Courses

• LAW JD 780: Unfair Competition and Trademark Law
  This course will examine the precepts of trademark and unfair competition law. We will investigate issues of ownership, protectability, misappropriation, and infringement in the context of words, symbols, slogans, product design and trade dress. The course also will handle related issues, depending on class interest, such as: trademark's common law roots, false and comparative advertising, parody, the right of publicity, the First Amendment, a comparison of how copyright and trademark treat 'functional' designs, and the question of whether trademarks are, or should be, "property."
• LAW JD 781: International Taxation I: Trade, Investment and Finance
  Tax aspects of international business transactions, both "inbound" and "outbound", with particular attention to fiscal jurisdiction, the foreign tax credit, allocation of income among affiliated companies, treaties, anti-abuse measures aimed at tax haven operations, information reporting and foreign investment in U.S. securities and real estate. PREREQUISITE/COREQUISITE: INTRODUCTION TO FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION is a recommended prerequisite, but required at least as a corequisite. RESTRICTION: Students may not enroll in the International Tax seminar and this course. NOTE: This course (and the final exam) is administered through the Graduate Tax Program (Room 1670). This section is for pre-registration purposes only. Students will be transferred to the Tax section of the course at the start of the semester.
• LAW JD 783: Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic/Intellectual Property Law
  The Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic is a one-semester clinical program offered in the fall. Students must apply and be accepted to the program before they register. Drafters selected for the Legislative Drafting Clinics may enroll in any one of the four clinics. Drafters select their projects from a wide range of topic areas. Each drafter provides the client with a legislative bill and a supporting research report. Most bills are filed in the Massachusetts legislature, and some have become law. Successful completion of the research report satisfies the Upper-class Writing Requirement. Drafters in this section may count the clinic toward the Concentration in Intellectual Property. During the first half of the semester, drafters in all of the Legislation Clinics meet together in a twice-weekly seminar on legislative problem-solving, research methods and legislative drafting techniques. During the second half of the semester, the clinics separate and meet in small critique groups that bring together drafters, editors and faculty. Critique group members review the first draft of each report and bill. The group advises each drafter on researching facts and law, presenting a persuasive analysis and drafting clear, enforceable legislation. Many drafters have reported that their analytical skills and writing style improved significantly through the critique group process. The Legislation Clinics provide each drafter with a student editor selected from former drafters in the program. Editors advise their drafters throughout every phase of the analysis and drafting process. NOTE: The Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement.
• LAW JD 784: Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic/Health & Environmental Law
  The Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic is a one-semester clinical program offered in the fall. Students must apply and be accepted to the program before they register. Drafters selected for the Legislative Drafting Clinics may enroll in any one of the four clinics. Drafters select their projects from a wide range of topic areas. Each drafter provides the client with a legislative bill and a supporting research report. Most bills are filed in the Massachusetts legislature, and some have become law. Successful completion of the research report satisfies the Upper-class Writing Requirement. Drafters in this section may count the clinic toward the Concentration in Health Law. During the first half of the semester, drafters in all of the Legislation Clinics meet together in a twice-weekly seminar on legislative problem-solving, research methods and legislative drafting techniques. During the second half of the semester, the clinics separate and meet in small critique groups that bring together drafters, editors and faculty. Critique group members review the first draft of each report and bill. The group advises each drafter on researching facts and law, presenting a persuasive analysis and drafting clear, enforceable legislation. Many drafters have reported that their analytical skills and writing style improved significantly through the critique group process. The Legislation Clinics provide each drafter with a student editor selected from former drafters in the program. Editors advise their drafters throughout every phase of the analysis and drafting process. NOTE: The Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement.
• LAW JD 785: Federal Civil Practice (S)
  This seminar will focus on the specific application of the federal rules of civil procedure to pretrial civil practice. Each pretrial phase of a case (from the complaint to the answer to motions to dismiss to discovery to summary judgment) will be unpacked with reference to the applicable civil rules. The idea is to reach the same level of detail in analysis and close reading of the rules as that required of a new litigation associate. This will involve considerations of computation of time, deadlines, pleading rules, Rule 12, Rule 16, Rule 26, the local rules of civil procedure, and the like. The class will proceed with students drafting and discussing the various documents relevant to pretrial procedure. From a prewritten factual scenario, students will draft complaints, answer their colleagues' complaints, move to dismiss their colleagues' complaints, draft discovery documents, move for summary judgment, etc. Grades will be derived from classroom discussion and written product. NOTES: This seminar does not satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 786: American Legislative Practice: Clinic Option (C)
  NOTE: Restricted to students who apply and are accepted into the program. The American Legislative Practice Clinic is a one-semester clinical program (six graded credits), offered in the fall and spring. The in-class seminar will cover subjects that affect the legislative process including: constitutional interpretation by legislatures, theories of representation, legislative organization and rules, lobbying, legislative oversight powers, and legislature-executive agency relationships. The clinic gives students the opportunity to develop and apply a variety of legal skills to the legislative process. Clinic participants work on several projects during the semester that highlight different aspects of the legislative process, allowing students to relate and test the theories discussed in class to real life situations.
• LAW JD 787: Crime and Punishment: Philosophical Perspectives (S)
  This seminar will explore a broad range of issues concerning the philosophy of punishment and the substantive criminal law. Topics may include: retributivist and utilitarian justifications for punishment; what should be criminalized; what mens rea or mental state should be required for criminal liability; the moral and legal relevance of the distinction between purposely and knowingly causing harm (not only in criminal law, but also in just war law and theory); whether fortuity or "moral luck" justifies punishing completed crimes more than attempts; justification (e.g. self-defense and necessity) and excuse (e.g. duress and provocation); the meaning and significance of consent in sexual assault and other crimes; the insanity defense (with attention to the free will/determinism debate); and feminist perspectives on some criminal law topics. The seminar is open both to law students and to philosophy students. For law students, no prior background in philosophy is presupposed; for philosophy students, no prior background in criminal law is presupposed. Students will be asked to submit brief written questions and comments about the readings on a weekly basis, and a 15-page paper at the end of the semester, which can be based on the class readings. For those law students wishing to satisfy the writing requirement, a 25-page paper is required. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 788: Contract Drafting
  This course teaches students the principles of drafting commercial agreements. Although the course will be of particular interest to students pursuing a corporate or commercial law career, the concepts are applicable to any transactional practice. In this course, students will learn how transactional lawyers translate the business deal into contract provisions, as well as techniques for minimizing ambiguity and drafting with clarity. Through a combination of lecture, hands-on drafting exercises, and extensive homework assignments, students will learn about different types of contracts, other documents used in commercial transactions, and the drafting problems the contracts and documents present. The course will also focus on how a drafter can add value to a deal by finding, analyzing, and resolving business issues. Grades will be based on the graded assignments, good faith completion of the ungraded assignments, and class participation. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 12 students. NOTES: This seminar does not satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement.
• LAW JD 789: Advanced Corporate Law (S)
  This course will consider a broad range of current issues in corporate law, broadly defined. We will study corporate governance and the application of law and theory to the major policy issues concerning the role of the corporation in society. Our materials will consist primarily of recent law review articles, and your work product for the semester will consist of (i) a significant research paper on a topic of your choosing (with some input from me); (ii) an in-class presentation and defense of the paper; and (iii) consistent and informed participation in weekly class discussion. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 790: Employee Benefit Plans
  This course provides an overview of the major mandatory and non-mandatory employee benefits-deferred compensation, workers compensation, unemployment insurance, health insurance, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Social Security. An in-depth examination of ERISA occupies approximately 8 weeks of the course. This is a growing and dynamic practice area. We will study qualified plans, plan design, Section 510 (benefits discrimination) cases, COBRA and claims for benefits cases. A three hour final examination is required.
• LAW JD 791: Intellectual Property and the Internet
  This course will explore the ways in which the Internet has challenged both the theory and the law of intellectual property. Rather than broadly surveying the landscape, we will closely examine a cluster of topics that have especially challenged courts, legislatures, and theorists. Particular topics will be determined prior to the start of class, but might include: copyright law's treatment of intermediaries (such as YouTube, file sharing services, and online service providers); the obligations of auction sites and other online services to police trademark infringement by their users; the scope of fair use protection for user-generated content; and patent protection for Internet-related technologies and business methods. All students must have completed, or be currently enrolled in, a core Intellectual Property course (Intellectual Property, Patent Law, Copyright Law, or Trademark Law). Grades will be based on a final exam. Student participation is required, and will be taken into account in the grade for the course. With permission of the professor, it is possible for a limited number of students to write a paper that satisfies the Upper-class Writing Requirement in lieu of the final exam.
• LAW JD 794: Bankruptcy Practice: Chapter 11 Reorganizations and Sales of Businesses (S)
  This seminar will examine Chapter 11 from the point of view of attorneys for all participants in the process. It is designed to provide the student with knowledge of the uses of Chapter 11, the parties involved in a Chapter 11 proceeding, the substantive law governing Chapter 11 and the Plan of Reorganization process. This seminar will explore the increasing use of Chapter 11 as a vehicle to accomplish the sale of insolvent businesses, the "cram down" of creditors to accomplish confirmation of Plans of Reorganization, executory contracts including those dealing with real estate, equipment and intellectual property and alternatives to Chapter 11. Also to be considered are the impact of changes in judicial, legislative and societal attitudes on the restructuring process. The material will consist of important cases and articles on the subjects to be discussed. Grades will depend primarily on one (1) research paper which will be required of each student. Grades will be adjusted to account for class participation. NOTES: This seminar does not satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. This seminar satisfies the Professional Skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 795: E-discovery and Advanced Civil Procedure (S)
  This seminar will examine modern civil procedure with an emphasis on the electronic discovery process and the growing impact of technology on litigation practice. Today, a very large percentage of business records never see the light of day as paper. They are created, revised, transmitted, reviewed, and destroyed electronically. They exist in a wide variety of formats and repositories, some of which may be proprietary, obsolete, or arcane. In addition, modern electronic document repositories can be enormous and are often vastly larger than their hardcopy predecessors. This is due to several factors including redundancy (many copies of the same file in different locations), aggregation (documents from many business units consolidated on the same centralized servers), disaster recovery (keeping many backups of the same repositories), and a general failure to purge (out of sight, out of mind). Even a relatively small company may have many terabytes of data comprising the equivalent of thousands or even millions of boxes of paper. Traditional discovery methods (print, review, copy) cannot deal with this volume in a cost-effective way. To address these changes, the rules of civil procedure have been amended and the practice of civil discovery has changed radically. But the governing legal concepts -- responsiveness, scope, privilege, and undue burden -- remain the same. The modern litigator must understand how to apply these traditional concepts in the modern environment of virtual and intangible evidence. The litigator must know how to find the evidence necessary to support the client's case while avoiding sanctions and staying within a reasonable discovery budget. The litigator must then know how to use those materials effectively in motion practice, depositions, and trial. This seminar will identify the issues implicated by these changes in technology and will provide a conceptual framework for applying the rules of civil procedure in the modern context of electronic evidence. RESTRICTION: Students may not enroll in E-discovery and Discovery: Theory and Practice (JD747). NOTE: This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 796: Global Climate Change (S)
  At Copenhagen (2009), and again at Cancun (2010), UN governments endorsed the goal of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This coming December, the 192 states party to the UN Climate Convention meet again (at Durban, South Africa), seeking legally binding actions to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels. Agreements reached at Durban and actions over the next few years may determine the fate of humanity. This seminar examines why and how: why the goal is vital and whether and how it can be achieved. Together with guest commentators, we consider selected key issues of science, of technology, of economics, and of politics and law. We review principles adopted in international negotiations, study the work of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and analyze cap & trade systems adopted in Europe. We study emissions tax proposals and emissions offsets through the Clean Development Mechanism. We also examine mechanisms for financial & technology transfer, the effect of energy efficiency commitments made by China & India, and the design of energy and climate bills proposed in the US Congress. Research papers are required; some papers may qualify for upperclass writing credit. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 797: American Law in Wartime (S)
  A study of how American jurisprudence, courts and society function in wartime. Emphasis on the use of executive authority in wartime and how challenges to executive authority have been brought and succeeded or failed; how the Congress functions in the face of war and the use of presidential power; how political power is marshaled by these two branches to their own advantage; how the three branches spar for power, try to check and balance each other and where the new threats to our democracy emerge. A study of the constitutional, statutory and other bases of authority for the use of military force used by the President (with or without Congressional approval) and for the detention of enemy combatants. The course also will study of the challenges to our democratic system, invitations to generals to become dictators, and how the republic has survived and met these challenges. The course will also examine how we struggle to meet the present day challenges in the face of terrorism while balancing freedom and security including the writ of Habeas Corpus, First Amendment Freedoms during wartime, Due Process rights, elections during wartime, the legal basis for secession and nullification, military conscription and the internment of the Japanese Americans in WWII and the current day detention of persons without charge or due process in the war on terrorism. Ultimately, it is a study of the evolution of Executive power in wartime and efforts by the Legislative and Judicial branches to check that power within our constitutional and political system. (Study will be focused primarily upon actions taken by Presidents J. Adams, Lincoln, FDR, LBJ and G.W. Bush). **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 799: Tax Policy (S)
  This two credit seminar will focus on a number of discrete tax policy topics -- e.g., the appropriate definition of income, the role of progressivity in the tax code, the merits of taxing consumption versus income -- examining each through the lens of seminal articles from the academic literature. The seminar will meet on a weekly basis during the first two-thirds of the semester. Each student must complete a final paper. PREREQUISITE: Introduction to Federal Income Taxation. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. NOTE: This seminar meets September 6 through November 8. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who waitlist for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 800: Local Government Law
  A study of the law governing the powers and duties of local governments, mainly municipal corporations such as cities and towns. We look at the sources of municipal powers, the limits on those powers, the relationship between municipalities and the state including the relationship between state and local law, and the formation and expansion of municipalities. An important subject of study involves looking at various models of the relationship between the municipality and the state including home rule. We will also look at some issues in municipal finance and zoning power. The purpose of this introductory course is to provide a solid basis for a more general understanding of the myriad issues that arise under the Local Government Law rubric.
• LAW JD 801: Administrative Law
  MONCRIEFF/WEXLER SECTIONS: This course will examine the nature and functions of federal administrative agencies and the legal controls on agency action. Topics include the status of administrative agencies in the constitutional framework of separation of powers; agency rulemaking and adjudication; and the availability, timing, and scope of judicial review of agency action. BEERMANN SECTION: This course will examine the nature and functions of federal administrative agencies and the legal controls on agency action. Agency action is situated and examined in its political and legal contexts. Topics include the status of administrative agencies in the constitutional framework of separation of powers including the non-delegation doctrine, the President's appointment and removal powers in light of the unitary executive, the constitutionality of the legislative and line-item vetoes, the constitutionality of agency adjudication, and the constitutional (and political) status of independent agencies; agency rulemaking and adjudication including the choice of procedural model and the procedural requirements of the rulemaking model; and the availability, timing and scope of judicial review of agency action including standing to seek judicial review and exceptions to the availability of judicial review. The course also examines different methods of policy analysis such as regulatory impact analysis and cost-benefit analysis. Additional topics include discriminatory enforcement, regulatory delay, judicial imposition of procedural constraints on agencies, the implication of private rights of action from regulatory statutes and the availability citizens' suits. Some attention may be paid to differences between state and federal separation of powers doctrines.
• LAW JD 802: Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law (S)
  This seminar examines the Food and Drug Administration as an administrative agency combining law and science to regulate activities affecting public health and safety. Topics include testing and approval of pharmaceuticals and medical devices; food safety and nutritional policy; biologics and biotechnology regulation; cosmetic regulation; pricing of and reimbursement for drugs and devices; global aspects of pharmaceutical regulation, US and foreign patent issues, and FDA practice and procedure; jurisdiction and enforcement. A writing project involving research on food and drug issues will be required. RECOMMENDED COURSE: Administrative Law. NOTE: This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 803: Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights
  This course examines financial restructuring under the Bankruptcy Code. It is a problem oriented course which explores ways that debtors - individual, corporate, municipal and charitable - use federal law to avoid loss of assets to creditors and at the same time cancel (discharge) their financial obligations in the internet age. Also examines the pitfalls and possibilities existing for individuals who prefer to sell their assets under Chapter 7 and receive an immediate discharge and ways in which creditors can protect their interests. An emphasis of the course is working with actual plans created by courts and law firms to solve financial problems. More traditional aspects of the field such as the role of a trustee, assembling of assets and the impact of federal law on rights and remedies existing at state law is considered. Related areas of law such as the Uniform Commercial Code and the federal Tax Lien Act are explored because they affect debtor and creditor rights. The course focuses around 11 problems with supplemental material. The purpose of the course is to make the student familiar with the federal code which governs financial reordering, the Bankruptcy Code.

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