Mar 28, 2024  
2013-2014 Law Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Law Catalog [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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  • LAW 1700 - Civil Procedure I


    This course provides an introduction to the nature and functioning of judicial systems, including a survey of the major phases of civil litigation under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Major emphasis is given to the reach of judicial authority, pleadings and amendments, pretrial discovery, the right to a jury trial, appellate procedure (including appeals from administrative decisions), and judgments and former adjudication. Major themes of the course are the relationship of procedure to substantive law and the purposes and characteristics of procedural rules in light of proposed reforms.

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 1701 - Civil Procedure II


    This course provides an introduction to the nature and functioning of judicial systems, including a survey of the major phases of civil litigation under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Major emphasis is given to the reach of judicial authority, pleadings and amendments, pretrial discovery, the right to a jury trial, appellate procedure (including appeals from administrative decisions), and judgments and former adjudication. Major themes of the course are the relationship of procedure to substantive law and the purposes and characteristics of procedural rules in light of proposed reforms.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 1705 - Contracts I


    The concept of contract, which is concerned with relations based upon consent, is central in law as well as in political philosophy and theology. The course in contracts provides an opportunity to explore conflicts between fundamental social values, such as stability versus reform and freedom of contract versus regulation of fairness in dealing. The study of contracts also provides an introduction to a variety of lawyering skills, including analysis, drafting, counseling, statutory construction, and adversary method. The course covers legal remedies of contracting parties, creation and termination of contractual rights, consideration, conditions, assignments, third-party beneficiaries, consumer credit transactions, sales of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code, the relationship between contract and tort, and professional ethics.

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 1706 - Contracts II


    The concept of contract, which is concerned with relations based upon consent, is central in law as well as in political philosophy and theology. The course in contracts provides an opportunity to explore conflicts between fundamental social values, such as stability versus reform and freedom of contract versus regulation of fairness in dealing. The study of contracts also provides an introduction to a variety of lawyering skills, including analysis, drafting, counseling, statutory construction, and adversary method. The course covers legal remedies of contracting parties, creation and termination of contractual rights, consideration, conditions, assignments, third-party beneficiaries, consumer credit transactions, sales of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code, the relationship between contract and tort, and professional ethics.

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 1710 - Criminal Law


    This course is designed to enable the student to deal with substantive criminal law problems in both practical and policy terms. There is inquiry into the proper scope and objectives of the criminal law and exploration of the practicality of using the criminal law to achieve posited objectives. The elements of a crime are examined expositionally and critically, as are problems of criminal responsibility. The course also provides an opportunity for critical examination of statutes at an early stage in the law student’s career. Part-time students take Criminal Law and Lawmaking Institutions in their second year. Legal Writing and Research may be taken during the spring of either the first or second year for a part-time day student and must be taken during the first year summer for a part-time evening student.

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 1716 - Transnational Law


    This course introduces first-year law students to the growing reality of law practice in an era of increased global interaction and interdependence. Individuals in this globalized environment are increasingly likely to be engaged in activities that implicate more than just domestic and local law. Lawyers representing those individuals thus will be called upon to analyze and apply both international law and foreign law, or “transnational law,” to resolve legal issues for their clients. A fundamental understanding of law beyond American boundaries has become just as important as a fundamental knowledge of contracts, torts, property, criminal law, procedure, and the U.S. constitutional framework.

    This course aims to provide first year law students with an ability to identify legal issues in areas of “transnational” law that they are most likely to encounter in domestic law practice. This course intentionally does not, and cannot, provide a comprehensive, in depth, survey of all international and comparative law topics. Instead, like other first-year courses, it introduces the fundamental legal doctrines and issues to begin the study of transnational law while leaving more in-depth development for upper-level elective courses in international and comparative law.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 1720 - Legal Analysis, Writing & Research I


    Hofstra requires five credit hours in legal analysis, writing and research in the first year — two in the fall semester and three in the spring.  In the fall semester Legal Analysis, Writing & Research I (Leg. Analysis Wrtg. & Res. I ), students learn the basics of legal analysis, research, and predictive writing, focusing on the writing process through rewriting and re-writing office memoranda.   A student receives substantial individualized feedback, including one-on-one conferences with the professor to critique the student’s written work.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 1730 - Property


    Property law is studied as a social and legal institution that facilitates the acquisition, disposition, and use of personal and real property. The course surveys problems related to personal property, the system of estates and future interests, the landlord-tenant relationship, the modern real estate transaction, and private arrangements affecting the use of land.


    Credits: 4



  
  • LAW 1735 - Torts


    The law of Torts concerns the principles governing redress of injuries resulting from intentional and unintentional wrongs against persons or their property. Particular attention is given to the relative functions of judge and jury in determining liability and damages and to the interplay between standards of liability and problems of proofs. The course also examines affirmative defenses based upon the conduct of the plaintiff, with particular regard to situations in which the plaintiff might have consented to the alleged wrong. Modern trends in the allocation of liability will be discussed with emphasis on insurability and possible alternative systems of compensation.


    Credits: 4



  
  • LAW 1750 - Legal Methods


    Legal Methods is designed to assist students in developing the analytical and writing skills necessary for success in law school. The goal of this course is to  help students become effective, independent learners through an instructional approach that gives students many opportunities to develop and hone analytical and writing skills. An essential component of the course is regular feedback to students on their skills development. Throughout the course of the semester students will develop analytical skills, particularly those involved in identifying legal issues, understanding and using rules of law, and using and analyzing facts. They will also develop their ability to read and understand court opinions, statutes, and legal rules, and their ability to express ideas and understanding regarding legal issues in writing.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 1760 - Introduction to Administrative Law


    This intensive course introduces students to the basic concepts of administrative law that every lawyer should know. The course takes a problem-oriented approach based on actual cases, and uses these problems to introduce students to the structure of state and federal administrative institutions; the sources of law for administrative agencies (constitutional, statutory, and regulatory sources, as well as case law); the basic procedures for administrative adjudication and rulemaking; and judicial review (including statutory interpretation). The course is taught in an intensive format (typically, over 4 or 5 weeks). Because the course focuses only on basic concepts and rules in a particular problem application, it is not designed to supply the systematic survey of topics that the regular course in Administrative Law supplies.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre-requisites: Successful completion of all 1L first-semester courses.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2500 - Juvenile Justice Clinic Practicum


    Students in the Juvenile Justice Clinic Practicum represent youth at public school suspension hearings and related disciplinary matters.  After an intensive training in school discipline law at the start of the semester, students are assigned to represent youth who are being threatened by their schools with suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary consequences.  Allegations against youth clients range from assault and fighting to insubordination and absenteeism.  Students engage in client interviewing and counseling, intensive fact investigation, legal research, and negotiation.  Students’ representation of their clients at disciplinary hearings involves witness examinations, introduction of documentary evidence, evidentiary objections, and closing arguments.  Students meet regularly with supervisors for case rounds, and are accompanied by a supervisor at all hearings.  Trial Techniques or Introduction to Child and Family Advocacy is recommended preparation for participation in the Juvenile Justice Clinic Practicum.  Instructor permission is required to register for the course.

     

    Prerequisites & Notes
    There are no pre-requisites.  Students are, however, encouraged to take either Trial Techniques or Introduction to Child and Family Advocacy before applying.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2501 - Immigration Clinic Practicum


    Students in the Immigration Clinic Practicum represent clients on various immigration applications, including naturalization, adjustment, and family petitions. As a prerequisite, all of the students in the Immigration Clinic Practicum must take Immigration Law. Additionally, students must attend a one-half day training at the beginning of the semester.   Students are assigned to assist clients in preparing and filing immigration applications and to represent clients at immigration hearings or interviews before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Students engage in fact gathering and legal research to determine clients’ eligibility for relief, counsel clients on whether and how to move forward with their applications, prepare the applications, gather the necessary supporting documentation, and ultimately prepare clients to give testimony in front of immigration hearing officers. Instructor permission is required to register for the course. 

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre-Req: Immigration Law

     

    Credits: 2



  
  • Law 2502 - Comparitive Family Law


    This course provides an introduction to and comparative perspective on the Civil and Common Law legal systems, with a focus on how law regulates our intimate and family lives, and special attention to the family law and culture of Cuba. After a historical grounding in the contrasting legal systems, the course will spotlight the treatment of issues of family formation, dissolution, and relational rights within the common law and civil law tradition, as well as examine how the Cuban legal system emerged and how it deals with the family.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2706 - Practice Ready Research Skills


    This course will be offered as an intensive summer experience and is designed to provide students embarking on internships, externships, clerkships, summer associate positions, and the practice of law with the skills to approach practical legal research problems in efficient and cost-effective ways. Emphasis will be placed on research strategy, accompanied by a solid understanding of the appropriate types of research resources critical in the exploration of state and federal legal issues. While both print and electronic sources will be used, the most efficient sources will be highlighted for each type of research problem explored. Students will be evaluated on their ability to develop and execute a high quality research strategy when presented with real-life research problems. The fundamental goal of this course is the development of strategies and skill sets required to prepare participants to perform exceptional, efficient, and cost-effective legal research in a professional environment. 

     

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Students should have completed a minimum of two semesters toward their Juris Doctorate prior to enrolling in this class. The content of the course necessarily presumes a basic familiarity with the types of primary and secondary legal authorities used in the analysis of legal issues based in United States law.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2707 - Nassau County District Attorney Youth Court Externship


    The past two decades have seen a rise of a new alternative in juvenile justice, a diversion program called Youth Courts. Youth Court (sometimes called Teen Court) allows juveniles charged with delinquent acts to avoid the traditional court process and, instead, be judged by their peers; a group made up of volunteers and former juvenile respondents. In this course, we will examine how this new alternative program fits within the framework of the juvenile justice system. We will explore the principles of restorative justice, the role of Youth Court in the justice system and we will develop skills to help Youth Court advocates present a case and reach a disposition that is appropriate and constructive for the youth involved.

    Externs are supervised by members of the District Attorney’s Office at all times. Law students in the Youth Court Externship will help train and supervise high school student advocates who represent juvenile respondents in local youth court hearings. Charges against the respondents range from petit larceny and graffiti to non-violent felony offenses.  Externs also work alongside the advocates to help prepare for hearings by interviewing clients, developing case theory, and drafting direct examinations, cross examinations, and opening statements. At the weekly hearings, externs advise the advocates on evidentiary procedure, introduction of documentary evidence, objections, and closing arguments. Externs will also assist the jury members in their deliberations and ensure that all sentences follow the youth court sentencing guidelines and are appropriate and constructive.

    Working under a student practice order, externs will also appear on the record for Youth Court cases in the Adolescent Diversion Part in Nassau County District Court. While on the record, students will report on the progress the Youth Court respondents have made with the program. Most appearances will require the law students to request the dismissal of cases when the respondents have successfully completed the program. Other appearances will require the law students to request sanctions when respondents have failed to cooperate with the program.

    The externs will screen cases and interview the relevant parties to determine eligibility. These intake interviews will take place at the Nassau County Department of Probation, Family Division and the Adolescent Diversion Part in the Nassau County District Court.  

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 2708 - Researching Administrative Law


    This course explores federal, state and local sources of administrative law and provides students the opportunity to research regulations, agency decisions, and other administrative legal resources, using a variety of print and online sources. The goal of the course is to give students a practical understanding of where administrative authority and law originates and how to find it in its various forms, including: enabling statutes, agency regulations, decisions, opinions and policy, and executive orders.   Further, attention will be paid to the process of creating and tracking proposed regulations in a variety of different regulated areas. Emphasis will be placed on using free, authentic resources to conduct much of this research, but attention to premium online resources will also be included.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre-Req or Co-Req: Administrative Law

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2709 - Computer Technology in Legal Practice


    Computer technology has a unique position in legal practice – it is everywhere integrated with the activities of both clients and law offices. This seminar provides students with the basic knowledge needed to understand the technology of computers and mobile devices, and its impact on today’s legal practice – whether that practice involves management and professional responsibilities, client counseling and problem solving, or litigation and trial practice. Moreover, within many substantive areas of law, such as privacy law, private and public security, and patent and copyright law, issues arise relating to this technology. In this seminar, students will learn how computers and mobile devices work, and how legal documents and other files are stored and used, as well as the fundamentals of the Internet and cloud computing, data mining and computerized search, artificial intelligence and law, and computer and file security (hacking, encryption, and transmission interception). No technical background is needed, because the seminar will provide information at a level appropriate to lawyers. Students will be required to write an analytic paper on a topic of their choice that deals with a problem involving this technology in an area of importance to the legal professional.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2710 - Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, an International Perspective


    This one-credit course will expose students to negotiation theory and practice in the international setting. The course will then build on the students’ understanding of negotiation to introduce them to systems of conflict resolution interventions by examining a case study of specific cross-border disputes and comparing  it to a domestic, court-connected ADR system.  The course is designed to provide the students with an understanding of negotiation that will be needed for the co-required one credit course titled Negotiation and Mediation Advocacy in the Health Law Context: a Comparative Perspective that will be taught as the second component of the Pisa program: it will ask the students to consider what they learned in the international setting about negotiation theory and advocacy and apply it within a comparative health law setting, which is the area of emphasis in the second week of the Pisa program. 

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2711 - Negotiation and Mediation Advocacy in the Health Law Context: a Comparative Perspective


    This course will compare how mediation is practiced in Italy and the U.S. and introduce students to the basic skills of mediation advocacy within the health law setting.  This course will explore how the difference between the Italian legal and mediation norms and the ones found in the U.S impact the manner mediation advocacy is approached. Building on the previous course titled Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, an International Perspective that the students have just completed, one of the central themes of this course will be explore how informal processes such as negotiation and mediation, process in the “shadow of the law.”

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2712 - Advanced Trial Advocacy - Civil


    This course provides a practical and intensive experience in conducting a trial. Using fact patterns, documentary evidence and deposition testimony, students conduct all phases of a trial. Weekly exercises are devoted to specific skills utilized in examining diverse witnesses (including professional, lay, hostile, expert, sympathetic or child witnesses) or to voir dire and opening or closing statements. Students are expected to conduct an indepth analysis of the specific skill and to perform demonstrations during each class. Students are further required to justify how they have designed and conducted each examination with respect to its given purpose (advancing the student’s legal theory and eliciting facts supporting that theory, while creating an overall effect that will enhance his/her case). The course is specifically designed to provide opportunities for students to improve their ability to control witnesses and to enhance their ability to create a persona in the courtroom that will assist them in winning their case. Students submit memoranda on legal theories, requests to charge or motions in limine, in anticipation of evidentiary rulings.

    Students are graded on the basis of their overall performance in the course. This very demanding course is structured to simulate the intensity necessary to prepare and try a case to a jury.
     

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre Req: Trial Techniques.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2713 - Advanced Trial Advocacy - Criminal


     

    This course provides a practical and intensive experience in conducting a trial. Using fact patterns, documentary evidence and deposition testimony, students conduct all phases of a trial. Weekly exercises are devoted to specific skills utilized in examining diverse witnesses (including professional, lay, hostile, expert, sympathetic or child witnesses) or to voir dire and opening or closing statements. Students are expected to conduct an in depth analysis of the specific skill and to perform demonstrations during each class. Students are further required to justify how they have designed and conducted each examination with respect to its given purpose (advancing the student’s legal theory and eliciting facts supporting that theory, while creating an overall effect that will enhance his/her case). The course is specifically designed to provide opportunities for students to improve their ability to control witnesses and to enhance their ability to create a persona in the courtroom that will assist them in winning their case. Students submit memoranda on legal theories, requests to charge or motions in limine, in anticipation of evidentiary rulings.

    Students are graded on the basis of their overall performance in the course. This very demanding course is structured to simulate the intensity necessary to prepare and try a case to a jury. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. If more students register than can be accommodated in the course, selections are made by the instructor on the basis of interest, experience, career plans and law school record.


    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre-Req: Intensive Trial Advocacy Program

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2714 - Criminal Law in the Workplace


    This course addresses criminal statutes that impact employers and employees in a business setting. It is designed to provide insight to students interested in the criminal, labor, employment and commercial fields to better enable them to advise clients as to possible liabilities and regulatory pitfalls. Those interested in workers’ rights advocacy will learn how to work with government agencies in charge of protecting workers and their wages. Prospective criminal practitioners who have an interest in white collar crime will gain knowledge of how to prosecute and defend criminal cases involving businesses and their employees, as well as strategies employed during investigations of business and corporate clients or targets. The course reviews corporate criminal liability, various theories of larceny, and the criminal statutes most commonly violated by businesses and their principals. Students will also learn about the various criminal laws designed to address wage and benefit theft, as well as tax crimes committed by multi-employee businesses.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2715 - Patent Practice


    The course covers the practices of patent prosecution and patent counseling. Through lectures, readings, and exercises, students will learn the various aspects of patent prosecution such as conducting inventor interviews, conducting prior art searches, drafting patent applications, responding to office actions, drafting briefs on appeal, handling post-grant proceedings, and prosecuting foreign and international counterpart applications. Students will also learn the fundamentals of patent counseling such as building a patent portfolio, conducting a patent due diligence, and performing a freedom to operate analysis.

    Prerequisites & Notes

    Patent Law is required, and a degree in a technical area is strongly recommended.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2716 - International Sales Law


    This course will provide a comparative transactional study of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). We will focus on international contracts for the sale of goods as an important example of the comparative law of contracts. Most of our time will be spent on sales of goods, but there will be some consideration of leases, licenses and contracts for services. 

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre-Req: Contracts I and II

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2717 - International Sales Law Skills Lab


    This course is a one-credit skills “lab” only be available to students concurrently enrolled in International Sales Law, a two credit class which provides a comparative transactional study of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), focusing on international contracts for the sale of goods as an important example of the comparative law of contracts. 

    The Skills Lab will integrate substantive law instruction with skills development, offering students the opportunity to draft and compare international and domestic sales contract provisions. Weekly drafting assignments will help the students to develop and hone the  foundational lawyering skills such as problem-solving, drafting, synthesis of law and fact, and if time permits, client interviewing and counseling. 

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre Req: Contract I and II

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2718 - Comparative Cyberlaw


    This course explores the differences and similarities in the way various countries regulate the internet. Topics will include governance, jurisdiction, censorship, libel, privacy, anonymous speech, copyright, trademark, hate speech, sexual speech, and other issues that may arise. Consideration will be given to the special problems posed by new social networking media.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2719 - Patent Prosecution Externship


    This specialized externship is designed to provide students with an educational experience in prosecuting a patent before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), while at the same time offering students an opportunity to apply what they are learning within the context of an externship setting. Students will apply their training in patent prosecution by working collaboratively with practicing industry specialists and expert patent counsel to foster a broad growth of real-world knowledge. Students will work on a variety of matters and a variety of aspects of patent prosecution, such as conducting a prior art search, drafting a patent application, responding to a USPTO office action, and drafting an appeal brief.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Patent Law is required, and a degree in a technical area is strongly recommended. 

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 2720 - Intellectual Property Colloquium


    This colloquium aims to put students and faculty in conversation about some of the best current scholarly work in intellectual property. Subjects for Spring 2013 will include aesthetic analysis in intellectual property, the role of innovation prizes in intellectual property,  copyright law and pornography,  experimental tests to measure innovation and creativity in intellectual property, improvement doctrines in property and intellectual property law, the problem of determining the audience in intellectual property infringement, and  the  issues surrounding the patenting of nature, among other topics. 

    Every other week, outside authors will present their own recent work, with students and faculty engaging them in dialogue. On the weeks respectively preceding each speaker, students will prepare to discuss authors’ scholarship, in part by writing and sharing reaction papers and formulating questions. Throughout the semester, students will also be appointed to lead the discussion about the work of specific speakers. Students will leave the course with a stronger grasp of the field of intellectual property and better prepared to engage with specialized materials in the area on their own. Prior coursework in intellectual property is not required, but students without any background will be asked to complete additional reading in preparation for the class.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2721 - Negotiation Skills


    This course is a two-day intensive course teaching the skills of negotiating difficult family and workplace conflicts with the primary aims of either preserving the relationship between the parties or ending that relationship amicably on both sides. For many parties to conflict in these domains, that kind of “relational goal” is as important as any other in the situation. However, the skills needed to achieve this goal are distinct and different from those conventionally taught in negotiation courses, which focus more on resolving disputes over tangible matters. This course takes the view – advanced by feminist and other recent negotiation theorists – that relational or interactional goals matter greatly to parties in many contexts. The course helps students identify and practice strategies for achieving those kinds of goals when negotiating disagreements in the family or workplace contexts, where relational goals are particularly important. However, the skills learned will also be applicable in other kinds of conflicts

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2722 - ADR in the Information Society


    This course explores the rules, principles and difficulties embedded in dispute resolution in an information society.

    Dispute resolution in the Internet era is increasingly ruled directly by the rules of the involved community (e.g. the so called law of e-bay) but specific rules are designed in addition to the traditional ones (e.g. EU proposed and enacted regulations). The course explores, 1) how contract and national/supranational regulations interact in regulating ADR over the internet and for internet businesses; 2) how dispute resolution techniques and legal rules applied in the “real world” react to and/or if they require specific adaptation to the information society setting.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    NOTE: This course is designed to be offered during Hofstra’s summer program in Pisa, Italy during an intensive two week period.

     

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2723 - Introduction to Commercial Dispute Resolution


    This course is specifically directed at students who are interested in developing an understanding of the different types of dispute resolution used in the context of international commercial transactions.  Existing courses usually focus on either international commercial arbitration or international litigation or mediation as separate and independent topics.  This course is intended to survey all of these forms of dispute resolution in the international context.  It will provide students with both the legal framework and some of the difficult legal issues arising out of all three of these modes of dispute resolution.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    NOTE: This course is designed to be offered during Hofstra’s summer program in Pisa, Italy during an intensive two week period.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2724 - Global Compliance in the Digital Age


    This course will explore and analyze the statutory and regulatory compliance challenges for management of electronic information and e-commerce and litigation discovery across industry and political borders, including the barriers of commercial and national cultures, history and differing legal systems as they pertain to the needs of accelerating e-commerce.

     An analysis of the compliance network for electronic information requires an understanding of the daily interfaces essential to e-commerce and dialogue. These include consideration of privacy and data protection notions for personal data. The structure of common law and civil law systems will be compared with regard to standards of disclosure of electronic information for litigation and arbitration. Students will examine a practical framework for analysis of electronic information management from the U.S. and abroad, including health data, financial data and other protected information. They will look at U.S. federal and state information compliance schemes; privacy and data protection approaches in Europe, Asia and South America; how U.S. courts have approached the conflicts of laws dilemma, from the five-factor balancing test of Aerospatiale v. District Court of Iowa in 1987 to the present; relevant treaties such as the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad; trends toward reconciliation of the blurred cyber-borders of international e-commerce with established political boundaries; and collection of electronic evidence from abroad with an eye toward admissibility requirements.

     

    The practical effects of how these statues and cases affect the daily activities of corporations and individuals and business and litigation will be seen in the drafting exercises will be seen in written work that will include preparation of discovery requests and responses; internal memoranda regarding potential motions to quash and Protective Orders; information governance policies and procedures; and training materials.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2725 - Historic Preservation and the Environmental Impact Review Process


    This course will examine the history and scope of Historic Preservation Law with a particular emphasis on the relationship between historic preservation and the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and state analogs.  Course work will include the study and discussion of the social and political origins of the historic preservation movement as well as the statutory and case law enacted on the federal, state and local levels, such as the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).  In addition to studying statutes and case law, students will gain practical experience in reviewing and preparing documents necessary for approval under these statutes.  The course will meet the requirements for awarding Writing 2 credit.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2726 - Organized Crime and the Response of Government


    Utilizing the Port of New York as its theater, this course will study attempts by government to control Organized Crime. The course will study the origins of Organized Crime in the United States, its influence in the Port of New York, why the longshore trade and the longshore trade Unions are susceptible to its influence, and the various responses by government to such susceptibility - focusing on the Waterfront Commission Act, the administrative and regulatory effectuation of this Act by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, and the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Students will be challenged to analyze the success and failure of these laws and regulations, and to craft alternative legislative and regularity solutions to the problems that the existing laws and regulations were implemented to combat.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2727 - Medical Product Development and Licensing Agreement Drafting Seminar


    This writing course provides participants with the opportunity to draft the form of agreement used in the medical products industry for collaborative development and licensing of new regulated medical products. Regulated medical products include drugs, biologics, medical devices, and cell, tissue, and gene therapies. CD&L agreements cover the major steps and interparty interactions along the pathway from product discovery to regulatory approval. As such they integrate several legal disciplines – contracts, intellectual property, licensing, medical product regulation, federal funding of technology development, venture governance and dispute resolution, commercial transactions, insurance, finance, and litigation. The course will reinforce several important principles that extend beyond the life science industry and collaborative development and licensing agreement on which the course focuses.  These principles include the importance of understanding the business and interests of clients and their counterparties, the limits to which contracts can protect the interests of clients and their counterparties, and the dynamic impact of applicable statutory, regulatory, and case law on various matters covered in contracts. During the semester, each participant will be engaged as counsel by various hypothetical clients to draft (and sometimes negotiate) contractual provisions for varying hypothetical medical product development projects. 

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2728 - Environmental Dispute Resolution


    Dispute resolution arises in many contexts and forms in environmental law. This course will provide instruction in the professional skills necessary to resolve and prevent environmental disputes. Course work will include the study and practice of environmental negotiation, mediation and facilitation, and will provide an opportunity for students to develop these skills in a broad range of contexts including, among others, a two-party Clean Air Act environmental enforcement negotiation, a multi-party hazardous waste mediation, and a complex multi-stakeholder climate change consensus-building process involving local zoning law. Students will learn how to determine the appropriate environmental dispute resolution process for a given matter, deal with high conflict situations, and manage disparate factual and scientific information in a dispute. Students will leave the course with skills they can apply to a wide variety of environmental law practices and to other fields of law as well.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2729 - Law Practice Management


    A seminar devoted to the ethical, legal and business considerations in forming and running a law firm. Students will analyze complex fact patterns based on real and hypothetical scenarios that arise in the day-to-day life of managing a law firm. Students will then be asked to read, analyze, and apply discrete portions of a specimen partnership agreement, an employee handbook, an ethical rule, and a ground lease to the fact patterns provided. These tasks will then be converted either into a written or oral presentations for the class, who will serve as an Executive Committee of a law firm. Grading will be based on class participation, role-playing exercises, written assignments, and a final exam. 

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2730 - Pre-Trial III: Drafting and Arguing the Summary Judgment Motion


     

    This is a 2 ½ day intensive simulation-based course designed to introduce students to the conceptual, legal, strategic and practical issues posed by the drafting and arguing of summary judgment motions in a civil litigation. Students will learn the importance of audience, developing a theory of the case that will appeal to that audience, how to draft a persuasive statement of facts and how to construct persuasive arguments. In addition, students will learn how to present an effective oral argument to the trial court.  Students will work with the Professor to draft a statement of undisputed facts and memorandum of law in support of a summary judgment motion. Students will then exchange briefs with one another and proceed to draft a response to the statement of undisputed facts, as well as a memorandum in opposition to the summary judgment motion. Students will work with the Professor to prepare for oral argument of the motion in front of a Judge. A portion of the coursewill be conducted online, using the Voice Thread technology that is available to all Hofstra students through the portal. Training and support in using Voice Thread will be available to students who need it. 

     

     

     

     

     

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Students who have taken the full semester Pretrial Skills course, cannot take this course - Drafting and Arguing the Summary Judgment Motion.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2731 - Logic Skills for Legal Reasoning


    This course is designed to teach skills useful in analyzing the reasoning structures found in judicial decisions, and in constructing new arguments using elements of those structures. Students will learn to analyze judicial decisions as natural language documents that we search in order to retrieve the elements of legal reasoning and argument. The logic skills taught in the course include: analyzing the linguistic structure of judicial decisions, to interpret the meaning of the text (a skill applicable to all types of legal documents); searching documents and retrieving information critical to legal argumentation (a skill also applicable tosearch software, e-discovery, and artificial intelligence applications in law); and constructing new legal arguments using rules, findings, evidence and policiesextracted from judicial decisions (a skill applicable to all types of legal reasoning and argumentation). No prior knowledge of linguistics or logic is required.Students will work through a series of modules that are focused on particular logic skills. Each module will consist of the following online elements:background text, videos, interactive examples; exercises to be performed; and feedback on those exercises. After students have completed certain sets of modules, the class will meet to discuss problems that students might be having, and to discuss the topic more broadly. Thus, although working through the online materials will be a substantial part of the learning experience, the course will be taught primarily in a synchronous manner (the instructor meeting with all students at the same time). Examples and judicial decisions will be drawn primarily fromTorts cases, of the kind familiar from first-year Torts courses. There will be a final examination. While a student’s performance in the course will be graded, the mandatory grading curve will not apply because the grade will be primarily determined by an evaluation mechanism involving significant individualized interaction between the student and teacher. 

     

    Credits: 1 or 2



  
  • LAW 2732 - Lawyers and Social Change


    This course will examine how the law can be an instrument for social change. Each weekly session will be taught by a guest lecturer who is a lawyer and would discuss with the students her/his experience in bringing about social change. Guest lecturers would relate their experiences, followed by questions and comments by the students. Students will take a final exam at the end of the semester. This course may be offered for skills credit.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2733 - Combatting Corruption


    This course will examine the legal instruments used to combat corruption and money laundering.  We will delve into the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, and the anti-money laundering sections of the Bank Secrecy Act and Patriot Act.  We will also examine the False Claims Act, and the whistleblower and other related provisions of the Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes Oxley Acts.  Additionally, we will examine the interplay between domestic and international cross-border anti-corruption efforts, including the UK Bribery Act.  Special attention will be paid to the practical considerations of enforcement and defense, including the use of deferred and non-prosecution agreements, sentencing issues, implementing compliance programs, and lessons learned from recent enforcement actions.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2750 - Accounting for Lawyers


    This course provides an introduction to accounting and finance and an analysis of component parts of financial statements. The course’s objective is to enable the student to operate more effectively as a professional when issues of accounting or finance arise. The course will help the student evaluate the accounting reports in order to make decisions, all of which can pose legal consequences.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2751 - Clinic Practicum


    The Clinic Practicum provides an opportunity for students who have taken the Disaster Recovery Clinic, Community and Economic Development Clinic, Youth Advocacy Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, Law Reform Advocacy Clinic, or Asylum Clinic to continue to work on Clinic cases that carry over to a second semester, and to receive advanced training in the advocacy skills, professional responsibility obligations, and case strategy analysis required in client representation. Students advocate on behalf of the clients who they represented when they were enrolled in one of the Clinics, and may also be assigned to other cases that raise particularly complex issues of fact and law. Students are required to attend weekly supervision meetings that focus on strategic decision-making considerations, and each student must make at least one major presentation on a practice or professional responsibility issue drawn from one of his or her cases. Students are eligible for the Clinic Practicum only if they meet one or more of the following criteria: the student’s carry-over cases involve complex legal or factual issues which require more sophistication than would normally be expected of a one-semester student; the student’s carry-over cases involve upcoming trials or other significant court hearings; the student’s carry-over cases involve law-re f o rm related issues; the student has established a positive relationship with one or more of the significant professionals involved in the case that would be difficult for another student to emulate effectively; or, the student has established a positive relationship with his or her client that would be difficult for another student to emulate effectively.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Disaster Recovery Clinic, Community and Economic Development Clinic, Youth Advocacy Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, Law Reform Advocacy Clinic, or Asylum Clinic. Instructor’s permission needed for enrollment.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2754 - Advanced Appellate Advocacy


    A more in-depth study of the appellate process than the first-year course in Appellate Advocacy, this course covers the preparation of an appeal from the decision to take the appeal through the filing of the brief and record and, finally, the oral argument.  
    In addition to preparing a brief on appeal, students will learn how to prepare other appellate papers, including the notice of appeal, preargument submissions, appellate motions (including motions for leave to appeal and reargument) and petitions for writs of certiorari. Students also will learn how to compile and master the record, assess appealable issues and develop appellate strategies.
    Through related readings and class discussions, students will conduct a critical analysis of the appellate judging process, and students will have the opportunity to observe and study actual appellate oral arguments. Writing Requirement II may be satisfied in this course.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Appellate Advocacy

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2756 - Advanced Civil Litigation


    This course will undertake an in-depth examination of special issues arising in the context of complex civil litigation, with emphasis on business and commercial disputes and mass tort proceedings. It will focus on both federal and New York procedure. Among the topics to be considered are joinder of parties, intervention, duplicative or related litigation, transfer of cases, forum non conveniens, maintenance and defense of class actions, electronic discovery, document destruction issues, assertion and waiver of privilege, claim and issue preclusion, and alternate dispute resolution techniques. Students will have an opportunity to enhance their advocacy skills by arguing motions based on the subject matter under study. The course is intended to assist students in applying knowledge of civil procedure to specific problems which are likely to be encountered in real cases.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2757 - Advanced Bankruptcy


    This course focuses on selected topics on federal bankruptcy law and practice. It covers bankruptcy court jurisdiction, litigation under the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and professional responsibility and ethical issues facing bankruptcy lawyers. Other topics may include claims trading strategy and its impact on chapter 11 cases, cross-border bankruptcy cases under chapter 15, bankruptcy relief for municipalities under chapter 9, debtor-in-possession financing trends, asset acquisitions in chapter 11 cases, intellectual property rights in bankruptcy, and other timely topics. Recent controversial cases may be explored as well. A paper is required on a topic to be selected by the student in consultation with the teacher. The course may satisfy Writing Requirement I. There is no examination.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Prerequisite: Bankruptcy or the consent of the instructor.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2758 - Advanced Competition Skills


    The primary focus of the Advanced Appellate Skills course will be the introduction of students to advanced techniques in the crafting of an appellate brief, principally focusing on the crafting of briefs to the United States Supreme Court. This will be done through a series of workshops, combining lecture, readings, and interactive exercises. In addition, the course will introduce students to advanced techniques in the oral argument of an appeal, focusing principally on argument to the Supreme Court. Differences between actual briefs and argument before the high Court and conventions utilized in interscholastic moot court competitions will be pointed out. 

    Enrollment in the course is limited to, and mandatory for, those students selected by the Director of Student Advocacy Programs to represent Hofstra in interscholastic moot court competition. That selection, for most teams, occurs following tryouts typically held early in the fall semester. The course will be taught on weekday evenings and/or weekend days to minimize conflicts with students’ academic classes. 

    The course will be conducted, outside of the traditional semester structure, during the moot court competition “season,” which typically runs from October to April. It is anticipated that the course will begin shortly after September tryouts and team selections, and end in March, when the last briefs typically are submitted in competition. Early in the process there will be plenary sessions, attended by all competitors. Thereafter, the course will be conducted in smaller break-out sessions attended by students on a rolling basis, depending upon when in the “season” they will be submitting their briefs (and, eventually, orally arguing) in competition. 

    Students will earn one academic credit for satisfactory completion of the course in the semester in which their team brief is submitted in competition. They will earn a second credit following their satisfactory preparation for and performance of oral argument in their respective competition.  It is possible that a student who participates in an interscholastic moot court competition will not earn any academic credit for his or her participation in the course and the competition, if that student is otherwise taking the maximum allowable number of academic credits in a semester.  

     

     

                           

    Credits: 1 or 2



  
  • LAW 2759 - Constitutional Issues in Health Law


    In this course, we will study fundamental issues of constitutional law as they are understood and expressed through court cases that examine core issues in health law. Initially, we will explore basic principles of constitutional interpretation in preparing to read and analyze the cases in their entirety, including important health law decisions on the Supreme Court, as well as on federal and state levels. We will examine the doctrines of privacy, due process, equal protection and property rights as they apply to partial birth abortion, the right not to procreate, wrongful birth, wrongful life, the right to die, medical confidentiality, protection of vulnerable populations, human experimentation and human gene patenting. The course will emphasize understanding how both constitutional doctrine and health law evolved as a result of the case law that we examine. We will also analyze how the various forms of constitutional jurisprudence the specific court utilized in each case influenced not only the result of a particular case, but also established precedent in health law with respect to each issue and impacted the evolution of constitutional doctrine with respect to the particular constitutional principle embedded in each decision. The goal of the course is to provide a more detailed understanding of core health law issues than is possible from taking the basic health law course, while providing students with the opportunity to learn about accepted modes of constitutional interpretation as they develop a deeper understanding of core constitutional principles.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    First Semester of Constitutional Law Required: Students should be familiar with reading and understanding cases on the U.S. Supreme Court level as well as have some familiarity with the basic principles embodied in the U.S. Constitution.

    Health Law or Bioethics Preferred: Students should have some familiarity with core health care issues. The basic health law course would provide a strong foundation upon which to build a more comprehensive understanding of the constitutional issues that are represented in health law. Since we will examine constitutional doctrine and the health law issue represented in each case, it is possible to take the course without having taken Health Law or Bioethics, although a background in either would enhance the learning experience.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2767 - Criminal Procedure II: Adjudication


    This course examines selected criminal procedure topics that arise during the adjudication of a criminal case, organized along the procedural stages of a typical prosecution. Such issues may include the following: bail and pretrial release, prosecutorial charging discretion, discovery battles, plea bargaining, grand jury practice, petit jury selection and trial tactics, double jeopardy, trial by the media, sentencing issues, appeals and collateral attacks on convictions, and other related issues.



    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2768 - Patent Litigation


    This course is specifically directed at students who intend to practice in the field of patent law.  It is only for students who have completed the Patent Law course.  In addition, although it is not required, it is recommended for students who have an undergraduate education in science or engineering.  The course is practice-oriented and addresses patent infringement and federal court practice.This course builds upon the Patent Law course by providing an analysis of the substantive and procedural law relating to patents.  This course covers all core stages of patent litigation from the filing of the complaint to trial in federal court and appeal to the Federal Circuit.  Throughout the semester, the students participate in and learn the various aspects of patent litigation including pleadings, discovery, lay and expert witnesses and depositions, claim construction (involving a Markman hearing), summary judgment, trial and appeal.  In certain assigned projects, students participate in drafting parts of pleadings and memorandums and function as part of a litigation team representing one party in a patent litigation.   Further, certain aspects of the course may include patent litigation and remedies before the International Trade Commission as well as Hatch-Waxman pharmaceutical litigation.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Pre-requisites: Patent Law is required and a degree in a technical area is preferred (although not required) 

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2769 - Advanced Mediation Seminar


    Students in this course read studies by prominent mediation researchers and theorists, view tapes, read transcripts of actual mediation sessions and observe simulated mediation. Class lectures and discussions use these materials as a basis for close examination of questions about the use of mediation in general, the specific practices that mediators employ in current practice, the possibilities of alternative approaches to mediation theory and practice, and the philosophical premises that underlie both theory and practice. This intense examination of the theory, practice and premises of mediation is used to raise larger questions about the nature of conflict and dispute resolution, and the relation of dispute resolution processes and institutions to broader societal value frameworks and world views.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2772 - Advanced Tort Practice & Problems


    This course explores the conceptual, legal and practical issues of handling a tort case from the initial intake to post-trial litigation. The course uses a case-study and problem-solving approach that takes the students step-by-step through the litigation process. Students will be able to simulate the handling of a hypothetical civil case by maintaining an actual file throughout the entire course. They will learn about each phase of a litigation through discussions, role-playing, and simulations.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2776 - Advanced Trial Techniques: Use of Expert Witnesses


    This course builds upon the National Institute for Trial Advocacy model of trial practice skills training. Students function in law firms that are involved in cases in which an expert witness plays a key role. The course deals with problems associated with the use of the lawyer’s own expert to examine a case file to understand whether there is a case and what its strengths and weaknesses are, principles and constraints on the discovery of the adversary’s experts, the use of the lawyer’s own expert to prepare to take the deposition of the other side’s expert, taking the deposition of an adversary expert, preparing one’s own expert to be deposed, the deposition of one’s own expert, and the preparation for and conduct of trial examination of one’s own expert and the adversary expert.

    The course has limited enrollment.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2777 - Elder Law


    This seminar focuses on the legal problems of the elderly and the disabled.  It will approach the Elder Law practice from an interdisciplinary perspective.  Topics include planning with Government benefits, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability and SSI benefits; long-term care insurance; and estate planning and the utilization of  trusts to protect and preserve assets.  Additional topics will include Guardianship proceedings under Article 81 of New York’s Mental Hygiene Law as well as the Health Care Decisions Act, and advance directives such as health care proxies, living wills and MOLST forms.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2783 - Legal Analysis, Writing & Research II


    Leg. Analysis Wrtg. & Res. II completes the five-credit first-year course sequence in legal analysis, writing and research, which begins in  Leg. Wrtg. Analysis & Res. I   in the fall semester.   Leg. Analysis Wrtg. & Res. II primarily teaches persuasive writing, introduced through a trial-court level brief and developed through an appellate brief.  To learn time-efficient writing skills, students write additional memos under the type of constraints required in contemporary law practice, typically measured in hours rather than days.  And to learn tightly concise writing for busy partners and clients, students write email advice memos.  Research instruction, begun in the fall, is completed in this course.  As in the fall, professors provide substantial individualized feedback and conduct one-on-one conferences with students to critique their work and discuss rewriting techniques as well as methods through which each student can improve.  At the end of the course, students participate in an oral argument.

    Credits: 3



  
  • LAW 2784 - Applied Evidence: Evidentiary Oral Argument in Trial Courts


    An advanced evidence course that is designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn how to develop and present trial level evidence arguments. The course will cover both pre trial preparation of legal arguments as well as the skill of identifying evidence issues and  creating a persuasive arguments under the heat of the moment, whether it be in the courtroom during trial or with opposing counsel and/or judges at bench conferences.  In each class, students will argue different evidentiary issues that arise in the contexts of objections, motions in limine, or conferences with judges and opposing attorneys and will be critiqued in terms of substantive law and stylistic execution. Grading will be based on substantive and stylistic performance in class and on an final examination in which students will be required to present oral evidentiary arguments.
      

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Evidence

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2785 - Art Law Seminar


    This seminar explores contemporary problems involving art and the law.  Subjects will include: art & obscenity, art & hate speech, censorship of art, the moral rights of artists, copyright & art, the art market, art forgery, trafficking in stolen art, and the repatriation of cultural artifacts.  The class will take a discussion format and will involve guest speakers and field trips. Students are expected to complete a research paper on a topic of their choice. 

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2788 - Ecuador Field Study: Special Issues in International Environmental Law


    Conducted in an eco-lodge, Casa Mojanda, located in Otavalo, Ecuador, the Ecuador Field Study: Special Issues in International Environmental Law (EFS)
    provides students with the opportunity to observe first-hand both international environmental challenges and their management. The EFS is a one
    credit, one week intensive course in which the following selected international environmental law topics will be explored – climate change policy
    responses, protection of forests, and the role transnational corporations play in the creation and
    resolution of international environmental challenges. Further, students will learn about topics specific to Ecuador such as the high profile litigation against
    Chevron for alleged environmental and social harms in Ecuador’s Amazon region and the rights given to nature in the new Ecuadorian constitution.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2790 - Banking Law


    This course examines the basic structure of bank regulation under federal law and the differences among banking institutions.  Attention will be paid to the powers of national banks and bank holding companies and the limitations upon their operations.  The course emphasizes the evolving role that banks (and other financial institutions) play both as lenders and deposit takers and as participants in the broader financial markets, and it considers certain consequences of the recent financial crisis, including relevant changes in applicable laws and regulations.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2792 - Business Drafting Seminar


    This course provides an opportunity to draft various instruments typically encountered in a business oriented practice. Depending upon the choices made by each individual instructor, students may be expected to draft and submit weekly for review by the instructor a number of the following: certificates of incorporation for a business entity and for a professional practice with various optional control and exculpatory provisions; an amendment of a certificate; minutes and bylaws; a shareholder buy-sell agreement; partnership agreement; articles of organization and operating agreement and notice of formation for a limited liability company; conversion agreement and certificate of conversion of the partnership to a limited liability company; assumed name certificates for a partnership and a corporation; a sale and security agreement; an employment or independent contractor agreement; and various other documents. Enrollment is limited.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Business Organizations

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2796 - Law’s Response to Reproductive Technology


    The context of this seminar involves revolutionary changes that are now occurring in the means of human reproduction The advent and development of reproductive technology have abruptly expanded the possibilities of fertility in a manner unprecedented in human history. These possibilities challenge traditional definitions of family and compel the legal system to examine anew its definition and regulation of the family. Students in the seminar focus on the law’s emerging response to assisted reproduction, including artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, cryopreservation of gametes and pre-embryos, gestational and traditional surrogacy, and cloning. Writing credit is available.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2799 - Constitutional Theory


    Much recent debate has centered around the proper way to interpret and apply our Constitution. This course examines the theoretical concepts that guide constitutional decision making. Students analyze various theories of interpretation, such as “neutral principles,” “original intent,” “representation reinforcement,” “fundamental rights” and “civic republicanism,” which have been developed in an attempt to explain how the text should be understood. The theories and their limitations are then examined in the context of specific areas of constitutional decision making, including separation of powers, federalism, judicial review and equality, with attention to the implications that these theories have for the resolution of specific current problems.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Constitutional Law I and II.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2807 - Corporate Finance


    This course deals with financial theories and legal doctrines relating to the publicly held corporation, including problems of valuation, financing options, capital structure and dividend policy.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Business Organizations.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2808 - Cooperatives, Condominiums, and Homeowner Associations


    This course examines the tremendous increase and sweeping changes taking place in modern types of housing involving community types of living. The course delves into the organization, sale and operation of each type of development stressing New York state law as a model from which both federal and other states have borrowed extensively. It includes the legal benefits and disadvantages of each development from the prospective of owner and developer. Students work with a course book, which includes cases, applicable statutes, governmental regulations and documents of existing developments.

    The course emphasizes problem solving in actual situations, using basic understanding of applicable statutes and cases. A student’s grade is based on an examination.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2810 - Corporate Government Seminar


    This seminar will focus on the governance of the modern American corporation. We will look more deeply at recent governance failures such as Enron and WorldCom, and evaluate efforts to address those failures. The seminar begins by reviewing the structure of the corporation, paying close attention to the different stakeholders in the corporation and examining other potential corporate structures. The role of the board will be closely examined, with particular focus on the role of independent directors and the importance of the board as a corporate monitor. We will explore new federal investor protections, particularly the Sarbanes Oxley Act, and discuss the responsibilities that investors have for good corporate governance. The seminar will also look more closely at the role of employees, particularly employees as shareholders. Finally, we will discuss the role of corporate counsel in promoting good governance, as well as reporting bad governance. An effort will be made to bring in speakers and set up field trips in order to better understand the issues we will cover. Enrollment is limited. A paper is required.

    Prerequisites & Notes
     Business Organization

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2816 - Domestic Commercial Arbitration


    This course provides an introduction to the law of arbitration within the United States, both federal and state, and to the procedures typically followed in arbitral proceedings. In this regard, the following topics will be considered: the nature and scope of arbitration agreements, the defenses to arbitration, the issue of preemption as between federal and state statues, the remedial powers of arbitral panels, judicial review of arbitral awards, and ethical issues applicable to the selection of and performance by arbitrators.


    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2818 - DNA Unraveled – Demystifying Forensic DNA Evidence


    This seminar is designed to provide students with the fundamental knowledge necessary to handle
    cases in which forensic DNA evidence is in issue. The course will familiarize the student with
    the various terms associated with forensic DNA analysis. The program addresses the legal
    principles controllong the proper evaluation and presentation of DNA evidence, and the scientific
    and statistical principles underlying forensic DNA analysis. It examines basic principles of
    biology, population genetics, and statistics as they apply to forensic DNA analysis, as well as
    specific evidentiary foundations and techniques for presenting DNA evidence in a trial. It also
    examines legal challenges to the underlying scientific principles and statistical analysis of DNA
    evidence, together with legal strategies to effectively address these challenges.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Evidence

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2821 - Pre-Trial I: Written Discovery


    This course introduces students to the conceptual, legal, strategic and practical issues posed by the discovery phase of civil litigation. It focuses on written discovery – interrogatories, requests for admission and document requests and responses and objections thereto.  Instruction emphasizes learning by doing. Students will get a theoretical overview of the nature and purposes of discovery, and practice in applying those concepts in written discovery practice in a simulated case. Students will be assigned to a law firm representing a party in the case. They will  plan strategy for and draft written discovery and objections and responses under intensive faculty supervision. The students will also plan strategy for negotiation of discovery disputes, negotiate with the other side and advocate for their position before a judge if disputes are unresolved.

     Students receive one academic and one skills credit for this Course. The course is graded pass/fail.

     

    This course is offered in an intensive three day period. It is part of a two course sequence on Discovery Skills. It can be taken separately or together with Discovery Skills II (Deposition Practice).  The same case file is used for both courses.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Students who enroll in this course will not be permitted to take the course titled “Pre-Trial Skills”.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2824 - Current Problems in Constitutional Law


    In this limited enrollment course each student role plays a Supreme Court member by discussing and deciding pending cases before the court. Each week a group of nine members of the course meets for two hours, having read the briefs and record in a case pending before the Supreme Court. The students do their own research and come to class prepared to discuss and vote on the case. Each week a different student acts as Chief Justice, begins the discussion, and then assigns the writing of the opinions after a tentative vote is taken. Thereafter, a student writes the opinion to which he or she has been assigned. Each student writes at least two full opinions during the semester. These generally consist of one majority opinion and one dissent, but a student may be assigned two dissents or two concurring opinions.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2826 - Energy, the Environment, and the Global Economy


    This course explores substantive energy and environmental laws in a way that demonstrates their growing interdependence and internationalization in the emerging global marketplace. All lawyers practicing in the 21st century increasingly must be prepared to analyze domestic legal problems in an interdisciplinary, global context. The course examines the interrelationships of domestic energy and environmental laws on such energy topics as coal, oil, natural gas, electricity, nuclear power and nuclear waste, alternative energy sources, and such environmental topics as global warming, deforestation, and air and water pollution. It also addresses regional and global international law, including institutional structures, treaties, custom, state responsibility, sovereignty over resources, human rights and trade.

    The course is taught using a combination of techniques, including lectures on the fundamental principles of energy law, environmental law and international law, and group discussion of specific case studies to demonstrate the integration of energy and the environment, the interrelationship of domestic and international laws and policies, and the interplay of economic principles and ethics.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2827 - Entertainment Law


    This seminar offers a comprehensive survey of the areas of law pertaining to an entertainment law practice and examines the major entertainment industries, with particular focus on industry contracts and drafting issues relevant to the business and practical aspects of entertainment law. Class attendance and participation are required and considered in determining the grade for the course. Knowledge of copyright or trademark law is not required but is encouraged as background.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2829 - Pre-Trial II: Depositions Practice


    This course introduces students to the conceptual, legal, strategic and practical issues posed by the discovery phase of civil litigation. It focuses on deposition practice- preparing for and taking a deposition, defending a deposition and preparing a witness for a deposition. Instruction emphasizes learning by doing. Students will get a theoretical overview of the nature and purposes of discovery, and practice in applying those concepts in deposition practice in a simulated case. Students will plan strategy for and take and defend numerous portions of a deposition and prepare witnesses for a deposition under intensive faculty supervision..

    Students receive one academic and one skills credit for this Course. The course is graded pass/fail.

     

    This course is offered in an intensive three day period. It is part of a two course sequence on Discovery Skills. It can be taken separately or together with Discovery Skills I (Written Discovery).  The same case file is used for both courses.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Students who enroll in this course will not be permitted to take the course titled “Pre-Trial Skills”.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2830 - Environmental Law in Commercial and Real Estate Transactions


    This course integrates issues arising from substantive environmental law into real estate and commercial transactions. The common law and statutory bases of environmental liability will be reviewed and the transactional process from due diligence to closing will be examined.  Issues frequently encountered in land use and environmental law practice are considered and resolved in the context of specific transactions. Practical skills such as navigating regulatory approval processes, interpreting technical/scientific material, working with technical professionals, negotiating complex multi-party relationships, drafting, and presentation of findings will be covered.  Grading is based upon both written work and class participation. This course is taught over 7 2-hours sessions and satisfies one credit of the Skills requirement.

     

     

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Suggested as a Pre-Req: Environmental Law

    Suggested as a Pre-Req or Co-Req: Business Organizations and/or Real Estate Transactions

    Credits: 1 or 2



  
  • LAW 2831 - Developing a Theory of the Case


    This is an intensive one credit course, which teaches students how to analyze the facts of a case and use them to develop a case theory, from which they can develop a winning trial or negotiation strategy. The purpose of this course is to set out and utilize a framework for constructing a case theory and to provide some experience in using it. Students will engage in factual analysis, drafting of pre-trial motions, and arguing openings and closings, which reflect their case analysis. The course will be graded pass/fail.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    None.

    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2832 - Law of Medical Product Discovery, Development and Commercialization


    This course will explore the influence of law and regulation in the United States and other jurisdictions on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. The central focus will be the pathway of the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines and the effect of various stakeholders, legal disciplines, governmental structures, and globalization on that pathway. Students will learn the lawyer’s role in negotiating agreements, resolving disputes, making policy, and otherwise building consensus in this complex setting. Topics include the history of food and drug and related law, the evaluation of drug safety and efficacy, market exclusivity and market protection,  and the roles of the FDA and other U.S. and non-U.S. government agencies. Students will have the option of taking the final examination or writing a paper.

     

     

     

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2833 - Ethical Problems in Federal Tax Practice


    This seminar addresses the legal and ethical obligations of tax lawyers serving in different roles, including return preparer, audit representative, litigator, planner, negotiator, ruling seeker, tax policy commentator and government lawyer. Students draft memoranda on the application of ethical standards to tax lawyers in varying circumstances.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Prerequisite or co-requisite: Federal Income Taxation of Individuals.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2835 - ERISA and Pension Rights Seminar


    The ERISA and Pension Rights Seminar introduces fundamental concepts essential to a basic understanding of the pension benefits field. The course reviews relevant provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA together with related regulations, administrative rulings and court cases. Initial class sessions and readings provide a basic introduction to the legal concepts and complicated technical requirements applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans and review alternative types of retirement plans and demographic, economic and practice considerations related to plan selection and administration. The course then branches out to explore the interaction of pension rules and concepts with other areas of law such as fiduciary principles, corporate law (e.g., mergers, acquisitions and divestitures), labor management relations, securities laws, employment discrimination laws (Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, etc.), bankruptcy laws, debtor-creditor rights and domestic relations laws. The course examines legislative regulatory and case law developments in the context of contemporary legal and policy considerations.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2836 - Federal Estate and Gift Tax


    This course provides an intensive introduction to federal estate and gift tax laws. Through the analysis of problem materials that are distributed during the semester, students study such concepts as gross estate, taxable gifts, valuation, the marital deduction, transfers with retained interests and taxation of insurance.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Wills, Trusts, and Estates.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2839 - International Environmental Law


    The course uses transnational environmental issues, such as climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and biodiversity (endangered species), to explore the interrelationship among such threats to the global environment and national or subnational regulatory activities. Prior to the 1992 Rio Conference, these subjects had already achieved a high degree of recognition and substantial action on an international and national level. The course covers the subject matter in legal, economic and political contexts. The study of these subjects includes an introduction to the factual background of the problems to provide a common basis of understanding; an examination of pertinent existing laws, treaties and statements of intent, and their economic and political ramifications; and discussion of the future based on an analysis of current and past t rends, including consideration of the degree to which contemporary approaches are likely to be successful in avoiding serious harm to the global environment.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2840 - Federal Tax Policy Seminar


    This seminar explores a variety of policy issues confronting legislators, scholars, and practitioners in the field of federal taxation.  Topics include competing models of taxation, equity and simplicity as goals of a tax system, tax legislation versus direct subsidies for implementing specific social and economic incentives for capital investment and international trade.  A research paper is required.  Prerequisite:  Federal Income Taxation of Individuals.


    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2841 - International Family Law


    International Family Law is an essential part of any family law curriculum, both as a practical necessity and as a means to provide American law students with a broader perspective on increasingly complicated and intractable family law issues. Students should be prepared for the globalized practice of family law, including problems they may encounter relating to international adoption, divorce, custody and domestic violence. Among the areas that the course addresses are the regulation of marriage, including procedural requirements for entry into marriage in several foreign jurisdictions; dissolution of marriage and various approaches to divorce reform around the world; the emerging rights and duties of nontraditional partners, including alternatives to marriage, constitutional rights of same-gender couples and cohabitants, and sexual orientation discrimination under international law; recognition of foreign marriages and divorces; violence between family members; and child abduction, jurisdiction, and enforcement in international custody disputes. In connection with these and perhaps other topics, the course examines relevant international conventions, statutes, and regulatory materials.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2842 - Modern Divorce Advocacy


    This intensive training simulation-based course provides  students with an introduction to the practice of divorce law. The course focuses on the development of students’  representational skills in all phases of divorce litigation and  disputes. It begins with an overview of applicable law.
    Students explore the divorce process with an interdisciplinary focus on how to effectively communicate  with court-appointed mental health and financial professionals, as well as hired consultants in the same fields. They also explore client counseling and alternative dispute resolution (negotiation and mediation)representational skills. Students conduct direct and crossexamination of mental health and financial expert  witnesses, counsel clients, negotiate, and participate in a simulated mediation. The course also includes a careful examination of the ethical responsibilities lawyers face when representing clients in family law disputes. Extensive faculty critique is provided.
    Much of the course is centered on alternative dispute resolution. Students will learn the role of the attorney in negotiation and mediation by counseling clients and consulting with mental health and financial experts in a  simulated case. By participating in a mediation, students will improve their counseling and mediation advocacy skills and familiarize themselves with different mediation strategies.
    The course is team-taught by lawyers, judges, mental health and financial professionals who possess expertise in working with children and families experiencing divorce.
    The course provides a unique opportunity for students to work closely with experts in the field of divorce law and improve their own skills through hands-on experience.
    Materials for the course include a specially prepared case file with an interdisciplinary focus and selected readings.


    Prerequisites & Notes
    Prerequisites & Notes
    Recommended courses: Family Law, and Alternatives to  Litigation. Students may, however, apply for permission to take the course without having taken any or all of these courses.
    The course will be graded pass/fail.


    Credits: 1



  
  • LAW 2843 - Federal Tax Procedure


    This course examines the basic rules of federal tax procedure, focusing primarily on civil tax matters. Topics covered include the sources of federal tax procedure; IRS organization, operation and administration; ruling requests and determination letters; retroactive and prospective changes in IRS interpretations; the doctrine of estoppel, consistency and equality as applied to IRS actions; audit and summons powers of the IRS; deficiencies, interest and penalties; refund claims; statute of limitations, waivers and the mitigation provisions; appeals and settlement procedures within the IRS; forums available for judicial review of IRS determinations; assessment and collection procedure; injunctions and suits to restrain assessment and collection; disclosure obligations imposed by the IRS and the Freedom of Information Act; confidentiality of tax returns; and criminal investigations.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    Federal Income Taxation of Individuals.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2844 - Interdisciplinary Seminar on Family Law and Policy


    This seminar explores issues of family law and policy through an interdisciplinary lens with the goal of generating an agenda for law reform on a complex and controversial subject. The seminar discusses and evaluates approaches to implement resulting law reform recommendations, ranging from federal and state legislation to pilot projects. Each year, the seminar focuses on one topic, determined in advance by the faculty teaching the course. Illustrative topics include: youth at risk, alternative dispute resolution in family disputes, unified family courts, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, adoption policies, same sex marriage, health care for children, unmarried parents living together, special education for disabled children, self-represented litigants in family court, child abuse and neglect, juvenile offender punishment and policies and the role and ethical conduct of the lawyer for children and parents.

     

    The seminar is team taught by members of the law school faculty, as well as faculty from other disciplines appropriate to the subject being addressed. It includes law students and students from other disciplines who are seriously committed to the goals of the seminar and who have the background to contribute to the seminar’s work.

     

    The seminar begins with an overview of the laws, public policy, and social science and health approaches and trends relevant to the particular issue. Subsequent classes focus on the interrelationship between different disciplines and the development of a law reform agenda. The seminar provides an opportunity for students in different disciplines to learn about the theories, philosophies, ethics, and practices of the range of professions that confront family policy issues, and the impact of decision making in one forum on the practices and decisions made in another forum. Students are challenged to consider the strengths and weakness of the responses of various disciplines, and their interaction. 

     

    Students will be expected to undertake a substantial research project and write a paper and make a presentation on a topic within the seminar’s scope.

     

    Enrollment is limited, and instructor permission is required for enrollment.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2845 - Intro to Stat and Reg Interpretation


    We live in an Age of Statutes, an age in which the nation’s legislative institutions and the administrative agencies they have established are the dominant institutions for converting policy into law. For today’s lawyers the question they are most  frequently asked by clients in transactional and litigation settings is:  “how does this statute or rule apply to my facts?”   In most cases, if the questions is asked, it is not easily answered.  Otherwise there would be no need for an attorney.  How judges interpret statutes and rules is something every lawyer needs to understand.  There are rules –- e.g., a statute must be given its clear meaning – but they must be read against a background human experience which frequently results in exceptions and various twists and turn that challenge our thinking about the rule of law.  In this course we will look at topics such as: clear statutes, unclear statutes, legislative history, judicial willfulness, all to determined a usable framework for addressing the many question about statutes that lawyers must address on a day to day basis.  We will also explore the special set of principles applicable to reading agency rules.  

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2848 - Foreign Affairs and the Constitution


    This course examines how U.S. law both constrains and is constrained by U.S. foreign relations and the foreign policy-making process. The course focuses on the constitutional allocation of responsibility among the executive, legislative and judicial branches in matters relating to foreign affairs, including war, treaty-making and spending powers. Unique aspects of the lawmaking process in the foreign relations context are illuminated through historical case studies to include, among others, the use of force in Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia and Haiti; the Iran-Contra Affair; and the controversy surrounding interpretation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The involvement of state and local governments and of private actors in foreign affairs is also considered from a constitutional pragmatic. Finally, the course examines how treaties, international instruments and international law in general interact with domestic legal mechanisms, and how the national security context affects such individuals’ rights as those provided under the First and Fourth Amendments. All topics address the need for possible reform of foreign relations law as the United States continues to move forward in the post-Cold War era. A paper is required.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2854 - Law of Humanity and Law of Nations


     

    This course will consider the foundations of international law and of global justice, with special emphasis on the sources and evidence of law, and when and why international standards should limit or control the national law and policies of independent governments or states.

    Credits: 2



  
  • Law 2855 - Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics


    “Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics” will focus on the application of law to public health and on the ethical and policy parameters of that application.  During most of its history, the United States has struggled to improve population health without compromising the health of individuals.  This course will address legal and policy responses to issues such as vaccination, addiction, obesity, hunger, genetic testing, environmental pollution, epidemics, bioterrorism, natural disasters, and limitations on access to healthcare, among other issues.

     

    The course will ask students to engage in textual analysis and to examine and respond to a set of public health case-studies.  (Case studies will be distributed at the start of each semester; topics of the case studies will vary as policy issues shift over time.) Students will consider how best to shape public-health policy, the role of law in implementing policy, and the ethical implications of efforts by law-makers to improve population health.  The course will direct students to work with, and consider the implications for public health of administrative law, tort law, criminal law, and constitutional law.  More specifically, students will examine federalism issues that arise in efforts to improve population health; identify stakeholders interested in various components of public health law and delineate the positions of each stakeholder; shape statutes aimed at safeguarding population health while protecting individual rights; and design legal responses to local, state, national, and global public-health crises.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2856 - Global Climate Change and U.S. Law


    This course introduces students to domestic legal, administrative, and market mechanisms – both
    existing and possible – for addressing global climate change in the United States. The absence of
    direct federal action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with growing recognition of
    the need for U.S. emissions reductions, has resulted in a multiplicity of (frequently highly
    creative) efforts to force reductions through other means. These include litigation to require
    federal regulation of greenhouse emissions under the Clean Air Act, litigation and other actions to mandate the consideration of climate change impacts under other existing federal statutes (such as NEPA and the ESA), common law tort actions, and independent emissions-reduction measures adopted by localities, states, regions, and market sectors.

    Now, however, a changing political landscape suggests the emergence of substantial federal
    legislation directly mandating greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Additionally, the success of
    one of the above noted litigation strategies in Massachusetts v. EPA raises the possibility that
    EPA may soon propose federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
    Interesting questions arise in considering how the possible advent of direct, federal greenhouse
    gas emissions regulation will impact other litigation; local, state and regional greenhouse gas
    reduction measures (including motor vehicle GHG emissions standards adopted by states under
    the Clean Air Act); and existing (voluntary) private sector strategies for reducing GHG emissions.

    There is also an interesting question as to where, going forward, regulatory responsibility for
    addressing greenhouse gas emissions should be located. This course will educate students about
    the domestic legal options available to address greenhouse gas emissions and invite them to
    develop opinions about their viability, interplay, and desirability.

    Prerequisites & Notes
    No pre-requisites or co-requisites are required, but Environmental Law is recommended. A basic understanding of major environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act, NEPA, and the ESA will assist students in understanding how climate change issues intersect with those statutes.

    Credits: 2



  
  • Law 2860 - Securities Arbitration


    This course will examine securities arbitration as it is presently conducted on Wall Street.  We will begin with the rudiments of arbitration and securities law with a focus on the Federal Arbitration Act and the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The course will then examine the evolution of those laws and see how they gave rise to the unique forum of dispute resolution that exists today. Students will also learn how to draft litigation documents, how to navigate the discovery process, and other skills that may be applied to a broad variety of practice areas.

    Credits: 2



  
  • Law 2863 - Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance


    The compensation of senior executives at U.S. corporations has skyrocketed over the last few decades and significantly outpaced the growth in compensation of rank and file workers.  This course will explore the regulatory, tax and governance issues affecting the design and implementation of executive compensation arrangements at major U.S. public companies and at financial institutions engaged in business in the U.S.  We will explore the role of boards of directors and compensation committees in setting pay levels and assess the efforts by SROs, regulators and institutional shareholders at limiting the rise in executive pay.  We will analyze the SEC’s rules for public companies related to the reporting and disclosure of compensation of executive officers.  We will examine the tax principles that affect compensation design.  We will also analyze the most common types of compensation arrangements (stock options, carried interests, restricted stock, and performance awards) and evaluate the impact of say-on-pay, claw backs, mandatory deferrals and risk-based compensation on executive wealth accumulation, corporate performance, and governance.

    Credits: 2



  
  • Law 2865 - Advanced Labor Law


    This course is a seminar for students interested in acquiring a more in-depth understanding of labor law in the United States. We will address advanced labor issues including current hot topics such as the use of social media in the work place, non-traditional organizing methods; the legality of employer workers councils in the United States, and other labor topics that arise in the context of a global economy and the current political climate in our country. The course is designed to be interactive and to provoke discussion and debate over labor issues.     

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2867 - Independent Study


    Independent Study Projects may be arranged in specialized areas of the law or particularly advanced subject areas. Although we cannot guarantee satisfaction of every student request, there are two types of Independent Study Projects for which a student may apply: (1) individual student research under the direction of a regular full-time faculty member (including visiting faculty); and (2) research by a group of students under the direction of a regular full-time faculty member (including visiting faculty).  In all cases a written proposal must be submitted detailing the intended research, and the written permission of the faculty member must be obtained before the project is begun. Projects exceeding three credits also require approval by the Dean’s Office. The amount of credit to be awarded for the research (two to six credits) is determined by the supervisor of the project based upon the scope and complexity of the project.

    Credits: 2 to 6



  
  • LAW 2869 - Family Law LLM: Thesis I


    This course is required for students enrolled in the LL.M. in Family Law program. It offers the students guidance in drafting an original research paper on a family law topic. In addition to weekly class meetings, students will meet individually with the instructor to develop appropriate research skills and select a topic. Students will be expected to complete a first draft of their Thesis during the Fall semester. In addition, students are expected to make presentations of their work and critique each other’s work.
     
    Enrollment is limited, and instructor permission is required for enrollment.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2871 - Family Law LL.M. Thesis II


    This course is substantively a continuation of Family Law LL.M. Thesis I. (See description for LL.M. Thesis I.) LL.M. Thesis II will consist primarily of intensive mentoring and close review of drafts by the instructor as the students continue the thesis drafting process. 
     
    Enrollment is limited, and instructor permission is required for enrollment. Students must successfully complete Family Law LL.M. Thesis I in order to enroll in Family Law LL.M. Thesis II. 


    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2873 - Insurance Law


    This course examines the fundamental legal principles governing life, fire, property, health, commercial general liability and automobile insurance. The course focuses especially on the law governing insurance contract formation and interpretation.

    Credits: 2



  
  • LAW 2875 - International Commercial Arbitration


    This course provides an overview of the law governing international commercial arbitration, focusing primarily on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Int’l Commercial Arbitration and the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.  Coverage includes provisional remedies and the form, content, and enforceability of awards.  Additionally, the course will include study of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.  The course emphasizes planning and strategic considerations with which practitioners must concern themselves.  The course includes a substantial skills component during the second half of the semester, where students research and analyze the problem distributed by the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (published in early October).  Students will draft briefs in support of the parties and study the presentation of the case contained in the problem.  A team of students from the class will be selected to represent Hofstra in the Vis Moot competitions in Hong Kong, China and in Vienna, Austria during the following spring semester.  (Registration with professor approval only) 





    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2876 - International Business Transactions


    This course covers the various economic and legal requirements of conducting business in the global community. The students become familiar with the basic commercial terms of international economic transactions and the basic agreements of the documentary sale and letter of credit. Students are asked to trace the typical international business transactions from the financing stage to contact formation and possible dispute resolution. The regulation of international business involves customs classification and valuation. Transfers of technology, franchising and licensing of intellectual property are also discussed. Joint ventures and the establishment of a direct foreign investment abroad are analyzed with special emphasis on the role that cultural difference plays in international business transactions.

    Credits: 2 or 3



  
  • LAW 2880 - International Institutions


    This course addresses the legal personality, jurisdiction, and procedures of global and regional international institutions created by states. Those institutions include the United Nations and its constituent organs, NATO, the World Bank, NAFTA, and the Law of the Sea Tribunal. The course examines the international law predicates for those and other institutions, the international law made by those institutions, and the impact that those institutions have on domestic law systems and private parties.

    Credits: 2



 

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