Course Catalog

This class will delve into narrative and storytelling as a method of persuasion. Drawing on the theory and science of narrative and persuasion, we will analyze examples from legal writing, fiction, and non-fiction sources. Students will develop the ability to identify the components of a compelling story, craft arguments that tell their client's story for different audiences, integrate storytelling with traditional methods of legal argument, and recognize ethical considerations involved in using storytelling as a persuasive strategy. Students will draft multiple legal documents using the skills covered in the class.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course is designed to strengthen students' ability to analyze legal problems and to do effective legal and non-legal research. Students will increase their knowledge of research sources and methods and develop the skills to solve practical research problems in a cost-effective manner. The course also synthesizes material found throughout the Law School curriculum, to the extent that students are required to apply both substantive and procedural analysis in their course work.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course is designed to teach all students, however they plan to use their law school education, the skills necessary to creatively solve problems in whatever professional context they might arise. We use the classic James Harr’s A Civil Action (Vintage 1996) to teach the interpersonal, communication and analytical skills lawyers need to become successful problem solvers. This story demonstrates how Jan Schlichtmann could have achieved a more successful outcome for his clients if only he had applied these basic skills in that case. With this foundation, we develop an understanding of problem- solving methodology and the use of negotiation and mediation, two of the primary ADR processes for solving problems. Experiential learning is the fundamental teaching method. Students will learn to apply negotiation and mediation theory in simulated exercises with students playing the roles of negotiator, mediator, advocate and client in these simulations. Students receive feedback on their performance based on in-class faculty observation as well a post-exercise class discussion. Arbitration is the third process within the ADR constellation. We begin with a discussion of ad how to determine whether arbitration is an appropriate process for solving a client's problem. Then, we focus on the legal infrastructure of arbitration, the Federal Arbitration Act and recent cases that have shaped the current arbitration legal landscape. We also discuss legislative efforts to address issues of fairness in arbitration, particularly focusing on mandatory class action waivers and their impact on consumers and employees. The course concludes with a discussion of other creative ways to resolve disputes, including the use of the apology and its use at the University of Michigan Hospital to address claims of medical malpractice.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Professor Chaney's section: This course will explore the practical, conceptual and procedural mechanics of civil rights practice through mock litigation of one or more simulated case studies. Students will engage the stages of litigation, including claim and defense development, preparing and answering pleadings, crafting written discovery, conducting effective depositions, and presenting oral argument, while exploring the nuanced issues that arise in civil rights practice, including client management, dealing with client and personal trauma and triggers, establishing noneconomic harm, and collaborative practice.
Professor Steinberg's section: This course examines how civil rights lawyers use federal civil rights litigation to address contemporary social problems. Students will develop and litigate a simulated case based on an actual racial profiling controversy in Ann Arbor. They will gain experience in client interviewing, public records requests, complaint drafting, responding to motions to dismiss, oral argument, depositions and negotiations. Students will learn how to overcome the many procedural obstacles to justice posed by 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and explore the ethical issues faced by public interest lawyers when representing clients in civil rights cases. The course will also emphasize how litigation can be most effective in achieving social change when it is a part of an "integrated advocacy" campaign that includes public education, legislation and/or community action.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Digital Lawyering: Advocacy in the Age of AI
All lawyers are now digital lawyers. From Zoom hearings, to e-discovery, to AI-enhanced research and writing, the practice of law increasingly requires the skillful navigation of a wide range of technological tools. It's no longer enough to be book smart and street smart. More and more, you also have to be byte-smart.
This course is designed to help you navigate that transition. It takes a skill-building approach to advocacy in the age of artificial intelligence. Which tools are worth using? What questions are worth asking? And how do lawyers of all kinds continue to add value to clients in a world where competition for legal services comes from chatbots, algorithms, and a growing number of other powerful digital products?

• Type: Practice Simulation

The course will focus on the effective and strategic use of the Rules of Evidence in litigation. We will look in-depth at several critical areas of evidence, including impeachment, hearsay, expert testimony and privileges. Our study will include both drafting exercises (motions to admit or exclude various pieces of evidence) as well as courtroom based scenarios in which students will have to dissect and apply the various Rules. The goal of the course is for students to have a functional mastery of several critical (and challenging) areas of evidence, preparing them for future work as litigators.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The ability to give and receive quality feedback plays a major role in every lawyer's career trajectory. Yet few of us are ever taught how to develop this important skill.
"Feedback Loops" is designed to help change that. We'll learn better ways to deliver feedback, better ways to receive feedback, and better ways to solicit feedback. We'll also get to practice a crucial and often overlooked kind of feedback: self-feedback.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course will examine the issues and concerns that are unique to well-funded ventures with "unicorn" valuations. The course will consider the pros and cons of different late-stage investment structures, the deal dynamics arising from the ever expanding pool of capital investing in this asset class, and the implications of unit economics for the investment thesis--all against the backdrop of the ever-blurring line between private equity and venture capital.
Students will learn the primary legal mechanics involved in venture capital investing, as well as the incentives and pragmatic considerations underlying these types of transactions.
Students will be expected to participate in a simulated term-sheet negotiation exercise, become familiar with spreadsheet capitalization tables, and learn to evaluate key deal terms against the backdrop of the broader deal dynamics.
Required readings for each session will include model deal documents and case studies.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This class will be comprised of different tracks that will allow students to explore ways to work in various innovation fields. The weekly class component will examine various legal and business principles related to innovation and support the students' field work, with the fall term focused on the intricacies of venture capital and the winter term focused on the role of institutional capital. The students will spend significant time working on their projects in the field.
Track 1 -- Social Venture Fund (SVF): Students will work as a law student advisor to the Ross School of Business's Social Venture Fund. Students will be required to attend the weekly SVF meeting (typically on Sunday afternoons) and actively participate in SVF. Once the fund selects potential companies in which to invest, students will join at least one due diligence team and be responsible for the legal due diligence on potential investments. For companies in which SVF votes to invest students will review the financing deal documents. This track is a year-long track, so students will be required to take this course both semesters.
Track 2 -- Michigan Climate Venture (MCV): Students will work as law advisors to Michigan Climate Venture, a University-wide initiative. Students will be required to attend the weekly meetings and actively participate in all educational activities. Once MCV selects potential companies in which to invest, students will join at least one due diligence team and be responsible for the legal due diligence on potential investments. For companies in which MCV votes to invest, law students will review the financing deal documents. This track is a year-long track, so students will be required to take both semesters.
Track 3 -- Innovation Partnerships: Students will provide legal research support to the Innovation Partnerships team. Students will immerse themselves in the legal and regulatory issues related to innovation partnerships. Enrollment in this Track is allowed only with the permission of Bryce Pilz (bpilz@umich.edu), the Executive Director of Licensing & Strategic Alliances.
Track 4 -- Startup or Venture Capital Immersion: Students may arrange to work for a startup company or venture capital fund and participate in this course. While some opportunities to work with startups may be announced through Professor Ohmer, students may also arrange their own startup work and propose the arrangement to Professor Ohmer.
Note: Because participating students will work with proprietary information related to their field work, as a condition of participating in this program, all students may be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements particular to their tracks.
Enrollment in this class is allowed only with permission of Professor Adrian Ohmer.

• Type: Practice Simulation

In this practice simulation course, law students will work with a hypothetical liability event involving autonomous vehicles. Students will work in teams to analyze the event from the perspective of one of several involved parties (such as, for example, a driver, the OEM, the insurance companies, a parts supplier). Students will apply the existing legal and regulatory framework to the scenario to understand how that framework will impact specific parties at various stages of a legal proceeding. Students will also learn legal and regulatory subject matter related to autonomous vehicles, gain an understanding of the perspectives of various parties involved in autonomous vehicle development and deployment, and formulate and suggest changes that could be made to the industry or legal or regulatory framework in order to facilitate the broad deployment of autonomous vehicles. Students will generate written and/or oral work product as required by the relevant stages of the hypothetical legal and/or regulatory proceedings.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course will help forward-looking law students become familiar with the wide variety of technologies used in and changing the practice of law today and understand the expectations clients, firms, law departments, and other legal organizations have about the technological literacy required for future legal leaders. Law firms face pressure from clients to innovate, embrace technology, and deliver greater value. Corporate legal departments are investing in technology and legal operations, engaging alternative legal service providers, and increasing their capabilities to deliver legal services internally. At the same time, technology used by non-traditional legal businesses is changing and automating tasks previously performed by lawyers. It is a time of challenge and opportunity, often described by the term "NewLaw." This course will focus on the major legal technology concepts and approaches that lawyers currently face in the practice of law and will increasingly need to understand thrive in the new era of legal services. It is NOT a class that will train students on the use of specific technologies or require a technology background. After establishing a foundation of legal-service delivery knowledge, we will focus on innovation and technology tools, from basics to the newest and most advanced technologies being used in the practice of law. We will explore how lawyers engage in substantive practice with these tools, what clients want their lawyers to know about technology, and how technology and innovation hold great promise for increasing access to legal services. We will cover the ethical requirement of technology competency and then move forward into technology literacy and the role technology literacy will play in shaping the leaders in the legal profession. Students will complete two major papers of the topic of their choice (a first draft and then a final version) and a short class presentation. Upon completing this course, students will have the understanding, knowledge, and skills to actively participate in technology and innovation initiatives and become leaders in law firms, legal departments, legal organizations, and the legal profession.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The Public Defender Training Institute is an intensive immersion into the world of indigent defense designed to train aspiring public defenders. This second half of the course is only open to students who have enrolled in and completed participation in Part I. In this second semester, students learn about plea bargaining, evidence, motions practice, jury selection, and trial advocacy (openings, direct examinations, cross examinations, closings, and sentencing hearings).

• Type: Practice Simulation

Learning to negotiate effectively involves negotiating, observing, critiquing, and consciously applying effective strategy and skill. This course introduces students to the science, the art, and the practice of negotiation through a sequenced series of simulation exercises, which students will perform inside and outside of class. Class sessions will be used, in part, for negotiations, debriefing results, and discussion. Course readings will include negotiation literature and theory that inform effective practice. Students will be evaluated based on some combination of class participation, negotiation exercises, and periodic reflection papers.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Conflict involving youth, family, communities and institutions inexorably finds its way into state court justice systems. Once there, litigants find that institutional pathways available to them not only effect legal consequences to their actions, but more importantly, have longstanding affects on their lives, as well as the lives of others. This class introduces students to the emergence of one such path in state court justice systems: peacemaking.
The introduction begins with the exploration of the roots of peacemaking from indigenous nations within our national border. Students will learn from nationally renowned native guest lecturers about world views, tribal justice systems, tensions between native justice systems and western-model court systems and the opportunity for nurturing communication, collaboration and finding common ground between the two.
Thereafter, students will engage in exploring the practical application of peacemaking in state justice systems in family, probate, civil and criminal proceedings. As part of that engagement, students will first conduct a mock trial in a subject area of their choosing through a traditional adversarial model, and then through a peacemaking approach.
Finally, students will explore emerging branches from peacemaking in state justice systems. This exploration will include current models around the country, as well as inspiration from models outside of our borders such as South Africa, Canada and Ireland.
The class is co taught by a trial attorney with criminal and family court experience, and a state court presiding judge of a peacemaking court. In addition to the mock trial, a final paper will serve in lieu of a final exam.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This practice simulation course will be taught by J. Phillip Adams., a retired partner of the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP. The professor will submit to the seminar cutting-edge problems which he has faced in practice. The students will resolve those problems by structuring transactions to accomplish the client's business goals within the framework of non-tax legal requirements, without incurring unnecessary tax liabilities and in a manner that otherwise optimizes the client's tax posture. Typically, the students will be assigned to work in teams. With each problem, the students submit their solutions in writing, and one team will present its solution to the class orally. The professor will discuss and evaluate the teams' solutions in light of the one that was employed in practice. Prior to the students preparing and submitting their solutions, there will be lectures and discussion of the tax issues involved in each problem.
The goal of the practice simulation course is to immerse the students in the process of approaching problems from a transactional perspective. The students will be given a set of facts and objectives, and will be required to determine what steps should be taken to achieve those objectives. An additional goal is to provide the students with exposure to the manner in which experienced lawyers utilize their skills to solve complex problems. The principal issues on which the problems will focus are corporate tax issues, but other areas will likely be covered. For example, partnership tax issues and issues involving the taxation of financial instruments have played a significant role in certain case studies. In recent semesters, problems have involved, among other matters, complex tax-free corporate mergers, corporate divisions (spin-offs), acquisitions of controlling interests in non-U.S. corporations, and transactions designed to illustrate the difference between legitimate tax planning and abusive corporate tax shelters.

• Type: Practice Simulation

In this practice/simulation course, students will begin to develop the legal skills needed to represent clients in business transactions. Among other things, the seminar covers translating the client's business objectives into legal concepts, and then incorporating those concepts into the actual language of an agreement in clear, consistent, and concise manner. Students will learn how to analyze a contract from the client's perspective, with an eye to advancing the client's interests and protecting the client as much as possible from risk. The practice/simulation course also identifies how attorneys can use drafting techniques to solve problems that arise while a deal is being done. Students will engage in simulations and exercises in class, and undertake drafting assignments outside of class.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course is designed to teach all students, however they plan to use their law school education, the skills necessary to creatively solve problems in whatever professional context they might arise. We use the classic James Harr’s A Civil Action (Vintage 1996) to teach the interpersonal, communication and analytical skills lawyers need to become successful problem solvers. This story demonstrates how Jan Schlichtmann could have achieved a more successful outcome for his clients if only he had applied these basic skills in that case. With this foundation, we develop an understanding of problem- solving methodology and the use of negotiation and mediation, two of the primary ADR processes for solving problems. Experiential learning is the fundamental teaching method. Students will learn to apply negotiation and mediation theory in simulated exercises with students playing the roles of negotiator, mediator, advocate and client in these simulations. Students receive feedback on their performance based on in-class faculty observation as well a post-exercise class discussion. Arbitration is the third process within the ADR constellation. We begin with a discussion of ad how to determine whether arbitration is an appropriate process for solving a client's problem. Then, we focus on the legal infrastructure of arbitration, the Federal Arbitration Act and recent cases that have shaped the current arbitration legal landscape. We also discuss legislative efforts to address issues of fairness in arbitration, particularly focusing on mandatory class action waivers and their impact on consumers and employees. The course concludes with a discussion of other creative ways to resolve disputes, including the use of the apology and its use at the University of Michigan Hospital to address claims of medical malpractice.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This simulation course is a practicum, taught by a veteran federal court, state court and arbitration tribunal trial lawyer, which will take students from the initial drafting of a complaint and answer in a hypothetical commercial case through trial, jury verdict and post-judgment motions. Students, working together both individually and as teams, will strategize the complaint allegations to be filed and the responses to those allegations; will draft pleadings and papers in pursuance of the claims and defenses; will file dispositive motions; will conduct written discovery and depositions; will participate in a pretrial conference; will file and respond to dispositive motions; will attend a pretrial conference and a settlement conference; and will then prepare for and participate in trial, including presentation of voir dire questions and peremptory challenges, opening and closing statements, direct examination and cross-examination, evidentiary objections and responses thereto and motions for directed verdict and responses thereto at the close of proofs. While the course will have some theoretical discussion about the art of persuasion, the primary emphasis will be on a hands-on approach that is designed to mirror, as much as possible, what a student's experience will be like in prosecuting or defending a commercial case when he or she is a practicing lawyer.
More and more hiring law firms are expecting law students to be as "trial ready" as possible when they enter private practice and join their firms' litigation departments. This course aims to provide students with that experience.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This practice/simulation course will cover the entrepreneurial business, from its inception to its end -- by dissolution, liquidation, merger or public offering. Like Gaul, the course will be divided into three parts, which will be covered and interfaced with each other on a continuing basis -- state enterprise law, Federal income tax law and enterprise documentation. The range of subjects will include the choice of entity (partnership vs. corporation), tax implications (equity vs. debt), bringing in others (investors, key employees, independent contractors), protecting the enterprise (covenants not to compete or solicit business or customers, protection of intellectual property and confidential information), expanding the business (form and format for subsidiaries and affiliates, acquisitions and joint ventures) and mergers, consolidations and public offerings.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Professor Chaney's section: This course will explore the practical, conceptual and procedural mechanics of civil rights practice through mock litigation of one or more simulated case studies. Students will engage the stages of litigation, including claim and defense development, preparing and answering pleadings, crafting written discovery, conducting effective depositions, and presenting oral argument, while exploring the nuanced issues that arise in civil rights practice, including client management, dealing with client and personal trauma and triggers, establishing noneconomic harm, and collaborative practice.
Professor Steinberg's section: This course examines how civil rights lawyers use federal civil rights litigation to address contemporary social problems. Students will develop and litigate a simulated case based on an actual racial profiling controversy in Ann Arbor. They will gain experience in client interviewing, public records requests, complaint drafting, responding to motions to dismiss, oral argument, depositions and negotiations. Students will learn how to overcome the many procedural obstacles to justice posed by 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and explore the ethical issues faced by public interest lawyers when representing clients in civil rights cases. The course will also emphasize how litigation can be most effective in achieving social change when it is a part of an "integrated advocacy" campaign that includes public education, legislation and/or community action.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The purpose of this class is to familiarize students with the theoretical and practical aspects of collective bargaining and arbitration. Students will be assigned negotiation projects, asked to write arbitration awards and draft other documents commonly used in collective bargaining and arbitration.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This practice simulation course introduces complex transactions through negotiation of critical terms in a variety of corporate, real estate and technology transactions. Students will learn: (1) the process that leads from letters of intent to closing documents; (2) methods and tactics for negotiation of critical terms; and (3) substantive and commercial issues in many terms common to a variety of transactions (such as disclosures and due diligence, representations, warranties, protection and licensing of intellectual property, confidentiality, compliance, indemnities, liability limits, dispute resolution and remedies). Written exercises and mock negotiations are supplemented with discussion of underlying legal considerations and business risks; negotiation strategies and tactics; and the roles of brokers, bankers, consultants and other intermediaries. Course work and exercises involve letters of intent, term sheets and contracts adapted from practice. Students will review, comment upon, revise and negotiate contract terms, much as they will in practice. Grades are based upon classroom participation and negotiation and written exercises. The course is highly recommended for students interested in other transactional courses and sophisticated business practice.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course is designed to prepare you to perform the responsibilities of a 1st year transactional attorney the day you get your key card and parking pass. Primarily platformed through the execution of a business acquisition, students will learn the fundamental skills requisite to provide legal advice and counsel in nearly every business transaction. Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to analyze, negotiate and draft major acquisition agreements and agreements ancillary thereto, including consulting agreements, licensing contracts, board and shareholder authorizations, commercial leases and more. They say mergers & acquisitions attorneys are the "quarterbacks" of the law firm because they must see the entire transaction plan, put everyone in the best position to reach the goal (of closing a deal), and initiate and execute the offense. In that regard, students will also learn transaction project management, the art of managing clients, direct reporting attorneys, supervising attorneys, as well as third-parties involved and implicated by the deal. Client interaction simulation, internal firm communications and proper record generation are key components of this course. This course is presented in a straightforward, plain-English "how to" style, and incorporates law practice management, customer service and general career success strategies. Having taken business organizations or mergers & acquisitions not required.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Dialoguing across difference is a skill essential for successful lawyering in any specialty, in any context. We must achieve deep understanding of our clients' perspectives and be able to communicate our own. We must effectively advocate for our clients and negotiate with everyone involved with our clients' matters, such as their business partners, family members, opposing parties or counsel, etc. We are problem solvers, and often coalition builders and systemic change makers. Students in this course will practice engaging in and facilitating sustained and productive dialogue through the nuanced exploration of their own social/political identities and their perspectives on an assortment of potentially controversial topics of their choosing.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course simulates the real-life practice of family law. The course has two primary goals. First, you will learn the principles of drafting transactional, non-litigation documents, such as settlement proposal letters, custody agreements, and agreement addenda. You will also draft litigation pleadings, discovery documents and learn trial advocacy. The course emphasizes role play, hands-on exercises and individualized critique of student work. This course is extremely practical for aspiring litigators in any discipline. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, custody, child support, grounds of divorce, spousal support, and property distribution. Having previously taken family law is beneficial, but not required.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The practice/simulation course introduces students to the major categories of federal criminal investigations -- public corruption, national security,
organized crime, economic crime, drug and firearm offenses, and child
exploitation -- to the law enforcement agencies that conduct these
investigations, to the techniques they use (e.g. electronic
surveillance, search warrants, and informants) and to the front-line
constitutional issues at stake. The course then turns to the role of the
prosecutor, focusing on the critical strategic decisions made by
assistant United States attorneys during grand jury investigations, plea
negotiations, trial, and sentencing. Caselaw and statutory materials are
supplemented by guest lectures and panel discussions that include
representatives from the principle federal law enforcement agencies --
FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE, and Secret Service -- as well as transcripts from
recent prosecutions in the Eastern District of Michigan. Students will
draft search warrants and indictments, argue from both the government
and defense perspective in mock detention and sentencing hearings,
negotiate plea agreements, calculate sentencing guidelines, and conduct
voir dire, as well as observe first-hand ongoing federal criminal cases
in Ann Arbor and Detroit.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The ability to give and receive quality feedback plays a major role in every lawyer's career trajectory. Yet few of us are ever taught how to develop this important skill.
"Feedback Loops" is designed to help change that. We'll learn better ways to deliver feedback, better ways to receive feedback, and better ways to solicit feedback. We'll also get to practice a crucial and often overlooked kind of feedback: self-feedback.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Spend a semester working with other law students and upper-level undergraduate students to support lawyers from the Michigan Immigration Rights Center on asylum cases here in Michigan. Under faculty supervision, students will learn to draft asylum briefs, summarize and translate historical texts, research effective legal arguments, and contribute to developing a national research database for use in asylum cases. Students will also deepen their understanding of immigration law and policy, develop historical and legal research skills, and explore the history of violence and migration through work on real-life asylum cases. This class is ideal for students who are eager to work conscientiously and ethically with others in teams to benefit a non-profit community partner. Instructor permission required.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This class will be comprised of different tracks that will allow students to explore ways to work in various innovation fields. The weekly class component will examine various legal and business principles related to innovation and support the students' field work, with the fall term focused on the intricacies of venture capital and the winter term focused on the role of institutional capital. The students will spend significant time working on their projects in the field.
Track 1 -- Social Venture Fund (SVF): Students will work as a law student advisor to the Ross School of Business's Social Venture Fund. Students will be required to attend the weekly SVF meeting (typically on Sunday afternoons) and actively participate in SVF. Once the fund selects potential companies in which to invest, students will join at least one due diligence team and be responsible for the legal due diligence on potential investments. For companies in which SVF votes to invest students will review the financing deal documents. This track is a year-long track, so students will be required to take this course both semesters.
Track 2 -- Michigan Climate Venture (MCV): Students will work as law advisors to Michigan Climate Venture, a University-wide initiative. Students will be required to attend the weekly meetings and actively participate in all educational activities. Once MCV selects potential companies in which to invest, students will join at least one due diligence team and be responsible for the legal due diligence on potential investments. For companies in which MCV votes to invest, law students will review the financing deal documents. This track is a year-long track, so students will be required to take both semesters.
Track 3 -- Innovation Partnerships: Students will provide legal research support to the Innovation Partnerships team. Students will immerse themselves in the legal and regulatory issues related to innovation partnerships. Enrollment in this Track is allowed only with the permission of Bryce Pilz (bpilz@umich.edu), the Executive Director of Licensing & Strategic Alliances.
Track 4 -- Startup or Venture Capital Immersion: Students may arrange to work for a startup company or venture capital fund and participate in this course. While some opportunities to work with startups may be announced through Professor Ohmer, students may also arrange their own startup work and propose the arrangement to Professor Ohmer.
Note: Because participating students will work with proprietary information related to their field work, as a condition of participating in this program, all students may be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements particular to their tracks.
Enrollment in this class is allowed only with permission of Professor Adrian Ohmer.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The Public Defender Training Institute is an intensive immersion into the world of indigent defense designed to train aspiring public defenders. The Institute kicks off in the fall semester with a three-day intensive retreat at the law school in the fall. During the fall semester, students learn about the role of the public defender, different kinds of public defender work, how public defenders differ from prosecutors and private defense attorneys, how to incorporate social science into their advocacy, how to address race and deal with implicit and explicit racial bias in the system, and how to handle the challenges that public defenders face (including excessive caseloads, secondary trauma, and ethical issues). They also learn effective pre-trial preparation with skills-based training on client interviewing, investigation, taking witness statements, obtaining discovery, storytelling and persuasion, preliminary hearings, and developing a theory of the case.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Mediation is a powerful, popular and oft-required dispute resolution process in which attorneys are frequently involved, whether they are serving as mediators in legal disputes or as advocates for their clients in the mediation process. In this experiential practicum, through simulated conflicts, role play and guidance from experienced mediators, you will act as both mediators and advocates for your clients in mediation. You will learn the ins-and-outs of the mediation process, and you will learn and utilize practical and effective mediation skills, strategies and techniques, including client preparation, management of difficult personalities, and effective oral and written mediation advocacy. This is a very interactive, hands-on course in which you will learn communication and conflict resolution skills that you will find useful, not only in your mediation practice, but in many areas beyond it.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This practice/simulation course covers the legal and legal practice issues of the private equity business. It covers legal issues related to the formation and operation of private equity funds and their investments. It will focus on the process of the fund investing in typical private equity investments and on identifying and understanding the legal, contractual and other issues that arise in structuring, negotiating and documenting private equity transactions.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Progressive Prosecution: Law and Policy
Although prosecuting attorneys have typically taken a "tough-on-crime" approach, a growing number of elected prosecutors from across the country are taking a "progressive" approach. These "progressive prosecutors" see their role as combatting overincarceration, eliminating racial and socioeconomic inequity, and changing a criminal legal system that too frequently exacerbates those inequities.
This course, co-taught by Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit and Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Victoria Burton-Harris, will explore the theoretical underpinnings behind the "progressive prosecutor" movement; its promises and limitations; and the progress the movement has made over the past several years. During the latter part of the course, students will work on real-world research and writing projects that will be used by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office to move forward its progressive vision.

• Type: Practice Simulation

In this course, we consider the salient aspects of a variety of real estate transactions. Students (i) learn to identify the issues involved in each one, (ii) become familiar with the documents often utilized, (iii) determine the perspective the respective parties bring, and (iv) consider how various issues might be resolved. This course satisfies the "practicum" requirement.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Tax Planning for Real Estate Transactions
This practice/simulation course will deal with the tax planning related to real estate transactions, including particularly the choice of entity and the acquisition, development, operation and sale or other disposition of real estate. Within this context, we will discuss a number of issues, including capitalization vs. deductibility of expenses, deferring gain on disposition through various techniques, creative financing in today's markets and the consequences of troubled real estate.

• Type: Practice Simulation

When assembled correctly, diverse teams consistently outperform homogeneous teams in a wide range of fields. They come up with more creative ideas. They make better decisions. And particularly in the business world, they produce more sales revenue and profit. Yet many organizations still can't figure out how to create and maintain these kinds of teams.
This course explores that disconnect through a combination of low-stakes practice and high-stakes projects. You'll form diverse teams. You'll critique diverse teams. And along the way, you'll have plenty of opportunities to develop two skills that can help members of any team operate more effectively: speaking well and writing well.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Commercializing intellectual property and technology is a central part of our economy, around which lawyers play a critical role. This course will serve as a practical guide to technology transactions, through which students will learn how to counsel clients and negotiate and draft contracts on the client's behalf. Through hands-on practical exercises and simulations, students will be introduced to the typical work of technology transactions lawyers and learn foundational concepts and skills, such as technology deal structures and how they are papered, the anatomy of intellectual property and technology contracts, working as outside counsel with client teams consisting of in-house lawyers and business units, and the nuances of advising effectively from a legal and business perspective, both in writing and verbally. Through this course, students will develop not only technical lawyering skills but also the professional skills necessary to be a trusted advisor on technology transactions.

• Type: Practice Simulation

In this practice/simulation course, students will begin to develop the legal skills needed to represent clients in business transactions. Among other things, the seminar covers translating the client's business objectives into legal concepts, and then incorporating those concepts into the actual language of an agreement in clear, consistent, and concise manner. Students will learn how to analyze a contract from the client's perspective, with an eye to advancing the client's interests and protecting the client as much as possible from risk. The practice/simulation course also identifies how attorneys can use drafting techniques to solve problems that arise while a deal is being done. Students will engage in simulations and exercises in class, and undertake drafting assignments outside of class.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course explores a more diverse and deepened analysis of trial advocacy tied to the subject matter of the conflict and potential resolutions for that conflict. To that end, the class is held in the Washtenaw County courthouse. Students will learn basic tenants of all trial advocacy. These tenants include mechanics of pre- trial practice (motion practice including the differences between written and oral advocacy) as well as simulated trial tasks. Those trial tasks focus on the chronological development of a trial: jury selection; opening statement; direct and cross examination; exhibits; objections; impeachment and rehabilitation; experts and closing arguments.
As part of the analysis, students provide weekly written reflections on the oath of office all attorneys are required to make as a condition for the privilege to practice law. That reflection includes identification and discussion of core values and expectations that their advocacy choices reflect those values.
In lieu of a final exam, students will engage in a competition at the Washtenaw County Courthouse in conjunction with students from Wayne State Law School.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This class will delve into narrative and storytelling as a method of persuasion. Drawing on the theory and science of narrative and persuasion, we will analyze examples from legal writing, fiction, and non-fiction sources. Students will develop the ability to identify the components of a compelling story, craft arguments that tell their client's story for different audiences, integrate storytelling with traditional methods of legal argument, and recognize ethical considerations involved in using storytelling as a persuasive strategy. Students will draft multiple legal documents using the skills covered in the class.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course is designed to teach all students, however they plan to use their law school education, the skills necessary to creatively solve problems in whatever professional context they might arise. We use the classic James Harr’s A Civil Action (Vintage 1996) to teach the interpersonal, communication and analytical skills lawyers need to become successful problem solvers. This story demonstrates how Jan Schlichtmann could have achieved a more successful outcome for his clients if only he had applied these basic skills in that case. With this foundation, we develop an understanding of problem- solving methodology and the use of negotiation and mediation, two of the primary ADR processes for solving problems. Experiential learning is the fundamental teaching method. Students will learn to apply negotiation and mediation theory in simulated exercises with students playing the roles of negotiator, mediator, advocate and client in these simulations. Students receive feedback on their performance based on in-class faculty observation as well a post-exercise class discussion. Arbitration is the third process within the ADR constellation. We begin with a discussion of ad how to determine whether arbitration is an appropriate process for solving a client's problem. Then, we focus on the legal infrastructure of arbitration, the Federal Arbitration Act and recent cases that have shaped the current arbitration legal landscape. We also discuss legislative efforts to address issues of fairness in arbitration, particularly focusing on mandatory class action waivers and their impact on consumers and employees. The course concludes with a discussion of other creative ways to resolve disputes, including the use of the apology and its use at the University of Michigan Hospital to address claims of medical malpractice.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This simulation course is a practicum, taught by a veteran federal court, state court and arbitration tribunal trial lawyer, which will take students from the initial drafting of a complaint and answer in a hypothetical commercial case through trial, jury verdict and post-judgment motions. Students, working together both individually and as teams, will strategize the complaint allegations to be filed and the responses to those allegations; will draft pleadings and papers in pursuance of the claims and defenses; will file dispositive motions; will conduct written discovery and depositions; will participate in a pretrial conference; will file and respond to dispositive motions; will attend a pretrial conference and a settlement conference; and will then prepare for and participate in trial, including presentation of voir dire questions and peremptory challenges, opening and closing statements, direct examination and cross-examination, evidentiary objections and responses thereto and motions for directed verdict and responses thereto at the close of proofs. While the course will have some theoretical discussion about the art of persuasion, the primary emphasis will be on a hands-on approach that is designed to mirror, as much as possible, what a student's experience will be like in prosecuting or defending a commercial case when he or she is a practicing lawyer.
More and more hiring law firms are expecting law students to be as "trial ready" as possible when they enter private practice and join their firms' litigation departments. This course aims to provide students with that experience.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This simulation course will help you develop the written and oral advocacy skills you'll need to be an effective appellate litigator (and which are highly desirable for many other forms of legal practice as well). You'll learn how to prepare and write an appellate brief and how to prepare and deliver an oral argument in court. While at times we will discuss general principles of persuasion, the course will focus more on nitty-gritty matters such as how to organize an argument; how to write effectively using well-constructed paragraphs and clear and crisp sentences; how to prepare for and handle oral questioning; and when if ever to adroitly split an infinitive or to end a sentence with a preposition you are enamored with.
Class sessions will include presentations, interactive conversations, in-class exercises, and peer (and my) review of student work. Over the course of the semester, you'll produce several drafts of a brief or portions thereof, focusing both on merits arguments and on the other components of a complete appellate brief. Occasionally you may be assigned other short writing exercises, either for class time or for homework. You will work independently on some projects and collaborate with classmates on others. You'll also present two or more oral arguments during class time.
The simulation exercises will be based on a mock appellate case. For most and perhaps all assignments, I'll provide you with copies of court decisions, rules, and statutes deemed relevant to the mock case; little outside research will be required. This course will demand a good deal of your time and attention throughout the semester, which I expect will be repaid by lots of constructive feedback.
Your work will be assessed on the quality of your written projects, your oral presentations, and your class participation in general.

• Type: Practice Simulation