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.
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LAW JD 985: Corporate Finance
This course covers the foundations of corporate finance. It starts with the concepts of time value of money, discounting, and present value. With that background it then considers the major financial decisions made by corporate managers. Topics include the valuation of financial assets and liabilities, criteria for making investment decisions, business valuation, relationships between risk and return, portfolio theory, market efficiency, capital structure choice, and cost of capital. NOTE: Professor Marks's section will require Business Fundamentals as a pre-requisite and Corporations as a pre or co-requisite. -
LAW JD 986: Lawyering Fellows
This class is restricted to students who have applied and been accepted as Lawyering Fellows. Accepted students must register for both the fall and spring sections of the class. -
LAW JD 987: The Criminal System: Theory and Practice (S)
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Office of Experiential Education to enroll. This seminar will combine an externship field placement for each student with critical analysis of selected issues in the practice of American criminal justice. Students will combine reading and research on the American system of criminalization with their own careful reflections on their experiences in their crime-related externships. Crime related externships may include: Suffolk County DA's Office, Superior Court Units; CPCS, Superior Court Units; Prisoners Legal Services, and Boston Police Department. The weekly subject matter of the seminar will depend in part on the precise externship placements of the students but will likely include a selection from the following list: the practice of misdemeanor courts; the practice realities of indigent defense; racial dimensions of policing, prosecution, and incarceration; family and community impact of criminal justice policies and practices; the capacity of the poor to find justice in the criminal system; police violence and culture; plea bargaining; prosecutorial discretion; police discretion; drug law and policy; the experience of incarceration (including prisoners' rights, solitary confinement, prison violence, and other matters); alternatives to prison, and other topics. We will also look at comparisons with criminal justice systems in other countries and avenues for reform. Students will make presentations to the group and execute substantial written assignments. 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. NOTE: This class may be used for credits toward Experiential Learning requirement or the upper-class writing requirement. This class may not be used to satisfy more than one requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** 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 988: Mergers and Acquisitions
This course will cover the principal legal, tax and business issues of mergers and acquisitions. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals and Corporations, or permission of instructor. -
LAW JD 989: Jessup Moot Court: Problem Solving in International Law
This course is restricted to students who applied and were accepted as participants for the Jessup Moot Court competition. A full description can be found here: https://www.bu.edu/law/current-students/jd-student-resources/legal-writing-appellate-advocacy-programs/appellate-advocacy-program-competitions/jessup-moot-court-competition/ NOTE: This class satisfies the upper-class Professional Skills requirement and counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. -
LAW JD 991: International Human Rights
This is an introductory course to international human rights law. The course will introduce students to the concepts of human rights, and the legal texts that have codified and provided content to those concepts in the last seventy years. The course aims to work at three levels: to examine the role of human rights (law) in history and politics; to analyze the doctrine of international human rights law; to introduce key areas of current and future human rights practice. We will accordingly look at the historical evolution and political role of human rights law, and ask whether there is such a thing as universal human rights, or whether the concepts are dependent on specific regions, cultures and political systems. We will look at the key institutions and mechanisms, at the global and regional level, for the monitoring and enforcement of human rights law. We will analyze the law on specific rights (for example the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the right to self-determination) as well as in specific contexts and themes (for example human rights and climate change; business and human rights) to understand the reach and function of human rights law in the international system. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. -
LAW JD 993: Comparative Constitutional Law (S)
The seminar will explore American and Israeli constitutional and political design through a comparative lens. It will use constitutional design and fundamental constitutional principles obtaining in the U.S.A. as a platform against which Israel's constitutional system will be compared and examined. Students will get an understanding of different approaches to the implementation of political power in democratic regimes and be encouraged to assess the costs and benefits of each system. Issues to be covered include constitutional design, national identity, separation of powers, judicial review and the rule of law, political and civil rights, immigration and citizenship, national security, establishment of religion and the right to free exercise of religion. The American constitution, Israeli basic laws, American and Israeli statutory law as well as court cases will be read and compared. Secondary materials drawn from the literature of law and political science will also be assigned. Knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary. ** 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 994: Criminal Justice Externship: Fieldwork (C)
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who are officially registered for The Criminal System: Theory & Practice (JD987). Externship placements will all be local and part-time. Placement opportunities include the Suffolk DA Office - Superior Court units, Prisoners Legal Services, CPCS, and the MA Parole Board. The Office of Experiential Programs will help students identify and apply to suitable field placements. Students receive 2-6 variable P/F credits for their fieldwork, as determined in consultation with their placement supervisors. Each credit requires 50 hours of work over the course of the 13-week semester (averaging 4 hours per week). NOTE: Students who enroll in this externship may count the credits towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. COREQUISITE: The Criminal System: Theory & Practice (JD 987). -
LAW JD 995: Art Law: Law, Art & Artifacts (S)
This seminar will consider selected legal issues concerning unique art objects and artifacts. The problems that lawyers face when they deal with art cut across traditional legal boundaries. The seminar will explore the sometimes conflicting rights and interests of artists, collectors, dealers, museums and the public, from the perspective of the lawyers who advise them and of the law makers to whom they sometimes appeal. A paper is required. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the instructor. **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 996: International Criminal Law (S)
This seminar will focus chiefly on the crimes for which individuals incur criminal liability directly under contemporary international law. We will cover, in particular, (i) what crimes qualify as international in this sense, general principles of international criminal jurisdiction and immunities, and the historical evolution of the field from its genesis after World War I to Nuremberg to the permanent International Criminal Court established in 2002; (ii) treaty provisions, statutes, and tribunal jurisprudence defining the nature and scope of liability for core international crimes, viz., genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; (iii) modern debates over other, and at times more controversial, international crimes, such as torture and CIDT, as well as the crime of aggression; (iv) the minimal requirements and forms of individual criminal responsibility under international law; and (v) selected special topics, including the principle of legality, head of state immunity, and crimes of sexual violence. 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, 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 997: Intro to Analytic Methods for Lawyers
Lawyers in almost every area of practice (litigation, corporate, government, public interest) deal routinely with problems that are usefully illuminated by basic business and economic concepts. This course is designed to teach the most important analytical methods to law students, in a manner that will be fully accessible to those with no prior quantitative training or background in the subjects covered. Using text, classroom activities, and written exercises, we will explore how these tools may be used to analyze concrete problems that arise in a wide range of legal practice settings. Covered topics will include: decision analysis, games and information; contracting; accounting; finance; microeconomics; law and economics; and statistics. GRADING NOTICE: This course will not offer the CR/NC/H option. -
LAW JD 998: Health Care Transactions (S)
Partners, associates and general counsel from leading firms will discuss the deals they were personally involved in. After an introduction to joint venture theory and the regulatory context of health care, everyone in the class examines 2 transactions: a physician recruiting agreement and an ambulatory surgery center JV. The remainder of the course will involve 5 -- 6 complex health care transactions, using actual documents from recent deals. The transactions run the gamut from hospital M&A to biotech licenses. For the transaction you select, you will work in teams to analyze the deal, and will present your conclusions to the lawyers who closed it. Your final project will be a negotiation or drafting assignment drawn from class materials. PREREQUISITES: The course does not have pre-requisites, but Corporations and Health Care are suggested; if you select the biotech transactions, IP and FDA are suggested. NOTES: 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 LE 650: Legal English I
This course will assist students in developing the English language communication skills necessary to succeed in BU Law's LLM programs and international legal practice. Part II of this course continues in the Spring Semester. Learning outcomes will be to acquire effective reading strategies, to enhance vocabulary skills, to practice listening, to write persuasively using appropriate grammar and revise work based on instructor feedback, and to develop oral fluency and accuracy and hone pronunciation. Students will work on expanding general English skills using course materials that incorporate legal content and deal with law-related issues, but are not legal sources per se. -
LAW LE 651: Academic Skills for U.S. Law Studies I
This course will cover the study skills and strategies needed to succeed in an English-language law program in the United States. The focus will be on strengthening study skills and listening and speaking effectively. Students will work on listening strategies that will help them to handle lectures and discussions from various disciplines, including taking coherent notes and writing summaries of and responses to complex questions about the listenings. Students will also work on speaking strategies that will allow them to participate fully in academic life at law school, including interacting with classmates and professors, participating in class discussions, and giving effective oral presentations. -
LAW LE 652: Introduction to U.S. Legal Culture
This course will provide a foundational understanding of general American legal concepts, history, culture, and profession, including professional responsibility. Students will engage in reading and classroom discussion of assigned materials (consisting of cases, articles, fiction, excerpts, etc) that will be supplemented by field trips to state and federal courts and other relevant venues. -
LAW LE 653: Legal English II
Building upon Legal English I, this course further enhances student Legal English communication skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students continue to sharpen these skills with greater emphasis on legal materials and related substantive vocabulary. -
LAW LE 654: Legal Writing
This course description is currently under construction. -
LAW LE 655: Persuasive Legal Advocacy
Designed as a complement to the Legal Writing class, this course will develop students' persuasive advocacy skills through hands-on practice in oral and written communication, including effective presentation, listening, and writing skills. Through simulations and role plays, it will train students in the art of effective advocacy. We will focus on three major projects: (1) a law partnership negotiation, contract and presentation; (2) client counseling and written communications; and (3) a full-scale mock trial. -
LAW LE 656: Topics in American Law
This course engages students around current legal topics to further develop their listening and writing skills. Topics include civil liberties, unlawful search and seizure, the right to privacy, gender discrimination, and prisoner's rights. -
LAW LE 657: Academic Skills for U.S. Law Studies II
This course will teach foreign students skills for success inside and outside the law school classroom. The course will be divided into modules focusing on preparing for class, participating in class, studying for exams, and taking advantage of opportunities outside the classroom. Each class session will build on the terms and concepts covered during previous sessions. Briefing cases and summarizing materials in one's own words will be of central importance to the course. As effective communication is an essential skill for success in law school, students will be expected to complete frequent, short written assignments and participate actively in class discussion.
