JD Program Course Updates

This page will be updated with any corrections, time changes, new courses and cancellations throughout the year as new information becomes available. Please check back regularly to view any new announcements.

Fall 2025

Evidence
LAW JD 831 (C1)
Ngozi Okidegbe
This additional section will meet on Tuesday/Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Spring 2026

Arbitration in the US
LAW JD 995 A1
Victoria Sahani will teach this new 3-credit course on Monday/Wednesday, 4:30-6:00 p.m.  Interested students may register for the course via MyBU Student during add/drop.
This course explores arbitration as a private dispute resolution method in the United States, with a particular focus on its application in commercial, securities, consumer, class action, labor, and employment contexts. The aim is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of arbitration law and procedures, enabling them to effectively advise clients about arbitration, negotiate arbitration clauses, and participate in arbitral proceedings. Students will learn about various types of arbitration processes, comparing them with other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods and litigation, as well as the roles of both courts and arbitration institutions during arbitrator appointments and other aspects of procedure. The course covers the full arbitration lifecycle including drafting pre- and post-dispute arbitration agreements; enforcing arbitration agreements; handling anti-arbitration injunctions and parallel proceedings; filing the initial demand for arbitration and the reply; selecting the arbitrator(s); participating in pre-hearing conferences; issuing procedural orders; filing briefs and motions; presenting evidence; conducting hearings; distinguishing between interim, partial, and final arbitral awards; and finally, post-award enforcement, set aside, and vacatur. This course explains the legal underpinnings of arbitration, examining sources such as the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), state arbitration laws (including the FAA’s partial preemption of state laws), U.S. Supreme Court and lower court interpretations of federal and state arbitration laws, the rules of arbitral institutions, and sample arbitration agreements. Additionally, the course addresses the ethical obligations of arbitrators, disclosure requirements related to conflicts of interest, and fairness issues within the contexts of consumer and employment arbitration. Finally, this course highlights contemporary developments, such as class and mass arbitration, third-party funding of arbitration, and arbitration in the news media. There will be an in-person final exam for all students. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: In addition to taking the final examination, a limited number of students may request permission from the professor to write an additional paper to fulfill the requirement. The paper will not be graded and will not count toward their final grade in the course.

Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights
LAW JD 803 (B1)
Elizabeth King
This new addition will meet Monday/Wednesday, 2:10 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. 

Islamic Law (S)
LAW JD 675 (A1)
Sadiq Reza
This new addition will meet Tuesday, 4:20 p.m. – 6:20 p.m.

Law, Data Science, and Technology Series
LAW JD 676 A1
Stacey Dogan and Ngozi Okidegbe will lead this new year-long, one credit course.  Students will register for ½ credit in both the fall and spring semesters.  The fall sessions will be scheduled for Tuesday/Thursday, 3:30-5:00 p.m.  The specific dates will be confirmed in August.  The spring sessions will take place on Wednesdays, 3:30-5:00 p.m., specific dates TBD.  The course description follows:
This series consists of two currently offered lecture series: Social Justice for Data Sciences Lecture Series and Cyber Alliance Speaker series.
The Social Justice for Data Science Lecture Series, hosted by the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences and the Law School, brings together leading scholars in law, computer science, humanities, and social science to examine the current state of data science and social justice. The goal of the series is to engage with the relationship between justice (as a historically contingent and value-laden category) and data science (with a focus on datafication, automation, predictive analytics, and algorithmic decision-making). The series holds four sessions that are each an hour and half long in the fall term.
The Cyber Alliance Speaker Series hosted by the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, Law School, and Questrom School of Business, bring together leading scholars working in the areas of law, technology, business, and policy. The series holds five sessions that are each an hour and half long throughout the Fall and Spring term.
The Colloquium will expose students to cross-disciplinary talks and presentations and enable students to think critically about law, computation, and data sciences. To prepare for each session, students will read the speaker’s paper or a prior paper and will write short reaction responses that include three questions.  Lecture dates to be announced.  GRADING NOTICE: This year-long course is graded Pass/Fail at the end of spring term.

Professional Responsibility
LAW JD 984 (A1)
Victoria Sahani will now be teaching this course on Tuesday/Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.

updated 06/27/2025