Course Catalog

Compensation at law for private wrongs and intentional wrongs as well as accidents, with principal emphasis on harms to person and property. Special areas such as product liability, defamation, or business torts will be treated selectively.

• Type: First Year Required

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

The Veterans Legal Clinic offers students the opportunity to learn holistic, client-centered lawyering through representing military veterans in a broad array of civil legal matters. While some of the cases the VLC handles are specific to this client population, such as veterans benefits cases and discharge upgrades, the majority of the clinic’s cases involve broader civil legal issues, including family law, housing, consumer disputes, financial exploitation, disability, employment, public benefits, etc. The clinic seeks to foster in its students a strong professional identity, advocacy skills, and consistent engagement in reflective, intentional practice while providing excellent legal services to a severely underserved population. Students will take the lead in all aspects of their cases, including client interviews, pleading drafting, fact investigation, discovery, negotiation, court hearings, and trials. Students will also have the opportunity to interact professionally with a wide variety of social service, medical, mental health, and other providers in the effort to meet their clients’ needs. The Veterans Legal Clinic meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
Students must enroll for the 4-credit clinic and the 3-credit seminar, taken concurrently. The Veterans Legal Clinic is a 7-credit course; all credits are graded.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

The Veterans Legal Clinic offers students the opportunity to learn holistic, client-centered lawyering through representing military veterans in a broad array of civil legal matters. While some of the cases the VLC handles are specific to this client population, such as veterans benefits cases and discharge upgrades, the majority of the clinic’s cases involve broader civil legal issues, including family law, housing, consumer disputes, financial exploitation, disability, employment, public benefits, etc. The clinic seeks to foster in its students a strong professional identity, advocacy skills, and consistent engagement in reflective, intentional practice while providing excellent legal services to a severely underserved population. Students will take the lead in all aspects of their cases, including client interviews, pleading drafting, fact investigation, discovery, negotiation, court hearings, and trials. Students will also have the opportunity to interact professionally with a wide variety of social service, medical, mental health, and other providers in the effort to meet their clients’ needs. The Veterans Legal Clinic meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
Students must enroll for the 4-credit clinic and the 3-credit seminar, taken concurrently. The Veterans Legal Clinic is a 7-credit course; all credits are graded.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

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

Students litigate civil rights cases addressing issues such as: racial justice, police misconduct, voting rights, fair housing, student rights, free speech, women’s rights, LGBT rights, immigrant rights, ethnic and religious discrimination, disability rights, and the right to privacy. Taught by the former long-time legal director of the ACLU of Michigan, the goal of the course is to prepare students to use the law to advance social justice. Students will have the chance to litigate civil rights cases on behalf of individuals as well as larger impact cases.
Students, under faculty supervision, will gain experience in many of the following areas: working with impacted communities to identify injustices; researching and developing winning legal theories; interviewing potential clients; writing public record requests and demand letters; drafting complaints; researching and writing briefs; arguing motions; taking depositions and engaging in other discovery; negotiating settlements; trying cases; drafting appellate briefs; and arguing appeals. It is anticipated that students will work primarily in federal court and will learn how to avoid the many procedural minefields that civil rights litigants face when seeking injunctive relief or recovering damages under 42 U.S.C. section 1983.
The course will also emphasize how litigation can be most effective in achieving change when it is part of an “integrated advocacy” campaign that includes public education, legislation and/or community action. Students will be encouraged to work in coalitions and with community groups to win not only in the court of law, but also in the court of public opinion.
The Civil Rights Litigation Practicum (Law 807) is a recommended but not required prerequisite for the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative. Students must take the Initiative for a letter grade; it is ineligible for letter grade conversion to pass (“P”) election. It fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation and the New York Pro-Bono requirement, but not the New York State Bar ethics requirement. The Initiative can either fulfill the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation or the credits can count toward the Experiential Learning requirement, but not both.

• Type: Clinic

Students in the Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic and Veterans Legal Clinic attend class and practice law together. Students learn the fundamentals of litigation, which are readily transferable to any substantive area of practice or practice setting, from big law to legal services. They do so by litigating multiple real cases as first-chair attorneys on behalf of indigent clients, some of whom are veterans, and all of whom have a disproportionately high need for legal assistance. Students must concurrently enroll in the corresponding 4-credit Clinics course and 3-credit Clinics seminar (LAW 920 AND LAW 921).
The civil caseload changes term to term, but typically includes landlord-tenant, consumer, family law, public benefits, employment and employment discrimination, disability, contracts, torts, public benefits, civil rights, and military discharge cases. We try to keep a wide mix of work, from simple one-issue cases to large, complex cases raising issues of first impression. On the criminal side, students handle misdemeanor cases and post-conviction felony appeals and criminal record expungements.
Students have “first-chair” responsibility for their cases and primary responsibility for their clients. Under faculty supervision, students do all the legal work, including interviewing, counseling, legal research, discovery, negotiation with opposing counsel, motion practice and argument, bench and jury trials, and appeals. Students may handle cases in state district, circuit, and probate courts, as well as the federal district courts, state and federal administrative agencies, and appellate courts.
Both the seminar and fieldwork are graded. The Clinics meet the New York State Bar pro bono requirement (https://www.law.umich.edu/clinical/generalclinic/Pages/default.aspx). The Clinics seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

Students in the Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic and Veterans Legal Clinic attend class and practice law together. Students learn the fundamentals of litigation that are readily transferable to any substantive area of practice or practice setting, from big law to legal services. They do so by litigating multiple real cases as first chair attorney on behalf of indigent clients, some of whom are veterans. Students must concurrently enroll in the corresponding 4-credit Clinics course and 3-credit Clinics seminar (LAW 920 AND LAW 921).
The Clinics’ seminar component helps students develop fundamental litigation skills. Students participate in multiple simulations covering everything from interviewing to negotiation, multiple simulated courtroom exercises, and a mock jury trial at the end of the term. Other class sessions cover the role of the lawyer, ethical issues in law practice, client-centered lawyering, the adversarial process, issues affecting the Clinics’ client populations, and case rounds. Both the seminar and fieldwork are graded. The Clinics meets the New York State Bar pro bono requirement (https://www.law.umich.edu/clinical/generalclinic/Pages/default.aspx). It also fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

The CEC is one of the law school’s transactional legal clinics and prepares students for corporate and transactional practice in all sectors, including the private and nonprofit sectors. The CEC’s mission is to promote economic, racial, and social justice and community and economic development in Detroit and other disinvested urban areas of the region. The clinic supports vibrant, diverse, and sustainable communities by providing transactional legal assistance to neighborhood-based small businesses, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, and social enterprises. Student attorneys interact with clients, normally represent multiple clients, and assume primary responsibility for all matters affecting their clients under close faculty supervision.
The CEC works with both start-up and established clients primarily in these areas:
* Entity formation, structuring, and governance
* Drafting, negotiating, and reviewing contracts and other agreements
* Tax
* Intellectual property
* Regulatory compliance
* Real estate and land use
* Employment
* Risk management
Student attorneys gain practical lawyering experience in the CEC. Student attorneys interview and counsel clients; develop and plan client strategy; draft legal documents, memos, and correspondence; manage relationships with clients, counterparties, co-counsel, and colleagues; identify legal issues, research them, and evaluate different alternatives; negotiate agreements; and implement client decisions. Student attorneys assess their own work and receive detailed feedback from CEC faculty in weekly meetings. The weekly seminar is a time for discussion of lawyering and client issues, including issues facing under-resourced communities in the Detroit metropolitan area and nationally, and the role race and racism have played in creating and continuing the adverse conditions in these communities and the processes of community and economic development in these urban areas.
The CEC prepares students for careers in corporate, government, or public interest practice. There are no formal prerequisites. Knowledge of business law, including the substantive law of enterprise organizations, tax, nonprofit, land use, intellectual property and employment is not necessary, but may be helpful.
Students receive seven credits for the Clinic: three for the seminar and four for the client work. Each component is graded separately. The CEC meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

This course will examine aggregate litigation in the federal courts, with a primary focus on class actions and multidistrict litigation. Topics will include attorney compensation; class certification procedures and requirements; settlement of class actions and multidistrict litigation; and the preclusive effects of class and non-class litigation.

• Type: Upper Class

This is a clinical course in which each student is assigned to help represent an indigent defendant in the appeal of his or her felony conviction, under the supervision of attorneys from Michigan’s State Appellate Defender Office. The focus of the course is on the completion of an effectively written appellate brief on behalf of the client, to be filed in state or federal court. The goal of the course is to develop the student’s understanding and skill in all phases of appellate advocacy. The student will review the trial transcripts and lower court records, interview the client in prison (with the instructor), develop a strategy for appeal, conduct legal research, and help draft the client’s brief on appeal. Feedback is provided by frequent individual meetings with the instructors, as well as oral argument before a panel of attorneys experienced in criminal law. The course gives the student the opportunity to work on a real case with real consequences for the client. While most directly relevant to those interested in criminal law, its lessons in appellate advocacy should be of general interest. Class size is limited to 12 students to assure individual attention to each student.
The Clinic is a 4 credit course and meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. Students must enroll in the 3 credit clinic and the 1 credit field component, taken concurrently. The 3 credit clinic and 1 credit field component are mandatory graded and ineligible for letter grade conversion to pass (“P”) election.
The Clinic fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.
For students who matriculated in or after May 2016, the Clinic can either fulfill the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, fulfill the upper-level writing requirement, or the credits can count toward the Experiential Learning requirement — it cannot be used to fulfill more than one of these three particular requirements.

• Type: Clinic

This is a clinical course in which each student is assigned to help represent an indigent defendant in the appeal of his or her felony conviction, under the supervision of attorneys from Michigan’s State Appellate Defender Office. The focus of the course is on the completion of an effecitvely written appellate brief on behalf of the client, to be filed in state or federal court. The goal of the course is to develop the student’s understanding and skill in all phases of appellate advocacy. The student will review the trial transcripts and lower court records, interview the client in prison (with the instructor), develop a strategy for appeal, conduct legal research, and help draft the client’s brief on appeal. Feedback is provided by frequent individual meetings with the instructors, as well as oral argument before a panel of attorneys experienced in criminal law. The course gives the student the opportunity to work on a real case with real consequences for the client. While most directly relevant to those interested in criminal law, its lessons in appellate advocacy should be of general interest. Class size is limited to 12 students to assure individual attention to each student.
The Clinic is a 4 credit course and meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. Students must enroll in the 3 credit clinic and the 1 credit field component, taken concurrently. The 3 credit clinic and 1 credit field component are mandatory graded and ineligible for letter grade conversion to pass (“P”) election.
The Clinic fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.
For students who matriculated in or after May 2016, the Clinic can either fulfill the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, fulfill the upper-level writing requirement, or the credits can count toward the Experiential Learning requirement — it cannot be used to fulfill more than one of these three particular requirements.

• Type: Clinic

This course focuses on the procedural rules that regulate the use of evidence at trial. The rules covered include those relating to the competence of witnesses, the mode of examination, relevance, impeachment, character evidence, hearsay, expert evidence, privileges, and judicial notice. Particular attention is paid to the Federal Rules of Evidence.

• Type: Upper Class

Students who have taken Federal Appellate Litigation Clinic I are eligible to enroll in Federal Appellate Litigation Clinic II by invitation of the professors. Faculty and invited students determine the number of credits (2-5) to be awarded.

• Type: Clinic

An intensive and critical examination of the role of federal courts in maintaining a constitutional order in the United States. Among the topics considered are justiciability, the power of Congress to control the jurisdiction of federal and state courts, Supreme Court review of state court decisions, federal habeas corpus for state prisoners, and suits challenging official action.

• Type: Upper Class

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

One model of social change entails the strategic use of carefully planned litigation to achieve law and policy reforms. In this seminar we will explore the benefits and drawbacks of the impact litigation model, compare impact litigation to other models of public interest law, and consider its ethical and professional implications. Then, turning to two local case studies involving criminal law reform, we will examine how impact litigation can work in practice. How were these cases selected and developed? What strategic decisions had to made along the way? How were the cases shaped by procedural limitations and extrajudicial considerations? Students will be tasked with either undertaking their own case study or proposing a new case that fits within the impact litigation model.

• Type: Seminar

Professor Kaye’s section:
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.
Professor Kimball’s section:
Learning to negotiate effectively involves negotiating, observing, critiquing, and consciously applying effective strategy and skill. This course introduces students to the science, art, and practice of negotiation through readings, discussion, and simulated negotiation exercises performed inside and outside of class. Class sessions are used, in part, for negotiation exercises and debriefing about results. Readings will include negotiation literature and theory that inform effective practice, and application of ethical concepts and rules as they pertain to negotiations in particular, and more generally, to work with clients, other counsel and the courts. Students will write a research paper about an actual negotiation of their choice, applying negotiation concepts to such real world examples as mergers, acquisitions, labor disputes, settlements, treaties, and a variety of transactions and controversies.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The Pediatric Advocacy Clinic (PAC) is one of the first medical-legal partnerships to be based in a law school setting. Through this partnership, students are able to reach families most in need of legal assistance and become part of an interdisciplinary team working to improve child health. Casework includes domestic violence and family law, special education, Medicaid appeals, and low-income housing conditions. Students in the clinic take “first chair” responsibility for their cases and are involved in all aspects of a case. They learn a range of advocacy skills, from preventive legal advocacy (focusing on identifying issues at an early stage and on developing creative, multidisciplinary approaches to addressing them) to traditional litigation skills in both administrative and trial court settings. The PAC is 7 credits (4 for the seminar and 3 for the clinic) and all credits are graded. The PAC meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.
For more information, please contact Debra Chopp ([email protected]).

• Type: Clinic

The Pediatric Advocacy Clinic (PAC) is one of the first medical-legal partnerships to be based in a law school setting. Through this partnership, students are able to reach families most in need of legal assistance and become part of an interdisciplinary team working to improve child health. Casework includes domestic violence and family law, special education, Medicaid appeals, and low-income housing conditions. Students in the clinic take “first chair” responsibility for their cases and are involved in all aspects of a case. They learn a range of advocacy skills, from preventive legal advocacy (focusing on identifying issues at an early stage and on developing creative, multidisciplinary approaches to addressing them) to traditional litigation skills in both administrative and trial court settings. The PAC is 7 credits (4 for the seminar and 3 for the clinic) and all credits are graded. The PAC meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.
For more information, please contact Debra Chopp ([email protected]).

• Type: Clinic

This seminar will teach students about appellate practice in state supreme courts. Students will alternate roles throughout the term, experiencing the week’s cases sometimes from the perspective of a lawyer and sometimes from that of a justice. Students will analyze, advocate, hear oral arguments and draft opinions. In most classes, students will spend half of the classes in the role of state supreme court justices, will argue one case before the court as an advocate, and will actively participate in the discussion following each class session’s “case call.” The goal is to analyze what makes an argument effective (both in the briefing and during oral argument), and how the lawyering affects the outcome.

• Type: Seminar

Compensation at law for private wrongs and intentional wrongs as well as accidents, with principal emphasis on harms to person and property. Special areas such as product liability, defamation, or business torts will be treated selectively.

• Type: First Year Required

The Veterans Legal Clinic offers students the opportunity to learn holistic, client-centered lawyering through representing military veterans in a broad array of civil legal matters. While some of the cases the VLC handles are specific to this client population, such as veterans benefits cases and discharge upgrades, the majority of the clinic’s cases involve broader civil legal issues, including family law, housing, consumer disputes, financial exploitation, disability, employment, public benefits, etc. The clinic seeks to foster in its students a strong professional identity, advocacy skills, and consistent engagement in reflective, intentional practice while providing excellent legal services to a severely underserved population. Students will take the lead in all aspects of their cases, including client interviews, pleading drafting, fact investigation, discovery, negotiation, court hearings, and trials. Students will also have the opportunity to interact professionally with a wide variety of social service, medical, mental health, and other providers in the effort to meet their clients’ needs. The Veterans Legal Clinic meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
Students must enroll for the 4-credit clinic and the 3-credit seminar, taken concurrently. The Veterans Legal Clinic is a 7-credit course; all credits are graded.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

The Veterans Legal Clinic offers students the opportunity to learn holistic, client-centered lawyering through representing military veterans in a broad array of civil legal matters. While some of the cases the VLC handles are specific to this client population, such as veterans benefits cases and discharge upgrades, the majority of the clinic’s cases involve broader civil legal issues, including family law, housing, consumer disputes, financial exploitation, disability, employment, public benefits, etc. The clinic seeks to foster in its students a strong professional identity, advocacy skills, and consistent engagement in reflective, intentional practice while providing excellent legal services to a severely underserved population. Students will take the lead in all aspects of their cases, including client interviews, pleading drafting, fact investigation, discovery, negotiation, court hearings, and trials. Students will also have the opportunity to interact professionally with a wide variety of social service, medical, mental health, and other providers in the effort to meet their clients’ needs. The Veterans Legal Clinic meets the New York Pro Bono requirement.
Students must enroll for the 4-credit clinic and the 3-credit seminar, taken concurrently. The Veterans Legal Clinic is a 7-credit course; all credits are graded.
The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic