Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
294.52 sec. 001 - California and U.S. Privacy Law (Spring 2026)
Instructor: Lothar Determann (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
Th 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
Location: Law 10
From January 15, 2026
To February 26, 2026
Course End: February 26, 2026
Class Number: 33506
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 36
Waitlisted: 14
Enroll Limit: 36
As of: 12/06 11:52 PM
California privacy law is constantly evolving and leading the United States and other countries. In this course, you will be introduced to key aspects of U.S. Federal and California privacy law and explore this interesting field by working through cutting-edge research and writing assignments relating to my handbook, California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary on U.S. Federal and California Law (6th Ed., 2026 - forthcoming). No need to buy a copy of the book; I will make electronic copies of the manuscript available free of charge for editing and updating, subject to a contributor agreement.
Throughout the course, you will work through reading, research, editing, and writing assignments, as well as quizzes on which you will be graded. You will receive credit based on research and editing assignments and contributions in class. There will be no in-class or take-home exam.
As a student in this class, you will
• complete 7 quizzes, one after each class
• read parts of the book California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary - Chapters 1 and 3-7, and within Chapter 2, specifically assigned subchapters (based on student interests)
• research specifically assigned California Privacy Law topics to prepare research summaries and update and edit book chapters to reflect new cases, statutes and legal developments after 2022
Lothar Determann practices and teaches international data privacy, technology, commercial and intellectual property law.
At Baker McKenzie in San Francisco and Palo Alto, he has been counseling companies since 1998 on data privacy law compliance and taking products and business models international. Admitted to practice in California and Germany, he has been recognized as one of the top 10 Copyright Attorneys and Top 25 Intellectual Property Attorneys in California by the San Francisco & Los Angeles Daily Journal and as a leading lawyer by Chambers, Legal 500, IAM and others. For more information see www.bakermckenzie.com. Contact: ldetermann@bakermckenzie.com.
Prof. Dr. Determann has been a member of the Association of German Public Law Professors since 1999 and teaches Data Privacy Law, Computer Law and Internet Law at Freie Universität Berlin (since 1994), University of California, Berkeley School of Law (since 2004), Hastings College of the Law (since 2010), Stanford Law School (2011) and University of San Francisco School of Law (2000-2005). He has authored more than 175 articles and treatise contributions as well as 6 books, including Determann’s Field Guide to Data Privacy Law (6th Edition, 2026, also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese), California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary on U.S. Federal and California Law (6th Ed. 2026 - forthcoming), and Determann's Field Guide to AI Law (2024).
Recent papers include Healthy Data Protection (http://ssrn.com/abstract=3357990), Electronic Form over Substance (http://ssrn.com/abstract=3436327), No One Owns Data (https://ssrn.com/abstract=3123957).
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
Exam Notes: (None) Series of papers or assignments throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Intellectual Property and Technology Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Public Law and Policy
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may add a file like a syllabus or a first assignment to this page.
Readers:
No reader.
Books:
Instructor has not yet confirmed their textbook order, please check back later.