Course Catalog

The Human Trafficking Clinic (HTC), launched in 2009, is the first clinical law program solely dedicated to the issue of human trafficking. Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor, and servitude.

The HTC offers students the opportunity to work on both domestic and international human trafficking issues and cases. The HTC provides a range of services, including direct representation of both domestic trafficking victims and foreign nationals trafficked into the United States, advocacy for trafficking victims, and community education and training. The HTC also provides students with the opportunity to learn, practice, and improve essential advocacy skills. Students working in the HTC obtain real-world experience by working on behalf of victims of human trafficking. They also collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, including survivors of human trafficking, law enforcement, government officials, and nongovernmental organizations, to identify solutions to combat human trafficking. Students are responsible, under supervision, for all of the cases and projects within the HTC.

The HTC is a 7 credit course and meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. Students must enroll in the 4 credit clinic and the 3 credit seminar, taken concurrently. The 4 credit clinic and 3 credit seminar are mandatory graded and ineligible for letter grade conversion to pass ("P").

The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School's professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

The Clinic fulfills the International or Comparative Law Distribution Requirement for graduation.

• Type: Clinic

Spend a semester working with other students to support lawyers from the Michigan Immigration Rights Center who work on asylum cases here in Michigan. Under faculty supervision, students will deepen their understanding of immigration law and policy, develop historical and legal research skills, and explore the history of violence and migration in Central America since the 1980s through work on real-life asylum cases. They will also learn to summarize and translate historical texts, research effective legal arguments, and contribute to developing a national research database for use in asylum cases. This class is ideal for students who are eager to work conscientiously and ethically with others in teams. Instructor permission required.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Innovation in the Life Sciences

The life sciences generate tremendously exciting new innovations--drugs to cure cancer, algorithms to predict disease and recommend treatment, and medical devices that can pull individual cells out of the bloodstream for analysis. These technologies are the object of a complex array of laws that govern their invention, development and deployment. This seminar will provide an introduction to this set of laws, focusing on how they provide incentives for and shape the process of innovation. We will likely consider some combination of intellectual property, FDA gatekeeping and regulatory exclusivity, insurance reimbursement, prize systems, and potentially other regimes. While there are no prerequisites, including no requirement for a technical background, students should be prepared to grapple with both biomedical technologies and with the mix of law and policy questions presented.

• Type: Seminar

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

This class is an interdisciplinary problem solving class offered at the Law School through the Problem Solving Initiative (PSI). The built environment bears the stamp of historical slavery and is supported by contemporary forms of forced labor. Architectural practice is hampered by assumptions of value-neutral architecture and urban planning and decades of risk-shifting. Sustainability is addressed as a technical environmental problem without involving affected communities or an anti-racist lens. Land use and the regulation of materials supply chains have not only been limited in their ability to confront forced labor but are also shaped by slavery and its legacies. In this class, U-M and Yale University will partner across disciplines and universities to confront this problem. Through an equity-based process, we will abandon the practice model separating designers from the politics, ethics, and mechanics of construction to create a framework for rethinking plantation sites within the portfolio of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and other sites of contestation. Students from law, architecture, history, policy, business, and other disciplines will develop skills to manage a project, apply problem-solving tools, interview experts, understand historical research methods, and craft solutions that confront the legacies of chattel slavery and its modern expressions.

This is a prof pick class and is open to all University of Michigan graduate and professional students. Please note: Non-Law students are responsible for checking with their own schools, colleges, or units to learn if a PSI class will count toward graduation or other departmental requirements.

• Type: Problem Solving Initiative

This class is an interdisciplinary problem solving class offered at the Law School through the Problem Solving Initiative (PSI). In the U.S., many parents who are employed outside the home need care for their children while they work. Even before the pandemic began, the U.S. was facing a childcare crisis. There are not enough licensed childcare programs available for parents who need care for their children, particularly infants and toddlers. And for parents who can find openings in licensed childcare programs, the financial cost of such programs is frequently too high. At the same time, childcare businesses operate at extremely thin margins and struggle to stay in business due to a combination of factors, including rising operational costs and challenges finding qualified staff. In this class, multidisciplinary student teams will hear from leading childcare experts, and they will incorporate insights from law, social work, policy, business, and other fields. Using problem-solving tools, students will examine systems that contribute to this problem, and at the conclusion of the course, students will present identified solutions to key stakeholders who can implement reforms.

This is a prof pick class and is open to all University of Michigan graduate and professional students. Please note: Non-Law students are responsible for checking with their own schools, colleges, or units to learn if a PSI class will count toward graduation or other departmental requirements.

• Type: Problem Solving Initiative

This class is an interdisciplinary problem solving class offered at the Law School through the Problem Solving Initiative (PSI). Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies have recently taken center stage in the investment world. However, the requirements of investor ESG policies vary widely, and they may be challenging for investee companies to implement. In this course, multi-disciplinary student teams will work with faculty and subject matter experts to learn about ESG policies, how to assess their impact, and if there are ways to harmonize such policies. Students will leverage problem solving skills and insights from fields including law, business, and policy to develop innovative solutions to an identified challenge in this area.

This is a prof pick class and is open to all University of Michigan graduate and professional students. Please note: Non-Law students are responsible for checking with their own schools, colleges, or units to learn if a PSI class will count toward graduation or other departmental requirements.

• Type: Problem Solving Initiative

This class is an interdisciplinary problem solving class offered at the Law School through the Problem Solving Initiative (PSI). Interest in cryptoassets, or digital assets, has skyrocketed in recent years, highlighting many critical legal and regulatory issues related to the emerging cryptoeconomy and its impact on the global growth of Web 3.0. This course will explore business and regulatory issues associated with the rise of the cryptoeconomy and cryptoassets. We will discuss what cryptoassets are, how they rely on blockchain technology, some common types of cryptoassets (e.g., cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, utility tokens, and those that operate by “smart contracts”), and possibilities for new applications of digital assets (e.g., non-fungible tokens, voting, insurance, real estate). Students will learn about regulatory issues surrounding the rise of the cryptoeconomy, including laws related to trading digital assets, policing their effects on customers and investors, potential national security considerations, data privacy and cybersecurity, and more. Multidisciplinary teams of students will gather insights from business, law, policy, information and other fields from guest speakers and targeted research, and students will apply problem-solving tools and research findings to develop a draft proposal on how to regulate some aspect of the cryptoeconomy.

This is a prof pick class and is open to all University of Michigan graduate and professional students. Please note: Non-Law students are responsible for checking with their own schools, colleges, or units to learn if a PSI class will count toward graduation or other departmental requirements.

• Type: Problem Solving Initiative

This seminar will examine selected topics of international commercial transactions. The seminar will begin with a discussion of the international commercial environment and proceed with a discussion relating to how businesses operate in that environment. Choosing the correct business vehicle for establishment of overseas business operations will be discussed, including such alternatives as establishing a branch vs. a subsidiary or utilizing a distribution network or technology transfer or joint venture. The seminar will cover U.S. export regulations and special legislation such as economic sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Finally, the seminar will consider some of the issues involved in doing business in particular regions such as the Middle East, ASEAN and European Union and how to approach disputes in the international business arena. Students will be expected to present research on these issues and the topics of their papers.

• Type: Seminar

This course explores the international financial architecture. It examines international banking and securities regulation, global capital rules and cross-border issues in supervision and regulation, global standards for payment, clearing and settlement systems, and rules for different exchange rate regimes. Particular attention will be paid to the Dodd-Frank legislation, the evolution of global financial regulation under the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and IOSCO, and the creation of the Financial Stability Board. We will explore the roles of the G-7/8, G-20, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in global finance, and address the regulation of financial firms in Europe and selected nations in the developing world, both as a comparative matter and to understand the extent to which national rules require global coordination.

• Type: Upper Class

Professor Bennoune's section:

This class offers a general introduction to the international legal system. We will explore how international law is made through treaties, custom, and other processes; the roles of different actors (e.g., states, NGOs, international organizations, and corporations) in making and applying international law; how violations of international law are identified and remedied by international institutions or actors; and how international law intersects with domestic legal systems, like the one in the United States. The class will cover a range of substantive areas of law, including human rights, the use of force, international environmental law and global health law. Many topics will be discussed through examination of real ongoing or recent incidents, controversies, or conflicts. Students will be encouraged to think about how law can be made, enforced, and interpreted in an environment lacking a single legislature, executive, or judiciary. This course will prove highly useful to preparing students for more specialized courses in international law.

• Type: Upper Class

This is an introduction to U.S. taxation of U.S. and foreign persons engaged in international activities. Topics will include U.S. jurisdiction to tax, tax treaties, allocation of income, transfer pricing, foreign tax credits, etc. The class will also addresses some of the important procedural mechanisms by which international tax issues are resolved -- e.g., advance pricing agreements and Competent Authority negotiations. The goal of the class is to provide an overview of the relevant law, giving due respect to its complexity and the policies underlying it, and to identify and wrestle with the types of issues that most frequently arise.

• Type: Upper Class

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the international legal framework for the regulation of international trade in goods and services. This course will include: an introduction to the economics and politics of trade; an examination of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its dispute settlement machinery, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the General Agreement on Trade in Services GATS); the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and related instruments; and discussions of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, conflicts between trade policy and other concerns (such as human rights, environment and development), and the recent proliferation of bilaterial and regional trade agreements.

• Type: Upper Class

The International Transactions Clinic (ITC) does good by doing deals. The ITC concentrates on teaching students skills that are critically important to their professional development as they enter into practice areas that involve international transactions. The transactional work of the ITC is focused on negotiating and documenting cross-border deals, particularly in emerging markets. This includes developing drafting and negotiation skills as applied to cross-border transactions, exposure to ethical issues that arise in the international commercial context, structuring and documenting investments in enterprises that primarily work in emerging markets, and an understanding of international economic and financial policy. The ITC is a full-year clinic with four credits in the Fall semester and four credits in the Winter semester. Both terms are letter graded.

Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the ITC for at least two semesters so as to allow them to provide legal support in the negotiation and documentation of multiple international transactions. To the greatest extent possible, students will have significant client exposure in the course of working on transactions, although in some cases due to the international context of these transactions such client exposure may be "virtual" making use of email, skype, and other means of electronic communication. The ITC also makes use of practicing attorneys to help supervise the work of its student clinicians. These practicing attorneys also may be physically remote from the students.

The ITC clientele is very diverse. It ranges from not-for-profit organizations to for-profit organizations, from start-ups to well-established businesses, and from social enterprises to impact investors. What all of the ITC clients hold in common, however, is an international focus and a passion to change the world for the better. This diversity also means, however, that not every project of the ITC will meet the New York bar pro bono requirement. Students wanting to satisfy that requirement through their participation in the ITC should make that preference known to the ITC Director before first client assignments are made in the fall.

The Clinic fulfills the Law School's professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

The Clinic 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.

The Clinic fulfills the International or Comparative Law Distribution Requirement for graduation.

• Type: Clinic

Only international LL.M. students may enroll in this course. It is a special LLM survey course, which will expose students to the structure and basic ideas of the most important areas of US constitutional law, in historical and political context. The course considers a selection of fundamental cases in Constitutional law, the questions they raise, and the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields usually include: the scope of federal powers; powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of equal protection and due process; and Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments.

• Type: Upper Class

This course introduces the student to certain fundamental cases in Constitutional law, to the questions they raise, and to the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. There is necessarily a large historical component to the work, for the Constitution has acquired its meaning over time. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power actually been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields include: the scope of federal powers; preemption; state regulation of interstate commerce (in some sections); powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of racial equal protection; Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments; and justiciability.

• Type: First Year Required

This course introduces the student to certain fundamental cases in Constitutional law, to the questions they raise, and to the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. There is necessarily a large historical component to the work, for the Constitution has acquired its meaning over time. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power actually been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields include: the scope of federal powers; preemption; state regulation of interstate commerce (in some sections); powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of racial equal protection; Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments; and justiciability.

• Type: First Year Required

This course introduces the student to certain fundamental cases in Constitutional law, to the questions they raise, and to the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. There is necessarily a large historical component to the work, for the Constitution has acquired its meaning over time. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power actually been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields include: the scope of federal powers; preemption; state regulation of interstate commerce (in some sections); powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of racial equal protection; Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments; and justiciability.

• Type: First Year Required

This course introduces the student to certain fundamental cases in Constitutional law, to the questions they raise, and to the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. There is necessarily a large historical component to the work, for the Constitution has acquired its meaning over time. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power actually been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields include: the scope of federal powers; preemption; state regulation of interstate commerce (in some sections); powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of racial equal protection; Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments; and justiciability.

• Type: First Year Required

This course introduces the student to certain fundamental cases in Constitutional law, to the questions they raise, and to the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. There is necessarily a large historical component to the work, for the Constitution has acquired its meaning over time. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power actually been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields include: the scope of federal powers; preemption; state regulation of interstate commerce (in some sections); powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of racial equal protection; Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments; and justiciability.

• Type: First Year Required

Introduction to the Income Taxation of Business Enterprise

This course provides an overview of the income taxation of the various legal forms of business activity. Thus, the course will review the income tax treatment of corporations, S corporations, partnerships, LLC's and sole proprietorships. The breadth of the material will dictate a survey approach, in contrast with the more intensive coverage provided in such courses as Corporate or Partnership Taxation.

• Type: Upper Class

Though often maligned and misunderstood, Islamic law is one of the longest enduring and most widely subscribed systems of law in the world. This seminar will offer students a firm grounding in the principles, concepts, and terminology of Islamic law as well as an introduction to its history and its role in the contemporary era. Students will also gain practical insights into the sources and constructs of this religious-based legal system, including the substantive differences between the Shariah and scholarly jurisprudence. Particular attention will be paid to an analysis of the Qur'an, the body of tradition attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, the various constructions devised by jurists and eminent legal scholars, the schools of law, differences between Shi'i and Sunni Islamic law, the historical demise and the modern resurgence of Islamic law, and political. Students will also gain an in-depth understanding of selected aspects of Islamic constitutionalism, Islamic criminal law, and how classical and contemporary Islamic law comports with international human rights law.

• Type: Seminar

In this course, students will have a seat at the table structuring, negotiating and documenting a joint venture or other contractual alliance. The attractiveness of such ventures is evident as they allow for risk management particularly in connection with new markets, large-scale investments or integrating complimentary skills and assets. As an example, Warren Buffett and the Brazilian private equity fund that owns Burger King "joint ventured" to buy Heinz Ketchup! At the same time, the challenges posed by a continuing relationship are significant and consequently, the incidence of success is not high. The practicum will explore the complexities of entering into a relationship in which the birth, growth over potentially a long time frame (including funding, governance and dispute resolution within the venture) and its ultimate death need to be agreed upon ab initio. The practice/simulation will focus on analyzing and drafting contractual provisions from the perspective of each party, including the reciprocity of various provisions which adds a somewhat unique element to the negotiations. The course will take an interactive, practical approach with simulations in class and drafting outside of the class.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This simulation course will help students develop the skills to be excellent -- and fulfilled -- judicial law clerks. Assignments will reflect the work that clerks do every day: writing bench memos and opinions, working collaboratively with the judge, critically evaluating the legal analysis of parties and other chambers, and working with record documents. Students will do substantial writing and get significant feedback. The course will also address some of the "big picture" aspects of clerking, like how to navigate unequal power dynamics, what aspects of the job are the most rewarding and challenging, and the ways in which elements of the clerkship experience will inform the rest of your career. Several sessions will include guest judges and clerks. While this course is for the clerkship-interested, students need not have a clerkship in place nor be pursuing one.

• Type: Practice Simulation

The course deals with jurisdictional issues generally, as well as the special problems arising in cases involving more than one jurisdiction (state or nation), i.e. cross-boundary disputes. More specifically, it addresses three major areas. The first is the question of jurisdiction, i. e. the power of the courts to hear and decide a case; this question arises both among the several states and between state and federal courts. The second area is choice of law, i.e. the question which law should apply; this is, again, an issue both among states or nations and between state and federal law. Finally, the course covers the recognition of judgments rendered by one sovereign (state, federal, or foreign court) in the courts of another sovereign. In most law schools, some of these issues (especially jurisdiction) are covered in first-year civil procedure. At Michigan, we believe that they are better understood as part of the package described above and in an upper class setting.

• Type: Upper Class

In the Juvenile Justice Clinic, students will represent minors charged with violations of the criminal law and status offenses in Michigan's family courts. While primarily a litigation clinic, students may from time-to-time handle appellate matters and may be involved in public policy issues such as analyzing proposed legislation.

In the course of clinic, students will develop litigation skills including case investigation, trial preparation, and presenting evidence and argument in the courtroom. Casework, which is supervised by a clinical professor, may involve client interviewing and counseling, legal research and motion drafting, negotiation with prosecuting authorities, and courtroom presentation of the case. In addition to trial advocacy and casework, classroom sessions will also focus on legal ethics, the basics of child development and other topics. The Juvenile Justice Clinic meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. JJC is a 7 credit course of which 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

In the Juvenile Justice Clinic, students will represent minors charged with violations of the criminal law and status offenses in Michigan's family courts. While primarily a litigation clinic, students may from time-to-time handle appellate matters and may be involved in public policy issues such as analyzing proposed legislation.

In the course of clinic, students will develop litigation skills including case investigation, trial preparation, and presenting evidence and argument in the courtroom. Casework, which is supervised by a clinical professor, may involve client interviewing and counseling, legal research and motion drafting, negotiation with prosecuting authorities, and courtroom presentation of the case. In addition to trial advocacy and casework, classroom sessions will also focus on legal ethics, the basics of child development and other topics. The Juvenile Justice Clinic meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. JJC is a 7 credit course of which 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

Law Firm Careers in an Evolving Profession

This seminar will expose and sensitize students to the myriad real-world considerations that will affect their legal careers in the private practice of law. It will focus on current developments within the legal profession, various law practice management issues, and will explore whether the profession is undergoing transformational change as law firms increasingly adopt business models. During the first two weeks of class students will articulate what they hope to learn about the legal profession and for the remainder of the semester, work closely with their instructor to ensure that learning. Students will read "The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law" and course materials posted on Canvas. Leaders within the legal profession will appear as guest lecturers.

• Type: Seminar

This course develops skills for students who wish to pursue leadership roles in their careers (both through formal roles and informally through influence): as practicing lawyers, in-house counsel, leaders of law firms, in government, and in non-profits.

The course is experiential and includes an eclectic variety of exercises, cases, and simulations to develop leadership skills, entrepreneurial thinking, and effective communication.

The course is taught by Jon Sobel '90, a Michigan Law alum who has held a number of leadership roles as an attorney and as CEO. Jon served as General Counsel of Tesla Motors, General Counsel of Yahoo!, and General Counsel of Calera (a clean tech company focused on C02 capture) and he has served as a litigation partner at Folger Levin in San Francisco. Jon has worked extensively on domestic and international regulatory and policy issues and he has an extensive background in technology companies. Jon co-founded a venture-backed AI company for industry, and has served as its CEO since 2012.

This course integrates leadership skills and perspectives from legal practice, industry, and government and is designed to prepare students for a variety of leadership opportunities as their careers develop.

• Type: Practice Simulation

Professor Clark's section: This will for the most part be a traditional course in legal ethics and professional responsibility. We will focus on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, along with other sources of law governing lawyers. Our primary aim will be to identify and analyze ethical issues that arise in the practice of law, including: confidentiality, competence, conflicts of interest, lawyer advertising, multi-jurisdictional practice, litigation ethics, negotiation ethics, and issues arising in the representation of entities. In the process, we will also consider broader questions about what sort of lawyers we want to be and how that might fit into our lives. Those broader questions, valuable for their own sake, will also help us think more clearly about the pragmatic principles and rules we need to know as we prepare to practice law.

Professor Hirshon's section: This course trains students to recognize those ethical dilemmas they will most likely encounter in their practices. The primary focus of the course will be on the private practice of law.

During my thirty years of practice and 13 years of law firm management, I witnessed a lot of behavior. Not all of it was good and not all of it comported with the applicable rules of professional conduct. Students will discuss these "situations" and hopefully learn a bit about themselves. Additionally, students will learn how the model rules are enacted, enforced and sometimes broken ... and the concomitant consequences. The main objectives of the course are to help students identify conduct that might amount to violations of ethical rules and to create a forum for discussion of the type of ethical issues lawyers confront. Guest lecturers will provide their insights into the ethical practice of law. Furthermore, the class, depending upon its size, will engage in role playing and the analysis of films and advertising clips.

Professor Niehoff's section: This course seeks to help you identify, analyze, and think critically about the legal ethics issues that arise in the practice of law. We begin with a discussion of normative ethics and legal ethics generally, and then move to more specific issues like competency, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, representing individuals with diminished capacity, representing entities, litigation ethics, negotiation ethics, ethical issues that arise in specific career settings like law firms and prosecutors' offices, lawyer advertising, and pro bono. We also discuss enforcement mechanisms like disciplinary bodies and malpractice actions. The class typically includes some small group role-playing exercises, the use of film clips, and guest lecturers.

• Type: Upper Class

Professor Clark's section: This will for the most part be a traditional course in legal ethics and professional responsibility. We will focus on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, along with other sources of law governing lawyers. Our primary aim will be to identify and analyze ethical issues that arise in the practice of law, including: confidentiality, competence, conflicts of interest, lawyer advertising, multi-jurisdictional practice, litigation ethics, negotiation ethics, and issues arising in the representation of entities. In the process, we will also consider broader questions about what sort of lawyers we want to be and how that might fit into our lives. Those broader questions, valuable for their own sake, will also help us think more clearly about the pragmatic principles and rules we need to know as we prepare to practice law.

Professor Hirshon's section: This course trains students to recognize those ethical dilemmas they will most likely encounter in their practices. The primary focus of the course will be on the private practice of law.

During my thirty years of practice and 13 years of law firm management, I witnessed a lot of behavior. Not all of it was good and not all of it comported with the applicable rules of professional conduct. Students will discuss these "situations" and hopefully learn a bit about themselves. Additionally, students will learn how the model rules are enacted, enforced and sometimes broken ... and the concomitant consequences. The main objectives of the course are to help students identify conduct that might amount to violations of ethical rules and to create a forum for discussion of the type of ethical issues lawyers confront. Guest lecturers will provide their insights into the ethical practice of law. Furthermore, the class, depending upon its size, will engage in role playing and the analysis of films and advertising clips.

Professor Niehoff's section: This course seeks to help you identify, analyze, and think critically about the legal ethics issues that arise in the practice of law. We begin with a discussion of normative ethics and legal ethics generally, and then move to more specific issues like competency, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, representing individuals with diminished capacity, representing entities, litigation ethics, negotiation ethics, ethical issues that arise in specific career settings like law firms and prosecutors' offices, lawyer advertising, and pro bono. We also discuss enforcement mechanisms like disciplinary bodies and malpractice actions. The class typically includes some small group role-playing exercises, the use of film clips, and guest lecturers.

• Type: Upper Class

The Legal History Workshop features presentations by leading scholars from around the country who work in this interdisciplinary field. It will be attended by faculty from the Law School as well as a number of other University departments. Presentations will situate legal developments in social, political, intellectual, and cultural context, exploring a range of substantive and methodological questions arising in the course of legal-historical work. The papers will address historical questions at the intersection of law and society, especially the relationship of law and modernity. Students receiving academic credit for the workshop are not required to have a background in history--just a strong interest in learning about legal history and in taking part in the kind of enterprise this seminar represents; they will be full participants in the sessions and will be expected to prepare short critiques of the presented scholarly papers.

• Type: Seminar

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required

Legal Practice Skills I concludes the second half of the first semester of Legal Practice by building on the skills to which students were introduced in Legal Practice: Writing & Analysis. The course gives students the chance to further develop their core analytical and writing abilities while expanding their legal repertoires to include other essential lawyering skills. Throughout LP Skills I, students are placed in the role of a lawyer representing a client in assorted factual circumstances, and are then taught how and why lawyers might bring to bear various skills in those situations. For example, students might have the opportunity to learn how to conduct client interviews to help determine whether a client has a viable potential claim. (In some sections, this could culminate in interviews of real clients.) Students might also receive their first opportunity to act as a counselor, helping clients choose between possible ways to try to resolve a legal problem. Students may also be exposed to fact investigation and assessment, via taking depositions or other discovery and forensic techniques. Further, students may be exposed to additional types of customary legal work product, such as client letters and professional emails. Students will also continue to expand their knowledge of legal research sources and strategies, learning how to find the law they need to adequately advise and represent their clients. Professors provide frequent feedback to students as part of all of these assignments, which may include the chance to re-write particular written projects. Students are also expected to self-assess what they're learning and where they might need to continue developing particular skills.

• Type: First Year Required