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 979: Law and Global Studies (S)
  This seminar strengthens the international law experience of JD students by leveraging synergies between BU Law and the Pardee School of Global Studies. Weekly sessions alternate between (1) lectures on selected topics in international law, each setting the stage, through reading assignments and in-class discussion, for the presentation to be hosted in the following week; and (2) presentations of ongoing research by Pardee scholars or other guests, including BU law faculty and affiliates. The line-up of speakers will be finalized in fall 2021. The six presentations will focus on applying international law concepts to current issues of global relevance, ranging from climate change and development finance to human rights enforcement and global migration compacts. Students are responsible for writing six by-weekly memoranda (format TBA) that respond to the presented papers. Final grades depend on participation and on the quality of such memoranda. This seminar is not meant to satisfy the JD Upper Class Writing Requirement. Students should have taken or be concurrently enrolled in a course in Public International Law, Human Rights, or International Business Transactions. Students who have not taken any such course must obtain the permission 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 980: International Business Arbitration (S)
  Legal dimensions in adjudication of cross-border disputes through binding arbitration, for both commercial transactions and investor-state controversies implicating expropriation. The course will explore the "why" and the "how" of arbitration, comparing policies and perspectives relevant to cross-border disputes with those in play for domestic controversies in business, sports, employment, and consumer matters. Treaty framework for determining validity of arbitration agreement and for recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, in particular 1958 New York (UN) Convention. Comparative approaches to salient problems, including reference to French, English, Swiss, and United States law, as well as the United Nations (UNCITRAL) Model Act. Investor-State proceedings pursuant to free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties. Impact of major arbitration rules, including ICC, LCIA, AAA and ICSID. Exploration of expropriation claims, including Act of State and sovereign immunity. Debate on "delocalized" arbitration and the role of the arbitral seat in providing grounds for award annulment. Arbitral awards as a contribution to lex mercatoria and the "soft law" of dispute resolution. Juxtaposition of business arbitration with consumer, employment and class action proceedings in the United States. ** 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 981: Criminal Trial Advocacy
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. This course meets in the spring and is mandatory for all 2L students in the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Advocacy focuses on teaching courtroom skills in the context of criminal trial litigation. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 982: Criminal Trial Practice I (C)
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice I is mandatory for students in their first semester of the Program. 2Ls take the course fall or spring, as determined in consultation with the Director of the Criminal Law Clinical Program upon acceptance to the Program. 3Ls take the course in the fall. The course consists of a fieldwork and classroom component. The classroom component provides students with an introduction to Massachusetts criminal procedure and basic instruction in lawyering skills such as case planning and investigation. For their fieldwork, students are assigned to cases handled by senior members of the Program and conduct tasks out of court such as legal research, fact investigation, witness interviews and preparation. Students spend one morning a week Monday through Thursday in court observing and second-seating the cases they have helped to prepare. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 984: Professional Responsibility
  Donweber: This course offers an approach to the lawyer's responsibilities to clients, the profession, and the public. Topics addressed will be problems of disclosure, conflict of interest, advertising, adversary tactics, competence, attorney fees, and fiduciary duties. NOTE: This course satisfies the upper-class Professional Responsibility requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. Moore: This course offers an approach to the lawyer's responsibilities to clients, the profession, and the public. Topics addressed include competence, diligence, communication, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and limitations on the lawyer's duty to advance the client's interest (in adversary proceedings or in transactions) out of concern for others. The course will place special emphasis on business and other transactional lawyers, including addressing special problems that arise in representing organizational clients, although the course is appropriate for all students, regardless of the subject area in which they will practice. NOTE: This course satisfies the upper-class Professional Responsibility requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• 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. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals, Corporations.
• 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 990: Feminist Jurisprudence (S)
  This seminar examines the development of feminist jurisprudence (also called feminist legal theory) and its critique of the U.S. legal system and its norms. It takes up various debates within feminist jurisprudence and examines its application to many contemporary issues of law and public policy. The seminar provides an introduction to the various "generations" of feminist legal theory. Students will learn about prominent strands of feminist legal theory, including liberal (or sameness), relational (or difference), radical (or dominance), Critical Race (or intersectional) and anti-essentialist, postmodern, and "Third Wave" feminism. We will consider the relationship between social movements for equality and the development of feminist legal theory. Students will gain familiarity with the relationship between feminist jurisprudence and other forms of critical theory, such as Critical Race Theory, masculinities theory, Queer Theory, and trans theory. The seminar will assess debates within feminist jurisprudence concerning how best to understand gender, the ideals of sex equality and equal citizenship, questions of sameness and difference between women and men, and over whether, in view of differences based on class, ethnicity, race, gender identity, and sexual orientation and in view of other critiques of identity categories, it is desirable or possible to speak about "women" -- or "men" -- as meaningful categories. Topics covered vary, depending on student interest, but typically include some of the following: formal and substantive equality; antiracist feminism; legal regulation of sexuality, marriage, reproduction, and family; work/life issues; employment discrimination (including sexual harassment); gender and political leadership and representation; pornography; poverty and social welfare policy; violence against women; war and military service; and global feminism and international human rights. Students may write a research paper or three shorter papers. Either of these writing options may satisfy the Upper-class Writing requirement. Some short reflection papers are also required. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is not offered every year. 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 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 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 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 the regulatory context of health care and health care transactional theory, the course will turn to case studies of 8 complex health care transactions, drawing on actual documents and the experience of practitioners who worked on the deals. The transactions include hospital M&A, joint ventures, clinical affiliations, and others. Students will analyze the deal and present your conclusions to the class, with the lawyers who closed it. Case law related to the legal issues presented by the transaction will be presented and discussed. Students also will complete two assignments: one considering the fiduciary obligations of a non-profit board of directors, and one writing exercise drawn from class materials. We also will review and discuss a term sheet for the acquisition of a home health agency by a hospital system. PREREQUISITES: Health Law is a pre-requisite and Corporations is 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 JD 999: Deals (S)
  In this seminar we analyze the structure of complex transactions and contracts -- deals -- from both a positive and normative perspective. The premise of the seminar is that there is a generic set of economic challenges common to complex business transactions, and that there are systematic approaches to the design of contractual responses to those problems. The seminar is divided into two parts. The first half of the semester introduces students to the tools and concepts needed to evaluate alter?native transactional structures, including transaction costs, information economics, risk sharing and incentives, property rights, and finance. The second half applies these tools to real world transactions. The class is divided into teams, each of which is assigned a different deal and given a full set of transaction documents. Each team develops an analysis of their deal and presents that analysis to the class. In a subsequent session we will be joined by some of the attorneys who worked on the deal who will give us their perspective on the economic challenges and solutions particular to each deal, in effect testing the analytical framework with real world deals. PREREQUISITE: Corporations. 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 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.

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