Courses

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

• LAW JD 962: 21st Century Policing: Law and Policy
  This course considers emerging issues in the law and policy of policing. Policing is bounded by U.S. constitutional law but also heavily determined by state and local statutes and regulations. As such, policing traditionally engages legal questions such as search, seizure, interrogation, and identification. At the same time, emerging issues for contemporary police include policing a pandemic, historical injustice in policing, international and domestic terrorism, and gun violence on college campuses and universities. This course addresses many topics that have impacted police and communities since the first wave of protests in 2014–2015 through the murder of George Floyd through the lens of 4th, 5th, and 6th amendment issues. This course engages students in a deeper understanding of 21st century policing, drawing on contemporary developments in law and policy grounded in the realities of the experiences of police and communities.
• LAW JD 964: Cyber Law
  The expanded use of technology in all aspects of our lives provides tremendous opportunities and creates constantly evolving risks – and has resulted in a patchwork of legal responses. This course will explore the rapidly changing landscape of cyber law, focusing on the legal framework, policy issues, and practical application of these laws. Specifically, the course will cover cyber crime, including cyber-enabled fraud schemes, computer “hacking,” and nation-state cyber activity. The course will also cover cyber security and privacy issues, and the impact of technology on data collection and electronic evidence gathering. We will analyze the framework of both constitutional law and relevant domestic statutes related to data collection, and the intersection of domestic and global concepts of data privacy. Students will explore the strategies used to respond to these challenges by individuals, businesses, governments, and regulatory agencies.
• LAW JD 965: Civil Litigation and Justice Program A2J Skills 2
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Access to Justice Clinic of the Civil Litigation and Justice Program. This seminar continues the coursework of the fall semester in examining the larger societal context of students' fieldwork representing poverty-law clients in family, housing, employment, and disability cases. Students will actively analyze and address the intersections of the legal system with the multiple systemic barriers their clients face (e.g., gender, race, class, disability). In addition to the skills and legal knowledge relevant to representation of clinic clients, seminar discussions and projects will focus on proposed solutions to the systemic challenges faced by those clients, and situate them within current theories of law as a tool for social justice. 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 966: Gender, Law and Policy
  This seminar provides students a chance to study contemporary issues of gender, law, and policy through the format of a series of presentations of works-in-progress by legal scholars actively engaged in new and important research on such issues. Many legal and social problems implicate gender and gender equality. Gender remains a significant category of analysis in numerous substantive areas of law. Gender equality is also a commitment of domestic law and international human rights law, but gender inequality persists. Gender scholars highlight the need for an intersectional approach to gender, even as some scholars question the continuing use of gender and other identity categories in law and policy. In alternating weeks, when there is no outside speaker, the instructor and students will discuss the paper that to be delivered the following week, as well as relevant background reading. Topics vary from year to year, depending on the speakers, but have included: anti-discrimination law, criminal law, elder law, employment law (including sexual harassment law), First Amendment (speech and religion and objections to antidiscrimination law), gender identity issues (including transgender rights), health law, international human rights, the intersection of race and gender, law and sexuality, privacy law, reproductive justice, health, and rights, and gender-based violence. Students will write a short reflection paper on each scholarly paper and one longer paper (10-12 pages) about one or more of the seven works. Interested faculty are invited to attend sessions when speakers present their work. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: With the instructor's permission, the longer paper written for this class may be used to partially satisfy the Upper-Class Writing Requirement. Confirmed speakers for Spring 2027 include: Professors Kecia Ali (BU Dept. of Religion); Nancy Chi Cantalupo (Rutgers Law); D Dangaran (Univ. Hawai ̒ I Law); Amanda Shanor (Penn, Wharton School); Elizabeth Sepper (Univ. of Texas Law); Ari Waldman (UCI Law); and Alicia Ely Yamin (Harvard Law). This seminar, which is offered in alternate academic years, will count toward the Reproductive Justice and Rights track of the Health Law Concentration and the JD Certificate in Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies. **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 967: Civil Litigation Clinic: Pretrial Advocacy
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Civil Litigation Clinic. Pretrial Advocacy is the companion fall classroom component for students in the Civil Litigation Clinic. Classes are devoted to learning the theories of practice for use in the field, reinforced by activities and simulations in which students practice skills through role play. PRE/CO-REQUISITES: Evidence and Professional Responsibility. NOTE: Students who enroll in this component of the clinic may count the credits towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. It may not be used to satisfy more than one requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 968: IMMIGRATION LAW
  This class will cover the immigration laws of the United States, including the administrative and regulatory framework of the United States agencies charged with enforcing U.S. immigration laws. The topics covered by this course include the power of the Congress to regulate immigration; the effect of politics on immigration policy; nonimmigrant and immigrant visa classifications; the law of asylum; the intersection of immigration law and criminal law; grounds of removal from the United States; relief from deportation, immigration court representation and access to justice; and the law of naturalization and derived citizenship.
• LAW JD 971: Civil Litigation & Access to Justice Prgm: Appellate Clinic
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have applied to and been accepted by the Appellate Clinic. Students in the Appellate Clinic represent public interest clients in courts of appeals and the Supreme Court under the supervision of clinical faculty. Appellate Clinic clients are individuals and entities otherwise unlikely to obtain quality representation including civil-rights plaintiffs, employees, consumers, tenants, immigrants, and criminal defendants. We occasionally represent amici as well. Students collaborate on brief writing and oral argument projects with a team comprised of other clinic students and the clinic’s director. The clinic’s director prepares students for their cases through weekly team supervision meetings, individual meetings, case rounds, moots, and workshops as appropriate. The Appellate Clinic seminar provides substantive and skills-based training that will support your client work. Seminar meets once a week and focuses on the mechanics of written and oral appellate advocacy and the substantive areas of law the clinic is currently litigating. The seminar addresses each stage of the appellate process so that students develop an understanding of how to litigate an appeal from start to finish. That means that typically in the fall, seminar is focused on opening briefs, appellate mediation, collaboration, and other critical appellate skills. PRE/CO-REQUISITES: All first-year courses. Federal Courts and Professional Responsibility are highly recommended as pre-requisites or co-requisites, but not required. NOTE: The Appellate Clinic counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 974: Civil Litigation: Trial Advocacy
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Civil Litigation and Justice Program. Trial Advocacy is the companion spring classroom component for students in the Civil Litigation Clinic. Trial Advocacy classes are devoted to learning the theories of practice for use in the field, reinforced by activities and simulations in which students practice skills through role play. 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 975: International Human Rights Clinic
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the International Human Rights Clinic. Students in the Clinic work on policy issues on behalf of institutional clients that represent refugees, forced migrants, immigrants, and stateless persons. Students work on long-term human rights projects such as: working with NGOs in advocacy in the UN human rights system or in regional organs (e.g., Inter-American and European human rights bodies); advocating for durable solutions to statelessness and citizenship deprivation in the Middle East; and organizing workshops and presentations to major stakeholders around the world. Students conduct legal and factual research and outreach to partners and project strategy development, and prepare written reports and submissions to international and regional agencies. The clinic fieldwork may include international travel. PRE/CO-REQUISITE: International Human Rights (LAW JD 991). NOTE: The International Human Rights Clinic counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 976: Civil Litigation & Access to Justice Prgm: Appellate Clinic
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have taken the Appellate Clinic fall course. In the spring, Appellate Clinic students continue to represent their clients who are individuals and entities otherwise unlikely to obtain quality representation including civil-rights plaintiffs, employees, consumers, tenants, immigrants, and criminal defendants. The clinic occasionally represent amici as well. As in the fall, students collaborate on brief writing and oral argument projects with a team comprised of other clinic students and the clinic’s director. The clinic’s director prepares students for their cases through weekly team supervision meetings, individual meetings, case rounds, moots, and workshops as appropriate. The spring seminar builds on the work students have done in the fall to learn the mechanics of written and oral appellate advocacy and the substantive areas of law the clinic is currently litigating. That means that typically the spring seminar will focus on reply briefs, oral argument prep, petitions for en banc relief, supreme court practice, and other critical appellate litigation skills. PRE/CO-REQUISITES: All first-year courses and the Appellate Clinic Fall course. Federal Courts and Professional Responsibility are highly recommended as pre-requisites or co-requisites, but not required. NOTE: The Appellate Clinic counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 977: Aggregate Litigation
  This seminar will cover the practice of aggregate litigation from a social justice perspective, with a particular emphasis on cases now pending in courts across the country. Topics will include all aspects of class action practice, cases seeking to invalidate federal and state regulations, and other opportunities to litigate cases of public importance at scale. Each student will be asked to select a case of national importance presently pending in court. Students will be expected to write a paper that satisfies the upper-class writing assignment and to lead a class discussion on their case of choice. ** 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 978: Role of In-House Counsel
  Practicing law in-house is often done at the tension point of enterprise growth and risk mitigation. This course explores the unique aspects of working as a lawyer within an organization's internal legal department. In order to provide a realistic appreciation and understanding of the role of in-house counsel, the course will utilize scenario-based group tutorials and simulations in which students will act as in-house counsel for a fictitious company in a specific industry. Areas covered may include contractual and employment matters, regulatory, compliance, internal investigations, enterprise risk questions and advising the Board of Directors and senior management. While the course will involve the substantive law of various areas relevant to the fictitious company's business and operations, the focus of the course will be on practicing and building lawyering skills that are critical for effective and ethical in-house practice. These include identifying and analyzing legally viable alternatives, and making recommendations, for the company to pursue to carry-out its business strategy and mitigate risks, as well as written and oral communications and presentations reflecting the same. As an overarching theme, the course will consider how to balance the important role of lawyer and trusted business advisor with the backdrop of the ever-present ethical and reputational considerations of the enterprise. This course is designed to provide students with practical skills (as well as opportunities to use and apply them) as they learn to identify and navigate the day-to-day challenges of the modern corporate counsel. Grades in the course will be based on scenario-based responses (presentation and/or written), a collaborative final group presentation, and in-class participation. CLASS SIZE: Limited to 12 students. NOTE: This course counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. 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 course. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first class to be considered for enrollment. Because the course involves regular in-class exercises, some of which are done in teams, and class participation is a significant component of a student's final grade, regular class attendance is essential and thus the course normally does not accommodate flexibility in attendance.
• LAW JD 979: Law & Ethics of War
  This seminar will critically examine the chief legal norms and ethical precepts that regulate war. We will focus on both the just war tradition and contemporary international law, which include the law governing recourse to force (jus ad bellum) and the conduct of hostilities (jus in bello). Ad bellum topics generally include (1) the U.N. Charter framework for collective force under Security Council auspices; (2) the inherent or natural right of self-defense codified in Article 51 of the Charter; (3) ad bellum necessity and proportionality constraints on resort to force; (4) the novel and persistent challenge to the traditional jus ad bellum posed by diverse non-state belligerents and private armies (e.g., rebels, gangs, transnational terrorist networks, etc.) operating in the world today, all waging war in a legal and geopolitical environment that differs tremendously from the interstate paradigm that animated the drafters of the Charter in 1945; and (5) the associated topics of a state’s alleged right to use force to rescue nationals taken hostage by or in a foreign state, humanitarian intervention, and the so-called responsibility to protect (R2P). Jus in bello topics deal with the legitimate means and methods of warfare. Specifically, we typically cover (6) non-combatant immunity; (7) military necessity, distinction, and proportionality (MNDP) principles; (8) perfidy, prohibited weapons, and other illegal means or methods of warfare; (9) cyberwar, autonomous weapons, drones, and weaponized artificial intelligence; (10) asymmetric warfare; and (11) supreme emergencies, that is, circumstances in which violating the letter of the law of war might be excused or justified. Current events will be woven into the curriculum from time to time. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT:: With the instructor's permission, a limited number of students may 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.
• LAW JD 980: International Arbitration
  This class is intended to introduce students to the key legal and practical issues encountered when resolving disputes through international arbitration. Arbitration is a private means of dispute resolution where the parties agree to be bound by the decision of an arbitrator of their choice, whose decision in a final award has the same legal force as a court judgment or order. International arbitration is the main form of dispute resolution relating to cross-border commercial disputes and is also sometimes used in public international law contexts involving governments. This course will explore both doctrinal issues--such as what constitutes 'consent' to arbitrate and the relationship between international tribunals, who adjudicate the disputes, and national courts, who compel arbitration and enforce (or void) arbitral decisions--and policy debates, such as what issues are appropriate for resolution by private arbitrators rather than judges and the social ramifications of the lack of transparency in arbitration. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may be used to satisfy the 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 waitlist 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 fall 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 983: Professional Responsibility for Criminal Practice
  The course is designed to cover substantial instruction in the rules of professional conduct, and the values and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members, with a particular emphasis as the rules apply to criminal practice. This class is open to all students but Criminal Clinic students are given priority in enrollment. NOTE: This course satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 984: Professional Responsibility
  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. NOTES: This course satisfies the upper-class Professional Responsibility requirement. Eldred section: In this section, students also will learn and practice skills and test-taking strategies to answer the types of professional responsibility questions tested on bar examinations, including the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), the Uniform Bar Exam’s Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam (which will be administered in most jurisdictions starting in July 2028). 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, Corporation
• 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: Criminal System: Theory and Practice
  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; Boston Police Department; and any other setting that provides legal experience in a crime-related setting. The weekly subject matter of the seminar may 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; the salience of race, gender, and class in the criminal system; family and community impact of criminal justice policies and practices; police violence and culture; plea bargaining; prosecutorial discretion; police discretion; the experience of incarceration (including prisoners' rights, solitary confinement, prison violence, and other matters); alternatives to prison; the theory and practice of reentry into the community; and other topics. We will also look at comparisons with criminal 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.