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 BK 990: GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF INSURANCE
  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as health care reform, is the most important and controversial piece of federal social legislation of this generation. It is also basically an insurance regulatory statute. PPACA establishes a new and complex set of rules governing the operation of the health insurance industry, provides consumers with important rights with respect to access to medical care and imposes obligations with respect to health insurance on both businesses and individuals. The course will look at PPACA and the issues that surrounded its enactment--issues which continue to fuel debate over whether it should modified or repealed. This will be done as part of an examination of the regulatory rules that govern all of insurance industry's products (annuities, auto, home owners' product liability, life insurance, etc). The course also takes a look at the insurance industry's structure and financial performance and at the competitive interactions between the insurance, banking and securities industries. The impact on the industry of the financial crisis of 2008 and the resulting Dodd-Frank reform legislation will be reviewed.
• LAW BK 991: Commercial Lending
  This course studies the legal issues involved in negotiating and documenting various types of commercial lending transactions ranging from short-term unsecured loans to secured and long-term financings. The process is followed from the initial identification of a lending opportunity to pre-commitment correspondence and commitment letters, through to the key documents required at closing. The major aspects of a loan agreement, including definitional provisions, representations and warranties, lending provisions, pricing, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of defaults are studied in detail in an effort to ensure that students understand the mechanics of a commercial loan agreement. Security interests in real estate and personal property are addressed. Loan syndications and the loan markets are examined. Issues relating to guaranties and subordination agreements are considered. Overviews of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and lender liability are provided. A lecture and discussion format is employed.
• LAW BK 995: CONSUMER FINANCIAL SERVICES
  This class presents an overview of the laws relating to traditional and innovative consumer financial products and services, including the impact of the new consumer protection provisions of the Dodd-Frank banking law on creditors and consumers. The course focuses on federal consumer financial laws governing installment, revolving, and real estate lending, credit and debit cards; and ATM networks, point of sale payment systems, home banking, stored value and prepaid cards; and other deposit and loan products and services. The course examines the design of retail financial products and considers operational issues, the regulatory framework, and consumer protection laws including The Consumer Financial Protection Act, Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, Community Reinvestment Acts, and federal and state laws governing fair credit reporting, trade practices, usury, electronic funds transfers, and funds availability.
• LAW JD 602: Lawyering Skills 1
  Provides training in legal research, legal writing, oral advocacy, client interviewing, and client counseling through simulations of real-world legal disputes.
• LAW JD 603: Lawyering Skills 2
  Provides training in legal research, legal writing, oral advocacy, client interviewing, and client counseling through simulations of real-world legal disputes.
• LAW JD 605: Business Fundamentals
  Introduction to Business Fundamentals is an online, self-paced, asynchronous program forming a required part of the JD curriculum. The curriculum consists of modules covering business basics, corporate finance and financial accounting, including the following subjects: capital markets; the basics of financial reporting; balance sheets; income statements and cash flow; business forms and organizations; financing organizations; discounting; and calculating risk, return and valuation. Assessment is based on multiple choice exams. Students may opt-out of the course if they score an 84 or better on the pre-course exam. A score of 70 or better on the post-course exam, following successful completion of the course, is necessary to meet the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course awards no credits and is graded P/F. It is a graduation requirement for JD students. Students may enroll in the program for the fall, spring or summer semesters, but should complete the course by the conclusion of the fall semester of the 3L year.
• LAW JD 608: Bar Exam Skills
  Students in this course will learn and practice a specific set of skills and test-taking strategies with the goal of enhancing a student's ability to prepare for the July bar exam. It will introduce students to the content of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and its three forms of questions, multiple choice, essay and performance test. The subject matter will be drawn from some of the most highly tested topics on the UBE, including criminal law, constitutional law and torts. The materials for this course are provided by Themis Bar Review. This course is for students who want an early start on their bar exam preparation or are particularly concerned about not passing the bar exam. This course is not a replacement for a commercial bar review program. The course consists of weekly in-person classes, assignments outside of class and a final exam. Course enrollment is limited to two sections, 25 students per section. Prerequisites: This class is restricted to graduating third-year JD students. GRADING NOTICE: This course will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 675: Islamic Law
  This seminar introduces students to the sources, jurisprudential methodology, doctrines, actors and institutions, and operation of Islamic law from classical to modern times. Readings include primary sources--foundational texts, fatwas (legal opinions), case reports, and constitutional and statutory provisions--along with secondary sources that discuss the history and evolution of Islamic law, theories of Islamic legal interpretation, competing views of the meaning and application of Islamic law, and variations in the role Islamic law plays in the legal systems of today's Muslim-majority countries. Specific topics to be covered include: the roots of the law and the derivation of legal rules from those roots; the respective roles of scholars, judges, executive officials and other actors in determining and enforcing rules of Islamic law; judicial procedure and rules of evidence; reform and the reception of Western law in the 19th and 20th centuries; democracy, constitutionalism, and contemporary theories and forms of "Islamic" states; and Islamic law in the U.S. and other "non-Muslim" lands. Cases in criminal law, family law, Islamic finance, and other fields will provide opportunities for in-depth discussions of substantive Islamic law, and regular reference to both the common-law tradition and the modern American legal system will offer comparative perspectives. Grades will be based on class participation, short weekly writing assignments, and a take-home final examination paper. PREREQUISITE: None. No background in Islamic studies is required. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class does not satisfy the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 679: Business and Human Rights
  This course provides an in-depth exploration of the intersection between business operations and human rights, equipping students with the knowledge and analytical tools to assess corporate responsibilities in a globalized world. Students will critically examine international human rights law and analyze its impact on corporate practices and the evolving Business and Human Rights agenda. The course will cover key frameworks, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and introduce sector-specific human rights due diligence approaches. In addition to examining international and regional developments—particularly in the Inter-American and European systems—students will also analyze domestic legal frameworks in the United States, Germany, and France, as well as the European Union Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. These comparative perspectives will help students understand how different jurisdictions are advancing corporate accountability for human rights impacts. By the end of the course, students will be able to evaluate corporate human rights obligations, understand the legal and ethical dimensions of business activities, and critically assess strategies for mitigating human rights risks in various industries. Final research paper and presentation required in lieu of final exam. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may be used to partially satisfy the requirement.
• LAW JD 683: Compliance in Financial Service Co.
  This course will take students through the compliance mechanisms within financial organizations putting regulatory requirements into practice. The purpose of the class is to offer a fundamental preparation to the lawyer in a financial institution's legal department or a separate compliance department. This course covers the following: * The history of compliance * The interaction between business processes, legal requirements, and compliance. * The profession of financial compliance * The interaction of conflicts, risks and ethics * Defining best practice, business process, risk assessment and controls and their interactions within financial institutions *Compliance for investment advisers, private funds, mutual funds, broker-dealers, and other regulatory regimes * Interacting with regulators, enforcement agencies and investigations * Business ethics and culture in financial institutions. The course will use an exam as the final assessment. GRADING NOTICE: This course will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 685: Compassionate Release Practicum
  THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied and been accepted to the Compassionate Release Practicum. In April of 2018, Massachusetts joined 44 states and the federal government in providing a statutory mechanism by which terminally ill and/or permanently incapacitated inmates could be released on so-called medical parole. The new statute was a result of ongoing compromises as part of the omnibus criminal justice reform bill, and pending constitutional litigation which became moot. To date only one person has been released. The intent of the practicum is to engage students both in direct representation of inmates not otherwise entitled to counsel, and in brainstorming and developing solutions in this new and rapidly developing area of law. Students will learn about legislative history and lobbying, about statutory construction, FOIA, and about the constitutional underpinnings of compassionate release. Students will learn and demonstrate drafting, client counseling and negotiation skills. This practicum can be taken for one (50 hours) or two (100 hours) graded credits. Students will write a total of twenty pages, which likely will include a petition for release, and a superior court complaint and motion for judgment on the pleadings. Students will in addition write two journal reflections. There will be a weekly one hour seminar at a time arranged with the students. The final grade is based on class participation, revised writing and journal reflections. NOTE: The Compassionate Release Practicum counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
• LAW JD 692: Taxation and Racial Capitalism
  Taxation and Racial Capitalism will explore the ways that anti-Black racism has shaped legal rules and institutions both domestically and globally. It will illustrate the dynamics of racial capitalism by tracing the evolution of international tax rules once shaped and now sustained by racial fears, perpetuating a false fiscal scarcity that has impoverished vulnerable states and eviscerated social safety nets in wealthier ones. Cycles of liberation and backlash from Reconstruction to decolonization have granted political power and economic autonomy to formerly enslaved individuals and erstwhile possessions only to watch it be stripped away, whether through Jim Crow laws or treaties designed to constrain fiscal sovereignty. This course will tell that familiar story from an unconventional perspective. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the 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 697: International Law, Justice, and the Politics of Armed Conflict
  This course examines the application of international law to situations of armed conflict. The first part of the course provides a theoretical and historical background regarding international law governing the use of force, looking first at debates over the role and effectiveness of international law in international relations, turning to questions about how international law seeks to regulate the use of force in the international system and the extent to which actors comply with their obligations under international law. The second part of the course focuses on international humanitarian law, examining different forms of humanitarian law violations, considering how international humanitarian law affects the behavior of governments and non-state actors during conflict, and discussing why governments and non-state actors often fail to abide by international humanitarian law. In this section, we will also pay particular attention to specific cases of armed conflict – both interstate conflicts such as the war between Russia and Ukraine and civil conflicts such as Libya, Rwanda, and Syria. The last section of the course considers questions about the enforcement of international humanitarian law and attempts to secure justice for violations of international law, including discussions of ad-hoc international criminal tribunals, the International Criminal Court, and efforts to hold individuals accountable for atrocity crimes in domestic courts.
• LAW JD 700: Legal Analysis in Practice
  This course is designed to build the legal analysis, writing, and client counseling and advising skills at the intersection of law school, the bar exam, and practice. Using a case-file based approach, students will work as law firm teams on a series of projects that simulate tasks of newly licensed lawyers in civil practice. Tasks are set in the context of foundational legal subjects (civil procedure, contracts, constitutional law, property, torts, and professional responsibility) to reinforce the fundamental doctrine tested on the bar exam in a practical context.  The course focus on ¿case files¿ will familiarize students with the type of performance tasks tested on both the current and Next Gen bar exam while also providing training on professional skills critical for the successful and meaningful practice of law. Students will also have an opportunity to discuss and explore the expectations of legal practice, with guest speakers from professional development and law firm roles. With limited enrollment, students will receive extensive individualized feedback, as well as practice on self-assessment and opportunity for peer collaboration. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This course is a designated Professional Writing Course which may be used to partially satisfy the Upper-Class Writing Requirement (with a grade of B or higher).
• LAW JD 701: Spanish for Lawyers
  This specialized law course is designed to equip legal professionals with the language skills necessary to effectively communicate and engage with Spanish-speaking clients, witnesses, and colleagues within the legal field. This is not a language class in the technical sense but rather a law-related skills class focusing on discussing legal matters in Spanish to allow students to better understand legal concepts and issues. The course focuses on teaching legal terminology, phrases, and communication techniques in Spanish, tailored specifically for legal contexts such as negotiations, client consultations, court proceedings, and legal document drafting. Students learn to navigate legal conversations, comprehend, and produce legal documents, and develop cultural sensitivity to better serve Spanish-speaking clients within the legal system. This class aims to enhance the linguistic abilities of lawyers, enabling them to bridge language barriers and provide more comprehensive legal services in multicultural settings. The instructor will not spend a great deal of time on correcting individual slips and grammar syntax, unless the error risks changing the meaning of what the student may be trying to express or explain. Students with different levels of fluency are welcome to enroll in the class, however all students must possess a foundational understanding of both spoken and written Spanish. This is essential because communication between the instructor and students will predominantly occur in Spanish, minimizing the use of English during the course.
• LAW JD 703: Upper-class Legal Research
  This one-credit skills course builds on the research skills developed in the first year Lawyering course, with a focus on post-graduation legal practice and preparation for the Next Gen Bar exam. We will help students build on the research strategies they learned in Lawyering, but also teach them how to start with a set of facts and identify research questions to be addressed, the authoritative weight of relevant sources, and the search terms and strategies that are most efficient and economical in each situation. Central to both practice and NextGen Bar testing is the ability to effectively communicate research findings. This course will not only cover the research process and sources, but also teach students how to clearly communicate their research process and explain the results of their research. We will also include instruction on law practice technology, and on using Generative AI in legal practice. The class will be taught as a skills class, with significant class preparation, in-class hypotheticals, and simulation-type assignments. With an eye towards how research will be assessed on the NextGen Bar, we will also include many issue-spotting and research-process exercises. 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 706: Competitions: Brief Writing
  This class is designed to prepare and support the 3L members of BU Law's extramural moot court teams who also serve as Stone and Albers competition preceptors. This seminar will focus on improving students' appellate brief writing skills through a series of course meetings that involve skills training and in-class exercises. The seminar will meet weekly as a group for the first half of the semester and will focus on competition brief writing skills, including research, organization, persuasive writing, and editing. The course will make use of former competition problems to prepare students to write their competition briefs in their specific competitions. For the second half of the semester, students participating in the National Moot Court competition (who serve as Albers preceptors in spring) will meet on an arranged schedule to conduct at least six one-hour formal oral argument practices. The National Moot Court competition students will also be required to write a reflection paper due no later than two weeks after the close of their competition. Students participating in spring competitions will serve as Stone competition preceptors, scoring briefs or oral arguments. These Stone preceptors will meet to work on editing and feedback skills. There will be no final exam. Note that students who are participating on extramural moot court teams that are assigned to serve as either Stone or Albers preceptors must still serve as preceptors even if they do not enroll in this course. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 25 students. GRADING NOTICE: CR/NC graded. NOTE: This class may not be used to satisfy the Upper-class Writing 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 course.
• LAW JD 707: International Law Research
  An important component of understanding international law is mastering all the diverse sources of this area of law. Students will learn to navigate the international system as well as the relevant primary sources of law. Students will learn research strategies and skills for locating treaties, decisions of international tribunals, documents of international organizations and other sources of state practice. Among the organizations the course will discuss the United Nations, the OAS, the EU and the WTO. In addition, students will be introduced to strategies for researching the law of foreign jurisdictions. Students will gain hands-on experience in answering legal research questions in the area of international and comparative law. Classes will combine instruction and hands-on exercises using major print, electronic, and web based resources for international law research. 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 708: INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY & LAW
  This course will examine innovation theory and how it applies within the legal profession. The initial focus in the class will be on the disruptive forces and 'megatrends' in the world today that have an impact on organizations and the practice of law. The class will introduce students to the many facets of innovation in the legal context, including the application of advanced technologies to legal problem solving, derivation of new insights from data science, changes to the traditional employer/employee model (the 'future of work' for professionals), alternative revenue/business models applicable to legal services providers, and incorporating lean startup/design thinking theory into legal problem solving. The unique innovation directive applicable to law firms will be closely examined, including the emerging application of advanced technologies - such as artificial intelligence and blockchain - to legal problem solving. Recent advancements in Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) and their application to the law will be closely examined. In addition, the course will examine the ethics and rapidly evolving legal/regulatory policy and practice issues with data and advanced technologies, and how this evolving ethics/regulatory field will impact organizations and their legal providers. NOTE: Final paper required in lieu of exam. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement either partially or in full.
• LAW JD 709: Independent Externship: Fieldwork
  This CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Clinical and Experiential Programs Office to enroll. Students receive credit for an externship done in conjunction with an independent study project. Qualifying placements include the legal departments of non-profits, government agencies, private companies, or law firms. Placements may be paid or unpaid. Students may find their own placements that must be approved by the Clinical and Experiential Programs Office, or the Office has resources to help students identify and apply to suitable field placements based on their interests and career goals. Students receive 2-9 variable P/F credits for their fieldwork, as determined in consultation with their placement supervisors. Each credit requires 42.5 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 toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. COREQUISITE: INDEPENDENT PROPOSAL EXTERNSHIP: IND STUDY (LAW JD 710)