dominion rigged the 2020 Presidential Election. The case against Fox News settled in April 2023 for a record-breaking $787.5 million. In this short course, students will examine the life cycle of bet-the-company litigation, from pre-publication counseling to resolution. During each of the six sessions, instructors who served as litigation counsel on both sides of this historic litigation will analyze retraction demands, reputational harm in the age of disinformation, the First Amendment, and related privileges commonly raised by media defendants in libel litigation. This one-credit course will be pass/fail.

This course will examine the legal regimes and moral theories that govern the conduct of international and internal armed conflicts (jus in bello). In particular, the course will examine the historical origin and application of international agreements that seek to establish parameters for the conduct of armed conflicts, to include the Geneva Conventions and Hague Conventions. Issues to be addressed include the status of conflicts and combatants; the protection of noncombatants; the means and methods of war; lawful and unlawful weapons; lawful and unlawful targets; rules of engagement; war crimes; the law of internal armed conflicts; and terrorism. The Law of Armed Conflict’s four fundamental principles of distinction, military necessity, unnecessary suffering, and proportionality will be discussed, with the goal of developing a framework for examining past and current practices related to the means and methods of conducting war. Students are advised that this course may include discussion and visual depictions of armed conflict and other acts of extreme violence. The textbook for this course is Gary D. Solis's The Law of Armed Conflict-International Humanitarian Law in War (3rd ed., 2021). The class will be graded based on class participation and a take-home final examination.

This course covers pre-natal harm, parentage decision making at birth, child abuse and neglect, foster care and adoption, legal representation of children, public and private schooling, status offenses, delinquency, and constitutional rights of youths. There is no exam. Students will write a research paper on a topic of their choice. This course is offered every other year.

This seminar offers a broad overview of legal constructions of race and the theories that inform those constructions from the American founding to the present. The course will explore the ways in which American courts, and particularly the Supreme Court, have defined and constructed "race." We will examine jurisprudence on Blackness, Indigeneity, and whiteness from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century. The course begins with reviewing case law on race and secondary sources that contextualize that case law to put the court’s decisions into conversation with the societal, political, and economic period in which they take place. The second half of the course will shift to examining the theoretical frameworks that aid the court or should aid the court in making decisions about race, paying particular attention to colorblind constitutionalism and Critical Race Theory. This part of the course will address contemporary debates on the role of these frameworks in the media and public sphere. The primary goal of this course is to introduce and encourage students to think critically about major theories and themes that inform modern debates about how the court should decide or interpret cases about race. It is merely an introduction and not a comprehensive survey on race and constitutional law. Due to time limitations and constraints, the course focuses exclusively on three racial groups. This is not to suggest that the topics covered in the course could not be applied to other racial groups. Instead, the course provides a theoretical framing that will help cultivate the ideas that can be applied to other facts. At the very end, the course will cover some scholarship on intersectionality, Asian, and Latina/o studies but that will not be the primary focus. Grading is based on 1) class participation; 2) weekly discussion questions; 3) a final 20–25 page research paper; 4) and a final in-class presentation.

AI: Intro for Non-Experts: This course introduces Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies to non-technically oriented law students. Students will learn about the history of AI’s development, and how AI systems operate differently from “classical” programming. The course will focus on the two types of systems—predictive AI and generative AI—and students will have an opportunity to interact with publicly available AI-based programs to familiarize themselves with the potential and limitations of machine learning-based technologies. This course is not a prerequisite to the “Artificial Intelligence & More” seminar (Law 428-01) offered in the Spring semester, but students may find the foundational introduction complementing the seminar.

Transacting and Litigating for the Regulated Client: The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has broad regulatory oversight and authority in the areas of energy, business entities, banks and financial institutions, rail and utility pipeline safety, insurance, and more. Practicing before the Commission, whether in public service or private roles, in many ways blends the transactional and litigation as well as state and federal practices that so often remain clearly delineated in other practice areas. This one-credit course will examine a wide range of practical topics that an attorney practicing before the SCC may face. Each week, through guest speakers that have practiced publicly or privately before the SCC, this course will address specific and current topics affecting the Commission’s regulatory role. Topics addressed include data centers and crypto currencies, as well as general Virginia administrative topics such as public contracting and access to public records. Evaluation will be P/F and based on class participation and an end-of-course writing assignment.

State supreme courts may interpret state constitutions to provide expansive rights protections. Same-sex and inter-racial marriage, search and seizure protections, and much more originated in state supreme courts. Following the Dobbs abortion decision, reproductive rights advocates have turned to state courts to fill the gap. This short course will examine both the critical role played by state supreme courts and the political constraints on state court interpretation. Class meetings will often feature current/former state officials (state Supreme Court Justices, state Solicitors General) and academics who study state constitutionalism (political scientists and law professors). Students will write two graded papers (1200-1500 words; no independent research).

Advanced Topics in Employment Law: This course will explore emerging topics in Employment Law including post-pandemic Unemployment Insurance programs, Family and Medical Leave insurance programs springing up in states throughout the country, and the enforcement and development of employee classification laws and issues (including state’s attempts to classify the gig worker). This online course is an advanced, conversational study designed to provide students with a practical understanding of the nuances of these laws. It combines an intense, non-political legal discussion of these topics with statutory and regulatory analysis, an understanding of the roles, functions, and relationship between the three branches of government at the Federal and State levels, and the opportunity to hear directly about three critical areas in employment law from thought leaders in these areas in both the public and private sectors. Student performance will be assessed using class participation and a final paper. This class will not significantly overlap with Law 456. It is an advanced, conversational study of topics and trends designed to further develop a student’s understanding, familiarity with, and ability to navigate these developments in Employment Law. LAW 456 or LAW 452 are pre-requisites.

The course will examine the parameters within which public participation in the local government process can and should be permitted, required, and properly managed. Obviously, this implicates First Amendment issues as well as ethical issues, and the course will explore legal precedent that builds the walls within which public participation by both officials and citizens can be regulated. Beyond that though, this course will encourage discussion on whether such regulations are productive, and whether different circumstances require different degrees of constraint. Another aspect to explore is the need to maintain decorum at public meetings in order to allow the conduct of business to occur in a reasonable and professional manner. The course can also look at the different standards for certain ethical considerations that apply at varying levels of government, and again encourage discussion and debate on the value of these standards. This area would focus more on the decision makers than the public in general and look at public meeting requirements, ex-parte communications, voting conflicts, anti-SLAPP lawsuits, and even political campaign signs. Finally, the course can venture into how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape when it comes to local government meetings, establishing a quorum, and ensuring public access and participation. Although the pandemic has passed, there is an expectation for the ability to offer virtual meetings..

This course will survey a variety of laws that U.S. companies contend with when doing business overseas. Areas may include corporate law and securities regulation, commercial sales, employment discrimination, human rights, anti-corruption, intellectual property, dispute resolution, and various dimensions of international trade law. It will have both a doctrinal and a practical component. The course will be graded on the basis of in-class participation and a final examination.

This covers the regulation of international trade at the international level by organizations such as the World Trade Organization, at the regional level by such arrangements as the North American Free Trade Agreement, and at the national level by the U.S. and its principal trading partners through various U.S. trading institutions. Topics include the constitutional allocation of authority over international trade in the U.S., customs law, non- tariff barriers, import relief measures and other trade remedies, government procurement, trade in services, regional economic integrations, and the need to examine trade issues in relation to the new trade agenda, namely labor and environmental issues and the protection of intellectual property rights.

Contemporary Challenges in International and Comparative Criminal Justice: This short course addresses a selection of contemporary challenges in international and comparative criminal justice. Topics to be covered will include criminal accountability for the war in Ukraine, corporate criminal accountability for serious human rights violations, criminal accountability for the crime of ecocide (serious damage to the environment), and criminal accountability for ‘bystanders’ in situations of police brutality. Grades will be based on a final examination.

This six session "short course" will explore the numerous difficult legal issues involved with the police interrogation of suspects. The focus here will be on the way the constitutional mandate [especially as seen in the seminal U.S. Supreme Court holding in Miranda v. Arizona] works in actual practice. We will consider the Court’s key decisions, the warnings process, and questions decisions, the warnings process, and questions involving citizens in general and certain groups in particular [e.g., juveniles, racial minorities, inmates]. The assigned text will be a compilation of materials prepared by the professor distributed at no cost to students enrolled in the class. The grade for this class will be pass/fail. A pass grade will be based on class participation, attendance [attendance at 5 of 6 sessions required] and a 3-4 page essay due the last day of class critiquing an article discussing the Miranda decision.

Law and Social Justice Seminar: American society and law schools have become intensely politicized in recent years. Is it possible anymore for people who have different political alignments and values to engage with each other in reasoned, respectful dialogue about controversial social and legal issues? This course is offered in the hope that it is possible at least at this law school. We will deepen our understanding of highly-charged contemporary issues, and of others' views on those issues, such as abortion, policing and incarceration, the equal treatment vs. religious freedom struggle occasioned by same-sex marriage, accommodation and acceptance of trans- gender persons, immigration, preferential treatment for particular groups in college and law school admissions and hiring, student protests at invited-speaker events, and calls to abolish the child protection system. We will study alternative perspectives on each issue, not just the prevailing orthodoxy. The semester will begin with canonical texts in political philosophy and critical theory and sociological writings on political parties and perspectives in the U.S. today, to lay some foundation for subsequent conversations about particular contested social policies. Students will assume much of the responsibility for leading discussions and will write a paper at the end of the semester. (No exam)

With the 2020 Census on the near horizon, significant attention will be placed on redistricting in the coming years. Inherent in any redistricting plan is a recognition of the spatial configuration of voting districts and the processes driving proposed voting district maps. Federal and state constitutions and statutes impose legal requirements for voting districts that in practice are often manipulated to favor of drawing lines that protect partisan/incumbent interests. This one-credit course will combine an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with a focus on the legal analysis of redistricting plans. Students will learn basic GIS skills and tools designed to develop compliant maps. This will include working with district boundary maps, census information and other socioeconomic layers in an integrated GIS platform to understand and quantify the impacts realized when voting districts are redrawn. The course will focus on the 2017 Supreme Court case Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections decision as a frame to better understand the laws governing redistricting efforts. After learning the legal parameters of the redistricting process, students will work in teams to develop and present a redistricting plan for the 12 state legislative districts identified as problematic in Bethune-Hill. In the process of coming up with ways to improve compliance with state and federal statutory and constitutional mandates, this course will uniquely prepare students to play a substantive part in the 2020 round. This course will be graded pass/fail.

This seminar explores the nature and function of contemporary military justice, the application of international human rights, and strategies for reform. Topics will include the role of commanders; unlawful command-, presidential-, and congressional-influence; constitutional rights of military personnel; court-martial jurisdiction and offenses; judicial independence; punishment; military commissions; and summary (nonjudicial) proceedings. We regularly consider foreign materials.

The European Union is the most advanced system of law and governance outside the United States. Yet different crisis and tensions in the EU are testing ways the foundations of economic and political integration, from its damaged single currency architecture , the massive arrival of refugees, terrorist attacks, populist movements, the UK’s decision to leave the EU or the demands of a globalized Marketplace and technological disruption. This introductory course will study the state of EU decision-making, the application of its legal principles and the balance of power between EU political institutions and between Member States in a critical moment of European integration. Class meets Feb 1-4, 2022.

The Counterintelligence Law course will examine the laws that prohibit espionage, media leaks, and other instances of mishandling classified or national defense information. This course will also explore the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Classified Information Procedures Act, and other laws relevant to prosecuting national security crimes. The focus of the course will be on the legal framework that criminalizes espionage and mishandling of national defense information, with a focus on how caselaw has interpreted those offenses. The foundation of the United States Intelligence Community and how the U.S. Government conducts counterintelligence will also be discussed. This class will meet in person. Students will be graded, pass/fail, based on a written assessment and class participation.

The roots of the Office of State Attorney General run deep in American jurisprudence. All thirteen American colonies had an attorney general and today all fifty states and the District of Columbia have opted for providing legal services through an office of state attorney general. Each office possesses extraordinarily broad jurisdiction and to varying degrees is independent from the executive branch of state government. The combination of sweeping jurisdiction and constitutional independence has given rise to a unique American legal institution of growing importance. The course will cover the practical realities of the offices of state attorneys general, including organization, attributes, and roles. The course will also dive into the philosophical background of the office, how it fits into federalism and separation of powers, as well as the ways that attorneys general conceive of their roles. The course will then go through the extensive investigatory powers of the state attorneys general and how it is used. Finally, the course will cover litigation and enforcement actions by state attorneys general, including the legal doctrines that empower the offices.

A seminar intended for those students who have an interest in developing critical insights and techniques in the power of persuasion of jurors. The factors, both conscious and unconscious, which compel jurors in the processing of evidence, and the hierarchy of decision-making, will be examined. Analysis of the spectrum of impact, subtle to dramatic, of memory, perception, bias, and heuristics will be applied by each student to develop strategies to fairly and professionally influence jurors in the pursuit of justice. Integration of coursework and simulations will result in each student drafting, arguing, conducting case specific voir dire, and making decisions regarding challenges for cause and peremptory strikes, resulting in the selection of a jury of citizens from the community. Additionally, each student will deliver an opening statement to the selected jury and receive juror feedback. Grades are based on professionalism, class participation, drafted memoranda, and performance.

The Department of Justice is one of the most important and powerful executive branch departments in government. DOJ prosecutors make decisions that have a profound impact on the lives of individuals and the ongoing success of business entities. Drawing on my experiences as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, in leadership positions at DOJ (including Acting Deputy Attorney General, principal deputy to the Deputy Attorney General, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions) and my work as a defense attorney in private practice, this course will focus on critically important issues confronted by the Department and the defense bar. It will examine the mission of DOJ, its organizational structure, the rule of law, the government’s decision-making process and exercise of prosecutorial discretion. The issues confronted by DOJ attorneys, in both civil and criminal arenas, present some of the most consequential legal and policy questions facing this nation. This course, in part, will examine the principles of federal prosecution, the vital work of the Solicitor General’s Office, the Office of Legal Counsel, the National Security Division, the role of DOJ in international affairs and the roles of DOJ law enforcement agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF&E, U.S. Marshal’s Service and Bureau of Prisons.It will examine the unique role of the Attorney General as a member of the President’s Cabinet including the White House Communications policy. This course will also examine the line between enforcement policy driven by the President’s agenda and a commitment to independent, objective law enforcement with a goal of seeking justice. Readings will include DOJ prosecutorial guidance principles, policy memoranda, case law, Office of Legal Counsel opinions and news articles.

Law and Politics: This course will explore the intersection of law and politics. Led by leading political scientists, students will examine critical legal questions through the lens of politics and political science. The course will provide a richer understanding of doctrine (is the search for original meaning a value-laden enterprise; do lawmakers have sufficient incentive to take Supreme Court statutory interpretation methodology into account when enacting a law; does the Supreme Court appreciate the multi-fold ways that presidents can limit independent agency autonomy). The course will also raise questions about judicial legitimacy and independence (does party polarization impact state efforts to challenge opposite-party presidential initiatives; does the appointments and confirmation process push presidents and Senators to select extremist judges; can collegiality and judicial independence norms serve as a counterweight to elected government efforts to transform the courts into political entities). The course will be graded pass/fail. Students will be graded based on class participation as well as three reaction papers (900-1100 words; no research).

This course will provide a practitioner’s perspective on litigation on behalf of Indian tribes, principally against the United States. It will explore issues including jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, causes of action under the Administrative Procedure Act, the Indian Self-Determination Act, and the Indian Tucker Act, as well as claims for breach of trust. Students will gain an understanding of how a litigator analyzes and prepares a suit on behalf of a tribal client and, more generally, the basic issues affecting litigation against the United States. This class will meet in person. Students will be assessed by way of a written assessment due two weeks after the end of the course.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the “Magna Carta” of environmental laws in the United States. The statute requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of any major government action. For example, when the Department of Transportation decides to build a highway or bridge, a NEPA analysis is required. When the U.S. Forest Service decides to cut down trees, a NEPA analysis is required. When the National Park Service decides to thin an elk herd, a NEPA analysis is required. And when the Department of Energy decides to issue offshore drilling permits, a NEPA analysis is required. Whether you represent a federal agency, an energy company, or a construction company, NEPA will be a foundational part of your practice. Topics to be addressed in this seminar include: the definition of a “federal action”; the use of categorical exclusions; the preparation of environmental assessments (and corresponding findings of no significant impact), environmental impacts statements, programmatic EISs, or supplement analyses; the “hard look” requirement, including the assessment of alternatives; assessment of cumulative impacts in similar or connected actions; tiering to prior NEPA analyses; public participation and the comment process; Article III standing (including the sufficiency of informational or forward-looking injuries); prudential standing and the zone of interests; environmental justice; consideration of mitigation measures; the role of the Council on Environmental Quality’s Regulations; and the availability of remedies (including preliminary and permanent injunctions and remand with vacatur or without vacatur). The course will have a practical focus and will allow students to consider (and argue) recent Department of Justice NEPA cases. This class will meet in person. Students will be graded by way of standard letters

Drug trafficking and arms dealing have long-standing unrivaled histories at the top of the list of criminal enterprises worldwide. Unfortunately, human trafficking has exploded up the ranks in recent years, threatening to rapidly surpass these two industries. Sexual crimes against children are a major component of the human trafficking underworld -- production and distribution of child pornography, coercion and enticement of children, "sextortion" and "sexploitation," and the sex trafficking of minors. These crimes are some of the fastest-growing in the United States and are more prevalent than most want to acknowledge. Behind this meteoric rise in crimes against children lies emerging technologies used in a myriad of ways to help facilitate production, disseminate product, and conceal conduct. This course will examine the ways in which social media, filters, deepfakes, A.I., encryption, and anonymity and anti-forensic software are used by child predators and how such tools and practices are changing the legal landscape of this criminal practice area.

Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism: This course concerns an area of law at the intersection of financial services, criminal law, and national security. Federal indictments routinely include one or more charges of “money laundering.” How does that happen? How can such a serious-sounding crime be so ubiquitous? How does the law deal with the threat this poses? This course will study the legal framework commonly known as anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, or AML/CFT. It will focus on the historical development and current use of key sections of the U.S. Criminal Code, the Bank Secrecy Act, and related federal statutes and regulations. It will examine domestic legal challenges to those authorities. It will assess the international AML/CFT framework and its interaction with U.S. law. A final examination and class participation will determine the course grade.

Enforcement of the Securities Laws: Procedures and Issues: Participants in the United States securities markets – issuers of securities, broker-dealers, investment advisers, pooled investment vehicles such as mutual funds and hedge funds, and the professionals who run them – operate within an over-lapping system of federal, state, and industry regulation. Each securities regulatory authority has its own enforcement program governed by its own statutory or rule-based procedures. How these authorities pursue investigations, confront potential misconduct, and make decisions about pursuing charges in enforcement proceedings and disciplinary actions can vary widely, as can the business and personal ramifications of an adverse outcome. Counsel play an important role at every stage of the enforcement process. This course introduces students to the enforcement of the federal securities laws by the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, the securities self-regulatory organizations (SROs) such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the New York Stock Exchange, state securities regulators and attorneys general, and by the US Department of Justice. The course will evaluate issues and processes from the perspectives of law enforcement authorities, defense counsel, and in-house counsel. Students will learn how the various enforcement authorities operate, how they investigate potential violations of the federal and state securities laws, how they interact with other regulatory authorities, and how defense counsel represent clients in the enforcement process while navigating any parallel civil litigation and/or criminal investigations. The course will also address current issues in securities law enforcement, including potentially manipulative algorithmic and high frequency trading, insider trading, financial fraud, and other types of matters.

Americans depend on a variety of investment professionals and corporate forms to achieve their financial goals and build financial wealth. Much of that wealth is invested or “managed” in vehicles known as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), private hedge funds, and separately-managed accounts and portfolios – and is overseen by professionals and firms known as “investment advisers.” The investment management industry thus plays a critical role in how Americans build wealth for retirement, save for education and other major life expenses, and endeavor to transfer wealth to the next generation. In 2023 there were over 14,000 funds registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) holding approximately $27 trillion in assets. The SEC also oversaw more than 15,000 registered investment advisers (RIAs) reporting approximately $125 trillion in regulatory assets under management. This course is designed to familiarize students with the legal and regulatory framework of the investment management industry, focusing primarily on the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and the regulations under each. It will address key case law and engage with significant interpretive and regulatory positions taken by the SEC and other regulators. Topics of study include the reach of federal investment management regulation, the registration and regulation of investment advisers, and the regulation of the operation, management, and distribution of mutual funds, ETFs, and other pooled investment vehicles. The course will also examine how the SEC and its Division of Investment Management regulate the investment management industry as well as the role of private counsel in representing regulated entities and investment professionals.

This seminar examines the rise of the conservative legal movement in the United States. Particular attention is given to the Federalist Society, and its role in shaping the judiciary, specifically the U.S. Supreme Court. This course will explore the judicial philosophy of Clarence Thomas. This course will also discuss the key ideas advanced by the conservative legal movement-most notably originalism. Lastly, this course will explore conservative legal advocacy.

This seminar examines topical issues of criminal law. Our examination will include reading, discussing, and analyzing various theoretical approaches to the issues and reforms that may have been made. Our discussions will include applying and evaluating the theoretical literature to actual case law and doctrine. The nature of the topics will vary from term to term; please review PATH for term specific description.

Much of modern geopolitical conflict occurs in the economic domain. The United States wields its financial power to combat global threats and denies access to its financial system, markets, and technologies for national security reasons. This seminar will explore the historical, theoretical, and strategic considerations that shape the use of economic and commercial power in modern statecraft, and it will examine the complex legal regimes that govern the tools of economic warfare and defense today. Particular areas of focus will include coercive and offensive measures such as economic sanctions and trade remedies; the post-9/11 U.S. regulatory regime designed to combat financing of terrorism and similar global threats; review of foreign investment by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; protection of sensitive technologies through export control laws; and efforts to safeguard critical supply chains. The seminar will pay particular attention to emerging challenges to these regulatory regimes presented by recent developments including digital asset innovation and efforts to challenge the primacy of the U.S. dollar.

The course will cover not only a history of the adoption of the statute, and the reasons therefor, but also the development of caselaw and amendments since its initial passage almost sixty years ago. We will discuss both the civil jurisdiction exercised by the Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the criminal jurisdiction exercised by the Department of Justice ("DOJ"). If there is time, we will also discuss the recently-enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act ("FEPA").

President George W. Bush's November 13, 2001 Order creating Military Commissions to prosecute those accused of committing acts of terror and who harbor them created a firestorm of legal activity. That activity is ongoing, albeit at a much slower pace than during the period from 2002 - 2014. This activity forms a critically important foundation for apprehending, detaining and trying stateless actors and those who fought in a status that was previously ill defined by international law. The course's discussions will engage the students concerning the balance between due process, fundamental fairness and society's interests in the goals of criminal law, e.g., safety, deterrence, retribution and punishment. This course will explore the underpinnings of the November 13 Order through the issuances from the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice that gave rise to the Order, the activities of lawyers in the Department of Defense and the White House prior to and following the Order's issuance, and the precedential cases relied upon to create the Order. Students will contrast trial of terrorists in Federal Courts with trial by Military Commissions and opine on the necessity for a legal process that does not include the protections afforded by Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Grades will be based on a final paper. Students may not enroll in this course if they are currently enrolled in, or successfully completed, LAW 543, Terrorism and the Law.

This seminar will consider various topics regarding criminal justice. The nature of the topics will vary from term to term; review Banner for term specific description.

One of the most dynamic areas of legal theory today, children's rights is a fascinating lens through which to reexamine fundamental principles about rights more generally and larger moral and legal questions. What beings are capable of possessing rights? At what point in their lives do they become right holders—before birth, at birth, upon developing certain capacities? What reasons does the legal system have for ascribing rights to anyone? What do rights protect - choices, interests, something else? Should everyone have the same rights? Or should equal rights for all at least be a presumptive starting point for legal analysis? In this class we will address these questions in the course of examining the law governing fundamental aspects of children's lives. Specific topics will include abortion, maternal substance abuse during pregnancy, how states identify and protect newborns from unfit birth parents, prison nurseries, barriers to adoption domestically (including race and religion matching and the Indian Child Welfare Act) and internationally, corporal punishment within the family and in schools, parental religious objection to medical care, cults, homeschooling, regulation and financing of religious schools, students' rights of expression, and the right to vote. Students in this class will write a 10-15 page paper; no exam.

This seminar provides a broad overview of contemporary jury system management and trial procedure with an emphasis on current policy debates concerning the American jury. The course begins with a brief review of the history of the jury and current public perceptions of its role in contemporary society. It then examines the jury selection process from summoning and qualification procedures through voir dire. After a brief examination of jury behavior and decision-making based on contemporary social science, the course focuses on contemporary issues concerning the American jury in civil and criminal litigation. Specific topics include juror comprehension of expert testimony, civil jury verdicts and awards including punitive awards, racial and ethnic bias in criminal verdicts, and the effects of death qualification procedures in capital juries. Grades are based on a research paper on a topic related to jurors or jury trials (60%), a presentation on the research (15%), and class participation (25%).

Terrorism is a special form of political violence that has been used throughout history by both states and sub-state organizations to sustain a wide variety of causes. This course examines the challenges faced in protecting against and responding to acts of terrorism, including the conflicts of law, jurisdictional limits imposed by international and domestic legal regimes, and the need to balance increased security measures against protection of civil liberties. Students may not enroll in this course if they are currently enrolled in, or successfully completed LAW 529, The Military Commissions.

This seminar considers procedural and substantive issues surrounding patent litigation and administrative remedies that are available for patent disputes. Topics will include a broad range of issues relevant to the subject that may include jurisdictional matters, cease & desist letters, pleadings, motions, discovery, jury trial, remedies and appeals. The exact selection of seminar topics will be identified on the seminar syllabus. Prior successful completion of Intellectual Property Survey or Patent Law is strongly preferred. Civil Procedure is a prerequisite. This seminar is not intended to provide the basic coverage of Patent Law but rather it is intended to build upon the fundamental knowledge of that subject. For two credits, the students, in consultation with the professor, will prepare a footnoted or end noted research paper between 20 and 25 pages in length.

This course will examine the processes by which the federal government awards and administers contracts ranging from acquisitions of multi-billion dollar weapon systems and large public works contracts, to routine purchases of office equipment and supplies. Discussions will focus on how federal contracting differs from contracting under state law, and address special topics unique to government contracting, such as procurement ethics, socioeconomic considerations, bid protests, changes, contract disputes and litigation, fiscal law requirements, and terminations.

During this 1-credit pass/fail course, students will learn the fundamentals of pro bono practice to enable and inspire their pro bono contributions upon law school graduation. The course will provide contextual training about the Justice Gap and substantive training on key pro bono areas including, among other things, landlord/tenant disputes, divorces, guardianships, and expungements. Students will also learn how to deal with client management issues, ethical considerations of pro bono work, and courtroom procedures.

This class will examine current Antitrust controversies, particularly those driven by changes in agency enforcement policies. The class will begin by examining recent debates regarding possible normative standards governing antitrust enforcement under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act. The class will examine recent proposals by the Biden administration, Trump administration, and FTC to alter antitrust enforcement policy. Topics will include the proper antitrust treatment of employee noncompete agreements, the role of labor market impacts when assessing various transactions and agreements, proposals to regulate high tech platforms more aggressively, and recent changes in anti-merger enforcement policy. The course will draw upon a wider range of materials than the basic antitrust course, including enforcement guidelines, petitions for rulemaking, cases, administrative decisions, briefs and proposed legislation. Completion of Antitrust (Law 411) is a prerequisite to enrolling in this course.

Introduction to Partnership Taxation for Corporate and Real Estate Lawyers : This course is a high-level introduction to the federal income tax treatment of partnerships, including LLCs treated as partnerships, and their owners, with a practical focus on real-word issues that commonly arise for corporate, real estate, and private equity lawyers. Topics covered will include the tax classification of business entities as partnerships, partnership formations with an emphasis on real estate and private equity funds, allocations of partnership income and losses to partners with a special emphasis on treatment of depreciation expense for real property, treatment of profits interests and “carried interests,” transfers of ownership interests by partners, distributions from partnerships to partners, and termination and liquidation of partnerships. It will be letter graded. Recommended: Law 311 Federal Income Taxation and Law 320 Business Associations.

Recent Supreme Court decisions have ushered in a new era of Second Amendment interpretation, litigation, and politics. This course examines the constitutional text, history, and precedents relating to the Second Amendment. Students will learn about the recognition of an individual right to keep and bear arms, the scope of the right in terms of who may exercise it, where arms can be carried, and which arms may be possessed. The course also covers the intersection between Second Amendment and other constitutional rights, statutory protections of the right to keep and bear arms, the concept of Second Amendment sanctuaries, and imposition of civil liability for firearms-related harm on gun manufacturers, governments and government officials, websites, and parents. Students who take this course will be able to assess the constitutionality of modern firearms regulations and address various other arms-related legal and policy questions.

We will examine what is—and is not—a trade secret. We will learn how trade secrets are preserved, and sometimes lost. We will tackle the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, adopted by Virginia and nearly all states, as well as relevant federal law. We will explore remedies, civil and criminal, for trade secret misappropriation, and defenses commonly asserted. We will discuss issues and strategic concerns that arise when litigating trade secrets cases so that students feel better prepared the first time they advise a client about or take on such a case. The course will be graded with standard letter grade.

This course provides more in-depth instruction covering both research content areas not included in the first-year instruction of Introduction to Legal Research and advanced research and analysis methods. Content areas include: a more in-depth look at statutory research and legislative history, municipal law, administrative law (both finding administrative rules and also administrative decisions), research in transactional practice, competitive intelligence, research skills in litigation practice (public records searching, docket research, etc.), using practitioner-focused research tools and resources, and advanced skills in researching cases. The course would also include instruction on advanced research strategies and the research process more generally, giving students the tools to assess their research themselves and build confidence their ability to tackle research questions where there might not be a complete answer.

This seminar offers a practical survey of legislative and regulatory effects and litigation on behalf of animals under U.S. and International law. The course will address the historical status of animals in the law; the current application of animal protection laws for companion animals, wildlife, and farm and other domesticated animals; legislative efforts and citizen initiatives to strengthen animal protection laws; and the limitations on implementation and enforcement of laws addressing anti-cruelty, wildlife, marine mammal and other areas of animal protection and the impacts of free speech, religious expression, and other Constitutional provisions on animal protection statutes will be explored.

The course is designed to assist students in making the transition from law student to legal professional and small business owner of a solo or small law firm. Topics covered in this seminar include, but are not limited to, the following: identifying areas of practice; attracting and maintaining good clients; client intake and interviewing; client relations; marketing your legal services; establishing a good reputation; acquiring and maintaining staff; team building, training and mentoring expectations; internal law office operations and management; computer technology; social media protocol; setting, charging and collecting fees; time keeping and billing; the billable hour; contingency fees; managing trust accounts; ethical issues pertaining to solo and small firms; risk management (avoiding malpractice claims); and health, wellness, and quality of life. Students will develop a business plan suitable for obtaining financing, setting goals, providing direction, and integrating their personal values, passion, and purpose to create a practice that serves their lives. Final grades are determined by a combination of completion of a business plan, class participation, group work and written assignments.

This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the law and policy concerns of disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the coronavirus pandemic. Frameworks for analysis include governmental power to respond; the role of public and private actors; statutory and regulatory responses; social vulnerability and loss of culture; compensation and risk spreading; and political leadership. This course counts towards the "Group B" requirements of the Environmental Law concentration.

Beyond providing professional advice as counselors at law, lawyers in America have often been selected to become citizen leaders, leadership roles for which law school typically provides little training. When lawyers like you are tapped to play key societal roles in politics, business, and their community, how does traditional legal thinking and analysis work in citizen leadership roles? This class will address that question, and seek to broaden your approach to leadership problem-solving. Most of the class will focus as a case study on how lawyer-leaders performed in 1960-65 as America chose involvement in Vietnam, when they acted in national policy roles during the United States' role in the Vietnam war. We'll assess the process and quality of their decision-making, and identify what lessons can be learned for all citizen lawyers for whom “thinking like a lawyer” may not be optimal. Henry Kissinger commented that U.S. foreign policy has suffered in part because key players have often been lawyers, who lack an appropriate historical perspective in making decisions. We'll consider if that is a valid criticism, and examine better ways for citizen lawyers to act as leaders. First we will look at how the critical leadership failures in America’s mistakes in Vietnam 1960-65, as described in Dereliction of Duty - by Gen. H.R. McMaster. Then we will consider in his new book, At War With Ourselves, how McMaster and other national leaders performed when McMaster served as National Security Advisor to President Trump in turbulent political times. This class is intended to sharpen your skills in conceptual problem-solving, and how to think beyond narrow legal frameworks when appropriate. The goal is to develop that most vital of all lawyer skills: good judgment. We will assess how ethical factors contribute to better leadership decision skills. And given its new impact on law and leaders, we will briefly consider the impact of AI on lawyers, especially in citizen lawyer roles. Class Approach: There will be assigned readings, selected in part from the books noted above. We will consider four groups of decision makers: White House advisors, the State Department, Congress, and the Pentagon, and evaluate how each "client group" contributed and detracted in the decisions being made. Prominent guest speakers, including H.R. McMaster, may address us as well. Student Eligibility: The seminar is primarily intended for second and third year law students. The course will be graded on a Pass-Fail basis, based on class discussions and a short paper to be submitted after the course conclusion. Primary Assigned Readings: H.R. McMaster’s two books, as noted above.

Environmental Due Diligence in Commercial Transactions: This 1-credit course will introduce students to the concept of “due diligence” as a tool for identifying, evaluating, and quantifying environmental risks associated with typical commercial transactions, with particular focus on mergers & acquisitions (M&A) transactions as a framework for evaluating environmental risks associated with real estate, operations and finished goods. Students will be introduced to the legislative framework and common law principles underlying environmental due diligence, and will consider various types of environmental risk, including harm to the environment, health and safety risks to individuals, financial liability and reputational risks. We will also touch upon common mitigation strategies. We will discuss the role of the attorney in environmental due diligence and identify other key participants, including environmental site assessment professionals and industrial hygienists. Students will have an opportunity to review, draft and negotiate relevant portions of common transactional documents, including site access agreements, representations and warranties and indemnification provisions. Students will be evaluated based upon class participation, understanding of the basic environmental risk and due diligence concepts, document drafting and negotiation skills. This course will be graded on a pass/fail basis and will be taught in person.

This course will explore issues relating to two groups of juveniles: cases involving children relating to support, custody and child protection and those involving allegations of delinquency. The course will cover broader national approaches, but with a specific focus on Virginia law. Knowledge gained from this course will assist students as future lawyers and policy makers to better shape the juvenile court system. The course will be graded.

Some of the greatest challenges in representing people accused of crimes come from outside the legal system. This course explores the difficulties of representing uniquely vulnerable populations of criminal defendants. Some of these vulnerabilities include serious mental illness, substance use disorder, indigency, homelessness, and undocumented immigration status. We will seek to gain a broader perspective on these challenges and how they intersect with criminal law. We will also explore some of the Virginia statutory framework involved in these topics, as well as specialty dockets like Drug Court and Behavioral Health Dockets. The course is taught by a dedicated public defender with more than a decade of experience. There will be no exam; students will be graded on in-class participation and preparation of a mock strategy of representation for hypothetical clients.

Applied Data Privacy Law for Regulated Industries: Managing Regulatory Change at Financial : While technology has far outpaced regulation in many areas of law, developments in privacy law has exploded in the last 5 years in an effort to keep up. Because of the structures put in place by GDPR and similar regulations, we are witnessing regular, incremental changes within the regulatory landscape at a rate that most organizations, even those in highly regulated industries adept at managing regulatory change, are struggling to adapt. The management of privacy law has required near constant evolution and maturation, and its application has grown increasingly sectoral in nature. To better understand this problem and how future privacy practitioners will be challenged with solving for it, this course will explore a case study, using the financial services industry as our backdrop, to gain practical experience analyzing real-world questions about how to interpret and apply privacy requirements. The course will survey the key regulations (and regulators) in play, explore how organizations structure their risk management programs to identify, implement, and control for regulatory requirements, and then analyze how privacy requirements have disrupted these traditional legal and regulatory risk management models.

What is the purpose of economic regulation? What is the appropriate regulatory model to achieve the desired public policy goals? From environmental regulation to regulation intended to prevent another financial-system crisis, contemporary debates highlight the importance of these questions: What are the principal regulatory policies used in the United States in different sectors of the economy? What are the public-policy goals of these regulatory regimes and are they effectively designed to achieve their goals? This course examines those questions from both legal and economic perspectives, examining such issues as regulatory capture and rent-seeking. Major topics include the constitutional framework of regulation in the United States, how economic analysis informs legal and policy analysis, a review of different types of regulation, including price regulation of utility monopolies, environmental protection and financial regulation. The course will analyze the regulatory structures of major economic sectors, and students will examine whether the regulatory structures are well designed to achieve policy goals. The course will also study some of the most controversial issues in regulatory law today, including the legal doctrines governing appeals of federal agency actions, such as the Major Questions Doctrine, proper judicial deference to agency rulemaking, the proper scope of environmental reviews of agency actions, and legal doctrines governing the scope of agency independence. It is taught by a former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and its state counterpart, the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

This course will examine the historic roots of Islam and its significance as law and religion before surveying several representative systems of Islamic law.

This course provides practice skills that will assist prosecutors and defense lawyers as they work their way through pre-trial, trial, sentencing, and post-trial practice in the criminal justice system. Among the topics explored will be how to conduct a preliminary hearing, navigating the discovery process and determining Brady material, learning how to conduct a suppression hearing, voir dire practice, making and overcoming motions to strike, handling sentencing hearings, and understanding the lawyer’s role in probation revocation proceedings. This course will be graded pass/fail based primarily on skills performance.

This course provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective practitioners in the field of internal investigations. It examines the role of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, as well as various other offices of inspector general, in protecting our national security. The course focuses heavily on investigative legal authorities, the report writing process, and effective interview and interrogation techniques. Students will also discuss oversight mechanisms within the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. This course will be graded primarily by paper.

Property rights and the sovereign's power of eminent domain have been essential components of Anglo-American law for centuries, and the protection of the right of private property ownership is one of the foundations on which the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the post-Civil War Amendments are built. This course will introduce students to the practical lawyering and analysis necessary for eminent domain practice, including the nuts and bolts of takings practice as well as the study of recent (and ongoing) U.S. Supreme Court cases. In addition, this course will focus on the history, policy, and, to some extent, the politics of property rights, eminent domain law, and related legal topics. We will examine how the right of private property was developed in common and constitutional law, the relationship of property rights to other civil rights and the sovereign's power to take land, the role of federal and state courts in protection of property rights, how private property squares with environmental law, and the proper "place" of property rights in the modern administrative state. Course materials will be cases and selected portions of books and journal articles, and other materials which will be made available. Grading will be based on a take home paper and class participation.

This course will look at Court decision-making over the past two terms and the upcoming 2024-25 docket; it will also consider the ramifications of the 2024 presidential race, especially against the backdrop of the partisan split between liberal/Democrat and conservative/Republican Justices. This course will also provide students with an opportunity to meet with federal appeals court judges, Supreme Court advocates, and a special assistant to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Guest speakers will include federal appeals judge and former Supreme Court advocate Pam Harris; Stanford law professor and Supreme Court advocate Pam Karlan ; special assistant to the Senate Judiciary committee and UNC law professor Mike Gerhardt. We will also also hear from one or two former Supreme Court clerks, and from at least one other Supreme Court advocate. There will be 7 or 8 class meetings over the course of the semester. There is no exam; students will write two 4 page memos. Memos will be based on class readings and there is no independent research.

Empowering Choices: A Client-Centered Approach to Disability Rights Law : Disability Rights Law will give a client-focused perspective of the civil rights of disabled individuals. Where many disability advocacy organizations and disability laws focus on the “best interest” of the disabled person, this class will work from the viewpoint of person-centered choice, regardless of disability. This will serve to broaden the student perspective of disability law to include an understanding of growing trends within the disability rights advocacy community. The class opens with a historical perspective of the disability rights movement in the United States, starting with the independent living movement of the 1960s, continuing through the passage of the Rehabilitation and Americans with Disabilities Acts, and ending with current efforts to reform service delivery and program access for disability services. The course will then transition to an examination of essential Disability Rights laws and court precedent, including causes of action and potential remedies. Throughout the class, students will participate in mock client intakes, during which they will identify potential legal claims and discuss the application of precedent as they learn it. This will culminate in the final assessment, where students will be graded pass/fail based on a mock client intake and case analysis. The class will expose students to a new area of civil litigation and advocacy that they were likely unfamiliar with before, broadening their employment opportunities and/or opportunities for pro-bono advocacy. This course will not have any significant overlap with the Elder & Disability Law Clinic. There are no prerequisites.

This course examines the struggle for racial change in America from the late nineteenth century to the present and the reasons for that change. The goal of this course is to provide an appreciation for the way in which law develops out of a particular social and political context and the way in which law has been used to accomplish racial change in the United States. This course sets forth two paradigms for consideration: the litigation model and the social protest model. In addition, this course also touches on racial struggles in other parts of the world. This course will be graded by a final exam.

This course will explore the history, constitutional rules and implementation of the death penalty in the United States. We will examine the special requirements for a capital trial including the selection of a 'death qualified' jury, use of aggravating and mitigating evidence in the punishment phase of the trial, and the right to effective counsel. Arguments by proponents and opponents of the death penalty will be discussed. Students will write a research paper on an instructor approved topic and present the results of their research in class.

This seminar will challenge students to evaluate critical legal concepts using a novel as the shared narrative. The topics addressed include police brutality, prosecutorial power, bigotry, free speech, and violent white extremism in America. The country grapples with a history of slavery and inequality, and it relies on the "rule of law" to make progress on race, civil rights and justice system reforms. In fact, the principle of "rule of law" acts as the foundation for most of the nation’s democratic traditions and norms. This course tests some of the inherent assumptions we are taught to accept as law students, lawyers, and educators about the rule of law, using literature as the means of inquiry. Pass/fail.

This course will focus on the intellectual and doctrinal framework that governs Federal Indian law: its origins (and, some hope, its future) in international law; the sources and scope of Federal authority over Indian affairs; allocation (among Tribal, State, and Federal governments) of civil, criminal, and regulatory jurisdiction in Indian country; and Tribal sovereign immunity. The course also will examine the recent acknowledgment - both administrative and legislative - of seven Indian Tribes in Virginia.

This course will compare the ways countries and cultures approach and embed constitutional issues. Transnational constitutional norms and themes will be analyzed. Readings discussions and presentations will focus on issues such as roles and functions of constitutions, economic and social protections, forms of government and balances of power, and constitutional protection of human rights. Constitutional processes in the modern era, including in post-conflict environments, will be examined.

This seminar is a scholarly exploration of the modern debate about how courts should (and do) interpret statutes. The course is not designed to be a comprehensive survey of thinking about statutory interpretation. Rather, the course is designed to introduce you to, and encourage you to think critically about, several of the major theories and themes that inform the modern debate (the virtues and vices of, for example, textualism, purposivism, legislative history, and the public choice theory of legislation). It is also designed to give each student an opportunity to sharpen his or her skills of critical analysis by writing critiques (and also defending) articles addressing issues of statutory construction. Students who are taking or have previously taken Legislation and Statutory Interpretation, LAW 412,are not eligible to enroll.

This course examines the growing area of disability law. Topics to be covered include discrimination based on disability in employment, government services, and public accommodations, as well as the requirement for educational institutions to provide special education services to disabled students. Relevant federal statutes will be examined, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (with special emphasis on the ADA Amendments Act of 2009), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA).

This course focuses on the main federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination and the policies underlying these laws, with the majority of time spent on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additional topics and subtopics include sexual harassment, discrimination based on LGBTQ+ status, the Family and Medical Leave Act, pregnancy discrimination, and the accommodation of religion.

Students taking Employment Discrimination Law (LAW 641-01) may also register for this one-credit practicum that will be graded pass/fail. This practicum will allow students to gain experience in the practice of employment discrimination law by completing several experiential exercises throughout the semester.

The course will cover not only a history of the adoption of the statute, and the reasons therefor, but also the development of caselaw and amendments since its initial passage almost sixty years ago. We will discuss both the civil jurisdiction exercised by the Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the criminal jurisdiction exercised by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). If there is time, we will also discuss the recently-enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (“FEPA”). The students would benefit from learning about these laws no matter what practice area they choose. The FCPA is such a pervasive law and is so aggressively enforced by both DOJ and SEC, that any lawyer needs to be aware of its potential impact on his or her clients. Students who choose to specialize in corporate law, M&A, antitrust, and litigation, especially criminal defense, will benefit the most, but given the broad scope and reach of these laws, virtually any practitioner will have a client experience where basic knowledge of the FCPA will be an asset. Students will be assessed on a pass/fail basis

This one-credit course reviews the key case law, legislation, and regulations, tests and measurements in determining eligibility in special education, and in the preparation of Individualized Education Programs and Section 504 Plans. Among the topics to be considered are issues of behavior and discipline for students with disabilities; strategies for negotiating with schools and working with parents; dispute resolution procedures in special education; and preparing legal claims and remedies on behalf of students with disabilities who are denied an appropriate education. This course will be graded based on student participation and a paper no less than ten double-spaced pages.

This course explores the laws and regulations shaping the future of power generation and consumption. Classes will address the legal obstacles to solar generation; the novel challenges of permitting and building off-shore wind; how the historical opposition to nuclear power could threaten this carbon-free generation; and the legal fight against coal. The course will provide a foundational understanding of the nature of electricity and how that nature has influenced the history and philosophy of its regulation. The course will also offer insight into the myriad career paths in energy law. This is a pass/fail course. Students will be assessed through class participation and a written assignment due after the end of the course.

Arbitration has become the prevailing method for the resolution of disputes in international commerce. This course will survey the sources of law governing the practice of international commercial arbitration. Those sources include international treaties, domestic legislation, the rules of arbitral institutions, and various sources of "soft law" promulgated by organizations such as the International Bar Association. Particular attention will be given to both the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the United States Federal Arbitration Act, although students will also be exposed to arbitration statutes in other jurisdictions through the UNCITRAL model law. Students will read U.S. Supreme Court cases applying the FAA, in particular the Court's "arbitrary" jurisprudence. Some unique features of arbitration in the U.S., such as class arbitration and consumer arbitration will be explored. In addition, the course will survey the unique aspects of arbitration of investment disputes against sovereign states under investment treaties. Throughout the course, students will be exposed to various practical issues, including how to draft an enforceable arbitration clause to identify "pathological" clauses. This will be a graded course and the final grade will be based on a final examination and class participation.

This course explores estate planning for individuals with special needs, due to physical, mental, and intellectual disabilities, which is an emerging subspeciality. Family law or estate planning practitioners are called on to develop comprehensive plans for supporting beneficiaries with special needs. The purpose of this course is to understand how to effectively plan for persons with special needs. By the end of the course, students will understand types of benefits, types of special needs trusts and their funding mechanisms, and capacity planning and its interconnectedness with trusts and estates. Preferred course: LAW 305 Trust and Estates or LAW 782 Special Education Advocacy Clinic.

The course focuses on international law applicable to the leading environmental and natural resource issues. It first analyzes the sources of international law concerning environmental protection and transboundary harm through treaty making, customary law, international judicial decisions, and other legal instruments from the perspective of the primary actors: governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and multinational businesses. The course then surveys specific issues, including climate change, ozone depletion, transboundary pollution and hazardous waste disposal, marine resources, and biodiversity. The course also examines intersections with other bodies of law, such as domestic environmental law and regulation, international investment and trade law, human rights, and sustainable development financing. It also considers international dispute resolution and remedies. Special attention will be given to novel or emerging topics, such as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, ecocide as an international crime, and climate change impact litigation, including the three recent advisory opinion proceedings before the ICJ, ITLOS, and Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Students interested in environmental law or international law generally should consider the course to gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Students who have taken public international law should additionally consider the course to gain insight into how international law is made and works in practice. Assessment may be conducted by written examination or paper on a topic to be confirmed with the instructor.

Electronic data has become of irreplaceable value to governments and industries. Political and business leaders are awakening to the realization that every business is a digital business – the small shops too. The goal of this seminar is to build students’ acumen surrounding information and cyber security, especially for those who aim to build careers in business, law, and government, where they will have the opportunity to enable changes towards a more protected digital environment. Given that electronic data pervades nearly every personal, governmental, and commercial activity, including elections, this interdisciplinary course has been specifically designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of how to recognize information technology risks and to minimize potential harm in one’s personal and professional lives. Students will have the opportunity to review the anatomy of a cyber-attack and will consider the intersection of cybersecurity, privacy and data protection. Subject matter experts will engage with students and offer practical insight on contemporary topics related to cyber and information security.

This mini-course offers an in-depth exploration of Virginia's distinct environmental laws, complementing traditional environmental law curricula that primarily emphasize federal and black-letter law. Students will gain a nuanced understanding of the Commonwealth's legal landscape through focused coverage of topics including water, air, land, waste management, submerged bottomlands, wildlife, and energy. Building on the foundational skills developed in the Lawyering Skills program, this course will also introduce practical elements specific to practicing environmental law in Virginia. Students will be guided through the essentials of navigating the Virginia Administrative Process Act, advising clients on state-specific issues, and sharpening their written and oral advocacy techniques. Although condensed, this course is designed to enhance the students' ability to apply their existing skills to the unique challenges and opportunities within Virginia's environmental legal framework. Recommended: Law 424 Environmental Law

Legal Principles in Protecting the Past. This course will introduce students to the concept of cultural heritage and examine the laws and ethics involved with the protection of cultural property. Through discussions of public policy, domestic and international law, and international conventions, students will learn basic principles governing the movement and ownership of cultural heritage, particularly as related to the restitution and repatriation of stolen art. We will explore the effects of war, colonialism, and modern development on cultural heritage through case studies on looted antiquities, Nazi-plundered art, and tribal repatriation. In addition to case law and relevant legal treatises, students will review case filings to develop an understanding of how advocacy works in an emerging area of law. Students will write a graded final paper in lieu of a final examination.

This pass/fail course offers a practical introduction to patent enforcement and defenses in proceedings before the International Trade Commission (ITC). This course will follow the procedure of an ITC investigation emphasizing the unique aspects of the ITC compared to district court litigation. Topics will include the ITC’s jurisdiction, organization of the ITC, including its commissioners, administrative law judges, and the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, developing the evidentiary record, the evidentiary hearing, post-hearing procedures, and subsequent proceedings. The course will consider some of the unique requirements of a proceeding before the ITC including the importation requirements, domestic industry, limited remedies, and strategies and procedures to enforce or overcome the ITC’s determination. Students will gain familiarity with patent enforcement and remedies broadly, as well as specific familiarity with proceedings before the ITC. The course will emphasize the practical solutions to common issues and focus on ways an associate at a law firm can meaningfully contribute on a litigation team. This course will cover how key case milestones are accomplished in a practical manner, e.g., common stipulations between parties, working with expert witnesses, and marshalling critical evidence. Prior successful completion of International IP Law, or Intellectual Property Survey, or Patent Law is recommended. Students taking this course are recommended to contemporaneously take or to have previously taken Business Associations. It is also suggested but not required that students take or have previously taken Securities Regulation. Students will be assessed on a written assignment due after the end of the course.

This one-credit pass/fail course will provide students with a high-level overview of U.S. foreign direct investment rules, focusing on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and its jurisdiction to review foreign investments in U.S. businesses. The course will cover: (i) the history of CFIUS, the role of its member agencies, and the development of new regulations under the Foreign Investment Risk Review and Modernization Act of 2018, (ii) the basic contours of CFIUS’s jurisdiction over control transactions, covered investments, and real estate transactions, (iii) how CFIUS arises in the context of typical M&A and private equity transactions, (iv) how CFIUS evaluates the risk of transactions and its authority to place conditions on or block/unwind investments and, (v) subject to time, the development of foreign direct investment regimes in other countries, particularly in Canada, the UK, and Europe and/or the rise in U.S. state foreign investment screening. Students will learn how to conduct basic CFIUS diligence in the context of a transaction, how to identify and describe CFIUS-related regulatory risk for exemplar transactions, and the general structure of a regulatory filing with CFIUS. Students will also learn (i) practical skills to use when providing CFIUS analysis verbally and in writing at the level that would be expected from a junior associate (or summer associate) and (ii) about the role of lawyers at firms, in-house, and in government in applying the CFIUS regulations. Students will be evaluated with a timed, written test containing several short answer questions about CFIUS applicability to a transaction, CFIUS risk, and a policy argument concerning expanded CFIUS jurisdiction. Students will be assessed on a written assignment due after the end of the course.

The intersection of law and entrepreneurship is an emerging field of study. This course explores the legal and economic issues faced by highly innovative start-up companies, their entrepreneurs, financiers (angel investors and venture capitalists), and lawyers. The course is loosely structured around the life cycle of a start-up company - from inception to financing to governance and finally exit - with the primary focus on entrepreneurial finance. Classroom sessions are a mix that may include lecture, outside speakers, and presentations by the students. Grading is based on a presentation, final paper, and classroom participation.

Global climate change presents an unprecedented pressure on our economy, society, and environment. In response, governments, industries, and private citizens around the world are turning to the legal system to mitigate global climate change, to adapt to its impacts, and to allocate climate losses and damage. This course begins with an overview of the causes and effects of global climate change, and the methods available to control and adapt to it. We then look at how environmental law has responded to climate change, from international frameworks and institutions to U.S. environmental law. We then expand beyond traditional environmental law, and explore the impact of climate change on other areas of law, from public law topics like energy law, land use, and refugee and resettlement law, to private law, including finance, insurance, and climate torts.

Elections across the globe take place every year and several often attract considerable international attention. While many electoral processes have obvious similarities, their differences reflect a combination of historical development, political struggles, and logistical considerations. The broader contemporary context is that many elections are occurring in the shadow of what has been characterized as an extended global democratic recession, which has now lasted more than 19 years. Thus, elections today may reflect not just a reaffirmation of democratic principles and respect for human rights, but also as harbingers of populist discontent, promote illiberal forms of democracy, and cause continued conflict and instability. This mini-course will begin with an overview of different philosophical conceptions of the term “electoral democracy.” We will then address the electoral practices of several countries across five distinct subjects: choice of election systems, including the role of gerrymandering; mechanics of election administration and uses of technology; voting rights and limitations on the franchise; campaign financing; and electoral dispute resolution. In considering these issues, we will examine decisions by courts operating under different legal regimes, standards established by various international treaties and declarations, and the role of external actors in shaping electoral processes. And as we review the electoral practices of various, we will consider their potential relevance to electoral reform in the United States.

Advanced clinical experience in Elder and Disability Law which allows up to four students selected by the professor who have successfully completed the Elder & Disability Law Clinic I to expand and further refine their research, writing, and advocacy skills through increased autonomy in representation of clients in more complicated legal matters. Students in EDLC II will provide assistance and advocacy in matters involving competency, nursing home issues, and Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other public benefit programs, including service-connected compensation and non-service connected pension benefits from the VA. Students will also gain skills in working with state and local agencies on elder law issues, and in preparing themselves and their clients for legal and administrative hearings. They will hone the acquired knowledge and skills by presenting public seminars or preparing materials on issues important to the elderly community and those with disabilities. Students will be graded on the quality of their work and their ability to represent multiple clients and manage multiple cases. Students may be required to mentor EDLC I students in these skills. Weekly times TBD. P/F. 2 credit course. Prerequisite: Elder & Disability Law Clinic I, open to both 2Ls and 3Ls.

The primary goal of this course is to explore ways in which people have used law both to perpetuate and to challenge racial injustice in the United States. It begins with a brief survey of race-based law from the nation's founding through the Supreme Court's 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia. It then explores the Critical Race Theory academic movement, perspectives on racial identity, race as social construction, and identity performance. And it examines the intersections of race and laws governing (inter alia) education, employment, criminal justice, affirmative action, and electoral processes. The secondary goal of the course is to explore ways in which the increasing diversity of society and of the legal profession affects the practice of law. Legal practice involves interpersonal activity, and all lawyers will interact with colleagues and clients whose cultural heritage differs from their own. This course thus explores the significance of culture and cultural differences in the practice of law. It introduces Intercultural Communication Theory - the study of interactions between people of different cultural backgrounds - to provide students (of all racial/cultural backgrounds) a framework upon which to enhance their capacities to communicate effectively and work productively with attorney colleagues and clients with identity backgrounds different than their own. Grading is based on (1) 2-3 short reflection papers or an in-class presentation (student's choice); and (2) a take-home (24 hrs.) self-scheduled exam, or writing a research paper.

This course examines the federal law and policies governing the purchase and sale of securities. The goal of the course is to provide students with a survey of the landscape of securities litigation under the federal securities laws as well as the tools necessary to work in the area. In particular, the course focuses on the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as well as the regulations and caselaw connected to it. It begins by discussing securities disclosure law (the focus of the related Securities Regulation course) in broad terms. It then moves on to focus on the types of legal instruments and transactions that trigger the application of the core federal securities laws. The main part of the course then takes an in-depth look at public and private litigation under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, with a special focus on corporate-mistatement litigation as well as public and private insider trading actions. In so doing, the class will touch on a number of other aspects of securities litigation (including Securities Act of 1933 provisions, judicial overlays on the securities-fraud litigation, and class action litigation more generally.) Prerequisite; LAW 303 Corporations I OR LAW 320 Business Associations. Students are able to enroll in both Securities Litigation and Securities Regulation while pursuing their degree.

The faculty member will supervise the student in conducting research on specified legal topics and the student will report on the research to the faculty member. The student's reports may be in written or oral form. Activities such as formatting documents for publication, Bluebooking, and the like do not qualify. The faculty member will provide feedback to the student. The total amount of faculty-student interaction and the student's independent work must equal at least three hours per week. No more than two credits of Directed Research may count toward graduation. Only full-time faculty may supervise. Permission of the faculty member and the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development is required.

Students will learn essential information about the U.S. legal system and fundamental principles of legal decision making, as well as legal analysis, writing, research, and other practical skills. Students will work with law school legal writing faculty and research librarians to research and write objective office memoranda and other legal documents.

An examination of a specialized subject that generally is not offered as a course within our curriculum on a regular basis. This course is arranged between an individual student or group of students (maximum, 5) through readings selected in agreement by the directing faculty member and students. This course meets for at least 700 minutes over the course of the term. Prior approval by the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development is required. Students are limited to one Directed Reading credit per year. Graded on a pass/fail basis.

This course requires the completion of a scholarly paper on a subject selected by the student, under the supervision of a faculty member. Does not satisfy the writing requirement. For Law 704-02 or 03, please see term description.

This course requires the completion of a significant research paper on a topic selected by the student, under the supervision of a faculty member. Students may enroll in this course and/or Law 706 for credit no more than twice. An important goal of an independent legal writing project is to improve students' writing skills. Faculty supervisors should communicate this goal to students at the beginning of the process and reinforce it throughout the paper-writing process, especially after submission of the first draft. Papers should evolve through four major stages, each of which should occur in consultation with the supervising faculty member: 1. Topic Development: The student should produce a succinct, coherent topic statement that sets out the thesis of the proposed paper. 2. Outline: The student should produce a reasonably comprehensive outline of the paper, including a statement of the basic steps in the argument, the major sources used, and a tentative conclusion or a comparable writing. 3. First Draft: The student should produce a first draft of the paper in time for the supervising faculty member to make comments and for the student to respond to those comments in the form of a second draft. Normally, the first draft should be submitted to the supervising faculty member by the end of the 10th week of classes. 4. Final Draft: The student should turn in the final draft of the paper by noon on the last day of exams for the semester, or as otherwise designated by the professor. LAW 705 does NOT meet the second-year writing requirement.

This course requires the completion of a significant research paper of at least 30 pages on a topic selected by the student, under the supervision of a faculty member. Students may enroll in this course and/or Law 705 no more than twice and this course satisfies the writing requirement. An important goal of the major paper requirement is to improve students’ writing skills. Faculty supervisors should communicate this goal to students at the beginning of the process and reinforce it throughout the paper-writing process, especially after submission of the first draft. Papers that satisfy the major paper requirement should evolve through four major stages, each of which should occur in consultation with the supervising faculty member: 1. Topic Development: The student should produce a succinct, coherent topic statement that sets out the thesis of the proposed paper. 2. Outline: The student should produce a reasonably comprehensive outline of the paper, including a statement of the basic steps in the argument, the major sources used, and a tentative conclusion or a comparable writing. 3. First draft: The student should produce a first draft of the paper in time for the supervising faculty member to make comments and for the student to respond to those comments in the form of a second draft. Normally, the first draft should be submitted to the supervising faculty member by the end of the tenth week of classes. 4. Final draft: The student should turn in the final draft of the paper by noon on the last day of exams for the semester, or as otherwise designated by the instructor.

Students will learn how to prosecute and defend misdemeanor cases, particularly in Virginia District Courts (General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court). This seminar will significantly assist any student who wants to handle cases under the Third-Year Practice ability in Virginia and like states. Specifically, the seminar will discuss traffic and criminal misdemeanor cases. Classes include the following topics: Introductions to the practice of misdemeanors in VA courts; Criminal Misdemeanors and Cases Involving Animals; Traffic Cases; Driving Under the Influence Cases and Bond Motion; and A View from the District Courts’ Judges. Guest lecturers will include attorneys from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Offices and defense attorneys, both public and private.

In support of students authorized to take the Virginia February Bar Exam prior to degree conferral.

Students must contribute substantially to the development of the substantive written competition briefs or memorials. Students must complete oral argument requirements and attend the competition in order to receive credit. Pass/fail.

Students must contribute substantially to the development of the substantive written competition briefs or memorials or application documents. Students must complete oral arguments and attend the competition to receive credit. Pass/Fail.

Spanish for Lawyers is a one credit , P/F, course that will give students who already possess some proficiency in Spanish an opportunity to use their language skills in a legal context. The class will focus on acquisition of legal vocabulary in Spanish and will allow students to interact in the target language with discussion and oral exercises. The course will cover several areas of the law including family law, criminal law, immigration law, employment law and housing law. Students will learn and be able to use vocabulary related to each area in oral and written contexts. Students will be evaluated by performance on role playing exercises and a final oral exam. Students should possess an intermediate proficiency in Spanish. There will be grammar refresher opportunities offered throughout the semester.

This course examines key aspects of modern employment law in the context of the contemporary workplace. Whereas other courses focus on what employment law is today, this course explores why it is that way, evaluates whether it is meeting society’s current needs, and considers what changes could be implemented to make it a better fit for the 21st Century workplace. Because much of contemporary employment law reflects a 19th Century workplace paradigm, it is increasingly ill-suited to cope with the modern gig economy, an increasingly contingent workforce, a 24/7 wired world, and new challenges to traditional legal concepts surrounding work--whether that takes the form of college athletes earning millions of dollars in NIL money or AI-enabled remote workers untethered to a conventional worksite or time schedule. In addition to critically examining what it means to be an “employee” today, the course will evaluate the efficacy of contemporary law pertaining to unemployment compensation, minimum wage, work-related injuries and illnesses, discrimination and harassment, and the nexus between employment and health care. In each instance, students will consider examples of alternative approaches provided by the law of other industrialized nations. While students will find it helpful to have previously taken the survey course in Employment Law (LAW 456) or the course in Employment Discrimination (LAW 452), neither is a pre-requisite to registering for this course. Fifty percent of each student’s course grade will be based on their class participation, with a short advocacy paper and a longer research paper accounting for the remaining fifty percent of their grade.

This is a course about learning to use power and influence as effective tools for both understanding your surroundings and achieving your goals. It is a course about getting things done in the real world, where politics and personalities can often seem to hinder rather than help you. It is a course for those of you who want to make things happen, despite the obstacles that might stand in your way. Consequently, it is a course about you. Course Objectives: This course presents conceptual models, tactical approaches and self-assessment tools to help you understand political dynamics as they unfold around you and develop your influence style. By focusing on specific expressions of power and influence this course gives you the opportunity to observe their effective and ineffective uses in different contexts and stages of a person's career. The subject matter will introduce different ethical questions. This course should challenge you to define what will constitute the ethical exercise of power and influence in your life. In this course we will rely on a mix of case studies, exercises, self-assessment tools and readings. Your grade will be based 50% on class participation and 50% on the final paper.

National Trial Team: An advanced litigation course intended for those students who have a substantial interest in litigation. The course is designed to develop the student's skills as a trial lawyer for both civil and criminal cases. Trial Advocacy will deal with trial strategy, jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, including the examination of witnesses, closing arguments, and preparation of jury instructions. Evidence presentation and related technologies will be fully integrated into all aspects of the course. A trial will be required. Students who take Trial Advocacy-Basic Advanced Litigation may not take any other Trial Advocacy section (Tech Trial Ad or National Trial Team Trial Ad or Medical Malpractice Trial Ad) for credit. Pre-requisite: satisfactory completion of Evidence, or co-registration in Evidence.

This is an advanced litigation course intended for those students who have a substantial interest in litigation. The course is designed to develop the student's skills as a trial lawyer for both civil and criminal cases. Trial Advocacy will deal with trial strategy, jury selection, opening statements, and presentation of evidence, including the examination of witnesses, closing arguments, and preparation of jury instructions. Evidence presentation and related technologies will be fully integrated into all aspects of the course. A trial will be required. Students who take Law 720 Trial Advocacy may not take any other Trial Advocacy section (Tech Trial Ad (738) or National Trial Team Trial Ad (718) or Medical Malpractice Trial Ad (472)) for credit. Pre-requisite: satisfactory completion of Evidence, or co-registration in Evidence.

This course is designed for students who are interested in how to effectively incorporate mediation theory into practice. Different models and approaches to mediation will be discussed and students will learn a broad range of skills and techniques through lectures, discussions, video simulations, exercises and role-plays. The process of mediation including convening and preparing for mediation, opening the mediation session, defining the issues, facilitating communication and creative problem-solving, and structuring a mediation will be covered. Skills that are valuable for mediators and advocates such as developing trust and rapport, active listening, formulating questions, gathering information, reframing, and effective interaction for facilitated decision making will be covered. In addition, we will examine legal, ethical and policy issues that arise in the mediation context.

This course will explore the theoretical and strategic fundamentals of negotiating in a variety of legal situations. The course will be taught in a once-weekly, 2 1/2 hour format and will focus heavily on class exercises and simulations by students working in teams of two, three, or four. The course will cover various issues central to the topic, including the stages of negotiation; psychology of negotiation and related issues such as verbal and non-verbal communication and power and control in the bargaining process; the principal-agent relationship; substantive and strategic differences between unilateral and multilateral negotiations; and the law of settlement. The course grade will be based on (1) student participation in class discussions and exercises; (2) student performance in simulated negotiations; and (3) a final exam which will draw heavily on weekly class discussions of the assigned class materials.

This intensive, skills-based course provides students with immersive training in trial advocacy through participation in the National Trial Advocacy College at William & Mary Law School. Designed as a high-impact experiential learning opportunity, the course combines expert-led lectures, faculty demonstrations, and structured small-group instruction with hands-on performance exercises. Students engage in simulated litigation activities, including opening statements, direct and cross-examinations, and closing arguments. Instruction is delivered by experienced trial attorneys and judges, with continuous individualized feedback to support skill development. The course culminates in a full mock trial in which students serve as lead counsel, applying advocacy techniques in a realistic courtroom setting. Through repeated practice, critique, and reflection, this course emphasizes the development of practical litigation competencies, professional judgment, and courtroom confidence.

This is a survey course focusing on the international law governing the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), its privileges and immunities under international and domestic law, and the international law appurtenant to NATO’s activities and operations in the preservation of peace and security in the North Atlantic area. Upon completion of this course, the student will have achieved an orientation to the international law governing the formation and existence of international organizations, applicable treaty law, and the bodies of law coincident to NATO’s activities and operations, including the law of armed conflict, international criminal law, international human rights law, cyber law, and the law governing military activities in space, among others. NATO began as a military alliance with an international political dimension, but over nearly 75 years since its formation, it has transformed into a political alliance with military applications. The strength of the alliance is in its political unity more than its military capability, and the legal foundations underlying this unity are vital to its perpetuation. Students will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis and will be assessed by way of a written assignment due after the end of the course.

Foreign and International Research is a 1-credit pass/fail course that introduces students to a variety of foreign and international law sources and research methods over seven class sessions. Students will learn how to efficiently research secondary information, treaties, and other international agreements, foreign and European Union law, and United Nations documents. Classes meet once a week for seven weeks, and students complete in-class and out-of class research assignments. There is no final exam or required textbook.

This one-credit, two-week course is a compact primer on aspects of property rights law and litigation, introducing students to real-world property-rights litigation and practice. There is no prerequisite for taking this course (apart from the first-year Property course), and the course is intended and designed to supplement (not replace) the concepts and materials presented in full-semester property-related courses, such as the Eminent Domain and Property Rights course and the Land Use Control course. The course’s focus on federal eminent-domain litigation will tie together other foundational areas of law, including constitutional law, federal civil procedure, and legal history. The course begins by exploring the Anglo-American history of property rights and progresses to an examination of the government’s sovereign and inherent power to take private property for public use and the Supreme Court’s recent property-rights jurisprudence. This course will benefit students by showing how theoretical concepts of property rights shape and affect real-world controversies and litigation.

This course is designed to enhance the student's brief writing skills in preparation for writing Moot Court tournament briefs. Moot Court team members are required to enroll during their fall, second-year semester. Students who take Advanced Brief Writing cannot take the Appellate track in Advanced Practice. This course is available only to Moot Court members.

This course will provide students with a practical exploration of corporate restructuring and the Chapter 11 process. The course will follow a role-playing, case-study format, in which students will learn about advising a company on restructuring options including preparing for a bankruptcy filing. Grading will be on a pass/fail basis, with assessment based on class participation and some very limited written work product by student teams during the role-playing exercises. Prior knowledge of bankruptcy law is not necessary. 1 credit pass/fail

Technology-Augmented Trial Advocacy combines instruction in traditional trial practice, including basic deposition practice, with contemporary technology-augmented trial practice techniques, including use of a high-tech record at trial, technologically presented evidence, and remote witness testimony. The course will address trial strategy, jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, including the examination of witnesses, closing arguments, and preparation of jury instructions and will encompass both civil and criminal cases. The course requires satisfactory completion of a jury trial using role-played witnesses. This is a 4-credit pass/fail course open to second-year and third-year students. Students may not enroll in or have Basic Adv Litigation (LAW 720), or Medical Malpractice Trial Advocacy (LAW 472) for credit. Students may take or have taken National Trial Team Trial Ad (718). Pre- OR co-requisite: current enrollment or completion of Evidence or Applied Evidence.

The complex regulatory and reimbursement environment of health care impacts transactions by health care providers. This course shall examine key corporate and regulatory concepts and integrate core federal and state laws into the choice and use of corporate structures and operational strategies of transactions. The course will examine healthcare transactions from the perspectives of a hospital, physicians, and other healthcare providers. By the conclusion of the course students should: be knowledgeable about the environment facing health care providers on transactions; understand the interconnection between business strategy and legal issues; understand multi-corporate organizational structures and be able to advise on their design and implementation; understand federal and state tax-exemption law and its impact on business transactions; understand federal fraud and abuse and self-referral laws and their impact on physician integration and related corporate strategies; and understand relevant state law that impacts hospital and hospital-physician transactions. The course is intended to focus on practical application of the precepts on transactions. Grading will be based on transactional documents based on a fact pattern and on class participation. Law 458-01 Health Law and Policy recommended

Open to 3Ls, the Federal Tax Clinic offers eight students the opportunity to assist in the representation of low income Virginia taxpayers seeking assistance from the nonprofit Community Tax Law Project before the IRS, U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. District Court. Students will find it helpful if they have taken Federal Income Tax, however Tax is not a prerequisite. Pass/fail course.

The Domestic Violence Clinic offers 3L students who have their third-year practice certificate the opportunity to provide legal representation to victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault under the supervision of practicing attorneys. The Domestic Violence Clinic represents clients primarily in criminal proceedings. Students will likely handle everything from bond hearings, Domestic Violence trials, sentencing, and revocations. Students will also interact with victims/survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Successful completion of LAW 115 Professional Responsibility OR LAW 117 The Legal Profession AND LAW 308 Applied Evidence in a Technological Age OR LAW 309 Evidence are course prerequisites. Pass-fail course.

Open to 3Ls, the Family Law Clinic offers students who have their third-year practice certificate the opportunity to represent and advise clients in custody, support, divorce, adoption, and equitable distribution matters. Students will represent individuals with limited financial means from the Williamsburg Office of the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEVA), as well as victims of domestic violence who are seeking to move forward with their lives following an abusive relationship. Students will receive training and experience in working with clients and individuals who have experienced trauma. Students will also learn courtroom skills, that they will use to represent their clients. Pass-fail course. Successful completion of LAW 115 Professional Responsibility OR LAW 117 The Legal Profession AND LAW 308 Applied Evidence in a Technological Age OR LAW 309 Evidence are course prerequisites.

This clinic offers eight students the opportunity to engage in the legal investigation and research of inmate claims of actual innocence under Richmond attorney Fred Gerson. Using primary sources including police and forensic reports, court pleadings, transcripts, appellate briefs and opinions, students will research and prepare written summaries of the cases referred to the Clinic by the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP), so that MAIP may determine whether or not to pursue the innocence claim. Students will have the opportunity to conduct interviews of inmates and possible witnesses, as well as other preparatory case work with private investigators, forensics experts and attorneys. The Clinic's focus will include DNA evidence, investigative activities, post-conviction remedies and procedures, and in-class simulations. Students will gain an understanding of the various ways innocent people are convicted and discuss remedies for exoneration. In-class discussions will systematically prepare students to undertake the investigations necessary to assess prisoner's claims of factual innocence. Although the investigations are as varied as the cases, they can generally be placed into two categories; (1) cases involving searches for DNA evidence, and (2) cases involving non-biological evidence. In all of the cases, students, supervised by the professor and MAIP staff and volunteers, will work with the prisoner, former attorneys, courts, and police departments to create complete files to determine an investigative strategy. In DNA cases, students contact (and sometimes visit) courthouses, police departments, labs, and hospitals to determine whether any testable physical evidence remains in files or warehouses from cases that are often decades old. In non-DNA cases, students will interview eyewitnesses, alibi witnesses, co-defendants, and, in some cases, alternative suspects, and perform other necessary investigation, again to include travel throughout the Commonwealth. Occasionally cases also require travel to a prison in order to interview a prisoner. Ideally, in instances where MAIP accepts the case and assigns it to an attorney, the Clinic students who worked on the case will remain involved with it, thus preserving continuity and providing students with an even fuller learning experience. Innocence Project II will be offered in the spring semester for those who choose to enroll and have successfully completed Innocence Project Clinic I; ideally the students from IP I will enroll in IP II, for a more in-depth semester of work and skill building on their assigned cases. Prerequisites: Students must be enrolled in or have completed Evidence. Weekly clinic Thursdays 4:00 - 6:30 pm. To receive credit for this course, each student MUST attend the first meeting. Pass/fail course. Pre or Co-requisite: Evidence Law 309 or Law 309T.

Students in this course will learn the intricacies of election administration that balance access and security and achieve the state’s interest in election integrity; the legal challenges associated with administering elections; and specific processes and laws that mitigate challenges and uphold integrity in election administration. This course will focus on election law from the perspective of advising election officials on their work—an “in house counsel” approach for departments of elections. This will benefit students either considering careers in election administration or election law where they will interact with and support election officials specifically and democratic functioning more generally. Students will survey laws governing Photo ID requirements, list maintenance (registration and voter roll maintenance), state bans on private funding for elections, precincting/polling place location law. Students will also consider the challenges associated with advising election officials in an age of mis- and dis-information.

Eligible placements include U.S. civil legal services/legal aid organizations and U.S. private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organizations. Private nonprofit organizations with IRS status other than 501(c)(3) are not eligible for externship credit. Organizations outside the U.S. are eligible if they would qualify for 501(c)(3) status if they were U.S. organizations. Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

Students will engage with civil litigation matters and participate in community outreach and education. Students will represent members of low-income communities in areas of housing law, family law, and youth justice. Graded three-credit course.

Open to 2L and 3L students who have completed one semester of the Community Law Clinic, Community Law Clinic II is an advanced course that allows students to continue representing low-income clients and underserved Hampton Roads communities in housing, family, and reentry law matters. Students may have the opportunity to interview and counsel clients, develop evidence, work with experts and interpreters, conduct legal research, prepare court filings, negotiate with opposing counsel, and advocate for clients. Students with their third-year practice certificates are likely to represent clients in Virginia state courts. Depending on student interest and project availability, students may also work with local groups to organize legal clinics or prepare community education materials. The majority of the course time will consist of fieldwork, supervisory meetings with the instructor, and case rounds scheduled at the beginning of the semester to accommodate students’ schedules. Graded course. Instructor approval required.

State/Local Government Externship with state or local government agencies and offices, such as city/county attorneys; attorneys general; executive or legislative agencies; and state legislators. This includes placements with William & Mary offices or other state colleges and universities. Placements with prosecutors and public defenders are covered by their respective externships described above.

Eligible placements include judges (including administrative law judges); hearing officers; courts; and organizations that provide research, educational, and management services to judges and courts (e.g., the National Center for State Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

Eligible placements include the civil or criminal divisions of U.S. Attorney offices. Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

This field of law comprises an array of interlocking legal areas, including international contractual interpretation, the statute of limitations, the role of evidence, the interpretation and scope of international treaty provisions, the governing terms, and the provisions of global private auction houses. It also includes broad but critical subjects such as “What constitutes a work of art?” While this area has always been of broad interest, the past five years have seen an explosion of issues ranging from the internationally sensitive Elgin Marbles case to situations impacting the collection of every major global museum such as the Native American Collection of the American Museum of Natural History, the antiquity collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, collections at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, as well as numerous highly publicized cases of art looted by the Nazis. The subject also covers purchases by legitimate domestic buyers of objects that were stolen—frequently many years prior. There is no question that this field of law will continue to become even more relevant as more variations of these issues will surface and institutions continue scrutinizing their collections. The course will be based primarily on law reviews and other articles rather than textbooks. It will be structured as a seminar where discussions are a large component of the learning experience. Students will be assessed on a Pass/Fail basis.

Eligible placements include Federal agencies and the JAG Corps. They also include Congressional committees and members of Congress, subject to the prohibition on partisan political activities and lobbying. Federal Public Defenders are covered by the Public Defender Externship; U.S. Attorney offices are covered by the U.S. Attorney Externship. Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

Eligible placements include solo practitioners, law firms, and in-house law departments of corporations and trade associations. Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

Preparation and editing of comments and notes for the William and Mary Law Review; editing of professional articles. Limited to the board and staff members of the Review.

Preparation and editing of student notes for the William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal; and editing of professional articles. Limited to the board and staff members of the Journal.

Preparation and editing of student notes for the William and Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review; editing of professional articles. Limited to the board and staff members of the Review.

Preparation and editing of student notes for the William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law; editing of professional articles. Limited to the board and staff members of the Journal.

Preparation and editing of student notes for the William & Mary Business Law Review; editing of professional articles. Limited to the board and staff members of the Review.

This course is for international JD students in F-1 status who want to engage in paid internships and require Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization. Although CPT is not required for unpaid internships, the Reves Center for International Studies strongly recommends credit for unpaid internships. The Law School endorses that recommendation. Prior approval for CPT - for either a paid or unpaid internship - is required from both the University's Designated School Official (DSO) in the Reves Center and Professor Hendrickson. Students cannot complete more than 15 paid CPT hours per week during fall or spring semesters. There is no weekly maximum hour limit for summer paid CPT. To apply for CPT authorization, the student and the student's supervisor must complete a CPT Objectives and Site Agreement. A written report by the student of at least five pages and a written evaluation by the student's field supervisor are due by the date in the CPT course syllabus. The syllabus also describes the format and content of the report and the evaluation. Credit earned for this course does not apply toward the total credits required for the JD degree, nor does the credit count toward the total pass/fail credits permitted for graduation. In addition, this course is distinct from credit-bearing externships. Credit earned and hours completed for the CPT course cannot be counted toward an externship, and externship credit and hours completed cannot be counted toward the CPT course. However, a student may earn CPT credit and externship credit for the same internship if the student satisfies the requirement for both courses.

Eligible placements include state and local prosecutors. Placements with U.S. Attorney offices are covered by the U.S. Attorney Externship. Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

Eligible placements include federal, state, and local public defenders. Finalizing an externship requires 3 steps before the registration deadline: (1) securing an externship; (2) submitting a completed Externship Agreement; and (3) registering for the correct course and the correct number of credits. 1-4 credits.

Open to 2Ls and 3Ls, the Puller Veterans Clinic – Disability Compensation and Appeals offers students the opportunity to acquire varied law practice skills through actual representation of military veteran clients. They gain first-hand experience with a major federal administrative law system: by learning about veterans' disability law and procedure, they gain insight into the many issues and challenges that arise in such systems. Each student works on individual cases, drafting and filing disability claims and arguments in support, developing evidence, and appealing within the VA and sometimes in the courts, often working with psychologists in a medical-legal partnership. There is a required day-long Boot Camp on the first Friday of class. Graded course.

Merger & acquisition (M&A) transactions involving the sale and purchase of businesses can present unique challenges for both sellers and purchasers, frequently reflecting fast-changing world events, challenging financial environments, constantly evolving and shifting market dynamics and the laws and practices of multiple jurisdictions. These transactions are oftentimes global in nature and may involve transactional and operational uncertainty and risk as a result of government protectionism, sanctions, conflicting legal regimes, export and import controls, national security issues, currency controls, cybersecurity concerns and conflicting business cultures. This course explores the legal aspects of selling and purchasing a business, primarily focusing on a private, closely-held company. The aim of the course is to provide an overview of the challenges and the opportunities encountered in such a transaction and, through an experiential process, to build the foundational skills necessary to understand the fundamentals of the transaction. Students will concentrate on learning how to evaluate various legal aspects and analyze, develop and negotiate the terms of a potential transaction as well as agreements addressing all aspects thereof, focusing on how the process and the documents can advance the business objectives of seller and purchaser. Topics to be addressed will include drafting and negotiating a letter of intent, evaluating the transaction structure, undertaking due diligence and identifying potential legal risks and regulatory issues, with the goal of preparing and negotiating the sale and purchase agreement, developing other transaction documents and preparing for and achieving the closing of the transaction. This course is designed to expose students to and prepare students for certain fundamental aspects of general corporate practice, whether in-house at a corporation, at a law firm, or in solo practice, by working through the process of completing a transaction for the sale and purchase of a business. Students will receive a pass/fail grade and will be assessed through class room participation and certain in-class exercises and written assignments.

Open to 2Ls and 3Ls, the Special Education Advocacy Clinic (PELE) I offers eight students the opportunity to assist children with special needs and their families in special education matters. Graded course. Because meetings with schools and mediations take place on weekdays, and Friday is the day on which law students have the most availability to participate in those activities, simultaneous enrollment in an externship that would prevent Friday's participation is discouraged. Students with questions about possible Friday conflicts should reach out to the clinic director.

Open to 2Ls and 3Ls, Puller Veterans Clinic II – Advanced Veterans’ Advocacy is an advanced clinical experience for students to continue actual representation of military veteran clients while learning and applying methods of systemic advocacy common to public interest law practice. Each student works on individual cases, drafting and filing disability claims and arguments in support, developing evidence, and appealing within the VA and sometimes in the courts, often working with psychologists in a medical-legal partnership. Students will also learn about methods of systemic advocacy on behalf of underserved populations and undertake a project in this area, including but not limited to amicus brief writing, developing legislative and regulatory proposals, drafting comments on proposed VA regulations, conducting outreach in the veterans’ community, and researching contemporary issues in veterans’ law and policy. Successful completion of Puller Veterans Clinic – Disability Compensation & Appeals (i.e. Puller Veterans Clinic I) is required. Graded course.

ELDC offers hands-on experience in estate planning, benefits planning, capacity issues, and long-term care. In addition to the seminar component, students will provide direct client representation while building skills in ethics, communication, and trauma management. 3 credits. Graded.

Students in the Innocence Project Clinic II will continue to work on cases assigned in the Innocence Project Clinic I, engaging in more in-depth investigative activities, post-conviction remedies and procedures, and in-class simulations relating to inmate claims of actual innocence. Building on the foundation laid in Innocence Project Clinic I, the in-class portion will focus on client and case specific theories of innocence, and will include skills development in interviewing witnesses, handling ethical issues, organizing investigative tasks, and digesting transcripts, among others. The class is designed such that students will act as intake investigators to determine whether representation of a prisoner's claim of innocence should be undertaken. The work entails understanding core legal concepts relating to criminal trials, reading transcripts, performing legal analysis, and investigating cases in order to determine whether an inmate has a claim worth pursuing. Prerequisites: Innocence Project Clinic I

Students will engage with immigration law matters including assisting noncitizens, participating in community outreach and education, and conducting policy research and advocacy for immigrants. Depending on the availability of cases and the types of cases selected by the professor, students may participate in representing asylum applicants, applicants for relief under the Violence Against Women Act, or U visa applicants. Graded three-credit course.

Immigration Clinic II is an advanced clinical experience for students who wish to continue in the Immigration Clinic following successful completion of Immigration Clinic I. Students in this clinic will build on the cases and skills learned in Immigration Clinic I by representing an immigrant in a matter that is in an advanced stage, such as an affirmative interview before USCIS, a removal hearing in Arlington Immigration Court, or in an appeal to the AAO, BIA, or Fourth Circuit. Successful completion of Immigration Clinic I is a prerequisite; Immigration Clinic I students interested in taking Clinic II should speak with the Professor before registration. Graded course. Class time TBD based on student schedules.

This clinic will introduce students to appellate practice in the federal Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Students will work collectively to identify cases suitable for the clinic and then work in groups to prepare appellate briefs in cases involving (among other things) the First, Fourth, and Eighth Amendments. In Clinic matters, students will prepare briefs on the merits, amicus briefs, petitions for rehearing or certiorari, appendices, and other appellate filings. For cases in the federal courts of appeals, students will present oral argument when the court allows. Classes will meet every week for general instruction on appellate practice and to discuss draft briefs, petitions, and issues that have arisen in the Clinic's cases. Students will be graded based on the quality of their written product, and when appropriate, oral argument, as well as their level of effort and participation in preparing ancillary appellate materials such as appendices and filing documents. Students must apply for admission to this clinic. To apply, send your resume, transcript, and a statement on why you want to take this clinic (not to exceed 500 words) to blammon@wm.edu. Applications will be accepted through April 01, and students will be notified to register. Graded course. Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic II will be offered in the spring semester for those who choose to enroll and have successfully complete Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic I. Graded course. Clinic is limited to 3Ls. Graded course. To receive credit for this course, each student MUST attend the first meeting.

Appellate Clinic II will continue the work of Appellate Clinic I, introducing students to a more in-depth look at appellate practice in the federal Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Students will continue to work as a team to identify cases suitable for the clinic and work as pairs to prepare appellate briefs in cases involving the First and Fourth Amendments. Students will be graded based on the quality of their written product, and when appropriate, oral argument, as well as their level of effort and participation in preparing ancillary appellate materials such as appendices and filing documents. Successful completion of LAW 788 Appellate Clinic I. Graded course.

Open to 2Ls and 3Ls, the Special Education Advocacy Clinic (PELE) II is an advanced clinical experience for up to eight students. Students will refine their own advocacy skills by continuing work on their cases, as well as build their leadership, supervision and collaborative skills by mentoring PELE Clinic I students. PELE I is a prerequisite. Graded course. Class time TBD based on student schedules.

Modern life revolves around technology, from broadband internet to cell phones to connected devices to social media. As daily life becomes more and more connected, the laws and regulatory frameworks that govern these technologies become ever more important. Telecommunications law and policy is at the heart of determining how broadband internet, wireless, and satellite technologies and providers interact. It strives to ensure that everyone can connect and it governs how content can be created and consumed. It also intersects with other vitally important subject matter, including intellectual property, privacy, defense, artificial intelligence, and the Internet-of-Things. This course will offer an introduction to and overview of the broad scope of telecommunications law and policy, from debates in today’s headlines to the Communications Act of 1934 and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and how they interface with rapidly advancing technologies in a constantly changing landscape. Readings and class discussions will focus on, among other things, the FCC’s authority and how it regulates, differing views on the appropriate role of the regulator, how policy (and politics) influence regulatory outcomes, and other relevant issues related to tech, telecom, and administrative law. The course will be graded pass/fail.

This course will examine the distribution of national security powers amongst the three coordinate branches of government and the development of law and policy governing use of force, military operations, homeland security, intelligence collection, protection of national security information, foreign intelligence surveillance, and contemporary issues in the national security arena. The class is lecture and discussion based, with reading from the Dycus, Berney, Banks & Raven-Hansen's NATIONAL SECURITY LAW; supplemental materials will be assigned and distributed as appropriate. This class will be graded by an examination (80%) and class participation (20%). Students who are registered in or have successfully completed LAW 475, National Security Law, may not register for nor enroll in LAW 797.

This three-credit course provides students with an introduction to the law and the legal process of the United States. Students will explore the structure and content of U.S. law and legal institutions, the U.S. Constitution, federalism, separation of powers, the role of precedent in common law, and the theory and practice of the adversary system of justice. The course is structured to also offer an overview of substantive areas of the law that will form the basis of other courses, namely constitutional law, administrative law, contract law, tort law, and criminal law.

This course starts with material to familiarize students with legal analysis and communication and the ethical rules that govern legal professionals. It then focuses on practical scenarios to strengthen the students’ skills to respond to and manage complex legal and ethical crises. Students will be exposed to fact patterns in areas such as supply chain management (e.g., anti-corruption, employment discrimination, and child labor), anti-money laundering and fraud (including whistleblowing and retaliation), cybersecurity breaches, and environmental compliance. The objective of the course is to assist students in understanding the intersection of law and ethics to foster responsible leadership.

The law of contract is critical to commercial and other transactions, and non-legal professionals who understand it have a competitive edge. This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of contract law, including the basic elements of valid contracts, breaches, enforcement, and remedies. The theory is accompanied by hands-on experience. Students will review and analyze real-life contracts, to understand contract structure, risk allocation, and enforceability. They will also engage in contract drafting exercises. Through these activities, students will sharpen their contract interpretation skills, understand how to use incentives to achieve better contractual terms, and appreciate how clear language minimizes litigation risks.

This course introduces students to the law applicable to contemporary forms of business enterprise: the general partnership, the limited partnership, the limited liability partnership (LLP), the limited liability company (LLC), and the corporation. It will chart the lifecycle of business associations: from organization, formation and capitalization to mergers and acquisitions, to dissolution or liquidation. Students will understand investors’ personal liability versus limited liability, and the role of fiduciary duties, particularly in corporate governance. The course will also present the theory and practice of management. Through case studies, students will explore strategic planning and productivity, controlling functions, and core notions of human resources law.

Every industry is subject to a degree of regulation, and it is critical that students strengthen their abilities to operate in a legal and compliant manner. This course will explore the so-called “regulatory state” by analyzing three substantive areas that cut across the vast majority of industries: antitrust, privacy, and federal tax. Students will learn the legislative process and statutory interpretation; the structure and constitutional position of administrative agencies; the basic forms of agency action, especially rulemaking; and judicial review of agency action.

This course offers a comprehensive and practical exploration of how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things, data analytics, blockchain, and cryptoassets are reshaping society, business, and human interactions. Designed for non-lawyers, the course examines key legal and regulatory issues, including privacy, data security, liability, intellectual property, and national security.

Cybersecurity and the Law: Compliance, Ethics, and Global Governance: This course examines the legal, ethical, and regulatory dimensions of cybersecurity in a globalized and rapidly evolving threat landscape. Students will explore the laws, standards, and liabilities governing cybersecurity, focusing on critical threats such as ransomware, insider risks, state-sponsored attacks, industrial cyber espionage, and AI-driven vulnerabilities. The course emphasizes the importance of cyber risk management, providing practical insights into identifying, mitigating, and addressing these threats.

Ethics and Regulation of Biotech and Health Technologies: Biotechnology and health technologies are among the most dynamic domains for emerging innovations, driving breakthroughs that reshape healthcare, agriculture, and industry. This course explores the legal, regulatory, and ethical challenges posed by advancements in biotechnology and health technologies, focusing on real-world implications for society, businesses, and individuals. Students will examine regulatory frameworks for innovations such as gene editing (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9), precision medicine, and AI-driven health tools, with particular attention to the roles of agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This course provides a comprehensive view of risk by introducing fundamental risk management approaches and tools used to identify, assess, and manage all types of internal and external risks. Students will develop foundational understanding of key risk and compliance related functions and examine industry best practices for measuring risk, assessing potential threats, addressing threat events, and linking risk management to organizational strategy and execution. This course will include an introduction to enterprise risk analytics and the tools useful in managing risk and compliance within an organization, such as automated reporting, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

This course builds upon what students have learned in Foundations of Regulatory Law and develops more in-depth familiarity with various regulatory and legal environments necessary to understand and develop an effective enterprise compliance approach. In this class, students will review the current compliance landscape with emphasis on U.S. regulatory requirements. Statutory, regulatory, and case law materials in various industries will be central to examining U.S. compliance expectations and trends, particularly relative to Department of Justice (DOJ) and SEC expectations for corporate compliance programs. Relevant managerial artifacts, case studies, regulatory guidance, and industry insights will demonstrate key concepts.

A strategic approach to compliance is required in today’s business environment. This course presents holistic principles of corporate governance and risk management to establish the importance of integrating compliance into organizational strategy and culture. Students will identify foundational components of a compliance program, understand the dynamic amongst various institutional stakeholders, and explore best practices around continuous improvement, response and prevention, and control monitoring/testing. The objective of this course is to synthesize key compliance elements so that students develop a strategic approach to building and managing compliance programs.

This course presents an overview of the laws, rules, and regulations relevant to traditional consumer financial products and services, including Dodd-Frank, the Consumer Financial Protection Act, Equal Credit Opportunity, Community Reinvestment Acts, Truth in Lending, and various federal and state laws. Products and services introduced in class will include revolving and non-revolving credit facilities, mortgage financing, payment cards, electronic payments, deposit products, and other consumer lending products. By the end of the course, students will have a foundational understanding of consumer financial products and the regulations under which they are governed.

This course provides students an overview of the banking industry in the U.S., including the history of bank regulation going back to the 1863 National Bank Act, bank examination and supervision structures, a survey of public policies influencing financial regulation, and causes of bank failures. Students will learn about the role of regulators, such as the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and state banking agencies. With the help of factual scenarios, the course will also introduce fundamental banking concepts, such as safety and soundness, capital adequacy, and bank enforcement actions.

This course is designed to familiarize students with the legal and regulatory framework of the investment management industry, focusing primarily on the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and the regulations under each. Topics of study include the reach of federal investment management regulation, the registration and regulation of investment advisers, and the regulation of the operation, management, and distribution of mutual funds, ETFs, and other pooled investment vehicles. The course will also examine how the SEC and its Division of Investment Management regulate the investment management industry as well as the role of compliance professionals and private counsel in ensuring regulated entities and investment professionals comply with their regulatory obligations.

This course offers an engaging introduction to the legal and regulatory foundations of the U.S. healthcare system—an essential area of knowledge for anyone interested in health law, policy, or administration. Students will explore key federal and state frameworks, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), while gaining a deeper understanding of how these laws impact real-world healthcare delivery. With a focus on both theory and application, the course equips students with the tools to analyze the responsibilities of healthcare professionals and organizations in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.

Healthcare Administration: Legal Issues and Risk Management: This course provides a comprehensive exploration of the complex landscape surrounding healthcare-adjacent organizations. Through a broad yet thoughtfully structured overview, students will engage with the core challenges and responsibilities inherent in these settings. Topics include regulatory compliance, risk management, patient rights, and professional liability, each examined through both theoretical and practical lenses. Students will critically analyze the legal and ethical frameworks that healthcare providers and affiliated entities must navigate—particularly those involving malpractice, fraud and abuse, and other areas of heightened scrutiny. Emphasis will be placed on the evolving responsibilities of healthcare professionals and system participants operating in an increasingly regulated and high-stakes environment.

Policy, Patient Rights, and Healthcare: This course explores the ethical and legal dilemmas in healthcare policy and patient rights. Students will analyze issues such as patient autonomy, informed consent, end-of-life decisions, and healthcare access. The course also addresses the role of policy in shaping healthcare delivery, focusing on how law intersects with ethics in healthcare decision-making. Case studies will highlight the legal implications of ethical conflicts, equipping students with the skills needed to navigate complex healthcare issues while safeguarding patient rights.

This course provides an overview of cyber- and privacy-related risks, including the laws and regulations that apply to the rapidly changing landscape of cybersecurity and privacy. Students will explore the impacts of security breaches, data privacy vulnerabilities and considerations, the nature of cyber-crime, and common strategies used to manage privacy, cyber, and information security risk. By the end of the course, students will be able to develop their own cybersecurity and privacy risk assessment and management approaches.

This course introduces students to the concepts and practice of litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Students will develop an understanding of the differences between these different modes of dispute resolution and will assess them from the perspective of the parties, the lawyers, and the adjudicators. Through a series of hands-on activities, students will engage in some form of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. Students will also be exposed to innovative dispute resolutions modalities, such as online dispute resolution (ODR).

This course introduces legal, financial, and policy considerations at play in domestic and international infrastructure projects. Particular focus will be placed on structuring and financing project investments, and the course will provide a general overview of the legal and regulatory environment for project financing, such as geo-political risk management and the presence of treaties, conventions, and other relevant law. Students will work through the structure, documentation, and negotiation of a typical project finance transaction.

This directed independent study course will offer MLS students an opportunity to pursue an in-depth study on a legal topic of their choice, under the guidance of either full-time or adjunct industry expert faculty. The course supports students in exploring specialized areas that complement their professional interests and career goals. Students will develop a customized learning plan and expected deliverables, in consultation with their faculty supervisor. Students may earn between 1 and 4 credits, depending on the scope and depth of the project. Credit hours will be determined by the supervising faculty member, Associate Dean for Online and Executive Education and the Assistant Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, based on the complexity of the study plan and the expected time commitment.