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 859: Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic: Fieldwork (C)
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program. Students have three fieldwork options: (1) concentration in immigrants' rights; (2) concentration in human trafficking; or (3) work on both types of cases. Students focusing on immigrants' rights will represent adult and children asylum seekers and other vulnerable noncitizens with the opportunity to litigate an immigration case in the Boston Immigration Court. Students focusing on anti-trafficking work will represent survivors of labor and sex trafficking in a wide range of civil matters and engage in policy-related work to address gaps in the local and national landscape. Students focusing on both immigrants' rights and human trafficking will represent immigrant clients and survivors of human trafficking in a range of civil matters. All students will have the opportunity to engage in immigrants' rights and human trafficking work through "Know-Your-Rights" visits at the local jail/detention center and by conducting intake at the Family Justice Center for human trafficking survivors. Students, working in pairs, assume the primary responsibility for multiple clients' complex cases, from start to finish. Students conduct client interviews, track down witnesses, speak with experts, develop documentary, testimonial and expert evidence, and write legal briefs. The clinical supervisors prepare students for their cases through weekly supervision meetings, mid-semester and final individual meetings, and mock hearings, as appropriate. NOTE: The Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. PRE/CO-REQUISITE: Evidence. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 860: Alternative Business Entities
  Alternative business entities -- particularly LLCs and partnerships -- have become entities of choice, and many more LLCs are now organized than corporations incorporated (especially in Delaware). The course will address choice of entity decisions, examine the differences and similarities among alternative business entities, and consider questions involving management, fiduciary and other duties, obligations to non-owners and economic issues. RECOMMENDED COURSE: Corporations.
• LAW JD 861: Civil Litigation Program (C)
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Civil Litigation and Justice Program. Student in the Civil Litigation and Justice Program handle their own caseloads, representing indigent clients in civil cases under the supervision of clinical faculty. Students may participate in the Program for either a full year (the Individual Rights Litigation Clinic (IRL) or Access to Justice Clinic (A2J)) or for one semester (the Employment Rights Clinic (ERC)). Students participating in IRL or A2J work on cases in areas such as domestic relations, eviction defense, employment law and Social Security appeals. Students in the ERC represent clients in unemployment compensation cases, with a possibility of working on wage and hour disputes, discrimination/sexual harassment cases, and Family Medical Leave Act cases. PRE/CO-REQUISITES: Evidence. NOTE: The Civil Litigation and Justice Program counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 862: Client Counseling (S)
  The purpose of this seminar is to provide students with the opportunity to develop client counseling skills needed to deal with a wide variety of clients and their various legal problems. The focus of the seminar is on foundational skills necessary to successfully work with clients in identifying client interests and goals at the outset of a matter, and in discussing and analyzing strategic options and new developments as matters progress. This seminar is designed for students to learn by engaging in mock client counseling interviews and other group exercises. Accordingly, much of the time will be filled with practice interviews and discussion of strategies for how to navigate client interviews and meetings. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 16 students. NOTES: This seminar does not satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. This class counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning 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 864: Financial Regulation
  This course will survey the regulatory architecture of major U.S. financial institutions, including commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds, mutual funds, and insurance companies. Understanding the regulatory framework surrounding financial institutions requires situating them within a rapidly evolving political, technological and global context. The course will explore various regulatory mechanisms, such as bank supervision, security disclosures, fiduciary duties, consumer protections, capital requirements, and risk monitoring. The design of these complex governance tools has important implications for the health and stability of the economy, and thus for society. Attendance at the Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law's three-day program, "Financial Services Basics," is highly recommended. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 865: Employment Discrimination and Employment Law
  The course focuses on race, sex, age, and disability employment discrimination prohibitions. Affirmative action, religious discrimination, constitutional protections of public sector workers, anti‑retaliation and whistleblower laws, common law protection against arbitrary dismissals, the FMLA, and the FSLA are also covered. Important procedural issues, including arbitration, also are treated. RESTRICTION: Students who previously enrolled in Employment Discrimination (JD 853) may not register for this course. Students who previously enrolled in Employment Law (JD 834) may register for this course.
• LAW JD 866: Technology Law Clinic: Seminar 1
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Technology Law Clinic. This is the fall classroom component to the Technology Law Clinic. The seminar introduces students to the lawyering skills relevant to a modern technology law practice, including effective counseling of innovation clients The seminar also introduces a variety of legal issues that arise in research and innovation environments, including advanced topics in intellectual property, computer crimes, and data privacy. NOTE: The Technology Law Clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 867: Competition in Health Care (S)
  This seminar will examine the role that competition and regulation play in the health care industry in the United States. Antitrust enforcement agencies believe strongly that promoting competition in health care is critical to control health care costs. Many of those involved in the health care industry disagree. Some health care professionals argue that we can cut costs and improve care only through increased collaboration and cooperation. The course will consider the clash of these views by examining how competition is treated in the Affordable Care Act, what weight antitrust enforcement agencies give to values other than competition, the accelerating trend towards consolidation in the health care industry today, and integration among providers, including increasing hospital acquisition of physician groups. NOTE: This class does not satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course 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 868: Moot Court
  The second component of the First Year Research and Writing requirement is participation in the J. Newton Esdaile Appellate Moot Court Program in the spring semester. Students conduct research, draft a brief and present a case in oral argument before a panel of moot-court judges made up of faculty, lawyers and students.
• LAW JD 869: Technology Law Clinic: Seminar 2
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Technology Law Clinic. This is the spring classroom component to the Technology Law Clinic. The seminar expands upon the lawyering skills and substantive legal discussions from the first semester, and will focus on questions of national policy as they relate to technology, including national control over technical information, academic privacy and freedom, and emerging cybersecurity regulation. NOTE: The Technology Law Clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 870: Patent Law
  The basic questions in patent law are: why should society permit the grant of an exclusive property right in information relating to an invention? Who should be given the right? What is the scope of the right? How should the right be enforced? What disclosure duties should be placed on the patent holder? We will concentrate on these legal issues without getting mired in discussions of the technical details of particular inventions. Students without a technical background are welcome and encouraged to enroll.
• LAW JD 871: Trusts, Wills & Basic Estate Planning
  Seipp: This course explores the basic law surrounding the disposition of property at death: (1) overview of the estate planning process and the policy considerations regarding inheritance law; (2) the process by which property is distributed in the absence of a will (intestacy); (3) the law of wills, examining formal requirements for the execution of a valid will, revocation, challenges to a will, and construction; (4) will substitutes and planning for incapacity; (5) the law of trusts, including revocable and pour-over trusts, creditor and beneficiary rights, and spendthrift trusts; (6) powers of appointment, perpetuities, and brief coverage of charitable trusts. This course does not address in detail tax-motivated estate planning. Hurwitz: This course explores the basic law surrounding the disposition of property at death: (1) overview of the estate planning process and the policy considerations regarding inheritance law; (2) the process by which property is distributed in the absence of a will (intestacy); (3) the law of wills, examining challenges to a will, formal requirements for the execution of a valid will, revocation, and construction; (4) will substitutes and planning for incapacity; (5) the law of trusts, including revocable and pour-over trusts, and creditor and beneficiary rights; (6) brief coverage of powers of appointment, perpetuities, spendthrift, and charitable trusts. This course does not address in detail tax-motivated estate planning.
• LAW JD 872: Financial Reporting for Lawyers
  Understanding financial statements and reports. The objective of the course is that students will be able to read and understand the four financial statements and the 10-k annual report. Emphasis is placed on understanding the nature and meaning of the reports, as well as the relationship to the underlying transactions. Other topics include: basic accounting principles, US GAAP versus IFRS, financial statement analysis, the relationship of the financial statement information to covenant documents, and accounting gamesmanship. RESTRICTION: Not open to students who have had more than one three-hour college course, or its equivalent, in accounting. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 873: Civil Procedure
  Examines the structure and function of civil procedure and the requirements of due process of law.
• LAW JD 874: Advanced Legal Writing (S)
  The purpose of this seminar is to provide students with the opportunity to improve their writing, editing and communication skills. Students will prepare a variety of practice related documents based on a single fact pattern. Some legal research will be necessary, but the emphasis will be on writing, not on research. Students will also have the opportunity to edit other students' papers, with the goal of improving their own writing skills. Actors will perform a scenario for the class, from which students will extract the pertinent facts. From this fact pattern, students will draft an inter office memo, a letter or memo to a non lawyer client, and a trial or appellate brief. Students will also engage in simulated client interviewing and counseling sessions, as well as a simulated meeting with a supervisor. Students will be graded on the basis of their written work, editing work on their classmate's papers and on their classroom performance. There will be no final exam. NOTES: This class does not satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. This class counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 14 students. ** 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 875: Public Interest Law (S)
  Public interest legal practice takes many forms. It can involve government agencies, non-profit organizations, private law firms doing pro bono work, public defender's office, labor unions, and inter-governmental organizations, among others. It can take the form of litigation, transactional work, policy-related work, or legislative advocacy. Also, attorneys adopt varied models of public interest lawyering, including approaches known as community lawyering, cause lawyering, and movement lawyering. This seminar engages through readings, guest speakers, and class discussion to examine the various approaches to public interest lawyering. Students will explore how to define the "public interest" and learn different models for public interest lawyering. Students also will gain familiarity with the different substantive areas of public interest law, organizational settings for public interest practice, and modes of public interest advocacy. Many class sessions will include a guest faculty member or a guest attorney who will present a sample of their public interest work in connection with class themes. There will also be time dedicated to discussing speaker presentations. Students will be required to submit short reaction papers to the readings and presentations and perform an in-class oral presentation based on class themes. NOTE: This class does not satisfy the upper-class writing 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 876: Property
  Conceptual analysis and underlying policy considerations in basic property law.
• LAW JD 878: The Color Line, Resistance & Reparations (S)
  This seminar examines the oppressive role of race and ethnicity in American society from the early colonial period to the present, resistance to that oppression, and the moral case for both resistance and reparations. It will focus mainly on the experiences of Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans. Each seminar session will begin with a presentation by a seminar member; a schedule will be developed after the first seminar meeting. Readings will be mainly historical but will also include relevant cases and legislation. Grades will be based primarily on the term paper, on an approved topic, which is written after comments have been received on a polished draft; class participation will also be considered. OBJECTIVES: Students are expected to become familiar with the history of racial and ethnic stratification in the United States as well as of resistance to it, enabled to pursue that history on their own, and capable of appraising relevant scholarship and public policies. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with this class, based on a post-semester expansion of the term paper. LAW ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 12 students. (This seminar is also open to graduate students in Philosophy.) ** 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 879: Advanced Legal Research
  In this class students will be exposed to how legal research functions in practice. The research projects will be designed to highlight major legal research tools in both online and print formats. The projects will feature tasks such locating court documents, doing a legislative history, finding agency regulations and guidance, doing state specific research with practice series, researching an unfamiliar area of the law using secondary sources, as well as learning to use Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg Law in a cost effective manner. Most classes will have an assignment and some will be longer projects such as a client letter, a research memo for a supervisor and all will include a research log. There will be an exam where the students must do several short research assignments with a research log. The objective of the class is for students to become comfortable completing simple and complex research in a work setting. NOTE: This class counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the class. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 880: European Union Law
  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 limited number of second-year law students will be allowed to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement through this seminar with the instructor's approval (first come, first served). This seminar is open to law students, graduate students in International Relations and advanced IR majors. As it originates in the Law School, it will follow the Law School's calendar and time schedule. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option.

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