Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• LAW JD 836: Federal Courts
  A basic survey course covering the federal courts, their place in the structure of American government, their relations with the Legislative and Executive branches and with the states, and their adjudication of federal-question cases concerning constitutional and civil rights, federal social welfare programs, and business regulation. This course builds on first-year courses in Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure and complements upperclass courses on modern public law and legal institutions: e.g., Administrative Law, Immigration Law, Environmental Law, Labor Law, and Conflict of Laws. Topics include the separation of federal legislative and judicial powers, Congress' authority to prescribe the federal courts' jurisdiction and to assign adjudicatory duties to other bodies (e.g., "legislative" courts and agencies), standing to litigate in federal court, conflicts between federal and state courts, the states' immunity from private lawsuits, the Supreme Court's authority to review state court judgments, and "abstention" doctrines governing the exercise of federal judicial power. We will explore theoretical and policy questions--asking not only what federal-courts law is at the moment, but also what it should be. Yet we will organize our discussions around practical lawyering in the federal courts--identifying and analyzing the constitutional, statutory, and judge-made hurdles that litigants must clear to obtain a decision on the merits of a federal question. Especially recommended for students who plan to practice with firms that represent clients subject to federal regulation, to pursue careers with federal or state agencies and departments, or to handle constitutional, civil rights, or other public interest litigation.
• LAW JD 837: Wrongful Convictions and the US Criminal Justice System (S)
  The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented surge in the freeing from our nations jails and prisons of innocent people who were wrongfully convicted. Many have served lengthy sentences and some have spent years on death row awaiting execution for crimes they did not commit. This course will examine the broad range of factors that contribute to the wrongful conviction of the innocent and, in doing so, will shed light on broader questions about the functioning of the US criminal justice system, including the wrongful criminalization of persons and communities. We will explore the role played by faulty eyewitness-identification procedures; coercive and deceptive police interrogation procedures; the mishandling of confidential informants, cooperating witnesses, and jailhouse snitches; junk science, disorganized crime labs, and incompetent and corrupt experts; police and prosecutorial failures to preserve & disclose exculpatory evidence; and incompetent defense counsel and underfunded criminal-defense-delivery systems. We will also examine the role of racial and ethnic bias, profiling, and tunnel vision. We will look at the use of postconviction procedures such as appeals, new-trial motions, and habeas corpus petitions, to free the wrongfully convicted. Finally, we will explore some of the reforms that have been proposed and some of the critiques of the innocence movement, with its reliance on DNA technologies, and its narrow focus on the "wrong-man" notion of the "factually innocent." Films, case studies, and guest speakers will help ground our discussion in concrete examples. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 15 students. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is frequently offered in alternating years. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. **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 838: Antitrust Law
  Antitrust law regulates the competition between business firms in unregulated markets (and in varying degrees in regulated markets, where it supplies a benchmark standard). Thus, all privately owned economic entities are subject to or affected by the antitrust laws (federal or state), ranging from the largest multinationals to self-employed individuals, e.g., lawyers. Antitrust law constrains business behavior that injures the competitive process, encompassing such topics as price fixing, boycotts, monopolization, mergers, price discrimination, distributorship limitations and similar trade restrictions. Antitrust analysis is increasingly economic in its orientation and therefore economic analysis will form a vital part of the course. Supplementary economic readings are suggested for students without previous economic background (and for others who may wish to refresh their knowledge). GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 839: First Amendment
  This course will examine the free speech, free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment. About two-thirds of the course will focus on speech, including such topics as political speech (including campaign finance regulation), commercial speech, and expression in the public forum. The final one-third of the course will focus on religion, including such topics as freedom of religious practice, religion in schools, and religious displays and symbols.
• LAW JD 840: International Human Rights Clinic: Skills Seminar
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the International Human Rights Clinic. This course is the companion fall classroom component for students enrolled in the Clinic and provides an introduction to essential lawyering skills, with a focus on those relevant to the practice of human rights law. The goal of the course is to help students develop a wide range of competencies, including written and oral communication and advocacy, legal research, factual investigation, witness interviewing, professional responsibility, and strategic thinking and problem-solving. NOTE: This course counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 841: Supervised Research & Writing
  Upper-class students may pursue a special research interest under the guidance of a full time faculty member, and earn one or two semester credits for a Supervised Research and Writing project (also known as an Independent Study). The study must involve a substantial investment of time and effort, and result in significant written work that reflects a high standard of legal scholarship. The student's final grade will be based solely upon written work submitted, and will be included in the student's average. NOTE: Students must register for Supervised Research and Writing directly with the Registrar's Office. You may not register via the Student Link.
• LAW JD 842: International Business Transactions
  This course is designed to give students a broad overview of the law--domestic, foreign, and international--governing international business transactions. With the significant growth in international commerce and trade, and the forces of economic and social globalization, lawyers will increasingly confront international legal issues during their professional careers. This course will focus on the legal problems encountered in business ventures that cross national borders. Topics may include formation of contracts, choice of law, financing the international sale of goods through letters of credit, sales and distribution agreements, licensing and contract manufacturing, joint venture agreements, , foreign investment, international dispute settlement, and global compliance issues. This course explores one or more of these topics with contract drafting and negotiation exercises. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 843: Int'l Human Rights Clinic: Human Rights Advocacy (S)
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the International Human Rights Clinic. This is the companion spring classroom component for students in the Clinic. The course focuses on further developing skills in the context of the substantive law and mechanisms of the Inter-American Human Rights system. Classes will cover: interviewing and counseling institutional (non-governmental organizations) clients; designing and implementing human rights field research; ethical pitfalls and professional 'best practices' in human rights collaborations with international networks; advocacy within the Inter-American machinery; and simulations using comparative and foreign human rights problems. The classes will be a combination of readings and discussion; simulations; student presentations; short papers and case rounds to discuss project work; and group and individual feedback on project development. NOTE: This course counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 846: Historical Perspectives on Law, Constitutions and Culture (S)
  This workshop-format seminar examines the interplay of law, constitutions, and culture from an historical perspective. The heart of the seminar is student engagement with works-in-progress by leading scholars in the history, theory, and culture of law, broadly understood. The first three class sessions will be devoted to developing the intellectual tools necessary for reading and engaging with such papers. Starting in week 4 of the semester, the class format will alternate between workshop sessions and more traditional seminar sessions. During the five workshop sessions, an invited scholar will present a current scholarly work-in-progress for discussion. Students will read the speaker's paper in advance and prepare discussion questions for the seminar. During the other sessions, the class will meet as a normal seminar, during which we will discuss readings related to the workshop papers and legal history more generally. The written work for the seminar will consist of a series of brief, critical essays in response to a student-selected subset of the workshop papers. NOTE: This course is open to law students and to graduate students from other departments. A background in history is not a prerequisite. Graduate students from outside the law school may be able to receive 4 credits for this course. Please consult the professor regarding this option. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with this seminar. ** 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 847: Federal Courts
  This course focuses on the statutory, constitutional, and judge-made doctrines that shape and restrict the powers of federal courts. In particular, it examines the relationships between the federal courts and the other branches of the federal government, as well as the relationship between the federal and state courts. Selected topics include standing and justiciability, congressional control of the federal courts' powers (such as the extent to which "enemy combatants" may be excluded from federal court), federal question jurisdiction, and state sovereign immunity from suit in federal and state courts. This course builds extensively on topics covered in Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure. It is strongly recommended for students who plan on clerking (especially for a federal judge) or who expect to represent clients in federal court or in civil actions against government actors.
• LAW JD 848: Democracy & the Rule of Law (S)
  This seminar will explore the history, origins, and principal theories of democratic government and the role and meaning of the rule of law within democratic polities. We will scrutinize conflicting conceptions of democracy, threats to the emergence and survival of democracy, value tradeoffs within democracies, and the meaning of the rule of law within a democratic framework. Topics may include social contract theory; (U.S.) constitutional, parliamentary, and other forms of democracy; the economic, social, and cultural prerequisites for democracy; the role of social norms, ideology, and civic virtue; conceptions of the rule of law and individual rights within the framework of majoritarian government; the influence of disparate power and wealth; contemporary challenges, and the future of democracy. Current events will be woven into the curriculum and class discussion. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students will be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with this seminar after consultation with the instructor. **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 849: Privacy, Security & Technology (S)
  This seminar explores how modern technology disrupts many of the customs and principles upon which our laws and institutions for national security have evolved. The advancement of modern technology is changing the nature of how we perceive and defend against security threats across all domains. Attacks can be launched in ways that national borders and other conventional defenses cannot easily stop, and the proliferation of privacy enhancing cryptographic tools provides virtual refuge for threat actors to congregate, coordinate and conspire. At the same time, the state has mobilized the use of new technologies--expanding, and indeed, redefining, surveillance capabilities--to predict, prevent and defend against threats in the modern era. This class will focus on a series of historical and contemporary challenges posed by a range of technologies to the government's administration of security and justice, and the solutions implemented or proposed by the state in response. The objective is to contextualize and deepen our understanding of the substantive and institutional questions that arise from the modern day "going dark" problem, in order to facilitate sound policy and good politics in areas that are devoid of law. Topics for discussion may include, but are not limited to: the use of cryptographic tools to evade government surveillance; government proposals for "backdoor" access to people's devices and data; the use of government hacking as a surveillance tool; and the use of machine learning to predict and prevent threat incidents. No technical knowledge is required. NOTES: This class does not satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option. **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 850: Insurance Law
  The presence or absence of insurance is in many instances the single most important determinant of whether and how a tort or contracts action is litigated. This course focuses on both individual and commercial forms of insurance coverage. Students are introduced to the key insurance concepts of risk management, including the transfer, pooling and allocation of covered risks. Problems of contract interpretation, imperfect information, adverse selection and discrimination will be treated at length. Additionally, the class will take up issues particular to property, life, health, disability, liability and auto insurance. Finally, some time will be devoted to the state regulatory regimes designed to ensure solvency and profitability, and to the secondary market (i.e. reinsurance, and surplus and excess lines). A final exam is required.
• LAW JD 851: Labor Law
  Survey of modern labor management and union relations law in the private sector. Organization of workers and the representation process; collective bargaining; unfair practices, employer and union; negotiation and enforcement of collective agreement, including arbitration; regulation of strikes and lockouts. Administrative law and federalism principles will be treated. Employment discrimination and other individual employee protection laws are not treated in this course.
• LAW JD 852: Mutual Funds (Investment Companies)
  With more than $20 trillion in assets under management, registered investment companies (commonly referred to as mutual funds) perform a vital role in collecting and deploying capital within the U.S. financial system. This course is designed to familiarize students with the legal and regulatory framework within which investment companies and their service providers operate. The course will focus primarily on the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and related regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will explore how these statutes, in combination with other laws, govern the creation, structure, distribution and on-going operations of mutual funds and related financial products and services. The course will examine the special role performed by the SEC in regulating the investment management industry and the responsibilities of legal counsel in practicing before the SEC.
• LAW JD 854: White Collar Crime
  The purpose of this Course is to teach present-day white collar crime practice. The course will review: (i) the theoretical bases of modern white collar criminal prosecution; (ii) the major statutes used by prosecutors, including mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, bribery and extortion, obstruction of justice, perjury, and RICO; and (iii) the procedural aspects of white collar crime such as grand jury, attorney/client privilege, and sentencing. Students will learn the prosecutorial and defense techniques employed in significant recent white collar cases. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be familiar with the statutes, procedures, and legal analyses employed by prosecutors and private lawyers in white collar criminal practice. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. OFFERING PATTERN: This class not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule.
• LAW JD 855: Land Use
  The built environment around us is not inevitable or by accident. It is the outcome of a series of legal and political choices about how people should live together; about how to regulate and control the future use of the property around them. These choices result in a legal regime that, at once, is enormously complex, implicates the most basic questions of equity and constitutional freedoms, and affects people in every aspect of their daily lives. This course will examine land use from a legal, historical, theoretical, and, most important, practical perspective. Students will be introduced to a brief history of land use controls in the United States. The course will then cover the basic aspects of land use law: Euclidean zoning, special use permits, variances, vested rights and preexisting uses, exactions, exclusionary and inclusionary zoning, subdivision control, wetlands control, and legal challenges to zoning decisions. The course will also look at more recent trends and issues in land use law, such as smart growth and transit-oriented development, form-based zoning, marijuana regulations, short-term rentals, climate change resilience, and increased federal control of local land use. Finally, the course will examine the constitutional limits of land use regulation under the Fifth Amendment. Students will undertake practical exercises to introduce them to how land use lawyers practice. They will attend a zoning board hearing and report on it; they will analyze a client's proposal to determine what zoning relief is necessary; they will attend a zoning trial or appeal. The course will cover general zoning principles applicable nationally but will focus on Massachusetts law for the practical exercises. The class will require student participation in discussion. The only prerequisite is completion of first-year Property. Students will produce a brief paper on the zoning board meeting they attend and a final paper, and be asked to comment on the trial or hearing they attend. Grading will be based on class participation, the zoning exercise, the comments, and the two papers.
• LAW JD 856: Health Law
  This four-credit course focuses on the business side of health care, including health care insurance regulation and laws designed to increase the quality and lower the cost of health care. Topics include managed care regulation, institutional liability for medical malpractice and other forms of negligence, professional and facilities regulation, the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, corporate form, medical staff organization, referral fee laws, and antitrust law related to health care providers. The course is designed to develop a solid doctrinal foundation on today's most relevant areas of health law and to develop a strong ability to view the doctrine and policy through the lens of economics with a particular focus on law as both the cause of and solution to health care and health care insurance market imperfections.
• LAW JD 857: Intellectual Property
  Meurer: This course explores how the law deals with the products of creative activity. The range of subject matter is large, embracing things as different as mechanical inventions and melodies; baubles and boat designs; catalogues, computers and cartoons. Among the areas of potential coverage are federal copyright law, federal trademark law, state law theories of unfair competition, trade secret law, patent law, state rights of publicity, and misappropriation. Also considered will be whether federal law should preempt the efforts of state judges and legislatures to regulate intellectual products. Silbey: In our modern information economy, the law of intellectual property has taken on enormous importance to both creators and users. This course introduces students to the principles of trade secret, patent, copyright, and trademark law, and explores the ways in which those principles are shifting and adapting in response to new technology. The course is open to all upper level students, without prerequisite. No scientific or technical background is required.
• LAW JD 858: International Trade Regulation (S)
  The first half of this seminar surveys the origins and development of the WTO, with emphasis on the WTO legal process and its interaction with U.S. trade agencies. It explores the philosophical underpinnings of free trade and its impact on developed, developing, and least developed countries. Each session compares U.S. and EU approaches to trade regulation. Meanwhile, in consultation with the instructor and Law Library staff, students develop individual research projects and produce thick outlines. The second half of the semester is devoted to students' presentations of their work in progress. A polished paper is expected of each student by the end of the exam period. Shorter response papers may also be required. ** 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, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list are required to attend the first meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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