| Law 200.2 Civil Procedure for LL.M.Students 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Civil Procedure for LLM Students is the study of our civil (non-criminal) dispute resolution system, with an emphasis on litigation in the federal courts, as regulated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). We will cover pleadings, subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, joinder of parties and claims (including class actions), discovery, dispositive pre-trial and trial motions, the preclusive effect of prior litigation, settlement of disputes, and alternatives to civil litigation. At the surface, this is a survey of the U.S. litigation system, and will introduce students to many of the civil procedure issues tested on the New York, California, and Multi-State bar exams. It is NOT a bar review course, but it will introduce many of the civil procedure subjects covered by the bar. At a deeper level, this is a comparative law class that compares multiple systems of dispute resolution, with much of the material supplied by the students from their experiences studying and practicing in many disparate legal systems. And for many students (and the instructor) it is an exploration of how common law lawyers and judges apply a common law approach to reading a code. To place the course material in context, and provide opportunities for formative assessment, we will follow a simulated case over the course of the semester, and will conduct several advocacy exercises. There will be two take-home mid-term exams, and a take-home final exam. Spring 2021 Description: Civil Procedure for LLM Students is the study of our civil (non-criminal) dispute resolution system, with an emphasis on litigation in the federal courts, as regulated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). We will cover pleadings, subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, joinder of parties and claims (including class actions), discovery, dispositive pre-trial and trial motions, the preclusive effect of prior litigation, settlement of disputes, and alternatives to civil litigation. At the surface, this is a survey of the U.S. litigation system, and will introduce students to many of the civil procedure issues tested on the New York, California, and Multi-State bar exams. At a deeper level, this is a comparative law class that compares multiple systems of dispute resolution, with much of the material supplied by the students from their experiences studying and practicing in many disparate legal systems. And for many students (and the instructor) it is an exploration of how common law lawyers and judges apply a common law approach to reading a code. To place the course material in context, and provide opportunities for formative assessment, we will follow a simulated case over the course of the semester, and will conduct several advocacy exercises. There will be two take-home mid-term exams, and a take-home final exam. Spring 2022 Description: Civil Procedure for LLM Students is the study of U.S. civil (non-criminal) dispute resolution systems, with an emphasis on civil litigation in the United States federal courts. The course will provide a general introduction to U.S. civil procedure, but it will focus primarily on topics that illustrate the juridical difficulties flowing from the United States' organization as a federation rather than a unitary republic, and on procedural issues that generate or significant controversy in U.S. law and politics. While the course will cover various topics tested on the New York, California, and uniform bar exams, it is NOT a bar review course. Bar-tested topics that the course will cover include subject matter jurisdiction, territorial (personal) jurisdiction, state law in federal court, federal common law, joinder of claims and parties (including class actions), discovery, summary judgment, settlement, and civil jury trials (including post-trial motions). Spring 2023 Description: Civil Procedure for LL.M. Students is the study of U.S. civil (non-criminal) dispute resolution systems, with an emphasis on civil litigation in the United States federal courts. The course will provide a general introduction to U.S. civil procedure, but it will focus primarily on topics that illustrate the juridical difficulties flowing from the United States' organization as a federation rather than a unitary republic, and on procedural issues that generate or significant controversy in U.S. law and politics. While the course will cover various topics tested on the New York, California, and uniform bar exams, it is NOT a bar review course. Bar-tested topics that the course will cover include subject matter jurisdiction, territorial (personal) jurisdiction, state law in federal court, federal common law, joinder of claims and parties (including class actions), discovery, summary judgment, settlement, and civil jury trials (including post-trial motions). Spring 2024 Description: Civil Procedure for LL.M. Students is the study of U.S. civil (non-criminal) dispute resolution systems, with an emphasis on civil litigation in the United States federal courts. The course will provide a general introduction to U.S. civil procedure, but it will focus primarily on topics that illustrate the juridical difficulties flowing from the United States' organization as a federation rather than a unitary republic, and on procedural issues that generate or significant controversy in U.S. law and politics. While the course will cover various topics tested on the New York, California, and uniform bar exams, it is NOT a bar review course. Bar-tested topics that the course will cover include subject matter jurisdiction, territorial (personal) jurisdiction, state law in federal court, federal common law, joinder of claims and parties (including class actions), discovery, summary judgment, settlement, and civil jury trials (including post-trial motions). Spring 2025 Description: Civil Procedure for LL.M. Students is the study of U.S. civil (non-criminal) dispute resolution systems, with an emphasis on civil litigation in the United States federal courts. The course will provide a general introduction to U.S. civil procedure, but it will focus primarily on topics that illustrate the juridical difficulties flowing from the United States' organization as a federation rather than a unitary republic, and on procedural issues that generate or significant controversy in U.S. law and politics. While the course will cover various topics tested on the New York, California, and uniform bar exams, it is NOT a bar review course. Bar-tested topics that the course will cover include subject matter jurisdiction, territorial (personal) jurisdiction, state law in federal court, federal common law, joinder of claims and parties (including class actions), discovery, summary judgment, settlement, and civil jury trials (including post-trial motions). |
| Law 200F Civil Procedure 5 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course covers the main stages of civil litigation in the trial court, including pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, and claim and issue preclusion. Constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue, and choice of federal vs. state law (the Erie doctrine) are also included. Fall 2021 Description: This course covers the main stages of civil litigation in the trial court, including pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, and claim and issue preclusion. Constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue, and choice of federal vs. state law (the Erie doctrine) are also included. Fall 2022 Description: This course covers the main stages of civil litigation in the trial court, including pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, and claim and issue preclusion. Constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue, and choice of federal vs. state law (the Erie doctrine) are also included. Fall 2023 Description: This course covers the main stages of civil litigation in the trial court, including pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, and claim and issue preclusion. Constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue, and choice of federal vs. state law (the Erie doctrine) are also included. Fall 2024 Description: This course covers the main stages of civil litigation in the trial court, including pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, and claim and issue preclusion. Constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue, and choice of federal vs. state law (the Erie doctrine) are also included. Fall 2025 Description: This course covers the main stages of civil litigation in the trial court, including pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, and claim and issue preclusion. Constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue, and choice of federal vs. state law (the Erie doctrine) are also included. |
| Law 200S Civil Procedure 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This Civil Procedure course covers much of the standard JD Civil Procedure course (which focuses on U.S. federal civil procedure). In the summer quarter, we will cover the following topics in varying levels of detail: jurisdiction and venue, pleading, motion practice, discovery, joinder, class actions, summary judgment, juries, and preclusion. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 26th, and 27th in Warren (room 295). Summer 2022 Description: This Civil Procedure course covers much of the standard JD Civil Procedure course (which focuses on U.S. federal civil procedure). In the summer quarter, we will cover the following topics in varying levels of detail: jurisdiction and venue, pleading, motion practice, discovery, joinder, class actions, summary judgment, juries, and preclusion. Summer 2023 Description: This Civil Procedure course covers much of the standard JD Civil Procedure course (which focuses on U.S. federal civil procedure). In the summer quarter, we will cover the following topics in varying levels of detail: jurisdiction and venue, pleading, motion practice, discovery, joinder, class actions, summary judgment, juries, and preclusion. NOTE: This course allows enrollment by remote or in-person students. All classes will be held in-person at Berkeley Law, but all Quarter 4 class sessions will be recorded and posted on bCourses to allow remote students to view recordings. Summer 2024 Description: This Civil Procedure course covers much of the standard JD Civil Procedure course (which focuses on U.S. federal civil procedure). We will cover the following topics in varying levels of detail: jurisdiction and venue, pleading, motion practice, discovery, joinder, class actions, summary judgment, juries, and preclusion. Summer 2025 Description: This course provides a comprehensive introduction to American civil procedure, with a focus on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, applicable to all civil actions in the U.S. District Courts. Topics to be covered include: personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, venue and forum non conveniens, pleading, joinder of claims and parties, class actions, multidistrict litigation, discovery, summary judgment, jury trials, post-trial motions, and preclusion. Professor Andrew Bradt writes and teaches primarily in the areas of civil procedure, conflict of laws, and civil remedies. His current research focuses on the adaptation of procedural and choice-of-law systems to large-scale multijurisdictional litigation, with a particular interest in federal multidistrict litigation. In 2022, he was one of five recipients of the campuswide Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2019, he received Berkeley Law’s Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction. At Berkeley Law, Bradt is the faculty director of the Civil Justice Research Initiative, a think tank whose mission is to systematically identify and produce highly credible, unbiased research on critical issues concerning the civil justice system, including expanding access to justice Bradt’s scholarship has been published in numerous law journals and has been cited by both courts and prominent legal treatises. He is a co-author, with Geoffrey C. Hazard, William A. Fletcher, and Stephen McG. Bundy, of Pleading and Procedure—Cases and Materials (12th ed., Foundation Press, 2020), and, with Edward Sherman, Richard Marcus, and Howard Erichson, of Complex Litigation—Cases and Materials on Advanced Civil Procedure (7th ed., West Academic, 2021). In 2019, he was elected to the membership of the American Law Institute, and he serves on the Members Consultative Groups for the Restatement (Third), Conflict of Laws, and the Restatement (Third), Torts: Remedies. In January 2023, Bradt was appointed by the Chief Justice to a five-year term as Associate Reporter to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States. In that position, he analyzes suggested changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, develops proposed drafts of rules for committee consideration, reviews and summarizes public comments on proposed amendments, and generates the committee notes and other materials documenting the committee’s work. Immediately prior to joining the Berkeley Law faculty, Bradt was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. Before entering academia, Bradt was a litigator in the Issues & Appeals Group at Jones Day in New York City, and at Ropes & Gray in Boston. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Patti B. Saris of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Bradt graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he received the Joseph H. Beale Prize for Conflict of Laws, and summa cum laude from Harvard College, where he concentrated in Social Studies. He is a member of the state bar of Massachusetts. |
| Law 201 Torts 5 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Fall 2020 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Spring 2021 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Fall 2021 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Spring 2022 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Fall 2022 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Spring 2023 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Fall 2023 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Fall 2024 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Spring 2025 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. Fall 2025 Description: This course covers the law of civil injuries, including both intended and unintended interference with personal and property interests, as well as liability without fault. |
| Law 201S Torts 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Torts law is the common law mechanism for civil liability for all wrongs except breach of contract. Some torts involve minor disputes between individuals, others can involve tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Because it is a common law subject, the Torts class also provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of common law decision-making, civil procedure, and the role of juries in U.S. law. The dramatic and often surprising events in torts cases make the subject ideal for the case method of teaching. Much of the course will focus on the law of negligence and liability for defective products. However, the course will also include some torts of particular interest to business and employment lawyers, as well as privacy torts relevant to social media and Internet firms.At a more abstract level, Torts also provides the opportunity to think about the roles of fairness, economic analysis, and litigation problems in designing legal rules. This course will meet in-person on campus on June 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: Torts law is the common law mechanism for civil liability for all wrongs except breach of contract. Some torts involve minor disputes between individuals, others can involve tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Because it is a common law subject, the Torts class also provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of common law decision-making, civil procedure, and the role of juries in U.S. law. The dramatic and often surprising events in torts cases make the subject ideal for the case method of teaching. Much of the course will focus on the law of negligence and liability for defective products. However, the course will also include some torts of particular interest to business and employment lawyers, as well as privacy torts relevant to social media and Internet firms.At a more abstract level, Torts also provides the opportunity to think about the roles of fairness, economic analysis, and litigation problems in designing legal rules. Summer 2023 Description: Torts law is the common law mechanism for civil liability for all wrongs except breach of contract. Some torts involve minor disputes between individuals, others can involve tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Because it is a common law subject, the Torts class also provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of common law decision-making, civil procedure, and the role of juries in U.S. law. The dramatic and often surprising events in torts cases make the subject ideal for the case method of teaching. Much of the course will focus on the law of negligence and liability for defective products. However, the course will also include some torts of particular interest to business and employment lawyers, as well as privacy torts relevant to social media and Internet firms. At a more abstract level, Torts also provides the opportunity to think about the roles of fairness, economic analysis, and litigation problems in designing legal rules. Summer 2024 Description: Torts law is the common law mechanism for civil liability for all wrongs except breach of contract. Some torts involve minor disputes between individuals, others can involve tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Because it is a common law subject, the Torts class also provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of common law decision-making, civil procedure, and the role of juries in U.S. law. The dramatic and often surprising events in torts cases make the subject ideal for the case method of teaching. Much of the course will focus on the law of negligence and liability for defective products. However, the course will also include some torts of particular interest to business and employment lawyers, as well as privacy torts relevant to social media and Internet firms. At a more abstract level, Torts also provides the opportunity to think about the roles of fairness, economic analysis, and litigation problems in designing legal rules. Summer 2025 Description: This is a course on tort law for business lawyers, whether their practices focus on IP and technology, corporate, or general business representation. The key question is: when does aggressive competition cross the line and become unlawful? Crossing that line can result in major liability, including punitive damages. This body of tort law has great commercial importance but isn't covered in introductory courses or is covered only in passing. The class starts with a brief introduction to U.S. tort law and then turns to key areas of litigation: misrepresentation. deceptive marketing, tortious interference with contract or prospective advantage, and liability for bad faith breach of contract. Dan Farber is the Sho Sato Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the Faculty Director of the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Professor Farber is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Life Member of the American Law Institute. Professor Farber is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees. He graduated, summa cum laude, from the College of Law, where he was the class valedictorian and served as editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Law Review. After law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Philip W. Tone of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and then for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Farber practiced law with Sidley & Austin, where he primarily worked on energy issues, before returning to the University of Illinois as a faculty member in 1978. He taught at the University of Minnesota Law School faculty from 1981 to 2002, where he was the McKnight Presidential Professor of Public Law. He also has been a visiting professor at the Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School. His most recent book is Contested Ground: How to Understand the Limits on Presidential Power (UC Press 2021). His earlier books include Research Handbook on Public Choice and Public Law (Elgar 2010) (with A. O’Connell); Judgment Calls: Politics and Principle in Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press 2008) (with S. Sherry); Retained by the People: The “Silent” Ninth Amendment and the Rights Americans Don’t Know They Have (Basic Books 2007); Lincoln’s Constitution (University of Chicago Press 2003); and Eco-Pragmatism: How to Make Sensible Environmental Decisions in an Uncertain World (University of Chicago Press 1999). |
| Law 202 Torts for LLM Students 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course covers the basic rules, concepts and principles of US law governing liability for civil injuries, including intended and negligently inflicted harm to personal and property interests and liability without fault. The course also is a good introduction to the American civil litigation system. Spring 2021 Description: The course covers the basic rules, concepts and principles of US law governing liability for civil injuries, including intended and negligently inflicted harm to personal and property interests and liability without fault. The course also is a good introduction to the American civil litigation system. Spring 2022 Description: The course covers the basic rules, concepts and principles of US law governing liability for civil injuries, including intended and negligently inflicted harm to personal and property interests and liability without fault. The course also is a good introduction to the American civil litigation system. Spring 2024 Description: The course covers the basic rules, concepts and principles of US law governing liability for civil injuries, including intended and negligently inflicted harm to personal and property interests and liability without fault. The course also is a good introduction to the American civil litigation system. Spring 2025 Description: The course covers the basic rules, concepts, and principles of US law governing civil liability for injuries, including intended and negligently inflicted harm to personal and property interests and liability without fault. The course also is a good introduction to the American civil litigation system. |
| Law 202.1A Legal Research and Writing 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. Fall 2021 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. Fall 2022 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. Fall 2023 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. Fall 2024 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. Fall 2025 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. |
| Law 202.1B Written and Oral Advocacy 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course involves preparation of a brief for a trial court motion on a hypothetical problem, and arguing that motion before a “judge,” usually a practicing lawyer from the Bay Area or a “real” judge from a Bay Area court. Spring 2021 Description: This course involves preparation of a brief for a trial court motion on a hypothetical problem, and arguing that motion before a “judge,” usually a practicing lawyer from the Bay Area or a “real” judge from a Bay Area court. Spring 2022 Description: This course involves preparation of a brief for a trial court motion on a hypothetical problem, and arguing that motion before a “judge,” usually a practicing lawyer from the Bay Area or a “real” judge from a Bay Area court. Spring 2023 Description: This course involves preparation of a brief for a trial court motion on a hypothetical problem, and arguing that motion before a “judge,” usually a practicing lawyer from the Bay Area or a “real” judge from a Bay Area court. Spring 2024 Description: This course involves preparation of a brief for a trial court motion on a hypothetical problem, and arguing that motion before a “judge,” usually a practicing lawyer from the Bay Area or a “real” judge from a Bay Area court. Spring 2025 Description: This course involves preparation of a brief for a trial court motion on a hypothetical problem, and arguing that motion before a “judge,” usually a practicing lawyer from the Bay Area or a “real” judge from a Bay Area court. |
| Law 202F Contracts 5 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Fall 2020 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Spring 2021 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Fall 2021 Description: This course will be held in Booth Auditorium. Spring 2022 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Fall 2022 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Spring 2023 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Fall 2023 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Fall 2024 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. Fall 2025 Description: This course covers the law of contracts, including formation, performance, remedies, and termination. |
| Law 202S Contracts 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This survey course explores the basic principles of U.S. common law that govern the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the related principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. Textbook: Barnett & Oman, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (6th Ed.) This course will meet in-person on campus on June 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: This survey course explores the basic principles of U.S. common law that govern contracts, including issues of formation, breach, enforcement, and remedies. Students will also study the related doctrinal principles codified in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions, and the Restatement Second of Contracts. Textbook: Barnett & Oman, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (7th Ed.) Note: June 16th and 17th class meetings will be held on Zoom. Summer 2023 Description: This survey course explores the basic principles of U.S. common law that govern contracts, including issues of formation, breach, enforcement, and remedies. Students will also study the related doctrinal principles codified in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions, and the Restatement Second of Contracts. Textbook: Barnett & Oman, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (7th Ed.) Remote + Summer Students Please NOTE: You cannot take Contracts in the fall semester if you take it in the summer. Summer 2024 Description: This survey course explores the basic principles of U.S. common law that govern contracts, including issues of formation, breach, enforcement, and remedies. Students will also study the related doctrinal principles codified in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions, and the Restatement Second of Contracts. Textbook: Barnett & Oman, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (7th Ed.) Remote + Summer Students PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take Contractsl in the fall semester if you take it in the summer. Summer 2025 Description: This survey course explores the basic principles of U.S. common law that govern contracts, including issues of formation, breach, enforcement, and remedies. Students will also study the related doctrinal principles codified in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions, and the Restatement Second of Contracts. Abbye Atkinson is a Professor of Law and Co-Faculty Director of the Center for Law and Economic Justice. and her research focuses on the law of debtors and creditors as it affects marginalized communities. Her work is forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review and has been published in the California Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Arizona Law Review, Michigan Journal of Race & Law, the N.Y.U. Law Review Online, and the Texas Law Review Online. She has testified before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and she is the inaugural recipient of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholar Award. Before joining Berkeley Law, Atkinson was a Thomas C. Grey Fellow and Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School and the Reginald F. Lewis Fellow at Harvard Law School. Previously she worked as an associate attorney in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn, and she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ronald M. Gould of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for the Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley Remote + Summer Students PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take Contracts in the fall semester if you take it in the summer. |
| Law 203 Property 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: Remote Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course provides an introduction to the topics involved in the law of property, including adverse possession, possessory estates in land, future interests, marital property, landlord-tenant law, concurrent estates, easements and covenants, and land-use planning. Special attention is given to environmental and intellectual property issues. Spring 2021 Description: This is a basic survey of the law of property, examining the forms and methods by which property interests are acquired, transferred, used, and regulated. It will lay the groundwork for advanced courses in intellectual property, real estate transactions, trusts and estates, land use, and environmental law, among other topics. There is no printed casebook to buy for this class. We will be using a custom version of an open source property casebook, which will be posted on bCourses. Upon completion of the course, you should have achieved the following Berkeley Law Learning Outcomes: • Knowledge and understanding of substantive law • Legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context • Using the law to solve real-world problems and to create a more just society You should also achieve learning outcomes specific to this class. Namely, you should be able to articulate the key attributes that are commonly associated with “property”; to describe the rules and policies related to initial acquisition and subsequent transfer of property rights in land, personal property, and some forms of intellectual property; to identify and solve problems regarding different types of ownership interests (including basic estates, future interests, and co-ownership interests); and to understand and apply different legal regimes that govern how people can use resources to which they or others have property rights (including the laws of nuisance, zoning, servitudes, and eminent domain). As you master these topics, you should also become familiar with the modes of argument and policy concerns that are typical in debates about property. Throughout the class, we will be attentive to how property law shapes and is shaped by systemic racism and other hierarchies of power. Spring 2022 Description: This is a basic survey of the law of property, examining the forms and methods by which property interests are acquired, transferred, used, and regulated. It will lay the groundwork for advanced courses in intellectual property, real estate transactions, trusts and estates, land use, and environmental law, among other topics. There is no printed casebook to buy for this class. We will be using a custom version of an open source property casebook, which will be posted on bCourses. Upon completion of the course, you should have achieved the following Berkeley Law Learning Outcomes: • Knowledge and understanding of substantive law • Legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context • Using the law to solve real-world problems and to create a more just society You should also achieve learning outcomes specific to this class. Namely, you should be able to articulate the key attributes that are commonly associated with “property”; to describe the rules and policies related to initial acquisition and subsequent transfer of property rights in land, personal property, and some forms of intellectual property; to identify and solve problems regarding different types of ownership interests (including basic estates, future interests, and co-ownership interests); and to understand and apply different legal regimes that govern how people can use resources to which they or others have property rights (including the laws of nuisance, zoning, servitudes, and eminent domain). As you master these topics, you should also become familiar with the modes of argument and policy concerns that are typical in debates about property. Throughout the class, we will be attentive to how property law shapes and is shaped by systemic racism and other hierarchies of power. Depending on the public health situation, this class may be conducted via Zoom to accommodate the instructor's family health situation. Spring 2023 Description: Property is a core legal and social institution: Its definition poses fundamental questions about efficiency, fairness, wealth distribution, and the tension between public and private rights. What can be owned? What does it mean to own or transfer property? How may the government permissibly regulate or take property? Though American property law has developed answers to these questions mainly in disputes over land, these questions take on new significance in the contexts of artistic and innovative creation, bodily integrity, the internet, and even space. This course examines property law and theory through the prism of these old and new resource conflicts. Fall 2023 Description: This is a basic survey of the law of property, examining the forms and methods by which property interests are acquired, transferred, used, and regulated. It will lay the groundwork for advanced courses in intellectual property, real estate transactions, trusts and estates, land use, and environmental law, among other topics. Upon completion of the course, you should have achieved the following Berkeley Law Learning Outcomes: • Knowledge and understanding of substantive law • Legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context • Ability to critically assess laws and legal institutions, including the ways in which they shape and are shaped by racism and other forms of systemic inequality • Using the law to solve real-world problems and to create a more just society You should also achieve learning outcomes specific to this class. Namely, you should be able to articulate the key attributes that are commonly associated with “property”; to describe the rules and policies related to initial acquisition and subsequent transfer of property rights; to identify and solve problems regarding different types of ownership interests (including basic estates, future interests, and co-ownership interests); to distinguish between freehold and nonfreehold estates, and between possessory and nonpossessory property rights; and to articulate constitutional, statutory, and common law limitations on the scope and use of property rights. As you master these topics, you should also become familiar with the modes of argument that are typical in debates about property, including fact-based, precedent-based, and policy-based arguments. Throughout the class, we will be attentive to how property law shapes and is shaped by systemic racism and other hierarchies of power. The course will be taught by Christine A. Klein, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida Levin College of Law, who obtained her law degrees from Columbia University Law School (LL.M.) and the University of Colorado Law School (J.D.). Professor Klein began her career as a water rights litigator in the Colorado Office of the Attorney General, and specializes in natural resources law, water rights law, and property law. Her CV and biographical information are available here: https://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/christine-a-klein Spring 2024 Description: Property is a core legal and social institution: Its definition poses fundamental questions about efficiency, fairness, wealth distribution, and the tension between public and private rights. What can be owned? What does it mean to own or transfer property? How may the government permissibly regulate or take property? Though American property law has developed answers to these questions mainly in disputes over land, these questions take on new significance in the contexts of artistic and innovative creation, bodily integrity, the internet, and even space. This course examines property law and theory through the prism of these old and new resource conflicts. Fall 2024 Description: Property is a core legal and social institution: Its definition poses fundamental questions about efficiency, fairness, wealth distribution, and the tension between public and private rights. What can be owned? What does it mean to own or transfer property? How may the government permissibly regulate or take property? Though American property law has developed answers to these questions mainly in disputes over land, these questions take on new significance in the contexts of artistic and innovative creation, bodily integrity, the internet, and even space. This course examines property law and theory through the prism of these old and new resource conflicts. Spring 2025 Description: This course introduces students to Property Law. It views property as a core legal and social institution whose definition poses fundamental questions about efficiency, fairness, wealth distribution, and the tension between public and private rights. What can be owned? What does it mean to own or transfer property? How may the government permissibly regulate or take property? In grappling with these questions, the course will introduce students to the black-letter law in a range of doctrinal areas, from trespass to servitudes, zoning to landlord-tenant law. Simultaneously, the course will provide opportunities to practice the skill of written legal analysis. Finally, the course also emphasizes the larger dynamics implicated by property law. Fall 2025 Description: This course introduces students to Property Law. It views property as a core legal and social institution whose definition poses fundamental questions about efficiency, fairness, wealth distribution, and the tension between public and private rights. What does it mean to own or transfer property? What rights do non-owners have? How may the government permissibly regulate or take property? In grappling with these questions, the course will introduce students to the black-letter law in a range of doctrinal areas, from adverse possession to servitudes, zoning to landlord-tenant law. Simultaneously, the course will provide opportunities to practice the skill of written legal analysis. Finally, the course also emphasizes the larger dynamics implicated by property law. |
| Law 203.2 Private Law Theory 3 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Private law structures the legal building blocks that most profoundly affect our social and economic life, notably property, contract, and torts. It thus governs our relationships with each other in all the most important spheres of our lives: in the market, the workplace, the neighborhood, and our most intimate relations. Private law theories develop conceptual and normative analyses of these building blocks and critically investigate their meaning and implications. This Spring we will read and discuss major texts in contemporary contract theory. We will begin by investigating contract’s conceptual and normative foundations, examining the promise and transfer theories of contract; its conceptualization as collaboration or relationships; its conventional understanding and economic analysis; and the justice of contract - commutative, distributive, or relational. We will then turn to examine contracts in context, focusing on the markets and its limits and on the ways in which race, gender, and poverty are treated in, and affected by, contract law. The last part of the course will be dedicated to explore some further doctrines: boilerplates, default rules, fault vs. strict liability, the parol evidence rule and interpretation, and the rules governing the interests of third parties. Fall 2024 Description: Private law structures the legal building blocks that most profoundly affect our social and economic life, notably property, contracts, and torts. It thus governs our relationships with each other in all the most important spheres of our lives: in the market, the workplace, the neighborhood, and our most intimate relations. Private law theories develop conceptual and normative analyses of these building blocks and critically investigate their meaning and implications. This Fall we will read and discuss major texts in contemporary contract theory. We will begin by investigating contract’s conceptual and normative foundations, examining the promise and transfer theories of contract; its conceptualization as collaboration or relationships; its conventional understanding and economic analysis; and the justice of contract - commutative, distributive, or relational. We will then turn to examine contracts in context, focusing on the markets and its limits and on the ways in which race, gender, and poverty are treated in, and affected by, contract law. The last part of the course will be dedicated to exploring some further doctrines: boilerplates, default rules, fault vs. strict liability, the parol evidence rule and interpretation, and the rules governing the interests of third parties. |
| Law 206.4A Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Legal Research and Writing introduces international LL.M. students to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 15 to 19 pages, which satisfies the Capstone Writing Requirement. Students will also make a short oral presentation. This course is two credits and graded. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. As such, we strongly encourage students to attend class in real-time to the greatest extent possible. Please choose a section that works best for your schedule. Spring 2021 Description: Legal Research and Writing introduces international LL.M. students to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 15 to 19 pages, which satisfies the Capstone Writing Requirement. Students will also make a short oral presentation. This course is two credits and graded. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. As such, we strongly encourage students to attend class in real-time to the greatest extent possible. Please choose a section that works best for your schedule. Fall 2021 Description: Legal Research and Writing introduces international LL.M. students to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 15 to 20 pages, which satisfies the Capstone Writing Requirement. Students will also make a short oral presentation. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. Fall 2022 Description: Legal Research and Writing introduces international LL.M. students to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 15 to 20 pages, which satisfies the Capstone Writing Requirement. Students will also make a short oral presentation. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. Fall 2023 Description: LL.M. Legal Research and Writing will introduce you to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 3500 to 5000 words. Students will also make a short oral presentation. Fall 2024 Description: LL.M. Legal Research and Writing will introduce you to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 3500 to 5000 words. Students will also make a short oral presentation. Fall 2025 Description: Legal Research and Writing introduces international LL.M. students to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The course includes several written assignments building up to a final writing project of 15 to 19 pages, which satisfies the Capstone Writing Requirement. Students will also make a short oral presentation. This course is two credits and graded. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. As such, we strongly encourage students to attend class to the greatest extent possible. Please choose a section that works best for your schedule. |
| Law 206.5 Advanced Legal Writing for LL.M.s 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Hybrid Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course develops sophisticated legal writing skills to prepare international LL.M. students to work alongside U.S. attorneys and serve U.S. clients. The tasks in the course are designed to replicate and train students in handling the real-life project assignments typically encountered in a U.S. practice. Problems are drawn from California and New York bar examination performance tests. Students will gain exposure to a variety of legal writing projects, learn to use the U.S style of legal rhetoric in their writing, improve legal analysis and writing skills, and prepare for the bar exam. This course is divided into a series of tasks of varying type, complexity, and length. The types of problems vary, and may include such things as: an advice letter to a client, a research memo as an associate to a supervising partner, a factual affidavit for trial, closing arguments for trial, or a persuasive brief written for a judge. Students will work individually on most assignments, and will collaborate on some of them as well. Spring 2021 Description: This course will be taught as a hybrid course for students who will be physically located in or near Berkeley during the spring semester. Most class meetings will occur remotely using Zoom but will be in person April 17 as public health officials allow. This course develops sophisticated legal writing skills to prepare international students to serve U.S. clients. The tasks in the course are designed to replicate and train students in handling the real-life project assignments typically encountered in a U.S. practice. Problems are drawn from California and New York bar examination performance tests. Students will improve legal analysis and writing skills, work on legal writing style, and prepare for the bar exam. The types of problems in this course include such things as: an advice letter to a client, a research memorandum as an associate to a supervising partner, and a persuasive brief written for a judge. Students will work individually on most assignments, and will collaborate on some of them as well. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. As such, we strongly encourage students to attend class in real-time to the greatest extent possible. Please choose a section meeting time that works best for your schedule. Spring 2022 Description: This course develops sophisticated legal writing skills to prepare international students to work alongside U.S. attorneys and serve U.S. clients. The tasks in the course are designed to replicate and train students in handling the real-life project assignments typically encountered in a U.S. practice. Problems are drawn from California and New York bar examination performance tests. Students will gain exposure to a variety of legal writing projects, learn to use the U.S style of legal rhetoric in their writing, improve legal analysis and writing skills, and prepare for the bar exam. This course is divided into a series of tasks of varying type, complexity, and length. The types of problems vary, and may include such things as: an advice letter to a client, a research memo as an associate to a supervising partner, a factual affidavit for trial, closing arguments for trial, or a persuasive brief written for a judge. Students will work individually on most assignments, and will collaborate on some of them as well. Spring 2023 Description: This course develops sophisticated legal writing skills to prepare international LL.M. students to serve U.S. clients. The tasks in the course are designed to replicate and train students in handling the real-life project assignments typically encountered in a U.S. practice. Problems are drawn from California and New York bar examination performance tests. Students will improve legal analysis and writing skills, work on legal writing style, and prepare for the bar exam. The types of problems in this course include such things as: an advice letter to a client, a research memorandum as an associate to a supervising partner, and a persuasive brief written for a judge. Students will work individually on most assignments, and will collaborate on some of them as well. Spring 2024 Description: This course is meant to prepare international students to work alongside U.S. attorneys and serve U.S. clients. The tasks in the course are designed to replicate and train students in handling the real-life project assignments typically encountered in a U.S. practice. Problems are drawn from California and New York bar examination performance tests. Students will gain exposure to a variety of legal writing projects, learn to use the U.S style of legal rhetoric in their writing, improve legal analysis and writing skills, and prepare for the bar exam. This course is divided into a series of tasks of varying type, complexity, and length. The types of problems vary, and may include such things as: an advice letter to a client, a research memo as an associate to a supervising partner, or a persuasive brief written for a judge. Students will work individually on most assignments, and will collaborate on some of them as well. This course is not a substitute for a Bar Prep class. Spring 2025 Description: This course is meant to introduce international students to the California and New York bar examination performance tests, and to prepare students to work alongside U.S. attorneys and serve U.S. clients. The tasks in the course are designed to replicate and train students in handling the real-life project assignments typically encountered in a U.S. practice. Problems are drawn from California and New York bar examination performance tests. Students will gain exposure to a variety of legal writing projects, learn to use the U.S style of legal rhetoric in their writing, improve legal analysis and writing skills, and prepare for the bar exam. This course is divided into a series of tasks of varying type, complexity, and length that a student may encounter on the bar exam performance test section. The types of problems vary, and may include such things as: an advice letter to a client, a research memo as an associate to a supervising partner, or a persuasive brief written for a judge. Students will work individually on most assignments, and will collaborate on some of them as well. This course is not a substitute for a Bar Prep class. |
| Law 206.51S LRW: Advanced Scholarship 2 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: The course is primarily designed for Option A students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. (common law course of study) to take in conjunction with the capstone workshop in the fall. It emphasizes high-level research and analysis. Students will prepare written work typical of legal scholarship, involving sophisticated analysis of legal and related materials, and they will receive written and oral feedback from the Instructor. They will also have the opportunity to hear presentations of cutting-edge scholarship by members of the Berkeley faculty. Written work will include a draft of the Capstone Project that will be completed in the Fall semester. Students interested in enrolling, must receive approval from Professor Farber. Summer 2022 Description: The course is primarily designed for remote + summer students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. (common law course of study) to take in conjunction with the capstone workshop in the fall. Other students must receive approval from Professor Farber in order to enroll. The course emphasizes high-level research and analysis. Paper topics are selected by the students with guidance from the instructor. Students will prepare written work typical of legal scholarship, involving sophisticated analysis of legal and related materials, and they will receive written and oral feedback from the Instructor. Written work will include a draft of the Capstone Project that will be completed in the Fall semester. Students who are not remote + summer but interested in enrolling, must receive approval from Professor Farber (dfarber@berkeley.edu). Summer 2023 Description: The course is primarily designed for remote + summer students and 1S students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. (common law course of study) to take in conjunction with the capstone workshop in the fall. Other students are encouraged to apply but must receive approval from Professor Farber to enroll. The course emphasizes high-level research and analysis. Paper topics are selected by the students with guidance from the instructor. Students will prepare written work typical of legal scholarship, involving sophisticated analysis of legal and related materials, and they will receive written and oral feedback from the Instructor. Written work will include a draft of the Capstone Project that will be completed in the Fall semester. Students who are not remote + summer or entering 1S students with a Canadian or US JD, but interested in enrolling, must receive approval from Professor Farber. Please submit this application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDxL3lxeFUcKXDPn0VoKZaLE5vvqiWx0LYMoQjoXCZQftHNw/viewform?usp=sf_link Summer 2024 Description: The course is primarily designed for remote + summer students and 1S students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. (common law course of study) to take in conjunction with the capstone workshop in the fall. Other students interested in scholarly writing are encouraged to apply but must receive approval from Professor Farber to enroll. The course emphasizes high-level research and analysis. Paper topics are selected by the students with guidance from the instructor. Students will prepare written work typical of legal scholarship, involving sophisticated analysis of legal and related materials, and they will receive written and oral feedback from the Instructor. Written work will include a complete draft of an academic paper. For students in the Remote + Summer program, this paper will serve as the first draft of the Capstone Project that they will complete in the Fall semester Capstone Writing Workshop. Students who are not remote + summer or entering 1S students with a Canadian or US JD are encouraged to apply for enrollment. To receive approval from Prof. Farber, those students must submit this application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDxL3lxeFUcKXDPn0VoKZaLE5vvqiWx0LYMoQjoXCZQftHNw/viewform?usp=sf_link Summer 2025 Description: The course is primarily designed for remote + summer students and 1S students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. (common law course of study) to take in conjunction with the capstone workshop in the fall. Other students interested in scholarly writing are encouraged to apply but must receive approval from Professor Farber to enroll. The course emphasizes high-level research and analysis. Paper topics are selected by the students with guidance from the instructor. Students will prepare written work typical of legal scholarship, involving sophisticated analysis of legal and related materials, and they will receive written and oral feedback from the Instructor. Written work will include a complete draft of an academic paper. For students in the Remote + Summer program, this paper will serve as the first draft of the Capstone Project that they will complete in the Fall semester Capstone Writing Workshop. Final papers are due on August 8th. Students who are not remote + summer or entering 1S students with a Canadian or US JD are encouraged to apply for enrollment by emailing Professor Farber. Dan Farber is the Sho Sato Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the Faculty Director of the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Professor Farber is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Life Member of the American Law Institute. Professor Farber is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees. He graduated, summa cum laude, from the College of Law, where he was the class valedictorian and served as editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Law Review. After law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Philip W. Tone of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and then for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Farber practiced law with Sidley & Austin, where he primarily worked on energy issues, before returning to the University of Illinois as a faculty member in 1978. He taught at the University of Minnesota Law School faculty from 1981 to 2002, where he was the McKnight Presidential Professor of Public Law. He also has been a visiting professor at the Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School. His most recent book is Contested Ground: How to Understand the Limits on Presidential Power (UC Press 2021). His earlier books include Research Handbook on Public Choice and Public Law (Elgar 2010) (with A. O’Connell); Judgment Calls: Politics and Principle in Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press 2008) (with S. Sherry); Retained by the People: The “Silent” Ninth Amendment and the Rights Americans Don’t Know They Have (Basic Books 2007); Lincoln’s Constitution (University of Chicago Press 2003); and Eco-Pragmatism: How to Make Sensible Environmental Decisions in an Uncertain World (University of Chicago Press 1999). |
| Law 206.52S Writing to Persuade: How to Win the Hearts and Minds of Any Audience 1 Units |
| Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2023 Description: Do you have an opinion, personal story, or call to action you want to share with the world in real time? Have you always wanted to see your name in a byline or know how to write an irresistible pitch? This interactive course on the craft of persuasive media writing will show you how. Media writing is an important skill for lawyers to have in their toolkit. In addition to using written argument in traditional legal advocacy, lawyers also increasingly use the media to advocate for their clients and causes. And sometimes, one opinion article in a major news outlet can bring about change that would have taken years in litigation. Effective media writing requires that lawyers write in clear, persuasive, and personal terms. This course will help students build these critical skills. We will start by examining how to leverage different types of expertise. Individuals of all backgrounds and legal fields have much to contribute to society’s pressing debates. Next, we will deconstruct the opinion writing form, analyzing a range of structures and techniques of persuasion. This will include best practices for hooking readers, arguing with evidence, and simplifying technical information. From there, we will hone the haiku-like skill of persuasive writing, namely, how to pack a big punch in few words. And since timing and placement are everything, students will learn how to identify what aspect of a story makes it attention-worthy and to craft winning media pitches. Throughout the course, we will critique media pieces on varied topics, read articles on effective persuasive writing, and do in-class group exercises. Students will come away from the course with actionable writing skills for amplifying their voice and message in the public arena, to win the hearts and minds of legal and lay audiences alike. Summer 2024 Description: Do you have an opinion, personal story, or call to action you want to share with the world in real-time? Have you always wanted to see your name in a byline or know how to write an irresistible pitch? This interactive course on the craft of persuasive media writing will show you how. Media writing is an important skill for lawyers to have in their toolkit. In addition to using written argument in traditional legal advocacy, lawyers also increasingly use the media to advocate for their clients and causes. And sometimes, one opinion article in a major news outlet can bring about change that would have taken years in litigation. Effective media writing requires that lawyers write in clear, persuasive, and personal terms. This course will help students build these critical skills. We will start by examining how to leverage different types of expertise. Individuals of all backgrounds and legal fields have much to contribute to society’s pressing debates. Next, we will deconstruct the opinion writing form, analyzing a range of structures and techniques of persuasion. This will include best practices for hooking readers, arguing with evidence, and simplifying technical information. We will also discuss how these techniques apply broadly to various forms of writing, such as project pitches, client letters, and more. From there, we will hone the haiku-like skill of persuasive writing, namely, how to pack a big punch in few words. And since timing and placement are everything, students will learn how to identify what aspect of a story makes it attention-worthy and to craft winning media pitches. Throughout the course, we will critique media pieces on varied topics, read articles on effective persuasive writing, and do in-class group exercises. Students will come away from the course with actionable writing skills for amplifying their voice and message in the public arena, to win the hearts and minds of legal and lay audiences alike. It is anticipated that the course will feature at least one guest speaker. (Previous guest speakers include Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and San Francisco Chronicle Deputy Editorial Page Editor Zeba Khan.) Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg is an award-winning opinion author, including recognitions from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and National Federation of Press Women. Her writing has appeared in numerous outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times. She teaches writing courses and veterans law at Berkeley Law. She has also taught opinion writing at Stanford University and a course on medical-legal partnerships at Columbia University. Outside of teaching, Rose practices impact litigation and policy advocacy as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Attorney General’s Office. Previously, she worked at the White House under President Obama, in the U.S. Senate, and at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rose received a JD from Yale Law School and an MPA from Columbia University. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 206.5S LLM Legal Research and Writing LLM (Spring Start Executive Track Option) 2 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students aims to provide a solid foundation in U.S. legal analysis and communication while teaching students the skills they need to maneuver skillfully through Berkeley Law and U.S. legal culture. This two-credit course teaches case analysis, research strategies, and effective written and oral communication methods. Students focus on predictive legal analysis and writing. The curriculum integrates research instruction with writing assignments. Students also learn basic U.S. legal citation requirements and form. Instruction takes place in small sections led by instructors with extensive legal practice experience. Over the course of the semester, students will prepare a series of research and writing assignments. They will receive extensive feedback on their writing, attend one-on-one conferences with the instructor, and develop revision skills. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. As such, we strongly encourage students to attend class in real-time to the greatest extent possible. By the end of this course, students will research and write a draft of their Capstone Project, which is a legal memorandum of 20 to 23 pages in length. In the fall Capstone Writing Workshop (online), students will revise and polish the Capstone Project. On Wednesday, August 4th, class will be held from 4:00-8:00pm. Summer 2022 Description: Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students aims to provide a solid foundation in U.S. legal analysis and communication while teaching students the skills they need to maneuver skillfully through Berkeley Law and U.S. legal culture. This two-credit course teaches case analysis, research strategies, and effective written and oral communication methods. Students focus on predictive legal analysis and writing. The curriculum integrates research instruction with writing assignments. Students also learn basic U.S. legal citation requirements and form. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. Instruction takes place in small sections led by instructors with extensive legal practice experience. Over the course of the semester, students will prepare a series of research and writing assignments. They will receive extensive feedback on their writing, attend one-on-one conferences with the instructor, and develop revision skills. Summer 2023 Description: Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students aims to provide a solid foundation in U.S. legal analysis and communication while teaching students the skills they need to maneuver skillfully through Berkeley Law and U.S. legal culture. This two-credit course teaches case analysis, research strategies, and effective written and oral communication methods. Students focus on predictive legal analysis and writing. The curriculum integrates research instruction with writing assignments. Students also learn basic U.S. legal citation requirements and form. Much of the learning in this course involves experiential exercises done in groups during class time. The collaborative aspect of this process greatly enhances student learning. Instruction takes place in small sections led by instructors with extensive legal practice experience. Over the course of the semester, students will prepare a series of research and writing assignments. They will receive extensive feedback on their writing, attend one-on-one conferences with the instructor, and develop revision skills. Summer 2024 Description: LL.M. Legal Research and Writing (LRW) introduces students to U.S. legal reasoning and practice by examining court opinions, teaching legal research methods, and developing skills of legal writing and oral presentation in the United States. The course emphasizes understanding the U.S. legal system, common law legal reasoning, legal problem solving, and effective written and oral communication of legal analysis. The spring 1-unit LRW course is part of a series of three courses that students will complete during their LL.M. degree. During the spring semester (remote), students will learn basic analysis, writing, and citation skills, which will help them to complete writing assignments in U.S. law school and legal practice. During the summer (in person), they will complete 1-unit of LRW, where they will learn legal research methods and draft their Capstone Writing Project (a legal memorandum of 5,000 to 6,000 words on an assigned topic). Students will also make a short oral presentation on a topic of their choice. During the fall semester (remote), students will complete the 1-unit Capstone Writing Workshop, in which they will revise and edit their Capstone Writing Project. Summer 2025 Description: This course provides instruction in legal research, analysis, and writing. |
| Law 206.76 J.S.D. Legal Scholarship Seminar 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The seminar will provide students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. We will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools. Students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available on their chosen topics. Students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing an outline/prospectus on their proposed dissertation project. The seminar is required for all entering JSD students. Enrollment is limited to JSD students. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2021 Description: The seminar will provide students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. We will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools. Students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available on their chosen topics. Students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing an outline/prospectus on their proposed dissertation project. The seminar is required for all entering JSD students. Enrollment is limited to JSD students. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. There will be an additional one-unit class (7 class meetings) in the Spring and it will build upon the themes from the Fall semester. Fall 2022 Description: The seminar will provide students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. We will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools. Students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available on their chosen topics. Students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing a research outline for their proposed dissertation project. The seminar is required for all entering JSD students. Enrollment is limited to JSD students. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. There will be an additional one-unit class (7 class meetings) in the Spring and it will build upon the themes from the Fall semester. Fall 2023 Description: The seminar will provide students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. We will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools. Students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available on their chosen topics. Students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing a research outline for their proposed dissertation project. The seminar is required for all entering JSD students. Enrollment is limited to JSD students. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. There will be an additional one-unit class (7 class meetings) in the Spring and it will build upon the themes from the Fall semester. Fall 2024 Description: The seminar will provide J.S.D. students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. We will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools, and more. J.S.D. students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available for their chosen topics. J.S.D. students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing a research outline on their proposed dissertation topic by exploring secondary sources and other research resources. Fall 2025 Description: The seminar will provide J.S.D. students with a foundation for conducting in-depth legal research and support the students with developing their proposed dissertation project. We will explore the following: different types of research, how to plan a research project, research methodology, and review available organizational tools, and more. J.S.D. students will also gain a better understanding of what research resources are available for their chosen topics. J.S.D. students will have opportunities to discuss their research projects and ideas with the group and participate in constructive discussion and feedback. At the end of the seminar, students will have made progress on developing a research outline for their proposed dissertation topic by exploring secondary sources and other research resources. |
| Law 206.77 J.S.D. Scholarship Seminar II 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This seminar is open to all J.S.D. students and enrollment is limited to J.S.D. students. This course will build upon the Fall J.S.D. Legal Scholarship Seminar I and will cover topics not covered in that course. All J.S.D. students are encouraged to register. Most of the course will be interactive and have a series of guest speakers. Topics may include how to get published, using the Bluebook effectively, public speaking tips, and information sharing with other students in the program. This course will develop and evolve based on the interests and needs of the students. |
| Law 206C Note Publishing Workshop 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The goal of the Note Publishing Workshop is to help students produce a publishable casenote or comment by the end of the term. Workshop participants will meet as a group for seven two-hour sessions (on scheduled weeks) in Spring 2020; as individuals, they will meet regularly with a faculty instructors on a mutually convenient schedule to be determined. The instructors will supervise and facilitate the workshop meetings and will provide individualized feedback on each participant’s draft. Workshop activities will include examination of published (sample) notes, presentation of work by each participant to the group, and detailed responses by all participants to the work of peers. In addition, workshops will focus on key components of note composition, including titles, abstracts, claims-making and/or the statement of hypotheses and research questions, general stylistic issues, obstacles to revision, and the finalizing of drafts. Students will receive credit for the workshop by producing a publishable note or comment, as determined by the instructors. Interested students must have completed a draft of a paper by the end of the Fall Semester, preferably in conjunction with a writing seminar or a Law 299 individual writing program. Interested students are strongly encouraged to meet with a research librarian and attend California Law Review events (open to all students) that are designed to answer your questions about note publishing. Reach out to the Senior Notes Editor of CLR at hanne.jensen@berkeley.edu for events happening this semester. To apply to this course, students should submit their draft paper to Professor Sugarman via email (sugarman@berkeley.edu) by the end of day on December 16th. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. If more apply by the deadline, students will be admitted based upon the instructors’ judgment about the promise of publishing of the submitted paper. The specific Thursday classes will be as follows: January 16th January 23rd February 6th February 13 February 20th March 5th March 19th April 9th April 23rd Spring 2021 Description: The goal of the Note Publishing Workshop is to help students produce a publishable casenote or comment by the end of the term. Workshop participants will meet as a group for seven two-hour sessions (on scheduled weeks) in Spring 2021; as individuals, they will meet regularly with faculty instructors on a mutually convenient schedule to be determined. The instructors will supervise and facilitate the workshop meetings and will provide individualized feedback on each participant’s draft. Workshop activities will include examination of published (sample) notes, presentation of work by each participant to the group, and detailed responses by all participants to the work of peers. In addition, workshops will focus on key components of note composition, including titles, abstracts, claims-making and/or the statement of hypotheses and research questions, general stylistic issues, obstacles to revision, and the finalizing of drafts. Students will receive credit for the workshop by producing a publishable note or comment, as determined by the instructors. Interested students must have completed a draft of a paper by the end of the Fall Semester, preferably in conjunction with a writing seminar or a Law 299 individual writing program. Interested students are strongly encouraged to meet with a research librarian and attend California Law Review events (open to all students) that are designed to answer your questions about note publishing. Reach out to the Senior Notes Editor of CLR at stephanietilden@berkeley.edu for events happening this semester. To apply to this course, students should submit their draft paper to Professor Ross via email (bross@law.berkeley.edu) by the end of day on December 18th. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. If more apply by the deadline, students will be admitted based upon the instructors’ judgment about the potential to publish the submitted paper. The course will meet these dates: 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/22, 3/1, 4/12, and 4/19 Spring 2022 Description: The goal of the Note Publishing Workshop is to help students produce a publishable casenote or comment by the end of the term. Workshop participants will meet as a group for seven two-hour sessions (on scheduled weeks) in Spring 2022; as individuals they will meet regularly with faculty instructors on a mutually convenient schedule to be determined. The instructors will supervise and facilitate the workshop meetings and will provide individualized feedback on each participant’s draft. Workshop activities will include examination of published (sample) notes, presentation of work by each participant to the group, and detailed responses by all participants to the work of peers. In addition, workshops will focus on key components of note composition, including titles, abstracts, claims-making and/or the statement of hypotheses and research questions, general stylistic issues, obstacles to revision, and the finalizing of drafts. Students will receive credit for the workshop by producing a publishable note or comment, as determined by the instructors. Interested students must have completed a draft of a paper by the end of the Fall Semester, preferably in conjunction with a writing seminar or a Law 299 individual writing program. Interested students are strongly encouraged to meet with a research librarian and attend California Law Review events (open to all students) that are designed to answer your questions about note publishing. Reach out to the Senior Notes Editor of CLR at amy-reavis@berkeley.edu for events happening this semester. To apply to this course, students should submit their draft paper to Faculty Assistant Thomas Tallerico via email (thomastallerico@berkeley.edu) by the end of day on December 16th. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. If more apply by the deadline, students will be admitted based upon the instructors’ judgment about the potential to publish the submitted paper. The course will meet these dates: January 24th January 31st February 14th February 28th March 14th March 28th April 11th Spring 2023 Description: The goal of the Note Publishing Workshop is to help students produce a publishable casenote or comment by the end of the term. Workshop participants will meet as a group for seven two-hour sessions (on scheduled weeks) in Spring 2023; as individuals they will meet regularly with faculty instructors on a mutually convenient schedule to be determined. The instructors will supervise and facilitate the workshop meetings and will provide individualized feedback on each participant’s draft. Workshop activities will include examination of published (sample) notes, presentation of work by each participant to the group, and detailed responses by all participants to the work of peers. In addition, workshops will focus on key components of note composition, including titles, abstracts, claims-making and/or the statement of hypotheses and research questions, general stylistic issues, obstacles to revision, and the finalizing of drafts. Students will receive credit for the workshop by producing a publishable note or comment, as determined by the instructors. Interested students must have completed a draft of a paper by the end of the Fall Semester, preferably in conjunction with a writing seminar or a Law 299 individual writing program. Interested students are strongly encouraged to meet with a research librarian and attend California Law Review events (open to all students) that are designed to answer your questions about note publishing. To apply to this course, students should submit their draft paper to Faculty Assistant Thomas Tallerico via email (thomastallerico@berkeley.edu) by the end of day on December 15th. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. If more apply by the deadline, students will be admitted based upon the instructors’ judgment about the potential to publish the submitted paper. Spring 2024 Description: The goal of the Note Publishing Workshop is to help students produce a publishable casenote or comment by the end of the term. Workshop participants will meet as a group for seven two-hour sessions (on scheduled weeks) in Spring 2024; as individuals they will meet regularly with faculty instructors on a mutually convenient schedule to be determined. The instructors will supervise and facilitate the workshop meetings and will provide individualized feedback on each participant’s draft. Workshop activities will include examination of published (sample) notes, presentation of work by each participant to the group, and detailed responses by all participants to the work of peers. In addition, workshops will focus on key components of note composition, including titles, abstracts, claims-making and/or the statement of hypotheses and research questions, general stylistic issues, obstacles to revision, and the finalizing of drafts. Students will receive credit for the workshop by producing a publishable note or comment, as determined by the instructors. Interested students must have completed a draft of a paper by the end of the Fall Semester, preferably in conjunction with a writing seminar or a Law 299 individual writing program. Interested students are strongly encouraged to meet with a research librarian and attend California Law Review events (open to all students) that are designed to answer your questions about note publishing. If you'd like to apply to take the Note Publishing Workshop with Professors Robinson and Aneja, please email a draft paper to aneja@berkeley.edu and rkrobins@berkeley.edu by the end of day on December 29th. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. If more apply by the deadline, students will be admitted based upon the instructors’ judgment about the potential to publish the submitted paper. Students who sent a previous application to Thomas Tallerico must now update their application by sending their papers directly to Professors Robinson and Aneja. Spring 2025 Description: The goal of the Note Publishing Workshop is to help students turn an existing draft paper into a publishable note, comment, or other law review article by the end of the term. Workshop participants will meet as a group for seven two-hour sessions (on scheduled weeks) in Spring 2025; they will also meet individually with faculty instructors on a mutually convenient schedule to be determined. The instructors will supervise and facilitate the workshop meetings and will provide individualized feedback on each participant’s draft. Workshop activities will include examination of published (sample) notes and articles, presentation of work by each participant to the group, and detailed responses by all participants to the work of peers. In addition, workshops will focus on key components of note/article composition, including titles, abstracts, literature "entry points," claims-making and/or the statement of hypotheses and research questions, general stylistic issues, obstacles to revision (including psychological obstacles!), and the finalizing of drafts. Students will receive credit for the workshop by meaningfully revising their drafts papers into publishable-quality notes, comments, or articles, as determined by the instructors. Interested students *must have completed* the paper they are interested in revising during the workshop by the workshop application deadline near the end of the 2024 Fall Semester, preferably in conjunction with a writing seminar or a Law 299 individual writing program. Interested students are strongly encouraged to meet with a research librarian and attend California Law Review events (open to all students) that are designed to answer your questions about publishing. To apply to this course, students should submit their draft paper to Faculty Assistant Midori Kimata via email (midori.kimata@berkeley.edu) by the end of day on November 8th. Please use "Application for Spring 2025 Note Publishing Workshop" as your email subject line. Responses will be provided by the end of day on November 18th. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. If more than 12 students apply by the deadline, students will be admitted based upon the instructors’ judgment about the paper's potential for revision into a publishable note/article within the time frame of the class. After the deadline passes, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. |
| Law 207 Representing Spanish-Speaking Clients: Language, Culture, and Emotional Intelligence 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Representing Spanish-Speaking Clients: Language, Culture, and Emotional Intelligence is a one-unit class aimed at exposing students (who already have a working knowledge of spoken Spanish) to Spanish-language legal concepts, terminology, settings, and topics and will emphasize speaking and listening comprehension. The materials and topics will be based on law and procedure in such areas as employment, immigration, housing, and personal injury law. The class will also cover materials to strengthen cultural awareness and emotional intelligence as tools that are necessary to effectively represent Spanish-Speaking clients. Classroom presentations, activities, simulations, discussions, and readings will be in Spanish, with limited exceptions. Students will have the opportunity to practice their Spanish, with a view toward being comfortable communicating with clients who are monolingual or dominant in Spanish. Students are expected to participate and contribute to each bi-weekly session, and will conduct a final oral presentation in lieu of an exam or paper. Fernando Flores is an attorney, high performance coach, entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, and author. In his current role he is the Founder of iMATER NOW. Fernando established iMATER NOW to foster and promote wellness in the legal profession and he supports and coaches attorneys and professionals in this regard. Prior to founding iMATER NOW Fernando worked for the California Labor Commissioner’s office, was the Director of the Wage and Hour Litigation Program at Legal Aid at Work, and was a Staff Attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Fernando received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2007 and his B.A. in Sociology and Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. Spring 2021 Description: Representing Spanish-Speaking Clients: Language, Culture, and Emotional Intelligence is a one-unit class aimed at exposing students (who already have a working knowledge of spoken Spanish) to Spanish-language legal concepts, terminology, settings, and topics and will emphasize speaking and listening comprehension. The materials and topics will be based on law and procedure in such areas as employment, immigration, housing, and personal injury law. The class will also cover materials to strengthen cultural awareness and emotional intelligence as tools that are necessary to effectively represent Spanish-speaking clients. Classroom presentations, activities, simulations, discussions, and readings will be in Spanish, with limited exceptions. Students will have the opportunity to practice their Spanish, with a view toward being comfortable communicating with clients who are monolingual or dominant in Spanish. Students are expected to participate and contribute to each bi-weekly session, and will conduct a final oral presentation in lieu of an exam or paper. This course will meet every other week: 1/25, 2/8, 2/22, 3/8, 3/29, 4/12 and 4/26. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fernando Flores is an attorney, high performance coach, entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, and author. Currently, he is the Founder of Health and Wellness University. Fernando established Health and Wellness University to foster and promote wellness in the legal profession and he supports and coaches attorneys and professionals in this regard. Prior to founding Health and Wellness University Fernando worked for the California Labor Commissioner’s office, was the Director of the Wage and Hour Litigation Program at Legal Aid at Work, and was a Staff Attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Fernando received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2007 and his B.A. in Sociology and Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: Conservative estimates suggest 40.2 % of California residents are “Hispanic or Latino”, yet, Latinx account for only 7 % of California’s licensed active attorneys. This disparity results in a lack of access to effective legal representation for Spanish speaking populations. Relying on untrained translators to fill the gap can result in even greater problems, due to the increased potential for privacy and confidentiality violations. Knowing how to work with Spanish speakers effectively and providing culturally competent legal services is currently and will increasingly be a marketable skill. Examining the social norms, legal institutions and sociocultural biases that affect the provision of legal services for Spanish speakers helps correct racial bias and create a more equitable legal system. It’s not enough for attorneys to be able to speak Spanish, they must also know how to provide culturally competent representation. This class will provide the tools students need to offer culturally competent legal services. Specifically, you will learn: 1. An overview of the history of Spanish speakers in California and the United States, including the discussion of caselaw and policy that targets Spanish speakers for speaking Spanish; 2. Common legal issues facing Spanish speakers; 3. Working effectively with translators; 4. Exploring cultural practices that will help attorneys connect with Spanish speakers (without falling into racist tropes). The reading for the course will be a mix of case law, history books, first person essays, government studies and reports, statutes, and advocacy pieces. All levels of Spanish welcome. |
| Law 207.1 Law and Order 3 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: When not mistaken for a television series, "law and order" names an ideal at least as old as the United States and deeply infused into law and politics. This course explores “law and order” as a mode of governance with specific attention to its course in the United States, but with an interest in its global reach. While "law and order" has implications for the entire scope of the criminal legal system, this course will focus on policing as the dominant expression and manifestation of law and order governance. Combining low social status with extraordinary and largely unaccountable legal power to let live or kill people, police have long confounded legal and political theorists. This course will examine the political development of policing in the broadest sense from the Revolution through the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. In the 18th century police included all manner of regulatory, educational and legal efforts to foster the health and safety of the community. By the middle of the 19th century police had come to mean the paid uniformed services that were increasingly deemed essential to cities large enough to afford them. including the way 18th century thinkers understood police as the full range of regulations that could help govern cities, as well as the major institutional models available as it evolved in the 19th century including the slave patrol, the armed settler militia, and the London Metropolitan police. We will also examine the police as a subject of governance at the federal, state and local level starting with the Wickersham Commission report on the national failure of prohibition enforcement, through the post-war efforts to reform the police through both constitutional intervention and professionalization as well as recent calls to defund, transform or even abolish the police. Evaluation will be through a research paper of around 15 to 20 pages that can be aimed at either academic or advocacy audiences and will be an Option 1 paper for the JD writing requirement. |
| Law 207.5 Advanced Legal Writing 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a litigation writing course. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, a client letter, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. All interested students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the wait list -- must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class may be dropped by the instructor. Fall 2020 Description: This is a litigation writing course. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, a client letter, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. All interested students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the wait list -- must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class may be dropped by the instructor. Spring 2021 Description: This is a litigation writing course. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, a client letter, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. All interested students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the wait list -- must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class may be dropped by the instructor. Fall 2021 Description: This is a litigation writing class with a focus on building and honing fundamental skills. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. If demand exceeds capacity, then I will focus on students who, for one reason or another, have struggled with legal writing and analysis. That reason could be related to demands external to school, the pressures of law school, past academic or personal experiences, or one of many other reasons. The application is available here: https://forms.gle/TyuD9EhkUgXb1j49A. I accept students on a rolling basis and the class typically fills up quickly. The course will prepare students for the rigors of general civil litigation by providing in-depth writing experience and individual feedback. The written assignments are designed to replicate and train students to handle real-life assignments typically encountered by junior litigators. Through the lens of legal writing, this course will enhance students' abilities to read and synthesize cases, formulate and organize effective legal arguments, and effectively edit written work. Students will produce several written assignments, including research emails, a client letter, and a persuasive brief. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. We will review and practice legal research skills, but that is not the focus of the course. There is no oral argument component to this course. Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Spring 2022 Description: This is a written advocacy class with a focus on building and honing fundamental skills through the lens of a criminal law fact pattern. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. We will also discuss research skills. There is no oral argument component to grading. This course takes a hands-on approach by assigning all students to a new (hypothetical) criminal case as either the prosecution or the defense attorney -- your choice. Throughout the course of the semester, you will learn how great written advocacy can influence that case in many ways. We will build upon the foundational research and writing courses you took as a 1L. Whether you plan to enter a career in criminal law or not, this course will help you become a more confident, direct, and persuasive writer. The instructor, Natalie Winters, also serves as the Director of Berkeley Law's Advocacy Competitions Program. She previously worked as an attorney at the Colorado State Public Defender's Office handling misdemeanor and felony caseloads where she litigated over twenty jury trials, wrote appellate briefs, and supervised student interns. Fall 2022 Description: This is an application-based litigation writing class with a focus on building and honing fundamental skills. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. If demand exceeds capacity, then I will admit students who, for one reason or another, have struggled with legal writing and analysis. That reason could be related to demands external to school, the pressures of law school, past academic or personal experiences, or one of many other reasons. The application is available here: https://forms.gle/vBiH6rFq7FvCBHY7A. I accept students on a rolling basis and the class typically fills up quickly. The course will prepare students for the rigors of general civil litigation by providing an in-depth writing experience and individual feedback. The written assignments are designed to replicate and train students to handle real-life assignments typically encountered by junior litigators. Through the lens of legal writing, this course will enhance students' abilities to read and synthesize cases, formulate and organize effective legal arguments, and effectively edit written work. Students will produce several written assignments, including research emails, a client letter, and a persuasive brief. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. We will review and practice legal research skills, but that is not the focus of the course. There is no oral argument component to this course. Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Due to a health-related accommodation for the instructor, face coverings will likely be required in this class even if the face covering requirement is otherwise lifted. Depending on the public health situation, it is also possible that this class will be conducted via Zoom instead of in-person. Spring 2023 Description: This is an application-based litigation writing class with a focus on building and honing fundamental skills. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. If demand exceeds capacity, then I will admit students who, for one reason or another, have struggled with legal writing and analysis. That reason could be related to demands external to school, the pressures of law school, past academic or personal experiences, or one of many other reasons. The application is available here: https://forms.gle/f4JTcBdKeUnZMFQN8. I accept students on a rolling basis and the class typically fills up quickly. The course will prepare students for the rigors of general civil litigation by providing an in-depth writing experience and individual feedback. The written assignments are designed to replicate and train students to handle real-life assignments typically encountered by junior litigators. Through the lens of legal writing, this course will enhance students' abilities to read and synthesize cases, formulate and organize effective legal arguments, and effectively edit written work. Students will produce several written assignments, including research emails, a client letter, and a persuasive brief. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. We will review and practice legal research skills, but that is not the focus of the course. There is no oral argument component to this course. Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Due to a health-related accommodation for the instructor, face coverings will be requested in this class even if the face covering requirement is otherwise lifted. Depending on the public health situation, it is also possible that this class will be conducted via Zoom instead of in-person. Fall 2023 Description: This is a litigation writing class with a focus on building and honing fundamental skills. Enrollment is limited to 12 students and students must apply to take the class. If demand exceeds capacity, then I will admit students who, for one reason or another, have struggled with legal writing and analysis. That reason could be related to demands external to school, the pressures of law school, past academic or personal experiences, or one of many other reasons. The application is available here: https://forms.gle/P7LiXmCT4Ycn1Ej67. I accept students on a rolling basis and the class typically fills up quickly. The course will prepare students for the rigors of general civil litigation by providing an in-depth writing experience and individual feedback. The written assignments are designed to replicate and train students to handle real-life assignments typically encountered by junior litigators. Through the lens of legal writing, this course will enhance students' abilities to read and synthesize cases, formulate and organize effective legal arguments, and effectively edit written work. Students will produce several written assignments, including research emails, a client letter, and a persuasive brief. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. We will review and practice legal research skills, but that is not the focus of the course. There is no oral argument component to this course. Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Due to a health-related accommodation for the instructor, face coverings are requested in this class. Spring 2024 Description: PREREQUISITES: Legal Research and Writing 202.1A (or its JD equivalent), Written and Oral Advocacy 202.1B (or its JD equivalent), Civil Procedure This is a litigation writing course for J.D. students. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. Fall 2024 Description: PREREQUISITES: Legal Research and Writing 202.1A (or its JD equivalent), Written and Oral Advocacy 202.1B (or its JD equivalent), Civil Procedure This is a litigation writing course for J.D. students. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients, and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. Spring 2025 Description: PREREQUISITES: Legal Research and Writing 202.1A (or its JD equivalent), Written and Oral Advocacy 202.1B (or its JD equivalent), Civil Procedure This is a litigation writing course for J.D. students. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients, and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. Fall 2025 Description: PREREQUISITES: Legal Research and Writing 202.1A (or its JD equivalent), Written and Oral Advocacy 202.1B (or its JD equivalent), Civil Procedure This is a litigation writing course for J.D. students. Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with attorneys, clients, and judges. Advanced Legal Writing helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing in-depth writing experience. Using materials adapted from an actual lawsuit, students will use a case file throughout the semester to follow a typical litigation timeline. Students will produce several written assignments, including (but not limited to): a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, and an Opposition or Reply Brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The goal of the course will be to take students beyond basic competence to excellence in legal writing. Specifically, the course should help students hone the following skills: analyzing and conceptualizing legal issues, structuring legal arguments and documents, mastering objective v. persuasive techniques, and sharpening efficient writing and editing skills. There is no oral argument component to this course. |
| Law 207.51 Survival Writing 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This workshop is for the student who wants measurable skill improvement but is unable to make a semester-long time commitment. Taught on two consecutive full-day Saturdays, this workshop's theme is “survival writing." You will learn to generate your best work in the shortest possible time. The same applies to the instructors: we aim to give maximum learning value for the smallest student time commitment. The program follows our core principles: NITA-style instruction, rotating instructors, high volume, and variable skills. As always, Bryan Garner is our lodestar. Each day is divided into hour-long segments. In the week between the two days the students will have take-home writing assignments that will cycle between instructors for editing and revision. We will cater breakfast, lunch, snacks, and coffee on both days. DAY ONE Hour 1 skills: framing, outlining, organization Hour 2 exercise: group IRAC writing exercise Hour 3 skills: authority, argument, counter-argument Hour 4 exercise: timed PT writing assignment BREAK (instructors edit assignments) Hour 5 skills: phrasing, clarity, simplicity Hour 6 review: timed assignments group review Hour 7 skill: how to edit Hour 8 exercise: editing DAY TWO Hour 1 review: homework group review Hour 2 skills: readability, translate, write like you’re five, finding your voice Hour 3 skills: executive summary intro para and deep issue Hour 4 exercise: timed PT writing assignment BREAK (instructors edit assignments) Hour 5 skills: polishing, strength, right word Hour 6 review: timed assignments group review Hour 7 exercise: coalescence Hour 8 exercise: editing No textbooks to purchase, but you will need to download the $25 Garner's Modern English Usage app. Spring 2022 Description: This workshop is for the student who wants a fast, intense, and rigorous crash course in writing skill improvement without a semester-long time commitment. We aim to give maximum learning value for a shorter student time commitment. We teach a system that applies equally to the law student in exams, the post-grad in the bar examination, and the practitioner. Our system is designed to build mental muscle memory through repetition; this enables you to consistently generate quality work in the shortest possible time, under any word or page limit. The program applies our core principles: NITA-style instruction, rotating instructors, and adaptable skills suited to variable assignments. As always, Bryan Garner is our lodestar. Each day is divided into distinct explanation, exercise, and project segments. Between class meetings students will have writing assignments that will cycle between instructors for editing and revision. Fair warning: this workshop is high-volume and fast-paced. We schedule it early in the semester to minimize conflict with your other courses. Still, you should not plan any other big projects during this workshop. No textbooks to purchase, but you will need to download the $25 Garner's Modern English Usage app. This course meets for four Wednesday evenings and four Saturday mornings. Fall 2023 Description: This is a litigation writing course that offers an introduction to the practical, procedural and analytical aspects of private transnational litigation in the U.S. and Europe. Through a case simulation students will examine differences in legal systems and how to effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities presented when litigation goes global. Students will produce several written assignments, such as: a research email, an Answer or Complaint, several predictive memos, a client letter, and a brief. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. The course builds on the skills learned in the first year in Legal Research and Writing and Written and Oral Advocacy, by providing more challenging legal problems and expecting more independent work. The class provides an excellent opportunity for students to develop the research, writing and advocacy skills necessary for a successful transnational litigation practice. Spring 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 207.9 Language and Legal Interpretation 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: The functioning of the law is based on how language is interpreted. This course focuses on the role language plays in the interpretation of legal texts, such as constitutions, statutes, and contracts. These formal scenarios involving the interpretation of texts will be contrasted with informal scenarios involving the interpretation of oral statements, such as in police/citizen interactions. Issues of interpretation are constantly before the courts, even in relatively homogeneous, monolingual cultures. We will consider how the heterogeneous, multilingual nature of our society should impact both formal and informal legal interpretation. Thus, for instance, what does it mean for an “ordinary person” to have “fair notice” of the law? Is that a value that courts should promote? Should a court interpret a legal text according to its “ordinary meaning”? Is there such a thing as “ordinary meaning,” and if so, how can an attorney or court identify it? How should the language of a law, such as a civil rights statute, be interpreted over time? Is it inevitable that such a law will be interpreted dynamically? We will also critically analyze new research methods that courts are increasingly embracing, such as corpus linguistics, that purport to turn legal interpretation into an empirical endeavor. Professor Brian Slocum has a JD and a PhD in Linguistics and writes extensively on issues of legal interpretation. Recent articles include, The Meaning of Sex: Dynamic Words, Novel Applications, and Original Public Meaning, 119 Mich. L. Rev. 1503 (2021) (with William N. Eskridge Jr. & Stefan Th. Gries), and Statutory Interpretation from the Outside, Colum. L. Rev. (forthcoming, 2022) (with Kevin Tobia & Victoria Nourse). Prior to joining legal academia, Professor Slocum was a Trial Attorney in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Department of Justice. |
| Law 208 Advanced Legal Research 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established print resources to the newest online research tools. Spring 2021 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established resources to the newest online research tools. Spring 2022 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established resources to the newest online research tools. Spring 2023 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established resources to the newest online research tools. Spring 2024 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the legal research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will briefly explore the history of legal materials and examine the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from traditional resources to the newest online research tools. Spring 2025 Description: This course provides an overview of the legal research universe that will ease and make more productive the student's transition from law school to law practice. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will briefly explore the history of legal materials and examine the structure and use of the various research tools applicable to a wide range of areas of research, e.g., cases, statutes, regulations, legislative history, and so forth. Students will work with all types of research systems, from traditional resources to the newest online research tools, such as AI-driven legal research innovations. |
| Law 208.1 Advanced Legal Research- Pathfinder 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established print resources to the newest online research tools. Students will be in the regular Advanced Legal Research class and will do a number of research assignments. They will also write a pathfinder, which is a research guide to an area of law of their choosing, as their final class product. Spring 2021 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established resources to the newest online research tools. This course meets at the same time as Advanced Legal Research, with students in this course doing a number of research assignments. They will also write a pathfinder, which is a research guide to an area of law of their choosing, as their final class product. Spring 2022 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established resources to the newest online research tools. This course meets at the same time as Advanced Legal Research, with students in this course doing a number of research assignments. They will also write a pathfinder, which is a research guide to an area of law of their choosing, as their final class product. Spring 2023 Description: The primary goal of this course is to give an overview of the research universe that will make the transition from law school to law practice easier and more productive. In order to give students a framework for developing successful research strategies, we will be briefly exploring the history of legal materials and examining the structure and use of the various research tools. Students will be working with all types of research systems, from established resources to the newest online research tools. This course meets at the same time as Advanced Legal Research, with students in this course doing a number of research assignments. They will also write a pathfinder, which is a research guide to an area of law of their choosing, as their final class product. |
| Law 208.6 Qualitative Field and Observational Methods 3 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Doctoral-level introduction to systematic qualitative (ethnographic) field research, especially related to law and legal institutions. The course will focus on the practice of different forms of observation in conjunction with various types of interviewing and the collection of artifacts in the field. Included in the course will be discussions of the rationales for qualitative fieldwork, a brief history of different styles of sociological/anthropological ethnography, strategies for designing and conducting credible fieldwork, and instruction on analyzing and writing up qualitative field data. A core assignment for the course is experience conducting an original field study. Students can either develop a new field study in the context of the course (with the consultation of the instructor) or continue a field study begun prior to the course as long as they will be able to engage in significant fieldwork during the semester. |
| Law 208.8 Foundation Seminar in the Sociology of Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Sociological approaches to studying law focus on how legal institutions and actors relate to social structure, social inequality, and social change. This seminar covers classic and contemporary works that address law, rights and social change; law, inequality and power; the social construction of disputes and dispute resolution; organizations and law; legal pluralism; and social movements and law. Law students and graduate students in all disciplines are welcome. Spring 2023 Description: This course is a general introduction to the sociology of law intended for graduate students in all disciplines. The sociology of law treats law as a social institution and examines how law relates to social structure, social inequality, and broad changes in society. Scholars in this field study how law constitutes the major categories of social life and structures social behavior, and examine law as it is embedded within social context as a social institution rather than as an authoritative text. This foundation seminar will cover classic and contemporary works that address law, rights and social change; law, inequality and power; the social construction of disputes and dispute resolution; organizations and law; the legal profession; and social movements and law. Doctoral students in the JSP program who plan to take the sociology of law field exam should take this course in preparation. Spring 2024 Description: This course is a general introduction to the sociology of law intended for graduate students in all disciplines. The field of sociology of law examines how law relates to social structure, social inequality, and broad changes in society. Scholars in this field study how law constitutes the major categories of social life and structures social behavior. Research in this area focuses on law as it is embedded within social context as a social institution rather than as an authoritative text. This foundation seminar will cover classic and contemporary works that address law, rights and social change; law, inequality and power; the social construction of disputes and dispute resolution; organizations and law; the legal profession; and social movements and law. Doctoral students in the JSP program who plan to take the sociology of law field exam should take this course in preparation. Spring 2025 Description: This course is a general introduction to the sociology of law intended for graduate students in all disciplines. The field of sociology of law examines how law relates to social structure, social inequality, and broad changes in society. Scholars in this field study how law constitutes the major categories of social life and structures social behavior. Research in this area focuses on law as it is embedded within social context as a social institution rather than as an authoritative text. This foundation seminar will cover classic and contemporary works that address law, rights and social change; law, inequality and power; the social construction of disputes and dispute resolution; organizations and law; the legal profession; and social movements and law. Doctoral students in the JSP program who plan to take the sociology of law field exam should take this course in preparation. Students interested in the course should email Professor Albiston – calbiston@berkeley.edu – a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your interest in the seminar by November 1, 2024. After this date, applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. In addition, not counted in your 200 words, please also include your year and degree program (e.g. 2L, LLM, 2d year Ph.D. student in Sociology etc.). No prior knowledge is required or necessary for the class, and all graduate students are welcome and encouraged to enroll. Please make the subject line of your email “Application to Sociology of Law”. Students will be informed whether they have permission to enroll on a rolling basis, but no later than November 8th. Fall 2025 Description: This course is a general introduction to the sociology of law intended for graduate students in all disciplines. The field of sociology of law examines how law relates to social structure, social inequality, and broad changes in society. Scholars in this field study how law constitutes the major categories of social life and structures social behavior. Research in this area focuses on law as it is embedded within social context as a social institution rather than as an authoritative text. This foundation seminar will cover classic and contemporary works that address law, rights, and social change; law, inequality, and power; the social construction of disputes and dispute resolution; organizations and law; the legal profession; and social movements and law. Doctoral students in the JSP program who plan to take the sociology of law field exam should take this course in preparation. Students interested in the course should email Professor Albiston – calbiston@berkeley.edu – a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your interest in the seminar by April 11, 2025. After this date, applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. In addition, not counted in your 200 words, please also include your year and degree program (e.g. 2L/3L, LLM, 2d year Ph.D. student in Sociology etc.). No prior knowledge is required or necessary for the class, and all graduate students are welcome and encouraged to enroll. Please make the subject line of your email “Application to Sociology of Law”. Students will be informed whether they have permission to enroll on a rolling basis, but no later than April 21st. |
| Law 208.9 Fundamentals of U.S. Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Hybrid Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the fundamental principles of the American legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. In this course, students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin American governance, including federalism and separation of powers. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the sources of U.S. law, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent, as well as organization of legal analysis. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet remotely as follows: Saturday, August 8th 6:30AM-8:30AM Monday, August 10th 6:30AM-8:30AM Wednesday, August 12th 6:30AM-8:30AM Thursday, August 13th 6:30AM-8:30AM Friday, August 14th 6:30AM-8:30AM Then Mondays and Wednesdays, August 17th-October 28th 6:30AM-7:45AM Spring 2021 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the American legal system, common-law method of case analysis, and U.S. forms of governance. Orientation week classes focus primarily on (1) the structure of American court system and sources of law and (2) case analysis through the study of the development of one area of legal doctrine. Students will learn how to read cases, find and synthesize holdings, and predict outcomes based on common law development. Classes during the rest of the semester will focus on the principal Constitutional doctrines that underpin the American legal and political system, including federalism and separation of powers, with a focus on how American law interacts with global concerns. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet as follows: Tuesday, January 12th: 5PM-8PM Wednesday, January 13th: 5PM-8PM Thursday, January 14th: 5PM-8PM Friday, January 15th: 5PM-7PM Then every Monday and Wednesdays 6:25PM-7:40PM (January 20th-April 7th) REVIEW SESSION: Monday April 12th 6:25PM-7:40PM Fall 2021 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the American legal system, common-law method of case analysis, and U.S. forms of governance. Orientation week classes focus primarily on (1) the structure of American court system and sources of law and (2) case analysis through the study of the development of one area of legal doctrine. Students will learn how to read cases, find and synthesize holdings, and predict outcomes based on common law development. Classes during the rest of the semester will focus on the principal Constitutional doctrines that underpin the American legal and political system, including federalism and separation of powers, with a focus on how American law interacts with global concerns. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet remotely as follows: Tuesday, August 10th 1PM-4PM REMOTE Wednesday, August 11th 9AM-12PM REMOTE Thursday, August 12th 9AM-12PM REMOTE Friday, August 13th 9AM-12PM REMOTE Then Mondays and Wednesdays, August 16th-October 20th 11:20AM-12:35PM IN-PERSON Mandatory Review session: Wednesday, October 27th 11:20AM-12:35PM Fall 2022 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the American legal system, common-law method of case analysis, and U.S. forms of governance. Orientation week classes focus primarily on (1) the structure of the American court system and sources of law and (2) case analysis through the study of the development of one area of legal doctrine. Students will learn how to read cases, find and synthesize holdings, and predict outcomes based on common law development. Classes during the rest of the semester will focus on the principal Constitutional doctrines that underpin the American legal and political system, including federalism and separation of powers, with a focus on how American law interacts with global concerns. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet as follows: Tuesday, August 16th 1PM-4PM Wednesday, August 17th 9AM-12PM Thursday, August 18th 9AM-12PM Friday, August 19th 9AM-12PM Then Mondays and Wednesdays, August 24th-October 31st 11:20AM-12:35PM Fall 2023 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the American legal system, common-law method of case analysis, and U.S. forms of governance. Orientation week classes focus primarily on (1) the structure of the American court system and sources of law and (2) case analysis through the study of the development of one area of legal doctrine. Students will learn how to read cases, find and synthesize holdings, and predict outcomes based on common law development. Classes during the rest of the semester will focus on the principal Constitutional doctrines that underpin the American legal and political system, including federalism and separation of powers, with a focus on how American law interacts with global concerns. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet as follows: Tuesday, August 16th 2PM-5PM Wednesday, August 17th 9AM-12PM Thursday, August 18th 9AM-12PM Friday, August 19th 9AM-12PM Then Tuesdays, August 22nd-October 24th 10:00AM-12:40PM Fall 2024 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the American legal system, common-law method of case analysis, and U.S. forms of governance. Orientation week classes focus primarily on (1) the structure of the American court system and sources of law and (2) case analysis through the study of the development of one area of legal doctrine. Students will learn how to read cases, find and synthesize holdings, and predict outcomes based on common law development. Classes during the rest of the semester will focus on the principal Constitutional doctrines that underpin the American legal and political system, including federalism and separation of powers, with a focus on how American law interacts with global concerns. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet as follows: Tuesday, August 13th 9AM-12PM Wednesday, August 14th 9AM-12PM Thursday, August 15th 9AM-12PM Friday, August 16th 9AM-12PM Then Mondays and Wednesdays, August 19th-October 30th 2:10-3:25PM Fall 2025 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the American legal system, common-law method of case analysis, and U.S. forms of governance. Orientation week classes focus primarily on (1) the structure of the American court system and sources of law and (2) case analysis through the study of the development of one area of legal doctrine. Students will learn how to read cases, find and synthesize holdings, and predict outcomes based on common law development. Classes during the rest of the semester will focus on the principal Constitutional doctrines that underpin the American legal and political system, including federalism and separation of powers, with a focus on how American law interacts with global concerns. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. This course will meet as follows: Thursday, August 14th 9AM-12PM Friday, August 15th 9AM-12PM Then Mondays and Wednesdays, August 18th-November 25th 11:20AM-12:35PM |
| Law 208.9S Fundamentals of U.S. Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the fundamental principles of the U.S. legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. Students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin U.S. governance, including federalism and separation of powers, as well as individual rights. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent as well as organization of legal analysis. The course begins with an introductory module comprised of torts cases, and then students read primarily constitutional law cases for the remainder of the course. This course will meet in-person on campus on June 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th in Warren (room 295). Summer 2022 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the fundamental principles of the American legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. In this course, students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin American governance, particularly as expressed in landmark cases of American constitutional law. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the sources of U.S. law, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. Summer 2023 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the fundamental principles of the American legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. In this course, students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin American governance, particularly as expressed in landmark cases of American constitutional law. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the sources of U.S. law, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. Summer 2024 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign-trained law students to the fundamental principles of the American legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. In this course, students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin American governance, particularly as expressed in landmark cases of American constitutional law. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the sources of U.S. law, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. Summer 2025 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign-trained law students to the fundamental principles of the American legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. In this course, students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin American governance, particularly as expressed in landmark cases of American constitutional law. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the sources of U.S. law, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. William H.D. Fernholz, who goes by “Bill,” has taught at Berkeley Law for twenty years. He has devoted his professional career to three missions. First, Bill has taught Fundamentals of U.S. Law, the introductory substantive law course for LL.M. students, for over a decade. In that time, he has been the first teacher for more than 1,000 LL.M. students, and introduced those talented international lawyers to the successes and failures of the American system of governance and the common-law method of case analysis. Second, Bill has educated a generation of domestic J.D. students in the skills of legal writing and oral advocacy, primarily through the upper-level course, Appellate Advocacy. Students in that course brief and argue cases currently pending in the California Supreme Court, using materials from the actual record of the case and adhering as closely to rules of that court as the classroom will allow. Bill also supervised the competitions program at Berkeley Law until 2018. Third, Bill teaches lawyering for social justice. He co-directs the Ninth Circuit Practicum, in which J.D. students represent indigent clients in asylum and civil rights cases before the largest federal appellate circuit in the nation. He has previously taught social justice courses, such as Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Litigation. Before teaching at Berkeley Law, Bill practiced civil rights and poverty law at several Bay Area law firms and nonprofits. Bill is a 1993 graduate of Berkeley Law, where he served as Senior Executive Editor of the law review. |
| Law 208I International and Foreign Legal Research 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Do you want to be prepared to work in an international venue or practice in an area of international or comparative law? If so, you need this course. We will cover research methods and sources for international, foreign and comparative legal research, utilizing both print and electronic materials. Students will learn basic concepts of legal research, research strategies, evaluation of materials in various formats, search techniques for effective use of databases, and research organization. Topics include public international law, foreign law, private international law, the European Union, the United Nations and more. Class sessions will involve the use of research guides and materials to orient students to the topic, the sources, and appropriate research methodology. Students will conduct research in class using both print and electronic resources. Grading will be based on in-class or homework assignments that allow the student to use and evaluate the various sources; a brief oral presentation based on the topic for the final research guide; and a final research guide on an international or foreign law topic (a 30-page paper). At the end of the semester, students will have practical knowledge and experience in doing legal research, including selecting and using a variety of international and foreign legal sources. You will also gain confidence in your research abilities and become a more effective and efficient researcher overall. While there are no prerequisites for this course, it is assumed that students will have some basic familiarity with legal research techniques. Requires a significant paper of 30 pages or longer. Note to 1L students: You are not able to use this course to satisfy your writing requirement. Spring 2021 Description: Do you want to be prepared to work in an international venue or practice in an area of international or comparative law? If so, you need this course. We will cover research methods and sources for international, foreign and comparative legal research, utilizing both print and electronic materials. Students will learn basic concepts of legal research, research strategies, evaluation of materials in various formats, search techniques for effective use of databases, and research organization. Topics include public international law, foreign law, private international law, the European Union, the United Nations and more. Class sessions will involve the use of research guides and materials to orient students to the topic, the sources, and appropriate research methodology. Students will conduct research in class using both print and electronic resources. Grading will be based on in-class or homework assignments that allow the student to use and evaluate the various sources; a brief oral presentation based on the topic for the final research guide; and a final research guide on an international or foreign law topic (a 30-page paper). At the end of the semester, students will have practical knowledge and experience in doing legal research, including selecting and using a variety of international and foreign legal sources. You will also gain confidence in your research abilities and become a more effective and efficient researcher overall. While there are no prerequisites for this course, it is assumed that students will have some basic familiarity with legal research techniques. Requires a significant paper of 30 pages or longer. Note to 1L students: You are not able to use this course to satisfy your writing requirement. Spring 2022 Description: Do you want to be prepared to work in an international venue or practice in an area of international or comparative law? If so, you need this course. We will cover research methods and sources for international, foreign and comparative legal research, utilizing both print and electronic materials. Students will learn basic concepts of legal research, research strategies, evaluation of materials in various formats, search techniques for effective use of databases, and research organization. Topics include public international law, foreign law, private international law, the European Union, the United Nations and more. Class sessions will involve the use of research guides and materials to orient students to the topic, the sources, and appropriate research methodology. Students will conduct research in class using both print and electronic resources. Grading will be based on in-class or homework assignments that allow the student to use and evaluate the various sources; a brief oral presentation based on the topic for the final research guide; and a final research guide on an international or foreign law topic (a 30-page paper). At the end of the semester, students will have practical knowledge and experience in doing legal research, including selecting and using a variety of international and foreign legal sources. You will also gain confidence in your research abilities and become a more effective and efficient researcher overall. While there are no prerequisites for this course, it is assumed that students will have some basic familiarity with legal research techniques. Requires a significant paper of 30 pages or longer. Spring 2023 Description: Do you want to be prepared to work in an international venue or practice in an area of international or comparative law? If so, you need this course. We will cover research methods and sources for international, foreign, and comparative legal research, utilizing both print and electronic materials. Students will learn basic concepts of legal research, research strategies, evaluation of materials in various formats, search techniques for effective use of databases, and research organization. Topics include public international law, foreign law, private international law, the European Union, the United Nations, and more. Class sessions will involve the use of research guides and materials to orient students to the topic, the sources, and the appropriate research methodology. Students will conduct research in class using both print and electronic resources. Grading will be based on in-class or homework assignments that allow the student to use and evaluate the various sources; a brief oral presentation based on the topic for the final research guide; and a final research guide on an international or foreign law topic (a 30-page paper). At the end of the semester, students will have practical knowledge and experience in doing legal research, including selecting and using a variety of international and foreign legal sources. You will also gain confidence in your research abilities and become a more effective and efficient researcher overall. Requires a significant paper of 30 pages or longer. |
| Law 209 JSP Orientation Seminar 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course provides a broad orientation to the inter- and multidisciplinary study of law in general, and the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley in particular. Each year the orientation seminar takes on a distinct but broad theme and uses it to explore the many methodologies and intellectual traditions represented in the program, including canonical works in the fields represented by JSP. The class is limited to first-year JSP students. Fall 2021 Description: This course provides a broad orientation to the inter- and multidisciplinary study of law in general, and the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley in particular. Each year the orientation seminar takes on a distinct but broad theme and uses it to explore the many methodologies and intellectual traditions represented in the program, including canonical works in the fields represented by JSP. The class is limited to first-year JSP students. Fall 2022 Description: This course provides a broad orientation to the inter- and multidisciplinary study of law in general, and in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley in particular. Each year, the Orientation Seminar takes on a distinct but broad theme and uses it to explore the many methodologies and intellectual traditions represented in the program, including canonical works in the fields represented by JSP. The class is limited to first year JSP students. Fall 2023 Description: This course provides a broad orientation to the inter- and multidisciplinary study of law in general, and in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley in particular. Each year, the Orientation Seminar takes on a distinct but broad theme and uses it to explore the many methodologies and intellectual traditions represented in the program, including canonical works in the fields represented by JSP. The class is limited to first year JSP students. Fall 2024 Description: This course provides a broad orientation to the inter- and multidisciplinary study of law in general and in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley in particular. Each year, the Orientation Seminar takes on a distinct but broad theme and uses it to explore the many methodologies and intellectual traditions represented in the program, including canonical works in the fields represented by JSP. The class is limited to first-year JSP students. Fall 2025 Description: This course provides a broad orientation to the inter- and multidisciplinary study of law in general, and the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley in particular. Each year the orientation seminar takes on a distinct but broad theme and uses it to explore the many methodologies and intellectual traditions represented in the program, including canonical works in the fields represented by JSP. The class is limited to first-year JSP students. |
| Law 209.3 Introductory Statistics 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is the required first-year quantitative methods course for JSP students. The goal of this course is to provide students with enough background in probability and statistics so that they can successfully: --evaluate basic quantitative empirical research in law and social science --begin to conduct their own empirical research --take more advanced quantitative methods courses to further develop their skills. The course focuses on quantitative research design and the general concepts that underly statistical inference. The hope is that students who successfully complete the course will be able to think clearly about a wide range of substantive problems. This course is a starting point. It is simply not possible to cover what the typical empirical researcher should know about probability and statistics in one course. Students who plan to do empirical research should take several additional methodology courses. The course textbook will be Quantitative Social Science by Kosuke Imai. Fall 2020 Description: This course is the required first-year quantitative methods course for JSP students. The goal of this course is to provide students with enough background in probability and statistics so that they can successfully: --evaluate basic quantitative empirical research in law and social science --begin to conduct their own empirical research --take more advanced quantitative methods courses to further develop their skills. The course focuses on quantitative research design and the general concepts that underly statistical inference. The hope is that students who successfully complete the course will be able to think clearly about a wide range of substantive problems. This course is a starting point. It is simply not possible to cover what the typical empirical researcher should know about probability and statistics in one course. Students who plan to do empirical research should take several additional methodology courses. The course textbook will be Quantitative Social Science by Kosuke Imai. Fall 2022 Description: This course is the required first-year quantitative methods course for JSP students. The goal of this course is to provide students with enough background in applied empirical research so that they can successfully: --evaluate basic quantitative empirical research in law and social science --take more advanced quantitative methods courses to further develop their skills. --begin to conduct their own empirical research The course focuses on quantitative research design and the general concepts that underly statistical inference. The hope is that students who successfully complete the course will be able to think clearly about a wide range of substantive problems. Note: this course is a starting point. It is not possible to cover what the typical empirical researcher should know about statistics in one course. Students who plan to do empirical research should take several additional methodology courses. Fall 2023 Description: This course is a required first-year quantitative methods course for JSP students. The goal of this course is to provide students with enough background in applied empirical research so that they can successfully: --consume and evaluate basic quantitative empirical research in law and social science --take more advanced quantitative methods courses to further develop their skills. --begin to conduct their own empirical research The course focuses on research design and the general concepts that underlie statistical inference. The hope is that students who successfully complete the course will be able to think clearly about a wide range of substantive problems. Note: this course is a starting point. It is not a substitute for a first-year statistics course. Moreover, it is not possible to cover what the typical empirical researcher should know about statistics in one course. Students who plan to do empirical research should take several additional methodology courses. Spring 2025 Description: This course is a required first-year quantitative methods course for JSP students. The goal of this course is to provide students with enough background in applied empirical research so that they can successfully: --consume and evaluate basic quantitative empirical research in law and social science --take more advanced quantitative methods courses to further develop their skills. --begin to conduct their own empirical research The course focuses on research design and the general concepts that underlie statistical inference. The hope is that students who successfully complete the course will be able to think clearly about a wide range of substantive problems. Note: this course is a starting point. It is not a substitute for a first-year statistics course. Moreover, it is not possible to cover what the typical empirical researcher should know about statistics in one course. Students who plan to do empirical research should take several additional methodology courses. Fall 2025 Description: This course is a required first-year quantitative methods course for JSP students. The goal of this course is to provide students with enough background in applied empirical research so that they can successfully: --consume and evaluate basic quantitative empirical research in law and social science --take more advanced quantitative methods courses to further develop their skills. --begin to conduct their own empirical research The course focuses on research design and the general concepts that underlie statistical inference. The hope is that students who successfully complete the course will be able to think clearly about a wide range of substantive problems. Note: this course is a starting point. It is not a substitute for a first-year statistics course. Moreover, it is not possible to cover what the typical empirical researcher should know about statistics in one course. Students who plan to do empirical research should take several additional methodology courses. |
| Law 209.45 Psychology of Diversity and Discrimination in American Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: How does the psychology of culture, race, and ethnicity shape the legal pursuit of diversity and equal treatment? How are people thinking about, reacting to, and doing diversity in their everyday lives? What are the predominant perspectives on diversity and how are they being deployed or challenged in legal battles over race-conscious policies? What are the implications for efforts to remedy historic discrimination? These will be the central questions of this course. We will examine concepts of race and culture, various understandings of and approaches to diversity found in the law, and the role of sociocultural structures in shaping the operation of anti-discrimination law and social policy. Special attention will be given to the use of diversity-related psychological research in law. Some topics include: inclusive institutional design; psychology of desegregation, colorblindness and equal protection; "critical mass," "diversity benefits," and affirmative action; stereotyping, intent, and anti-discrimination law; psychology of sexism in the workplace; psychology of social class and poverty. Students will broaden their toolkit for analyzing legal debates and issues surrounding “diversity” and learn how to create opportunities for building inclusive and equitable diverse environments. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 209.48 Berkeley Empirical Legal Studies Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The BELS (Berkeley Empirical Legal Studies) seminar provides a context for students in law and social sciences graduate students conducting quantitative or qualitative empirical work on law in which to develop articles for publication, dissertation chapters, grant proposals, dissertation proposals, and/or drafts of methodological instruments (e.g., surveys, interview protocols, and observational strategies), etc. Depending on the type of project and the stage the project is at, the seminar will address issues such as: framing research in terms of the relevant literatures in law, law and society, and social sciences; motivating and framing research questions; contributions of the research question to theory and policy; logical problems with the argument; research design and feasibility; types of data and data collection strategies; data analysis; relevant audiences; publication options and strategies; presentation styles; and funding options (for research proposals). At each session, one participant will have their written work discussed and one student will be asked to write and circulate in advance a written critique of the work being discussed that week. Critiques will be posted to bspace along with other relevant materials generated in the discussions (e.g., lists of additional readings on theoretical and/or methodological approaches). Each seminar participant must attend all sessions, present their work once or twice, and be a discussant. THE SEMINAR IS ONLY OPEN TO THOSE GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR AND HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS BELS FELLOWS. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/center-for-the-study-of-law-society/bels-fellows/ Fall 2020 Description: The BELS (Berkeley Empirical Legal Studies) seminar provides a context for students in law and social sciences graduate students conducting quantitative or qualitative empirical work on law in which to develop articles for publication, dissertation chapters, grant proposals, dissertation proposals, and/or drafts of methodological instruments (e.g., surveys, interview protocols, and observational strategies), etc. Depending on the type of project and the stage the project is at, the seminar will address issues such as: framing research in terms of the relevant literatures in law, law and society, and social sciences; motivating and framing research questions; contributions of the research question to theory and policy; logical problems with the argument; research design and feasibility; types of data and data collection strategies; data analysis; relevant audiences; publication options and strategies; presentation styles; and funding options (for research proposals). At each session, one participant will have their written work discussed and one student will be asked to write and circulate in advance a written critique of the work being discussed that week. Critiques will be posted to bspace along with other relevant materials generated in the discussions (e.g., lists of additional readings on theoretical and/or methodological approaches). Each seminar participant must attend all sessions, present their work once or twice, and be a discussant. THE SEMINAR IS ONLY OPEN TO THOSE GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR AND HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS BELS FELLOWS. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/center-for-the-study-of-law-society/bels-fellows/. Spring 2021 Description: The BELS (Berkeley Empirical Legal Studies) seminar provides a context for students in law and social sciences graduate students conducting quantitative or qualitative empirical work on law in which to develop articles for publication, dissertation chapters, grant proposals, dissertation proposals, and/or drafts of methodological instruments (e.g., surveys, interview protocols, and observational strategies), etc. Depending on the type of project and the stage the project is at, the seminar will address issues such as: framing research in terms of the relevant literatures in law, law and society, and social sciences; motivating and framing research questions; contributions of the research question to theory and policy; logical problems with the argument; research design and feasibility; types of data and data collection strategies; data analysis; relevant audiences; publication options and strategies; presentation styles; and funding options (for research proposals). At each session, one participant will have their written work discussed and one student will be asked to write and circulate in advance a written critique of the work being discussed that week. Critiques will be posted to bspace along with other relevant materials generated in the discussions (e.g., lists of additional readings on theoretical and/or methodological approaches). Each seminar participant must attend all sessions, present their work once or twice, and be a discussant. THE SEMINAR IS ONLY OPEN TO THOSE GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO HAVE APPLIED FOR AND HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS BELS FELLOWS. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/center-for-the-study-of-law-society/bels-fellows/ Fall 2021 Description: This course is a professional workshop for advanced graduate students selected to be BELS fellows through a competitive process the prior spring at the Center for the Study of Law and Society. Only BELS fellows may attend or enroll. This course will meet September 2nd, October 14th, November 4th and December 2nd. https://csls.berkeley.edu/opportunities/bels-fellowship Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: THIS COURSE SHOULD NOT BE LISTED ON THE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES, IT IS A PRO SEMINAR FOR BERKELEY EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES SCHOLARS SELECTED BY A COMPETITIVE PROCESS. Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: This course is open only to BELS fellows selected though a competitive process the prior year. It should not be posted in the course roster for the law school. Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: This is a professional workshop open only to CSLS Berkeley Empirical Law Fellows, selected by a competitive process the academic year before the course begins. Spring 2025 Description: This is a professional workshop open only to CSLS Berkeley Empirical Law Fellows, selected by a competitive process the academic year before the course begins. Fall 2025 Description: This is a professional workshop open only to CSLS Berkeley Empirical Law Fellows, selected by a competitive process the academic year before the course begins. It should not be listed on the course schedule at all. |
| Law 209.5 Research Design 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is an introductory course focusing on how to conceptualize and execute empirical research projects in the social sciences. We will briefly examine the philosophical issues that undergird such research, along with the nuts and bolts of actual research methods. At the end of this course, students should have a good sense of a range of research methods (both qualitative and quantitative) as well as a sense of how to think about the kinds of research problems that will provide the core of a Ph.D. thesis. The main intellectual agenda will be to develop a sophisticated and rigorous sense of how to ask and answer a scholarly interdisciplinary socio-legal research question using empirical observation (broadly defined). The objective for the semester is to write a research proposal in the style of a National Science Foundation (or other government agency) proposal. Students will also have smaller writing assignments over the course of the semester to learn how to write the components of an empirical research proposal. Admission to the course is by permission of the instructors only. Students should be prepared to describe the research project for which they will write a proposal in order to be admitted to the class. Students for whom this course is a degree requirement will have priority for enrollment. This course is primarily aimed at PhD students. Non-PhD students should consult with the instructor before enrolling in the course. Spring 2021 Description: This is an introductory course focusing on how to conceptualize and design empirical research projects in the social sciences. "Empirical research" includes a broad range of qualitative (including historical) and quantitative inquiry. We will briefly examine the philosophical issues that undergird such research, along with the nuts and bolts of actual research methods. At the end of this course, students should have a good familiarity with a range of research methods (both qualitative and quantitative) as well as a sense of how to think about the kinds of research problems that will occupy the core of a PhD dissertation or a similarly situated research project. The main intellectual agenda will be to develop a sophisticated and rigorous sense of how to ask and answer a scholarly research question concerning the workings of law and society (broadly understood), using social science and related data. Students should note that this course includes a simulation in which they will be asked to write a research proposal. Students will also be asked to complete smaller writing assignments throughout the course leading up to the final proposal. This course is primarily aimed at PhD students, although JSD and LLM thesis-track students interested in pursuing empirical research are welcome to apply. Admission to the course is by application. Students should email their applications to Professor Morrill by November 13th. In the application, students should briefly describe the research project they plan to write a proposal about in the class. Students for whom this course is a degree requirement will have priority for enrollment. After November 13th applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2025 Description: This is an introductory course focusing on how to conceptualize and design empirical research projects in the social sciences. "Empirical research" includes a broad range of qualitative (including historical) and quantitative inquiry. We will briefly examine the philosophical issues that undergird such research, along with the nuts and bolts of actual research methods. At the end of this course, students should have a good familiarity with a range of research methods (both qualitative and quantitative) as well as a sense of how to think about the kinds of research problems that will occupy the core of a PhD dissertation or a similarly situated research project. The main intellectual agenda will be to develop a sophisticated and rigorous sense of how to ask and answer a scholarly research question concerning the workings of law and society (broadly understood), using social science and related data. Students should note that this course includes a simulation in which they will be asked to write a research proposal. Students will also be asked to complete smaller writing assignments throughout the course leading up to the final proposal. This is a required course for Phd students. Students from other degrees (JSD, LLM, JD) can apply to join the class by submitting an application to cmorrill@law.berkeley.edu by November 9th that includes a short paragraph describing why they want to design an empirical research project. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 209.52 Research Design Normative Interpretive Inquiry 3 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course is designed primarily for graduate students in the JSP program interested in research design for normative and interpretive inquiries. It aims to introduce students to a variety of approaches to research design and conceptual analysis utilized in, among other fields, legal and political theory, jurisprudence, intellectual history, moral philosophy and ethics, and critical theory. Readings will be drawn from a wide range of authors, including Charles Taylor, William Dilthey, Alexandre Koyre, as well as contemporary scholars working on conceptual ethics, normativity, and mixed methods research. |
| Law 210 Legal Profession 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with some consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course’s aim is to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion. For this reasons, attendance is required. Ten percent of the final grade will be determined by class participation. The class will include some discussion of the MPRE, and practice multiple-choice questions, although it is not an MPRE prep course. Hans I. Moore is an Assistant District Attorney in the Independent Investigation Bureau, an independent unit within the San Francisco District Attorney's Office ensuring law enforcement accountability by conducting independent investigations, and where warranted, criminally prosecuting officers who violate the law. Prior to joining the SFDA's office Hans was a Senior Staff Attorney at Public Advocates, Inc., a non-profit civil rights law firm where he focused on education equity through policy advocacy and litigation. Hans has served as Deputy Trial Counsel at the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel for the State Bar of California where he prosecuted violations of California's Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act. Before moving to California, Hans practiced law in Maryland as a state prosecutor and civil litigator and served on Maryland's Attorney Grievance Commission which oversees the misconduct complaints lodged against Maryland attorneys. Fall 2020 Description: This course explores the law governing lawyers, with primary focus on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and secondary focus on selected California rules. This course satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. Attendance is strongly encouraged, significant class participation can result in a grade bump. The instructor will provide all course materials online including an outline of the relevant law and a packet or readings and hypotheticals. Students may choose between an issue spotter final exam or writing a 20-page, double-spaced paper on some topic relevant to the course. (The instructor, John Steele, is a solo practitioner and is a certified specialist in the law of legal malpractice (Cal. Bd. of Legal Spec.)) Spring 2021 Description: This course explores the law governing lawyers, with primary focus on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and secondary focus on selected California rules. This course satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. Attendance is strongly encouraged, significant class participation can result in a grade bump. The instructor will provide all course materials online including an outline of the relevant law and a packet or readings and hypotheticals. Students may choose between an issue spotter final exam or writing a 20-page, double-spaced paper on some topic relevant to the course. (The instructor, John Steele, is a solo practitioner and is a certified specialist in the law of legal malpractice (Cal. Bd. of Legal Spec.)) Fall 2021 Description: This course explores the law governing lawyers, with primary focus on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and secondary focus on selected California rules. This course satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. Attendance is strongly encouraged, significant class participation can result in a grade bump. The instructor will provide all course materials online including an outline of the relevant law and a packet or readings and hypotheticals. Students may choose between an issue spotter final exam or writing a 20-page, double-spaced paper on some topic relevant to the course. (The instructor, John Steele, is a solo practitioner and is a certified specialist in the law of legal malpractice (Cal. Bd. of Legal Spec.)) Spring 2022 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with some consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course’s aim is to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Ten percent of the final grade will be determined by class participation. The class will include some discussion of the MPRE, and practice multiple-choice questions, although it is not an MPRE prep course. Merri A. Baldwin is a shareholder at the San Francisco law firm of Rogers Joseph O'Donnell where she represents attorneys and law firms in legal malpractice, discipline and risk management issues. She is a member of the California Lawyers Association Legal Ethics Committee and the past chair of the California State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC). Fall 2022 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course’s aim is to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Fifteen percent (15%) of the final grade will be determined by class participation. Dena M. Roche is a Managing Partner and founder of the California law firm O’Rielly & Roche LLP, where she counsels lawyers, law firms, and in-house legal departments on matters of professional responsibility, risk management, and law firm practice management. She is the current advisor and past chair of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC). Spring 2023 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with some consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course’s aim is to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Ten percent of the final grade will be determined by class participation. The class will include some discussion of the MPRE, and practice multiple-choice questions, although it is not an MPRE prep course. This class will be co-taught by Merri A. Baldwin and Amy Bomse. Both are shareholders at the San Francisco law firm of Rogers Joseph O'Donnell where they represent attorneys and law firms in legal malpractice, discipline and risk management issues. Both are past chairs of the California State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct. Fall 2023 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course’s aim is to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Fifteen percent (15%) of the final grade will be determined by class participation. Dena M. Roche is a Managing Partner and founder of the California law firm O’Rielly & Roche LLP, where she counsels lawyers, law firms, and in-house legal departments on matters of professional responsibility, risk management, and law firm practice management. She is the former advisor and past chair of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC) and is actively involved in the California and national ethics community. Spring 2024 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with some consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course’s aim is to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Ten percent of the final grade will be determined by class participation. The class will include some discussion of the MPRE, and practice multiple-choice questions, although it is not an MPRE prep course. This class will be taught by Amy Bomse. Ms. Bomse is a practicing lawyer and a partner at the San Francisco law firm of Rogers Joseph O'Donnell. She represents attorneys and law firms in legal malpractice, discipline and risk management issues. She chaired the California State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct. Fall 2024 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course aims to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Fifteen percent (15%) of the final grade will be determined by class participation. Dena M. Roche is a Managing Partner and founder of the California law firm O’Rielly & Roche LLP, where she counsels lawyers, law firms, and in-house legal departments on matters of professional responsibility, risk management, and law firm practice management. She is the former advisor and past chair of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC) and is actively involved in the California and national ethics community. Spring 2025 Description: This course will explore the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law. We will focus on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct as well as ethics opinions, statutes, regulations and relevant case law, with consideration of California ethics rules on select issues. The course aims to provide students the tools to identify and analyze ethical questions from a practical perspective. We will utilize real and hypothetical case studies to contextualize the various rules and learn a process for facing ethical dilemmas. This course is interactive and requires participation in the form of class discussion and small-group exercises. For this reason, attendance is required. Ten percent (10%) of the final grade will be determined by class participation. Fall 2025 Description: This course explores the law governing lawyers with a primary focus on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and a secondary focus on selected California rules. The instructor will provide all course materials online including an outline of the relevant law and a packet of readings and hypotheticals. Students may choose between an issue spotter final exam or writing a 20-page, double-spaced paper on a topic relevant to the course. The instructor, John Steele, is a solo practitioner and is a certified specialist in the law of legal malpractice (Cal. Bd. of Legal Spec.) |
| Law 210.1S Legal Ethics in the Practice of Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course is a practical exploration of the varied and often competing duties and influences that guide lawyers’ conduct. These duties derive largely from written ethical rules and case law. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct have been adopted in one form or another by almost every state except California. The MPRE exam is based on these rules. We will look closely at them. We will also consider the major differences between the ABA Model Rules and California’s rules. But we will drill much more deeply than a mere study of rules and cases. This course will challenge you to understand the limitations of the rules and to reflect on how you would (or do) conduct yourselves when facing a variety of ethical dilemmas. We will explore a range of ethical problems faced by practicing lawyers. We will consider litigation and transactional matters, civil and criminal cases, and the particular concerns of prosecutors and other government lawyers. We will assess the kinds of ethical and moral decisions lawyers must make and the many consequences of those decisions. Classes will contain lectures but will primarily feature an extended conversation among the whole class about a series of current ethical cases and hypothetical problems. The hypos are designed to mirror genuine practice situations that also could be on the bar exam. The problems largely defy the idea of a “correct” answer. We will focus on those difficult cases that fall in the interstices of the rules, a place where common sense and a moral compass offer necessary guidance. They are intended to draw out varying points of view. You are encouraged to offer your own experiences and values as well as your country’s different approaches into the discussions. NOTE: Real time attendance is required for this course. You must be able to attend in real time either in-person or on Zoom. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 26th, and 27th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: The course is intended to familiarize students with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which are tested on the MPRE exam and the California Bar Exam, and the California Rules of Professional Conduct, which are tested on the California Bar Exam. We begin with an explanation of the rules that most frequently affect practicing attorneys. Then we either complete reinforcement exercises that apply the rules to different fact scenarios or we break into groups to discuss more detailed ethical problems from the Lerman and Schrag casebook that require a working knowledge of the rules combined with critical judgment. Some of the group exercises are based on actual scenarios; some are fictional; all provoke strong opinions. On days when we break into groups, we will all debrief together at the end of class. Professor Lois Schwartz has been teaching law students for over 25 years. She graduated from Berkeley Law in 1989. She is a member of the full-time faculty at UC Hastings and has taught a popular Legal Ethics course there for many years. She has participated in groups encouraging the reform of California Rules of Ethics and makes a particular point of incorporating relevant ethical issues into the other doctrinal courses she teaches. Texts for Legal Ethics: Rule Book. ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct 2021 ed. ISBN 1641058595 and 978-1641058599. There is also an e-book available. Order from amazon.com or www.ShopABA.org. Past editions are OK. This is the least expensive publication that contains both the rules and the comments. Other MRPC rule books are also OK. The ABA Model Rules are also available online but your access to online sites may be restricted while you are writing the final exam. Case book. Authors Lerman and Schrag have two versions of their casebook. One is the full text. That is the fifth edition described below. The other is the concise edition, which is the fourth edition described below. Either is fine for this course. Prior editions are also fine. You may purchase or rent either. I believe e-books are also available. Lisa Lerman & Philip Schrag, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law. Full 5th edition (Wolters Kluwer 2020). ISBN: 9781543804669. OR Lisa Lerman and Philip Schrag, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law Concise Edition. 4th edition (Wolters Kluwer 2016). ISBN-13: 978-1454891284 or ISBN-10: 1454891289. This is a shorter version of the full text casebook but the savings are not significant. Prior editions are fine. Summer 2023 Description: The course is intended to familiarize students with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which are tested on the MPRE exam and the California Bar Exam, and the California Rules of Professional Conduct, which are tested on the California Bar Exam. We begin with an explanation of the rules that most frequently affect practicing attorneys. Then we either complete reinforcement exercises that apply the rules to different fact scenarios or we break into groups to discuss more detailed ethical problems from the Lerman and Schrag casebook that require a working knowledge of the rules combined with critical judgment. Some of the group exercises are based on actual scenarios; some are fictional; all provoke strong opinions. On days when we break into groups, we will all debrief together at the end of class. Professor Lois Schwartz has been teaching law students for over 25 years. She graduated from Berkeley Law in 1989. She is a member of the full-time faculty at UC Hastings and has taught a popular Legal Ethics course there for many years. She has participated in groups encouraging the reform of California Rules of Ethics and makes a particular point of incorporating relevant ethical issues into the other doctrinal courses she teaches. Texts for Legal Ethics: Rule Book. ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct 2022 ed. ISBN 9781639051281. There is also an e-book available. Order from amazon.com or www.ShopABA.org. The product code on the ABA website is 2150083. Past editions are OK. This is the least expensive publication that contains both the rules and the comments. Other MRPC rule books are also OK. The ABA Model Rules are also available online but your access to online sites may be restricted while you are writing the final exam. Case book. Authors Lerman and Schrag have two versions of their casebook. One is the full text. That is the fifth edition described below. The other is the concise edition, which is the fourth edition described below. Either is fine for this course. Prior editions are also fine. You may purchase or rent either. I believe e-books are also available. Lisa Lerman & Philip Schrag, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law. Full 5th edition (Wolters Kluwer 2020). ISBN: 9781543804669. OR Lisa Lerman and Philip Schrag, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law Concise Edition. 4th edition (Wolters Kluwer 2016). ISBN-13: 978-1454891284 or ISBN-10: 1454891289. This is a shorter version of the full text casebook but the savings are not significant. Prior editions are fine. Summer 2024 Description: The course is intended to familiarize students with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which are tested on the MPRE exam and the California Bar Exam, and the California Rules of Professional Conduct, which are tested on the California Bar Exam. We begin with an explanation of the rules that most frequently affect practicing attorneys. Then we either complete reinforcement exercises that apply the rules to different fact scenarios or we break into groups to discuss more detailed ethical problems from the Lerman and Schrag casebook that require a working knowledge of the rules combined with critical judgment. Some of the group exercises are based on actual scenarios; some are fictional; all provoke strong opinions. On days when we break into groups, we will all debrief together at the end of class. Professor Lois Schwartz has been teaching law students for over 25 years. She graduated from Berkeley Law in 1989. She is a member of the full-time faculty at UC Hastings and has taught a popular Legal Ethics course there for many years. She has participated in groups encouraging the reform of California Rules of Ethics and makes a particular point of incorporating relevant ethical issues into the other doctrinal courses she teaches. Summer 2025 Description: This course fulfills the ABA requirement for legal ethics. We will cover the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and will apply them to realistic hypotheticals drawn from practice experience. The instructor will provide all course materials online including an outline of the relevant law and a packet of readings and hypotheticals. |
| Law 210.2A Workshop in Law, Philosophy & Political Theory 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing work-in-progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to enable students to engage directly with legal scholars, philosophers, and political theorists working on important normative questions. Another aim is to bring together scholars from different disciplines and perspectives, such as economics, history, sociology, and political science, who have normative interests. This semester the workshop, co-taught by Joshua Cohen and Desmond Jagmohan, will focus on the theme of property and justice. The semester will look at the subject historically and thematically. There are several sub-themes worth noting. The first is on the philosophical and legal foundations of property rights, moving from intimate to global concerns: the idea of self-ownership (Carnegy-Arbuthnott), patent protection and distributive justice (Syed), ownership and social obligations (Katz), and public ownership (Wyman). The second theme is on the historical relationship between race, slavery and property (Rosenthal, Jones-Rogers, and Nichols): what it means to own human beings, to have propery right in another person. The third theme is on territory and indigenous politics: the cost of conquest in North America (Hendrix) and its literary reclaiming (intellectual property) in the Americas, more broadly (Zimmer). The fourth theme looks at property rights from two quite different perspectives: the use of coercion to coordinate property rights across borders (Wenar) and what it means to have few, if any property rights—homelessness (Essert). The moral vulnerabilities of the homeless should be of especial interest here. The format of the course is as follows. For the sessions with guest presenters, a designated student commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2:00 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest until 3:00. This is a cross-listed/room-shared course with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Students may enroll through Law (Law 210.2), Philosophy (Philosophy 290-09), or Political Science (PS 211). The first class will meet on Friday, August 28. Schedule: 8/28 Intro meeting (for enrolled students only) 9/4 Burke Hendrix, University of Oregon 9/11 Hannah Carnegy-Arbuthnott, York University 9/18 Leif Wenar, Stanford University 9/25 Caitlin Rosenthal, UC, Berkeley 10/2 Talha Syed, UC, Berkeley 10/9 Stephanie Jones-Rogers, UC, Berkeley 10/16 Robert Nichols, University of Minnesota 10/23 Chris Essert, University of Toronto 11/30 Zac Zimmer, University of California, Santa Cruz 11/6 Katrina Wyman, NYU Law 11/13 Martin Hagglund, Yale University 11/20 Larissa Katz, University of Toronto Fall 2021 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing work-in-progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to enable students to engage directly with legal scholars, philosophers, and political theorists working on important normative questions. Another aim is to bring together scholars from different disciplines and perspectives, such as economics, history, sociology, and political science, who have normative interests. The theme for the Fall 2021 workshop is Rawls’s A Theory of Justice fifty years on. The format of the course is as follows: for the sessions with guest presenters, a designated student commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2:00 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest until 3:00. This is a cross-listed/room-shared course with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Students may enroll through Law (Law 210.2A), Philosophy (Philosophy 290-07), or Political Science (PS 211). The first class will be on Friday, August 20th - 12PM-3PM, and the final class meeting is November 19th . This semester the workshop is co-taught by Joshua Cohen and Veronique Munoz-Darde. 20th August - Introduction - no speaker 27th August - Lara Buchak, Princeton 3rd September- Thomas Piketty, EHESS & the Paris School of Economics 10th September- Samuel Scheffler, NYU 17th September- Samuel Freeman, University of Pennsylvania 24th September- Sarah Song, UC Berkeley 1st October- Tommie Shelby, Harvard 8th October- Seana Shiffrin, UCLA 15th October- T. M. Scanlon, Harvard 22nd October- Arthur Ripstein, University of Toronto 29th October- Teresa Bejan, Oxford 5th November- Erin Kelly, Tufts 12th November- Josh Cohen, UC Berkeley 19th November- Kenzie Bok, Harvard Fall 2022 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing work-in-progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to enable students to engage directly with legal scholars, philosophers, and political theorists working on important normative questions. Another aim is to bring together scholars from different disciplines and perspectives, such as economics, history, sociology, and political science, who have normative interests. The theme for the Fall 2022 workshop is "Structural Injustice". The format of the course is as follows: for the sessions with guest presenters, a designated student commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2:00 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest until 3:00. This is a cross-listed/room-shared course with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Students may enroll through Law (Law 210.2A), Philosophy (Philosophy 290-08), or Political Science (PS 211). The first class will be on Friday, August 26th - 12PM-3PM, and the final class meeting is December 2nd . This semester the workshop is co-taught by Johann Frick and Veronique Munoz-Darde. August 26: Introduction, no speaker Sep 2: Sally Haslanger Sep 9: Kate Manne Sep 16: Alex Voorhoeve Sep 23: Renée Jorgensen Sep 30: tbc Oct 7: Lucas Stanczyk Oct 14: tbc Oct: 21: Wendy Salkin, Stanford Oct: 28: David Estlund Nov 4: Khiara Bridges Nov 18: Debra Satz Fall 2023 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing work-in-progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to enable students to engage directly with legal scholars, philosophers, and political theorists working on important normative questions. Another aim is to bring together scholars from different disciplines and perspectives, such as economics, history, sociology, and political science, who have normative interests. The theme for the Fall 2023 workshop is "Current Work on the History of Political, Legal, and Moral Philosophy." The format of the course is as follows: for the sessions with guest presenters, a designated student commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2:00 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest until 3:00. This is a cross-listed/room-shared course with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Students may enroll through Law (Law 210.2A), Philosophy (Philosophy 290), or Political Science (PS 211). This semester the workshop is co-taught by Joshua Cohen and Kinch Hoekstra. Fall 2024 Description: This course is a workshop for discussion work-in-progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to enable students to engage directly with legal scholars, philosophers, and political theorists working on important normative questions. Another aim is to bring together scholars from different disciplines and perspectives, such as economics, history, sociology, and political science, who have normative interests. The format of the course is as follows: for the sessions with guest presenters, a designated student commentator will lead off with a 15 minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We'll stop for a break at 2:00 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest until 3:00. This is a cross-listed/room-shared course with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Students may enroll through Law (Law 210.2A), Philosophy (Philosophy 290-6), or Political Science. This semester the workshop is co-taught by Josh Cohen and Veronique Munoz-Darde. Fall 2025 Description: This course is a colloquium for discussion of scholarly work-in-progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The class creates a space for students to engage directly with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions, with the goal of fostering critical thinking about concepts of value and developing analytical thinking and writing skills. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines and perspectives who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues philosophers and theorists should know something about. The theme for the Fall 2025 workshop is “Expression: Its Value and its Norms.” We'll look at new and recent work on free speech in a range of contexts, including political speech, artistic expression, online speech, campus protest, and academic freedom. Presenters are Eugene Volokh (Hoover), Erwin Chemerinsky (Berkeley), Jacob Mchangama (Vanderbilt), Rae Langton (Cambridge), David Cole (Georgetown), Seana Shiffrin (UCLA), Sarah Song (Berkeley), Mary Anne Franks (George Washington), Daphne Keller (Stanford), Adrienne Stone (Melbourne), Erin Miller (USC), Lea Ypi (LSE), and Ben Eidelson (Harvard). This semester, the colloquium is co-taught by Josh Cohen and R. Jay Wallace. The format of the course is as follows: for the sessions with guest presenters, a designated student commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to all in attendance, including both enrolled and non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors. After a short break at 2:00 p.m., discussion will continue with only enrolled students for the final 50 minutes. This is a cross-listed/room-shared course with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Students may enroll through Law (Law 210.2A), Philosophy (Philosophy 290), or Political Science. The first meeting of the course will be on Friday, August 22, 2025. |
| Law 210.2B Workshop in Law, Philosophy & Political Theory 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing works in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The workshop creates a space for students to engage directly with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions toward the goal of fostering critical thinking about concepts of value and developing analytical thinking and writing skills. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines and perspectives who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues philosophers and theorists should know something about. For Spring 2020, the workshop will focus on work at the intersection of political economy, democracy, and justice. The schedule of guest speakers is included below. The format of the course is as follows. For the sessions with guest presenters, lunch will be served starting at 12:00. We’ll begin at 12:15. A designated commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest from 2:10 to 3:00. This is a shared seating course between the Law School (Law 210.2B), the Philosophy Department (Philosophy 290-6), and the Political Science Department (PS 211). Guest speaker schedule: Jan. 17 Introductory session (for enrolled students only) Jan. 24 Gina Schouten (Harvard Philosophy) Jan. 31 Katharina Pistor (Columbia Law) Feb. 7 Aziz Rana (Cornell Law) Feb.14 Isabelle Ferreras (University of Louvain) Feb.21 Stefan Eich (Georgetown Political Science) Feb.28 Steven Vogel (Berkeley Political Science) March 6 David Grewal (Berkeley Law) March 13 Enrico Moretti (Berkeley Economics) March 20 Sophia Moreau (Toronto Law & Philosophy) April 3 Lucas Stanczyk (Harvard Philosophy) April 10 Amy Kapczynski (Yale Law) April 17 Reva Siegel (Yale Law) April 24 Closing session (for enrolled students only) Spring 2021 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing works in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The workshop creates a space for students to engage directly with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions toward the goal of fostering critical thinking about concepts of value and developing analytical thinking and writing skills. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines and perspectives who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues philosophers and theorists should know something about. For Spring 2021, the workshop will focus on the theme of democracy. The schedule of guest speakers is included below. The format of the course is as follows. For the sessions with a guest presenter, we’ll begin at 12:00pm. A designated commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest from 2:10 to 3:00. This is a shared seating course between the Law School (Law 210.2B), the Philosophy Department (Philosophy 290-6), and the Political Science Department (PS 211). Speaker schedule: January 22 -- Michael Hanchard (UPenn Africana Studies) January 29 -- Nadia Urbinati (Columbia Political Science) February 5 -- Eric Schickler & Paul Pierson (Berkeley Political Science) February 12 -- Daniela Cammack (Berkeley Political Science) February 19 -- Hélène Landemore (Yale Political Science) February 26 -- Lawrie Balfour (Virginia Politics) March 5 -- Niko Kolodny (Berkeley Philosophy) March 12 -- Aziz Huq (UChicago Law) March 19 -- Jonathan Gould (Berkeley Law) April 2 -- Melissa Lane (Princeton Politics) April 9 -- Richard Pildes (NYU Law) April 16 -- Michael Dawson (UChicago Political Science) April 23 -- David Estlund (Brown Philosophy) April 30 -- Closing session (enrolled students only) Spring 2022 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing works in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The workshop creates a space for students to engage directly with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions toward the goal of fostering critical thinking about concepts of value and developing analytical thinking and writing skills. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines and perspectives who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues philosophers and theorists should know something about. The format of the course is as follows. For the sessions with a guest presenter, we’ll begin at 12:00pm. A designated commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break at 2 and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest from 2:10 to 3:00. This is a shared seating course between the Law School (Law 210.2B), the Philosophy Department (Philosophy 290-6), and the Political Science Department (PS 211). Spring 2023 Description: This course is a workshop for discussing works in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The workshop creates a space for students to engage directly with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions toward the goal of fostering critical thinking about concepts of value and developing analytical thinking and writing skills. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines and perspectives who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues philosophers and theorists should know something about. For Spring 2023, the workshop will focus on the intersection of religion with law, politics, and philosophy. The schedule of guest speakers will be posted as the semester approaches. The format of the course is as follows. A designated student commentator will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the paper. The presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond and then we will open up the discussion to the group. The first part of the course will be open to all, including non-enrolled students, faculty, and visitors who wish to participate in the workshop discussion. We’ll stop for a break and those not enrolled in the course will leave. Enrolled students will continue the discussion with the guest for the last 50 minutes. This is a shared seating course between the Law School (Law 210.2B), the Philosophy Department (Philosophy 290-7), and the Political Science Department (PS 211). Spring 2024 Description: A workshop for presenting and discussing work in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to provide an opportunity for students to engage with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues of potential interest to philosophers and political theorists. The theme for Spring 2024 is "Intelligence: Human, Animal, Artificial," and we will host scholars working in Philosophy, Biology, Psychology, Law, and Engineering. Our underlying concern will be the normative implications of different ideas of what intelligence is and can do. Format: for the first two hours, a student will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the presenter’s paper and the presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond before we open up the discussion to the group. The first two hours will be open to non-enrolled students and faculty. For the third hour, the guest presenter will continue the discussion with students enrolled in the course. Enrolled students must serve as a discussant for at least one presenter’s work in progress and write three short response papers as well as a final paper of 15-20 pages. The course is cross-listed with the Philosophy and Political Science Departments. Spring 2025 Description: A workshop for presenting and discussing work in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to provide an opportunity for students to engage with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues of potential interest to philosophers and political theorists. The theme for Spring 2025 is "Critics of Liberalism," and we will host scholars working in Philosophy, Law, History, and Political Science. Our underlying concern will be the normative critiques of substantive liberal ideas from both the left and right, as well as staunch defenders of liberalism. Format: for the first two hours, a student will lead off with a 15-minute comment on the presenter’s paper and the presenter will have 5-10 minutes to respond before we open up the discussion to the group. The first two hours will be open to non-enrolled students and faculty. For the third hour, the guest presenter will continue the discussion with students enrolled in the course. Enrolled students must serve as a discussant for at least one presenter’s work in progress and write three short response papers as well as a final paper of 15-20 pages. The course is cross-listed with the Philosophy (290-6) and Political Science (211) Departments. |
| Law 210.6 Mindfulness for Lawyers:Essential Tools for Greater Effectiveness and Wellbeing in the Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will be an exploration of what it means to bring mindful awareness and mindful thought leadership to the study and practice of law. As you engage in this exploration you'll be testing two hypotheses: (i) That in any given moment you have the opportunity - and maybe, because of the influence you will have as a member of the legal profession, you have the obligation - to choose who you are, what values are crucial to you, and how you'll honor those values, as students, members of the bar, and members of society; and (ii) That cultivating mindful awareness and developing mindful thought leadership gives you critical tools to help you make those choices in ways that can result in less conflict and suffering, and more effectiveness, compassion, and wellbeing, for yourselves and your clients, in your profession, and in the wide sphere of influence that you, as lawyers, will have. Here's another way of saying this, from J. Krishnamurti: To transform the world, we must begin with ourselves; and what is important in beginning with ourselves is the intention. The intention must be to understand ourselves and not to leave it to others to transform themselves or to bring about a modified change through revolution, either of the left or of the right. It is important to understand that this is our responsibility, yours and mine; because, however small may be the world we live in, if we can transform ourselves, bring about a radically different point of view in our daily existence, then perhaps we shall affect the world at large, the extended relationship with others. Attendance and class participation are the essential elements of this course. You will be allowed no more than two unexcused absences OR two unexcused missed journal entries OR one unexcused absence and one unexcused missed journal entry, and are discouraged from missing any classes or journal entries. There will be an all-day, off-site retreat on Saturday , November 7th, which you will be required to attend. If you are enrolling in this class, please be sure you can attend this date. If you do not attend the retreat, you cannot pass the class. You will be encouraged to practice mindfulness meditation every day. You will also be required to submit a short journal entry to the instructor each week (mentioned above), and to submit a final paper of no more than three pages in length. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled student who is not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor (rarely given) will be dropped from the class. Attendance at the first class is also mandatory if you are on the waitlist and would like to be admitted to the class, and such continuing attendance is required through the drop/add period if you wish to remain on the waitlist. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. ... Professor Judi Cohen is an attorney, mindfulness teacher, and lecturer at Berkeley Law. She practiced law from 1984 to 2014, and for ten of those years also taught academic classes at USF School of Law. She began practicing yoga in the mid-1980's and mindfulness meditation in 1993, and has sat more than 130 days of silent retreat. In 2009, she founded Warrior One and developed the Essential Mindfulness for Lawyers® curriculum, an integration of classical mindfulness, modern neuroscience, and the psychology of the legal mind. In addition to teaching at Berkeley and running Warrior One, Professor Cohen is a founding board member and the Teachers Division chair for the Mindfulness in Law Society, and a member of the Bay Area Working Group for Law and Meditation. Spring 2022 Description: This course will be an exploration of what it means to bring mindful awareness and mindful thought leadership to the study and practice of law. As you engage in this exploration you'll be testing two hypotheses: (i) That in any given moment you have the opportunity - and maybe, because of the influence you will have as a member of the legal profession, you have the obligation - to choose who you are, what values are crucial to you, and how you'll honor those values, as students, members of the bar, and members of society; and (ii) That cultivating mindful awareness and developing mindful thought leadership gives you critical tools to help you make those choices in ways that can result in less conflict and suffering, and more effectiveness, compassion, and wellbeing, for yourselves and your clients, in your profession, and in the wide sphere of influence that you, as lawyers, will have. Here's another way of saying this, from J. Krishnamurti: To transform the world, we must begin with ourselves; and what is important in beginning with ourselves is the intention. The intention must be to understand ourselves and not to leave it to others to transform themselves or to bring about a modified change through revolution, either of the left or of the right. It is important to understand that this is our responsibility, yours and mine; because, however small may be the world we live in, if we can transform ourselves, bring about a radically different point of view in our daily existence, then perhaps we shall affect the world at large, the extended relationship with others. Attendance and class participation are the essential elements of this course. You will be allowed no more than two unexcused absences OR two unexcused missed journal entries OR one unexcused absence and one unexcused missed journal entry, and are discouraged from missing any classes or journal entries. There will be an all-day, off-site retreat on Saturday, February 26th 9AM-4PM, which you will be required to attend. If you are enrolling in this class, please be sure you can attend this date. If you do not attend the retreat, you cannot pass the class. As you might note from course evaluations, in previous years this retreat constituted the final class. This year, the retreat is scheduled towards the beginning of class. Class will continue after the retreat, to the end of the semester. You will be encouraged to practice both solitary and portable mindfulness every day. You will also be required to submit a short journal entry to the instructor each week (mentioned above), and to submit a final paper of no more than three pages in length. ... Professor Judi Cohen is an attorney, mindfulness teacher, and lecturer at Berkeley Law. She practiced law from 1984 to 2014, and for ten of those years also taught academic classes at USF School of Law. She began practicing yoga in the mid-1980's and mindfulness meditation in 1993, and has sat more than 150 days of silent retreat. In 2009, she founded Warrior One and developed the Mindfulness for the Legal Mind curriculum, an integration of classical mindfulness, modern neuroscience, and the psychology of the legal mind. In addition to teaching at Berkeley and running Warrior One, Professor Cohen is a founding board member and the Teachers Collective chair for the Mindfulness in Law Society, and a member of the Bay Area Working Group for Law and Meditation. Spring 2023 Description: This course begins with an introduction to mindfulness practices to understand how the mind works, and how to reduce stress, cultivate greater wellbeing, and create intentional, positive, powerful, states of mind. It then invites you into an investigation of how to be more at choice in the ways you think, work, and communicate. Integral to this investigation is an exploration of and engagement with essential lawyering skills and core lawyering values helpful in finding happiness in the law, and in contributing to a more just, equitable, profession and society. At the conclusion of the class, you'll create a vision for your most successful, joyful, and values-based life in the law. There will be a daylong retreat at Green Gulch Farm in Muir Beach, CA (in Marin County) on Saturday, February 11th. Attendance is required at the retreat. Spring 2024 Description: This course begins with an introduction to mindfulness practices to understand how the mind works, and how to reduce stress, cultivate greater wellbeing, and create intentional, positive states of mind. It then invites you into an investigation of how to be more at choice in the ways you think, work, and communicate. Integral to this investigation is an exploration of and engagement with essential lawyering skills and core lawyering values helpful in finding happiness in the law, and in contributing to a more just, equitable, profession and society. At the conclusion of the class, you'll create a vision for your most successful, joyful, and values-based life in the law. There will be a daylong, off campus retreat on Saturday, February 17th. Attendance is required at the retreat. Spring 2025 Description: This course begins with an introduction to mindfulness practices to understand how the mind works, and how to reduce stress, cultivate greater wellbeing, and create intentional, positive states of mind. It then invites you to investigate how to be thoughtful in the ways you think, work, and communicate. Integral to this investigation is an exploration of and engagement with essential lawyering skills and core lawyering values helpful in finding happiness in the law, and in contributing to a more just, equitable, profession and society. At the conclusion of the class, you'll create a vision for your most successful, joyful, and values-based life in the law. There will be a daylong, off campus retreat on SUNDAY, MARCH 9TH. Attendance is required at the retreat. |
| Law 210.62 How to Be Happy in Law School 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Studies have found alarming rates of depression, anxiety, stress, dissatisfaction among law students and attorneys. But it doesn’t have to be that way! This course will explore what’s hard about law school and, more important, how to improve the experience. Guided by materials from sociology, psychology, and those who study legal pedagogy, we will talk about what law students can do to foster their own happiness, and how they can tackle law school on their own terms (avoiding - as much as possible - the “shoulds.)” Students will emerge from this class with the tools to get the most out of these critical, and potentially wonderful, three years in law school. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 210.63 Mindfulness, Self-Care, and Belonging in the Legal Profession 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Spring 2022 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice and inquiry, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Fall 2022 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice and inquiry, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Spring 2023 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Emily Bruce served as Director of Equity & Inclusion in Berkeley Law’s Student Services Office from 2018-2022. Before that she was a Lecturer in the undergraduate Legal Studies Program at UC Berkeley, teaching courses such as “Racial Identity and the Law” and “Equal Rights in a Changing Society.” Before joining Berkeley Law, Emily practiced law in Michigan and was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Legal Practice at the University of Michigan Law School. Emily holds a mindfulness teacher certification from the Mindfulness Training Institute. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Counseling Psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley. Fall 2023 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Emily Bruce served as Director of Equity & Inclusion in Berkeley Law’s Student Services Office from 2018-2022. Before that she was a Lecturer in the undergraduate Legal Studies Program at UC Berkeley, teaching courses such as “Racial Identity and the Law” and “Equal Rights in a Changing Society.” Before joining Berkeley Law, Emily practiced law in Michigan and was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Legal Practice at the University of Michigan Law School. Emily received a mindfulness teacher certification from the Mindfulness Training Institute. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Counseling Psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley. Spring 2024 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Emily Bruce served as Director of Equity & Inclusion in Berkeley Law’s Student Services Office from 2018-2022. Before that she was a Lecturer in the undergraduate Legal Studies Program at UC Berkeley, teaching courses such as “Racial Identity and the Law” and “Equal Rights in a Changing Society.” Before joining Berkeley Law, Emily practiced law in Michigan and was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Legal Practice at the University of Michigan Law School. Emily received a mindfulness teacher certification from the Mindfulness Training Institute and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the Wright Institute. Fall 2025 Description: We do our work as lawyers in relationship to ourselves and other people. How do we want to show up in those relationships? What boundaries do we need to set in order to care for our own well-being? In this course we will use techniques from mindfulness practice to cultivate inner steadiness, resilience, and compassion for ourselves and others. Through mindfulness practice, we will explore the impact of barriers to belonging in the legal profession such as systemic racism and marginalization along other identity axes. We will also look at how we might use mindfulness and self-reflection to counter the effects of impostor phenomenon and the inner critic. Emily Bruce is Director of Inclusion & Wellness in Student Academic Advising and Support Services at Berkeley Law. Before joining Berkeley Law, she was a Lecturer in the undergraduate Legal Studies Program at UC Berkeley, teaching courses such as “Racial Identity and the Law” and “Equal Rights in a Changing Society.” Emily practiced law in Michigan and was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Legal Practice at the University of Michigan Law School. Emily received a mindfulness teacher certification from the Mindfulness Training Institute and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the Wright Institute. |
| Law 211.11 Understanding the U.S. Legal Profession 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will study the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law, with a particular focus on lawyers in a public interest, government civil and criminal practice, and labor and employment settings. Lawyers' ethical decision making is guided not only by the rules of professional conduct, which we will study, but also by the opportunities, constraints, and norms of their practice setting. Therefore, in addition to studying the rules of professional conduct tested on the California Bar Exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, the class will consider highly relevant empirical information about social, economic, and other aspects of the legal profession. That knowledge is essential to equip students to understand how lawyers in practice actually relate to their clients and colleagues and how they resolve ethical dilemmas. Finally, the class will equip students to understand some of the major issues confronting the legal profession, including access to justice for low- and moderate-income people and the challenges confronting lawyers and clients in the criminal justice system. This course is interactive and requires participation. For this reason, attendance and participation are required. Spring 2021 Description: This course will study the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law, with a particular focus on lawyers in a public interest, government civil and criminal practice, and labor and employment settings. Lawyers' ethical decision making is guided not only by the rules of professional conduct, which we will study, but also by the opportunities, constraints, and norms of their practice setting. Therefore, in addition to studying the rules of professional conduct tested on the California Bar Exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, the class will consider highly relevant empirical information about social, economic, and other aspects of the legal profession. That knowledge is essential to equip students to understand how lawyers in practice actually relate to their clients and colleagues and how they resolve ethical dilemmas. Finally, the class will equip students to understand some of the major issues confronting the legal profession, including access to justice for low- and moderate-income people and the challenges confronting lawyers and clients in the criminal justice system. This course is interactive and requires participation. For this reason, attendance and participation are required. Spring 2022 Description: This course will study the ethical issues facing all lawyers in the practice of law, with a particular focus on lawyers in a public interest, government civil and criminal practice, small and mid-size law firm practice, and labor and employment settings. Lawyers' ethical decision making is guided not only by the rules of professional conduct, which we will study, but also by the opportunities, constraints, and norms of their practice setting. Therefore, in addition to studying the rules of professional conduct tested on the California Bar Exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, the class will consider highly relevant empirical information about social, economic, and other aspects of the legal profession. That knowledge is essential to equip students to understand how lawyers in practice actually relate to their clients and colleagues and how they resolve ethical dilemmas. Finally, the class will equip students to understand some of the major issues confronting the legal profession, including access to justice for low- and moderate-income people and the challenges confronting lawyers and clients in the criminal justice system. This course is interactive and requires participation. For this reason, attendance and participation are required. Spring 2023 Description: This course is designed to prepare you to chart a successful, rewarding, and responsible career in law. Drawing from various disciplines, it will teach you about the variety of practice settings in which lawyers work and the professional opportunities and challenges of each. It will also give you the tools you will need to resolve the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront in practice and to navigate the enormous cultural, legal, and economic forces that are reshaping the legal profession. While virtually all other law school courses focus primarily on issues of concern to clients, this course revolves around issues of primary concern to you – as a person and as a lawyer. One goal of this course is to help you decide what to do with your law degree and to appreciate the tradeoffs that various choices entail. We will study the issues facing lawyers in a variety of practice settings, so that you can match your aptitudes and aspirations to the realities of different types of practice. This will help those of you choosing a first job and those who have already chosen but may be anticipating the possibility of switching jobs after a few years in practice. Another objective is to familiarize you with the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the California Disciplinary Rules, and other elements of the law that governs lawyers. We will study how they guide lawyers’ decision-making and how they do not. These rules are tested on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam and the bar exam of California and many other states. We will go well beyond the straightforward rule to consider ambiguity in the law and how lawyers do and should respond to it. Lawyers’ workplaces are arenas of professionalism that shape lawyers’ views about their role and obligations as much or more than ethics rules, disciplinary committees, liability controls, and a lawyer’s individual conscience. As a young lawyer, you need to be mindful about how your workplace shapes your views about your role and obligations so that you exercise agency in forming your professional identity. A third goal of this course is to inform you, as future leaders of the profession, about the issues and problems that confront the profession as a whole. Among the pressing issues we will consider are access to justice in the market for legal services in a time of economic inequality, the reasons for the profession’s demographics, the evolving social and economic structure of various sectors of the profession, and the effects of technology and globalization on the profession. Whether you like it or not, friends and strangers alike will look to you for commentary on the legal profession, and you will be held to account for the public’s views on lawyers. This course will push you to decide which criticisms of the profession are justified, what policy responses are appropriate, and which sectors of the profession may win or lose under various reform proposals. |
| Law 211.12 The U.S. Legal Profession: Professional Responsibility in Global Perspective 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Drawing from various disciplines, this course is designed to teach you about the variety of practice settings in which lawyers work, both in the United States and around the world. While most law school courses teach the substance of the law, with a focus on the issues that are most important to clients, this course revolves around the profession you are entering, and aims to give you a sense of what you will experience once you are there. Why study the legal profession? This course will cover many of the issues that confront the legal profession globally, such as unequal access to justice, the profession’s demographics and social structure, the challenges of maintaining independence in the face of political power, and the effects of globalization. In preparation for the role you will take up as a future leader of the profession, this course will ask you to develop a perspective on which criticisms of the profession are justified and what policy responses are appropriate. Looking at these issues in comparative perspective will also push you to develop a global view of the profession, to better understand the common challenges lawyers face around the world and to appreciate the ways in which the American legal profession is unusual. As we discuss the the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront across jurisdictions and practice settings, we will cover many of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules are tested on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, as well as on the bar exam of California and many other states, and an important objective of the course is to make sure you are familiar with them. We will go well beyond the straightforward rule to consider ambiguity in the law and how lawyers do and should respond to it. A major theme of our discussion will be about how workplaces shape lawyers’ sense of their role and obligations, as much or more than ethics rules, disciplinary committees, liability controls, and a lawyer’s individual conscience. Spring 2021 Description: Drawing from various disciplines, this course is designed to teach you about the variety of practice settings in which lawyers work, both in the United States and around the world. While most law school courses teach the substance of the law, with a focus on the issues that are most important to clients, this course revolves around the profession you are entering, and aims to give you a sense of what you will experience once you are there. Why study the legal profession? This course will cover many of the issues that confront the legal profession globally, such as unequal access to justice, the profession’s demographics and social structure, the challenges of maintaining independence in the face of political power, and the effects of globalization. In preparation for the role you will take up as a future leader of the profession, this course will ask you to develop a perspective on which criticisms of the profession are justified and what policy responses are appropriate. Looking at these issues in comparative perspective will also push you to develop a global view of the profession, to better understand the common challenges lawyers face around the world and to appreciate the ways in which the American legal profession is unusual. As we discuss the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront across jurisdictions and practice settings, we will cover many of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules are tested on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, as well as on the bar exam of California and many other states, and an important objective of the course is to make sure you are familiar with them. We will go well beyond the straightforward rule to consider ambiguity in the law and how lawyers do and should respond to it. A major theme of our discussion will be about how workplaces shape lawyers’ sense of their role and obligations, as much or more than ethics rules, disciplinary committees, liability controls, and a lawyer’s individual conscience. Spring 2022 Description: Drawing from various disciplines, this course is designed to teach you about the variety of practice settings in which lawyers work, both in the United States and around the world. While most law school courses teach the substance of the law, with a focus on the issues that are most important to clients, this course revolves around the profession you are entering, and aims to give you a sense of what you will experience once you are there. Why study the legal profession? This course will cover many of the issues that confront the legal profession globally, such as unequal access to justice, the profession’s demographics and social structure, the challenges of maintaining independence in the face of political power, and the effects of globalization. In preparation for the role you will take up as a future leader of the profession, this course will ask you to develop a perspective on which criticisms of the profession are justified and what policy responses are appropriate. Looking at these issues in comparative perspective will also push you to develop a global view of the profession, to better understand the common challenges lawyers face around the world and to appreciate the ways in which the American legal profession is unusual. As we discuss the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront across jurisdictions and practice settings, we will cover many of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules are tested on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, as well as on the bar exam of California and many other states, and an important objective of the course is to make sure you are familiar with them. We will go well beyond the straightforward rule to consider ambiguity in the law and how lawyers do and should respond to it. A major theme of our discussion will be about how workplaces shape lawyers’ sense of their role and obligations, as much or more than ethics rules, disciplinary committees, liability controls, and a lawyer’s individual conscience. Spring 2024 Description: Drawing from various disciplines, this course is designed to teach you about the variety of practice settings in which lawyers work, both in the United States and around the world. While most law school courses teach the substance of the law, with a focus on the issues that are most important to clients, this course revolves around the profession you are entering, and aims to give you a sense of what you will experience once you are there. Why study the legal profession? This course will cover many of the issues that confront the legal profession globally, such as unequal access to justice, the profession’s demographics and social structure, the challenges of maintaining independence in the face of political power, and the effects of globalization. In preparation for the role you will take up as a future leader of the profession, this course will ask you to develop a perspective on which criticisms of the profession are justified and what policy responses are appropriate. Looking at these issues in comparative perspective will also push you to develop a global view of the profession, to better understand the common challenges lawyers face around the world and to appreciate the ways in which the American legal profession is unusual. As we discuss the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront across jurisdictions and practice settings, we will cover many of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules are tested on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, as well as on the bar exam of California and many other states, and an important objective of the course is to make sure you are familiar with them. We will go well beyond the straightforward rule to consider ambiguity in the law and how lawyers do and should respond to it. A major theme of our discussion will be about how workplaces shape lawyers’ sense of their role and obligations, as much or more than ethics rules, disciplinary committees, liability controls, and a lawyer’s individual conscience. |
| Law 211.2 Practical Ethics: A Simulation Approach 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: “Virtually all difficult ethical problems arise from conflict between a lawyer’s responsibilities to clients, to the legal system, and to the lawyer’s own interest in remaining an ethical person while earning a satisfactory living.” Preamble [9] to ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Many of you take this course just to satisfy your PR requirement. You think that legal ethics is a boring subject. Au contraire. Legal ethics is exciting, challenging, and profound. It is required for a very good reason: It is the most important course taught in law schools. At its essence it is about what kind of lawyer, even what kind of person you want to be. This course considers legal ethics from a real world perspective. Our class discussions will revolve around hypothetical problems that are designed to sensitize you to the kinds of ethical and moral issues you will no doubt face in your careers. They demand consideration of the many competing factors that tug at lawyers as they face those decisions. These factors include the rules of professional conduct (of which you will get a healthy dose), lawyers’ personal values and interests, the demands of justice and truth-seeking, and the rights of others. Lawyers are not merely rule reciters and legal analysts. They are human beings trying to navigate their careers and lives. One important course goal is to assist you in developing a rough methodology for approaching these issues in ways that are consistent with ethical rules and your own sense of self. This course is designed for those who enjoy learning by doing and discussing. It is not primarily a lecture course. Instead, its hallmarks are student-performed skits and lively discussions, leavened by sufficient lecturing to cover the basics. For those who prefer to learn simply by listening to lectures or who are interested just in the black letter law, another P.R. course might be a better fit. The starting point for our discussions will typically be lawyers’ ethical duties that derive largely from written rules and case law. For these duties our particular focus will be the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules), which have been adopted in one form or another by every state except California. We will examine the majority of the Model Rules. (The MPRE is based on the Model Rules.) We will also consider the significant differences between the Model Rules and California’s rules, with particular emphasis on California’s differing treatment of the duty to preserve client confidences. We will drill much more deeply than a mere study of rules and cases. This course will challenge you to understand the limitations of the rules and to reflect on how you would conduct yourselves when facing a variety of ethical dilemmas. The Model Rules in many instances represent only a minimum standard of conduct to which lawyers must adhere. You may decide to set your personal bar much higher. We will devote our final class to discussing professional satisfaction. This has proved to be especially meaningful for many students. This course is not designed primarily as a prep for the MPRE. But students regularly report that the course provides a strong foundation for independent MPRE preparation. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Spring 2021 Description: “Virtually all difficult ethical problems arise from conflict between a lawyer’s responsibilities to clients, to the legal system, and to the lawyer’s own interest in remaining an ethical person while earning a satisfactory living.” Preamble [9] to ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Many of you take this course just to satisfy your PR requirement. You think that legal ethics is a boring subject. Au contraire. Legal ethics is exciting, challenging, and profound. It is required for a very good reason: It is the most important course taught in law schools. At its essence it is about what kind of lawyer, even what kind of person you want to be. This course considers legal ethics from a real world perspective. Our class discussions will revolve around hypothetical problems that are designed to sensitize you to the kinds of ethical and moral issues you will no doubt face in your careers. They demand consideration of the many competing factors that tug at lawyers as they face those decisions. These factors include the rules of professional conduct (of which you will get a healthy dose), lawyers’ personal values and interests, the demands of justice and truth-seeking, and the rights of others. Lawyers are not merely rule reciters and legal analysts. They are human beings trying to navigate their careers and lives. One important course goal is to assist you in developing a rough methodology for approaching these issues in ways that are consistent with ethical rules and your own sense of self. This course is designed for those who enjoy learning by doing and discussing. It is not primarily a lecture course. Instead, its hallmarks are student-performed skits and lively discussions, leavened by sufficient lecturing to cover the basics. For those who prefer to learn simply by listening to lectures or who are interested just in the black letter law, another P.R. course might be a better fit. The starting point for our discussions will typically be lawyers’ ethical duties that derive largely from written rules and case law. For these duties our particular focus will be the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules), which have been adopted in one form or another by every state except California. We will examine the majority of the Model Rules. (The MPRE is based on the Model Rules.) We will also consider the significant differences between the Model Rules and California’s rules, with particular emphasis on California’s differing treatment of the duty to preserve client confidences. We will drill much more deeply than a mere study of rules and cases. This course will challenge you to understand the limitations of the rules and to reflect on how you would conduct yourselves when facing a variety of ethical dilemmas. The Model Rules in many instances represent only a minimum standard of conduct to which lawyers must adhere. You may decide to set your personal bar much higher. We will devote our final class to discussing professional satisfaction. This has proved to be especially meaningful for many students. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Spring 2022 Description: “Virtually all difficult ethical problems arise from conflict between a lawyer’s responsibilities to clients, to the legal system, and to the lawyer’s own interest in remaining an ethical person while earning a satisfactory living.” Preamble [9] to ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Many of you take this course just to satisfy your PR requirement. You think that legal ethics is a boring subject. Au contraire. Legal ethics is exciting, challenging, and profound. It is required for a very good reason: It is the most important course taught in law schools. At its essence it is about what kind of lawyer, even what kind of person you want to be. This course considers legal ethics from a real world perspective. Our class discussions will revolve around hypothetical problems that are designed to sensitize you to the kinds of ethical and moral issues you will no doubt face in your careers. They demand consideration of the many competing factors that tug at lawyers as they face those decisions. These factors include the rules of professional conduct (of which you will get a healthy dose), lawyers’ personal values and interests, the demands of justice and truth-seeking, and the rights of others. Lawyers are not merely rule reciters and legal analysts. They are human beings trying to navigate their careers and lives. One important course goal is to assist you in developing a rough methodology for approaching these issues in ways that are consistent with ethical rules and your own sense of self. This course is designed for those who enjoy learning by doing and discussing. It is not primarily a lecture course. Instead, its hallmarks are student-performed skits and lively discussions, leavened by sufficient lecturing to cover the basics. For those who prefer to learn simply by listening to lectures or who are interested just in the black letter law, another P.R. course might be a better fit. The starting point for our discussions will typically be lawyers’ ethical duties that derive largely from written rules and case law. For these duties our particular focus will be the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules), which have been adopted in one form or another by every state except California. We will examine the majority of the Model Rules. (The MPRE is based on the Model Rules.) We will also consider the significant differences between the Model Rules and California’s rules, with particular emphasis on California’s differing treatment of the duty to preserve client confidences. We will drill much more deeply than a mere study of rules and cases. This course will challenge you to understand the limitations of the rules and to reflect on how you would conduct yourselves when facing a variety of ethical dilemmas. The Model Rules in many instances represent only a minimum standard of conduct to which lawyers must adhere. You may decide to set your personal bar much higher. We will devote our final class to discussing professional satisfaction. This has proved to be especially meaningful for many students. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Spring 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 211.6 Citizenship and Immigration 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: In this course we will explore questions about citizenship and immigration in the contemporary world. Readings will be drawn from scholarship in political theory, law, and the social sciences with the goal of integrating insights from these different fields in new, thought-provoking ways. The first half of the course will focus on citizenship. How should we conceive of citizenship? As a formal legal status, an entitlement to a set of rights, active participation in self-governance, an identity, or something else? What is the relationship between citizenship, on the one hand, and race, class, gender, sexuality, and national origin, on the other? Which rights have historically been attached to citizenship status and which rights have been extended to noncitizens? What would cosmopolitan citizenship look like? The second half of the course will focus on immigration. Why do people migrate across international borders? Should people be allowed to migrate across borders? States exert control over migration but what, if anything, justifies this control? What is the impact of migration on sending countries, receiving countries, and migrants themselves? What are the key dynamics in the politics of immigration and how do they constrain immigration policymaking? What are the current immigration categories and priorities in U.S. immigration law? What kinds of immigration policies should the U.S. and other liberal democratic countries pursue? Course requirements include careful reading of texts, thoughtful participation in seminar discussions, and 5 papers approximately 1000 words each. Spring 2024 Description: In this course we will explore questions about citizenship and migration. Readings will be drawn from scholarship in political theory, the social sciences, and law with the goal of integrating insights from these different fields in new, thought-provoking ways. The first half of the course will focus on citizenship. How should we conceive of citizenship: as a formal legal status, an entitlement to a set of rights, active participation in self-governance, an identity, or something else? What is the relationship between citizenship, on the one hand, and race, class, gender, and national origin on the other? How is citizenship acquired? How should it be acquired? Which rights have historically been attached to citizenship status and which rights have been extended to noncitizens? How and under what circumstances have people been stripped of their citizenship status and citizenship rights? The second half of the course will focus on migration. Why do people migrate across international borders? Should people be allowed to migrate across borders? Nation-states exert control over migration but what, if anything, justifies this control? What is the impact of migration on sending countries, receiving countries, and migrants themselves? What are the key dynamics shaping the politics of immigration in liberal democratic countries? What kinds of immigration policies should the U.S. and other liberal democratic countries pursue? Course requirements include close reading of texts, thoughtful participation in seminar discussions, and a series of reflection papers. |
| Law 212 Critical Theory and Social Science Method 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: THIS COURSE WILL BE HELD IN BERKELEY WAY WEST, Room 1205 (1919 Shattuck Ave.) Social science research on identity and vulnerable populations is at a critical moment. For example, race is, on one hand, theorized as a social construction -- meaning that the social sciences have largely rejected claims that race reflects natural or biological differences and is instead thought to be a product of social, economic, and political forces. Yet, on the other hand, this theoretical approach is underutilized in social scientists’ empirical research on race, where race is often measured as if it is a ‘real’ or natural entity. This ‘mismatch’ between theory and methods produces substantial tension in social science research and limits scholars’ ability to offer clear insights into the role of race and other traits in understanding social and health outcomes. This course will examine this tension, its adverse impact on social science research, and explore ways to develop methodological approaches to race and other markers of human difference that blend traditional empirical methods with critical theoretical traditions, e.g. critical race theory, feminist theory, disability theory, queer theory, and others. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the implications for research in the health sciences. About the Instructor: Osagie K. Obasogie, J.D., Ph.D., is Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Bioethics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Joint Medical Program and School of Public Health. Obasogie's scholarly interests include Constitutional law, bioethics, sociology of law, and reproductive and genetic technologies. His research also looks at the past and present roles of science in both constructing racial meanings and explaining racial disparities. He has a particular interest in developing legal mechanisms that can create the conditions for eliminating health disparities. An additional thread of Obasogie’s research uses novel theoretical and empirical interventions to explore the hidden ways in which racial thinking is central to law, medicine, and science. His first book, "Blinded By Sight: Seeing Race Through the Eyes of the Blind" (Stanford University Press) was awarded the Herbert Jacob Book Prize by the Law and Society Association. His second book, "Beyond Bioethics: Toward a New Biopolitics" (with Marcy Darnovsky), was published by the University of California Press. Obasogie's writings have appeared in scholarly journals such as the Law & Society Review, Cornell Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and Stanford Technology Law Review as well as journalistic outlets such as the New York Times, Slate, and Scientific American. Fall 2021 Description: THIS COURSE WILL BE HELD IN BERKELEY WAY WEST, Room 1205 (1919 Shattuck Ave.) The makeup class on Tuesday, November 23rd for Veteran's Day will be held at Berkeley Way West Room 1203. Social science research on identity and vulnerable populations is at a critical moment. For example, race is, on one hand, theorized as a social construction -- meaning that the social sciences have largely rejected claims that race reflects natural or biological differences and is instead thought to be a product of social, economic, and political forces. Yet, on the other hand, this theoretical approach is underutilized in social scientists’ empirical research on race, where race is often measured as if it is a ‘real’ or natural entity. This ‘mismatch’ between theory and methods produces substantial tension in social science research and limits scholars’ ability to offer clear insights into the role of race and other traits in understanding social and health outcomes. This course will examine this tension, its adverse impact on social science research, and explore ways to develop methodological approaches to race and other markers of human difference that blend traditional empirical methods with critical theoretical traditions, e.g. critical race theory, feminist theory, disability theory, queer theory, and others. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the implications for research in the health sciences. About the Instructor: Osagie K. Obasogie, J.D., Ph.D., is Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Bioethics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Joint Medical Program and School of Public Health. Obasogie's scholarly interests include Constitutional law, bioethics, sociology of law, and reproductive and genetic technologies. His research also looks at the past and present roles of science in both constructing racial meanings and explaining racial disparities. He has a particular interest in developing legal mechanisms that can create the conditions for eliminating health disparities. An additional thread of Obasogie’s research uses novel theoretical and empirical interventions to explore the hidden ways in which racial thinking is central to law, medicine, and science. His first book, "Blinded By Sight: Seeing Race Through the Eyes of the Blind" (Stanford University Press) was awarded the Herbert Jacob Book Prize by the Law and Society Association. His second book, "Beyond Bioethics: Toward a New Biopolitics" (with Marcy Darnovsky), was published by the University of California Press. Obasogie's writings have appeared in scholarly journals such as the Law & Society Review, Cornell Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and Stanford Technology Law Review as well as journalistic outlets such as the New York Times, Slate, and Scientific American. Fall 2022 Description: THIS COURSE WILL BE HELD IN BERKELEY WAY WEST, Room 1205 (1919 Shattuck Ave.) Social science research on identity and vulnerable populations is at a critical moment. For example, race is, on one hand, theorized as a social construction -- meaning that the social sciences have largely rejected claims that race reflects natural or biological differences and is instead thought to be a product of social, economic, and political forces. Yet, on the other hand, this theoretical approach is underutilized in social scientists’ empirical research on race, where race is often measured as if it is a ‘real’ or natural entity. This ‘mismatch’ between theory and methods produces substantial tension in social science research and limits scholars’ ability to offer clear insights into the role of race and other traits in understanding social and health outcomes. This course will examine this tension, its adverse impact on social science research, and explore ways to develop methodological approaches to race and other markers of human difference that blend traditional empirical methods with critical theoretical traditions, e.g. critical race theory, feminist theory, disability theory, queer theory, and others. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the implications for research in the health sciences. Fall 2024 Description: THIS COURSE WILL BE HELD IN BERKELEY WAY WEST, Room 1104 (1919 Shattuck Ave.) Social science research on identity and vulnerable populations is at a critical moment. For example, race is, on one hand, theorized as a social construction -- meaning that the social sciences have largely rejected claims that race reflects natural or biological differences and is instead thought to be a product of social, economic, and political forces. Yet, on the other hand, this theoretical approach is underutilized in social scientists’ empirical research on race, where race is often measured as if it is a ‘real’ or natural entity. This ‘mismatch’ between theory and methods produces substantial tension in social science research and limits scholars’ ability to offer clear insights into the role of race and other traits in understanding social and health outcomes. This course will examine this tension, its adverse impact on social science research, and explore ways to develop methodological approaches to race and other markers of human difference that blend traditional empirical methods with critical theoretical traditions, e.g. critical race theory, feminist theory, disability theory, queer theory, and others. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the implications for research in the health sciences. |
| Law 212.3 Critical Race Theory 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar explores established debates within Critical Race Theory and introduces students to new directions within that genre. CRT originates in critiques of antidiscrimination law and in reactions to Critical Legal Studies. Beyond tracing these intellectual influences, this seminar will delve into recent CRT scholarship arguably marking a renewed vigor in legal scholarship on race. The class will also engage the influence of CRT in political discourse, including recent conversations about structural racism, reparations, and intersectionality. The seminar will draw heavily on student participation, and it requires a thirty-page paper. Students will be invited to write in areas of their particular interest, with the expectation that they will draw on CRT scholarship in framing their analysis. By way of comparison, the CRT seminar presumes familiarity with the basic canon of U.S. race cases that are taught in introductory Constitutional Law courses. The CRT seminar will focus almost exclusively on legal literature, though it will range broadly, from structural racism to the performance of racial identities, from gender and sexuality, to class to color. Please note that Professors Robinson is unlikely to supervise student writing projects outside the scope of this class. Admission to the course is limited to 24 students. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar explores established debates within Critical Race Theory and introduces students to new directions within that genre. CRT originates in critiques of antidiscrimination law and in reactions to Critical Legal Studies. Beyond tracing these intellectual influences, this seminar will delve into recent CRT scholarship marking a renewed vigor in legal scholarship on race. The class will also engage the influence of CRT in political discourse, including recent conversations about structural racism, reparations, and intersectionality. The seminar will draw heavily on student participation, and it requires a thirty-page paper. Students will be invited to write in areas of their particular interest, with the expectation that they will draw on CRT scholarship in framing their analysis. By way of comparison, the CRT seminar presumes familiarity with the basic canon of U.S. race cases that are taught in introductory Constitutional Law courses. The CRT seminar will focus almost exclusively on legal literature, though it will range broadly, from structural racism to the performance of racial identities, from gender and sexuality, to class to color. Please note that Professors Robinson is unlikely to supervise student writing projects outside the scope of this class. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar explores established debates within Critical Race Theory ("CRT") and introduces students to new directions within that genre. One area of focus will be contrasting the fundamentals of CRT with the current media and legislative furor about the role of CRT and anti-racism in education.CRT originates in critiques of antidiscrimination law and in reactions to Critical Legal Studies. Beyond tracing these intellectual influences, this seminar will delve into recent CRT scholarship marking a renewed vigor in legal scholarship on race. The class will also engage the influence of CRT in political discourse, including recent conversations about structural racism, reparations, and intersectionality. The seminar will draw heavily on student participation, and it requires a thirty-page paper. Students will be invited to write in areas of their particular interest, with the expectation that they will draw on CRT scholarship in framing their analysis. By way of comparison, the CRT seminar presumes familiarity with the basic canon of U.S. race cases that are taught in introductory Constitutional Law courses. The CRT seminar will focus almost exclusively on legal literature, though it will range broadly, from structural racism to the performance of racial identities, from gender and sexuality, to class to color. Please note that Professors Robinson is unlikely to supervise student writing projects outside the scope of this class. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar explores Critical Race Theory, covering core texts as well as exploring new directions. Topics will include the nature and intractability of racism; the inseparable connections between race and other social markers such as gender, sexual orientation, class, and ethnicity; and—in a bow toward the contemporary hysteria around CRT—the political contours and potential trajectory of White racial identity. Materials include assigned articles that will be made available on the course website, as well as two books: Derrick Bell, Faces at the Bottom of the Well (1992); and Ian Haney López, Merge Left (2019). The seminar emphasizes student participation and writing, with students expected to develop a final 12-15 page paper over the course of the semester. Some familiarity with race relations law is strongly recommended. Class participation may serve as a grade tie-breaker. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar explores Critical Race Theory, covering core texts as well as exploring new directions. Topics will include the nature of race and racism; the inseparable connections between race and other social markers such as gender, sexual orientation, class, and disability; and the contemporary hysteria around CRT. Interested students should email Professor Bridges - khiara.m.bridges@berkeley.edu - a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your relevant background experience and interest in the seminar. Please make the subject line of your email "Application for Critical Race Theory." If selected, you will be sent the course control number to enroll. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar explores Critical Race Theory, covering core texts as well as exploring new directions. Topics will include the nature and intractability of racism; the inseparable connections between race and other social markers such as gender, sexual orientation, class, and ethnicity; and in a bow toward the contemporary hysteria around CRT the political contours and potential trajectory of White racial identity. Materials include assigned articles that will be made available on the course website, as well as two books: Derrick Bell, Faces at the Bottom of the Well (1992); and Ian Haney López, Merge Left (2019). The seminar emphasizes student participation and writing, with students expected to develop a final 12-15 page paper over the course of the semester. Some formal study of, or directly relevant work experience involving, race relations law is strongly recommended. Class participation may serve as a grade tie-breaker. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar explores Critical Race Theory, covering core texts as well as exploring new directions. Topics will include the nature of race and racism; the inseparable connections between race and other social markers such as gender, sexual orientation, class, and disability; and the contemporary hysteria around CRT. Interested students should email Professor Bridges - khiara.m.bridges@berkeley.edu - a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your interest in the seminar by April 7. Please make the subject line of your email "Application for Critical Race Theory." Students will be informed if they have permission to enroll by April 8. If selected, you will be sent the course control number to enroll. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar explores established debates within Critical Race Theory ("CRT") and introduces students to new directions within that genre. One area of focus will be contrasting the fundamentals of CRT with the current media and legislative furor about the role of CRT and anti-racism in education. CRT originates in critiques of antidiscrimination law and in reactions to Critical Legal Studies. Beyond tracing these intellectual influences, this seminar will delve into recent CRT scholarship marking a renewed vigor in legal scholarship on race. The class will also engage the influence of CRT in political discourse, including recent conversations about structural racism, reparations, and intersectionality. The seminar will draw heavily on student participation, and it requires a thirty-page paper. Students will be invited to write in areas of their particular interest, with the expectation that they will draw on CRT scholarship in framing their analysis. By way of comparison, the CRT seminar presumes familiarity with the basic canon of U.S. race cases that are taught in introductory Constitutional Law courses. The CRT seminar will focus almost exclusively on legal literature, though it will range broadly, from structural racism to the performance of racial identities to intersections with gender and sexuality. Please note that Professor Robinson is unlikely to supervise student writing projects outside the scope of this class. Interested students should write a one-paragraph description of their prior life and/or professional experiences related to CRT and what they hope to gain from the class. Please email your application to robinson@law.berkeley.edu by 5pm on November 8. After applying, students should hear back by November 12. |
| Law 212.31 Critical Theories of Law: Race, Gender, and Sexuality (for 1Ls) 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This seminar explores critical theories of race, gender, and sexuality with an emphasis on intersections of those theories and identities. One area of focus will be contrasting the fundamentals of Critical Race Theory ("CRT") with the current media and legislative furor about the role of CRT and anti-racism in education. We will also explore critical theories and law school pedagogy, with a focus on the 1L experience. Finally, this seminar will highlight workshops with invited scholars and highlight emerging issues. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar explores critical theories of race, gender, and sexuality with an emphasis on intersections of those theories and identities. One area of focus will be contrasting the fundamentals of Critical Race Theory ("CRT") with the current media and legislative furor about the role of CRT and anti-racism in education. Another focus will be on the way that recent dramatic shifts in Supreme Court doctrine affecting these identities (the Harvard case, Dobbs, 303 Creative) alter the stakes and the claims of critical theory. We will also explore critical theories and law school pedagogy. Finally, the course may feature workshops with scholars innovating in these areas. |
| Law 212.32 Intersectionality in Gender-Based Movements for Legal Change 3 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Women of color have long been part of feminist social movements. But they have often found their voices, priorities, and life experiences marginalized in the most visible or influential of those movements, usually led by white women. This pattern has been particularly prominent in social movements that aim to influence the law. This seminar will examine two recent gender-based movements, #metoo and the movement for reproductive freedom, that have sought legal change in a setting in which there is growing scholarly and cultural attention to the intersectional claims of women of color, low-income women, immigrants, and gender non-conforming people. It will explore how these movements, despite their awareness of intersectional claims and experience, perpetuate a “single axis” vision of gender that centers on the experience of comparatively privileged white women. And it will focus on efforts by proponents of a more intersectional agenda to create change within or alongside those movements. The course will begin with a brief unit on feminist legal theories, exploring liberal (or “equality”) feminist theories that have emphasized equal opportunity and bodily and decisional autonomy, and dominance theories that have described sexualized injury as a vehicle for the production and maintenance of gender inequality. It will highlight critiques of both schools of feminist theory as “single axis” theories that obscure or neglect the intersection of gender with race, class, sexuality, gender identity, or immigration status. We will then turn to the #MeToo movement, examining its use of online storytelling as a vehicle for exposure and solidarity, the largely extra-legal trajectory of its immediate consequences, and challenges that it has encountered over the long run, including: a "tactical freeze," or difficulty in translating the momentum of exposure into more systematic solutions; and a failure to reach from the comparatively elite contexts of entertainment and the professions to low-wage work (including agricultural, hospitality, and home-in care work) which problems of sexualized injury are also pervasive, labor is performed primarily by low-income women of color, including immigrants, which can increase barriers to reporting and resistance. In addition, such low-wage jobs themselves are subject to cultural understandings, ranging from complacency in the face of “bad work” to the construction of paid labor as affectionate care, that naturalize the subordination implicit in the work and complicate the recognition and remediation of sexualized violations. In the last portion of this unit, the course will interrogate the complicity of #MeToo and earlier feminist struggles against sexual violence in rise of mass incarceration, which has not only immiserated low-income communities of color but imposed burdens and conflicts on the women of those communities. Finally, the course will study the movement for reproductive rights and justice that has emerged since Dobbs overruled Roe v. Wade, particularly in abortion-restrictive states. It will examine the marginalization of low-income women, including many women of color, that dates back to the abortion funding cases, and ask whether and how efforts to restore the abortion right can be built on a more inclusive foundation, that also centers the right to choose to have children and to raise those children in circumstances of dignity, safety, and material sufficiency, and to access broader rights of bodily autonomy. Consistent with this goal, we will ask how the mainstream impetus toward a singular focus on abortion – which reflects a very real concern with the harms inflicted on pregnant persons in abortion-restrictive states -- may fuel or detract from a broader agenda of reproductive justice, that highlights the latter issues and connects reproductive oppression to larger structures of racism, income inequality, and re-emergent anti-LGBTQ politics. Students in this class may fulfill Option 2 of the Writing Requirement or complete a take-home examination. |
| Law 212.33 Social Justice and the Self 3 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Social Justice and the Self explores the relationship between the activist and the cause, between the personal and the political. Specifically, the course investigates the factors that inspire individuals to become invested in specific social justice causes, the difficulties of remaining committed to those causes in the face of shifting political/legal winds, and the financial, psychological, and emotional toll placed on activists as they pursue their broader ends. Throughout the course, we will read the works of activists, movement lawyers, and academics. A couple of important points for interested students to note: 1. The course is heavily participatory: in addition to a final exam, students will be required to submit weekly writing assignments and complete a group project. 2. The course is centered on the activist (broadly conceived) rather than on any particular cause or movement. As such, the course does not have a substantive focus on race, gender, religion, or any other identity marker. Interested students should email Professor Rahim - asadrahim@berkeley.edu - a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your interest in the seminar by April 11th. Please make the subject line of your email "Application for Social Justice and the Self." Students will be informed if they have permission to enroll by April 14th. If selected, you will be sent the course control number to enroll. |
| Law 212.8 Anti-Blackness and the Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar explores how anti-Blackness has been key to the creation and evolution of both American law and American society. We will examine anti-Blackness as an organizing principle across various domains including the criminal legal system, education, public health, employment, and housing. In exploring this topic we will take an interdisciplinary approach, blending case law, empirical studies, critical theory (namely critical race theory, Black feminist theory and Afro-pessimism) as well as the ideas of activists and other intellectuals situated outside of academia. The course will take as a given that the study of anti-Blackness requires an intersectional lens: special attention will be paid to how gender, class, sexual orientation and trans-experience produce unique forms of anti-Blackness. Seminar discussions will proceed from the assumption that participants have some familiarity with the study of race and/or racism. Therefore, it is recommended that interested students have completed relevant coursework (either in law school or in prior studies), or have some other relevant background experience. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Only those students who are able to attend live sessions at the designated class time should enroll. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar explores how anti-Blackness has been key to the creation and evolution of both American law and American society. We will examine anti-Blackness as an organizing principle across various domains including the criminal legal system, education, public health, employment, and housing. In exploring this topic we will take an interdisciplinary approach, blending case law, empirical studies, critical theory (namely critical race theory, Black feminist theory and Afro-pessimism) as well as the ideas of activists and other intellectuals situated outside of academia. The course will take as a given that the study of anti-Blackness requires an intersectional lens: special attention will be paid to how gender, class, sexual orientation and trans-experience produce unique forms of anti-Blackness. Seminar discussions will proceed from the assumption that participants have some familiarity with the study of race and/or racism. Therefore, it is recommended that interested students have completed relevant coursework (either in law school or in prior studies), or have some other relevant background experience. Only those students who are able to attend at the designated class time should enroll. Interested students should email Professor Rahim--asadrahim@berkeley.edu--a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your interest in joining the course. Please make the subject line of your email "Application for Anti-Blackness and the Law." The deadline to apply is November 5th, with decisions made the week after. After this date, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If selected, you will be sent the course control number to enroll. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar explores how anti-Blackness has been key to the creation and evolution of both American law and American society. We will examine anti-Blackness as an organizing principle across various domains including the criminal legal system, education, public health, employment, and housing. In exploring these topics we will take an interdisciplinary approach, blending empirical studies, narratives and critical theory (namely Black nationalist theory, Black feminist theory, Black queer theory, abolitionist theory, and Afropessimism). We will also read the work of activists and intellectuals situated outside of academia. Discussions will proceed from the assumption that participants have pre-existing familiarity with the study of race and racism. Therefore, interested students should have completed relevant coursework (either in law school or in prior studies), or have some other relevant background experience. Interested students should email Professor Rahim--asadrahim@berkeley.edu--a short paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining your relevant background experience. Please make the subject line of your email "Application for Anti-Blackness and the Law." The deadline to apply is Wednesday, December 7th. Decisions will be made within one week's time. After the initial deadline, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If selected, you will be sent the course control number to enroll. Spring 2024 Description: This course explores how anti-Blackness has been key to the creation and evolution of both American law and American society. We will examine anti-Blackness as an organizing principle across various domains including the criminal legal system, education, public health, employment, and housing. A couple of important points to note for interested students: 1. The course is interactive in nature and is heavily participation-based. 2. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. |
| Law 212.9 Love, Lawyering, and Liberation 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: What do law, love, and liberation have in common? From a traditional, doctrinal law perspective, love and liberation are frameworks that are not commonly applied to the study and exploration of lawyering and professional identity. And yet, innumerable visionary, affirmative, creative, abolitionist perspectives on law and lawyering have emerged in recent decades. This course will apply those texts and directives, explore how radical Black and other feminist lawyers of color have effectuated social change, and study their calls on emerging lawyers to do the same. The class will survey a series of liberatory and abolitionist law frameworks and draw on law review articles, books, prose, and selected works of art and poetry to interrogate how emerging lawyers might envision their role as social change agents. Drawing on bell hooks’s Teaching to Transgress, adrienne marie brown’s Emergent Strategy, Kimberle Crenshaw’s intersectionality framework, and the long-curated (living) bibliography of movement lawyering texts, students will develop and apply critical analysis to what it means to lawyer in the service of liberation struggles and to practice law in a way that is affirmative, creative, and hopeful, while being rooted in resistance, movement, and structural change. This course will include short readings, guest speakers, written reflections and discussion, and a 5-8 page final reflection paper. Please Note: Enrollment in this course is by application only. If you wish to apply, please send an email to Seema N. Patel (seema.patel@berkeley.edu) and an application form will be sent to you. Applications are due by June 30 and students will be notified of their admission into the course no later than July 18th. |
| Law 214.2 Law & Classical Social Theory 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: “Law and Classical Social Theory” surveys leading attempts to construct social theories of law and to use legal materials for social theorizing, during the period from the mid-eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. While many figures are read and treated, the theorists receiving most attention are: Maine, Marx, Durkheim and Weber. The seminar introduces leading approaches to the social understanding of law and legal change, and furnishes an opportunity for more advanced work on particular contributions to this field. Spring 2022 Description: “Law and Classical Social Theory” surveys leading attempts to construct social theories of law and to use legal materials for social theorizing, during the period from the mid-eighteenth century to the twentieth century. While many figures are read and treated, the theorists receiving most attention are: Marx, Durkheim, Weber and DuBois. The seminar introduces leading approaches to the social understanding of law and legal change, and furnishes an opportunity for more advanced work on particular contributions to this field. |
| Law 214.4 Advanced Interdisciplinary Workshop on Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This workshop serves a two-fold purpose. First, and most important, it is an opportunity for students working on interdisciplinary projects related to law to receive constructive, intensive feedback on a piece of academic writing. All participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing over the course of the semester, such as an article, dissertation chapter, prospectus, or grant proposal. The final paper for the course will be a full-length complete draft that incorporates feedback received during the semester. As that piece of writing takes shape, each student will have two opportunities to receive feedback from the group on work-in-progress. Accordingly, the core expectation of the workshop is that all students attend regularly, present their work twice, and comment on peer work (including by serving as a lead discussant several times during the semester). There is also a professional development component to the workshop, where we will cover writing-related topics such as giving and receiving high-quality constructive feedback, self-editing, resources for writing, and good writing habits. Perhaps most important, we will talk about the nuts and bolts of academic publishing and how different types of publishing institutions - including peer reviewed journals, law reviews, academic presses, and funding agencies - make decisions. The goal is to set students up for success in academic publishing by demystifying the process. The workshop is open to all students who have a suitable writing project slated for the fall that would benefit from intensive feedback. It is especially suitable for students who are considering an academic career path. This course is graded and satisfies the Option 2 writing requirement. To submit an application please do as at this link https://forms.gle/P65MwCi6wwcaCbpp8 . The deadline to submit the application is April 17th. Applications submitted after that date will be reviewed on a first come, first serve basis. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This workshop is an opportunity for students working on interdisciplinary projects related to law to receive constructive, intensive feedback on their writing. All participants will draft a piece of academic writing over the course of the semester, such as an article, dissertation chapter, prospectus, or grant proposal. The final paper for the course will be a draft that is a minimum of ten pages, and that incorporates feedback received during the semester. As that piece of writing takes shape, each student will have at least one opportunity to receive feedback from the group on work-in-progress. Accordingly, the core expectation of the workshop is that all students attend regularly, present their work at least once, and comment on peer work (including by serving as a lead discussant several times during the semester). The workshop is open to all students who have a suitable writing project slated for the fall (not being submitted for credit in another class) that would benefit from intensive feedback. It is especially suitable for students who are considering an academic career path. This course is graded CR/NC. This course will meet every other week August 24th, September 7th, September 21st, October 5th, October 19th, November 2nd and November 16th. Spring 2025 Description: This workshop serves a two-fold purpose. First, and most important, it is an opportunity for students working on interdisciplinary projects related to law to receive constructive, intensive feedback on a piece of academic writing. All participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing over the course of the semester, such as an article, dissertation chapter, prospectus, or grant proposal. The final paper for the course will be a full-length complete draft that incorporates feedback received during the semester. As that piece of writing takes shape, each student will have two opportunities to receive feedback from other seminar participants and myself on work-in-progress. Accordingly, the core expectation of the workshop is that all students attend regularly, present their work twice, and comment on peer work (including by serving as a lead discussant several times during the semester). There is also a professional development component to the workshop, where we will cover writing-related topics such as giving and receiving high-quality constructive feedback, self-editing, resources for writing, and good writing habits. Perhaps most important, we will talk about the nuts and bolts of academic publishing and how different types of publishing institutions - including peer-reviewed journals, law reviews, academic presses, and funding agencies - make decisions. The goal is to set students up for success in academic publishing by demystifying the process. The workshop is open to all students who have a suitable writing project slated for the fall that would benefit from intensive feedback. It is especially suitable for students who are considering an academic career path. This course satisfies the Option 2 writing requirement. |
| Law 215.4 Foundations of Moral Philosophy 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This seminar offers an overview of the history of moral philosophy, paying special attention to arguments about the relationship of morality to law, as well as the connections between moral philosophy and political economy. We will begin by studying canonical texts before turning to more contemporary work. Authors will include Aristotle, Cicero, Pufendorf, Hume, Smith, Bentham, Kant, Mill, Edgeworth, Pareto, Sen, Williams, Anderson, Rorty, and others. Fall 2023 Description: This course aims to provide a graduate level introduction to foundational issues in contemporary moral philosophy, with special emphasis on Kantian and utilitarian/consequentialist theory, although we will also consider issues in moral psychology. We will choose as our theme arguments about the nature of rights, encompassing both moral and legal rights. In the first part of the course, we will consider two familiar kinds of rights: rights against torture and rights of free speech. This will provide us with a context for understanding some of the general, philosophical problems related to the foundations and structure of rights claims, which will occupy the second part of the course. Here we will consider both Kantian and consequentialist theories of rights, and the problems each has in accommodating the intuitions that support the other. We will then return to consider more specific examples of rights, to be determined by seminar interest. Every student in this Option 2-A class will be required to write a 30-page paper. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar offers an overview of the history of moral philosophy, paying special attention to arguments about the relationship of morality to law, as well as the connections between moral philosophy and epistemology. Readings will be drawn from canonical primary sources. |
| Law 215.41 Responsibility in Law and Morality 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This graduate seminar will examine questions of responsibility in ethics, politics, and law. Among the specific topics we will address are: (1) The general conditions of moral responsibility and the significance of excuses, including in criminal law. (2) The nature of causal explanation and causal responsibility in liability, specifically in relation to the legal notion of proximate causation. (3) The relationship between environmental causal explanations (social, economic) and excuses in liability. -the importance (or not) of a general fault requirement for civil liability. (4) Neuroscientific explanation, mental illness, and moral/legal responsibility. (5) Collective responsibility for structural injustice, including for historical injustices. (6) State responsibility in international law and global ethics, especially in relation to refugees and the climate emergency. (7) Shared social responsibility in relation to the demands of basic justice. |
| Law 215.42 Foundations of Legal Philosophy 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is an introduction to (primarily) analytical legal theory through a close reading of some of the most important texts and arguments about the nature of law and legal authority of the last 75 years. We will pay special attention to questions of the relation of law to politics, history, and morality, and to questions about the philosophical justification (if there is) for the special role of courts in maintaining political order. Among the authors we will read are: H.L.A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Jurgen Habermas, Joseph Raz, Scott Shapiro, Seana Shiffrin, and Jeremy Waldron. The course presupposes no prior work in philosophy or legal theory. Fall 2022 Description: This course is an introduction to (primarily) analytical legal theory through a close reading of some of the most important texts and arguments about the nature of law and legal authority of the last 75 years. We will pay special attention to questions of the relation of law to politics, history, and morality, especially when law reflects existing hierarchies and divisions of power, and to questions about the philosophical justification (if there is one) for the special role of courts in maintaining political order. Among the authors we will read are: H.L.A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Jurgen Habermas, Joseph Raz, Scott Shapiro, Seana Shiffrin, and Jeremy Waldron. While the course presupposes no prior work in philosophy or legal theory, the readings are mostly drawn from philosophy. Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: This course is an introduction to (primarily) analytical legal theory through a close reading of some of the most important texts and arguments about the nature of law and legal authority of the last 75 years. We will pay special attention to questions of the relation of law to politics, history, and morality, especially when law reflects existing hierarchies and divisions of power, and to questions about the philosophical justification (if there is one) for the special role of courts in maintaining political order. Among the authors we will read are: H.L.A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Jurgen Habermas, Joseph Raz, Scott Shapiro, Seana Shiffrin, and Jeremy Waldron. While the course presupposes no prior work in philosophy or legal theory, the readings are mostly drawn from philosophy. |
| Law 215.43 On Tyranny 3 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The tyrant is typically marked by unrestrained and unjust rule. We will discuss analyses of the rise of tyranny, the psychology of the tyrant, arguments for and against tyrannicide, and related ideas such as the tyranny of the majority, despotism, totalitarianism, and authoritarian populism. Readings to be drawn from: Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, Tacitus; Aquinas, Bartolus, Salutati; the Vindiciae contra tyrannos, James I, Hobbes; Montesquieu, Robespierre, Tocqueville; Koestler, Strauss, Arendt, Kojève; and recent works. |
| Law 215.5 Foundations of Political Philosophy 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course is a seminar on the history of political thought. Its focus is the social contract tradition and its critics, including criticisms or amendments of contract theory based on the alleged sociability of humankind. We will study canonical texts in this tradition, with a special interest in their implications for law. Readings will include works by Aristotle, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Locke, Hume, Smith, Rousseau, Bentham, Kant, Mill, Marx, Rawls and others. Students will be expected to engage in close readings of these texts, participate in seminar discussion, and write a final paper. This course is a Foundations seminar in the PhD Program in Jurisprudence & Social Policy (JSP) and is open to all JSP, JD, LLM, and JSD students as well as graduate students from other campus departments. Spring 2023 Description: In this course we will read and discuss major texts in contemporary political philosophy. The aim is to examine key concepts and theories with attention to their implications for law. The concepts we will explore include justice, equality, freedom, rights, and democracy. The authors we will read include John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Michael Walzer, Tommie Shelby, Ronald Dworkin, Elizabeth Anderson, Catharine MacKinnon, Kimberle Crenshaw, Alexander Bickel, Robert Dahl, Iris Marion Young, and Jeremy Waldron. In addition to analyzing the substance of the theories and the methods and approaches used by these authors, we will assess whether and how they attend to the role of race, gender, class, and other bases of structural injustice in developing their theories. Students will be expected to devote considerable time to close reading of roughly one book or several articles per week, participate constructively in seminar discussion, and write a series of reflection papers. Fall 2025 Description: This course is a seminar on the history of political thought. Its focus is the social contract tradition and its critics, including criticisms or amendments of contract theory based on the alleged sociability of humankind. We will study canonical texts in this tradition, with a special interest in their implications for law. Readings will include works by Aristotle, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Locke, Hume, Smith, Rousseau, Bentham, Kant, Mill, Marx, Rawls, and others. Students will be expected to engage in close readings of these texts, participate in seminar discussion, and undertake a series of written reflections. This course is a Foundations seminar in the PhD Program in Jurisprudence & Social Policy (JSP) and is open to all JSP, JD, LLM, and JSD students as well as graduate students from other campus departments. |
| Law 215.9 Legal Theory Seminar 3 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Legal theory focuses on the work of society’s coercive normative institutions, such as courts, legislatures, and agencies. It studies the traditions of these institutions and the craft typifying their members, while at the same time continuously challenging their outputs by demonstrating their contingency and testing their desirability. In performing the latter tasks, legal theory necessarily absorbs lessons from law’s neighboring disciplines, such as philosophy, economics, and sociology. But at its best, legal theory is more than a sophisticated synthesis of relevant insights from these friendly neighbors, because of its pointed attention to the persistent jurisprudential questions regarding the nature of law, notably the relationship between law’s normativity and its coerciveness and the implications of its institutional and structural characteristics. This course explores these features of law. We will begin by investigating law’s three constitutive components: its coerciveness, its normativity, and the institutional settings in which it is manifested. We will then turn to examine various modes of legal reasoning: the application of rules or of standards, and of abstract or contextual analyses; references to history and to economic analysis; and reliance on rights. The last part of the course will be dedicated to explore the role of law in society. We will then discuss law’s legitimacy and authority, the rule of law, the relationships between social norms and legal rules, and the different types of legal persons and of modes of legal work. Fall 2024 Description: Legal theory focuses on the work of society’s coercive normative institutions, such as courts, legislatures, and agencies. It studies the traditions of these institutions and the craft typifying their members, while at the same time continuously challenging their outputs by demonstrating their contingency and testing their desirability. In performing the latter tasks, legal theory necessarily absorbs lessons from law’s neighboring disciplines, such as philosophy, economics, and sociology. But at its best, legal theory is more than a sophisticated synthesis of relevant insights from these friendly neighbors, because of its pointed attention to the persistent jurisprudential questions regarding the nature of law, notably the relationship between law’s normativity and its coerciveness and the implications of its institutional and structural characteristics. This course explores these features of law. We will begin by investigating law’s three constitutive components: its coerciveness, its normativity, and the institutional settings in which it is manifested. We will then turn to examine various modes of legal reasoning: the application of rules or standards, of abstract or contextual analyses; references to history and economic analysis; and reliance on rights. The last part of the course will be dedicated to exploring the role of law in society. We will then discuss law’s legitimacy and authority, the rule of law, the relationships between social norms and legal rules, and the different types of legal persons and of modes of legal work. |
| Law 216 Law, Accounting, and Business Workshop 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to be exposed to and discuss ongoing research in law, accounting, and business. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the fields of law, accounting, and business. Students will write three short papers, one in advance of each of three of the speakers. A schedule of the speakers will be available at the Program in Law and Economics website. Course website will be available on bCourses. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present a work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the field of business, law and economics from around the nation and the world. A schedule of the speakers is available at the Program in Law and Economics website. Course website is available at bCourses. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present a work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the field of business, law and economics from around the nation and the world. Fall 2023 Description: This workshop will provide students with an opportunity to be exposed to and discuss ongoing research in law, accounting, and business. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the fields of law, accounting, and business. Students will write three short papers, one in advance of each of three of the speakers. A schedule of the speakers will be available at the Program in Law and Economics website. Course website will be available on bCourses. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker (from Berkeley or elsewhere) will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the field of law and economics from around the nation and the world. Course website is available at bspace. The seminar is normally offered in the fall and spring. Enrollment in either or both semesters is permitted. Fall 2025 Description: In this seminar students and faculty discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker will present work-in-progress and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers include prominent scholars in the field of law and economics from around the nation and the world. The seminar, which is numbered Law 216 in the Fall Semester and Law 217 in the Spring Semester, has different course content each time it is offered, so enrollment in either or both semesters is permitted. A schedule of the speakers is available at the Program in Law and Economics website Course website is available at bCourses. |
| Law 216.1 Introduction to Law and Economics 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Economic analysis provides one of the major theoretical perspectives on the study of law in American universities. This course introduces students to the economic analysis of the law as a set of tools for analyzing laws. Students will learn how to construct and critique economic models of the incentive effects of different legal rules and institutions. These models will illuminate familiar areas of law, including criminal law, torts, contracts, property, corporations, intellectual property, and discrimination. The models are useful for finding strategies to make the best use of law to solve real-world problems. |
| Law 217 Law, Economics, and Business Workshop 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the field of business, law and economics from around the nation and the world. Course website is available at bCourses. The seminar is normally offered in the fall and spring as Law 216 and Law 217 respectively. Students can enroll in each class once. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research at the crossroads of law, finance, economics and accounting. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the field of law, finance, economics and accounting from around the nation and the world. A schedule of the speakers is available at the Program in Law and Economics website: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/146.htm. Course website is available at bspace. The seminar is normally offered in the fall and spring as Law 216 and Law 217 respectively. Students can enroll in each class once. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in the field of business, law and economics from around the nation and the world. A schedule of the speakers is available at the Program in Law and Economics website: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/146.htm. Course website is available at bspace. The seminar is normally offered in the fall (Law 216) and spring (Law 217). Spring 2023 Description: The seminar provides students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. At most sessions, an invited speaker (from Berkeley or elsewhere) will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers include prominent scholars in the field of law and economics from around the nation and the world. The seminar is normally offered in the fall and the spring. Enrollment in either or both semesters is permitted. Spring 2024 Description: The seminar provides students with an opportunity to discuss ongoing research in the economic analysis of law. In every three week period, there will be one student-only day to discuss the papers of the upcoming two speakers. The professors will lead the discussion, but students will be called upon and expected to be active participants. During speaker weeks, we will set aside time for student-only discussions with the speaker. Students will also submit three reaction papers on topics of their choice. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar will involve discussing some of the latest research at the intersection of the fields of law and economics. The research papers will deal with a wide variety of topics, depending on the speaker’s interests, including the law and economics of contract law, corporate law, intellectual property, tax, or constitutional law. We will invite speakers who are doing some of the most cutting-edge interdisciplinary work in law to present their ongoing work to the seminar. Students will be asked to prepare, in advance, four short reaction papers to the speakers’ work throughout the semester. The requirements for the class are completion of the reaction papers and active participation in the debates over the papers being presented. |
| Law 217.1 History of Political Economy 3 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This course will consider the history of political economy as a history of economic and political discourses from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, paying particular attention to intersections with the history of legal thought. The focus will be on three themes: first, the transformation of the ancient theoretical vocabulary of polis and oikos into the modern vocabulary of civil society (or economy) and state; second, the emergence of the concept of the self-equilibrating economy in the eighteenth century, and subsequent controversies over its normative underpinnings; third, the rise and fall of classical political economy and its relation to its successor schools, nineteenth-century marginalism and twenty-century welfare economics. Readings will consist mainly of primary works by central figures in this historical tradition. To apply, please email me a paragraph about your interest in the seminar and any previous exposure to political economy and/or its intellectual history by October 31st at david.grewal@berkeley.edu. I will send the course control number to admitted students on the Friday, November 4th. |
| Law 217.11 Law and Political Economy 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This seminar will focus on recent scholarship at the intersection of law and political economy. It will begin with several sessions introducing the history and theory of mainstream law and economics. It will then broaden out to consider several current law and political economy topics, including antitrust law and policy in the era of tech platforms; law and money; neoliberalism and constitutionalism; and the law and political economy of complex or intersectional inequality (i.e., class, race, gender). This is a rigorous seminar that will engage seriously with both mainstream law and economics and new and critical approaches. Evaluation will be based on student participation, including substantial reading and class discussion, and a final paper. |
| Law 217.12 Law and Economics Foundation Seminar 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: The goal of this course is to expose students to a broad set of questions, models, and methods used in law and economics research. The readings for the course draw on recent empirical research, with a distinct focus on topics at the intersection of law, economics, politics, and inequality. The course is particularly oriented toward students interested in understanding and/or pursuing applied empirical research at the intersection of law and social science. To this end, it emphasizes the use of statistical and econometric methods to answer questions of legal and policy significance, with a particular emphasis on research design. While some familiarity with economic reasoning and statistical concepts will be useful, the course is intended for a broad audience interested in these topics. Students with questions about their preparation should reach out to the instructor. Grades will be based on short writing assignments during the semester, as well as one longer paper/assignment due at the end of the semester. Students will be expected to be able to understand and critique the relevant empirical literature in their assignments, and will be permitted though not required to produce their own empirical research. Spring 2024 Description: Law and Economics provides one of the major theoretical perspectives on the study of law. The economic analysis of law approach endeavors to understand how law and legal rules affect the behavior of individuals and firms, the allocation of risk across individuals, and the distribution of resources in society. This course introduces students to the broad set of research questions, core foundational concepts, models and methodologies of this interdisciplinary field, and their application to legal issues within the context of a variety of familiar areas of law, including contracts, property, torts, corporate law, criminal law. The course is designed to help students become discerning consumers, communicators, and perhaps producers of theoretical and empirical work in law and social sciences. To that end, students will learn the tools to critically evaluate legal rules and policies from an economic perspective, and will develop the skills to apply economic reasoning to real-world legal cases and policy debates, while also recognizing the limitations of economic analysis in law. No prior knowledge of economics is assumed. A prerequisite is a willingness to engage with unfamiliar material and a deep interest in learning. Spring 2025 Description: Law and Economics provides one of the major theoretical perspectives on the study of law. The economic analysis of law endeavors to understand how law and legal rules affect the behavior of individuals and firms, the allocation of risk across individuals, and the distribution of resources in society. This course introduces students to the broad set of research questions, core foundational concepts, models and methods of this interdisciplinary field. The focus is on the application of these concepts to legal issues within the context of various areas of law, including contracts, property, torts, corporate law, and criminal law and procedure. The course is designed to help students become discerning consumers, communicators, and potential producers of theoretical and empirical work in law and social science. To that end, students will learn the tools required to critically evaluate legal rules and policies from an economic perspective. In particular, students will practice and develop the skills needed to apply economic reasoning to real-world legal cases and policy debates, while also recognizing the limitations of the economic analysis of law. No prior knowledge of economics is assumed. The class does not use mathematics beyond simple numerical examples. The only prerequisite is a willingness to engage deeply with unfamiliar material. |
| Law 217.13 Law, Economics, and Inequality 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Inequality with respect to income and wealth - both within countries and at the global level - has attracted increased attention and scholarly discussion in recent years. This seminar seeks to provide an overview of this topic and its relationship to law and legal institutions. It draws primarily on the economic analysis of law and the economic theory of optimal taxation, but also considers various other normative and theoretical perspectives, including those from moral philosophy. Topics to be covered include (but are not limited to) the following: the background facts on within-country and global income and wealth inequality; the optimal taxation framework and theories of distributive justice; perspectives on the use of private law doctrines to redistribute wealth; theories of global justice; the relationship between meritocracy and economic inequality; the role of anti-discrimination law; the role of the family in transmitting inequality; college admissions, inequality, social mobility and the law; the impact of economic inequality on political inequality. The seminar does not require any background in the economic analysis of law or in tax law and policy. It has no prerequisites. Assessment includes a final paper. |
| Law 217.14 Law, Economics, and Social Sciences 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This workshop provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholarship at the intersection of law, economics, and the social sciences. Students will have the opportunity to engage with leading law and social sciences scholars from around the country and to discuss cutting-edge research that applies social science concepts and methods to understand law and legally relevant behavior. Prior to each session, students will read the featured paper and prepare a critique. No specific background in the social sciences is required. |
| Law 217.41 Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Case 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: There is so much more to a case than its holding. So what is reading a case all about? This course will explore thirteen different ways of looking at a case. It will introduce students to major schools of legal theory as we apply them to canonical cases from the core law school curriculum. In each class session we will learn a particular approach by close reading a case from constitutional law, contracts, property, torts, and other core classes. Among other schools of thought, we will study natural law, legal positivism, formalism, legal realism, the legal process, law and economics, critical legal studies, critical race theory, and feminism. Thus, this course will supplement the first-year curriculum by offering students an introduction to legal thought and providing them with various ways of understanding and critiquing case law. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2023 Description: There is so much more to a case than its holding. So what is reading a case all about? This course will explore thirteen different ways of looking at a case. It will introduce students to major schools of legal theory as we apply them to canonical cases from the core law school curriculum. In each class session we will learn a particular approach by closely reading a case from constitutional law, contracts, property, torts, and other core classes. Thus, this course will supplement the core curriculum by offering students an introduction to legal thought and providing them with various ways of understanding and critiquing case law. |
| Law 217.9 Critical Theories of Law & Legal Education 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Law aspires to objectivity and rationality, but can we discern the unstated norms, biases, and assumptions that it rests upon? What is the relationship of law to power and inequality? How does law interact with, reproduce, or challenge hierarchies of class, race, gender, and ability? How do we as legal practitioners exist and find meaningful work within those structures? This course grapples with these questions and provides an introduction to critiques of law and legal education, from the perspectives of Legal Realism, Critical Legal Studies, Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, and Sociolegal Studies, among others. |
| Law 218 Legal History Colloquium 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: In this colloquium, participants will engage with the research of prominent scholars working at the intersection of law and history. Every other session, a guest speaker will present a work-in-progress for participants to analyze and critique. Participants will gain from this course the ability to deconstruct academic arguments and situate them in broader context. Participants will also develop familiarity with important trends in legal-historical scholarship. Participants are expected to read the papers and related materials in advance, to submit short response papers, and to be active participants in the colloquium. Spring 2025 Description: In this colloquium, participants will engage with the research of prominent scholars working at the intersection of law and history. Every other session, a guest speaker will present a work-in-progress for participants to analyze and critique. Participants will gain from this course the ability to deconstruct academic arguments and situate them in a broader context. Participants will also develop familiarity with important trends in legal-historical scholarship. Participants are expected to read the papers and related materials in advance, to submit short response papers, and to be active participants in the colloquium. Fall 2025 Description: In this colloquium, participants will engage with the research of prominent scholars working at the intersection of law and history. Every other session, a guest speaker will present a work-in-progress for participants to analyze and critique. Participants will gain from this course the ability to deconstruct academic arguments and situate them in a broader context. Participants will also develop familiarity with important trends in legal-historical scholarship. Participants are expected to read the papers and related materials in advance, to submit short response papers, and to be active participants in the colloquium. |
| Law 218.31 Angel Island - Legal Histories of Imprisonment 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This one credit course will provide an opportunity to learn about the history of the immigration detention center on Angel Island and its connections to carceral regimes today. The course is designed to accompany the campus-wide project “A Year on Angel Island” https://futurehistories.berkeley.edu/ and students are encouraged to take advantage of the other programming taking place across campus this year. We will meet five times during the semester. The course will begin with an introductory session where we will learn more about the context of Angel Island through lecture, discussion and a collective viewing of excerpts of the documentary, “The Chinese Exclusion Act.” This will be followed by the opportunity to engage with three leading historians of Angel Island, immigration exclusion, detention and imprisonment: Professors Erika Lee, Elliott Young, and Nayan Shah. These sessions will begin with a lecture by the guest lecturer open to the public, followed by a closed session for the guest lecturer and students enrolled in this course. While we will be meeting in person as a class, the guest lecturers will appear on zoom. This course is open to 1Ls. |
| Law 219.31 Thinking Like a Lawyer 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course explores the question of what lies at the heart of the law, legal education and legal practice. What does it mean to think like a lawyer? How should one think about the law? We will read a few classic scholars like Holmes, Cardozo and Gilmore (two of whom have quotations on the outside of the building) to sketch out some answers. We will map these classic works on to the law in 2020. Response papers and one short, final paper will be required. |
| Law 219.4 Poetic Justice: Dostoevsky, Nabokov and Literature in the Shadow of the Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: In this seminar, offered jointly under the auspices of the Law School and Comparative Literature, we will examine some of the conceptual and thematic places where literature and law cross over into each other’s domain. The focus will be on novel reading - Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Pnin and Lolita - and on texts where crime, judgment and punishment assume particular procedural, narrative, moral or metafictive importance. We will pay particular attention to the themes of transgression, healing and vengeance and how they play out in legal and metafictive contexts. We will discuss cases where ethics and aesthetics pull in opposite directions - where bad or even good writing can be a crime. Dostoevsky’s legal commentaries - the Kornilova and Kairova cases - will also be addressed. We will search for conceptual cross-over points - what happens to notions of privacy, surveillance, even jurisdiction in a literary text. We will examine permutations of the relationship between author and hero and author and reader; are these relationships adversarial, contractual, erotic? The crucial texts will be the novels, the essential procedure will be close reading (both prosecutorial /aggressive and protective/deferential), but we will also read several works of literary theory as well as scholarly attempts to link literature and law. The course will seek to foster an exchange of views between graduate students in the humanities and law students on the value, cost and significance of engaging with legal issues in literary texts. How might literary scholars benefit from reading like lawyers, and vice versa? 3 Hours/week (1 session); open to graduate students in the humanities and to law students. No particular background in law or comparative literature is required, but students should be prepared to read up to 250 pages of fiction a week. All participants will lead occasional oral discussions. Learning goals include cultivation of close reading skills and of interdisciplinary approaches to interpretation, the questioning of rigid disciplinary boundaries, an understanding of the importance of humanistic inquiry to legal studies, and an appreciation for the benefits (and difficulties) implicit in using aesthetic categories to resolve ethical questions and vice versa. The instructor received his Ph.D. in Slavic Languages from Berkeley and his J.D. from Yale. He is a Professor of Comparative Literature and Slavic Languages and Literatures at Berkeley, as well as a retired member of the Massachusetts Bar. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2023 Description: In this seminar, offered jointly under the auspices of the Law School and Comparative Literature, we will examine some of the conceptual and thematic places where literature and law cross over into each other’s domain. The focus will be on novel reading - Crime and Punishment, Lolita, Pnin - and on texts where crime, judgment and punishment assume particular procedural, narrative, moral or metafictive importance. We will pay particular attention to the themes of transgression, healing and vengeance and how they play out in legal and metafictive contexts. We will discuss cases where ethics and aesthetics pull in opposite directions - where bad or even good writing can be a crime. Dostoevsky’s legal commentaries - the Kornilova and Kairova cases - will also be addressed. We will search for conceptual cross-over points - what happens to notions of privacy, surveillance, even jurisdiction in a literary text. We will examine permutations of the relationship between author and hero and author and reader; are these relationships adversarial, contractual, erotic? The crucial texts will be the novels, the essential procedure will be close reading (both prosecutorial /aggressive and protective/deferential), but we will also read several works of literary theory as well as scholarly attempts to link literature and law. The course will seek to foster an exchange of views between graduate students in the humanities and law students on the value, cost and significance of engaging with legal issues in literary texts. How might literary scholars benefit from reading like lawyers, and vice versa? 3 Hours/week (1 session); open to graduate students in the humanities and to law students. No particular background in law or comparative literature is required, but students should be prepared to read up to 250 pages of fiction a week. All participants will lead occasional discussions. Learning goals include cultivation of close reading skills and of interdisciplinary appr oaches to interpretation, the questioning of rigid disciplinary boundaries, an understanding of the importance of humanistic inquiry to legal studies, and an appreciation for the benefits (and difficulties) implicit in using aesthetic categories to resolve ethical questions and vice versa. The instructor received his Ph.D. in Slavic Languages from Berkeley and his J.D. from Yale. He is a Professor of Comparative Literature and Slavic Languages and Literatures at Berkeley, as well as a retired member of the Massachusetts Bar. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 219.4T Courts, Lawyers and Justice in Film 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will examine comparatively the representation of judicial process and the image of the legal profession in films in various countries. Courtroom dramas constitute an enduring and distinctive staple of American film culture. We will explore how this dramatic fiction influences a popular conception of justice that corresponds to a distinct model of civil society and is not simply limited to the resolution of disputes. Discussions will be based on partial or full screening and analysis of films produced within the last fifty years. In addition to discussing forms of representation of the adjudication process we will examine the role of lawyers and judges, their social status, the political function of courts as public forum, and the depiction of the relationship between legal rules, judicial process, and moral values. Class requirement includes one 15-20 page paper. Participation in class discussion will count for 20% of the final grade. Choice of paper topics is not limited to films, countries and topics discussed in class. Spring 2021 Description: This course will examine comparatively the representation of the judicial process and the image of the legal profession in films in various countries. Courtroom dramas constitute an enduring and distinctive staple of American film culture. We will explore how this dramatic fiction influences a popular conception of justice that corresponds to a distinct model of civil society and is not simply limited to the resolution of disputes. Discussions will be based on partial or full screening and analysis of films produced within the last fifty years. In addition to discussing forms of representation of the adjudication process we will examine the role of lawyers and judges, their social status, the political function of courts as public fora, and the depiction of the relationship between legal rules, judicial process, and moral values. Class requirement includes one 15-20 page paper or in class presentation. Choice of paper topics is not limited to films, countries and topics discussed in class. Spring 2022 Description: This course will examine comparatively the representation of the judicial process and the image of the legal profession in films in various countries. Courtroom dramas constitute an enduring and distinctive staple of American film culture. We will explore how this dramatic fiction influences a popular conception of justice that corresponds to a distinct model of civil society and is not simply limited to the resolution of disputes. Discussions will be based on partial or full screening and analysis of films produced within the last fifty years. In addition to discussing forms of representation of the adjudication process we will examine the role of lawyers and judges, their social status, the political function of courts as public fora, and the depiction of the relationship between legal rules, judicial process, and moral values. Class requirement includes one 15-20 page paper. Choice of paper topics is not limited to films, countries and topics discussed in class. Spring 2023 Description: This course will examine comparatively the representation of the judicial process and the image of the legal profession in films. Courtroom dramas constitute an enduring and distinctive staple of American film culture. We will explore how this dramatic fiction influences a popular conception of justice that corresponds to a distinct model of civil society and is not simply limited to the resolution of disputes. Discussions will be based on partial or full screening and analysis of films produced within the last fifty years. In addition to discussing forms of representation of the adjudication process we will examine the role of lawyers and judges, their social status, the political function of courts as public fora, and the depiction of the relationship between legal rules, judicial process, and moral values. Class requirement includes one 15-20 page paper. Choice of paper topics is not limited to films, countries and topics discussed in class. Spring 2024 Description: This course will examine comparatively the representation of the judicial process and the image of the legal profession in films. Courtroom dramas constitute an enduring and distinctive staple of American film culture. We will explore how this dramatic fiction influences a popular conception of justice that corresponds to a distinct model of civil society and is not simply limited to the resolution of disputes. Discussions will be based on partial or full screening and analysis of films produced within the last fifty years. In addition to discussing forms of representation of the adjudication process we will examine the role of lawyers and judges, their social status, the political function of courts as public fora, and the depiction of the relationship between legal rules, judicial process, and moral values. Class requirement includes one 15-20 page paper. Choice of paper topics is not limited to films, countries, and topics discussed in class. |
| Law 219.81 Collaborative Research Seminar: Law & Humanities 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This is a seminar team-taught by three faculty members from different departments: Marianne Constable in Rhetoric, Bryan Wagner in English, and Leti Volpp in Law. We anticipate that students will enroll from an array of departments across campus. The course builds upon a long-standing effort to bring together scholars of law and humanities on the UC Berkeley campus, as exemplified by the volume, Constable, Volpp and Wagner, eds., Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places: Justice Beyond and Between (Fordham University Press, 2019). This is a UC Berkeley Collaborative Research Seminar supported by the Division of Arts & Humanities. The impetus behind these seminars is to integrate the arts and the humanities with UC Berkeley's signature initiatives, which identify key themes that tackle societal grand challenges. In particular, this course will engage directly with the signature initiative, "The Future of Democracy." Class meetings will correspond with initiative areas "Citizenship and Migration," "Democratic Speech Cultures," and "Making Democracy Work." The seminar understands law as a force that often reveals itself in realms in which it is supposed to be absent. By considering poetry and theater, painting and photography, folklore and popular culture along with more conventional legal documents, we will explore questions that are central to both law and humanities - including who we are, what to do, and how we know. We will be thinking about a range of topics, which may include: crime and punishment; personhood and property; language and medium; representation and interpretation; status and contract; violence, trauma, and testimony; retrospection, clues, and conjecture; and migration, borders, and citizenship. Students will work collaboratively and will hone skills of team-teaching, presenting their own research, and responding to others' work. Participants selected for the seminar will receive a $1,300 Research Stipend. To submit an application for the course, apply online by November 6, 2020, at https://forms.gle/BZD9iXmJyJKJzAaMA. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar engages with the interdisciplinary field of law and humanities. By bringing interpretive approaches associated with the humanities to bear on legal documents and legal sites and by drawing law into sustained interaction with art and expression in a range of mediums, we will treat the law not as a rational and self-regulating domain apart from society but instead as a force refracted throughout society, often revealing itself most powerfully in realms where it is supposed to be absent. By looking to art and music, poetry and philosophy, folklore and popular culture, as well as to law, this course explores questions that are central to both law and humanities-including fundamental questions of who we are, what to do, and how we know. We will pay particular attention to themes of crime and punishment, migration and citizenship, trauma and testimony, and personhood and property. The course will include a series of lectures and discussions with leading thinkers in law and humanities. This collaborative research seminar is cross-listed between the Division of Arts and Humanities and the Law School with the following goals. The course will help students to: Work across disciplinary boundaries; Integrate methods from within and outside the arts and humanities; Foster collaborative research skills and teamwork; Develop advanced presentation skills. Course grading will be based upon participation, weekly reflection papers, and a collaborative symposium presentation. This is a seminar team-taught by Professors Bryan Wagner in English, and Leti Volpp in Law. We anticipate that students will enroll from an array of departments across campus. The course builds upon a long-standing effort to bring together scholars of law and humanities on the UC Berkeley campus, as exemplified by the volume, Constable, Volpp and Wagner, eds., Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places: Justice Beyond and Between (Fordham University Press, 2019). |
| Law 219.9 Law and the Greek Classics 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Attendance at the first class is mandatory The seminar will explore links between the Greek Classics and contemporary legal issues. Among the areas we will discuss are: Was Socrates' conviction unjust? What are the limits, if any, to free speech? Should Socrates have escaped to resist an unjust conviction? How should a contemporary lawyer confront outcomes she deems deeply unjust? What are the essential elements of a just legal system? What role should conscience play in granting exemptions to the duties of citizenship? We will read Plato's Crito and the Apologia; MLK, Jr, Letter from the Birmingham Jail; Aeschylus, "The Eumenides" (the birth of law); and"Antigone" (the birth of conscientious objection). No prior study of the Greek classics is required. We will read the plays aloud for the aesthetic joy of it before discussing the issues. Warning - I always get to play Creon - maybe in a Trump mask. I have taught this material at Berkeley, NYU and Stanford Law Schools. Spring 2021 Description: Attendance at the first class is mandatory The seminar will explore links between the Greek Classics and contemporary legal issues. Among the areas we will discuss are: Was Socrates' conviction unjust? What are the limits, if any, to free speech? Should Socrates have escaped to resist an unjust conviction? How should a contemporary lawyer confront outcomes she deems deeply unjust? What are the essential elements of a just legal system? What role should conscience play in granting exemptions to the duties of citizenship? We will read Plato's Crito and the Apologia; MLK, Jr, Letter from the Birmingham Jail; Aeschylus, "The Eumenides" (the birth of law); and"Antigone" (the birth of conscientious objection). No prior study of the Greek classics is required. We will read the plays aloud for the aesthetic joy of it before discussing the issues. Warning - I always get to play Creon - maybe in a Trump mask. I won't ignore the warts. We'll consider whether the misogyny that pervades the material disqualifies it as a serious source for modern legal discussion. We'll also look at the role of slavery and economic injustice in supporting Athenian democracy. I'll ask how we should use legal and aesthetic materials generated in such a climate. Hint - I'm extremely reluctant to throw the material away, but unwilling to whitewash the warts. I have taught this material at Berkeley, NYU, and Stanford Law Schools. |
| Law 220.1 The Constitution in the Early Republic 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course explores the Constitution through an examination of the history of its framing. We will discuss the ideological origins of the American Revolution, the Critical Period under the Articles of Confederation, the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and important debates in Washington administration. Readings will include a mix of primary sources, such as the Federalist Papers and debate records, and secondary historical works. Students will submit a paper on an issue of constitutional history or interpretation using historical sources. Spring 2022 Description: This course examines the history of the Constitution's framing. We will discuss the ideological origins of the American Revolution, the Critical Period under the Articles of Confederation, the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and important debates in the Washington administration. Readings will include a mix of primary sources, such as the Federalist Papers and debate records, and secondary historical works. Students will submit a paper on an issue of constitutional history or interpretation. Spring 2024 Description: This course examines the history of the Constitution's framing. We will discuss the ideological origins of the American Revolution, the Critical Period under the Articles of Confederation, the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and important debates in the Washington administration. Readings will include a mix of primary sources, such as the Federalist Papers and debate records, and secondary historical works. Students will submit a paper on an issue of constitutional history or interpretation. |
| Law 220.12 The Constitution in War Time 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This is an advanced constitutional law course that will address a series of interrelated issues that have arisen over the course of American history as the United States Constitution has had to confront the realities of war. The course will investigate wartime periods in American history and the legal issues that they triggered, along with the resulting debates over those issues and broader theoretical discussions that exist today over how the Constitution operates in wartime, with the aim of critically analyzing the various positions in such debates. Students will read judicial decisions and academic commentary and scholarship. Major issues to be covered include: exploring how the system of checks and balances can and should work during periods of national crisis, the relevance of traditional constitutional constraints on executive power in wartime, congressional checks and oversight of war powers; the role of the judiciary in wartime; how the Civil War has or should shape constitutional meaning, World War II, the War on Terror, the use of military tribunals, the suspension of habeas corpus, and more generally the intersection of war powers and civil liberties. Students will write four short reflection papers over the course of the semester. Regular attendance and active class participation are also required and will serve as an additional component of student evaluation. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Spring 2024 Description: This is an advanced constitutional law course that will address a series of interrelated issues that have arisen over the course of American history as the United States Constitution has had to confront the realities of war and emergencies more broadly. The course will investigate crisis periods in American history and the legal issues that they triggered, along with the resulting debates over those issues and broader theoretical discussions that exist today over how the Constitution operates in wartime and emergencies more broadly, with the aim of critically analyzing the various positions in such debates. Students will read judicial decisions and academic commentary and scholarship. Major issues to be covered include: exploring how the system of checks and balances can and should work during periods of national crisis, the relevance of traditional constitutional constraints on executive power in wartime, congressional checks and oversight of war powers; the role of the judiciary in wartime; how the Civil War has or should shape constitutional meaning, World War II, the War on Terror, the use of military tribunals, the suspension of habeas corpus, and more generally the intersection of war powers and civil liberties. Students will write four short reflection papers over the course of the semester. Regular attendance and active class participation are also required and will serve as an additional component of student evaluation. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. |
| Law 220.13 Constitutional Law and Colonialism 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar will explore the constitutional law of colonial rule in contemporary, comparative, and historical perspectives. Typically, colonialism is not a topic of study in constitutional law courses in the United States. The seminar will fill that gap by considering the ways in which constitutional law has shaped, and been shaped by, colonialism within the United States. It will cover canonical cases concerning the relationships between the United States and Indigenous Peoples as well as cases concerning U.S. territories. It will also address cutting edges issues concerning Indigenous Peoples and the territories today. The seminar will also have a significant comparative law component, as it will explore constitutionalism and colonialism in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, which, like the United States, are common law countries with colonial histories. Students will have the opportunity to delve deeply into a topic of their choosing by writing a research paper. |
| Law 220.14 Originalism 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: How should judges interpret the Constitution? One controversial approach is "originalism," a method that focuses on the Constitution's original public meaning. This seminar will explore the debate over originalism and will seek to evaluate originalist approaches to constitutional interpretation. We will try to understand what makes an interpretive approach originalist; to identify the different scholarly approaches to originalism; to assess whether a distinctive originalism is possible; to understand what values originalism serves; to see how to make (and how to dissect) originalist arguments; and to appreciate the arguments both for and against originalism relative to other approaches to constitutional interpretation. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 220.15 The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: The course will cover reading and discussion of Federalist Papers Nos. 47-83 and corresponding Anti-Federalist Papers, addressing separation of powers and the specific powers and authorities of the three branches of government. The class will be taught in a discussion style and will focus on the arguments for and against various provisions of the Constitution advanced by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at the time of the state ratification debates. The course meets on these dates: Thursday, March 31st 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, April 1st 10AM-12:10PM AND 3:10PM-5PM Thursday, April 7th 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, April 8th 10AM-12:10PM AND 3:10PM-5PM Spring 2023 Description: The class covers the separation of powers and the federal powers of the three branches of government as debated by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Ryan Nelson is a Circuit Judge on the Ninth Circuit. |
| Law 220.16 Natural Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This course will examine the historical and philosophical roots of Natural Law, including its formation in the ancient period and its development during the medieval period. We will then discuss the influence of Natural Law on the Framers of the U.S. Constitution and the struggle between positivism and natural law thinking in American law. We will conclude with an examination of the revival of natural law in the scholarship on constitutional interpretation. |
| Law 220.41 Natural Law and Constitutional Interpretation 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: One of the most difficult questions for constitutional interpretation is whether and how to fill in gaps in the text. Should courts, for example, recognize rights not textually enumerated in the Bill of Rights? Should we give force to principles of federalism or the separation of powers when the Constitution mentions neither phrase? One of the theories proposed as a background set of principles for constitutional interpretation is natural law. This class will examine historic natural law theories as they evolved and existed at the time of the Framing of the Constitution and the Civil War, the modern debate over natural law, and whether such theories can prove useful in answering the difficult constitutional questions of today. The Honorable Janice Rogers Brown is currently a jurist-in-residence at Berkeley Law. She has served in prominent positions in the federal and state judiciaries and California government. She served as the judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 2005 to 2017. She served as a Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1996-2005, and before that was a Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal. Before her judicial service, she was Legal Affairs Secretary to California Governor Pete Wilson and held positions in the state Attorney General’s office and the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency. Steven Hayward is a senior research fellow at Berkeley Law, a senior resident scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, and a visiting professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy. He was previously the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Visiting Professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Public Policy, and was the inaugural visiting scholar in conservative thought and policy at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2013-14. From 2002 to 2012 he was the F.K Weyerhaeuser Fellow in Law and Economics at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC and has been a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco since 1991. |
| Law 220.42 Strategy: Theory, Law, and Policy 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This class will introduce students to the theory and practice of strategy. It will begin by examining the development of grand strategy in international politics and law. It will then explore the application of strategy in legal, political, and business contexts. Some class meetings will welcome guest speakers to discuss the practical use of strategy in their fields. Final paper will be required. |
| Law 220.42S Strategy in Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2024 Description: This class will introduce students to the theory and practice of strategy. It will begin by examining the development of grand strategy in international politics and law. It will then explore the application of strategy in legal, political, and business contexts. Some class meetings will welcome guest speakers to discuss the practical use of strategy in their fields. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 220.43 Constitution, Race, and Natural Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: This seminar will address theories of constitutional interpretation and decision making. It will examine the major schools of thought, such as those based in morality, legal process, law and economics, and originalism. It will pay particular attention to the renewed debate over the role of natural law in constitutional interpretation. In each of the seven class meetings, the seminar will focus on a central text of jurisprudence and interpretation. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar will address theories of constitutional interpretation and decision-making. It will examine the major schools of thought, such as those based in morality, legal process, law and economics, and originalism. It will pay particular attention to the renewed debate over the role of natural law in constitutional interpretation. In each of the seven class meetings, the seminar will focus on a central text of jurisprudence and interpretation. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 220.5 Constitutional Theory 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: In this seminar, we will examine the history and theory surrounding the adoption and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, as well as its principles and applications as they have evolved over time. We will start by addressing the major theories underlying the interpretation of the Constitution, including originalism, constitutional textualism, living constitutionalism, and pragmatism. We will then scrutinize assumptions about human capacity and nature and theories of politics that underlay the major components of the Constitution - Separation of Powers, Federalism, and Individual Rights. Next, we will explore what assumptions of human capacity and nature and theories of politics have been embedded in major constitutional cases in each of these areas over time. We conclude with an account of the sources of constitutional change from the transformation of political institutions and their relationships to each other, social movements, and evolving understandings of the past. Throughout the course, we will assess the extent to which our interpretation of the Constitution depends on our vision of American democracy and good society. |
| Law 220.52 Workshop on Industrial Policy 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This Workshop on Industrial Policy aims to introduce students to a range of both foundational and current issues involved in the positive reevaluation of industrial policy in the United States. This reevaluation is apparent in recent legislation including the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as a raft of executive orders and policy re-thinks, and has a measure of thoughtful bipartisan support. Each week, we will invite a speaker from academia or government with research or practical experience in industrial policy or related policy efforts at what has been called "marketcrafting." Readings will relate to the speaker's presentation and may be either work in progress or past work reflecting current questions. |
| Law 220.6 Constitutional Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will provide an introduction to Constitution Law. The course will be divided into four major sections. The initial section will introduce you to judicial review and constitutional interpretation. The next two sections will focus on what are often referred to as “structural” matters. The second section explores the concept of separation of powers - the division of authority between the three branches of the federal government. The third section will address addresses federalism - the relationship between the federal government and the states and the constitutional limits that define the powers of each over various subject matters. The final section will focus on constitutionally guaranteed rights. This will include an introduction to the structure of constitutional protections, equal protection, and an examination of fundamental rights under the Due Process Clause. Fall 2020 Description: This is an introductory course on Constitutional Law. We will cover judicial review, commerce clause, federalism, separation of powers, equal protection, and substantive due process. The course examines how these concepts have emerged in doctrine, and have been contested through politics and the mobilizations of social movements during transformative periods of American history, such as the Founding, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights Movement. We will also address contemporary constitutional controversies, such as limits on executive power, affirmative action, immigration, or lgbt equality. Except as approved accommodation, laptops may not be used in this class. Spring 2021 Description: Constitutional Law focuses on the constitutional provisions creating the American system of government and protecting individual liberties. The course will focus especially on the methods that are used by judges and lawyers for analyzing and interpreting the Constitution. The course material will be divided into five units. Unit one will examine the separation and balance of powers among the three branches of the federal government. Unit two will focus on the constitutional relationship between the federal and state governments. Unit three will consider the structure of the Constitution’s protection of individual liberties, examining several principles that apply to the constitutional provisions protecting civil rights and civil liberties. The fourth unit will focus on the due process clauses of the fifth and fourteenth amendments and the rights protected under them. Finally, unit five will consider the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law. Fall 2021 Description: This is an introductory course on Constitutional Law. We will cover judicial review, commerce clause, federalism, separation of powers, equal protection, and substantive due process. The course examines how these concepts have emerged in doctrine, and have been contested through politics and the mobilizations of social movements during transformative periods of American history, such as the Founding, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights Movement. We will also address contemporary constitutional controversies, such as limits on executive power, affirmative action, immigration, or lgbt equality. Except as approved accommodation, laptops may not be used in this class. Spring 2022 Description: This is an introductory course on Constitutional Law. Although it is primarily a substantive class, the course will also focus on skill building and will include three required writing assignments in addition to the final. It will enhance students' abilities to read and synthesize cases, to formulate effective legal arguments, to engage in critical analysis, and to write law school exams. Although the course will cover basic principles such as judicial review and federalism, the focus will be on the role of the courts in assessing questions of equal protection (based on race, gender, sexual orientation and disability) and establishing the boundaries of fundamental rights, including sexual conduct, procreation, and marriage. This class is by application and for 1L students only. Additional information, including the application instructions, will be sent to 1Ls in January. Fall 2022 Description: This is a 4-unit introductory course on Constitutional Law. Although it is primarily a substantive class, the course will also include some small group exercises and practice exams to help build skills. It will enhance students' abilities to read and synthesize cases, to formulate effective legal arguments, to engage in critical analysis, and to write law school exams. Although the course will cover basic principles such as judicial review and federalism, the focus will be on the role of the courts in assessing questions of equal protection (based on race, gender, sexual orientation and disability) and establishing the boundaries of "fundamental rights," including sexual conduct, procreation, and marriage. We will also address contemporary constitutional controversies, such as the Supreme Court's consideration of affirmative action. Spring 2023 Description: Constitutional Law focuses on the constitutional provisions creating the American system of government and protecting individual liberties. The course will focus especially on the methods that are used by judges and lawyers for analyzing and interpreting the Constitution. The course material will be divided into six units. Unit one will examine judicial review and the methods of constitutional interpretation. Unit two will focus on the structure of the Constitution’s protection of individual liberties, examining several principles that apply to the constitutional provisions protecting civil rights and civil liberties. The third unit will focus on the due process clauses of the fifth and fourteenth amendments and the rights protected under them. Unit four will consider the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law. Unit five will examine the separation and balance of powers among the three branches of the federal government. Finally, unit six will look at the scope of congressional powers and their relationship to state governments. Fall 2023 Description: This is a 4-unit introductory course on Constitutional Law. Although it is primarily a substantive class, the course will also include skill building, including small group exercises and practice exams. It will enhance students’ abilities to read and synthesize cases, to formulate effective legal arguments, to engage in critical analysis, and to write law school exams. Although the course will cover basic principles such as judicial review and federalism, the focus will be on the role of the courts in assessing questions of equal protection (based on race, gender, sexual orientation and disability) and establishing the boundaries of “fundamental rights,” including sexual intimacy, reproductive rights, and marriage. Spring 2024 Description: Covering much of the same material discussed in the other sections, this four-unit introductory Constitutional Law course nevertheless likely differs to some degree in the following ways: First, it foregrounds questions of social hierarchy, politics, and power, as these affect marginal groups and also as these shape society as a whole. Second, it emphasizes constitutional change as a guide to what might be possible in the (near) future. Third, it takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on history, sociology, political science, and critical theory. Substantively, the course engages the following topics: federalism, economic regulation, equality, and liberty. It examines how these concepts have been filtered through politics and institutional constraints during transformative eras of American history, such as the Civil War and Reconstruction, the New Deal and the Civil Rights Movement, and the post-1970’s rightward shift in American politics. All of this lays the groundwork for parsing significant contemporary alterations in constitutional law in areas including race, gender, abortion, sexual orientation, and activist government. The principal text for this course is Brest, Levinson, Balkin, Amar & Siegel, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking: Cases and Materials, 7th ed. (note: this is not the most recent edition; little of note changed with the 8th edition, and the 7th ed. required for this course is more affordable). *We will read closely from the casebook in class, and you will find it necessary to have your own edition in front of you.* It is not necessary to have the supplement. Students in the course will be expected to achieve the following learning outcomes: (a) understanding of substantive constitutional law; (b) familiarity with the legal analysis, reasoning styles, and interpretive techniques associated with constitutional arguments; (c) and knowledge of the competing values served by constitutional law. Class participation may count as a grade tie-breaker. Fall 2024 Description: Covering much of the same material discussed in the other sections, this four-unit introductory Constitutional Law course nevertheless likely differs to some degree in the following ways: First, it foregrounds questions of social hierarchy, politics, and power, as these affect marginal groups and also as these shape society as a whole. Second, it emphasizes constitutional change as a guide to what might be possible in the (near) future. Third, it takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on history, sociology, political science, and critical theory. Substantively, the course engages the following topics: federalism, economic regulation, equality, and liberty. It examines how these concepts have been filtered through politics and institutional constraints during transformative eras of American history, such as the Civil War and Reconstruction, the New Deal and the Civil Rights Movement, and the post-1970’s rightward shift in American politics. All of this lays the groundwork for parsing significant contemporary alterations in constitutional law in areas including race, gender, abortion, sexual orientation, and activist government. The principal text for this course is Brest, Levinson, Balkin, Amar & Siegel, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking: Cases and Materials, 7th ed. (note: this is not the most recent edition; little of note changed with the 8th edition, and the 7th ed. required for this course is more affordable). *We will read closely from the casebook in class, and you will find it necessary to have your own edition in front of you.* It is not necessary to have the supplement. Students in the course will be expected to achieve the following learning outcomes: (a) understanding of substantive constitutional law; (b) familiarity with the legal analysis, reasoning styles, and interpretive techniques associated with constitutional arguments; (c) and knowledge of the competing values served by constitutional law. Class participation may count as a grade tie-breaker. Spring 2025 Description: Constitutional Law focuses on the constitutional provisions creating the American system of government and protecting individual liberties. The course will focus especially on the methods that are used by judges and lawyers for analyzing and interpreting the Constitution. The course will examine judicial review and the methods of constitutional interpretation; the structure of the Constitution’s protection of individual liberties; the due process clauses of the fifth and fourteenth amendments and the rights protected under them; the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law; the separation of powers among the three branches of the federal government; and federalism. Fall 2025 Description: This is a 4-unit introductory course on Constitutional Law. Although it is primarily a substantive class, the course will also include skill building, including small group exercises, and practice exams. It will enhance students’ abilities to read and synthesize cases, to formulate effective legal arguments, to engage in critical analysis, and to write law school exams. Although the course will cover basic principles such as judicial review and federalism, the focus will be on the role of the courts in assessing questions of equal protection (based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability) and establishing the boundaries of “fundamental rights,” including sexual intimacy, reproductive rights, and marriage. |
| Law 220.9 First Amendment 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In this course we will study the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, focusing on issues of religion and speech. Spring 2021 Description: The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is at the core of current debates in American governance. This course covers the Amendment's speech, association, and religion clauses. Cases and doctrines will be examined both from a historical perspective and in light of current issues, with attention to developments in technology, culture, and society. Spring 2022 Description: In this course we will study the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, focusing on issues of religion and speech. While the main focus of the course will be on legal doctrine, we will also read and discuss normative theories and frameworks that aim to guide our thinking about freedom of speech and religion. Spring 2023 Description: In this course we will study the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, focusing on issues of speech and religion. Cases and doctrines will be examined both from a historical perspective and in light of current issues, with attention to developments in technology, culture, and society, and to the views of a changing Supreme Court. **PLEASE NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF AN INSTRUCTOR HEALTH ISSUE, THE CLASS WILL LIKELY BE TAUGHT ON ZOOM DURING THE MONTHS OF JAN AND FEB (AND PERHAPS BEYOND). Fall 2023 Description: This course will focus on the First Amendment to the United Constitution, especially examining issues of speech, press, association, and religion. Spring 2024 Description: This course will focus on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. We will examine each of the First Amendment's six clauses - Establishment, Free Exercise, Speech, Press, Assembly/Association, and Petition in the order they occur. Prof Neuborne served as National Legal Director of the ACLU during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan and as Founding Legal Director of the Brennan Center for Justice. He has argued a number of First Amendment cases before the United States Supreme Court. Fall 2024 Description: This course will focus on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, especially examining issues of speech, press, association, and religion. Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 220.92 Democracy and the First Amendment 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: The seminar will explore the interaction between Democracy and the First Amendment. We will ask how (or whether) the First Amendment protects the right to vote, run for office, support or oppose candidates, enjoy fair representation, spend money, seek relief, and criticize government. We will consider, as well, whether equality-based protections provide an adequate alternative to First Amendment protection. We will consider statutory protections and regulation of the democratic process, including the Voting Rights Act and federal regulation of campaign spending. We'll look, as well, at corporate political speech and spending. Seminar participants will be expected to research and write a paper exploring a topic of choice. |
| Law 220.9S First Amendment 1 Units |
| Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2024 Description: The course will focus on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, specifically on the provisions concerning religion and speech. The course will examine basic themes and major doctrines concerning religion and speech. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 220.I Law, Politics, and Governance 3 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This graduate seminar in legal and political theory will examine some of the key concepts in law, politics, and governance, as well as the relationships between those concepts. Likely topics include: legality and legitimacy, institutional design, the role of written constitutions and constitutional norms, individual rights, the lawmaking process, authority to interpret the constitution and statutes (including debates over judicial review), allocation of authority between national and subnational governments, and international law and legality. In the course of discussing these topics, we will pay specific attention to the interplay of legal rules and institutions with other values, including democracy, effective governance, the public welfare, and the status of historically marginalized demographic groups. We envision the course as an advanced seminar in constitutional and political theory. The course is open to all Berkeley Law students (JSP, JD, JSD, or LLM) and Berkeley doctoral students from other departments. Graduate students from other Berkeley schools are welcome to enroll with permission of the instructors. This course will tackle important and challenging questions in the spirit of open inquiry and free exchange of ideas. We welcome a wide range of viewpoints on these questions. Reasonable minds can differ on many of the issues that we will be discussing, and no ideas are immune from scrutiny. |
| Law 220A Marijuana Law and Policy 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In this marijuana law and policy seminar, students will engage with the wide variety of legal issues presented by one of the fastest-evolving fields in drug policy, and grapple with the policy and practical legal issues that arise when an illicit market evolves into one that is quasi-legal and regulated by the state but still prohibited under federal law. The course will cover the history of marijuana prohibition, including its race-based origins and its continued racially disparate enforcement; the political movement and strategy to decriminalize marijuana and allow medical access; the international and federal constraints on state law reform; the legal and regulatory questions involving criminal sentencing, tax, consumer safety, labor law, environmental protection, and public health; social justice considerations prompted by the emergence of a new, quasi-legal industry for a product that was previously criminalized in a racially-disparate manner; and the continuing challenges of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law. The instructor was the legal director for the world’s largest drug policy advocacy organization, and has specialized for the last ten years in marijuana law and policy. She has been instrumental in the drafting of medical and recreational marijuana laws and voter initiatives in more than 15 states across the country; was a lead drafter of recently-enacted recreational marijuana laws in Colorado, Oregon, and California; and has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. The reading for the course will be an eclectic mix of case law, policy articles, government studies and reports, statutes, advocacy pieces, and political campaign materials. Spring 2021 Description: In this marijuana law and policy seminar, students will engage with the wide variety of legal issues presented by one of the fastest-evolving fields in drug policy, and grapple with the policy and practical legal issues that arise when an illicit market evolves into one that is quasi-legal and regulated by the state but still prohibited under federal law. The course will cover the history of marijuana prohibition, including its race-based origins and its continued racially disparate enforcement; the political movement and strategy to decriminalize marijuana and allow medical access; the international and federal constraints on state law reform; the legal and regulatory questions involving criminal sentencing, tax, consumer safety, labor law, environmental protection, and public health; social justice considerations prompted by the emergence of a new, quasi-legal industry for a product that was previously criminalized in a racially-disparate manner; and the continuing challenges of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law. The instructor was the legal director for the world’s largest drug policy advocacy organization, and has specialized for the last ten years in marijuana law and policy. She has been instrumental in the drafting of medical and recreational marijuana laws and voter initiatives in more than 15 states across the country; was a lead drafter of recently-enacted recreational marijuana laws in Colorado, Oregon, and California; and has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. The reading for the course will be an eclectic mix of case law, policy articles, government studies and reports, statutes, advocacy pieces, and political campaign materials. Spring 2022 Description: In this marijuana law and policy seminar, students will engage with the wide variety of legal issues presented by one of the fastest-evolving fields in drug policy, and grapple with the policy and practical legal issues that arise when an illicit market evolves into one that is quasi-legal and regulated by the state but still prohibited under federal law. The course will cover the history of marijuana prohibition, including its race-based origins and its continued racially disparate enforcement; the political movement and strategy to decriminalize marijuana and allow medical access; the international and federal constraints on state law reform; the legal and regulatory questions involving criminal sentencing, tax, consumer safety, labor law, environmental protection, and public health; social justice considerations prompted by the emergence of a new, quasi-legal industry for a product that was previously criminalized in a racially-disparate manner; and the continuing challenges of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law. The instructor was the legal director for the world’s largest drug policy advocacy organization, and has specialized for the last ten years in marijuana law and policy. She has been instrumental in the drafting of medical and recreational marijuana laws and voter initiatives in more than 18 states across the country; was a lead drafter of recently-enacted recreational marijuana laws in Colorado, Oregon, and California; and has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. The reading for the course will be an eclectic mix of case law, policy articles, government studies and reports, statutes, advocacy pieces, and political campaign materials. Spring 2023 Description: In this marijuana law and policy seminar, students will engage with the wide variety of legal issues presented by one of the fastest-evolving fields in drug policy, and grapple with the policy and practical legal issues that arise when an illicit market evolves into one that is quasi-legal and regulated by the state but still prohibited under federal law. The course will cover the history of marijuana prohibition, including its race-based origins and its continued racially disparate enforcement; the political movement and strategy to decriminalize marijuana and allow medical access; the international and federal constraints on state law reform; the legal and regulatory questions involving criminal sentencing, tax, consumer safety, labor law, environmental protection, and public health; social justice considerations prompted by the emergence of a new, quasi-legal industry for a product that was previously criminalized in a racially-disparate manner; and the continuing challenges of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law. The reading for the course will be an eclectic mix of case law, policy articles, government studies and reports, statutes, advocacy pieces, and political campaign materials. Tamar Todd was the legal director for the world’s largest drug policy advocacy organization, and has specialized for the last ten years in marijuana law and policy. She has been instrumental in the drafting of medical and recreational marijuana laws and voter initiatives in more than 18 states across the country; was a lead drafter of recently-enacted recreational marijuana laws in Colorado, Oregon, and California; and has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. Spring 2024 Description: In this marijuana law and policy seminar, students will engage with the wide variety of legal issues presented by one of the fastest-evolving fields in drug policy, and grapple with the policy and practical legal issues that arise when an illicit market evolves into one that is quasi-legal and regulated by the state but still prohibited under federal law. The course will cover the history of marijuana prohibition, including its race-based origins and its continued racially disparate enforcement; the political movement and strategy to decriminalize marijuana and allow medical access; the international and federal constraints on state law reform; the legal and regulatory questions involving criminal sentencing, tax, consumer safety, labor law, environmental protection, and public health; social justice considerations prompted by the emergence of a new, quasi-legal industry for a product that was previously criminalized in a racially-disparate manner; and the continuing challenges of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law. The reading for the course will be an eclectic mix of case law, policy articles, government studies and reports, statutes, advocacy pieces, and political campaign materials. Tamar Todd was the legal director for the world’s largest drug policy advocacy organization, and has specialized for the last ten years in marijuana law and policy. She has been instrumental in the drafting of medical and recreational marijuana laws and voter initiatives in more than 18 states across the country; was a lead drafter of recently-enacted recreational marijuana laws in Colorado, Oregon, and California; and has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. Spring 2025 Description: In this marijuana law and policy seminar, students will engage with the wide variety of legal issues presented by one of the fastest-evolving fields in drug policy, and grapple with the policy and practical legal issues that arise when an illicit market evolves into one that is quasi-legal and regulated by the state but still prohibited under federal law. The course will cover the history of marijuana prohibition, including its race-based origins and its continued racially disparate enforcement; the political movement and strategy to decriminalize marijuana and allow medical access; the international and federal constraints on state law reform; the legal and regulatory questions involving criminal sentencing, tax, consumer safety, labor law, environmental protection, and public health; social justice considerations prompted by the emergence of a new, quasi-legal industry for a product that was previously criminalized in a racially-disparate manner; and the continuing challenges of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law. The reading for the course will be an eclectic mix of case law, policy articles, government studies and reports, statutes, advocacy pieces, and political campaign materials. Tamar Todd was the legal director for the world’s largest drug policy advocacy organization, and has specialized for the last ten years in marijuana law and policy. She has been instrumental in the drafting of medical and recreational marijuana laws and voter initiatives in more than 18 states across the country; was a lead drafter of recently-enacted recreational marijuana laws in Colorado, Oregon, and California; and has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. |
| Law 220A1 Education Law and Policy: Access, Discrimination, and Constitutional Litigation 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This fall seminar will address several contemporary issues in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. Topics will include, among others: constitutional remedies for unequal school funding; the use of race and ethnicity in K-12 people assignment policies and college admissions; denial of access to education due to immigration status, English proficiency, or disability; sex discrimination; and the challenges of racial and hyper-segregation. There will be no casebook. Course materials will be available online through bCourses. Grades will be based, approximately equally, on (a) class participation, (b) a draft 10-15-page paper on an approved topic, and (c) the final paper, after instructor feedback. This is a law course, but with substantial public policy content. |
| Law 220E Advanced Constitutional Law: Federalism 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will examine the balance of powers between the national and state governments. We will cover the main sources of federal power, such as the Commerce Clause, the Taxing and Spending Powers, the Foreign Affairs Power, and the Necessary and Proper Clause. We will also examine doctrines of state sovereignty and theoretical approaches to federalism. Spring 2023 Description: This course will examine the balance of powers between the national and state governments. We will cover the main sources of federal power, such as the Commerce Clause, the Taxing and Spending Powers, the Foreign Affairs Power, and the Necessary and Proper Clause. We will also examine doctrines of state sovereignty and theoretical approaches to federalism. Fall 2025 Description: This course will examine the balance of powers between the national and state governments. We will cover the main sources of federal power, such as the Commerce Clause, the Taxing and Spending Powers, the Foreign Affairs Power, and the Necessary and Proper Clause. We will also examine doctrines of state sovereignty and theoretical approaches to federalism. |
| Law 220F Food Law and Policy 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This Seminar will explore a wide range of issues related to food law and policy. Topics will likely include issues such as food safety, food labeling, government dietary standards, regulating the treatment of farm animals, farm and restaurant labor, organic farming standards, hunger and obesity in America, food stamps, government provision of food via school lunches in prisons and in the military, free speech controversies in the food law context, and the interactions between food production and the environment in light of climate change. Students will read a variety of materials in preparation for weekly discussions and will each write a 30+-page research paper. The course may fulfill the writing requirement with the agreement of the instructor. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar will explore a wide range of issues related to food law and policy. Possible topics include food safety, food labeling and marketing, regulation and patenting of genetically-modified organisms, farm subsidies, treatment of livestock, farm labor, organic farming standards, hunger and obesity, international trade in food, and promotion of local and sustainable agriculture. Throughout the course we will be attentive to ways in which the impacts of food law and policy vary on the basis of factors including race, immigration status, and gender. Students will read a variety of materials in preparation for weekly discussions and will each write a 30+-page research paper. There are no prerequisites for this class. The course may fulfill the writing requirement with the agreement of the instructor. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar will explore a wide range of issues related to food law and policy. Possible topics include food safety, food labeling and marketing, regulation and patenting of genetically-modified organisms, farm subsidies, treatment of livestock, farm labor, organic farming standards, hunger and obesity, international trade in food, and promotion of local and sustainable agriculture. Throughout the course we will be attentive to ways in which the impacts of food law and policy vary on the basis of factors including race, immigration status, and gender. Students will read a variety of materials in preparation for weekly discussions and will each write a 30+-page research paper. There are no prerequisites for this class. |
| Law 220G Public Law and Policy Workshop 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This seminar gives students the opportunity to engage with leading public law scholars from Berkeley and other schools. This year, the seminar will focus on separation of powers, especially the scope of presidential power. This is an area of ferment on the Supreme Court and among scholars. It was also a focus of intense public debate during the Trump Administration. The speakers include Professors Jonathan Gould, Bertrall Ross, Amanda Tyler, and John Yoo from our own faculty. The outside speakers include Gillian Metzger (Columbia), Josh Chafetz (Cornell), Eloise Pasachoff (Georgetown), Kristin Hickman (Minnesota), John Harrison (Virginia), J.D. Mortenson (Michigan), and Saikrishna Prakash (Virginia). Students are expected to read the papers in advance and to participate in a discussion with the author. Grades will be based on four brief response papers and on class participation. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar will discuss papers on public law by leading scholars from Berkeley Law and other schools. Public law is the umbrella term for the various areas of law that structure the government, determine how it is constituted, and describe its powers. Public law includes constitutional law (e.g., separation of powers, federalism, individual rights), administrative law, and the law of democracy, among other topics. During a time of polarization and tumult in American democracy, public law is critically important. The theme for the semester will be the intersection of law and politics. We will focus on the ways in which public law shapes our politics, and the ways in which our politics shape public law. Papers will cover a variety of substantive topics related to that theme. Each week, a guest speaker will join us to present and discuss their work. Students are expected to read the papers in advance and to participate in discussion with the author. Grades will be based on short response papers and on class participation. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar will discuss papers on public law by leading scholars from Berkeley Law and other law schools. Public law is the umbrella term for the various areas of law that structure the government, determine how it is constituted, and describe its powers. Public law includes constitutional law (e.g., separation of powers, federalism, individual rights), administrative law, and the law of democracy, among other topics. During a time of polarization and tumult in American democracy, public law is critically important. The theme for the semester will be the relationship of law and federal policymaking in the United States. We anticipate papers on that theme that touch on a range of substantive topics, including domestic policy, economic policy, and national security policy. Each week, a guest speaker will join us to present and discuss scholarly work in progress. Students are expected to read the papers in advance and to participate in discussion with the author. Grades will be based on short response papers and on class participation. |
| Law 220H Public Law in a Pandemic for LL.M.s 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Many lawsuits have been filed in courts arising from COVID-19 and actions taken to stop its spread, and many more lawsuits are likely in the weeks and months ahead. What are the legal principles concerning the government’s power in a pandemic? How are civil liberties to balanced with the need to stop the spread of a communicable disease? The focus will be both on the underlying legal principles and on the issues now being litigated. |
| Law 220SP Advanced Constitutional Law: Separation of Powers 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course provides an in-depth examination of the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Topics will include the historical origins of the separation of powers, judicial review and justiciability, presidential and congressional power over the administrative state, executive privilege and congressional investigation, the war and treaty powers, and the budget process. Spring 2022 Description: This course provides an in-depth examination of the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Topics will include the historical origins of the separation of powers, judicial review and justiciability, presidential and congressional power over the administrative state, executive privilege and congressional investigation, and the war and treaty powers. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides an in-depth examination of the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Topics will include the historical origins of the separation of powers, judicial review and justiciability, presidential and congressional power over the administrative state, executive privilege and congressional investigation, and foreign affairs. |
| Law 221.2 Presidents and Policy 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course will examine the main elements of presidential power, including the selection of the President, the procedural and substantive dimensions of executive power, and the checks on presidential power, including impeachment. Readings will include cases, legal and political science scholarship, and materials from contemporary controversies. Class sessions will be discussion-based and students will be evaluated through a research paper. Fall 2025 Description: This course will examine the main elements of presidential power, including the selection of the President, the procedural and substantive dimensions of executive power, and the checks on presidential power, including impeachment. Readings will include cases, legal and political science scholarship, and materials from contemporary controversies. Class sessions will be discussion-based and students will be evaluated through an Option 1 research paper. |
| Law 221.6 Education Law and Policy Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar concerns equity, excellence and reform in public education across select areas of doctrine, legislation, regulation, and enforcement. The emphasis will be on K-12 public education, but we will also touch on undergraduate higher education. The principal topics will be: federal-state-local division of authority; accountability for educational equity and excellence; K-12 resource equity; and, more generally, antidiscrimination law in education. No casebook; course materials will be available on bCourses. Grades will be based on class participation and a 10-15-page paper on an approved topic, with feedback on a required first draft. This is a law course, but with substantial public policy content. There are no prerequisites, although Administrative Law, Legislation and to a lesser extent Constitutional Law would be helpful. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar explores the pursuit of equity in public education across select areas of doctrine, legislation, and regulation. The emphasis will be on K-12 schooling and the principal focus will be legislation addressing inequity in educational opportunity along lines of race, class, and disability status, and judicial interpretation of such legislation. The class will explore topics such as the division of authority between the federal government and the states to shape students' educational experiences; accountability for educational equity and quality; education outcomes; efforts to establish a right to education; the imposition of discipline; and the meaning of freedom of speech in the context of public education. Grades will be based on class participation and a 30-40 page paper on an approved topic; students will be required to submit a first draft and make revisions based on feedback received. This is a law course, but with substantial public policy content. There are no prerequisites, although Legislation, Administrative Law, and Constitutional Law would be helpful. Fall 2025 Description: This seminar explores the pursuit of equity in public education across select areas of doctrine, legislation, and regulation. The emphasis will be on K-12 schooling and one focus will be legislation addressing inequity in educational opportunity along lines of race, class, and disability status, and judicial interpretation of such legislation. The class will explore topics such as the division of authority between the federal government and the states to shape students' educational experiences; contest over the content of the curriculum; accountability for educational equity and quality; education outcomes; efforts to establish a right to education; the imposition of discipline; and the meaning of freedom of speech in the context of public education. Grades will be based on class participation and completion of a 10-15 page paper on an approved topic; students will be required to submit a first draft and make revisions based on feedback received. This is a law course, but with substantial public policy content. There are no prerequisites, although Legislation, Administrative Law, and Constitutional Law would be helpful. |
| Law 221.61 Structural Change in Public Education Seminar 5 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview Fall 2020 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview Spring 2021 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Applications are due November 2nd, and students may contact Kristen Holmquist with more information about the program and how to apply. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Applications are due April 23rd, and students may contact Kristen Holmquist with more information about the program and how to apply. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Contact Kristen Holmquist to apply. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: a href=https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview/a. Contact Kristen Holmquist to apply. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Contact Kristen Holmquist to apply. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Contact Kristen Holmquist to apply. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Contact Kristen Holmquist to apply. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Contact Kristen Holmquist to apply. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Fall 2025 Description: This seminar is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. The application deadline is April 4th at 5pm. To apply, contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. |
| Law 221.62 Structural Change in Public Education Simulation Course 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview Fall 2020 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview Spring 2021 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Applications are due November 2nd, and students may contact Kristen Holmquist with more information about the program and how to apply. Fall 2021 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Applications are due April 23rd, and students may contact Kristen Holmquist with more information about the program and how to apply. Spring 2022 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Fall 2022 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: a href=https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview/a. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Spring 2023 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Fall 2023 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Spring 2024 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Fall 2024 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Spring 2025 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and fieldplacementprogrm@law.berkeley.edu. If you are interested in the spring semester, contact the Field Placement Program, fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu as soon as possible. Fall 2025 Description: This simulation course is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first-century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and fieldplacementprogrm@law.berkeley.edu. The application deadline is April 4th at 5pm. If you are interested in the fall semester, contact the Field Placement Program, fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu as soon as possible. |
| Law 221.74 Movement Lawyering from the Inside Out 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Berkeley Law students can meet this incredibly challenging moment in U.S. history with skill and heart. The police killings of Black and brown people; environmental racism, vigilante violence against transgender people, threats to reproductive justice, economic injustice, and many other issues call on lawyers to support the resistance movements already happening in communities around the country. This is “movement lawyering”-- a modern way of lawyering that purposefully places attorneys in service of the grassroots communities already doing the work. Movement lawyering rejects the “top-down” approach that has historically put attorneys in leadership positions and ignored the knowledge, desires, and work of the people most impacted by an issue. Successful movement lawyering is personal: it requires us to think critically about our identities so that we can connect with and be led by the communities we hope to serve. It requires that we examine how our privileges may bias us against these same communities, and how our identities can also be deep sources of empathy and kindness This process often means identifying and beginning to unravel some of the “isms” we’ve internalized (racism, ableism, etc.). In this class, we’ll talk about race, class, nationality, (dis)ability, and more. We’ll meet prominent movement lawyers and activists and learn how they’ve explored, unpacked, challenged, and liberated themselves in order to help the communities they serve self-liberate, too. This course includes short readings, guest speakers, written reflections and discussion, and a 5-8 page final reflection paper. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: Berkeley Law students can meet this incredibly challenging moment in U.S. history with skill and heart. The police killings of Black and brown people; environmental racism, vigilante violence against transgender people, threats to reproductive justice, economic injustice, and many other issues call on lawyers to support the resistance movements already happening in communities around the country. This is “movement lawyering”-- a modern way of lawyering that purposefully places attorneys in service of the grassroots communities already doing the work. Movement lawyering rejects the “top-down” approach that has historically put attorneys in leadership positions and ignored the knowledge, desires, and work of the people most impacted by an issue. Successful movement lawyering is personal: it requires us to think critically about our identities so that we can connect with and be led by the communities we hope to serve. It requires that we examine how our privileges may bias us against these same communities, and how our identities can also be deep sources of empathy and kindness This process often means identifying and beginning to unravel some of the “isms” we’ve internalized (racism, ableism, etc.). In this class, we’ll talk about race, class, nationality, (dis)ability, and more. We’ll meet prominent movement lawyers and activists and learn how they’ve explored, unpacked, challenged, and liberated themselves in order to help the communities they serve self-liberate, too. This course includes short readings, guest speakers, written reflections and discussion, and a 5-8 page final reflection paper. Spring 2022 Description: Berkeley Law students can meet this challenging moment in U.S. history with skill and heart. The police killings of Black and brown people, environmental racism, vigilante violence against transgender people, threats to reproductive justice, economic injustice, and many other issues call on lawyers to support the resistance movements already happening in communities around the country. This is “movement lawyering”-- a modern way of lawyering that purposefully places attorneys in service of the grassroots communities already doing the work. Movement lawyering rejects the “top-down” approach that has historically put attorneys in leadership positions and ignored the knowledge, desires, and work of the people most impacted by an issue. Successful movement lawyering is personal: it requires us to think critically about our identities so that we can connect with and be led by the communities we hope to serve. It requires that we examine how our privileges may bias us against these same communities, and how our identities can also be deep sources of empathy and kindness. This process often means identifying and beginning to unravel some of the “isms” we’ve internalized (racism, ableism, etc.). In this class, we’ll talk about race, class, nationality, (dis)ability, and more. We’ll meet prominent movement lawyers and activists and learn how they’ve explored, unpacked, challenged, and liberated themselves in order to help the communities they serve self-liberate, too. This course includes short readings, guest speakers, written reflections and discussion, and a 5-8 page final reflection paper. Spring 2023 Description: empty |
| Law 221.75 From Social Movement to Legal Change 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Emergent social movements often aim to produce some form of legal change. But translating the energy and claims-making of mass mobilizations into proposals that can be implemented through law or policy has proven to be challenging. How does a social movement with a decentralized structure formulate proposals for change? How does a large or heterogeneous movement decide whose injuries or narratives should be prioritized as it approaches legal institutions? How do groups produce meaningful change within institutions structured by the very assumptions that movements have sought to challenge? We will examine these and other questions by looking at examples from three recent social movements: the Movement for Black Lives, #MeToo, and the Immigrant Rights Movement. This course has been scheduled for these dates: August 19, September 9, September 30, October 7, October 14, October 28, November 4 and November 18. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 221.76 The Legal Politics of Campus Protests 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: We live in tumultuous, divisive, dangerous, and uncertain times. Academia is roiled by controversies about human rights, war, freedom of speech, racism, anti-Semitism, investment policies, and authoritarianism. University presidents are under political attack; faculty grapple with how to handle controversial debates in the classroom; ideas (such as Critical Race Theory and Settler Colonialism) have become the subject of legislation and lawsuits; and students have been caught up in a web of disciplinary systems. Moreover, the role of protests in academia has become intertwined with national and local politics. This seminar will combine a discussion of historical and contemporary texts with research projects. We will review some of the literature from the 1970s when debates about campus protests permeated cultural politics; and read primary documents associated with debates about free speech and protest at universities during the last year. Students will be required to develop a research paper that explores doctrinal, empirical, or cultural aspects of events that have taken place at Berkeley or other universities. We will encourage research papers that address significant issues: How is power organized and applied in academia? How do universities prescribe the parameters of protest? How does a university’s complex disciplinary system work? What roles do campus and other police play in the disciplining of protest? How does national politics shape the legal politics of campus protest? How do protest movements on campus address, respond to, and challenge disciplinary and policing actions? |
| Law 221.8 Statutory Implementation: Agency Policymaking through Regulation 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Much of first-year law school aims to give students an appreciation for how common law evolves and the central role that courts play. However, administrative agencies play a far greater role in shaping today's society through statutory implementation. The goal of this course is to give students insight into the critical work of these agencies. Specifically, the course is designed to provide students with an understanding of how agencies can create wide-ranging policies through their rulemakings and how those regulations impact everyday life. Thus, the emphasis will be on an agency’s legislative role (i.e., we will not be covering an agency’s adjudicative or enforcement functions). This course will provide students with an opportunity to gain fundamental lawyering skills in drafting and negotiating regulatory language in any area of law. To give students practical rulewriting experience, however, the course is grounded in consumer financial services and those laws governing the student loan servicing industry. I will teach this course against the backdrop of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rulemaking authority under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Students will learn how to write regulations that address existing student loan servicing problems. But because the rulemaking process does not happen in a vacuum, policy and politics will play a role. Students will gain insight into the practical constraints of drafting regulations under this administration’s deregulatory focus. Class will meet for the first 7 weeks of the semester only (Except for the Monday Holidays). Fall 2021 Description: Much of first-year law school aims to provide students with an understanding for how common law evolves and the central role that courts play in governing society. Unless students take advanced courses in Public Law & Policy such as Administrative Law, they may graduate with the impression that the judicial system is best equipped to resolve societal problems and address public policy concerns. That is not necessarily the case. To be sure, even Administrative Law fails to provide a complete picture. It is taught using judicial opinions, again casting courts in the lead role. There is little focus on the inner workings of the modern administrative state and the increasing role agencies play in shaping today’s society. Tasked with implementing Congress’ statutory programs, administrative agencies impact everyday life when setting forth the scope of the rights and responsibilities of affected individuals under any given statute. The goal of this seminar is to provide students with insight into what happens after a bill becomes legislation and how an agency implements the statute using its quasi- legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Students will gain an understanding that statutory implementation inevitably results in agencies conducting some level of policymaking. Even the mere choice of selecting which statutory tool (e.g., guidance document or notice and comment rulemaking) can create wide-ranging policies. While the course introduces students to the panoply of administrative powers, the focus will be on agency rulemaking. This course will provide students with an opportunity to gain fundamental lawyering skills in drafting and negotiating regulatory language in any area of law. To give students practical rule writing experience, the course will focus on student loans and will be taught against the backdrop of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Specifically, students will learn how to draft regulations that address an existing student loan servicing problem. But because agencies do not operate in a vacuum, we will discuss politics and how the party that controls the political branches determines the level of agency policymaking. At the end of this course, students will have developed a more informed view on the appropriate role of the modern administrative state. Before the first class, students should read the following. · “D.C. Circuit Review - Reviewed: ‘I vote for Chenery I, not Chenery II,’” a blog post from Yale Journal on Regulation. · Sections of the complaint in CFPB v. Navient pertaining to alleged payment processing errors (¶¶ 97-112, 134-137, and 166-171). The exam is a final paper containing parts of a draft regulation addressing payments processing. Class will meet for the first 7 weeks of the semester only. Fall 2022 Description: Much of first-year law school aims to provide students with an understanding for how common law evolves and the central role that courts play in governing society. Unless students take advanced courses in Public Law & Policy such as Administrative Law, they may graduate with the impression that the judicial system is best equipped to resolve societal problems and address public policy concerns. That's not necessarily the case. To be sure, even Administrative Law fails to provide a complete picture. It is taught using court opinions, again casting judges in the lead role. There is little focus on the inner workings of the modern administrative state that is tasked with implementing Congress’ statutory programs. With emerging technologies presenting intractable problems (e.g., consumer privacy), understanding how agencies inform affected parties of the scope of their rights and responsibilities under a statute is critical to providing clients strategic advice that furthers their goals. This seminar's objective is to provide students with insight into what happens after a bill becomes law and how an agency's enabling statute establishes the scope of its quasi- legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Students will decide for themselves whether statutory implementation inevitably results in policymaking. Does the mere choice of selecting a regulatory tool⏤for example, bringing an enforcement action or conducting a notice and comment rulemaking⏤reflect a policy decision? My goal in designing this class is for students to have the opportunity to develop a more informed view about the modern administrative state by giving the lead role to the agency attorneys who advise on actions an agency may (or should) take. While the course introduces students to the panoply of administrative powers, it centers on rulemaking. This course provides students with an opportunity to gain fundamental lawyering skills in drafting and negotiating regulatory language in any area of law. To give students practical rule writing experience, the course will focus on student loans and will be taught against the backdrop of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Specifically, students will learn how to draft regulations that address an existing student loan servicing problem. But because agencies do not operate in a vacuum, we will discuss politics and how the party in control of the political branches impacts which regulatory tools are more often used. Before the first class, students should read the following. · a href=https://www.yalejreg.com/nc/d-c-circuit-review-reviewed-i-vote-for-chenery-i-not-chenery-ii/“D.C. Circuit Review - Reviewed: ‘I vote for Chenery I, not Chenery II,’”/a a blog post from Yale Journal on Regulation. · Sections of the complaint in a href=https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201701_cfpb_Navient-Pioneer-Credit-Recovery-complaint.pdfCFPB v. Navient/a pertaining to alleged payment processing errors (97-112, 134-137, and 166-171). The exam is a final paper containing parts of a draft regulation addressing payments processing. Class will meet for the first 7 weeks of the semester only. There will be a make-up class held on Friday, August 26th from 2:30PM-4:20PM Fall 2023 Description: Much of first-year law school aims to provide students with an understanding for how common law evolves and the central role that courts play in governing society. Unless students take advanced courses in Public Law & Policy such as Administrative Law, they may graduate with the impression that the judicial system is best equipped to resolve societal problems and address public policy concerns. That's not necessarily the case. To be sure, even Administrative Law fails to provide a complete picture. It is taught using court opinions, again casting judges in the lead role. There is little focus on the inner workings of the modern administrative state that is tasked with implementing Congress’ statutory programs. With emerging technologies presenting intractable problems (e.g., privacy), understanding how agencies inform affected parties of the scope of their rights and responsibilities under a statute is critical to providing clients strategic advice. Students taking this course will gain insight into regulatory agencies: what happens after a bill becomes law and how an agency's enabling statute establishes the scope of its quasi- legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Critics of the modern administrative state argue that agencies are too powerful without accountability, often because Congress has unconstitutionally delegated its authority. Because students will have the opportunity to work on pending federal bills, they will be uniquely positioned to decide for themselves whether statutory implementation inevitably results in policymaking. Does the mere choice of selecting a regulatory tool⏤for example, bringing an enforcement action versus conducting a notice and comment rulemaking⏤reflect a policy decision? My goal in designing this class is for students to develop a more informed view about the modern administrative state by giving the starring role to the agency attorneys who advise on actions a regulator may (or should) take. While students will gain fundamental lawyering skills in drafting and negotiating legislative and regulatory language applicable to any area of law, the seminar centers on privacy law and consumer protection. Additionally, the course introduces the panoply of administrative powers, but will largely focus on rulemaking authority. To ensure that students gain rule writing experience, the final assignment is to draft a student loan servicing regulation that implements the prohibition against unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices in Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Please note that because agencies do not operate in a vacuum, we will discuss current politics at the federal level and explore the differences in how the two political parties use regulatory tools. Class will meet for the first 7 weeks of the semester only. There will be a make-up class held on Friday, September 15th, at 2:30pm. |
| Law 221.81 Student Loan Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: If you're a Berkeley student, chances are overwhelming that you're taking out loans to pay for school. These days most people in the U.S. - roughly 7 in 10 students - leave post-high school education with debt. But do you know your legal rights as a student loan borrower? In this course, students will develop a solid foundation in student loan law that helps them understand their own loans. The course will also cover ongoing litigation and policy developments at the state and federal level that touch on student debt. Consumer protection, administrative procedure and federal preemption will all be discussed along the way. *** Suzanne Martindale is a proud Berkeley alum who is thrilled to be teaching this course for the second year in a row. Off campus, as Senior Policy Counsel & Western States Legislative Manager for the nonprofit organization Consumer Reports, Suzanne engages in policy advocacy on a range of consumer finance and economic justice issues. She lobbies frequently before the California Legislature and has served on several rulemaking committees at the U.S. Department of Education to urge stronger protections for student borrowers. She is also a Fellow at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Suzanne received her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2010; M.A. in the Humanities from The University of Chicago in 2005; and B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2003. (Oh and she has student loans, too - so feel free to ask her about her own experience repaying them.) Spring 2021 Description: If you're a Berkeley student, chances are overwhelming that you're taking out loans to pay for school. These days most people in the U.S. - roughly 7 in 10 students - leave post-high school education with debt. The debt burdens fall disproportionately on women and people of color, exacerbating inequities in our society and creating barriers to building family wealth. How did the promise of higher education turn into a mountain of debt? And what can we do to fix it? In this course, students will develop a solid foundation in student loan law that helps them understand their own loans. The course will also cover ongoing litigation and policy developments at the state and federal level that touch on student debt. Economic justice, administrative procedure, consumer protection and federal preemption will all be discussed along the way. This course will have a series of written assingments. *** Suzanne Martindale is a proud Berkeley alum who is thrilled to be teaching this course for the third year in a row. Off campus, as Senior Policy Counsel & Western States Legislative Manager for the nonprofit organization Consumer Reports, Suzanne engages in policy advocacy on a range of consumer finance and economic justice issues. She lobbies frequently before the California Legislature and has served on several rulemaking committees at the U.S. Department of Education to urge stronger protections for student borrowers. She is also a Fellow at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Suzanne received her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2010; M.A. in the Humanities from The University of Chicago in 2005; and B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2003. (Oh and she has student loans, too - so feel free to ask her about her own experience repaying them.) Spring 2022 Description: If you're a Berkeley student, chances are overwhelming that you're taking out loans to pay for school. These days most people in the U.S. - roughly 7 in 10 students - leave post-high school education with debt. The debt burdens fall disproportionately on women and people of color, exacerbating inequities in our society and creating barriers to building family wealth. How did the promise of higher education turn into a mountain of debt? And what can we do to fix it? In this course, students will develop a solid foundation in student loan law that helps them understand their own loans. The course will also cover ongoing litigation and policy developments at the state and federal level that touch on student debt. Economic justice, administrative procedure, consumer protection and federal preemption will all be discussed along the way. This course will have a series of written assignments. *** Suzanne Martindale is a proud Berkeley Law alum who is thrilled to be teaching this course. Off campus, Suzanne serves as Senior Deputy Commissioner at the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI), the state's financial regulator. DFPI licenses and regulates banks and credit unions as well as a wide range of non-bank products and services, including student loan servicers and private education finance providers. Suzanne runs the new Consumer Financial Protection Division, which is dedicated to expanding oversight of the financial industry to protect vulnerable communities. Suzanne received her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2010; M.A. in the Humanities from The University of Chicago in 2005; and B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2003. (Oh and she just got PSLF - so feel free to ask her about her own experience repaying her loans!) Spring 2023 Description: If you're a Berkeley student, chances are overwhelming that you're taking out loans to pay for school. These days, roughly 7 in 10 students nationwide leave post-high school education with debt. The debt burdens fall disproportionately on people who identify as low-income, female and/or people of color - exacerbating inequities in our society and creating barriers to building family wealth. The federal government has taken extraordinary steps in the past few years to provide short-term relief to people during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, serious questions remain as to how lawmakers can create a fairer and more durable financial aid system in the long term. How did the promise of higher education turn into a mountain of debt? And what can we do to fix it? In this course, students will develop a solid foundation in student loan law that helps them understand their own loans. The course will also cover ongoing litigation and policy developments at the state and federal level that touch on student debt. Economic justice, administrative procedure, consumer protection and federal preemption will all be discussed along the way. This course will have a series of short written assignments. *** Suzanne Martindale is a proud Berkeley Law alum who is thrilled to be teaching this course. Off campus, Suzanne serves as Senior Deputy Commissioner at the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI), the state's financial regulator. DFPI licenses and regulates banks and credit unions as well as a wide range of other financial companies, including student loan servicers and debt collectors among many others. Suzanne runs the DFPI's Consumer Financial Protection Division, which is dedicated to increasing oversight of the financial industry to protect vulnerable communities. Suzanne received her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2010; M.A. in the Humanities from The University of Chicago in 2005; and B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2003. (Oh and she made it through PSLF - so feel free to ask her about her own experience repaying her student loans!) Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: If you're a Berkeley student, there's a good chance you're taking out loans to help pay for school. Every year, roughly 7 in 10 students nationwide leave post-high school education with debt. The debt burdens affect everyone but fall disproportionately on people who identify as low-income, female and/or people of color, exacerbating inequities in our society and creating barriers to building generational wealth. In recent years, the federal student loan system has become mired in confusion and controversy, particularly as the Biden Administration has been sued over efforts to reduce payments and provide debt relief. Amid all this uncertainty, people with student loans are wondering what their rights are - and serious questions remain as to how policymakers can create a fairer system in the long term. So how did the promise of higher education turn into a mountain of debt? And what can we do to fix it? In this course, students will develop an understanding of the legal framework that governs their loans. The course will also cover ongoing litigation and policy developments at the state and federal level that touch on student debt. Administrative law and procedure, consumer protection, federal preemption and economic justice will all be discussed along the way. This course will have three short written assignments. *** Suzanne Martindale is a proud Berkeley Law alum who is honored to be teaching this course again. Off campus, Suzanne serves as Senior Deputy Commissioner for the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI), the state's financial regulator. The DFPI oversees state-chartered banks and credit unions, mortgage lenders, student loan servicers, debt collectors, and "fintech" companies among others. Suzanne is in charge of the DFPI's Consumer Financial Protection Division, which is dedicated to identifying emerging trends and increasing oversight of the financial industry to protect California communities. Suzanne received her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2010; M.A. in the Humanities from The University of Chicago in 2005; and B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley in 2003. (P.S. and she got her loans canceled through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program - so feel free to ask her about her own experience repaying her student loans!) |
| Law 222 Federal Courts 5 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course studies the role of the federal courts in the federal system. This is an advanced course in public law, judicial administration, and constitutional law. The course will cover the following topics (among others): the power of Congress to regulate the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, lower federal courts and state courts; non-Article III courts; the case or controversy requirement; doctrines of sovereign and individual immunity; choice of law in the federal courts and federal common law; Supreme Court review of state court judgments; collateral federal habeas corpus review of state criminal convictions; and the Suspension Clause and related issues from the War on Terrorism. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Fall 2020 Description: The course will focus on the constitutional and statutory provisions defining the role of the federal courts in the American system of government. In considering the functions and duties of the federal courts, the course will examine the relationship of the federal courts both to the states and to the other branches of the federal government. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the implications of federal courts doctrines for the underlying principles of separation of powers and federalism. Specifically, the course material will be divided into three sections. Section one will examine the constitutional and statutory limits on the federal judicial power. Section two will focus on federal court relief against government and government officers. Section three will consider the circumstances and conditions under which federal courts may review state court judgments and proceedings. Spring 2021 Description: This course examines the role of the federal and state courts in the federal system. This is an advanced course in constitutional law, civil procedure, and choice of law. The course will cover the following topics: the case or controversy requirement (standing, mootness, ripeness, political question, advisory opinions); the power of Congress to regulate the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, and (indirectly) state courts; non-Article III courts; Supreme Court review of state court judgments; section 1983 civil rights suits; equitable abstention; a one class lecture and question-and-answer session with District Judge (ret.) Thelton Henderson; and, time permitting, a one class lecture on federal habeas corpus for state prisoners. Fall 2021 Description: The course will focus on the constitutional and statutory provisions defining the role of the federal courts in the American system of government. In considering the functions and duties of the federal courts, the course will examine the relationship of the federal courts both to the states and to the other branches of the federal government. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the implications of federal courts doctrines for the underlying principles of separation of powers and federalism. Specifically, the course material will be divided into three sections. Section one will examine the constitutional and statutory limits on the federal judicial power. Section two will focus on federal court relief against government and government officers. Section three will consider the circumstances and conditions under which federal courts may review state court judgments and proceedings. Spring 2022 Description: This course examines the role of the federal and state courts in the federal system. This is an advanced course in constitutional law, civil procedure, and choice of law. The course will cover the following topics: the case or controversy requirement (standing, mootness, ripeness, political question, advisory opinions); the power of Congress to regulate the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, and (indirectly) state courts; non-Article III courts; Supreme Court review of state court judgments; section 1983 civil rights suits; equitable abstention; a one class lecture and question-and-answer session with District Judge (ret.) Thelton Henderson; and, time permitting, a one class lecture on federal habeas corpus for state prisoners. Fall 2022 Description: This course studies the role of the federal courts in the federal system. This is an advanced course in public law, judicial administration, and constitutional law. The course will cover the following topics (among others): the power of Congress to regulate the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts; non-Article III courts; the case or controversy requirement; doctrines of sovereign and individual immunity; choice of law in the federal courts and federal common law; Supreme Court review of state court judgments; federal habeas corpus; the relationship between the federal and state courts; the Suspension Clause, and how courts function during wartime. Spring 2023 Description: Federal Courts is a combination of Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, and legal history. The course covers questions of justiciability (Article III subject matter jurisdiction---standing, ripeness, mootness and political question); the relationship between the federal courts and Congress; the role of the Supreme Court in reviewing decisions of the state courts; and the relationship between the federal and state courts. The casebook is the classic Hart & Wechsler's The Federal Courts and the Federal System. In its original edition, the casebook was a celebrated product of the Legal Process school, with an overlay of Justice Frankfurter. Though the casebook has changed over the years, it retains some of its original character. Fall 2023 Description: Federal Courts is a combination of Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, and legal history. The course covers questions of justiciability (Article III subject matter jurisdiction---standing, ripeness, mootness and political question); the relationship between the federal courts and Congress; the role of the Supreme Court in reviewing decisions of the state courts; and the relationship between the federal and state courts. The casebook is the classic Hart & Wechsler's The Federal Courts and the Federal System. Spring 2024 Description: This course studies the role of the federal courts in the federal system. This is an advanced course in public law, judicial administration, and constitutional law. The course will cover the following topics (among others): the power of Congress to regulate the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts; non-Article III courts; the case or controversy requirement; doctrines of sovereign and individual immunity; choice of law in the federal courts and federal common law; Supreme Court review of state court judgments; federal habeas corpus; the relationship between the federal and state courts; the Suspension Clause, and the role of courts in times of emergency. Fall 2024 Description: Federal Courts is a combination of Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, and legal history. The course covers questions of justiciability (Article III subject matter jurisdiction---standing, ripeness, mootness and political question); the relationship between the federal courts and Congress; the role of the Supreme Court in reviewing decisions of the state courts; and the relationship between the federal and state courts. The casebook is the classic Hart & Wechsler's The Federal Courts and the Federal System. Spring 2025 Description: Federal Courts is a course about the development of rules and principles of federal jurisdiction, judicial review, federalism, and the separation of powers. The doctrines of federal courts law not only set boundaries on judicial review and the enforcement of rights, but also shape the powers of the other branches of the federal government as well as those of the states and Native nations. This course will place federal courts doctrines in their historical and contemporary contexts, exploring the social and political circumstances that have shaped the field. We will, in short, learn the doctrines and the contexts of federal courts law. |
| Law 222.12 Whistleblower Law: Deterring Fraud Against the Government 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will examine federal laws that incentivize whistleblowers to provide information and assist in the enforcement of laws prohibiting fraud on the government, securities and commodity frauds, and tax fraud. This will include study of the federal False Claims Act - the Government’s primary law enforcement mechanism for prosecuting frauds against the Government and its unique “qui tam” provisions which authorize private citizens to participate in that effort and offer a reward for successfully pursuing a case on the Government’s behalf. The False Claims Act was substantially revised in 1986 to address modern problems of fraud against the Government. Since 1986, the Government has recovered over $50 billion as a result of cases initiated by private citizens. The course will also study the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, established through the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. Current trends and developing case law in these programs will be examined, and we will undertake a detailed comparison of these models to the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. Finally, we will look at the Internal Revenue Code’s reward system for reporting tax fraud. The course will be taught predominantly through simulated problems, based on composites of actual cases, with occasional guest speakers from private practice and the government offering their perspectives on how they would approach the problems. By using these simulated problems, students will gain professional practice skills, including drafting, negotiating, and client representation. Students will work on a final project involving analyzing and proposing solutions to a current policy issue. The instructors are Claire Sylvia and Erika Kelton (Boalt '87), partners in the law firm of Phillips & Cohen LLP, which represents whistleblowers in False Claims Act, SEC, CFTC and IRS matters. Fall 2021 Description: This course will examine federal laws that incentivize whistleblowers to provide information and assist in the enforcement of laws prohibiting fraud on the government, securities and commodity frauds, and tax fraud. This will include study of the federal False Claims Act - the Government’s primary law enforcement mechanism for prosecuting frauds against the Government and its unique “qui tam” provisions which authorize private citizens to participate in that effort and offer a reward for successfully pursuing a case on the Government’s behalf. The False Claims Act was substantially revised in 1986 to address modern problems of fraud against the Government. Since 1986, the Government has recovered over $50 billion as a result of cases initiated by private citizens. The course will also study the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, established through the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. Current trends and developing case law in these programs will be examined, and we will undertake a detailed comparison of these models to the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. In addition, we will look at the Internal Revenue Code’s reward system for reporting tax fraud. The course will be taught predominantly through simulated problems, based on composites of actual cases, with occasional guest speakers from private practice and the government offering their perspectives on how they would approach the problems. By using these simulated problems, students will gain professional practice skills, including drafting, negotiating, and client representation. Students will work on a final project involving analyzing and proposing solutions to a current policy issue. The instructors are Claire Sylvia and Erika Kelton (Berkeley Law '87), partners in the law firm of Phillips & Cohen LLP, which represents whistleblowers in False Claims Act, SEC, CFTC and IRS matters. Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: Whistleblower Law: Deterring Fraud Against the Government, Taxpayers, and Investors This course will examine federal laws that incentivize whistleblowers to provide information and assist in the enforcement of laws prohibiting fraud on the Government, securities and commodity frauds, money laundering, and tax fraud. This will include study of the federal False Claims Act (FCA”) - the Government’s primary law enforcement mechanism for prosecuting frauds against the Government and its unique “qui tam” provisions which authorize private citizens to participate in that effort and offer a reward for successfully pursuing a case on the Government’s behalf. The FCA was substantially revised in 1986 to address modern problems of fraud against the Government. Since 1986, the Government has recovered over $72 billion as a result of cases initiated by private citizens. Cases brought under this law often involve heavily litigated issues of statutory interpretation and procedural challenges, with the Supreme Court addressing one or more cases under the FCA almost every Term in recent years, including two foundational cases last Term. The course will also study the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, established through the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, as well as the new Anti-Money Laundering whistleblower program. Current trends and developing case law in these programs will be examined, and we will undertake a detailed comparison of these models to the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. In addition, we will look at the Internal Revenue Code’s reward system for reporting tax fraud. The course will also examine the anti-retaliation protections these programs provide. The course will be taught predominantly through simulated problems, based on composites of actual cases, with occasional guest speakers from private practice and the Government offering their perspectives on how they would approach the problems. By using these simulated problems, students will gain professional practice skills, including drafting, negotiating, and client representation. Students will work on a final project involving analyzing and proposing solutions to a current policy issue. The instructors are Claire Sylvia and Erika Kelton (Berkeley Law '87), partners in the law firm of Phillips & Cohen LLP, which represents whistleblowers in False Claims Act, SEC, CFTC, AML, and IRS matters. |
| Law 222.13 Colloquium on the Court and Judicial Process 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Many scholars write about the courts, about judicial process, and about the practice of judging. But what do judges think of this scholarship? Is it right? Is it helpful? This colloquium on courts and judicial process brings together judges, scholars, and students to discuss current research about courts, judging, and procedure. Over the course of the semester, we’ll discuss about six projects, taking one week to discuss the paper amongst ourselves, and then, in the following week, holding a workshop for the paper. At a typical workshop, an invited scholar will present work-in-progress; and a judge of a federal, state, or foreign court will offer commentary on the research. Students (and faculty) will be invited to participate in the open discussion that follows. Students will be expected to prepare written critiques and questions for the scholars and judges, whose topics and research methods may range widely. In order to enroll in this class, please submit your written application to Professor Narechania (tnarecha@law.berkeley.edu) by email no later than November 8th. Your written application should include: (1) your name and email address; (2) a concise statement (no more than one page) of your interest in the course; and (3) a description of any experience you think may be relevant to the course. Confirmed guests for this semester include Chief Judge Diane P. Wood (7th Cir.), Chief Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. (6th Cir.), Judge Bernice B. Donald (6th Cir.), Judge Stephen A. Higginson (5th Cir.). Judge Amul R. Thapar (6th Cir.), and Judge Jon S. Tigar (N.D. Cal.). Spring 2022 Description: Many scholars write about the courts, about judicial process, and about the practice of judging. But what do judges think of this scholarship? Is it right? Is it helpful? This colloquium on courts and judicial process brings together judges, scholars, and students to discuss current research about courts, judging, and procedure. Over the course of the semester, we’ll discuss about six projects, taking one week to discuss the paper amongst ourselves, and then, in a following week, holding a workshop for the paper. At a typical workshop, an invited scholar will present work-in-progress; and a judge of a federal, state, or foreign court will offer commentary on the research. Students (and faculty) will be invited to participate in the open discussion that follows. These interactions can lead (and have led!) to exciting clerkship and judicial field placement connections and opportunities for students. There is no final paper for the course. Instead, students will be expected to prepare two to three short critiques and questions for the scholars and judges. Our scholars and judges for Spring 2022 are still being finalized but last semester's guests included Judge Diane Wood (7th Cir.), Judge Bernice Donald (6th Cir.), Judge Amul Thapar (6th Cir.), Judge Charles Breyer (N.D. Cal.) and Judge Jon Tigar (N.D. Cal.), alongside Melissa Wasserman (U. Texas), Tonja Jacobi (Northwestern), and Andrew Bradt (UC Berkeley), among others. Spring 2024 Description: **Students who are interested in the class should send a short (no more than 500 words) statement of interest and a resume or CV to tnarecha@law.berkeley.edu. Instructors will consider statements of interest in two phases. For enrollment during Phase 1, the first round of statements is due November 1. For enrollment during Phase 2, the second round of statements is due on November 8. Instructors may, at their discretion, roll Phase 1 statements over for consideration during Phase 2. Likewise, instructors may accept late statements if space remains in the class. ** Many scholars write about the courts, about judicial process, and about the practice of judging. But what do judges think of this scholarship? Is it right? Is it helpful? This colloquium on courts and judicial process brings together judges, scholars, and students to discuss current research about courts, judging, and procedure. Over the course of the semester, we’ll discuss about six projects, taking one week to discuss the paper amongst ourselves, and then, in a following week, holding a workshop for the paper. At a typical workshop, an invited scholar will present work-in-progress; and a judge of a federal, state, or foreign court will offer commentary on the research. Students (and faculty) will be invited to participate in the open discussion that follows. These interactions can lead (and have led!) to exciting clerkship and judicial field placement connections and opportunities for students. There is no final paper for the course. Instead, students will be expected to prepare three short critiques and questions for the scholars and judges. Our scholars and judges for Spring 2024 are still being finalized but previous guests have included Judge Diane Wood (7th Cir.), Judge Bernice Donald (6th Cir.), Judge Amul Thapar (6th Cir.), Judge Stephanos Bibas (3d Cir.), Judge Charles Breyer (N.D. Cal.) and Judge Jon Tigar (N.D. Cal.), alongside Payvand Ahdout (Virginia), Melissa Wasserman (U. Texas), Tonja Jacobi (Northwestern), and Andrew Bradt (UC Berkeley), among others. |
| Law 223 Administrative Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Administrative Law course has never been more central to understanding what is happening in US governance. Indeed, in the first month alone, we'll discuss (among other things): Whether President Trump can fire agency heads; the constitutionality of Acting AGs and agency heads; the Supreme Court's recent decision throwing out SEC Administrative Law judges; Justices Kavanaugh's and Gorsuch's evolving roles in the constriction of the Administrative State; the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the viability of President Trump's order purporting to limit birthright citizenship; and the Supreme Court's Gundy decision addressing the constitutionality of the sex-offender registration statute. The course covers the study of the laws, doctrines, and structures that govern the executive branch, including relations with Congress and the Courts, and the processes that structure decisionmaking. It is a keystone for the study of regulation and governance across substantive areas, including environmental law, immigration, financial regulation, national security, privacy, health care, food and drugs, and telecommunications. Spring 2021 Description: The Administrative Law course has never been more central to understanding what is happening in US governance. Indeed, in the first month alone, we'll discuss (among other things): Whether Presidents can fire agency heads; the constitutionality of Acting AGs and agency heads; the Supreme Court's recent decision throwing out SEC Administrative Law judges; Justices Kavanaugh's and Gorsuch's evolving roles in the constriction of the Administrative State; the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the viability of executive orders by the President; and the Supreme Court's Gundy decision addressing the constitutionality of the sex-offender registration statute. The course covers the study of the laws, doctrines, and structures that govern the executive branch, including relations with Congress and the Courts, and the processes that structure decision making. It is a keystone for the study of regulation and governance across substantive areas, including environmental law, immigration, financial regulation, national security, privacy, health care, food and drugs, and telecommunications. Spring 2022 Description: The Administrative Law course has never been more central to understanding what is happening in US governance. Indeed, in the first month alone, we'll discuss (among other things): Whether Presidents can fire agency heads; the constitutionality of Acting AGs and agency heads; the Supreme Court's recent decision throwing out SEC Administrative Law judges; Justices Kavanaugh's and Gorsuch's evolving roles in the constriction of the Administrative State; the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the viability of executive orders by the President; and the Supreme Court's Gundy decision addressing the constitutionality of the sex-offender registration statute. The course covers the study of the laws, doctrines, and structures that govern the executive branch, including relations with Congress and the Courts, and the processes that structure decision making. It is a keystone for the study of regulation and governance across substantive areas, including environmental law, immigration, financial regulation, national security, privacy, health care, food and drugs, and telecommunications. Spring 2023 Description: Course Aim: Students completing this course will understand how federal administrative agencies are structured, how they act, what their place in government is, and what relationships they have with other government actors. Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, you will be able to • Think critically about our system of constitutional checks and balances and how agencies fit (or do not fit) within it • Understand how agencies make new rules and policies, as well as how they adjudicate disputes and take less formal actions • Understand how the federal courts review agency action and how agencies interact with Congress and the President • Understand key defenses as well as key critiques of administration Spring 2024 Description: The Administrative Law course has never been more central to understanding what is happening in US governance. Ad Law is the law governing the power of the executive branch (the President, the White House, administrative agencies). And it is the setting for the battles between courts, Congress, and the executive branch over the administrative state, and the federal government's ability to address national problems ranging from air and water quality to pharmaceutical safety, from pandemic planning to student debt relief, from predatory loans to immigration reform. Administrative Law is a keystone for the study of regulation and governance across substantive areas, including environmental law, immigration, financial regulation, national security, privacy, health care, food and drugs, and telecommunications. Spring 2025 Description: The Administrative Law course has never been more central to understanding what is happening in US governance. Administrative Law is the law governing the power of the executive branch (the President, the White House, administrative agencies). And it is the setting for the battles between courts, Congress, and the executive branch over the administrative state, and the federal government's ability to address national problems ranging from air and water quality to pharmaceutical safety, from pandemic planning to student debt relief, from predatory loans to immigration reform. Administrative Law is a keystone for the study of regulation and governance across substantive areas, including environmental law, immigration, financial regulation, national security, privacy, health care, food and drugs, and telecommunications. Fall 2025 Description: The Administrative Law course has never been more central to understanding what is happening in US governance. Administrative Law is the law governing the power of the executive branch (the President, the White House, administrative agencies). And it is the setting for the battles between courts, Congress, and the executive branch over the administrative state, and the federal government's ability to address national problems ranging from air and water quality to pharmaceutical safety, from pandemic planning to student debt relief, from predatory loans to immigration reform. Administrative Law is a keystone for the study of regulation and governance across substantive areas, including environmental law, immigration, financial regulation, national security, privacy, health care, food and drugs, and telecommunications. |
| Law 223.1 Election Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The purpose of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the major themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and gerrymandering. In addition to examining doctrine, we will focus attention on competing political philosophies and empirical assumptions underlying the Law of Democracy. Abhay Aneja is trained as a lawyer and social scientist. Both his teaching and research seek to integrate quantitative social science into the analysis of legal institutions. His current research focuses on how democratic institutions and criminal justice systems shape economic inequality, and in particular, the socioeconomic outcomes of historically marginalized groups. His work has appeared in journals including the Journal of Empirical Studies and the American Law and Economics Review. Prior to law school, Abhay worked at a non-profit organization focused on fostering economic development in historically-disadvantaged neighborhoods. Spring 2022 Description: The purpose of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the major themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and gerrymandering. In addition to examining doctrine, we will focus attention on competing political philosophies and empirical assumptions underlying the Law of Democracy. Abhay Aneja is trained as a lawyer and social scientist. Both his teaching and research seek to integrate quantitative social science into the analysis of legal institutions. His current research focuses on how democratic institutions and criminal justice systems shape economic inequality, and in particular, the socioeconomic outcomes of historically marginalized groups. His work has appeared in journals including the Journal of Empirical Studies and the American Law and Economics Review. Prior to law school, Abhay worked at a non-profit organization focused on fostering economic development in historically-disadvantaged neighborhoods. Fall 2022 Description: The purpose of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the major themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and gerrymandering. In addition to examining doctrine, we will focus attention on competing political philosophies and empirical assumptions underlying the Law of Democracy. Fall 2023 Description: The purpose of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the major themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and gerrymandering. In addition to examining doctrine, we will focus attention on competing political philosophies and empirical assumptions underlying the Law of Democracy. Spring 2025 Description: The purpose of this course is to give students a basic understanding of some of the major themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. The course will primarily cover issues relating to voter access to the polls (for instance restrictive voting laws) and vote dilution (through racial and partisan gerrymandering). Of note, this version of the course does not cover campaign finance. Fall 2025 Description: The purpose of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the major themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and gerrymandering. In addition to examining doctrine, we will focus attention on competing political philosophies and empirical assumptions underlying the Law of Democracy. |
| Law 223.11 Federal District Court Practice 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course examines the practice of law in federal district court, primarily from the perspective of the judge. We will conduct an overview of the life of the civil and criminal case, and then dive deeper into specific areas, including class actions, injunctive relief, criminal sentencing, and multi-district litigation. This course is not an adequate substitute for the standard federal courts class, but could serve as a good practical precursor or complement to that class. |
| Law 223.21 Advanced Administrative Law: Trump and Obama Policies in Court 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Politically controversial, headline-grabbing changes in domestic and economic policy very often have interesting administrative law dimensions. When challenges to such policies reach court, one can ask whether administrative law is "useful." The recent hyper-partisanship in federal policy-making creates frequent challenges for the administrative law project of disciplining administrative discretion--in favor of legality, empiricism, and transparency. This seminar will explore several recent, high-profile controversies from several fields, including: environment and energy; healthcare; health and safety; and civil rights. Students will complete a draft and final 15-page paper on an approved topic, pursuant to Writing Requirement Option 1. Students will also provide detailed written comments on the draft paper of another student. Grades will be based on equally on (a) class participation, (b) the first draft of a 10-15 page paper, and (c) the final version of that same paper, after instructor feedback. |
| Law 223.22 Dangers of the Administrative State 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course is built on inquiries drawn from important debates and real-world controversies relating to administrative and structural constitutional law. This seminar will examine -- from a constitutional and rule-of-law perspective -- central features of the modern administrative state, including as characterized by some of its strongest critics. Are these features genuinely worrisome, or reflective of the avoidable complexity of governance? What forces have driven the evolution of government agencies? And what have critics of relevant constitutional doctrine and administrative law gotten wrong? Our highest aim is to foster fruitful discussion about whether the administrative state is lawful, based on both theoretical material and popular discussion in the media. |
| Law 223.6 Principles of Administrative Law for LLMs 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This 1-credit section of Administrative and Regulatory Law is intended specifically for students who are less familiar with the U.S. legal and political systems. We will touch on the fundamental areas of doctrine, with examples from a range of regulatory programs. The central purpose of Administrative Law is to create and apply Rule of Law principles to decisionmaking in the executive branch using powers of regulation, adjudication, and enforcement assigned to agencies by statutes. Thus, Administrative Law is relevant to virtually every area of government action in domestic and economic matters. Courts apply Administrative Law to disputes about an agency’s substantive and procedural choices. Did the agency act within its statutory authority, using the procedures required by statute or the Constitution? Was the evidence sufficient? Was the agency arbitrary when exercising its discretion? Are the government’s actions procedurally fair, substantively sound, and democratically accountable? Grading will be credit/no-credit based on class participation together with a take-home exam. |
| Law 223.8 California Constitutional Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course combines the topics formerly covered by Law 223.8 California Constitutional Law, and Law 224.1 California Government: The State Constitution in Practice. This new course offers students two paper options. We will use the galley proof version of a casebook West will publish in January 2021. The casebook contains more material than we can cover in a three unit course. Students will vote in the first class meeting on which chapters to cover. Casebook chapters we can cover: • State constitutional design • California’s constitutional design • The legislature • The executive • The judiciary • Popular sovereignty and direct democracy • Individual rights to speech, privacy, equal protection, fundamental rights, religion, and unconstitutional conditions • Elections • State and local interaction • State agency powers and limitations • Budget and taxation • Water law Students will be provided with PDF versions of the chapters we cover, at no cost, along with free copies of the California constitution. The format will be part lecture and part discussion. A 30 page paper is required. As a 2-A course, the paper may satisfy the writing requirement. Students can choose to write on an original topic of their choice, or write a 30 page response to a final-exam style hypothetical that will be available at the first class meeting. This course formerly featured many guest speakers; those now will be rare. Fall 2021 Description: This is a substantive constitutional law course. It focuses on California constitutional law, with some discussion of 50-state constitutional features and federal constitutional law for background and comparison. We will use a new West casebook: California Constitutional Law. The casebook contains more material than we can cover in a three unit course, so students will complete a poll before the first class meeting on which chapters to cover. Possible subjects: • State constitutional design • Separation of powers • Popular sovereignty • The legislature • The executive • The judiciary • Individual rights to speech, privacy, equal protection, fundamental rights, religion, and unconstitutional conditions • Elections • State and local interaction • State agency powers and limitations • Budget and taxation • Water law Students will be provided with free copies of the California constitution. The format will be part lecture and part discussion. A 30 page paper is required. As a 2-A course, the paper may satisfy the writing requirement (this requires instructor approval). There may be some guest speakers. Fall 2022 Description: This is a substantive constitutional law course. It focuses on California constitutional law, with some discussion of 50-state constitutional features and federal constitutional law for background and comparison. The required California Constitutional Law casebook contains more material than we can cover in a three unit course, so students will complete a poll before the first class meeting on which chapters to cover. Possible subjects: • State constitutional design • Separation of powers • Popular sovereignty • The legislature • The executive • The judiciary • Individual rights to speech, privacy, equal protection, fundamental rights, religion, and unconstitutional conditions • Elections • State and local interaction • State agency powers and limitations • Budget and taxation • Water law Students will be provided with free copies of the California constitution. This is a discussion seminar: expect primarily student conversation with little instructor lecturing. A 30 page paper is required. As a 2-A course, the paper may satisfy the writing requirement (this requires instructor approval). There may be some guest speakers. Fall 2023 Description: This is a substantive constitutional law seminar. It focuses on California constitutional law, with some discussion of 50-state subnational constitutional features and federal constitutional law for background and comparison. We will cover one chapter each week from the required California Constitutional Law casebook. Since it contains more material than we can cover in a three unit course, students will have some choice on which chapters to cover. Chapter list: • State constitutional design • Separation of powers • Popular sovereignty • The legislature • The executive • The judiciary • Individual rights to speech, privacy, equal protection, fundamental rights, religion, and unconstitutional conditions • Elections • State and local interaction • State agency powers and limitations • Budget and taxation • Water law Students will be provided with free copies of the California constitution. This is a discussion seminar: expect primarily student conversation with little instructor lecturing. A 30 page paper is required. As a 2-A course, the paper may satisfy the writing requirement (this requires instructor approval). There may be some guest speakers. Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: This course is about power: to make policy decisions, the sources of that power, and how to use it to resolve conflicts over policy decisions. Those policy debates occur between the California and federal governments, between branches of California’s government, and between the state government and its people. We will teach you how to understand and use your primary tool in all those contexts: California’s constitution. The California constitution defines the structure of California’s government and establishes the basis for many of California’s laws. It includes unique provisions that cover areas as diverse as direct democracy, taxation, water rights, and labor relations. The California constitution also affords greater protection of many individual rights than the federal constitution. Indeed, the California courts have long heeded Justice William Brennan’s call in 1977 to look to state constitutions as the guardians of our individual liberties. Despite this, most California lawyers have little or no understanding of California constitutional law. This course seeks to change this by introducing the students to the California constitution and its rich jurisprudence. The goal is for each student to develop both an understanding of and appreciation for the California constitution and its important role in California’s legal landscape. Each week, the course will cover one aspect of California’s constitution using the California Constitutional Law casebook authored by the instructors. Because there is far more material than we can cover in a three-unit course, we will give you some opportunity to choose the topics you wish to explore. The areas of California constitutional law (represented by the chapters in the casebook) that are available for exploration include: • State constitutional design • Federalism, preemption, and other state–federal conflicts • Separation of powers • Popular sovereignty • The legislature • The executive • The judiciary • Individual rights to speech, privacy, equal protection, fundamental rights, religion, and unconstitutional conditions • Elections • State and local interaction • State agency powers and limitations • Budget and taxation • Water law Grades will be based on: attendance, class participation, weekly submissions and in-class presentations, and a final paper. Each student must do at least one short presentation (roughly 5–10 minutes per person) based on the weekly reading. A final course paper (approximately 15 pages) is required for this Option 1 course. The California Constitutional Law casebook, coauthored by the instructors, is required. A free copy of the California constitution will be provided to each student. There may also be guest speakers throughout the semester. David A. Carrillo is a lecturer in residence and executive director of the California Constitution Center. Danny Y. Chou is a Justice on the California Court of Appeal and a former judge on the San Mateo County Superior Court. Before joining the bench, he litigated a number of the cases in the casebook. |
| Law 224 Conducting Open Source Investigations 4 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course will introduce law students to the fundamentals of conducting open source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly-accessible internet-based sources to develop evidence for courts. Students will use legal, reporting and digital research methods to investigate a series of human rights issues for real-world partners. The outputs will include a series of audio, written and/or visual pieces. The investigation and publishing material will be designed to bring broad attention to environmental destruction and violations of international, regional and domestic law in the Brazilian Amazon. Students will learn the following skills: beginning and intermediary digital research and investigation methods, including advanced Boolean searching, social media discovery and analysis, site domain and filetype searching, and deep web mining; verification techniques for digital materials (including photographs, videos, and printed documents); introductory geospatial and network analysis; traditional investigative methods, including interviewing and other offline investigative techniques; relevant ethical considerations; holistic security (including physical, digital and psychosocial risks and mitigating techniques); cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration; the collection and analysis of large datasets; how to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams; and relevant legal frameworks, including an introduction to human rights, humanitarian and international criminal law. Students will also learn the history of digital open source investigations, including their use in legal and journalism practice, and how such investigations are transforming the communication of facts in media and courts. Students will work with award-winning faculty and staff from Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center and faculty and Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program. Each class will include a “Seminar Class” with skill building including open-source investigation methods (OSINT), and a “Lab” for collaborative research and trouble-shooting with the team and instructors. In addition, students will be expected to read all assigned materials and work independently on their research. To apply, please reach out to Alexa Koenig at kalexakm@berkeley.edu for a link to the class application. Alexa Koenig, Ph.D., J.D, is co-Faculty Director of the Human Rights Center (winner of the 2015 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions) and an Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, where she teaches classes on human rights and international criminal law. She co-founded and directs Berkeley Law's Investigations Lab and trains human rights investigators around the world in digital open-source investigation methods. She helped establish and co-directs the Technology Advisory Board for the International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor; formerly co-chaired the International Bar Association's Human Rights Law Committee; and is on the advisory board of numerous human rights organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights and the Innovation Lab at Human Rights First. She is the author of numerous books, has won multiple awards for her work, and has been honored by Harvard Law School's Women's Law Association as a Woman Inspiring Change. David Barstow is chair of the Investigative Reporting Program at Berkeley Journalism. He is the first reporter in American history to win four Pulitzer Prizes. Prior to coming to Berkeley, he worked for 20 years with the investigative unit at the New York Times. Mr. Barstow is also the recipient of four Polk Awards, the Goldsmith Prize, the Alfred I. duPont Silver Baton, the Barlett and Steele Gold Medal, a Loeb Award, the Sidney Hillman Award, the Daniel Pearl Award for Investigative Reporting, two Sigma Delta Chi awards for distinguished service, the Peabody Award, the IRE Awa rd, the Mirror Award, an Overseas Press Club Citation, two SABEW awards and the Gold Keyboard. In 2019 Mr. Barstow became the Reva and David Logan Distinguished Chair in Investigative Journalism at Berkeley Journalism, where he leads a storied program founded by Lowell Bergman dedicated to grooming future generations of investigative reporters by enlisting them in ambitious investigative projects. In his first three years at Berkeley, Barstow’s students have been published more than 150 times. Guest speaker Gisela Pérez de Acha is a supervising reporter and lecturer, who oversees teams of student investigators and journalists through Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center and Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program. She is also a human rights lawyer and digital investigations trainer for the Human Rights Center and Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps, a global network of volunteers who fact-check social media posts about war crimes and human rights violations. She trains journalists and other professionals on methods for open source investigations, cybersecurity, and resiliency. Gisela is part of an Emmy award-winning team at the New York Times for her collaboration on the story about The Siege of Culiacán and a digital safety trainer with PEN America. She reported on extremism for "American Insurrection," a co-publication with ProPublica, Frontline, and the UC Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program, which won the George Polk Award in 2022. Born and raised in Mexico, Gisela speaks fluent Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese. She has a master’s degree from Berkeley Journalism. Fall 2024 Description: This course will introduce law students to the fundamentals of conducting open source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly-accessible internet-based sources to develop evidence for courts. Students will use legal, reporting and digital research methods to investigate a series of human rights issues for real-world partners. The outputs will include a series of audio, written and/or visual pieces. The investigation and publishing material will be designed to bring broad attention to environmental destruction, human rights violations and/or other violations of international, regional and domestic law. Students will learn the following skills: beginning and intermediary digital research and investigation methods, including advanced Boolean searching, social media discovery and analysis, site domain and filetype searching, and deep web mining; verification techniques for digital materials (including photographs, videos, and printed documents); introductory geospatial and network analysis; traditional investigative methods, including interviewing and other offline investigative techniques; relevant ethical considerations; holistic security (including physical, digital and psychosocial risks and mitigating techniques); cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration; the collection and analysis of large datasets; how to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams; and relevant legal frameworks, including an introduction to human rights, humanitarian and international criminal law. Students will also learn the history of digital open source investigations, including their use in legal and journalism practice, and how such investigations are transforming the communication of facts in media and courts. Students will work with award-winning faculty and staff from Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center and faculty from Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program. Each class will include a “Seminar Class” with skill building including open-source investigation methods (OSINT), and a “Lab” for collaborative research and trouble-shooting with the team and instructors. In addition, students will be expected to read all assigned materials and work independently on their research. To apply, please reach out to Alexa Koenig at kalexakm@berkeley.edu for a link to the class application. The application will be due on April 15, 2024. Students will be informed if they have permission to enroll within 1-2 weeks of the deadline. Alexa Koenig, Ph.D., J.D., is co-Faculty Director of the Human Rights Center (winner of the 2015 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions) and a Research Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law, where she teaches classes on human rights and international criminal law. She co-founded and directs Berkeley Law's Investigations Lab and trains legal, journalistic and human rights investigators around the world in digital open-source investigation methods. She helped establish and co-directs the Technology Advisory Board for the International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor; formerly co-chaired the International Bar Association's Human Rights Law Committee; and is on the advisory board of numerous human rights organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights and the Innovation Lab at Human Rights First. She is the author of numerous books, has won multiple awards for her work, and has been honored by Harvard Law School's Women's Law Association as a Woman Inspiring Change. David Barstow is chair of the Investigative Reporting Program at Berkeley Journalism. He is the first reporter in American history to win four Pulitzer Prizes. Prior to coming to Berkeley, he worked for 20 years with the investigative unit at the New York Times. Mr. Barstow is also the recipient of four Polk Awards, the Goldsmith Prize, the Alfred I. duPont Silver Baton, the Barlett and Steele Gold Medal, a Loeb Award, the Sidney Hillman Award, the Daniel Pearl Award for Investigative Reporting, two Sigma Delta Chi awards for distinguished service, the Peabody Award, the IRE Award, the Mirror Award, an Overseas Press Club Citation, two SABEW awards and the Gold Keyboard. In 2019 Mr. Barstow became the Reva and David Logan Distinguished Chair in Investigative Journalism at Berkeley Journalism, where he leads a storied program founded by Lowell Bergman dedicated to grooming future generations of investigative reporters by enlisting them in ambitious investigative projects. In his first three years at Berkeley, Barstow’s students have been published more than 150 times. Guest lecturer Gisela Pérez de Acha is a supervising reporter and instructor who oversees teams of student investigators and journalists through Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center and Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program. She is also a human rights lawyer and digital investigations trainer for the Human Rights Center and Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps, a global network of volunteers who fact-check social media posts about war crimes and human rights violations. She trains journalists and other professionals on methods for open source investigations, cybersecurity, and resiliency. Gisela is part of an Emmy award-winning team at the New York Times for her collaboration on the story about The Siege of Culiacán and a digital safety trainer with PEN America. She reported on extremism for "American Insurrection," a co-publication with ProPublica, Frontline, and the UC Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program, which won the George Polk Award in 2022. Born and raised in Mexico, Gisela speaks fluent Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese. She has a master’s degree from Berkeley Journalism. |
| Law 224.22 Mental Health and the Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar will explore the intersection of mental health and the law and provide students with tools to improve advocacy when mental health is an issue in a case. In the last few decades, the legal system has seen an evolution in the understanding between life circumstances, mental health, and involvement with the law. Advances in brain science and social history investigation, as well as an increasingly nuanced view of mental disorders have prompted these strides in various aspects of the law. People with mental disorders interact with the civil legal system in employment cases, civil rights actions, family law disputes, elder law cases, and in the corporate arena. Recognition of the role of cognition in legal cases extends beyond the confines of criminal law. Lawyers in most practice areas will encounter a client, witness, family member, or even another lawyer with a mental health issue. We should be able to recognize the issue, and understand its implications. Law students graduating today are faced with a system that is dramatically changing where mental health meets the law. Knowledge that was once considered a specialty area for lawyers is now best practice. New lawyers should be prepared for this new world. Students will be required to write a 12-15 page paper under Option 1 of the Writing Requirement. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar will explore the intersection of mental health and the law and provide students with tools to improve advocacy when mental health is an issue in a case. In the last few decades, the legal system has seen an evolution in the understanding between life circumstances, mental health, and involvement with the law. Advances in brain science and social history investigation, as well as an increasingly nuanced view of mental disorders have prompted these strides in various aspects of the law. People with mental disorders interact with the civil legal system in employment cases, civil rights actions, family law disputes, elder law cases, and in the corporate arena. Recognition of the role of cognition in legal cases extends beyond the confines of criminal law. Lawyers in most practice areas will encounter a client, witness, family member, or even another lawyer with a mental health issue. We should be able to recognize the issue, and understand its implications. Law students graduating today are faced with a system that is dramatically changing where mental health meets the law. Knowledge that was once considered a specialty area for lawyers is now best practice. New lawyers should be prepared for this new world. Students will be required to write a 12-15 page paper under Option 1 of the Writing Requirement. Please note that 1Ls cannot use this class to fulfill their writing requirement, they must wait until their 2L or 3L year. |
| Law 224.23 Public Health Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: COVID-19 and the failure of government agencies to coordinate a national response has shocked the nation and the world. We now see so clearly how health is inextricably linked to the legal authority of federal, state and local governments - including legal and civic structures embedded in structural racism and historic discrimination. We are learning in real-time how global economics and transportation systems, workplace policies and employee benefits, food systems and retail environments, schools, playgrounds and every aspect of civic life influence health outcomes. Constitutional law is central to fighting disease from pandemics to chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Over the past few months, the authority of state and federal governments to protect the public’s health at the expense of individual liberties has never been on greater display: religious services are cancelled, access to family planning is deemed non-essential, extensive restrictions are placed on the right to freely travel and assemble, the ability to earn a living is aggressively curtailed. The strengths and limits of cooperative federalism are daily headlines from the Army and National Guard both providing staffing services to homes for the elderly and disbanding peaceful protests for presidential photo ops, to states competing against each other for basic PPE supplies, and worse. The President of the United States has claimed “total power” and urges protesters to force states and localities to “liberate” their economies. Most critically, we are seeing how systemic inequities create diseases of poverty and vast disparities in health outcomes based on race/ethnicity, income inequality, and political marginalization. This extraordinary list of issues touches on everyday constitutional rights while simultaneously entering largely uncharted legal territory that will be the subject of litigation and legislation for years to come. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of how constitutional and administrative law is integrated with science, systems thinking, community organizing and organizational leadership to ensure everyone has the ability to live a healthy and prosperous life. Students interested in social justice lawyering will be exposed to a broad array of legal and scientific concepts and resources that will be central to their legal career regardless of future venue: legal aid offices and other community-based organizations, policy think tanks and government agencies that touch all aspects of civic life, and law firms dedicated to public interest lawyering. Students will learn how to integrate core legal theory with fundamental public health principles and will understand how to shape laws and policies to further the public’s health. They will be immersed in legal and policy strategies to redress inequalities and promote health equity. Students will study legal and public health theory, simulate responses to real world problems, and practice proactive legal and policy leadership to prevent and manage both emergent pathogens and ubiquitous chronic diseases resulting from systemic racism and historic discrimination that result in preventable death and disability. Class meetings will be offered online via Zoom. We will record each meeting and post it on bCourses. You are strongly encouraged to attend classes live on Zoom, which will provide the most engaging and enriching experience. If you are unable to attend in real-time, you should provide the instructors with timely advance notice (or subsequent notice of an unanticipated emergency). As a substitute for real-time attendance and participation, you will be required to answer a series of questions that are responsive to the readings and the recorded class content. This class combines lecture, exercises, polls, small-group discussions on Zoom, and discussion forums on bCourses. Spring 2022 Description: COVID-19 has shocked our nation and the world. And when we peel-back the data, we see so clearly how the public’s health is not primarily due to advances in medical care, but inextricably linked to the legal authorities and decision-making of federal, state and local governments. We have real-time exposure to how our legal and civic structures embedded in structural racism and historic discrimination impact health. Further, the pandemic has uncovered how global economics and transportation systems, workplace policies and employee benefits, food systems and retail environments, schools, playgrounds and every aspect of civic life influence health outcomes. This course will explore how constitutional and administrative law is central to fighting disease from pandemics to chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Students will learn how to integrate core legal theory with fundamental public health principles, and to shape laws and policies that further the public’s health by redressing inequalities and to promoting health equity. The course uses a systems approach that links the nation’s health to legal issues related to fair wages, housing segregation, school financing, food security and more. We will simulate responses to real world problems, and practice proactive legal and policy leadership to prevent and manage both emergent infectious diseases and ubiquitous yet preventable chronic diseases. We will learn how lawyers and public health leaders can partner with each other and work with community-based organizers to ensure everyone has the ability to live a healthy and prosperous life. The course is open to both law and public health students and is designed to expose students to core skills regardless of their future career venue. It is especially designed for students interested in career dedicated to social justice. The instructor is Marice Ashe, JD, MPH. She is the founder of the national nonprofit, ChangeLab Solutions, where she served as CEO for nearly 25 years and pioneered the use of law and policy to solve complex problems related to institutionalized inequities and poor community health outcomes. Leading a staff of 60 lawyers and other public health experts, Ashe drove major health equity successes across a broad range of public health challenges. Under her direction, ChangeLab Solutions consulted with leadership from every level of government, health system and community health practice, and created a vast library of “how to” guides and model laws and policies that promote multi-disciplinary partnerships to empower leaders, mobilize resources and improve outcomes. Ashe is currently a public health law and policy consultant who works with public health leaders throughout the world. She serves on the national advisory boards for the Center for the Redress of Inequity Through Community-Engaged Scholarship at the University of Virginia and the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership at Loma Linda University. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has graduate degrees in both public health and law from the University of California at Berkeley. Spring 2023 Description: COVID-19 provided real-time insight to how structural inequities such as racism, sexism and ableism impact our nation’s health. It uncovered how global economics and transportation systems, workplace policies and employee benefits, food systems and retail environments, schools, playgrounds and every aspect of civic life influence health outcomes. It demonstrated how closely aligned health outcomes are with deeply imbedded legal structures that drive health inequities. Yet, COVID-19 is not unique in its disproportionate impact on low-income and communities of color. Diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, gun violence, opioid deaths – in fact every preventable illness and injury – all follow the exact pattern of disproportional harm as they are inextricably linked to poverty, historic trauma, under-funded systems, segregated housing, limited voting rights, and more. Public Health Law 224.23 digs into these issues with an array of traditional and nontraditional educational resources, and with student-led research and writing projects that focus on the ties between institutionalized/ systemic harms and population health outcomes. Students will explore the basics of the US public health system, learn how to integrate core legal theory with fundamental public health principles, and identify laws and policies that further the public’s health by redressing inequalities and promoting health equity. Students do not need a background in health law, but should bring a passion and commitment to redressing structural discrimination that limits equity and opportunity. The course is open to both law and, by application, to public health students. Public health students interested in taking the course must submit an interdepartmental application with the Law Registrar's Office. The course is designed to expose students to core skills regardless of their future career venue. It has three major sections: 1. Introduction to public health and public health law focusing on the “social and political determinants of health,” racism as a public health crisis, public health data, and models of public health practice that improve population health and promote health equity. 2. Constitutional basis of public health focusing on the constitutional and statutory authority of the government to protect and promote health. It covers a survey of constitutional law including classic cases (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education and Griswold v. Connecticut) to the most recent Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Alabama Association of Realtors v Dept. of Health and Human Services and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic). 3. Public health law in action integrates the learning through a more in-depth focus on vaccination law, environmental justice, community organizing and mobilization, and systems thinking. The course stimulates responses to real world problems, and encourages proactive legal and policy leadership to prevent and manage both emergent infectious diseases and ubiquitous yet preventable chronic diseases. Class time includes lectures, student-led discussions and frequent small group exercises. We will learn how lawyers, and health and community-based leaders partner to ensure everyone has the ability to live a healthy and prosperous life. The instructor is Marice Ashe, JD, MPH. She is the founder of the national nonprofit, ChangeLab Solutions, where she served as CEO for nearly 25 years and pioneered the use of law and policy to solve complex problems related to institutionalized inequities and poor community health outcomes. Leading a staff of 60 lawyers and other public health experts, Ashe drove major health equity successes across a broad range of public health challenges. Under her direction, ChangeLab Solutions consulted with leadership from every level of government, health system and community health practice, and created a vast library of “how to” gu ide s and model laws and policies that promote multi-disciplinary partnerships to empower leaders, mobilize resources and improve outcomes. Ashe is currently a public health law and policy consultant who works with public health leaders th roughout the world. She serves on the national advisory boards for the Center for the Redress of Inequity Through Community-Engaged Scholarship at the University of Virginia and the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership at Loma Linda University. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has graduate degrees in both public health and law from the University of California at Berkeley. Spring 2024 Description: Public Health Law 224.23 examines the complex interplay between government’s role in promoting population health and protecting personal liberties. A significant focus is on the legal, policy, and ethical issues raised by evolving notions of governmental powers in our highly pluralistic and fractured society as we tackle the ties between institutionalized/ systemic harms - including racism - and population health outcomes. Students will explore the basics of the US public health system, learn how to integrate core legal theory with fundamental public health principles, and identify laws and policies that further the public’s health by redressing inequalities and promoting health equity. Students do not need a background in health law, but should bring a passion and commitment to redressing structural discrimination that limits equity and opportunity. This course is housed at Berkeley Law and is open to both law and public health graduate students. It is organized into three major sections: 1. The Public Health Perspective: We start the class with laser focus on the social, political and economic determinants of health, and racism as a public health crisis. We utilize public health data and stress-test various models of public health practice to understand how to build a rationale for legal and policy strategies to protect health and prevent disease. 2. Case Studies of Public Health Law in Action: Core legal theories and specific legal tools are explored through a wide range of case studies related to how the law applies to infectious and chronic disease prevention, access to care, nuisance abatement, emergency response and more. Special emphasis is placed on the authority of federal, state and local governments to take action. 3. Constitutional Standards for Protecting Public Health: We close the course with an exploration of due process and equal protection, and the limits to governmental authority through the lens of the eugenics movement, sexual and reproductive freedoms, parental rights, religious liberties, and free speech. This is a course is designed to simulate responses to real world problems using an array of legal tools. Educational materials include both traditional and nontraditional resources, and the course supports student-led research and writing projects. Class time includes short lectures, student-led discussions, and frequent small group exercises. We learn how health and community-based leaders, and lawyers partner across disciplines to ensure everyone has the ability to live a healthy and prosperous life. Spring 2025 Description: How best to protect the public’s health is at the forefront of the massive changes to governance we are likely to experience in the U.S. over the next several years. The reelection of Donald Trump, combined with the already activist Supreme Court, clearly portend huge changes to reproductive and LGBTQI rights, racial and environmental justice movements, privacy and due process norms, and so much more. Further, the ability of state and local health agencies to utilize their 10th Amendment “police powers” to regulate the health, safety, and welfare within our federalist system has now been called into question by the Supreme Court. Even the most basic scientific foundations of disease prevention and control may well be questioned or jettisoned by new federal health agency leadership, and even by some state legislatures and courts, affecting local governments as well. Public Health Law 224.23 focuses on the legal, policy, and ethical issues raised by evolving notions of governmental powers in our highly pluralistic and now-fractured society. Using a case study approach, the course examines the complex interplay between the government’s fundamental role in promoting population health and competing demands and controversies related to the use of those powers. Students will explore the basics of the U.S. public health system, learn how to integrate core legal theory with fundamental public health principles, and identify laws and policies that further the public’s health. Students do not need a background in health law but should bring passion and commitment both to redressing structural discrimination and to employing creative approaches to solving seemingly intractable problems. This course is housed at Berkeley Law but also welcomes public health and public policy graduate students (though with limited enrollment). It is organized into three major sections: 1. The Public Health Perspective: We start the class focusing on the social, political and economic determinants of health and on racism as a public health crisis. We utilize public health data and stress-test various models of public health practice to understand how to build a rationale for legal and policy strategies to protect health and prevent disease. 2. Case Studies of Public Health Law in Action: Core legal theories, shifting legal standards, and specific legal tools are explored through a wide range of case studies related to how the law applies to infectious and chronic disease prevention, access to care, nuisance abatement, emergency response and more. Special emphasis is placed on the authority of federal, state and local governments to take action. 3. Constitutional Standards for Protecting Public Health: We close the course with an exploration of due process and equal protection, and the limits to governmental authority through the lens of the eugenics movement, sexual and reproductive freedoms, parental rights, religious liberties, and free speech in commercial transactions. This subject in particular is a very dynamic one, given changes in courts and political balances. Public Health Law 224.23 is not an abstract exploration – it is specifically designed to simulate responses to real-world problems. Educational materials include both traditional and non-traditional resources, and the course supports a student-led research and writing project on any issue related to community and population health. Class time includes short lectures, student-led discussions, and frequent small group exercises. We will learn about transdisciplinary law – i.e., how health and community-based leaders, lawyers and allied professionals partner across areas of expertise to achieve public health’s primary goal – to ensure that everyone has the ability to live a healthy and prosperous life. |
| Law 224.24 Law, Public Health, and Police Use of Force 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Public health is often juxtaposed to medicine. Rather than tying health outcomes to individual behaviors, choices, or predispositions, public health examines the social conditions that determine the positive or negative health outcomes for populations. There are similar opportunities to juxtapose a public health approach to traditional doctrinal analyses that, akin to medicine, focus heavily on individualist dynamics. In this seminar, we will apply this social determinist approach to a pressing legal problem with significant implications for human well-being: police use of force. Excessive force by law enforcement is often described as a function of individual officers making bad decisions driven by malice -- the proverbial bad apple. A public health approach invites us to ask whether the inequities that we see regarding police use of force are determined by social and legal structures rather than simplistic ideations concerning expired fruit. This course places public health law -- i.e. how law often shapes health outcomes and can create incentives to reduce health harms and disparities -- in conversation with relevant aspects of criminal procedure and constitutional torts to have a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of excessive force by law enforcement and develop possible strategies for change. Specific topics will include the history of police use of force, doctrinal evolutions and limitations, community impacts of policing, and imagining a better future with law and other tools. No prior courses are required. |
| Law 224.3 Social Justice Issues in Entertainment and Media Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This course will explore various social justice issues in the entertainment, media and technology industries. For example, we will consider the #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite movements and broader issues of structural underrepresentation and discrimination against women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups in Hollywood. We will also engage questions concerning inclusion in the tech industry, as well as how new technologies may perpetuate or disrupt discrimination. The class will include guest speakers from impacted industries and viewing and critiquing excerpts of relevant film and TV programs. Fall 2024 Description: This course will explore contemporary social justice issues in the entertainment, media and technology industries. For example, we will consider the #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite movements and broader issues of structural underrepresentation and discrimination against women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups in Hollywood. We will explore backlash to these movements. The class will engage questions concerning inclusion in the tech industry, as well as how new technologies may perpetuate or disrupt discrimination. The class will include guest speakers from impacted industries and viewing and critiquing excerpts of relevant film and TV programs. |
| Law 224.6 Selected Topics in Reproductive Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: This course will cover a variety of timely issues related to the rights to have children, not to have children, and to parent the children one has with dignity and security. We will touch upon reproductive rights, focusing on the changes produced by Dobbs; we will then study the broader movement for reproductive justice, focusing on disparate access to reproductive health care, and the criminalization of and intervention in the procreative choices of marginalized groups. The syllabus will include diverse forms of writing, such as case excerpts, advocacy materials, and multi-disciplinary scholarship. Some class sessions will feature guest speakers who have been advocates or organizers for reproductive rights and justice, both in California and in more restrictive states. |
| Law 224.61 Pregnancy Criminalization 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Last year, an Ohio prosecutor charged Brittany Watts with the archaic crime of felony abuse of a corpse after she experienced pregnancy loss in her home. A Nebraska mother pled guilty to multiple criminal charges after providing her teenage daughter with medication for an abortion. And Alabama prosecutors in certain districts have prioritized bringing criminal charges against people who use drugs, sometimes including prescription medications, while pregnant. These and other instances of pregnancy criminalization—criminal consequences relating to pregnancy status—are far from new, but they are spreading quickly, and they range from criminal investigations, to arrests for misdemeanor charges, to murder convictions. Ultimately, the implications of pregnancy criminalization will resonate far beyond the criminal realm. In this interactive one-unit course, we will discuss the historical roots of pregnancy criminalization in the U.S., especially the systematic targeting of poor Black women, and the fetal personhood movement that now undergirds much of the criminalization. We will discuss as well the structural aspects of our criminal system that facilitate criminal charges against pregnant people. We will examine prosecutors’ incentives to bring charges, the types of charges prosecutors bring, and the evidence used to support them. Lastly, we will explore the crippling toll these kinds of charges take on individuals and communities, develop some in-court challenges individuals might raise when facing such charges, and hopefully think through broader potential solutions. Assignments will include writing short reflections on our readings, crafting legal arguments to defend against some aspects of a criminal charge, and (depending on class size) giving an oral presentation on a relevant topic of interest. If you have any questions about the course, please do not hesitate to contact the instructor. |
| Law 225 Legislation and Statutory Interpretation 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and the doctrine surrounding judicial deference to agency statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course, and students from all backgrounds are welcome. Fall 2020 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and the doctrine surrounding judicial deference to agency statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. Spring 2021 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. Our discussion of the legislative process will touch on Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. Our discussion of statutory interpretation will cover theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. A third portion of the course will examine the role of statutory interpretations by administrative agencies and the doctrines surrounding judicial deference to these interpretations. In exploring these topics, we will consider cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including all or most of criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course, and students from all backgrounds are welcome. Spring 2022 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation, focusing on the latter subject. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. We will spend our initial class meetings considering the perspective from which courts should interpret statutes. Courts often claim to interpret statutes from the perspective of an ordinary person, but statutes have technical language and often apply to heavily regulated areas of the economy. If the ordinary person perspective is unrealistic, we will consider whether the standard be that of an ordinary lawyer or member of Congress. Our focus will be on statutory interpretation done by the courts in the first instance. We will cover theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. We will also examine doctrines of judicial deference to administrative agencies' statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, we will consider cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including all or most of criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. Spring 2023 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and how courts approach agency statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. Fall 2023 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and how courts approach agency statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, and public health and safety law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. Spring 2025 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and how courts approach agency statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, health care law, and national security law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. This course will tackle important and challenging questions in the spirit of open inquiry and free exchange of ideas. I welcome a wide range of viewpoints on these questions. Reasonable minds can differ on many of the issues that we will be discussing, and no ideas are immune from scrutiny. Fall 2025 Description: This course will introduce students to the legislative process and statutory interpretation. Statutes govern nearly every aspect of our society and our economy, and this course will give students the tools to understand how statutes come to be and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. The first portion of the course will focus on the legislative process, including Congress’s internal procedures and organization, limits on Congress’s authority, and the role of parties, committees, and interest groups in the lawmaking process. Finally, this part of the course will evaluate state statutory lawmaking thorugh direct democracy (the ballot initiative process). The second portion of the course will turn to statutory interpretation, including theories of statutory interpretation, the use of legislative history, and major canons of construction. The third portion of the class will examine how administrative agencies interpret statutes and how courts approach agency statutory interpretations. In exploring these topics, the course will reference cases and materials from many substantive areas of law, including criminal law, civil rights law, environmental law, labor and employment law, and public health and safety law. The course will thus provide students with a small taste of many different areas of law. There are not, however, any prerequisites for the course. |
| Law 225.1 Law and Politics Foundation Seminar 3 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This graduate seminar provides an introduction to the study of law and political science. The readings will begin with constitutionalism and the core institutions of American government (Congress, Presidency, judiciary, administrative state) before turning to consider democratic legitimacy as a descriptive and normative problem for scholars working on the intersection of law and politics. Readings will be drawn from twentieth century "classics" of political science and legal scholarship as well as more contemporary arguments and analyses that treat longstanding questions. No particular background is required beyond familiarity with the basic framework of American government. Spring 2024 Description: This graduate seminar provides an introduction to the study of law and politics. Although our touchstone for the course is the American legal system, we will also look at examples from legal systems around the world to gain insight onto how different political systems approach the core tasks of dispute resolution, legislation, and regulation. Over the course of the semester, we look at questions such as: What is the origin of rule of law and judicial independence? How do judges, regulators and other frontline officials make decisions? Under what conditions can law and courts create lasting political and social change? For PhD students, the course is designed to provide an overview of a number of meaty, important research questions and familiarize you with a range of research methods. This is a chance to uncover approaches and questions that echo your own interests and predilections. For law students, this course offers a chance to zoom out from case law to take a big picture look at how political considerations shape legal institutions, both in the United States and beyond. Getting ready for each week’s discussion will also provide excellent practice cutting through material to rapidly uncover - and evaluate - the core of an argument. Fall 2024 Description: This graduate seminar provides an introduction to the study of law and politics. We will focus in particular on how law and politics are interrelated and influence one another. Topics covered will include political institutions (Congress, the presidency, bureaucracy, and courts), political dynamics (public opinion, polarization, interest group dynamics), and the policymaking process. For doctoral students, the course is designed to provide an overview of a number of meaty, important research questions and familiarize you with a range of research methods. This is a chance to uncover approaches and questions that echo your own interests and predilections. For law students, this course offers a chance to zoom out from case law to take a big-picture look at how political considerations shape legal institutions, both in the United States and beyond. Getting ready for each week’s discussion will also provide excellent practice cutting through material to rapidly uncover -- and evaluate -- the core of an argument. |
| Law 225.11 Statutory Interpretation and Legislation Workshop 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course will be built around presentations of new scholarship about topics related to statutory interpretation and/or legislative process. The scholarship will be presented in person by guest speakers (with the proviso that some speakers may, for logistical or medical reasons, need to present remotely). Students will be provided each meeting's article in advance and expected to read and formulate questions for the speaker. Grades will be based on response papers. This course will be graded on a credit/no-credit basis. |
| Law 225.3 Interpretation in Constitutional and Statutory Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: How should we understand the language of the Constitution, and of statutes? Should we be originalists or living constitutionalists? (Or something else?) How much leeway do and should judges have in interpreting statutes? These are some of the biggest questions in law, and we will introduce and debate major approaches and controversies in answering them. Although we can only scratch the surface in a 1-unit course, we will discuss both big issues and concrete applications to specific cases. Besides covering really interesting issues, this course will also provide students a look behind the curtain of how to think about the critical topic of legal interpretation. This course meets every other Tuesday for 7 sessions beginning August 25th. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 225.31 Introduction to Statutory Interpretation in the Regulatory State for 1Ls 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: The functioning of the law is based on how language is interpreted. This course focuses on the role of interpretation within the Regulatory State. Increasingly, governmental agencies have a primary role in interpreting our most important laws. We will consider how courts balance the judicial obligation ‘to say what the law is’ with the greater substantive expertise and democratic accountability of agencies. We will first consider fundamental issues of interpretation. These issues are constantly before the courts, even in relatively homogeneous, monolingual cultures. We will consider how the heterogeneous, multilingual nature of our society should impact legal interpretation. Thus, for instance, what does it mean for an “ordinary person” to have “fair notice” of the law? Is that a value courts should promote? Should a court interpret a legal text according to its “ordinary meaning”? Is there such a thing as “ordinary meaning,” and if so, how can an attorney or court identify it? How should the language of a law, such as a civil rights statute, be interpreted over time? Is it inevitable that such a law will be interpreted dynamically? We will consider how the interpretive power of agencies changes the answers we would otherwise give to the above questions. Professor Brian Slocum has a JD and a PhD in Linguistics and writes extensively on issues of legal interpretation. Recent articles include, The Meaning of Sex: Dynamic Words, Novel Applications, and Original Public Meaning, 119 Mich. L. Rev. 1503 (2021) (with William N. Eskridge Jr. & Stefan Th. Gries), and Statutory Interpretation from the Outside, Colum. L. Rev. (forthcoming, 2022) (with Kevin Tobia & Victoria Nourse). Prior to joining legal academia, Professor Slocum was a Trial Attorney in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Department of Justice. |
| Law 225.32 Statutory Interpretation Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This seminar will focus on theories of statutory interpretation and their implications for doctrine. We will consider the principal methodological rationales for approaches to statutory interpretation, as well as several additional topics: • Legislative intent, purpose and the Legal Process school • Textualism • Legislative process-based “decision theory” • Additional topics, e.g., including application of ideas to the recent Bostock v. Clayton County case Our principal focus will be on underlying methodological frameworks, and most of our reading will be scholarship in the field. Grades will be based primarily on writing requirements, and secondarily on class participation. Each student will be responsible for several short writing assignments during the semester. Half of these papers will involve posing a discussion questions about the coming week's reading and composing your own answers those questions. The other half will involve responding to questions posed by classmates. You will receive feedback to help you improve subsequent submissions. The first week when any students will do writing assignments will be for our third class meeting. Both the discussion questions you provide and your answers will play an important--hopefully, guiding!--role in our in-class discussions. It's fair to expect that students who are askers or responders in a given week will play lead roles in that week's discussion, but I expect all students to come to class prepared to participate in discussions each week, including on days when they have not written response papers. |
| Law 225.7 Topics in Health Insurance Law and Regulation 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Private health insurance is the primary vehicle through which access to healthcare is assured in the United States. For this reason, the law and regulation of health insurance is of vital importance to a wide variety of different types of lawyers and public policy advocates. This topic is nonetheless often only covered tangentially in traditional law school classes like Insurance Law, Health Law, and Employee Benefits. This condensed class will survey major issues in the law and regulation of U.S. health insurance. Topics that may be covered (depending on time constraints) include (i) the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare) and its regulation of private health insurers, (ii) State regulation of private health insurers, (iii) ERISA's regulation of employer-sponsored health plans, and (iv) State and federal laws governing the resolution of health insurance coverage disputes (both through courts and via internal and external review of coverage decisions). The class will not cover issues related to public health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid and it will not assume that students have any particular background in health or insurance law. It will be geared in equal parts to developing a basic understanding of the technical legal and regulatory issues in covered topics and to discussing the insurance-specific policy issues surrounding health care reform. This course meets: Thursday, March 12th 6:25PM-9:25PM Friday, March 13th 10AM-12PM and 3:10PM-5:10PM Saturday, March 14th 9:30AM-12:30PM and 2:10PM-5:10PM |
| Law 225.81 Navigating US Healthcare Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of: (1) the legal structure of the U.S. healthcare system and the challenges that it faces with respect to the "Triple Aim" of high-quality patient care, population health, and affordability; and (2) alternative systems that advanced nations have developed to address similar challenges. Current health reform programs and proposals will be evaluated; and students will be introduced to the organizations that provide reliable data and evidence-based perspectives regarding healthcare policy. Finally, the various roles served by lawyers throughout the healthcare system will be discussed. This class will emphasize comparative research, presentation, and discussion skills. In small teams, students will research and present the health systems of certain countries, and collectively evaluate the merits and drawbacks of each in relation to the U.S. Two books will be used for the course: Sara E. Wilensky and Joel Teitelbaum, Essential of Health Policy and Law (Jones and Bartlett Learning, 5th Edition 2023); Mark Britnell, In Search of the Perfect Health System (Palgrave, 2015). Additionally, the class will refer to materials and data from various advocacy and public interest organizations, including: • ACHP (Alliance of Community Health Plans) • American Hospital Association • Commonwealth Fund • Health Affairs • International Federation of Health Plans • KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) • National Library of Medicine (National Institutes of Health) Professor biographical information: Mark Zemelman was General Counsel (2010–2021) and Assistant General Counsel (1998–2010) of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (dba Kaiser Permanente). He is a national expert on health systems that integrate health delivery and financing, value-based care models, health care reform, and federal and state regulation of health systems. As General Counsel, Mark built one of the most diverse and inclusive legal departments in corporate America. He is a regular speaker at industry events and recently co-authored a book that offers practical guidance to corporations and public institutions regarding the implementation of diversity and equity programs. Fall 2024 Description: This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of: (1) the legal structure of the U.S. healthcare system and the challenges that it faces with respect to the "Triple Aim" of high-quality patient care, population health, and affordability; and (2) alternative systems that advanced nations have developed to address similar challenges. Current health reform programs and proposals will be evaluated; and students will be introduced to the organizations that provide reliable data and evidence-based perspectives regarding healthcare policy. Finally, the various roles served by lawyers throughout the healthcare system will be discussed. This class will emphasize comparative research, presentation, and discussion skills. Each student will research and present the health system of another country and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of each in relation to the U.S. A central focus of the course is how the U.S. healthcare system can be made more equitable. Two books will be used for the course: Sara E. Wilensky and Joel Teitelbaum, Essentials of Health Policy and Law (Jones and Bartlett Learning, 5th Edition 2023); Mark Britnell, In Search of the Perfect Health System (Palgrave, 2015). Additionally, the class will refer to materials and data from various advocacy and public interest organizations, including: • ACHP (Alliance of Community Health Plans) • American Hospital Association • Commonwealth Fund • Health Affairs • International Federation of Health Plans • KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) • National Library of Medicine (National Institutes of Health) Professor biographical information: Mark Zemelman was General Counsel (2010–2021) and Assistant General Counsel (1998–2010) of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (dba Kaiser Permanente). He is a national expert on health systems that integrate health delivery and financing, value-based care models, health care reform, and federal and state regulation of health systems. As General Counsel, Mark built one of the most diverse and inclusive legal departments in corporate America. He is a regular speaker at industry events and recently co-authored a book that offers practical guidance to corporations and public institutions regarding the implementation of diversity and equity programs. |
| Law 226.11 Current Topics in National Security Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: National security law is often inaccessible, and can be particularly hard to follow when divorced from the context of historical tradition, governmental structures, and the operational reality in which it functions. This course will aim to present national security law in context, exposing students as much as possible to the real-world effects of applicable legal standards and rules. Topics will include the history of the U.S. Intelligence Community, privacy and surveillance, and the role of a national security lawyer in protecting the national security. Spring 2021 Description: This course examines the most pressing national security law issues of the day, introduces key domestic and international legal frameworks necessary to engage in law and policy debates, and provides practical perspectives on these topics. The course will analyze the roles of each of the branches of the U.S. federal government in matters of national security, examine the intersection of international and domestic law in this sphere, and provide an overview of the practice of national security law in the Executive Branch. Specific topics may be adjusted based on current events, but are likely to include the following: the War Powers Resolution of 1973, its implementation in practice, and proposals for reform; the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and the “forever wars”; the powers and limits of Congress and the Judiciary to conduct national security oversight of the President; nuclear non-proliferation challenges, with a focus on North Korea and Iran; the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen, including the legal status of the doctrine of humanitarian intervention and state responsibility for violations of the law of armed conflict; the legality of ongoing detention operations and military trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and key topics in cybersecurity, including election interference. Students will be expected to write a series of short papers for this course. Dr. Tess Bridgeman is a Senior Fellow at NYU Law School’s Center on Law and Security and Co-Editor in Chief of Just Security. Bridgeman served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama, Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC), where she provided counsel on the full range of issues relating to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Bridgeman previously served in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where she was Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser and, prior to that role, an Attorney Adviser in the Office of Political-Military Affairs, focusing on the law of armed conflict. Bridgeman clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. A Rhodes Scholar, Truman Scholar, and Gardner Fellow, Bridgeman has a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from NYU Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, which she attended as a Root-Tilden-Kern and Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. Spring 2022 Description: This course examines the most pressing national security law issues of the day, introduces key domestic and international legal frameworks necessary to engage in law and policy debates, and provides practical perspectives on these topics. The course will analyze the roles of each of the branches of the U.S. federal government in matters of national security, examine the intersection of international and domestic law in this sphere, and provide an overview of the practice of national security law in the Executive Branch. One or more class sessions will be reserved to cover new developments, and specific topics may be adjusted based on current events, but are likely to include the following: the War Powers Resolution of 1973, its implementation in practice, and proposals for reform; the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and the “forever wars”; the powers and limits of Congress and the Judiciary to conduct national security oversight of the President; post-9/11 surveillance and intelligence collection; the use of domestic and multilateral sanctions; nuclear non-proliferation challenges, with a focus on North Korea and Iran; the legality of ongoing detention operations and military trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and key topics in cybersecurity, including election interference. Dr. Tess Bridgeman is a Senior Fellow & Visiting Scholar at NYU Law School’s Reiss Center on Law and Security and Co-Editor in Chief of Just Security. Bridgeman served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama, Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC), where she provided counsel on the full range of issues relating to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Bridgeman previously served in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where she was Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser and, prior to that role, an Attorney Adviser in the Office of Political-Military Affairs, focusing on the law of armed conflict. Bridgeman clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. A Rhodes Scholar, Truman Scholar, and Gardner Fellow, Bridgeman has a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from NYU Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, which she attended as a Root-Tilden-Kern and Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. Spring 2023 Description: This course examines the most pressing national security law issues of the day, introduces key domestic and international legal frameworks necessary to engage in law and policy debates, and provides practical perspectives on these topics. The course will analyze the roles of each of the branches of the U.S. federal government in matters of national security, examine the intersection of international and domestic law in this sphere, and provide an overview of the practice of national security law in the Executive Branch. One or more class sessions will be reserved to cover new developments, and specific topics may be adjusted based on current events, but may include the following: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the international response; the War Powers Resolution of 1973, its implementation in practice, and pending proposals for reform; the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and the “forever wars” after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; the powers and limits of Congress and the Judiciary to conduct national security oversight of the President; the use of domestic and multilateral sanctions as a national security tool; nuclear non-proliferation challenges, with a focus on Iran; ongoing detention operations and military trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and President Biden’s efforts to finally close the facility; and key debates in cyber law. Dr. Tess Bridgeman is a Senior Fellow & Visiting Scholar at NYU Law School’s Reiss Center on Law and Security and Co-Editor in Chief of Just Security. Bridgeman served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama, Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC), where she provided counsel on a broad range of issues relating to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Bridgeman previously served in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where she was Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser and, prior to that role, an Attorney Adviser in the Office of Political-Military Affairs, focusing on the law of armed conflict. Bridgeman clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. A Rhodes Scholar, Truman Scholar, and Gardner Fellow, Bridgeman has a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from NYU Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, which she attended as a Root-Tilden-Kern and Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. Spring 2024 Description: This course examines the most pressing national security law issues of the day, introduces key domestic and international legal frameworks necessary to engage in law and policy debates, and provides practical perspectives on these topics. The course will analyze the roles of each of the branches of the U.S. federal government in matters of national security, including debates on the separation of powers, examine the intersection of international and domestic law in this sphere, and provide an overview of the practice of national security law in the Executive Branch. One or more class sessions will be reserved to cover new developments, and specific topics may be adjusted based on current events, but may include the following: Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including the international response and debates over criminal accountability; China-Taiwan tensions and the U.S. defense posture; the War Powers Resolution of 1973, its implementation in practice, and pending proposals for reform; the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and the “forever wars” after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; the powers and limits of Congress and the Judiciary to conduct national security oversight of the President; the use of domestic and multilateral sanctions as a national security tool; nuclear non-proliferation challenges, with a focus on Iran; current debates on surveillance and intelligence collection; and key debates in cyber law. Dr. Tess Bridgeman is a Senior Fellow & Visiting Scholar at NYU Law School’s Reiss Center on Law and Security and Co-Editor in Chief of Just Security. Bridgeman served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama, Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC), where she provided counsel on a broad range of issues relating to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Bridgeman previously served in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where she was Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser and, prior to that role, an Attorney Adviser in the Office of Political-Military Affairs, focusing on the law of armed conflict. Bridgeman clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. A Rhodes Scholar, Harry S. Truman Scholar, and John Gardner Fellow, Bridgeman has a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from NYU Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, which she attended as a Root-Tilden-Kern and Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. |
| Law 226.12 Current Topics in Media Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will explore both traditional and more modern challenges to press freedom, free expression, and media law in the Digital Age. Students will learn traditional governing doctrine regulating newsgathering and publication, including but not limited to defamation, copyright and privacy law; statutory and constitutional work product protections such as the Privacy Protection Act and the California as well as other journalist shield laws; prior restraint; and the protections from criminal liability for the receipt or publication of truthful information. The course will also focus on developments brought about by technology, including data collection tools as well as surveillance and encryption. It will discuss topics such as the impact of different forms of national security surveillance tools (including FRCP 41, FISA, and National Security Letters) on journalist-source relationships; and the role of foreign governments and non-nation state actors in the historically local endeavor of publishing the news. Last, the course will cover transparency laws such as federal and state public records laws. Students will analyze how these frameworks both shape, and are shaped by, politics, theory, markets, and technological change. They will engage with theoretical and historical texts, current case law, and contemporary best practices. Victoria Baranetsky is general counsel at The Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, Baranetsky worked at the Wikimedia Foundation, and as a fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and at The New York Times. After graduating from Harvard Law School she received a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University and clerked for the Honorable Rosemary Pooler of the Second Circuit. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a graduate degree from Columbia Journalism School, and currently, is an academic fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. She is barred in California, New York and New Jersey. Spring 2021 Description: This course will explore both traditional and more modern challenges to press freedom, free expression, and media law. Students will learn traditional governing doctrine regulating newsgathering and publication, including but not limited to defamation, copyright and privacy law; statutory and constitutional work product protections as well as other journalist shield laws; prior restraint; and the protections from criminal liability for the receipt or publication of truthful information. The course will also focus on developments brought about by technology, including data collection tools as well as surveillance and encryption. It will discuss topics such as the impact of different forms of national security surveillance tools (including FRCP 41, FISA, and National Security Letters) on journalist-source relationships; and the role of foreign governments and non-nation state actors in the historically local endeavor of publishing the news. Last, the course will cover transparency laws such as federal and state public records laws. Perhaps the most important aim of this course is to uncover how these frameworks both shape, and are shaped by, politics, theory, markets, and technological change. The class will substantively engage with theoretical and historical texts, established as well as current case law, and evolving best practices. Victoria Baranetsky is general counsel at The Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, Baranetsky worked at the Wikimedia Foundation, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and The New York Times. After graduating from Harvard Law School she received a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University and clerked for the Honorable Rosemary Pooler of the Second Circuit. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a graduate degree from Columbia Journalism School, and currently, is an academic fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. She is barred in California, New York and New Jersey. Spring 2022 Description: This course will explore both traditional and more modern challenges to press freedom, free expression, and media law. Students will learn traditional governing doctrine regulating newsgathering and publication, including but not limited to defamation, copyright and privacy law as well as journalist shield laws and prior restraint. While accounting for these legal doctrines, the course will also focus on developments brought about by technology, including data collection tools as well as surveillance and encryption. It will discuss topics such as the impact of different forms of national security surveillance tools; and the role of foreign governments and non-nation state actors. Last, the course will cover transparency laws such as federal and state public records laws. Perhaps the most important aim of this course is to uncover how these frameworks both shape, and are shaped by, politics, theory, and technological change. The class will substantively engage with theoretical and historical texts, established as well as current case law, and evolving best practices. Victoria Baranetsky is general counsel at The Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, Baranetsky worked at the Wikimedia Foundation, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and The New York Times. After graduating from Harvard Law School she received a master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford University and clerked on the Second Circuit. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a graduate degree from Columbia Journalism School, and currently, is an academic fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. She is barred in California, New York and New Jersey. Geoffrey King is the chief executive officer of Informed California Foundation and the executive editor of its first project, the independent nonprofit newsroom Open Vallejo. Prior to founding Informed California Foundation, King led the global technology program at the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization that advocates for press freedom worldwide. King previously worked as a First Amendment litigator representing journalists, activists and artists in free expression and open government matters, and he has taught an undergraduate privacy law course at UC Berkeley since 2011. King earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and his JD from Stanford Law School. He is a member of the California Bar. |
| Law 226.13 National Security Law: A Practitioner's Perspective 1 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: National security law is often inaccessible, and can be particularly hard to follow when divorced from the context of historical tradition, governmental structures, and the operational reality in which it functions. This course will aim to present national security law in context, exposing students as much as possible to the real-world effects of applicable legal standards and rules. Topics will include the history of the U.S. Intelligence Community, privacy and surveillance, and the role of a national security lawyer in protecting national security within the rule of law. Spring 2023 Description: National security law is often inaccessible, and can be particularly hard to follow when divorced from the context of historical tradition, governmental structures, and the operational reality in which it functions. This course will aim to present national security law in context, exposing students as much as possible to the real-world effects of applicable legal standards and rules. Topics will include the history of the U.S. Intelligence Community, privacy and surveillance, and the role of a national security lawyer in protecting national security within the rule of law. Spring 2024 Description: National security law is often inaccessible, and can be particularly hard to follow when divorced from the context of historical tradition, governmental structures, and the operational reality in which it functions. This course will aim to present national security law in context, exposing students as much as possible to the real-world effects of applicable legal standards and rules. Topics will include the history of the U.S. Intelligence Community, privacy and surveillance, and the role of a national security lawyer in protecting national security within the rule of law. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: National security law is often inaccessible and can be particularly hard to follow when divorced from the context of historical tradition, governmental structures, and the operational reality in which it functions. This course will present national security law in context, exposing students as much as possible to the real-world effects of applicable legal standards and rules. Topics will include the history of the U.S. Intelligence Community, privacy and surveillance, and the role of a national security lawyer in protecting national security within the rule of law. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 226.14 Law in Media 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This seminar will explore the role of law in and impact of law on the news media. In our class discussions, we will grapple with questions such as, how do journalists address and explain law to a lay audience? How do lawyers work with and speak to journalists? How do journalists get information and how do news media organizations navigate potential legal obstacles to publishing? What can lawyers learn from journalists about telling a story? In search of answers, we will explore how the law is presented in the media, how the news media describes legal reasoning and describes lawyers, how lawyers speak to the media, and how law enables and undermines newsgathering. Each week we will address a different aspect of the complex relationship between law and media, focusing initially on lawfully obtaining and publishing information, then examining media portrayals of judicial opinions and of the legal profession, among other topics. Students will have an opportunity to discuss and comment both on judicial opinions and on the media coverage of law and legal institutions in class discussions and in response essays written over the semester. |
| Law 226.15 Truth, Proof, and Evidence: Comparing Courtroom, Politics, News, Lab, and Church 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Discerning the truth could be all-consuming and is often impossible. Is the defendant innocent? Which candidates are most committed to combating climate change? Has the journalist faithfully reported what happened and why? Is the vaccine safe and effective? Should we use phonics to teach reading? When can or should we decide with evidence and when with scripture or faith? When should we expect that people will determine truth using the same decision rules? This multidisciplinary seminar will explore how context shapes the concepts of truth, proof, and evidence. The differences influence how we adjudicate justice, construct public policy, and engage in politics. More practically, these concepts guide how we persuade one another or mediate disagreements, be they civic or personal. The four central topics are how decision-makers might benefit from understanding decision-making in other settings, how society might promote truthfulness in matters of public import, when might truth not be so important in public life, and, specifically, the degree to which a successful democracy requires truth. Guest speakers will include academic and civic thought leaders. After taking this course, students will be better able to appreciate the complexity of evidence-based decision-making in public and private domains. Grades will be based on class participation and two papers: one will be a response paper to the readings and the other, a paper on a course topic of their choice. Non-J.D. graduate students are invited to enroll, with the instructor's permission. |
| Law 226.1T Local Government Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Local government entities provide essential services and shape much of our contemporary daily life. In this course we will study the source, scope, and limits of local government power—specifically the law that governs counties, cities, and special districts. We will examine federalism, government formation, governmental liability, zoning, educational equity, and public finance. We will examine the relationship between states and local entities, conflicts between neighboring public entities, the relationship between local government and the individuals and communities both within and around these entities. We will discuss the capacity for local governments to engage constituents and neighbors and to be responsive democratic communities, as well as the impact of local governments on the regional metropolitan political economy. Using the casebook Local Government Law by Frug, Ford and Barron, and related readings from planning and public policy literature, this course will examine the social-equitable impact of this body of law—specifically addressing themes of race, gender, and class to understand how local governance is both structured and experienced. Students will write a 12-15 page paper. About the instructor: Eric Casher is a Principal at Meyers Nave and former Chair of the firm's Public Law Practice Group and Diversity Committee. Eric currently serves as City Attorney for the City of Pinole, and General Counsel for the East Bay Dischargers Authority. Eric was California Attorney General Kamala Harris' appointee to the California Fair Political Practices Commission where he served a four-year term. Eric is a Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Minority Counsel Program, and former President of the Charles Houston Bar Association and California ChangeLawyers. Eric is an active member of the League of California Cities having served on the League's Legal Advocacy Committee, FPPC Subcommittee, and Advancing Equity Advisory Committee. Eric is a graduate of UC Hastings College of the Law, and UC Berkeley undergrad. Spring 2024 Description: Local government entities provide essential services and shape much of our contemporary daily life. In this course we will study the source, scope, and limits of local government power-specifically the law that governs counties, cities, and special districts. We will examine federalism, government formation, governmental liability, zoning, educational equity, and public finance. We will examine the relationship between states and local entities, conflicts between neighboring public entities, the relationship between local government and the individuals and communities both within and around these entities. We will discuss the capacity for local governments to engage constituents and neighbors and to be responsive democratic communities, as well as the impact of local governments on the regional metropolitan political economy. Using the casebook Local Government Law by Frug, Ford and Barron, and related readings from planning and public policy literature, this course will examine the social-equitable impact of this body of law-specifically addressing themes of race, gender, and class to understand how local governance is both structured and experienced. Students will write a 15-20 page paper. About the instructor: Eric Casher is a Principal at Meyers Nave and former Chair of the firm's Government and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group and Diversity Committee. Eric currently serves as City Attorney for the City of Pinole, and General Counsel for the East Bay Dischargers Authority. Eric was California Attorney General Kamala Harris' appointee to the California Fair Political Practices Commission where he served a four-year term. Eric is a Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Minority Counsel Program, and former President of the Charles Houston Bar Association and California ChangeLawyers. Eric is an active member of the League of California Cities having served on the League's Legal Advocacy Committee, FPPC Subcommittee, and Advancing Equity Advisory Committee. Eric is the Ninth Circuit representative on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Eric is a graduate of UC Law San Francisco, and UC Berkeley undergrad. Spring 2025 Description: Local government entities provide essential services and shape much of our contemporary daily life. In this course, we will study the source, scope, and limits of local government power-specifically the law that governs counties, cities, and special districts. We will examine federalism, government formation, governmental liability, zoning, educational equity, and public finance. We will examine the relationship between states and local entities, conflicts between neighboring public entities, the relationship between local government and the individuals and communities both within and around these entities. We will discuss the capacity of local governments to engage constituents and neighbors and to be responsive democratic communities, as well as the impact of local governments on the regional metropolitan political economy. Using the casebook Local Government Law by Frug, Ford and Barron, and related readings from planning and public policy literature, this course will examine the social-equitable impact of this body of law - specifically addressing themes of race, gender, and class to understand how local governance is both structured and experienced. Students will write a 15-20 page paper. About the instructor: Eric Casher is a Founding Partner at Redwood Public Law, LLP. Eric currently serves as City Attorney for the City of Pinole, and General Counsel for the East Bay Dischargers Authority. Eric was California Attorney General Kamala Harris' appointee to the California Fair Political Practices Commission where he served a four-year term. Eric is a former Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Minority Counsel Program, and former President of the Charles Houston Bar Association and California ChangeLawyers. Eric is an active member of the League of California Cities having served on the League's Legal Advocacy Committee, FPPC Subcommittee, and Advancing Equity Advisory Committee. Eric is a former Ninth Circuit representative on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Eric is a graduate of UC Law San Francisco, and UC Berkeley undergrad. |
| Law 226.2 Foreign Relations Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The course examines the law governing the conduct of American foreign relations. First, we will consider the distribution of the foreign affairs power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Special attention will be given to the original understanding of the foreign affairs power and how the constitutional design has (or has not) changed over time. Second, we will examine the statutory distribution of authority in foreign affairs. The course will conclude with a review of legal constraints on the foreign affairs power imposed by the states, the judiciary, and by international law. Spring 2024 Description: Are foreign relations and security matters unique? Should they receive exceptional legal treatment, as they often do today? What doctrines and concepts govern the conduct of U.S. foreign relations law, and how well do they address the challenges of modern foreign affairs and national security practice? This course will consider these questions while providing a comprehensive introduction to U.S. foreign relations law. We will cover the constitutional allocation of foreign relations powers among government branches and how it has evolved over time, the intersection of U.S. domestic law and public international law, use of force, the formation, implementation, and termination of international agreements, international trade and economic statecraft, foreign affairs federalism, and new questions related to the growing role of technology in security and international affairs. Spring 2025 Description: Are foreign relations and security matters unique? Should they receive exceptional legal treatment, as they often do today? What doctrines and concepts govern the conduct of U.S. foreign relations law, and how well do they address the challenges of modern foreign affairs and national security practice? This course will consider these questions while providing a comprehensive introduction to U.S. foreign relations law. We will cover the constitutional allocation of foreign relations powers among government branches and how it has evolved over time, the intersection of U.S. domestic law and public international law, the use of force, the formation, implementation, and termination of international agreements, international trade and economic statecraft, foreign affairs federalism, and new questions related to the growing role of technology in security and international affairs. |
| Law 226.4 Regulated Digital Industries: Telecommunications Law & Policy for a Modern Era 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the economy. It is also the site of one our most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. How should we regulate the interconnections between the networks that make telephone and internet communication possible? How should we allocate scarce spectrum resources? Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How do copyright concerns interact with broadcast regulation? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Spring 2022 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the economy. It is also the site of one of our most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How should we regulate the content moderation practices of large platforms? How do copyright and accessibility concerns interact with video content platforms? And how do prior regulatory scheme inform modern legal practices? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Fall 2023 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the economy. It is also the site of one of our most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How should we regulate the content moderation practices of large platforms? How do copyright and accessibility concerns interact with video content platforms? And how do prior regulatory scheme inform modern legal practices? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Fall 2025 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the economy. It is also the site of one of our most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How should we regulate the content moderation practices of large platforms? How do copyright and accessibility concerns interact with video content platforms? And how do prior regulatory scheme inform modern legal practices? Can China operate TikTok in the United States? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. |
| Law 226.4S Regulated Digital Industries 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the U.S. economy. It is also the site of one its most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. How should we regulate the interconnections between the networks that make telephone and internet communication possible? How should we allocate scarce spectrum resources? Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How do copyright concerns interact with broadcast regulation? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 28th, July 29th, July 30th, August 2nd, and August 3rd in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the U.S. economy. It is also the site of one its most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. How should we regulate the interconnections between the networks that make telephone and internet communication possible? How should we allocate scarce spectrum resources? Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How do copyright concerns interact with broadcast regulation? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Summer 2023 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the U.S. economy. It is also the site of one its most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. How should we regulate the interconnections between the networks that make telephone and internet communication possible? How should we allocate scarce spectrum resources? Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How do copyright concerns interact with broadcast regulation? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Summer 2024 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the U.S. economy. It is also the site of one its most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. How should we regulate the interconnections between the networks that make telephone and internet communication possible? How should we allocate scarce spectrum resources? Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How do copyright concerns interact with broadcast regulation? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Summer 2025 Description: The telecommunications industry (including internet-related services) is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the U.S. economy. It is also the site of one of its most complex legal regimes, blending features of administrative law, antitrust law, and constitutional law, among others. How should we regulate the interconnections between the networks that make telephone and internet communication possible? How should we allocate scarce spectrum resources? Should we require internet service providers to comply with net neutrality rules? What, if anything, should the government do to ensure media representation of diverse voices? How do copyright concerns interact with broadcast regulation? The answers to these questions directly impact the structure of the telecommunications industry. More fundamentally, these questions implicate matters of distribution, efficiency, fairness, monopoly power, and the structure of government. This course examines these issues through a study of some of the foundational questions and modern conflicts in domestic (U.S.) telecommunications law and internet policy. Tejas N. Narechania is a Professor of Law at Berkeley Law. His scholarly focus is on the institutions of technology law and policy (including, for example, telecommunications regulation, platform governance, and intellectual property), among other subjects. He is also a Faculty Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. Before joining Berkeley Law, Professor Narechania clerked for Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States (2015–2016) and for Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2011–2012). He has advised the Federal Communications Commission on network neutrality matters, where he served as Special Counsel (2012–2013). He has a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he earned the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize and was the Executive Notes Editor of the Columbia Law Review. He also has a B.S. (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) and a B.A. (Political Science) from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Narechania’s research projects have appeared in the California Law Review (and the California Law Review Online), the Columbia Law Review (and the Columbia Law Review Forum), and the Michigan Law Review (and the Michigan Law Review Online), among other outlets. His projects have been cited by the White House, in the work of the Supreme Court and the federal Courts of Appeals, as well as in the New York Times and the Washington Post, among other venues. |
| Law 226.8 Strategic Constitutional Litigation in Property Rights and Economic Liberty 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: SEMINAR This class is designed to give students hands-on training and experience in strategic constitutional litigation focused on property rights and economic liberty. Conducted in cooperation with the Pacific Legal Foundation, this seminar provides insight to substantive legal theories and litigation strategy for developing precedent setting cases. We will cover substantive legal doctrines related to property rights, such as the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and new areas involving the Due Process Clause and economic liberty. Students may take this seminar on it's own or with the practicum (Law 226.8A). Students interested in taking the practicum must enroll in this seminar and should attend the first day of the seminar. At the first session of the seminar, the cases and issues available for the practicum will be presented to the students for their consideration. The instructor will provide the class number to those students interested in enrolling the practicum. At the conclusion of the seminar class, interested students will then begin the practicum. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup classes because of unforeseen circumstances this course has 2 automatic make-up classes scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. The instructor, John Groen, first taught this course in Fall 2018 and has refined the reading assignments to better fit a one unit class. He has extensive experience in public interest litigation before all levels of federal and state courts including the Supreme Court of the United States. As a public interest lawyer, he brings a passion for his work and seeks to convey to students the strategies, obstacles and excitement in developing constitutional precedent. Fall 2021 Description: SEMINAR This class is designed to give students experience in strategic constitutional litigation focused on property rights and economic liberty. Conducted in cooperation with the Pacific Legal Foundation, this seminar will use pending and recent Supreme Court petitions and merits briefs to provide insight to substantive legal theories and litigation strategy for developing precedent setting cases. We will cover substantive legal doctrines related to property rights with particular focus on the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Students may take this seminar on it's own or with the practicum (Law 226.8A). Students interested in taking the practicum must enroll in this seminar and should attend the first day of the seminar. At the first session of the seminar, the cases and issues available for the practicum will be presented to the students for their consideration. The instructor will provide the class number to those students interested in enrolling the practicum. At the conclusion of the seminar class, interested students will then begin the practicum. The instructor, John Groen, first taught this course in Fall 2018 and has refined the reading assignments to better fit a one unit class. He has extensive experience in public interest litigation before all levels of federal and state courts including the Supreme Court of the United States. As a public interest lawyer, he brings a passion for his work and seeks to convey to students the strategies, obstacles and excitement in developing constitutional precedent. Fall 2022 Description: SEMINAR This class is designed to give students experience in strategic constitutional litigation focused on property rights and economic liberty. Conducted in cooperation with the Pacific Legal Foundation, this seminar will use pending and recent Supreme Court petitions and merits briefs to provide insight to substantive legal theories and litigation strategy for developing precedent setting cases. We will cover substantive legal doctrines related to property rights with particular focus on the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Students may take this seminar on it's own or with the practicum (Law 226.8A). Students interested in taking the practicum must enroll in this seminar and should attend the first day of the seminar. At the first session of the seminar, the cases and issues available for the practicum will be presented to the students for their consideration. The instructor will provide the class number to those students interested in enrolling the practicum. At the conclusion of the seminar class, interested students will then begin the practicum. The instructor, John Groen, first taught this course in Fall 2018 and has refined the reading assignments to better fit a one unit class. He has extensive experience in public interest litigation before all levels of federal and state courts including the Supreme Court of the United States. As a public interest lawyer, he brings a passion for his work and seeks to convey to students the strategies, obstacles and excitement in developing constitutional precedent. |
| Law 226.8A Strategic Constitutional Litigation in Property Rights and Economic Liberty Practicum 1 - 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course is offered in conjunction with the seminar Strategic Constitutional Litigation in Property Rights and Economic Liberty (Law 226.8). Students interested in the practicum must enroll in the companion seminar, Law 226.8 sec. 1(Seminar) during their enrollment and should attend the first day of the seminar. At the first session of the seminar, the cases and issues available for the practicum will be presented to the students for their consideration. The instructor will provide the class number to those students interested in enrolling the practicum. At the conclusion of the seminar class, interested students will then begin the practicum. Students enrolled in this practicum will work with attorneys at the Pacific Legal Foundation on current cases involving strategic constitutional litigation. Using modern communications technology, students will join a case litigation team to gain experience with actual cases pending before the Supreme Court of the United States, or other appellate courts, on matters related to property rights and economic liberty, and particularly the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Free speech or equal protection cases may also be available for practicum depending on student interest and litigation schedules. Along with substantive legal doctrines, students will gain experience on best practices for client and issue selection, the basics of civil rights litigation, effective brief writing for public interest litigation, the role of amicus curiae briefs, and integrating media and public outreach with litigation strategy. The instructor, John Groen, will coordinate the practicum and teach the associated seminar. This practicum was first offered in Fall, 2018, and students had a variety of experiences with most working directly on cases and briefs pending before the Supreme Court. Similar opportunities are expected for Fall, 2020. Fall 2021 Description: This course is offered in conjunction with the seminar Strategic Constitutional Litigation in Property Rights and Economic Liberty (Law 226.8). Students interested in the practicum must enroll in the companion seminar, Law 226.8 sec. 1(Seminar) during their enrollment and should attend the first day of the seminar. At the first session of the seminar, the cases and issues available for the practicum will be presented to the students for their consideration. The instructor will provide the class number to those students interested in enrolling the practicum. Students enrolled in this practicum will work with attorneys at the Pacific Legal Foundation on current cases involving strategic constitutional litigation. Using internet communications technology, students will join a case litigation team to gain experience with actual cases pending before the Supreme Court of the United States, or other appellate courts, on matters related to property rights and economic liberty, and particularly the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Free speech or equal protection cases may also be available for practicum depending on student interest and litigation schedules. Along with substantive legal doctrines, students will gain experience on best practices for client and issue selection, the basics of civil rights litigation, effective brief writing for public interest litigation, the role of amicus curiae briefs, and integrating media and public outreach with litigation strategy. The instructor, John Groen, will coordinate the practicum and teach the associated seminar. This practicum was first offered in Fall, 2018, and since then students have had a variety of experiences with most working directly on cases and briefs pending before the Supreme Court. Similar opportunities are expected for Fall, 2021. Fall 2022 Description: This course is offered in conjunction with the seminar Strategic Constitutional Litigation in Property Rights and Economic Liberty (Law 226.8). Students interested in the practicum must enroll in the companion seminar, Law 226.8 sec. 1(Seminar) during their enrollment and should attend the first day of the seminar. At the first session of the seminar, the cases and issues available for the practicum will be presented to the students for their consideration. The instructor will provide the class number to those students interested in enrolling the practicum. Students enrolled in this practicum will work with attorneys at the Pacific Legal Foundation on current cases involving strategic constitutional litigation. Using internet communications technology, students will join a case litigation team to gain experience with actual cases pending before the Supreme Court of the United States, or other appellate courts, on matters related to property rights and economic liberty, and particularly the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Free speech or equal protection cases may also be available for practicum depending on student interest and litigation schedules. Along with substantive legal doctrines, students will gain experience on best practices for client and issue selection, the basics of civil rights litigation, effective brief writing for public interest litigation, the role of amicus curiae briefs, and integrating media and public outreach with litigation strategy. The instructor, John Groen, will coordinate the practicum and teach the associated seminar. This practicum was first offered in Fall, 2018, and since then students have had a variety of experiences with most working directly on cases and briefs pending before the Supreme Court. Similar opportunities are expected for Fall 2022. Fall 2023 Description: empty |
| Law 226.9 State and Local Impact Litigation Practicum Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. Erin Bernstein is a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). Ms. Bernstein previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/GjJgqiBtv2ePjGp99 . The deadline to submit an application for consideration is November 11th at 12PM Pacific Time. Fall 2020 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. Erin Bernstein is a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). Ms. Bernstein previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSehQ0AWWa5mlywkuqkeievd--hgTbp0qajywlXhw0sXsxxg9w/viewform. Applications are due Friday, May 1 at 5pm PT. Fall 2021 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. Constitutional Law is a recommended, but not required, prerequisite. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). Ms. Bernstein previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYf7wyDl7Bo6Jykmmkg5orh4ycNgoh34TKqBRQWI1-IqCp6w/viewform?usp=sf_link. Applications are due Friday, April 23 at 5pm PT. We encourage submission earlier to allow time for us to follow up with any questions as needed. Fall 2022 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. Constitutional Law is a recommended, but not required, prerequisite. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYf7wyDl7Bo6Jykmmkg5orh4ycNgoh34TKqBRQWI1-IqCp6w/viewform?usp=sf_link Applications are due Friday, April 23 at 5pm PT. We encourage submission earlier to allow time for us to follow up with any questions as needed. Fall 2023 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. Constitutional Law is a recommended, but not required, prerequisite. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYf7wyDl7Bo6Jykmmkg5orh4ycNgoh34TKqBRQWI1-IqCp6w/viewform?usp=sf_link Applications are due April 7 at 5pm PT. We encourage submission earlier to allow time for us to follow up with any questions as needed. Fall 2024 Description: Over the past 15 years, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. The seminar is graded, and the practicum is CR/NC. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Fall 2025 Description: Over the past 15 years, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. The seminar is graded, and the practicum is CR/NC. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health, and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance, and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. |
| Law 226.9A State and Local Impact Litigation Practicum 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This course will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. As part of the practicum component to the state and local impact litigation seminar, students will complete small group research and writing assignments related to both potential and ongoing impact litigation in the City of Oakland and other city and state jurisdictions across the country. Students will work collaboratively with each other and with the course instructors in researching and drafting work product for use in policy-driven litigation. Written work product may include internal factual and legal analysis, pitch memos, and draft pleadings and briefing. These assignments will be used to inform strategic litigation decisions by the City of Oakland, Public Rights Project, and other state and municipal law offices. Erin Bernstein is a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). Ms. Bernstein previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/GjJgqiBtv2ePjGp99 . The deadline to submit an application for consideration is November 11th at 12PM Pacific Time. Fall 2020 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This course will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. As part of the practicum component to the state and local impact litigation seminar, students will complete small group research and writing assignments related to both potential and ongoing impact litigation in the City of Oakland and other city and state jurisdictions across the country. Students will work collaboratively with each other and with the course instructors in researching and drafting work product for use in policy-driven litigation. Written work product may include internal factual and legal analysis, pitch memos, and draft pleadings and briefing. These assignments will be used to inform strategic litigation decisions by the City of Oakland, Public Rights Project, and other state and municipal law offices. Erin Bernstein is a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). Ms. Bernstein previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/Cx12Q2dZttDC3HgQ6. Applications are due Friday, May 1 at 5pm PT. Fall 2021 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This course will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. As part of the practicum component to the state and local impact litigation seminar, students will complete small group research and writing assignments related to both potential and ongoing impact litigation in the City of Oakland and other city and state jurisdictions across the country. Students will work collaboratively with each other and with the course instructors in researching and drafting work product for use in policy-driven litigation. Written work product may include internal factual and legal analysis, pitch memos, and draft pleadings and briefing. These assignments will be used to inform strategic litigation decisions by the City of Oakland, Public Rights Project, and other state and municipal law offices. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). Ms. Bernstein previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYf7wyDl7Bo6Jykmmkg5orh4ycNgoh34TKqBRQWI1-IqCp6w/viewform?usp=sf_link. Applications are due Friday, April 23 at 5pm PT. We encourage submission earlier to allow time for us to follow up with any questions as needed. Fall 2022 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This course will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. As part of the practicum component to the state and local impact litigation seminar, students will complete small group research and writing assignments related to both potential and ongoing impact litigation in the City of Oakland and other city and state jurisdictions across the country. Students will work collaboratively with each other and with the course instructors in researching and drafting work product for use in policy-driven litigation. Written work product may include internal factual and legal analysis, pitch memos, and draft pleadings and briefing. These assignments will be used to inform strategic litigation decisions by the City of Oakland, Public Rights Project, and other state and municipal law offices. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYf7wyDl7Bo6Jykmmkg5orh4ycNgoh34TKqBRQWI1-IqCp6w/viewform?usp=sf_link Applications are due Friday, April 22 at 5pm PT. We encourage submission earlier to allow time for us to follow up with any questions as needed. Fall 2023 Description: Over the past decade, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This course will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. As part of the practicum component to the state and local impact litigation seminar, students will complete small group research and writing assignments related to both potential and ongoing impact litigation in the City of Oakland and other city and state jurisdictions across the country. Students will work collaboratively with each other and with the course instructors in researching and drafting work product for use in policy-driven litigation. Written work product may include internal factual and legal analysis, pitch memos, and draft pleadings and briefing. These assignments will be used to inform strategic litigation decisions by the City of Oakland, Public Rights Project, and other state and municipal law offices. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Interested students must apply to the course via this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYf7wyDl7Bo6Jykmmkg5orh4ycNgoh34TKqBRQWI1-IqCp6w/viewform?usp=sf_link Applications are due April 7 at 5pm PT. We encourage submission earlier to allow time for us to follow up with any questions as needed. Fall 2024 Description: Over the past 15 years, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a Plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. The seminar is graded, and the practicum is CR/NC. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Fall 2025 Description: Over the past 15 years, state and local governments have begun to proactively enforce their residents’ rights in areas as diverse as environmental justice, civil rights, immigration, reproductive freedom, and economic empowerment. This seminar will provide students with both a foundation in state and local government law and in complex/impact litigation. Students will learn about when, how, and why the government litigates as a plaintiff on behalf of itself and its residents, and how affirmative litigation by state and local government differs from litigation brought by private individuals and non-profit groups. Specific case studies will frame discussions about the role of cities and states in our federal system, the opportunities and risks posed by affirmative litigation, the relationship between affirmative litigation and policy-making, and the strategic considerations unique to government litigation. Classroom materials will combine academic, statutory, and case law materials with trial-court and appellate pleadings in selected cases brought by state and local governments. The practicum component of the course will provide an opportunity for students to apply the materials to real case examples from local governments across the country. The seminar is graded on the curve and the practicum is CR/NC. Erin Bernstein is a founder of Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP, where she represents municipalities across California in affirmative litigation and complex defense. Prior to founding BBS, Erin was a Supervising Deputy City Attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, heading the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit (CLCR). She previously served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, working as a litigator on that office’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team. She also served as the Executive Director of the office's Affirmative Litigation Task Force. Erin specializes in reproductive rights, First Amendment, public health and privacy-related cases, and has litigated issues including marriage equality, gender discrimination, public nuisance and abortion rights in both state and federal courts. Erin has been a regular guest lecturer for Yale Law School's popular San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) course, a lecturer at Berkeley Law School, and in the spring of 2016, joined the Yale Law School faculty as a Visiting Lecturer in Law. Jill Habig is the Founder and President of the Public Rights Project, an organization dedicated to empowering state and local governments to enforce the legal rights of their most vulnerable communities through affirmative litigation. Before founding PRP, Jill served as Special Counsel to then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, and was the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director for Harris’s Senate campaign. Her work has emphasized consumer fraud, health, education, human trafficking, and civil rights, including issues related to gender and LGBT rights. Jill was previously a Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and served on the Affirmative Litigation Task Force at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. |
| Law 227 Labor Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will focus on the law governing relations between employers and workers acting collectively through unions. Topics include employee and employer rights of freedom of speech and association in connection with union organizing, the processes of negotiation and dispute resolution used to establish wages and working conditions, and the various forms of litigation, lobbying, and alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration, that are used to enforce collective bargaining agreements and other statutory labor rights. We discuss governance and finance of labor organizations and the current controversy over public sector unions. This course does not overlap in coverage with Employment Law (individual employee rights) or Employment Discrimination (status-based discrimination). Spring 2021 Description: This course will focus on the law governing relations between employers and workers acting collectively through unions. Topics include employee and employer rights of freedom of speech and association in connection with union organizing, the processes of negotiation and dispute resolution used to establish wages and working conditions, and the various forms of litigation, lobbying, and alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration, that are used to enforce collective bargaining agreements and other statutory labor rights. We discuss governance and finance of labor organizations and the current controversy over public sector unions. This course does not overlap in coverage with Employment Law (individual employee rights) or Employment Discrimination (status-based discrimination). Spring 2022 Description: This course will focus on the law governing relations between employers and workers acting collectively through unions. Topics include employee and employer rights of freedom of speech and association in connection with union organizing, the processes of negotiation and dispute resolution used to establish wages and working conditions, and the various forms of litigation, lobbying, and alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration, that are used to enforce collective bargaining agreements and other statutory labor rights. We discuss governance and finance of labor organizations and the current controversy over public sector unions. This course does not overlap in coverage with Employment Law (individual employee rights) or Employment Discrimination (status-based discrimination). Spring 2023 Description: This course will focus on the law governing relations between employers and workers acting collectively through unions. Unlike most courses in law school, we focus on collective, rather than individual rights. Labor law regulates the collective rights of employees from the lowest end of the wage scale (e.g., janitors, grocery clerks, and home health aides) to the highest end (e.g., Hollywood talent and professional athletes). The law regulates the processes of negotiation and dispute resolution that labor unions and firms use to establish wages and working conditions. (Employment law, in contrast, refers to the statutory and common law regulation of the terms of employment, and Employment Discrimination refers to statutory prohibition on discrimination on the basis of various protected statuses.) We will cover the basics of federal labor law: the major rules governing union organizing; labor protest and work stoppages as tactics to organize workers and to resolve negotiating disputes; the governance and finance of labor organizations; and the structure and functions of the administrative agency that enforces federal labor law. We will also consider the larger question of the role of collective action by workers and management in the regulation of working conditions and alternative worker formations, including worker centers, immigrant rights groups, gig economy worker groups, and so forth. Spring 2025 Description: This course will focus on the law governing relations between employers and workers acting collectively through unions. Unlike most courses in law school, we focus on collective, rather than individual rights. Labor law regulates the collective rights of employees from the lowest end of the wage scale (e.g., janitors, grocery clerks, and home health aides) to the highest end (e.g., Hollywood talent and professional athletes). The law regulates the processes of negotiation and dispute resolution that labor unions and firms use to establish wages and working conditions. (Employment law, in contrast, refers to the statutory and common law regulation of the terms of employment, and Employment Discrimination refers to statutory prohibition on discrimination on the basis of various protected statuses.) We will cover the basics of federal labor law: the major rules governing union organizing; labor protest and work stoppages as tactics to organize workers and to resolve negotiating disputes; the governance and finance of labor organizations; and the structure and functions of the administrative agency that enforces federal labor law. We will also consider the larger question of the role of collective action by workers and management in the regulation of working conditions and alternative worker formations, including worker centers, immigrant rights groups, gig economy worker groups, and so forth. |
| Law 227.1 Labor and Employment Arbitration 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This class focuses on the practice of the historically important role of arbitration in labor and employment law. At the outset of the course, students will review several key cases dealing with basic arbitration principles in the fields of union and non-union employment. For the balance of the course, students will engage in case-presentation and writing exercises to develop skills for different aspects of arbitration proceedings; for example, opening and closing statements, procedural and evidence questions, decision-writing, and so on. In the final session of the course, students will work in teams to prepare and present a mock arbitration case before a professional arbitrator. The exercises used in this course have been developed, in part, for use in professional skill-building courses taught by the instructor for advocates and arbitrators. There is no prerequisite. Some students might find past or current study of courses such as Labor Law, Employment Law, and Evidence to be helpful, but they are not required. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. The instructor is Barry Winograd, an arbitrator and mediator since 1988 specializing in labor and employment cases, and a past president of the National Academy of Arbitrators. Previously, Mr. Winograd was an administrative law judge in the labor law field in the 1980's and a staff attorney with the United Farm Workers Union in the 1970's. He has served on the adjunct faculty at Berkeley Law since 1985, and at the University of Michigan Law School from 2004 to 2009. The course in 2021 is expected to be his final semester of teaching at Berkeley Law. Spring 2022 Description: This class, offered on a credit-no credit basis, is based on practical experience and simulation exercises, including, for the final class session, a mock arbitration hearing presented to professional arbitrators. The exercises are similar to those used in professional legal education programs developed by the instructors for advocates and arbitrators. Brief writing assignments also will be used to sharpen student skills. As background for the class, attention will be paid to the historically important role of arbitration in labor and employment law. This area of law has been the source of many principles governing all types of arbitration as it has evolved in the past 50 years. At the outset of the class, students will become acquainted with basic arbitration law and practice in the fields of union and non-union employment, including decisions reflecting the continuing debate over compelling arbitration of statutory discrimination claims for individuals. A few readings will cover key legal principles arising under the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, and the Federal Arbitration Act. There is no prerequisite for the course. Some students might find past or current study of courses such as Labor Law, Employment Law, and Evidence to be helpful, but they are not required. Two co-instructors will teach the course. One is Barry Winograd. He has maintained a dispute resolution practice since 1988 as an arbitrator and mediator of labor and employment cases, as well as business and other civil disputes. He is a past president of the National Academy of Arbitrators. Previously, Winograd served as an administrative law judge for the California Public Employment Relations Board and as an attorney for the United Farm Workers of America. He has been a lecturer at Berkeley Law since 1985, teaching courses on labor law, arbitration, and mediation. He also has taught on the adjunct law school faculty at the University of Michigan, and has written a number of articles in professional journals in the labor and employment field. The other instructor is Andrea Dooley. She began her arbitration practice in 2014 and works throughout California, Nevada, and Alaska. Prior to becoming an arbitrator, Arbitrator Dooley was in private practice, representing unions and trust funds in arbitrations and litigation, collective bargaining, and elections. She also practiced as management counsel to labor organizations and nonprofits. After leaving her practice, she led labor-management programs, participated in national contract bargaining and interest-based bargaining, designed and implemented occupational safety and health programs, and advised managers and leaders on operational and regulatory issues. Arbitrator Dooley is a Faculty Member with the Labor Arbitration Institute and is the author of The Beginner’s Guide to Labor Arbitration Practice. Spring 2023 Description: This class focuses on the historically important role of arbitration in labor and employment law. At the outset of the class students will become acquainted with basic arbitration law and practice in the fields of union and non-union employment, including decisions reflecting the continuing debate over compelling arbitration of statutory discrimination laws for individuals. A few readings will cover key legal principles arising under the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, and the Federal Arbitration Act. For the balance of the course, students will be assigned practice and simulation exercises, such as direct and cross examination and handling procedural and evidentiary issues. We will also have a mock arbitration hearing presented to professional arbitrators. The exercises are similar to those used in professional legal education programs developed by the instructors for advocates and arbitrators. Some of the topics will include brief writing assignments. There is no prerequisite for the course. Some students might find past or current study of courses such as labor law, employment law, and evidence to be helpful but they are not required. Arbitrator Andrea Dooley hears cases throughout California, Nevada, and Alaska. Arbitrator Dooley has broad experience with parties in the public and private sectors, including healthcare, education, higher education, building services, building trades, entertainment, shipping, transportation, and service industries. Arbitrator Dooley is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators. Prior to becoming an arbitrator, Arbitrator Dooley represented unions and trust funds and practiced as management counsel to labor organizations and nonprofits. Arbitrator Dooley has experience in labor-management partnerships, national contract negotiations, interest-based bargaining, and occupational safety and health. Arbitrator Dooley received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago and her JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she specialized in Labor and Employment Law. Arbitrator Dooley is the author of The Beginner’s Guide to Labor Arbitration Practice and The Labor Arbitration Career. Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 227.11 Employment Arbitration: Law and Practice 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This two-unit course, will study the law and practice governing mandatory employment arbitration proceedings affecting the statutory rights of millions of workers. Enrollment is limited to 20 students in Berkeley Law programs and other Berkeley graduate students. As a principal course objective, employment arbitration will be examined through a series of case and practice readings, in-class simulation exercises, and student writing assignments. Students will be assisted with an Arbitration Practice Guide and a set of Supplemental Readings prepared specially for this class. In the last class session, students will work in teams to present a case to professional arbitrators presiding at a hearing. Students also will hear from practitioners in the field offering insight about arbitration practice. For nearly 50 years, few subjects in U.S. civil law have been as contested as mandatory arbitration, also described as forced or compulsory arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), enacted in 1925 and originally intended to govern commercial and business disputes, is at the heart of continuing legal conflict. Individuals at work and in a wide variety of other everyday settings are subject to FAA-enforced contract terms. These terms require, as a condition of the relationship, submission of all disputes to arbitration instead of recourse to a judicial proceeding. No subject has been affected by the arbitration debate more than the employment relationship in the non-union workplace, in part because personal and business stakes are high, and in part because extra-judicial forces - business and advocacy groups - are well-organized and funded. The direction the law has taken has been affected by federal and state laws, arbitration rules promulgated by private organizations, and hundreds of appellate decisions and scholarly articles. In the Supreme Court’s recent 2021-22 term, it decided four employment arbitration cases under the FAA. A new federal law bans mandatory arbitration of claims alleging sexual assault and harassment. In the public realm, law students successfully organized against mandatory plans for law firm employees, and journalists have drawn attention to arbitration for newscasters, sports figures, and those working in the gig economy. The instructor has been an arbitrator and mediator of workplace and other civil disputes since 1988. For over 30 years, he has been on the adjunct faculty at Berkeley Law teaching labor law and arbitration. He also has taught on the adjunct law school faculty at the University of Michigan and, earlier this year, at the University of Pennsylvania. The instructor has served as president of the National Academy of Arbitrators, was a senior editor of a treatise on employment law and dispute resolution, has written articles for professional journals in the field, and has contributed to amicus filings on arbitration cases in the Supreme Court. Previously, he was an an administrative law judge for the California Public Employment Relations Board and an attorney for the United Farm Workers Union. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: - Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). - The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 227.12 Work, Unions, and Intersectional Inequality 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: How is the organization of work related to enduring inequalities in American society, and in turn, how might organized labor ameliorate (or exacerbate) those inequalities? This course focuses on labor unions, along with other types of worker organizations, and their relationship to systemic inequalities based on class, race, gender, nationality and immigration status, disability, and more. Over the semester, we will read theoretical, legal, and empirical scholarship on a range of topics, from markets and status-based discrimination, to the racialized and gendered exclusions of New Deal-era labor law, to historically-grounded reconceptualizations of the lost meaning of "civil rights," to empirical studies about labor unions' impact on inequality. Students will have the opportunity to shape the syllabus in some part based on their interests and to lead classroom discussion at least once during the semester. Assignments include several short reflection papers, as well as a final paper. |
| Law 227.2 Satisfaction in Law and Life 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Recent studies have found alarming high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and substance abuse among attorneys. Are lawyers doomed to be unhappy? Is there something about the profession -- or the people who choose to practice it -- that breeds unhappiness? Does the law school experience contribute to changing lawyers' mental health and behavioral habits for the worse? What can law students and lawyers do to foster their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their colleagues? This class will explore these questions using a variety of materials -- from scientific studies about mental health, to self-health guides drawing on the field of positive psychology, to works of popular culture exploring these themes. Among other sources, we will draw on the resources of Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, see https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ Spring 2021 Description: Recent studies have found alarming high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and substance abuse among attorneys. Are lawyers doomed to be unhappy? Is there something about the profession -- or the people who choose to practice it -- that breeds unhappiness? Does the law school experience contribute to changing lawyers' mental health and behavioral habits for the worse? What can law students and lawyers do to foster their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their colleagues? This class will explore these questions using a variety of materials -- from scientific studies about mental health, to self-health guides drawing on the field of positive psychology, to works of popular culture exploring these themes. Among other sources, we will draw on the resources of Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, see https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ Spring 2022 Description: Recent studies have found alarming high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and substance abuse among attorneys. Are lawyers doomed to be unhappy? Is there something about the profession -- or the people who choose to practice it -- that breeds unhappiness? Does the law school experience contribute to changing lawyers' mental health and behavioral habits for the worse? What can law students and lawyers do to foster their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their colleagues? This class will explore these questions using a variety of materials -- from scientific studies about mental health, to self-health guides drawing on the field of positive psychology, to works of popular culture exploring these themes. Spring 2023 Description: Recent studies have found alarming high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and substance abuse among attorneys. Are lawyers doomed to be unhappy? Is there something about the profession -- or the people who choose to practice it -- that breeds unhappiness? Does the law school experience contribute to changing lawyers' mental health and behavioral habits for the worse? What can law students and lawyers do to foster their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their colleagues? This class will explore these questions using a variety of materials -- from scientific studies about mental health, to self-health guides drawing on the field of positive psychology, to works of popular culture exploring these themes. Spring 2024 Description: Recent studies have found alarming high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and substance abuse among attorneys. Are lawyers doomed to be unhappy? Is there something about the profession -- or the people who choose to practice it -- that breeds unhappiness? Does the law school experience contribute to changing lawyers' mental health and behavioral habits for the worse? What can law students and lawyers do to foster their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their colleagues? This class will explore these questions using a variety of materials -- from scientific studies about mental health, to self-health guides drawing on the field of positive psychology, to works of popular culture exploring these themes. Spring 2025 Description: Recent studies have found alarming high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, and substance abuse among attorneys. Are lawyers doomed to be unhappy? Is there something about the profession -- or the people who choose to practice it -- that breeds unhappiness? Does the law school experience contribute to changing lawyers' mental health and behavioral habits for the worse? What can law students and lawyers do to foster their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their colleagues? This class will explore these questions using a variety of materials -- from scientific studies about mental health, to self-health guides drawing on the field of positive psychology, to works of popular culture exploring these themes. |
| Law 227.21 Employment Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course surveys the key federal and California laws that govern the workplace. The instructor will use a combination of lectures, guest speakers, and interactive hypotheticals to explore cutting-edge issues in employment law. Topics include who is an employee, emerging employment models in the gig economy, employment discrimination, disability law, employment status, privacy in the workplace, the future of class actions, the intersection between immigration status and employment, and wage and hour law. Students who take this class will have the ability to apply the law to issues that arise in the real world workplace. NOTE for 1Ls: This course will discuss contract and tort principles as those are part of the Employment Law history and case law, so this will require that 1Ls familiarize themselves with some of the basic principles of both areas of law. Fall 2020 Description: This is a survey of the law of work, focusing on the rights of individual employees. We cover common law and statutory regulation of employment termination and employee mobility, statutory regulation of wages, and working conditions, harassment, safety, privacy, leaves of absence, and compensation for illness and injury. The course will focus especially on the challenges of regulating work in the global economy in which compliance with legal requirements is unequally distributed across sectors. This course focuses on the rights of individual employees; it does not overlap with Labor Law (which covers the law of unions and collective representation) or Employment Discrimination (which covers status-based discrimination). Spring 2022 Description: This is a survey of the law of work, focusing on the rights of individual employees. We cover common law and statutory regulation of employment termination and employee mobility, statutory regulation of wages and working conditions, harassment, safety, privacy, leaves of absence, and compensation for illness and injury. The course will focus especially on the challenges of regulating work in the global economy in which compliance with legal requirements is unequally distributed across sectors. This course focuses on the rights of individual employees; it does not overlap with Labor Law (which covers the law of unions and collective representation) or Employment Discrimination (which covers status-based discrimination). Spring 2023 Description: This course surveys the key federal and California laws that govern the workplace. The instructor will use a combination of lectures, guest speakers, and interactive hypotheticals to explore cutting-edge issues in employment law. Topics include who is an employee, emerging employment models in the gig economy, employment discrimination, disability law, employment status, privacy in the workplace, the future of class actions, the intersection between immigration status and employment, and wage and hour law. Students who take this class will have the ability to apply the law to issues that arise in the real world workplace. |
| Law 227.22 Work Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This is a survey of the law of work, designed to introduce students to the many overlapping schemes for regulating the relationship between workers and employers. This course starts with the foundational question of who counts as an employee and an employer and why that matters; covers a host of issues related to job quality, such as the legal regulation of wages, time off, workplace safety and health, employee privacy, and job security; provides an overview of social insurance programs related to work, such as unemployment insurance, social security, and workers' compensation; and concludes with a discussion of work and how to regulate it in the "gig" economy. This course briefly introduces the topics of collective action by workers and unions and the prohibitions on discrimination in the workplace, but will not delve into them in detail. Students wanting to focus on those topics should take Labor Law and Employment Discrimination law, respectively. This course is designed to be useful to students who have an interest in working in the labor and employment field, whether they intend to represent workers, employers, or the government. It is also designed to be useful to students who expect to be an employee or an employer at some point in their lives, i.e. almost everyone who attends law school. Throughout the course, we will focus on the historical evolution of work law and the strategic actors who have reshaped it, the important public policy questions raised by how we regulate work, and how the regulation of work shapes and is shaped by broader societal inequalities, including class, race, gender, disability, immigration status and more. *Also, please note that there is topic overlap with the previously offered Employment Law. Students who have previously taken Employment Law should NOT enroll in Work Law, since it will cover largely the same material, just under a new name.* Spring 2025 Description: This is a survey of the law of work, designed to introduce students to the many overlapping schemes for regulating the relationship between workers and employers. This course starts with the foundational question of who counts as an employee and why that matters; covers a host of issues related to job quality and economic security, such as the legal regulation of wages, time off, workplace safety and health, termination, and more; provides an overview of social insurance programs related to work, such as unemployment insurance and workers' compensation; and concludes with a discussion of work and how to regulate it in the "gig" economy. This course also introduces the topics of collective action by workers and unions and the prohibitions on discrimination in the workplace, but will not delve into them thoroughly. Students wanting a deeper dive into those topics can take Labor Law and Employment Discrimination, respectively. This course is designed to be useful to students who have an interest in working in the labor and employment field, whether they intend to represent workers, employers, or the government. It is also designed to be useful to students who expect to be an employee or an employer at some point in their lives, i.e. almost everyone who attends law school. Throughout the course, we will focus on the historical evolution of work law and the strategic actors who have reshaped it, the important public policy questions raised by how we regulate work, and how the regulation of work shapes and is shaped by broader societal inequalities, including class, race, gender, disability, immigration status and more. *Also, please note that there is significant topic overlap with the previously offered course on Employment Law. Students who have previously taken Employment Law should NOT enroll in Work Law, since it will cover largely the same material, just under a new name.* |
| Law 227.25 California Employment Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: California is a thought-leader in innovative employee-protective work law. This course will show why. We will study both the substantive protections and the complex California-specific procedures for enforcing rights. The substantive protections include common law and statutory regulation of hiring and termination; worker privacy, autonomy, and data; whistleblowing; rights to bargain collectively, and minimum standards for wages, benefits, and working conditions. The procedures include sectoral bargaining, state and local government agency enforcement, and novel approaches to remedies. The course will focus especially on the challenges of regulating work in the contemporary economy, structured as it is by systemic inequalities and transformed by globalization, outsourcing, and technology. Among the practical and policy issues we will cover are: How should minimum labor standards be defined and enforced in a world in which many jobs can be moved to lower-wage markets, and conditions are suppressed by segmentation of the labor market on the basis of employee status, race, gender, immigration status, or other forms of marginalization? How has California sought to achieve legal compliance in a world in which employers have lawyers to help them minimize labor costs and workers are rarely represented by counsel? |
| Law 227.31 Employment, Social Policy, and the Pandemic 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will explore how American social welfare policies are tied to employment and what that has meant for economic security and inequality in the United States. We will examine new employment legislation related to Covid-19. We will study the structural challenges of the employment-linked social welfare system and what this has meant for economic security, and racial, gender, and class inequality in the economic downturn and pandemic. The goal will be to understand the failures of the system, especially for low-wage workers, single parents, undocumented workers, and those in nonstandard employment relationships. We will also discuss other countries' approach to similar issues and consider possible policy reforms. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 227.32 Current Issues in Work Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Due to the nature of the course, in person attendance is required and recording will not be available except as a disability accommodation. Work relationships are changing dramatically on account of technology, migration, business practices, and worker organizing, and the law of work is changing as well. This seminar will examine recent and upcoming developments in the law, with particular focus on workers who are vulnerable because of immigration or socioeconomic status, race, gender, or ethnicity. The seminar will feature guest speakers who are engaged in significant legal, policy, and organizing work addressing the most pressing work law issues of the day. The seminar may serve as an introduction to the field of work law for students with no prior experience, but will also interest students who have taken work law courses. |
| Law 227.8 Supreme Court Seminar 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This seminar examines the Supreme Court as an institution with emphasis on the ways in which the institutional forms and structures of the Court influence the decisions that the Court hands down. Topics studied include: appointments to the Court; the Court’s jurisdiction; the Court's procedures for determining which cases it will review; the internal deliberative processes of the Court; the role of the Government and other advocates before the Court; the role of the law clerks at the Court; the role of precedent; and proposals for increasing public access to the Court. Students will read the briefs and lower court opinions in constitutional law cases currently pending before the Supreme Court and debate the cases while role-playing the part of a Justice of the Supreme Court. Over the course of the semester, students will write a short certiorari pool memorandum; a short bench memorandum in a pending case; and majority and dissenting opinions in one of the pending cases covered in the class. This is an option one writing requirement course. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar examines the Supreme Court as an institution with emphasis on the ways in which the institutional forms and structures of the Court influence the decisions that the Court hands down. Topics studied include: appointments to the Court; the Court’s jurisdiction; the Court's procedures for determining which cases it will review; the internal deliberative processes of the Court; the role of the Government and other advocates before the Court; the role of the law clerks at the Court; the role of precedent; and proposals for increasing public access to the Court. Students will read the briefs and lower court opinions in constitutional law cases currently pending before the Supreme Court and debate the cases while role-playing the part of a Justice of the Supreme Court. Over the course of the semester, students will write a short certiorari pool memorandum; a short bench memorandum in a pending case; and majority and dissenting opinions in one of the pending cases covered in the class. This is an option one writing requirement course. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar examines the Supreme Court as an institution with emphasis on the ways in which the institutional forms and structures of the Court influence the decisions that the Court hands down. Topics studied include: appointments to the Court; the Court’s jurisdiction; the Court's procedures for determining which cases it will review; the internal deliberative processes of the Court; the role of the Government and other advocates before the Court; the role of the law clerks at the Court; the role of precedent; and proposals for increasing public access to the Court. Students will read the briefs and lower court opinions in constitutional law cases currently pending before the Supreme Court and debate the cases while role-playing the part of a Justice of the Supreme Court. Over the course of the semester, students will write a short certiorari pool memorandum; a short bench memorandum in a pending case; and majority and dissenting opinions in one of the pending cases covered in the class. This is an option one writing requirement course. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. |
| Law 227.81 Introduction to the Supreme Court for 1Ls 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This one unit class on the Supreme Court is designed to give 1Ls an introduction into how the Court functions, its current cases, and the debates surrounding its potential reform. Students will read scholarship and commentary about the Court as well as pending cases, and engage in a couple of written exercises that mimic what real Supreme Court law clerks undertake. Students will be evaluated based on their class participation and written exercises. |
| Law 227.82 Supreme Court October Term 2024 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This 1-unit class will invite students to read seven currently pending Supreme Court cases as an introduction to the Supreme Court as an institution with emphasis on the ways in which the institutional forms and structures of the Court influence the decisions that the Court hands down. Each week, students will be introduced to how the Court functions and they will discuss and debate one of the Court’s pending cases. The class will meet for seven weeks in two-hour sessions at the beginning of the semester. This is a pass/fail course. Course credit will be based on a combination of classroom participation and a writing assignment, which will entail drafting one seven-page bench memo setting forth your recommendation as to how a sitting justice should decide one of the pending cases we will read. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students. Failure of enrolled students to attend the first class without prior email notice to the Professor explaining the absence and receiving approval of the absence will result in the student being dropped from the course after the first class. |
| Law 227.9 California Wage and Hour Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Wage and hour law continues to dominate the employment law landscape in California. In this class, we will read the latest cases, discuss the most recent strategies (for both plaintiffs and defendants), and hear from the leading practitioners. This class will be as practical and hands-on as possible. We will use fact patterns to learn how to identify wage and hour violations in the real world. Syllabus Outline 1. Introduction to the course and the role of the class action device in wage and hour case 2. Overtime (OT) a. Exemptions b. Exceptions to Exemptions c. How OT works in CA 3. Compensable Time and Minimum Wage 4. Wage and hour trials 5. Substantive Areas a. Meal and Rest Periods b. Vacation Pay 6. Substantive Areas a. Business Expenses b. Wage Statements and Forms of Payment 7. PAGA, Arbitration and the Future of W/H Law Materials The materials will be mainly cases, supplemented with secondary sources. We will provide all of the materials to the students. Course-Specific Learning Outcomes Our goal is that students who take this course will be able to: 1. Comprehend both the fundamental tenets of and the cutting-edge trends in California wage and hour law; 2. Apply California wage and hour law to issues that arise in the modern workplace; 3. Formulate meaningful questions in response to specific factual scenarios in order to evaluate which wage and hour laws are implicated by a particular situation; and 4. Analyze the societal impacts of wage and hour law. Spring 2022 Description: Wage and hour law continues to dominate the employment law landscape in California. In this class, we will read the latest cases, discuss the most recent strategies (for both plaintiffs and defendants), and hear from the leading practitioners. This class will be as practical and hands-on as possible. We will use fact patterns to learn how to identify wage and hour violations in the real world. Syllabus Outline 1. Introduction to the course and the role of the class action device in wage and hour case 2. Overtime (OT) a. Exemptions b. Exceptions to Exemptions c. How OT works in CA 3. Compensable Time and Minimum Wage 4. Wage and hour trials 5. Substantive Areas a. Meal and Rest Periods b. Vacation Pay 6. Substantive Areas a. Business Expenses b. Wage Statements and Forms of Payment 7. PAGA, Arbitration and the Future of W/H Law Materials The materials will be mainly cases, supplemented with secondary sources. We will provide all of the materials to the students. Course-Specific Learning Outcomes Our goal is that students who take this course will be able to: 1. Comprehend both the fundamental tenets of and the cutting-edge trends in California wage and hour law; 2. Apply California wage and hour law to issues that arise in the modern workplace; 3. Formulate meaningful questions in response to specific factual scenarios in order to evaluate which wage and hour laws are implicated by a particular situation; and 4. Analyze the societal impacts of wage and hour law. |
| Law 230 Criminal Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Fall 2020 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Spring 2021 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Fall 2021 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Spring 2022 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Fall 2022 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Spring 2023 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Fall 2023 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Spring 2024 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Fall 2024 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Spring 2025 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. Fall 2025 Description: This course is an introduction to criminal law with primary emphasis on the general principles of criminal liability. |
| Law 230.2 Police Interrogations and Investigations: A Comparative Perspective 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: The early stages of criminal investigations are often outcome-determinative, and this is true across nations, societies, and types of criminal justice systems. This course takes a comparative approach to the early stages of criminal investigations with a particular emphasis on investigations and interrogations by police and prosecutors. The seminar will cover some aspects of U.S. law and practice. But we will spend more time examining developments in other nations and systems. We will begin with the context for criminal justice reforms, discussing the structure and function of governmental institutions, such as police, courts, prosecution and defense; regulation of police investigations; interrogation theory and practice; rates of crime; and various nations’ criminal justice priorities. This is a very interesting time to take a comparative approach. A number of countries in Latin America are moving from record-based forms of adjudication to oral trials. Japan adopted a lay judge system for certain serious cases, and is recording most interrogations. These reforms in the adjudicative process influence how investigations are conducted and evidence is collected. Decisions from the European Court of Human Rights, and directives from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, are prompting changes in nations’ laws and investigative procedures in much of Europe. Criminal justice systems provide a lens through which to examine various nations’ values, cultures, and institutions. A 12-18 page paper is required. First drafts of the paper are due March 18, and the final papers will be due May 10. Prior enrollment in Criminal Procedure-Investigations is suggested, but not required. Students with knowledge, experience or interest in other systems (including LL.M. students) are encouraged to enroll. Fall 2022 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: The early stages of criminal investigations are often outcome-determinative, and this is true across nations, societies, and types of criminal legal systems. This course takes a comparative approach to the early stages of criminal investigations with a particular emphasis on investigations and interrogations by police and prosecutors. The seminar will cover some aspects of U.S. law and practice. But we will spend more time examining developments in other nations and systems. We will begin with the context for criminal legal reforms, discussing the structure and function of governmental institutions, such as police, courts, prosecution and defense; regulation of police investigations; interrogation theory and practice; rates of crime; and various nations’ criminal legal priorities. This is a very interesting time to take a comparative approach. A number of countries in Latin America have moved from record-based forms of adjudication to oral trials. Japan adopted a lay judge system for certain serious cases, and is recording most interrogations. These reforms in the adjudicative process influence how investigations are conducted and evidence is collected. Decisions from the European Court of Human Rights, and directives from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, are prompting changes in nations’ laws and investigative procedures in much of Europe. Criminal justice systems provide a lens through which to examine various nations’ values, cultures, and institutions. A 12-18 page paper is required. First drafts of the paper are due October 16, and the final papers will be due December 7. Prior enrollment in Criminal Procedure-Investigations is suggested, but not required. Students with knowledge, experience or interest in other systems (including LL.M. students) are encouraged to enroll. |
| Law 230.9 Where Civil and Criminal Laws Collide 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The historically tight distinction between criminal and civil actions is dead. Most criminal actions, for example, include mandatory restitution, a civil remedy. Many civil actions, for example, include the possibility of punitive damages, a quasi-criminal sanction. And numerous federal statutes, such as the securities and racketeering laws, provide civil, regulatory,and criminal sanctions for the identical conduct. Indeed, most defendants charged with "white collar" crimes also face parallel regulatory actions and private civil actions, sometimes both state and federal. This course explores, from both practical and jurisprudential standpoints, the dilemmas and acute conflicts created by this interplay of civil, administrative, and criminal lawsuits, and suggests that judges, and lawyers, need to open their eyes to the new world where "civil" and "criminal" no longer describe what is going on in the courts. The teacher, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, is a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer, who has served 23 years as a federal district judge in the Southern District of New York. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and is a regular writer for the New York Review of Books. This class will meet: Thursday, March 12th at 6:25-9:25 pm, Friday, March 13th 10 am -12:00 pm and 3:10 pm- 5:10 pm Saturday, March 14th 9:30 am-12:30 pm and 2:10 pm-5:10 pm Spring 2021 Description: The historically tight distinction between criminal and civil actions is dead. Most criminal actions, for example, include mandatory restitution, a civil remedy. Many civil actions, for example, include the possibility of punitive damages, a quasi-criminal sanction. And numerous federal statutes, such as the securities and racketeering laws, provide civil, regulatory,and criminal sanctions for the identical conduct. Indeed, most defendants charged with "white collar" crimes also face parallel regulatory actions and private civil actions, sometimes both state and federal. This course explores, from both practical and jurisprudential standpoints, the dilemmas and acute conflicts created by this interplay of civil, administrative, and criminal lawsuits, and suggests that judges, and lawyers, need to open their eyes to the new world where "civil" and "criminal" no longer describe what is going on in the courts. The teacher, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, is a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer, who has served 25 years as a federal district judge in the Southern District of New York. He also serves as an adjunct professor at both Columbia Law School and NYU Law School, and is a regular writer for the New York Review of Books. This class will meet: Thursday, March 4th 6:25PM-9:15PM Friday, March 5th 10AM-12PM and 3:10PM-5:10PM Saturday, March 6h 9:30AM-12:30PM and 2:10PM-5:10PM Spring 2022 Description: The historically tight distinction between criminal and civil actions is dead. Most criminal actions, for example, include mandatory restitution, a civil remedy. Many civil actions, for example, include the possibility of punitive damages, a quasi-criminal sanction. And numerous federal statutes, such as the securities and racketeering laws, provide civil, regulatory, and criminal sanctions for the identical conduct. Indeed, as the recent reversal of Bill Cosby's criminal conviction illustrates, most defendants charged with "white collar" crimes also face parallel regulatory actions and private civil actions, sometimes both state and federal, with significant consequences. This course explores, from both practical and jurisprudential standpoints, the dilemmas and acute conflicts created by this interplay of civil, administrative, and criminal lawsuits, and suggests that judges, and lawyers, need to open their eyes to the new world where "civil" and "criminal" no longer describe what is going on in the courts. The teacher, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, is a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer, who has served 25 years as a federal district judge in the Southern District of New York. He also serves as an adjunct professor at both Columbia Law School and NYU Law School, and is a regular writer for the New York Review of Books. This class will meet: Thursday, February 24th 6:25PM-9:15PM Friday, February 25th 10AM-12PM and 3:10PM-5:10PM Saturday, February 26th 9:30AM-12:30PM and 2:10PM-5:10PM Spring 2023 Description: This is a course about how, in reality, civil and criminal laws, theoretically distinct, not only frequently overlap, but also sometimes collide, in their application to common legal disputes. For example, civil juries are routinely asked to award quasi-criminal punitive damages, while sentencing judges are frequently required to impose civil remedies such as restitution. Corporations can be indicted criminally even though they face only monetary sanctions, while individuals can be sent to jail for civil contempt of court or for civil violations of criminal probationary terms. Moreover, litigators frequently find that their clients' difficulties require them to defend criminal prosecutions, regulatory proceedings, and private actions all at once. And the Supreme Court, for its part, has found it impossible to clearly define when a proceeding is civil or criminal. In short, this is a course about how the law really works in practice, as opposed to theory. Spring 2024 Description: This is a course about how, in reality, civil and criminal laws, theoretically distinct, not only frequently overlap, but also sometimes collide, in their application to common legal disputes. For example, civil juries are routinely asked to award quasi-criminal punitive damages, while sentencing judges are frequently required to impose civil remedies such as restitution. Corporations can be indicted criminally even though they face only monetary sanctions, while individuals can be sent to jail for civil contempt of court or for civil violations of criminal probationary terms. Moreover, litigators frequently find that their clients' difficulties require them to defend criminal prosecutions, regulatory proceedings, and private actions all at once. And the Supreme Court, for its part, has found it impossible to clearly define when a proceeding is civil or criminal. In short, this is a course about how the law really works in practice, as opposed to theory. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: This is a course about how, in reality, civil and criminal laws, theoretically distinct, not only frequently overlap, but also sometimes collide, in their application to common legal disputes. For example, civil juries are routinely asked to award quasi-criminal punitive damages, while sentencing judges are frequently required to impose civil remedies such as restitution. Corporations can be indicted criminally even though they face only monetary sanctions, while individuals can be sent to jail for civil contempt of court or for civil violations of criminal probationary terms. Moreover, litigators frequently find that their clients' difficulties require them to defend criminal prosecutions, regulatory proceedings, and private actions all at once. And the Supreme Court, for its part, has found it impossible to clearly define when a proceeding is civil or criminal. In short, this is a course about how the law really works in practice, as opposed to theory. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 231 Criminal Procedure - Investigations 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course will examine criminal investigations and the constitutional law relating to police officers and lawyers. Topics include the role of prosecution and defense counsel, search and seizure, police interrogation, the exclusionary rule, grand juries, eyewitness identifications, and the assistance of counsel. In addition to doctrine, we will regularly discuss public policy and lawyering strategies. Students will be expected to attend class and participate in discussions throughout the semester. Students will be "on call" approximately every third week, and will be excused from "on call" obligations only if they notify the instructor in advance about a conflict, unavailability, or a circumstance that makes it unreasonable to expect them to participate. Students will be expected to make up any of these excused on-call obligations. Just like the big, big, big quiz held every July, there will be an in-class, closed book final exam. There will also be 2 open-book on-line quizzes during the semester. Fall 2020 Description: This course covers the law of criminal investigations, based primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Topics include the constitutional rules for searching homes, cars, and people; the law of arrests; stop and frisk; surveillance law and computer searches; the scope of the exclusionary rule; the law of police interrogations, including the framework provided by Miranda v. Arizona; the role of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; entrapment law; and the law of eyewitness identification. Students will be expected to attend class and to participate in discussions throughout the semester. Spring 2021 Description: This course covers the law of criminal investigations, based primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Topics include the constitutional rules for searching homes, cars, and people; the law of arrests; stop and frisk; surveillance law and computer searches; the scope of the exclusionary rule; the law of police interrogations, including the framework provided by Miranda v. Arizona; the role of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; entrapment law; and the law of eyewitness identification. Students will be expected to attend class and to participate in discussions throughout the semester. Fall 2021 Description: The course will examine criminal investigations and the constitutional law relating to police officers and lawyers. Topics include: the current structure and function of police, prosecutors and defense lawyers; the right to counsel; search and seizure; use of force; stop and frisk; police interrogation; the privilege against compelled self-incrimination; the exclusionary rule; and grand juries. We will explore public policy and lawyering strategies. We will discuss whether constitutional criminal procedure doctrines help or hinder efforts to regulate police and to check racism and police violence. We will also briefly consider civil rights doctrines, and the efficacy of civil lawsuits in regulating police. Students are expected to participate in class. Students will be "on call" periodically (with flexibility for those who cannot join on a particular day). The final will be a closed-book in-class exam. There will also be 2 required open-book on-line quizzes during the semester. Spring 2022 Description: This course covers the law of criminal investigations, based primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Topics include the constitutional rules for searching homes, cars, and people; the law of arrests; stop and frisk; surveillance law and computer searches; the scope of the exclusionary rule; the law of police interrogations, including the framework provided by Miranda v. Arizona; the role of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; entrapment law; and the law of eyewitness identification. Students will be expected to attend class and to participate in discussions throughout the semester. Fall 2022 Description: The course will examine constitutional law concerning criminal investigations. Topics include the role of prosecution and defense counsel, search and seizure, police interrogation, the exclusionary rule, eyewitness identifications, and the assistance of counsel. In addition to doctrine, we will regularly discuss public policy and lawyering strategies. A major theme of the course looks at how the Supreme Court's decisions have contributed to issues of race and policing in the United States. Students will be expected to attend class and participate in discussions throughout the semester. The grade will be based on a final examination. It will be an open-book, open-notes eight hour take-home exam that can be taken any time during the exam period. Spring 2023 Description: This course covers the law of criminal investigations, based primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Topics include the constitutional rules for searching homes, cars, and people; the law of arrests; stop and frisk; surveillance law and computer searches; the scope of the exclusionary rule; the law of police interrogations, including the framework provided by Miranda v. Arizona; the role of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; entrapment law; and the law of eyewitness identification. Students will be expected to participate in discussions throughout the semester. Fall 2023 Description: The course will examine the law (primarily, but not exclusively, constitutional law) governing criminal investigations. Topics may include: the current structure and function of police, prosecutors and defense lawyers; the right to counsel; search and seizure; use of force; stop and frisk; police interrogation; the privilege against compelled self-incrimination; the exclusionary rule; and grand juries. We will explore public policy and lawyering strategies. We will discuss whether constitutional criminal procedure doctrines help or hinder efforts to regulate police and to check racism and police violence. We will also briefly consider civil rights doctrines, and the efficacy of civil lawsuits in regulating police. Students are expected to participate in class. Students will be "on call" periodically (with flexibility for those who cannot join on a particular day). The final will be an open-book in-class exam. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the law of criminal investigations, based primarily on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Topics include the constitutional rules for searching homes, cars, and people; the law of arrests; stop and frisk; surveillance law and computer searches; the scope of the exclusionary rule; the law of police interrogations, including the framework provided by Miranda v. Arizona; the role of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; entrapment law; and the law of eyewitness identification. Students will be expected to participate in discussions throughout the semester. The final will be an open-book in-class exam. Fall 2024 Description: The course will examine criminal investigations and the constitutional law relating to police officers and lawyers. Topics include: the current structure and function of police, prosecutors and defense lawyers; the right to counsel; search and seizure; use of force; stop and frisk; police interrogation; the privilege against compelled self-incrimination; the exclusionary rule; and grand juries. We will explore public policy and lawyering strategies. We will discuss whether constitutional criminal procedure doctrines help or hinder efforts to regulate police and to check racism and police violence. We will also briefly consider civil rights doctrines and the efficacy of civil lawsuits in regulating police. Students are expected to participate in class. Students will be "on call" periodically (with flexibility for those who cannot join on a particular day). The final will be a closed-book in-class exam. There will also be several required open-book on-line quizzes during the semester. Spring 2025 Description: The course will examine criminal investigations and the constitutional law relating to police officers and lawyers. Topics include: the current structure and function of police, prosecutors and defense lawyers; the right to counsel; search and seizure; use of force; stop and frisk; police interrogation; the privilege against compelled self-incrimination; the exclusionary rule; and grand juries. We will explore public policy and lawyering strategies. We will discuss whether constitutional criminal procedure doctrines help or hinder efforts to regulate police and to check racism and police violence. We will also briefly consider civil rights doctrines and the efficacy of civil lawsuits in regulating police. Students are expected to participate in class. Students will be "on call" periodically (with flexibility for those who cannot join on a particular day). The final will be a closed-book in-class exam. There will also be several required open-book on-line quizzes during the semester. Fall 2025 Description: This course provides a close examination of the constitutional rules governing the government’s conduct of the investigatory stage of the criminal process including: searches of persons, places, and containers; the seizure of evidence and or people; and the collection of statements from suspects or eye-witnesses. Based in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution, constitutional criminal procedure is the most significant source of regulation over federal, state, and local law enforcement. We will assess the vitality of this now half-century-long effort led by the Supreme Court to protect constitutional rights of privacy, dignity, equality, and liberty without undermining public safety in an era of high crime rates. Current topics like police use of deadly force and the racially discriminatory practice of stop-and-frisk policing that sometimes precede fatal encounters will be discussed. The instructor will use lectures and Socratic dialog with students to bring out the leading arguments on both sides of the major doctrines. The class will regularly break into small groups to discuss the application of these principles to practice problems and to debate the policy implications of different rule options. |
| Law 231.1 Criminal Procedure - Adjudication 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is about how a criminal case advances through the court system. It covers charging decisions and grand jury; bail; right to counsel; right to jury; plea bargaining; discovery; pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings; double jeopardy; sentencing; habeas corpus; and appellate standards of review. We will concentrate primarily on federal law, with some coverage of state procedure. This class will be taught from a practitioner's vantage. To that end, we will spend substantial class time discussing practical application, including a mandatory but ungraded motion assignment. Note, Criminal Procedure-Investigations is not a prerequisite. Spring 2021 Description: This course is about how a criminal case advances through the court system. It covers charging decisions and grand jury; bail; right to counsel; right to jury; plea bargaining; discovery; pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings; double jeopardy; sentencing; habeas corpus; and appellate standards of review. We will concentrate primarily on federal law, with some coverage of state procedure. This class will be taught from a practitioner's vantage. To that end, we will spend substantial class time discussing practical application, including a mandatory but ungraded motion assignment. Note: Criminal Procedure-Investigations and Evidence are not prerequisites, and cover substantially different material. Also note: If you are taking Criminal Procedure primarily for bar exam purposes, and have to choose between taking Investigations or Adjudication, I would strongly suggest taking Investigations instead. Spring 2022 Description: The course aims to provide you with general knowledge and insights into the principles of American criminal procedure, focusing on the adjudicative process "from bail to jail." Our theoretical focus will be on the tension between the Crime Control model, which advocates swift determinations and final outcomes largely via a plea bargaining system, and the Due Process model, which advocates trial advocacy, cross examination, and opportunities for quality control. Through these models, we will examine various issues concerning adjudication and sentencing: bail, prosecutorial discretion in charging, preliminary hearings, grand juries, pretrial motions and discovery, joinder and severance, the right to a speedy trial, effective assistance of counsel, adversarial rights, the right to a jury, jury selection and deliberation, sentencing, crimmigration, double jeopardy, appeals, and habeas corpus. We will pay attention to Constitutional rights and limitations, as well as to Federal and California law, when applicable. The course is taught through a flipped classroom method. You will receive readings and prerecorded lecturettes. During class, we will focus on problem solving and simulations, including plea bargain negotiation, jury selection, closing and sentencing arguments, and motion practice. Learning Outcomes At the end of the semester you should be able to: 1. Describe bail mechanisms and assess whether a given decision to detain someone or release him/her on bail is constitutional 2. Explain the factors in, and constraints on, prosecutorial discretion in charging 3. Explain pretrial proceedings in California and Federal law, and assess whether a given defendant was treated constitutionally in a pretrial hearing or in a grand jury hearing 4. Explain the constitutional requirements of discovery and California practices regarding discovery, and assess whether the prosecution has complied with Brady requirements in a given scenario 5. Assess whether plea negotiations in a given case violated the constitution, and explain whether a given conviction obtained through a plea bargain can be attacked, directly or collaterally 6. Analyze possible violations of the right to a jury trial in a given case 7. Analyze possible violations of the right to confront witnesses in a given case 8. Describe the general sentencing scheme in a typical case under Federal law and under California law 9. Predict the immigration consequences of criminal convictions 10. Describe the appellate process and the Federal Habeas process 11. Assess which paths are open to a given defendant in terms of post-conviction remedies Spring 2023 Description: The course aims to provide you with general knowledge and insights into the principles of American criminal procedure, focusing on the adjudicative process "from bail to jail." Our theoretical focus will be on the tension between the Crime Control model, which advocates swift determinations and final outcomes largely via a plea bargaining system, and the Due Process model, which advocates trial advocacy, cross examination, and opportunities for quality control. Through these models, we will examine various issues concerning adjudication and sentencing: bail, prosecutorial discretion in charging, preliminary hearings, grand juries, pretrial motions and discovery, joinder and severance, the right to a speedy trial, effective assistance of counsel, adversarial rights, the right to a jury, jury selection and deliberation, sentencing, crimmigration, double jeopardy, appeals, and habeas corpus. We will pay attention to Constitutional rights and limitations, as well as to Federal and California law, when applicable. The course is taught through a flipped classroom method. You will receive readings and prerecorded lecturettes. During class, we will focus on problem solving and simulations, including plea bargain negotiation, jury selection, closing and sentencing arguments, and motion practice. While some of the course material in this class is covered on the Bar exam, those students planning to take only one Criminal Procedure course for Bar purposes should take Criminal Procedure - Investigations. Learning Outcomes At the end of the semester you should be able to: 1. Describe bail mechanisms and assess whether a given decision to detain someone or release him/her on bail is constitutional 2. Explain the factors in, and constraints on, prosecutorial discretion in charging 3. Explain pretrial proceedings in California and Federal law, and assess whether a given defendant was treated constitutionally in a pretrial hearing or in a grand jury hearing 4. Explain the constitutional requirements of discovery and California practices regarding discovery, and assess whether the prosecution has complied with Brady requirements in a given scenario 5. Assess whether plea negotiations in a given case violated the constitution, and explain whether a given conviction obtained through a plea bargain can be attacked, directly or collaterally 6. Analyze possible violations of the right to a jury trial in a given case 7. Analyze possible violations of the right to confront witnesses in a given case 8. Describe the general sentencing scheme in a typical case under Federal law and under California law 9. Predict the immigration consequences of criminal convictions 10. Describe the appellate process and the Federal Habeas process 11. Assess which paths are open to a given defendant in terms of post-conviction remedies Spring 2024 Description: This course is about how a criminal case advances through the court system. It covers charging decisions and grand jury; bail; right to counsel; right to jury; plea bargaining; discovery; pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings; double jeopardy; sentencing; habeas corpus; and appellate standards of review. We will concentrate primarily on federal law, with some coverage of state procedure. This class will be taught from a practitioner's vantage. To that end, we will spend substantial class time discussing practical application, including a mandatory but ungraded motion assignment. Note: Criminal Procedure-Investigations and Evidence are not prerequisites, and cover substantially different material. Also note: If you are taking Criminal Procedure primarily for bar exam purposes, and have to choose between taking Investigations or Adjudication, I would strongly suggest taking Investigations instead. Spring 2025 Description: This course explores the constitutional and statutory law governing the criminal adjudication process. It covers charging decisions and grand jury; bail; right to counsel; right to jury, including race- and sex-based peremptory strikes and the fair cross section requirement, and the Apprendi doctrine; plea bargaining; discovery; pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings; double jeopardy; sentencing; habeas corpus; and appellate standards of review. We will concentrate primarily on federal law, with some coverage of state procedure. This class will be taught from a practitioner's vantage. To that end, we will spend substantial class time discussing practical application, including a mandatory but ungraded motion assignment. Note: Criminal Procedure-Investigations and Evidence are not prerequisites, and cover substantially different material. Also note: If you are taking Criminal Procedure primarily for bar exam purposes, and have to choose between taking Investigations or Adjudication, I would strongly suggest taking Investigations instead. |
| Law 231.5 California Prisons and Discretionary Parole 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a one-unit course through which students learn a variety of practical legal skills while also learning how to advocate for indigent California prisoners. Students interact with prisoners' rights attorneys, prison experts, prison workers and people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. They also complete reading and writing assignments exposing them to the constantly-changing legal landscape of life inside California’s prison system. Students will develop skills in working with clients from diverse backgrounds; document review and synthesis; and counseling clients preparing for administrative proceedings. Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, as determined by class participation and completion of several writing assignments, which may include: legal counseling memoranda and reflection memoranda following prison tours and observations of parole consideration hearings. While not required, this course complements Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP), a student-initiated legal services project. P-CAP participants conduct in-depth, one-on-one meetings with clients housed at San Quentin and other prisons. They also interact with individuals and organizations in the community (e.g., family members of incarcerated persons, community service providers, etc.) to help clients develop residential, employment and after-care plans to address long-standing issues that contributed to past criminality. Students' P-CAP participation culminates in their appearance as certified law students representing clients appearing before the California parole board. Course Instructor Keith Wattley is the Founder and Executive Director of UnCommon Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides counseling and legal services to California prisoners serving life sentences. He is currently involved in a two-year Fellowship with the Obama Foundation, which is helping bring UnCommon Law's work to scale. Prior to launching UnCommon Law in 2006, Keith was a staff attorney at the Prison Law Office, a nonprofit law firm in Berkeley. He has represented thousands of prisoners in impact litigation and individual matters. He has also trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others in prisoner and parole advocacy. Keith supervises the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project at UC Berkeley School of Law and received the Law School's 2016 Kathi Pugh Award for Exceptional Mentorship. Spring 2021 Description: This is a one-unit course through which students learn a variety of practical legal skills while also learning how to advocate for people serving time in California prisons. Students interact with attorneys, experts, prison workers and people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. They also complete reading and writing assignments exposing them to the constantly-changing legal landscape of life inside California’s prison system. Students will develop skills in working with clients from diverse backgrounds; document review and synthesis; and counseling clients preparing for administrative proceedings. Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, as determined by class participation and completion of several writing assignments, which may include: legal counseling memoranda and reflection memoranda following prison tours and observations of parole consideration hearings. While not required, this course complements Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP), a student-initiated legal services project. P-CAP participants conduct in-depth, one-on-one meetings with clients housed at San Quentin and other prisons. They also interact with individuals and organizations in the community (e.g., family members of incarcerated persons, community service providers, etc.) to help clients develop residential, employment and after-care plans to address long-standing issues that contributed to past criminality. Students' P-CAP participation culminates in their appearance as certified law students representing clients appearing before the California parole board. This course will meet every other week on these dates: January 25th, February 8th, February 22nd, March 8th, April 5th, April 19th, and May 3rd. Course Instructor Keith Wattley is the Founder and Executive Director of UnCommon Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides counseling and legal services to people serving life sentences. He was an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and a current James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipient. Prior to launching UnCommon Law in 2006, Keith was a staff attorney at the Prison Law Office, a nonprofit law firm in Berkeley. He has represented thousands in impact litigation and individual matters. He has also trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others. Keith supervises the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project at UC Berkeley School of Law and received the Law School's 2016 Kathi Pugh Award for Exceptional Mentorship. Spring 2022 Description: This is a one-unit course through which students learn a variety of practical legal skills while also learning how to advocate for people serving time in California prisons. Students interact with attorneys, experts, prison workers and people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. They also complete reading and writing assignments exposing them to the constantly-changing legal landscape of life inside California’s prison system. Students will develop skills in working with clients from diverse backgrounds; document review and synthesis; and counseling clients preparing for administrative proceedings. Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, as determined by completion of several writing assignments, which may include: legal counseling memoranda and reflection memoranda following prison tours and observations of parole consideration hearings. While not required, this course complements Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP), a student-initiated legal services project. P-CAP participants conduct in-depth, one-on-one meetings with clients housed at San Quentin and other prisons. They also interact with individuals and organizations in the community (e.g., family members of incarcerated persons, community service providers, etc.) to help clients develop residential, employment and after-care plans to address long-standing issues that contributed to past criminality. Students' P-CAP participation culminates in their appearance as certified law students representing clients appearing before the California parole board. This course will meet roughly every other week from January through April. Course Instructor Keith Wattley is the Founder and Executive Director of UnCommon Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides counseling and legal services to people serving life sentences. He was an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and a current James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipient. He has represented thousands in impact litigation and individual matters. He has also trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others. For many years, Keith supervised the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project at Berkeley Law and received the Law School's 2016 Kathi Pugh Award for Exceptional Mentorship. Spring 2023 Description: In this course, students learn a variety of practical legal skills while also learning how to advocate for people serving time in California prisons. Students interact with attorneys, experts, prison workers and people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. They also complete reading and writing assignments exposing them to the constantly-changing legal landscape of life inside California’s prison system. Students will develop skills in working with clients from diverse backgrounds; document review and synthesis; and counseling clients preparing for administrative proceedings. Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, as determined by completion of several writing assignments, which may include: legal counseling memoranda and reflection memoranda following observations of parole consideration hearings. While not required, this course complements Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP), a student-initiated legal services project. P-CAP participants conduct in-depth, one-on-one meetings with clients housed at San Quentin and other prisons. They also interact with individuals and organizations in the community (e.g., family members of incarcerated persons, community service providers, etc.) to help clients develop residential, employment and after-care plans to address long-standing issues that contributed to past criminality. Students' P-CAP participation culminates in their appearance as certified law students representing clients appearing before the California parole board. This course will meet roughly every other week from January through April. Course Instructor Keith Wattley is the Founder and Executive Director of UnCommon Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides counseling and legal services to people serving life sentences. He was an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and a current James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipient. He has represented thousands in impact litigation and individual matters. He has also trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others. For many years, Keith supervised the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project at Berkeley Law and received the Law School's 2016 Kathi Pugh Award for Exceptional Mentorship. Spring 2024 Description: In this course, students learn a variety of practical legal skills while also learning how to advocate for people serving time in California prisons. Students interact with attorneys, experts, prison workers and people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. They also complete reading and writing assignments exposing them to the constantly-changing legal landscape of life inside California’s prison system. Students will develop skills in working with clients from diverse backgrounds; document review and synthesis; and counseling clients preparing for administrative proceedings. Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, as determined by completion of several writing assignments, which may include: legal counseling memoranda and reflection memoranda following observations of parole consideration hearings. While not required, this course complements Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP), a student-initiated legal services project. P-CAP participants conduct in-depth, one-on-one meetings with clients housed at San Quentin and other prisons. They also interact with individuals and organizations in the community (e.g., family members of incarcerated persons, community service providers, etc.) to help clients develop residential, employment and after-care plans to address long-standing issues that contributed to past criminality. Students' P-CAP participation culminates in their appearance as certified law students representing clients appearing before the California parole board. This course will meet roughly every other week from January through April. Course Instructor Keith Wattley is the Founder and Executive Director of UnCommon Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides trauma-informed counseling and legal services to people serving life sentences. He was an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and a recipient of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. He has represented thousands in impact litigation and individual matters. He has also trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others. For many years, Keith supervised the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project at Berkeley Law and received the Law School's 2016 Kathi Pugh Award for Exceptional Mentorship. |
| Law 231.51 People, Prisons and the Pandemic 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This seminar will focus upon the plight and treatment of individuals detained in prisons, jails and detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Potential topics may include COVID-19 and public health, and efforts by detainees, advocates, judges and officials to address the crisis, including through litigation, legislation, early release (such as parole, compassionate release, and home confinement), non-prosecution or diversion, bail, and implementing safety measures and medical care within institutions. We will adjust the course topics in light of conditions in Spring 2021. This is an Option 1 course with a paper of 12-18 pages. First drafts of the papers are due March 18. Final papers will be due May 10. Students will be encouraged to use their papers to explore any related topic that most interests them. |
| Law 232.11 When Technology Meets a Criminal Case 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: In today's world, technology is increasingly prevalent in the investigation and litigation of criminal cases. From location tracking information to facial recognition, from risk assessment tools used to set bail conditions to probabilistic genotyping software used to analyze DNA, among many others, technology permeates criminal cases from the start of an investigation to the conclusion of someone's sentence. This course will survey various technologies that are deployed during criminal cases and will confront the sorts of legal issues and challenges they present. Classes will be discussion-based and will focus on a different technology (or several) each week. Each student will give a short presentation (5-7 minutes) on a particular technology once during the course to help set the stage for our discussion. Grading will be based on a short final paper (6-8 pages) on a topic of the student's choosing, selected in consultation with the instructor. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 232.31 Beyond Law and Order: Criminal Justice in Film and Television 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course explores how criminal justice has been portrayed in, and affected by, film and television. The class will watch several iconic films and TV shows depicting some aspect of the criminal justice system. It will explore the legal, social, and professional ethical issues raised by the films, critique the films' constructions of crime and criminality, lawyering and judging, and legal process (with an emphasis on race, class, and gender), and - to develop students' cultural literacy -- explain the films' substantive contributions to legal discourse, law reform, and public perceptions of criminal justice. The class will meet every other week for 100 minutes, and a film or TV show will be the assigned viewing between classes. We may experiment with simultaneous dinner-time viewing sessions. Instructors have years of experience representing indigent clients in the criminal justice system, watching movies and TV, and eating dinner. This course meets every other Thursday for 7 sessions beginning August 27th. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 232.71 Police Use of Force in the 21st Century 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: High profile incidents like the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have put police conduct in the spotlight and created a wave of legal and policy reforms. In this course, we will examine the various legal responses and remedies to these incidents, including criminal prosecution, civil litigation, and administrative processes (internal affairs investigations/civilian oversight investigations/administrative discipline). This course will present a wide range of perspectives from civil rights lawyers, advocates for police accountability, and officers who have been involved in a shooting. Students will have the opportunity to go offsite to experience the use of force simulator used to train recruits and officers at the San Francisco Police Department Training Academy. The final evaluation will be an analysis of a model case from one or more of the perspectives presented. |
| Law 232.9 Crimmigration 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Over the last several years the fields of immigration law and criminal law have converged into what has become known as "crimmigration," a fusion that has been called a "new system of social control." "Crimmigration" is a phenomenon that relates both to the combining of techniques and targets of enforcement and to the conflation of the "immigrant" and the "criminal." We will examine how the system of "crimmigration" developed historically and how scholars assess its rise. We will study the role of rhetoric, including the use of the term "criminal alien," the way the term "illegal" - when used to modify "immigrants" - has become aligned with "criminal," and the linking of "immigrant" with "criminal." We will discuss the grounded consequences of this convergence, namely the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, the immigration offenses that are federally prosecuted, and the enforcement of crimmigration. And we will consider what might be strategic and ethical responses to this convergence. Students will be exposed to relevant doctrine and legal scholarship, as well as key writings from other fields. Immigration Law is not a prerequisite for this course. Course requirements will include a twelve-page research paper, in-class presentations, reflection papers, and active participation. Spring 2023 Description: Over the last several years the fields of immigration law and criminal law have converged into what has become known as "crimmigration," a fusion that has been called a "new system of social control." "Crimmigration" is a phenomenon that relates both to the combining of techniques and targets of enforcement and to the conflation of the "immigrant" and the "criminal." We will examine how the system of "crimmigration" developed historically and how to assess its rise. We will study the role of rhetoric, including the use of the term "criminal alien," the way the term "illegal" - when used to modify "immigrants" - has become aligned with "criminal," and the linking of "immigrant" with "criminal." We will discuss the grounded consequences of this convergence, namely the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, the immigration offenses that are federally prosecuted, and the enforcement of crimmigration. And we will consider what might be strategic and ethical responses to this convergence. This course is structured as a seminar, as an exploration of what has developed as a new field of scholarship, and, this year, as a new field of practice. This year we will hear from several recent graduates of Berkeley Law who have practiced in this space for a range of organizations and in an array of roles. These alums will share the different strategies they have deployed in their attempt to capture developments in this new field, and will address a broad array of subtopics covered by the term “crimmigration.” Your final research paper, which you will workshop with the class, will be another way you may explore particular subtopics of interest. Immigration Law is not a prerequisite to enroll in this class. Spring 2025 Description: Over the last several years the fields of immigration law and criminal law have converged into what has become known as "crimmigration," a fusion that has been called a "new system of social control." "Crimmigration" is a phenomenon that relates both to the combining of techniques and targets of enforcement and to the conflation of the "immigrant" and the "criminal." We will examine how the system of "crimmigration" developed historically and how to assess its rise. We will study the role of rhetoric, including the use of the term "criminal alien," the way the term "illegal" - when used to modify "immigrants" - has become aligned with "criminal," and the linking of "immigrant" with "criminal." We will discuss the grounded consequences of this convergence, namely the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, the immigration offenses that are federally prosecuted, and the enforcement of crimmigration. And we will consider what might be strategic and ethical responses to this convergence. This course is structured as a seminar, as an exploration of what has developed as a new field of scholarship, and as a new field of practice. This year we will hear from leading scholars and practitioners (including graduates of Berkeley Law) who have worked in this space for a range of organizations and in an array of roles. We may also hear from their clients. Our guests will share the different strategies they have deployed in their attempt to describe and combat developments in this new field, and will address a broad array of subtopics covered by the term “crimmigration.” Your final research paper, which you will workshop with the class, will be another way you may explore particular subtopics of interest. Immigration Law is not a prerequisite to enroll in this class. |
| Law 233 White Collar Crime 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course is an introduction to white collar criminal law and practice. It is designed to teach substantive legal issues and real‐world lawyering skills from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. We will explore a range of crimes, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, antitrust violations, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Students will reinforce their understanding of the black‐letter law through practical exercises based on realistic fact patterns. The exercises will include lawyering skills such as oral advocacy, presenting to Department of Justice supervisors, creating an investigative plan, and calculating sentences. Amy Craig is a partner at Ramsey & Ehrlich LLP, a small, trial-focused firm founded by two former federal prosecutors in Berkeley, California. Ms. Craig’s practice focuses on defending individuals in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also represented special board committees during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. She and her colleagues also represent indigent clients as Criminal Justice Act counsel in the Northern District of California. Ismail Ramsey is a veteran trial lawyer specializing in white collar and general criminal defense, as well as commercial litigation. He has more than twenty years of experience litigating and trying highly sensitive, complex criminal and civil cases. He has also represented numerous individuals, as well as boards of directors and special board committees, during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. Before co-founding Ramsey & Ehrlich in 2006, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, serving as a member of the White Collar Crime Section, as well as a founding member of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit. He also volunteers in his community, serving by mayoral appointment as a Commissioner on the City of Berkeley Police Review Commission. Fall 2021 Description: This course is an introduction to white collar criminal law and practice. It is designed to teach substantive legal issues and real‐world lawyering skills from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. We will explore a range of crimes, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, antitrust violations, trade secret theft, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Students will reinforce their understanding of the black‐letter law through practical exercises based on realistic fact patterns. The exercises will include lawyering skills such as oral advocacy, presenting to Department of Justice supervisors, creating an investigative plan, and calculating sentences. Amy Craig is a partner at Ramsey & Ehrlich LLP, a small, trial-focused firm founded by two former federal prosecutors in Berkeley, California. Ms. Craig’s practice focuses on defending individuals in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also represented special board committees during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. She and her colleagues also represent indigent clients as Criminal Justice Act counsel in the Northern District of California. Ismail Ramsey is a veteran trial lawyer specializing in white collar and general criminal defense, as well as commercial litigation. He has more than twenty years of experience litigating and trying highly sensitive, complex criminal and civil cases. He has also represented numerous individuals, as well as boards of directors and special board committees, during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. Before co-founding Ramsey & Ehrlich in 2006, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, serving as a member of the White Collar Crime Section, as well as a founding member of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit. He also volunteers in his community, serving by mayoral appointment as a Commissioner on the City of Berkeley Police Review Commission. Fall 2022 Description: This course is an introduction to white collar criminal law and practice. It is designed to teach substantive legal issues and real‐world lawyering skills from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. We will explore a range of crimes, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, antitrust violations, trade secret theft, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Students will reinforce their understanding of the black‐letter law through practical exercises based on realistic fact patterns. The exercises will include lawyering skills such as oral advocacy, presenting to Department of Justice supervisors, creating an investigative plan, and calculating sentences. Amy Craig is a partner at Ramsey & Ehrlich LLP, a small, trial-focused firm founded by two former federal prosecutors in Berkeley, California. Ms. Craig’s practice focuses on defending individuals in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also represented special board committees during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. She and her colleagues also represent indigent clients as Criminal Justice Act counsel in the Northern District of California. Ismail Ramsey is a veteran trial lawyer specializing in white collar and general criminal defense, as well as commercial litigation. He has more than twenty years of experience litigating and trying highly sensitive, complex criminal and civil cases. He has also represented numerous individuals, as well as boards of directors and special board committees, during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. Before co-founding Ramsey & Ehrlich in 2006, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, serving as a member of the White Collar Crime Section, as well as a founding member of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit. He also volunteers in his community, serving by mayoral appointment as a Commissioner on the City of Berkeley Police Accountability Board. Fall 2023 Description: This course is an introduction to white collar criminal law and practice. It is designed to teach substantive legal issues and real‐world lawyering skills from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. We will explore a range of crimes, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, antitrust violations, trade secret theft, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Students will reinforce their understanding of the black‐letter law through practical exercises based on realistic fact patterns. The exercises will include lawyering skills such as oral advocacy, presenting to Department of Justice supervisors, creating an investigative plan, and calculating sentences. Amy Craig is a partner at Ramsey & Ehrlich LLP, a small, trial-focused firm founded by two former federal prosecutors in Berkeley, California. Ms. Craig’s practice focuses on defending individuals in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also represented special board committees during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. She and her colleagues also represent indigent clients as Criminal Justice Act counsel in the Northern District of California. Hanni M. Fakhoury is a partner at Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP, a boutique litigation firm based in Oakland, California. Mr. Fakhoury represents individuals and companies in criminal prosecutions and other government investigations, and has handled every facet of high stakes, complex federal criminal matters, including pre-charge investigation, jury trial and appeal in a wide range of cases including tax, wire, bank and securities fraud, money laundering, export control violations and computer crimes. Before forming Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP, Hanni worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for close to a decade in San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego, and continues to represent indigent defendants as a member of the Northern District of California’s Criminal Justice Act panel. Fall 2024 Description: This course is an introduction to white collar criminal law and practice. It is designed to teach substantive legal issues and real‐world lawyering skills from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. We will explore a range of crimes, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, antitrust violations, trade secret theft, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Students will reinforce their understanding of the black‐letter law through practical exercises based on realistic fact patterns. The exercises will include lawyering skills such as oral advocacy, presenting to Department of Justice supervisors, creating an investigative plan, and calculating sentences. Amy Craig is a partner at Ehrlich & Craig LLP. Ms. Craig’s practice focuses on defending individuals in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also represented special board committees during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. She and her colleagues also represent indigent clients as Criminal Justice Act counsel in the Northern District of California. Hanni M. Fakhoury is a partner at Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP, a boutique litigation firm based in Oakland, California. Mr. Fakhoury represents individuals and companies in criminal prosecutions and other government investigations, and has handled every facet of high stakes, complex federal criminal matters, including pre-charge investigation, jury trial and appeal in a wide range of cases including tax, wire, bank and securities fraud, money laundering, export control violations and computer crimes. Before forming Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP, Hanni worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for close to a decade in San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego, and continues to represent indigent defendants as a member of the Northern District of California’s Criminal Justice Act panel. Fall 2025 Description: This course is an introduction to white-collar criminal law and practice. It is designed to teach substantive legal issues and real‐world lawyering skills from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. We will explore a range of crimes, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, antitrust violations, trade secret theft, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Students will reinforce their understanding of the black‐letter law through practical exercises based on realistic fact patterns. The exercises will include lawyering skills such as oral advocacy, presenting to Department of Justice supervisors, creating an investigative plan, and calculating sentences. Amy Craig is a partner at Ehrlich & Craig LLP. Ms. Craig’s practice focuses on defending individuals in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has also represented special board committees during company internal investigations into potential misconduct or malfeasance by corporate officers, directors, or other employees. She is a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the Northern District of California, representing indigent clients. Hanni M. Fakhoury is a partner at Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP, a boutique litigation firm based in Oakland, California. Mr. Fakhoury represents individuals and companies in criminal prosecutions and other government investigations, and has handled every facet of high stakes, complex federal criminal matters, including pre-charge investigation, jury trial and appeal in a wide range of cases including tax, wire, bank and securities fraud, money laundering, export control violations and computer crimes. Before forming Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP, Hanni worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for close to a decade in San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego, and continues to represent indigent defendants as a member of the Northern District of California’s Criminal Justice Act panel. |
| Law 233.1 Role of the Lawyer in Corporate Criminal Investigations 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: The practice of investigations is a growth area in the law. Investigations are the primary way government agencies and corporations establish whether wrongdoing has occurred, and whether policy changes are needed. While these investigations often occur outside the public domain, they are increasingly the subject of news coverage and public scrutiny. This course will explore how government agencies investigate corporations, and how those corporations respond -- including by investigating themselves. This course is structured to simulate an actual investigation, in which students practice the key components of an internal corporate investigation: presenting to a board of directors; planning a search for documents; interviewing witnesses; and convincing a government agency not to take action, despite the misdeeds their clients may have committed. Through this course, students will hone practical skills relevant to a range of practice areas. Students interested in criminal defense will learn the fundamentals of client-sensitive fact-finding. Students who wish to become prosecutors will better learn the tools of the prosecutorial and regulatory enforcement trades. Students interested in public policy will explore how government agencies, such as the Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, or Congress, can use investigations to bring about wider social change. Students who seek a career in transactional work will better understand the sometimes fraught dynamics between a corporate board, its committees, executive officers, and shareholders when prosecutors and regulators start asking the hard questions. Spring 2025 Description: The practice of investigations is a growth area in the law. Investigations are the primary way government agencies and corporations establish whether wrongdoing has occurred, and whether policy changes are needed. While these investigations often take place outside the public domain, they are increasingly the subject of news coverage and public scrutiny. This course will explore how government agencies investigate corporations, and how those corporations respond -- including by investigating themselves. This course is structured to simulate an actual investigation, in which students practice the key components of an internal corporate investigation: presenting to a board of directors; planning a search for documents; interviewing witnesses; and convincing a government agency not to take action, despite the misdeeds their client may have committed. Through this course, students will hone practical skills relevant to a range of practice areas. Students interested in criminal defense will learn the fundamentals of client-sensitive fact-finding. Students who wish to become prosecutors will better learn the tools of the prosecutorial and regulatory enforcement trades. Students interested in public policy will explore how government agencies, such as the Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, or Congress, can use investigations to bring about wider social change. Students who seek a career in transactional work will better understand the sometimes fraught dynamics between a corporate board, its committees, executive officers, and shareholders when prosecutors and regulators start asking the hard questions. |
| Law 234.1 The School-to-Prison Pipeline 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar will provide a broad survey of the origins, history, and disparate impact of the school-to-prison pipeline. Students will also have the opportunity to develop, debate, and practice advocacy skills to combat the pipeline. Students will be expected to think critically about the intersection of school discipline; racial, gender, and disability justice; juvenile justice; and policing through the lens of current events at schools in Alameda County, particularly in Oakland and Berkeley. Course materials will include documentaries, podcasts, policy reports, book chapters, government and non-profit websites, the California Education Code, and news articles about efforts to end the school-to-prison pipeline by removing police from schools, increasing the use of restorative justice, reframing "safety," and transforming the very structure of public schools, among other efforts. Students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge through small group projects by drafting legislation and participating in mock expulsion and IEP hearings. Students will also hear from guest speakers, potentially including community organizers and restorative justice facilitators. This course is taught by Oscar Lopez, Staff Attorney and Clinical Instructor with the Education Advocacy Clinic at EBCLC. Professor Lopez represents young people caught at the intersection of the juvenile justice and school discipline systems in Alameda County. Professor Lopez also partners with local, state, and national organizers as part of larger systemic advocacy efforts. In lieu of a final assignment, students will be expected to submit brief weekly reflections on the week's course materials. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar will provide a broad survey of the origins, history, and disparate impact of the school-to-prison pipeline. Students will also have the opportunity to develop, debate, and practice advocacy skills to combat the pipeline. Students will be expected to think critically about the intersection of school discipline; racial, gender, and disability justice; juvenile justice; and policing through the lens of current events at schools in Alameda County, particularly in Oakland and Berkeley. Course materials will include documentaries, podcasts, policy reports, book chapters, government and non-profit websites, the California Education Code, caselaw, and news articles. Topics include general efforts to end the school-to-prison pipeline, the removal of police from schools, increasing the use of restorative justice, reimagining "safety," and transforming the very structure of public schools. Students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge through small group projects and mock expulsion and IEP hearings. Students will also hear from guest speakers, potentially including community organizers and restorative justice facilitators. This course is taught by Oscar Lopez, Interim Director and Clinical Supervisor with the Education Advocacy Clinic at EBCLC. Professor Lopez represents young people caught at the intersection of the juvenile justice and school discipline systems in Alameda County. Professor Lopez also partners with local, state, and national organizers as part of larger systemic advocacy efforts. Students will be expected to submit a 3-page mid-semester reflection paper and an 8-page final paper. Spring 2023 Description: Students in this seminar will learn about multiple pathways in the “school to prison pipeline,” the significant impact on young people and young adults who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color, and opportunities for community advocacy and systemic reform in California’s public schools. Racial discrimination has permeated California’s public education system since its inception. However, in the last 50 years alone, students of color have faced new, insidious forms of discrimination at school, particularly in the form of outright exclusion from class and campus. But families and communities have continually pushed back, identifying critical areas for reform and demanding change. Students will discuss and dissect various forms of school exclusion currently happening in California schools - suspension and expulsion, segregation of students with disabilities, threat assessments, transfer to alternative schools, school-based ticketing and arrests - and also learn from organizers and legal advocates about challenges and successes in transforming school funding, accountability, curriculum and culture to help young people who are BIPOC learn and thrive. The goal of this seminar is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the complex school to prison pipeline and to understand how legal advocates can support the movement for racial justice in public education. Assignments will include readings and a final reflection or policy paper. This course is taught by Atasi Uppal, Director and Clinical Supervisor with the Education Justice Clinic at EBCLC. Atasi represents young people impacted by the juvenile justice and school discipline systems in Alameda County. She has partnered for many years with state and national advocates and organizers to disrupt injustices in the public education and juvenile justice systems. |
| Law 234.2 Criminal Justice Reform 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: “In thinking specifically about the abolition of prisons, ...using the approach of abolition democracy, we would propose the creation of an array of social institutions that would begin to solve the problems that set people on the track to prison, thereby helping to render the prison obsolete.” -Angela Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003) This class investigates how criminal justice reform is changing as a result of the unprecedented Black Lives Matter movement. Just since June, some of the largest demonstrations in American history have issued calls for “defunding,” “shrinking” or even “abolishing” police and other institutions of criminal justice have joined the usual fray incremental policy improvements. This seminar aims to explore the shifting terrain of technocratic reform and abolition democracy across the various institutions that make up the criminal justice system. Some of the questions we will take up include: What makes some institutions reform worthy, and other one’s candidates for abolition? Given that the criminal justice system cannot change all at once, or disappear in an instant, when do reforms approach abolition? And when should reforms be resisted? Is it possible to be an abolitionist Public Defender? Prosecutor? Warden? Police Chief? Judge? To facilitate collaboration and discussion in the challenging terrain of Zoom, the instructor will make frequent use of short pre-recorded videos offering an overview of the weekly topic that will be available well before the class so that we can devote our time together to discussion. Watching these videos will be part of your assigned preparation and readings will be shortened accordingly. A short final paper (12-15 pages) that meets the Option 1 Writing Requirement will be due at the end of the final exam period. Fall 2022 Description: Today it is common to describe the form of legal punishment in the United States since the late 20th century as “mass incarceration”; but how did we get there and are the very visible social harms of that regime exceptions or expressions of fundamental flaws in the role punishment plays in modern society? This course provides tools to answer those questions by exploring the relationship between punishment, law and society, as well as efforts to abolish punishment, over the long arc of western legal history. The course will cover the major transformations of punishment and abolition since the birth of the prison at the end of the 18th century, right up to the birth of mass incarceration. It will also introduce students to theoretical work that can help untangle the historically and geographically diverse interrelationship between social change, legal reform, and penal practices including: the sociology of law, critical race theory, gender and sexuality theory, and political economy. The course is also designed to help students complete a major piece of research and writing (30 plus pages) for academic (journal article) or professional (strategic memo) purposes. Participants will choose a topic in discussion with Professor Simon related to change in penal laws, practices or abolitions thereof, going on today (or an historical example with contemporary resonance) and explain its significance (and policy implications) drawing on the histories or theories covered in the course or related materials. All students will receive comments on a graded rough draft (date and portion of grade to be determined) and be expected to participate in leading the discussion of specific assigned materials. Fall 2023 Description: Today it is common to describe the form of legal punishment in the United States since the late 20th century as “mass incarceration”; but how did we get there and are the very visible social harms of that regime exceptions to a history of progressive reform or evidence of fundamental flaws in the role punishment plays in modern society? While mass incarceration involved an unprecedented application of punitive power to society, and extraordinary concentration of that power on Black and Brown communities, it brought to bare a thousand years of punitive state building. This course explores the relationship between punishment, law and society, as well as efforts to abolish punishment, over the long arc of western legal history and the major technologies of power that have shaped it including sovereignty, discipline, eugenics, and racial profiling. The course will introduce students to theoretical work that can help untangle the historically and geographically diverse interrelationship between social change, legal reform, and penal practices including: the sociology of law, critical race theory, gender and sexuality theory, and political economy. The course is also designed to help students complete a major piece of research and writing (30 plus pages) for academic (journal article) or professional (strategic memo) purposes. Participants will choose a topic in discussion with Professor Simon related to change in penal laws, practices or abolitions thereof, going on today (or an historical example with contemporary resonance) and explain its significance (and policy implications) drawing on the histories or theories covered in the course or related materials. All students will receive comments on a graded rough draft (date and portion of grade to be determined) and be expected to participate in weekly discussions and present a preliminary report on their research during the semester. Fall 2024 Description: Today it is common to describe the form of legal punishment in the United States since the late 20th century as “mass incarceration”; but how did we get there and are the very visible social harms of that regime exceptions to a history of progressive reform or evidence of fundamental flaws in the role punishment plays in modern society? While mass incarceration involved an unprecedented application of punitive power to society, and extraordinary concentration of that power on Black and Brown communities, it brought to bear a thousand years of punitive state building. This course explores the relationship between punishment, law and society, as well as efforts to abolish punishment, over the long arc of Western legal history and the major technologies of power that have shaped it including sovereignty, discipline, eugenics, and racial profiling. The course will introduce students to theoretical work that can help untangle the historically and geographically diverse interrelationship between social change, legal reform, and penal practices including: the sociology of law, critical race theory, gender and sexuality theory, and political economy. The course is also designed to help students complete a major piece of research and writing (30 plus pages) for academic (journal article) or professional (strategic memo) purposes. Participants will choose a topic in discussion with Professor Simon related to change in penal laws, practices or abolitions thereof, going on today (or an historical example with contemporary resonance) and explain its significance (and policy implications) drawing on the histories or theories covered in the course or related materials. All students will receive comments on a graded rough draft (date and portion of grade to be determined) and be expected to participate in weekly discussions and present a preliminary report on their research during the semester. Fall 2025 Description: Today it is common to describe the form of legal punishment in the United States since the late 20th century as “mass incarceration”; but how did we get there and are the very visible social harms of that regime exceptions to a history of progressive reform or evidence of fundamental flaws in the role punishment plays in modern society? While mass incarceration involved an unprecedented application of punitive power to society, and extraordinary concentration of that power on Black and Brown communities, it brought to bear a thousand years of punitive state building. This course explores the relationship between punishment, law and society, as well as efforts to abolish punishment, over the long arc of Western legal history and the major technologies of power that have shaped it including sovereignty, discipline, eugenics, and racial profiling. The course will introduce students to theoretical work that can help untangle the historically and geographically diverse interrelationship between social change, legal reform, and penal practices including: the sociology of law, critical race theory, gender and sexuality theory, and political economy. The course is also designed to help students complete a major piece of research and writing (30 plus pages) for academic (journal article) purposes. By the end of the third week participants will propose a paper topic related to change in penal laws, practices or abolitions thereof, going on today (or a comparative or historical example ) and explain its significance (and policy implications) drawing on the histories or theories covered in the course or related materials. In the last three to four sessions, all students will present a 20-30 minute presentations of their work in progress and respond to questions and comments from the class. |
| Law 234.21 Dismantling Mass Incarceration 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This one-unit seminar provides students with both a broad survey of both the underlying causes and invidious effects of the exploding prison and jail population in the United States, as well as the potential costs and benefits of reforms targeted at this crisis. Students will study how generally well-intentioned but ultimately misguided efforts undertaken in the name of public safety have resulted in a 500% increase in the number of people incarcerated in the United States over the last forty years, as well as the creation of a growing, pervasive and racially disparate underclass ensnared by the direct and collateral consequences of these policies. Assigned reading materials will prepare students to analyze and discuss the myriad factors that contribute to the racial disparities in policing, charging and sentencing inherent in the criminal justice system. Students will think critically about the confluence of societal, economic and political trends underlying recent efforts at reform, as well as the viability of other potential strategies, especially vis-à-vis today’s polarized political climate. In addition, students will question and debate the role that advocates can play in increasing public awareness of, and working towards solutions to, the dire social, economic and political consequences of mass incarceration. ------------------------ Tony Cheng is the Director of the Youth Defender Clinic (YDC) at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), a community-based legal services clinic affiliated with Berkeley Law. Clinical law students in the YDC represent system-involved and at-risk youth in Alameda County in both juvenile delinquency proceedings and school discipline matters. Prior to joining EBCLC in 2018, Tony practiced as a public defender for twenty years, litigating cases in the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals, the federal district court for the Southern District of California, San Diego County Superior Court and, most recently, Alameda County Superior Court. In addition to trying nearly forty criminal jury trials to verdict during his public defender career, Tony is also certified by the National Juvenile Defender Center to train juvenile defenders and has contributed to training and educational materials published by the Pacific Juvenile Defense Center. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar provides students with a broad survey of both the underlying causes and invidious effects of the exploding prison and jail population in the United States, as well as the potential costs and benefits of reforms targeted specifically at this crisis. Students will study how generally well-intentioned but ultimately misguided efforts undertaken in the name of public safety have resulted in a 500% increase in the number of people incarcerated in the United States over the last forty years, as well as the creation of a growing, pervasive and racially segregated underclass ensnared by the direct and collateral consequences of these policies. Assigned reading materials will prepare students to analyze and discuss the myriad factors that contribute to the racial disparities in policing, charging and sentencing that result in the structural racism endemic in our criminal justice system. Students will think critically about the confluence of societal, economic and political trends underlying recent efforts at reform, and debate the viability of other potential strategies, especially vis-à-vis today’s polarized political climate. In addition, students will examine and question the role that advocates can play in increasing public awareness of, and working towards solutions to, the dire social, economic and political consequences of mass incarceration. ------------------------ Tony Cheng is the Director of the Youth Defender Clinic (YDC) at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), the community-based legal services clinic affiliated with Berkeley Law. Clinical law students in YDC represent system-involved and system-adjacent youth in Alameda County in both juvenile delinquency proceedings and school discipline matters. Prior to joining EBCLC in 2018, Tony practiced as a public defender for twenty years, litigating cases in the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals, the federal district court for the Southern District of California, San Diego County Superior Court and, most recently, Alameda County Superior Court. In addition to trying nearly forty criminal jury trials to verdict during his public defender career, Tony is also certified by the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) to train juvenile defenders and serves as CFO on the board of directors for the Pacific Juvenile Defense Center (PJDC). Spring 2022 Description: This seminar provides students with a broad survey of both the underlying causes and invidious effects of the exploding prison and jail population in the United States, as well as the potential costs and benefits of reforms targeted specifically at this crisis. Students will study how sometimes well-intentioned, but ultimately misguided, efforts undertaken in the name of public safety have resulted in a 500% increase in the number of people incarcerated in the United States over the last forty years, as well as the creation of a growing, pervasive and racially segregated underclass ensnared by the direct and collateral consequences of these policies. Assigned reading materials will prepare students to analyze and discuss the myriad factors that contribute to racial disparities in policing, charging and sentencing that result in the structural racism endemic in our criminal justice system. Students will think critically about the confluence of societal, economic and political trends underlying recent efforts at reform, and debate the viability of other potential strategies, especially vis-à-vis today’s polarized political climate. In addition, students will examine and question the role that advocates can play in increasing public awareness of, and working towards solutions to, the dire social, economic and political consequences of mass incarceration. ------------------------ Tony Cheng is the former Director of the Youth Defender Clinic (YDC) at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), a community-based legal services clinic affiliated with Berkeley Law. Prior to joining EBCLC in 2018, Tony practiced as a public defender for twenty years, in both federal and state trial and appellate courts in San Diego and in the Bay Area. In addition to having tried nearly forty criminal jury trials to verdict as a public defender, Tony is also certified as a trainer for juvenile defenders by the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) and serves as CFO on the board of directors for the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center (PJDC). Spring 2023 Description: Despite substantial empirical evidence that large-scale incarceration is an ineffective means of protecting public safety, widespread changes in criminal law and policy over the past several decades have been largely responsible for a 500% increase in the number of people incarcerated in the United States over the last forty years. As a result of these trends, the United States now incarcerates a larger share of its population than any other country in the world. Further, at 2.3 million people, the United States also houses the world’s largest overall incarcerated population, despite only having just over 4% of the world’s total population. This one-unit seminar will provide students a broad survey of both the underlying causes and invidious effects of the exploding prison and jail population in the United States, as well as the opportunity to study and debate potential reforms targeted at this crisis. From the war on drugs to the Balkanization of criminal justice reform, students will study how misguided efforts undertaken in the name of public safety have instead resulted in widespread unintended social consequences, as well as the creation of a growing and pervasive underclass, disproportionately comprised of people of color, ensnared by the direct and collateral consequences of the criminal justice system. Tony Cheng is the Associate Director for Global Programs at the UC Hastings College of Law and the former Director of the Youth Defender Clinic (YDC) at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). Prior to joining EBCLC, Tony practiced as a public defender for twenty years, litigating cases in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the federal district court for the Southern District of California, the California Court of Appeal, the San Diego County Superior Court and the Alameda County Superior Court. In addition to nearly a decade of experience as a juvenile defender, Tony has also tried almost forty criminal jury trials to verdict during his career. Tony serves on the board of directors of the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center (PJDC) and is certified by the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) as a juvenile defense trainer. Tony has authored training and educational materials published by PJDC and has presented at the NJDC Leadership Summit and the Practising Law Institute. Tony is a graduate of the UC Davis School of Law (King Hall), where he served as chair of the Moot Court Board and graduated from the school’s Public Interest Law Program. |
| Law 234.22 Dismantling the Carceral State 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar will explore the role of law in constructing and maintaining the carceral state, and the transformative potential and inherent limits of law as a means of abolishing the prison industrial complex. We will analyze these issues using an abolitionist framework, and though there are a number of movements that refer to themselves as abolitionist and that are working to dismantle a wide range of interrelated oppressive systems (including, but not limited to, sexual violence, patriarchy, capitalism, heteronormativity, ableism, imperialism, and militarism), this course will focus specifically on the movement to abolish the prison industrial complex. While abolitionists often resist closed definitions, we will ground our examination in three core tenets that are common to formulations of abolitionist philosophy: 1) The modern prison industrial complex can be traced back to chattel slavery and the racist regimes it relied on and sustained, 2) the criminal punishment system functions to oppress Black people and other politically marginalized groups in order to maintain racial hierarchy, and 3) we can imagine and build a more humane and just society that no longer defaults to violence and cages to solve social problems. Specific questions we will consider include: How does the law enable the anti-Black violence that is central to racial hierarchy? What is the role of economic exploitation in maintaining the carceral state? What might community safety look like in a world without police, prosecutors, and prisons? Finally, we will explore how law students and lawyers might operationalize abolitionist principles in their education and practice. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 234.9 Election Law Practicum Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In the Election Law seminar and practicum, students will be working on cutting-edge voting rights projects in California through a collaboration with the ACLU of Northern California voting rights attorneys. In the seminar component, students will learn about election law and policy, with an emphasis on 1) California state and local elections and 2) how voting laws affect power and representation of historically marginalized communities. The seminar will expand upon topics covered in Election Law, Legislation and Statutory Interpretation, and Administrative Law. These classes are not prerequisites for the seminar. In the practicum, students will have the opportunity to put theory into practice by advocating for election law reform in the state legislature, evaluating recent voting rights reforms, developing toolkits for better implementation, monitoring elections, or engaging in litigation to enforce voting rights. Students will join working groups focused on specific topics. Each working group will have 2-3 students and 1-2 supervising attorneys that will include staff from the ACLU and the co-seminar instructor, Bertrall Ross. Working groups will meet in person or by phone every other week. Students should e-mail assignment updates or written work product to supervising attorneys at least 24 hours in advance of each meeting. During working group meetings, students will present their work and supervising attorneys will give feedback, project updates, and new assignments. Potential topics for working group assignments will include districting and redistricting, voter registration, and election monitoring The seminar will be 2 units and will meet one day a week for 110 minutes. The practicum will 2 experiential units and will require 8 hours of work per week that will be scheduled and arranged with the student's working group. Students must enroll in both. This class will be enrollment by application. Please send to Bertrall Ross (bertrallr@berkeley.edu) your resume and a 1-2 paragraph explanation of the reason why you would like to take the course that can include your interest in election law, any future career plans in the area broadly defined, desire for public interest litigation and advocacy experience, or interest in working with public interest lawyers. Applications are due on November 1, 2019. |
| Law 234.9A Election Law Practicum 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In the Election Law seminar and practicum, students will be working on cutting-edge voting rights projects in California through a collaboration with the ACLU of Northern California voting rights attorneys. In the seminar component, students will learn about election law and policy, with an emphasis on 1) California state and local elections and 2) how voting laws affect power and representation of historically marginalized communities. The seminar will expand upon topics covered in Election Law, Legislation and Statutory Interpretation, and Administrative Law. These classes are not prerequisites for the seminar. In the practicum, students will have the opportunity to put theory into practice by advocating for election law reform in the state legislature, evaluating recent voting rights reforms, developing toolkits for better implementation, monitoring elections, or engaging in litigation to enforce voting rights. Students will join working groups focused on specific topics. Each working group will have 2-3 students and 1-2 supervising attorneys that will include staff from the ACLU and the co-seminar instructor, Bertrall Ross. Working groups will meet in person or by phone every other week. Students should e-mail assignment updates or written work product to supervising attorneys at least 24 hours in advance of each meeting. During working group meetings, students will present their work and supervising attorneys will give feedback, project updates, and new assignments. Potential topics for working group assignments will include districting and redistricting, voter registration, and election monitoring The seminar will be 2 units and will meet one day a week for 110 minutes. The practicum will 2 experiential units and will require 8 hours of work per week that will be scheduled and arranged with the student's working group. Students must enroll in both. This class will be enrollment by application. Please send to Bertrall Ross (bertrallr@berkeley.edu) your resume and a 1-2 paragraph explanation of the reason why you would like to take the course that can include your interest in election law, any future career plans in the area broadly defined, desire for public interest litigation and advocacy experience, or interest in working with public interest lawyers. Applications are due on November 1, 2019. |
| Law 235.32 Youth Justice Law, Practice and Policy 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course will provide an overview of the philosophy, objectives and evolution of the youth justice system, with an emphasis on examining current issues from a practice and policy perspective. These issues will include the integration of adolescent development principles into youth justice policy, the goals and best practices in juvenile “disposition” (sentencing), the presence of pervasive racial and ethnic disparities, the school to prison pipeline, whether to “raise the age” of juvenile court jurisdiction, and the transfer of youth to the adult criminal system. While the course will examine national trends, there will be focused examination of reform policies California has adopted and rejected in recent years, as well as reforms the State is considering adopting in the near future. Both doctrinal study and practice exercises will be employed to allow students to gain an understanding of the system as it exists today as well as how to work toward system reform as a defense attorney, prosecutor, policy advocate, or as a pro bono practitioner. Jonathan Laba, a 1996 graduate of Berkeley Law, currently supervises the juvenile unit in the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office. For most of his career, Jonathan has augmented his “day job” as an adult public defense trial and managing attorney with extensive youth justice policy advocacy efforts, including legislative and amicus work, training of juvenile defenders across the state, and engagement with community-based youth justice organizations. Having taught the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar for the past decade at Berkeley Law, Jonathan is excited to develop and teach this course geared to introducing students to both the theoretical underpinnings of the juvenile legal system as well as how to engage with, and improve, the system as a lawyer and advocate. Fall 2023 Description: This course will provide an overview of the philosophy, objectives and evolution of the youth justice system, with an emphasis on examining current issues from a practice and policy perspective. These issues will include the integration of adolescent development principles into youth justice policy, the goals and best practices in juvenile “disposition” (sentencing), the presence of pervasive racial and ethnic disparities, the school to prison pipeline, whether to “raise the age” of juvenile court jurisdiction, and the transfer of youth to the adult criminal system. While the course will examine national trends, there will be focused examination of reform policies California has adopted and rejected in recent years, as well as reforms the State is considering adopting in the near future. Both doctrinal study and practice exercises will be employed to allow students to gain an understanding of the system as it exists today as well as how to work toward system reform as a defense attorney, prosecutor, policy advocate, or as a pro bono practitioner. Jonathan Laba, a 1996 graduate of Berkeley Law, currently supervises the juvenile unit in the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office. For most of his career, Jonathan has augmented his “day job” as an adult public defense trial and managing attorney with extensive youth justice policy advocacy efforts, including legislative and amicus work, training of juvenile defenders across the state, and engagement with community-based youth justice organizations. After teaching the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar for a decade at Berkeley Law, Jonathan was excited to co-develop and co-teach this course with Laura Ridolfi for the first time in fall 2022, aiming to introduce students to both the theoretical underpinnings of the juvenile legal system as well as how to engage with, and improve, the system as a lawyer and advocate. Laura Ridolfi, a 2005 graduate of Berkeley Law, is a Racial Justice and Well-Being Strategist with the W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI). Laura has over fifteen years of experience at BI challenging racial hierarchies in the administration of justice. Laura works at the local, state and national level changing policy and practice to promote equity and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. Laura partners with community-rooted organizations and advocacy groups on policy change in California that invest resources into community alternatives to the legal system and reduce the harms of system involvement on the lives of people of color. The direction of Laura’s policy work is guided by those closest to the harms of the legal system and centers the voice and experience of directly impacted youth and families. The policy advocacy has resulted in numerous changes in California law. Laura advocates for democratizing youth justice data and promoting data transparency in service of system change and promoting equity. She is the author of numerous BI reports that highlight inequities in the criminal legal system and advocate for change. Prior to joining Burns Institute, Laura worked for several youth and criminal justice organizations and was a Fulbright Fellow in Kenya, where she studied the youth justice system. Fall 2024 Description: This course will provide an overview of the philosophy, objectives and evolution of the youth justice system, with an emphasis on examining current issues from a practice and policy perspective. These issues will include the integration of adolescent development principles into youth justice policy, the goals and best practices in juvenile “disposition” (sentencing), the presence of pervasive racial and ethnic disparities, the school-to-prison pipeline, whether to “raise the age” of juvenile court jurisdiction, and the transfer of youth to the adult criminal system. The course will examine the role and impact of racism, bias, discrimination, power and privilege in youth justice and reflect on strategies used by lawyers and advocates to challenge structural inequity. While the course will examine national trends, there will be focused examination of reform policies California has adopted and rejected in recent years, as well as reforms the State is considering adopting in the near future. Both doctrinal study and practice exercises will be employed to allow students to gain an understanding of the system as it exists today as well as how to work toward system reform as a defense attorney, prosecutor, policy advocate, or a pro bono practitioner. Jonathan Laba, a 1996 graduate of Berkeley Law, currently supervises the juvenile unit in the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office. For most of his career, Jonathan has augmented his “day job” as an adult public defense trial and managing attorney with extensive youth justice policy advocacy efforts, including legislative and amicus work, training of juvenile defenders across the state, and engagement with community-based youth justice organizations. After teaching the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar for a decade at Berkeley Law, Jonathan was excited to co-develop and co-teach this course with Laura Ridolfi for the first time in fall 2022, aiming to introduce students to both the theoretical underpinnings of the juvenile legal system as well as how to engage with, and improve, the system as a lawyer and advocate. Laura Ridolfi, a 2005 graduate of Berkeley Law, is a Racial Justice and Well-Being Strategist with the W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI). Laura has over fifteen years of experience at BI challenging racial hierarchies in the administration of justice. Laura works at the local, state and national level changing policy and practice to promote equity and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. Laura partners with community-rooted organizations and advocacy groups on policy change in California that invest resources into community alternatives to the legal system and reduce the harms of system involvement on the lives of people of color. Laura advocates for democratizing youth justice data and promoting data transparency in service of system change and promoting equity. She is the author of numerous BI reports that highlight inequities in the criminal legal system and advocate for change. Fall 2025 Description: This course will provide an overview of the philosophy, objectives, and evolution of the youth justice system, with an emphasis on examining current issues from a practice and policy perspective. These issues will include the integration of adolescent development principles into youth justice policy, the goals and best practices in juvenile “disposition” (sentencing), the presence of pervasive racial and ethnic disparities, the school-to-prison pipeline, whether to “raise the age” of juvenile court jurisdiction, and the transfer of youth to the adult criminal system. The course will examine the role and impact of racism, bias, discrimination, power, and privilege in youth justice and reflect on strategies used by lawyers and advocates to challenge structural inequity. While the course will examine national trends, there will be focused examination of reform policies California has adopted and rejected in recent years, as well as reforms the State is considering adopting in the near future. Both doctrinal study and practice exercises will be employed to allow students to gain an understanding of the system as it exists today as well as how to work toward system reform as a defense attorney, prosecutor, policy advocate, or a pro bono practitioner. Jonathan Laba, a 1996 graduate of Berkeley Law, currently supervises the juvenile unit in the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office. For most of his career, Jonathan has augmented his “day job” as an adult public defense trial and managing attorney with extensive youth justice policy advocacy efforts, including legislative and amicus work, training of juvenile defenders across the state, and engagement with community-based youth justice organizations. After teaching the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar for a decade at Berkeley Law, Jonathan was excited to co-develop and co-teach this course with Laura Ridolfi for the first time in fall 2022, aiming to introduce students to both the theoretical underpinnings of the juvenile legal system as well as how to engage with, and improve, the system as a lawyer and advocate. Laura Ridolfi, a 2005 graduate of Berkeley Law, is a Racial Justice and Well-Being Strategist with the W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI). Laura has over fifteen years of experience at BI challenging racial hierarchies in the administration of justice. Laura works at the local, state, and national level changing policy and practice to promote equity and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. Laura partners with community-rooted organizations and advocacy groups on policy change in California that invest resources into community alternatives to the legal system and reduce the harms of system involvement on the lives of people of color. Laura advocates for democratizing youth justice data and promoting data transparency in service of system change and promoting equity. She is the author of numerous BI reports that highlight inequities in the criminal legal system and advocate for change. |
| Law 236 Capital Punishment and the Constitution Seminar 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course offers an overview of federal constitutional law governing the death penalty, focusing primarily on the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court and the interpretation of the Eighth Amendment. Throughout the course we will identify the rules that govern how the death penalty is imposed, and examine how those rules developed in relation to larger societal and jurisprudential changes. We will ask how and if these rules promote a fair, rational, equitable and just use of the death penalty, and what changes, if any, should be made. We will consider the following topics: historical development of death penalty jurisprudence and the challenges of arbitrariness; different statutory attempts to enact constitutional death penalty schemes; execution of those who commit non-homicide crimes, juveniles, the mentally retarded, and the insane; the effect of race on the administration of capital punishment; jury selection in capital cases; methods of execution; and clemency proceedings. There will be an emphasis on class discussion. Attendance is mandatory. Students are expected to be prepared for class and participate in a critical discussion of the assigned readings and judicial opinions. The course is designed for students, regardless of their views about the death penalty, who generally wish to learn more about the application of capital punishment in the United States, and methods of constitutional interpretation. The course will be particularly useful for students who are interested in a career in criminal law. The casebook is Rivkind & Shatz, Cases and Materials on the Death Penalty, Fourth Edition (Thomson/Reuters 2016). Spring 2022 Description: This course examines the death penalty as imposed and regulated in the United States, primarily through a close reading of opinions from the United States Supreme Court. Following a brief historical overview, the course focuses on Eighth Amendment jurisprudence in the "modern era," and other legal doctrines, pertaining to aggravating and mitigating circumstances, victim impact evidence, proportionality principles, jury selection in capital cases, and other relevant topics. The course will also touch on the post-conviction process in capital cases, including the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. There will be an emphasis on class discussion. Attendance is mandatory. Students are expected to complete the reading, come prepared for class, and contribute their own thoughts in a seminar environment. The course is designed for students who, regardless of their views about the death penalty, want to learn more about the application of capital punishment in the United States and relevant legal principles. The course will be particularly useful for students who are interested in a career in criminal law, including in a post-conviction context. The casebook is Rivkind & Shatz, Cases and Materials on the Death Penalty, Fourth Edition (Thomson/Reuters 2016). Spring 2023 Description: In this course, we will examine the death penalty as imposed and regulated in the United States, primarily through a close reading of opinions from the United States Supreme Court, with a focus on Eighth Amendment jurisprudence and other legal doctrines pertaining to aggravating and mitigating circumstances, proportionality principles, penalty-phase procedures, and other relevant topics. We will also touch on the post-conviction process, including federal habeas corpus and the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The course is designed for students who, regardless of their views about the death penalty, want to learn more about the application of capital punishment in the United States and relevant legal principles. Fall 2024 Description: In this course, we will examine the death penalty as imposed and regulated in the United States, primarily through a close reading of opinions from the United States Supreme Court, with a focus on Eighth Amendment jurisprudence and other legal doctrines pertaining to aggravating and mitigating circumstances, proportionality principles, penalty-phase procedures, and other relevant topics. We will also touch on the post-conviction process, including federal habeas corpus and the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The course is designed for students who, regardless of their views about the death penalty, want to learn more about the application of capital punishment in the United States and relevant legal principles. |
| Law 236.11 The Case of Curtis Flowers: Another Indictment of American Criminal Justice? 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Curtis Flowers faced six capital murder trials for the same crime: a 1996 quadruple murder at a furniture store in a small town in Mississippi. He spent over 20 years on death row for the crimes. The Supreme Court reversed his most recent conviction and death sentence based on discriminatory jury selection, and Mr. Flowers is currently out on bail while awaiting a potential seventh trial. Recently, journalists investigated Mr. Flowers’s case, reporting on the flimsy evidence upon which he was convicted, the prosecutor's pattern of race-based jury selection, other prosecutorial misconduct, and the case’s journey across state and federal courts. Join us as we listen to the podcast produced by the journalists about the investigation, “In the Dark Season 2,” and explore issues-racism, police and prosecutorial misconduct, prosecutorial discretion in charging crimes, inadequate defense lawyering, and more-that infect our system of capital punishment and our criminal legal system more broadly. This course meets every other Tuesday for 7 sessions beginning August 18th. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 240.3 Freedom of Information: Comparative & International Perspectives 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Law graduates working in the defense of human rights or the environment, in the corporate sphere, or in government will require an understanding of when a governmental or private actor has a duty to disclose information, the source(s) of that obligation, and how courts balance competing interests such as individual privacy or national security. More than 120 countries have adopted freedom of information (FOI) laws recognizing a right to access documents and other data of public interest. International treaties also enshrine this right, including in the areas of human rights and environmental protection, and it has arguably reached the status of a customary norm. But, these standards are not uniform and each contains important limitations, exceptions, and procedural requirements. Additionally, a growing body of law and litigation seeks to criminalize or otherwise prevent disclosure of certain information, such as through strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). This course provides an introduction to the rights and duties connected to freedom of information, through an examination of the variations in FOI norms at the national, regional, and international levels. Students will gain an understanding of how FOI obligations apply to governmental and corporate actors, including with regard to their internal workings and the information they generate. We will also discuss important areas of contention, such as whistleblower protection, discovery of social media content, disinformation, and individual access to information on abortion. The course instructor, Lisa Reinsberg, is a practicing international human rights lawyer and graduate of Georgetown Law (J.D.) and Berkeley Law (LL.M.). She founded and directs the International Justice Resource Center, which has provided guidance on international human rights protections to advocates around the world since 2011. In addition to teaching international law courses, Lisa’s prior experience includes positions at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, International Organization for Migration, Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, and nongovernmental organizations providing legal representation to migrants and asylum seekers, people in prison, and survivors of torture. She is currently completing a Visiting Researcher stay with the Menschenrechtszentrum (Human Rights Center) at the University of Potsdam in Germany, where her research is focused on the rights of human rights defenders, including with regard to access to information. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: Lawyers working in the defense of human rights or the environment, in the corporate sphere, or in government will require an understanding of when a governmental or private actor has a duty to disclose information, the source(s) of that obligation, and how courts balance competing interests such as individual privacy or national security. More than 120 countries have adopted freedom of information (FOI) laws recognizing a right to access documents and other data of public interest. International treaties also enshrine this right, including in the areas of human rights and environmental protection, and it has arguably reached the status of a customary norm. But, these standards are not uniform and each contains important limitations, exceptions, and procedural requirements. Additionally, a growing body of law and litigation seeks to criminalize or otherwise prevent disclosure of certain information, such as through strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). This course provides an introduction to the rights and duties connected to freedom of information, through an examination of the variations in FOI norms at the national, regional, and international levels. Students will gain an understanding of how FOI obligations apply to governmental and corporate actors, including with regard to their internal workings and the information they generate. We will also discuss important areas of contention, such as whistleblower protection, discovery of social media content, disinformation, and individual access to information on abortion. The course instructor, Lisa Reinsberg, is a practicing international human rights lawyer and graduate of Georgetown Law (J.D.) and Berkeley Law (LL.M.). She founded and directs the International Justice Resource Center, which has provided guidance on international human rights protections to advocates around the world since 2011. In addition to teaching international law courses, Lisa’s prior experience includes positions at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, International Organization for Migration, Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, and nongovernmental organizations providing legal representation to migrants and asylum seekers, people in prison, and survivors of torture. Her research is currently focused on the rights of human rights defenders, including with regard to access to information. |
| Law 240.6 Civil Procedure Scholarship Workshop 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: This course is built around presentations of new scholarship about topics related to civil procedure. The scholarship will be presented in person by guest speakers (with the proviso that some speakers may, for logistical or medical reasons, need to present remotely). Students will be provided with each meeting's article in advance and expected to read and formulate questions for the speaker. Grades will be based on response papers and (to a lesser extent) on class participation. |
| Law 241 Evidence 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will examine the law governing proof of facts, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE). Topics will include the allocation and size of burdens of proof, relevance, hearsay, character evidence, circumstantial inference, impeachment and rehabilitation, expert and lay opinion witnesses, and scientific evidence. The goal of the course is to provide students with the ability to critique and assess the admissibility of evidence in judicial and other fact-finding contexts. This will necessarily involve an understanding of the FRE, and related constitutional and common-law doctrines. Although this is not a trial advocacy or clinical course, one goal will be to impart a sense of how the Rules actually work in court. There will also be a strong concentration on the underlying common law theories that provide the basis of various codifications, The instructor has taught Evidence for 40 years at NYU Law School, and has litigated hundreds of federal and state cases during his career as a civil liberties lawyer. The required textbook will be:the most recent edition of Weinstein et al, Evidence: Cases and Materials, plus any supplement. The complete Federal Rules of Evidence with Advisory Committee Notes can be found at: http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre The California Evidence Code can de found at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=evid Fall 2020 Description: This course explores the law of proof in civil and criminal trials. Our principal focus is the Federal Rules of Evidence and the federal appellate court opinions interpreting and filling gaps in the Federal Rules, as well as the intersection of the Federal Rules and the Sixth Amendment’s “Confrontation Clause.” Topics include the relevance requirement, when hearsay is admissible, the uses and abuses of character evidence, the appropriate means of impeaching and rehabilitating witnesses, and the attorney-client privilege. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting Executive Director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was named a “Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer.” Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled "American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70," American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Contracts for LLMs; and Remedies. Spring 2021 Description: This 3-unit course will explore the law of evidence as applied in American (primarily federal) courts, but with a different approach than the standard 4-unit course. We will use an experiential learning-by-doing approach, with part of our class time spent with students arguing for the admission or exclusion of evidence, sometimes in the full Zoom room and sometimes in break out rooms, based on problems drawn from two simulated case-files. Both of the cases involve important but disturbing gender equality issues. One involves an allegation of Spousal Violence/Murder; the other is a civil sexual harassment in employment case. You will need to become familiar with every aspect of the two cases, and apply the law of evidence, as found in the Federal Rules of Evidence and a few case decisions, to argue why the law permits or prohibits the admission or exclusion of the evidence offered. There is no traditional casebook in this class, and we will read only a handful of cases. We will use a "hornbook" (which is available free through the Berkeley Law Library subscription to Foundation Press study aids), the Federal Rules of Evidence (which are available for free online), and two casefiles published by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA). Students should expect to be on call in all class meetings. Students will be assigned a number from 1 - 4, which will determine which side they will represent in the two cases, and what role they will take in various exercises. Students will at times enter strategy sessions in break-out rooms with other students on their number, and more commonly work in groups of 4, in adversary role plays. Class will meet two days a week for 75 minutes/class. Course coverage will include relevance, character evidence, witness examination, offers of evidence (and thus objections to offers of evidence), authentication of documents and other physical evidence, motions in limine, impeachment and rehabilitation, privileges, opinion testimony, scientific evidence, and hearsay. Grading Grades will be based on two mid-term exams, a final exam, and class participation. Here is the grading formula: • The two mid-term exams, which will be take-homes, will each consist of 15 multiple choice questions worth 1 point for each question (a total of 30 points). At least some of the questions and answers will be subsequently reviewed in class for formative assessment purposes; • The final exam, which will be a take-home, will include ten short problems requiring you to support the admission or exclusion of evidence with a limit of 150 words each, worth 40 total points (4 points each), and 18 multiple-choice questions worth 1 point for each question (a total of 58 points); • Up to 12 class participation points will be awarded as follows. Four points will be awarded when a student is called on, is prepared, and satisfactorily participates. Thus, if you are called on and pass, or you are not present, or you are clearly not prepared, you’ll have lost an opportunity to earn four participation points. My goal is to give every student at least 3-4 opportunities to earn participation points (and to award 12 participation points to every student). If you enroll in this class, you should expect to be called on regularly. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course will examine the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE), as well as related common-law and constitutional doctrine. Topics include: relevance; character evidence; impeachment and rehabilitation; hearsay; expert and lay opinion witnesses; and privileges. The instructor, Mai Linh Spencer [ https://www.uchastings.edu/people/mai-linh-spencer/], is an experienced practitioner and a Clinical Professor at UC Hastings, where she teaches Evidence and the Individual Representation Clinic. Professor Spencer uses live polling and other formative assessment methods to maximize both classroom learning and the skill of self-development. She encourages a growth mindset in the study of Evidence (and law school generally) and strives to achieve classroom equity. Time permitting, the class will incorporate some experiential learning techniques. There will be a short, multiple-choice midterm and a closed-book final exam to ensure that students are prepared for the California bar exam. Spring 2022 Description: This 3-unit course will explore the law of evidence as applied in American (primarily federal) courts, but with a different approach than a standard course. We will use an experiential learning-by-doing approach, with part of our class time spent with students arguing for the admission or exclusion of evidence based on problems drawn from two simulated case-files. Both of the cases involve important but disturbing gender equality issues. One involves an allegation of Spousal Violence/Murder; the other is a civil sexual harassment in employment case. You will need to become familiar with every aspect of the two cases, and apply the law of evidence, as found in the Federal Rules of Evidence and a few case decisions, to argue why the law permits or prohibits the admission or exclusion of the evidence offered. There is no traditional casebook in this class, and we will read only a handful of cases. We will use a "hornbook" (which is available free through the Berkeley Law Library subscription to Foundation Press study aids), the Federal Rules of Evidence (which are available for free online), two casefiles published by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), and a problem set which I co-authored, which I will distribute for free. Students should expect to participate in break-our sessions multiple times in each class meeting, and will be on call for 3 of the 14 weeks of the semester. Class will meet two days a week for 75 minutes/class. Course coverage will include relevance, character evidence, witness examination, offers of evidence (and thus objections to offers of evidence), authentication of documents and other physical evidence, motions in limine, impeachment and rehabilitation, privileges, opinion testimony, scientific evidence, and hearsay. Grading Grades will be based on two mid-term exams, a final exam, and class participation. Here is the grading formula: • The two mid-term exams, which will be take-homes, will each consist of 15 multiple choice questions worth 1 point for each question (a total of 30 points). At least some of the questions and answers will be subsequently reviewed in class for formative assessment purposes; • The final exam, which will be a take-home, will include ten short problems requiring you to support the admission or exclusion of evidence with a limit of 150 words each, worth 40 total points (4 points each), and 18 multiple-choice questions worth 1 point for each question (a total of 58 points); • Up to 12 class participation points will be awarded as follows. Four points will be awarded when a student is called on, is prepared, and satisfactorily participates. Thus, if you are called on and pass, or you are not present, or you are clearly not prepared, you’ll have lost an opportunity to earn four participation points. My goal is to give every student at least 3-4 opportunities to earn participation points (and to award 12 participation points to every student). Fall 2022 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, witness competence, impeachment and rehabilitation, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges. The final examination is largely multiple choice, with a policy essay component. Spring 2023 Description: Evidence rules constrain proof at criminal and civil trials. We will study the Federal Rules of Evidence, related case law, and those constitutional concepts that limit proof at criminal trials. Topics include relevance, unfair prejudice, character evidence, impeachment, hearsay, the Confrontation Clause, and expert testimony. This evidence course focuses on the Federal Rules of Evidence and briefly covers the California Evidence Code. Candis Mitchell serves as Chief Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of California. She has worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Northern and Southern District of California since 2005. She has represented indigent clients in all stages of federal criminal prosecution, from arraignment through petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a career public defender who has tried numerous federal jury trials, Candis is well-versed in the substantive and procedural aspects of evidentiary hearings, motion hearings, bench trials, and jury trials. Fall 2023 Description: Evidence rules address which sources of proof are admissible in criminal and civil trials. We will study the Federal Rules of Evidence, related case law, and constitutional concepts that limit the use of certain types of proof, and we will also occasionally discuss state-specific evidence rules. Topics include relevance, unfair prejudice, character evidence, impeachment, hearsay, the Confrontation Clause, expert testimony, and, time allowing, privilege. Important notes: 1. This evidence course focuses on the Federal Rules of Evidence and does not seek to the California Evidence Code. 2. This course will have remote Zoom meetings during three non-contiguous weeks. A schedule of which dates involve Zoom meetings will be available on the bCourses site by the first class meeting, and possibly substantially before that. 3. The final exam will be primarily multiple choice, although there will be a small number of short-answer questions as well. 4. We will be using Jeffrey Bellin's excellent and concise casebook, The Law of Evidence, which may be purchased new from Amazon for $30 (with used copies possibly available for less; see https://www.amazon.com/Law-Evidence-Jeffrey-Bellin/dp/B08C7GGMM2). Spring 2024 Description: This course examines basic rules and principles of evidence law, focusing primarily on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Topics covered will include relevance, prejudice, character evidence, impeachment, hearsay, the Confrontation Clause, lay opinions and expert testimony, scientific evidence, and privileges. Fall 2024 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States and the Sixth Amendment. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, witness competence, impeachment and rehabilitation, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges. The final examination is largely multiple choice, with a short answer component. Spring 2025 Description: This three-unit course will explore the law of evidence as applied in American (primarily federal) courts, but with a different approach than a standard course. We will use an experiential learning-by-doing approach, with part of our class time spent with students arguing for the admission or exclusion of evidence based on problems drawn from two simulated case-files. Both of the cases involve important but disturbing gender equality issues. One involves an allegation of Spousal Violence/Murder; the other is a civil sexual harassment in employment case. You will need to become familiar with every aspect of the two cases, and apply the law of evidence, as found in the Federal Rules of Evidence and a few case decisions, to argue why the law permits or prohibits the admission or exclusion of the evidence offered. There is no traditional casebook in this class, and we will read only a handful of cases. We will use a "hornbook" (which is available free through the Berkeley Law Library subscription to Foundation Press study aids), the Federal Rules of Evidence (which are available for free online), two case files published by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), and a problem set which I co-authored, which I will distribute for free. Students should expect to participate in small group discussions multiple times in each class meeting, and will be on call for 3 of the 14 weeks of the semester. Course coverage will include relevance, character evidence, witness examination, offers of evidence (and thus objections to offers of evidence), authentication of documents and other physical evidence, motions in limine, impeachment and rehabilitation, privileges, opinion testimony, scientific evidence, and hearsay. Grading Grades will be based on two mid-term exams, a final exam, and class participation. Here is the grading formula: • The two mid-term exams, which will be take-homes, will each consist of 15 multiple-choice questions worth 1 point for each question (a total of 30 points). At least some of the questions and answers will be subsequently reviewed in class for formative assessment purposes; • The final exam, which will be a take-home, will include ten short problems requiring you to support the admission or exclusion of evidence with a limit of 150 words each, worth 40 total points (4 points each), and 18 multiple-choice questions worth 1 point for each question (a total of 58 points); • Up to 12 class participation points will be awarded as follows. Four points will be awarded when a student is called on, is prepared, and satisfactorily participates. Thus, if you are called on and pass, or you are not present, or you are clearly not prepared, you’ll have lost an opportunity to earn four participation points. My goal is to give every student at least 3-4 opportunities to earn participation points (and to award 12 participation points to every student). Fall 2025 Description: This course will examine the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE), as well as related common-law and constitutional doctrine. Topics include: relevance; character evidence; impeachment and rehabilitation; hearsay; expert and lay opinion witnesses; and privileges. The instructor, Mai Linh Spencer [https://www.uclawsf.edu/people/mai-linh-spencer/], is an experienced practitioner and a Clinical Professor at UC Law SF, where she teaches Evidence and the Individual Representation Clinic. Professor Spencer uses live polling and other formative assessment methods to maximize both classroom learning and the skill of self-development. She encourages a growth mindset in the study of Evidence (and law school generally) and strives to achieve classroom equity. Time permitting, the class will incorporate experiential learning techniques. The final exam will be in-class, closed-book, 3 hours; it will consist of multiple choice and a bar-style essay. |
| Law 241.21 Public Access to Court Electronic Records 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: When people sue other people in court, the court creates a docket-a record of the lawsuit. The docket tracks much of the action in a case, usually including the documents that litigants file with the court. Dockets and associated filings are warehoused electronically and could be available to the public efficiently and for free. Instead, the federal courts restrict access to these documents, providing them free only to parties in the case, and charging others fees for access. This, despite the general presumption that court proceedings themselves are open to the public. In recent years, there has been substantial litigation and legislative activity aimed at changing this situation. This course will introduce students to key issues related to these and other issues associated with public access to legal data. We will read scholarship, cases, and other materials about public access to legal data (both federal and state), evaluating arguments for liberal access as well as arguments against. In addition, I hope to have a number of guest speakers from the non-profit sector and industry, as well as academia. **THIS IS A FULLY REMOTE COURSE. AS SUCH, IT COUNTS AS DISTANCE LEARNING UNITS FOR THE NEW YORK BAR. THE NEW YORK BAR DOES NOT ALLOW LLM STUDENTS TO COUNT ANY DISTANCE LEARNING UNITS TOWARD NEW YORK BAR ELIGIBILITY.** |
| Law 241.3 Consumer Litigation: The Course of a Case 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Have you ever wondered how plaintiffs’ attorneys decide which case to bring? Do you want to see how a lawsuit plays out, from start to finish? This course examines the progression of a private consumer class action brought under Business and Professions Code 17200 and the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Each week, the course takes students through one step of the case’s development, including: investigation and client vetting; crafting the complaint; utilizing written discovery and depositions; finding and leveraging expert witnesses; preparing for class certification and summary judgment; navigating the settlement process, etc. The reading materials will include actual (redacted) documents from the case, with illustrative opinions from similar cases for depth and context. Guest lecturers will illuminate the difference between private consumer litigation and public actions brought by government agencies. Requirements: Three writing assignments (one count of the complaint; one set of discovery requests; one partial summary judgment opposition). Instructor: Kristen Law Sagafi '02 was a partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP before launching the California office for Tycko & Zavareei LLP in 2016. Ms. Sagafi represented plaintiffs in consumer fraud and defective products class actions for more than 15 years. Fall 2021 Description: Have you ever wondered how plaintiffs’ attorneys decide which case to bring? Do you want to see how a lawsuit plays out, from start to finish? This course examines the progression of a private consumer class action brought under Business and Professions Code 17200 and the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Each week, the course takes students through one step of the case’s development, including: investigation and client vetting; crafting the complaint; utilizing written discovery and depositions; finding and leveraging expert witnesses; preparing for class certification and summary judgment; navigating the settlement process, etc. The reading materials will include actual (redacted) documents from the case, with illustrative opinions from similar cases for depth and context. Guest lecturers will illuminate the difference between private consumer litigation and public actions brought by government agencies. Requirements: Three writing assignments (one count of the complaint; one set of discovery requests; one partial summary judgment opposition). Instructor: Kristen Law Sagafi '02 was a partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP before launching the California office for Tycko & Zavareei LLP in 2016. Ms. Sagafi represented plaintiffs in consumer fraud and defective products class actions for more than 15 years. Fall 2022 Description: Have you ever wondered how plaintiffs’ attorneys decide which case to bring? Do you want to see how a lawsuit plays out, from start to finish? This course examines the progression of a private consumer class action brought under Business and Professions Code 17200 and the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Each week, the course takes students through one step of the case’s development, including: investigation and client vetting; crafting the complaint; utilizing written discovery and depositions; finding and leveraging expert witnesses; preparing for class certification and summary judgment; navigating the settlement process, etc. The reading materials will include actual (redacted) documents from the case, with illustrative opinions from similar cases for depth and context. Guest lecturers will illuminate the difference between private consumer litigation and public actions brought by government agencies. Requirements: Three writing assignments (one count of the complaint; one set of discovery requests; one partial summary judgment opposition). Instructor: Kristen Law Sagafi '02 represented plaintiffs in consumer fraud and defective products class actions for more than 15 years before shifting her practice from client service to strategic management. She began her career at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein LLP and later launched the California office for Tycko & Zavareei LLP. She is currently the Litigation Director at Sher Edling LLP in San Francisco. Spring 2024 Description: Have you ever wondered how plaintiffs’ attorneys decide which case to bring? Do you want to see how a lawsuit plays out, from start to finish? This course examines the progression of a private consumer class action brought under Business and Professions Code 17200 and the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Each week, the course takes students through one step of the case’s development, including: investigation and client vetting; crafting the complaint; utilizing written discovery and depositions; finding and leveraging expert witnesses; preparing for class certification and summary judgment; navigating the settlement process, etc. The reading materials will include actual (redacted) documents from the case, with illustrative opinions from similar cases for depth and context. Guest lecturers will illuminate the difference between private consumer litigation and public actions brought by government agencies. Requirements: Three writing assignments (one count of the complaint; one set of discovery requests; one partial summary judgment opposition). Instructor: Kristen Law Sagafi '02 represented plaintiffs in consumer fraud and defective products class actions for more than 15 years before shifting her practice from client service to strategic management. She began her career at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein LLP and later launched the California office for Tycko & Zavareei LLP. She is currently Of Counsel at Sher Edling LLP in San Francisco. |
| Law 241.8 Brief Stories by Lawyers 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This small class will bring students together with practicing attorneys from a wide variety of practice settings. We will dive into the practice of lawyering by talking with practitioners, and by examining documents they typically produce, such as pleadings, policy memos, proposed legislation, congressional testimony, regulatory comments, trial and appellate briefs, and other types of persuasive writing, such as op-eds and press releases. Before each class, students will be assigned one short document prepared by a practitioner who will appear as a guest speaker in that week’s class. We will hear the real stories behind the documents and find out how they help advance the lawyer’s objectives. Practitioners will also talk about their career path, and their area of practice, which will include public interest, private practice, criminal law, and government. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 241S Evidence 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, impeachment, opinion testimony, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges (including attorney-client). This course will meet in-person on campus on June 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, impeachment, opinion testimony, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges (including attorney-client). Summer 2023 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, impeachment, opinion testimony, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges (including attorney-client). Summer 2024 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, impeachment, opinion testimony, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges (including attorney-client). Summer 2025 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, impeachment, opinion testimony, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges (including attorney-client). Sean Farhang is the Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt Professor of Law, and Professor of Political Science and Public Policy. His research interests focus mainly on civil litigation, and the role of litigation and courts in regulatory implementation, with a particular interest in the political and institutional forces that shape it. His first book, The Litigation State: Public Regulation and Private Lawsuits in the U.S. (Princeton University Press, 2010), examines the sources of private litigation in the enforcement of federal law, stressing Congress’s role in enacting incentives calculated to mobilize this form of regulatory implementation in the American separation of powers context. The book won the American Political Science Association’s Kammerer Award for the best book in the field of U.S. national policy. His second book, Rights and Retrenchment: The Counterrevolution Against Federal Litigation (with Stephen Burbank, Cambridge University Press, 2017), examines the emergence and development of the political and legal movement to restrict opportunities and incentives for private enforcement of federal law through litigation. His work on the institutional and political dimensions of American civil justice has also appeared in numerous social science and law journals. |
| Law 242.3 Lawyering as Problem Solving 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: In this course students will confront client problems--framed from the clients and attorneys points of view--more like practicing lawyers do. The course poses questions like: What sort of problems do lawyers solve? How do they solve them? What intellectual constructs do they bring to bear? What practical judgments? Answers to these questions help students combine their knowledge of the law with practical judgment to work with clients toward attaining their goals within the bounds of the law. During this course students will: Discuss the ways in which conceptions of professional role identity and styles of lawyering affect role performance and legal practice; Employ reasoned strategies for analyzing, prioritizing, and solving legal and legally related problems in context (including treating the California Bar Exam's Performance Tests as a problem to be solved); Identify biases, influences, and feelings that affect one's thinking and that of others when planning, counseling, negotiating or advocating; Draft memos and other legal documents of the kind prepared by practicing lawyers and demanded on the performance test portion of the bar exam. These writing exercises will help prepare students for the bar exam. The course will be taught through case studies (a number of which will be California Bar Performance Test problems), simulations, and readings drawn from psychology, decision making theory, and lawyering theory. Admission to the course is by application. To receive an application, please email Catharine Schultz at cschultz@law.berkeley.edu. Applications are due to Catharine by noon on Wednesday, November 11. This class is only open to 3L students. Spring 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: In this course students will confront client problems--framed from the clients and attorneys points of view--more like practicing lawyers do. The course poses questions like: What sort of problems do lawyers solve? How do they solve them? What intellectual constructs do they bring to bear? What practical judgments? Answers to these questions help students combine their knowledge of the law with practical judgment to work with clients toward attaining their goals within the bounds of the law. During this course students will: Discuss the ways in which conceptions of professional role identity and styles of lawyering affect role performance and legal practice; Employ reasoned strategies for analyzing, prioritizing, and solving legal and legally related problems in context (including treating the California Bar Exam's Performance Tests as a problem to be solved); Identify biases, influences, and feelings that affect one's thinking and that of others when planning, counseling, negotiating or advocating; Draft memos and other legal documents of the kind prepared by practicing lawyers and demanded on the performance test portion of the bar exam. These writing exercises will help prepare students for the bar exam. The course will be taught through case studies (a number of which will be California Bar Performance Test problems), simulations, and readings drawn from psychology, decision making theory, and lawyering theory. Admission to the course is by application. To receive an application, please email Catharine Schultz at cschultz@law.berkeley.edu. Applications are due to Catharine by noon on Wednesday, November 9. This class is only open to 3L students and LLMs. Spring 2024 Description: In this course students will confront client problems--framed from the clients and attorneys points of view--more like practicing lawyers do. The course poses questions like: What sort of problems do lawyers solve? How do they solve them? What intellectual constructs do they bring to bear? What practical judgments? Answers to these questions help students combine their knowledge of the law with practical judgment to work with clients toward attaining their goals within the bounds of the law. During this course students will: Discuss the ways in which conceptions of professional role identity and styles of lawyering affect role performance and legal practice; Employ reasoned strategies for analyzing, prioritizing, and solving legal and legally related problems in context (including treating the California Bar Exam's Performance Tests as a problem to be solved); Identify biases, influences, and feelings that affect one's thinking and that of others when planning, counseling, negotiating or advocating; Draft memos and other legal documents of the kind prepared by practicing lawyers and demanded on the performance test portion of the bar exam. These writing exercises will help prepare students for the bar exam. The course will be taught through case studies (a number of which will be California Bar Performance Test problems), simulations, and readings drawn from psychology, decision making theory, and lawyering theory. Admission to the course is by application. (https://forms.gle/WFB6azwfC95csc4w9) Please submit your application by November 6. This class is only open to 3L students and LLMs. Spring 2025 Description: In this course students will confront client problems--framed from the clients and attorneys points of view--more like practicing lawyers do. The course poses questions like: What sort of problems do lawyers solve? How do they solve them? What intellectual constructs do they bring to bear? What practical judgments? Answers to these questions help students combine their knowledge of the law with practical judgment to work with clients toward attaining their goals within the bounds of the law. During this course students will: Discuss the ways in which conceptions of professional role identity and styles of lawyering affect role performance and legal practice; Employ reasoned strategies for analyzing, prioritizing, and solving legal and legally related problems in context (including treating the Bar Exam's Performance Tests as a problem to be solved); Identify biases, influences, and feelings that affect one's thinking and that of others when planning, counseling, negotiating or advocating; Draft memos and other legal documents of the kind prepared by practicing lawyers and demanded on the performance test portion of the bar exam. These writing exercises will help prepare students for the bar exam. The course will be taught through case studies (a number of which will be Performance Test problems), simulations, and readings drawn from psychology, decision-making theory, and lawyering theory. Admission to the course is by application. (https://forms.gle/M1MgdtLK2jvd3VyV6). I will begin reviewing applications on November 8. This class is only open to 3L students and LLMs. |
| Law 242.31 The Court of Public Opinion: Advocacy Outside of the Courtroom 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: There is an entire world of public discussion and discourse happening outside of the courtroom that often goes untouched by the law school curriculum. For every Thurgood Marshal, there is a Martin Luther King, Jr. For every Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there is a Tarana Burke. And for every landmark decision like Brown v. Board of Education, there is landmark legislation like the Voting Rights Act. Being an advocate sometimes means persuading people outside of the courtroom. This course harnesses three different components of public discourse: legislative advocacy, media advocacy, and movement advocacy. In each area, you’ll be tasked with using your legal training to advocate for the policy change of your choosing. In the legislative advocacy section, you will research issue areas, develop talking points, and present as a witness in a mock legislative hearing. In the media advocacy section, you will write an opinion piece on an issue and then have a primetime-news style debate. And at the end of the course, you will take your skills and experiences to develop a nonprofit focused on tackling an issue of your choice before you pitch that new organization to fundraisers looking to invest in social change. Moving the ball forward on social issues is something that is happening all around us and lawyers are uniquely equipped to be advocates in the public arena. This course teaches you how to shape public discourse with the skills you’ve developed in law school. Fall 2023 Description: There is an entire world of public discussion and discourse happening outside of the courtroom that often goes untouched during the law school curriculum. For every Thurgood Marshall, there is a Martin Luther King, Jr. For every Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there is a Tarana Burke. And for every landmark decision like Brown v. Board of Education, there is landmark legislation like the Voting Rights Act. Being an advocate sometimes means persuading people outside of the courtroom. This course harnesses three different components of public discourse: legislative advocacy, media advocacy, and movement advocacy. In each area, you’ll be tasked with using your legal training to advocate for the policy change of your choosing. In the legislative advocacy section, you will research issue areas, develop talking points, and present as a witness in a mock legislative hearing. In the media advocacy section, you will write an opinion piece on an issue and then have a primetime-news style debate. And at the end, you will take your skills and experiences to develop a nonprofit focused on tackling an issue of your choice before you pitch that new organization to fundraisers looking to invest in social change. Moving the ball forward on social issues is something that is happening all around us and lawyers are uniquely equipped to be advocates in the public arena. This class is about teaching you how to shape public discourse with the skills you’ve developed in law school. |
| Law 242.32 Legislative Drafting and Lobbying 3 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Statutory law and agency regulations play a central role in the modern legal system. This seminar explores the problem-solving art of legislative drafting - its effect on the systemic implementation of societal change, the institutional processes of legislating, as well as essential technical drafting skills for clarity of effect. The course will review theories of statutory interpretation, administrative law, and separation of powers from the perspective of how to apply this knowledge when drafting legislation or regulation. Students will learn about the federal and state legislative process, focusing on experiential observation of active bills pending in the California State Legislature, and develop oral advocacy skills through participation in simulated legislative committee hearings. The instructor will work with students to identify a legislative or regulatory issue of interest, research and draft legislation and an accompanying memorandum, in either a simulation or clinical context working with a stakeholder group or legislative office. The course will involve guest speakers working in the legislative process, and is ideal for those planning to practice law to some degree in a legislative or regulatory environment. Concurrent or prior enrollment in Legislation and Statutory Interpretation or equivalent background reading is recommended. Andy Katz has lobbied on behalf of a lung health association before the California State Legislature, and administrative agencies regulating air quality, energy, and health care matters, and currently serves as a local government elected official. He also litigates on behalf of Plaintiffs in employment discrimination, whistleblower, wage theft, health and disability insurance, toxic injury, and consumer protection matters, and engages in legislative drafting and advocacy through attorney associations and environmental organizations. |
| Law 242.33S Academic Survival Skills in the LL.M. program 1 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: This intensive preparatory course introduces students to the core skills necessary to succeed in Berkeley Law’s Executive Track LL.M. program. The course introduces students to the case method (a specific approach to learning the law), beginning with an overview of the U.S. legal system and sources of U.S. law. Building on this foundation, students will learn: how to read U.S. judicial opinions (“cases”) and what to take away from the assigned reading; how to prepare for class and what to expect in class; and how to prepare for and take law school exams. In particular, students will be introduced to and practice analogical reasoning and written legal analysis. Diana DiGennaro is a Lecturer in Residence and the Director of Berkeley Law's Academic Skills Program. Before joining Berkeley Law, DiGennaro practiced at the law firms of Arnold & Porter LLP and Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, P.C. Her work there focused on partnership disputes and dissolution, along with general business and commercial litigation matters. Her writing about attorney liability and ethics has been published in The Daily Journal, The National Law Journal, and Law 360. |
| Law 242.9 Listening and Communicating:Stagecraft for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The objective of this course is to train and empower students to be active listeners (who don’t simply wait for their turn to speak), effective communicators (who embody their physical and vocal presence), and inclusive team players (who can collaborate across backgrounds and hierarchies) as they embark on a career in law. The course will bridge the gap between academic preparation and its successful application in practice. It will combine workshops from the theatre - tailored specifically to address challenges that young lawyers face - with seminar-style discussions to help align the intellectual rigor of legal education with the communication skills necessary to succeed as a practicing attorney. The curriculum will span five aspects of communication: “Listen”; "Process"; "Include"; “(Story)Tell”; and "Collaborate". Every few lessons, we will invite prominent Bay Area lawyers to participate in our class and share personal learnings from their careers. The assignments for this course will comprise journal entries, readings, and preparation for workshops, including developing a theme and telling the story of two assigned cases (one criminal and one IP). Mohit Gourisaria is a Berkeley-based litigator. He has taught legal writing and oral advocacy to law students at Berkeley and Columbia. He clerked on the Second Circuit and previously practiced at Wachtell Lipton in New York and Keker Van Nest in San Francisco. Mohit studied Theatre Arts in college and performed professionally in Boston before attending law school at Columbia and the London School of Economics. Fall 2021 Description: THIS COURSE WILL MEET IN THE Goldberg Room IN SIMON HALL. The objective of this course is to train and empower students to be active listeners (who don’t simply wait for their turn to speak), effective communicators (who embody their physical and vocal presence), and inclusive team players (who can collaborate across backgrounds and hierarchies) as they embark on a career in the law. The course will bridge the gap between academic preparation and its successful application in practice. It will combine workshops from the theatre - tailored specifically to address challenges that young lawyers face - with seminar-style discussions to help align the intellectual rigor of legal education with the communication skills necessary to succeed as a practicing attorney. The curriculum will span five aspects of communication: “Listen”; "Process"; "Include"; “(Story)Tell”; and "Collaborate." Every few lessons, we will invite prominent Bay Area lawyers to participate in our class and share personal learnings from their careers. The assignments for this course will include journal entries, readings, and preparation for workshops, including developing a theme and telling the story of two assigned cases (one criminal and one IP). This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Mohit Gourisaria is an Assistant United States Attorney. He has taught legal writing and oral advocacy to law students at Berkeley and Columbia. He clerked on the Second Circuit and began his legal career at Wachtell Lipton in New York City. Mohit studied Theatre Arts in college and performed professionally in Boston before attending law school at Columbia and the London School of Economics. Fall 2022 Description: The objective of this course is to train and empower students to be active listeners (who don’t simply wait for their turn to speak), effective communicators (who embody their physical and vocal presence), and inclusive team players (who can collaborate across backgrounds and hierarchies) as they embark on a career in the law. The course will bridge the gap between academic preparation and its successful application in practice. It will combine workshops from the theatre - tailored specifically to address challenges that young lawyers face - with seminar-style discussions to help align the intellectual rigor of legal education with the communication skills necessary to succeed as a practicing attorney. The curriculum will span five aspects of communication: “Listen”; "Process"; "Include"; “(Story)Tell”; and "Collaborate." Every few lessons, we will invite prominent Bay Area lawyers to participate in our class and share personal learnings from their careers. The assignments for this course will include journal entries, readings, and preparation for workshops, including developing a theme and telling the story of two assigned cases (one criminal and one IP). Mohit Gourisaria is an Assistant United States Attorney. He has taught legal writing and oral advocacy to law students at Berkeley and Columbia. He clerked on the Second Circuit and began his legal career at Wachtell Lipton in New York City. Mohit studied Theatre Arts in college and performed professionally in Boston before attending law school at Columbia and the London School of Economics. Spring 2023 Description: Effective lawyers must have the ability to creatively use facts to tell compelling stories in a fast-paced, live environment. Improv is the art of storytelling from the known facts developed during a live performance. In this course, students will develop advocacy skills by learning the fundamentals of improvisational theatre in an intense, focused, fun, and safe setting. Improv strengthens core skills a lawyer must have: the ability to pay attention, listen, work with the given evidence, build on it and tell compelling stories. Once those techniques are introduced, students will perform selected segments of a jury trial. The assignments for the course will include readings from trial skills resource materials and a criminal case file. George Higgins was the “Distinguished Practitioner in Residence” at Cornell Law School. He teaches Improv, Storytelling, and Trial Advocacy at Cornell. He has taught Trial Advocacy at Stanford. He has over 28 years of trial experience as a public defender and Navy prosecutor. He performed as an improviser at the Berkeley Rep performance lab, the Bay Area TheatreSports summer program, Stone Soup improv, and the (i)ncidentalists. He attended law school at the University of Michigan. Spring 2024 Description: The objective of this course is to train and empower students to be active listeners (who don’t simply wait for their turn to speak), effective communicators (who embody their physical and vocal presence), and inclusive team players (who can collaborate across backgrounds and hierarchies) as they embark on a career in the law. The course will bridge the gap between academic preparation and its successful application in practice. It will combine workshops from the theatre - tailored specifically to address challenges that young lawyers face - with seminar-style discussions to help align the intellectual rigor of legal education with the communication skills necessary to succeed as a practicing attorney. The curriculum will span five aspects of communication: “Listen”; "Process"; "Include"; “(Story)Tell”; and "Collaborate." Every few lessons, we will invite prominent Bay Area lawyers to participate in our class and share personal learnings from their careers. The assignments for this course will include journal entries, readings, and preparation for workshops, including developing a theme and telling the story of two assigned cases (one criminal and one IP). Mohit Gourisaria has taught legal writing and oral advocacy to law students at Berkeley and Columbia. He clerked on the Second Circuit and began his legal career at Wachtell Lipton in New York City. Mohit studied Theatre Arts in college and performed professionally in Boston before attending law school at Columbia and the London School of Economics. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: Effective lawyers must have the ability to creatively use facts to tell compelling stories in a fast-paced, live environment. Improv is the art of storytelling from the known facts developed during a live performance. In this course, students will develop advocacy skills by learning the fundamentals of improvisational theatre in an intense, focused, fun and safe setting. Improv strengthens core skills a lawyer must have: the ability to pay attention, listen, work with the given evidence, build on it and tell compelling stories. Once those techniques are introduced, students will perform selected segments of a jury trial. The assignments for the course will include readings from a criminal case file. George Higgins was the “Distinguished Practitioner in Residence” at Cornell Law School. He has taught Improv, Storytelling and Trial Advocacy at Cornell the past 4 years. He has taught Trial Advocacy at Stanford and a Courtroom Drama, Improvised class at the Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre. He has over 28 years of trial experience as a public defender and Navy prosecutor. He performed as an improviser at the Berkeley Rep performance lab, the Bay Area Theatre Sports summer program, Stone Soup improv and the (i)ncidentalists. He attended law school at the University of Michigan. |
| Law 242.91 Managing Difficult Conversations 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Exploring the art of managing difficult conversations working with clients, adverse interests and the public in legal disputes, crisis events and deal-making. The class combines exercises and simulations with case studies and guest speakers -- behavioral scientists, law firm leaders, government and corporate counsel. We examine scientific data explaining handicapping errors and their cause, individual and organizational dynamics and case studies that reveal distortions and impede effective decision-making. We then explore and practice strategies to improve understanding, advice, outcomes as well as professional and personal growth. To that end, we'll examine steps to improve individual as well as group decision-making, through class modules and simulations that include: - Client debriefs and preliminary advice exploring the dangers of limited information and rushes to decide; - Behavioral science and steps to manage confirmation bias and reset expectations, including "red team" assessments; - Bad behavior, crisis events and critical conversations, focusing on examples such as Theranos and FTX; - Negotiation dynamics, including managing internal and external expectations; and - Navigating through a dispute, starting with preliminary risk assessment, managing the internal conversations, engaging with adverse interests, recalibrating and retesting assumptions and strategy, and finally a simulated mediation and decision-making process. The learning objective of the course include (a) understanding the sources of conflicts, misperceptions and avoidable problems with various legal and non-legal constituents; (b) preparation and strategies to avoid, reduce and resolve conflicts -- internally and externally, and (c) incorporating these learning to improve individual growth and effectiveness. The instructor, Mark LeHocky (Berkeley Law, Class of 1979), is a former complex litigation attorney and former public company general counsel. He is also a mediator and arbitrator who has been repeatedly voted Mediator of the Year and among the Best Lawyers in America for his ADR work. At Berkeley Law, Mark has co-taught "Being General Counsel" (Law 251.73) for several years, and previously also taught at the Haas Graduate School of Business on managing the legal environment and business decision-making. See www.marklehocky.com for more background. Spring 2025 Description: Exploring the art of managing difficult legal conversations working with clients, adverse interests and the public in legal disputes, crisis events and deal-making. The class combines exercises and simulations with case studies and guest speakers -- behavioral scientists, law firm leaders, government and corporate counsel. We examine scientific data explaining handicapping errors and their cause, individual and organizational dynamics and case studies that reveal distortions and impede effective decision-making. We then explore and practice strategies to improve understanding, advice, outcomes as well as professional and personal growth. To that end, we'll examine steps to improve individual as well as group decision-making, through class modules and simulations that include: - Client debriefs and preliminary advice exploring the dangers of limited information and rushes to decide; - Behavioral science and steps to manage confirmation bias and reset expectations, including "red team" assessments; - Bad behavior, crisis events and critical conversations, focusing on examples such as Theranos and FTX; - Negotiation dynamics, including managing internal and external expectations; and - Navigating through a dispute, starting with preliminary risk assessment, managing the internal conversations, engaging with adverse interests, recalibrating and retesting assumptions and strategy, and finally a simulated mediation and decision-making process. The learning objective of the course include (a) understanding the sources of conflicts, misperceptions and avoidable problems with various legal and non-legal constituents; (b) preparation and strategies to avoid, reduce and resolve conflicts -- internally and externally, and (c) incorporating these learning to improve individual growth and effectiveness. The instructor, Mark LeHocky (Berkeley Law, Class of 1979), is a former complex litigation attorney and former public company general counsel. He is also a mediator and arbitrator who has been repeatedly voted Mediator of the Year and among the Best Lawyers in America for his ADR work. At Berkeley Law, Mark has co-taught "Being General Counsel" (Law 251.73) for several years, and previously also taught at the Haas Graduate School of Business on managing the legal environment and business decision-making. See www.marklehocky.com for more background. |
| Law 243 Appellate Advocacy 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Appellate Advocacy is designed to further develop the skills learned in Written and Oral Advocacy - writing and presenting oral argument. The aim of Appellate Advocacy is to provide students an experience closely comparable to appellate practice. Students will write a full brief from a shortened record of a case pending in the California Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court. Students will also prepare, practice and deliver a full oral argument. Students will receive advice and guidance from the instructor and from Practitioner-Advisors who are among the best appellate practitioners in the Bay Area. The course is graded, with the brief counting as 75% of the grade and oral argument as 25% of the grade. The grade awarded will also reflect the quality and timeliness of interim assignments. Because this class requires efforts on the part of so many parties - including Practitioner-Advisors, judges, and opposing counsel - no student will be permitted to drop the class, without an extraordinary reason, after the first week of instruction. Appellate Advocacy will NOT be offered in the Spring Semester. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Alexandra Robert Gordon is an experienced trial and appellate litigator and a Superior Court Judge. From 2009 up until her judicial appointment in 2018, Judge Gordon served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Government Law Section of the California Department of Justice. She has represented the constitutional officers of the State of California in a wide array of litigation, in both the state and federal trial and appellate courts. Judge Gordon has handled many high-profile cases from the trial court to the United States Supreme Court, including challenges to California’s law prohibiting the possession of large-capacity magazines, banning possession of shark fin, and requiring the disclosure of major donor information by charitable organizations. In 2014, Judge Gordon was awarded the California Lawyer of the Year Award for her work defending the constitutionality of a state law prohibiting mental health professionals from engaging in treatments intended to change the sexual orientation of a minor. Fall 2021 Description: Appellate Advocacy is designed to further develop the skills learned in Written and Oral Advocacy - writing and presenting oral argument. The aim of Appellate Advocacy is to provide students an experience closely comparable to appellate practice. Students will write a full brief from a shortened record of a case pending in the California Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court. Students will also prepare, practice and deliver a full oral argument. Students will receive advice and guidance from the instructor and from Practitioner-Advisors who are among the best appellate practitioners in the Bay Area. The course is graded, with the brief counting as 75% of the grade and oral argument as 25% of the grade. The grade awarded will also reflect the quality and timeliness of interim assignments. Because this class requires efforts on the part of so many parties - including Practitioner-Advisors, judges, and opposing counsel - no student will be permitted to drop the class, without an extraordinary reason, after the first week of instruction. Appellate Advocacy will NOT be offered in the Spring Semester. Scotia Hicks is a partner at the law firm of Ehlert Hicks LLP, where she specializes in appeals and critical motions. Prior to that, she practiced as a litigation attorney with Winston & Strawn LLP for 11 years, where her primary areas of focus were complex commercial litigation and white collar investigations, and she was a member of the Appellate and Critical Motions group. Ms. Hicks has represented clients before state and federal courts of appeal, the California and Ohio Supreme Courts, and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Hicks received a B.A., with high honors, in Psychology and East Asian Languages (Japanese) in 1996 from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a M.A. in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Psychology in 2004 from the University of Arizona, where her primary area of research was Criminal Profiling. Ms. Hicks is a 2007 graduate of Berkeley Law, where she was a Notes & Comments Editor for the California Law Review, and a member of the Asian American Law Journal. Scotia was also the Appellate Advocacy Director for the Moot Court Board (now BOA), a national finalist on the National Moot Court Competition team, and a semi-finalist and Best Brief award winner in the McBaine Moot Court Competition. Fall 2022 Description: Appellate Advocacy is designed to further develop the skills learned in Written and Oral Advocacy - writing and presenting oral argument. The aim of Appellate Advocacy is to provide students an experience closely comparable to appellate practice. Students will write a full brief from a shortened record of a case pending in the California Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court. Students will also prepare, practice and deliver a full oral argument. Students will receive advice and guidance from the instructor and from Practitioner-Advisors who are among the best appellate practitioners in the Bay Area. The course is graded, with the brief counting as 75% of the grade and oral argument as 25% of the grade. The grade awarded will also reflect the quality and timeliness of interim assignments. Because this class requires efforts on the part of so many parties - including Practitioner-Advisors, judges, and opposing counsel - no student will be permitted to drop the class, without an extraordinary reason, after the first week of instruction. Appellate Advocacy may not be offered in the Spring semester. Alexandra Robert Gordon is an experienced trial and appellate litigator and a Superior Court Judge. From 2009 up until her judicial appointment in 2018, Judge Gordon served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Government Law Section of the California Department of Justice. She has represented the constitutional officers of the State of California in a wide array of litigation, in both the state and federal trial and appellate courts. Judge Gordon has handled many high-profile cases from the trial court to the United States Supreme Court, including challenges to California’s law prohibiting the possession of large-capacity magazines, banning possession of shark fin, and requiring the disclosure of major donor information by charitable organizations. In 2014, Judge Gordon was awarded the California Lawyer of the Year Award for her work defending the constitutionality of a state law prohibiting mental health professionals from engaging in treatments intended to change the sexual orientation of a minor. Fall 2023 Description: Appellate Advocacy is designed to further develop the skills learned in Written and Oral Advocacy - writing and presenting oral argument. The aim of Appellate Advocacy is to provide students an experience closely comparable to appellate practice. Students will write a full brief from a shortened record of a case pending in the California Supreme Court or other appellate court. Students will also prepare, practice and deliver a full oral argument. Students will receive advice and guidance from the instructor and from Practitioner-Advisors who are among the best appellate practitioners in the Bay Area. The course is graded, with the brief counting as 75% of the grade and oral argument as 25% of the grade. The grade awarded will also reflect the quality and timeliness of interim assignments. Because this class requires efforts on the part of so many parties - including Practitioner-Advisors, volunteer judges, and opposing counsel - no student will be permitted to drop the class, without an extraordinary reason, after the first week of instruction. This class requires completion of an introductory Legal Research and Writing course and is therefore open only to rising second and third-year JD students. Appellate Advocacy will not be offered in the Spring semester. Scotia Hicks is a partner at the law firm of Ehlert Hicks LLP, where she specializes in appeals and critical motions. Prior to that, she practiced as a litigation attorney with Winston & Strawn LLP for 11 years, where her primary areas of focus were complex commercial litigation and white collar investigations, and she was a member of the Appellate and Critical Motions group. Dr. Hicks has represented clients before state and federal courts of appeal, the California and Ohio Supreme Courts, and the United States Supreme Court. Dr. Hicks received a B.A., with high honors, in Psychology and East Asian Languages (Japanese) in 1996 from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a M.A. in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Psychology in 2004 from the University of Arizona, where her primary area of research was Criminal Profiling. Dr. Hicks is a 2007 graduate of Berkeley Law, where she was a Notes & Comments Editor for the California Law Review, and a member of the Asian American Law Journal. She was also the Appellate Advocacy Director for the Moot Court Board (now BOA), a national finalist on the National Moot Court Competition team, and a semi-finalist and Best Brief award winner in the McBaine Moot Court Competition. Fall 2024 Description: Appellate Advocacy is designed to further develop the skills learned in Written and Oral Advocacy - writing and presenting oral argument. Appellate Advocacy aims to provide students an experience closely comparable to appellate practice. Students will write a full brief from a shortened record of a case pending in the California Supreme Court or other appellate court. Students will also prepare, practice and deliver a full oral argument. Students will receive advice and guidance from the instructor and from Practitioner-Advisors who are among the best appellate practitioners in the Bay Area. The course is graded, with the brief counting as 75% of the grade and oral argument as 25% of the grade. The grade awarded will also reflect the quality and timeliness of interim assignments. Because this class requires efforts on the part of so many parties - including Practitioner-Advisors, volunteer judges, and opposing counsel - no student will be permitted to drop the class, without an extraordinary reason, after the first week of instruction. Appellate Advocacy will not be offered in the Spring semester. Fall 2025 Description: Appellate Advocacy is designed to further develop the skills JD students learned in Written and Oral Advocacy - writing and presenting oral argument. Appellate Advocacy aims to provide students an experience closely comparable to appellate practice. Students will write a full brief from a shortened record of a case pending in the California Supreme Court or other appellate court. Students will also prepare, practice and deliver a full oral argument. Students will receive advice and guidance from the instructor and from Practitioner-Advisors who are among the best appellate practitioners in the Bay Area. The course is graded, with the brief counting as 75% of the grade and oral argument as 25% of the grade. The grade awarded will also reflect the quality and timeliness of interim assignments. Because this class requires efforts on the part of so many parties - including Practitioner-Advisors, volunteer judges, and opposing counsel - no student will be permitted to drop the class, without an extraordinary reason, after the first week of instruction. Appellate Advocacy will not be offered in the Spring semester. |
| Law 243.3 Oral Advocacy for LL.M. Students 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Course Description - Oral Advocacy for LL.M Students Judge David M. Krashna (Ret./Assigned), Alameda County CA Superior Court Oral advocacy is one of the critical professional skills mastered by U.S. lawyers. In this one unit skills workshop, we will study oral advocacy through readings, lectures, demonstrations, discussions, an oral quiz and (above all else) by practicing oral advocacy in small groups with critiques by experienced lawyers and judges. The course will meet on three Saturdays - February 29, March 7, & 14, 2020 - from 10:00-12:00 and 13:30-16:00. Each student will be expected to present an opening statement (Mar. 7) and a closing argument (Mar. 14) in a simulated case. Readings will be from materials posted on bCourses, classroom PowerPoint presentations and one text: Brian Johnson & Marsha Hunter, The Articulate Advocate (2016) Enrollment is limited to LL.M students. Attendance is MANDATORY for all three Saturday classes and one brief video review session (April 3, 2020), where students will sign up for a timeslot between 8:30AM-4:30PM to meet with Judge Krashna. A brief video introduction of the instructor will be provided in bCourses; each student is required to provide their own brief video introduction. The DEADLINE for submittal of the MANDATORY student video introduction is Valentine's Day, by midnight, February 14, 2020. Spring 2021 Description: Judge David M. Krashna (Ret./Assigned), Alameda County CA Superior Court Oral advocacy is one of the critical professional skills mastered by U.S. lawyers. In this one unit skills workshop, we will study oral advocacy through readings, lectures, demonstrations, discussions, an oral quiz and (above all else) by practicing oral advocacy in small groups with critiques by experienced lawyers and judges. The course will meet on three Saturdays - March 6, March 13, & 20, 2021 - from 10:00-12:00 and 13:30-16:00. Each student will be expected to present an opening statement (Mar. 13) and a closing argument (Mar. 20) on a simulated case. Readings will be from materials posted on bCourses, classroom PowerPoint presentations and one text: Brian Johnson & Marsha Hunter, The Articulate Advocate (2016) Enrollment is limited to LL.M students. Attendance is MANDATORY for all three Saturday classes AND one brief video review session (April 2, 2021), where students will sign up for a time slot between 8:30AM-4:30PM to meet individually with Judge Krashna. A brief video introduction of the instructor will be provided in bCourses; each student is required to provide their own brief video introduction. The DEADLINE for submitting of the MANDATORY student video introduction is Valentine's Day, by 11:59 PM, February 14, 2021. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. As a retired judge I am still active as a judicial officer through the Judicial Council Temporary Assigned Judges Program and serve throughout Northern California. I am active in the California Judges Association, for example, I was recently appointed to the Task Force on the Elimination of Bias and Inequality in our judicial system. I am also active in local and national community affairs. Spring 2022 Description: Judge David M. Krashna (Ret./Assigned), Alameda County CA Superior Court Oral advocacy is one of the critical professional skills mastered by U.S. lawyers. In this one unit skills workshop, we will study oral advocacy through readings, lectures, demonstrations, discussions, an oral quiz and (above all else) by practicing oral advocacy in small groups with critiques by experienced lawyers and judges. The course will meet on three Saturdays - January 29, February 5, February 12, 2022 - from 10:00-12:00 and 1:30-4:00. Each student will be expected to present an opening statement (Feb. 5) and a closing argument (Feb. 12) on a simulated case. Readings will be from materials posted on bCourses, classroom PowerPoint presentations, and one text: Brian Johnson & Marsha Hunter, The Articulate Advocate, 2nd edition (2016) Enrollment is limited to LL.M students. Attendance is MANDATORY for all three Saturday classes AND one brief video review session (Friday, Feb. 25, 2022), where students will sign up for a time slot between 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM to meet individually with Judge Krashna. A brief video introduction of the instructor will be provided in bCourses; each student is required to provide their own brief video introduction. The DEADLINE for submitting the MANDATORY student video introduction is Sunday, January, 16, 2022, by 11:59 PM. As a retired judge I am still active as a judicial officer through the CA Judicial Council Temporary Assigned Judges Program and serve throughout Northern California. I am active in the California Judges Association, for example, I am a member of the Task Force on the Elimination of Bias and Inequality in our Judicial System. I am also active in local and national community affairs. Spring 2023 Description: Judge Benjamin T. Reyes II, Superior Court of California (Contra Costa County) co-taught by volunteer lecturer, Judge Matthew D. Krashna (Ret.), Superior Court of California (Alameda County) (Instructor for the past eight years). Oral advocacy is one of the critical professional skills mastered by U.S. lawyers. In this one unit skills workshop, we will study and practice oral advocacy through readings, lectures, demonstrations, discussions, an oral quiz and (above all else) by practicing oral advocacy in small groups with critiques by experienced lawyers and judges. The course will meet on three Saturdays - February 4, 2023, February 11, 2023 and February 25, 2023- from 10:00-12:00 and 13:30-16:00 and on one Friday in March. Each student will be expected to present an opening statement (February 11, 2023) and a closing argument (February 25, 2023) on a simulated case. There will also be a video review session on Friday, March 10, 2023. Attendance is mandatory for all three classes and the review session. Readings will be from materials posted on bCourses, classroom PowerPoint presentations, and one text: Brian Johnson & Marsha Hunter, The Articulate Advocate, 2nd edition (2016) Enrollment is limited to LL.M students. Attendance is MANDATORY for all three Saturday classes AND one brief video review session (Friday, March 10, 2023), where students will sign up for a time slot between 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM to meet individually with Judge Benjamin Reyes. A brief video introduction of the instructor will be provided in bCourses; each student is required to provide their own 2-minute brief video introduction. The DEADLINE for submitting the MANDATORY student video introduction is January, 20, 2023, by 11:59 PM. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Judge Reyes is a sitting judge currently assigned to the Superior Court's Family Law Division. He was previously assigned as a criminal judge and has presided over 50 jury trials. Spring 2024 Description: Prepare to embark on an exhilarating journey as you boldly venture beyond your comfort zone, diving headfirst into an electrifying course meticulously crafted to awaken your passion for the art of oral advocacy. Unleash your inner legal powerhouse! Dive into the dynamic world of Oral Advocacy, a cornerstone skill for successful U.S. lawyers. Brace yourself for an exhilarating one-unit skills workshop that goes beyond the ordinary law school class. In this high-octane course, you team up in small groups, unleashing your individual oratory prowess in oral advocacy, all under the watchful eyes of battle-hardened lawyers and formidable judges. Get ready to transform yourself into a master of persuasion and leave your mark as an advocate! This course is taught by Judge Benjamin T. Reyes II, Superior Court of California (Contra Costa County) and co-taught by volunteer lecturer, Judge Matthew D. Krashna (Ret.), Superior Court of California (Alameda County) (Instructor for the past nine years). Other visiting judges and attorneys will complement your learning experience. This compressed skills course will meet on Three (3) Saturdays - January 20, 2024, January 27, 2024, and February 3, 2024 - from 10:00-12:00 and 13:30-16:30. Each student will be expected to present an opening statement (January 27, 2024) and a closing argument (February 3, 2024) on a simulated case. There will also be a video review session on Friday, February 9, 2024 from 9:00-16:30. Readings will be from materials posted on bCourses, classroom PowerPoint presentations, and one text: Brian Johnson & Marsha Hunter, The Articulate Advocate, 2nd edition (2016) Enrollment is limited to LL.M students. Attendance is MANDATORY for all three Saturday classes AND one brief video review session (Friday, March 10, 2023), where students will sign up for a time slot to meet individually with Judge Reyes. A brief video introduction of the instructor will be provided in bCourses. Each student is required to provide their own 2-minute brief video introduction. The DEADLINE for submitting the MANDATORY student video introduction is Friday, January 12, 2024 by 11:59 p.m. (2359 hrs.) Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Judge Reyes is a Superior Court (trial court) Judge assigned to the Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County. He is the Supervising Judge of the court's Family Law Division. He was previously assigned as a criminal judge and has presided over 50 jury trials. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: Prepare to embark on an exhilarating condensed 3-week journey as you boldly venture beyond your comfort zone, diving headfirst into an electrifying course meticulously crafted to ignite your passion for the art of oral advocacy. Unleash your inner legal powerhouse! Dive into the dynamic world of Oral Advocacy, a cornerstone skill for successful U.S. lawyers. Brace yourself for an exciting one-unit skills workshop that goes beyond the ordinary law school class. In this challenging course, you team up in small groups, over three Saturday sessions, unleashing your individual oratory prowess in oral advocacy, all under the watchful guidance of battle-hardened lawyers and formidable judges. Get ready to transform yourself into a master of persuasion and leave your mark as an advocate! This course is taught by Judge Benjamin T. Reyes II, Superior Court of California (Contra Costa County) and co-taught by volunteer lecturer, Judge Matthew D. Krashna (Ret.), Superior Court of California (Alameda County). Other prominent visiting judges and reputable trial attorneys will complement your learning experience. This compressed skills course will meet on Three (3) Saturdays - March 1, 2025, March 8, 2025, and April 5, 2025 - from 10:00-12:00 and 13:30-16:30. Each student will be expected to present an opening statement (March 8, 2025) and a closing argument (April 5, 2025) on a simulated case. There will also be a required video review session by appointment with Judge Reyes. Readings will be from materials posted on bCourses, classroom PowerPoint presentations, and one text: Brian Johnson & Marsha Hunter, The Articulate Advocate, 2nd edition (2016) Enrollment is limited to LL.M students. Attendance is MANDATORY for all three Saturday classes AND one brief video review session, where students will sign up for a time slot to meet individually with Judge Reyes. A brief video introduction of the instructor will be provided in bCourses. Each student is required to upload their own 2-minute brief video introduction. The DEADLINE for submitting the MANDATORY student video introduction is Wednesday, January 22, 2025 by 11:59 p.m. (2359 hrs.) Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Judge Reyes is a Superior Court (trial court) Judge assigned to the Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County. He is currently the Supervising Judge of the court's Family Law Division. He was previously assigned as a criminal judge and has presided over 50 jury trials. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. 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. Prerequisites: Record a brief video introduction of yourself consisting of two to three minutes and upload the video to bcourses. This is mandatory, with a submission deadline of Wednesday, January 22, 2025 11:59 p.m. (2359 hrs.) Failure to submit this video introduction may disqualify you from attending class. Reasonable extensions may be granted by Judge Reyes upon request. Exam Notes: (None) This is an oral advocacy class. No papers are required. Course Category: LL.M.-Only Classes This course is listed in the following sub-categories: Simulation Courses |
| Law 243.5 Going Solo:Starting Your Own Law Firm 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Going Solo: Starting Your Own Law Firm is designed to prepare law students with basic training in how to open a law office and market themselves as a solo practitioner. Topics will include strategies for operating a lucrative and sustainable practice while serving underserved clients including people of limited means or in remote regions. Course includes: • Starting and operating a sustainable, affordable law office that can serve clients of a variety of income levels; • Integrating technology to maximize profitability and/or to bridge the geographic divide when serving remote and/or otherwise underserved areas • Establishing your business: licensing, zoning, banking, commercial leasing, tax benefits, and key resources • Managing risks • Budgeting, pricing, and financial requirements • Professional Branding • Mission/Vision Development • Marketing for attorneys • Converting or rejecting prospective clients • Professional Ethics and Social Responsibility • Record-keeping and intake process • Client communications • Billing and fee agreements • Customer relationship management • Strategic, transitional, and succession planning • Drafting a formal business plan that may be presented to investors, partners, or stakeholders Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor bio: Des Lafleur is a business attorney with 10 years of experience consulting companies ranging from startups to blue chip businesses. Her practice has a heavy emphasis on commercial contracts, intellectual property, and marketing law. Lafleur helps clients protect, enforce, and exploit their intellectual property assets while mitigating risks. Following her 2012 Berkeley Law graduation she helped small means entrepreneurs build businesses through services provides at Berkeley Law. An entrepreneur herself, Lafleur founded her boutique bi-coastal consulting practice in 2013. Her practice focused on clients in creative industries and retail. Although she grew her own practice mostly off-line, Lafleur helps others design their digital presences and grow their own businesses. Lafleur is also a Clinical Teaching Fellow for Berkeley Law’s New Business Community Law Clinic. |
| Law 243.51 Designing Government Services 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Long forms, clunky websites, ambiguous legalese - for many people, this is what interacting with the government entails. For those who rely on government services, poor design is often more than an inconvenience - it creates a barrier to accessing benefits What would policies and programs look like and feel like if they were written for their intended beneficiaries? In this experiential course, we'll be looking at government services from a design lens. Students will learn key human-centered design methods and will apply them to understand public services from a new angle. Through course materials and guest lectures, students will also learn about the growing role that human-centered design is playing in advocacy, legal services, and policy making. This course is for all students. No design experience necessary. |
| Law 243.6 Skills of Exceptional Lawyers - Social Intelligence and The Human Dimension 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Class meets once a week for one two-hour block each week of the semester + four two-hour blocks during the first four weeks of the semester + a mandatory one-day workshop that will be determined. It will meet Tuesdays, 3:35PM-5:25PM January 14-February 4th, and Thursdays 3:35PM-5:25PM January 16th-April 23rd. Final project. No final exam. Discussion based. Class and small group participation required. Readings required for most weekly sessions. Lawyer Skills. Reading people, building trust, having difficult conversations, being listened to, improving judgment, enhancing creativity, making good decisions, winning negotiations, managing people, time and your career, making connections, setting goals, investing in yourself, understanding your limits, finding happiness in the law, having fun and being successful. Exceptional lawyers are good at these things. Experience and recent developments in the science and practice of Social Intelligence show that everyone can learn and get better at them. Most students who have taken this course in the past report genuine progress in improving their skills in many of these areas and in learning how to make continuing progress after the class has been completed. This is a life-long endeavor, but well worth the effort and self-investment. Law school is primarily focused on teaching future lawyers to ‘think like lawyers’ and have a broad knowledge base of legal principles, laws and precedents, and therefore emphasizes issue spotting, rational thinking, research, clear writing and argumentation. However, studies have shown that proficiency, even excellence, in these skills is not sufficient and does not predict successful or satisfying legal careers. Rather these are necessary, but not sufficient, skills. This class is intended to start students on a life-long learning process of developing these Social Intelligence and Human Dimension Skills that are the other - and overwhelmingly more difficult to learn aspect (because they require buying into their importance, committing with strong motivation to improve, and constant application, re-enforcement and learning over a lifetime and a career) - of what it takes to be both happier and more successful in your career. It is NOT the expectation of this class that you will leave proficient at these skills. No 14-week small-unit class can do that. The expectation is that you will leave with your eyes more open, your antennae less wooden, your attentiveness to yourself and others a bit heightened, and most critically a vocabulary of the concepts at play here, a belief in the importance of these skills, a dedication to investing in them and an idea of how to do that - for the rest of your life. Along the way we hope to have some fun and generate enthusiasm for this endeavor. While some refer to Human Dimension skills as soft skills, they are actually hard to learn as they require learning and practicing new skills until they become ‘second nature’ much like it is not possible to learn to ride a bike or serve a tennis ball by only listening to a lecture and not practicing and getting coaching until it becomes a skill you employ without much having to consciously think about it. The science about these things has developed at remarkable pace in recent years, lead in part by the work of Princeton Professor Daniel Kahneman who won the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work on the mind and for helping to create the field of behavioral economics. Research, science and techniques developed at Harvard in conducting negotiations and handling difficult conversations and feedback have also advanced the field. Using these materials and the work of Paul Ekman on emotions and nonverbal communication and Daniel Gilbert on how memory, perception and our views of the future develop and of Daniel Goleman, author of both Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence, and others it is possible to develop new teachable and learnable skills that on can master with a commitment to self-investment and the help of fellow class members. Many people report the results as ‘life changing’. Exceptional lawyers have learned these skills. Besides all this, most students report not only making progress on these skills but also that they build bonds and form new friendships over the course of the class that they have not in other classes … and have fun doing it. |
| Law 243.7 9th Circuit Practicum Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Hybrid Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Practicum (Law 243.7A). The Seminar will introduce the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. We will frontload the learning. Students must attend an all-day Seminar meeting on Saturday, August 15, 2020. The Seminar will meet less frequently after the opening briefs are filed in October. Course Applications Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training in order to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. Please apply for the course through our online application. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is April 17, 2020. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We hope to make offers of admission on May 1st. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2020-21. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2020 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. An information session was held on April 14th. Contact William Fernholz (wfernholz@law.berkeley.edu) for the link to a videorecording of that session. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Practicum (Law 243.7A) for application procedures and other information. The Seminar will introduce the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. We will frontload the learning. Students must attend an all-day (remote) Seminar meeting on the Saturday before the first week of class. The Seminar will meet less frequently after the opening briefs are filed in October. Fall 2022 Description: Please apply for the course through our online application. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is Noon on April 13, 2022. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. This Seminar is the classroom component for the Ninth Circuit Practicum. The Seminar introduces the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar also serves as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. We frontload the learning. Students must attend an all-day (remote) Seminar meeting on the Saturday before the first week of class. The Seminar will meet less frequently after the opening briefs are filed in October. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2022-23. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2023 at the appropriate time. Fall 2023 Description: Please apply for the course through our online application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dP_E1eDtYoebfDLeZWuRPutnEmba2v8DtI1JKlG046s/viewform?edit_requested=true. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is noon on Monday, April 10, 2022. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. This Seminar is the classroom component for the Ninth Circuit Practicum. The Seminar introduces the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar also serves as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. We frontload the learning. Students must attend an all-day in-person Seminar meeting on the Saturday before the first week of class. The Seminar will meet less frequently after the opening briefs are filed in October. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2022-23. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2023 at the appropriate time. Fall 2024 Description: Information sessions will be held at 1:00pm on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 and 5:45pm on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at the following zoom link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/93397827095 Please apply for the course through our online application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dP_E1eDtYoebfDLeZWuRPutnEmba2v8DtI1JKlG046s/viewform?edit_requested=true. The application is due at Noon on April 8, 2024. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two-thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. This Seminar is the classroom component for the Ninth Circuit Practicum. The Seminar introduces the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar also serves as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. We frontload the learning. Students must attend an all-day in-person Seminar meeting on the Saturday before the first week of class. The Seminar will meet less frequently after the opening briefs are filed in October. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2024-2025. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2025 at the appropriate time. Fall 2025 Description: Information sessions will be held at 6:00pm on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 and Thursday, April 3, 2025 at the following zoom link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/93397827095 Please apply for the course through our online application: https://forms.gle/USPTVxhGa3VJbnSVA. The application is due at 5:00pm on April 7, 2025. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two-thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. This Seminar is the classroom component for the Ninth Circuit Practicum. The Seminar introduces the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar also serves as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. We frontload the learning. Students must attend an all-day in-person Seminar meeting on the Saturday before the first week of class. The Seminar will meet less frequently after the opening briefs are filed in October. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2025-2026. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2026 at the appropriate time. |
| Law 243.71 Advanced 9th Circuit Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Students will continue to learn and apply the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and the techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. The course will meet during the seminar time set aside for clinics. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2021 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Students will continue to learn and apply the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and the techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. The course will meet during the seminar time set aside for clinics. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2022 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Students will continue to learn and apply the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and the techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. The course will meet during the seminar time set aside for clinics. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2023 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Students will continue to learn and apply the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and the techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. The course will meet during the seminar time set aside for clinics. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2024 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Students will continue to learn and apply the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and the techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2025 Description: This Seminar is the classroom component for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Please see the course description for the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum. Students will continue to learn and apply the substantive and procedural federal law involved in the Practicum’s appeals and the techniques of appellate advocacy. The Seminar will also serve as a forum to workshop the cases and strategies. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. |
| Law 243.72 Immigration Liberation Project: Representation in Detention Proceedings Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Our seminar and practicum on federal immigration detention proceedings offer students a comprehensive immersion in immigration bond advocacy. We will provide limited scope representation to immigrants detained in ICE custody, allowing students to receive hands-on experience working directly with detained clients, gathering and analyzing critical documents, and drafting federal habeas corpus petitions challenging prolonged detention without bond. The practicum component provides real-world application of legal concepts through client representation, while developing essential skills in case management, evidence collection, and persuasive legal writing. The required seven-week seminar explores the broader landscape of immigration detention and crimmigration through weekly sessions featuring distinguished guest speakers from advocacy organizations, public defender offices, and federal litigation practices. Students will engage with diverse readings on mandatory detention, prolonged custody challenges, and the constitutional implications of civil detention. Through in-depth discussions and analysis of case studies, the seminar examines the evolving intersection of criminal and immigration enforcement and provides students with the knowledge to navigate this complex area of law while advocating for fundamental due process protections. A key component of our program is collaboration with on and off-campus partners to ensure holistic representation for clients. Students will work with our community partners to address clients’ comprehensive needs beyond legal representation. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to develop crucial coordination skills while providing detained immigrants with support systems necessary for successful case outcomes and community reintegration. Note: You must register for both the seminar and the accompanying practicum. This course has a special application process. Applications are due April 11th, with the final enrollment decision due to students by April 21. Please fill out the application here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfK6D75zgLHvnAEVAVPvN0CNwgBz_nWcp9s4fWCT2BkXUCQpw/viewform?usp=sharing |
| Law 243.7A 9th Circuit Practicum 4 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The Ninth Circuit Practicum will provide students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students will brief and potentially argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students will also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. Working in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program, the Practicum will brief and possibly argue three appeals during the academic year. These will most likely be immigration cases, though the Practicum will not know the cases and clients until this summer. Students will work in teams of two on a strict schedule. We expect to file opening briefs in October, and reply briefs in early 2021. The cases may be set for argument in April or May, and some students may argue under faculty supervision. Because of this schedule, the Practicum is a two-semester experience. This will be a demanding course. Students will work very hard early in the Fall semester to master the cases and prepare the opening briefs. The work will also be uneven in the Spring semester given the timing of the reply briefs and arguments. Students must devote the necessary amount of time to these cases on this schedule, so they should not be concurrently enrolled in another clinic, field placement or practicum, Appellate Advocacy, or other course with a competing commitment. Each team and case will have a primary faculty supervisor - either Professor Fernholz or an adjunct faculty member - though the teams will also collaborate with each other. Because of the needs of the clients, we cannot guarantee that the briefing will follow this schedule or that every case will be fully litigated or argued. We will do what is best for the clients, and that might mean settling or mediating a case. It is possible that the Practicum will need to alter the briefing or argument schedule. But we will select cases with the anticipation that they will be handled during the academic year. Course Applications: Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training in order to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. Please apply for the course through our online application. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is April 17, 2020. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We hope to make offers of admission on May 1st. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2020-21. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2020 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. An information session was held on April 14th. Contact William Fernholz (wfernholz@law.berkeley.edu) for the link to a videorecording of that session. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Ninth Circuit Practicum will provide students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students will brief and potentially argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students will also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. Working in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program, the Practicum will brief and possibly argue three appeals during the academic year. These will most likely be immigration cases, though the Practicum will not know the cases and clients until this summer. Students will work in teams of two on a strict schedule. We expect to file opening briefs in October, and reply briefs in February 2022. The cases may be set for argument in April or May, and some students may argue under faculty supervision. Because of this schedule, the Practicum is a two-semester experience. This will be a demanding course. Students will work very hard early in the Fall semester to master the cases and prepare the opening briefs. The work will also be uneven in the Spring semester given the timing of the reply briefs and arguments. Students must devote the necessary amount of time to these cases on this schedule, so they should not be concurrently enrolled in another clinic, field placement or practicum, Appellate Advocacy, or other course with a competing commitment. Each team and case will have a primary faculty supervisor, though the teams will also collaborate with each other. Because of the needs of the clients, we cannot guarantee that the briefing will follow this schedule or that every case will be fully litigated or argued. We will do what is best for the clients, and that might mean settling or mediating a case. It is possible that the Practicum will need to alter the briefing or argument schedule. But we will select cases with the anticipation that they will be handled during the academic year. Course Applications: Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training in order to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. An information session will be held in early April. Please apply for the course through our online application. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is Noon on April 12, 2021. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We hope to interview applicants and plan to make decisions shortly thereafter. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2021-22. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2022 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Fall 2022 Description: Please apply for the course through our online application. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is Noon on April 13, 2022. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. Because of Ninth Circuit rules for student practice, the Practicum is limited to rising third-year law students. Working in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program, members of the Practicum brief and argue four appeals during the academic year. These most likely will be immigration or civil rights cases, though we will not know the cases and clients until this summer. Students work in teams of two on a strict schedule. We expect to file opening briefs in October, and reply briefs in February 2023. The cases may be set for argument in April, and students will argue under faculty supervision. Because of this schedule, the Practicum is a two-semester experience. This is a demanding course. Students work very hard early in the Fall semester to master the cases and prepare the opening briefs. The work is uneven in the Spring semester given the timing of the reply briefs and arguments. Students must devote the necessary amount of time to these cases on this schedule, so they may not concurrently enroll in another clinic, field placement or practicum, Appellate Advocacy, or other courses with a competing commitment. Each team and case has a primary faculty supervisor, though the teams also collaborate with each other. Because of the needs of the clients, we cannot guarantee that the briefing will follow this schedule or that every case will be fully litigated or argued. We will do what is best for the clients, and that might mean settling or mediating a case. It is possible that the court or the Practicum will need to alter the briefing or argument schedule. But we select cases anticipating that they will be litigated during the academic year. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2022-23. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2023 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Fall 2023 Description: Please apply for the course through our online application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dP_E1eDtYoebfDLeZWuRPutnEmba2v8DtI1JKlG046s/viewform?edit_requested=true. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is noon on Monday, April 10, 2022. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum Clinic and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. Working in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program, members of the Practicum brief and argue four appeals during the academic year. These most likely will be immigration or civil rights cases, though we will not know the cases and clients until this summer. Students work in teams of two on a strict schedule. We expect to file opening briefs in October, and reply briefs in February 2023. The cases may be set for argument in April, and students will argue under faculty supervision, unless the case is settled or remanded earlier. Because of this schedule, the Practicum is a two-semester experience. This is a demanding course. Students work very hard early in the Fall semester to master the cases and prepare the opening briefs. The work is uneven in the Spring semester given the timing of the reply briefs and arguments. Students must devote the necessary amount of time to these cases on this schedule, so they may not concurrently enroll in another clinic, field placement or practicum, Appellate Advocacy, or other courses with a competing commitment. Each team and case has a primary fa culty supervisor, though the teams also collaborate with each other. Because of the needs of the clients, we cannot guarantee that the briefing will follow this schedule or that every case will be fully litigated or argued. We will do what is best for the clients, and that might mean settling or mediating a case. It is possible that the court or the Practicum will need to alter the briefing or argument schedule. But we select cases anticipating that they will be litigated during the academic year. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2023-24. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2024 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Fall 2024 Description: Information sessions will be held at 1:00pm on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 and 5:45pm on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at the following zoom link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/93397827095 Please apply for the course through our online application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dP_E1eDtYoebfDLeZWuRPutnEmba2v8DtI1JKlG046s/viewform?edit_requested=true. The application is due at Noon on April 8, 2024. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two-thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students with an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. Working in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program, members of the Practicum brief and argue four appeals during the academic year. These most likely will be immigration or civil rights cases, though we will not know the cases and clients until this summer. Students work in teams of two on a strict schedule. We expect to file opening briefs in October and reply briefs in February of the following year. The cases may be set for argument in April, and students will argue under faculty supervision, unless the case is settled or remanded earlier. Because of this schedule, the Practicum is a two-semester experience. This is a demanding course. Students work very hard during the summer and early in the Fall semester to master the cases and prepare the opening briefs. The work is uneven in the Spring semester given the timing of the reply briefs and arguments. Students must devote the necessary amount of time to these cases on this schedule, so they may not concurrently enroll in another clinic, field placement or practicum, Appellate Advocacy, or other courses with a competing commitment. Each team and case has a primary faculty supervisor, though the teams also collaborate with each other. Because of the needs of the clients, we cannot guarantee that the briefing will follow this schedule or that every case will be fully litigated or argued. We will do what is best for the clients, and that might mean settling or mediating a case. It is possible that the court or the Practicum will need to alter the briefing or argument schedule. But we select cases anticipating that they will be litigated during the academic year. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2024-25. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2025 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Fall 2025 Description: Information sessions will be held at 6:00pm on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 and Thursday, April 3, 2025 at the following zoom link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/93397827095 Please apply for the course through our online application: https://forms.gle/USPTVxhGa3VJbnSVA. The application is due at 5:00pm on April 7, 2025. (Only one application is required for both the seminar and clinic components.) We plan to interview applicants and make decisions shortly thereafter. Admission to the Practicum and the co-requisite Seminar is by application only. The Ninth Circuit requires that a student have completed two-thirds of their law school training to practice before the Court. As a result, we will consider applications only from rising third-year students. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students with an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. Working in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program, members of the Practicum brief and argue four appeals during the academic year. These most likely will be immigration or civil rights cases, though we will not know the cases and clients until this summer. Students work in teams of two on a strict schedule. We expect to file opening briefs in October and reply briefs in February of the following year. The cases may be set for argument in April, and students will argue under faculty supervision, unless the case is settled or remanded earlier. Because of this schedule, the Practicum is a two-semester experience. This is a demanding course. Students work very hard during the summer and early in the Fall semester to master the cases and prepare the opening briefs. The work is uneven in the Spring semester given the timing of the reply briefs and arguments. Students must devote the necessary amount of time to these cases on this schedule, so they may not concurrently enroll in another clinic, field placement or practicum, Appellate Advocacy, or other courses with a competing commitment. Each team and case has a primary faculty supervisor, though the teams also collaborate with each other. If one or more cases is resolved prior to oral argument, we may need to reassign students to other cases or merge them into an existing team. Because of the needs of the clients, we cannot guarantee that the briefing will follow this schedule or that every case will be fully litigated or argued. We will do what is best for the clients, and that might mean settling or mediating a case. It is possible that the court or the Practicum will need to alter the briefing or argument schedule. But we select cases anticipating that they will be litigated during the academic year. The Ninth Circuit Practicum requires students to enroll in both the Practicum and Seminar for the entire academic year. The Fall Seminar is limited to students who are accepted for enrollment in the Practicum for academic year 2025-26. Accepted students will enroll in the Advanced Practicum and Advanced Seminar in Spring 2026 at the appropriate time. Attendance Requirement Full attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the clinical portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. |
| Law 243.7B Advanced 9th Circuit Practicum 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students who completed the Ninth Circuit Practicum in the fall semester. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and potentially argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. The Practicum works in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program. We were appointed to several cases in the fall, with opening briefs filed then. In the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum, we will file reply briefs in these cases and potentially present oral argument under faculty supervision. Students must devote considerable time to these cases on this schedule, so they should not be concurrently enrolled in another clinic, field placement or practicum, or course with a competing commitment. Nor should they have a competing commitment in an employment or volunteer setting. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2021 Description: This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students who completed the Ninth Circuit Practicum in the fall semester. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and potentially argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. The Practicum works in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program. We were appointed to several cases in the fall, with opening briefs filed then. In the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum, we will file reply briefs in these cases and potentially present oral argument under faculty supervision. Students must devote considerable time to these cases on this schedule, so they should not be concurrently enrolled in another clinic, field placement or practicum, or course with a competing commitment. Nor should they have a competing commitment in an employment or volunteer setting. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2022 Description: This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students who completed the Ninth Circuit Practicum in the fall semester. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and potentially argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. The Practicum works in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program. We were appointed to several cases in the fall, with opening briefs filed then. In the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum, we will file reply briefs in these cases and potentially present oral argument under faculty supervision. Students must devote considerable time to these cases on this schedule, so they should not be concurrently enrolled in a clinic, field placement or practicum, or course with a competing commitment. Nor should they have a competing commitment in an employment or volunteer setting. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2023 Description: This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students who completed the Ninth Circuit Practicum in the fall semester. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. The Practicum works in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program. Practicum supervisors and students were appointed to several cases in the fall, with opening briefs filed then. In the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum, students will file reply briefs in these cases and present oral argument under faculty supervision. Students must devote considerable time to these cases on the court's abbreviated schedule, so they should not concurrently enroll in a clinic, field placement or practicum, or course with a competing commitment. Nor should they have a competing commitment in an employment or volunteer setting. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2024 Description: This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students who completed the Ninth Circuit Practicum in the fall semester. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. The Practicum works in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program. Practicum supervisors and students were appointed to several cases in the fall, with opening briefs filed then. In the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum, students will file reply briefs in these cases and present oral argument under faculty supervision. Students must devote considerable time to these cases on the court's abbreviated schedule, so they should not concurrently enroll in a clinic, field placement or practicum, or course with a competing commitment. Nor should they have a competing commitment in an employment or volunteer setting. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. Spring 2025 Description: This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. Enrollment is limited to students who completed the Ninth Circuit Practicum in the fall semester. The Ninth Circuit Practicum provides students an intense experience in appellate advocacy. Students brief and argue cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of clients who would otherwise not have legal representation. Students also learn aspects of federal law and appellate practice. The Practicum works in collaboration with the Ninth Circuit’s Pro Bono Program. Practicum supervisors and students were appointed to several cases in the fall, with opening briefs filed then. In the Advanced Ninth Circuit Practicum, students will file reply briefs in these cases and present oral argument under faculty supervision. Students must devote considerable time to these cases on the court's abbreviated schedule, so they should not concurrently enroll in a clinic, field placement or practicum, or course with a competing commitment. Nor should they have a competing commitment in an employment or volunteer setting. Attendance at each seminar session and full participation in the practicum portion is mandatory to receive credit for this course. |
| Law 243.7C Immigration Liberation Project: Representation in Detention Proceedings Practicum 2 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Our seminar and practicum on federal immigration detention proceedings offer students a comprehensive immersion in immigration bond advocacy. We will provide limited scope representation to immigrants detained in ICE custody, allowing students to receive hands-on experience working directly with detained clients, gathering and analyzing critical documents, and drafting federal habeas corpus petitions challenging prolonged detention without bond. The practicum component provides real-world application of legal concepts through client representation, while developing essential skills in case management, evidence collection, and persuasive legal writing. The required seven-week seminar explores the broader landscape of immigration detention and crimmigration through weekly sessions featuring distinguished guest speakers from advocacy organizations, public defender offices, and federal litigation practices. Students will engage with diverse readings on mandatory detention, prolonged custody challenges, and the constitutional implications of civil detention. Through in-depth discussions and analysis of case studies, the seminar examines the evolving intersection of criminal and immigration enforcement and provides students with the knowledge to navigate this complex area of law while advocating for fundamental due process protections. A key component of our program is collaboration with on and off-campus partners to ensure holistic representation for clients. Students will work with our community partners to address clients’ comprehensive needs beyond legal representation. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to develop crucial coordination skills while providing detained immigrants with support systems necessary for successful case outcomes and community reintegration. Note: You must register for both the seminar and the accompanying practicum. This course has a special application process. Applications are due April 11th, with the final enrollment decision due to students by April 21. Please fill out the application here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfK6D75zgLHvnAEVAVPvN0CNwgBz_nWcp9s4fWCT2BkXUCQpw/viewform?usp=sharing |
| Law 243.9 Persuasion 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will expose you to classical and modern techniques aimed at increasing your personal abilities to persuade others. The primary learning experience will come as you are on your feet in class presenting. Through lecture and student exercises, there will be opportunities for you to develop and expand your persuasive skills for use in many legal situations, with an emphasis on persuasion in trial and appellate courts. We will cover a history of great advocates, voice training, the use of rhetorical devises (including the uses of emotion), presenting witnesses, argument, and other related subjects. Exercises will include examples from intellectual property and criminal law. There will be a heavy emphasis on student performance. This course is recommended for those who anticipate doing some courtroom work in their future law practice. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Instructor requires attendance to the first class. Spring 2021 Description: This course will expose you to classical and modern techniques aimed at increasing your personal abilities to persuade others. The primary learning experience will come as you are on your feet in class presenting. Through lecture and student exercises, there will be opportunities for you to develop and expand your persuasive skills for use in many legal situations, with an emphasis on persuasion in trial and appellate courts. We will cover a history of great advocates, voice training, the use of rhetorical devices (including the uses of emotion), presenting witnesses, argument, and other related subjects. Exercises will include examples from intellectual property and criminal law. There will be a heavy emphasis on student performance. This course is recommended for those who anticipate doing some courtroom work in their future law practice. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Instructor requires attendance at the first class. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 244 Conflict of Laws 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: The subject of Conflict of Laws engages the problem of multi-state litigation--that is litigation in which the parties may hail from, or events occur, in different states. Such litigation raises questions, such as: what law is applicable?; where to file suit?; and how to enforce a judgment? As the country and the world grow more interconnected, these problems recur ever more frequently. As a result, this course covers three topics in depth: Choice of Law, Adjudicative Jurisdiction, and Recognition of Judgments. Emphasis is placed on theoretical and practical problems and traditional and modern approaches. While most of the material focuses on conflicts between states of the US, we will also engage with problems of international civil litigation and extraterritorial application of United States law. Ultimately, Conflicts is a challenging course best suited to students who intend to pursue a nationwide civil-litigation practice (indeed, it is essential for such students) or who are intrigued by complicated questions of legal theory, jurisprudence, and federalism. Spring 2023 Description: The subject of Conflict of Laws engages the problem of multi-state litigation--that is litigation in which the parties may hail from, or events occur, in different states. Such litigation raises complex questions, such as: what courts have jurisdiction over the dispute; what law is applicable?; and how to enforce a judgment, as either a successful plaintiff or defendant? As the country and the world grow more interconnected, these problems recur ever more frequently. As a result, this course covers three topics in depth: Choice of Law, Adjudicative Jurisdiction, and Recognition of Judgments. Emphasis is placed on theoretical and practical problems and traditional and modern approaches. While most of the material focuses on conflicts between states of the US, we will also engage with problems of international civil litigation and extraterritorial application of United States law. Ultimately, Conflicts is a challenging course best suited to students who intend to pursue a nationwide civil-litigation practice (indeed, it is essential for such students) or who are intrigued by complicated questions of legal theory, jurisprudence, and federalism. Spring 2024 Description: Transactions, relationships, and conduct of various kinds often have contacts with more than one state. For instance, a contract may involve a buyer and a seller in two different states; a couple may get married in one state and then move to another; a product manufactured in one state may cause injury in another. (Similarly, transactions, relationships, and conduct may have contacts with more than one country.) This reality generates a number of legal questions that are relevant both to transaction planning and to dispute resolution. To start with, what are the limits of a state’s (or a country’s) power to regulate a relationship or a dispute that is not purely local? If two states have that power, and both seek to apply their law (which may differ in substance) to the same relationship or dispute, how should we choose between them? Can the parties to a transaction avoid potential problems by simply choosing the applicable law themselves, and, if so, are there any limits to that form of party autonomy? Given the realities of interstate and international activity, these issues are of obvious relevance to lawyers in many different fields of law practice. They also raise fascinating and complex questions about the limits of sovereignty and the policy considerations underlying the exercise of sovereign authority. The field known as “conflict of laws” comprises three major sub-areas: (1) jurisdiction, (2) choice of law, and (3) enforcement of foreign judgments. We will cover all of those topics, although the primary focus of the course will be on the choice-of-law process. Over the years, many different approaches have been developed to guide that process. We will examine those approaches and consider how they work in application. The course also considers the role of the United States Constitution in limiting choice-of-law abuses, particularly courts' unwarranted choice and application of their own law. Spring 2025 Description: The subject of Conflict of Laws engages the problem of multi-state litigation--that is, litigation in which the parties may hail from, or events occur, in different states. Such litigation raises complex questions, such as: what courts have jurisdiction over the dispute; what law is applicable?; and how to enforce a judgment, as either a successful plaintiff or defendant? As the country and the world grow more interconnected, these problems recur ever more frequently. As a result, this course covers three topics in depth: Choice of Law, Adjudicative Jurisdiction, and Recognition of Judgments. Emphasis is placed on theoretical and practical problems and traditional and modern approaches. While most of the material focuses on domestic conflicts (e.g., between states of the US, or between the states and the federal government), we will also engage with problems of international civil litigation. Ultimately, Conflicts is a challenging course best suited to students who intend to pursue a nationwide civil litigation practice (indeed, it is essential for such students) or who are intrigued by complicated questions of legal theory, jurisprudence, and federalism. |
| Law 244.1 Advanced Civil Procedure: Complex Litigation 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The subject of this course is complex civil litigation. The complexity stems from, among other things, technical issues, high moral or monetary stakes, multiple parties, and multiple jurisdictions in a federal system. We will focus in particular on how the litigation process deals with situations where many persons have been affected by the defendant's conduct. To start, we will revisit some topics covered in the first-year procedure course, including jurisdiction, preclusion, and simple joinder, among others. We will then delve deeply into material you may not have covered in depth, or at all, in the first year, primarily class actions and multidistrict litigation (MDL)--and how they fit into the larger procedural system. The material is difficult and deals with issues that have been perennial subjects of judicial and political controversy, in Congress and state legislatures, in a divided Supreme Court, and in the federal rulemaking process. We will master the relevant doctrine and policy, nurture the ability to think like a lawyer about the many strategic and tactical issues involved in litigating these cases on both sides of the "v.", and investigate the policy choices involved in designing systems to deal with cases of this kind. This course is important, if not essential, for prospective litigators; pure pleasure for procedure enthusiasts. Spring 2021 Description: The subject of this course is complex civil litigation. The complexity stems from, among other things, technical issues, high moral or monetary stakes, multiple parties, and multiple jurisdictions in a federal system. We will focus in particular on how the litigation process deals with situations where many persons have been affected by the defendant's conduct. To start, we will revisit some topics covered in the first-year procedure course, including jurisdiction, preclusion, and simple joinder, among others. We will then delve deeply into material you may not have covered in depth, or at all, in the first year, primarily class actions and multidistrict litigation (MDL)--and how they fit into the larger procedural system. The material is difficult and deals with issues that have been perennial subjects of judicial and political controversy, in Congress and state legislatures, in a divided Supreme Court, and in the federal rulemaking process. We will master the relevant doctrine and policy, nurture the ability to think like a lawyer about the many strategic and tactical issues involved in litigating these cases on both sides of the "v.", and investigate the policy choices involved in designing systems to deal with cases of this kind. This course is important, if not essential, for prospective litigators; pure pleasure for procedure enthusiasts. Spring 2022 Description: The subject of this course is complex civil litigation. The complexity stems from, among other things, technical issues, high stakes, multiple parties, and multiple jurisdictions in a federal system. We will focus in particular on how the litigation process deals with situations where many persons have been affected by the defendant's conduct. To start, we will revisit some topics you likely covered in the first-year procedure course, including the basics of jurisdiction, preclusion, and simple joinder, among others. We will then delve deeply into material you may not have covered in depth, or at all, in the first year, primarily class actions and multidistrict litigation (MDL)--and how they fit into the larger procedural system. The material is difficult and deals with issues that have been perennial subjects of judicial and political controversy--in Congress and state legislatures, in a divided Supreme Court, and in the federal rulemaking process. We will master the relevant doctrine and policy, nurture the ability to think like a lawyer about the many strategic and tactical issues involved in litigating these cases on both sides of the "v.", and investigate the policy choices involved in designing systems to deal with cases of this kind. This course is important, if not essential, for prospective litigators; pure pleasure for procedure enthusiasts. Fall 2023 Description: The subject of this course is complex civil litigation. The complexity stems from, among other things, technical issues, high stakes, multiple parties, and multiple overlapping jurisdictions in a federal system. To start, we will revisit some topics you likely covered in the first-year procedure course but in greater depth, including the basics of jurisdiction, preclusion, choice of law, and joinder. We will then delve deeply into material you may not have covered in depth, or at all, in the first year, primarily mass and class actions and multidistrict litigation (MDL), and how they fit into the larger procedural system. The material is difficult and deals with issues that have been perennial subjects of judicial and political controversy--in Congress and state legislatures, in a divided Supreme Court, and in the federal rulemaking process. We will master the relevant doctrine and policy, nurture the ability to think like a lawyer about the many strategic and tactical issues involved in litigating these cases on both sides of the "v.", and investigate the policy choices involved in designing systems to deal with cases of this kind. This course is essential for future litigators; pure pleasure for procedure enthusiasts. |
| Law 244.12 Civil Procedure Stories 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This seminar will peel back the curtain behind seminal cases in the Civil Procedure curriculum. It will delve into the background and scope of these cases' impacts on the people involved in them, with an emphasis on the interwoven relationship between procedure and substance--the fact that every procedural case comes from somewhere, and the important ones alter the landscape afterward. Issues related to equality and inequality based on race, class, sex, and sexual orientation abound. We will draw substantially from a book called Civil Procedure Stories, edited by Kevin Clermont, which contains wonderful chapters on classic cases including Hansberry v. Lee; Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins; Goldberg v. Kelly; Owen Equipment and Erection Co. v. Kroger; and Celotex Corp. v. Catrett. Other cases we might study using law review sources include Ashcroft v. Iqbal, via Shirin Sinnar's article "The Lost Story of Iqbal"; the marriage equality cases in Alabama, via Howard Wasserman's article "Crazy in Alabama: Judicial Process and the Last Stand Against Marriage Equality in the Land of George Wallace"; Word-Wide Volkswagen v. Woodson, via Charles Adams's "World-Wide Volkswagen v. Woodson-The Rest of the Story"; and perhaps also some studies of MDL cases via sources including Beth Burch's recent book, "Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation," together with other views about the functioning of the MDL system. Grades will be based primarily on writing requirements, and secondarily on class participation. Each student will be responsible for several short writing assignments during the semester. Half of these papers will involve posing a discussion questions about the coming week's reading and composing your own answers those questions. The other half will involve responding to questions posed by classmates. You will receive feedback to help you improve subsequent submissions. Both the discussion questions you provide and your answers will play an important--hopefully, guiding!--role in our in-class discussions. It's fair to expect that students who are askers or responders in a given week will play lead roles in that week's discussion, but I expect all students to come to class prepared to participate in discussions each week, including on days when they have not written response papers. |
| Law 244.13 Suing Corporations 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: Suing Corporations This practitioner-led course will teach aspiring affirmative litigators to investigate, serve, conduct discovery against, and collect judgments from corporate defendants. Students will gain introductory knowledge of business organizations, corporate accounting, bankruptcy, and California civil procedure, and will have opportunities to practice fundamental litigation skills such as propounding and responding to discovery, meeting and conferring, taking deposition testimony, and preparing a case for trial. Course requirements include three brief practical assignments, class participation, and a take-home exam. Instructor Bio: Adelina Acuña is a consumer protection prosecutor dedicated to combating fraudulent and predatory business practices that target Californians. She has been a Deputy Attorney General in the California Attorney General's Office since 2012, when she joined as an Honors Attorney in the AG's inaugural Honors Attorney program. For her first three years, she served in the Corporate Fraud Section and on the AG's Mortgage-Backed Securities Strike Force, which investigated and litigated against several major national banks and rating agencies and recovered over $1 billion in financial-crisis losses for California's pension funds. Ms. Acuña subsequently joined the AG's Consumer Protection Section, where she has litigated, settled, and tried numerous multi-million dollar cases for the benefit of Californians. Most notably, she helped win and defend on appeal a record-setting $302 million penalty award against Johnson & Johnson for its deceptive marketing of pelvic mesh implants. Her litigation team received the California Lawyer Association Public Law Section's inaugural 2020 Outstanding Achievement in Public Law award. Ms. Acuña has served numerous times as a Practitioner-Adviser for Berkeley Law's Appellate Advocacy course, presents annual CLE courses for the Consumer Protection arm of the California District Attorneys Association, an d has conducted litigation skills trainings within the Department of Justice. She recently co-authored the California chapter of the first edition of the ABA treatise, State Consumer Protection Law (2022). Ms. Acuña is also a former board member and Chair Emeritus of the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society. Fall 2024 Description: Suing Corporations This practitioner-led course will teach aspiring affirmative litigators to investigate, serve, conduct discovery against, and collect judgments from corporate defendants. Students will gain introductory knowledge of business organizations, bankruptcy, and California civil procedure. Using consumer protection litigation against corporate defendants as a model, the course will introduce and develop core litigation skills such as propounding and responding to discovery, meeting and conferring, taking deposition testimony, and preparing a case for trial. Course requirements include three brief practical assignments, two robust simulation exercises, and a take-home exam. Instructor Bio: Adelina Acuña is a consumer protection prosecutor dedicated to combating fraudulent and predatory business practices that target Californians. She has been a Deputy Attorney General in the California Attorney General's Office since 2012, when she joined as an Honors Attorney in the AG's inaugural Honors Attorney program. For her first three years, she served in the Corporate Fraud Section and on the AG's Mortgage-Backed Securities Strike Force, which investigated and litigated against several major national banks and rating agencies and recovered over $1 billion in financial-crisis losses for California's pension funds. Ms. Acuña subsequently joined the AG's Consumer Protection Section, where she has litigated, settled, and tried numerous multi-million dollar cases for the benefit of Californians. Most notably, she helped win and defend on appeal a record-setting $302 million penalty award against Johnson & Johnson for its deceptive marketing of pelvic mesh implants. Her litigation team received the California Lawyer Association Public Law Section's inaugural 2020 Outstanding Achievement in Public Law award. Ms. Acuña has served numerous times as a Practitioner-Adviser for Berkeley Law's Appellate Advocacy course, presents annual CLE courses for the Consumer Protection arm of the California District Attorneys Association, and has conducted investigation and litigation skills trainings within the Department of Justice. She recently co-authored the California chapter of the first edition of the ABA treatise, State Consumer Protection Law (2022). Ms. Acuña is also a former board member and Chair Emeritus of the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society. Fall 2025 Description: Suing Corporations This practitioner-led course will teach aspiring affirmative litigators to investigate, serve, conduct discovery, and prepare for trial against corporate defendants. Students will gain introductory knowledge of business organizations, bankruptcy, and California civil procedure. Using consumer protection and employment litigation against corporate defendants as a model, the course will introduce and develop core litigation skills such as propounding and responding to discovery, meeting and conferring, taking deposition testimony, and marshaling evidence for trial. Course requirements include three practical problem-set assignments, two robust simulation exercises, and a take-home exam. Instructor Bio: Adelina Acuña is a consumer protection prosecutor dedicated to combating fraudulent and predatory business practices that target Californians. She has been a Deputy Attorney General in the California Attorney General's Office since 2012, when she joined as an Honors Attorney in the AG's inaugural Honors Attorney program. For her first three years, she served in the Corporate Fraud Section and on the AG's Mortgage-Backed Securities Strike Force, which investigated and litigated against several major national banks and rating agencies and recovered over $1 billion in financial-crisis losses for California's pension funds. Ms. Acuña subsequently joined the AG's Consumer Protection Section, where she has litigated, settled, and tried numerous multi-million dollar cases for the benefit of Californians. Most notably, she helped win and defend on appeal a record-setting $302 million penalty award against Johnson & Johnson for its deceptive marketing of pelvic mesh implants. Her litigation team received the California Lawyer Association Public Law Section's inaugural 2020 Outstanding Achievement in Public Law award. Ms. Acuña has served numerous times as a Practitioner-Adviser for Berkeley Law's Appellate Advocacy course, presents annual CLE courses for the Consumer Protection arm of the California District Attorneys Association, and has conducted investigation and litigation skills trainings within the Department of Justice. She recently co-authored the California chapter of the first edition of the ABA treatise, State Consumer Protection Law (2022). Ms. Acuña is also a former board member and Chair Emeritus of the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society. |
| Law 244.2 Remedies 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Remedies is a practice-oriented exploration of the substantive and strategic issues associated with the forms of redress available to parties in constitutional, contract and tort litigation. The class will explore the complexities lurking in the various measures of damages; restitution and unjust enrichment; provisional and permanent injunctive relief; and specific performance. Along with learning the law, students will be exposed to the powerful roles played by the judiciary and juries in determining outcomes. The overriding objective of the class is to prepare students for the practice of law. A grasp of the litigation process, including remedies, is an essential step in becoming a competent lawyer. Thus, the class is recommended for all law students, regardless of their anticipated area of specialization. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled "American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70," American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; The Law of Hazardous Waste: CERCLA, RCRA and Common Law Claims; Contracts for LLMs; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was named a “John and Elizabeth Boalt Lecturer.” Spring 2021 Description: The course in Remedies explores the stakes of civil litigation: that is, what tangible results lawyers for plaintiffs may achieve for their clients, and how lawyers for defendants resist those outcomes. The subject matter of the cases in the class is trans-substantive, and we will cover particular remedies available in contract, tort, IP, and constitutional cases, among others--but the course is more about Remedies law in general, rather than the law in any particular substantive area. To wit, we will cover money damages (including damages for property loss, physical injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and punitive damages), injunctive relief in both private and public-law litigation, restitution and disgorgement of unjust enrichment, and ancillary remedies (including attorneys' fees and contempt). In terms of approach, aside from covering the black-letter doctrine, the course will be both theoretical and practical. We will examine both the appropriate purposes of different civil remedies and engage with the many interesting strategic questions for lawyers on both sides of various kinds of litigation. As a result, this course is appropriate for anyone planning a career in civil litigation, or those more interested in theories of redress and the proper scope of judicial power. Spring 2022 Description: The course in Remedies explores the stakes of civil litigation: that is, what tangible results lawyers for plaintiffs may achieve for their clients, and how lawyers for defendants resist those outcomes. The subject matter of the cases in the class is trans-substantive, though we will cover particular remedies available in contract, tort, IP, and constitutional cases, among others. The course is, however, more about Remedies law in general, rather than the law in any particular substantive area. To wit, we will cover money damages (including damages for property loss, physical injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and punitive damages), injunctive relief and specific performance, and restitution and disgorgement of unjust enrichment. In terms of approach, aside from covering the black-letter doctrine, the course will be both theoretical and practical. We will examine both the appropriate purposes of different civil remedies and engage with the many interesting strategic questions for lawyers on both sides of various kinds of litigation. As a result, this course is appropriate for anyone planning a career in civil litigation, or those more interested in theories of redress and the proper scope of judicial power. Fall 2022 Description: Remedies is a practice-oriented exploration of the substantive and strategic issues associated with the forms of redress available to parties in constitutional, contract and tort litigation. The class will explore the complexities lurking in the various measures of damages; restitution and unjust enrichment; provisional and permanent injunctive relief; and specific performance. Along with learning the law, students will be exposed to the powerful roles played by the judiciary and juries in determining outcomes. The overriding objective of the class is to prepare students for the practice of law. A grasp of the litigation process, including remedies, is an essential step in becoming a competent lawyer. Thus, the class is recommended for all law students, regardless of their anticipated area of specialization. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Course Text: Laycock & Hasen, Modern American Remedies Cases and Materials (5th Ed.) There are two options, either of which will work: (i) Connected ebook plus print book: 9781454891277 $298 (New print textbook plus lifetime access to the ebook, outline tool, and other resources at casebookconnect.com. Access code for digital components included inside print book) and (ii) Connected ebook: 9781543844078 $209 (Lifetime access to the ebook, outline too, and other resources at casebookconnect.com). Fall 2023 Description: Remedies is a practice-oriented exploration of the substantive and strategic issues associated with the forms of redress available to parties in constitutional, contract and tort litigation. The class will explore the complexities lurking in the various measures of damages; restitution and unjust enrichment; provisional and permanent injunctive relief; and specific performance. Along with learning the law, students will be exposed to the powerful roles played by the judiciary and juries in determining outcomes. The overriding objective of the class is to prepare students for the practice of law. A grasp of the litigation process, including remedies, is an essential step in becoming a competent lawyer. Thus, the class is recommended for all law students, regardless of their anticipated area of specialization. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Course Text: Laycock & Hasen, Modern American Remedies Cases and Materials (5th Ed.) There are two options, either of which will work: (i) Connected ebook plus print book: 9781454891277 $298 (New print textbook plus lifetime access to the ebook, outline tool, and other resources at casebookconnect.com. Access code for digital components included inside print book) and (ii) Connected ebook: 9781543844078 $209 (Lifetime access to the ebook, outline too, and other resources at casebookconnect.com). Fall 2024 Description: Remedies is a practice-oriented exploration of the substantive and strategic issues associated with the forms of redress available to parties in constitutional, contract and tort litigation. The class will explore the complexities lurking in the various measures of damages; restitution and unjust enrichment; provisional and permanent injunctive relief; and specific performance. Along with learning the law, students will be exposed to the powerful roles played by the judiciary and juries in determining outcomes. The overriding objective of the class is to prepare students for the practice of law. A grasp of the litigation process, including remedies, is an essential step in becoming a competent lawyer. Thus, the class is recommended for all law students, regardless of their anticipated area of specialization. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Course Text: Laycock & Hasen, Modern American Remedies Cases and Materials (5th Ed.) There are two options, either of which will work: (i) Connected ebook plus print book: 9781454891277 (New print textbook plus lifetime access to the ebook, outline tool, and other resources at casebookconnect.com. Access code for digital components included inside print book) and (ii) Connected ebook: 9781543844078 (Lifetime access to the ebook, outline too, and other resources at casebookconnect.com). Fall 2025 Description: Remedies is a practice-oriented exploration of the substantive and strategic issues associated with the forms of redress available to parties in constitutional, contract and tort litigation. The class will explore the complexities lurking in the various measures of damages; restitution and unjust enrichment; provisional and permanent injunctive relief; and specific performance. Along with learning the law, students will be exposed to the powerful roles played by the judiciary and juries in determining outcomes. The overriding objective of the class is to prepare students for the practice of law. A grasp of the litigation process, including remedies, is an essential step in becoming a competent lawyer. Thus, the class is recommended for all law students, regardless of their anticipated area of specialization. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Course Text: Laycock & Hasen, Modern American Remedies Cases and Materials (5th Ed.) There are two options, either of which will work: (i) Connected ebook plus print book: 9781454891277 $298 (New print textbook plus lifetime access to the ebook, outline tool, and other resources at casebookconnect.com. Access code for digital components included inside print book) and (ii) Connected ebook: 9781543844078 $209 (Lifetime access to the ebook, outline too, and other resources at casebookconnect.com). |
| Law 244.2S Remedies 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: The course in Remedies explores the stakes of civil litigation: that is, what tangible results lawyers for plaintiffs may achieve for their clients, and how lawyers for defendants resist those outcomes. The subject matter of the cases in the class is trans-substantive, and we will cover particular remedies available in contract, tort, IP, and constitutional cases, among others--but the course is more about Remedies law in general, rather than the law in any particular substantive area. We will cover money damages (including damages for property loss, physical injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and punitive damages), injunctive relief in both private and public-law litigation, restitution and disgorgement of unjust enrichment, and ancillary remedies (including attorneys' fees and contempt). In terms of approach, aside from covering the black-letter doctrine, the course will be both theoretical and practical. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: This course in Remedies explores the stakes of civil litigation: that is, what tangible results lawyers for plaintiffs may achieve for their clients, and how lawyers for defendants resist those outcomes. The subject matter of the cases in the class is trans-substantive, and we will cover particular remedies available in contract, tort, IP, and constitutional cases, among others--but the course is more about Remedies law in general, rather than the law in any particular substantive area. We will cover money damages (including damages for property loss, physical injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and punitive damages), injunctive relief in both private and public-law litigation, restitution and disgorgement of unjust enrichment, and ancillary remedies (including attorneys' fees and contempt). In terms of approach, aside from covering the black-letter doctrine, the course will be both theoretical and practical. |
| Law 244.41 Post Conviction Remedies 3 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: Criminal appeals and the “Great Writ” of habeas corpus are the two principal vehicles for challenging the government’s unlawful imprisonment of persons within its jurisdiction. This course will provide both a theoretical and intensely practical introduction to both areas of practice. On the theoretical side, the course will examine the nature of, and differences between, direct appeal and habeas corpus; the various procedural bars on both state and federal habeas review of criminal convictions; the most common legal challenges to imprisonment including violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the Fifth Amendment right to disclosure of all exculpatory evidence; and doctrinal limitations including federalism and finality of state judgments. On the practical side, students will learn how to read a trial court record, spot and develop issues, investigate habeas claims, and draft both an opening brief and a habeas petition, including a statement of facts, a legal claim, and supporting declarations. The class will use the record from a real murder case the instructors litigated together in 2013. In the beginning of the semester, students will be given the trial record in the case and will use that record for various exercises throughout the class. Readings will include important cases on habeas corpus, the scope of direct appeal, and statutory materials. Students will be graded on the quality of their classroom participation and written work. We will also have various guest speakers, including prosecutors and exonerated defendants, who will provide different perspectives on the post-conviction process. Fall 2024 Description: Criminal appeals and the “Great Writ” of habeas corpus are the two principal vehicles for challenging the government’s unlawful imprisonment of persons within its jurisdiction. This course will provide both a theoretical and intensely practical introduction to both areas of practice. On the theoretical side, the course will examine the nature of, and differences between, direct appeal and habeas corpus; the various procedural bars on both state and federal habeas review of criminal convictions; the most common legal challenges to imprisonment including violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the Fifth Amendment right to disclosure of all exculpatory evidence; and doctrinal limitations including federalism and finality of state judgments. On the practical side, students will learn how to read a trial court record, spot and develop issues, investigate habeas claims, and draft both an opening brief and a habeas petition, including a statement of facts, a legal claim, and supporting declarations. The class will use the record from a real murder case the instructors litigated together in 2013. At the beginning of the semester, students will be given the trial record in the case and will use that record for various exercises throughout the class. Readings will include important cases on habeas corpus, the scope of direct appeal, and statutory materials. Students will be graded on the quality of their classroom participation and written work. We will also have various guest speakers, including prosecutors and exonerated defendants, who will provide different perspectives on the post-conviction process. Fall 2025 Description: Criminal appeals and the “Great Writ” of habeas corpus are the two principal vehicles for challenging the government’s unlawful imprisonment of persons within its jurisdiction. This course will provide both a theoretical and intensely practical introduction to both areas of practice. On the theoretical side, the course will examine the nature of, and differences between, direct appeal and habeas corpus; the various procedural bars on both state and federal habeas review of criminal convictions; the most common legal challenges to imprisonment including violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the Fifth Amendment right to disclosure of all exculpatory evidence; and doctrinal limitations including federalism and finality of state judgments. On the practical side, students will learn how to read a trial court record, spot and develop issues, investigate habeas claims, and draft both an opening brief and a habeas petition, including a statement of facts, a legal claim, and supporting declarations. The class will use the record from a real murder case the instructors litigated together in 2013. At the beginning of the semester, students will be given the trial record in the case and will use that record for various exercises throughout the class. Readings will include important cases on habeas corpus, the scope of direct appeal, and statutory materials. Students will be graded on the quality of their classroom participation and written work. We will also have various guest speakers, including prosecutors and exonerated defendants, who will provide different perspectives on the post-conviction process. |
| Law 244.42 Litigation 101 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: What are the first years of litigation practice at a law firm like? How should young litigators best set themselves up for success? What are some basic dos and don'ts in early litigation practice? We divide the class into plaintiff and defendant, and litigate through each stage of a simulated case. Throughout the substantive journey of our hypothetical case, we’ll incorporate discussion of the extra-legal considerations: Do you feel like you’re doing meaningful work? Is your work-life balance totally out of whack? How to conduct yourself in a work crisis? How to get and give credit? Is this why I went to law school? The class will focus on law firm litigators, but will also involve presenting the perspectives of in-house clients and non-attorney clients, and of regulatory and governmental sectors. Instructors: Shaudy Danaye-Armstrong is senior counsel at Google, and has worked at both the District Attorneys' office and the law firms of Howard Rice and Arnold and Porter. She's litigated (and continues to litigate) some of the country's most high-profile cases, which we expect to discuss further in class. Bobbie Wilson is a Litigation partner at Perkins Coie. She has extensive experience in complex civil litigation primarily in the area of intellectual property. She focuses on patent, trade secrets, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and Section 230 litigation under the Communications Decency Act. Ms. Wilson also serves as the lead trial counsel in intellectual property, complex class action litigation, and political law cases. She has been recognized by The Recorder in its annual "Women Leaders in Tech Law" list for many years, and as a Top 10 "Power Player." She has was also named one of the "Top 100 Women Lawyers" in California by the Daily Journal. Spring 2021 Description: What are the first years of litigation practice at a law firm like? How should young litigators best set themselves up for success? What are some basic dos and don'ts in early litigation practice? We divide the class into plaintiff and defendant, and litigate through each stage of a simulated case. Throughout the substantive journey of our hypothetical case, we’ll incorporate discussion of the extra-legal considerations: Do you feel like you’re doing meaningful work? Is your work-life balance totally out of whack? How to conduct yourself in a work crisis? How to get and give credit? Is this why I went to law school? The class will focus on law firm litigators, but will also involve presenting the perspectives of in-house clients and non-attorney clients, and of regulatory and governmental sectors. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructors: Shaudy Danaye-Armstrong is senior counsel at Google, where she handles Regulatory Litigation and Investigations as well as civil litigation. She has worked at both the District Attorneys' office and the law firms of Howard Rice and Arnold and Porter. She's litigated (and continues to litigate) some of the country's most high-profile cases, running the gamut from biometrics to antitrust; copyright to privacy; and everything in between. She's very excited to work with students as they navigate through the ups and down of a simulated case, and get a feel for the arts of war and peace in litigation. Sonali Maitra has been a partner at Durie Tangri, one of the country's most successful IP litigation boutiques, and an associate at Keker & Van Nest. She's been named one of the country's top IP attorneys under 40 and one of the top attorneys under 40 in California, among other honors. Spring 2022 Description: What are the first years of litigation practice at a law firm like? How should young litigators best set themselves up for success? What are some basic dos and don'ts in early litigation practice? We divide the class into plaintiff and defendant, and litigate through each stage of a simulated case. Throughout the substantive journey of our hypothetical case, we’ll incorporate discussion of the extra-legal considerations: Do you feel like you’re doing meaningful work? Is your work-life balance totally out of whack? How to conduct yourself in a work crisis? How to get and give credit? Is this why I went to law school? The class will focus on law firm litigators, but will also involve presenting the perspectives of in-house clients and non-attorney clients, and of regulatory and governmental sectors. Instructors: Shaudy Danaye-Armstrong is senior counsel at Google, where she sits on the Regulatory Response, Investigations & Strategy team, handling regulatory and other high gravity litigation. She has worked at both the District Attorneys' office and the law firms of Howard Rice and Arnold and Porter. She's litigated (and continues to litigate) some of the country's most high-profile cases, running the gamut from biometrics to antitrust; copyright to privacy; and everything in between. She's very excited to work with students as they navigate through the ups and downs of a simulated case, and get a feel for the arts of war and peace in litigation. Sonali Maitra has been a partner at Durie Tangri, one of the country's most successful IP litigation boutiques, and an associate at Keker & Van Nest. She's been named one of the country's top IP attorneys under 40 and one of the top attorneys under 40 in California, among other honors. Spring 2023 Description: What are the first years of litigation practice at a law firm like? How should young litigators best set themselves up for success? What are some basic dos and don'ts in early litigation practice? We divide the class into plaintiff and defendant, and litigate through each stage of a simulated case. Throughout the substantive journey of our hypothetical case, we’ll incorporate discussion of the extra-legal considerations: Do you feel like you’re doing meaningful work? Is your work-life balance totally out of whack? How to conduct yourself in a work crisis? How to get and give credit? Is this why I went to law school? The class will focus on law firm litigators, but will also involve presenting the perspectives of in-house clients and non-attorney clients, and of regulatory and governmental sectors. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor: Shaudy is a Director at Google, where she has litigated some of the most high profile cases in tech law for the past ten years. She currently leads the Users, Legislators, and Society pillar of the Alphabet Regulatory Response, Investigations & Strategy team. While at Google, Shaudy has handled everything from preparing executives to testify before Congress and Parliament, to regulatory litigation adverse to the Department of Justice and State AGs, to class actions and shareholder cases, and has experience presenting to Alphabet’s Board and to Special Committees of the Board. Before joining Google, she was a generalist litigator at a boutique law firm in San Francisco, Howard Rice (later merged with Arnold & Porter), and did a rotation at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she took eight cases to trial and won them all. Shaudy earned her BA and MA in Philosophy from Stanford University, and her JD from University of Chicago Law School. Shaudy is most proud to be mother to twins, August and Roxy. Spring 2024 Description: What are the first years of litigation practice at a law firm like? How should young litigators best set themselves up for success? What are some basic dos and don'ts in early litigation practice? We divide the class into plaintiff and defendant, and litigate through each stage of a simulated case. Throughout the substantive journey of our hypothetical case, we’ll incorporate discussion of the extra-legal considerations: How do I set myself apart in my early years of practice? How do I learn from my mistakes to make sure I'm growing? What are the ethical issues interwoven into adversarial practice? Am I doing meaningful work? How do I conduct myself in a work crisis? How do I get and give credit? Is this why I went to law school? The class will focus on law firm litigators, but will also involve presenting the perspectives of in-house clients and non-attorney clients, and of regulatory and governmental sectors. I typically bring in guest lecturers from government, non-profit, and law firm backgrounds to share war stories. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor: Shaudy is a Director at Google, where she has litigated some of the most high profile cases in tech law for the past ten years. She currently leads the Users, Legislators, and Society pillar of the Alphabet Regulatory Response, Investigations & Strategy team. While at Google, Shaudy has handled everything from preparing executives to testify before Congress and Parliament, to regulatory litigation adverse to the Department of Justice and State AGs, to class actions and shareholder cases, and has experience presenting to Alphabet’s Board and to Special Committees of the Board. Before joining Google, she was a generalist litigator at a boutique law firm in San Francisco, Howard Rice (later merged with Arnold & Porter), and did a rotation at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she took eight cases to trial and won them all. Shaudy earned her BA and MA in Philosophy from Stanford University, and her JD from University of Chicago Law School. Shaudy is most proud to be mother to twins, August and Roxy. |
| Law 244.43 Postconviction Resentencing Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: Students in this course will work to resentence people incarcerated in state prison out of Alameda County. Pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the District Attorney's office and the Criminal Law & Justice Center, students will be assigned cases of people who have already served lengthy prison terms and who may be appropriate for resentencing and early release. Under supervision, students will evaluate case files and, where appropriate, draft motions for the DA to initiate recall and resentencing to reduced terms. This work, known as prosecutor-initiated resentencing, typically occurs pursuant to Penal Code Section 1172.1. The Seminar portion of the course will be split between lessons and guest speakers on the laws, policies, and practices of prosecutor-initiated resentencing. The seminar and practicum will be led by both Chesa Boudin, the executive director of the Criminal Law & Justice Center, and Andrea Crider, a staff attorney at the center experienced in post-conviction litigation. The instructors will be deputized by the DA's office to appear in court on these cases. Students who have taken Evidence may have opportunities to appear in court under supervision. Topics covered will include: post-conviction law; sentencing; victim's rights; reentry; prison discipline and programming reports; and more. Students may be required to pass a background check in order to access DA case files. Instructor Bios: Chesa Boudin is the founding executive director of UC Berkeley School of Law’s Criminal Law & Justice Center. He served as San Francisco’s elected district attorney from 2020 until 2022. During that time his office resentenced over 100 people from state prison using the legal process in this practicum. Prior to his election Boudin clerked for two federal judges and worked for years as a deputy public defender. He is a graduate of Yale college and Yale law school and attended Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. Andrea Crider is a Staff Attorney for CLJC. Prior to her role at UC Berkeley School of Law, she was a Deputy Public Defender at Contra Costa Public Defenders where she led the Resentencing Pilot Program in the Post-Conviction Unit advocating for resentencing and release for those serving inequitable sentences in CDCR, among various other roles. Andrea was also recognized by the Contra Costa Bar Association’s Pro Bono Honor Roll after serving as a volunteer attorney with For the People, a nonprofit that works to identify individuals for prosecutor-initiated resentencing. She earned her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. She is also an alumni law clerk of the East Bay Community Law Center. Admission will be based on an application process (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GjV9INAuHDaSXMGFvtUIEIHKYTgqV3IHEYO38B9QnDg/edit). Applications from current JD and JSP students are due July 15th. For LLMs and transfer JDs, applications are due July 31st. |
| Law 244.44 Introduction to Restorative Justice Diversion 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Welcome to Restorative Justice Diversion at Berkeley Law. Whether you have some background in Restorative Justice (RJ) or none at all, this class will inform, teach, and inspire you. The criminal justice system is changing. The direction of change nationwide points undeniably toward reform. Whether as diversion from traditional prosecution, as a component of rehabilitation following traditional prosecution or as a community-based process for addressing harm, restorative justice is the future. Restorative justice processes have been shown to improve victim satisfaction, reduce recidivism and improve public safety. This course will equip you with a foundational understanding of restorative justice principles and practices—with a focus on the intersection of restorative justice and the law. We will first learn about the indigenous roots of RJ and get a window into the many ways RJ is practiced worldwide. We will then focus on how prosecutor offices around the country are adding RJ to their pathways for diversion of juvenile and, in some instances, adult criminal cases. We will compare different policies and tease out best practices, including practices for addressing racial inequities in diversion. After experiencing an abbreviated version of a Restorative Community Conferencing process, we will learn to evaluate which cases might be appropriate for RJ diversion and how to track a case from referral to completion or termination. We will then zoom out and look at some influential state and federal laws pertaining to restorative justice that you may interact with as future prosecutors, public defenders, post-conviction attorneys, civil litigators or advocates. We will close with a reflection practice that will allow you to consider and envision your own role in the movement for a more restorative and healing form of justice. The materials for the course will be a mix of law review articles, government studies, United Nations reports, program evaluations, advocacy pieces and videos. Yoana Tchoukleva, your instructor for the course, is an experienced restorative justice practitioner, attorney and policy analyst, dedicated to advancing a community-led vision for justice. She currently leads the planning phase process of a groundbreaking new project at Impact Justice aimed at achieving 0% recidivism, homelessness and unemployment among formerly incarcerated individuals in San Francisco. Prior to Impact Justice, she served as Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office where she expanded access to Restorative Justice Diversion for young adults and adults facing felony charges. Previously, she drafted legislation mandating implicit bias training for judges, attorneys and medical professionals in California; clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson; worked on civil rights cases at the ACLU of Northern California; sought resentencing for individuals serving juvenile life without parole, and held reentry and community restorative justice circles. Her work is focused on ending cycles of violence by both creating spaces for healing and addressing the systemic causes of harm. |
| Law 244.49 Trial Competition 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course is limited to and required for members of the Board of Advocate's trial team. The course will teach trial competition skills, including case analysis and strategies. It will combine lecture with student performance. Spencer Pahlke is a trial lawyer at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger in San Francisco. His practice focuses on prosecuting catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from governmental negligence, vehicular negligence, products liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice. This course will have 9 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 10th week. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course is limited to and required for members of the Board of Advocate's trial team. The course will teach trial competition skills, including case analysis and strategies. It will combine lecture with student performance. Spencer Pahlke is a trial lawyer at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger in San Francisco. His practice focuses on prosecuting catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from governmental negligence, vehicular negligence, products liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice. This course will have 9 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2022 Description: This course is limited to and required for members of the Board of Advocate's trial team. The course will teach trial competition skills, including case analysis and strategies. It will combine lectures with student performance. Spencer Pahlke is a trial lawyer at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger in San Francisco. His practice focuses on prosecuting catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from governmental negligence, vehicular negligence, products liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice. This course will have 9 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2023 Description: This course is limited to and required for members of the Board of Advocate's trial team. The course will teach trial competition skills, including case analysis and strategies. It will combine lectures with student performance. Spencer Pahlke is a trial lawyer at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger in San Francisco. His practice focuses on prosecuting catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from governmental negligence, vehicular negligence, products liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice. This course will have 9 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2024 Description: This course is limited to and required for members of the Board of Advocate's trial team. The course will teach trial competition skills, including case analysis and strategies. It will combine lectures with student performance. Spencer Pahlke is a trial lawyer at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger in San Francisco. His practice focuses on prosecuting catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from governmental negligence, vehicular negligence, products liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice. Jenna Forster is a lawyer at Motley Rice, where her practice focuses on plaintiff-side mass torts and public client litigation. This course will have 9 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2025 Description: This course is limited to and required for members of the Board of Advocate's trial team. The course will teach trial competition skills, including case analysis and strategies. It will combine lectures with student performance. Spencer Pahlke is a trial lawyer at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger in San Francisco. His practice focuses on prosecuting catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from governmental negligence, vehicular negligence, products liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice. Jenna Forster is a Judicial Law Clerk in the United States District Court for the District of Northern California. This course will have 9 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 244.4A Postconviction Resentencing Practicum 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: Students in this course will work to resentence people incarcerated in state prison out of Alameda County. Pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the District Attorney's office and Berkeley Law’s Criminal Law & Justice Center, students will be assigned cases of people who have already served lengthy prison terms and who may be appropriate for resentencing and early release. Under supervision, students will evaluate case files and, where appropriate, draft motions for the DA to initiate recall and resentencing to reduced terms. This work, known as prosecutor-initiated resentencing, typically occurs pursuant to Penal Code Section 1172.1. The Seminar portion of the course will be split between lessons and guest speakers on the laws, policies, and practices of prosecutor-initiated resentencing. The seminar and practicum will be led by both Chesa Boudin, the executive director of the Criminal Law & Justice Center, and Andrea Crider, a staff attorney at the Center experienced in post-conviction litigation. The instructors will be deputized by the DA's office to appear in court on these cases. Students who have taken Evidence may have opportunities to appear in court under supervision. Topics covered will include: post-conviction law; sentencing; victim's rights; reentry; prison discipline and programming reports; and more. Students may be required to pass a background check to access DA case files. Instructor Bios: Chesa Boudin is the founding executive director of UC Berkeley School of Law’s Criminal Law & Justice Center. He served as San Francisco’s elected district attorney from 2020 until 2022. During that time his office resentenced over 100 people from state prison using the legal process in this practicum. Prior to his election Boudin clerked for two federal judges and worked for years as a deputy public defender. He is a graduate of Yale college and Yale law school and attended Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. Andrea Crider is a Staff Attorney for CLJC. Prior to her role at UC Berkeley School of Law, she was a Deputy Public Defender at Contra Costa Public Defenders where she led the Resentencing Pilot Program in the Post-Conviction Unit advocating for resentencing and release for those serving inequitable sentences in CDCR, among various other roles. Andrea was also recognized by the Contra Costa Bar Association’s Pro Bono Honor Roll after serving as a volunteer attorney with For the People, a nonprofit that works to identify individuals for prosecutor-initiated resentencing. She earned her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. She is also an alumni law clerk of the East Bay Community Law Center. Admission will be based on an application process (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GjV9INAuHDaSXMGFvtUIEIHKYTgqV3IHEYO38B9QnDg/edit). Applications from current JD and JSP students are due July 15th. For LLMs and transfer JDs, applications are due July 31st. |
| Law 244.51 Skills for Direct Legal Services: Working with Clients 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This seminar is designed to teach students skills relevant to client-centered advocacy in the direct services space. Working directly with clients can be incredibly rewarding and meaningful, and fostering a positive attorney-client relationship is imperative to successful advocacy. However, navigating client relationships can be challenging, particularly when working with communities that the legal system is designed to oppress. Direct services lawyers often meet with clients at acutely stressful times and our work can involve helping clients navigate issues that are very sensitive and painful. Many clients have also had previous negative and traumatic experiences with the legal system and with lawyers, and so advocates must work to earn trust from their clients from the start of the attorney-client relationship. This seminar will center the structural issues that affect our clients and inform our representation of them, including discrimination based on race, class, sexuality, and disability. At the beginning of the course, students will be provided with strategies to negotiate their clients’ trauma and support their own resiliency. The remainder of the course will be structured around two hypothetical situations. The hypotheticals will offer students the opportunity to practice building rapport with clients, effective interviewing, and emotional resiliency. They will be supplemented by skills labs on drafting declarations and preparing clients for witness testimony. Each hypothetical will also be accompanied by instruction on relevant legal principles. Ellen Ivens-Duran (she/her) is a Staff Attorney and Clinical Supervisor in the Youth Defender Clinic at East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). She represents young people in juvenile delinquency court and school expulsion proceedings, as well as assists people seeking to seal their Alameda County juvenile delinquency records. She also works toward systems change in a variety of coalition spaces, including F ree Our Kids, Fix School Discipline, and the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice. Brigitte Nicoletti (she/her) is a Staff Attorney and Clinical Supervisor in the Homelessness Subunit of the Clean Slate Team at EBCLC. Prior to joining EBCLC, Brigitte worked in the Juvenile Defender Unit at the Contra Costa Public Defenders. In her work at EBCLC, Brigitte engages in direct services work with unhoused clients, and has also engaged in impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of her clients. She strives to meet her clients where they are and spends much of her time working in encampments. |
| Law 244.52 Direct Legal Services: Creative Advocacy and Alternatives to Litigation 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This seminar will advance students' research, writing and oral advocacy skills through a social justice lens. Representing clients who are impacted by systems intended to oppress them often means obtaining solutions outside the courtroom, while still needing to navigate the courtroom. And new attorneys employed in legal services often are managing independent caseloads from day one. The course will be centered around a hypothetical legal services client where we will engage hypothetical private actors, public agencies, and municipal bodies. Students will learn how to research local agency ordinances and regulations, along with governing state and federal law. Students will also learn how to effectively communicate with non-lawyers in positions of power to advocate for their hypothetical client, combining legal argument with persuasion techniques directed at non-legal professionals with discretionary power. We will discuss the challenges of interacting with people in positions of power who carry their own implicit and explicit biases into their work. And we will explore creative problem solving when the law itself may not provide a basis of justice for your client. Coursework will include drafting a demand letter, researching local laws and communicating research to supervisors, written and oral advocacy with public agencies, simulated negotiations, and preparing public comment for a city council meeting. In addition to the simulation exercises, this class will include readings contextualizing the challenges faced by our hypothetical client. We will explore the impacts of housing policies that allowed white middle class families, at the expense of individuals of color, to build wealth through access to home ownership and that imposed a system of segregation, and how programs such as subsidized housing programs have further prevented individuals of color from obtaining housing stability and have subjected individuals to excessive policing. We will also explore how courts and laws were built to protect the needs of those who historically were white, male land owners, and what that means today. Lastly, the last two sessions will explore potential policy solutions and will include readings about organizations and legal organizations pursuing solutions such as private reparations, permanent real estate cooperatives, and other ways to work to rectify past harms that deprived individuals of color and indigenous peoples from accessing wealth. Sabyl Landrum is a clinical supervisor and staff attorney at East Bay Community Law Center, joining EBCLC's Housing practice in 2019, and currently practicing in the Homelessness subunit of EBCLC's Clean Slate practice. Prior to joining EBCLC, she was a Staff Attorney at Community Legal Aid-So Cal for almost three years. Sabyl has represented clients in unlawful detainers and administrative hearings, litigated impact cases on behalf of unhoused client and public benefit recipients, and has engaged in policy advocacy at the local level. Sabyl has also successfully represented clients both as a supervised law student, and as an attorney, in appellate matters in state court, and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Immediately after law school she worked as a Junior Associate at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius where she worked on securities litigation, legal malpractice, and employment litigation matters. |
| Law 244.61 Multidistrict Litigation: The New Reality of Class Actions and Mass Torts 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This one-unit elective will focus on one of the most important developments in modern civil practice: the emergence of Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL, as the primary mechanism for mass-tort and class-action litigation in the United States. The MDL statute, passed in 1968, provides for consolidation of cases sharing a common question of fact before a single federal district judge for pretrial proceedings, such as motion practice, discovery, class certification, and often settlement negotiations and bellwether trials. Currently, the biggest and most important cases in the country are consolidated into MDLs, including the litigations involving the opioids crisis, Volkswagen Clean Diesel scandal, concussions in the National Football League, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, not to mention enormous cases involving defective products and drugs, antitrust violations, and consumer data breaches. All told, MDL now comprises over a third of the federal civil docket: over 130,000 cases are currently part of an MDL. In this class, we will examine how MDL was created and became so dominant and how it works in the real world. For students interested in becoming litigators, the court will be a in-depth introduction to the world of complex litigation, as it is practiced at the highest levels. This course will meet every other Tuesdays on August 18, September 1, September 15, September 29, October 13, October 27, and November 10. This is an advanced course in US Civil Procedure intended for students who have already completed the basic first-year JD course in procedure. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Fall 2022 Description: This one-unit elective will focus on one of the most important developments in modern civil practice: the emergence of Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL, as the primary mechanism for mass-tort and class-action litigation in the United States. The MDL statute, passed in 1968, provides for consolidation of cases sharing a common question of fact before a single federal district judge for pretrial proceedings, such as motion practice, discovery, class certification, settlement negotiations, and often bellwether trials, if there is jurisdiction. Currently, the biggest and most important cases in the country are consolidated into MDLs, including the litigations involving the opioids crisis, concussions in the National Football League, not to mention enormous cases involving defective products and drugs, antitrust violations, securities fraud, and consumer data breaches. All told, MDL now comprises over a third of the federal civil docket: over 400,000 pending cases are currently part of an MDL. In this class, we will examine how MDL was created, how it became so prominent, and how it works in the real world. For students interested in becoming litigators in a national practice, this course will be an in-depth introduction to the world of complex litigation, as it is practiced at the highest levels. This is an advanced course in US Civil Procedure intended for students who have already completed the basic first-year JD course in procedure. Due to the nature of the course, classes will not be recorded except as required to accommodate students with disabilities. Fall 2024 Description: This one-unit elective will focus on one of the most important developments in modern civil practice: the emergence of Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL, as the primary mechanism for mass-tort and class-action litigation in the United States. The MDL statute, passed in 1968, provides for consolidation of cases sharing a common question of fact before a single federal district judge for pretrial proceedings, such as motion practice, discovery, class certification, settlement negotiations, and often bellwether trials, if there is jurisdiction. Currently, the biggest and most important cases in the country are consolidated into MDLs, including the litigations involving the opioid crisis, concussions in the National Football League, not to mention enormous cases involving defective products and drugs, antitrust violations, securities fraud, and consumer data breaches. All told, MDL now comprises over two-thirds of the federal civil docket: over 450,000 pending cases are currently part of an MDL. In this class, we will examine how MDL was created, how it became so prominent, and how it works in the real world. For students interested in becoming litigators in a national practice, this course will be an in-depth introduction to the world of complex litigation, as it is practiced at the highest levels. |
| Law 244.62 Litigating Class Actions 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This course provides an introduction to litigating class actions. Some background in civil procedure is essential as the cases raise complex procedural questions. We will also be considering how class actions fit into the larger procedural system. The material is difficult and deals with issues that have been subjects of judicial and political controversy, in Congress and state legislatures, in the Supreme Court, and in the federal rulemaking process. We will discuss the relevant doctrine and policy, nurture the ability to think like a lawyer about the many strategic and tactical issues involved in litigating these cases on both sides of the "v.", and consider the policy choices involved in the availability of the class action device. Anne Bloom is the Executive Director of the Civil Justice Research Initiative, an access to justice think tank housed at Berkeley Law. Jocelyn D. Larkin is the Executive Director of the Impact Fund, a legal foundation in Berkeley that provides funding, training and representation in support of social justice impact litigation. Jocelyn D. Larkin is the Executive Director of the Impact Fund, a legal foundation in Berkeley, California that provides funding, training, and representation in support of social justice impact litigation. Her practice focuses on complex employment discrimination and class action practice on behalf of plaintiffs. Ms. Larkin has served as class counsel in many major class actions, including Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., and Parra v. Bashas’ Inc. Ms. Larkin has twice received the California Lawyer magazine Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for her work in employment law. She is the co-editor of Class Action Strategy and Practice Guide, published by the ABA. Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: This course provides an introduction to litigating class actions. Some background in civil procedure is essential as the cases raise complex procedural questions. We will also be considering how class actions fit into the larger procedural system. The material is complicated and deals with issues that have been subjects of judicial and political controversy, in Congress and state legislatures, in the Supreme Court, and in the federal rulemaking process. We will discuss the relevant doctrine and policy, nurture the ability to think like a lawyer about the many strategic and tactical issues involved in litigating these cases on both sides of the "v.", and consider the policy choices involved in the availability of the class action device. Anne Bloom is the Executive Director of the Civil Justice Research Initiative, an access to justice think tank housed at Berkeley Law. She has taught courses on class actions for over 20 years. Before becoming a law professor, she was a staff attorney at Public Justice, where she was the first director of their class action project. She has served as class counsel, counsel for objectors, or counsel for amici, in many class actions, in both trial and appellate courts. Prof. Bloom has also published scholarly articles on class actions and served as a guest lecturer/trainer at various class action training programs for the practicing bar. Jocelyn Larkin is Of Counsel at the Impact Fund. She joined the Impact Fund in 2000 and served as the organization’s Executive Director from 2010 to February 2024. Her practice has focused on complex employment discrimination and class action practice on behalf of plaintiffs. Larkin has served as class counsel in many major class actions, including Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Parra v. Bashas’ Inc, Williams v. City of Antioch, and Stender v. Lucky Stores. She was twice named California Lawyer Magazine Attorney of the Year for her work in employment class action litigation. For many years, Prof. Larkin also spearheaded the Impact Fund’s complex litigation training program. She first developed its Class Action Training Institute and its annual Class Action Conference. |
| Law 244.63 Impact Litigation: Strategy, Structure and Process 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Impact Litigation: Strategy, Structure and Process -2 credits Professors Berzon and Neuborne Course Description: Most litigation involves discrete disputes. While the parties often disagree vigorously about the facts and what the governing law is, both parties usually are content to be enforcing settled law in traditional ways. There is, however, an important subset of litigation that seeks to remedy what are perceived to be larger societal injustices, either by altering existing law, or enforcing existing law in novel, more effective ways. We call such litigation "Impact Litigation." Professors Berzon and Neuborne have engaged in Impact Litigation for most of their extensive careers, which collectively span more than 100 years of practicing law. Professor Berzon has litigated numerous ground-breaking cases throughout the country seeking to establish and enforce legal norms designed to advance economic and social justice in the areas of labor and employment, environment and public health, voting rights, and constitutional law. He was a Founding Partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP where his clients include national labor and environmental organizations. He previously served as Legal Director of the Children’s Defense Fund. Professor Neuborne has practiced constitutional law on behalf of the ACLU, where he served as National Legal Director during the Reagan Presidency, and the Brennan Center for Justice, where he was Founding Legal Director from 1996-2007. He served as a principal counsel in Holocaust-era cases against Swiss Banks and German industry that resulted in payments of $8 billion to survivors and their families. The course will begin by reviewing the history of Impact Litigation, exploring its ethical and political legitimacy, the lawyers’ responsibilities to the individuals and organizations serving as parties, and the duties owed to the court, opposing counsel and the general public. We will then turn to a consideration of strategic and tactical judgments, always keeping in mind the remedy counsel is seeking to achieve. These considerations range from deciding whether litigation is strategically wise; to deciding whether to sue affirmatively, or defend; selecting parties; choice of forum (state, federal, administrative, arbitral); choice of initiating case at trial or appellate level; choice of judge; choice of factfinder (judge or jury); choice of individual case, class action, or organizational plaintiff with organizational or associational standing; whether to seek a preliminary injunction or writ; avoidance defenses including subject matter (standing, ripeness, mootness) and in personam jurisdiction, 11th Amendment, qualified immunity, implied causes of action and remedies; fact-finding and discovery; use of media; related political activity; trial presentation; negotiation and mediation; to specific remedies and enforcement techniques. We will also consider the techniques for funding impact litigation ranging from fee-paying clients, to support from non-profit organizations, to government funding, to fee-shifting, to equitable contributions. Course materials will consist of selected documents drawn from examples of impact litigation carried out by Professors Berzon and Neuborne, law review articles, and contemporary examples of impact litigation. Participants in the seminar will be expected to discuss the issues raised by the course materials and prepare a research paper that either analyzes an example of impact litigation or plans a future litigation campaign. The cases litigated by Professors Berzon and Neuborne have tended to be in furtherance of their vision of extending economic and social justice. But, as recent Supreme Court decisions demonstrate, the techniques of effective impact litigation are politically neutral and capable of use across the spectrum. Spring 2024 Description: Impact Litigation: Strategy, Structure and Process -2 credits Professors Berzon and Neuborne Course Description: Most litigation involves discrete disputes. While the parties often disagree vigorously about the facts and what the governing law is, both parties usually are content to be enforcing settled law in traditional ways. There is, however, an important subset of litigation that seeks to remedy what are perceived to be larger societal injustices, either by altering existing law, or enforcing existing law in novel, more effective ways. We call such litigation "Impact Litigation." The course will begin by reviewing the history of Impact Litigation, exploring its ethical and political legitimacy, the lawyers’ responsibilities to the individuals and organizations serving as parties, and the duties owed to the court, opposing counsel and the general public. We will then turn to a consideration of strategic and tactical judgments, always keeping in mind the remedy counsel is seeking to achieve. These considerations range from deciding whether litigation is strategically wise; to deciding whether to sue affirmatively, or defend; selecting parties; choice of forum (state, federal, administrative, arbitral); choice of initiating case at trial or appellate level; choice of judge; choice of factfinder (judge or jury); choice of individual case, class action, or organizational plaintiff with organizational or associational standing; whether to seek a preliminary injunction or writ; avoidance defenses including subject matter (standing, ripeness, mootness) and in personam jurisdiction, 11th Amendment, qualified immunity, implied causes of action and remedies; fact-finding and discovery; use of media; related political activity; trial presentation; negotiation and mediation; to specific remedies and enforcement techniques. We will also consider the techniques for funding impact litigation ranging from fee-paying clients, to support from non-profit organizations, to government funding, to fee-shifting, to equitable contributions. Course materials will consist of selected documents drawn from examples of impact litigation carried out by Professors Berzon and Neuborne, law review articles, and contemporary examples of impact litigation. Participants in the seminar will be expected to discuss the issues raised by the course materials and prepare a research paper that either analyzes an example of impact litigation or plans a future litigation campaign. The cases litigated by Professors Berzon and Neuborne have tended to be in furtherance of their vision of extending economic and social justice. But, as recent Supreme Court decisions demonstrate, the techniques of effective impact litigation are politically neutral and capable of use across the spectrum. Professors Berzon and Neuborne have engaged in Impact Litigation for most of their extensive careers, which collectively span more than 100 years of practicing law. Professor Berzon has litigated numerous ground-breaking cases throughout the country seeking to establish and enforce legal norms designed to advance economic and social justice in the areas of labor and employment, environment and public health, voting rights, and constitutional law. He was a Founding Partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP where his clients include national labor and environmental organizations. He previously served as Legal Director of the Children’s Defense Fund. Professor Neuborne has practiced constitutional law on behalf of the ACLU, where he served as National Legal Director during the Reagan Presidency, and the Brennan Center for Justice, where he was Founding Legal Director from 1996-2007. He served as a principal counsel in Holocaust-era cases against Swiss Banks and German industry that resulted in payments of $8 billion to survivors and their families. |
| Law 244.64 Impact Litigation in CA Courts 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course will explore the current and evolving role of the State and state courts in the enforcement of our civil rights and civil liberties. The current makeup and latest term of the United States Supreme Court suggests that federal courts will play a smaller (or in some cases counter-productive) role in our ongoing civil rights battles. Many impact lawyers are looking to the states and state law with renewed interest as the increasingly likely forum where many of these issues will be litigated and explored. This course seeks to do two things: 1) explore the building blocks and doctrinal issues around developing and bringing an impact case in state courts. Specifically, we will cover some of the procedural and substantive arenas that are unique to state court litigation here in California, including its expansive standing doctrine, the Taxpayer Statute, and Writs and Mandate. And 2) we will discuss the pros and cons of leaving some of these fundamental questions about our rights to each state, as opposed to having robust civil rights protections at the federal level. Some possible areas of discussion are the death penalty, the current state of abortion law, and Texas’s SB 8 and California’s SB 1327 as subjects that exemplify the growing tension between a state vs. federal-based civil rights system. Shilpi Agarwal is the Legal Director at the ACLU of Northern California. In that role, Shilpi leads the litigation program, providing both strategic vision that shapes the organization’s overall litigation docket and direct support to litigation teams. In her previous role as a staff attorney and senior staff attorney, Shilpi worked on a range of issues including criminal justice, fourth amendment privacy, abolition of the death penalty, free speech, and voting rights. Shilpi is recognized as an expert on civil rights and civil liberties issues, and she is frequently quoted in local and national media. She has also testified as a civil rights expert before the California legislature. Prior to joining the ACLU, Shilpi served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in San Francisco and as an associate at Keker, Van Nest, & Peters. Shilpi received a bachelor’s degree in both political science and economics from Stanford University, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. After law school, she clerked for Judge Keith P. Ellison in the Southern District of Texas and then for Judge Betty B. Fletcher in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. |
| Law 244.65 Statistics for Lawyers 3 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This course will cover foundational statistical concepts and how they are used in litigation. Statistical methods arise in a wide range of contexts, including tort litigation, civil rights litigation, and commercial litigation. Litigators often work with experts to present statistical evidence in support of their case and to rebut statistical evidence presented by opposing experts. The goal of this course is to provide students with the skills to successfully understand how and when statistical evidence is useful in litigation, and to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different uses of statistical analyses. Statistical topics covered will include descriptive statistics, probability, causal inference, and regression. No mathematics, statistics, or economics background is necessary, and the course is appropriate for students without prior background in the subject, though students who do have relevant background are of course welcome as well. |
| Law 244.8 Mediation 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution process in which disputing parties retain the services of a third party neutral to assist them in their efforts to seek out, develop, evaluate, and voluntarily adopt potential solutions to their mutual problems. The study of mediation in this course focuses on learning to help disputing parties solve their own problems in a way that best meets their individual needs. This approach to helping people resolve disputes is vastly different from that of most law school courses, which focus on lawyers as advisors and zealous client representatives. In this class, students will learn to sit in the unique role of a neutral, and gain a new perspective on lawyering. Mediation has become an almost inescapable part of both the practice of law, whatever one's area of specialization may be, and of a large variety of business transactions. Students will benefit from enhanced problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills - all key to effective lawyering and advocacy. Most students will find these skills transformative not only in broadening their legal repetoire, but also in a large variety of professional and personal situations. This course will offer students an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively participate in a mediation process, as a neutral and as an advocate. Mediation theory, applicable law, and related ethical considerations and public policy concerns will be among the many subjects covered. Students will have the the opportunity to develop dispute resolution skills through experiential learning in a safe and supportive setting. This course is for students interested in mediation as a career as well as for the far greater number of students who will provide legal representation for clients involved in mediation processes or who may themselves be parties in mediated conflicts. All students with an interest in the subject matter, with or without prior mediation or negotiation experience, are encouraged to enroll. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the wait list, must attend the first session at which time enrollment will be confirmed. If you have questions or concerns, contact Darshan Brach at darshb13@gmail.com. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, for the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Most recently, Professor Brach has mediated as a panelist for the United States District Court, California Northern District. Professor Brach also holds a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist.. Spring 2021 Description: Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution process in which disputing parties retain the services of a third party neutral to assist them in their efforts to seek out, develop, evaluate, and voluntarily adopt potential solutions to their mutual problems. The study of mediation in this course focuses on learning to help disputing parties solve their own problems in a way that best meets their individual needs. This approach to helping people resolve disputes is vastly different from that of most law school courses, which focus on lawyers as advisors and zealous client representatives. In this class, students will learn to sit in the unique role of a neutral, and gain a new perspective on lawyering. Mediation has become an almost inescapable part of both the practice of law, whatever one's area of specialization may be, and of a large variety of business transactions. Students will benefit from enhanced problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills - all key to effective lawyering and advocacy. Most students will find these skills transformative not only in broadening their legal repertoire, but also in a large variety of professional and personal situations. This course will offer students an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively participate in a mediation process, as a neutral and as an advocate. Mediation theory, applicable law, and related ethical considerations and public policy concerns will be among the many subjects covered. Students will have the opportunity to develop dispute resolution skills through experiential learning in a safe and supportive setting. This course is for students interested in mediation as a career as well as for the far greater number of students who will provide legal representation for clients involved in mediation processes or who may themselves be parties in mediated conflicts. All students with an interest in the subject matter, with or without prior mediation or negotiation experience, are encouraged to enroll. I will also be offering a 1 credit practicum in which students who are currently taking this course or have taken this course previously will have the opportunity to remotely mediate one or more commercial lease renegotiation for business owners and landlords impacted by COVID. Please see the description for the Mediation Practicum under Law 244.8B - Sec. 1. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the wait list, must attend the first session at which time enrollment will be confirmed. If you have questions or concerns, contact Darshan Brach at darshb13@gmail.com. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, for the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Most recently, Professor Brach has mediated as a panelist for the United States District Court, California Northern District. Professor Brach also holds a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Fall 2021 Description: Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution process in which disputing parties retain the services of a third party neutral to assist them in their efforts to seek out, develop, evaluate, and voluntarily adopt potential solutions to their mutual problems. The study of mediation in this course focuses on learning to help disputing parties solve their own problems in a way that best meets their individual needs. This approach to helping people resolve disputes is vastly different from that of most law school courses, which focus on lawyers as advisors and zealous client representatives. In this class, students will learn to sit in the unique role of a neutral, and gain a new perspective on lawyering. Mediation has become an almost inescapable part of both the practice of law, whatever one's area of specialization may be, and of a large variety of business transactions. Students will benefit from enhanced problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills - all key to effective lawyering and advocacy. Most students will find these skills transformative not only in broadening their legal repertoire, but also in a large variety of professional and personal situations. This course will offer students an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively participate in a mediation process, as a neutral and as an advocate. Mediation theory, applicable law, and related ethical considerations and public policy concerns will be among the many subjects covered. Students will have the opportunity to develop dispute resolution skills through experiential learning in a safe and supportive setting. This course is for students interested in mediation as a career as well as for the far greater number of students who will provide legal representation for clients involved in mediation processes or who may themselves be parties in mediated conflicts. **This course will have two required Saturday classes (September 25th and October 2nd). All students with an interest in the subject matter, with or without prior mediation or negotiation experience, are encouraged to enroll. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, for the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Most recently, Professor Brach has mediated as a panelist for the United States District Court, California Northern District. Professor Brach also holds a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Fall 2022 Description: Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution process in which disputing parties retain the services of a third party neutral to assist them in their efforts to seek out, develop, evaluate, and voluntarily adopt potential solutions to their mutual problems. The study of mediation in this course focuses on learning to help disputing parties solve their own problems in a way that best meets their individual needs. This approach to helping people resolve disputes is vastly different from that of most law school courses, which focus on lawyers as advisors and zealous client representatives. In this class, students will learn to sit in the unique role of a neutral and gain a new perspective on lawyering. Mediation has become an almost inescapable part of both the practice of law, whatever one's area of specialization may be, and of a large variety of business transactions. Students will benefit from enhanced problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills - all key to effective lawyering and advocacy. Most students will find these skills transformative not only in broadening their legal repertoire, but also in a large variety of professional and personal situations. This course will offer students an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively participate in a mediation process, as a neutral and as an advocate. Mediation theory, applicable law, and related ethical considerations and public policy concerns will be among the many subjects covered. Students will have the opportunity to develop dispute resolution skills through experiential learning in a safe and supportive setting. This course is for students interested in mediation as a career as well as for the far greater number of students who will provide legal representation for clients involved in mediation processes or who may themselves be parties in mediated conflicts. For students interested in continuing their training as mediators after taking this course, the Mediation Practicum (generally offered in the Spring Semester) offers hands-on experience mediating real life conflicts. All students with an interest in the subject matter, with or without prior mediation or negotiation experience, are encouraged to enroll. Due to the experiential nature of this class, real-time attendance is required except in cases of illness or emergency. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Professor Brach is a panelist for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and most recently has mediated discrimination cases for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Professor Brach is also a trained psychotherapist. Spring 2023 Description: Professional mediator Shirish Gupta will help you explore mediation, its value, usage, limitations and varieties, as well as how to best represent clients in mediation. Although negotiation is not a prerequisite, familiarity with negotiation prior to taking this class will be helpful. We’ll negotiate or mediate in nearly every class, with different partners using real-world business-oriented scenarios. What You’ll Learn: ● Negotiation theory & terminology ● Distributive & integrative bargaining ● Information gathering and giving ● Identifying weaknesses in partner’s strategy/tactics/positions ● Exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system ● Using time and scarcity to your advantage ● Preparing a mediation statement ● Preparing your client for mediation ● Effectively using a mediator ● Effectively using mediation confidentiality ● Documenting a mediated settlement ● Other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession Professor Gupta is an award-winning neutral known for his legal acumen and economic prowess, which makes him particularly adept at diving into complex financial/technical disputes, including IP, securities and accounting, and class actions. He is sought out by Silicon Valley startups, as well as Fortune 500 companies. In 2014, The Recorder conducted an extensive survey of Bay Area attorneys and named Shirish the Best Independent Mediator. https://www.jamsadr.com/gupta/ Professor Gupta has been teaching Negotiation and/or Mediation since 2015 and has taught at UC Berkeley Law, UC Hastings and Santa Clara Law. At the 2020 Northern California ADR Faculty Conference, Professor Gupta was recognized for his teaching and mentoring of other ADR instructors. https://twitter.com/shirish_gupta https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirishg/ Fall 2023 Description: Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution process in which a third party neutral assists disputing parties in finding solutions to their mutual concerns. As litigation and court processes have become increasingly time consuming, expensive, inaccessible and unproductive in resolving disputes, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution have evolved to play a critical and inescapable role in the practice of law. This simulation-based course will offer students the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively participate in mediation processes, both as a neutral and as a legal advocate. Students will practice communication and problem-solving techniques to help parties and clients find creative solutions that meet their unique needs and circumstances. The skills taught in this course are fundamental to effective lawyering and advocacy, as well as applicable to a large variety of professional and personal situations. Course topics will include: mediation theory and practice, ethics, advocacy in mediation, dealing with bias and power differentials, breaking impasse and group facilitation. Final projects will allow for exploration of mediation-related topics of interest to individual students. Due to the experiential nature of this class, real-time attendance is required except in cases of illness or emergency. All students with an interest in the subject matter, with or without prior mediation or negotiation experience, are encouraged to enroll. Please note this class has a mandatory class meeting on Saturday, September 23, in Law 107 from 9:30 AM - 3:50 PM (with a break from noon - 1:00pm). INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Professor Brach is a panelist for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and most recently has mediated discrimination cases for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Professor Brach is also a trained psychotherapist. Fall 2024 Description: Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution process in which a third-party neutral assists disputing parties in finding solutions to their mutual concerns. As litigation and court processes have become increasingly time-consuming, expensive, inaccessible, and unproductive in resolving disputes, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution have evolved to play a critical and inescapable role in the practice of law. This simulation-based course will offer students the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively participate in mediation processes, both as a neutral and as a legal advocate. Students will practice communication and problem-solving techniques to help parties and clients find creative solutions that meet their unique needs and circumstances. The skills taught in this course are fundamental to effective lawyering and advocacy, as well as applicable to a large variety of professional and personal situations. Course topics will include: mediation theory and practice, ethics, advocacy in mediation, dealing with bias and power differentials, breaking impasse and group facilitation. Final projects will allow for exploration of mediation-related topics of interest to individual students. Due to the experiential nature of this class, real-time attendance is required except in cases of illness or emergency. All students with an interest in the subject matter, with or without prior mediation or negotiation experience, are encouraged to enroll. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, UC Law San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of the Law), Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Professor Brach is a panelist for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and most recently has mediated discrimination cases for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Professor Brach is also a trained psychotherapist. |
| Law 244.82 Mediation Advocacy 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This intensive mediation advocacy course is offered in three Saturday classes (October 17th, October 24th and November 7th). The first day of class will include lectures, a series of skill building exercises, and an overview of the mediation process, basic mediation theory and practice, mediation confidentiality, and ethical issues specific to mediation. The second and third days of class will be devoted to practicing as advocates in simulated mediation exercises and debriefing. Students can expect personalized coaching and feedback from peers, the instructor, and guest mediators. Homework will include a short text on mediation, to be read in advance of the first class. Otherwise, homework will focus on studying simulation materials and preparing a strategic plan (for submission), drafting and exchanging mediation statements, and counseling clients in advance of the simulated mediation sessions. Attendance is mandatory at all three dates. Biography of Instructor Professor Lange worked for 20 years as a litigator and as a mediator in private practice before joining the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as ADR Program Counsel & Mediator. She brings to the classroom extensive experience negotiating, arguing, and mediating complex, high-value, and emotionally charged disputes. Professor Lange previously worked at Heller Ehrman; Caldwell Leslie (now Boies Schiller Flexner); the ACLU’s LGBT & AIDS Project; the National Center for Youth Law; and Santa Clara County Counsel, where she served as a Lead Deputy. She received her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1995, Order of the Coif, and clerked for the Hon. Richard A. Paez and the Hon. William A. Fletcher. Spring 2022 Description: This intensive mediation advocacy course is offered in three Saturday classes (January 22, February 12, March 5) from 9:30 am to 6 pm. The first day of class will include in-depth practice preparing a sophisticated client for mediation and an overview of the mediation process, basic mediation theory and practice, core principles of mediation confidentiality and party self-determination, and ethical issues specific to mediation. The second and third days of class will be devoted to practicing as advocates in simulated mediation exercises, and debriefing. Students can expect personalized coaching and feedback from peers, the instructor, and guest mediators. Homework will include a short text on mediation, to be read in advance of the first class. Most homework will involve studying simulation materials and preparing a strategic plan (for submission), drafting and exchanging mediation statements, and counseling clients in advance of the simulated mediation sessions. Attendance is mandatory at all three dates. Biography of Instructor Professor Lange worked for 20 years as a litigator and as a mediator in private practice before joining the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where she is now the ADR Director. She brings to the classroom extensive experience negotiating, arguing, and mediating complex, high-value, and emotionally charged disputes. Professor Lange previously worked at Heller Ehrman; Caldwell Leslie; the ACLU’s LGBT & AIDS Project; the National Center for Youth Law; and Santa Clara County Counsel, where she served as the founding Lead Deputy for the Social Justice and Impact Litigation Section. She received her J.D. from Berkeley Law, Order of the Coif, and clerked for the Hon. Richard A. Paez and the Hon. William A. Fletcher. |
| Law 244.83 Mediation Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This seminar is offered in conjunction with Law 244.8B Mediation Practicum, which provides students with the opportunity to mediate California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) discrimination cases and to observe mediations at the Alameda Small Claims Court (SCC). The seminar will include orientation to discrimination law under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), preparation for interfacing professionally with mediation parties, review and analysis of student mediation experiences, and learning about processes and procedures for observing SCC cases and mediating at the DFEH. Students will be required to write short analytical memos relating to their experiential learning. Students must have taken the Mediation class (Law 244.8 Mediation) prior to enrolling in the Mediation Seminar and Practicum. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach has primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, for the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Most recently, Professor Brach has mediated as a panelist for the United States District Court, California Northern District. Professor Brach also holds a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Spring 2023 Description: empty |
| Law 244.84 Mindfulness Based Conflict Resolution 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: A judge's decision, a jury's verdict, a negotiated settlement - case closed? Not so fast. Traditional legal approaches to dispute resolution often fail to provide durable and satisfying outcomes because they ignore the deeper psychological and interpersonal issues that underlie all conflict. Addressing these compelling forces requires emotional intelligence and a more integrative and mindful approach. Drawing from the realms of psychology, non-violent communication, mindfulness and negotiation theory, this hands-on course offers critical and fundamental skills in navigating conflictual terrain as a lawyer, neutral or simply as a human. Students will learn the basics of mindfulness meditation, and be asked to maintain a short but regular practice throughout the semester. An inside-out understanding of mindfulness will provide a vital foundation for all the techniques explored. The course readings, class exercises, and discussions will focus on defining, integrating, and refining both right and left-brain techniques for working with and through conflict. Students will have the opportunity to apply these strategies to conflictual domains in their own lives, and explore how to bring them into the legal arena to resolve disputes in a more comprehensive, meaningful, and sustainable way. Darshan Brach is a lawyer, mediator, psychotherapist and mindfulness practitioner. In addition to her private mediation and psychotherapy practices, Darshan teaches Mediation at UC Berkeley Law and mediates cases for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Spring 2024 Description: A judge's decision, a jury's verdict, a negotiated settlement - case closed? Not so fast. Traditional legal approaches to dispute resolution often fail to provide durable and satisfying outcomes because they ignore the deeper psychological and interpersonal issues that underlie all conflict. Addressing these compelling forces requires emotional intelligence and a more integrative and mindful approach. Drawing from the realms of psychology, non-violent communication, mindfulness and negotiation theory, this hands-on course offers critical and fundamental skills in navigating conflictual terrain as a lawyer, neutral or simply as a human. The course readings, class exercises and discussions will focus on defining, integrating and refining both right and left-brain techniques for working with and through conflict. Students will have the opportunity to apply these strategies to conflictual domains in their own lives, and explore how to bring them into the legal arena to resolve disputes in a more comprehensive, meaningful and sustainable way. Students will be asked to maintain a daily mindfulness practice of about 10 minutes for the duration of the course. Darshan Brach is a lawyer, mediator, psychotherapist and mindfulness practitioner. In addition to her private mediation and psychotherapy practices, Darshan teaches Mediation at UC Berkeley Law and mediates cases for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Fall 2024 Description: A judge's decision, a jury's verdict, a negotiated settlement - case resolved? Not so fast. Traditional legal approaches to dispute resolution often fail to provide durable and satisfying outcomes because they ignore the deeper psychological and interpersonal issues that underlie all conflict. Addressing these compelling forces requires emotional intelligence and a more integrative and mindful approach. Drawing from the realms of psychology, non-violent communication, mindfulness and negotiation theory, this hands-on course offers critical and fundamental skills in navigating conflictual terrain as a lawyer, neutral or simply as a human. The course readings, class exercises and discussions will focus on defining, integrating and refining both right and left-brain techniques for working with and through conflict. Students will have the opportunity to apply these strategies to conflictual domains in their own lives, and explore how to bring them into the legal arena to resolve disputes in a more comprehensive, meaningful and sustainable way. Students will be asked to maintain a daily mindfulness practice of about 10 - 15 minutes for the duration of the course. Darshan Brach is a lawyer, mediator, psychotherapist and mindfulness practitioner. In addition to her private mediation and psychotherapy practices, Darshan teaches Mediation at UC Berkeley Law and mediates cases for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Spring 2025 Description: A judge's decision, a jury's verdict, a negotiated settlement - case resolved? Not so fast. Traditional legal approaches to dispute resolution often fail to provide durable and satisfying outcomes because they ignore the deeper psychological and interpersonal issues that underlie all conflict. Addressing these compelling forces requires emotional intelligence and a more integrative and mindful approach. Drawing from the realms of psychology, non-violent communication, mindfulness and negotiation theory, this hands-on course offers critical and fundamental skills in navigating conflictual terrain as a lawyer, neutral or simply as a human. The course readings, class exercises and discussions will focus on defining, integrating and refining both right and left-brain techniques for working with and through conflict. Students will have the opportunity to apply these strategies to conflictual domains in their own lives, and can explore how to bring them into the legal arena to resolve disputes in a more comprehensive, meaningful and sustainable way. Students will be asked to maintain a daily mindfulness practice of about 10 - 15 minutes for the duration of the course. Darshan Brach is a lawyer, mediator, psychotherapist and mindfulness practitioner. In addition to her private mediation and psychotherapy practices, Darshan also teaches Mediation at UC Berkeley Law. |
| Law 244.8B Mediation Practicum 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This practicum offers students the opportunity to remotely mediate one or more commercial lease renegotiation for business owners and landlords impacted by COVID. Students must either be taking Mediation (244.8) concurrently or already have taken the class. Students will be required to take a 1-2 hour commercial lease training, a mediation preparation training and will submit a 5 - 7 page memo reflecting on the challenges and learning associated with the mediation experience. Students apply by emailing Darshan Brach at darshb13@gmail.com and in one or two sentences 1) explain why you want to do the practicum and 2) stating whether you have taken Mediation (Law 244.8) or are enrolled in Mediation in Spring 2021. After that email, I also ask that students have a follow-up conversation with me so that I can explain the practicum in more detail. I encourage early applications as the openings are limited to 3. The deadline to apply is Monday, November 16th and after that date applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Spring 2022 Description: The Mediation Practicum is offered in conjunction with Law 244.83 Section 1, Mediation Seminar. The Practicum will provide students with the training and opportunity to mediate California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) discrimination cases and to observe mediations at the Alameda Small Claims Court. Students will be trained to interface professionally with mediation parties and to mediate their disputes under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Students will also observe mediators in the small claims context to gain perspective on different approaches to mediation. The Seminar portion of the Practicum will allow for integration of these hands-on experiences by providing orientation to applicable law and through reflective discussion and writing. Students must have taken the Mediation class (Law 244.8 Mediation) prior to enrolling in the Mediation Seminar and Practicum. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Darshan Brach began her legal career in 1988 as an environmental attorney in Connecticut and later in Massachusetts. She left the practice of law and, in 1995, initiated her career as a mediator and mediation trainer. She began teaching Negotiation and Mediation at New England School of Law in 1998. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005, she has taught Negotiation and Mediation at Stanford Law School, Hastings College of the Law, Santa Clara School of Law and Mills College of Business. Between 2008 and 2014, and again in 2019, Professor Brach primarily taught as part of the Mediation Clinic at Hastings College of the Law, where she has trained and guided law students in hands on, experiential learning through fieldwork in the San Francisco Superior Court Small Claims Department and in several city, county and state agencies. In addition to her private mediation practice and teaching work, she has conducted numerous trainings in both the public and private sectors, including trainings for the California Public Utilities Commission, the San Francisco Superior Court, for the Environmental Protection Agency, and t he Army Corps of Engineers. Most recently, Professor Brach has mediated as a panelist for the United States District Court, California Northern District. Professor Brach also holds a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Spring 2023 Description: empty |
| Law 244.91A Appellate Competition Intensive Part 1 1 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: Appellate Competition Intensive is a one-credit crash course in the fundamentals of appellate writing and oral argument. This class is designed for members of moot court teams who are not enrolled in the full 3-unit Appellate Advocacy class. The aim of this class is to give students the essential tools of appellate practice, with an emphasis on effective writing. By the end of this class, students will be able to competently and confidently address the problems presented in moot court competitions and in real appellate practice. These skills include reviewing an appellate record, crafting sections of an appellate brief, and outlining and presenting a compelling oral argument. To apply for this course please email and detail which competition you have been admitted to Ted Pelletier at tedpelletierlaw@gmail.com. Ted W. Pelletier is a partner at the Oakland law firm of Kazan, McClain, Satterley and Greenwood, PLC. He has practiced California civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate work, for over 20 years. He has handled the briefing and oral argument in dozens of appeals in the California appellate courts, including three cases in the California Supreme Court. With the Kazan firm, he also actively participates in trial and motion work, leading the firm’s briefing on legal issues including summary-judgment motions, evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and post-trial matters. Fall 2022 Description: Appellate Competition Intensive is a one-credit crash course in the fundamentals of appellate writing and oral argument. This class is designed for members of moot court teams who are not enrolled in the full 3-unit Appellate Advocacy class. The aim of this class is to give students an overview of law-school appellate-advocacy competitions, including how they work, how to understand and respond to the competition's "problem," and how to work effectively in a competition team. Through this process, the class addresses the essential tools of appellate practice, with an emphasis on effective writing. By the end of this class, students will be able to competently and confidently address the problems presented in moot court competitions and in real appellate practice. Ted W. Pelletier is the principal in the Law Office of Ted W. Pelletier. He has practiced California civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate work, for over 25 years. He has handled the briefing and oral argument in dozens of appeals in the California appellate courts, including numerous cases in the California Supreme Court. He also works with trial counsel on trial and motion work, including summary-judgment motions and oppositions, evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and post-trial matters. Fall 2023 Description: Appellate Competition Intensive is a one-credit crash course in the fundamentals of appellate writing and oral argument. This class is designed for members of moot court teams who are not enrolled in the full 3-unit Appellate Advocacy class. The aim of this class is to give students an overview of law-school appellate-advocacy competitions, including how they work, how to understand and respond to the competition's "problem," and how to work effectively in a competition team. Through this process, the class addresses the essential tools of appellate practice, with an emphasis on effective writing. By the end of this class, students will be able to competently and confidently address the problems presented in moot court competitions and in real appellate practice. Ted W. Pelletier is the principal in the Law Office of Ted W. Pelletier. He has practiced California civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate work, for over 25 years. He has handled the briefing and oral argument in dozens of appeals in the California appellate courts, including numerous cases in the California Supreme Court. He also works with trial counsel on trial and motion work, including summary-judgment motions and oppositions, evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and post-trial matters. Fall 2024 Description: Appellate Competition Intensive is a one-credit course in the fundamentals of appellate writing and oral argument. This class is designed for members of moot court teams who are not enrolled in the full 3-unit Appellate Advocacy class. This class aims to give students an overview of law-school appellate-advocacy competitions, including how they work, how to understand and respond to the competition's "problem," and how to work effectively in a competition team. Through this process, the class addresses the essential tools of appellate practice, with an emphasis on effective writing. By the end of this class, students will be able to competently and confidently address the problems presented in moot court competitions and in real appellate practice. Ted W. Pelletier is the principal in the Law Office of Ted W. Pelletier. He has practiced California civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate work, for over 25 years. He has handled the briefing and oral argument in dozens of appeals in the California appellate courts, including numerous cases in the California Supreme Court. He also works with trial counsel on trial and motion work, including summary-judgment motions and oppositions, evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and post-trial matters. Fall 2025 Description: Appellate Competition Intensive is a one-credit course in the fundamentals of appellate writing and oral argument. This class is designed for members of moot court teams who are not enrolled in the full 3-unit Appellate Advocacy class. This class aims to give students an overview of law-school appellate-advocacy competitions, including how they work, how to understand and respond to the competition's "problem," and how to work effectively in a competition team. Through this process, the class addresses the essential tools of appellate practice, with an emphasis on effective writing. By the end of this class, students will be able to competently and confidently address the problems presented in moot court competitions and in real appellate practice. Ted W. Pelletier is the principal in the Law Office of Ted W. Pelletier. He has practiced California civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate work, for over 25 years. He has handled the briefing and oral argument in dozens of appeals in the California appellate courts, including numerous cases in the California Supreme Court. He also works with trial counsel on trial and motion work, including summary-judgment motions and oppositions, evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and post-trial matters. |
| Law 245 Negotiations 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This highly interactive course will help students succeed in their professional and personal negotiations. It is designed to provide students with strategic considerations, an understanding of tactics to apply and to defend against, and intended to increase the student’s comfort and skill in real world negotiations. The course will explore theory, and through group discussions and negotiation role plays, students will gain skills in applying the theory to real-life negotiations, particularly those encountered when practicing law and arising from litigated disputes and business transactions. Class exercises will cover preparation, creating and claiming value, creative problem solving, client counseling, difficult tactics, ethical issues, difficult conversations, listening and communication skills. The intensive nature of this class provides students with an opportunity to learn and integrate valuable interpersonal skills, evaluate and improve their own skills, work closely with one another, and receive feedback. Course Objectives •Familiarize the student with various negotiation approaches and styles, including knowledge of competitive negotiation techniques and effective responses •Understand and develop effective strategies for each stage of a negotiation •Explore adversarial and collaborative bargaining •Understand ethical responsibilities of the lawyer representative •Learn techniques for concluding a negotiation successfully •Identify cultural and interpersonal challenges that can arise in negotiations •Enhance communication skills, emphasizing effective use of listening, persuasion and relationship-building •Develop personal techniques to increase efficacy in negotiations •Strengthen creative abilities to expand the range of options for resolving a dispute Attendance and participation at all scheduled classes is mandatory. Please note that there will be a mandatory Saturday class (April 4th) during which students will conduct a team negotiation across the table from students in other negotiation classes. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the wait list, should attend the first session at which time enrollment will be confirmed. Enrolled students who are not present during the first class may be dropped at the instructor's discretion. If you have questions, please contact Professor Link. Fall 2020 Description: This seminar is designed to teach students to become better negotiators and to represent clients effectively in both transactional and dispute resolution settings. The structure of the course emphasizes both theoretical and experiential learning. Since negotiation is something you learn by doing, we will engage in hands-on negotiation simulations throughout the course. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts, and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various negotiation techniques. In addition, we will discuss theories of negotiation and use them to analyze the simulated negotiations. As a result, we will move back and forth between theory and practice, applying lessons from theory to our negotiation practice, and drawing lessons from our experience to critique theory. Each student will be paired with one or more other students to lead a class discussion of one reading assignment. This involves an explication of the text, an explanation of how the ideas expressed fit into the course’s framework, and an examination of the usefulness of the ideas. There will be a mandatory Saturday class on November 14th. The course involves extensive, intensive feedback. The assessment in this course will be a series of papers and oral presentations. Course Objectives: * Familiarize the student with various negotiation approaches and styles, including competitive and collaborative bargaining * Understand and develop effective strategies for each stage of a negotiation * Enhance communication skills, emphasizing effective use of listening and relationship-building * Explore psychological forces and cognitive biases that affect decision-making * Learn techniques for concluding a negotiation successfully, including crafting durable and enforceable agreements Exercises will include negotiation of business, family law, environmental, tort, employment, and multi-party international diplomacy disputes as well as business deals. At a general level, we will move from negotiations that involve fewer factors to ones that are more complex. By the end of the course, however, we hope that you will appreciate the layered complexity that was involved in what first appeared to be simple negotiations. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Biography of Instructor: Hon. Elaine Rushing (Ret.) served on the Sonoma County Superior Court for nearly 2 decades, including 5 years as Supervising Judge of the Civil Division. As a judge she heard real estate cases including fraud, broker compensation, adverse possession, partition, boundary disputes, and homeowners association disputes; business cases including bank matters and trade secrets; probate, trusts and estates litigation; and construction defect litigation. As a neutral at Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) Judge Rushing has resolved numerous employment cases, including claims for wrongful, discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and wage and hour issues; probate matters including lack of capacity, breach of fiduciary duty, and undue influence; and real property cases including mortgage fraud, commercial tenancies and foreclosures. Spring 2021 Description: This course will be offered in an entirely online format focusing on “e-negotiations” (although the course concepts can be applied to both online and in-person negotiations), and meets three (3) times only: January 23, January 30, and February 6 (each day falling on a Saturday, 9:00am-6:00pm, with an approximately hour break for lunch). Attendance and participation in all three course sessions is mandatory. The afternoons will primarily be used for negotiation simulations (preparation, negotiation, and post-game analysis), which will be one of many key interactive course features. How do you strategically prepare for a successful negotiation, including online e-negotiations? How do you persuade people? Should you aim to “win” in negotiations? Are negotiators driven by emotion or rationality? How do you recognize and rectify implicit biases? What is a “fair” outcome? And what is the right balance between “competition” and “cooperation”? To create a roadmap to think about these issues, this highly interactive course provides a framework to “think like a negotiator” from both a domestic and international business perspective. The simulations utilized in the course, similar to other simulation-driven courses elsewhere, are a “for example” of one of many contextual ways in which the course concepts can be applied. The simulations rely on “first principles” with purposely simple and decluttered fact patterns to allow you to focus on specified persuasion principles each week. These persuasion principles can and should be subsequently scaled up in terms of context and complexity for your legal or non-legal career. Each course session will involve active engagement in a variety of negotiation - related scenarios - including negotiation simulations, actionable concepts, and experiential exercises - with a focus on “e-negotiations” (online negotiations; Zoom, email, social media, texts, and digital messaging platforms). You will also have the opportunity to learn different conceptual frameworks underlying negotiation theory and practice, including positional bargaining, integrative bargaining, communication skills, psychological influences, and negotiation power, which apply to both online e-negotiation and in-person negotiation contexts. Throughout this course, you will learn various strategies on how to get others to want what you want through persuasion, sway, and influence underlying your negotiations. As part of this, you will develop broad tools to constantly improve as negotiators by asking the right questions, framing issues, and negotiating with others with different skill sets, perceptions, experiences, and backgrounds. Ultimately, this course may help you to learn more about yourself. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor Profile: Jasper Kim is a scholar-consultant based in California and Korea, with particular expertise in negotiations, and the structuring of capital markets instruments for social impact. He is Director of the Center for Conflict Management at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha University and is a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He served as invited faculty for the Supreme Court of Korea and is an Arbitrator for the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board. In addition, he is the founder of Asia-Pacific Global Research Group, a consultancy focused on policy trends. He was also a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and Stanford University. Previously, he held key positions in fixed-income and structured products with Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. He is a contributor to various media, including the BBC, Bloomberg, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. He received a M.Sc. degree from the London School of Economics, a J.D. from Rutgers Law School, a M.B.A. from the University of London and M.Sc. in Taxation from Christ Church, University of Oxford (Faculty of Law and Said Business School). Fall 2021 Description: This course combines theory, skills and law. You will have the opportunity to negotiate, mediate, represent clients, be clients and observe role-plays. Please let yourself get into the roles, prepare where appropriate and take them seriously. Role-plays provide an opportunity to experience the process, experiment and receive feedback. The reading on negotiation theory and research will inform weekly negotiation exercises. The intensive nature of this class provides students with an opportunity to evaluate their own skills, to experiment with new skills and techniques, and to work closely with one another. Full engagement will require preparation each week as well as in-class participation. There will be a mandatory Saturday class on November 13th 9AM-1PM. Learning outcomes Students in the course will be expected to achieve the following Berkeley Law Learning Outcomes: (a) Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law relating to negotiation; (b) Legal analysis and reasoning, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context; (c) Exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system; and (d) Using the law to solve real-world problems. In addition, students in the course will be expected to achieve the following course-specific outcomes: * Understand the ritual and stages of legal negotiation * Develop a systematic approach to preparing for a negotiation * Strengthen communication skills (listening, observing cues, expressing interests) * Develop a habit of questioning perceptions and relating with curiosity * Develop self-confidence, presence, and the ability to respond in the moment * Understand and recognize different negotiation styles and their strengths * Develop greater comfort with both adversarial and collaborative bargaining * Understand the role of relationship-building in negotiation * Develop understanding of diverse backgrounds in negotiation dynamics * Understand the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer in negotiations * Obtain a basic understanding of how to negotiate in mediation Biography of Instructors Esther Kim is a partner with Turner, Huguet, Adams & Farr, a small firm in Martinez, where she represents clients in estate planning, trust administration and probate matters. She is an active member of the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Contra Costa County Bar Association as a Board Member and a past Board Member of the Diablo Valley Estate Planning Council. She formerly worked as a civil litigator at Cooley and as a staff attorney for the Santa Clara County Bar Association, where she helped to develop and implement an early court-administered ADR program. Prof. Kim is also a trained mediator having received her training from Pepperdine University as well as community based mediation with Community Boards, a nonprofit dispute resolution provider, in San Francisco. She earned her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and has an LL.M in Tax from Golden Gate University. Jonathan U. Lee is an Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting firearms, drugs, and other violent crimes, as well as cases involving internet-based crimes against children, labor trafficking, fraud, and embezzlement. He formerly practiced civil litigation for a private firm in San Francisco, for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He serves as a court appointed mediator for federal and state courts. Prof. Lee also serves as adjunct faculty teaching advanced trial advocacy at UC-Hastings and has in the past taught trial advocacy for UC-Berkeley and John F. Kennedy University law schools, and for the Department of Justice's National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. He earned his undergraduate degree from Washington University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar is designed to teach students to become better negotiators and to represent clients effectively in both transactional and dispute resolution settings. The structure of the course emphasizes both theoretical and experiential learning. Since negotiation is something you learn by doing, we will engage in hands-on negotiation simulations throughout the course. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts, and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various negotiation techniques. In addition, we will discuss theories of negotiation and use them to analyze the simulated negotiations. As a result, we will move back and forth between theory and practice, applying lessons from theory to our negotiation practice, and drawing lessons from our experience to critique theory. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar is designed to teach students to become better negotiators and to represent clients effectively in both transactional and dispute resolution settings. The structure of the course emphasizes experiential learning. Since negotiation is something you learn by doing, we will engage in hands-on negotiation simulations throughout the course. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts, and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various negotiation techniques in varying legal disciplines and subject matters. Genske was born and raised in Southern California, where he attended Pepperdine University, receiving his B.S. in Business Administration. He subsequently received his J.D. from the renowned University of California at Berkeley School of Law, where he now teaches courses on sports law, representing professional athletes and negotiations. Prior to entering the sports industry, he practiced with leading national law firms as a trial attorney and also negotiated multi-million-dollar transactions on behalf of emerging growth and Fortune 500 companies. Genske is a lawyer and Major League Baseball Players Association certified player representative. In July 2020, Genske merged his GEM Agency with Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerSports to create VaynerBaseball. Genske serves as VaynerBaseball’s CEO and oversees all of VaynerSports’ baseball player representation activities. In October 2019, Genske launched the GEM Agency in partnership with Hicks Equity Partners, the private equity arm of Tom Hicks and his family. Prior to launching GEM, Genske was Executive Director and President of Baseball for The Legacy Agency. Since 2015, Genske has served as a law professor at the University of California-Berkeley, his alma mater, teaching classes on sports law, representing professional athletes and negotiations. In 2009, Genske was named to Sports Business Daily’s prestigious 40 under 40 list. This course will have 10 class meetings. To allow for a makeup classes because of the Labor Day Holiday and any unforeseen circumstances this course has automatic make-up classes scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Spring 2023 Description: Course Description: This course meets three (3) times only: February 4, February 11 and February 18 (each day falling on a Saturday, 9:00am-6:00pm PDT, with an approximately hour break for lunch). Full attendance in all three course sessions is mandatory, both morning and afternoon, out of fairness to all students. The mornings will primarily be used to introduce and provide actionable negotiation-related concepts (Thinking Slow Mode). The afternoons will primarily be used for applying the negotiation-related concepts toward purposely-driven negotiation simulations (Thinking Fast Mode). As a distinguishing feature, this course may take a more international and business-focused approach compared to similar courses. How do you strategically prepare for a successful negotiation? How do you persuade people and yourself? Should you aim to “win” in negotiations? How can you utilize both emotion or rationality in a negotiation context? How do you recognize and remedy implicit biases? What is a “fair” outcome? And what is the right balance between “competition” and “cooperation”? To create a roadmap to think about these issues, this highly interactive course provides a framework to “think like a negotiator” from both a domestic and international perspective. The simulations utilized in the course, are a “for example” of one of many contextual ways in which the course concepts can be applied professionally and in life. The simulations rely on “first principles” with purposely simple and decluttered fact patterns to allow you to focus on specified persuasion principles each week. These persuasion principles can and should be subsequently scaled up in terms of context and complexity for your legal and/or non-legal career trajectory. Each course session will involve active engagement in a variety of scenarios—including negotiation simulations, actionable concepts, and experiential thought experiments. You will also have the opportunity to learn different conceptual frameworks underlying negotiation theory and practice, including positional bargaining, integrative bargaining, strategic communication, psychological influences, and negotiation power, which apply to both online e-negotiation and in-person negotiation contexts. Throughout this course, you will learn various strategies on how to get others to want what you want through persuasion, sway, and influence underlying your various negotiations. As part of this, you will develop broad tools to constantly improve as negotiators by asking the right questions, framing issues, and negotiating with others with different skillsets, perceptions, experiences, and backgrounds. Ultimately, this course may help you to learn more about yourself. Instructor Profile: Jasper Kim is a scholar-consultant based in California and Korea, with particular expertise in negotiations, and the structuring of capital markets instruments for social impact. He is Director of the Center for Conflict Management at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha University and is a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He served as invited faculty for the Supreme Court of Korea and is an Arbitrator for the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board. In addition, he is the founder of Asia-Pacific Global Research Group, a consultancy focused on policy trends. He was also a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and Stanford University. Previously, he held key positions in fixed-income and structured products with Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. He is a contributor to various media, including the BBC, Bloomberg, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. He received a MSc degree from the London School of Economics (LSE), JD from Rutgers Law School, MBA from the University of London and MSc in Taxation from Christ Church, University of Oxford (Faculty of Law and Said Business School). Fall 2023 Description: This course combines theory, skills and law. You will have the opportunity to negotiate, mediate, represent clients, be clients, and observe role-plays. Get into the roles, prepare where appropriate, and take them seriously. Role-plays provide an opportunity to experience the process, experiment, and receive feedback. The reading on negotiation theory and research will inform weekly negotiation exercises. The intensive nature of this class provides students with an opportunity to evaluate their own skills, experiment with new skills and techniques, and work closely with one another. Full engagement will require preparation each week as well as in-class participation. Learning outcomes Students in the course will be expected to achieve the following Berkeley Law Learning Outcomes: (a) Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law relating to negotiation; (b) Legal analysis and reasoning, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context; (c) Exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system; and (d) Using the law to solve real-world problems. In addition, students in the course will be expected to achieve the following course-specific outcomes: * Understand the ritual and stages of legal negotiation * Develop a systematic approach to preparing for a negotiation * Strengthen communication skills (listening, observing cues, expressing interests) * Develop a habit of questioning perceptions and relating with curiosity * Develop self-confidence, presence, and the ability to respond in the moment * Understand and recognize different negotiation styles and their strengths * Develop greater comfort with both adversarial and collaborative bargaining * Understand the role of relationship-building in negotiation * Develop understanding of diverse backgrounds in negotiation dynamics * Understand the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer in negotiations * Obtain a basic understanding of how to negotiate in mediation Biography of Instructor Sabita J. Soneji is a partner with the firm Tycko & Zavareei LLP in Oakland, where she serves as lead counsel in consumer financial fraud class actions and qui tam litigation. She is the chair of her firm's Privacy and Data Breach Group. She formerly served as senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice, Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California, Deputy County Counsel for Santa Clara County, and as an associate in two national law firms. Early in her career, Professor Soneji clerked for the Honorable Gladys Kessler on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She currently serves as faculty teaching advanced trial advocacy around the country for National Institute of Trial Advocacy. Professor Soneji earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Houston Honors College and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Spring 2024 Description: Mastery of negotiation is a life skill in that we all negotiate every day with colleagues, bosses, domestic partners, friends, clients and many others. This class is a dynamic mix of theory, demonstration, skills exercises and role play practice intended to increase your confidence and effectiveness in any negotiation you undertake. We explore critical negotiation theory and identification of motivating interests to improve both your approach to negotiation and the quality of your outcomes. We continue with the essentials of thorough preparation for a negotiation including setting specific targets, identifying sources of influence and defining the point of walk away with reference to a methodical alternatives analysis. While building this negotiation framework, we define and practice critical communication and influencing skills. We also outline a practical framework so that you have a clear map of an effective negotiation process. Participants should leave the class with a solid foundation for more principled, persuasive, and successful negotiation in a variety of contexts. Fall 2024 Description: You can’t practice law without negotiating. Commercial litigators resolve more cases through negotiation than trials, corporate lawyers negotiate deals, and public interest, in-house, government, and criminal lawyers all need to negotiate effectively on behalf of their clients. And at work you constantly have to negotiate with your own bosses, clients, and team members. Yet few professionals study the negotiation process itself - why some negotiations fail, the inherent dilemmas in bargaining, or the skills required to negotiate successfully. This class fills that gap by combining negotiation theory and intensive hands-on practice. It develops your self-awareness as a negotiator and provides tools for analyzing and preparing for negotiations. Through practice with role-plays, self-reflection and feedback from others, you'll sharpen your negotiating abilities. But it goes beyond just tactics - you'll explore the bigger picture of how negotiation fits into legal contexts, ethical considerations, collaborating with others, and more. It's an intense, hands-on learning experience requiring weekly readings, assignments and live negotiation simulations. You'll learn by doing, figuring out what works (or doesn't), writing about it, and trying new approaches. Because participating in these simulations is central to the course, attendance is mandatory. Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett is a retired partner from Davis Polk’s Northern California office, where he focused on complex disputes and strategic problem solving for many of the world’s largest technology and communications companies. He now serves as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master, and teaches at Berkeley Law and University of Virginia Law School. He also co-chairs an annual intensive training program for federal judges that alternates between Berkeley Law and the University of Chicago Law School. During his career in practice, Chris handled a broad range of high-stakes commercial litigation matters, including in the areas of antitrust and unfair competition, intellectual property, securities, and consumer class actions. As lead counsel, he prevailed for clients in over 100 complex cases, as well as led negotiations that successfully resolved claims involving billions of dollars. Chris teaches Negotiations as well as a course on Antitrust and Digital Platforms. He is on the Northern District of California Mediation and Early Neutral Evaluation Panels, and also serves on the Northern District of California’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Local Rules Committee. Chris received his law degree in 1985 from the University of Virginia. Spring 2025 Description: Course Description: This course meets three (3) times only: February 8, February 15 and February 22 (each day falling on a Saturday, 9:00am-6:00pm PDT, inclusive of an hour lunch break). Full attendance is mandatory in all three course sessions. For each of the three course dates, the morning sessions will be used to introduce and provide actionable negotiation-related concepts (“Thinking Slow Mode”). The afternoon sessions will be used to apply the morning’s actionable concepts toward purposely-driven negotiation simulations (“Thinking Fast Mode”). How do you strategically prepare for a successful negotiation? How do you persuade people and yourself? How do you know when to say “yes” or “no” to an offer? Should you ever walkout in a negotiation? How can you leverage emotion in a negotiation context? How do you recognize and remedy implicit biases? What is a “fair” outcome? And what is the right balance between “competition” and “cooperation”? To create a roadmap to think about these issues, this highly interactive course provides a framework to “think like a negotiator” from both a domestic and international perspective. The simulations utilized in the course are “for example” streamlined scenarios based on first principles, where you have the opportunity to apply the given course concepts within randomized teams. As another distinguishing feature, this course primarily takes an international and/or commercial perspective, which may be particularly suitable for those pursuing a commercial/business law career arc. You will also have the opportunity to learn different conceptual frameworks underlying negotiation theory and practice, including positional bargaining, integrative bargaining, strategic communication, psychological influences, and negotiation power, which apply to both online and in-person negotiation contexts. Through this course, you will learn various strategies on how to get others to want what you want through persuasion, sway, and influence underlying your various negotiations. Through this course, you will ideally develop a toolbox to constantly improve as negotiators by asking the right questions, framing issues, and negotiating with others with different skillsets, perceptions, experiences, and backgrounds. This course will also help you learn more about yourself, as a negotiator, and the influence you wield. Instructor Profile: Jasper Kim is a scholar-consultant, with particular expertise in negotiations, and the structuring of capital markets instruments for social impact. He served as Director of the Center for Conflict Management at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha University and is a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He served as invited faculty for the Supreme Court of Korea and is an Arbitrator for the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board. In addition, he is the founder of Asia-Pacific Global Research Group, a consultancy focused on policy trends. He was also a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and Stanford University. Previously, he held key positions in fixed-income and structured products with Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. He is a contributor to various media, including the BBC, Bloomberg, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. He received a MSc degree from the London School of Economics (LSE), JD from Rutgers Law School, MBA from the University of London and MSc in Taxation from Christ Church, University of Oxford (Faculty of Law and Said Business School). Due to the condensed nature of this course, attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. THIS IS A FULLY REMOTE COURSE. AS SUCH, IT IS CATEGORIZED AS DISTANCE LEARNING UNITS FOR THE NEW YORK BAR. THE NEW YORK BAR DOES NOT ALLOW LLM STUDENTS TO COUNT ANY DISTANCE LEARNING UNITS TOWARD NEW YORK BAR ELIGIBILITY, AND IMPOSES STRICT LIMITS FOR 2L/3L JD STUDENTS. Fall 2025 Description: This is an introductory class intended to expose students to the “art” of negotiation. Negotiation skills are absolutely essential in all areas of life, whether you are negotiating with loved ones or negotiating as part of your law practice—regardless of whether you are a corporate attorney negotiating business transactions, a labor and employment attorney, a litigator, or any other specialty. Lawyers are constantly involved in negotiation, on multiple levels—with staff, partners, vendors, clients, opposing counsel, etc. You will be learning primarily by doing. It is my firm belief that there is no one right way to negotiate. Anyone can learn to be a skilled negotiator. I will help you use your natural strengths to improve your negotiation skills and find your unique negotiation style. This class is experiential in nature, with a mix of lecture, discussion, negotiation roleplays, and exercises. My goal is that by the end of this course, you will be a confident and effective negotiator, having improved your communication and conflict management skills. There will be a mandatory Saturday class on November 1 from 8:30AM-1230PM. Learning outcomes You will learn to: 1. Understand and become familiar with the language of negotiation. 2. Recognize and employ both distributive and integrative bargaining methods. 3. Understand and manage the tensions inherent in each bargaining situation. 4. Apply various methods and tools for planning and doing negotiations. 5. Listen actively, pay attention to nonverbal cues, reflect back, and use these skills when working with clients before and during negotiations 6. Effectively interview, advise, and prepare clients for negotiations. 7. Recognize and deal with ethical conflicts that may arise in negotiations. 8. Recognize and adjust to different personality types in the other negotiator. 9. Navigate the additional dynamics at issue in a multi-party negotiation. Biography of Instructor Joyce Winters is a highly experienced Corporate Transactional Attorney with over 25 years of expertise across a diverse range of industries, including technology, retail, and banking. She specializes in intellectual property transactions, commercial contracts, and negotiations. Throughout her career, Joyce has served in both in-house senior counsel roles and as outside counsel for Fortune 500 companies, including Wells Fargo, the Gap brands, and Salesforce. She has also worked with mid-sized software and data analytics firms, such as FICO, as well as providing general counsel and transactional services to retail and technology startups in the eCommerce and software sectors. Joyce’s broad legal expertise encompasses intellectual property and software licensing, digital media, entertainment, and technology law, advertising and marketing compliance, online privacy, payments, and e-commerce, as well as corporate and commercial law. She is well-versed in data privacy, regulatory laws, and internet-related legal issues. Joyce holds a J.D. from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a B.S. in Communications from Boston University. She resides in Marin County with her husband, two daughters, and their beloved terrier-lab mix. |
| Law 245.1 Pre-Trial Civil Litigation 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is designed to acquaint students with pretrial litigation practice in typical civil cases. The skills taught are applicable in any civil case setting. This is a skills course, in that it focuses on the practical application of the federal civil rules, decision making and judgment. We will cover pleadings; written discovery; preparing for, taking and defending depositions (including mock deposition practice); making and opposing motions; and oral argument of motions. Strategies, settlement considerations, client relations and other topics relevant to typical litigation practice are also discussed. The evidence course, while useful, is not a prerequisite. The vast majority of federal civil cases never proceed to trial. Rather, most such cases are resolved through settlement or dispositive motion practice. This course will focus on those pretrial activities that litigation attorneys will undertake upon graduating from law school. We will study the law and strategies applicable to filing various types of court pleadings and other real-world litigation scenarios. You will be required to draft pleadings, present oral arguments and engage in other simulations against adversaries. The primary objectives of this three unit course are to provide pretrial skills background and training. Students will learn the lawyer’s role in discovery and fact development by drafting and responding to written discovery requests. Through course materials, lectures and discussions, you will garner the tools and insights necessary to perform these real world litigation tasks. Instructor Biography: Quynh Vu is a partner at the law firm Kaufhold Gaskin LLP. Her practice is focused on complex civil litigation and she has worked in both in a big law and small law firm setting. She is a 2012 graduate of UC Berkeley Law School, holds a B.A. in Economics and Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia. She is on the Board of the American Lawyer - Young Lawyers Editorial. Spring 2021 Description: This course is designed to acquaint students with pretrial litigation practice in typical civil cases. The skills taught are applicable in any civil case setting. This is a skills course, in that it focuses on the practical application of the federal civil rules, decision making and judgment. We will cover pleadings; written discovery; preparing for, taking and defending depositions (including mock deposition practice); making and opposing motions; and oral argument of motions. Strategies, settlement considerations, client relations and other topics relevant to typical litigation practice are also discussed. The Evidence course, while useful, is not a prerequisite. The vast majority of federal civil cases never proceed to trial. Rather, most such cases are resolved through settlement or dispositive motion practice. This course will focus on those pretrial activities that litigation attorneys will undertake upon graduating from law school. We will study the law and strategies applicable to filing various types of court pleadings and other real-world litigation scenarios. You will be required to draft pleadings, present oral arguments and engage in other simulations against adversaries. The primary objectives of this three unit course are to provide pretrial skills background and training. Students will learn the lawyer’s role in discovery and fact development by drafting and responding to written discovery requests. Through course materials, lectures and discussions, you will garner the tools and insights necessary to perform these real world litigation tasks. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Quynh Vu is a partner at the law firm Kaufhold Gaskin Gallagher LLP. Her practice is focused on complex civil litigation and she has worked in both a big law and small law firm setting. She is a 2012 graduate of UC Berkeley Law School, holds a B.A. in Economics and Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia. She is on the Board of the American Lawyer - Young Lawyers Editorial. |
| Law 245.11 Pretrial Civil Written Discovery Theory, Practice, and Procedure 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course is a deep dive into pre-trial civil written discovery. Mastery of this subject is crucial to the practice of law. Yet practitioners often gripe that they hate discovery - it is time-consuming, fact-(rather than law)-oriented, and contentious. Out-of-law-school hires often know little or nothing about it, though it is one of the few aspects of civil litigation that can be, with preparation, immediately accessible to them. The goal of this course, therefore, is to develop a skillset for you to participate in substantive lawyering early in your legal career. The course will revolve around a fictional dispute. You will represent the plaintiff or defendant, devise the appropriate litigation strategy, and execute the written discovery portion thereof. This means, among other things, drafting discovery requests, objections, responses, meet and confer letters, and motions to compel, and occasionally making an oral argument before a “judge.” Instructor Background: Alisa Givental is a Berkeley Law graduate (class of 2010) and a practicing attorney. She is a member at the Severson & Werson law firm in San Francisco. In her decade of practicing law, Ms. Givental has litigated hundreds of single-plaintiff cases in a broad range of practice areas, with a primary focus on financial services and defending claims under various state and federal statutes. Fall 2021 Description: This course is a deep dive into pre-trial civil written discovery. Mastery of this subject is crucial to the practice of law. Yet practitioners often gripe that they hate discovery - it is time-consuming, fact-(rather than law)-oriented, and contentious. Just out-of-law-school hires often know little or nothing about it, though it is one of the few aspects of civil litigation that can be, with preparation, immediately accessible to them. The goal of this course, therefore, is to develop a skill set for you to participate in substantive lawyering early in your legal career. The course will revolve around a fictional dispute. You will represent the plaintiff or defendant, devise the appropriate litigation strategy, and execute the written discovery portion thereof. This means, among other things, drafting discovery requests, objections, responses, meet and confer letters, and motions to compel, and making an oral argument before a “judge.” To the extent that there is some overlap with material taught in other courses (e.g. Pre-Trial Civil Litigation), students should feel free to take both. This course zeroes in on drafting discovery, not Civil Procedure as a whole. Instructor Background: Alisa Givental is a Berkeley Law graduate (class of 2010) and a practicing attorney. She is a Member at the Severson & Werson law firm in San Francisco. In her decade of practicing law, Ms. Givental has litigated hundreds of single-plaintiff cases in a broad range of practice areas, with a primary focus on financial services and defending claims under various state and federal statutes. Fall 2022 Description: This course is a deep dive into pre-trial civil written discovery. Mastery of this subject is crucial to the practice of law. Yet practitioners often gripe that they hate discovery - it is time-consuming, fact-(rather than law)-oriented, and contentious. Just out-of-law-school hires often know little or nothing about it, though it is one of the few aspects of civil litigation that can be, with preparation, immediately accessible to them. The goal of this course, therefore, is to develop a skill set for you to participate in substantive lawyering early in your legal career. The course will revolve around a fictional dispute. You will represent the plaintiff or defendant, devise the appropriate litigation strategy, and execute the written discovery portion thereof. This means, among other things, drafting discovery requests, objections, responses, meet and confer letters, and motions to compel, as well as making an oral argument before a “judge.” To the extent that there is some overlap with material taught in other courses (e.g. Pre-Trial Civil Litigation), students should feel free to take both. This course zeroes in on drafting discovery, not Civil Procedure as a whole. Instructor Background: Alisa Givental is a Berkeley Law graduate (class of 2010) and a practicing attorney. She is a Member at the Severson & Werson law firm in San Francisco. Ms. Givental has litigated hundreds of single-plaintiff cases in a broad range of practice areas, with a primary focus on financial services and defending claims under various state and federal statutes. Fall 2023 Description: This course is a deep dive into pre-trial civil written discovery. Mastery of this subject is crucial to the practice of law. Yet practitioners often gripe that they hate discovery - it is time-consuming, fact-(rather than law)-oriented, and contentious. Just out-of-law-school hires often know little or nothing about it, though it is one of the few aspects of civil litigation that can be, with preparation, immediately accessible to them. The goal of this course, therefore, is to develop a skill set for you to participate in substantive lawyering early in your legal career. The course will revolve around a fictional dispute. You will represent the plaintiff or defendant, devise the appropriate litigation strategy, and execute the written discovery portion thereof. This means, among other things, drafting discovery requests, objections, responses, meet and confer letters, and motions to compel, as well as making an oral argument before a “judge.” To the extent that there is some overlap with material taught in other courses (e.g. Pre-Trial Civil Litigation), students should feel free to take both. This course zeroes in on drafting discovery, not Civil Procedure as a whole. Instructor Background: Alisa Givental is a Berkeley Law graduate (class of 2010) and a practicing attorney. She is a Member at the Severson & Werson law firm in San Francisco. Ms. Givental has litigated hundreds of single-plaintiff cases in a broad range of practice areas, with a primary focus on financial services and defending claims under various state and federal statutes. |
| Law 245.13 Introduction to Negotiations 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Both professionally and personally, one of the skills you rely on most is your capacity to negotiate. You will negotiate not just over cases, but any time that you need something that you cannot achieve alone. You will negotiate with your boss, your clients, your paralegal, and all of their counterparts (plus the lawyers) on the other side as well as those who run our systems such as the government or our courts. You are also in an ongoing dialogue and negotiation with your family, your friends, and yourself. This course is designed to develop your understanding of negotiation, and your awareness of yourself as a negotiator and give you some beginning tools and concepts for analyzing and preparing for negotiations. You will develop your negotiating skills by 1) understanding key theories through readings and lectures, 2) practicing through role plays, and 3) learning from your experience through reflection and feedback. We will require preparation of readings, simulations, and written assignments for both days of this class. Because participation in the simulations is central to the course, attendance at both classes is required. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance and written assignments. Enrolling in this one unit Intro to Negotiations class does not prevent students from taking Negotiations (Law 245) in a future semester. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 245.14 Business Negotiations 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course will teach law students how to negotiate basic business contracts such as confidentiality agreements, purchase agreements, and equity holder agreements. After studying principles of negotiation and applicable contract provisions, students will engage in a series of negotiating projects, including proposing strategic and tactical objectives, drafting exercises, and negotiation sessions. Class sessions will also include guest lectures and analysis and discussion of sample business contracts, student negotiations and market studies. Students should leave the course with a solid foundation for more principled, persuasive and successful negotiation in a variety of business contexts. Vijay Sekhon is a partner in Sidley’s San Francisco and Century City offices and a member of the M&A, Private Equity, Capital Markets and Restructuring practice groups. His practice focuses on mergers, purchases, sales and reorganizations of businesses for companies and private equity and hedge funds. Vijay also focuses on public debt and equity offerings, private placements and purchases and sales of debt and equity, and general corporate and securities law, including advising companies and private equity and hedge funds on their disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws. Fall 2024 Description: This course will teach law students how to negotiate basic business contracts such as confidentiality agreements, purchase agreements, and equity holder agreements. After studying principles of negotiation and applicable contract provisions, students will engage in a series of negotiating projects, including proposing strategic and tactical objectives, drafting exercises, and negotiation sessions. Class sessions will also include guest lectures and analysis and discussion of sample business contracts, student negotiations, and market studies. Students should leave the course with a solid foundation for more principled, persuasive, and successful negotiation in a variety of business contexts. Vijay Sekhon is a partner in Sidley’s San Francisco and Century City offices and a member of the M&A, Private Equity, Capital Markets and Restructuring practice groups. His practice focuses on mergers, purchases, sales and reorganizations of businesses for companies and private equity and hedge funds. Vijay also focuses on public debt and equity offerings, private placements and purchases and sales of debt and equity, and general corporate and securities law, including advising companies and private equity and hedge funds on their disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws. Fall 2025 Description: This course will teach law students how to negotiate basic business contracts such as confidentiality agreements, purchase agreements, and equity holder agreements. After studying principles of negotiation and applicable contract provisions, students will engage in a series of negotiating projects, including proposing strategic and tactical objectives, drafting exercises, and negotiation sessions. Class sessions will also include guest lectures and analysis and discussion of sample business contracts, student negotiations, and market studies. Students should leave the course with a solid foundation for more principled, persuasive, and successful negotiation in a variety of business contexts. Vijay Sekhon is a partner in Sidley’s San Francisco and Century City offices and a member of the M&A, Private Equity, Capital Markets, and Restructuring practice groups. His practice focuses on mergers, purchases, sales, and reorganizations of businesses for companies and private equity and hedge funds. Vijay also focuses on public debt and equity offerings, private placements and purchases and sales of debt and equity, and general corporate and securities law, including advising companies and private equity and hedge funds on their disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws. Hannah M. Brown is an associate in Sidey’s San Francisco office. She practices a range of corporate work, including complex business transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions. She also advises on a range of securities regulation and corporate governance matters. While in law school, she worked as an in-house legal assistant at a leading mobile advertising and application monetization firm. Hannah earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and received her B.S. from Portland State University. |
| Law 245.2 Civil Trial Practice 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is an intense trial advocacy course taught by two judges, focusing on planning and preparation for trial, including direct examination, cross examination, introduction of exhibits, objections to evidence, opening statements, closing arguments, pre-trial motion practice, use of visual aids, and courtroom communication skills. This is a “learning by doing” course in which students will learn to prepare and perform as effective trial advocates. While there will be brief lectures, students will get real and repeated experience in standing, questioning, objecting and persuading in court, using the tools available in actual state and federal courtrooms. Class sessions consist of weekly student performances of trial exercises, and a brief lecture on a trial component. There will be assigned reading and video viewing outside of class. The course culminates in a mock jury trial before state and federal judges which will be held on a Wednesday, May 6th 5:30PM-9PM. Students must have taken Evidence or be taking it concurrently. NOTE: The first class will meet at the law school, but the remainder of the course will meet at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, which is approximately a 3-minute walk from BART (City Center). INSTRUCTORS: Judge Jeffrey S. White, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and Justice Tracie L. Brown, California Court of Appeal. Judge White and Justice Brown have taught for many years at UC Berkeley School of Law. In addition, both judges were previously Assistant United States Attorneys who tried numerous civil and criminal cases to verdict. They have also presided over hundreds of cases in their roles as judges. Spring 2021 Description: This trial advocacy skills course will teach you how to try cases effectively. While it focuses on the core skills of witness examination and opening/closing statements, students will also be trained to hear and make evidentiary objections, introduce exhibits into evidence, prepare for trial, and identify ethical issues. This is a “learning by doing” class. Each week every student will perform an assigned trial skill exercise. Fellow students will act as witnesses and opposing counsel and there will be feedback by the instructors. Student performances are videotaped and there will be assigned reading and video viewing. Each week the instructor will do a lecture in preparation for the next week's class. The course culminates in a jury trial that will take place Saturday, May 1st and Sunday, May 2nd. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. INSTRUCTORS: The course instructors are California judges who will also share their perspectives on how to be persuasive, professional and ethical in the courtroom. They have taught trial practices courses at Berkeley Law for several years. Justice Ioana Petrou, a Berkeley Law alumna, is a former Assistant United States Attorney serving in both the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of California. In the private sector, she worked in the firms of O’Melveny and Myers, Foley & Lardner LLP, and Proskauer Rose LLP. Justice Petrou was a judge with the Alameda County Superior Court from 2010 to 2018 before being elevated to the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Judge Charles A. Smiley is the Assistant Presiding Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court. He is a former public defender and court commissioner who has taught trial advocacy at U.C. Hastings College of the Law and judicial ethics to other judges. He has presided over contested hearings in family law, limited civil, and juvenile departments. He has also presided over criminal jury trials. Spring 2022 Description: Course Description: This trial advocacy skills course will teach you how to try cases effectively. While it focuses on the core skills of witness examination and opening/closing statements, students will also be trained to hear and make evidentiary objections, introduce exhibits into evidence, prepare for trial, and identify ethical issues. This is a “learning by doing” class. Each week every student will perform an assigned trial skill exercise. Fellow students will act as witnesses and opposing counsel and there will be feedback by the instructors. Student performances are videotaped and there will be assigned reading and video viewing. Each week the instructor will do a lecture in preparation for the next week's class. The course culminates in a jury trial that will take place Saturday, April 23rd, and Sunday, April 24th. Enrollment in Civil Trial Practice is limited to 16 students. The Hon. Evelio M. Grillo is a Judge in the Alameda County Superior Court where he presently is assigned to the Complex Litigation Department and sits as the supervising judge of the Alameda County Superior Court Appellate Panel. Prior to being assigned to complex litigation, Judge Grillo sat in the as a Civil Direct Calendar Department (2009-20011, 2028-2021) and the Civil Law and Motion Department (2012-2016) where he heard law and motion matters and civil writs, including administrative writs, and writs brought pursuant to the California Public Records Act and CEQA. Over thirty of Judge Grillo’s trial decisions have resulted in published appellate opinions in such diverse areas as the Public Records Act, CEQA, arbitration, and attorneys’ fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. Judge Grillo, a 1985 graduate of the Harvard Law School, was appointed by Governor Gray Davis in 2003. The Honorable Winifred Younge Smith (ret.) was appointed to the Alameda Superior Court in November 2000. Since her appointment, Judge Smith has had a variety of assignments including Civil law and Motion (20006-20070 Civil Direct Calendar Judge (2007-20012) Assistant Presiding Judge (20013-2014) Presiding Judge (20015-2016) and Complex Civil Litigation (20017-2021). Judge Smith heard civil law and motion matters, conducted civil trials and has extensive experience managing coordinated cases; the largest of which had 31,000 plaintiffs. She also heard the “Roundup” trial which resulted in the largest civil jury award in California history. The judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeal. Judge Smith is a graduate of Stanford University and Boston University School of Law. Spring 2023 Description: This is an intense trial advocacy course taught by an experienced, award-winning trial lawyer and an appellate justice who previously served as a trial judge. The course will focus on preparing for and conducting jury trials, including direct examination, cross examination, introduction of exhibits, objections to evidence, opening statements, closing arguments, pre-trial motion practice, use of visual aids, and courtroom communication skills. This is a “learning by doing” course in which students will learn to prepare and perform as effective trial advocates. While there will be brief lectures, students will get real and repeated experience in standing, questioning, objecting, and arguing to jurors and judges. Class sessions consist of weekly student performances of assigned trial exercises, and a brief lecture on a specific trial component. There will be assigned reading and videotape viewing outside of class. The course culminates in a 4-hour mock jury trial before state and federal judges. This class is not suitable for those who have already completed a similar class on trial skills. Students must have taken Evidence or be taking it concurrently. INSTRUCTORS: Daralyn Durie, DurieTangri LLP; Justice Tracie L. Brown, First District Court of Appeal (formerly San Francisco Superior Court). Spring 2024 Description: This is an intense trial advocacy course taught by experienced, award-winning trial lawyers. The course will focus on preparing for and conducting jury trials, including direct examination, cross examination, introduction of exhibits, objections to evidence, opening statements, closing arguments, pre-trial motion practice, use of visual aids, and courtroom communication skills. This is a “learning by doing” course in which students will learn to prepare and perform as effective trial advocates. While there will be brief lectures, students will get real and repeated experience in standing, questioning, objecting, and arguing to jurors and judges. Class sessions consist of weekly student performances of assigned trial exercises, and a brief lecture on a specific trial component. There will be assigned reading and videotape viewing outside of class. The course culminates in a 4-hour mock jury trial before state and federal judges. This class is not suitable for those who have already completed a similar class on trial skills. It is strongly recommended that students have taken Evidence or be taking it concurrently. INSTRUCTORS: Daralyn Durie, Wil Frenzen, and Christine Wong, all of Morrison Foerster LLP. Spring 2025 Description: This course teaches the fundamentals of trial advocacy using a civil law case file. Students will learn the core skills of witness examination, opening/closing statements, introducing evidence, making evidentiary objections, jury selection, and trial preparation. The course will also cover trial strategy and ethical issues that may arise during trial. This is a “learning by doing” class. Each week every student will perform an assigned trial skill exercise. Fellow students will act as witnesses and opposing counsel and there will be feedback by the instructors and classmates. There will be assigned reading each week. At every class, an instructor will provide a lecture to introduce the topic area of the following week's class and trial skill exercise. The course final will be a mock jury trial during which students will argue motions in limine, make opening statements, examine and cross examine witnesses, introduce evidence, and make a closing argument to a jury selected from class members and volunteers. The mock jury trial is the final exam and will be held on April 26th. The instructors for this class are Judge Winifred Smith (Ret.), and Judge Evelio Grillo (Ret.) Judge Winifred Smith (Ret.) was appointed as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court in 2000. During her tenure, Judge Smith was assigned to the Civil Law and Motion, Civil Direct Calendar and Complex Litigation Departments, where she served with distinction until her retirement in 2021. Judge Smith served as the Supervising Civil Judge and the Presiding Judge of the court and has tried over 100 cases to verdict, one of which--a products liability/complex litigation case--resulted in the largest civil jury verdict in California history. Alameda County Superior Court. Judge Smith received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her JD from Boston University School of Law. Evelio Grillo is a retired Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court . During his tenure on the bench, Judge Grillo was assigned to a Complex Trial Department (class action, mass tort, insurance coverage and other complex litigation), Civil Law and Motion Department and the Civil Direct Calendar Departments. Over 40 of Judge Grillo’s trial court decisions have resulted in published appellate opinions in both the Court of Appeal, and the California Supreme Court. Judge Grillo received his undergraduate degree (BA --Political Science) and his masters degree (MPP --Public Policy) from the University of California at Berkeley, and his JD from Harvard Law School. |
| Law 245.21 Introduction to Trial Practice for 1Ls 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is designed to introduce 1L students to trial practice. It is taught by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Charles Smiley (Presiding Judge, Juvenile Division) and First District Court of Appeal Justice Ioana Petrou. Justice Petrou is a former Alameda County Judge and former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Smiley is a former Alameda County Public Defender, and they have tried numerous jury cases to verdict in state and federal court. On a weekly basis, students will practice their skills in front of each other and the instructors will lead a positive group discussion and critique. The course is being offered on a credit/no credit basis. Students are expected to be prepared for every class and to participate in the weekly exercises and group critique, and to work diligently on the final exam. The course will take place at the law school. Taking this course will not preclude you from enrolling in Civil Trial Practice or Criminal Trial Practice in a future semester. All interested 1L students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the wait list -- must attend the first class; any students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the use of role play exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course no later than the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. The required text is Steven Lubet book "Modern Trial Advocacy" (Law School Edition). Any version starting in 2013 or later will suffice. The class will be held over seven sessions, the first seven weeks of the semester, 110 minutes each session. Spring 2022 Description: This course is designed to introduce 1L students to trial practice. It is taught by Alameda County Presiding Judge Charles Smiley and First District Court of Appeal Justice Ioana Petrou. Justice Petrou is a former Alameda County Judge and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Smiley is a former Alameda County Public Defender, and they have tried numerous jury cases to verdict in state and federal court. On a weekly basis, students will practice their skills in front of each other and the instructors will lead a positive group discussion and critique. The course is being offered on a credit/no credit basis. Students are expected to be prepared for every class and to participate in the weekly exercises and group critique, and to work diligently on the final exam. The course will take place at the law school. Taking this course will not preclude you from enrolling in Civil Trial Practice or Criminal Trial Practice in a future semester. All interested 1L students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the waitlist -- must attend the first class; any students who are not present on the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the use of role play exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course no later than the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. You will need (1) Modern Trial Advocacy, Steven Lubet (NITA) (any edition you purchase will work) and (2) a trial problem to be announced. The class will be held over seven sessions, the first seven weeks of the semester, 110 minutes each session. Spring 2023 Description: This course is designed to introduce 1L students to trial practice. It is taught by Alameda County Presiding Judge Charles Smiley and First District Court of Appeal Justice Ioana Petrou. Justice Petrou is a former Alameda County Judge and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Smiley is a former Alameda County Public Defender, and they have tried numerous jury cases to verdict in state and federal court. On a weekly basis, students will practice their skills in front of each other and the instructors will lead a positive group discussion and critique. The course is being offered on a credit/no credit basis. Students are expected to be prepared for every class and to participate in the weekly exercises and group critique, and to work diligently on the final exam. The course will take place at the law school. Taking this course will not preclude you from enrolling in Civil Trial Practice or Criminal Trial Practice in a future semester. All interested 1L students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the waitlist -- must attend the first class; any students who are not present on the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the use of role play exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course no later than the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. You will need (1) Modern Trial Advocacy, Steven Lubet (NITA) (any edition you purchase will work) and (2) a trial problem to be announced. The class will be held over seven sessions, 110 minutes each session. Spring 2024 Description: This course is designed to introduce 1L students to trial practice. It is taught by Alameda County Presiding Judge Charles Smiley and First District Court of Appeal Justice Ioana Petrou. Justice Petrou is a former Alameda County Judge and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Smiley is a former Alameda County Public Defender, and they have tried numerous jury cases to verdict in state and federal court. On a weekly basis, students will practice their skills in front of each other and the instructors will lead a positive group discussion and critique. The course is being offered on a credit/no credit basis. Students are expected to be prepared for every class and to participate in the weekly exercises and group critique, and to work diligently on the final exam. The course will take place at the law school. Taking this course will not preclude you from enrolling in Civil Trial Practice or Criminal Trial Practice in a future semester. All interested 1L students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the waitlist -- must attend the first class; any students who are not present on the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the use of role play exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course no later than the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. You will need (1) Modern Trial Advocacy, Steven Lubet (NITA) (any edition you purchase will work) and (2) a trial problem to be announced. The class will be held over seven sessions, 110 minutes each session. Spring 2025 Description: This course is designed to introduce 1L students to trial practice. It is taught by Alameda County Judge Charles Smiley and First District Court of Appeal Justice Ioana Petrou. Justice Petrou is a former Alameda County Judge and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Smiley was recently the Presiding Judge for Alameda County and is a former Alameda County Public Defender. They have tried numerous jury cases to verdict in state and federal court. On a weekly basis, students will practice their skills in front of each other and the instructors will lead a positive group discussion and critique. The course is being offered on a credit/no credit basis. Students are expected to be prepared for every class and to participate in the weekly exercises and group critique, and to work diligently on the final exam. Taking this course will not preclude you from enrolling in Civil Trial Practice or Criminal Trial Practice in a future semester. All interested 1L students -- whether or not enrolled or placed on the waitlist -- must attend the first class; any students who are not present on the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the use of role play exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course no later than the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. You will need (1) Modern Trial Advocacy, Steven Lubet (NITA) (any edition you purchase will work) and (2) a trial problem to be announced. The class will be held over seven sessions. |
| Law 245.23 Evidence Advocacy and Trial Objections 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: � This course is an in-depth review of evidence law in context. Students will study the strategy of raising and responding to evidentiary arguments, with a focus on how the rules apply in practice and how the rules relate to one another. This course will also give students the opportunity and challenge of applying the rules of evidence in the same fashion as practicing lawyers – via written motions, oral arguments, and courtroom objections. This course requires participation in simulation exercises during class sessions and advance preparation outside of class sessions. Topics will include relevance, character evidence, hearsay, and expert testimony, among others. Instructor Biography: Nicholas Cotter is an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender. He is a trial lawyer representing indigent people charged with criminal cases. To date, he has represented hundreds of clients at all stages of criminal proceedings, including motions, preliminary hearings, and jury trials. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in Molecular & Cell Biology and Music from the University of California, Berkeley; his Master of Music from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach; and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Nick is passionate about studying and coaching trial advocacy. As a student, he earned team and individual awards at several national trial competitions, including recognition as an All-American Attorney in college and a national finalist in law school. Outside of work, Nick is a coach for UC Berkeley’s undergraduate and law school mock trial programs, a Senior Research Fellow with the California Constitution Center, and a member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. He also plays clarinet and saxophone with the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra. Fall 2024 Description: This course is an in-depth review of evidence law in context. Students will study the strategy of raising and responding to evidentiary arguments, with a focus on how the rules apply in practice and how the rules relate to one another. This course will also give students the opportunity and challenge of applying the rules of evidence in the same fashion as practicing lawyers – via written motions, oral arguments, and courtroom objections. This course requires participation in simulation exercises during class sessions and advance preparation outside of class sessions. Topics will include relevance, character evidence, hearsay, and expert testimony, among others. Instructor Biography: Nicholas Cotter is an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender. He is a trial lawyer representing indigent people charged with criminal cases. To date, he has represented hundreds of clients at all stages of criminal proceedings, including motions, preliminary hearings, and jury trials. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in Molecular & Cell Biology and Music from the University of California, Berkeley; his Master of Music from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach; and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Nick is passionate about studying and coaching trial advocacy. As a student, he earned team and individual awards at several national trial competitions, including recognition as an All-American Attorney in college and a national finalist in law school. Outside of work, Nick is a coach for UC Berkeley’s undergraduate and law school mock trial programs, a Senior Research Fellow with the California Constitution Center, and a member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. He also plays clarinet and saxophone with the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra. Fall 2025 Description: This course is an in-depth review of evidence law in context. Students will study the strategy of raising and responding to evidentiary arguments, with a focus on how the rules apply in practice and how the rules relate to one another. This course will also give students the opportunity and challenge of applying the rules of evidence in the same fashion as practicing lawyers – via written motions, oral arguments, and courtroom objections. This course requires participation in simulation exercises during class sessions and advance preparation outside of class sessions. Topics will include relevance, character evidence, hearsay, and expert testimony, among others. Instructor Biography: Nicholas Cotter is an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender. He is a trial lawyer representing indigent people charged with criminal cases. To date, he has represented hundreds of clients at all stages of criminal proceedings, including motions, preliminary hearings, and jury trials. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in Molecular & Cell Biology and Music from the University of California, Berkeley; his Master of Music from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach; and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Nick is passionate about studying and coaching trial advocacy. As a student, he earned team and individual awards at several national trial competitions, including recognition as an All-American Attorney in college and a national finalist in law school. Outside of work, Nick is a coach for UC Berkeley’s undergraduate and law school mock trial programs, a Senior Research Fellow with the California Constitution Center, and a member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. He also plays clarinet and saxophone with the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra. |
| Law 245.4 Drafting and Negotiating Sports Law Contracts 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed in the seminar are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements, sports team acquisition agreements and media rights agreements. This seminar is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis of this seminar will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised and finalized. In addition to a discussion of some of the specific sports transaction documents and the drafting and negotiation techniques related to those documents, there will be general discussions of other sports law related issues. Depending on availability and timing, the seminar may also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsel for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspective on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exams but instead there will be a number of independent writing assignments which will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Enrolled and waitlisted students must attend the first class meeting to be enrolled in the course and waitlisted students must continue to attend classes until they are either enrolled or until the final determination of their waitlist status is made. Late papers are subject to grading penalties. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments, and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Biographical Information Rich Brand is Managing Partner of Arent Fox’s San Francisco office and heads the firm’s Sports practice. He advises professional sports franchises, owners of sports and entertainment facilities, sponsors, and service content providers in virtually all areas of sports law, including in media rights, naming rights and sponsorship transactions, arena and stadium leases and licenses, suite and club seat licensing, financings for pro sports teams as well as advertising, promotional, and food and beverage/concession agreements. Rich also advises prospective purchasers and sellers of pro sports franchises and sports and entertainment facilities and negotiates player, coaches, and executive contracts, license agreements, as well as salary cap and collective bargaining interpretation, and related matters for professional sports teams. Rich has counseled numerous professional sports team clients in all the major leagues, including the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, DC United, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, New York Jets, Oklahoma Thunder, Phoenix Suns, San Francisco 49ers, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Capitals, and the Washington Wizards. Rich Brand is on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Sports Council, a prestigious group comprising individuals and corporate members of the sports business community. He is often a featured speaker at national industry events and a go-to source for the San Francisco Business Times, Daily Journal, LawInSport, and the YES Network’s Forbes SportsMoney talk show. He has routinely appeared on CNN, Fox Sports, and other national media programs. He was recently named a ‘Sports Lawyer of the Year’ by The Best Lawyers in America©. Rich Brand earned his law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed in the seminar are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements and sports team acquisition agreements. This seminar is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis of this seminar will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised and finalized. In addition to a discussion of some of the specific sports transaction documents and the drafting and negotiation techniques related to those documents, there will be general discussions of other sports law related issues. The seminar will also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsels for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspective on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exams but instead there will be a number of independent drafting assignments which will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Enrolled and waitlisted students must attend the first class meeting to be enrolled in the course and waitlisted students must continue to attend classes until they are either enrolled or until the final determination of their waitlist status is made. Late papers are subject to grading penalties. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade. Biographical Information Rich Brand is Managing Partner of Arent Fox’s San Francisco office and heads the firm’s Sports practice. He represents professional sports franchises, owners of sports and entertainment facilities, sponsors and service content providers in connection with naming rights transactions, media rights agreements, sponsorship agreements, advertising agreements, promotional agreements, food and beverage agreements, suite and club seat licensing, and financings for professional sports teams and owners of sports and entertainment facilities. He also represents prospective purchasers and sellers of professional sports franchises and sports and entertainment facilities, negotiates player, coach and executive contracts, license agreements, salary cap and collective bargaining interpretation and related matters for professional sports teams. Rich has counseled numerous professional sports team clients in all the major leagues, including the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, DC United, Inter Milan, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, Madison Square Garden Company (the owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers), Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, New York Jets, Oklahoma Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Capitals, and Washington Wizards. Rich is on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Sports Council, a prestigious group comprising individuals and corporate members of the sports business community. He is often a featured speaker at national industry events and a go-to source for the San Francisco Business Times, Daily Journal, LawInSport, and the YES Network’s Forbes SportsMoney talk show. He has routinely appeared on CNN, Fox Sports, and other national media programs. He was named a ‘Sports Lawyer of the Y ear’ in 2019 by The Best Lawyers in America©. Rich Brand earned his law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed in the seminar are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements and sports team acquisition agreements. This seminar is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis of this seminar will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised and finalized. In addition to a discussion of some of the specific sports transaction documents and the drafting and negotiation techniques related to those documents, there will be general discussions of other sports law related issues. The seminar will also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsels for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspective on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exams but instead there will be a number of independent drafting assignments which will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Enrolled and waitlisted students must attend the first class meeting to be enrolled in the course and waitlisted students must continue to attend classes until they are either enrolled or until the final determination of their waitlist status is made. Late papers are subject to grading penalties. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade. Biographical Information Rich Brand is Managing Partner of ArentFox Schiff’s San Francisco office and heads the firm’s Sports practice. He represents professional sports franchises, owners of sports and entertainment facilities, sponsors and service content providers in connection with naming rights transactions, media rights agreements, sponsorship agreements, advertising agreements, promotional agreements, food and beverage agreements, suite and club seat licensing, and financings for professional sports teams and owners of sports and entertainment facilities. He also represents prospective purchasers and sellers of professional sports franchises and sports and entertainment facilities, negotiates player, coach and executive contracts, license agreements, salary cap and collective bargaining interpretation and related matters for professional sports teams. He is one of the best-known sports law attorneys in the United States and has been the lead attorney in connection with some of the largest, most complex, and most prominent transactions in the United States for many years. In just the past several years, in addition to building and running ArentFox Schiff’s San Francisco office and steering it through the COVID-19 crisis, Rich has led teams of lawyers on some of this year’s highest profile sports transactions in the country, including: 1) the extension of the Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center lease through 2041; 2) the record-breaking eye-opening naming rights and sponsorship transaction with SoFi; 3) back-to-back MLS stadium naming rights transactions with Q2 Holdings and Total Quality Logistics; and 4) a multi-year naming rights transaction with YouTube that names the development’s 6,000-seat performance venue, YouTube Theater together with a multi-year partnership for Google Cloud to power SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park’s digital innovation experiences. Rich has counseled numerous professional sports team clients in all the major leagues, including the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, DC United, Inter Milan, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, Madison Square Garden Company (the owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers), Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, New York City Football Club, New York Jets, New York Red Bulls, Oklahoma Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Capitals, and Washington Wizards. Rich is on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Sports Council, a prestigious group comprising individuals and corporate members of the sports business community. He is often a featured speaker at national industry events and a go-to source for the San Francisco Business Times, Daily Journal, LawInSport, and the YES Network’s Forbes SportsMoney talk show. He has routinely appeared on CNN, Fox Sports, and other national media programs. He was named a ‘Sports Lawyer of the Year’ in 2019 by The Best Lawyers in America©. Rich Brand earned his law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed in the seminar are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements and sports team acquisition agreements. This seminar is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis of this seminar will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised and finalized. In addition to a discussion of some of the specific sports transaction documents and the drafting and negotiation techniques related to those documents, there will be general discussions of other sports law related issues. The seminar will also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsels for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspective on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exams but instead there will be a number of independent drafting assignments which will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at the first class and all subsequent classes 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. Late papers are subject to grading penalties. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade. Biographical Information Rich Brand is Managing Partner of ArentFox Schiff’s San Francisco office and heads the firm’s Sports practice. He has been the lead attorney in connection with the largest, most complex, and most prominent transactions in California and the United States for many years. Rich represents professional sports franchises, owners of sports and entertainment facilities, sponsors and service content providers in connection with naming rights transactions, media rights agreements, sponsorship agreements, advertising agreements, promotional agreements, food and beverage agreements, suite and club seat licensing, and financings for professional sports teams and owners of sports and entertainment facilities. He also represents prospective purchasers and sellers of professional sports franchises and sports and entertainment facilities, negotiates player, coach and executive contracts, license agreements, salary cap and collective bargaining interpretation and related matters for professional sports teams. Rich has counseled numerous professional sports team clients in all the major leagues, including the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, DC United, Inter Milan, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, Madison Square Garden Company (the owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers), Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, New York City Football Club, New York Jets, New York Red Bulls, Oklahoma Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Capitals, and Washington Wizards. Rich is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in sports by Legal 500 and as a leading real estate attorney by Best Lawyers and Legal 500. He is also recognized as a SportsBusiness Journal Power Player and was named one of the Daily Journal’s “Top 100 Lawyers” in California for a second time this year. Best Lawyers has also recognized Rich as a “Lawyer of the Year” for his high-profile sports work. He is often a featured speaker at national industry events and a go-to source for the San Francisco Business Times, Daily Journal, Law 360 and LawInSport. Rich serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Sports Council, a prestigious group of individuals and corporate members of the sports business community. Rich Brand earned his law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed in the seminar are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements, and sports team acquisition agreements. This seminar is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis of this seminar will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised, and finalized. The seminar will also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsels for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspectives on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exam; instead, there will be a number of independent drafting assignments that will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating, and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at the first class and all subsequent classes 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. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments, and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade. Rich Brand is Managing Partner of ArentFox Schiff’s San Francisco office and heads the firm’s Sports practice. He has been the lead attorney in connection with the largest, most complex, and most prominent transactions in California and the United States for many years. Rich represents professional sports franchises, owners of sports and entertainment facilities, sponsors, and service content providers in connection with naming rights transactions, media rights agreements, sponsorship agreements, advertising agreements, promotional agreements, food and beverage agreements, suite and club seat licensing, and financings for professional sports teams and owners of sports and entertainment facilities. He also represents prospective purchasers and sellers of professional sports franchises and sports and entertainment facilities, negotiates player, coach, and executive contracts, license agreements, salary cap and collective bargaining interpretation, and related matters for professional sports teams. Rich has counseled numerous professional sports team clients in all the major leagues. Rich is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in sports by Legal 500 and as a leading real estate attorney by Best Lawyers and Legal 500. He is also recognized as a SportsBusiness Journal Power Player and was named one of the Daily Journal’s “Top 100 Lawyers” in California for a third time this year. Best Lawyers has also recognized Rich as a “Lawyer of the Year” for his high-profile sports work. He is often a featured speaker at national industry events and a go-to source for the San Francisco Business Times, Daily Journal, Law 360 and LawInSport. Rich Brand earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University. Zak Welsh is a transactional associate in the San Francisco office of ArentFox Schiff. Zak has a broad-based transactional practice, with an emphasis on clients in the sports, entertainment, media and technology, and hospitality industries. Zak has represented professional sports franchises, owners and operators of professional sports and entertainment venues, and corporate sponsors in connection with a broad array of transactions in the sports and entertainment industries, including naming rights agreements, sponsorship agreements, advertising and promotional agreements, suite, club, and premium hospitality leases and licenses, media rights and advertising agreements, multi-media rights (MMR) agreements, facility management agreements, facility leases and licenses, event leases and licenses, concessionaire and food and beverage agreements, pouring rights agreements, franchise acquisition and disposition agreements, and league formation and related agreements. Zak also advises clients on a wide range of real estate, corporate, and hospitality matters, including purchase and sale agreements, joint venture agreements, operating and partnership agreements, leasing and subleasing agreements, ground leases, financing agreements, guaranty and indemnity agreements, licenses and easements, entity formation and restructuring, franchise agreements, hotel management agreements, title and survey review, land use and permitting matters, affordable housing, and rent control compliance issues. Prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, Zak worked as a real estate associate at a large international law firm in San Francisco. During law school, Zak served as an Executive Editor of the California Law Review and the Managing Editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. He also worked as a legislative aide for Senator Dianne Feinstein in her Washington, DC office and as an extern for the Honorable Judge Jon S. Tigar of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Before law school, Zak worked for six seasons for the San Francisco Giants as a Clubhouse Assistant. Fall 2025 Description: This class focuses on the drafting and negotiation of certain sports law transaction documents. Examples of documents to be discussed are suite license agreements, sponsorship agreements, naming rights agreements, and sports team acquisition agreements. This class is intended to be "hands-on" with all students having the opportunity to experience being a "sports law attorney." The classroom environment is intended to simulate the experiences that a junior attorney would encounter in a law firm or corporate legal setting. The major emphasis will be on how sports transaction documents are drafted, negotiated, revised, and finalized. The class will also feature sports law practitioners (e.g., general counsels for professional sports teams or organizations) as guest speakers to discuss their sports law experiences and their perspectives on some of the documentation covered by this seminar. There will be no exam; instead, there will be a number of independent drafting assignments that will require the students to draft transaction documents based on forms from actual sports transactions. The final assignment will be a group assignment consisting of drafting, negotiating, and finalizing a sports transaction document. There will also be numerous negotiation sessions. Attendance at the first class and all subsequent classes 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. Class participation (quality not quantity), attendance, written drafting assignments, and the final negotiation/drafting assignment are the elements considered in determining the grade. Richard Brand, the co-head of ArentFox Schiff’s Firmwide Sports practice group, as well as San Francisco Managing Partner and lead West Coast Real Estate partner, is recognized as an industry leader and a go-to authority for the following types of transactions: naming rights agreements; sponsorship agreements; advertising and promotional agreements (including name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements); suite, club, and premium hospitality agreements; media rights agreements; multi-media rights (MMR) agreements; procurement agreements; facility management agreements; facility leases and licenses; team and event leases and licenses; concessionaire and food and beverage agreements; pouring rights agreements; ticketing agreements; franchise acquisition and disposition agreements; player, coach, and executive contacts; financings for professional sports teams and owners of sports and entertainment facilities; and league formation and related agreements. Rich counsels many professional sports leagues (such as the NFL, NBA, LIV Golf, and Major League Pickleball) and professional sports teams across the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NWSL. Rich is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in the sports industry by Legal 500, and Best Lawyers has recognized him as a “Lawyer of the Year” for his high-profile sports work. He received two-time recognition as a Sports Business Journal “Power Player” and this year Rich was named one of the Daily Journal’s “Top 100 Lawyers” in California for a third year in a row and fourth time overall. In addition, Rich has also been recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in the real estate industry by Best Lawyers and Legal 500. Rich Brand earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree in finance from Georgetown University. Zak Welsh is a transactional partner in the San Francisco office of ArentFox Schiff. Zak has a broad-based transactional practice, with an emphasis on clients in the sports, entertainment, media and technology, and hospitality industries. Zak has represented professional sports franchises, owners and operators of professional sports and entertainment venues, and corporate sponsors in connection with a broad array of transactions in the sports and entertainment industries, including naming rights agreements, sponsorship agreements, advertising and promotional agreements, suite, club, and premium hospitality leases and licenses, media rights and advertising agreements, multi-media rights (MMR) agreements, facility management agreements, facility leases and licenses, event leases and licenses, concessionaire and food and beverage agreements, pouring rights agreements, franchise acquisition and disposition agreements, and league formation and related agreements. Zak also advises clients on a wide range of real estate, corporate, and hospitality matters, including purchase and sale agreements, joint venture agreements, operating and partnership agreements, leasing and subleasing agreements, ground leases, financing agreements, guaranty and indemnity agreements, licenses and easements, entity formation and restructuring, franchise agreements, hotel management agreements, title and survey review, land use and permitting matters, affordable housing, and rent control compliance issues. Prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, Zak worked as a real estate associate at a large international law firm in San Francisco. During law school, Zak served as an Executive Editor of the California Law Review and the Managing Editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. He also worked as a legislative aide for Senator Dianne Feinstein in her Washington, DC office and as an extern for the Honorable Judge Jon S. Tigar of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Before law school, Zak worked for six seasons for the San Francisco Giants as a Clubhouse Assistant. |
| Law 245.6 Introduction to Criminal Litigation 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 245.7 Negotiations Competition Intensive 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course teaches practical negotiation and mediation skills for 2L/3L/LLM students competing in ADR competitions. To apply for this course please email and detail which competition you have been admitted to Clinton Waasted at cdmw66@gmail.com. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course teaches practical negotiation and mediation skills for 2L/3L/LLM students competing in ADR competitions. Enrollment is limited to students who have accepted offers from the Board of Advocates to participate on the ADR Team. To apply for this course please email and detail which competition you have been admitted to Clinton Waasted at cdmw66@gmail.com Fall 2022 Description: This course teaches practical negotiation and mediation skills for 2L/3L/LLM students competing in ADR competitions. Enrollment is limited to students who have accepted offers from the Board of Advocates to participate on the ADR Team. Fall 2023 Description: This course teaches practical negotiation and mediation skills for 2L/3L/LLM students competing in ADR competitions. Enrollment is limited to students who have accepted offers from the Board of Advocates to participate on the ADR Team. Fall 2024 Description: This course teaches practical negotiation and mediation skills for 2L/3L/LLM students competing in ADR competitions. Enrollment is limited to students who have accepted offers from the Board of Advocates to participate on the ADR Team. Fall 2025 Description: This course teaches practical negotiation and mediation skills for 2L/3L/LLM students competing in ADR competitions. Enrollment is limited to students who have accepted offers from the Board of Advocates to participate on the ADR Team. |
| Law 245.9 International Business Negotiations 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: APPLICATION DUE DATE: OCTOBER 31, 2019 THIS CLASS INVOLVES INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND REQUIRES YOU TO ARRIVE IN TEL AVIV, ISRAEL ON JANUARY 1, 2020. EACH STUDENT MUST FUND $500 TOWARDS THE COSTS OF TRAVEL. Other costs of flights and lodging will be provided for your travel. Any incidental expenses while traveling will be the responsibility of students. THE CLASS WILL BE COMPLETED (except final paper) IN TEL AVIV DURING THE DATES SPECIFIED. ENROLLMENT IN THIS CLASS IS BY APPLICATION. THERE WILL BE AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23 AT LUNCH (12:50, ROOM 115) FOR INTERESTED STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE CLASS AND OBTAIN THE APPLICATION (which can also be requested by email to jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com). THE CLASS IS LIMITED TO 12 STUDENTS. THERE WILL BE TWO 3-HOUR PREPARATORY SESSIONS HELD NOV. 14, 15 OR 16 AT TIMES TBD. ATTENDANCE AT THESE MEETINGS, WHILE OPTIONAL, WILL BE ONE OF THE FACTORS I CONSIDER WHEN MAKING ENROLLMENT DECISIONS. Questions should be directed to the instructor at jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com. This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a counterpart class at Tel Aviv University will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, licensing agreement or long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. This course will also give participants the opportunity to work across cultures with students from a different country. The course will begin with three introductory sessions focused on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. Prior to arrival in Israel, students must complete introductory readings, listen to a pre-recorded initial presentation (1 hour), and attend TWO 3-hour preparatory sessions to be scheduled on two of the following days: evenings Nov 14 or 15 or on Saturday morning Nov 16. Following arrival in Israel, the class will meet for a third 3-hour preparatory class, scheduled for Jan 3 (morning). These classes will focus on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. The class will engage in four days of live, face-to-face negotiations with the counterpart class from Tel Aviv University as well as participate in separate discussion and strategy sessions. These classes will be held January 5 through Jan 8. (NOTE: In Israel, Sunday is the first day of the week and neither Dec 31 nor Jan 1 is a holiday). On Jan 9 there will be a full day tour to Jerusalem for all students. There will be time to explore Tel Aviv during weekends and evenings. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact the negotiations, and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Fall 2020 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a counterpart class Stanford Law School will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, licensing agreement or long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The course will begin with three introductory sessions focused on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. In addition to class sessions, beginning in October through the first weekend in November, the class will engage in five 3 to 4 hour sessions of live, Zoom negotiations with the counterpart class from Stanford. These classes will be held on Saturday, October 3, 10, 17 10:30AM-1:30PM, Thursday, October 22 7PM-10PM and Saturday November 7th 10:30AM-2:30PM. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact the negotiations, and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: This class which has previously involved international travel will be taught this year via Zoom. The class remains partnered with a counterpart class at Tel Aviv University and will offer a cross-cultural negotiation experience. The class will be completed (except final paper) by January 8, 2021. ENROLLMENT IN THIS CLASS IS BY APPLICATION. THERE WILL BE AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON October, 27 AT LUNCH (12:50, PACIFIC TIME) FOR INTERESTED STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE CLASS AND OBTAIN THE APPLICATION (which can also be requested by email to jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com). THE CLASS IS LIMITED TO 14 STUDENTS. THERE WILL BE THREE 3-HOUR PREPARATORY SESSIONS HELD ON DECEMBER 21, 22, and 23rd. ATTENDANCE AT THESE MEETINGS, WHILE OPTIONAL, WILL BE ONE OF THE FACTORS I CONSIDER WHEN MAKING ENROLLMENT DECISIONS. Questions should be directed to the instructor at jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com. October 27th Meeting Link: https://dlapiperus.zoom.us/j/98599145010?pwd=c1FLNE9XZVdYVWdLT29EbE1MWDE4QT09 Meeting ID: 985 9914 5010; Password: 653819 This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent a multinational pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the students in a counterpart class at Tel Aviv University will represent an African agricultural company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a counterpart class. The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, licensing agreement or long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. This course will also give participants the opportunity to work across cultures with students from a different country. NOTE: this class has been taught via Zoom multiple times since March 2020, including with Tel Aviv University, and the Zoom experience is substantially equivalent to the in-person class (albeit without the travel). In addition, the Zoom experience is an introduction to the future of law practice, as many negotiations will continue to be conducted via online platforms. The course will begin with three introductory sessions focused on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. The class will engage in five days of face-to-face Zoom negotiations with the counterpart class from Tel Aviv University as well as participate in separate discussion and strategy sessions in breakout rooms. These classes will be held January 3 through Jan 8. (NOTE: In Israel, Sunday is the first day of the week). We will also schedule various social sessions with the TAU students and possible other activities TBD. A final debrief session will be held on January 8th. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact the negotiations, and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Applications are in the Supplemental File at the end of the course description, and are due November 2nd. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise that will cover the entire Fall semester in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a similar class at Stanford Law School will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical (KJH) that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation (MCC). The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations, which will be conducted both in person (four sessions) and via videoconference/Zoom or teleconference (one session). All negotiation sessions will be held at the offices of DLA Piper in San Francisco. These classes will be held on Saturday, October 9th, 16th, and 30th 10:30AM-1:30PM, Thursday, October 21 7:30PM-10:30PM and Saturday November 13th 10:30AM-2:30PM. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to: > Experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, and to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation > Gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions > Learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations > Give students experience in drafting communications and an introduction to elements of drafting business contracts > Provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at Stanford). The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions regarding the written exchanges between KJH and MCC and preparing for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiation. As the Stanford class starts later than the Berkeley class, there is usually time for some in-class negotiation simulations between the Berkeley Law students. Spring 2022 Description: THIS CLASS WILL BE HELD ON SPECIFIED DATES BETWEEN DEC 20 - JAN 7 AND DUE TO CONTINUED TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED VIA ZOOM. THE CLASS WILL BE COMPLETED (except the final paper) DURING THE DATES SPECIFIED. In the absence of travel, various cultural events will be arranged. Last year we had a virtual cooking class with an Israeli chef, a virtual tour of Jerusalem with the tour guide that we use when we are able to travel, and a speaker who focused on the introduction of new technologies in Africa. ENROLLMENT IN THIS CLASS IS BY APPLICATION. THERE WILL BE AN IN PERSON INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON OCTOBER 27, 12:50 - 2:00, IN ROOM 132 FOR INTERESTED STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE CLASS AND OBTAIN THE APPLICATION (which can also be requested by email to jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com). Students who are not able to attend in-person can attend via Zoom: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/93314041662?pwd=d05NTXNmRFYra0FHbVV0cW5hdzFPQT09 THE CLASS IS LIMITED TO 16 STUDENTS. THERE WILL BE THREE THREE-HOUR PREPARATORY SESSIONS HELD ON DECEMBER 20, 21 AND 22 (VIA ZOOM). ATTENDANCE AT THESE CLASSES IS MANDATORY. Questions should be directed to the instructor at jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com. This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the students in a counterpart class at Tel Aviv University will represent an African agricultural company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, licensing agreement or long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. This course will also give participants the opportunity to work across cultures with students from a different country. The course will begin with three introductory sessions focused on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. The class will then engage in five days of live, face-to-face negotiations (via Zoom) with the counterpart class from Tel Aviv University as well as participate in separate discussion and strategy sessions during those days. The negotiation classes will be held January 2 through January 6. January 7th will be used to conclude the class after negotiations (NOTE: In Israel, Sunday is the first day of the week). The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Attendance at the first class in December is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. COURSE MATERIALS: TEXTBOOK: D. Bradlow and J. Finkelstein, “Negotiating Business Transactions” (2d Edition, 2018, Wolters Kluwer) Materials for the first class are noted in the syllabus and must be read prior to the first class. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this course, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions regarding the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation (ii) the live negotiations (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. (iv) the preparation (working in teams) and discussion (with class) of written communications incorporating the class’s positions on issues. 2) Write two short “journal entries” (as assigned) following the live negotiation sessions reflecting the student’s assessment and evaluation of (and lessons learned from) the preparation for, conduct of, and progress of, the negotiation, principally from a personal perspective. Diaries will be due on January 12, 2022 More details will be provided in class. 4) Write a 10-12 page retrospective paper after the conclusion of the course. More detailed instructions will be provided in class. The paper will be due on February 11, 2022. Grading is based on class participation (50%), the journal entries (20%), and the paper (30%). Fall 2022 Description: The course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise that will cover the entire Fall semester in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a similar class at Stanford Law School will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement, or a long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. Each of the negotiation sessions will be conducted by a team of approximately 6 students, but all students attend all negotiation sessions. In addition to the regular weekly class sessions, negotiation sessions (with Stanford) will meet on the following four Saturdays in San Francisco at the offices of DLA Piper: Oct. 8, 15, 29 (all 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM), and Nov. 5 (10:30 AM - 2:30 PM) . In addition, there will be one Thursday evening negotiation session on October 20 (7:00-10:00 PM). The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to: • experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, and to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, • gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, • learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, • give students experience in drafting communications and an introduction to elements of drafting business contracts, and • provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at Stanford representing KJH). The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiation process. Students are expected to attend all classes and spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions regarding the written exchanges and the preparation for the live negotiations. The negotiations are serial, building on the preceding negotiation sessions, enabling students to experience the evolving nature of a business transaction. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Our class time will be divided between lecture and substantive discussions. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. COURSE MATERIALS: TEXTBOOK: D. Bradlow and J. Finkelstein, “Negotiating Business Transactions” (3rd Edition, 2022, Wolters Kluwer) Materials for the first class are noted in the syllabus and must be read prior to the first class. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this course, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions regarding the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation (ii) the live negotiations (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. (iv) the preparation (working in teams) and discussion (with class) of written communications incorporating the class’s positions on issues. 2) Write three short “journal entries” (as assigned) following the live negotiation sessions reflecting the student’s assessment and evaluation of (and lessons learned from) the preparation for, conduct of, and progress of, the negotiation, principally from a personal perspective. Diaries will be due at specified times during the semester; more details will be provided in class. 4) Write a 10-12 page retrospective paper after the conclusion of the course. More detailed instructions will be provided in class. The paper will be due approximately two weeks following the last class. Grading is based on class participation (50%), the journal entries (20%), and the paper (30%). Spring 2023 Description: Course Start: December 19, 2022 Course End: January 9, 2023 Enroll Limit: 12-14 Application Due Date: OCTOBER 28, 2022 This class involved international travel and requires you to arrive in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 29, 2022. Each student must fund $600 towards the cost of travel. Other costs of flights and lodging will be provided for your travel. Any incidental expenses while traveling will be the responsibility of students. The class will be completed (except final paper) in Tel Aviv during the dates specified. Enrollment in this class is by application. There will be an informational meeting on Wednesday, October 12 at lunch (12:50, Room 140) for interested students to learn about the class and obtain the application (which can also be requested by email to jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com). The class is limited to 12-14 students. There will be three mandatory 3-hour preparatory sessions via Zoom, held Dec. 19, 20 and 21 at times TBD. Attendance at these sessions if required. A final prep class will be held the morning of December 30 in Tel Aviv. Questions should be directed to the instructor at jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com. This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a counterpart class at Tel Aviv University will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, licensing agreement or long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. This course will also give participants the opportunity to work across cultures with students from a different country. The course will begin with three introductory sessions focused on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. Prior to arrival in Israel, students must complete introductory readings, listen to a pre-recorded initial presentation (1 hour), and attend THREE 3-hour preparatory sessions as set forth above. Following arrival in Israel, the class will meet for one final 3-hour preparatory class, scheduled for December 30 (morning). These classes will focus on understanding and analyzing the facts, identifying substantive legal issues, and developing negotiation objectives and strategy in preparation for the negotiation exercise. The class will engage in four days of live, face-to-face negotiations with the counterpart class from Tel Aviv University as well as participate in separate discussion and strategy sessions. These classes will be held January 1 through Jan 4. (NOTE: In Israel, Sunday is the first day of the week and neither Dec 31 nor Jan 1 is a holiday). On Jan 5 there will be a full day tour to Jerusalem for all students. There will be time to explore Tel Aviv during weekends and evenings. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact the negotiations, and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Fall 2023 Description: Course Description: The course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise that will cover the entire Fall semester in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a similar class at Stanford Law School will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement, or a long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. Each of the negotiation sessions will be conducted by a team of approximately 6 students, but all students attend all negotiation sessions. In addition to the regular weekly class sessions, negotiation sessions (with Stanford) will meet on the following four Saturdays in San Francisco at the offices of DLA Piper: Oct. 14, 21, 28 (all 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM), and Nov. 4 (10:30 AM - 2:30 PM). In addition, there will be one Thursday evening negotiation session on October 26 (7:00-10:00 PM) conducted via Zoom. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to: • experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, and to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, • gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, • learn about the role that lawyers and the law play in these negotiations, • give students experience in drafting communications and an introduction to elements of drafting business contracts, and • provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at Stanford rep resenting KJH). The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiation process. Students are expected to attend all classes and spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions regarding the written exchanges and the preparation for the live negotiations. The negotiations are serial, building on the preceding negotiation sessions, enabling students to experience the evolving nature of a business transaction. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Our class time will be divided between lecture and substantive discussions. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Fall 2024 Description: Course Description: The course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise that will cover the entire Fall semester in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a similar class at Stanford Law School will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement, or a long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and live negotiations. Each of the negotiation sessions will be conducted by a team of approximately 6 students, but all students attend all negotiation sessions. In addition to the regular weekly class sessions, negotiation sessions (with Stanford) will meet on the following four Saturdays in San Francisco at the offices of DLA Piper: Oct. 5, 12, 19 (all 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM), and Nov. 2 (10:30 AM - 2:30 PM). In addition, there will be one Thursday evening negotiation session on October 24 (7:00-10:00 PM) conducted via Zoom. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to: • experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, and to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, • gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, • learn about the role that lawyers and the law play in these negotiations, • give students experience in drafting communications and an introduction to elements of drafting business contracts, and • provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at Stanford representing KJH). The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiation process. Students are expected to attend all classes and spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions regarding the written exchanges and the preparation for the live negotiations. The negotiations are serial, building on the preceding negotiation sessions, enabling students to experience the evolving nature of a business transaction. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business, and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Our class time will be divided between lectures and substantive discussions. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Fall 2025 Description: Course Description: The course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise that will cover the entire Fall semester in which the students in this class will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation) and the students in a similar class at Stanford Law School will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement, or a long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and live negotiations. Each of the negotiation sessions will be conducted by a team of approximately 6 students, but all students attend all negotiation sessions. In addition to the regular weekly class sessions, negotiation sessions (with Stanford) will meet on the following four Saturdays in San Francisco at the offices of DLA Piper: Oct. 4, 11, 18 (all 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM), and Nov. 1 (10:30 AM - 2:30 PM). In addition, there will be one Thursday evening negotiation session on October 23 (7:00-10:00 PM) conducted via Zoom. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to: • experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, and to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, • gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, • learn about the role that lawyers and the law play in these negotiations, • give students experience in drafting communications and an introduction to elements of drafting business contracts, and • provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at Stanford representing KJH). The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiation process. Students are expected to attend all classes and spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions regarding the written exchanges and the preparation for the live negotiations. The negotiations are serial, building on the preceding negotiation sessions, enabling students to experience the evolving nature of a business transaction. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business, and policy matters that impact the negotiations. Our class time will be divided between lectures and substantive discussions. Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all enrolled students; any enrolled students who are not present at the first day of class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. |
| Law 245.9S International Business Negotiations 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Summer 2023: Remote Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which half of the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the other half of the students will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. NOTE: This class has been taught multiple times by Zoom with great success (including last summer). With Zoom likely to become a continuing means for many negotiations, students will experience both the present and future of business negotiations. Real time attendance is required for this course. You must be able to attend the Zoom sessions live. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this class, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions concerning the negotiation, (ii) the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation, (ii) the live negotiations, and (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. Participation in the exercise will constitute 75% of the final grade. 2) Write a 2-3 page paper that will be due at the end of the class. The topic of the paper will be selected from various recommended topics or a topic of your own choosing (approved by the instructor). This paper will constitute 25% of the final grade. Detailed class schedule and preliminary assignments (readings and a 1-hour pre-recorded presentation) are in the syllabus. This course is for credit/no credit. Attendance is mandatory. Summer 2022 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which half of the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the other half of the students will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this class, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions concerning the negotiation, (ii) the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation, (ii) the live negotiations, and (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. Participation in the exercise will constitute 75% of the final grade. 2) Write a 2-3 page paper that will be due at the end of the class. The topic of the paper will be selected from various recommended topics or a topic of your own choosing (approved by the instructor). This paper will constitute 25% of the final grade. Detailed class schedule and preliminary assignments (readings and a 1-hour pre-recorded presentation) are in the syllabus. NOTE: This course will be taught via Zoom and real time attendance at all four class meetings is required. Summer 2023 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which half of the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the other half of the students will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this class, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions concerning the negotiation, (ii) the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation, (ii) the live negotiations, and (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. Participation in the exercise will constitute 75% of the final grade. 2) Write a 2-3 page paper that will be due at the end of the class. The topic of the paper will be selected from various recommended topics or a topic of your own choosing (approved by the instructor). This paper will constitute 25% of the final grade. Detailed class schedule and preliminary assignments (readings and a 1-hour pre-recorded presentation) are in the syllabus. NOTE: This course will be taught via Zoom and real time attendance at all four class meetings is required. You will be dropped if you do not attend. Summer 2024 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which half of the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the other half of the students will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business, and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this class, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions concerning the negotiation, (ii) the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation, (ii) the live negotiations, and (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. Participation in the exercise will constitute 75% of the final grade. 2) Write a 2-3 page paper that will be due at the end of the class. The topic of the paper will be selected from various recommended topics or a topic of your own choosing (approved by the instructor). This paper will constitute 25% of the final grade. Detailed class schedule and preliminary assignments (readings and pre-recorded presentations) are in the syllabus. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Summer 2025 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which half of the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the other half of the students will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement, or a long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiation experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiation process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Jay Gary Finkelstein, a partner at DLA Piper LLP (US), has practiced corporate and securities law for over 30 years, focusing on international and domestic negotiated transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, corporate structuring, strategic contractual relationships, and general corporate law. His practice has involved matters in a wide variety of industries, including defense, hospitality, financial services, real estate, franchised businesses and high-tech and emerging growth enterprises. He also represents numerous nonprofit organizations. He works closely with DLA lawyers in international offices throughout the world to coordinate the delivery of legal services for international transactional matters. In addition to Berkeley, Mr. Finkelstein is a member of the adjunct law faculties at Stanford, Georgetown and American University. He has been a guest professor at Addis Ababa University Law School (Ethiopia), Baltic Federal University (Russia), Tel Aviv University (Israel), and Sun Yat-Sen University (China). He is the co-author (with Prof. Daniel Bradlow) of Negotiating Business Transactions: An Extended Simulation Course (Wolters Kluwer, Aspen Coursebook Series, 2013) and “Training Law Students to be International Transactional Lawyers – Using an Extended Simulation to Educate Law Students about Business Transactions,” Pepperdine Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship and the Law, 2007. He is also the author of “Practice in the Academy: Creating ‘Practice Aware’ Law Graduates,” Journal of Legal Education, Vol. 64, No. 4 (May 2015), and “Barriers to Entry: Putting it Together, School by School,” Journal of Experiential Learning, Vol. 2, No. 1 (forthcoming, Fall 2016). Mr. Finkelstein is a graduate of Princeton University (A.B., 1975, magna cum laude) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1978, magna cum laude). He is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia Bars. |
| Law 245S Negotiations 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course will introduce you to fundamental negotiation theory, communication skills and a model for conducting negotiations more successfully. We will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different negotiation styles, methodical preparation for a negotiation, the difference between positions and interests, essential influencing strategies, the tension between creating and claiming value (including how to build your strengths in both areas), effective listening and gathering of information, the phases of a negotiation, the benefits and tensions representatives in negotiation, and dealing with difficult tactics or behaviors in a negotiation. The structure of the course will be a mix of interactive discussion and small exercises to develop theoretical understanding combined with experiential learning in longer roleplay simulations. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various styles and negotiation techniques. Note: Real time attendance is required for this course. You must be able to attend and participate through Zoom live. Summer 2022 Description: This course will introduce you to fundamental negotiation theory, communication skills and a model for conducting negotiations more successfully. We will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different negotiation styles, methodical preparation for a negotiation, the difference between positions and interests, essential influencing strategies, the tension between creating and claiming value (including how to build your strengths in both areas), effective listening and gathering of information, the phases of a negotiation, the benefits and tensions representatives in negotiation, and dealing with difficult tactics or behaviors in a negotiation. The structure of the course will be a mix of interactive discussion and small exercises to develop theoretical understanding combined with experiential learning in longer roleplay simulations. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various styles and negotiation techniques. Summer 2023 Description: This course will introduce you to fundamental negotiation theory, communication skills and a model for conducting negotiations more successfully. We will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different negotiation styles, methodical preparation for a negotiation, the difference between positions and interests, essential influencing strategies, the tension between creating and claiming value (including how to build your strengths in both areas), effective listening and gathering of information, the phases of a negotiation, the benefits and tensions representatives in negotiation, and dealing with difficult tactics or behaviors in a negotiation. The structure of the course will be a mix of interactive discussion and small exercises to develop theoretical understanding combined with experiential learning in longer roleplay simulations. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various styles and negotiation techniques. Summer 2024 Description: This course will introduce you to fundamental negotiation theory, communication skills and a model for conducting negotiations more successfully. We will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different negotiation styles, methodical preparation for a negotiation, the difference between positions and interests, essential influencing strategies, the tension between creating and claiming value (including how to build your strengths in both areas), effective listening and gathering of information, the phases of a negotiation, the benefits and tensions representatives in negotiation, and dealing with difficult tactics or behaviors in a negotiation. The structure of the course will be a mix of interactive discussion and small exercises to develop theoretical understanding combined with experiential learning in longer roleplay simulations. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various styles and negotiation techniques. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Summer 2025 Description: This course will introduce you to fundamental negotiation theory, communication skills, and a model for conducting negotiations more successfully. We will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different negotiation styles, methodical preparation for a negotiation, the difference between positions and interests, essential influencing strategies, the tension between creating and claiming value (including how to build your strengths in both areas), effective listening and gathering of information, the phases of a negotiation, the benefits and tensions representatives in negotiation, and dealing with difficult tactics or behaviors in a negotiation. The structure of the course will be a mix of interactive discussions and small exercises to develop theoretical understanding combined with experiential learning in longer roleplay simulations. These simulations are designed to enhance your skills, demonstrate concepts, and provide you with opportunities to experiment with various styles and negotiation techniques. Em Landon teaches Negotiation and LL.M. Legal Research and Writing. Prior to transitioning to an academic career, Em practiced civil litigation at Dykema Gossett PLLC. She later served as the Policy Director for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, where she was responsible for leading statewide efforts to eradicate human trafficking in Texas. Em is the author of Texas’s first-ever strategic plan to fight human trafficking, Charting an End to Human Trafficking in Texas. As the Policy Director and General Counsel, Em provided legal counsel to policymakers and negotiated complex public policy disputes between stakeholders, members of the Legislature, NGOs, and governmental entities. With her master’s degree in Dispute Resolution, Em has served as a mediator for the Center for Conflict Resolution and California Academy of Mediation Professionals, mediating cases involving civil harassment, insurance claims, landlord-tenant disputes, automobile accidents, construction claims, and property disputes. Prior to joining Berkeley Law, Em Landon taught conflict resolution and client counseling at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, TX and Abilene Christian University’s Conflict Resolution graduate program. |
| Law 246.1 Criminal Trial Practice 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Course Description: This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Final trials will be Friday, April 24th-Sunday, April 26th. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 37th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. Mr. Denton has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is currently the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he has been one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice as well as a contributor to their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice and California Sentencing Enhancements handbooks. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and widely published, and he is the past president of the California Public Defender's Association and its current training coordinator. This is Mr. Denton's 23nd year teaching at Berkeley Law. Fall 2020 Description: This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics, misconduct, objections and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Final trials will be Friday, November 20th-Sunday, November 22nd. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 37th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. Mr. Denton has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is currently the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice as well as a contributor to their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice. He is currently one of the authors of California: Criminal Sentencing Enhancements. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and widely published, and he is the past president of the California Public Defender's Association and its current training coordinator. This is Mr. Denton's 24th year teaching at Berkeley Law. Spring 2021 Description: This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics, misconduct, objections and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. All students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Final trials will be Friday, April 30th-Sunday, May 2nd. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 37th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. Mr. Denton has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is currently the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice as well as a contributor to their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice. He is currently one of the authors of California: Criminal Sentencing Enhancements. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and widely published, and he is the past president of the California Public Defender's Association, its current training coordinator and the recipient of its 2020 Defender of the Year award. This is Mr. Denton's 24th year teaching at Berkeley Law. Fall 2021 Description: This course focuses on the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics, misconduct, objections and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. All students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Final trials will be Friday, November 19 - Sunday, November 21. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 38th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. Mr. Denton has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is currently the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice as well as a contributor to their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice. He is currently one of the authors of California: Criminal Sentencing Enhancements. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and widely published, and he is the past president of the California Public Defender's Association, its current training coordinator and the recipient of its 2020 Defender of the Year award. This is Mr. Denton's 25th year teaching at Berkeley Law. Spring 2022 Description: This course focuses on the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics, misconduct, objections and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. All students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Final trials will be Friday, April 22 - Sunday, April 24. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 38th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. Mr. Denton has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is currently the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice as well as a contributor to their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice. He is currently one of the authors of California: Criminal Sentencing Enhancements. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and widely published, and he is the past president of the California Public Defender's Association, its current training coordinator and the recipient of its 2020 Defender of the Year award. This is Mr. Denton's 25th year teaching at Berkeley Law. Fall 2022 Description: This course focuses on the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics, misconduct, objections and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. All students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Final trials will be Friday, November 18 - Sunday, November 20. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 38th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. Mr. Denton has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is currently the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice as well as a contributor to their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice. He is currently one of the authors of California: Criminal Sentencing Enhancements. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and widely published, and he is the past president of the California Public Defender's Association, its current training coordinator and the recipient of its 2020 Defender of the Year award. This is Mr. Denton's 25th year teaching at Berkeley Law. Spring 2023 Description: This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 39th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. This is Denton's 25th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer at Law. Fall 2023 Description: This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 40th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. This is Denton's 26th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer at Law. Spring 2024 Description: This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial on Saturday, April 20th and Sunday, April 21st. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 40th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. This is Denton's 26th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer at Law. Fall 2024 Description: This course focuses on the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross-examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. Time permitting, they will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct, and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial on Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 40th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. This is Denton's 27th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer in Law. Spring 2025 Description: This course focuses on the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross-examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. Time permitting, they will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct, and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27. Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 42nd year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. He co-directs the training curriculum for the California Public Defender’s Association (CPDA) and is one its past presidents. In 2020, he was named the “Defender of the Year” by that organization. This is Denton's 28th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer at Law. Fall 2025 Description: This course focuses on the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross-examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. Time permitting, they will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct, and motions to suppress. The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial on Saturday, November 22 and Sunday, November 23. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes. Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 43nd year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. He co-directs the training curriculum for the California Public Defender’s Association (CPDA) and is one its past presidents. In 2020, he was named the “Defender of the Year” by that organization. This is Denton's 29th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer at Law. |
| Law 246.11 Advanced Criminal Trial Practice 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course is devoted to the continued development and performance of trial advocacy skills in the courtroom. Combining lecture, student hands-on practice and participation, this advanced skills course trains students on the organization and presentation of a criminal trial. Pretrial preparation, in limine motions, jury selection, strategy, effective openings, witness examination (direct and cross), evidentiary issues, jury instruction, advocacy skills, closing, and effective handling of both prosecution and defense cases through verdict will be covered. Recommended either Law 231 Criminal Procedure: Investigations or Law 231.1 Criminal Procedure: Adjudication be taken in advance of this course. Ms. Balakrishnan has served as a Deputy Public Defender in San Francisco for the last 11 years. She has conducted over 30 jury trials, including misdemeanors, felonies, sexual assaults, attempted homicides, and life cases. She has taught Criminal Law and Ethics at Berkeley Law since 2017. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and graduated from Yale Law School in 2009. Fall 2022 Description: This course is devoted to the continued development and performance of trial advocacy skills in the courtroom. Combining lecture, student hands-on practice and participation, this advanced skills course trains students on the organization and presentation of a criminal trial. Pretrial preparation, in limine motions, jury selection, strategy, effective openings, witness examination (direct and cross), evidentiary issues, jury instruction, advocacy skills, closing, and effective handling of both prosecution and defense cases through verdict will be covered. Recommended that either Law 231 Criminal Procedure: Investigations or Law 231.1 Criminal Procedure: Adjudication be taken in advance of this course. Ms. Balakrishnan served as a Deputy Public Defender in San Francisco for the last 11 years. She is currently a Principal at The Wren Collective, an organization devoted to criminal law reform. She has conducted over 30 jury trials, including misdemeanors, felonies, sexual assaults, attempted homicides, and life cases. She has taught Criminal Law and Ethics at Berkeley Law since 2017. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and graduated from Yale Law School in 2009. Spring 2024 Description: This course is devoted to the continued development and performance of trial advocacy skills in the courtroom. Through a combination of lecture and in-class simulations, this advanced skills course will teach fundamental trial concepts and techniques for criminal trials in Federal District Court. Throughout the semester, students will work on advanced concepts and techniques including pretrial motions in limine and motions to suppress; jury selection and voir dire; strategies for examining government informants, testifying defendants, defense character witnesses, law enforcement officers and expert witnesses; raising and responding to evidentiary objections in real time; opening statements and closing arguments. Shailika Kotiya spent over a decade as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California and in the Eastern District of North Carolina. She has handled over a hundred criminal cases before the Federal District Court and Circuit Courts of Appeal, including conducting multiple felony jury trials and presenting oral arguments on appeal. As an AUSA, she prosecuted a wide variety of cases involving firearms offenses, robbery, sex trafficking, transnational organized crime, narcotics distribution, health care and wire fraud, and child exploitation offenses, among others. Presently, Mrs. Kotiya is an attorney at the law firm Scale LLP where she co-leads their white-collar criminal defense and government investigations practice. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and graduated from the North Carolina School of Law in 2009. |
| Law 246.3 Depositions 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Court reporters will transcribe the testimony, and students will receive transcripts of the depositions they take and defend. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with both obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the wait list, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than Friday afternoon, August 21, 2020, the last day of the first full week of fall semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by e-mail (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Student court reporters will transcribe the testimony, and law students will receive transcripts of the depositions they take and defend. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with both obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the wait list, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than Friday afternoon, January 22, 2021, the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by e-mail (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). The textbook for the course can be purchased as an ebook directly from the ABA at a 25% discount. Price will be $112.46 plus tax and shipping (lowered price to reflect 25% discount) No discount code is needed, but mention you are a student in Depositions with Professor Henry Hecht at Berkeley Law School Students can order by calling the service center (800-285-2221, M-F 9am-6pm ET) or ordering online (you will need to create a webstore account): https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/214908/ Fall 2021 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Student court reporters will transcribe the testimony, and law students will receive transcripts of the depositions they take and defend. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than Friday afternoon, August 20, 2021, the last day of the first full week of fall semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by email (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). A hardcopy of the textbook for the course can be purchased from either the Law School bookstore or directly from the ABA, from either location at a 25% discount from the list price. The textbook can be purchased as an ebook directly from the ABA at a 25% discount. The ebook is not available from the Law School bookstore at a discount. The discounted price of the hard copy from the ABA is $112.46 plus tax and shipping. Students can order from the ABA by calling the ABA service center (800-285-2221, M-F 9am-6pm ET) or ordering online (you will need to create a webstore account): https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/214908/ No discount code is needed to purchase from the ABA, but mention you are a student in Depositions with Professor Henry Hecht at Berkeley Law School. Spring 2022 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Student court reporters will transcribe the testimony, and law students will receive transcripts of the depositions they take and defend. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. In addition, due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than Friday afternoon, January 14, 2022, the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by email (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). A hardcopy of the textbook for the course can be purchased from either the Law School bookstore or directly from the ABA at a 25% discount from the list price. If preferred, the textbook can be purchased as an ebook directly from the ABA at a 25% discount. The ebook is not available from the Law School bookstore at a discount. The discounted price of the hard copy from the ABA is $112.46 plus tax and shipping. Students can order from the ABA by calling the ABA service center (800-285-2221, M-F 9am-6pm ET) or ordering online (you will need to create a webstore account): https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/214908/. No discount code is needed to purchase from the ABA, but mention you are a student in Depositions with Professor Henry Hecht at Berkeley Law School. Fall 2022 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Student court reporters will transcribe the testimony, and law students will receive transcripts of the depositions they take and defend. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. In addition, due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than Friday afternoon, August 26, 2022, the last day of the first full week of fall semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by email (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). A hardcopy of the textbook for the course can be purchased from either the Law School bookstore or directly from the ABA at a 25% discount from the list price. If preferred, the textbook can be purchased as an ebook directly from the ABA at a 25% discount. The ebook is not available from the Law School bookstore at a discount. The discounted price of the hard copy from the ABA is $112.46 plus tax and shipping. Students can order from the ABA by calling the ABA service center (800-285-2221, M-F 9am-6pm ET) or ordering online (you will need to create a webstore account): https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/214908/. No discount code is needed to purchase from the ABA, but mention you are a student in Depositions with Professor Henry Hecht at Berkeley Law School. Spring 2023 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Student court reporters will transcribe the testimony, and law students will receive transcripts of the depositions they take and defend. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. In addition, due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than noon on Friday, January 13, 2023, the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by email (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). A hardcopy of the textbook for the course can be purchased from either the Law School bookstore or directly from the publisher, the ABA, at a 25% discount from the list price. The textbook can be purchased as an eBook directly from the ABA at a 25% discount. The eBook is not available from the Law School bookstore at a discount. The current discounted price of the hard copy from the ABA is $112.46 plus tax and shipping. Students can order from the ABA by calling the ABA service center (800-285-2221, M-F 9am-6pm ET) or by ordering online. To order online, you will need to create a web store account: https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/214908/ No discount code is needed to purchase from the ABA, but mention you are a student in Depositions with Professor Henry Hecht at UC Berkeley, School of Law. You can also purchase the textbook in eBook format from LexisNexis at a 20% student discount plus free shipping, but only if you place your order directly order through Cherry Montes, Sales Account Manager – Print and Digital Solutions, Lexis Nexis. (Email:cherry.montes@lexisnexis.com; Direct Dial: 937-247-3252) The current LexisNexis price information: List Price $149.95 - 20% student discount ($29.99) = $119.96 before tax. Fall 2023 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. In addition, due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than noon on Friday, August 25, 2023, the last day of the first full week of fall semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by email (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). Required Texts/Course Materials: Hecht, Effective Depositions 2nd ed. (ABA 2010) A hard copy of Effective Depositions, the required textbook for the course, can be purchased from either the Law School bookstore at a 25% discount or directly from the publisher, the American Bar Association (ABA), at a 30% discount from the list price of $149.95. (The discounted price of a hard copy from the Law School Bookstore is $112.46 plus tax; the discounted price of a hard copy from the ABA is $104.97 plus tax and shipping.) The textbook can also be purchased as an eBook directly from the ABA at a 30% discount. (The Law School Bookstore is currently trying to determine if it can provide an eBook.) You can order either a hard copy or an eBook from the ABA at a 30% discount by using the code EFFDEP30. This code can be used either online or by phone when ordering the print or eBook edition. The discount code will be effective through Friday, September 8, 2023. To order by phone, call the ABA service center (800-285-2221, Mon. - Fri., 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Eastern Time). To order online, you will need to create a webstore account at https://www.americanbar.org/products/ You can also purchase Effective Depositions in eBook format from LexisNexis at a 25% discount, but only if you place your order directly through Cherry Montes, Sales Account Manager - Print and Digital Solutions, Lexis Nexis. (Email: cherry.montes@lexisnexis.com; Direct Dial: 937-247-3252). The LexisNexis price for the eBook edition is $112.46 before taxes. Spring 2024 Description: Over 98% of all civil cases filed in Federal court are resolved short of trial. When a litigator questions a witness today, it is far more likely to be in a law office at a deposition than in a courtroom at trial. This skills course primarily uses "learning by doing" (role plays) to teach the art and science of preparing for, taking, and defending depositions. The role plays will be conducted in small groups with experienced litigators and the instructor as observers who will provide individual feedback to each student. In addition, the deposition role plays will be video recorded, and each student will have two individual video review sessions with the instructor. Undergraduates will play the role of the witnesses. Skills addressed include: preparing the fact (lay) witness; gathering information (discovery); gaining admissions; seeking evidence for impeachment; using documents; defending your witness; dealing with obstreperous counsel and problem witnesses; and using depositions at trial. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class. In addition, due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply. If you wish to enroll, you must commit to remain in the course by no later than noon on Friday, January 12, 2024, the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hecht by email (hhecht@law.berkeley.edu). Required Textbook: Hecht, Effective Depositions 2nd ed. (ABA 2010) A paperback copy of the required textbook for the course can be purchased from either the Law School bookstore or directly from the publisher, the American Bar Association (ABA), at a 25% discount from the list price. The discounted price of a paperback copy from the Law School Bookstore is $112.46 plus tax; the discounted price of a paperback copy from the ABA is $112.46 plus tax and shipping. The textbook can also be purchased as an eBook directly from the ABA at a 25% discount. (The Law School bookstore is currently trying to determine if it can provide an eBook edition at a discount.) You can order either a paperback copy or an eBook from the ABA at a 25% discount by using the code EFFDEP26. This code can be used either online or by phone when ordering the paperback edition or the eBook edition. The discount code will be effective through Tuesday, January 23, 2024. To order by phone, call the ABA service center (800-285-2221, Mon. - Fri., 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Eastern Time). To order online, you will need to create a webstore account at https://www.americanbar.org/products/Links to an external site. You can also purchase the textbook in eBook format from LexisNexis at a 25% student discount plus free shipping, but only if you place your order directly from Cherry Montes, Sales Account Manager - Print and Digital Solutions, LexisNexis. (Email: cherry.montes@lexisnexis.com; Direct Dial: 937-247-3252) The LexisNexis price for the eBook edition is List Price $149.95 - 25% student discount = $112.46 before tax. Attendance Note: Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit except in cases of illness or emergency. (Note: Given the close proximity to others in the classroom, I will wear a mask; and I strongly encourage each of you to do the same.) |
| Law 246.31 Economic Expert Witnesses: Depositions and Testimony 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course provides students with exposure to the taking and defending of deposition and trial testimony from expert witnesses. Specifically, the class focuses on economic expert witnesses and includes common areas of examination and rebuttal, expert qualification, Daubert challenges, and appropriate scoping of expert engagements. Students will practice deposition strategies and develop lines of questioning via role-playing exercises with each other and with the instructor and experienced guest lecturers. These practice sessions will illustrate economic testimony in cases such as insider trading, shareholder class action lawsuits, and valuations. The final paper is a practice-oriented writing assignment. Note: students who take this class are not precluded from taking Depositions in later semesters. This class will meet over three days: Thursday, January 20th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, January 21st 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 5:30 PM Saturday, January 22nd 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:10 PM - 5:10 PM The instructor, Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides students with exposure to the taking and defending of deposition and trial testimony from expert witnesses. Specifically, the class focuses on economic expert witnesses and includes common areas of examination and rebuttal, expert qualification, Daubert challenges, and appropriate scoping of expert engagements. Students will practice deposition strategies and develop lines of questioning via role-playing exercises with each other and with the instructor and experienced guest lecturers. These practice sessions will illustrate economic testimony in cases such as insider trading, shareholder class action lawsuits, and valuations. The final paper is a practice-oriented writing assignment. Note: students who take this class are not precluded from taking Depositions in later semesters. The instructor, Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides students with exposure to the taking and defending of deposition and trial testimony from expert witnesses. Specifically, the class focuses on economic expert witnesses and includes common areas of examination and rebuttal, expert qualification, Daubert challenges, and appropriate scoping of expert engagements. Students will practice deposition strategies and develop lines of questioning via role-playing exercises with each other and with the instructor and experienced guest lecturers. These practice sessions will illustrate economic testimony in cases such as insider trading, shareholder class action lawsuits, and valuations. The final paper is a practice-oriented writing assignment. Note: students who take this class are not precluded from taking Depositions in later semesters. The instructor, Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: This course provides students with exposure to the taking and defending of deposition and trial testimony from expert witnesses. Specifically, the class focuses on economic expert witnesses and includes common areas of examination and rebuttal, expert qualification, Daubert challenges, and appropriate scoping of expert engagements. Students will practice deposition strategies and develop lines of questioning via role-playing exercises with each other and with the instructor and experienced guest lecturers. These practice sessions will illustrate economic testimony in cases such as insider trading, shareholder class action lawsuits, and valuations. The final paper is a practice-oriented writing assignment. The instructor, Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 246.32 Introduction to Depositions 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Generally, less than 3% of civil cases reach a trial verdict. A vast majority of civil cases are disposed of before trial, typically through settlement. Successful settlements are only reached when the parties have shown all their cards to best assess their likely outcome at trial. Depositions are an essential discovery device with the unique ability to ground the parties in the reality of the case and bring them closer to resolution. This course is a simulation (role-playing) course designed to give students practical skills through doing. Each student will be observed and given feedback by experienced litigators. Evaluation consists of participation in simulations, short writing assignments and a take-home exam. Skills addressed include: 1) preparing for deposition (taking and defending) including planning and identifying percipient witnesses, entity witnesses, and subject matter experts, 2) the practice of taking a deposition, 3) the practice of defending a deposition, 4) ethical lay witness preparation, 5) post-deposition issues such as reading and signing, errata, sham testimony, and (6) using the deposition transcript for your case. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission from the instructor will be dropped from the class. Desiree Nguyen Orth is an experienced litigator who has represented consumers as plaintiffs and defendants in both state and federal courts. Her litigation experience has spanned all aspects through trial. She has worked in both private practice and public interest with a deep passion for advocating for disadvantaged communities. Desiree is the Director of the Consumer Justice practice at East Bay Community Law Center where impact litigation is presently at the forefront. Additionally, Desiree leads the policy work of the practice and oversees weekly community clinics. Being part of a young neurodivergent family has honed Desiree's candid approach to providing clear feedback, while being able to provide different pathways to lessons as needed by the student. |
| Law 246.9 California Trial Practice 3 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course provides students the opportunity to learn and refine various trial advocacy skills using California law and procedure in the context of both civil and criminal cases. The course combines short lectures with examples/demonstrations, in-class and small group discussions and opportunities for students to practice and be critiqued on their advocacy skills by their peers, as well as by practitioners. Specific topics covered may vary, but may include subjects such as pretrial motions, motions in limine, jury selection and voir dire, opening statements, closing arguments, evidentiary objections and advocacy, trial strategy and/or witness examinations, including examinations of experts, investigators and/or opposing parties. In-class instruction will be supplemented by presentations from practitioners familiar with real world application of legal theory, as well as opportunities to observe and analyze specific examples of skills used in actual live and recorded cases. Tony Cheng is an attorney in private practice specializing in juvenile delinquency and criminal appeals and the former Director of the Youth Defender Clinic (YDC) at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). Prior to joining EBCLC in 2018, Tony practiced as a public defender for twenty years, litigating cases in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the federal district court for the Southern District of California, the San Diego County Superior Court and the Alameda County Superior Court. In addition to nearly a decade of experience as a juvenile defender, Tony has also tried almost forty criminal jury trials to verdict during his career. Tony serves on the board of directors of the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center (PJDC) and is certified by the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) as a juvenile defense trainer. Tony has contributed to training and educational materials published by PJDC and has presented at the NJDC Leadership Summit and the Practising Law Institute. Tony is a graduate of the UC Davis School of Law (King Hall), where he served as chair of the Moot Court Board and graduated from the school’s Public Interest Law Program. Fall 2023 Description: This course provides students the opportunity to learn and refine various trial advocacy skills using California law and procedure in the context of both civil and criminal cases. The course combines short lectures with examples/demonstrations, in-class and small group discussions and opportunities for students to practice and be critiqued on their advocacy skills by their peers, as well as by practitioners. Specific topics covered may vary, but may include subjects such as pretrial motions, motions in limine, jury selection and voir dire, opening statements, closing arguments, evidentiary objections and advocacy, trial strategy and/or witness examinations, including examinations of experts, investigators and/or opposing parties. Tony Cheng is an attorney in private practice specializing in juvenile delinquency and criminal appeals and the former Director of the Youth Defender Clinic at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). Prior to joining EBCLC, Tony practiced as a public defender for twenty years, litigating cases in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the federal district court for the Southern District of California, the San Diego County Superior Court and the Alameda County Superior Court. In addition to nearly a decade of experience as a juvenile defender, Tony has also tried almost forty criminal jury trials to verdict during his career. Tony has contributed to training and educational materials published by Pacific Juvenile Defender Center and has presented at the National Juvenile Defender Center Leadership Summit and the Practising Law Institute. Tony is a graduate of the UC Davis School of Law (King Hall), where he served as chair of the Moot Court Board and graduated from the school’s Public Interest Law Program. |
| Law 247.1 Regulation of Capital Markets and Financial Institutions 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will address the institutional and regulatory framework of the US capital markets and the role that financial institutions, particularly investment banks and investment funds, perform in these markets. The course will start with an overview of the functions and regulation of banks, exchanges, over-the-counter markets, broker-dealers, institutional investors, and mutual and hedge funds. We will study in particular the financial crisis of 2008-2009, including the rise and fall of securitization, failures in investment banks and the government-sponsored enterprises, credit derivatives, money market funds and hedge funds. We will study the division of regulatory responsibilities after Gramm-Leach-Bliley repealed Glass-Steagall and how these responsibilities correspond, or do not correspond, with the various financial functions that GLB intended to regulate. We will examine a range of actual and proposed regulatory responses to the crisis, including the Dodd Frank Act, the actions of the banking, securities and futures regulators and other legislative proposals and actions of Congress and the Treasury. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the US financial system. It does not cover the same material or the same details as specific courses in corporate, securities or banking law. Spring 2021 Description: This course will address the institutional and regulatory framework of the US capital markets and the role that financial institutions, particularly investment banks, investment funds and derivatives dealers, perform in these markets. We will study the legal, political and regulatory structures that reinforce the prominence of capital markets in the US financial system. The course will provide an overview of the functions and regulation of banks, exchanges, over-the-counter markets, broker-dealers, institutional investors, mutual and hedge funds, retail investment advice, securitization, and futures and derivatives markets. We also will cover a series of case studies that illustrate the features and weaknesses of the US regulatory system, including the rise and fall (and rise again) of securitization, failures in investment banks and financial holdings companies, energy and credit derivatives, the modern mortgage market, money market funds and hedge funds, and challenges presented by technology to equity and debt market structure. We will study the fragmented US regulatory system, including the division of regulatory responsibilities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Dodd-Frank Acts, as well as the actions and varying (and often conflicting) policy purposes of the banking, securities and derivatives regulators and other legislative proposals and actions of Congress and the Treasury. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the US financial system. It does not cover the same material or the same details as specific courses in corporate, securities, banking or Consumer Financial Regulation (749.1). Spring 2022 Description: This course will address the institutional and regulatory framework of the US capital markets and the role that financial institutions, particularly investment banks, investment funds and derivatives dealers, perform in these markets. We will study the legal, political and regulatory structures that reinforce the prominence of capital markets in the US financial system. The course will provide an overview of the functions and regulation of banks, exchanges, over-the-counter markets, broker-dealers, institutional investors, mutual and hedge funds, retail investment advice, securitization, and futures and derivatives markets. We also will cover a series of case studies that illustrate the features and weaknesses of the US regulatory system, including the rise and fall (and rise again) of securitization, failures in investment banks and financial holdings companies, energy and credit derivatives, money market funds and hedge funds, fintech and the challenges presented by technology to investment products and their providers, as well as to equity and debt market structure. We will study the fragmented US regulatory system, including the division of regulatory responsibilities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Dodd-Frank Acts, as well as the actions and varying (and often conflicting) policy purposes of the securities, derivatives and banking regulators and other legislative proposals and actions of Congress and the Treasury. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the US capital markets and financial system. It does not cover the same material or the same details as specific courses in corporate, securities, banking or Consumer Financial Regulation (749.1). Spring 2023 Description: This course will address the institutional and regulatory framework of the U.S. capital markets and the role that financial institutions, particularly investment banks, investment funds and derivatives dealers, perform in these markets. We will study the legal, political and regulatory structures that reinforce the prominence of capital markets in the US financial system. The course will provide an overview of the functions and regulation of banks, exchanges, over-the-counter markets, broker-dealers, institutional investors, mutual and hedge funds, retail investment advice, securitization, and futures and derivatives markets. We also will cover a series of case studies that illustrate the features and weaknesses of the U.S. regulatory system, including the rise and fall (and rise again) of securitization, failures in investment banks and financial holding companies, energy and credit derivatives, money market funds and hedge funds. We also will study fintech and the promise and challenges presented by technology and innovation to investment products and their providers, as well as to the regulatory system. We will study the fragmented U.S. regulatory system, including the division of regulatory responsibilities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Dodd-Frank Acts, as well as the actions and varying (and often conflicting) policy purposes of the securities, derivatives and banking regulators and other legislative proposals and actions of Congress and the Treasury. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the US capital markets and financial system. It does not cover the same material or the same details as specific courses in corporate, securities, banking or Consumer Financial Regulation (749.1). |
| Law 247.11 Consumer Financial Regulation 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of consumer finance. In the past few decades, culminating in the COVID-19 pandemic, households have faced the mounting pressures on their finances due to mortgages, student loans, credit cards, healthcare, long term care, and inadequate retirement income. Demands to ease this pressure led to the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the issuance of a variety of regulations aimed at improving consumer outcomes. Students in this course will learn the economic underpinnings of how consumers make financial decisions, like choosing loans, insurance, and retirement products. The course traces out existing consumer protection efforts targeting financial products, focusing on particular markets where recent regulations have been passed. The course will explore the legal theories related to ongoing discussions about consumer financial protection. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions and write up a policy paper and presentation for the final classes. Fall 2022 Description: This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of consumer finance. In the past few decades, culminating in the COVID-19 pandemic, households have faced the mounting pressures on their finances due to mortgages, student loans, credit cards, healthcare, long term care, and inadequate retirement income. Demands to ease this pressure led to the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the issuance of a variety of regulations aimed at improving consumer outcomes. Students in this course will learn the economic underpinnings of how consumers make financial decisions, like choosing loans, insurance, and retirement products. The course traces out existing consumer protection efforts targeting financial products, focusing on particular markets where recent regulations have been passed. The course will explore the legal theories related to ongoing discussions about consumer financial protection. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions and write a policy paper and presentation for the final classes. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of consumer finance. In the past few decades, households have faced the mounting pressures on their finances due to mortgages, student loans, credit cards, healthcare, long term care, and inadequate retirement income. Demands to ease this pressure led to the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the issuance of a variety of regulations aimed at improving consumer outcomes. Students in this course will learn the economic underpinnings of how consumers make financial decisions, like choosing loans, insurance, and retirement products. The course traces out existing consumer protection efforts targeting financial products, focusing on particular markets where recent regulations have been passed. The course will explore the legal theories related to ongoing discussions about consumer financial protection. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions and write a policy paper and presentation for the final classes. |
| Law 247.12 Principles of Financial Regulation 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: The 2007-2009 global financial crisis was followed by a major policy effort to restructure and improve the U.S. financial regulatory system with the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 and the subsequent actions of U.S. regulators. This survey course is designed to be a comprehensive overview of the foundational structures, principles, policies and regulations that govern U.S. financial institutions and markets in the aftermath of the most systemic crisis in the last 70 years. The course will examine the development of the “safety and soundness” regulation and prudential supervision of banks and bank holding companies, the evolving role of banking regulators, and the resolution regime for failed banks. We also will study the legal, political and regulatory structures that reinforce the prominence of capital markets in the U.S. financial system, and the increasing prominence of private markets. We also will study fintech and the promise and challenges presented by financial innovation and technology to markets, firms and the regulatory system, noting both the extensive history of technology in the financial markets and the current and potential future impact of digitalization, and particularly artificial intelligence, in financial services. The course will provide an overview of the functions and regulation of investment banks, exchanges, over-the-counter markets, institutional and “retail” investors, public and private investment funds, and derivatives markets. We also will cover a series of events and case studies that illustrate the evolution, features and weaknesses of the U.S. regulatory system, including the “meme stock” phenomenon, the rise of ESG, crypto/digital assets, “flash crashes” in the markets, and failures in investment banks and financial holding companies, money market funds and hedge funds. We will study the fragmented U.S. regulatory system, including the division of regulatory responsibilities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Dodd-Frank Acts, as well as the actions and varying (and often conflicting) policy purposes of the securities, derivatives and banking regulators and other legislative proposals and actions of Congress and the Treasury. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the financial regulatory system. It does not cover the same material or the same details as specific courses in corporate, securities, banking or Consumer Financial Regulation (749.1). |
| Law 247.13 International Finance 2 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: 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. 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. Evaluation will be based on a 12-15 page paper and a single, brief, in-class presentation. |
| Law 247.3 FinTech: Tools for Analyzing New Financial Products 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will provide students with an analytic framework that can be applied to determine the application of existing regulations to new financial products. Students will review the application of existing federal and state securities and banking laws to emerging "FinTech" products (e.g., mobile wallets, online lenders). The adequacy of existing regulation and the responses of the regulators to the FinTech products will be discussed. This class will meet for 4 classes: Thursday, October 15 from 6:25-8:25pm Friday, October 16 from 10:00-12:15pm and 3:10-5:15pm Thursday, October 22 from 6:25-8:25pm Friday, October 23 from 10:00-12:15pm and 3:10-5:15pm Paul Clark is the Managing Partner of the Washington, DC, office of Seward & Kissel LLP. He has over 30 years experience working with financial services companies on new products. Fall 2021 Description: This course will provide students with an analytic framework that can be applied to determine the application of existing regulations to new financial products. Students will review current trends in FinTech and, using case studies, determine the application of existing federal and state securities and banking laws to emerging "FinTech" products (e.g., p2p payment services, "challenger banks", mobile wallets, online lenders). The course will examine the adequacy of existing financial regulation and the responses of the regulators to the FinTech products, as well as the role of the lawyer in assisting clients in developing new financial products. This class will meet for 4 classes: Thursday, October 7 from 6:25-8:25pm Friday, October 8 from 10:00-12:15pm and 3:10-5:15pm Thursday, October 14 from 6:25-8:25pm Friday, October 15 from 10:00-12:15pm and 3:10-5:15pm Paul Clark is the Managing Partner of the Washington, DC, office of Seward & Kissel LLP. He has over 30 years experience working with financial services companies on new products. Fall 2022 Description: This course will introduce students to "FinTech" products, such as p2p payments, neo banks, platform lenders and crypto currencies, and provide them with a framework that can be applied to determine the application of existing regulations to new financial products. Students will review current trends in FinTech and, using case studies, determine the application of existing federal and state securities and banking laws to emerging FinTech products. The course will examine the adequacy of existing financial regulation to protect consumers using FinTech products and the responses of the regulators to FinTech. Particular focus will be placed on the role of the lawyer in assisting clients in developing new financial products. This class will meet for 6 classes over two weeks on Thursdays and Fridays, October 13 & 14 and October 20 & 21. Paul Clark was a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Seward & Kissel for over 30 years before founding Grand View Financial Consulting. He has extensive experience working with both traditional financial services companies and non-traditional FinTech companies on new products. Fall 2023 Description: This course will introduce students to "FinTech" products, such as p2p payments, neo banks, platform lenders and crypto currencies, and provide them with a framework that can be applied to determine the application of existing regulations to new financial products. Students will review current trends in FinTech and, using case studies, determine the application of existing federal and state securities and banking laws to emerging FinTech products. The course will examine the adequacy of existing financial regulation to protect consumers using FinTech products and the responses of the regulators to FinTech. Particular focus will be placed on the role of the lawyer in assisting clients in developing new financial products. Paul Clark was a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Seward & Kissel for over 30 years before becoming Senior Counsel. He continues to work with both traditional financial services companies and non-traditional FinTech companies on new products. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: This course will introduce students to "FinTech" products, such as p2p payments, neo banks, platform lenders and crypto currencies, and provide them with a framework that can be applied to determine the application of existing regulations to new financial products. Students will review current trends in FinTech and, using case studies, determine the application of existing federal and state securities and banking laws to emerging FinTech products. The course will examine the adequacy of existing financial regulation to protect consumers using FinTech products and the responses of the regulators to FinTech. Particular focus will be placed on the role of the lawyer in assisting clients in developing new financial products. Paul Clark was a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Seward & Kissel for over 30 years before becoming Senior Counsel. He continues to work with both traditional financial services companies and non-traditional FinTech companies on new products. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 247.31 FinTech Innovation and Financial Inclusion 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: The course explores how FinTech is disrupting the traditional financial sector and providing new opportunities and challenges for financial inclusion. Today, close to one third of adults, or about 1.7 billion adults, remain excluded from traditional financial services worldwide (Global Findex, 2017). In the United States, approximately 20% of Americans are either unbanked or underbanked (Federal Reserve, 2021). At the same time, there is an urgent need for access to responsible financial services. In the United States, nearly 40% of households are liquid asset poor, meaning they do not have enough savings to cover basic expenses for three months if they experienced an income shock (Prosperity Now, 2019). FinTech uses technologies to reshape how financial products and services are structured, provisioned, and consumed, thereby providing the opportunity to address the limitations of the traditional financial sector. But is FinTech living up to its promise? The course explores the unique opportunities and challenges presented by FinTech. First, we will discuss some of the key areas of FinTech innovation and the U.S. legal and regulatory environment for FinTech. Second, we will examine the interplay between FinTech innovation, consumer protection and financial inclusion, and evaluate whether FinTech may be reducing or reinforcing inequalities. Finally, we will explore what may lie ahead for FinTech if we are to strike the right balance between supporting financial innovation on the one hand, and ensuring consumer protection, financial inclusion, and financial stability on the other hand. We will also have FinTech experts join as guest speakers throughout the course to come share their perspectives with us. Tuong-Vi Faber has been advising financial institutions and fintech companies for over 10 years. She currently serves as Deputy General Counsel at Upgrade, a fintech unicorn that provides access to responsible credit and mobile banking, where she advises on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters, including product development, bank relationships, government affairs, commercial agreements, compliance and risk management, and key business initiatives. Prior to Upgrade, she was the Head of Legal at Aura Financial Corporation, a US Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) providing financial services to unbanked and underbanked communities. Tuong-Vi began her career as a corporate attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell, where she advised financial institutions and public and private companies on equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, SEC reporting, corporate governance, and other corporate and securities matters. Tuong-Vi has a B.S. from the London School of Economics, Master of Business Law (J.D.-equivalent) from Sciences-Po Paris and the Sorbonne Law School, and Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School where she was a Fulbright Scholar and a recipient of the Harvard French Scholarship Fund. |
| Law 247.3S Regulating Banking and FinTech 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course will provide an overview of U.S. (state and federal) banking law; survey of the emerging FinTech market; and explore case studies and examples of FinTech products and how they are regulated. Note: Real time attendance is required for this course. You must be able to attend and participate through Zoom live. There is no class meeting on June 18th. Summer 2022 Description: This course will provide an overview of U.S. (state and federal) banking law; review trends and developments in the emerging FinTech market; explore case studies and examples of FinTech products and how they are regulated; and pose questions about the adequacy of the current regulatory scheme. Summer 2023 Description: This course will provide an overview of U.S. (state and federal) banking law; review trends and developments in the emerging FinTech market; explore case studies and examples of FinTech products and how they are, or should be, regulated; and pose questions about the adequacy of the current regulatory scheme. Summer 2024 Description: This course will provide an overview of U.S. (state and federal) banking law; review trends and developments in the emerging FinTech market; explore case studies and examples of FinTech products and how they are or should be, regulated; and pose questions about the adequacy of the current regulatory scheme. Summer 2025 Description: This course will provide an overview of U.S. (state and federal) banking law; review trends and developments in the emerging FinTech market; explore case studies and examples of FinTech products and how they are or should be, regulated; and pose questions about the adequacy of the current regulatory scheme. Paul Clark is Senior Counsel in Seward & Kissel LLP’s Financial Services Regulatory Group. Until 2023 Paul was Managing Partner of the firm’s Washington, DC, office. For over 30 years Paul has advised banks, securities brokers, FinTech companies (including neo-banks, online wealth management firms and crypto asset firms) and trade associations on legislative and regulatory issues enabling or challenging new financial products. In addition to representing financial firms on issues pending before Congress, Paul has represented individual firms, coalitions of firms and trade associations on regulations proposed by, and regulatory interpretations of, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and The Depository Trust Company. Paul has substantial experience navigating the intersection of federal and state banking and securities laws in designing new financial products, including determining how the banking laws apply to a financial product and when a financial product is a “security” or an “investment company” requiring registration with the SEC. He has represented every major brokerage firm and bank in the U.S. on structuring deposit products, including advising Merrill Lynch on replacing money market funds with a bank deposit “sweep” program and IntraFi on the first reciprocal deposit program. Each have been replicated in the market by other financial firms using the template developed by Seward & Kissel. Paul has recently worked with banks and their FinTech partners in structuring so called “neo-bank” relationships and, through such relationships, multi-bank deposit programs. Paul is frequently interviewed by the financial press on regulatory issues and has been quoted in articles in Forbes Magazine, Barrons, The Wall Street Journal and the American Banker. He has authored opinion pieces on banking regulation and the regulation of crypto exchanges that have appeared in the American Banker.Paul and his Seward & Kissel colleagues are the co-authors of the Lexology Survey of U.S. Fintech Law. Paul is a member of the Advisory Board of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. |
| Law 247.6 Blockchain Innovation for the Unbanked Billions 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Well before the global pandemic that highlighted the substantial and global divides between the wealthy and poor, plunging many into preventable poverty and hunger, 1.7 billion adults were unbanked - effectively without access to a financial institution. Meanwhile, for those within the global banking system, our traditional financial controls fail to prevent up to 2-5% of global GDP in money laundering - effectively enabling criminal enterprises to launder up to $2 trillion US dollars annually. These challenges are not accidental: the majority of our traditional financial regulations are decades old, put in place long before the internet and modern fintech innovation. We now have the opportunity to explore how innovative technology, such as blockchain and decentralized peer to peer systems, can empower the nearly 2 billion adults who have been left out of traditional financial systems, while leveraging the unique characteristics of these new technologies to improve illicit finance detection through thoughtful revisions to our laws. In this course, we will explore the basic tenets of decentralized blockchain systems and how they can be leveraged to promote financial inclusion and responsible innovation. We will explore how financial system challenges - including money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, fraud, consumer protections, and privacy - may be addressed by new technologies, and how our regulations can better address these concerns leveraging the unique characteristics of blockchain systems. Fall 2023 Description: Well before the global pandemic that highlighted the substantial and global divides between the wealthy and poor, plunging many into preventable poverty and hunger, 1.7 billion adults were unbanked - effectively without access to a financial institution. Meanwhile, for those within the global banking system, our traditional financial controls fail to prevent up to 2-5% of global GDP in money laundering - effectively enabling criminal enterprises to launder up to $2 trillion US dollars annually. These challenges are not accidental: the majority of our traditional financial regulations are decades old, put in place long before the internet and modern fintech innovation. We now have the opportunity to explore how innovative technology, such as blockchain and decentralized peer to peer systems, can empower the nearly 2 billion adults who have been left out of traditional financial systems, while leveraging the unique characteristics of these new technologies to improve illicit finance detection through thoughtful revisions to our laws. In this course, we will explore the basic tenets of decentralized blockchain systems and how they can be leveraged to promote financial inclusion and responsible innovation. We will explore how financial system challenges - including money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, fraud, consumer protections, and privacy - may be addressed by new technologies, and how our regulations can better address these concerns leveraging the unique characteristics of blockchain systems. |
| Law 247.61 Blockchain for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Blockchain technologies (decentralized databases utilizing public-private key cryptography and consensus mechanisms that would not normally be of interest beyond protocol engineering circles) have captured the imagination and attention of entrepreneurs, investors, multinational enterprises, and governments because of their transformative potential. Visions of “banking the unbanked,” enhancing democracy, and enabling new forms of global collective action. Fears of fueling illicit activity such as terrorist financing and money laundering. In these early days of this embryonic technology, much of this potential remains theoretical, most of the use cases experimental, and the application of existing legal and regulatory frameworks largely unsettled. This course explores the theoretical potential and practical limitations of blockchain technologies and the evolving legal and regulatory responses to early applications, with a view to distilling the most legally-salient attributes of blockchain technologies for evaluating their opportunities and risks in a range of practice settings. Spring 2024 Description: The policy and legal landscape for crypto and web3 changes faster than our traditional regulatory structure can keep up. Such is the world of tech. But when it crashes against the longstanding financial regulatory system, we see public and private institutions stretch far beyond their comfort zones. Through this course, we will grapple with: - the legal frameworks that currently govern the tech behind crypto and web3 and where those frameworks come from, - what makes those frameworks challenging to apply to some projects (and what makes them perfectly appropriate for other crypto/web3 projects), - near-term regulatory and policy solutions available or envisioned for the industry. Students will apply concepts of administrative law, financial regulation, and international law to real-world scenarios. They will also discern the technical and legal differences among crypto, web3, CBDCs, and blockchain. Students who will likely find this most interesting are those intrigued by the prospect of practicing in this specific sector, navigating the fast-paced world of emerging technology, or serving as legislative or political staff. Hermine Wong advises founders, VCs, boards, and executives in the emerging tech industry. Before establishing her own practice, she built and led the Policy team at the first publicly-listed U.S. crypto exchange. She also spent a decade in public service at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. State Department, and the Pentagon. She has briefed members of Congress, the White House, regulatory bodies at the state, federal, and international levels, as well as intergovernmental bodies. She is a TV commentator and has been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes, and the Verge. Hermine holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School and BAs in French and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Spring 2025 Description: The policy and legal landscape for crypto and web3 changes faster than our traditional regulatory structure can keep up. Such is the world of tech. But when it crashes against the longstanding financial regulatory system, we see public and private institutions stretch far beyond their comfort zones. Through this course, we will grapple with: - the legal frameworks that currently govern the tech behind crypto and web3 and where those frameworks originate, - what makes those frameworks challenging to apply to some projects (and what makes them perfectly appropriate for other crypto/web3 projects), - near-term regulatory and policy solutions available or envisioned for the industry. Students will apply concepts of administrative law, financial regulation, and international law to real-world scenarios. They will also discern the technical and legal differences among crypto, web3, CBDCs, and blockchain. Students who will likely find this class most interesting are those intrigued by the prospect of practicing in this specific sector, navigating the fast-paced world of emerging technology, or serving as legislative or political staff. Hermine Wong advises founders, VCs, boards, and executives in the emerging tech industry. Before establishing her own practice, she built and led the Policy team at the first publicly-listed U.S. crypto exchange. She also spent a decade in public service at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. State Department, and the Pentagon. She has briefed members of Congress, the White House, regulatory bodies at the state, federal, and international levels, as well as intergovernmental bodies. She is a TV commentator and has been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes, and the Verge. Hermine holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School and BAs in French and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. |
| Law 247.6S Blockchain for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Summer 2023: Remote Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Blockchain technologies—decentralized databases utilizing public-private key cryptography and consensus mechanisms that would not normally be of interest beyond protocol engineering circles—have captured the imagination and attention of entrepreneurs, investors, multinational enterprises, and governments because of their transformative potential. Visions of “banking the unbanked,” enhancing democracy, and enabling new forms of global collective action. Fears of fueling illicit activity such as terrorist financing and money laundering. In these early days of this embryonic technology, much of this potential remains theoretical, most of the use cases experimental, and the application of existing legal and regulatory frameworks largely unsettled. This course explores the theoretical potential and practical limitations of blockchain technologies, and the evolving legal and regulatory responses to early applications, with a view to distilling the most legally-salient attributes of blockchain technologies for evaluating their opportunities and risks in a range of practice settings. Summer 2022 Description: Blockchain technologies—decentralized databases utilizing public-private key cryptography and consensus mechanisms that would not normally be of interest beyond protocol engineering circles—have captured the imagination and attention of entrepreneurs, investors, multinational enterprises, and governments because of their transformative potential. Visions of “banking the unbanked,” enhancing democracy, and enabling new forms of global collective action. Fears of fueling illicit activity such as terrorist financing and money laundering. In these early days of this embryonic technology, much of this potential remains theoretical, most of the use cases experimental, and the application of existing legal and regulatory frameworks largely unsettled. This course explores the theoretical potential and practical limitations of blockchain technologies, and the evolving legal and regulatory responses to early applications, with a view to distilling the most legally-salient attributes of blockchain technologies for evaluating their opportunities and risks in a range of practice settings. NOTE: This course will meet in-person on May 17th and on Zoom on May 19th, May 24th, May 26th, and May 31st. Real time attendance at all five class meetings in required. Summer 2023 Description: Blockchain technologies (decentralized databases utilizing public-private key cryptography and consensus mechanisms that would not normally be of interest beyond protocol engineering circles) have captured the imagination and attention of entrepreneurs, investors, multinational enterprises, and governments because of their transformative potential. Visions of “banking the unbanked,” enhancing democracy, and enabling new forms of global collective action. Fears of fueling illicit activity such as terrorist financing and money laundering. In these early days of this embryonic technology, much of this potential remains theoretical, most of the use cases experimental, and the application of existing legal and regulatory frameworks largely unsettled. This course explores the theoretical potential and practical limitations of blockchain technologies, and the evolving legal and regulatory responses to early applications, with a view to distilling the most legally-salient attributes of blockchain technologies for evaluating their opportunities and risks in a range of practice settings. NOTE: This course will be held on Zoom and requires real-time attendance. You will be dropped from the course if you do not attend all sessions. Summer 2024 Description: The policy and legal landscape for crypto and web3 changes faster than our traditional regulatory structure can keep up. Such is the world of tech. But when it crashes against the longstanding financial regulatory system, we see public and private institutions stretch far beyond their comfort zones. Through this course, we will grapple with: - the legal frameworks that currently govern the tech behind crypto and web3 and where those frameworks come from, - what makes those frameworks challenging to apply to some projects (and what makes them perfectly appropriate for other crypto/web3 projects), - near-term regulatory and policy solutions available or envisioned for the industry. Students will apply concepts of administrative law, financial regulation, and international law to real-world scenarios. They will also learn to identify the technical and legal differences among crypto, web3, CBDCs, and blockchain. Students who will likely find this most interesting are those intrigued by the prospect of practicing in this specific sector, navigating the fast-paced world of emerging technology, or serving as legislative or political staff. Hermine Wong advises founders, VCs, boards, and executives in the emerging tech industry. Before establishing her own practice, she built and led the Policy team at the first publicly-listed U.S. crypto exchange. She also spent a decade in public service at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. State Department, and the Pentagon. She has briefed members of Congress, the White House, regulatory bodies at the state, federal, and international levels, as well as intergovernmental bodies. She is a TV commentator and has been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes, and the Verge. Hermine holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School and BAs in French and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Summer 2025 Description: The policy and legal landscape for crypto and web3 changes faster than our traditional regulatory structure can keep up. Such is the world of tech. But when it crashes against the longstanding financial regulatory system, we see public and private institutions stretch far beyond their comfort zones. Through this course, we will grapple with: the legal frameworks that currently govern the tech behind crypto and web3 and where those frameworks come from;what makes those frameworks challenging to apply to some projects (and what makes them perfectly appropriate for other crypto/web3 projects); and near-term regulatory and policy solutions available or envisioned for the industry. Students will apply concepts of administrative law, financial regulation, and international law to real-world scenarios. They will also learn to identify the technical and legal differences among crypto, web3, CBDCs, and blockchain. Students who will likely find this class most interesting are those intrigued by the prospect of practicing in this specific sector, navigating the fast-paced world of emerging technology, or serving as legislative or political staff. Hermine Wong advises founders, VCs, boards, and executives in the emerging tech industry. Before establishing her own practice, she built and led the Policy team at the first publicly-listed U.S. crypto exchange. She also spent a decade in public service at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. State Department, and the Pentagon. She has briefed members of Congress, the White House, regulatory bodies at the state, federal, and international levels, as well as intergovernmental bodies. She is a TV commentator and has been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes, and the Verge. Hermine holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School and BAs in French and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. |
| Law 247.9 Disruptive Technologies & Regulation 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Major technological developments have led to the rapid emergence of new markets and upended entire industries. Meanwhile, regulatory frameworks--often developed around older tech, prior business models and existing actors--have moved at a slower pace. This has caused significant social complexity -- it has unearthed legal gray areas and uncertainty, created obstacles to unlocking new innovation, introduced new risks for consumers, and caused clashes between the tech and public sectors. This dynamic will only increase as the rate of innovation quickens and is forcing a rethinking of regulatory frameworks, processes and strategies. Taught by practitioners with a background in both the business and regulatory spheres, the course will take a “case study”-based approach looking at specific examples of the development of new technologies that raise novel cross-cutting questions. Taking the perspective of policymakers, regulators and various business decision-makers, we will explore a set of mixed legal, business, and policy issues raised by the introduction of these new technologies and business models, with a particular focus on the mobility sector. The class will draw on these case studies to tease out a practical understanding of what works well and what does not, and to conceive of and develop more effective regulatory regimes in rapidly changing spaces. The course will be primarily discussion-based rather than lecture based, so students should plan for active participation. The pedagogy will have a mix of instructor presentations, group discussion, role play (e.g., representing a government or a business). Readings will consist of case studies similar to those found in business schools (e.g, reviewing examples like Uber/Lyft), traditional law school practice (e.g., legal cases and law review articles), and articles and stories to provide additional context around specific cases and issues. Credi will be determined by a mix of class participation and a final paper. The paper will consist of writing a memo that relates to analyzing an emerging technology & business model in the context of an existing regulatory regime. Spring 2021 Description: Major technological developments have led to the rapid emergence of new products and services, upendeding entire industries and or creating new ones. Meanwhile, regulatory frameworks have moved at a slower pace. This dynamic has caused significant social complexity -- it has unearthed legal gray areas, created obstacles to unlocking new innovation, introduced new risks for consumers and societies, and caused clashes between the tech and public sectors. This trend will only increase as the rate of innovation quickens; and it is forcing a rethinking of regulatory frameworks, processes and strategies. Taught by practitioners with a background in both the business and regulatory spheres, the course will take a “case study”-based approach to tech regulation. Taking the perspective of policymakers, regulators and various business decision-makers, we will explore a set of mixed legal, business, and policy issues raised by the introduction of these new technologies and business models. The class will draw on case studies from the mobility industry and tech platforms to tease out a practical understanding of what works well and what does not, and to conceive of and develop more effective regulatory regimes in rapidly changing spaces. The course will be primarily discussion-based rather than lecture based, so students should plan for active participation in plenary and break-out groups. The pedagogy will have a mix of instructor presentations, group discussion, role play (e.g., representing a government or a business). Readings will consist of case studies similar to those found in business schools (e.g, reviewing examples like Uber/Lyft), traditional law school practice (e.g., legal cases and law review articles), and articles and stories to provide additional context around specific cases and issues. Credit will be determined by a mix of class participation and small individual and group assignments between classes. Class meetings will be every other week on these dates: January 25th, February 8th, February 22nd, March 8th, March 29th, April 12th and April 26th. Spring 2022 Description: Major technological developments have led to the rapid emergence of new products and services, upendeding entire industries and or creating new ones. Meanwhile, regulatory frameworks have moved at a slower pace. This dynamic has caused significant social complexity -- it has unearthed legal gray areas, created obstacles to unlocking new innovation, introduced new risks for consumers and societies, and caused clashes between the tech and public sectors. This trend will only increase as the rate of innovation quickens; and it is forcing a rethinking of regulatory frameworks, processes and strategies. Taught by practitioners with a background in both the business and regulatory spheres, the course will take a “case study”-based approach to tech regulation. Taking the perspective of policymakers, regulators and various business decision-makers, we will explore a set of mixed legal, business, and policy issues raised by the introduction of these new technologies and business models. The class will draw on recent case studies from the mobility industry and tech platforms to tease out a practical understanding of what works well and what does not, and to conceive of and develop more effective regulatory regimes in rapidly changing spaces. The course will be primarily discussion-based rather than lecture based, so students should plan for active participation in plenary and break-out groups. The pedagogy will have a mix of instructor presentations, group discussion, role play (e.g., representing a government or a business). Readings will consist of case studies similar to those found in business schools (e.g, reviewing examples like Uber/Lyft), traditional law school practice (e.g., legal cases and law review articles), and articles and stories to provide additional context around specific cases and issues. Credit will be determined by a mix of class participation and small individual assignments between classes. Spring 2023 Description: The internet and development of new technologies has led to the rapid emergence of new markets and upended entire industries. At the same time, regulatory frameworks, often developed around prior business models and actors, have been slow to adapt and change. This has unearthed legal gray areas and uncertainty, created obstacles to unlocking new innovation, introduced new risks for consumers, caused clashes between tech and governments, and forced a rethinking of regulatory frameworks, processes and strategies. This seminar class will explore the topic of tech regulation – underlying principles and theories, existing approaches, the primary issues and challenges, competing regulatory and business strategies, and new or innovative regulatory models. Taught by practitioners with backgrounds in both business and regulatory spheres, the class will draw on current examples in an attempt to tease out a practical understanding of what works well and what does not, and to conceive of and develop more effective regulatory approaches for rapidly changing spaces. After establishing a foundation for assessing disruptions and regulation, each week we will focus on a different area of disruptive tech (e.g., ridesharing, autonomous vehicles, social media platforms, etc.). This class will NOT be a traditional lecture course. It will involve a mix of presentation, discussion, and role play (e.g., representing the government and businesses), case studies similar to those found in many business schools (e.g, reviewing examples like Uber/Lyft), as well as traditional law school practice (e.g., legal cases and law review articles). Spring 2024 Description: The internet and development of new technologies has led to the rapid emergence of new markets and upended entire industries. At the same time, regulatory frameworks, often developed around prior business models and actors, have been slow to adapt and change. This has unearthed legal gray areas and uncertainty, created obstacles to unlocking new innovation, introduced new risks for consumers, caused clashes between tech and governments, and forced a rethinking of regulatory frameworks, processes and strategies. This seminar class will explore the topic of tech regulation – underlying principles and theories, existing approaches, the primary issues and challenges, competing regulatory and business strategies, and new or innovative regulatory models. Taught by practitioners with backgrounds in both business and regulatory spheres, the class will draw on current examples in an attempt to tease out a practical understanding of what works well and what does not, and to conceive of and develop more effective regulatory approaches for rapidly changing spaces. After establishing a foundation for assessing disruptions and regulation, each week we will focus on a different area of disruptive tech (e.g., ridesharing, AI & autonomous vehicles, social media platforms, etc.). This class will NOT be a traditional lecture course. It will involve a mix of presentation, discussion, and role play (e.g., representing the government and businesses), case studies similar to those found in many business schools (e.g, reviewing examples like Uber/Lyft), as well as traditional law school practice (e.g., legal cases and law review articles). |
| Law 248 Health Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will provide an introduction to many of the areas of law that relate to the regulation and structure of, access to, and financing of health care in the United States. Topics covered include health care cost and access; federal and state regulation of private health insurance and managed care; financing of public health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid; the structure of the health care enterprise; and legal issues related to the organization and reform of the deliver of health care, including anti-trust and fraud and abuse. In addition, this course will also cover a number of constitutional issues that arise in health law, from First Amendment issues faced by providers and manufacturers, to preemption issues in drug and device litigation, to federalism issues at the core of challenges to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. |
| Law 248.12 Consumer Bankruptcy 3 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This course considers the basic law of consumer bankruptcy. We will learn and discuss the Bankruptcy Code as it relates to consumers, and we will consider how the Code addresses/redistributes the relative risk of financial failure as between creditor and consumer debtor. In additional learning the doctrine of consumer bankruptcy, we will also spend time considering scholarly and policy perspectives on the consumer experience the bankruptcy system. Spring 2025 Description: This course considers the basic law of consumer bankruptcy, with an emphasis on economic fragility and inequality that distressed debt implicates. We will learn and discuss the Bankruptcy Code as it relates to consumers, and beyond the statutory rules, we will also consider how bankruptcy law addresses/redistributes the relative risk of financial failure as between creditor and consumer debtors, particularly those from marginalized communities. |
| Law 248.2 Bioethics: From Nuremberg to Modern Times 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course explores the increasingly influential field of bioethics. Students will examine (1) the historical, sociological, public health, and legal contexts from which modern bioethics emerged as a coherent field in the mid 20th century, (2) the biomedical developments, legal engagements, and political controversies that reshaped the enterprise towards the latter part of the century, and (3) contemporary issues in bioethics - from human subject protections to reproductive and genetic technologies - and the role of law and public policy in mediating the relationship between medicine, science, public health, and society. About the Instructor: Osagie K. Obasogie, J.D., Ph.D., is Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Bioethics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Joint Medical Program and School of Public Health. Obasogie's scholarly interests include Constitutional law, bioethics, sociology of law, and reproductive and genetic technologies. His research also looks at the past and present roles of science in both constructing racial meanings and explaining racial disparities. He has a particular interest in developing legal mechanisms that can create the conditions for eliminating health disparities. An additional thread of Obasogie’s research uses novel theoretical and empirical interventions to explore the hidden ways in which racial thinking is central to law, medicine, and science. Spring 2023 Description: This course explores the increasingly influential field of bioethics. Students will examine (1) the historical, sociological, public health, and legal contexts leading bioethics to slowly emerge as a coherent field in the mid 20th century; (2) the biomedical developments, legal engagements, and political controversies that reshaped the enterprise towards the latter part of the century; and (3) contemporary issues in bioethics - from human subject protections to reproductive and genetic technologies - and the role of law and public policy in mediating the relationship between medicine, science, public health, and society. Fall 2025 Description: This seminar explores the increasingly influential field of bioethics, which examines the social, ethical, and legal implications of developments in science, medicine, and human biotechnology. Students will investigate (1) the historical, sociological, public health, and legal contexts leading bioethics to slowly emerge as a coherent field in the mid-20th century; (2) the biomedical developments, legal engagements, and political controversies that reshaped the enterprise toward the latter part of the century; and (3) contemporary issues in bioethics - from human subject protections to reproductive and genetic technologies - and the role of law and public policy in mediating the relationship between science and society. No prior background is needed to enroll in this class, and there are no prerequisites. |
| Law 248.5 Mergers & Acquisitions 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course introduces students to the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and theoretical issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporate law and securities regulation aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the lawyer's role in documenting and negotiating these deals. We will also discuss ancillary legal matters, such as tax and antitrust. The course will study merger agreements, the litigation that can result from them, and ways to avoid that litigation. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. Current topics and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Fall 2020 Description: This course introduces students to the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and theoretical issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporate law and securities regulation aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the lawyer's role in documenting and negotiating these deals. We will also discuss ancillary legal matters, such as tax and antitrust. The course will study merger agreements, the litigation that can result from them, and ways to avoid that litigation. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. Current topics and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Spring 2021 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporate law and securities regulation aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Fall 2021 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporate law and securities regulation aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Spring 2022 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust. We will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and cover some finance and accounting basics, but the primary focus of the course will be legal rather than financial. Fall 2022 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust. We will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and cover some finance and accounting basics, but the primary focus of the course will be legal rather than financial. Having taken Business Associations previously or taking it concurrently is preferred, but not required. Spring 2023 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporation law and securities regulations aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Fall 2023 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust. We will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and cover some finance and accounting basics, but the primary focus of the course will be legal rather than financial. Having taken Business Associations previously or taking it concurrently is preferred, but not required. Spring 2024 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust requirements. While the primary focus of the class will be legal, we will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and cover some finance and accounting basics. Having taken Business Associations previously or taking it concurrently is preferred, but not required. Fall 2024 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust. We will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and cover some finance and accounting basics, but the primary focus of the course will be legal rather than financial. Having taken Business Associations previously or taking it concurrently is preferred, but not required. Spring 2025 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust requirements. While the primary focus of the class will be legal, we will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and we will cover some finance and accounting basics. Having taken Business Associations previously or taking it concurrently is preferred, but not required. Fall 2025 Description: This course is a survey of the key concepts and cases in the law of mergers and acquisitions. It will cover central and emerging issues in the practice of M&A including the different ways to structure deals, the negotiation and drafting of merger agreements, the fiduciary standards that govern director conduct, defensive techniques, and the ancillary topics that M&A lawyers should know something about such as relevant securities regulations, tax matters, and antitrust. We will also discuss the economic logic of why parties merge and cover some finance and accounting basics, but the primary focus of the course will be legal rather than financial. Having taken Business Associations previously or taking it concurrently is preferred, but not required. |
| Law 248.51 IPOs and Going Public Transactions 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course introduces students to initial public offerings (“IPOs”) from the perspective of a leading practitioner. We will begin with an overview of the IPO process. Then, each class session will focus on a different aspect of the deal, including initial preparatory steps, who the players are, and the various processes and documents involved. The course will utilize various articles and case studies to give students a sense of what the IPO process entails. We will focus on practical applications of the rules to real-world situations, with the goal of preparing students post-graduation to be able to properly advise issuers, investors and underwriters on an IPO. Spring 2023 Description: This course introduces students to initial public offerings (“IPOs”) from the perspective of a leading practitioner. We will begin with an overview of the IPO process. Then, each class session will focus on a different aspect of the deal, including initial preparatory steps, who the players are, and the various processes and documents involved. The course will utilize various articles and case studies to give students a sense of what the IPO process entails. We will focus on practical applications of the rules to real-world situations, with the goal of preparing students post-graduation to be able to properly advise issuers, investors and underwriters on an IPO. Spring 2024 Description: This course introduces students to initial public offerings (“IPOs”) from the perspective of a leading practitioner. We will begin with an overview of the IPO process. Then each class session will focus on a different aspect of the deal, including initial preparatory steps, who the players are, and the various processes and documents involved. The course will utilize various articles and case studies to give students a sense of what the IPO process entails. We will focus on practical applications of the rules to real-world situations, with the goal of preparing students post-graduation to be able to properly advise issuers, investors and underwriters on an IPO. Spring 2025 Description: This course introduces students to initial public offerings (“IPOs”) from the perspective of a leading practitioner. We will begin with an overview of the IPO process. Then each class session will focus on a different aspect of the deal, including initial preparatory steps, who the players are, and the various processes and documents involved. The course will utilize various articles and case studies to give students a sense of what the IPO process entails. We will focus on practical applications of the rules to real-world situations, with the goal of preparing students post-graduation to be able to properly advise issuers, investors and underwriters on an IPO. This class covers highly specific types of securities transactions which are unique to the United States. Accordingly, to participate in class discussions or fully follow the materials you will need to have taken U.S. Securities Regulations or worked at a U.S. investment bank. We strongly encourage you to take this class only if you have that background. |
| Law 248.52 M&A on the Ground: Hostiles, Proxy Fights and the M&A Ecosystem 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course is taught by two long-time M&A practitioners through the lens of active dealmaking. Dan Burch runs Mackenzie Partners, one of the top proxy solicitation firms in the business. Steve Lipin runs Gladstone Place Partners, a strategic public relations/investor relations firm specializing in financial transactions, and earlier in his career covered m&a at The Wall Street Journal. Both firms are involved in Berkeley Law’s Forum on Corporate Governance. This lively and entertaining class will give students a real-world perspective on hostile takeovers, offense and defense, activist proxy fights, the marketing of an M&A deal once concocted by bankers, and the rise of SPACS as an M&A alternative to IPOS. The class will attempt to look at examples through the prism of both offense and defense, and include the financial, legal, investor relations, and communications strategies each side deploys. This class will lean heavily on case studies of deals and contested transactions, some of which Dan and Steve worked on, and the class will include guest speakers who are part of the M&A ecosystem, which includes media, bankers, arbitrageurs, shareholder activists and others. You may not know yet what PR/IR firms or proxy solicitors do, but in the M&A business they are an essential part of the deal team. Becoming aware of this ecosystem now will make you a better deal lawyer later. Berkeley Law Learning Outcomes: • Put context around doctrinal analysis • How corporate law interacts with corporate transaction work Learning Outcomes: • Prepare students to work on M&A transactions. • Understand the full M&A ecosystem, the value other deal advisors provide, and their role in a transaction • Better flavor for the investor-relations/financial storytelling aspect of deal-making • Become familiar with the cadence of deals About Steve Steve is CEO/Founder, Gladstone Place Partners a communications advisory firm, and a trusted advisor to CEOs and CCOs, management teams and boards. Gladstone founded Oct 2017. Clients include AT&T, AB InBev, Accenture, Apollo, Citi, Qualcomm, Pfizer, IBM Steve is one of the deans of the M&A business. Senior Partner, US, Brunswick Group, 2001-2017, built Brunswick’s U.S. presence over 16 years, Finance Editor, The Wall Street Journal, 2000-2001 M&A Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, 1995-2000, Banking reporter 2001-2004 Nominated for Pulitzer at the Journal Board member Columbia Journalism Review, Knight Bagehot Fellowship at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, and Youth Inc., a New York non-profit Married with three children, one of whom is in the JSP program We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: - Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). - The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: This course is taught by a longtime M&A practitioner through the lens of active dealmaking. Steve Lipin runs Gladstone Place Partners, a strategic public relations/investor relations firm specializing in financial transactions, and earlier in his career covered M&A and was finance editor at The Wall Street Journal. This lively and entertaining class will give students a real-world perspective on hostile takeovers, offense and defense, activist proxy fights, the marketing of an M&A deal, the rise of SPACS as an M&A alternative to IPOS, and other topics. The class will attempt to look at examples through the prism of both offense and defense, and include the financial, legal, investor relations, and communications strategies each side deploys. This class will lean heavily on case studies of deals and contested transactions, some of which Steve worked on, and the class will include guest speakers who are part of the M&A ecosystem, which includes media, bankers, arbitrageurs, shareholder activists, PR/IR firms and others. Becoming aware of this ecosystem now will make you a better deal lawyer later. Case studies include: InBev's hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch AB InBev’s bid $100 billion bid for SAB Miller PLC Elon Musk's bid for Twitter The Walt Disney's defense against Nelson Peltz (twice) The Rise and Fall of SPACs |
| Law 248.5S Mergers & Acquisitions 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporation law and securities regulations aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. This course will meet in-person on campus on June 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporation law and securities regulations aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Summer 2023 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporation law and securities regulations aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Summer 2024 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporation law and securities regulations aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Summer 2025 Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals and critical topics in the law of mergers and acquisitions and the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the corporation law and securities regulations aspects of these transactions, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Ancillary legal areas, such as tax and antitrust, will also be touched upon. The course will study merger agreements and the important contractual issues they present. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. The real-world problems faced by parties involved in these transactions, as well as those of judges who must adjudicate these deals, are considered. Current doctrinal and policy debates will be discussed throughout. Reza Dibadj is a Visiting Professor at Berkeley Law. Currently a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco, he began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. His research involves both corporate and securities law as well as administrative law and regulation. His writing focuses on two themes. The first involves the application of new tools, such as network theory, to legal analysis. The second is an exploration of different institutional choices the law has made. For instance, corporate and securities law often try to achieve similar goals, but through very different means; similarly for antitrust and regulation. For their part, corporate and administrative law each present distinct approaches to problems of governance and delegation. Which methods are preferable, and under what circumstances? These two themes converge in an attempt to propose new, welfare-enhancing, institutional arrangements for the relationship between government and business. Professor Dibadj has published one book and over thirty-five law review articles, book reviews and book chapters. He teaches a wide variety of business law classes, including Business Associations (Corporations), Securities Regulation (basic and advanced), International Business Transactions, Antitrust, and Mergers & Acquisitions. |
| Law 248.61 The Code of Capital 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The class will give students an opportunity to read and discuss Katherina Pistor's, The Code of Capital: How Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (2019). The book is written for a general audience. It argues that lawyers use private law (e.g., contracts, property, business law, and secured credit) to create wealth and inequality. It offers a critical perspective on aspects of private law that others celebrate. The book also offers a glimpse of what elite transactional lawyers do to serve their clients. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: The class will give students an opportunity to read and discuss Katherina Pistor's, The Code of Capital: How Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (2019). The book is written for a general audience. It argues that lawyers use private law (e.g., contracts, property, business law, and secured credit) to create wealth and inequality. It offers a critical perspective on aspects of private law that others celebrate. The book also offers a glimpse of what elite transactional lawyers do to serve their clients. An electronic version of the book can be obtained for free through a Library portal. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 248.62 The Law and Economics of Complexity 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: An important role of business lawyers is to anticipate and to manage complex transactions. In many commercial contexts, we observe contracts becoming increasingly complex over time. What are the fundamental causes of this complexity, what problems does it create, and what strategies are used for managing it and/or exploiting it? The course will be a mix of conceptual and practical. The conceptual part will involve reading and discussing scholarship from economists and legal scholars on how imperfect, “boundedly rational” agents make decisions in complex environments and compare this perspective to the classic, rational perspective that is common in the law and economics field. We will also explore the emerging world of complexity science and discuss applications of those tools in legal applications. The practical part will involve case studies of business transactions and environments where complexity caused unanticipated challenges and responses. No background is necessary, but an interest in business contracts and a willingness to brainstorm and wrestle with complexity will be helpful. One skill we will all work on together is the ability to break down a complex transaction and explain it clearly to a non-expert. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: An important role of business lawyers is to anticipate and to manage complex transactions. In many commercial contexts, we observe contracts becoming increasingly complex over time. What are the fundamental causes of this complexity, what problems does it create, and what strategies are used for managing it and/or exploiting it? The course will be a mix of conceptual and practical. The conceptual part will involve reading and discussing scholarship from economists and legal scholars on how imperfect, “boundedly rational” agents make decisions in complex environments and compare this perspective to the classic, rational perspective that is common in the law and economics field. We will also explore the emerging world of complexity science and discuss applications of those tools in legal applications. The practical part will involve case studies of business transactions and environments where complexity caused unanticipated challenges and responses. No background is necessary, but an interest in business contracts and a willingness to brainstorm and wrestle with complexity will be helpful. One skill we will all work on together is the ability to break down a complex transaction and explain it clearly to a non-expert. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 248.7 Fundamentals of Leveraged Buyouts 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will introduce the student to various facets of the planning and execution of a leveraged buyout transaction by a private equity fund formed to pursue such forms of merger & acquisitions. Structure & legal documentation for such transactions will be presented, and the business and economic rationale underlying the transaction and its various components will be discussed. Professor Oetgen has over 25 years of experience as an attorney specializing in such transactions -- first as a senior partner at a multi-national law firm focused on LBOs, and more recently as Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of a San Francisco-based private equity fund. Fall 2021 Description: This course will introduce the student to various facets of the planning and execution of a leveraged buyout transaction by a private equity fund formed to pursue such forms of merger & acquisition transactions. Structure & legal documentation for such transactions will be presented, and the business and economic rationale underlying the transaction and its various components will be discussed. Professor Oetgen has more than 25 years of experience as an attorney specializing in such transactions -- first as a senior partner at a multi-national law firm with a primary focus on LBOs, and more recently as Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of a San Francisco-based private equity firm. Fall 2022 Description: This course will introduce the student to various facets of the planning and execution of a leveraged buyout transaction by a private equity fund formed to pursue such forms of merger & acquisition transactions. Structure and legal documentation for such transactions will be presented, and the business and economic rationale underlying the transaction and its various components will be discussed. Professor Oetgen has more than 25 years of experience as an attorney specializing in such transactions -- first as a senior partner at a multi-national law firm with a primary focus on LBOs, and more recently as Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of a San Francisco-based private equity firm. Fall 2023 Description: This course will introduce the student to various facets of the planning and execution of a leveraged buyout transaction by a private equity fund formed to pursue such forms of merger & acquisition transactions. Structure and legal documentation for such transactions will be presented, and the business and economic rationale underlying the transaction and its various components will be discussed. Professor Oetgen has 30 years of experience as an attorney specializing in such transactions -- first as a senior partner at a multi-national law firm with a primary focus on LBOs, and more recently as Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of a San Francisco-based private equity firm. Fall 2024 Description: This course will introduce the student to various facets of the planning and execution of a leveraged buyout transaction by a private equity fund formed to pursue such forms of merger & acquisition transactions. Structure and legal documentation for such transactions will be presented, and the business and economic rationale underlying the transaction and its various components will be discussed. Professor Oetgen has 30 years of experience as an attorney specializing in such transactions -- first as a senior partner at a multi-national law firm with a primary focus on LBOs, and more recently as Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of a San Francisco-based private equity firm. Professor Veit has more than 20 years of experience as a attorney focusing on LBO transactions. He began his career at Kirkland & Ellis LLP where he worked directly with Professor Oetgen, and now he is one of founding corporate partners of Paul Weiss's relatively newly formed San Francisco office. Fall 2025 Description: This course will introduce the student to various facets of the planning and execution of a leveraged buyout transaction by a private equity fund formed to pursue such forms of merger & acquisition transactions. Structure and legal documentation for such transactions will be presented, and the business and economic rationale underlying the transaction and its various components will be discussed. Professor Oetgen has 30 years of experience as an attorney specializing in such transactions -- first as a senior partner at a multi-national law firm with a primary focus on LBOs, and more recently as Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of a San Francisco-based private equity firm. Professor Veit has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney focusing on LBO transactions. He began his career at Kirkland & Ellis LLP where he worked directly with Professor Oetgen, and now he is one of founding corporate partners of Paul Weiss's relatively newly formed San Francisco office. |
| Law 248.8 Evolution of Antitrust, Merger Review, and Enforcement 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: Since 1914, mergers and acquisitions that “substantially lessen competition” have been illegal; and since the HSR Act was passed in 1976 the exercise has largely been one of foretelling the future. But what amounts to a substantial lessening of competition, and how do regulators go about predicting which deals will have anticompetitive effects? This seminar will follow the evolution of antitrust law, policy, and economics over the course of its 100+ year history, with a focus on the deals that have (and have not) passed antitrust scrutiny. By considering the key contemporaneous writings – from legislative history, regulator speeches, court decisions, agency guidance, and academic scholarship – we will develop an understanding of where antitrust merger enforcement started, and where its going. As this is ultimately a course about innovation, and how our antitrust policy itself has been disrupted and pivoted over the years, we will also focus on the key “tech” antitrust merger cases and their practical implications for companies looking to do deals at the leading edge of innovation. |
| Law 248.9 Antitrust and Innovation 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Bay Area is an amazing place to practice antitrust law! We are home to life changing innovation. This course will cover the real-world application of antitrust law to the industries pioneering tech and life sciences innovation - to businesses that are literally all around us in the Bay Area. Countless local companies large and small have been involved in high-stakes antitrust battles that have shaped the global technology landscape. These matters are not about legal technicalities. They are about business models, ecosystem and lifecycle strategies, and competing visions for the future of innovation and society. We will explore not only the legal questions but also the economic and public policy issues underlying these matters. In our course, we will cover predatory innovation, FRAND, licensing strategies, big data, networks and platforms, mergers, and monopolization. Our cases will focus on U.S. court and agency decisions and bring insights from non-US enforcement, as well as whatever will be hot in the spring of 2020! Spring 2021 Description: The Bay Area is an amazing place to practice antitrust law! We are home to life-changing innovation. This course will cover the real-world application of antitrust law to the industries pioneering tech and life sciences innovation - to businesses that are literally all around us in the Bay Area. Countless local companies large and small have been involved in high-stakes antitrust battles that have shaped the global technology landscape. These matters are not about legal technicalities. They are about business models, ecosystem and lifecycle strategies, and competing visions for the future of innovation and society. We will explore not only the legal questions but also the economic and public policy issues underlying these matters. In our course, we will cover predatory innovation, FRAND, licensing strategies, big data, networks and platforms, mergers, and monopolization. Our cases will focus on U.S. court and agency decisions and bring insights from non-US enforcement, as well as whatever will be hot in the spring of 2021! Spring 2022 Description: The Bay Area is an amazing place to practice antitrust law! We are home to life-changing innovation. This course will cover the real-world application of antitrust law to the industries pioneering tech and life sciences innovation - to businesses that are literally all around us in the Bay Area. Countless local companies large and small have been involved in high-stakes antitrust battles that have shaped the global technology landscape. These matters are not about legal technicalities. They are about business models, ecosystem and lifecycle strategies, and competing visions for the future of innovation and society. We will explore not only the legal questions but also the economic and public policy issues underlying these matters. In our course, we will cover predatory innovation, FRAND, licensing strategies, big data, networks and platforms, mergers, and monopolization. Our cases will focus on U.S. court and agency decisions and bring insights from non-US enforcement, as well as whatever will be hot in the spring of 2022! Fall 2022 Description: The Bay Area is an amazing place to practice antitrust law! We are home to life-changing innovation. This course will cover the real-world application of antitrust law to the industries pioneering tech and life sciences innovation - to businesses that are literally all around us in the Bay Area. Countless local companies large and small have been involved in high-stakes antitrust battles that have shaped the global technology landscape. These matters are not about legal technicalities. They are about business models, ecosystem and lifecycle strategies, and competing visions for the future of innovation and society. We will explore not only the legal questions but also the economic and public policy issues underlying these matters. In our course, we will cover predatory innovation, FRAND, licensing strategies, big data, networks and platforms, mergers, and monopolization. Our cases will focus on U.S. court and agency decisions and bring insights from non-US enforcement, as well as whatever will be hot in the fall of 2022! |
| Law 249.2 Introduction to Financial Accounting 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course covers financial statement basics, with the objective to learn to read, understand and analyze balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows and notes to financial statements, along with how these statements give you insight into business performance. The course will cover key accounting concepts including generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the accounting cycle, independent audits, and valuations. Additional topics will include learning how to read a capitalization table, pre money vs post money, ownership and understanding equity valuations. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Sue Biglieri is the current CFO at Kleiner Perkins, having spent the past 30 years as both the Controller and CFO at the firm. She has also spent time in industry and as an auditor at EY. She is a graduate of the Berkeley School of Business (Haas) and is a CPA (retired). Fall 2021 Description: This course covers financial statement basics, with the objective to learn to read, understand and analyze balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows, and notes to financial statements, along with how these statements give you insight into business performance. The course will cover key accounting concepts including generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the accounting cycle, debits/credits, and journal entries. Additional topics will include learning how to prepare and read a capitalization table, understanding pre-money vs post-money, ownership, and equity valuations. Discussions on current financial trends in Venture Capital and in tech companies will also be incorporated. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Sue Biglieri is the current CFO/COO at Kleiner Perkins, having spent the past 30 years as both the Controller and CFO at the firm. She has also spent time in industry and as an auditor at EY. She is a graduate of the Berkeley School of Business (Haas) and is a CPA (retired). Fall 2022 Description: This course covers financial statement basics, with the objective to not only learn to read, understand and analyze balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows, and notes to financial statements, but also to prepare them. The focus will also be on how these statements give various readers insight into business performance. The course will cover key accounting concepts including generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), accruals, debits/credits, and journal and adjusting entries. Additional topics will include learning how to prepare and read a capitalization table, understanding pre-money vs post-money, ownership, and paths to liquidity. Discussions on current financial trends in Venture Capital and in tech companies will also be incorporated. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Sue Biglieri is the current CFO/COO at Kleiner Perkins, having spent the past 30 years as both the Controller and CFO at the firm. She has also spent time in industry and as an auditor at EY. She is a graduate of the Berkeley School of Business (Haas) and is a CPA (retired). Fall 2023 Description: This course covers financial statement basics, with the objective to not only learn to read, understand and analyze balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows, and notes to financial statements, but also to prepare them. The focus will also be on how these statements give various readers insight into business performance. The course will cover key accounting concepts including generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), accruals, debits/credits, and journal and adjusting entries. Additional topics will include learning how to prepare and read a capitalization table, understanding pre-money vs post-money, ownership, and paths to liquidity. Discussions on current financial trends in Venture Capital and in tech companies will also be incorporated. In addition, current earnings releases will be analyzed. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Sue Biglieri is the current CFO/COO at Kleiner Perkins, having spent the past 30 years as both the Controller and CFO at the firm. She has also spent time in industry and as an auditor at EY. She is a graduate of the Berkeley School of Business (Haas) and is a CPA (retired). Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: This course covers financial statement basics, with the objective of not only learning to read, understand, and analyze balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows, and notes to financial statements, but also to prepare them. The focus will also be on how these statements give various readers insight into business performance. The course will cover key accounting concepts including generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), accruals, debits/credits, and journal and adjusting entries. Additional topics will include learning how to prepare and read a capitalization table, understanding pre-money vs post-money, ownership, and paths to liquidity. Discussions on current financial trends in Venture Capital and in tech companies will also be incorporated. In addition, current earnings releases will be analyzed. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Sue Biglieri is the current CFO/COO at Kleiner Perkins, having spent the past 30 years as both the Controller and CFO at the firm. She has also spent time in industry and as an auditor at EY. She is a graduate of the Berkeley School of Business (Haas) and is a CPA (retired). |
| Law 249.3 Selected Topics in Venture Capital 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a practice-oriented course on advising technology and emerging growth companies. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of the legal, business, financial and practical issues that arise in advising startup ventures. We will follow the life-cycle of a startup, starting with advising an entrepreneur considering starting a business and running through choices and details in forming a business entity, venture capital financings, corporate governance and incentivizing employees, culminating in an acquisition or IPO. In each case we will emphasize practical solutions and business realities. We will place special focus on what makes a good startup venture, how an entrepreneur attracts investment and the pros and cons of different types, and how founders and investors interact to allocate rewards of the venture between them. The course is not a theoretical discussion, but rather a nuts-and-bolts approach to advising founders, companies and investors in the start-up ecosystem, with a goal of providing a window into the daily life of a typical Silicon Valley corporate attorney. Spring 2021 Description: It's been said that the technology industry -- and to a great extent Silicon Valley -- has been responsible for the greatest creation of wealth in human history. What is it like to be an attorney working with these entrepreneurs, companies and investors on a daily basis? This practice-oriented course is designed to answer that question, by providing students a window into the legal, business, financial and practical issues encountered in advising technology and emerging growth startups. We follow the life-cycle of a typical technology startup, starting with advising the founders as they consider whether and how to start their business, and then running through the choices and challenges they face in selecting a form of business entity, bringing in and incentivizing employees, seeking funding, approaching and negotiating with venture capitalists -- all pointing toward an acquisition or IPO. We go beyond strict legal issues and focus on practical solutions and business realities. We place special emphasis on what makes a good startup business, how entrepreneurs attract investment, the pros and cons of different investment types, and how founders and investors allocate between them both the control and the rewards of the venture. The course takes a nuts-and-bolts approach and includes a number of assignments that mirror those Silicon Valley corporate associates frequently perform, culminating in hands-on negotiation of a venture capital investment term sheet between groups of students. Herb Fockler is a partner at Wilson Sonsini, the nation's leading law firm representing technology and emerging growth companies. He is based in their headquarters office in Palo Alto, where he has represented companies in a broad range of technologies and at all stages of their lives for over 35 years. He is a leading expert both inside and outside of Wilson Sonsini in all aspects of the legal, business and practical issues faced by startup companies. He has taught this and similar courses at Berkeley Law since 2014 and frequently guest lectures at other institutions. Spring 2022 Description: It's been said that the technology industry -- and to a great extent Silicon Valley -- has been responsible for the greatest creation of wealth in human history. What is it like to be an attorney working with these entrepreneurs, companies and investors on a daily basis? This practice-oriented course is designed to answer that question, by providing students a window into the legal, business, financial and practical issues encountered in advising technology and emerging growth startups. We follow the life-cycle of a typical technology startup, starting with advising the founders as they consider whether and how to start their business, and then running through the choices and challenges they face in selecting a form of business entity, bringing in and incentivizing employees, seeking funding, approaching and negotiating with venture capitalists -- all pointing toward an acquisition or IPO. We go beyond strict legal issues and focus on practical tasks and problems and business realities. We place special emphasis on what makes a good startup business, how entrepreneurs attract investment, the pros and cons of different investment types, and how founders and investors allocate between them both the control and the rewards of the venture. The course takes a nuts-and-bolts approach and includes a number of assignments that mirror those Silicon Valley corporate associates frequently perform, culminating in hands-on negotiation of a venture capital investment term sheet between groups of students. Herb Fockler is a partner at Wilson Sonsini, the nation's leading law firm representing technology and emerging growth companies. He is based in their headquarters office in Palo Alto, where he has represented companies in a broad range of technologies and at all stages of their lives for over 35 years. He is a leading expert both inside and outside of Wilson Sonsini in all aspects of the legal, business and practical issues faced by startup companies. He has taught this and similar courses at Berkeley Law since 2014 and also at Santa Clara University Law School, and has guest lectured at many other institutions. Kei Nishimura Drake is a senior associate in the Corporate and Securities Department of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She began her corporate career at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 2013 and practiced for 4 years before joining the legal team at Zymergen, a Softbank-backed company specializing in the genetic engineering of microbes. After her stint at Zymergen, she joined Atrium LLP, a hybrid law firm/legal technology startup, working to make legal practice more efficient. She returned to WSGR in April 2020, where her practice covers a broad range of general corporate, securities and transactional matters, with a focus on emerging company and private company representation. Spring 2023 Description: It's said that Silicon Valley is the source of the greatest creation of wealth in history. What’s less said is that attorneys have been key participants in that success. This is a practice-oriented course focusing on legal and business matters encountered in the day-to-day life of corporate attorneys who advise technology and emerging growth companies, as well as their founders and investors. The course covers key events in the life cycle of a startup company: • Things an entrepreneur should consider in starting a technology development business. • Choices in forming an entity to hold that business. • The typical corporate structure and its governance. • Incentivizing employees. • Seeking early-stage funding. • Obtaining venture capital financing. • Fundamental concepts in and basic mechanics of a venture capital financing. • Dealing with conflicts among the various parties in the venture. • Preparation for a liquidity event, such as an acquisition or IPO. In each case, the emphasis is on business realities and practical solutions, such as: • What makes a good business to attract venture capital funding? • How can entrepreneurs attract investment? • The pros and cons of different sources of investment capital. • How founders and investors allocate rewards and risks of the venture between them. • How founders and investors allocate control of the venture between them. • What are the terms that matter from a business perspective in a venture capital financing, and how to negotiate them? The course is taught using many examples taken from the real world (to the extent you can call Silicon Valley the “real world”). Professors’ Biographies Professor Fockler Herb Fockler is a partner in the Corporate and Securities Department of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the leading legal adviser to technology and emerging growth enterprises worldwide. He has been with WSGR for almost 40 years, representing entrepreneurs and the businesses they crea te at all stages of development -- from newly formed companies seeking initial VC funding to multibillion-dollar global enterprises. He has worked with hundreds of public and private companies across the technology industry, from computers, software, Internet and semiconductors through biotechnology, medical devices and clean technology. During the first half of his career he handled large transactions and relationships with many leading technology companies, including Dolby Laboratories, Autodesk, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, WordPerfect, Flextronics and Philips Microelectronics. Since 2000, he has focused on representation of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups. He is a leader in WSGR’s development on internal firm forms, standards and knowledge, a frequent teacher in firm seminars, and a resource for all firm attorneys – especially junior attorneys -- in multiple areas of WSGR’s corporate and securities practice. He is a member of the California State Bar’s Advisory Committee of Legal Opinions, a principal drafter of the California bar’s upcoming guide to legal opinions, the Co-Chairman of the Venture Capital and Private Equity affinity group of the nation Working Group on Legal Opinions, and a former chair of the ABA’s Venture Capital Transaction Issues and Documents Committee. He has taught courses and lectured on venture capital, startup companies, initial public offerings and acquisitions at Berkeley Law for many years, as well as at Santa Clara University Law and Business Schools, the Wharton School’s San Francisco campus, Harvard Law School, the Harvard iLab, and Stanford University’s Ignite Program. Outside of law, he was a computer programmer before and during law school, holds an undergraduate degree in physics, and doesn’t ski as much as he’d like to. Professor Drake Kei Nishimura Drake is associate general counsel of Plenty Unlimited, Inc., a private ag-tech company specializing in vertical farming. She began her corporate career at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 2013 and practiced for 4 years before joining the legal team at Zymergen, a Softbank-backed company specializing in the genetic engineering of microbes. After her stint at Zymergen, she returned to WSGR, where her practice covered a broad range of general corporate, securities and transactional matters, with a focus on emerging company and private company representation. On weekends, you can find her walking her dog around San Francisco (the Presidio and Marina Green are favorite spots) and discovering new restaurants with friends. Spring 2024 Description: It's said that Silicon Valley is the source of the greatest creation of wealth in history. What’s less said is that attorneys have been key participants in that success. This is a practice-oriented course focusing on legal and business matters encountered in the day-to-day life of corporate attorneys who advise technology and emerging growth companies, as well as their founders and investors. The course covers key events in the life cycle of a startup company: • Things an entrepreneur should consider in starting a technology development business. • Choices in forming an entity to hold that business. • The typical corporate structure and its governance. • Incentivizing employees. • Seeking early-stage funding. • Obtaining venture capital financing. • Fundamental concepts in and basic mechanics of a venture capital financing. • Dealing with conflicts among the various parties in the venture. • Preparation for a liquidity event, such as an acquisition or IPO. In each case, the emphasis is on business realities and practical solutions, such as: • What makes a good business to attract venture capital funding? • How can entrepreneurs attract investment? • The pros and cons of different sources of investment capital. • How founders and investors allocate rewards and risks of the venture between them. • How founders and investors allocate control of the venture between them. • What are the terms that matter from a business perspective in a venture capital financing, and how to negotiate them? The course is taught using many examples taken from the real world (to the extent you can call Silicon Valley the “real world”). Professors’ Biographies Professor Fockler Herb Fockler is a partner in the Corporate and Securities Department of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the leading legal adviser to technology and emerging growth enterprises worldwide. He has been with WSGR for almost 40 years, representing entrepreneurs and the businesses they create at all stages of development -- from newly formed companies seeking initial VC funding to multibillion-dollar global enterprises. He has worked with hundreds of public and private companies across the technology industry, from computers, software, Internet and semiconductors through biotechnology, medical devices and clean technology. During the first half of his career he handled large transactions and relationships with many leading technology companies, including Dolby Laboratories, Autodesk, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, WordPerfect, Flextronics and Philips Microelectronics. Since 2000, he has focused on representation of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups. He is a leader in WSGR’s development on internal firm forms, standards and knowledge, a frequent teacher in firm seminars, and a resource for all firm attorneys – especially junior attorneys -- in multiple areas of WSGR’s corporate and securities practice. He is a member of the California State Bar’s Advisory Committee of Legal Opinions, a principal drafter of the California bar’s upcoming guide to legal opinions, the Co-Chairman of the Venture Capital and Private Equity affinity group of the nation Working Group on Legal Opinions, and a former chair of the ABA’s Venture Capital Transaction Issues and Documents Committee. He has taught courses and lectured on venture capital, startup companies, initial public offerings and acquisitions at Berkeley Law for many years, as well as at Santa Clara University Law and Business Schools, the Wharton School’s San Francisco campus, Harvard Law School, the Harvard iLab, and Stanford University’s Ignite Program. Outside of law, he was a computer programmer before and during law school, holds an undergraduate degree in physics, and doesn’t ski as much as he’d like to. Professor Drake Kei Nishimura Drake is associate general counsel of Plenty Unlimited, Inc., a private ag-tech company specializing in indoor vertical farming. She began her corporate career at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 2013 and practiced for 4 years before joining the legal team at Zymergen, a Softbank-backed company specializing in the genetic engineering of microbes. After her stint at Zymergen, she returned to WSGR, where her practice covered a broad range of general corporate, securities and transactional matters, with a focus on emerging company and private company representation. On weekends, you can find her and her family walking their dog around San Francisco (the Presidio and Marina Green are favorite spots, after a stop at the Philz truck) or cruising the beach in Santa Cruz. Spring 2025 Description: It's said that Silicon Valley is the source of the greatest creation of wealth in history. What’s less said is that attorneys have been key participants in that success. This is a practice-oriented course focusing on legal and business matters encountered in the day-to-day life of corporate attorneys who advise technology and emerging growth companies, as well as their founders and investors. The course covers key events in the life cycle of a startup company: • Things an entrepreneur should consider in starting a technology development business. • Choices in forming an entity to hold that business. • The typical corporate structure and its governance. • Incentivizing employees. • Seeking early-stage funding. • Obtaining venture capital financing. • Fundamental concepts in and basic mechanics of venture capital financing. • Dealing with conflicts among the various parties in the venture. • Preparation for a liquidity event, such as an acquisition or IPO. In each case, the emphasis is on business realities and practical solutions, such as: • What makes a good business to attract venture capital funding? • How can entrepreneurs attract investment? • The pros and cons of different sources of investment capital. • How founders and investors allocate rewards and risks of the venture between them. • How founders and investors allocate control of the venture between them. • What are the terms that matter from a business perspective in venture capital financing, and how to negotiate them? The course is taught using many examples taken from the real world (to the extent you can call Silicon Valley the “real world”). Professors’ Biographies Professor Fockler Herb Fockler is a partner in the Corporate and Securities Department of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the leading legal adviser to technology and emerging growth enterprises worldwide. He has been with WSGR for almost 40 years, representing entrepreneurs and the businesses they create at all stages of development -- from newly formed companies seeking initial VC funding to multibillion-dollar global enterprises. He has worked with hundreds of public and private companies across the technology industry, from computers, software, Internet and semiconductors through biotechnology, medical devices and clean technology. During the first half of his career he handled large transactions and relationships with many leading technology companies, including Dolby Laboratories, Autodesk, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, WordPerfect, Flextronics and Philips Microelectronics. Since 2000, he has focused on representation of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups. He is a leader in WSGR’s development on internal firm forms, standards and knowledge, a frequent teacher in firm seminars, and a resource for all firm attorneys – especially junior attorneys -- in multiple areas of WSGR’s corporate and securities practice. He is a member of the California State Bar’s Advisory Committee of Legal Opinions, a principal drafter of the California Bar’s upcoming guide to legal opinions, the Co-Chairman of the Venture Capital and Private Equity affinity group of the nation Working Group on Legal Opinions, and a former chair of the ABA’s Venture Capital Transaction Issues and Documents Committee. He has taught courses and lectured on venture capital, startup companies, initial public offerings and acquisitions at Berkeley Law for many years, as well as at Santa Clara University Law and Business Schools, the Wharton School’s San Francisco campus, Harvard Law School, the Harvard iLab, and Stanford University’s Ignite Program. Outside of law, he was a computer programmer before and during law school, holds an undergraduate degree in physics, and doesn’t ski as much as he’d like to. Professor Drake Kei Nishimura Drake is associate general counsel of Plenty Unlimited, Inc., a private ag-tech company specializing in indoor vertical farming. She began her corporate career at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 2013 and practiced for 4 years before joining the legal team at Zymergen, a Softbank-backed company specializing in the genetic engineering of microbes. After her stint at Zymergen, she returned to WSGR, where her practice covered a broad range of general corporate, securities and transactional matters, with a focus on emerging company and private company representation. On weekends, you can find her and her family walking their dog around San Francisco (the Presidio and Marina Green are favorite spots, after a stop at the Philz truck) or cruising the beach in Santa Cruz. |
| Law 249.4 Financial Management of Non-Profits 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: An effective nonprofit leader must be able to analyze and act upon financial information as part of an overall approach to strategic decision making. This course will focus on the core financial management issues faced by managing and senior attorneys, CEOs and board members in nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. Students will learn the foundational tools and techniques for effective financial management, including budget development (i.e. applying a systematic method of allocating financial, physical, and human resources to achieve specific goals), responding to a request for proposal (RFP), program expansion, program portfolio analyses, financial forecasting and overall business model sustainability. This class will meet over three days: Thursday, August 27th from 6:25pm-9:05pm Friday, August 28th from 10:00-12:00pm and 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, August 29th from 9:00-12:00pm and 1:30-4:10pm BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Brent Copen is dedicated to strengthening the sector by helping social sector businesses develop more robust financial management practices. He has presented hundreds of workshops and training nationally to CEO’s, board members, funders and emerging leaders. Copen brings more than 20 years of executive management and leadership experience, including senior finance roles in technology, health care, management consulting, and community development finance. He was awarded 2018 Bay Area CFO of the Year by the San Francisco Business Times. Copen currently holds four teaching positions at U.C. Berkeley. He co-authored The Nonprofit Business Plan, a practical guide to help nonprofit leaders establish a sustainable, results-driven business plan. He received a Master in Public Administration degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fall 2021 Description: An effective nonprofit leader must be able to analyze and act upon financial information as part of an overall approach to strategic decision making. This course will focus on the core financial management issues faced by managing and senior attorneys, CEOs and board members in nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. Students will learn the foundational tools and techniques for effective financial management, including budget development (i.e. applying a systematic method of allocating financial, physical, and human resources to achieve specific goals), responding to a request for proposal (RFP), program expansion, program portfolio analyses, financial forecasting and overall business model sustainability. This class will meet over three days: Thursday, August 19th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, August 20th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, August 21st 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM - 4:10 PM Brent Copen is dedicated to strengthening the sector by helping social sector businesses develop more robust financial management practices. He has presented hundreds of workshops and training nationally to CEO’s, board members, funders and emerging leaders. Copen brings more than 20 years of executive management and leadership experience, including senior finance roles in technology, health care, management consulting, and community development finance. He was awarded 2018 Bay Area CFO of the Year by the San Francisco Business Times. Copen currently holds four teaching positions at U.C. Berkeley. He co-authored The Nonprofit Business Plan, a practical guide to help nonprofit leaders establish a sustainable, results-driven business plan. He received a Master in Public Administration degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fall 2022 Description: An effective nonprofit leader must be able to analyze and act upon financial information as part of an overall approach to strategic decision making. This course will focus on the core financial management issues faced by managing and senior attorneys, CEOs and board members in nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. Students will learn the foundational tools and techniques for effective financial management, including budget development (i.e. applying a systematic method of allocating financial, physical, and human resources to achieve specific goals), responding to a request for proposal (RFP), program expansion, program portfolio analyses, financial forecasting and overall business model sustainability. This class will meet over three days: Thursday, 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM - 4:10 PM Brent Copen is dedicated to strengthening the sector by helping social sector businesses develop more robust financial management practices. He has presented hundreds of workshops and training nationally to CEOs, board members, funders and emerging leaders. Copen brings more than 20 years of executive management and leadership experience, including senior finance roles in technology, health care, management consulting, and community development finance. He was awarded 2018 Bay Area CFO of the Year by the San Francisco Business Times. Copen currently holds four teaching positions at U.C. Berkeley. He co-authored The Nonprofit Business Plan, a practical guide to help nonprofit leaders establish a sustainable, results-driven business plan. He received a Master in Public Administration degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fall 2023 Description: An effective nonprofit leader must be able to analyze and act upon financial information as part of an overall approach to strategic decision making. This course will focus on the core financial management issues faced by managing and senior attorneys, CEOs, and board members in nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. Students will learn the foundational tools and techniques for effective financial management, including budget development (i.e. applying a systematic method of allocating financial, physical, and human resources to achieve specific goals), responding to a request for proposal (RFP), program expansion, program portfolio analyses, financial forecasting, and overall business model sustainability. This class will meet over three days: Thursday, 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM - 4:10 PM Brent Copen is dedicated to strengthening the sector by helping social sector businesses develop more robust financial management practices. He has presented hundreds of workshops and training nationally to CEOs, board members, funders and emerging leaders. Copen brings more than 20 years of executive management and leadership experience, including senior finance roles in technology, health care, management consulting, and community development finance. He was awarded 2018 Bay Area CFO of the Year by the San Francisco Business Times. Copen currently holds four teaching positions at U.C. Berkeley. He co-authored The Nonprofit Business Plan, a practical guide to help nonprofit leaders establish a sustainable, results-driven business plan. He received a Master in Public Administration degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 249.41 Structuring for Impact: Exploring the Role of Tax Exempt Organizations & Hybrid Structures 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The philanthropic and commercial sectors are more interrelated than ever. In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in the way that tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations leverage the strategies traditionally used by for-profits in order to advance their mission, while commercial actors have become increasingly focused on impact. This course will explore this new landscape from the perspective of the role of tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations. Through a grounding in fundamental legal issues, case studies and highly interactive exercises we will explore how these organizations can - either alone or in tandem with for-profits - navigate and apply commercial and business mechanisms and strategies to achieve and scale environmental and social impact. This course will expose students to the unique history and role of nonprofits in the US, traditional and innovative hybrid forms and structures, including nonprofit/for-profit partnerships, capital aggregation models, investment and funding issues, as well as compliance considerations. This course will blend theory and practice and will be taught by Tomer Inbar, who is widely recognized as an expert in the law applicable to nonprofit/tax-exempt organizations.We will also benefit from the knowledge and experience of practitioners and experts in social enterprises, including Will Fitzpatrick. Course will meet the following days and times: Thursday, October 15th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, October 16th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 5:30 PM Saturday, October 17th 09:30 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:10 PM - 5:10 PM Fall 2021 Description: The philanthropic and commercial sectors are more interrelated than ever. In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in the way that tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations leverage the strategies traditionally used by for-profits in order to advance their mission, while commercial actors have become increasingly focused on impact. This course will explore this new landscape from the perspective of the role of tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations. Through a grounding in fundamental legal issues, case studies and interactive exercises we will explore how these organizations can - either alone or in tandem with for-profits - navigate and apply commercial and business mechanisms and strategies to achieve and scale environmental and social impact. This course will expose students to the unique history and role of nonprofits in the US, traditional and innovative hybrid forms and structures, including nonprofit/for-profit partnerships, capital aggregation models, investment and funding issues, as well as compliance considerations. This course will blend theory and practice and will be taught by Tomer Inbar, who is widely recognized as an expert in the law applicable to nonprofit/tax-exempt organizations. We will also benefit from the knowledge and experience of practitioners and experts in hybrid structures. Course will meet the following days and times: Friday, November 5th & November 12th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:15 PM - 5:00 PM Saturday, November 6th & November 13th 9:30 AM - 12:15 PM Fall 2022 Description: The philanthropic and commercial sectors are more interrelated than ever. In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in the way that tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations leverage the strategies traditionally used by for-profits in order to advance their mission, while commercial actors have become increasingly focused on impact. This course will explore this new landscape from the perspective of the role of tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations. Through a grounding in fundamental legal issues, case studies and interactive exercises we will explore how these organizations can - either alone or in tandem with for-profits - navigate and apply commercial and business mechanisms and strategies to achieve and scale environmental and social impact in a legally compliant manner. This course will expose students to the unique history and role of nonprofits in the US, traditional and innovative corporate forms and structures, capital aggregation models, investment and funding issues, as well as compliance considerations. This course will blend theory and practice and will be taught by Tomer Inbar, who is widely recognized as an expert in the law applicable to nonprofit/tax-exempt organizations. We will also benefit from the knowledge and experience of practitioners and experts in hybrid structures. Spring 2024 Description: The philanthropic and commercial sectors are more interrelated than ever. In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in the way that tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations leverage the strategies traditionally used by for-profits in order to advance their mission, while commercial actors have become increasingly focused on impact. This course will explore this evolving landscape from the perspective of the role of tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations. Through a grounding in fundamental legal issues, case studies and interactive exercises we will explore how these organizations can - either alone or in tandem with for-profits - navigate and apply commercial and business mechanisms and strategies to achieve and scale environmental and social impact in a legally compliant manner. This course will expose students to the unique history and role of nonprofits in the US, traditional and innovative corporate forms and structures, capital aggregation models, investment and funding issues, as well as compliance considerations. This course will blend theory and practice and will be taught by Tomer Inbar, who is widely recognized as an expert in the law applicable to nonprofit/tax-exempt organizations. We will also benefit from the knowledge and experience of practitioners and experts in hybrid structures. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 249.7 Introduction to the New Financial Regulation 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The 2008 financial crisis spawned the biggest explosion of financial regulation since the Great Depression. The Dodd-Frank Act alone generated over 25,000 pages of new regulations. In addition, the global coordination of this new regulation has been unprecedented. The stated purpose of most of the new regulation around the world has been to make the global and domestic financial systems safer. The primary focus has been on reducing the probability of bank failures by subjecting the largest, most complex and global banking groups to substantially higher capital, liquidity, stress testing and other prudential requirements, imposing new restrictions on their activities and size, and insulating deposit banking from investment banking. Another important focus has been on developing new legal tools and banking structures that will make banks safe to fail without the need for government bailouts. This course will introduce students to the most important provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and their counterparts around the world. It will also involve a lively debate (we hope) about whether the new regulations have made the system safer, what the tradeoffs are between safety and economic growth, and whether the new regulations strike the right balance. We will also discuss the next frontier of financial regulation and questions raised by financial technology and new entrants into financial services markets. The course will meet over three days: Thursday, October 8th from 6:25-9:05pm Friday, October 9th from 10:00-12:00pm and 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, October 10th from 9:00-12:00 and 1:30-4:10pm The instructors for this course are Randall Guynn and Jai Massari. Randy is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and has been head of its Financial Institutions Group since 1994. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading banking lawyers and a thought leader in financial regulatory reform. He was named the most highly regarded banking lawyer in the world in 2014 and 2017 by the International Who’s Who of Banking Lawyers and one of the 10 most innovative lawyers in the U.S. by the Financial Times in 2013. He is currently ranked as a star banking lawyer in Chambers USA. He has published several books and articles, most recently a book co-authored with U.K lawyer Simon Gleeson and published by Oxford University Press on solving the too-big-to-fail problem. He is also the editor of Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States, soon to be in its 9th edition. He graduated from UVa law in 1984, and was a law clerk for Justice William H. Rehnquist and 9th Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace. Jai is Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Davis Polk and is a member of its Financial Institutions Group and the Trading and Markets Practice. Since beginning her law practice in 2007, she has represented banking organizations, industry organizations, asset managers, and other financial market participants, focusing on financial regulatory reform. She also advises on the financial regulation of fintech activities, including payments and digital asset activities. Jai received her law degree from the Duke University School of Law. The course will meet over three days. Fall 2021 Description: The last several years have seen the fast rise of new entrants into the financial services markets: large and small technology companies seeking to provide financial services in innovative ways. At the same time, banks and other more traditional financial services providers are examining how their business models may be affected, for better or worse, by these new technologies. Policy makers and regulators are themselves considering how best to address new developments. Our course will examine these issues through the lens of financial regulatory policy and law. The course will be grounded in the fundamentals of financial regulation - monetary policy, financial stability, the promotion of safe and open markets, and consumer protection - and will explore these fundamentals in light of new fintech and financial services developments, ranging from new approaches to bank charters, changes how retail consumers trade in securities and commodity markets, and cryptocurrency and payments innovations. This course will take a case-study, interactive approach to developing these themes. It will involve a lively debate (we hope) about the goals of financial regulation, the approaches taken by policy makers and regulators to new developments, and whether and how financial regulation can be improved to promote economic growth, financial stability, and consumer protection. The course will meet over three days: Thursday, September 30th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, October 1st 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, October 2nd 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM - 4:10 PM The instructors for this course are Jai Massari and Randall Guynn. Jai is Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Davis Polk and is a member of its Financial Institutions Group and the Trading and Markets Practice. She represents banking organizations, industry groups, asset managers, and other financial market participants, focusing on financial regulatory reform. Her practice more recently focuses on financial regulation of fintech activities, including payments and digital asset activities. She is ranked in Chambers for Fintech, Cryptocurrency & Blockchain and Financial Services Regulation. Jai received her law degree from the Duke University School of Law in 2007. Randy is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and has been head of its Financial Institutions Group since 1994. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading banking lawyers and a thought leader in financial regulatory reform. He was named the most highly regarded banking lawyer in the world in 2014 and 2017 by the International Who’s Who of Banking Lawyers and one of the 10 most innovative lawyers in the U.S. by the Financial Times in 2013. He is currently ranked as a star banking lawyer in Chambers USA. He has published several books and articles, most recently a book co-authored with U.K lawyer Simon Gleeson and published by Oxford University Press on solving the too-big-to-fail problem. He is also the editor of Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States, soon to be in its 9th edition. He graduated from UVA law in 1984, and was a law clerk for Justice William H. Rehnquist and 9th Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace. Fall 2022 Description: The last several years have seen the fast rise of new entrants into the financial services markets: large and small technology companies and new types of financial companies seeking to provide financial services in innovative ways. At the same time, banks and other more traditional financial services providers are examining how their business models may be affected, for better or worse, by these new entrants and technologies. Policy makers and regulators are themselves considering how best to address new developments. Our course will examine these issues through the lens of financial regulatory policy and law. The course will be grounded in the fundamentals of financial regulation - monetary policy, financial stability, the promotion of safe and open markets, and consumer protection - and will explore these fundamentals in light of new fintech and financial services developments, ranging from new approaches to bank charters, changes how retail consumers trade in securities and commodity markets, and cryptocurrency and payments innovations. This course will take a case-study, interactive approach to developing these themes. It will involve a lively debate (we hope) about the goals of financial regulation, the approaches taken by policy makers and regulators to new developments, and whether and how financial regulation can be improved to promote economic growth, financial stability, and consumer protection. The course will meet over three days: Thursday, September 29 to Saturday, October 1. The instructors for this course are Jai Massari and Randall Guynn. Jai is partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Davis Polk and is a member of its Financial Institutions Group and the Trading and Markets Practice. She represents banking organizations, industry groups, asset managers, and other financial market participants, focusing on financial regulatory reform. Her practice more recently focuses on financial regulation of fintech activities, including payments and digital asset activities. She is ranked in Chambers for Fintech, Cryptocurrency & Blockchain and Financial Services Regulation. Jai received her law degree from the Duke University School of Law in 2007. Randy is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and has been head of its Financial Institutions Group since 1994. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading banking lawyers and a thought leader in financial regulatory reform. He was named the most highly regarded banking lawyer in the world in 2014 and 2017 by the International Who’s Who of Banking Lawyers and one of the 10 most innovative lawyers in the U.S. by the Financial Times in 2013. He is currently ranked as a star banking lawyer in Chambers USA. He has published several books and articles, most recently a book co-authored with U.K lawyer Simon Gleeson and published by Oxford University Press on solving the too-big-to-fail problem. He is also the editor of Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States, soon to be in its 9th edition. He graduated from UVA law in 1984, and was a law clerk for Justice William H. Rehnquist and 9th Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace. Fall 2023 Description: The last several years have seen the fast rise of new entrants into the financial services markets: large and small technology companies and new types of financial companies seeking to provide financial services in innovative ways. At the same time, banks and other more traditional financial services providers are examining how their business models may be affected, for better or worse, by these new entrants and technologies. Policy makers and regulators are themselves considering how best to address new developments. Our course will examine these issues through the lens of financial regulatory policy and law. The course will be grounded in the fundamentals of financial regulation - monetary policy, financial stability, the promotion of safe and open markets, and consumer protection - and will explore these fundamentals in light of new fintech and financial services developments, ranging from new approaches to bank charters, changes how retail consumers trade in securities and commodity markets, and cryptocurrency and payments innovations. This course will take a case-study, interactive approach to developing these themes. It will involve a lively debate (we hope) about the goals of financial regulation, the approaches taken by policy makers and regulators to new developments, and whether and how financial regulation can be improved to promote economic growth, financial stability, and consumer protection. The course will meet over three days: Thursday, November 2 to Saturday, November 4. The instructors for this course are Jai Massari and Randall Guynn. Jai is a cofounder and Chief Legal Officer of Lightspark and a Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. Before Lightspark, she spent 11 years at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, the last five as a partner in the firm’s Financial Institutions Group and a leader of its fintech and cryptocurrency practice. She has experience in a wide range of financial regulatory matters, including digital assets and cryptocurrency, markets regulation, banking regulation, derivatives regulation, and payments. In December 2021, she testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on stablecoin policy and regulation. She holds a JD from Duke University School of Law and a BA in Chemistry from Cornell University. Randy is Chair of the Financial Institutions Group at Davis Polk & Wardwell He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading banking lawyers and a thought leader in financial regulatory reform. His clients include all 8 of the U.S. global systemically important banking organizations, a number of large regional banks and a large number of Fintech and cryptocurrency companies. He is currently ranked as a star individual in bank regulation by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, and in band 1 in financial institutions M&A by Chambers USA. He has published several books and articles, most recently a book co-authored with U.K lawyer Simon Gleeson and published by Oxford University Press on solving the too-big-to-fail problem. He is also the editor of Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States, the leading treatise in the area. He graduated from UVA law in 1984 and was a law clerk for Justice William H. Rehnquist and 9th Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 250 Business Associations 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This 4-unit survey course provides much of that orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, rights of creditors, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate and in particular how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm, including owners, managers, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Viewed in this light, the governance of a corporation implicates the same challenges and concerns that affect any multi-party economic relationship, ranging from problems of collective action, free riding, private information, distribution and opportunism. The laws governing business organizations constitute an important set of rules, institutions, and practices that regulate and address these concerns. Business Associations is an upper level class which requires more self-sufficiency than a normal 1L class. 1L students will be permitted to take this course by application only. Students apply by emailing Professor Davidoff Solomon with why they wish to take the course in their 1-L year. Applications are due by January 8. Fall 2020 Description: This is a survey course introducing the basic principles of business law, including study of each of the main forms of business entities. The primary focus of the course will be corporate law, including the characteristics and organizational structure of corporations, and the rights and obligations of corporate shareholders, directors, and managers. The course will also introduce agency principles, and other business forms such as partnerships and limited liability companies. No background in business is required. Spring 2021 Description: This is a survey course introducing the basic principles of business law, including study of each of the main forms of business entities. The primary focus of the course will be corporate law, including the characteristics and organizational structure of corporations, and the rights and obligations of corporate shareholders, directors, and managers. The course will also introduce agency principles, and other business forms such as partnerships and limited liability companies. No background in business is required. Fall 2021 Description: This is a survey course introducing the basic principles of business law, including study of each of the main forms of business entities. The primary focus of the course will be corporate law, including the characteristics and organizational structure of corporations, and the rights and obligations of corporate shareholders, directors, and managers. The course will also introduce agency principles, and other business forms such as partnerships and limited liability companies. No background in business is required. Spring 2022 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This 4-unit survey course provides much of that orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, rights of creditors, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate and in particular how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm, including owners, managers, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Viewed in this light, the governance of a corporation implicates the same challenges and concerns that affect any multi-party economic relationship, ranging from problems of collective action, free riding, private information, distribution and opportunism. The laws governing business organizations constitute an important set of rules, institutions, and practices that regulate and address these concerns. Fall 2022 Description: This is a survey course introducing the basic principles of business law, including study of each of the main forms of business entities. The primary focus of the course will be corporate law, including the characteristics and organizational structure of corporations, and the rights and obligations of corporate shareholders, directors, and managers. The course will also introduce agency principles, and other business forms such as partnerships and limited liability companies. No background in business is required. Spring 2023 Description: The course begins with an introduction to the law of enterprise organization. It then discusses three basic business structures: agency, partnership, and corporation. This overview is followed by consideration of creditor rights. Focus then shifts to understanding a series of complex restraints on public corporations, including shareholder voting, fiduciary obligations, shareholder litigation, control transactions, and contests for control. The course concludes with an introduction to disclosure and insider trading laws. Fall 2023 Description: This is a survey course that introduces the basic principles of business law. It will focus on the features and governance of business organizations including corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Much of the course will emphasize the fiduciary and other legal obligations that directors and managers owe to shareholders and other corporate constituencies. We will discuss how these duties impact especially consequential decisions, such as the choice to sell a firm, and we will analyze how concerns about ESG (environmental, social, and governance matters) may or may not affect the legal obligations of corporate decision makers. Spring 2024 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This survey course provides much of that orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, rights of creditors, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate and in particular how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm, including owners, managers, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Viewed in this light, the governance of a corporation implicates the same challenges and concerns that affect any multi-party economic relationship, ranging from problems of collective action, free riding, private information, distribution and opportunism. The laws governing business organizations constitute an important set of rules, institutions, and practices that regulate and address these concerns. Fall 2024 Description: This is a survey course introducing the basic principles of business law, including study of each of the main forms of business entities. The primary focus of the course will be corporate law, including the characteristics and organizational structure of corporations, and the rights and obligations of corporate shareholders, directors, and managers. The course will also introduce agency principles and other business forms such as partnerships and limited liability companies. No background in business is required. Spring 2025 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This survey course provides much of that orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, rights of creditors, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, executive compensation, mergers, and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate and in particular how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm, including owners, managers, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Viewed in this light, the governance of a corporation implicates the same challenges and concerns that affect any multi-party economic relationship, ranging from problems of collective action, free riding, private information, distribution and opportunism. The laws governing business organizations constitute an important set of rules, institutions, and practices that regulate and address these concerns. Fall 2025 Description: This is a survey course introducing the basic principles of business law, including the study of each of the main forms of business entities. The primary focus of the course will be corporate law, including the characteristics and organizational structure of corporations, and the rights and obligations of corporate shareholders, directors, and managers. The course will also introduce agency principles and other business forms such as partnerships and limited liability companies. No background in business is required. |
| Law 250S Business Associations 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some rudimentary knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This survey course provides much of that orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, rights of creditors, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the rudimentary structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate and in particular how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm, including owners, managers, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Viewed in this light, the governance of a corporation implicates the same challenges and concerns that affect any multi-party economic relationship, ranging from problems of collective action, free riding, private information, distribution and opportunism. The laws governing business organizations constitute an important set of rules, institutions, and practices that regulate and address these concerns. This course is a prerequisite for Securities Regulation and Mergers and Acquisitions . This course will meet in-person on campus on July 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 8th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business associations proves helpful. This survey course examines the laws governing the modern American business organization. We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law (general partnerships, limited partnership, and limited liability partnerships), corporate law, and LLC law. For each type of business association, we will discuss its legal nature and the rules associated with formation, governance, fiduciary duties, and termination. This is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our main goal will be to understand the structure of each topic, how the topics interrelate, the role that organizational law plays in regulating relationships among the parties, and the ways in which it interacts with other areas of law. Summer 2023 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This survey provides such an orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). Topics range across rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the rudimentary structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate. In particular this will include how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm and the ways in which it interacts with other areas of the law. Summer 2024 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This survey provides such an orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). Topics range across rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and securities fraud. At its core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the rudimentary structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate. This will include how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm and how it interacts with other areas of the law. Summer 2025 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This survey course provides such an orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). Topics range across rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and securities fraud. As this is a survey course, many of the topics we discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the rudimentary structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate. In particular, this will include how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm and how corporate law interacts with other areas of the law. Emily Strauss is a professor at UC Law San Francisco and an expert in securities regulation, banking, and business law. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Southern California Law Review, U.C. Irvine Law Review, Law & Contemporary Problems, and the Boston University Law Review, and has been cited in outlets such as Bloomberg and Reuters. Prior to teaching law, Strauss was an attorney with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York. She was a member of the litigation department, and her practice focused on securities litigation and criminal and regulatory investigations, including fraud, antitrust, executive misconduct, and bribery-related matters. Previously, Strauss was Special Counsel at a nonprofit promoting the rule of law in developing countries. Before law school, Strauss was a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa and a high school teacher in China. She is a member of the bars in New York and Massachusetts. |
| Law 251.11 Topics in Corporate Governance: A Comparative Analysis of Israel and the US 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: What vectors affect the behavior of business corporations? In law school, we tend to focus on corporate and securities laws. But in reality, corporate governance is also (indeed, very much so) a function of reputation concerns, media coverage, cultural norms, and the political environment. In this course we will look at these vectors in action in two different systems of corporate governance, namely, the U.S. and Israel. Tiny Israel is widely considered a global hub for innovation, leading the world in venture-capital investments per capita and startups per capita. But the so-called startup nation also suffers from problems in scaling-up, and from high degrees of economic concentration and a bevy of corporate governance debacles. What is it exactly in the American mix of laws, markets and morals that work differently than the Israeli mix? In the process of answering this question, we will dive into today’s most topical questions: can you hold directors personally accountable for not being attentive enough to increased societal demands (the “ESG” debate)? Are super-large corporations with market power ungovernable (the “anti-bigness” debate)? And so on. The course will be of interest not just to those keen on learning about the comparison between US and Israel, but also more generally to all those with interest in how business corporations operate and their role in, and impact on, society. Reading assignment for first session: watch the documentary film "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing More information about Professor Shapira is in his Faculty Profile. |
| Law 251.12 Advanced Topics in Delaware Corporate Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course examines current hot topics in Delaware corporate law, relying principally on judicial decisions and academic or practitioner commentary. It is not a high-level survey course; instead, the course will consider issues such as why Delaware occupies a dominant position in the field of corporate law and will explore particular aspects of that law, including judicial standards of review, common law fiduciary duties of managers and directors, change of control transactions, conflict transactions, poison pills, and defensive mechanisms—all in the context of particular decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery and Supreme Court. The class is intended to be a focused course on how corporate law is made in Delaware, as well as the policy reasons underlying that law. Grades will be based on class participation and a final exam. Having taken Business Associations is preferred, but not a prerequisite. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: This course examines current hot topics in Delaware corporate law, relying principally on judicial decisions and academic or practitioner commentary. It is not a high-level survey course; instead, the course will consider issues such as why Delaware occupies a dominant position in the field of corporate law and will explore particular aspects of that law, including judicial standards of review, common law fiduciary duties of managers and directors, change of control transactions, conflict transactions, poison pills, and defensive mechanisms—all in the context of particular decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery and Supreme Court. The class is intended to be a focused course on how corporate law is made in Delaware, as well as the policy reasons underlying that law. Grades will be based on class participation and a final exam. Having taken Business Associations is preferred, but not a prerequisite. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 251.13 The Corporation: Past, Present and Future 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: In this seminar we will explore the contours of the modern corporation. Built around a series of recently-published books on the topic, we will explore how the corporate form emerged in the United States, what advantages and struggles it currently faces, and how it might change in the future. We will analyze both the positive and normative explanations for trends in business law issues over time, from the rise of shareholder wealth maximization to recent emerging trends in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Grading will consist of a choice of three shorter reflection papers, or one long final paper. |
| Law 251.21 Business Strategy in the Global Political Economy 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course, jointly listed in the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Law, focuses on how one should formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy? What are the implications for firm strategies of the anti-globalization backlash? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the firm and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a firm to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment - the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics - to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as “given” often fall behind their competitors, despite having developed strategies for the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the nonmarket environment of business and considers the policymaking process in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India, and as well as other emerging markets. Topics include anti-globalization, domestic political institutions and policymaking, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policymaking, and international institutions. The course focuses on a managerial approach to help executives and consultants design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete successfully in the global political economy. Grading: 25%: Class participation 25%: Write-up and presentation of a group case 50%: Papers should be no more than 4000 words including references (this works out to about 16 pages at 250 words a page). Bio of Instructor Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Travers Family Senior Faculty Fellow and Professor in the Travers Department of Political Science, Affiliated Professor at the Haas School of Business, and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics. He has held fellowships from the Brookings Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, East-West Center, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the University of Geneva’s IOMBA program, INSEAD, Yonsei University, NTU Singapore, Bocconi University, Chung-Ang University, and the University of Hawaii. He is also an elected lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and founding member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. Dr. Aggarwal consults regularly with multinational corporations and government agencies on strategy, trade policy, and international negotiations. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for PhD teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and won first place for the MBA program in 2005. He is the author of 21 books and over 100 articles. His most recent book is Responding to the Rise of China. His current research examines comparative regionalism in Europe, North America, and Asia, comparative industrial policy in cybersecurity, disaster management, and the political economy of great power competition. Dr. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Born in Seattle, Washington, he speaks five languages. Spring 2021 Description: This course, jointly listed in the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Law, focuses on how one should formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy. What are the implications for firm strategies of the anti-globalization backlash? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the firm and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a firm to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment - the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics - to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as “given” often fall behind their competitors, despite having developed strategies for the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the nonmarket environment of business and considers the policy making process in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India, and as well as other emerging markets. Topics include anti-globalization, domestic political institutions and policymaking, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policymaking, and international institutions. The course focuses on a managerial approach to help executives and consultants design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete successfully in the global political economy. Grading: 25%: Class participation 25%: Write-up and presentation of a group case 50%: Papers should be no more than 3500 words including references (this works out to about 14 pages at 250 words a page). Bio of Instructor Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Travers Family Senior Faculty Fellow and Professor in the Travers Department of Political Science, Affiliated Professor at the Haas School of Business, and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics. He has held fellowships from the Brookings Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, East-West Center, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the University of Geneva’s IOMBA program, INSEAD, Yonsei University, NTU Singapore, Bocconi University, Chung-Ang University, and the University of Hawaii. He is also an elected lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and founding member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. Dr. Aggarwal consults regularly with multinational corporations and government agencies on strategy, trade policy, and international negotiations. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for PhD teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and won first place for the MBA program in 2005. He is the author of 21 books and over 120 articles. His most recent book is Responding to the Rise of China. His current research examines comparative regionalism in Europe, North America, and Asia, comparative industrial policy in cybersecurity, disaster management, and the political economy of great power competition. Dr. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Born in Seattle, Washington, he speaks five languages. Spring 2022 Description: THIS COURSE WILL BE IN CHOU HALL 270 This course, jointly listed in the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Law, focuses on how one should formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy. What are the implications for firm strategies of the anti-globalization backlash? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the firm and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a firm to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment - the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics - to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as “given” often fall behind their competitors, despite having developed strategies for the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the nonmarket environment of business and considers the policy making process in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India, and as well as other emerging markets. Topics include anti-globalization, domestic political institutions and policymaking, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policymaking, and international institutions. The course focuses on a managerial approach to help executives and consultants design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete successfully in the global political economy. Grading: 25%: Class participation 25%: Write-up and presentation of a group case 50%: Papers should be no more than 3500 words including references (this works out to about 14 pages at 250 words a page). Bio of Instructor Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Travers Family Senior Faculty Fellow and Professor in the Travers Department of Political Science, Affiliated Professor at the Haas School of Business, and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics. He has held fellowships from the Brookings Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, East-West Center, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the University of Geneva’s IOMBA program, INSEAD, Yonsei University, NTU Singapore, Bocconi University, Chung-Ang University, and the University of Hawaii. He is also an elected lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and founding member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. Dr. Aggarwal consults regularly with multinational corporations and government agencies on strategy, trade policy, and international negotiations. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for PhD teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and won first place for the MBA program in 2005. He is the author of 21 books and over 150 articles. His most recent book is Responding to the Rise of China. His current research examines comparative regionalism in Europe, North America, and Asia, comparative industrial policy in cybersecurity, high technology competition, and the political economy of great power competition. Dr. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Born in Seattle, Washington, he speaks five languages. Spring 2023 Description: This course, jointly listed in the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Law, focuses on how one should formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy. What are the implications for market strategies of the anti- globalization backlash? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the market and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a market to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment - the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics - to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as “given” often fall behind their competitors, despite having developed strategies for the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the nonmarket environment of business and considers the policy making process in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India, and as well as other emerging markets. Topics include anti-globalization, domestic political institutions and policymaking, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policymaking, and international institutions. The course focuses on a managerial approach to help executives and consultants design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete successfully in the global political economy. Grading: 25%: Class participation 25%: Write-up and presentation of a group case 50%: Papers of no more than 4000 words including references (this works out to about 14 pages at 250 words a page) Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Distinguished Professor and Alann P. Bedford Professor of Asian Studies, Travers Department of Political Science; Affiliated Professor at the Haas School of Business; and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics, and Chair of the U.S. Consortium of APEC Study Centers. He has held fellowships from the Brookings Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, East-West Center, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the University of Geneva’s IOMBA program, INSEAD, Yonsei University, NTU Singapore, Bocconi University, Chung-Ang University, and the University of Hawaii. He is also an elected lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and founding member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. Dr. Aggarwal consults regularly with multinational corporations and international organizations on strategy, trade policy, and international negotiations. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for PhD teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and won first place for the MBA program in 2005. He has published over 20 books and 150 articles and book chapters. His current research examines business-government relations Europe, North America, and Asia, comparative industrial policy in cybersecurity, disaster management, and the political economy of great power competition. Dr. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Born in Seattle, Washington, he speaks five languages. Spring 2024 Description: This course, jointly listed in the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Law, focuses on how one should formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy. What are the implications for market strategies of the anti- globalization backlash? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the market and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a market to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment - the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics - to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as “given” often fall behind their competitors, despite having developed strategies for the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the nonmarket environment of business and considers the policy making process in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India, and as well as other emerging markets. Topics include anti-globalization, domestic political institutions and policymaking, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policymaking, and international institutions. The course focuses on a managerial approach to help executives and consultants design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete successfully in the global political economy. Grading: 25%: Class participation 25%: Write-up and presentation of a group case 50%: Papers of no more than 4000 words including references (this works out to about 14 pages at 250 words a page) Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Distinguished Professor and Alann P. Bedford Endowed Chair in Asian Studies, Travers Department of Political Science; Affiliated Professor, Haas School of Business; Fellow, Public Law and Policy Program, Berkeley Law; and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics, and Chair of the U.S. Consortium of APEC Study Centers. He has held fellowships from the Brookings Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, East-West Center, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the University of Geneva’s IOMBA program, INSEAD, Yonsei University, NTU Singapore, Bocconi University, Chung-Ang University, and the University of Hawaii. He is also an elected lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and founding member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. Dr. Aggarwal consults regularly with multinational corporations and international organizations on strategy, trade policy, and international negotiations. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for PhD teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and won first place for the MBA program in 2005. He has published over 21 books and 160 articles and book chapters. His current research examines business-government relations Europe, North America, and Asia, comparative industrial policy in cybersecurity, disaster management, and the political economy of great power competition. Dr. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Born in Seattle, Washington, he speaks five languages. Spring 2025 Description: This course, jointly listed in the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Law, focuses on how one should formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a complex global economy. What are the implications for market strategies of the anti-globalization backlash? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the market and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. Yet an important element in pursuing competitive advantage is the ability of a market to mold or influence the nonmarket business environment - the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. Many actors influence the nonmarket environment including governments, international organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations, and a host of activist groups. This nonmarket environment often determines the profit and loss opportunities for firms in many industries including biotechnology, telecommunications, the automobile industry, and consumer electronics - to name only a few. Firms that take the nonmarket environment as “given” often fall behind their competitors, despite having developed strategies for the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the nonmarket environment of business and considers the policy-making process in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India, and as well as other emerging markets. Topics include anti-globalization, domestic political institutions and policymaking, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policymaking, and international institutions. The course focuses on a managerial approach to help executives and consultants design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete successfully in the global political economy. Grading: 25%: Class participation 25%: Write-up and presentation of a group case 50%: Papers of no more than 4000 words including references (this works out to about 14 pages at 250 words a page) Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Distinguished Professor and Alann P. Bedford Endowed Chair in Asian Studies, Travers Department of Political Science; Affiliated Professor, Haas School of Business; Fellow, Public Law and Policy Program, Berkeley Law; and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Business and Politics, and Chair of the U.S. Consortium of APEC Study Centers. He has held fellowships from the Brookings Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, East-West Center, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Japan Foundation Abe Fellow. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the University of Geneva’s IOMBA program, INSEAD, Yonsei University, NTU Singapore, Bocconi University, Chung-Ang University, and the University of Hawaii. He is also an elected lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and founding member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. Dr. Aggarwal consults regularly with multinational corporations and international organizations on strategy, trade policy, and international negotiations. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for PhD teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and won first place for the MBA program in 2005. He has published over 21 books and 160 articles and book chapters. His current research examines business-government relations Europe, North America, and Asia, comparative industrial policy in cybersecurity, disaster management, and the political economy of great power competition. Dr. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Born in Seattle, Washington, he speaks five languages. |
| Law 251.5 Corporate Finance 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? Even a cursory look at the Wall Street Journal reveals that firms differ widely in how they choose to finance their operations and utilize their financial resources. Do these differing financial judgments have any systematic effect on the value of a firm? To answer this question, the class will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision. Once a financing strategy has been selected, it is generally left to the deal lawyers to implement it through financial contracts. This component of the course can therefore be thought of as a study in financial contracting strategies, with each strategy being shaped in large part by the type of financing technique used. Specific topics to be covered include: financial statement analysis, valuation, financing through common stock, debt, convertible/hybrid securities, and venture capital finance. The course includes quantitative concepts and exercises, and students. Access to Microsoft Excel is required for this course. Fall 2020 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and of the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. We will cover the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements (2) using financial statements to a) evaluate a company’s performance b) make projections about a company’s future (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (4) using the concept of “discounting” a) to evaluate an investment opportunity b) to value a company (5) advanced topics in finance b) financial and real options c) mergers and acquisitions d) financial distress and bankruptcy e) initial public offerings (IPOs) f) venture capital g) leveraged buyouts The course will consist of approximately one-half lecture and one-half in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare carefully. Spring 2021 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? Even a cursory look at the Wall Street Journal reveals that firms differ widely in how they choose to finance their operations and utilize their financial resources. Do these differing financial judgments have any systematic effect on the value of a firm? To answer this question, the class will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision. Once a financing strategy has been selected, it is generally left to the deal lawyers to implement it through financial contracts. This component of the course can therefore be thought of as a study in financial contracting strategies, with each strategy being shaped in large part by the type of financing technique used. Specific topics to be covered include: financial statement analysis, valuation, financing through common stock, debt, convertible/hybrid securities, and venture capital finance. The course includes quantitative concepts and exercises. Access to Microsoft Excel is required for this course. This class is offered on a mandatory credit/no-credit basis. Fall 2021 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? Even a cursory look at the Wall Street Journal reveals that firms differ widely in how they choose to finance their operations and utilize their financial resources. Do these differing financial judgments have any systematic effect on the value of a firm? To answer this question, the class will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision. Once a financing strategy has been selected, it is generally left to the deal lawyers to implement it through financial contracts. This component of the course can therefore be thought of as a study in financial contracting strategies, with each strategy being shaped in large part by the type of financing technique used. Specific topics to be covered include: financial statement analysis, valuation, financing through common stock, debt, convertible/hybrid securities, and venture capital finance. The course includes quantitative concepts and exercises. Access to Microsoft Excel is required for this course. This class is offered on a mandatory credit/no-credit basis. Spring 2022 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and of the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. We will cover the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements (2) using financial statements to a) evaluate a company’s performance b) make projections about a company’s future (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (4) using the concept of “discounting” a) to evaluate an investment opportunity b) to value a company (5) advanced topics in finance b) financial and real options c) mergers and acquisitions d) financial distress and bankruptcy e) initial public offerings (IPOs) f) venture capital g) leveraged buyouts The course will consist of approximately one-half lecture and one-half in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare carefully. Fall 2022 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and of the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. We will cover the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements (2) using financial statements to a) evaluate a company’s performance b) make projections about a company’s future (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (4) using the concept of “discounting” a) to evaluate an investment opportunity b) to value a company (5) advanced topics in finance b) financial and real options c) mergers and acquisitions d) financial distress and bankruptcy e) initial public offerings (IPOs) f) venture capital g) leveraged buyouts The course will consist of approximately one-half lecture and one-half in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare carefully. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides an introduction to the financial concepts that are essential for both business law and business students. The course begins with an introduction to the corporation, financial markets, and financial statement analysis. It then considers the time value of money and the crucial role played by interest rates. Finally, it covers project and firm valuation, risk and return in the capital markets, and the capital structure of firms. The course will consist of roughly half lecture and half problem-solving sessions. Fall 2023 Description: Corporate finance, understood narrowly, describes the instruments, institutions, and markets through which private firms make financial decisions. But the financial and economic concepts covered in this course apply broadly to non-profits, individuals and households, and public entities. This course covers financial concepts that are essential to the practice of business law and other areas of law that intersect with financial decision making, private or public. The course begins with an introduction to business organizations, financial markets, and financial statement analysis. It then turns to financial decision-making, starting with the time value of money and the fundamental role played by interest rates in financial decisions over time. It concludes with project and firm valuation, risk and return in the capital markets, and the financial (capital) structure of firms. About half of the classes will consist of lecture and problem-solving sessions that introduce the major concepts. The other half will consist of case studies--based on actual events--that illustrate financial decision making in practice. Students will make extensive use of Microsoft Excel, but no background in Excel is presumed or required and the relevant skills in Excel will be taught. Spring 2024 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and of the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. We will cover the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements (2) using financial statements to a) evaluate a company’s performance b) make projections about a company’s future (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (4) using the concept of “discounting” a) to evaluate an investment opportunity b) to value a company (5) advanced topics in finance b) financial and real options c) mergers and acquisitions d) financial distress and bankruptcy e) initial public offerings (IPOs) f) venture capital g) leveraged buyouts The course will consist of approximately one-half lecture and one-half in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare carefully. Fall 2024 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. The course covers the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements; (2) using financial statements to (a) evaluate a company’s performance and (b) make projections about a company’s future; (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions; (4) using the concept of “discounting” (a) to evaluate an investment opportunity and (b) to value a company; and (5) advanced topics in finance: (a) financial and real options, (c) mergers and acquisitions, (d) financial distress and bankruptcy, (e) initial public offerings (IPOs), (f) venture capital, and (g) leveraged buyouts. Spring 2025 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and of the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. We will cover the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements (2) using financial statements to a) evaluate a company’s performance b) make projections about a company’s future (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (4) using the concept of “discounting” a) to evaluate an investment opportunity b) to value a company (5) advanced topics in finance a) mergers and acquisitions b) financial distress and bankruptcy c) initial public offerings (IPOs) d) venture capital e) leveraged buyouts The course will consist of approximately one-half lecture and one-half in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare carefully. Fall 2025 Description: Corporate Finance is an introductory finance course for law students. No prior background in finance or accounting (or law, for that matter) is required, but a willingness to work with numbers and financial data is crucial. The objective of the course is to supplement your legal training by introducing the fundamental theoretical principles of finance and the practical environment in which financial decisions are made. We will cover the following topics: (1) an introduction to accounting terminology and financial statements (2) using financial statements to a) evaluate a company’s performance b) make projections about a company’s future (3) the theory and practice of capital structure decisions (4) using the concept of “discounting” a) to evaluate an investment opportunity b) to value a company (5) advanced topics in finance a) mergers and acquisitions b) financial distress and bankruptcy c) initial public offerings (IPOs) d) venture capital e) leveraged buyouts The course will consist of approximately one-half lecture and one-half in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare carefully. |
| Law 251.51 Corporations in Crisis 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: There seems to be one headline-grabbing corporate crisis after the next in sectors from technology (Facebook), manufacturing (Volkswagon), and Finance (Wells Fargo). When a crisis hits, companies must develop a strategy that takes into account both legal and reputational risk. All too often, companies, even the largest and most iconic, don't have a crisis plan in place. This class will examine the role of different corporate actors (including the Board, CEO, General Counsel, and Chief Communications Officer) in navigating crisis. Through active simulations and case studies, students will learn how to ask the right questions. This course will be taught by: - Berkeley Law Director and Senior Research Fellow, Business in Society Institute(Amelia Miazad) - A corporate crisis communications expert (Aaron Zamost, Head of Communications & Policy at Square) - A general counsel (Dana Wagner, currently General Counsel of Impossible Foods, formerly General Counsel of Square) Spring 2022 Description: There seems to be one headline-grabbing corporate crisis after the next. When a crisis hits, companies must develop a strategy that takes into account both legal and reputational risk. All too often, companies, even the largest and most iconic, don't have a crisis plan in place. This class will examine the role of different corporate actors (including the Board, CEO, General Counsel, and Chief Communications Officer) in navigating crisis. Through active simulations and case studies, students will learn how to ask the right questions. This course will be taught by: - Berkeley Law Director and Senior Research Fellow, Business in Society Institute(Amelia Miazad) - A corporate crisis communications expert (Aaron Zamost, former Head of Communications & Policy at Square) - A general counsel (Dana Wagner, currently General Counsel of Impossible Foods, formerly General Counsel of Square) |
| Law 251.52 Economics of Corporate and Securities Litigation 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course provides an overview of the application of financial economics to the field of corporate and securities litigation. We will cover specific real-world case types including insider trading, investment advisor cherry-picking, 10b-5 disclosure violations, earnings announcements, merger and acquisition fairness opinion valuations, and valuation of corporate governance improvements. Common statistical techniques will be covered such as testing for statistical significance; explanations and definitions of trading volume, stock prices, and stock returns; use of event studies, regression analysis, and tests for abnormal stock returns, volume, and information leakage; application of Monte Carlo simulation; and various tests for market efficiency. This course assumes no prior experience with finance, economics, or statistics. This class will meet for 4 classes: Thursday, October 1 from 6:25-9:00pm Friday, October 2 from 10:00-12:00pm and 3:10-5:15pm Thursday, October 8 from 6:25-9:00pm Friday, October 9 from 10:00-12:00pm and 3:10-5:15pm Instructor Background: Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. Fall 2021 Description: This course provides an overview of the application of financial economics to the field of corporate and securities litigation. We will cover specific real-world case types including insider trading, investment advisor cherry-picking, 10b-5 disclosure violations, earnings announcements, merger and acquisition fairness opinion valuations, and valuation of corporate governance improvements. Common statistical techniques will be covered such as testing for statistical significance; explanations and definitions of trading volume, stock prices, and stock returns; use of event studies, regression analysis, and tests for abnormal stock returns, volume, and information leakage; application of Monte Carlo simulation; and various tests for market efficiency. This course assumes no prior experience with finance, economics, or statistics. This class will meet over three days: Thursday, August 26th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, August 27th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 5:30 PM Saturday, August 28th 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:10 PM - 5:10 PM Instructor Background: Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. Fall 2022 Description: This course provides an overview of the application of financial economics to the field of corporate and securities litigation. We will cover specific real-world case types including insider trading, investment advisor cherry-picking, 10b-5 disclosure violations, earnings announcements, merger and acquisition fairness opinion valuations, and valuation of corporate governance improvements. Common statistical techniques will be covered such as testing for statistical significance; explanations and definitions of trading volume, stock prices, and stock returns; use of event studies, regression analysis, and tests for abnormal stock returns, volume, and information leakage; application of Monte Carlo simulation; and various tests for market efficiency. This course assumes no prior experience with finance, economics, or statistics. Instructor Background: Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. Fall 2023 Description: This course provides an overview of the application of financial economics to the field of corporate and securities litigation. We will cover specific real-world case types including insider trading, investment advisor cherry-picking, 10b-5 disclosure violations, earnings announcements, merger and acquisition fairness opinion valuations, and valuation of corporate governance improvements. Common statistical techniques will be covered such as testing for statistical significance; explanations and definitions of trading volume, stock prices, and stock returns; use of event studies, regression analysis, and tests for abnormal stock returns, volume, and information leakage; application of Monte Carlo simulation; and various tests for market efficiency. This course assumes no prior experience with finance, economics, or statistics. Through in-class role-playing exercises, students will learn how lawyers evaluate and interact with economic expert witnesses and their work product across a variety of litigation case studies. Instructor Background: Dr. Matthew D. Cain is a Senior Fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, University of California. He has provided economic analysis, consulting, and expert witness testimony on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other clients, including during investigations, settlement negotiations, and trials. He has experience in a variety of topic areas, including in cases alleging insider trading, foreign bribery, accounting fraud, investment advisor cherry-picking, mutual fund conflicts and violations, disclosure violations, improper valuations, and broker-dealer conflicts. Dr. Cain spent several years working at the SEC, where he served as an advisor to Commissioner Robert J. Jackson, Jr. He also worked as a Financial Economist in the Office of Litigation Economics, part of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Prior to working with the SEC, Dr. Cain was an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University, and prior to academia he worked as a capital markets analyst, assisting companies with capital raisings in relation to M&A and other corporate purposes. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 251.53 Corporate Culture 1 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: It is widely agreed that corporate culture is an important driver of business value. Policymakers often point to dysfunctional corporate culture in banking as a first order contributor to the financial crisis, and blame toxic cultures for egregious behavior in recent years at firms like VW, Toshiba, Uber, and Pinterest. At the same time, a central theme in legal and economic research is the quest for institutions that promote sustainable growth and superior performance. Building on a broader literature on corporate institutions, students will examine corporate culture through the lens of an informal institution. Students will examine the element of purposeful design inherent in culture and learn how differences in espoused and lived cultural values are associated with various business outcomes. Finally, students will examine how companies can achieve meaningful culture change and meet the evolving regulatory and stakeholder expectations for a lived culture that permeates ethics and compliance. Professor Grennan will be visiting UC-Berkeley for the 2021-2022 academic year from Duke University, where she is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business. She was awarded Fuqua’s excellence in teaching award in 2017. Professor Grennan’s academic interests span corporate finance, law, and innovation. Her research focuses on sustainable value creation and emphasizes the role corporate culture and governance have in its creation. For companies to fully embrace sustainable objectives, they need new tools. To that end, Grennan's research offers novel computational techniques for quantifying the value of corporate culture. Her research has been featured in numerous news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune and has been awarded the Cubist Systematic Strategies Research Award, the Thomas Edison Innovation Award, and twice the Best Paper in Corporate Governance Award by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute. Professor Grennan received her Ph.D. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. from Georgetown University, and a B.A. from Wellesley College. |
| Law 251.54 Empirical Methods for Lawyers 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course is a non-technical introduction to empirical methods. The goal is to equip future lawyers with the ability to read and evaluate the types quantitative analysis that they are likely to encounter in their work. Relevant examples include expert reports, scientific studies, and claims in trade press accounts. The first part of the semester will cover basic concepts such as averages, statistical inference, and effective research design before reading applied materials that will include cases and popular press accounts of empirical studies. The centerpiece of this segment of the course will be a close reading of the expert reports in the Harvard affirmative action case. Evaluation will be based on a series of short to medium written assignments and a single, brief, in-class presentation by each student. This class is intended for students who do not have a strong background in statistics, research methods, and data science. Spring 2025 Description: This course is a non-technical introduction to empirical methods. The goal is to equip future lawyers with the ability to read and evaluate the types of quantitative analysis they are likely to encounter in their work. Relevant examples include expert reports, scientific studies, and claims made in the trade press. The first part of the semester will cover basic concepts such as simple statistical measures, statistical inference, and effective research design. The second part of the class will focus on applied materials such as academic articles and expert reports. The centerpiece of this segment of the course will be a close reading of the expert reports in the Harvard affirmative action case. Evaluation will be based on a series of short to medium written assignments and a single, brief, in-class presentation by each student. This class is intended for students who do not have a strong background in statistics, research methods, and data science. |
| Law 251.55 Art Deals, Dealers, and Litigation 1 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: This course will examine the laws, principles, and policy issues relevant to art and cultural property. Topics will include the relationship among the various participants in the art market: collectors, dealers, auction houses, and others; the civil and criminal laws applicable to the recovery of stolen and looted art and cultural property; the unique considerations applicable to the war-time theft of art and cultural property; the legal issues present when art is obtained through fraud and the challenges presented by multiple ownership claims. Sharon Cohen Levin is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Litigation Group. She is a leading expert on anti-money laundering, sanctions and asset forfeiture. She represents a diverse group of clients in connection with criminal, regulatory and civil actions. Sharon also represents art market participants on matters related to ownership, theft and fraud. Sharon is a former federal prosecutor who led the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, SDNY for two decades. Her track record of success inspired Forbes to call her “The Babe Ruth of Forfeiture.” Sharon was the lead prosecutor responsible for securing a settlement in the watershed “Portrait of Wally” forfeiture case, which centered on an Egon Schiele painting stolen by Nazis from a Jewish woman in 1938. |
| Law 251.5S Corporate Finance 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? We will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision to provide insight into financial contracting strategies. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 28th, July 29th, July 30th, August 2nd, and August 3rd in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? We will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision to provide insight into financial contracting strategies. Summer 2023 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? We will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision to provide insight into financial contracting strategies. Summer 2024 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? We will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision to provide insight into financial contracting strategies. |
| Law 251.7 Business in Society 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Society’s expectations of companies are changing, and companies are responding. Many companies today go beyond compliance with the law to implement policies in line with the values of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. An increasing number are engaging in activities that were traditionally conducted by governments and nonprofits. This new articulation of corporate purpose raises complex legal, ethical, and business questions. In this course we will explore the unique and increasingly central role that legal and compliance professionals are playing in this landscape. This class is taught using the case study method, common in business schools. Each week we will analyze a case study on a particular company and will have an opportunity to discuss that case study with the general counsel or chief compliance officer from that company. The companies we will examine include: Salesforce, Patagonia, Nike, Uber, Lyft, Pepsi, Amazon, ClifBar, and Clorox, among others. The issues we will address include: - The shareholder/stakeholder debate - The risks and opportunities of engaging on political issues, from gun violence prevention to immigration - The increasing trend of CEOs as “moral leaders” - How employees are leveraging their voice to advocate for corporate governance reforms and whether employees should have representation on the board - The private sector’s responsibility to address income inequality through executive compensation reform - The duty of companies/directors to mitigate and disclose the risk of climate change - Corporate tax strategy and alignment and misalignment with public positions on environmental and social issues - Gender and racial equity and business strategy, including social due diligence For the past few years this course has been taught during a bull market, which afforded many companies with the luxury of resourcing environmental and social programs. Given the recent turn of events, and the real tradeoffs that companies are facing, the fate of this new articulation of corporate purpose is in peril. Will companies “build back better” and be guided by a focus on stakeholders? Or will they retreat to an even more aggressive version of short-term profit maximization? What is the role of regulators and investors at this juncture? These are the questions that we will explore with leading general counsel who are facing them for the first time. Fall 2021 Description: Society’s expectations of companies are changing, and companies are responding. Many companies today go beyond compliance with the law to implement policies in line with the values of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. An increasing number are engaging in activities that were traditionally conducted by governments and nonprofits. This new articulation of corporate purpose raises complex legal, ethical, and business questions. In this course we will explore the unique and increasingly central role that legal and compliance professionals are playing in this landscape. This class is taught using the case study method, common in business schools. Each week we will analyze a case study on a particular company and will have an opportunity to discuss that case study with the general counsel or chief compliance officer from that company. The companies we will examine include: Salesforce, Patagonia, Nike, Uber, Lyft, Pepsi, Amazon, ClifBar, and Clorox, among others. The issues we will address include: - The shareholder/stakeholder debate - The risks and opportunities of engaging on political issues, from gun violence prevention to immigration - The increasing trend of CEOs as “moral leaders” - How employees are leveraging their voice to advocate for corporate governance reforms and whether employees should have representation on the board - The private sector’s responsibility to address income inequality through executive compensation reform - The duty of companies/directors to mitigate and disclose the risk of climate change - Corporate tax strategy and alignment and misalignment with public positions on environmental and social issues - Gender and racial equity and business strategy, including social due diligence For the past few years this course has been taught during a bull market, which afforded many companies with the luxury of resourcing environmental and social programs. Given the recent turn of events, and the real tradeoffs that companies are facing, the fate of this new articulation of corporate purpose is in peril. Will companies “build back better” and be guided by a focus on stakeholders? Or will they retreat to an even more aggressive version of short-term profit maximization? What is the role of regulators and investors at this juncture? These are the questions that we will explore with leading general counsel who are facing them for the first time. Fall 2022 Description: We are currently experiencing a revolutionary period in business and corporate history. For the first time in decades academics, boards of directors, management teams and investors are beginning to reconsider and redefine corporate purpose and think differently and more expansively about the way business should be conducted. Importantly, this inquiry is not occurring in isolation - it is being influenced by demands of a changing society and influencing how we think about and seek to address foundational economic and social challenges and politics that have rendered government institutions less effective. Corporations have traditionally served the purpose of attracting and assembling capital, creating jobs and scale, driving economic growth, and maximizing long-term shareholder value. Driven by the need for more efficient and equitable capital markets, Milton Friedman presented a case in the 70’s that the sole purpose of a corporation was to increase its profits and, until recently, corporations practiced this philosophy universally and exclusively. But, with the advent of the systemic challenges presented by globalization, climate change, racial injustice and income and opportunity inequality, the increasing concentration of economic power, and the acute polarization of politics, corporations are being challenged to play an expanded role in society. Indeed, some companies are stepping into this role unprompted. This course will begin by establishing the context and evolution of corporate purpose, review and evaluate the current state of affairs, and introduce, distinguish and evaluate the concept of stakeholder capitalism. We will explore how different actors and forces in society such as capital markets, the antitrust law regime, the interests of increasingly diverse shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders are influencing the evolution of corporate purpose. In the process we will discuss the interplay between business and government and the impact on, and the opportunities and responsibilities created for business as government becomes increasingly less able to address those systemic challenges and the needs of society. And finally, the course will explore the issues corporations are grappling with in real time, and the economic policies, laws and business practices needed to address those issues and challenges faced by society. NOTE: 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) may be dropped without notice. The instructor can 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 risk being dropped without notice. Bios Angeli Patel is an attorney in the Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP where she advises clients on climate change and social risks. Previously, Angeli held advisory roles at the Obama White House, the UN Global Compact Network Australia, and the Government of Chile's Ministry of Finance. Angeli received her J.D. from UC Berkeley, School of Law and B.S. in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology. In her free time, Angeli enjoys exercise, fiction reading, travel and movies. Steve Johnson is an Executive Vice President of American Airlines Group Inc. and, during his career in the airline industry, has had responsibility for corporate and legal affairs, corporate governance and sustainability, government and regulatory affairs, labor relations, and real estate development and operations and advised on strategy development and strategic positioning, economics and competition issues. Earlier, Steve was a partner at Indigo Partners LLC, a private equity firm, served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at GPA Group PLC, a financial services company based in Shannon, Ireland, and practiced corporate law at the Seattle-based firm Bogle & Gates. Steve is a member of the board of directors of Wizz Air Holdings PLC, a Lecturer at Haas and Berkeley Law, and earned his JD and MBA at UC Berkeley. Fall 2023 Description: We are currently experiencing a revolutionary period in business and corporate history. For the first time in decades academics, boards of directors, management teams, and investors are beginning to reconsider and redefine corporate purpose and think differently and more expansively about the way business should be conducted. Importantly, this inquiry is not occurring in isolation - it is being influenced by demands of a changing society and influencing how we think about and seek to address foundational economic and social challenges and politics that have rendered government institutions less effective. Corporations have traditionally served the purpose of attracting and assembling capital, creating jobs and scale, driving economic growth, and maximizing long-term shareholder value. Driven by the need for more efficient and equitable capital markets, Milton Friedman presented a case in the 70’s that the sole purpose of a corporation was to increase its profits and, until recently, corporations practiced this philosophy universally and exclusively. But, with the advent of the systemic challenges presented by globalization, climate change, racial injustice, income and opportunity inequality, the increasing concentration of economic power, and the acute polarization of politics, corporations are being challenged to play an expanded role in society. Indeed, some companies are stepping into this role unprompted. This course will begin by establishing the context and evolution of corporate purpose, review and evaluate the current state of affairs, and introduce, distinguish and evaluate the concept of stakeholder capitalism. We will explore how different actors and forces in society such as capital markets, the antitrust law regime, the interests of increasingly diverse shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders are influencing the evolution of corporate purpose. In the process we will discuss the interplay between business and government and the impact on, and the opportunities and responsibilities created for business as government becomes increasingly less able to address those systemic challenges and the needs of society. And finally, the course will explore the issues corporations are grappling with in real time, and the economic policies, laws and business practices needed to address those issues and challenges faced by society. NOTE: 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) may be dropped without notice. The instructor can 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 risk being dropped without notice. Bio Steve Johnson is an Executive Vice President of American Airlines Group Inc. and, during his career in the airline industry, has had responsibility for corporate and legal affairs, corporate governance and sustainability, government and regulatory affairs, labor relations, and real estate development and operations and advised on strategy development and strategic positioning, economics and competition issues. Earlier, Steve was a partner at Indigo Partners LLC, a private equity firm, served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at GPA Group PLC, a financial services company based in Shannon, Ireland, and practiced corporate law at the Seattle-based firm Bogle & Gates. Steve is a member of the board of directors of Wizz Air Holdings PLC, a Lecturer at Haas and Berkeley Law, and earned his JD and MBA at UC Berkeley. |
| Law 251.71 Business Basics for Lawyers 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course is intended to allow law students to understand business from an overview, rather than a transactional, level. Topics will include business stages, different business models, variance across industries, current business theories and topics, and business basics. This material will allow lawyers to move beyond basing practice on transactions. For students who will be pursuing opportunities in the private sector, this course will enhance and extend their role in the value creation process. For those pursuing careers in litigation, regulation, and enforcement, this course will deepen their understanding of underlying business issues. An emphasis will be placed on current topics and real-life examples. Spring 2021 Description: The course is intended to allow law students to understand business from an overview level. Topics will include business basics, corporate evolution, different business models, variance across industries and current business theories and topics. This material will allow legal practitioners to move beyond basing practice on transactions. In the event of pursuing opportunities in the private sector, this will enhance and extend their role in the value creation process and for those pursuing careers in judiciary, regulation or enforcement, outcomes should be more easily reached with better results. Spring 2022 Description: The course is intended to allow law students to understand business from an overview level. Topics will include business basics, corporate evolution, different business models, variance across industries and current business theories and topics. This material will allow legal practitioners to move beyond basing practice on transactions. In the event of pursuing opportunities in the private sector, this will enhance and extend their role in the value creation process and for those pursuing careers in judiciary, regulation or enforcement, outcomes should be more easily reached with better results. Spring 2023 Description: The course is intended to allow law students to understand business from an overview level. Topics will include business stages, business models, variance across industries, current business theories and topics, and other basics of business. This material will allow lawyers and practitioners to move beyond transactions and into adding value. In the event of pursuing opportunities in the private sector, this will enhance and extend your role in the value creation process, and for those pursuing careers in judiciary or regulation, outcomes will be more easily reached with better results. Spring 2024 Description: The course is intended to allow law students to understand business from an overview level with the intention being breadth over depth so that the pieces can be understood to fit together. Topics will include valuation theory and practice, business stages, business models, strategy basics, variance across industries, current business theories and topics, and other basics of business. This material will allow lawyers and practitioners to move beyond transactions and into adding value. In the event of pursuing opportunities in the private sector, this will enhance and extend your role in the value creation process, and for those pursuing careers in judiciary or regulation, outcomes will be more easily reached with better results. Spring 2025 Description: The course is intended to allow law students to understand business from an overview level with the intention being breadth over depth so that the pieces can be understood to fit together. Topics will include valuation theory and practice, business stages, business models, strategy basics, variance across industries, current business theories and topics, and other basics of business with specific focus placed on the most common method for valuing businesses. This material will allow practitioners to move beyond transactions and into adding value. In the event of pursuing opportunities in the private sector, this will enhance and extend your role in the value creation process, and for those pursuing careers in the judiciary or regulation, outcomes will be more easily reached with better results. |
| Law 251.72 The Court of Public Opinion: Storytelling for Corporate Lawyers 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: NOTE: This class will be highly interactive. Please only enroll if you are prepared to be an active participant. Good communications skills have always been a critical part of successful legal counsel. This is especially true in companies, where in-house counsel must partner with their Corporate Communications colleagues to buttress legal arguments with compelling storytelling related to litigation, mergers and acquisitions, crises, and policy issues. And they must do so while addressing varied audiences, including the media, regulators, internal stakeholders, and others. This class will explore the relationship between the legal profession and its more-public counterparts in successfully telling stories that advance the interests of clients. Fall 2021 Description: NOTE: This class will be highly interactive. Please only enroll if you are prepared to be an active participant. Good communications skills have always been a critical part of successful lawyering. This is especially true in companies, where in-house counsel must partner with their corporate communications colleagues to buttress legal arguments with compelling storytelling related to litigation, mergers and acquisitions, finance, crises, and policy issues. And they must do so while addressing varied audiences, including the media, regulators, Wall Street, and others. This class will explore the relationship between the legal profession and its more-public counterparts in successfully telling stories that advance the interests of clients. Fall 2022 Description: NOTE: This class will be highly interactive. Please only enroll if you are prepared to be an active participant. Good communications skills have always been a critical part of successful lawyering. This is especially true in companies, where in-house counsel must partner with their corporate communications colleagues to buttress legal arguments with compelling storytelling related to litigation, mergers and acquisitions, finance, crises, and policy issues. And they must do so while addressing varied audiences, including the media, regulators, Wall Street, and others. This class will explore the relationship between the legal profession and its more-public counterparts in successfully telling stories that advance the interests of clients. Fall 2023 Description: NOTE: This class will be highly interactive. Please only enroll if you are prepared to be an active participant. Good communications skills have always been a critical part of successful lawyering. This is especially true in companies, where in-house counsel must partner with their corporate communications colleagues to buttress legal arguments with compelling storytelling related to litigation, crises, mergers and acquisitions, business, and policy issues. And they must do so while addressing varied audiences, including the media, regulators, Wall Street, employees, and others. This class will explore the relationship between the legal profession and its more-public counterparts in successfully telling stories that advance the interests of clients. Fall 2024 Description: NOTE: This class will be highly interactive. Please only enroll if you are prepared to be an active participant. Good communication skills have always been a critical part of successful lawyering. This is especially true in companies, where in-house counsel must partner with their corporate communications colleagues to buttress legal arguments with compelling storytelling related to litigation, crises, mergers and acquisitions, business, and policy issues. And they must do so while addressing varied audiences, including the media, regulators, Wall Street, employees, and others. This class will explore the relationship between the legal profession and its more public counterparts in successfully telling stories that advance the interests of clients. |
| Law 251.73 Being General Counsel 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will dive deep into the role of general counsel. We’ll look at what a GC does every day, who they work with and what types of issues come across their desks, including an array of social and political issues. Through lecture, readings and a series of exercises, students will learn who the GC is accountable to, how they act as a corporate leader and strategist, and what qualities world-class general counsels share. We will also focus on the human aspects of the role - how does a GC deal with individual and organizational issues, manage through crisis events, layoffs, and other difficult conversations, how do they work with outside counsel, how and when should the GC do what’s right, even when it’s not popular. Grading 1. Class participation in discussions, exercises and role plays 2. Written evaluation of scenarios and self-reflective analysis of performance and alternatives Instructors • Mark LeHocky, retired public company general counsel (Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.; Ross Stores, Inc.); Mediator and Arbitrator; and adjunct professor at Haas Graduate School of Business (MBA 275: Managing the Legal Environment of Business). JD, Berkeley Law. See http://www.marklehocky.com. • Seth Jaffe, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Levi Strauss & Co.; formerly general counsel to William-Sonoma, Inc.; and formerly practicing at the McCutchen law firm in San Francisco. JD, Michigan School of Law. See http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe/. Fall 2021 Description: This course takes a deep dive into the role of general counsel and their work with internal and external clients and colleagues. We look at what a GC does every day and what types of issues come across their desks, including an array of business, social and political issues. Through guest presentations, lecture, readings and a series of exercises, students learn who the GC is accountable to, their role as a corporate leader and strategist, and what qualities world-class general counsels share. We also address the behavioral science impacting decision-making, communications issues, and the human aspects of the role. This includes how a GC deals with individual and organizational issues, manages through crisis events, layoffs, and other difficult conversations, how to assess and work with outside counsel, and how to address the legal and ethical issues around doing what’s right, even when it’s not popular. We also look at the various career paths toward becoming a general counsel. Grading 1. Class participation in discussions, exercises and simulations 2. Written, oral, and video evaluations of scenarios and presentation of alternatives and advice, including self-reflective analysis Instructors • Mark LeHocky, Former public company general counsel (Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.; Ross Stores, Inc.); Mediator and Arbitrator; and Adjunct Faculty at Haas Graduate School of Business. JD, Berkeley Law. See http://www.marklehocky.com. • Seth Jaffe, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Levi Strauss & Co.; formerly general counsel to William-Sonoma, Inc.; and formerly practicing at the McCutchen law firm in San Francisco. JD, University of Michigan Law School. See http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe/. Fall 2022 Description: This course will dive deep into the role of general counsel. We’ll look at what a general counsel (GC) does every day, who they work with and what types of issues come across their desks, including an array of social and political issues. Through lecture, readings and a series of exercises, students will learn to whom the GC is accountable, how they act as a corporate leader and strategist, and what qualities world-class general counsels share. We will also focus on the human aspects of the role - how a GC deal with individual and organizational issues; how they manage through crisis events, layoffs, and have difficult and courageous conversations; what group and individual behaviors and psychological issues they face; how they work with outside counsel; and how and when should the GC do what’s right, even when it’s unpopular. We also look at the various career paths toward becoming a general counsel. The course objectives are to: Understand the role and responsibilities of the modern GC and how it differs from private practice, and critical skill sets for attorneys seeking to become and work with GCs as well as those wishing to be hired and retained by GCs Map a path toward a future GC position Experiential learning to deal with the issues, challenges and nuances of the role Apply behavioral science data and expertise to optimize individual and group relationships, manage difficult conversations with internal teams and outside counsel and the emotional aspects of the role Review successful and unsuccessful examples of GCs prioritizing work, managing critical issues and handling crisis events. Grading 1. Class participation in discussions, exercises and simulations 2. Written, oral, and video evaluations of scenarios and presentation of alternatives and advice, including self-reflective analysis Instructors •Seth Jaffe, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Levi Strauss & Co.; former general counsel of William-Sonoma, Inc. and CareThere, Inc.; and formerly practicing at the McCutchen law firm in San Francisco. JD, University of Michigan Law School. See a href=http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe/ http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe//a. • Mark LeHocky, Former public company general counsel (Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.; Ross Stores, Inc.); Mediator and Arbitrator; and Adjunct Faculty at Haas Graduate School of Business. JD, Berkeley Law. See a href=http://www.marklehocky.com http://www.marklehocky.com/a. Fall 2023 Description: This course will dive deep into the role of general counsel. We’ll look at what a general counsel (GC) does every day, who they work with and what types of issues come across their desks, including an array of social and political issues. Through lecture, readings, and a series of exercises, students will learn to whom the GC is accountable, how they act as a corporate leader and strategist, and what qualities world-class general counsels share. We will also focus on the human aspects of the role - how a GC deals with individual and organizational issues; how they manage through crisis events, layoffs, and have difficult and courageous conversations; what group and individual behaviors and psychological issues they face; how they work with outside counsel; and how and when the GC should do what’s right, even when it’s unpopular. We also look at the various career paths toward becoming a general counsel. The course objectives are to: Understand the role and responsibilities of the modern GC and how it differs from private practice, and critical skill sets for attorneys seeking to become and work with GCs as well as those wishing to be hired and retained by GCs Map a path toward a future GC position Experiential learning to deal with the issues, challenges and nuances of the role Apply behavioral science data and expertise to optimize individual and group relationships, manage difficult conversations with internal teams and outside counsel and the emotional aspects of the role Review successful and unsuccessful examples of GCs prioritizing work, managing critical issues and handling crisis events. Grading 1. Class participation in discussions, exercises, and simulations 2. Written, oral, and video evaluations of scenarios and presentation of alternatives and advice, including self-reflective analysis Instructors •Seth Jaffe, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Levi Strauss & Co.; former general counsel of William-Sonoma, Inc. and CareThere, Inc.; and fo rmerly practicing at the McCutchen law firm in San Francisco. JD, University of Michigan Law School. See a href=http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe/ http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe//a. • Mark LeHocky, Former public company general counsel (Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.; Ross Stores, Inc.); Mediator and Arbitrator; and Adjunct Faculty at Haas Graduate School of Business. JD, Berkeley Law. See a href=http://www.marklehocky.com http://www.marklehocky.com/a. Fall 2024 Description: This course will dive deep into the role of general counsel. We’ll look at what a general counsel (GC) does every day, who they work with, and what types of issues come across their desks, including an array of social and political issues. Through lectures, readings, and a series of exercises, students will learn to whom the GC is accountable, how they act as a corporate leader and strategist, and what qualities world-class general counsels share. We will also focus on the human aspects of the role - how a GC deals with individual and organizational issues; how they manage through crisis events, layoffs, and have difficult and courageous conversations; what group and individual behaviors and psychological issues they face; how they work with outside counsel; and how and when the GC should do what’s right, even when it’s unpopular. We also look at the various career paths toward becoming a general counsel. The course objectives are to: Understand the role and responsibilities of the modern GC and how it differs from private practice, and critical skill sets for attorneys seeking to become and work with GCs as well as those wishing to be hired and retained by GCs Map a path toward a future GC position Experiential learning to deal with the issues, challenges and nuances of the role Apply behavioral science data and expertise to optimize individual and group relationships, manage difficult conversations with internal teams and outside counsel and the emotional aspects of the role Review successful and unsuccessful examples of GCs prioritizing work, managing critical issues and handling crisis events. Focus on the communication skills necessary to excel in the role of general counsel Grading 1. Class participation in discussions, exercises, and simulations 2. Written, oral, and video evaluations of scenarios and presentation of alternatives and advice, including self-reflective analysis Instructors •Seth Jaffe, Immediate Past Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.; former general counsel of William-Sonoma, Inc. and CareThere, Inc.; and formerly practicing at the McCutchen law firm in San Francisco. JD, University of Michigan Law School. See a href=http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe/ http://www.levistrauss.com/who-we-are/leadership/seth-jaffe//a. Fall 2025 Description: This course will take a deep dive into the role of general counsel. We’ll look at what a chief legal officer or general counsel (GC) does every day, who they work with, and what types of issues come across their desks, including an array of social and political issues. Through lectures, readings, and a series of simulations and other experiential learning, students will learn how GCs act as corporate leaders and strategists, to whom the GCs are accountable, and what qualities world-class general counsels share. We will also focus on the human aspects of the role - how GCs deal with individual and organizational issues; how they manage through crisis events, globally and locally, including pandemics and layoffs; how they manage difficult and courageous conversations; what group and individual behaviors and psychological issues they face; how they work with outside counsel; and how the GC can do what’s right, even when it’s unpopular. We also look at the various career paths toward becoming a general counsel. The course objectives are to: Understand the role and responsibilities of the modern GC and how it differs from private practice, and critical skill sets for attorneys seeking to become and work with GCs as well as those wishing to be hired and retained by GCs Map a path toward a future GC position Experiential learning to deal with the issues, challenges, and nuances of the role Apply psychological awareness to optimize individual and group relationships, manage difficult conversations with internal teams and outside counsel, and handle the emotional aspects of the role Review successful and unsuccessful examples of GCs prioritizing work, managing critical issues, and handling crisis events. Focus on the communication skills necessary to excel in the role of general counsel Grading 1. Class participation in discussions, exercises, and simulations 2. Written, oral, and video evaluations of scenarios and presentation of alternatives and advice, including self-reflective analysis Instructor •Seth Jaffe, Lead Instructor, General Counsel University at Berkeley Law Executive Education; Immediate Past Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.; former general counsel of William-Sonoma, Inc. and CareThere, Inc.; and former attorney at the McCutchen law firm in San Francisco. JD, University of Michigan Law School; AB, Brown University. After spending the bulk of my career in-house, including three general counsel positions, I decided to use my enthusiasm for teaching to bring the learning from my experiences to students. I have loved the last five years at Berkeley Law! |
| Law 251.74 Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This class will critically evaluate the law and policies underlying recent developments that have allowed or required firms to take on a more active role in social and environmental issues. The class covers a range of topics, including the economic structure of nonprofit firms, the debate on corporate purpose and the profit-maximization norm, the rise of ESG investing, the proliferation of new legal hybrid forms, recent developments in the law of managerial fiduciary duties, the role of microfinance and fair trade in promoting development, and tax and subsidy policies to encourage corporations to pursue social goals, including the recent Opportunity Zone program. The inquiry will focus primarily on what types of structures best align investors’ interest in profit-making with different social purposes. |
| Law 251.75 Climate Change and Corporate Governance Reform 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course will focus on Climate Change - from the perspective of compliance, financing and governance. COMPLIANCE. We will evaluate the current (and rapidly changing) regulatory framework for GHG emissions, including voluntary (SASB, GRI, ISSB) and required (SEC) disclosure and the steps that companies and investors must take to meet net zero and carbon neutral targets. We will study carbon off-sets and insets, exploring how environmental attributes are being valued, verified and commoditized. We will also review how companies and investors evaluate climate risk using climate risk scenarios and investigate which of the tools introduced by the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosure are most effective in achieving climate goals. We will examine green-washing and associated risks from employees, shareholders, customers, regulators and NGOs. CLIMATE FINANCE. The United Nations estimates that $1.5T per year must be invested in climate solutions and infrastructure to have any hope of meeting the 1.5C goal set by the Paris Climate Accord. What are the legal tools available to investors and companies that will help in ensuring that capital dedicated to the goals actually reduces emissions? We will explore new forms for aggregating capital for climate as well as mechanisms that can be employed by asset managers to align financial with climate goals. We will examine the various types of securities - from green bonds to performance-linked bonds to pay -for performance impact securities - that are being employed in this space. GOVERNANCE. Finally, we will do a deep dive into corporate governance as a driver of value but more importantly as a driver of climate solutions. We will discuss how boards are - and should be - considering climate change in exercising their oversight over management and operations. We will explore the tools available to management, including golden shares, side car public charities, partnership arrangements and licensing models and impact-linked compensation. And we will consider the rise of the public benefit corporation - with dual fiduciary duties - and stakeholder activism - as agents for change. Fall 2023 Description: While climate change is often considered an ‘environmental problem’, the risks and opportunities embedded in a changing climate go well beyond the natural environment. This course focuses on the intersection between climate change and corporate law, specifically in the areas of compliance/litigation, finance, and governance. Compliance/Litigation. We will evaluate the current (and rapidly changing) regulatory framework for GHG emissions, including voluntary (SASB, GRI, ISSB) and required (SEC) disclosure and the steps that companies and investors must take to meet net zero and carbon neutral targets. We will also review how companies and investors evaluate climate risk using climate risk scenarios and investigate which of the tools introduced by the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosure are most effective in achieving climate goals. We will examine green-washing and associated risks from employees, shareholders, customers, regulators, and NGOs. And we will further assess the rise of climate litigation and its use as an effective tool for change. Climate Finance. Current estimates are that $3.5T per year (up from $1.5T) must be invested in climate solutions and infrastructure to have any hope of meeting the 1.5C goal set by the Paris Climate Accord. What are the legal tools available to investors and companies that will help in ensuring that capital dedicated to the goals actually reduces emissions? We will explore new forms for aggregating capital for climate as well as mechanisms that can be employed by asset managers to align financial with climate goals. We will examine the various types of securities - from green bonds to performance-linked bonds to pay -for performance impact securities - that are being employed in this space. Governance. Finally, we will do a deep dive into corporate governance as a driver of value but more importantly as a driver of climate solutions. We will discuss how boards are - and should be - considering climate change in exercising their oversight over management and operations. We will explore the tools available to management, including golden shares, side car public charities, partnership arrangements and licensing models and impact-linked compensation. And we will consider the rise of the public benefit corporation - with dual fiduciary duties - and stakeholder activism - as agents for change. Fall 2024 Description: While climate change is often considered an ‘environmental problem’, the risks and opportunities embedded in a changing climate go well beyond the natural environment. This course focuses on the intersection between climate change and corporate law, specifically in the areas of compliance/litigation, finance, and governance. Compliance/Litigation. We will evaluate the current (and rapidly changing) regulatory framework for GHG emissions, including voluntary (SASB, GRI, ISSB) and required (CSRD, and possibly coming SEC) disclosure and the steps that companies and investors must take to meet net zero and carbon neutral targets. We will also review how companies and investors evaluate climate risk using climate risk scenarios and investigate which of the tools introduced by the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure are most effective in achieving climate goals. We will examine green-washing and associated risks from employees, shareholders, customers, regulators, and NGOs. And we will further assess the rise of climate litigation and its use as an effective tool for change. Climate Finance. Current estimates are that $3.5T per year (up from $1.5T) must be invested in climate solutions and infrastructure to have any hope of meeting the 1.5C goal set by the Paris Climate Accord. What are the legal tools available to investors and companies that will help in ensuring that capital dedicated to the goals actually reduces emissions? We will explore new forms for aggregating capital for climate as well as mechanisms that can be employed by asset managers to align financial with climate goals. We will examine the various types of securities - from green bonds to performance-linked bonds to pay-for performance impact securities - that are being employed in this space. Finally, we will review the definitions of "net zero" and "carbon neutral" and the evolving legal framework around the voluntary credit market. Governance. Finally, we will do a deep dive into corporate governance as a driver of value but more importantly as a driver of climate solutions. We will discuss how boards are - and should be - considering climate change in exercising their oversight over management and operations of public and private companies. We will explore the tools available to management, including golden shares, side car public charities, perpetual trusts, partnership arrangements and licensing models and impact-linked compensation. And we will consider the rise of the public benefit corporation - with dual fiduciary duties - and stakeholder activism - as agents for change. |
| Law 251.76 Communication Skills for Business Lawyers 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This interactive workshop explores the performance and oral communication skills necessary for business lawyers to meaningfully connect with clients, negotiate deals, and speak in public with confidence and conviction. Through a series of active group exercises and games, performance theory discussions, and individual assignments, you will learn how to tap into your own unique voice to authentically engage others and better represent your clients. By the end of this workshop, you should be able to speak and move with more freedom and presence, listen fully and authentically, and joyfully connect with audiences of all sizes and backgrounds. No prior performance or public speaking experience necessary or expected; just bring your full attention, a sense of curiosity and play, and a willingness to use and share your voice. Spring 2024 Description: This interactive workshop explores the performance and oral communication skills necessary for business lawyers to meaningfully connect with clients, negotiate deals, and speak in public with confidence and conviction. Through a series of active group exercises and games, performance theory discussions, and individual assignments, you will learn how to tap into your own unique voice to authentically engage others and better represent your clients. By the end of this workshop, you should be able to speak and move with more freedom and presence, listen fully and authentically, and joyfully connect with audiences of all sizes and backgrounds. No prior performance or public speaking experience necessary or expected; just bring your full attention, a sense of curiosity and play, and a willingness to use and share your voice. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Spring 2025 Description: This interactive workshop explores the performance, presence, and oral communication skills necessary for business lawyers to meaningfully connect with clients, negotiate deals, and speak in public with confidence and conviction. Through a series of active group exercises and games, performance theory discussions, and individual storytelling assignments, you will learn how to tap into your own unique voice to authentically engage others and better represent your clients. By the end of this workshop, you should be able to speak and move with more freedom and presence, listen fully and authentically, navigate conflict, and joyfully connect with audiences of all sizes and backgrounds. No prior performance or public speaking experience necessary or expected; just bring your full attention, a sense of curiosity and play, and a willingness to use and share your voice. We have special academic rules for condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session in person (and cannot miss for any reason, including illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 251.77 Laws, Reputation, and Social Norms 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: What incentives guide the behavior of consumers, businesspersons, and policymakers? In law school, we tend to focus on the threat of legal sanctions, and material rewards. But in reality, nonlegal sanctions such as reputational fallouts, and nonmaterial rewards such as esteem and pride, often are just as important. This course looks at the interactions between laws, reputation, and social norms, and how these interactions dictate behavior across a wide range of phenomena. In the process, we get to offer a fresh perspective on timely questions such as who writes online reviews and why; why consumers throw away perfectly functioning devices and purchase new ones instead; why some business companies donate to charity more than others; does it pay for business companies to pollute the environment, and if so why; and so on. Across all these topics and others, we will see how factoring in the role that reputation and social norms play alters the way we think about the right legal response to a given social problem. For those who are undecided and need further elaboration, consider in a bit more detail the following two issues that we will tackle in our first two sessions. First, think about consumer complaints. The overwhelming majority of us (96%) do nothing when we are dissatisfied with a product or a service we purchased. But a small subset of consumers does something: they go to great lengths to write detailed negative online reviews, complain to the manager, enlist the help of journalists, and file lawsuits. Why are these consumers so active, even at personal cost? How do developments in big data and predictive analytics affect firms’ ability to target these active consumers? And what does it mean for the effectiveness of market discipline and the desirability of personalized contracts? Staying within consumer markets, think next about the throwaway culture we live in. The average American uses her smartphone just two years before upgrading to a new one, and wea rs her new clothing item just five times before dumping it. The costs of such runaway consumerism are staggering. For consumers, it comes with frantically spending on new items, and constantly feeling regret and alienation because the things we own are never enough. For the environment, it comes with untenable levels of waste. The response by activists and policymakers has been emphasizing “the right to repair.” But giving consumers a legal right to repair will not do much to reduce consumer waste if consumers do not want to repair. Why do consumers decide to purchase new products, even when their old ones are functioning just fine? A large part of the answer has to do with status and signaling concerns. In other words, the problem is not functional product obsolescence but rather psychological product obsolescence. Can we leverage consumers’ status concerns and sellers’ reputational concerns to get out of this wasteful equilibrium? Roy Shapira is an associate professor at Reichman University (IDC) in Israel. Shapira received his SJD and LLM degrees from Harvard Law School. Prior to joining academia, he worked as a litigator and a reputation consultant. This is also where his research lies, namely, at the intersection between reputation, regulation, and corporate governance. Shapira taught a course on these topics at Harvard Economics Department for six years, earning six Bok Awards (for teaching excellence), and has published on it extensively, including a book titled "Law and Reputation" (in 2020). |
| Law 251.78 Corporate Social Impact 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: In recent years, there has been growing pressure on profit-seeking corporations to address social problems. This class will critically evaluate the law and policies underlying recent developments that have allowed or required firms to take on a more active role in social and environmental issues. The class covers a range of topics, including the economic structure of nonprofit firms, the debate on corporate purpose and the profit-maximization norm, the rise of ESG investing, the proliferation of new legal hybrid forms, recent developments in the law of managerial fiduciary duties, the role of microfinance and fair trade in promoting development, and tax and subsidy policies to encourage corporations to pursue social goals. The inquiry will focus primarily on identifying the legal and economic structures that best align investors’ interest in profit-making with different social purposes. This seminar assumes basic knowledge of Business Associations, including concepts such as the duty of care, Revlon duties, the business judgment rule, and hostile takeovers. Spring 2025 Description: Profit-seeking corporations are increasingly pressured to address social and environmental problems. This class critically examines the legal and policy frameworks underlying recent developments that enable or require firms to take on more active roles in addressing these issues. Topics include the economic structure of nonprofit organizations, debates over corporate purpose and the profit-maximization norm, the rise and backlash against ESG investing, the proliferation of new legal hybrid forms, nonprofit ownership of business enterprises (e.g., OpenAI), recent developments in managerial fiduciary duties, the roles of microfinance and fair trade in promoting development, and tax and subsidy policies designed to encourage corporations to pursue social goals. The course primarily focuses on identifying legal and economic structures that best align investors’ profit-making interests with diverse social purposes. Students may choose to write a 15-page Option 1 paper or a take-home exam. Students in the class will have the option to earn credit outside the scope of the class by writing a paper on a topic related to corporate social impact under Law 299, subject to the instructor's approval. |
| Law 251.79 Leadership Laboratory 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: Students will identify public or private sector challenges (with a nexus to the legal profession), interview key stakeholders, and work in teams to develop real-world solutions to those challenges. The course will be taught similarly to a business school entrepreneurship course and will include lectures on topics such as public speaking, time management, behavioral science, and design thinking. The Leadership Laboratory will see students research issues/challenges in the law that they are passionate about addressing and exploring/experimenting leadership opportunities (e.g., creating a non-profit or startup, drafting model legislation, running for office). Students who are interested in the class should send a short (approximately 300 words) statement of interest to asterling@law.berkeley.edu. J.D. applications will be due on April 8th. Students will be notified by April 12th if they have been admitted to the course. LLM applications will be due July 15th, with a response by August 1st. After these deadlines pass, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. |
| Law 251.7A Leading People 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 251.7B The Business of Law and How Not to Think Like a Lawyer 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This course provides an elementary understanding of the business of law and how to thrive in it as a practitioner. The class is designed to give students an understanding of the legal industry, its fundamentals, economics, disruptors, and the tools and attributes required to succeed whether in private practice, in-house, or public interest settings. The course will begin with the legal ecosystem, business models, and economics. Then using real-world case studies and interactive modeling we will focus on, and practice, behavioral mechanics to foster the analytical, communication, and engagement skills necessary to become high-impact contributors. We also expect to complement the teachings with insights from leading general counsels in the public and private sectors, managing partners, industry analysts, VCs, and government leaders. At the conclusion of the course, participants will be expected to: 1) understand firm, corporate, and public interest legal economics and drivers; 2) understand market dynamics that can inform their professional development and career satisfaction; and 3) demonstrate analytical and behavioral skills to solve complex legal and commercial problems. Mitch Zuklie advises innovative technology companies and their founders, boards, and investors. He has been cited as one of the top ten Most Innovative Lawyers in North America by Financial Times and an “eminent practitioner” by Chambers. Mitch has served as Chair and CEO of Orrick for a decade. Financial Times has chosen Orrick among the Most Innovative Law Firms in North America for the past eight years, and Fortune has selected the firm among the 100 Best Companies to Work For nine years in a row. Mitch serves on the Boards of the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity, the Silicon Valley Law Foundation, CalTrout and as Chairman of the Board of the Wild Salmon Center. |
| Law 251.7S Business in Society 1 Units |
| Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Summer 2023 Description: We are currently experiencing a revolutionary period in business and corporate history. For the first time in decades academics, boards of directors, management teams and investors are beginning to reconsider and redefine corporate purpose and think differently and more expansively about the way business should be conducted. Importantly, this inquiry is not occurring in isolation—it is being influenced by demands of a changing society and influencing how we think about and seek to address foundational economic and social challenges and politics that have rendered government institutions less effective. Corporations have traditionally served the purpose of attracting and assembling capital, creating jobs and scale, driving economic growth, and maximizing long-term shareholder value. Driven by the need for more efficient and equitable capital markets, Milton Friedman presented a case in the 1970’s that the sole purpose of a corporation was to increase its profits, that concept has become enshrined in Delaware law, and, until recently, corporations practiced this philosophy universally and exclusively. But, with the advent of the systemic challenges presented by globalization, climate change, racial injustice and income and opportunity inequality, the increasing concentration of economic power, and the acute polarization of politics, corporations are being challenged to play an expanded role in society. Indeed, some companies are stepping into this role unprompted. This course will begin by establishing the context and evolution of corporate purpose, review and evaluate the current state of affairs, and introduce, distinguish and evaluate the concept of stakeholder capitalism. We will explore how different actors and forces in society such as capital markets, the antitrust law regime, the interests of increasingly diverse shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders are influencing the evolution of corporate purpose. In the process we will discuss the interplay between business and government and the impact on, and the opportunities and responsibilities created for business as government becomes increasingly less able to address those systemic challenges and the needs of society. And finally, the course will explore the issues corporations are grappling with in real time, and the economic policies, laws and business practices needed to address those issues and challenges faced by society. NOTE: 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 instructors) may be dropped without notice. The instructor can 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 instructors in order not to risk being dropped without notice. Remote + Summer Students Please NOTE: You cannot take Sustainable Capitalism & ESG in the fall semester if you take this course in the summer. Summer 2024 Description: The prediction that companies and investors would retreat from sustainability & ESG efforts in the face of criticism and economic downturn is proving to be incorrect. The global pandemic, racial injustice, rising income inequality, and climate change have only heightened the demands for capitalism to take account of its stakeholders. These demands are coming from investors, regulators, employees, and the public, who are increasingly asking companies to manage their environmental and social impact. Precisely how to meet this growing demand remains unclear. The course brings fresh perspectives directly from in-house attorneys of companies in various sectors that are taking on the challenge of becoming stakeholder-focused companies. The course will use a mix of theory, case study, discussion, and speakers to bring to life the day-to-day of practicing sustainability & ESG law at companies. Students will learn how to think strategically about legal risks and opportunities and ultimately how to lead in both law and business. Remote + Summer Students PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take Sustainable Capitalism & ESG in the fall semester if you take this course in the summer. Summer 2025 Description: The prediction that companies and investors would retreat from sustainability & ESG efforts in the face of criticism and economic downturn is proving to be incorrect. The global pandemic, racial injustice, rising income inequality, and climate change have only heightened the demands for capitalism to take account of its stakeholders. These demands are coming from investors, regulators, employees, and the public, who are increasingly asking companies to manage their environmental and social impact. Precisely how to meet this growing demand remains unclear. The course brings fresh perspectives directly from in-house attorneys of companies in various sectors that are taking on the challenge of becoming stakeholder-focused companies. The course will use a mix of theory, case study, discussion, and speakers to bring to life the day-to-day of practicing sustainability & ESG law at companies. Students will learn how to think strategically about legal risks and opportunities and ultimately how to lead in both law and business. Remote + Summer Students PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take Sustainable Capitalism & ESG in the fall semester if you take this course in the summer. |
| Law 251.9 Venture Funds: Structuring, Advising and Regulating 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course will introduce students to U.S. legal and regulatory issues relating to venture capital funds and venture capital fund managers. Among other things, the course will cover venture capital fund structuring and formation; the exclusions from Investment Company Act registration requirements on which venture capital funds rely; regulation of venture capital fund managers, including the Investment Advisers Act, ERISA, Pay-to-Play and their rules and regulations; private placement considerations; the impact of Dodd-Frank on the venture capital fund industry; disclosure obligations and confidentiality concerns; investment restrictions and liquidity options; and terms and conditions of venture capital limited partnership agreements. Enrollment in this class is by application. If demand exceeds capacity, qualified law students will be randomly selected. To apply, send your CV and a cover email of no more than 250 words to Sean Caplice: scaplice@gunder.com In your email, please answer the following questions about yourself: 1. Have you ever worked in venture capital, finance or with startup companies? If so, briefly describe your most recent such experience. 2. Have you interned (or will you intern) at a law firm that exposed you to legal, regulatory or business matters in the startup/financing arena? If so, briefly describe your internship experience. 3. Have you taken (or are you currently taking) any classes that are relevant to this field at Berkeley Law, such as tax, securities regulation, startups, business associations, corporate finance, financial accounting, IPOs, etc.? If so, please list those courses. 4.Briefly state what you hope to learn from taking this course? Applications are due by November 8, 2020. Accepted students will receive course enrollment information on or about November 15, 2020 so that they may enroll during their second CalCentral appointments. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2022 Description: This course will introduce students to U.S. legal and regulatory issues relating to venture capital funds and venture capital fund managers. Among other things, the course will cover venture capital fund structuring and formation; the exclusions from Investment Company Act registration requirements on which venture capital funds rely; regulation of venture capital fund managers, including the Investment Advisers Act, ERISA, Pay-to-Play and their rules and regulations; private placement considerations; the impact of Dodd-Frank on the venture capital fund industry; disclosure obligations and confidentiality concerns; investment restrictions and liquidity options; and terms and conditions of venture capital limited partnership agreements. Enrollment in this class is by application. If demand exceeds capacity, qualified law students will be randomly selected. To apply, send your CV and a cover email of no more than 250 words to Sean Caplice: scaplice@gunder.com In your email, please answer the following questions about yourself: 1. Have you ever worked in venture capital, finance or with startup companies? If so, briefly describe your most recent such experience. 2. Have you interned (or will you intern) at a law firm that exposed you to legal, regulatory or business matters in the startup/financing arena? If so, briefly describe your internship experience. 3. Have you taken (or are you currently taking) any classes that are relevant to this field at Berkeley Law, such as tax, securities regulation, startups, business associations, corporate finance, financial accounting, IPOs, etc.? If so, please list those courses. 4. Briefly state what you hope to learn from taking this course? Applications are due by November 12, 2021. Accepted students will receive course enrollment information on or about November 19, 2021 so that they may enroll during their second Cal Central appointments. Spring 2023 Description: This course will provide an overview of venture capital funds. We will cover (1) the U.S. legal and regulatory landscape that impacts funds, their managers, and their investors; (2) the basic structures of funds, including the relationship between the fund, its general partner (GP), the management company, and the various types of limited partners (LPs) that invest in funds; and (3) offering documents and key fund terms. Recommended pre-requisite courses: 255.5 - Securities Regulation 250 - Business Associations Rita Astoor is the Head of Venture Capital Business Development and a Product Advisor at Carta. Prior to joining Carta, she practiced at Latham & Watkins LLP in their Investment Funds Group. Spring 2024 Description: This course will provide an overview of venture capital funds. We will cover (1) the U.S. legal and regulatory landscape that impacts funds, their managers, and their investors; (2) the basic structures of funds, including the relationship between the fund, its general partner (GP), the management company, and the various types of limited partners (LPs) that invest in funds; and (3) offering documents and key fund terms. Recommended pre-requisite courses: 255.5 - Securities Regulation 250 - Business Associations Rita Astoor is the Director of Venture Capital Business Development and a Product Advisor at Carta. Prior to joining Carta, she practiced at Latham & Watkins LLP in their Investment Funds Group. Spring 2025 Description: This course will provide an overview of venture capital funds. We will cover (1) the U.S. legal and regulatory landscape that impacts funds, their managers, and their investors; (2) the basic structures of funds, including the relationship between the fund, its general partner (GP), the management company, and the various types of limited partners (LPs) that invest in funds; and (3) offering documents and key fund terms. It is strongly recommended that you have taken the following courses before enrolling in this course: 255.5 - Securities Regulation 250 - Business Associations This class will not be recorded. Rita Astoor is the Director of Venture Capital Business Development and a Product Advisor at Carta. Prior to joining Carta, she practiced at Latham & Watkins LLP in their Investment Funds Group. |
| Law 252.2 Antitrust Law 4 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course covers the fundamentals of U.S. antitrust law (competition law) as well as the underlying legal and economic theory. Topics include: (i) horizontal restraints of trade among competitors such as cartels, oligopolies, joint ventures, and other cooperative activities; (ii) monopoly and dominant firm conduct; (iii) vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers such as resale price maintenance, territorial and customer restrictions, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, bundled and loyalty pricing; and (iv) mergers. Spring 2021 Description: This course covers the fundamentals of U.S. antitrust law (competition law) as well as its competing underlying legal and economic theories. Topics include: (i) horizontal restraints of trade among competitors such as cartels, oligopolies, joint ventures, and other cooperative activities; (ii) monopoly and dominant firm conduct; (iii) vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers such as resale price maintenance, territorial and customer restrictions, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, bundled and loyalty pricing; and (iv) mergers. Fall 2021 Description: Antitrust law is concerned with the exercise of economic power by a dominant firm or group of firms. This course covers the fundamentals of U.S. antitrust law (competition law) as well as the underlying legal and economic theory. Topics include: (i) horizontal restraints of trade among competitors such as cartels, oligopolies, joint ventures, and other cooperative activities; (ii) monopoly and dominant firm conduct; (iii) vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers such as resale price maintenance, territorial and customer restrictions, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, bundled and loyalty pricing; and (iv) mergers. Fall 2022 Description: Antitrust law is concerned with the exercise of economic power by a dominant firm or group of firms. This course covers the fundamentals of U.S. antitrust law (competition law) as well as the underlying legal and economic theory. Topics include: (i) horizontal restraints of trade among competitors such as cartels, oligopolies, joint ventures, and other cooperative activities; (ii) monopoly and dominant firm conduct; (iii) vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers such as resale price maintenance, territorial and customer restrictions, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, bundled and loyalty pricing; and (iv) mergers. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the fundamentals of U.S. antitrust law (competition law) as well as its competing underlying legal and economic theories. Topics include: (i) horizontal restraints of trade among competitors such as cartels, oligopolies, joint ventures, and other cooperative activities; (ii) monopoly and dominant firm conduct; (iii) vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers such as resale price maintenance, territorial and customer restrictions, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, bundled and loyalty pricing; and (iv) mergers. Throughout, our focus will be on simultaneously mastering the core analytic tools of antitrust law and policy and situating the key debates they pose within their historical-ideological contexts. Spring 2025 Description: This course covers the fundamentals of U.S. antitrust law (competition law) as well as its competing underlying legal and economic theories. Topics include: (1) horizontal restraints of trade among competitors such as cartels, oligopolies, joint ventures, and other cooperative activities; (2) monopoly and dominant firm conduct; (3) vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers such as tying arrangements, exclusive dealing contracts, and bundled and loyalty pricing; and (4) mergers. Throughout, our focus will be on simultaneously mastering the core analytic tools of antitrust law and policy and situating the key debates they pose within their historical-ideological contexts. |
| Law 252.21 Antitrust and Technology Platforms 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will analyze the application of antitrust law to the digital economy. Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google now rank among the largest and most valuable companies in history. In recent years, they and other large tech firms have attracted significant antitrust scrutiny from enforcers and policymakers around the world. This course will explore the implications of “big data” and economic concentration in the New Economy, and the potential relationship between antitrust and issues like consumer privacy, filter bubbles, fake news, and the challenges facing journalism, print media, and brick-and-mortar businesses. It will investigate the dynamics of platform competition, including network effects, multisided markets and attention markets. It will also explore evolving theories of competitive harm in settings where users obtain sophisticated online services at a zero price, and where many small and medium sized businesses benefit from inexpensive targeted online advertising and distribution services. The course materials will draw on a rich body of recent cases, regulatory proceedings, and academic commentary and analysis. Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett was a partner in Davis Polk’s Northern California office and global head of the firm’s antitrust practice. He retired from the partnership in April of 2019. He has over 30 years of antitrust experience representing technology, media, and telecom clients - including in litigation, contested mergers, and government investigations. Under the auspices of the Federal Judicial Center and the ABA, Hockett co-chairs an intensive antitrust training program for federal judges that rotates between Berkeley Law and the University of Chicago. He is a frequent speaker on antitrust topics, and has also served as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master. In 2013-14, Hockett chaired the 9,000-member ABA Section of Antitrust Law. He received his law degree in 1985 from the University of Virginia, where he teaches an advanced antitrust course. Spring 2021 Description: This course will analyze the application of antitrust law to the digital economy. Tech platform companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google now rank among the largest and most valuable firms in history. In recent years, they and other large technology enterprises have attracted significant antitrust scrutiny from enforcers and policymakers around the world. This course will explore the implications of “big data” and economic concentration in the New Economy, and the potential relationship between antitrust and issues like consumer privacy, filter bubbles, fake news, and the challenges facing journalism, print media, and brick-and-mortar businesses. It will investigate the dynamics of platform competition, including network effects, multi-sided markets and attention markets. It will also explore evolving theories of competitive harm in settings where users obtain sophisticated online services at a zero price, and where many small and medium sized businesses benefit from inexpensive targeted online advertising and distribution services. The course materials will draw on a rich body of recent cases, regulatory proceedings, and academic commentary and analysis. A prior course in antitrust or experience in the area is recommended. Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett is a former partner in Davis Polk’s Northern California office and former global head of the firm’s antitrust practice. He retired from the partnership in 2019. He has over 30 years of antitrust experience representing technology, media, and telecom clients - including in litigation, contested mergers, and government investigations. Under the auspices of the Federal Judicial Center and the ABA, Hockett co-chairs an intensive antitrust training program for federal judges that rotates between Berkeley Law and the University of Chicago. He also serves as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master in the Northern District of California. In 2013-14, Hockett chaired the 9,000-member ABA Section of Antitrust Law. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he teaches an advanced antitrust course. Spring 2022 Description: This course addresses a defining issue of our time - how antitrust law will apply to the digital economy that has transformed our lives. Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google have emerged as the largest and most powerful companies in history, and now face aggressive claims by antitrust enforcers. This course will explore the implications of economic concentration and competition in the New Economy, as well as the relationship between antitrust and issues like consumer privacy, “big data,” filter bubbles, socially corrosive content, and challenges to democratic values. We will investigate the dynamics of platform competition, including network effects, multisided markets, and advertising-supported online services. We will also explore theories of competitive harm in settings where billions of users obtain sophisticated online services at a zero price, and millions of small and medium sized businesses rely on targeted online advertising and rapidly scalable distribution networks. The course materials draw on a rich body of recent cases, regulatory proceedings, legislative proposals, and academic commentary. Class sessions will be interactive and engaging, with extensive visual aids, discussion questions circulated before class, class-wide polling, and small-group exercises. A prior course in antitrust or some familiarity with basic economics is recommended. Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett is a former partner in Davis Polk’s Northern California office and former global head of the firm’s antitrust practice. He retired from the partnership in 2019. He has over 30 years of antitrust experience representing technology, media, and telecom clients - including in litigation, contested mergers, and government investigations. Under the auspices of the Federal Judicial Center and the ABA, Hockett co-chairs an intensive antitrust training program for federal judges that rotates between Berkeley Law and the University of Chicago. He also serves as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master in the Northern District of California. In 2013-14, Hockett chaired the 9,000-member ABA Section of Antitrust Law. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he teaches an advanced antitrust course each Fall. Spring 2023 Description: This newly expanded course addresses a defining legal issue of our age: how competition laws will apply to the giants of the digital economy. Tech platforms like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google rank among the largest and most powerful companies in history, and are increasingly confronted with antitrust challenges based on their roles as online gatekeepers. However, the outcome of those claims is uncertain given conservative judicial interpretations of U.S. antitrust law over the last half-century. This uncertainty is elevated by the complexity of establishing antitrust violations against platforms that supply billions of consumers with goods and sophisticated online tools for low - and sometimes zero - financial prices, and provide millions of small and medium sized businesses with valuable online advertising and distribution services. This course investigates the dynamics of digital platform competition, including network effects, multisided markets, and winner-take-all market conditions. We will explore the antitrust implications of various forms of dominant platform behaviors, including alleged exclusion and predation, acquisition of potential or nascent competitors, and self- preferencing of platform “house brands” over third-party products. We will also examine cases of alleged collusion in the tech platform context, as well as some emerging antitrust implications of artificial intelligence, including price-setting algorithms that can price discriminate between buyers or coordinate prices among competing sellers. In addition, we will explore the potential relationship between antitrust law and platform- related issues like consumer privacy, “big data,” filter bubbles, toxic content, and challenges to liberal democratic values. Finally, we will consider legislative reforms and other remedies being considered in response to platform dominance. After the course midpoint, several of our class meetings will feature guest appearances by senior in-house antitrust lawyers from tech platforms like Google, Facebook/Meta, Spotify and Yelp. All of our class sessions will be interactive and engaging, featuring extensive visual aids, discussion questions circulated before class, and small-group exercises. Our course materials draw on a rich body of recent cases, regulatory proceedings, legislative proposals, and expert commentary. Prior coursework in antitrust or some familiarity with basic economics is recommended. Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett was a partner in Davis Polk’s Northern California office and global head of the firm’s antitrust practice. He retired from Davis Polk in 2020. He has over 30 years of antitrust experience representing technology, media, and telecom clients including in litigation, contested mergers, and government investigations. Under the auspices of the Federal Judicial Center and the ABA, Hockett co-chairs an intensive antitrust training program for federal judges that rotates between Berkeley Law School and the University of Chicago. He is a frequent speaker on antitrust topics, and has also served as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master. In 2013-14, Hockett chaired the 9,000-member ABA Section of Antitrust Law. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he teaches an advanced antitrust course. Spring 2024 Description: This expanded course addresses a vital legal issue of our age: how competition laws will apply to the giants of the digital economy. Tech platforms like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google rank among the largest and most powerful companies in history, and are increasingly confronted with antitrust challenges based on their roles as online gatekeepers. However, the outcome of those claims is uncertain in light of conservative judicial interpretations of U.S. antitrust law over the last half-century. This uncertainty is compounded by the complexity of establishing antitrust violations against platforms that supply billions of consumers with goods and sophisticated online tools for low - and sometimes zero - financial prices, and provide millions of small and medium sized businesses with valuable online advertising and distribution services. This course investigates the dynamics of digital platform competition, including network effects, multisided markets, and winner-take-all market conditions. We will explore the antitrust implications of various forms of dominant platform behaviors, including alleged exclusion and predation, acquisition of potential or nascent competitors, and self- preferencing of platform “house brands” over third-party products. We will also examine cases of alleged collusion in the tech platform context, as well as some emerging antitrust implications of artificial intelligence, including price-setting algorithms that can price discriminate between buyers or coordinate prices among competing sellers. In addition, we will explore the potential relationship between antitrust law and platform- related issues like consumer privacy, “big data,” filter bubbles, toxic content, and challenges to liberal democratic values. Finally, we will consider legislative reforms and other remedies being considered in response to platform dominance. After the course midpoint, some of our class meetings will include substantive discussions with experienced in-house antitrust lawyers from tech platform companies. In the past we have hosted representatives from Google, Facebook/Meta, Spotify and Yelp. All of our class sessions will be interactive and engaging, with extensive visual aids, discussion questions circulated before class, and small-group exercises. Our course materials draw on a rich body of cases, ongoing litigation, regulatory proceedings, legislative reform proposals, and expert commentary. Prior coursework in antitrust or some familiarity with basic economics is recommended. Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett was a partner in Davis Polk’s Northern California office and global head of the firm’s antitrust practice. He retired from Davis Polk in 2020. He has over 30 years of antitrust experience representing technology, media, and telecom clients including in litigation, contested mergers, and government investigations. Under the auspices of the Federal Judicial Center and the ABA, Hockett co-chairs an intensive antitrust training program for federal judges that rotates between Berkeley Law School and the University of Chicago. He is a frequent speaker on antitrust topics, and has also served as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master. In 2013-14, Hockett chaired the 9,000-member ABA Section of Antitrust Law. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he teaches an advanced antitrust course. |
| Law 252.2S Antitrust Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: The course covers United States federal antitrust law which regulates competition among business enterprises. It explores cartels, monopolies, and mergers. We will discuss horizontal agreements among competitors, as well as vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers and unilateral monopolizing conduct. Competing conceptions of the economic aims of antitrust law, as well as central doctrinal and policy debates today, will be explored throughout. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th in Warren (room 295). Summer 2022 Description: The course covers United States federal antitrust law which regulates competition among business enterprises. It explores cartels, monopolies, and mergers. We will discuss horizontal agreements among competitors, as well as vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers and unilateral monopolizing conduct. Competing conceptions of the economic aims of antitrust law, as well as central doctrinal and policy debates today, will be explored throughout. Summer 2023 Description: The course covers United States federal antitrust law which regulates competition among business enterprises. It explores cartels, monopolies, and mergers. We will discuss horizontal agreements among competitors, as well as vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers and unilateral monopolizing conduct. Competing conceptions of the economic aims of antitrust law, as well as central doctrinal and policy debates today, will be explored throughout. Summer 2024 Description: The course covers United States federal antitrust law, which regulates competition among business enterprises. It explores cartels, monopolies, and mergers. We will discuss horizontal agreements among competitors, as well as vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers and unilateral monopolizing conduct. Competing conceptions of the economic aims of antitrust law, as well as central doctrinal and policy debates today, will be explored throughout. Summer 2025 Description: This course addresses a vital question of law and policy today: how competition and related laws (such as intellectual property) do and should apply to the digital economy’s emerging business models, practices, and technologies--principally big data, LLMs, and generative AI. Roughly two-thirds of the course will take up the application of American antitrust law to both the giants of the digital economy (Google, Meta/Facebook, Amazon, Apple) and emerging data- and AI-based business models, with the remaining third devoted to analysis of intellectual property laws as applied to data and AI-based processes and outputs. Professor Talha Syed’s research focuses on law and political economy, with applications to intellectual property, property, torts, antitrust, and theories of distributive justice. He has a forthcoming book, Pharmaceutical Innovation Policy—From Patents to Public Utility, and is working on a series of articles on the legal and social theory of “law and political economy,” as well as the intersection of antitrust and IP. At Berkeley Law, he teaches Torts, Intellectual Property Law, Antitrust, and the Law and Technology Writing Workshop. |
| Law 252.3 International Antitrust Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course will compare the approaches of various regimes (including, for example, the U.S., European Union, China, Korea, Japan, and Brazil) to specific antitrust/competition law issues, with a specific focus on the practical realities of global antitrust/competition law enforcement. The course will cover issues involving client advice, criminal investigations, civil litigation, and dealings with competition authorities. Specific topics will include cartels, dominance (abuse of monopoly power), mergers, the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust, extraterritoriality and comity, privilege and privacy, vertical restraints, and private damages actions. Reading assignments will include academic writing and case study materials. We plan to include role playing opportunities and written assessments based on “real world” skills (e.g., client memoranda and white papers). Joel Sanders is a retired partner and Rachel Brass is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Joel started his career with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he represented the United States in both criminal and civil enforcement matters. In private practice, we have handled a wide range of antitrust matters, including global cartel investigations, mergers, internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. Together, we have represented clients in antitrust and competition matters before more than a dozen different international competition authorities, as well as the U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. We have litigated antitrust cases across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court. Spring 2021 Description: The course will compare the approaches of various regimes (including, for example, the U.S., European Union, China, Korea, Japan, and Brazil) to specific antitrust/competition law issues, with a specific focus on the practical realities of global antitrust/competition law enforcement. The course will cover issues involving client advice, criminal investigations, civil litigation, and dealings with competition authorities. Specific topics will include cartels, dominance (abuse of monopoly power), mergers, the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust, extraterritoriality and comity, privilege and privacy, vertical restraints, and private damages actions. Reading assignments will include academic writing and case study materials. We plan to include role playing opportunities and written assessments based on “real world” skills (e.g., client memoranda and white papers). Joel Sanders is a retired partner and Rachel Brass is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Joel started his career with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he represented the United States in both criminal and civil enforcement matters. In private practice, we have handled a wide range of antitrust matters, including global cartel investigations, mergers, internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. We have represented clients in antitrust and competition matters before more than a dozen different international competition authorities, as well as the U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. We have litigated antitrust cases across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court. Spring 2022 Description: The course will compare the approaches of various regimes (including, for example, the U.S., European Union, China, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil) to specific antitrust/competition law issues, with a specific focus on the practical realities of global antitrust/competition law enforcement. The course will cover issues involving client advice, criminal investigations, civil litigation, and dealings with competition authorities. Specific topics will include cartels, dominance (abuse of monopoly power), mergers, the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust, extraterritoriality and comity, vertical restraints, and private damages actions. Reading assignments will include academic writings and case study materials. The course will include role playing opportunities and written assessments based on “real world” skills (e.g., client memoranda and white papers). Joel Sanders is a retired partner and Rachel Brass is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Joel started his career with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he represented the United States in both criminal and civil enforcement matters. Rachel S. Brass is a partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and co-chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department where her practice focuses on investigations and litigation in the antitrust, labor, and employment areas. Ms. Brass has extensive experience representing international and domestic clients in high-stakes appellate litigation in the Supreme Court, as well as Federal and state appellate courts throughout the United States. Together, we have handled a wide range of antitrust matters, including global cartel investigations, mergers, internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. We have represented clients in antitrust and competition matters before more than a dozen different international competition authorities, as well as the U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. We have litigated antitrust cases across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court. Spring 2023 Description: The course will compare the approaches of various regimes (including, for example, the U.S., European Union, China, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil) to specific antitrust/competition law issues, with a specific focus on the practical realities of global antitrust/competition law enforcement. The course will cover issues involving client advice, criminal investigations, civil litigation, and dealings with competition authorities. Specific topics will include cartels, dominance (abuse of monopoly power), mergers, the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust, extraterritoriality and comity, vertical restraints, and private damages actions. Reading assignments will include articles, academic writings, and case study materials. The course will include role playing opportunities and written assessments based on “real world” skills (e.g., client memoranda and white papers). Joel Sanders is a retired partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Joel started his career with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he represented the United States in both criminal and civil enforcement matters. Rachel S. Brass is a partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and co-chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department where her practice focuses on investigations and litigation in the antitrust, labor, and employment areas. Together, they have handled a wide range of antitrust matters, including global cartel investigations, mergers, internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. They have represented clients in antitrust and competition matters before more than a dozen different international competition authorities, as well as the U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. They have litigated antitrust cases across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court. Spring 2024 Description: The course will compare the approaches of various regimes (including, for example, the U.S., European Union, China, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil) to specific antitrust/competition law issues, with a specific focus on the practical realities of global antitrust/competition law enforcement. The course will cover issues involving client advice, criminal investigations, civil litigation, and dealings with competition authorities. Specific topics will include cartels, dominance (abuse of monopoly power), mergers, the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust, extraterritoriality and comity, vertical restraints, and private damages actions. Reading assignments will include articles, academic writings, and case study materials. The course will include role playing opportunities and written assessments based on “real world” skills (e.g., client memoranda and white papers). Joel Sanders is a retired partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Joel started his career with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he represented the United States in both criminal and civil enforcement matters. Michael Tubach is a partner in the San Francisco office of O’Melveny & Myers. He is a member of the firm’s Antitrust & Competition and White Collar Defense & Corporate Investigations practices, where he focuses on criminal and civil antitrust matters. Together, they have handled a wide range of antitrust matters, including global cartel investigations, mergers, internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. They have represented clients in antitrust and competition matters before more than a dozen different international competition authorities, as well as the U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. They have litigated antitrust cases across the country. Spring 2025 Description: The course will compare the approaches of various regimes (including, for example, the U.S., European Union, China, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil) to specific antitrust/competition law issues, with a specific focus on the practical realities of global antitrust/competition law enforcement. The course will cover issues involving client advice, criminal investigations, civil litigation, and dealings with competition authorities. Specific topics will include cartels, dominance (abuse of monopoly power), mergers, the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust, extraterritoriality and comity, vertical restraints, and private damages actions. Reading assignments will include articles, academic writings, and case study materials. The course will include role-playing opportunities and written assessments based on “real world” skills (e.g., client memoranda and white papers). Joel Sanders is a retired partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Joel started his career with the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he represented the United States in both criminal and civil enforcement matters. Michael Tubach is a partner in the San Francisco office of O’Melveny & Myers. He is a member of the firm’s Antitrust & Competition and White Collar Defense & Corporate Investigations practices, where he focuses on criminal and civil antitrust matters. Together, they have handled a wide range of antitrust matters, including global cartel investigations, mergers, internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. They have represented clients in antitrust and competition matters before more than a dozen different international competition authorities, as well as the U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. They have litigated antitrust cases across the country. |
| Law 252.71 Mergers, Market Power and Monopoly in U.S. Antitrust Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course provides an in-depth and hands-on look at a core issue in antitrust law: how firms obtain and misuse "market power" or "monopoly power." It does that by focusing more or less equally on (a) the antitrust review of mergers, which is intended to identify and block mergers that are likely to create market power, (b) the law of monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act , which seeks to prevents firm from improperly obtaining or exercising monopoly power. This is also a "simulation course" examining how antitrust controversies play out within the institutions that administer antitrust laws, and how practicing antitrust lawyers do their work. Students will apply the substantive principles learned in class through merger advocacy exercises and mock advocacy. Those exercises will determine grades. There is no final exam. The first half of the class will consist of a very deep dive into contemporary merger analysis and the merger review process in front of the FTC and DOJ. Students will learn the theory and application of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the fundamentals of the Hart-Scott-Rodino merger review process. They will analyze real-world mergers (or merger possibilities), and in teams of two present advocacy for or against the deal. The second half of the class will focus on monopolization issues that have arisen in high-technology markets. Case studies will include high profile actions against Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel and other high-tech icons. This will allow for a Bay Area/Silicon Valley twist on classic issues such as what is monopoly power, and what is the distinction between "competition on the merits" and "exclusionary conduct." The class will culminate in mock presentations to agencies or courts in which student will advocate that certain conduct is proper or improper. Class time is mainly devoted to substantive lectures based on PowerPoint slides developed by the instructor. Discussion is encouraged, and the class is limited to 24 students to maintain a seminar feel. Fall 2021 Description: This course provides an in-depth and hands-on look at a core issue in antitrust law: how firms obtain and misuse "market power" or "monopoly power." It does that by focusing more or less equally on (a) the antitrust review of mergers, which is intended to identify and block mergers that are likely to create market power, (b) the law of monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act , which seeks to prevents firm from improperly obtaining or exercising monopoly power. This is also a "simulation course" examining how antitrust controversies play out within the institutions that administer antitrust laws, and how practicing antitrust lawyers do their work. Students will apply the substantive principles learned in class through merger advocacy exercises and mock advocacy. Those exercises will determine grades. There is no final exam. The first half of the class will consist of a very deep dive into contemporary merger analysis and the merger review process in front of the FTC and DOJ. Students will learn the theory and application of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the fundamentals of the Hart-Scott-Rodino merger review process. They will analyze real-world mergers (or merger possibilities), and in teams of two present advocacy for or against the deal. The second half of the class will focus on monopolization issues that have arisen in high-technology markets. Case studies will include high profile actions against Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel and other high-tech icons. This will allow for a Bay Area/Silicon Valley twist on classic issues such as what is monopoly power, and what is the distinction between "competition on the merits" and "exclusionary conduct." The class will culminate in mock presentations to agencies or courts in which students will advocate that certain conduct is proper or improper. Fall 2023 Description: This course provides an in-depth and hands-on look at a core issue in antitrust law: how firms obtain and misuse "market power" or "monopoly power." It does that by focusing more or less equally on (a) the antitrust review of mergers, which is intended to identify and block mergers that are likely to create market power, (b) the law of monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act , which seeks to prevents firm from improperly obtaining or exercising monopoly power. This is also a "simulation course" examining how antitrust controversies play out within the institutions that administer antitrust laws, and how practicing antitrust lawyers do their work. Students will apply the substantive principles learned in class through merger advocacy exercises and mock advocacy. Those exercises will determine grades. There is no final exam. The first half of the class will consist of a very deep dive into contemporary merger analysis and the merger review process in front of the FTC and DOJ. Students will learn the theory and application of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines (including the new 2023 Guidelines) and the fundamentals of the Hart-Scott-Rodino merger review process. They will analyze real-world mergers (or merger possibilities), and in teams of two present advocacy for or against the deal. The second half of the class will focus on monopolization issues that have arisen in high-technology markets. Case studies will include high profile actions against Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel and other high-tech icons. This will allow for a Bay Area/Silicon Valley twist on classic issues such as what is monopoly power, and what is the distinction between "competition on the merits" and "exclusionary conduct." The class will culminate in mock presentations to agencies or courts in which students will advocate that certain conduct is proper or improper. Fall 2024 Description: This course provides an in-depth and hands-on look at a core issue in antitrust law: how firms obtain and misuse "market power" or "monopoly power." It does that by focusing more or less equally on (a) the antitrust review of mergers and (b) the law of monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. This is also a "simulation course" examining how antitrust controversies play out within the institutions that administer antitrust laws, and how practicing antitrust lawyers do their work. Students will apply the substantive principles learned in class through merger advocacy exercises and mock advocacy. Those exercises will determine grades. There is no final exam. The first half of the class will consist of a very deep dive into contemporary merger analysis and the merger review process in front of the FTC and DOJ. Students will learn the theory and application of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines (including both the 2010 version and the new 2023 Guidelines). They will analyze real-world mergers (or merger possibilities) and in teams of two present advocacy for or against the deal. The second half of the class will focus on monopolization issues that have arisen in high-technology markets. Case studies will include high-profile actions against Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel and other high-tech icons. This will allow for a Bay Area/Silicon Valley twist on classic issues such as what is monopoly power, and what is the distinction between "competition on the merits" and "exclusionary conduct." The class will culminate in mock presentations to agencies or courts in which students will advocate that certain conduct is proper or improper. |
| Law 252.73 Elon Fought the Law: The Law Won 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 253.4 Taxation of Modern Financial Products 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course introduces students to the role of taxation in the design of financial products and the operation of financial markets. We will cover the basic operating rules for common financial instruments (e.g., debt, equity, options, interest rate swaps), and we will consider the interplay among market needs, tax operating rules, and common law principles that inform the design of financial instruments. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2022 Description: This course introduces students to the role of taxation in the design of financial products and the operation of financial markets. We will cover the basic operating rules for common financial instruments (e.g., debt, equity, options, and future/forward contracts), and we will consider the interplay among market needs, tax operating rules, and common law principles that inform the design of financial instruments. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2023 Description: This course introduces students to the role of taxation in the design of financial products and the operation of financial markets. We will cover the basic operating rules for common financial instruments (e.g., debt, equity, options, and future/forward contracts), and we will consider the interplay among market needs, tax operating rules, and common law principles that inform the design of financial instruments. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2024 Description: This course introduces students to the role of taxation in the design of financial products and the operation of financial markets. We will cover the basic operating rules for common financial instruments (e.g., debt, equity, options, and future/forward contracts), and we will consider the interplay among market needs, tax operating rules, and common law principles that inform the design of financial instruments. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 254.5 Insurance Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course focuses on the interpretation and enforcement of liability, property, health, life and other insurance contracts, including the liability of insurers for bad faith. Emphasis is on the function of insurance in civil litigation, business transactions, the protection of property and personal security. The course also examines the major role insurers perform in shaping public policy, such as the delivery of health care and crisis management. PLEASE NOTE: ENROLLEES CAN USE THIS INSURANCE LAW COURSE TOWARDS ONE OF THE SIX ADDITIONAL CLASSES NEEDED FOR A BUSINESS LAW CERTIFICATE Fall 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 254.51 Insurance, Regulation, and Inequality 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Insurance ideas and practices define the central privileges and responsibilities within a society. This course will introduce the core principles and institutions of insurance, with a particular emphasis on insurance regulation. Insurance regulation refers to the manner through which the government oversees the insurance market to ensure fairness and professionalism among those working for the insurance industry, to prevent the market from collapsing, and to democratize insurance. The course is structured in two distinct parts. Part I focuses on how the government and adjacent regulatory institutions attempt to regulate the insurance industry. Part II turns the tables and focuses on how the insurance industry regulates many aspects of society as a form of private governance. Part I of the course will operate like a doctrinal course while Part II operates as a seminar as students read deeply in particular areas. Some areas we will explore include how insurers, through cyber insurance, attempt to regulate the cybersecurity behavior of organizations, how insurers mediate the way employers understand anti-discrimination law through employment practice liability insurance, how private insurers regulate public police. Throughout the entire course, we will pay particular attention to the conditions under which insurance institutions facilitate and inhibit inequality in society. Students will gain an understanding of the rules and structures that regulate insurance institutions, but also how insurance companies regulate so many aspects of society and the impact these forces have on social and economic inequality. The course meets on these dates: Thursday, January 20th 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, January 21st 10AM-12:10PM AND 3:10PM-5PM Thursday, January 27th 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, January 28th 10AM-12:10PM AND 3:10PM-5PM Shauhin Talesh is Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. He also holds appointments in Criminology, Law & Society and Sociology and also Directs UCI's Law and Graduate Studies Program. Professor Talesh is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work spans law, sociology, and political science. His research interests include the empirical study of law and business organizations, dispute resolution, consumer protection, insurance, and the relationship between law and social inequality. Professor Talesh’s most recent empirical studies examine how cyber insurance and employment practice liability insurance operate and in particular, how insurance institutions shape the meaning of law and compliance. Professor Talesh’s scholarship has appeared in multiple law and peer-reviewed social science journals including Law and Society Review and has won multiple awards in Sociology, Political Science and Law & Society. |
| Law 254.52 Anti-Discrimination Policies In Insurance Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Freedom from discrimination on the basis of protected traits, such as race or ethnicity, gender, or health status has long been an important foundational principle across many facets of society. In insurance, anti-discrimination principles are essential, especially given the history of past racial discrimination and redlining in the industry. However, broad anti-discrimination principles can also be at odds with one of the primary roles of insurance: to classify risks. Risk classification requires insurers to differentiate between the risks that individuals bring into the insurance pool and to charge premiums commensurate with this risk. In insurance, unfair discrimination would be the failure to treat unequal risks unequally in a way that is against actuarial evidence. This class explores the tensions between two conceptions of fairness, social and actuarial, that undergird anti-discrimination rules in insurance. The class will utilize examples of current debates occurring amongst regulators, such as the use of credit scores, genetic test results, and algorithms in insurance underwriting. Given that not all students will have a background in insurance, the class will begin with an overview of key insurance principles and regulatory systems. Professor Bio: Anya Prince is a Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law. Professor Prince’s teaching and research interests explore health and genetic privacy, with a particular focus on genetic discrimination, the health privacy and insurance implications of big data, and the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomic testing. Her interdisciplinary work has been published in legal, bioethics, and medical journals, including North Carolina Law Review, Iowa Law Review, JAMA, the American Journal of Bioethics, Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, and Genetics in Medicine. In Spring 2023 she will be a Visiting Scholar at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Department of Bioethics. |
| Law 254.53 Justice, Equality and Insurance: the Theory of Insurance Anti-discrimination Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: In the insurance industry, distinguishing between high- and low-risk individuals is essential for profitability. However, these risk assessments often correlate with characteristics such as gender, race, and age. This correlation raises important theoretical and practical questions: should insurance companies be allowed to charge older individuals more for life insurance compared to younger individuals? Is it acceptable for them to charge women more than men, or certain racial groups more than others? This course embarks on a comprehensive exploration of Insurance Anti-discrimination Law, offering a detailed analysis of the challenges and ethical considerations that arise when insurance practices intersect with principles of justice and equality. We will delve into the foundational principles of insurance law and their connection to issues of discrimination and inequality. The course will critically examine the theoretical frameworks that underpin anti-discrimination law and explore their application within the complex insurance industry. Additionally, we will review pivotal legal cases, statutes, and regulations that shape the field of insurance anti-discrimination law. Moreover, we will investigate the crucial role that governmental agencies and regulatory bodies play in shaping policies related to insurance anti-discrimination. By participating in this course, you will gain a nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding insurance anti-discrimination law and develop the skills to navigate and contribute meaningfully to the ongoing discourse at the intersection of law, justice, and societal equality. The final grade will be based on constructive class participation (10%), two 1–2 page critiques of the reading materials (20%), and a final paper of up to 2,000 words. Check my UT Austin web page: https://law.utexas.edu/faculty/ronen-avraham/ |
| Law 254.8 Sustainable Capitalism & ESG 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Hybrid |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Course Meeting: Wednesday 6:25-8:15PM September 9th-October 28th, except October 7th. The course will be remote September 9th-30th and will be held in-person as public health officials allow October 14th-28th. Capitalism is at a crucial juncture. The global pandemic, racial injustice, rising income inequality, and climate change have only heightened the demands for capitalism to take account of its stakeholders. These demands are coming from investors, regulators, employees, and the public, who are increasingly asking companies to manage their environmental and social impact. Precisely how to meet this growing demand remains unclear. In this class, we will analyze how leading US companies and investors are navigating this new articulation of corporate purpose. Our case studies will delve into a variety of current ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues including: climate change, income inequality, racial injustice, gender, immigration, human capital management, supply chain, and data privacy. We will also apply a comparative lens and examine companies in other jurisdictions are enacting a broader articulation of corporate purpose. There will be some remote and in-person classes. Attendance will be taken at every class and, absent an emergency, students are required to attend all class meetings to receive credit. |
| Law 255 Venture Capital Finance 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This class examines the economics of U.S. venture capital finance and the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics. Special attention will be paid to developing pro-forma financial models that analyze how various contract provisions affect investor and founder cash flows. Among other things, students will study how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. Access to Microsoft Excel is required for this course. Fall 2021 Description: This class examines the economics of U.S. venture capital finance and the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics. Special attention will be paid to developing pro-forma financial models that analyze how various contract provisions affect investor and founder cash flows. Among other things, students will study how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. Access to Microsoft Excel is required for this course. Fall 2022 Description: This class examines the economics of U.S. venture capital finance and the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics. Special attention will be paid to developing pro-forma financial models that analyze how various contract provisions affect investor and founder cash flows. Among other things, students will study how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. Access to Microsoft Excel is required for this course. Spring 2024 Description: This class examines the law and economics of U.S. venture capital (VC) finance, the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics and the legal framework in which such contracting takes place. The course will cover topics relating to venture capital investments in start-up companies, the structure of VC backed companies, the allocation of cash-flow and control rights in these companies, and litigation arising from unique VC arrangements. The course will focus on how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. The course will also discuss various policy debates on the role of VC firms and the governance of startup founders. Prior business law courses or business experience is recommended. Fall 2024 Description: This class examines the law and economics of U.S. venture capital (VC) finance, the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics, and the legal framework in which such contracting takes place. The course will cover topics relating to venture capital investments in start-up companies, the structure of VC-backed companies, the allocation of cash-flow and control rights in these companies, and litigation arising from unique VC arrangements. The course will focus on how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. Students will learn to develop pro-forma financial models that analyze how various contract provisions affect investor and founder cash flows. The course will also discuss various policy debates on the role of VC firms and the governance of startup founders. |
| Law 255.1 Negotiating Hollywood Contracts 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will introduce the student to legal and business issues surrounding the negotiation of agreements for talent with entertainment companies in the theatrical and television business. The course will involve three or different negotiations and explore the issues which may arise: with a major studio for an option and purchase of book/remake rights with a producing component; with a "mini-major" for a producer and for writers and directors; with an equity financier for an "independent film;" and with a streaming company or other television entity. Major practitioners in the field will be present, along with the instructor, to discuss the issues which may arise in the negotiations between the lawyer for the talent and the lawyer for the financier/distributor, but also to discuss the entertainment business and the changes in the media world more extensively. The course will meet over three days: Thursday, October 1 from 6:25-9:05pm Friday, October 2, from 10:00-12:00pm and 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, October 3, from 9:00-12:00 and 1:30-4:10pm Linda Lichter received her degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1973 and her law degree from Berkeley Law in 1976. After practicing in other firms, she formed Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark, Inc. in 1992. The firm specializes in representing individuals and companies in their transactions in the entertainment business. Linda has also been involved in the legal and business aspects of development, production, sales and distribution of many studio and independent features. She has been included on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of the “100 Most Powerful Lawyers in Hollywood” and the “100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood” and "Variety 500" numerous times. She has also been listed as one of the best lawyers in America in Chambers USA and Super Lawyers. She has taught or lectured at Stanford Business School, the UCLA and USC Entertainment Law Symposiums, and has been on numerous panels for FIND, IFP East, and Sundance. Linda is the Chair of the Board of Governors of The Telluride Film Festival, and is on the Board of Los Angeles Theatre Works. Fall 2021 Description: This course will introduce students to legal and business issues surrounding the negotiation of agreements for talent with entertainment companies in the theatrical film and streaming business. The course will involve three or more different types of deals and explore the issues which may arise: with a major studio for an option and purchase of book/remake rights with a producing component; with a "mini-major" for a producer and a writer and director; with an equity financier for an "independent film;" and with a streaming company or other television entity. Major practitioners in the field may be present, along with the instructor, to discuss the issues which may arise in the negotiations, from the basics of deals to the subtle dance between the lawyer for the talent and the lawyer for the financier/distributor, but also to discuss the entertainment business and the changes happening in the media world more extensively. The course will meet over three days: Thursday, September 30th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, October 1st 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, October 2nd 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM - 4:10 PM Linda Lichter received her degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1973 and her law degree from Berkeley Law in 1976. After practicing in other firms, she founded what is now Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark, Inc. in 1992. The firm specializes in representing individuals and companies in their transactions in the entertainment business. Linda has been involved in the legal and business aspects of development, production, sales and distribution of many studio films, independent features, television series and documentaries. She has been included on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of the “100 Most Powerful Lawyers in Hollywood” and the “100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood” and "Variety 500" numerous times. She has also been listed as one of the best lawyers in America in Chambers USA and Super Lawyers. She has taught or lectured at Stanford Business School, the UCLA and USC Entertainment Law Symposiums, and has been on numerous panels for FIND, IFP East, and Sundance. Linda is the Chair of the Board of Governors of The Telluride Film Festival, and is on the Board of Los Angeles Theatre Works. She is married and has three children. Fall 2022 Description: This course will introduce students to basic and more sophisticated legal and business issues surrounding the negotiation of agreements for intellectual property and for the services of talent with entertainment companies in the theatrical film and streaming business. The course will involve three or more different types of deals and explore the issues which may arise negotiating an option and purchase of book/remake rights or other rights; services agreements for a producer, writer and director with an equity financier for an "independent film,” and with studios and streaming companies . Major practitioners in the field may be present, who, along with the instructor, will discuss the issues which may arise in these negotiations, and the subtle dance between the lawyer for the talent and the lawyer for the financier/distributor. We will also discuss the cataclysmic changes happening the entertainment business and in the media more extensively, and the lawyer’s role in those changes. Fall 2023 Description: This course is an introduction to basic and more sophisticated legal and business issues which arise in the agreements for sales of intellectual property and for the services of talent making motion pictures for the theatrical and streaming business. We will discuss elements of agreements to option and purchase book/remake rights or other rights; services agreements for producers, writers and directors; with equity financiers for an "independent film;” and with studios and streaming companies . Along with the instructor, major practitioners in the field will be guests, and we will discuss the issues which may arise in these negotiations, and the subtle dance between the lawyer for the talent and the lawyer for the financier/distributor. We will also explore the cataclysmic changes happening the entertainment business and in the media more extensively, and the lawyer’s role in mediating and responding to those changes. I am a proud graduate of UC Berkeley and its law school. I have worked in private practice doing transactional entertainment work for more than 40 years, primarily representing individuals, negotiating their deals for rights and services, as well as providing general advice and counsel. I’ve also sold books and films. I was very involved in the beginnings of the American independent film movement. My clients contributed to such films as Little Miss Sunshine, Ghostworld, Juno, Gladiator, RoboCop, Point Break, Billy Madison, Paranormal Activity, Nomadland, and A Man Called Otto, to name just a few. I am married and have 3 children and 2 grandchildren. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: This course is an introduction to basic and more sophisticated legal and business issues arising in agreements for sales of intellectual property and services of talent in the theatrical and streaming entertainment business. We will discuss agreements for the option and purchase book/remake rights or other intellectual property; services agreements for producers, writers and directors; with equity investors who provide funding for "independent films;” and with studios and streaming companies. Along with the instructor, guests will attend the class who are top practitioners, and we will discuss issues that may arise in these contract negotiations, and the subtle dance between the talent lawyer and the lawyers for the studio/financier/distributor. We will also explore the cataclysmic changes happening in the entertainment business and in the media, and the lawyer’s role in mediating and responding to those changes. I am a proud graduate of UC Berkeley and its law school. I have worked in private practice doing transactional entertainment work for more than 40 years, primarily representing individual writers, producers, directors, and actors, negotiating their deals for rights and services, as well as providing general advice and counsel. I’ve also sold books, screenplays and films. I was very involved at the inception of the American independent film movement. My clients contributed to such films as Little Miss Sunshine, Ghostworld, Juno, Gladiator, RoboCop, Point Break, Billy Madison, Paranormal Activity, Nomadland, and A Man Called Otto, to name just a few. I am married to a reformed film and tv director and have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 255.11S Venture Capital in Practice 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: It's been said that Silicon Valley is the greatest creation of wealth in the history of the planet. This course will focus on legal and business aspect of what goes on here in the day-to-day life of a corporate attorney advising technology and emerging growth startup companies. The course will touch on key events in the life-cycle of a startup: considerations in starting a technology-based business; choices and details in forming an entity to hold that business; seeking early stage funding; raising venture capital; the fundamental concepts and basic mechanics of a venture capital financing; all pointed toward a liquidity event, such as an IPO. In each case, the emphasis will be on business realities and practical solutions, such as what makes for a good business to attract venture capital; how should entrepreneurs seek investment and the pros and cons of different investment sources; and how founders and investors interact to allocate rewards of the venture between them. The course will be taught using many examples taken from real life. This course is for credit/no credit. Summer 2022 Description: It's been said that Silicon Valley is the greatest creation of wealth in the history of the planet. This course will focus on legal and business aspect of what goes on here in the day-to-day life of a corporate attorney advising technology and emerging growth startup companies. The course will touch on key events in the life-cycle of a startup: considerations in starting a technology-based business; choices and details in forming an entity to hold that business; seeking early stage funding; raising venture capital; the fundamental concepts and basic mechanics of a venture capital financing; all pointed toward a liquidity event, such as an IPO. In each case, the emphasis will be on business realities and practical solutions, such as what makes for a good business to attract venture capital; how should entrepreneurs seek investment and the pros and cons of different investment sources; and how founders and investors interact to allocate rewards of the venture between them. The course will be taught using many examples taken from real life. Summer 2023 Description: It's been said that Silicon Valley is the source of the greatest creation of wealth in the history. This course will focus on legal and business matters encountered in the day-to-day life of corporate attorneys who advise technology and emerging growth startup companies. The course will touch on key issues and events in the life-cycle of a startup: + Things entrepreneurs consider in starting a technology-based business. + Choices in forming an entity to hold that business. + The typical corporate ownership and governance structure of a startup that intends to seek venture capital funding. + Seeking early stage, pre-VC funding. + Incentivizing engineers and other key contributors. + The process of actually obtaining venture capital. + The fundamental concepts and basic mechanics of a venture capital financing. In each case, the emphasis will be on business realities and practical solutions, such as what makes for a good business to attract venture capital; how should entrepreneurs seek investment and the pros and cons of different sources of capital; and how founders and investors interact to allocate rewards of the venture between them. The course will be taught using many examples taken from real life. Remote + Summer Students Please NOTE: You cannot take Venture Capital in the fall semester if you take it in the summer. Summer 2024 Description: It's been said that Silicon Valley is the source of the greatest creation of wealth in history. This course will focus on legal and business matters encountered in the day-to-day life of corporate attorneys in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the U.S. who advise technology and emerging growth startup companies. The course will touch on key issues and events in the life-cycle of a startup, including: + Things entrepreneurs should consider in starting a technology-based business. + Choices in forming an entity to hold that business. + The typical corporate ownership and governance structure of a startup that intends to seek venture capital funding. + Seeking early-stage, pre-VC funding. + Incentivizing engineers and other key contributors. + The process of actually obtaining venture capital. + The fundamental concepts and basic mechanics of venture capital financing. In each case, the emphasis will be on business realities and practical solutions, such as what makes for a good business to attract venture capital; how entrepreneurs should seek investment and the pros and cons of different sources of capital; and how founders and investors interact to allocate control of their venture and the risks and rewards from it between them. The course will be taught using many examples taken from real life. Remote + Summer Students PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take Venture Capital in the fall semester if you take it in the summer. Summer 2025 Description: It's been said that Silicon Valley is the source of the greatest creation of wealth in history. This course will focus on legal and business matters encountered in the day-to-day life of corporate attorneys in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the U.S. who advise technology and emerging growth startup companies. The course will touch on key issues and events in the life-cycle of a startup, including: + Things entrepreneurs should consider when starting a technology-based business. + Choices in forming an entity to hold that business. + The typical corporate ownership and governance structure of a startup that intends to seek venture capital funding. + Seeking early-stage, pre-venture-capital funding. + Incentivizing engineers and other key contributors. + The process of actually obtaining venture capital funding. + The fundamental concepts and basic mechanics of venture capital financing. In each case, the emphasis will be on business realities and practical solutions, such as what makes for a good business to attract venture capital; how entrepreneurs should seek investment, and the pros and cons of different sources of capital; and how founders and investors interact to allocate between them control of their venture and the risks and rewards from it. The course will be taught using many examples taken from real life. Professor Fockler has been an attorney for over 40 years in the Corporate and Securities Department of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the nation's leading law firm representing technology and emerging growth companies. He has worked with hundreds of technology companies, from new startups to multi-billion dollar global enterprises, advising them on a wide range of corporate and securities matters, including company formation, structuring and operations; employee equity incentives; venture capital and strategic financings; corporate governance; mergers and acquisitions; initial public offerings; SEC reporting; public company financing and governance; and technology licensing. Remote + Summer Students PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take Venture Capital in the fall semester if you take it in the summer. |
| Law 255.2 Gaming Law: Gambling, Fantasy Sports, Online Wagers 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course focuses on international as well as US state and tribal gaming jurisdictions' laws and regulations governing and regulating gambling. This will specifically include state, national and international laws and regulations governing land based casino gaming, class II gaming - Native American gaming, internet casino gaming, sports betting - land based and internet, mobile gaming and lotteries. The course will also include an overview of the nature of administrative law. Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on regulatory and gaming law, as well as utility regulation and commercial law. Mr. Trachok has an extensive background in gaming law, particularly from the international perspective. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, finances and culture. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG, and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for London-based IGT, obtaining gaming licenses in Nevada and other jurisdictions. In addition to his gaming work, Mr. Trachok also focuses on utility regulation. He worked as the lead outside regulatory counsel for NV Energy and handled all rate and resource planning cases for the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada from 2006 through 2013. Mr. Trachok has served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Nevada, Reno, and at the University of San Francisco School of Law from 2006 to 2013, where he taught International Trade. |
| Law 255.4 Representing Professional Athletes 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: In this course, we will focus on the agency relationship, the representation of amateur and professional athletes and the issues lawyers representing athletes face in professional practice. While I will endeavor to cover athlete representation across a wide range of sports, the course will be based primarily on representing current and prospective professional athletes in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The Course will use some text material, but the weekly reading, class lectures, and discussion will draw primarily from my experiences and expertise as a practitioner and current events in the sports world. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup classes because of unforeseen circumstances this course has 3 automatic make-up classes scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2021 Description: In this course, we will focus on the agency relationship, the representation of amateur and professional athletes and the issues lawyers representing athletes face in professional practice. While I will endeavor to cover athlete representation across a wide range of sports, the course will be based primarily on representing current and prospective professional athletes in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The Course will use some text material, but the weekly reading, class lectures, and discussion will draw primarily from my experiences and expertise as a practitioner and current events in the sports world. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup classes because of unforeseen circumstances this course has 3 automatic make-up classes scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 10 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Genske was born and raised in Southern California, where he attended Pepperdine University, receiving his B.S. in Business Administration. He subsequently received his J.D. from renowned University of California at Berkeley School of Law, where he now teaches courses on sports law, representing professional athletes and negotiations. Prior to entering the sports industry, he practiced with leading national law firms as a trial attorney and also negotiated multi-million-dollar transactions on behalf of emerging growth and Fortune 500 companies. Genske is a lawyer and Major League Baseball Players Association certified player representative. In July 2020, Genske merged his GEM Agency with Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerSports to create VaynerBaseball. Genske serves as VaynerBaseball’s CEO and oversees all of VaynerSports’ baseball player representation activities. In October 2019, Genske launched the GEM Agency in partnership with Hicks Equity Partners, the private equity arm of Tom Hicks and his family. Prior to launching GEM, Genske was Executive Director and President of Baseball for The Legacy Agency. Since 2015, Genske has served as a law professor at the University of California-Berkeley, his alma mater, teaching classes on sports law, representing professional athletes and negotiations. In 2009, Genske was named to Sports Business Daily’s prestigious 40 under 40 list. Fall 2022 Description: In this course, we will focus on the agency relationship, the representation of amateur and professional athletes and the issues lawyers representing athletes face in professional practice. While I will endeavor to cover athlete representation across a wide range of sports, the course will be based primarily on representing current and prospective professional athletes in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The Course will use some text material, but the weekly reading, class lectures, and discussion will draw primarily from my experiences and expertise as a practitioner and current events in the sports world. Fall 2024 Description: In this course, we will focus on the agency relationship, the representation of amateur and professional athletes and the issues lawyers representing athletes face in professional practice. While I will endeavor to cover athlete representation across a wide range of sports, the course will be based primarily on representing current and prospective professional athletes in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The Course will use some text material, but the weekly reading, class lectures, and discussion will draw primarily from my experiences and expertise as a practitioner and current events in the sports world. Fall 2025 Description: In this course, we will focus on the agency relationship, the representation of amateur and professional athletes, and the issues lawyers representing athletes face in professional practice. While I will endeavor to cover athlete representation across a wide range of sports, the course will be based primarily on representing current and prospective professional athletes in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The course will use some text material, but the weekly reading, class lectures, and discussion will draw primarily from my experiences and expertise as a practitioner and current events in the sports world. Greg Genske was born and raised in Southern California, where he attended Pepperdine University, receiving his B.S. in Business Administration. He subsequently received his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. Prior to entering the sports industry, he practiced with leading national law firms as a trial attorney and also negotiated multi-million-dollar transactions on behalf of emerging growth and Fortune 500 companies. Genske is a lawyer and certified Major League Baseball Players Association, National Football League Players Association, and National Basketball Players Association player agent who has represented Hall of Famers, All-Stars, First Round Draft Picks, and hundreds of clients throughout his career. Genske has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the most powerful agents in the world over the last two decades, negotiating over $4 billion in contracts. Additionally, Genske was named to the Sports Business Daily's prestigious 40 under 40 list. In July 2020, Genske joined forces with Gary Vaynerchuk and now serves as the Co-CEO of VaynerSports and oversees all of VaynerSports' Baseball, Action, E-Sports & Football player representation activities. Prior to VaynerSports, Genske was Executive Director and President of The Legacy Agency. Since 2015, Genske has served as a law professor at the University of California-Berkeley, his alma mater, teaching classes in sports law, representing professional athletes, and negotiations. |
| Law 255.5 Securities Regulation 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Fall 2020 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Spring 2021 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Fall 2021 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Spring 2022 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings - including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. Fall 2022 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Spring 2023 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation, financial innovation, and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings—including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. Fall 2023 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation, financial innovation, and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings—including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. Spring 2024 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation, financial innovation, and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings—including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. Fall 2024 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation, financial innovation, and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings—including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. Spring 2025 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation, financial innovation, and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings—including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. Fall 2025 Description: The course is an introduction to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and consists of three main parts. Part One is an introduction to securities regulation, financial innovation, and mandatory disclosure. Part Two discusses mandatory disclosure in greater depth, beginning with public offerings—including the traditional registration process, gun jumping, alternative registration procedures, and liability rules. Next, the boundaries of the 1933 Act are explored, with a focus on exempt securities, exempt transactions, and secondary distributions. Financial reporting is also discussed. Finally, Part Three explores securities litigation. |
| Law 255.51 Federal Securities and Corporate Governance Litigation 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: A comprehensive course for students analyzing advanced topics in securities litigation and corporate governance litigation. This course will explore the strategic and tactical choices inherent in today’s litigation landscape, as well as underlying doctrinal principles. This course will provide students the opportunity to experience many aspects of securities and corporate governance litigation, ranging from the legal and doctrinal issues facing both plaintiffs and defendants to the strategic and tactical choices modern litigants must face. Class discussions will incorporate hypotheticals that replicate typical shareholder lawsuits, such as allegations of product failures and delays, accounting issues, corporate governance issues, management and board breaches of fiduciary duties, SPACs, fintech, crypto, and ESG. There will be an opportunity for students to participate as the “lawyers” in simulated cases, adopting various roles. The goal: a realistic picture of securities and governance litigation. Steven Schatz recently retired as a senior litigation partner specializing in shareholder disputes and fraud matters. He practiced for 50 years, the last 38 years as a senior partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto. Mr. Schatz was lead counsel in over 175 securities and M&A disputes in federal courts throughout the country and in state courts including California and Delaware. Many of Mr. Schatz’s matters were significant cases for well-known clients. Previously, Mr. Schatz served in the Securities Fraud Unit as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's office of the Southern Division of New York where among his trials are the successful prosecution of the former manager of the Beatles, Allen Klein. Currently, Mr. Schatz serves as an independent arbitrator and mediator affiliated with FedArb. Paul Vizcarrondo is Of Counsel to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he was a litigation partner for 40 years. Among the matters in which Mr. Vizcarrondo has been lead counsel in federal and state courts throughout the United States have been cases alleging violations of federal securities and state corporate laws, as well as major corporate contract disputes, and he has tried many to verdicts in favor of his clients, including from juries. Before joining Wachtell, Lipton, Mr. Vizcarrondo served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including in the Securities Fraud Unit, where he obtained convictions from juries in major securities, commodities and tax fraud cases. Catherine Moreno has been a securities litigator for over 20 years, and has been a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for over a decade. She has represented companies, their officers, and directors in dozens of securities class actions, derivative lawsuits, internal investigations and SEC investigations. She has regularly counseled companies on matters of corporate governance and fiduciary duties, and is a frequent speaker and lecturer on matters of securities fraud, disclosure issues, and insider trading. * There is no textbook for this course. All materials will be posted on bCourses* Spring 2025 Description: A comprehensive course for students analyzing advanced topics in securities litigation and corporate governance litigation. This course will explore the strategic and tactical choices inherent in today’s litigation landscape, as well as underlying doctrinal principles. This course will provide students the opportunity to experience many aspects of securities and corporate governance litigation, ranging from the legal and doctrinal issues facing both plaintiffs and defendants to the strategic and tactical choices modern litigants must face. Class discussions will incorporate hypotheticals that replicate typical shareholder lawsuits, such as allegations of product failures and delays, accounting issues, corporate governance issues, management and board breaches of fiduciary duties, fintech, crypto, and ESG. There will be an opportunity for students to participate as the “lawyers” in simulated cases, adopting various roles. The goal: a realistic picture of securities and governance litigation. Steven Schatz recently retired as a senior litigation partner specializing in shareholder disputes and fraud matters. He practiced for 50 years, the last 38 years as a senior partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto. Mr. Schatz was lead counsel in over 175 securities and M&A disputes in federal courts throughout the country and in state courts including California and Delaware. Many of Mr. Schatz’s matters were significant cases for well-known clients. Previously, Mr. Schatz served in the Securities Fraud Unit as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's office of the Southern Division of New York where among his trials are the successful prosecution of the former manager of the Beatles, Allen Klein. Currently, Mr. Schatz serves as an independent arbitrator and mediator affiliated with FedArb. Paul Vizcarrondo is Of Counsel to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he was a litigation partner for 40 years. Among the matters in which Mr. Vizcarrondo has been lead counsel in federal and state courts throughout the United States have been cases alleging violations of federal securities and state corporate laws, as well as major corporate contract disputes, and he has tried many to verdicts in favor of his clients, including from juries. Before joining Wachtell, Lipton, Mr. Vizcarrondo served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including in the Securities Fraud Unit, where he obtained convictions from juries in major securities, commodities and tax fraud cases. Catherine Moreno has been a securities litigator for over 20 years, and was a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for over a decade. She has represented companies, their officers, and directors in dozens of securities class actions, derivative lawsuits, internal investigations and SEC investigations. She has regularly counseled companies on matters of corporate governance and fiduciary duties, and is a frequent speaker and lecturer on matters of securities fraud, disclosure issues, and insider trading. * There is no textbook for this course. All materials will be posted on bCourses* |
| Law 255.5S Securities Regulation 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. This course will meet in-person on campus on June 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th in Warren (room 295). Summer 2022 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Summer 2023 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Summer 2025 Description: The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that the U.S. imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. We review U.S. laws regulating securities offerings and trading. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. Professor Gadinis’ research examines questions in corporate law and financial regulation, both domestic and international. He is particularly interested in the interplay between companies and regulators, exploring the institutional framework for law enforcement, compliance, and risk management. In the last few years, he has focused on sustainability and social issues as an attempt to expand the scope of corporate governance. In Corporate Law and Social Risk (co-authored with Amelia Miazad)(2020 Vanderbilt Law Review), the focus is on stakeholder outreach as a governance system seeking to identify and address social risks for the business. In a follow-up article, A Test of Stakeholder Capitalism (co-authored with Amelia Miazad) they explore how corporations relied on feedback from stakeholders to address the implications of the Covid pandemic. His article The Hidden Power of Compliance (co-authored with Amelia Miazad)(2019 Minnesota Law Review) explores how extensive internal reporting within companies impacts the liability of board members. In Collaborative Gatekeepers (co-authored with Colby Mangels)(2016 Washington & Lee Law Review) he explores anti-money laundering law as a model of pro-active misconduct reporting. Gadinis’ work has also traced the spread of financial standards around the world, showing how private, regulator, or government supports leads to distinct results (Three Pathways to Global Standards, 2015 American Journal of International Law). Gadinis has argued that systemic risk reforms introduced after the 2008 financial crisis has resulted in increasing the role of political appointees over independent regulators in the oversight of the financial system (2012 California Law Review). Before entering academia, Gadinis practiced corporate law for four years in Europe. Gadinis completed his S.J.D. at Harvard in May 2010. He also holds an LL.M. degree from the University of Cambridge (UK), and a law degree from Aristotle University, Greece. |
| Law 255.6 Topics in Sports Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course examines the multiple fields of law that influence the governance and operation of American sport. . The primary focus is on antitrust, labor, and intellectual property law; there is also coverage of criminal and civil liability for participants, the application of the ADA to sports, Title IX, First Amendment rights, medical issues, and social policy issues that arise within the context of sports. We will look not only at professional sports; we also study legal issues affecting the NCAA and interscholastic sports. There is no prerequisite for the study of any of these fields; the fundamentals of each legal area are studied in the class. Class reading materials are posted on bCourses; there is no casebook. The reading and the class discussion during the year will be augmented by current events as they arise, such as labor disputes, gambling statutes, franchise relocation, substance abuse, on-field violence, and other current events that augment the academic content. Students are also encouraged to suggest topics for discussion. The Final Examination is essay, open-book, take home. Consideration in final grading will be given to attendance and class participation. The instructor was a practicing attorney, President of the Oakland Athletics, Board Member of the Women's Professional Tennis Association, Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences, Interim President of San Francisco Art Institute, and coached freshmen rowing at U.C. Berkeley. Spring 2023 Description: Sports and the Law surveys the major legal issues in sports. The course explores the diverse legal fields that influence and govern the management and regulation of professional sports, including the law of private associations, antitrust law, labor law, intellectual property, and the fiduciary duties of sports agents. It will also provide students with broad knowledge of the business practices at the core of professional sports. D’Lonra C. Ellis is the Chief Legal Officer of the Oakland Athletics and the San Jose Earthquakes. She works on all of the organizations’ legal matters, including their intellectual property, real estate, employment, commercial, and government affairs matters. She also oversees the People Operations and Technology departments for the Oakland Athletics. Prior to joining the Oakland Athletics and the San Jose Earthquakes, D’Lonra was the General Counsel of Aspire Public Schools; a Director and Senior Corporate Counsel in the intellectual property, marketing and advertising group at Gap Inc.; and a litigation associate at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin (now Arnold & Porter). Spring 2024 Description: Sports and the Law surveys the major legal issues in sports. The course explores the diverse legal fields that influence and govern the management and regulation of professional sports, including the law of private associations, antitrust law, labor law, intellectual property, and the fiduciary duties of sports agents. It will also provide students with broad knowledge of the business practices at the core of professional sports. D’Lonra C. Ellis is the Chief Legal Officer of the Oakland Athletics and the San Jose Earthquakes. She works on all of the organizations’ legal matters, including their intellectual property, real estate, employment, commercial, and government affairs matters. She also oversees the People Operations and Technology departments for the Oakland Athletics. Prior to joining the Oakland Athletics and the San Jose Earthquakes, D’Lonra was the General Counsel of Aspire Public Schools; a Director and Senior Corporate Counsel in the intellectual property, marketing and advertising group at Gap Inc.; and a litigation associate at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin (now Arnold & Porter). Spring 2025 Description: Sports and the Law surveys the major legal issues in sports. The course explores the diverse legal fields that influence and govern the management and regulation of professional sports, including the law of private associations, antitrust law, labor law, intellectual property, and the fiduciary duties of sports agents. It will also provide students with broad knowledge of the business practices at the core of professional sports. D’Lonra C. Ellis is the Chief Legal Officer of the Oakland Athletics and the San Jose Earthquakes. She works on all of the organizations’ legal matters, including their intellectual property, real estate, employment, commercial, and government affairs matters. She also oversees the People Operations and Technology departments for the Oakland Athletics. Prior to joining the Oakland Athletics and the San Jose Earthquakes, D’Lonra was the General Counsel of Aspire Public Schools; a Director and Senior Corporate Counsel in the intellectual property, marketing and advertising group at Gap Inc.; and a litigation associate at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin (now Arnold & Porter). |
| Law 255.61 Evolving Topics in Sports Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: “Sports Law” is a rapidly-evolving concept and practice area as societal and economic trends drive changes in the organization and practice of sports. "Evolving Topics in Sports Law: From Theory to Practice," which will be taught in [TBD] class meetings, will dive deep into areas where existing laws and rules, and the related practice of law, are under challenge from massive changes in the sports and cultural landscape. The focus will be on understanding the issues and identifying ways that practicing attorneys are working to deal with and drive the change. The course will cover topics such as the future of college sports, athlete rights, gender and sports, drug testing, and the challenge of staging global games. Class sessions will include lectures, class discussions, and interactions with key practitioners. This seminar will be taught by Craig Masback, who has spent a 40-year career in sports as a professional athlete, TV commentator, founder of a sports marketing start-up, lawyer, CEO of a sports organization, and senior executive at Nike. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 255.9 Venture Capital Deal Bootcamp 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will introduce students to typical business transactions in the life cycle of a business, providing students with substantial drafting and negotiation experiences, as well as exposure to the ethical, tax and other legal and business issues raised by the representation of corporate clients in a transactional practice. The course takes a hands-on approach, centered on student-led, immersive experiential exercises and case studies. On the first day of class, the students will collectively pick a hypothetical business as the context for experiential exploration throughout the semester. This course will examine the life cycle of that business, focusing in detail on sample transactions from two of the major stages of a business’s life cycle: formation and initial financing (including choice of entity, and early-round seed and venture capital offerings); and exiting or sale of the company (including IPOs and recapitalizations). Students will analyze, structure and negotiate transactions in both stages, draft select provisions of key contracts, and receive instruction from and report to “clients”. In addition, during the life cycle of the business, the students will be confronted with various ethical issues that arise in practice from a practical perspective, such as whether to engage with a potential client, whether to invest in or alongside a client, whether to accept a seat on the board of directors, and to whom duties are owed when the client is a business entity rather than an individual. This course will emphasize active role playing, with students at various times playing the role of attorney, client, executive officer and judge, in a manner similar to what they will encounter as practicing attorneys. In addition to frequent feedback from the instructor, students will also be evaluating themselves and each other in such roles. This student-driven evaluation approach will serve as an important learning tool in the course and will provide opportunities for self-reflection. This course will meet for 10 classes. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor Neil J Wertlieb is visiting from UCLA School of Law, where he is a Lecturer in Law, and has taught a transaction skills course every year since 2002. He is an experienced transactional lawyer who provides expert witness services in litigation and arbitration matters. He has practiced transactional law for over three decades, most recently as a Partner at Milbank LLP where his practice focused primarily on acquisitions, securities offerings and restructurings. He is also the General Editor of Ballantine & Sterling: California Corporation Laws, a 7-volume treatise on the laws governing corporations and other business entities in California. Mr. Wertlieb is a founding member and current Chair of the Ethics Committee of the California Lawyers Association. He served as Chair of each of the following committees of the California State Bar: the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section and the Corporations Committee. He is also the immediate past Chair of the Professional Responsibility and Conduct Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Wertlieb received his law degree in 1984 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Management Science from the School of Business Administration also at the University of California at Berkeley. While at UC Berkeley School of Law, he also served as a Judicial Extern for Justice Stanley Mosk on the California Supreme Court. Fall 2021 Description: This course will introduce students to typical business transactions in the life cycle of a business, providing students with substantial drafting and negotiation experiences, as well as exposure to the ethical, tax and other legal and business issues raised by the representation of corporate clients in a transactional practice. The course takes a hands-on approach, centered on student-led, immersive experiential exercises and case studies. On the first day of class, the students will collectively pick a hypothetical business as the context for experiential exploration throughout the semester. This course will examine the life cycle of that business, focusing in detail on sample transactions from two of the major stages of a business’s life cycle: formation and initial financing (including choice of entity, and early-round seed and venture capital offerings); and exiting or sale of the company (including IPOs and recapitalizations). Students will analyze, structure and negotiate transactions in both stages, draft select provisions of key contracts, and receive instruction from and report to “clients”. In addition, during the life cycle of the business, the students will be confronted with various ethical issues that arise in practice from a practical perspective, such as whether to engage with a potential client, whether to invest in or alongside a client, whether to accept a seat on the board of directors, and to whom duties are owed when the client is a business entity rather than an individual. This course will emphasize active role playing, with students at various times playing the role of attorney, client, executive officer and judge, in a manner similar to what they will encounter as practicing attorneys. In addition to frequent feedback from the instructor, students will also be evaluating themselves and each other in such roles. This student-driven evaluation approach will serve as an important learning tool in the course and will provide opportunities for self-reflection. This course will have 10 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for November 1st. Students must be able to attend all 11 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Instructor Neil J Wertlieb is visiting from UCLA School of Law, where he is a Lecturer in Law, and has taught a transaction skills course every year since 2002. He is an experienced transactional lawyer who provides expert witness services in litigation and arbitration matters. He has practiced transactional law for over three decades, most recently as a Partner at Milbank LLP where his practice focused primarily on acquisitions, securities offerings and restructurings. He is also the General Editor of Ballantine & Sterling: California Corporation Laws, a 7-volume treatise on the laws governing corporations and other business entities in California. Mr. Wertlieb is a founding member and current Chair of the Ethics Committee of the California Lawyers Association. He served as Chair of each of the following committees of the California State Bar: the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section and the Corporations Committee. He is also a past Chair of the Professional Responsibility and Conduct Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Wertlieb received his law degree in 1984 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Management Science from the School of Business Administration also at the University of California at Berkeley. While at UC Berkeley School of Law, he also served as a Judicial Extern for Justice Stanley Mosk on the California Supreme Court. Fall 2022 Description: This course will introduce students to typical business transactions in the life cycle of a business, providing students with substantial drafting and negotiation experiences, as well as exposure to the ethical, tax and other legal and business issues raised by the representation of corporate clients in a transactional practice. The course takes a hands-on approach, centered on student-led, immersive experiential exercises and case studies. On the first day of class, the students will collectively pick a hypothetical business as the context for experiential exploration throughout the semester. This course will examine the life cycle of that business, focusing in detail on sample transactions from two of the major stages of a business’s life cycle: formation and initial financing (including choice of entity, and early-round seed and venture capital offerings); and exiting or sale of the company (including IPOs and recapitalizations). Students will analyze, structure and negotiate transactions in both stages, draft select provisions of key contracts, and receive instruction from and report to “clients”. In addition, during the life cycle of the business, the students will be confronted with various ethical issues that arise in practice from a practical perspective, such as whether to engage with a potential client, whether to invest in or alongside a client, whether to accept a seat on the board of directors, and to whom duties are owed when the client is a business entity rather than an individual. This course will emphasize active role playing, with students at various times playing the role of attorney, client, executive officer and judge, in a manner similar to what they will encounter as practicing attorneys. In addition to frequent feedback from the instructor, students will also be evaluating themselves and each other in such roles. This student-driven evaluation approach will serve as an important learning tool in the course and will provide opportunities for self-reflection. This course will have 10 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for November 7th. Students must be able to attend all 11 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Instructor Neil J Wertlieb is visiting from UCLA School of Law, where he is a Lecturer in Law, and has taught a transaction skills course every year since 2002. He is an experienced transactional lawyer who provides expert witness services in litigation and arbitration matters. He has practiced transactional law for over three decades, most recently as a Partner at Milbank LLP where his practice focused primarily on acquisitions, securities offerings and restructurings. He is also the General Editor of Ballantine & Sterling: California Corporation Laws, a 7-volume treatise on the laws governing corporations and other business entities in California. Mr. Wertlieb is a founding member and current Chair of the Ethics Committee of the California Lawyers Association. He served as Chair of each of the following committees of the California State Bar: the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section and the Corporations Committee. He is also a past Chair of the Professional Responsibility and Conduct Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Wertlieb received his law degree in 1984 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Management Science from the School of Business Administration also at the University of California at Berkeley. While at UC Berkeley School of Law, he also served as a Judicial Extern for Justice Stanley Mosk on the California Supreme Court. Fall 2023 Description: This course will introduce students to typical business transactions in the life cycle of a business, providing students with substantial drafting and negotiation experiences, as well as exposure to the ethical, tax and other legal and business issues raised by the representation of corporate clients in a transactional practice. The course takes a hands-on approach, centered on student-led, immersive experiential exercises and case studies. On the first day of class, the students will collectively pick a hypothetical business as the context for experiential exploration throughout the semester. This course will examine the life cycle of that business, focusing in detail on sample transactions from two of the major stages of a business’s life cycle: formation and initial financing (including choice of entity, and early-round seed and venture capital offerings); and exiting or sale of the company (including IPOs and recapitalizations). Students will analyze, structure and negotiate transactions in both stages, draft select provisions of key contracts, and receive instruction from and report to “clients”. In addition, during the life cycle of the business, the students will be confronted with various ethical issues that arise in practice from a practical perspective, such as whether to engage with a potential client, whether to invest in or alongside a client, whether to accept a seat on the board of directors, and to whom duties are owed when the client is a business entity rather than an individual. This course will emphasize active role playing, with students at various times playing the role of attorney, client, executive officer and judge, in a manner similar to what they will encounter as practicing attorneys. In addition to frequent feedback from the instructor, students will also be evaluating themselves and each other in such roles. This student-driven evaluation approach will serve as an important learning tool in the course and will provide opportunities for self-reflection. Instructor Neil J Wertlieb is an experienced transactional lawyer who currently serves as the General Counsel at the law firm of Milbank LLP. Mr. Wertlieb is visiting from UCLA School of Law, where he is a Lecturer in Law, and has taught a transaction skills course every year since 2002. Mr. Wertlieb has practiced transactional law for over three decades, mostly as a Partner at Milbank LLP, where his practice focused primarily on acquisitions, securities offerings and restructurings. He has represented clients in a wide variety of business matters, including formation and early round financings, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, international securities offerings and other international transactions, fund formations, joint ventures, partnerships and limited liability companies, reorganizations and restructurings, independent investigations, and general corporate and contractual matters. Mr. Wertlieb has also served as an expert witness in disputes involving business transactions and corporate governance, and in cases involving attorney malpractice and attorney ethics. He is Senior Advisor, Milbank@Harvard, to Harvard Law School Executive Education, and is also the General Editor of Ballantine & Sterling: California Corporation Laws, a 7-volume treatise on the laws governing corporations and other business entities in California. Mr. Wertlieb served as Chairman of the Ethics Committees of each of the California State Bar, the California Lawyers Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He also served as Chairman of the California State Bar’s Business Law Section and its Corporations Committee. Mr. Wertlieb was recognized by California Law Business as one of th e top 100 most influential lawyers in California. Mr. Wertlieb received his law degree in 1984 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Management Science from the School of Business Administration also at the University of California at Berkeley. He is admitted to practice in California, New York and Washington, D.C. He also served as a Judicial Extern for Justice Stanley Mosk on the California Supreme Court. Fall 2024 Description: This course will introduce students to typical business transactions in the life cycle of a business, providing students with substantial drafting and negotiation experiences, as well as exposure to the ethical, tax and other legal and business issues raised by the representation of corporate clients in a transactional practice. The course takes a hands-on approach, centered on student-led, immersive experiential exercises and case studies. On the first day of class, the students will collectively pick a hypothetical business as the context for experiential exploration throughout the semester. This course will examine the life cycle of that business, focusing in detail on sample transactions from two of the major stages of a business’s life cycle: formation and initial financing (including choice of entity, and early-round seed and venture capital offerings); and exiting or sale of the company (including IPOs and recapitalizations). Students will analyze, structure, and negotiate transactions in both stages, draft select provisions of key contracts, and receive instruction from and report to “clients”. In addition, during the life cycle of the business, the students will be confronted with various ethical issues that arise in practice from a practical perspective, such as whether to engage with a potential client, whether to invest in or alongside a client, whether to accept a seat on the board of directors, and to whom duties are owed when the client is a business entity rather than an individual. This course will emphasize active role-playing, with students at various times playing the role of attorney, client, executive officer and judge, like what they will encounter as practicing attorneys. In addition to frequent feedback from the instructor, students will also be evaluating themselves and each other in such roles. This student-driven evaluation approach will serve as an important learning tool in the course and will provide opportunities for self-reflection. Instructor Neil J Wertlieb is an experienced transactional lawyer who currently serves as the General Counsel at the law firm of Milbank LLP. Mr. Wertlieb is visiting from UCLA School of Law, where he is a Lecturer in Law, and has taught a transaction skills course every year since 2002. Mr. Wertlieb has practiced transactional law for over three decades, mostly as a Partner at Milbank LLP, where his practice focused primarily on acquisitions, securities offerings and restructurings. He has represented clients in a wide variety of business matters, including formation and early round financings, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, international securities offerings and other international transactions, fund formations, joint ventures, partnerships and limited liability companies, reorganizations and restructurings, independent investigations, and general corporate and contractual matters. Mr. Wertlieb has also served as an expert witness in disputes involving business transactions and corporate governance, and in cases involving attorney malpractice and attorney ethics. He is Senior Advisor, Milbank@Harvard, to Harvard Law School Executive Education, and is also the General Editor of Ballantine & Sterling: California Corporation Laws, a 7-volume treatise on the laws governing corporations and other business entities in California. Mr. Wertlieb served as Chairman of the Ethics Committees of each of the California State Bar, the California Lawyers Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He also served as Chairman of the California State Bar’s Business Law Section and its Corporations Committee. Mr. Wertlieb was recognized by California Law Business as one of th e top 100 most influential lawyers in California. Mr. Wertlieb received his law degree in 1984 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Management Science from the School of Business Administration also at the University of California at Berkeley. He is admitted to practice in California, New York and Washington, D.C. He also served as a Judicial Extern for Justice Stanley Mosk on the California Supreme Court. Fall 2025 Description: This course will introduce students to typical business transactions in the life cycle of a business, providing students with substantial drafting and negotiation experiences, as well as exposure to the ethical, tax, and other legal and business issues raised by the representation of corporate clients in a transactional practice. The course takes a hands-on approach, centered on student-led, immersive experiential exercises, and case studies. On the first day of class, the students will collectively pick a hypothetical business as the context for experiential exploration throughout the semester. This course will examine the life cycle of that business, focusing in detail on sample transactions from two of the major stages of a business’s life cycle: formation and initial financing (including choice of entity, and early-round seed and venture capital offerings); and exiting or sale of the company (including IPOs and recapitalizations). Students will analyze, structure, and negotiate transactions in both stages, draft select provisions of key contracts, and receive instruction from and report to “clients”. In addition, during the life cycle of the business, the students will be confronted with various ethical issues that arise in practice from a practical perspective, such as whether to engage with a potential client, whether to invest in or alongside a client, whether to accept a seat on the board of directors, and to whom duties are owed when the client is a business entity rather than an individual. This course will emphasize active role-playing, with students at various times playing the role of attorney, client, executive officer, and judge, like what they will encounter as practicing attorneys. In addition to frequent feedback from the instructor, students will also be evaluating themselves and each other in such roles. This student-driven evaluation approach will serve as an important learning tool in the course and will provide opportunities for self-reflection. Instructor Neil J Wertlieb is an experienced transactional lawyer who was a Partner for two decades and served as the General Counsel, at the law firm of Milbank LLP. Mr. Wertlieb is visiting from UCLA School of Law, where he is a Lecturer in Law, and has taught a transaction skills course every year since 2002. Mr. Wertlieb has practiced transactional law for over four decades, including as a Partner at Milbank LLP, where his practice focused primarily on acquisitions, securities offerings, and restructurings. He has represented clients in a wide variety of business matters, including formation and early round financings, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, international securities offerings and other international transactions, fund formations, joint ventures, partnerships and limited liability companies, reorganizations and restructurings, independent investigations, and general corporate and contractual matters. Mr. Wertlieb has also served as an expert witness in disputes involving business transactions and corporate governance, and in cases involving attorney malpractice and attorney ethics. He is a Senior Advisor at Harvard Law School Executive Education, and is also the General Editor of Ballantine & Sterling: California Corporation Laws, a 7-volume treatise on the laws governing corporations and other business entities in California. Mr. Wertlieb served as Chairman of the Ethics Committees of each of the California State Bar, the California Lawyers Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He also served as Chairman of the California State Bar’s Business Law Section and its Corporations Committee. Mr. Wertlieb was recognized by California Law Business as one of the top 100 most influential lawyers in California, and is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association. Mr. Wertlieb received his law degree in 1984 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Management Science from the School of Business also at the University of California at Berkeley. He is admitted to practice in California, New York and Washington, D.C. He also served as a Judicial Extern for Justice Stanley Mosk on the California Supreme Court. |
| Law 255S Venture Capital Law and Finance 3 Units |
| Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2024 Description: This class examines the law and economics of U.S. venture capital (VC) finance, the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics, and the legal framework in which such contracting takes place. The course will cover topics relating to venture capital investments in start-up companies, the structure of VC-backed companies, the allocation of cash-flow and control rights in these companies, and litigation arising from unique VC arrangements. The course will focus on how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. The course will also discuss various policy debates on the role of VC firms and the governance of startup founders. Summer 2025 Description: This class examines the law and economics of U.S. venture capital (VC) finance, the contract structures that are used to achieve these economics, and the legal framework in which such contracting takes place. The course will cover topics relating to venture capital investments in start-up companies, the structure of VC-backed companies, the allocation of cash-flow and control rights in these companies, and litigation arising from unique VC arrangements. The course will focus on how VC contract provisions are designed to protect investors from economic and voting dilution, how they allocate merger consideration in an acquisition of a VC-backed startup company, and how they can be used to incentivize subsequent investment by a company's VC investors. The course will also discuss various policy debates on the role of VC firms and the governance of startup founders. Ofer Eldar,a Professor at Berkeley Law teaches business associations, corporate finance, venture capital, and social entrepreneurship. He also serves as a senior research fellow at the Halle Institute of Economic Research (IWH) and a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute. His research interests include corporate governance, entrepreneurial finance, social impact, and law & economics. His scholarship has been published or is forthcoming in leading finance and economics journals, such as the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics and the Journal of Law & Economics, and law reviews, such as Cornell Law Review and Virginia Law Review. He has presented his studies in various venues, including the NBER Summer Institute and the annual meeting of the American Economic Association. His work has been featured in media outlets such as Bloomberg and the Financial Times. Eldar’s papers are available on SSRN(opens in a new tab) and Google Scholar(opens in a new tab). Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Eldar was a professor of Law, Economics and Finance at Duke University School of Law, and held secondary appointments at the Duke Fuqua School of Business and Duke Economics Department. He also served as a Wagner Fellow in Law & Business at the NYU Stern School of Business, and he practiced corporate law at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London, and at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York. Eldar earned his Ph.D. in financial economics from Yale University, and a J.S.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a Kauffman Fellow in Law & Economics. |
| Law 256 Transactional Drafting for LL.M. Students 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of U.S. contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will break into small teams and complete in-class exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. Spring 2021 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of U.S. contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will break into small teams and complete in-class exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2022 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of U.S. contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will break into small teams and complete in-class exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Spring 2023 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of U.S. contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will break into small teams and complete in-class exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. Spring 2024 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of U.S. contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will break into small teams and complete in-class exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. This course will meet for six sessions: Tuesday, 1/9 from 10:00am-12:10pm in room 141 Friday, 1/12 from 2:30-4:40pm in room 134 Tuesday, 1/16 from 10:00am-12:10pm in room 141 Tuesday, 1/23 from 10:00am-12:10pm in room 141 Friday, 1/26 from 2:30-4:40pm in room 134 Tuesday, 1/30 from 10:00am-12:10pm in room 141 Spring 2025 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of U.S. contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will break into small teams and complete in-class exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. NOTE: In this class, the usual provisions of Add/Drop do not apply. All interested students, whether enrolled or on the waitlist, must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class and the waitlist. No additional students will be permitted to add the course. |
| Law 256.2 Transactional Drafting 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will complete exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Fall 2021 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will complete exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2022 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will complete exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2023 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will complete exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2024 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will complete exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 256.3 Understanding and Drafting Business Documents 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This interactive course will prepare students for general business contract and document drafting. Students will draft, review, and analyze legal and business issues that arise in contracts and other business documents. This course will focus on writing effectively and with precision, translating business terms into legal documents, and presenting legal advice in a business context. In class, students will work individually and in small groups to draft and review business documents. There will be writing assignments throughout the course. BIO: Noga Firstenberg is an attorney with transactional and litigation experience. Noga is currently in-house counsel at Square, Inc. where she advises on product, regulatory, commercial, and privacy issues. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley. Spring 2021 Description: This practice-oriented course will introduce students to contract drafting skills using a variety of transactional documents that are commonly encountered in the tech industry, ranging from short nondisclosure agreements to complex Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements and licenses. Working individually and in small groups, students will gain experience translating business objectives into clear, precise, and enforceable contract terms. Assignments and in-class exercises will address adapting form agreements, drafting new documents, conducting due diligence, counseling clients, and negotiating deal terms. The course will focus primarily on general principles, but will also introduce special issues and market practices concerning intellectual property and privacy terms. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. BIO: Laurel Kilgour is an attorney at Comar Mollé LLP, a boutique law firm that specializes in representing startups and investors. In addition to negotiating corporate transactions, she also advises clients on compliance strategies and is a certified privacy professional (CIPP/E and CIPP/US). Her background also includes intellectual property, trade secret, and complex commercial litigation. She started her career at Goodwin Procter LLP. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and Amherst College. Fall 2021 Description: This interactive course will prepare students for drafting business contracts and documents in an in-house counsel role. Students will draft, review, and analyze legal and business issues that arise in contracts, terms of service, and other business documents. This course will focus on writing effectively and with precision, translating business terms into legal documents, and presenting legal advice in a business context. In class, students will work individually and in small groups to draft and review business documents. There will be writing assignments throughout the course. BIO: Noga Firstenberg is an attorney with transactional and litigation experience. Noga is currently in-house counsel at Square, Inc. where she advises on product, regulatory, commercial, and privacy issues. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley. Spring 2022 Description: This practice-oriented course will introduce students to contract drafting skills using a variety of transactional documents, with a focus on contracts that are commonly encountered in the tech industry, ranging from short nondisclosure agreements to complex Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements and licenses. Working individually and in small groups, students will gain experience translating business objectives into clear, precise, and enforceable contract terms. Assignments and in-class exercises will address adapting form agreements, drafting new documents, conducting due diligence, counseling clients, and negotiating deal terms. The course will focus primarily on general principles, but will also introduce special issues and market practices concerning intellectual property and privacy terms. BIO: Laurel Kilgour is an attorney at Comar Mollé LLP, a boutique law firm that specializes in representing startups and investors. In addition to negotiating corporate transactions, she also advises clients on compliance strategies and is a certified privacy professional (CIPP/E and CIPP/US). Her background also includes intellectual property, trade secret, and complex commercial litigation. She started her career at Goodwin Procter LLP. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and Amherst College. Fall 2022 Description: This interactive course will prepare students for drafting business documents and contracts in an in-house counsel role. Students will draft, review, and analyze legal and business issues that arise in contracts, terms of service, and other documents. This course will focus on writing effectively and with precision, translating business terms into legal documents, and presenting legal advice in a business context. In class, students will work individually and in small groups to draft and review business documents. There will be writing assignments throughout the course. BIO: Noga Firstenberg is an attorney with transactional and litigation experience. Noga is currently Senior Counsel at Airbnb. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley. Fall 2023 Description: This interactive course will prepare students for advising companies or in-house counsel. Students will draft, review, and analyze legal and business issues that arise in contracts, terms of service, communications, and other documents. This course will focus on writing effectively and with precision, translating business terms into legal documents, and presenting legal advice in a business context. In class, students will work individually and in small groups to draft and review business documents. There will be writing assignments throughout the course. BIO: Noga Firstenberg is an attorney with product counseling, transactional, and litigation experience. Noga is currently Senior Counsel at Airbnb. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley. Fall 2024 Description: This interactive course will prepare students for advising companies as in-house counsel. Students will review and analyze legal and business issues that arise in contracts, terms of service, communications, and other documents. This course will focus on writing effectively and with precision, translating business terms into legal documents, and presenting legal advice in a business context. In class, students will work individually and in small groups to draft and review business documents. There will be writing assignments throughout the course. BIO: Noga Firstenberg is an attorney with product counseling, transactional, and litigation experience. Noga is currently Senior Counsel at Airbnb. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley. |
| Law 256.4 Employee Benefits Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: The course will focus on employee benefit plans sponsored by private employers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA governs a wide range of retirement and welfare benefit programs, including plans providing pension, 401(k), profit-sharing, medical, and long-term disability benefits. Private employer benefit plans play an essential role in the U.S., providing benefits that are paid for by the government in many other developed nations. Employee benefits impact virtually every company and employee, and benefit plans are the largest single source of investment capital in this country. However, the role of benefit plans is in flux, as shown by the demise of traditional pension plans and their replacement by 401k plans. Course topics will include the fiduciary duties of those responsible for the administration of plans and the investment of their assets, litigation alleging breaches of those duties, ERISA preemption and its effects on state and local government attempts to regulate health care and insurance, and remedies available under ERISA. Knowledge of employee benefits law is valuable for all attorneys and a must for employment, labor, business, tax, and tort attorneys. Fall 2023 Description: The course will focus on employee benefit plans sponsored by private employers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA governs a wide range of retirement and welfare benefit programs, including plans providing pension, 401(k), profit-sharing, medical, and long-term disability benefits. Private employer benefit plans play an essential role in the U.S., providing benefits that are paid for by the government in many other developed nations. Employee benefits impact virtually every company and employee, and benefit plans are the largest single source of investment capital in this country. However, the role of benefit plans is in flux, as shown by the demise of traditional pension plans and their replacement by 401k plans. Course topics will include the fiduciary duties of those responsible for the administration of plans and the investment of their assets, litigation alleging breaches of those duties, ERISA preemption and its effects on state and local government attempts to regulate health care and insurance, and remedies available under ERISA. Knowledge of employee benefits law is valuable for all attorneys and a must for employment, labor, business, tax, and tort attorneys. |
| Law 256.41 Human Resources and the Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course is intended to introduce students to the employee lifecycle (attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development, retention and separation) from the perspective of a human resources practitioner to develop an understanding of how the law (federal and state), organizational policies and procedures, and best practices impact the employee experience. More specifically, looking through the lens of how managers can create a workplace where employees can thrive, this course will cover issues that lead up to hiring and promotion, including recruitment, interviewing, background checks, references, and employment testing. We will then focus on issues that can arise when a person is on the job, such discrimination/harassment, reasonable accommodation of disability, compensation, benefits, and performance management. Finally, we will deal with issues related to the separation from employment. |
| Law 256.5 Structuring and Negotiating Complex Financial Transactions 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course exposes students to challenges faced in structuring, negotiating and documenting complex financial transactions and their broader economic and regulatory contexts. The course introduces students pragmatically to basic legal and financial concepts and then applies them to a range of transactions. The course balances the theory, policy and practice of financial transactions and explores how sophisticated contracts and legal structures can be used to manage risk, align investor goals, and create value. The course is taught by Allan Marks, a partner at Milbank LLP. He is based in Los Angeles and also teaches a course on Energy & Infrastructure Project Finance each spring at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Attendance at ALL class sessions is mandatory for course credit. The format is mainly a conversational lecture, with in-class student participation expected, plus a practical take-home exercise. Class days and times: Friday, September 11th 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, September 12th 9:00am-12:30 pm Friday, September 25th 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, September 26th 9:00am-12:30 pm Fall 2021 Description: This course explores key issues in structuring, negotiating and documenting complex financial transactions within their broader commercial, economic and regulatory contexts. The course introduces students pragmatically to basic legal and financial concepts and then applies them to a range of transactions. The course balances the theory, policy and practice of financial transactions and explores how sophisticated contracts and legal structures can be used to manage risk, align investor goals, and create value. The format is mainly a conversational lecture, with in-class student participation expected, plus a practical take-home drafting exercise. The course will meet on two Friday afternoons and two subsequent Saturday mornings: Friday, September 10th 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, September 11th 9:00am-12:30 pm Friday, September 24th 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, September 25th 9:00am-12:30 pm Attendance at ALL class sessions is mandatory for course credit. The course is taught by Allan Marks, a partner at Milbank LLP and member of the firm's Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, based in Los Angeles. His practice encompasses project finance and development, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets and private placements, international and cross-border business transactions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, banking and regulatory matters. He has also taught a course on Energy & Infrastructure Project Finance at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for over ten years. Fall 2022 Description: This course explores key issues in structuring, negotiating and documenting complex financial transactions within their broader commercial, economic and regulatory contexts. The course introduces students pragmatically to basic legal and financial concepts and then applies them to a range of transactions. The course balances the theory, policy and practice of financial transactions and explores how sophisticated contracts and legal structures can be used to manage risk, align investor goals, and create value. The format is mainly a conversational lecture, with in-class student participation expected, plus a practical take-home drafting exercise. Because this is a one-unit course taught on a condensed schedule, attendance at ALL class sessions is mandatory for course credit. The course is taught by Allan Marks, a partner at Milbank LLP and member of the firm's Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, based in Los Angeles. His practice encompasses project finance and development, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets and private placements, international and cross-border business transactions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, banking and regulatory matters. He also taught a course on Energy & Infrastructure Project Finance at the Berkeley Law School and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for over ten years. Fall 2023 Description: This course explores key issues in structuring, negotiating and documenting complex financial transactions within their broader commercial, economic and regulatory contexts. The course introduces students pragmatically to basic legal and financial concepts and then applies them to a range of transactions. The course balances the theory, policy and practice of financial transactions and explores how sophisticated contracts and legal structures can be used to manage risk, align investor goals, and create value. The format is mainly a conversational lecture, with in-class student participation expected, plus a practical take-home drafting exercise. Because this is a one-unit course taught on a condensed schedule, attendance at ALL class sessions is mandatory for course credit. The course is taught by Allan Marks, a partner at Milbank LLP and member of the firm's Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, based in Los Angeles. His practice encompasses project finance and development, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets and private placements, international and cross-border business transactions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, banking and regulatory matters. He also taught a course on Energy & Infrastructure Project Finance at the Berkeley Law School and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for over ten years. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: This course explores key issues in structuring, negotiating and documenting complex financial transactions within their broader commercial, economic and regulatory contexts. The course introduces students pragmatically to basic legal and financial concepts and then applies them to a range of transactions. The course balances the theory, policy and practice of financial transactions and explores how sophisticated contracts and legal structures can be used to manage risk, align investor goals, and create value. The format is mainly a conversational lecture, with in-class student participation expected, plus a practical take-home drafting exercise. Because this is a one-unit course taught on a condensed schedule, attendance at ALL class sessions is mandatory for course credit. The course is taught by Allan Marks, a partner at Milbank LLP and member of the firm's Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, based in Los Angeles. His practice encompasses project finance and development, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets and private placements, international and cross-border business transactions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, banking and regulatory matters. He also taught a course on Energy & Infrastructure Project Finance at the Berkeley Law School and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for over ten years. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 256.51 Corporate Strategic Transactions 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: This course is designed to give students real-world experience in the corporate dealmaking process, from the decision to pursue a strategic transaction to first contact between the parties and drafting and negotiating the definitive documents that memorialize the transaction. Over the semester, we will break down the primary documents of strategic transactions/M&A to develop a fundamental understanding of how those components interact with the overall business deal. Students will analyze and learn to understand how and why the key provisions of these transaction agreements are negotiated, bearing in mind client goals and interests and the allocation of risk negotiated among the deal parties. We will also discuss the intangible aspects of dealmaking that are just as critical to successful transactions. Specifically, we will discuss the financial, professional, and personal motivations of various deal parties and the psychology and tactical dynamics of a deal process. As strategic transactions take place throughout the semester, we will also stop to dissect these real-world examples in real time to provide informative case studies. Fall 2025 Description: This course is designed to give students real-world experience in the corporate dealmaking process, from the decision to pursue a strategic transaction to the first contact between the parties and drafting and negotiating the definitive documents that memorialize the transaction. Over the semester, we will break down the primary documents of strategic transactions/M&A to develop a fundamental understanding of how those components interact with the overall business deal. Students will analyze and learn to understand how and why the key provisions of these transaction agreements are negotiated, bearing in mind client goals and interests and the allocation of risk negotiated among the deal parties. We will also discuss the intangible aspects of dealmaking that are just as critical to successful transactions. Specifically, we will discuss the financial, professional, and personal motivations of various deal parties and the psychology and tactical dynamics of a deal process. As strategic transactions take place throughout the semester, we will also stop to dissect these real-world examples in real time to provide informative case studies. The course will frequently delve into deal-making in Silicon Valley and highlight how technology and life sciences deals may differ from other industries. One of the most rewarding aspects of the class is the guest lecturers who will join us from time to time. We will routinely be visited by well-known and respected individuals who will share invaluable insight and perspective on deal-making at their companies or private equity firms, and how GCs and in-house counsel look at deal-making. |
| Law 256.61 Understanding Financial Crises 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Financial crises are devastating; they dramatically impact our lives. This one-unit class will address the regulatory, institutional, and behavioral factors that have been crucial in triggering, and then responding to, financial crises. We will cover the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets, as well as the history of financial crises, particularly since the 1980s. The readings will consist exclusively of Professor Partnoy’s writings, including “The Worst Worst Case,” his essay in the July/August 2020 issue of The Atlantic, available here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/coronavirus-banks-collapse/612247/, and his 2014 essay on financial crises for the Oxford Handbook of Financial Regulation, available here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2435332 Students will choose a topic related to law and finance, discuss the topic with the group, and write an essay on the topic of approximately 1,500 words. An editor from The Atlantic will participate in at least one of the class meetings, and students will have the opportunity to submit their essays to be considered for publication. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 256.61S Understanding Financial Crises 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Financial crises are devastating; they dramatically impact our lives. This one-unit class will address the regulatory, institutional, and behavioral factors that have been crucial in triggering, and then responding to, financial crises. We will cover the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets, as well as the history of financial crises, particularly since the 1980s. The readings will consist exclusively of Professor Partnoy’s writings, including “The Worst Worst Case,” his essay in the July/August 2020 issue of The Atlantic, available here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/coronavirus-banks-collapse/612247/, and his 2014 essay on !nancial crises for the Oxford Handbook of Financial Regulation, available here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2435332. Students will choose a topic related to law and finance, discuss the topic with the group, and write a final take-home essay covering the course materials and their topic of approximately 800-1000 words (3-4 pages, double-spaced). |
| Law 256.6F Bankruptcy Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This is a survey of the United States Bankruptcy Code, with an emphasis on corporate reorganization under Chapter 11. The goals of the course are the following: a. To understand the fundamental problems that justify bankruptcy law b. To study the key features of the bankruptcy code and how they address these problems c. To understand financial transactions that interact with bankruptcy law d. To understand the realities of how bankruptcy actually works in practice Fall 2021 Description: This is a survey of the United States Bankruptcy Code, with an emphasis on corporate reorganization under Chapter 11. The goals of the course are the following: a. To understand the fundamental problems that justify bankruptcy law b. To study the key features of the bankruptcy code and how they address these problems c. To understand financial transactions that interact with bankruptcy law d. To understand the realities of how bankruptcy actually works in practice Spring 2023 Description: This is a survey of the United States Bankruptcy Code, with an emphasis on corporate reorganization under Chapter 11. The goals of the course are the following: a. To understand the fundamental problems that justify bankruptcy law b. To study the key features of the bankruptcy code: how they address these problems c. To understand financial transactions that interact with bankruptcy law d. To understand the realities of how bankruptcy actually works in practice Fall 2023 Description: This is a survey of the United States Bankruptcy Code, with an emphasis on corporate reorganization under Chapter 11. The goals of the course are the following: a. To understand the fundamental problems that justify bankruptcy law b. To study the key features of the bankruptcy code: how they address these problems c. To understand financial transactions that interact with bankruptcy law d. To understand the realities of how bankruptcy actually works in practice Spring 2025 Description: This is a survey of the United States Bankruptcy Code, with an emphasis on corporate reorganization under Chapter 11. The goals of the course are the following: a. To understand the fundamental problems that justify bankruptcy law b. To study the key features of the bankruptcy code: how they address these problems c. To understand financial transactions that interact with bankruptcy law d. To understand the realities of how bankruptcy actually works in practice |
| Law 256.8 Transactional Practice for 1L's 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course provides a hands-on overview of the most frequently-negotiated contracts in today’s global high technology practice. We will focus on essential legal concepts from Contracts, Intellectual Property, and Business Associations and examine how these issues come to life in Silicon Valley commercial negotiations. Written assignments and exercises will explore practical drafting approaches with a focus on clarity in order to prevent and resolve disputes that can flow from select key provisions. Real-world examples from case law and case studies will be used to identify and explain critical drafting and negotiating points, as well as how to approach them as practitioners. Students will learn to draft, review and negotiate key transactional documents as well as how to communicate critical terms to internal stakeholders at high technology companies (including sales, product and executive leadership). Guest speakers from legal, business, and technical backgrounds will share their perspectives on how course topics come to life in Silicon Valley transactions. Students will produce several written assignments, including client emails, a contract mark-up, and a negotiation outline. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Credit will be assigned as follows: (i) 50% based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation; and (ii) 50% based on the quality of an in-class summative assessment at the end of the course. Students will have the choice of either an oral presentation or participation in a mock negotiation as a summative assessment. Final presentations and negotiations will be held during the last two class sessions. Instructors: Jose Lopez ‘09 (experience at Samsung, Salesforce, Gunderson, Cravath) and Patrick Hammon (experience at McManis Faulkner, Skadden) have a combined 25+ years of legal practice including technology transactions, M&A, venture, and commercial litigation. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides a hands-on overview of the most frequently-negotiated contracts in today’s global high-technology practice. We will focus on essential legal concepts from Contracts, Intellectual Property, and Business Associations, and examine how these issues come to life in Silicon Valley commercial negotiations. Written assignments and exercises will explore practical drafting approaches with a focus on clarity in order to prevent and resolve disputes that can flow from select provisions in key transactional documents. Real-world examples from case law and case studies will be used to identify and explain critical drafting and negotiating points, as well as how to approach them as practitioners. Students will learn to draft, review, and negotiate key transactional documents as well as how to communicate critical terms to internal stakeholders at high-technology companies (including sales, product and executive leadership). Guest speakers from legal, business, and technical backgrounds will share their perspectives on how course topics come to life in Silicon Valley transactions. Students will produce several written assignments, including client emails, a contract mark-up, and a negotiation outline. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Credit will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Students will participate in an in-class mock negotiation as a summative assessment in lieu of a final exam. Instructors: Jose Lopez ‘09 (experience at Samsung, Salesforce, Gunderson, Cravath) and Patrick Hammon (experience at McManis Faulkner, Skadden) have a combined 25+ years of legal practice including technology transactions, M&A, venture, and commercial litigation. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides a hands-on overview of the most frequently-negotiated contracts in today’s global high-technology practice. We will focus on essential legal concepts from Contracts, Intellectual Property, and Business Associations, and examine how these issues come to life in Silicon Valley commercial negotiations. Written assignments and exercises will explore practical drafting approaches with a focus on clarity in order to prevent and resolve disputes that can flow from select provisions in key transactional documents. Real-world examples from case law and case studies will be used to identify and explain critical drafting and negotiating points, as well as how to approach them as practitioners. Students will learn to draft, review, and negotiate key transactional documents as well as how to communicate critical terms to internal stakeholders at high-technology companies (including sales, product and executive leadership). Guest speakers from legal, business, and technical backgrounds will share their perspectives on how course topics come to life in Silicon Valley transactions. Students will produce several written assignments, including client emails, a contract mark-up, and a negotiation outline. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Credit will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Students will participate in an in-class mock negotiation as a summative assessment in lieu of a final exam. Instructors: Jose Lopez ‘09 (experience at Samsung, Salesforce, Gunderson, Cravath) and Patrick Hammon (experience at McManis Faulkner, Skadden) have a combined 25+ years of legal practice including technology transactions, M&A, venture, and commercial litigation. Spring 2025 Description: This course provides a hands-on overview of the most frequently-negotiated contracts in today’s global high-technology practice. We will focus on essential legal concepts from Contracts, Intellectual Property, and Business Associations, and examine how these issues come to life in Silicon Valley commercial negotiations. Written assignments and exercises will explore practical drafting approaches with a focus on clarity in order to prevent and resolve disputes that can flow from select provisions in key transactional documents. Real-world examples from case law and case studies will be used to identify and explain critical drafting and negotiating points, as well as how to approach them as practitioners. Students will learn to draft, review, and negotiate key transactional documents as well as how to communicate critical terms to internal stakeholders at high-technology companies (including sales, product and executive leadership). Guest speakers from legal, business, and technical backgrounds will share their perspectives on how course topics come to life in Silicon Valley transactions. Students will produce several written assignments, including client emails, a contract mark-up, and a negotiation outline. Writing assignments may involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions. Credit will be assigned based on the quality of the written work, attendance, and in-class participation. Students will participate in an in-class mock negotiation as a summative assessment in lieu of a final exam. Instructors: Jose Lopez ‘09 (experience at Samsung, Salesforce, Gunderson, Cravath) and Patrick Hammon (experience at McManis Faulkner, Skadden) have a combined 25+ years of legal practice including technology transactions, M&A, venture, and commercial litigation. |
| Law 256.81 Contracts & Sales for LLMs 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Mr. Trachok has an extensive background in gaming law, particularly from the international perspective. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has been recognized by his peers and consistently is included in the annual Best Lawyers rankings for Gaming Law, Utility Law and Administrative Law. He served 15 years as an adjunct professor at UNR, teaching construction law in the graduate construction management program (1988-2003). He was also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law from 2006 to 2013, teaching the Law of International Trade. Mr. Trachok is currently a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, teaching the Law of International Trade, International Business Transactions and Gaming Law. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Fall 2020 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Mr. Trachok has an extensive background in gaming law, particularly from the international perspective. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has been recognized by his peers and consistently is included in the annual Best Lawyers rankings for Gaming Law, Utility Law and Administrative Law. He served 15 years as an adjunct professor at UNR, teaching construction law in the graduate construction management program (1988-2003). He was also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law from 2006 to 2013, teaching the Law of International Trade. Mr. Trachok is currently a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, teaching the Law of International Trade, International Business Transactions and Gaming Law. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2021 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Fall 2021 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2022 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Fall 2022 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2023 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Fall 2023 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Spring 2024 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Fall 2024 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Spring 2025 Description: This course explores the common law principles governing the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. This course is designed for LL.M. students (i) for whom taking such a course is a prerequisite to taking a bar exam and (ii) from a country with a civil law tradition wanting exposure to common law contract principles. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as on the Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. |
| Law 256.9 Secured Transactions - Article 9 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course covers the creation, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property. The main focus is Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code but other laws for different kinds of property (such as intellectual property or fixtures) are also covered. The laws governing real property mortgages are used as a point of comparison to the personal property rules. The course uses the problem method. An emphasis is placed on counseling hypothetical creditor or debtor clients and on the role of lawyers in both transactional and litigation situations. The course is useful for students interested in corporate finance, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, and real estate. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2022 Description: This course covers the creation, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property. The main focus is Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code but other laws for different kinds of property (such as intellectual property or fixtures) are also covered. The laws governing real property mortgages are used as a point of comparison to the personal property rules. The course uses the problem method. An emphasis is placed on counseling hypothetical creditor or debtor clients and on the role of lawyers in both transactional and litigation situations. The course is useful for students interested in corporate finance, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, and real estate. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2023 Description: This course covers the creation, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property. The main focus is Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code but will also cover other laws for different kinds of property (such as intellectual property or fixtures). The laws governing real property mortgages are used as a point of comparison to the personal property rules. The course uses the problem method. An emphasis is placed on counseling hypothetical creditor or debtor clients and on the role of lawyers in both transactional and litigation situations. The course is useful for students interested in corporate finance, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, and real estate. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the creation, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property. The main focus is Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code but will also cover other laws for different kinds of property (such as intellectual property or fixtures). The laws governing real property mortgages are used as a point of comparison to the personal property rules. The course uses the problem method. An emphasis is placed on counseling hypothetical creditor or debtor clients and on the role of lawyers in both transactional and litigation situations. The course is useful for students interested in corporate finance, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, and real estate. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2025 Description: This course covers the creation, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property. The main focus is Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code but will also cover other laws for different kinds of property (such as intellectual property or fixtures). The laws governing real property mortgages are used as a point of comparison to the personal property rules. The course uses the problem method. An emphasis is placed on counseling hypothetical creditor or debtor clients and on the role of lawyers in both transactional and litigation situations. The course is useful for students interested in corporate finance, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, and real estate. Instructor Biography: Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as a member of the Compliance Committee for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. |
| Law 256S Transactional Drafting 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course will focus on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating U.S. business contracts. Students will learn to (a) translate business terms into contract terms, (b) identify and avoid ambiguities, (c) draft with precision, (d) add value to a deal, and (e) shift risk between contracting parties. Students will also be introduced to the U.S. style of drafting business contracts. There will be daily drafting assignments. In lieu of an exam there will be a take-home drafting assignment. Note: Real time attendance is required for this course. You must be able to attend and participate through Zoom live. Summer 2022 Description: This course will focus on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating U.S. business contracts. Students will learn to (a) translate business terms into contract terms, (b) identify and avoid ambiguities, (c) draft with precision, and (d) shift risk between contracting parties. Students will also be introduced to the U.S. style of drafting business contracts. There will be daily drafting assignments. In lieu of an exam there will be a take-home drafting assignment. Summer 2023 Description: This course will focus on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating U.S. business contracts. Students will learn to (a) translate business terms into contract terms, (b) identify and avoid ambiguities, (c) draft with precision, (d) add value to a deal, and (e) shift risk between contracting parties. Students will also be introduced to the U.S. style of drafting business contracts. There will be brief drafting assignments in lieu of an exam. Summer 2024 Description: This course will focus on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating U.S. business contracts, with a focus on technology agreements and SaaS (software as a service) agreements. Students will be introduced to the U.S. style of drafting business contracts. In addition, students will learn to (a) translate business terms into contract terms, (b) identify and avoid ambiguities, (c) draft with precision, and (d) shift risk between contracting parties. There will be brief drafting assignments in lieu of an exam. Summer 2025 Description: This course will focus on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating U.S. business contracts. Students will learn to (a) translate business terms into US contract terms, (b) identify and avoid ambiguities, (c) draft with precision, (d) add value to a deal, and (e) shift risk between contracting parties. Students will also be introduced to the U.S. style of drafting business contracts. There will be a multiple-choice exam. Nadine Stocklin is the founder of Stocklin Law Group. Stocklin is a business attorney with multifaceted experience representing a broad range of companies, including media, marketing, ad tech, e-commerce, and SAAS-based companies. Prior to starting her own practice, Stocklin was the General Counsel of PubMatic, a fast-paced ad tech company based in Redwood City. Previously, Stocklin was the Associate General Counsel of QuinStreet, a media and marketing company, where she supported that company’s rapid growth through dozens of acquisitions and its path to and through an IPO. Prior to Stocklin’s in house experience, Stocklin practiced several years at Skadden Arps in their corporate department in Palo Alto, California and Sydney, Australia. |
| Law 257 Real Estate Transactions and Litigation 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common real estate transactions, including key issues in the transaction documents. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise, and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts and architect agreements and real estate financing documents. Spring 2021 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common commercial real estate transactions, including key issues in the transaction documents. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise, and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include commercial leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts and architect agreements and real estate financing documents. The class is taught by Susan Reinstra, a partner in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini. Susan has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduated from Stanford Law School and has been practicing real estate law for more than 25 years. Her practice focuses on the real estate needs of technology and life science companies. Spring 2022 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common commercial real estate transactions in California, including key issues in the transaction documents. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise, and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include commercial leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts and architect agreements and real estate financing documents. The class is taught by Susan Reinstra, a partner in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini. Susan has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduated from Stanford Law School and has been practicing real estate law for more than 25 years. Her practice focuses on the real estate needs of technology and life science companies. Fall 2022 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common commercial real estate transactions in California, including key issues in the transaction documents, focusing on the issues facing users of real estate. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise, and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include commercial leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts and architect agreements and real estate financing documents. The class is taught by Susan Reinstra, a partner in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini, and Sean Wilkinson, a senior associate in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini. Susan has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduated from Stanford Law School and has been practicing real estate law for 30 years. Sean has an undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University, a law degree from University of Southern California and has been practicing for almost 10 years. Their practices are focused on the real estate needs of technology and life science companies. Fall 2023 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common commercial real estate transactions in California, including key issues in the transaction documents, focusing on the issues facing users of real estate. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include commercial leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts and architect agreements and real estate financing documents. The class is taught by Susan Reinstra, a partner in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini, and Sean Wilkinson, a senior associate in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini. Susan has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduated from Stanford Law School and has been practicing real estate law for 30 years. Sean has an undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University, a law degree from University of Southern California and has been practicing for 10 years. Their practices are focused on the real estate needs of technology and life science companies. Fall 2024 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common commercial real estate transactions in California, including key issues in the transaction documents, focusing on the issues facing users of real estate. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include commercial leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts and architect agreements and real estate financing documents. The class is taught by Susan Reinstra, a partner in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini, and Sean Wilkinson, a senior associate in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini. Susan has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduated from Stanford Law School and has been practicing real estate law for more than 30 years. Sean has an undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University, a law degree from University of Southern California and has been practicing for more than 10 years. Their practices are focused on the real estate needs of technology and life science companies. |
| Law 257.4 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Land Development and Investment 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Law 257.4 Sec. 1/ Haas MBA 285, EWMBA 285/CED 290-02/GSPP 290-23 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Land Development and Investment This is an excellent time to learn about, and ultimately invest in and plan, real estate development. This course is designed as an interdisciplinary approach for business, law, planning, public policy, and engineering students to learn about every aspect of the land development process, focusing substantially on development in California. In this regard, this course goes toward satisfying the requirements of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate (IGCRE), offered through the graduate programs at the Haas School of Business, College of Environmental Design (including MRED+D), and Berkeley School of Law. The primary focus of this course is on actual practice rather than theory. Although the course will focus on real estate and land investment, the thrust will be on deal making, strategic thinking, and negotiation, whether it be on acquisition, financing, environmental review, entitlement, obtaining community support, or ultimate disposition of a successful project. Law students will learn to evaluate business risks, and business, planning, public policy, and engineering students will gain a conceptual framework for understanding legal issues which are critical to the real estate development, land entitlement and deal making process. The course will also introduce the use of green technology and the inclusion of affordable housing in the development process. On a weekly basis, it will be mandatory for students to participate in interdisciplinary study groups to work together to resolve real-life real estate problems. In other words, students (who will be randomly assigned to a balanced group comprised of one or more law, business, planning, public policy, and engineering students) will meet via skype, google chat, teleconference, or ideally in person to discuss and prepare the responses to the weekly study questions. Each group member will take turns leading their group each week; however, each group member will be responsible for participating regardless of their turn at lead. In the past, many of my students have commented that this collegial interdisciplinary approach was one of the most valuable aspects of the course. The course grade will be based in part upon study group and class participation and primarily upon take-home written essays assigned at the end of the semester. There will be frequent guest lecturers who are some of the leading experts in the deal-making, real estate planning, land-use, environmental, and investment fields. Topics which will be covered include: • acquisition strategy and documentation; • capital formation and deal structure; • legal entity selection and use of LLCs; • developing a creative and sustainable land plan; • smart growth vs. greenfield development; • affordable housing as a project component; • California and federal environmental and Endangered Species laws; • financing critical infrastructure; • responding to litigation, initiatives, and referenda and gaining community support; • vesting entitlements through Development Agreements; • designing an exit strategy; and • tax issues involving dealer vs. investor status. Spring 2022 Description: We all interact with the built environment and real estate development on a daily basis - homes, schools, workplaces, infrastructure, and transit - although most aren’t familiar with how these key features become a reality. How are building projects conceived, designed, approved, financed, constructed, and sold or leased? How does development relate and respond to public policy, the physical environment, and social equity? This interdisciplinary course is designed to ask and answer these questions. The course is intended for business, law, planning and design, and public policy students interested in learning the land and real estate development process, with a specific focus on California development. This course delves into the considerations behind decision-making within each development phase, including the intersection of local, state, and federal laws; planning, design and engineering; sustainability and climate change; politics and policy; and financing and relevant economic factors. In addition, we will consider the role and impact of various stakeholders on the real estate development process , including elected officials, municipal staff members, regulators, investors, community members, and opposition groups. To that end, the course will feature frequent guest lecturers who are some of the Bay Area’s leading experts in the deal-making, land use, development, urban planning and design, environmental review and mitigation, and investment fields. The primary focus of this course is practice rather than theory. On a weekly basis, it will be mandatory for students to participate in interdisciplinary study groups to work together to resolve real-world land use and real estate problems. Students will meet to discuss and prepare responses to the weekly study questions. Law students will learn to evaluate business risks, while business, planning, and public policy students will gain a conceptual framework for understanding legal issues that are critical to the real estate development, land entitlement and deal making process. Whether you seek to have a career as a lawyer, developer, financier, planner, or policymaker; or just want to better understand the built environment and its evolution over time, this course will challenge your assumptions and broaden your perspective. This goes toward satisfying the requirements of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate, offered through the graduate programs at the Haas School of Business, Berkeley School of Law, and the College of Environmental Design (including MRED+D). INSTRUCTOR BIOS ASHLEY WEINSTEIN-CARNES is a land use attorney at the San Francisco firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy and Bass LLP, providing advice and counsel on a wide range of real estate development issues with a focus on negotiation of agreements with local governments and public agencies; coordination of environmental review under CEQA; and processing of entitlements through public hearings and other administrative proceedings. She has successfully obtained land use approvals for large-scale projects across the state. Ashley’s practice spans a wide range of commercial and nonprofit development including major sports arenas to some of the largest affordable housing and master planned projects in the state, along with research & development, and hospital campuses. Ashley dedicates much of her practice to housing development, including streamlining strategies for residential and mixed-use residential projects. She regularly speaks and writes on changes in the regulatory landscape impacting housing production in California. Ashley is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, serving on the Small Scale Development National Product Council and the Steering Committee of the SF District Council Young Leaders Group. She recently served as Vice President of the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association. Ashley earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law with an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate. Prior to attending law school, Ashley earned her M.A. in Urban Education Policy & Administration from Loyola Marymount University and earned her B.A., with Honors, in International Relations from the University of Miami. JOE SOUTH is a real estate developer with years of experience working on projects in all phases of the development cycle, from acquisition and entitlement to leasing and disposition, across numerous product types and jurisdictions. Joe is the Director of Development at Cold Summit Development, a national industrial development platform, where he leads underwriting, developing, and bringing to market ground up cold storage facilities across multiple states. Throughout his development career, Joe has successfully worked with various jurisdictions and public agencies to obtain entitlements and regulatory approvals, including the cities of Oakland and Sunnyvale, Contra Costa County, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Army Corps of Engineers, and Santa Clara Valley Water District. Prior to his current role, Joe worked with Sares Regis Group Northern California, St Regis Properties, and Signature Development Group. Joe earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business with an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate. He earned his B.S., with Honors, in English Literature from the United States Naval Academy, and was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He also holds a Commis de Cuisine from the San Diego Culinary Institute. Joe has also served on the Board of Directors for BREAA. He is a fundraiser and active member of the Guardsmen, a San Francisco-based non-profit group devoted to providing scholarships and outdoor education Spring 2023 Description: This interdisciplinary course is intended for business, law, planning, and public policy students interested in taking a deeper dive into the real estate development and land use process, with a specific focus on California development. We all interact with real estate development daily – through where we live and play, where we attend school or work, our modes of transit, and beyond. However, most are unfamiliar with the critical legal, business and planning processes that determine how, when and where these features of the built environment are developed. This course provides a pragmatic overview of the critical considerations within each phase of the real estate development process, including site acquisition and diligence; land and site planning; environmental review; and strategies for obtaining necessary entitlements and land use approvals. Students will explore the key roles that various stakeholders play within real estate development, including within the private sector (landowners, real estate developers, investors, and financial partners) and public sector (elected officials, city staff, government regulators, and community members). The primary focus of this course is practice rather than theory. Students from law, planning, and policy backgrounds will learn to evaluate business risks inherent to real estate development, while business students will learn the key legal and policy issues critical to the development, land entitlement and deal making processes. Students will learn real-world perspectives from the Bay Area’s leading experts in land use and development, who will provide regular guest lectures throughout the course. Students are not expected to have significant real estate experience prior to taking this course, although some real estate coursework or professional experience is a benefit. All students who are eager to engage with the material and utilize supplemental resources such as instructor office hours will be able to succeed in this course. This course will not include financial modeling instruction and, therefore, graded assessments will not require any financial computations; however, financial concepts will be covered, and students will be expected to apply a general understanding of those concepts to real estate development decision-making. A significant component of final grades will be based on regular attendance and active participation during weekly classes. This course contributes to the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate offered through the Haas School of Business, Berkeley Law, and College of Environmental Design (including MRED+D). ASHLEY WEINSTEIN-CARNES is a land use attorney with the San Francisco firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy and Bass LLP, providing advice and counsel on a range of real estate development issues with a focus on negotiation of agreements with local governments and public agencies; coordination of environmental review under CEQA; and obtaining development entitlements through public hearings and administrative proceedings. She has successfully obtained land use approvals for large-scale projects across the state. Ashley’s practice spans commercial, residential, and nonprofit development, including major sports arenas to some of the largest affordable housing and master planned projects in the state, along with research & development, and hospital campuses. She dedicates much of her practice to housing development, and regularly speaks and writes on changes in the regulatory landscape impacting housing production in California. Ashley was named a Connect Media 2021 Next Generation Award winner and is recognized as a Northern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers in the Land Use/Zoning category. Ashley earned her J.D. from Berkeley Law with an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate. Ashley holds a Master of Arts in Urban Education Policy & Administration and served as a former Teach for America corps member in East Los Angeles where she received an AmeriCorps Segal Award for Outstanding Service in Urban Education. Ashley is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, serving on the Leadership Committee for the Small-Scale Development National Product Council. She is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association, where she led development of the Student Fellowship program. JOE SOUTH is a real estate developer with years of experience working on projects in all phases of the development cycle, from acquisition and entitlement to leasing and disposition, across numerous product types and jurisdictions. Joe currently serves as Director of Development at Cold Summit Development, a national industrial development platform, where he leads underwriting, developing, and bringing to market ground-up cold storage facilities across multiple states. Throughout his development career, Joe has successfully worked with public agencies to obtain entitlements and regulatory approvals, including coordination with a range of resource agencies such as the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Army Corps of Engineers, and Santa Clara Valley Water District. Prior to his current role, Joe worked with Sares Regis Group Northern California, St. Regis Properties, and Signature Development Group. Joe earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business with an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate. He earned his B.S., with Honors, in English Literature from the United States Naval Academy, and was commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also holds a Commis de Cuisine from the San Diego Culinary Institute. Joe has served on the Board of Directors for BREAA. He is an active member of the Guardsmen, a San Francisco-based non-profit providing scholarships and outdoor education for at-risk youth. Spring 2024 Description: This interdisciplinary course is intended for business, law, planning, and public policy students interested in taking a deeper dive into the real estate and land development process, with a specific focus on California development. We all interact with real estate development daily – through where we live, play, work and learn, through our modes of transit, and beyond. However, most are unfamiliar with the critical legal, business and urban planning frameworks and processes that influence how the built environment goes from concept to physical form. This course provides a practical, real world overview of the key considerations that shape each phase of the land development process, from site acquisition and due diligence; land use and site planning; environmental review and mitigation; and strategies for obtaining necessary entitlements and land use approvals. Through this course, students will explore the key roles that various stakeholders play within the land development process, including both within the private sector (landowners, real estate developers, and financial partners) and public sector (elected officials, city staff, government regulators, and community members). The primary focus of this course is practice rather than theory. Students from law, planning, and policy backgrounds will learn to evaluate business risks inherent to real estate development, while business students will learn the key legal and policy issues critical to real estate deal making and entitlement processes. Students will also gain insights from the Bay Area’s leading experts in land use and real estate development through guest lectures scheduled throughout the course. Students are not expected to have significant real estate experience prior to taking this course, although some previous real estate coursework or professional experience is a benefit. All students who are eager to engage with the material and utilize supplemental resources such as instructor office hours will be able to succeed in this course. This course will not include financial modeling course material and, therefore, graded assessments will not require any financial computations; however, financial concepts will be covered, and students will be expected to apply a general understanding of those concepts to real estate development decision-making. A significant component of final grades will be based on regular attendance and active participation during weekly classes. This course contributes to the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate offered through the Haas School of Business, Berkeley Law, and College of Environmental Design (including MRED+D). ASHLEY WEINSTEIN-CARNES is a land use attorney with the San Francisco firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy and Bass LLP, providing strategic advice and counsel on a range of real estate development projects with a focus on negotiating agreements with local governments and public agencies; coordinating environmental review under CEQA; and obtaining development entitlements through public hearings and administrative proceedings. She has successfully obtained land use approvals for large-scale projects across the state. Ashley’s practice spans commercial, residential, and nonprofit development projects, ranging from professional sports arenas to some of the largest affordable housing and master planned projects in the state, along with research & development, and hospital campuses. She dedicates much of her practice to housing development, and regularly speaks and writes on changes in the regulatory landscape impacting housing production in California. Ashley is recognized as a 2024 Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” and Northern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers in the Land Use/Zoning category, and was named a Connect Media 2021 Next Generation Award winner. Ashley earned her J.D. from Berkeley Law with an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate, and holds a Master of Arts in Urban Education Policy & Administration. Prior to practicing law, Ashley served as a former Teach for America corps member in East Los Angeles where she received an AmeriCorps Segal Award for Outstanding Service in Urban Education. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, serving on the Leadership Committee for the National Small Scale Development National Product Council. She is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association, where she led development of the Student Fellowship program. Spring 2025 Description: This interdisciplinary course is intended for business, law, planning, and public policy students interested in taking a deeper dive into the real estate development and land use process, with a specific focus on California development. This course provides a pragmatic overview of the critical considerations within each phase of the real estate development process, including site acquisition and diligence; land and site planning; environmental review; and strategies for obtaining necessary entitlements and land use approvals. During this course, students will explore the key roles that various stakeholders play within the real estate development process, including in the private sector (landowners, real estate developers, investors, and financial partners), public sector (elected officials, city staff, and government regulators), and community (neighbors, Native American tribes, special interest groups, and labor unions). The primary focus of this course is practice rather than theory. Students will learn to evaluate business risks inherent to real estate development and the key legal and policy issues critical to the real estate development, land entitlement, and deal making processes. Students will benefit from hearing real-world perspectives from some of the Bay Area’s leading experts in land use and development, who will provide guest lectures throughout the semester. Students are not expected to have significant prior real estate experience prior to taking this course, although some prior real estate coursework or professional experience is beneficial. All students who are eager to engage with the material and supplemental resources such as instructor office hours will be able to succeed. A component of final grades will be based on regular attendance and active participation during weekly classes. Whether you seek a career as an attorney, developer, urban planner, financier, or policymaker, this course will challenge your assumptions and broaden your perspectives regarding the built environment. This course contributes to the requirements for the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate offered through the graduate programs at the Haas School of Business, Berkeley School of Law, and the College of Environmental Design (including MRED+D). INSTRUCTOR BIOS LINDA KLEIN is a land use attorney with the firm of Cox, Castle & Nicholson, LLP, providing advice and counsel on a wide range of real estate development issues with a focus on coordination of environmental review under CEQA and obtaining development entitlements through public hearings and other administrative proceedings, as well as related litigation. Linda’s practice spans a wide range of industrial, commercial, residential, and nonprofit development including warehouses, corporate campuses, large master planned projects, affordable and mixed-income housing, schools, and hospitals. She dedicates much of her practice to housing development, and regularly speaks and writes on changes in the regulatory landscape impacting housing production in California. Linda is recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers and by Best Lawyers in the Land Use/Zoning category. Linda earned her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and immediately after law school clerked for Judge Ikuta of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Linda holds a Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History from Rice University. Prior to law school, Linda practiced and taught architecture at the university level. Linda is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, serving on the San Francisco Housing the Bay Committee, and Bay Area Council, where she co-chairs the Project Endorsement Subcommittee. EVAN SCHWIMMER is a real estate investment and development executive with over 20 years of experience working across a variety of roles in the commercial real estate industry. Evan has acquired, managed and delivered over 9 million square feet of life science, office, hospitality and other projects in various regions in the United States valued at more than $7 billion. Evan is currently Chief Executive Officer of Plumforge Partners, a real estate investment, development and advisory platform focused on building the physical infrastructure for the advanced food manufacturing industry. Prior to launching Plumforge, Evan served as Managing Director for Longfellow Real Estate Partners’ San Francisco Bay Area office where he was responsible for strategic growth and operations including oversight of acquisitions, development, property management, design and construction, asset management and leasing in Northern California. Prior to Longfellow, Evan managed the San Francisco office of The John Buck Company with responsibilities for West Coast investment and development in office and residential valued at over $1.8 billion. Evan holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering from Princeton University and a MBA from the University of California, Berkeley with a Certificate in Real Estate. Prior to attending graduate school, Evan served as a Combat Engineer officer in the US Army while stationed in the United State and overseas. Evan is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) serving on the ULI NEXT Committee, NAIOP with service to the Membership Committee, and the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association (BREAA) as President Emeritus and a member of the BREAA Advisory Board. |
| Law 257.6 Transactional Litigation in Practice 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This is a comprehensive course analyzing the strategic and tactical choices inherent in modern transactional (M&A) litigation, as well as the underlying doctrinal principals and theories of corporate governance that drive those choices. This is not a static area of law and significant developments in the field will likely occur during the semester. As a result, class discussions will evaluate not only the existing state of transactional litigation, but also where it is headed and which direction it should take. Course materials include briefs, arguments, and decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery and Delaware Supreme Court - the home of most contemporary legal developments in transactional litigation - and articles or essays written by jurists and leading practitioners. Students will be expected to complete a short (5-page) midterm litigation drafting assignment and a take home final exam. Taught by leading practitioners who specialize in transactional litigation (from both plaintiff and defense firms), this course can provide the springboard into a valuable practice area. Spring 2023 Description: Transactional Litigation in Practice: a comprehensive course analyzing the strategic and tactical choices inherent in modern transactional (M&A) litigation, as well as the underlying doctrinal principles and theories of corporate governance that drive those choices. This is not a static area of law and significant developments in the field will likely occur during the semester. As a result, class discussions will evaluate not only the existing state of transactional litigation, but also where it is headed and which direction it should take. Course materials include briefs, arguments, and decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery and Delaware Supreme Court - the home of most contemporary legal developments in transactional litigation - and articles or essays written by jurists and leading practitioners. Students will be expected to complete short (5-page) midterm paper and take home final exam. Taught by leading practitioners who specialize in transactional litigation (from both plaintiff and defense firms), this course can provide the springboard into a valuable practice area. David Knotts is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s San Diego office. He focuses his practice on stockholder class action and derivative litigation in the context of mergers and acquisitions, representing both individual shareholders and institutional investors. David has been counsel of record for shareholders on a number of significant recoveries in courts throughout the country, including following trials in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Before joining Robbins Geller, David was an associate at one of the largest law firms in the world and represented corporate clients in various aspects of state and federal litigation. Alex Talarides is a partner in Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s San Francisco office, and a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation & Corporate Governance group. He has extensive experience defending companies and their directors and officers in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, mergers and acquisition litigation, and related corporate governance disputes in federal and state courts around the country. Alex also regularly advises companies and their boards on corporate governance, fiduciary duty and disclosure duties, and frequently presents and publishes on these topics. |
| Law 257.66 Executive Compensation: Legal Fundamentals and Practical Application 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The executive compensation practice often involves direct interaction with the most senior persons at large institutions regarding their own financial situations and careers, and is therefore almost uniquely personal in nature among the practice areas of law firms which specialize in advising large companies. However, it is fundamentally a rules-based, multi-disciplinary practice, the first priority of which is to know the applicable guidelines and how to apply them to the many different situations which may arise. Therefore, the first part of the course will introduce students to the legal framework of the executive compensation practice, including the applicable fundamental tax, securities and employment law rules, with an examination of pertinent statutes, regulations and regulatory pronouncements. The second part of the course will focus on the application of these rules to specific, real-world situations, including the negotiation of CEO-level employment agreements from the standpoint of both the executive and the employer, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and compensation issues that arise in the boardroom, including how the current environment of vigorous shareholder activism, buttressed by proxy advisory firms, has influenced the way in which directors think about executive compensation. This course shall meet on the following schedule: Week One: Thursday October 29, 6:25pm to 8:25pm Friday October 30, 9:30am to 12:00pm PLUS 3:10pm to 5:10pm Week Two: Thursday November 5, 6:25pm to 8:25pm Friday November 6, 9:30am to 12:00pm PLUS 3:10pm to 5:10pm Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Doreen E. Lilienfeld is Global Head of the Governance & Advisory Group of Shearman & Sterling LLP and the Team Leader of the Compensation, Governance and ERISA practice. She focuses on a wide variety of compensation-related matters, including the design and implementation of retention and compensation plans, disclosure and regulatory compliance, and employment negotiations with senior executives. She has advised both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers on corporate governance and regulatory requirements relating to compensation and benefits matters and high profile individuals in their employment and severance negotiations. Doreen has been a resident in the Frankfurt, London and Bay Area offices of Shearman & Sterling. For the past seventeen years, Doreen has spearheaded the publication of the Shearman & Sterling survey of the compensation-related corporate governance practices of the largest 100 domestic issuers. Doreen is the winner of the Euromoney Americas Women in Business Law Award for Best in Corporate Governance (2018) and was included in the “Notable Women in Law” list by Crain’s New York Business (2019). Her team was awarded Benefits Team of the Year by Law360 in January 2020. Fall 2021 Description: The executive compensation practice often involves direct interaction with the most senior persons at large institutions regarding their own financial situations and careers, and is therefore almost uniquely personal in nature among the practice areas of law firms which specialize in advising large companies. However, it is fundamentally a rules-based, multi-disciplinary practice, the first priority of which is to know the applicable guidelines and how to apply them to the many different situations which may arise. Therefore, the first part of the course will introduce students to the legal framework of the executive compensation practice, including the applicable fundamental tax, securities and employment law rules, with an examination of pertinent statutes, regulations and regulatory pronouncements. The second part of the course will focus on the application of these rules to specific, real-world situations, including the negotiation of CEO-level employment agreements from the standpoint of both the executive and the employer, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and compensation issues that arise in the boardroom, including how the current environment of vigorous shareholder activism, buttressed by proxy advisory firms, has influenced the way in which directors think about executive compensation. This course shall meet on the following schedule: Week One: Thursday, October 21, 6:25pm to 8:25pm Friday, October 22, 9:30am to 12:00pm AND 3:10pm to 5:10pm Week Two: Thursday, October 28, 6:25pm to 8:25pm Friday, October 29, 9:30am to 12:00pm AND 3:10pm to 5:10pm Doreen E. Lilienfeld is Global Head of the Governance & Advisory Group of Shearman & Sterling LLP and the Team Leader of the Compensation, Governance and ERISA practice. She focuses on a wide variety of compensation-related matters, including the design and implementation of retention and compensation plans, disclosure and regulatory compliance, and employment negotiations with senior executives. She has advised both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers on corporate governance and regulatory requirements relating to compensation and benefits matters and high profile individuals in their employment and severance negotiations. Doreen has been a resident in the Frankfurt, London and Bay Area offices of Shearman & Sterling. For the past nineteen years, Doreen has spearheaded the publication of the Shearman & Sterling survey of the compensation-related corporate governance practices of the largest 100 domestic issuers. Doreen is the winner of the Euromoney Americas Women in Business Law Award for Best in Corporate Governance (2018) and was included in the “Notable Women in Law” list by Crain’s New York Business (2019). Her team was awarded Benefits Team of the Year by Law360 in January 2020. Fall 2022 Description: The executive compensation practice often involves direct interaction with the most senior persons at large institutions regarding their own financial situations and careers, and is therefore almost uniquely personal in nature among the practice areas of law firms which specialize in advising large companies. However, it is fundamentally a rules-based, multi-disciplinary practice, the first priority of which is to know the applicable guidelines and how to apply them to the many different situations which may arise. Therefore, the first part of the course will introduce students to the legal framework of the executive compensation practice, including the applicable fundamental tax, securities and employment law rules, with an examination of pertinent statutes, regulations and regulatory pronouncements. The second part of the course will focus on the application of these rules to specific, real-world situations, including the negotiation of CEO-level employment agreements from the standpoint of both the executive and the employer, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and compensation issues that arise in the boardroom, including how the current environment of vigorous shareholder activism, buttressed by proxy advisory firms, has influenced the way in which directors think about executive compensation. Doreen E. Lilienfeld is Global Governance & Advisory Practice Group Leader and the Compensation, Governance and ERISA/Private Clients Team Leader of Shearman & Sterling LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Executive Group. She focuses on a wide variety of compensation-related matters, including the design and implementation of retention and compensation plans, disclosure and regulatory compliance, and employment negotiations with senior executives. She has advised both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers on corporate governance and regulatory requirements relating to compensation and benefits matters and high profile individuals in their employment and severance negotiations. Doreen has been a resident in the Frankfurt, London and Bay Area offices of Shearman & Sterling. For the past nineteen years, Doreen has spearheaded the publication of the Shearman & Sterling survey of the compensation-related corporate governance practices of the largest 100 domestic issuers. Doreen was one of 14 lawyers elected in 2021 as a Fellow by the American College of Governance Counsel, the organization for leading corporate governance lawyers from the U.S. and Canada. She was also selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow with the Partnership for New York City for 2019 – 2022. Doreen is the winner of the Euromoney Americas Women in Business Law Award for Best in Corporate Governance (2018) and was included in the “Notable Women in Law” list by Crain’s New York Business (2019). Her team was awarded Benefits Team of the Year by Law360 in January 2020. Fall 2023 Description: The executive compensation practice often involves direct interaction with the most senior persons at large institutions regarding their own financial situations and careers, and is therefore almost uniquely personal in nature among the practice areas of law firms which specialize in advising large companies. However, it is fundamentally a rules-based, multi-disciplinary practice, the first priority of which is to know the applicable guidelines and how to apply them to the many different situations which may arise. Therefore, the first part of the course will introduce students to the legal framework of the executive compensation practice, including the applicable fundamental tax, securities and employment law rules, with an examination of pertinent statutes, regulations and regulatory pronouncements. The second part of the course will focus on the application of these rules to specific, real-world situations, including the negotiation of CEO-level employment agreements from the standpoint of both the executive and the employer, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and compensation issues that arise in the boardroom, including how the current environment of vigorous shareholder activism, buttressed by proxy advisory firms, has influenced the way in which directors think about executive compensation. Doreen E. Lilienfeld is Global Governance & Advisory Practice Group Leader and the Compensation, Governance and ERISA/Private Clients Team Leader of Shearman & Sterling LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Executive Group. She focuses on a wide variety of compensation-related matters, including the design and implementation of retention and compensation plans, disclosure and regulatory compliance, and employment negotiations with senior executives. She has advised both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers on corporate governance and regulatory requirements relating to compensation and benefits matters and high profile individuals in their employment and severance negotiations. Doreen has been a resident in the Frankfurt, London and Bay Area offices of Shearman & Sterling. For the past twentyyears, Doreen has spearheaded the publication of the Shearman & Sterling survey of the compensation-related corporate governance practices of the largest 100 domestic issuers. Doreen was one of 14 lawyers elected in 2021 as a Fellow by the American College of Governance Counsel, the organization for leading corporate governance lawyers from the U.S. and Canada. She was also selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow with the Partnership for New York City for 2019 – 2022. Doreen is the winner of the Euromoney Americas Women in Business Law Award for Best in Corporate Governance (2018) and was included in the “Notable Women in Law” list by Crain’s New York Business (2019). Her team was awarded Benefits Team of the Year by Law360 in January 2020. |
| Law 257.67 Sustainable Corporate Governance Colloquium 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This class will focus on invited guests, mainly academics, who will present research on corporate sustainability, both in the U.S. and around the world. Students will write a 15-page paper on a related topic. |
| Law 257.8 Governance in Venture Capital 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is geared toward students who are interested in being legal practitioners in venture capital firms, venture-backed companies or in law firms that cater to venture capital transactions. We will begin with the role of venture capital in the broader US economy, who the players are in the ecosystem and how venture capital funds are raised and managed. We will then have a series of modules through which we’ll understand how venture capitalists evaluate companies, make decisions and structure deals (including a full understanding of the economic and governance issues associated with a term sheet). We will explore the lifecycle of venture-backed companies, from inception through development/scaling and ultimately through to exit via IPO, M&A or wind-down. Throughout this lifecycle, we’ll cover the role of the entrepreneur and venture capitalist as well as other constituents (e.g., employees and shareholders). At each stage, we'll pay particular attention to the role of corporate governance in venture-backed companies and the special issues that arise when venture capitalists face the dual fiduciary problem in representing their firms and their companies as board members. Dates and times of class: Thursdays April 2nd & 9th 6:25pm -9:00pm and Fridays April 3rd & 10th 10:00am-12:00pm plus 3:10pm-5:10pm Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he is responsible for all aspects of running the firm. He has been with the firm since its inception in 2009 and has overseen the rapid growth in at Andreessen Horowitz, from 3 employees to 130 and from $300 million in assets under management to $5 billion. Scott previously worked as vice president and general manager, Global Customer Support & Software-as-a-Service at Hewlett Packard. Scott joined HP in 2007 as part of the $1.6 billion acquisition of Opsware (previously Loudcloud), where he was senior vice president of Customer Solutions. Scott joined Opsware shortly after the company’s founding and held numerous executive management positions including vice president, financial planning and vice president, corporate development. Prior to Opsware, Scott represented software companies in both financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers. Scott graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy. He also graduated from Stanford Law School and is a member of the California Bar Association. Scott is chair-elect of the National Venture Capital Association, chairman of the board of Genesys Works, co-director of the Stanford Venture Capital Director’s College and Executive in Residence at Haas School of Business. Scott also serves on the investment committees of St. Jude’s Children’s Cancer Research Hospital, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Lick Wilmerding High School. |
| Law 257.9 Law of the Sea 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will survey the international law of the sea. It will briefly review the history of the law of the sea before examining customary international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It will cover territorial issues, the high seas, and the seabeds. It will end with consideration of environmental issues and dispute resolution mechanisms. Note, this course meets January 10th and 11th. Fall 2024 Description: This course will survey the international law of the sea. It will briefly review the history of the law of the sea before examining customary international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It will cover territorial issues, the high seas, and the seabeds. It will end with consideration of law of the sea and different theoretical approaches to international law. |
| Law 258 Estates and Trusts 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: What happens to someone's property if she dies without a will? What is involved in executing a valid will? And how much freedom does anyone have to distribute property at death via a will or alternative legal mechanisms? To what degree can one control the ownership or use of property after death by means of trusts or other devices that avoid probate? This course answers these questions. Although it emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar exam, the course also covers in a more general fashion the rules of non-community property states, such as New York. In addition, the course introduces federal gift and estate taxes and the taxation of trusts, but it is no substitute for a specialized course in estate planning. No previous course work in tax is needed. Fall 2020 Description: This course covers the distribution of a property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a person’s power to determine what happens to her property when she dies, and the use of trusts and other nonprobate devices to create and control future interests or the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar - but it also covers the laws of noncommunity property states. Fall 2021 Description: This course covers the distribution of a property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a people’s power to determine what happens to their property when they die, and the use of trusts and other nonprobate devices to create and control future interests or the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar - but it also covers the laws of non-community property states. Spring 2022 Description: This course covers the distribution of a property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a person’s power to determine what happens to her property when they die, and the use of trusts and other non-probate devices to create and control future interests or the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar - but it also covers the laws of non-community property states. Fall 2022 Description: This course covers the distribution of a property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a people’s power to determine what happens to their property when they die, and the use of trusts and other nonprobate devices to create and control the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar - but it also touches on the laws of non-community property states. Spring 2023 Description: This course covers the distribution of a decedent’s property if somebody dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a person’s power to determine what happens to her property when she dies, and the use of trusts and other nonprobate devices to create and control future interests or the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar exam, though it also considers the rules of non-community property states, such as New York. The course introduces federal gift and estate taxes and the taxation of trusts in a general way, but it is no substitute for a specialized course in estate planning. No previous course work in tax is needed. Fall 2023 Description: This course covers the distribution of a property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a people’s power to determine what happens to their property when they die, and the use of trusts and other nonprobate devices to create and control the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar - but it also touches on the laws of non-community property states. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the distribution of a decedent’s property if somebody dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on a person’s power to determine what happens to her property when she dies, and the use of trusts and other nonprobate devices to create and control future interests or the passage of property at death. The course emphasizes California law and will prepare students for the California bar exam, though it also considers the rules of non-community property states, such as New York. The course introduces federal gift and estate taxes and the taxation of trusts in a general way, but it is no substitute for a specialized course in estate planning. No previous course work in tax is needed. Fall 2024 Description: This course covers the distribution of property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on people’s power to determine what happens to their property when they die, and the use of trusts and other non-probate devices to create and control the passage of property at death. Spring 2025 Description: The course is an introduction to Trust and Estates. It will cover the laws governing Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, Wills, Medical Directives, and Powers of Attorney. The course will specifically focus on Trusts as a mechanism of Wealth Management, which includes the basics of understanding gift and estate taxation. Lastly, the discussions will cover inter-generational wealth transfer planning, including business succession planning. The purpose of the course is to learn the basics of trusts, intestate succession, and gifting in a manner that’s applicable to real world every day applications. Fall 2025 Description: This course covers the distribution of property when a person dies without a will, the drafting and administration of wills, limits on people’s power to determine what happens to their property when they die, and the use of trusts and other non-probate devices to create and control the passage of property at death. |
| Law 258.2 Social Enterprise Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Social enterprises combine the goals of traditional philanthropy with the financial power and innovation of business to address the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues. This corporate law course introduces students to the legal, regulatory and business aspects of social enterprises, which include both (i) public and private for-profit entities that undertake certain social and environmental objectives and (ii) non-profits that form “hybrids” with for-profit entities. Students will study contrasting approaches to social entrepreneurship, learn about the different (new and existing) legal structures that regulate social enterprises, consider the types of financing models available to social enterprises, evaluate the need for “exits” in the social enterprise space, and consider the various means currently available to evaluate performance against social and environmental objectives. The course will utilize readings, in-class discussions and exercises, and draw upon the expertise of guest speakers, from the public and private sectors. This class will be co-taught by Susan (Suz) Mac Cormac, Jennifer Barnette and Amelia Miazad. Suz MacCormac is a partner at Morrison & Foerster and a thought-leader in sustainable business and investing. Jen Barnette is an attorney at Cooley and one of the leaders of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practice. Amelia Miazad is the founding director of Berkeley Law's Business in Society Institute, which is spearheading research on how the increasing demand for business to serve a social purpose is impacting corporate governance. This course meets weekly on Wednesdays 8AM-9:50AM January 15th-April 1st (excluding February 19th and March 25th). It will also meet two Fridays, February 28th and March 13th 8:45AM-12:30PM. Spring 2021 Description: Social enterprises combine the goals of traditional philanthropy with the financial power and innovation of business to address the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues. This corporate law course introduces students to the legal, regulatory and business aspects of social enterprises, which include both (i) public and private for-profit entities that undertake certain social and environmental objectives and (ii) non-profits that form “hybrids” with for-profit entities. Students will study contrasting approaches to social entrepreneurship, learn about the different (new and existing) legal structures that regulate social enterprises, consider the types of financing models available to social enterprises, evaluate the need for “exits” in the social enterprise space, and consider the various means currently available to evaluate performance against social and environmental objectives. The course will utilize readings, in-class discussions and exercises, and draw upon the expertise of guest speakers, from the public and private sectors. This class will be co-taught by Susan (Suz) Mac Cormac, Jennifer Barnette and Amelia Miazad. Suz MacCormac is a partner at Morrison & Foerster and a thought-leader in sustainable business and investing. Jen Barnette is an attorney at Cooley and one of the leaders of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practice. Amelia Miazad is the founding director of Berkeley Law's Business in Society Institute, which is spearheading research on how the increasing demand for business to serve a social purpose is impacting corporate governance. Spring 2022 Description: Social enterprises combine the goals of traditional philanthropy with the financial power and innovation of business to address the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues. This corporate law course introduces students to the legal, regulatory, and business aspects of social enterprises, which include both (i) public and private for-profit entities that undertake certain social and environmental objectives and (ii) non-profits that form “hybrids” with for-profit entities. Students will study contrasting approaches to social entrepreneurship, learn about the different (new and existing) legal structures that regulate social enterprises, consider the types of financing models available to social enterprises, evaluate the need for “exits” in the social enterprise space, and consider the various means currently available to evaluate performance against social and environmental objectives. The course will utilize readings, in-class discussions and exercises, and draw upon the expertise of guest speakers, from the public and private sectors. The course meets on these dates: Thursday, March 31st 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, April 1st 10AM-12:10PM AND 3:10PM-5PM Thursday, April 7th 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, April 8th 10AM-12:10PM AND 3:10PM-5PM This class will be co-taught by Susan (Suz) Mac Cormac, Jennifer Barnette and Amelia Miazad. Suz MacCormac is a partner at Morrison & Foerster and a thought-leader in sustainable business and investing. Jen Barnette is an attorney at Cooley and one of the leaders of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practice. Amelia Miazad is the founding director of Berkeley Law's Business in Society Institute, which is spearheading research on how the increasing demand for business to serve a social purpose is impacting corporate governance. Spring 2023 Description: Social enterprises combine the goals of traditional philanthropy with the financial power and innovation of business to address the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues. This corporate law course introduces students to the legal, regulatory, and business aspects of social enterprises, which include both (i) public and private for-profit entities that undertake certain social and environmental objectives and (ii) non-profits that form “hybrids” with for-profit entities. Students will study contrasting approaches to social entrepreneurship, learn about the different (new and existing) legal structures that regulate social enterprises, consider the types of financing models available to social enterprises, evaluate the need for “exits” in the social enterprise space, and consider the various means currently available to evaluate performance against social and environmental objectives. The course will utilize readings, in-class discussions and exercises, and draw upon the expertise of guest speakers, from the public and private sectors. The course meets on these dates: Thursday, March 2nd 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, March 3rd 10AM-12:10PM AND 2:10PM-4PM Thursday, March 16th 6:25PM-8:45PM Friday, March 17th 10AM-12:10PM AND 2:10PM-4PM This class will be co-taught by Jesse Finfrock and Jennifer Barnette. Jesse Finfrock is a general counsel and advisor to impact investors and social entrepreneurs. Jen Barnette is an attorney at Cooley and one of the leaders of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practice. Spring 2024 Description: Social enterprises combine the goals of traditional philanthropy with the financial power and innovation of business to address the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues. This corporate law course introduces students to the legal, regulatory, and business aspects of social enterprises, which include both (i) public and private for-profit entities that undertake certain social and environmental objectives and (ii) non-profits that form “hybrids” with for-profit entities. Students will study contrasting approaches to social entrepreneurship, learn about the different (new and existing) legal structures that regulate social enterprises, consider the types of financing models available to social enterprises, evaluate the need for “exits” in the social enterprise space, and consider the various means currently available to evaluate performance against social and environmental objectives. The course will utilize readings, in-class discussions and exercises, and draw upon the expertise of guest speakers, from the public and private sectors. The course meets on these dates: Th. 2/29, Fri. 3/1 and Th. 3/7, Fri. 3/8 This class will be co-taught by Jesse Finfrock and Jennifer Barnette. Jesse Finfrock is a general counsel and advisor to impact investors and social entrepreneurs. Jen Barnette is an attorney at Cooley and one of the leaders of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practice. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 258.5 Partnership Tax 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The course covers the taxation of business enterprises that are taxed on a pass-through basis, including all forms of partnerships and limited liability companies. These rules apply to most non-publicly traded business enterprises. Much sophisticated tax planning for wealthy individuals and in the corporate and international sectors uses entities taxed as partnerships because of the flexibility of the tax rules governing partnerships. The course provides an opportunity to work with a sophisticated body of rules, which largely are found in the code and regulations, with a focus on transactional tax business planning. Spring 2021 Description: The course covers the taxation of business enterprises that are taxed on a pass-through basis, including all forms of partnerships and limited liability companies. These rules apply to most non-publicly traded business enterprises. Much sophisticated tax planning for wealthy individuals and in the corporate and international sectors uses entities taxed as partnerships because of the flexibility of the tax rules governing partnerships. The course provides an opportunity to work with a sophisticated body of rules, which largely are found in the code and regulations, with a focus on transactional tax business planning. Spring 2022 Description: The course covers the taxation of business enterprises that are taxed on a pass-through basis, including all forms of partnerships and limited liability companies. These rules apply to most non-publicly traded business enterprises. Much sophisticated tax planning for wealthy individuals and in the corporate and international sectors uses entities taxed as partnerships because of the flexibility of the tax rules governing partnerships. The course provides an opportunity to work with a sophisticated body of rules, which largely are found in the code and regulations, with a focus on transactional tax business planning. Spring 2024 Description: The course covers the taxation of business enterprises that are taxed on a pass-through basis, including all forms of partnerships and limited liability companies. These rules apply to most non-publicly traded business enterprises. Much sophisticated tax planning for wealthy individuals and in the corporate and international sectors uses entities taxed as partnerships because of the flexibility of the tax rules governing partnerships. The course provides an opportunity to work with a sophisticated body of rules, which largely are found in the code and regulations, with a focus on transactional tax business planning. Spring 2025 Description: The course covers the taxation of business enterprises that are taxed on a pass-through basis, including all forms of partnerships and limited liability companies. These rules apply to most non-publicly traded business enterprises. Much sophisticated tax planning for wealthy individuals and in the corporate and international sectors uses entities taxed as partnerships because of the flexibility of the tax rules governing partnerships. The course provides an opportunity to work with a sophisticated body of rules, which largely are found in the code and regulations, with a focus on transactional tax business planning. The course is absolutely essential if you are thinking about a tax practice. The course is very valuable if you are thinking about a transactional practice in an area like private equity. |
| Law 258.7 Corporate Tax 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course covers the federal income taxation of corporations. It follows the tax life of a corporation from its formation, to its distribution of cash or property to shareholders, to its eventual liquidation. The course spends significant time on the tax aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate divisions, such as the spin-off of a corporate subsidiary. Although the course's emphasis is on large, publicly traded, Subchapter C corporations, it also covers the contrasting tax treatment of Subchapter S corporations, the form chosen by many small businesses for tax purposes. The course does not require any mathematical expertise and is designed for those considering general or corporate practice as well as for students with a special interest in tax law. Spring 2021 Description: This course covers the federal income taxation of corporations. It follows the tax life of a corporation from its formation, to its distribution of cash or property to shareholders, to its eventual liquidation. The course spends significant time on the tax aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate divisions, such as the spin-off of a corporate subsidiary. Although the course's emphasis is on large, publicly traded, Subchapter C corporations, it also covers the contrasting tax treatment of Subchapter S corporations, the form chosen by many small businesses for tax purposes. The course does not require any mathematical expertise and is designed for those considering general or corporate practice as well as for students with a special interest in tax law. Spring 2022 Description: This course covers the federal income taxation of Subchapter C corporations, i.e. corporations that are subject to the corporate income tax. These include all large publicly traded corporations as well as a significant number of closely held corporations. It covers the tax life of a corporation from its formation, to its distribution of cash or property to shareholders, to its eventual liquidation. The course spends significant time on the tax aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate divisions, such as the spin-off of a corporate subsidiary. The course will not cover the tax treatment of Subchapter S corporations. The course does not require any mathematical expertise and is designed for those considering a general or corporate practice as well as for students with a special interest in tax law. Spring 2023 Description: This course covers the federal income taxation of corporations. It follows the tax life of a corporation, from its formation, to its distribution of cash or property to shareholders, to its eventual liquidation. It also covers the tax aspects of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divisions, such as the spin-off of a corporate subsidiary. Although most of the emphasis is on large, publicly traded, Subchapter C corporations, the course covers the contrasting tax treatment of smaller, Subchapter S corporations as well. The course does not require any mathematical expertise and is designed for those considering general or corporate practice as well as for students with a special interest in tax law. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers the federal income taxation of corporations. It follows the tax life of a corporation, from its formation, to its distribution of cash or property to shareholders, to its eventual liquidation. It also covers the tax aspects of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divisions, such as the spin-off of a corporate subsidiary. Although most of the emphasis is on large, publicly traded, Subchapter C corporations, the course covers the contrasting tax treatment of smaller, Subchapter S corporations as well. The course does not require any mathematical expertise and is designed for those considering general or corporate practice as well as for students with a special interest in tax law. Fall 2024 Description: This course covers the federal income taxation of corporations. It follows the tax life of a corporation, from its formation, to its distribution of cash or property to shareholders, to its eventual liquidation. It also covers the tax aspects of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divisions, such as the spin-off of a corporate subsidiary. Although most of the emphasis is on large, publicly traded, Subchapter C corporations, the course covers the contrasting tax treatment of smaller, Subchapter S corporations as well. (Most small businesses in the US are organized as Subchapter S corporations or as LLC that elect to be taxed as partnerships.) The course does not require any mathematical expertise and is designed for those considering general or corporate practice as well as for students with a special interest in tax law. A prior course in Income Tax is helpful but not required. |
| Law 258.71 Corporate Tax Basics 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This 1-unit class is open only to people taking Partnership Tax concurrently. It will cover basic topics in Corporate Tax. When possible, coverage of a topic will be timed to the related topic in Partnership Tax. We will cover the rules on formation, assumption of liabilities, debt vs. equity, dividends, property distributions, redemptions, stock distributions, complete liquidations, and taxable corporate acquisitions. To apply for this class, students enrolled in Partnership Tax must email Professor Mark Gergen (mgergen@berkeley.edu) with their stated interest in this course by November 25th. |
| Law 259.1A International Tax Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course examines the United States federal income taxation of international operations and transactions, including international joint venture and M&A transactions. Topics will include income sourcing, foreign tax credits, Subpart F, GILTI, FDII, BEAT, international transfer pricing rules, and international tax treaties. Students should have already completed, or be concurrently enrolled in, a course in corporate taxation. The instructors are all attorneys at Fenwick & West with extensive experience in international tax advising and court practice. Spring 2022 Description: This course examines the United States federal income taxation of international operations and transactions, including international joint venture and M&A transactions. Topics will include income sourcing, foreign tax credits, Subpart F, GILTI, FDII, BEAT, international transfer pricing rules, and international tax treaties. Students should have already completed, or be concurrently enrolled in, a course in corporate taxation. The instructors are all attorneys at Fenwick & West with extensive experience in international tax advising and court practice. Spring 2024 Description: This course examines the United States federal income taxation of international operations and transactions, including international joint venture and M&A transactions. Topics will include income sourcing, foreign tax credits, Subpart F, GILTI, FDII, BEAT, international transfer pricing rules, and international tax treaties. It is strongly recommended that students have already completed, or be concurrently enrolled in, a course in corporate taxation. The instructors are all attorneys at Fenwick & West with extensive experience in international tax advising and court practice. |
| Law 259A Income Tax I 4 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Income Tax I is an introductory class which virtually every law student should take. The federal tax rules affect almost every practice area, from family law and real estate transactions to all manner of businesses. The introductory course provides an overview of the federal income taxation of individuals. (More advanced courses focus on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy.) The course examines the values and group interests that shape the individual income tax and considers alternatives to current rules. Its chief focus, though, is on understanding what the law actually requires of individual taxpayers: what constitutes taxable income, which deductions and exclusions are available and for which reasons, who must pay tax (within family units, following divorce, and so forth), when a tax is owed if receipts span several years or precede contractual performance, and how capital gains receive preferential treatment. The course requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No math skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final in-class, open-book exam. Fall 2021 Description: Income Tax I is an introductory class which virtually every law student should take. The federal tax rules affect almost every practice area, from family law and real estate transactions to all manner of businesses. The introductory course provides an overview of the federal income taxation of individuals. (More advanced courses focus on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy.) The course examines the values and group interests that shape the individual income tax and considers alternatives to current rules. Its chief focus, though, is on understanding what the law actually requires of individual taxpayers: what constitutes taxable income, which deductions and exclusions are available and for which reasons, who must pay tax (within family units, following divorce, and so forth), when a tax is owed if receipts span several years or precede contractual performance, and how capital gains receive preferential treatment. The course requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No math skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final in-class, open-book exam. Fall 2022 Description: Income Tax I is an introductory class which virtually every law student should take. The federal tax rules affect almost every practice area, from family law and real estate transactions to all manner of businesses. The introductory course provides an overview of the federal income taxation of individuals. (More advanced courses focus on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy.) The course examines the values and group interests that shape the individual income tax and considers alternatives to current rules. Its chief focus, though, is on understanding what the law actually requires of individual taxpayers: what constitutes taxable income, which deductions and exclusions are available and for which reasons, who must pay tax (within family units, following divorce, and so forth), when a tax is owed if receipts span several years or precede contractual performance, and how capital gains receive preferential treatment. The course requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No math skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final in-class, open-book exam. Fall 2023 Description: Income Tax I is an introductory class which virtually every law student should take. The federal tax rules affect almost every practice area, from family law and real estate transactions to all manner of businesses. The introductory course provides an overview of the federal income taxation of individuals. (More advanced courses focus on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy.) The course examines the values and group interests that shape the individual income tax and considers alternatives to current rules. Its chief focus, though, is on understanding what the law actually requires of individual taxpayers: what constitutes taxable income, which deductions and exclusions are available and for which reasons, who must pay tax (within family units, following divorce, and so forth), when a tax is owed if receipts span several years or precede contractual performance, and how capital gains receive preferential treatment. The course requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No math skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final in-class, open-book exam. Spring 2024 Description: Income Tax I provides an introduction to the federal income taxation of individuals. (More advanced courses focus on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy.) Topics covered in this course include (but are not limited to) the following: the concept of income and what constitutes income; deductions; the tax treatment of gains and losses; the concept of basis; the tax treatment of transactions involving debt; the realization doctrine and the timing of taxation; the tax treatment of charitable contributions and of nonprofit entities; tax shelters; the concept of a capital asset. The class uses a combination of lectures, class discussion, and problems. Its focus is on the application of the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, cases, and other sources of tax law. Policy issues underlying the tax law will also be analyzed. The class has no prerequisites. It requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No mathematical skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final in-class, open-book exam. Fall 2024 Description: Income Tax I provides an introduction to the federal income taxation of individuals. (More advanced courses focus on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy.) Topics covered in this course include (but are not limited to) the following: the concept of income and what constitutes income; deductions; the tax treatment of gains and losses; the concept of basis; the tax treatment of transactions involving debt; the realization doctrine and the timing of taxation; the tax treatment of charitable contributions and of nonprofit entities; tax shelters; the concept of a capital asset. The class uses a combination of lectures, class discussion, and problems. Its focus is on the application of the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, cases, and other sources of tax law. Policy issues underlying the tax law will also be analyzed. The class has no prerequisites. It requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No mathematical skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final in-class, open-book exam. Fall 2025 Description: Income Tax I provides an introduction to the federal income taxation of individuals. You will need this course in order to pursue more advanced courses focused on corporations, partnerships, international businesses and investment, and tax policy. In addition, because taxation and tax planning affect nearly every important legal, policy, and business decision, this course is an essential portion of a general legal education. The class aims to develop your understanding of bedrock tax principles and key legal rules through a combination of lectures, class discussions, and problems. As a course in statutory interpretation, it will help you to become comfortable with discerning legal meaning through the combined application of many potential sources, including statutes, regulations, other agency guidance, judicial decisions, and tax policy arguments. The class has no prerequisites. It requires no familiarity with economics or accounting. No mathematical skills are needed beyond basic arithmetic. There will be a final open-book 4-hour in-class exam. There are also self-assessed quizzes throughout the semester, which will also help to track your progress in understanding the material. |
| Law 260.1 Tax Policy and Public Finance 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar examines important issues of federal tax policy and theory. Topics will include the role of the tax system in causing and addressing inequality in income distribution, tax expenditures, tax treatment of the family, budget deficits and budget rules, tax policy and the environment, corporate tax reform, capital gains taxation, estate, inheritance, and wealth taxation, the tax treatment of multinational enterprises, taxation of retirement saving, consumption versus income taxation, and state and local taxation. The first two weeks of the seminar we will go through the economic analysis necessary to study these various tax policy issues, developing the central concepts of economic efficiency and tax incidence and how to evaluate trade-offs between equity and efficiency. The last two weeks of the seminar will be devoted to brief student presentations related to their course papers. See faculty bio here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/alan-auerbach/ Fall 2021 Description: This seminar examines important issues of federal tax policy and theory. Topics will include the role of the tax system in causing and addressing inequality in income distribution, tax expenditures, tax treatment of the family, budget deficits and budget rules, tax policy and the environment, corporate tax reform, capital gains taxation, estate, inheritance, and wealth taxation, the tax treatment of multinational enterprises, taxation of retirement saving, consumption versus income taxation, and state and local taxation. The first two weeks of the seminar we will go through the economic analysis necessary to study these various tax policy issues, developing the central concepts of economic efficiency and tax incidence and how to evaluate trade-offs between equity and efficiency. The last two weeks of the seminar will be devoted to brief student presentations related to their course papers. See faculty bio here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/alan-auerbach/ Spring 2024 Description: This seminar examines important issues of federal tax policy and theory. Topics will include the role of the tax system in causing and addressing inequality in income distribution, tax expenditures, tax treatment of the family, budget deficits and budget rules, tax policy and the environment, corporate tax reform, capital gains taxation, estate, inheritance, and wealth taxation, the tax treatment of multinational enterprises, taxation of retirement saving, consumption versus income taxation, and state and local taxation. The first two weeks of the seminar we will go through the economic analysis necessary to study these various tax policy issues, developing the central concepts of economic efficiency and tax incidence and how to evaluate trade-offs between equity and efficiency. The last two weeks of the seminar will be devoted to brief student presentations related to their course papers. See faculty bio here: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/alan-auerbach/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/alan-auerbach//a Fall 2024 Description: This seminar examines important issues of federal tax policy and theory. Topics will include the role of the tax system in causing and addressing inequality in income distribution, tax expenditures, tax treatment of the family, budget deficits and budget rules, tax policy and the environment, corporate tax reform, capital gains taxation, estate, inheritance, and wealth taxation, the tax treatment of multinational enterprises, taxation of retirement saving, consumption versus income taxation, and state and local taxation. The first two weeks of the seminar we will go through the economic analysis necessary to study these various tax policy issues, developing the central concepts of economic efficiency and tax incidence and how to evaluate trade-offs between equity and efficiency. The last two meetings of the seminar will be devoted to brief student presentations related to their course papers. See faculty bio here: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/alan-auerbach/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/alan-auerbach//a |
| Law 261 International Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course provides an introduction to international law broadly defined. It presents the basic concepts that every lawyer should know about the international dimensions of law in the modern world, and offers a rigorous foundation for advanced courses in this field. After covering the sources of international law, we will discuss a wide range of specific topics, from international human rights and the use of force, to international environmental law, trade and investment, and international business transactions. Why study international law? Legal systems today are highly interconnected. We will see that changes in laws that appear entirely domestic in character can have global consequences. Conversely, foreign countries’ laws, international norms, and treaties can shape how domestic legal systems evolve. With its dominant role in the development and enforcement of the rules connecting the world, the U.S. often finds itself at the center of both these forces. International law is essential for careers in many government agencies, international organizations and tribunals. In addition, American lawyers today often represent U.S. companies doing business abroad or foreign companies doing business here. The course has no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge will be assumed. That said, LLM students and others who already have a background in international law are encouraged to take the course. A particular emphasis of this course will be the use of international law in domestic litigation and law reform. Additionally, we will examine how politics and culture inform the negotiation and enforcement of international agreements, and draw on a growing theoretical literature on international law and international relations. This course is required for students who wish to complete the certificate in international law. Spring 2022 Description: This course provides an introduction to international law broadly defined. It presents the basic concepts that every lawyer should know about the international dimensions of law in the modern world, and offers a rigorous foundation for advanced courses in this field. After covering the sources of international law, we will discuss a wide range of specific topics, from international human rights and the use of force, to international environmental law, trade and investment, and international business transactions. Why study international law? Legal systems today are highly interconnected. We will see that changes in laws that appear entirely domestic in character can have global consequences. Conversely, foreign countries’ laws, international norms, and treaties can shape how domestic legal systems evolve. With its dominant role in the development and enforcement of the rules connecting the world, the U.S. often finds itself at the center of both these forces. International law is essential for careers in many government agencies, international organizations and tribunals. In addition, American lawyers today often represent U.S. companies doing business abroad or foreign companies doing business here. The course has no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge will be assumed. That said, LLM students and others who already have a background in international law are encouraged to take the course. A particular emphasis of this course will be the use of international law in domestic litigation and law reform. Additionally, we will examine how politics and culture inform the negotiation and enforcement of international agreements, and draw on a growing theoretical literature on international law and international relations. This course is required for students who wish to complete the certificate in international law. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides an introduction to international law broadly defined. It presents the basic concepts that every lawyer should know about the international dimensions of law in the modern world, and offers a rigorous foundation for advanced courses in this field. After covering the sources of international law, we will discuss a wide range of specific topics, from international human rights and the use of force, to international environmental law, trade and investment, and international business transactions. Why study international law? Legal systems today are highly interconnected. We will see that changes in laws that appear entirely domestic in character can have global consequences. Conversely, foreign countries’ laws, international norms, and treaties can shape how domestic legal systems evolve. With its dominant role in the development and enforcement of the rules connecting the world, the U.S. often finds itself at the center of both these forces. International law is essential for careers in many government agencies, international organizations and tribunals. In addition, American lawyers today often represent U.S. companies doing business abroad or foreign companies doing business here. The course has no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge will be assumed. That said, LL.M. students and others who already have a background in international law are encouraged to take the course. A particular emphasis of this course will be the use of international law in domestic litigation and law reform. Additionally, we will examine how politics and culture inform the negotiation and enforcement of international agreements, and draw on a growing theoretical literature on international law and international relations. This course is required for students who wish to complete the certificate in international law. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides an introduction to international law broadly defined. It presents the basic concepts that every lawyer should know about the international dimensions of law in the modern world, and offers a rigorous foundation for advanced courses in this field. After covering the sources of international law, we will discuss a wide range of specific topics, from international human rights and the use of force, to international environmental law, trade and investment, and international business transactions. Why study international law? Legal systems today are highly interconnected. We will see that changes in laws that appear entirely domestic in character can have global consequences. Conversely, foreign countries’ laws, international norms, and treaties can shape how domestic legal systems evolve. With its dominant role in the development and enforcement of the rules connecting the world, the U.S. often finds itself at the center of both these forces. International law is essential for careers in many government agencies, international organizations and tribunals. In addition, American lawyers today often represent U.S. companies doing business abroad or foreign companies doing business here. The course has no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge will be assumed. That said, LL.M. students and others who already have a background in international law are encouraged to take the course. A particular emphasis of this course will be the use of international law in domestic litigation and law reform. Additionally, we will examine how politics and culture inform the negotiation and enforcement of international agreements, and draw on a growing theoretical literature on international law and international relations. This course is required for students who wish to complete the certificate in international law. Spring 2025 Description: This course provides an introduction to international law. It presents the basic concepts that every lawyer should know about the international dimensions of law in the modern world and offers a rigorous foundation for advanced courses in this field. The course will begin with an overview of the distinct features of international law, including the methodology of international law and the sources of international law. We will then address specific areas that are regulated by international law, including international human rights, international environmental law, and international economic law. The course has no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge will be assumed. That said, those who already have a background in international law are encouraged to take the course. This course is required for students who wish to complete the certificate in international law. Fall 2025 Description: This course provides an introduction to international law. It presents the basic concepts that every lawyer should know about the international dimensions of law in the modern world and offers a rigorous foundation for advanced courses in this field. The course will begin with an overview of the distinct features of international law, including the methodology of international law and the sources of international law. We will then address specific areas that are regulated by international law, including international human rights, international environmental law, and international economic law. The course has no prerequisites, and no prior knowledge will be assumed. That said, those who already have a background in international law are encouraged to take the course. This course is required for students who wish to complete the certificate in international law. |
| Law 261.1 International Business Transactions 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Fall 2020 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Fall 2021 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Fall 2022 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Spring 2024 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Spring 2025 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. |
| Law 261.15 Colloquium on International Law and Politics 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: In this Colloquium, participants will address some of the most challenging questions of international law and politics by studying the cutting-edge work of the field’s leading scholars. Each class meeting will feature a guest speaker who will present their research; subjects include issues in international trade, human rights, arbitration and litigation, and international legal theory. Colloquium students will be expected to produce short comments in response to the assigned workshop papers and to actively participate in workshop discussion. Spring 2024 Description: In this Colloquium, participants will address some of the most challenging questions related to the intersection of law and geopolitics by studying the cutting-edge work of the field’s leading scholars. Each class meeting will feature a guest speaker who will present their research. Subjects include issues in the law of foreign relations, global governance of emerging technologies, law and security, international trade, human rights, and international legal theory. Colloquium students will be expected to produce short comments in response to the assigned workshop papers and to actively participate in workshop discussion. This is part I of a semester long workshop. Students are welcome to register for one or both parts. |
| Law 261.16 Colloquium on Law and Geopolitics II 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: In this Colloquium, participants will address some of the most challenging questions related to the intersection of law and geopolitics by studying the cutting-edge work of the field’s leading scholars. Each class meeting will feature a guest speaker who will present their research. Subjects include issues in the law of foreign relations, global governance of emerging technologies, law and security, international trade, human rights, and international legal theory. Colloquium students will be expected to produce short comments in response to the assigned workshop papers and to actively participate in workshop discussion. This is part II of a semester long workshop. Students are welcome to register for one or both parts. |
| Law 261.17 International Organizations 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This class has two goals: to introduce students to international organizations, networks and other forms of global governance, and to provide the space for students to write a 30+ paper on an international topic. We will examine how international organizations and transnational networks develop international law and use legal and non-legal tools to shape domestic practices. While international organizations have limited enforcement capabilities, “almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law almost all of the time.” Drawing from legal and social science literatures, we will study how hard and soft international law shape the conduct of governments, courts, NGOs, expert networks and mass publics. We will investigate mechanisms that generate conformity and non-conformity with international norms, including coercion, political economy considerations, learning and socialization. Spring 2021 Description: This class has two goals: to introduce students to international organizations, networks and other forms of global governance, and to provide the space for students to write a 30 page paper on an international topic. We will examine how international organizations and transnational networks develop international law and use legal and non-legal tools to shape domestic practices. While international organizations have limited enforcement capabilities, “almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law almost all of the time.” Drawing from legal and social science literatures, we will study how hard and soft international law shape the conduct of governments, courts, NGOs, expert networks and mass publics. We will investigate mechanisms that generate conformity and non-conformity with international norms, including coercion, political economy considerations, learning and socialization. Spring 2023 Description: This class has two goals: to introduce students to international organizations, networks and other forms of global governance, and to provide the space for students to write a 30 page paper on an international topic. We will examine how international organizations and transnational networks develop international law and use legal and non-legal tools to shape domestic practices. While international organizations have limited enforcement capabilities, “almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law almost all of the time.” Drawing from legal and social science literatures, we will study how hard and soft international law shape the conduct of governments, courts, NGOs, expert networks and mass publics. We will investigate mechanisms that generate conformity and non-conformity with international norms, including coercion, political economy considerations, learning and socialization. |
| Law 261.1S International Business Transactions 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such approvals from anti-trust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. This course will meet in-person on campus on May 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and June 1st in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such approvals from anti-trust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Summer 2023 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such approvals from anti-trust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Summer 2024 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. Summer 2025 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such as approvals from antitrust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. At Berkeley Law, Professor Katerina Linos teaches international business transactions, international law, European Union law, and international organizations. She is best known for her research on the diffusion of ideas around the world. Her book “The Democratic Foundations of Policy Diffusion: How Health, Family and Employment Laws Spread Across Countries(opens in a new tab)” won three national awards. She documents that laws don’t spread only through expert networks, but also through popular movements. Politicians can win elections by advocating for tried-and-true, mainstream models. Therefore, the same law is often adopted around the world, even in countries for which it is a poor fit. Linos also studies how information and misinformation shape refugee and migration law. Through a Carnegie fellowship(opens in a new tab), she studied how government and international organization reticence allows for misinformation(opens in a new tab) to spread among migrants, opening up space for rights violations and smuggling. In Digital Refuge(opens in a new tab), Linos presents the European refugee crisis from the perspective of migrants, drawing on thousands of interviews and Facebook posts. In Responsibility Sharing or Responsibility Dumping she evaluates both progressive and conservative innovations in refugee law. Linos has researched how the media translate US Supreme Court opinions; how public opinion cleavages form around the world; how the European Union influences legislation not only through compliance mechanisms, but also through diffusion processes; and how UN General Assembly templates shape the design of institutions around the world. Linos’ research is empirical and focused on developing and applying new qualitative and quantitative methods. Her work appears in leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of International Law, the American Journal of Political Science, the American Political Science Review, the California Law Review, the Chicago Law Review, Comparative Political Studies, the European Sociological Review, and International Organization. Linos is the host of the international law podcast Borderlines. |
| Law 261.2 International Litigation and Arbitration 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This course is intended to prepare students for practice in the overlapping fields of international litigation and international commercial arbitration. The field is an exciting and growing area of practice. Whether as student or practitioner, this area of law brings one into contact with other legal systems and legal cultures. For many, this interaction with other legal cultures makes practice in this area particularly stimulating and challenging. There are no prerequisites for the course, although Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, International Law and Conflict of Laws are helpful. The course tracks in parallel the processes of international litigation and arbitration from initiation to enforcement. The subject is large. The course emphasizes arbitration proceedings; it does not address in any detail choice of law theories which are better considered in a course on Conflict of Laws. Likewise, although this course introduces many aspects of "International Civil Litigation," that course may be taken concurrently as it covers the subject in greater depth. The course in general avoids suits involving governments, leaving those aspects to either "International Law" or "International Trade." Neil A.F. Popović is a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm's San Francisco office and is Team Leader of the International Litigation and Arbitration team. Mr. Popović’s litigation experience includes a wide range of commercial disputes, including international dispute resolution (commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and litigation), consumer class actions and white collar criminal matters (including internal investigations). Mr. Popović also practices international environmental law, including representing clients in international negotiations. Mr. Popović also serves as a Project Complaint Mechanism Expert for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Fall 2022 Description: This course is intended to prepare students for practice in the overlapping fields of international litigation and international commercial arbitration. The field is an exciting and growing area of practice. Whether as a student or practitioner, this area of law brings one into contact with other legal systems and legal cultures. For many, this interaction with other legal cultures makes practice in this area particularly stimulating and challenging. There are no prerequisites for the course, although Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, International Law and Conflict of Laws are helpful. The course tracks in parallel the processes of international litigation and arbitration from initiation to enforcement. The subject is large. The course emphasizes arbitration proceedings; it does not address in any detail choice of law theories which are better considered in a course on Conflict of Laws. Likewise, although this course introduces many aspects of "International Civil Litigation," that course may be taken concurrently as it covers the subject in greater depth. The course in general avoids suits involving governments, leaving those aspects to either "International Law" or "International Trade." Neil A.F. Popović is a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm's San Francisco office and is Team Leader of the International Litigation and Arbitration team and the ESG and Sustainability Team. Mr. Popović’s litigation experience includes a wide range of commercial disputes, including international dispute resolution (commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and litigation), consumer class actions and white collar criminal matters (including internal investigations). Mr. Popović provides advice and counseling on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. Mr. Popović also practices international environmental law, including representing clients in international negotiations. Mr. Popović also serves as an Ad Hoc Expert for the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism Expert at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Fall 2023 Description: This course is intended to prepare students for practice in the overlapping fields of international litigation and international commercial arbitration. The field is an exciting and growing area of practice. Whether as a student or practitioner, this area of law brings one into contact with other legal systems and legal cultures. For many, this interaction with other legal cultures makes practice in this area particularly stimulating and challenging. There are no prerequisites for the course, although Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, International Law and Conflict of Laws are helpful. The course tracks in parallel the processes of international litigation and arbitration from initiation to enforcement. The subject is large. The course emphasizes arbitration proceedings; it does not address in any detail choice of law theories which are better considered in a course on Conflict of Laws. Likewise, although this course introduces many aspects of "International Civil Litigation," that course may be taken concurrently as it covers the subject in greater depth. The course in general avoids suits involving governments, leaving those aspects to either "International Law" or "International Trade." Neil A.F. Popović is a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm's San Francisco office and is Team Leader of the International Litigation and Arbitration team and the ESG and Sustainability Team. Mr. Popović’s litigation experience includes a wide range of commercial disputes, including international dispute resolution (commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and litigation), consumer class actions and white collar criminal matters (including internal investigations). Mr. Popović provides advice and counseling on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. Mr. Popović also practices international environmental law, including representing clients in international negotiations. Mr. Popović previously served as an Ad Hoc Expert for the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism Expert at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Fall 2024 Description: This course is intended to prepare students for practice in the overlapping fields of international litigation and international commercial arbitration. The field is an exciting and growing area of practice. Whether as a student or practitioner, this area of law brings one into contact with other legal systems and legal cultures. For many, this interaction with other legal cultures makes practice in this area particularly stimulating and challenging. There are no prerequisites for the course, although Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, International Law and Conflict of Laws are helpful. The course tracks in parallel the processes of international litigation and arbitration from initiation to enforcement. The subject is large. The course emphasizes arbitration proceedings; it does not address in any detail choice of law theories, which are better considered in a course on Conflict of Laws. Likewise, although this course introduces many aspects of "International Civil Litigation," that course may be taken concurrently as it covers the subject in greater depth. The course in general avoids suits involving governments, leaving those aspects to either "International Law" or "International Trade." Neil A.F. Popović is a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm's San Francisco office and is Team Leader of the International Litigation and Arbitration team and the ESG and Sustainability Team. Mr. Popović’s litigation experience includes a wide range of commercial disputes, including international dispute resolution (commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and transnational litigation), consumer class actions and white collar criminal matters (including internal investigations). Mr. Popović provides advice and counseling on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. Mr. Popović also practices international environmental law, including representing clients in international negotiations. Mr. Popović previously served as an Ad Hoc Expert for the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism Expert at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Fall 2025 Description: This course is intended to prepare students for practice in the overlapping fields of international litigation and international commercial arbitration. The field is an exciting and growing area of practice. Whether as a student or practitioner, this area of law brings one into contact with other legal systems and legal cultures. For many, this interaction with other legal cultures makes practice in this area particularly stimulating and challenging. There are no prerequisites for the course, although Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, International Law, and/or Conflict of Laws are helpful. The course tracks in parallel the processes of international litigation and arbitration from initiation to enforcement. The subject is large. The course emphasizes arbitration proceedings; it does not address in any detail choice of law theories, which are better considered in a course on Conflict of Laws. Likewise, although this course introduces many aspects of "International Civil Litigation," that course may be taken concurrently as it covers the subject in greater depth. The course in general avoids suits involving governments, leaving those aspects to either "International Law" or "International Trade." Neil A.F. Popović is a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm's San Francisco office and is Team Leader of the International Litigation and Arbitration team and the ESG and Sustainability Team. Mr. Popović’s litigation experience includes a wide range of commercial disputes, including international dispute resolution (commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and transnational litigation), consumer class actions and white collar criminal matters (including internal investigations). Mr. Popović provides advice and counseling on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. Mr. Popović also practices international environmental law, including representing clients in international negotiations. Mr. Popović previously served as an Ad Hoc Expert for the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism Expert at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. |
| Law 261.21 Foreign Investment Arbitration Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a one unit introduction course into foreign investment arbitration as part of foreign investment protection. The course will deal with the various types of foreign investment arbitrations, the conduct of the proceedings, the alternatives, and the criticisms that are increasingly made against this type of private dispute resolution of major public policy issues. This course meets: Thursday, February 6th 6:25-9:05 pm Friday, February 7th 10 am -12:30 pm and 3:10 pm- 6:10pm Saturday, February 8th 9am -12pm and 1:30 pm- 3:40pm Spring 2021 Description: This is a one-unit introduction course into foreign investment arbitration as part of foreign investment protection. The course will deal with the various types of foreign investment arbitrations, the conduct of the proceedings, the alternatives, and the criticisms that are increasingly made against this type of private dispute resolution of major public policy issues. This course meetings for 2 Fridays and 2 Saturdays: Friday, February 19th & February 26th 8:45AM-12PM Saturday, February 20th & February 27th 8:45AM-12PM Spring 2022 Description: This is a one-unit introduction course into foreign investment arbitration as part of foreign investment protection. The course will deal with the various types of foreign investment arbitrations, the foreign investments that are covered, the conduct of the proceedings, the alternatives, and the criticisms that are increasingly made against this type of private dispute resolution of major public policy issues. This course meetings for 2 Fridays and 2 Saturdays: Friday, Feb 4th and 11th 8:45 AM-12 PM Saturday, Feb 5th and 12th 8:45AM-12PM |
| Law 261.22 International Commercial Arbitration Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a one unit introduction into international commercial arbitration. The course will deal with the differences with ordinary litigation, the powers of arbitrators as compared to ordinary judges, the conduct of the proceedings, the applicable procedural and substantive law, the meaning of the arbitration's international character, the handling of public policy issues and third party interests, the criticisms, and the status of, challenges to and international recognition of the awards. This course meets Thursday, January 23rd 6:25-9:05 pm Friday, January 24th 10 am -12:30 pm and 3:10 pm- 6:10pm Saturday, January 25th 9am -12pm and 1:30 pm- 3:40pm Spring 2021 Description: This is a one-unit introduction into international commercial arbitration. The course will deal with the differences with ordinary litigation, the powers of arbitrators as compared to ordinary judges, the conduct of the proceedings, the applicable procedural and substantive law, the meaning of the arbitration's international character, the handling of public policy issues and third party interests, the criticisms, and the status of, challenges to and international recognition of the award. The course meets 2 Fridays and 2 Saturdays: Friday, January 29th & February 5th 8:45AM-12PM (w/ 15 min break) Saturday, January 30th & February 6th 8:45AM-12PM (w/ 15 min break) Spring 2022 Description: This is a one-unit introduction into international commercial arbitration. The course will deal with the differences with ordinary litigation, the powers of arbitrators as compared to ordinary judges, the conduct of the proceedings, the applicable procedural and substantive law, the meaning of the arbitration's international character, the handling of public policy issues and third party interests, the criticisms, and the status of, challenges to and international recognition of the award. The course meets 2 Fridays and 2 Saturdays: Friday, Feb 18th and 25th 8:45AM-12PM Saturday, Feb 19th and 26th 8:45AM-12PM |
| Law 261.23 Comparative Civil Litigation 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This class will consider civil litigation from a comparative perspective. It will focus in particular on mechanisms for group litigation (such as the class action) as currently deployed in different countries and in diverse substantive arenas, from consumer protection to securities fraud to the enforcement of human rights. Through our exploration of these mechanisms and associated procedural rules, we will discuss some of the core issues in comparative law: for instance, the impact of legal traditions and legal culture; the political determinants of law reform; and prospects for legal harmonization. |
| Law 261.24 Global Dispute Resolution 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Just how global is international dispute resolution? In her award-winning book Is International Law International?, Professor Anthea Roberts laments the extent to which public international law textbooks rely on the perspectives and jurisprudence of the author’s home country. There are valid reasons to focus on the country in which a student is most likely to practice law. However, the practices and procedures of international courts and tribunals have their origins in both civil law (especially French) and common law traditions. Those in the field of international adjudication and arbitration – including judges, arbitrators, counsel, law clerks, and scholars – are therefore advantaged by an appreciation of the differing perspectives that stem from the two traditions, which reveal themselves in almost every international case. The objective of this course is to enhance the ability of the students to engage with the field of international adjudication and arbitration. Professor Joan Donoghue will draw on her experiences as President (2021-2024) and Judge (2010-2024) of the International Court of Justice and as a member of investor-state arbitral panels. The course will cover key differences between the two major legal traditions, the historical origins of present-day courts and tribunals and the present-day manifestations of the uneasy synthesis of the two traditions. Topics will include the sources of law, the role of prior judicial decisions, the pre-hearing phase (e.g., discovery or not), the use of documentary versus witness evidence, the conduct of oral proceedings, approaches to scientific evidence (such as evidence on environmental damage) and the differences in the structure, logic and style of common law and civil law judicial decisions. Students will be required to submit a 12-15 page research paper in the form of a memorandum by a law clerk to a judge or arbitrator. The Professor will model her interactions with students on her engagement with law clerks, identifying topics early in the semester, providing feedback to each student and inviting in-class exchanges, as would take place among a group of law clerks. The course will include guest lecturers (via video-conference). The student’s grade will be based on the written research paper. Each student will be required to present the research paper orally towards the end of the semester and will be asked to serve as a commentator on the papers of one or more other students. Class participation will be taken into account if needed to serve as a tiebreaker for students at grade borderlines. There are no prerequisites. Students who have some background in evidence, international law, arbitration and/or the civil law tradition will be able to draw on that knowledge in the class. In addition, a student who is able to work with French-language materials may wish to make use of such materials. However, the ability to work in another language is not required. |
| Law 261.7 Disputes with Sovereigns 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will cover a range of U.S. and international law issues concerning disputes with sovereigns. It will begin with an overview of basic concepts under public international law, including the legal status, rights, and duties of sovereigns toward their own nationals and foreign nationals, with particular focus on investor-state and commercial disputes. The course will also focus on foreign sovereign immunity with the goal of giving students a solid foundation regarding the practice of international litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Students should expect to gain a nuanced understanding of the various exceptions to immunity under the FSIA and public international law, as well as a broader comparative understanding of certain foreign laws on immunity. We will also cover bilateral investment treaties and investor-state arbitrations under the framework of the International Centre on the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), including key rights, duties, theories of liability, and a range of landmark cases. The course will conclude with an overview of sovereign-related disputes in other international venues, including the International Court of Justice, state-to-state disputes, United Nations tribunals, and the World Trade Organization. This class will meet Thursday, April 2nd, from 6:25-9:05pm Friday, April 3rd, from 10am-12:30PM and 3:10-6:10pm Saturday, April 4th, from 10am-12:30PM and 2:10-5:10pm Spring 2021 Description: This course will cover a range of U.S. and international law issues concerning disputes with sovereigns. It will begin with an overview of basic concepts under public international law, including the legal status, rights, and duties of sovereigns toward their own nationals and foreign nationals, with particular focus on investor-state and commercial disputes. The course will also focus on foreign sovereign immunity with the goal of giving students a solid foundation regarding the practice of international litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Students should expect to gain a nuanced understanding of the various exceptions to immunity under the FSIA and public international law, as well as a broader comparative understanding of certain foreign laws on immunity. We will also cover bilateral investment treaties and investor-state arbitrations under the framework of the International Centre on the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), including key rights, duties, theories of liability, and a range of landmark cases. The course will conclude with an overview of sovereign-related disputes in other international venues, including the International Court of Justice, state-to-state disputes, United Nations tribunals, and the World Trade Organization. This class will meet over the course of three days: Thursday, February 25th 6:25PM-9:00PM Friday, February 26th 10AM-12:30PM and 3:10PM-6:10PM Saturday, February 27th 10AM-12:30PM and 2:10PM-5:10PM Spring 2022 Description: This course provides a comprehensive overview of how the international legal order enables the peaceful resolution of international legal disputes with governments and their agencies and instrumentalities through national and international courts, international arbitration tribunals, and other dispute resolution mechanisms. The course begins with an overview of basic public international law concepts, including the legal status of sovereigns and their authority, rights, and duties vis-à-vis individuals, corporations, and other legal entities. Following an overview of the different types of disputes that may arise with sovereigns, we will examine the various methods of dispute resolution, spanning conciliation, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, litigation and even armed conflict. We will focus on the subject of legal disputes with sovereigns, including especially international investment disputes, international commercial disputes, breaches of contract, takings in violation of international law, denials of justice, treaty violations, torts (including wrongful detentions and deaths, human trafficking, terrorism, and torture), the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and award, and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. At that same time, we will address potential sovereign defenses to such claims, ranging from lack of jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, the act of state doctrine, forum non conveniens, and the political question doctrine. In the context of our discussions regarding practice of international litigation in international tribunals and national courts, we will discuss particular landmark cases and examine how the law is evolving. We will also discuss how to litigate an action against a sovereign in U.S. court under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and how to litigate such an action in other national courts, international arbitration tribunals, and other international fora. The course will also cover bilateral investment treaties ("BITs") and investor-state arbitrations under the framework of the International Centre on the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), including key rights, duties, and theories of liability. We will also survey sovereign-related disputes in other international venues, including the International Court of Justice, ad hoc and United Nations tribunals, and the World Trade Organization. Finally, we will conclude with a discussion of what it is like to practice in the field of international disputes and what jobs and career opportunities are available to new lawyers with an interest in public or private international law. This class will meet over the course of three days: Thursday, March 31st 6:25PM-9:00PM Friday, April 1st 10AM-12:30PM and 3:10PM-5:30PM Saturday, April 2nd 10AM-12:30PM and 2:10PM-5:10PM Spring 2023 Description: This course covers both national and international law concepts relating to the resolution of disputes with sovereign nations and their agencies and instrumentalities ... including how such disputes arise and how they are won, lost, or settled through diplomacy, negotiations, arbitration, litigation, coercion, and even armed conflict. Drawing upon legal history, theory, national and international law, cases, commentators, and lessons from practice, we will examine how--both as a general matter and in specific cases--the international legal order enables the peaceful resolution of such disputes through national and international courts, international arbitration tribunals, and other dispute resolution mechanisms. We will begin with an overview of basic public international law concepts, including the legal status of sovereigns and their authority, rights, and duties vis-à-vis individuals, corporations, and other sovereigns. We will discuss different types of disputes that may arise with sovereigns, and which dispute resolution mechanisms are most effective in resolving particular types of disputes. We will cover the most important categories of disputes with sovereigns, including international investment disputes, commercial disputes, breaches of contract, takings in violation of international law, denials of justice, treaty violations, torts (such as wrongful detentions, human trafficking, terrorism, and torture), the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and award, and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. We will also address sovereign defenses to such claims, ranging from a lack of jurisdiction to sovereign immunity, the act of state doctrine, international comity, forum non conveniens, and the political question doctrine. We will use case studies and examples from practice to examine where and how to litigate or arbitrate cases against sovereigns in national and international courts and tribunals. The course will also cover bilateral investment treaties ("BITs") and investor-state arbitrations under the framework of the International Centre on the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), including key rights, duties, and theories of liability. We will also discuss sovereign-related disputes in other international venues, such as International Court of Justice, ad hoc and United Nations tribunals, and the World Trade Organization. Finally, we will conclude with a discussion of what it is like to practice in the field of international disputes and what jobs and career opportunities are available to new lawyers with an interest in public or private international law. Spring 2024 Description: This course covers both national and international law concepts relating to the resolution of disputes with sovereign nations and their agencies and instrumentalities ... including how such disputes arise and how they are won, lost, or settled through diplomacy, negotiations, arbitration, litigation, coercion, and even armed conflict. Drawing upon legal history, theory, national and international law, cases, commentators, and lessons from practice, we will examine how--both as a general matter and in specific cases--the international legal order enables the peaceful resolution of such disputes through national and international courts, international arbitration tribunals, and other dispute resolution mechanisms. We will begin with an overview of basic public international law concepts, including the legal status of sovereigns and their authority, rights, and duties vis-à-vis individuals, corporations, and other sovereigns. We will discuss different types of disputes that may arise with sovereigns, and which dispute resolution mechanisms are most effective in resolving particular types of disputes. We will cover the most important categories of disputes with sovereigns, including international investment disputes, commercial disputes, breaches of contract, takings in violation of international law, denials of justice, treaty violations, torts (such as wrongful detentions, human trafficking, terrorism, and torture), the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and award, and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. We will also address sovereign defenses to such claims, ranging from a lack of jurisdiction to sovereign immunity, the act of state doctrine, international comity, forum non conveniens, and the political question doctrine. We will use case studies and examples from practice to examine where and how to litigate or arbitrate cases against sovereigns in national and international courts and tribunals. The course will also cover bilateral investment treaties ("BITs") and investor-state arbitrations under the framework of the International Centre on the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), including key rights, duties, and theories of liability. We will also discuss sovereign-related disputes in other international venues, such as the International Court of Justice, ad hoc and United Nations tribunals, and the World Trade Organization. Finally, we will conclude with a discussion of what it is like to practice in the field of international disputes and what jobs and career opportunities are available to new lawyers with an interest in public or private international law. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 261.73 Self Determination of Peoples in International Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: Self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. It is also the subject of considerable disagreement amongst the international community. This course considers the legal underpinnings of self-determination as a fundamental right, outlined in the United Nations Charter, of all peoples to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status without interference. Students will be exposed to and participate in current debates over the legality of modern self-determination movements and respective national and international responses. Topics may include decolonization and secession, internal versus external self-determination, minority rights, state sovereignty and claims to natural resources. Case studies will focus on debates within the international community on applicable law and the impact of political influence on international decision making. Cases to be considered include the International Court of Justice’s separate Advisory Opinions on the Chagos Archipelago and Kosovo and modern self-determination movements including those of Quebec, Catalonia and various members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Students will participate in in-class scenarios reflecting the interests of States, self-determination movements and other actors. Course work will include reading and a short (8-10 page) paper following the course focused on a case study to be determined in coordination with the lecturer. This course meets over three days: Thursday, August 19th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, August 20th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 5:30 PM Saturday, August 21st 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:10 PM - 5:10 PM Fall 2022 Description: Self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. It is also the subject of considerable disagreement amongst the international community. This course considers the legal underpinnings of self-determination as a fundamental right, outlined in the United Nations Charter, of all peoples to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status without interference. Students will be exposed to and participate in current debates over the legality of modern self-determination movements and respective national and international responses. Topics may include decolonization and secession, internal versus external self-determination, minority rights, state sovereignty and claims to natural resources. Case studies will focus on debates within the international community on applicable law and the impact of political influence on international decision making. Cases to be considered include the International Court of Justice’s separate Advisory Opinions on the Chagos Archipelago and Kosovo and modern self-determination movements including those of Quebec, Catalonia and various members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Students will participate in in-class scenarios reflecting the interests of States, self-determination movements and other actors. Course work will include reading and a short (5-7 page) paper following the course focused on a case study to be determined in coordination with the lecturer. Fall 2023 Description: Self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. It is also the subject of considerable disagreement amongst the international community. This course considers the legal underpinnings of self-determination as a fundamental right, outlined in the United Nations Charter, of all peoples to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status without interference. Students will be exposed to and participate in current debates over the legality of modern self-determination movements and respective national and international responses. Topics may include decolonization and secession, internal versus external self-determination, minority rights, state sovereignty and claims to natural resources. Case studies will focus on debates within the international community on applicable law and the impact of political influence on international decision making. Cases to be considered include the International Court of Justice’s separate Advisory Opinions on the Chagos Archipelago and Kosovo and modern self-determination movements including those of Quebec, Catalonia and various members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Students will participate in in-class scenarios reflecting the interests of States, self-determination movements and other actors. Course work will include reading, in-class exercises and simulations and a final group presentation/activity in which students will participate in a simulated United Nations General Assembly debate. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: Self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. It is also the subject of considerable disagreement amongst the international community. This course considers the legal underpinnings of self-determination as a fundamental right, outlined in the United Nations Charter, of all peoples to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status without interference. Students will be exposed to and participate in current debates over the legality of modern self-determination movements and respective national and international responses. Topics may include decolonization and secession, internal versus external self-determination, minority rights, state sovereignty and claims to natural resources. Case studies will focus on debates within the international community on applicable law and the impact of political influence on international decision-making. Cases to be considered include the International Court of Justice’s separate Advisory Opinions on the Chagos Archipelago and Kosovo and modern self-determination movements including those of Quebec, Catalonia and various members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Students will participate in in-class scenarios reflecting the interests of States, self-determination movements and other actors. Coursework will include reading, in-class exercises, and simulations and a final group presentation/activity in which students will participate in a simulated United Nations General Assembly debate. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 261.74 Asylum Law Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This course requires enrollment in the accompanying one-unit practicum. The Asylum Law Seminar and Practicum will afford students the real-life experience of representing an Afghan family before the U.S. government, while receiving expert instruction, support, and guidance in the classroom. During the seminar portion of the course, students will learn about the origins and elements of asylum eligibility in the U.S. After four weeks of focus on doctrine, students will be assigned an asylum client. Working in pairs, students will use the practicum portion of the course to prepare their client’s asylum application for filing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). Over the remaining ten weeks of the semester, the seminar portion of the course will be split between additional doctrinal teachings during the first half of each class meeting and practical support for case preparation in the second half. During the doctrinal portion of the course, students will learn about the Refugee Convention and its implementation in the U.S. through the Refugee Act. By the end of the semester, students will have mastered the concepts of persecution, nexus, and the five protected grounds, as well as bars to asylum eligibility. During the practical portion of the seminar, students will learn how to complete an asylum application form, elicit testimony, draft their clients’ declaration, conduct country research, gather evidence, and compile a full case ready for submission. We will reserve a portion of each seminar for “case rounds” to answer student questions and troubleshoot any particular challenges which may arise in a given case. Office hours will also be available for additional case preparation support. Students will have the OPTION of representing their clients at an asylum interview before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in San Francisco. Reading assignments will be brief and concentrated in the first 10-11 weeks of the semester. The last three weeks of the seminar will be reserved for peer review, troubleshooting, and guest lectures from local refugee-serving professionals. Clients will be Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021 and resettled by Jewish Family & Community Services – East Bay (“JFCS East Bay”). JFCS East Bay is one of two refugee resettlement agencies in the East Bay. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, JFCS East Bay has resettled more than 740 Afghans in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The vast majority of these individuals have only temporary status in the U.S., and they need to apply for asylum in order to rebuild their lives in this country. The instructor, Kyra S. Lilien, is the director of the Immigration Legal Services program at JFCS East Bay. (If Congress passes an Afghan Adjustment Act before the start of the spring semester, Afghan evacuees will not need to apply for asylum. In that case, the focus of this class will likely shift to Ukrainian or Nicaraguan asylum seekers, as JFCS East Bay is seeing a high volume of these cases as well.) |
| Law 261.75 Asylum Law Practicum 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: During the seminar portion of the course, students will learn about the origins and elements of asylum eligibility in the U.S. After four weeks of focus on doctrine, students will be assigned an asylum client. Working in pairs, students will use the practicum portion of the course to prepare their client’s asylum application for filing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). The practicum will begin after students receive their case assignments. For weeks 5 through 14, students in the practicum will apply the substantive legal knowledge and skills which they will acquire in the seminar portion of the course to prepare asylum applications for submission to USCIS by the semester’s end. Based on support and instruction they receive during the seminar, students in the practicum will complete an asylum application form, elicit testimony, draft their clients’ declaration, conduct country research, gather evidence, and compile a full case ready for submission. We will reserve a portion of each seminar for “case rounds” to answer student questions and troubleshoot any particular challenges which may arise in a given case. Office hours will also be available for additional case preparation support. Students will have the OPTION of representing their clients at an asylum interview before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in San Francisco. Clients will be Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021 and resettled by Jewish Family & Community Services – East Bay (“JFCS East Bay”). JFCS East Bay is one of two refugee resettlement agencies in the East Bay. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, JFCS East Bay has resettled more than 740 Afghans in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The vast majority of these individuals have only temporary status in the U.S., and they need to apply for asylum in order to rebuild their lives in this country. The instructor, Kyra S. Lilien, is the director of the Immigration Legal Services program at JFCS East Bay. (If Congress passes an Afghan Adjustment Act before the start of the spring semester, Afghan evacuees will not need to apply for asylum. In that case, the focus of this class will likely shift to Ukrainian or Nicaraguan asylum seekers, as JFCS East Bay is seeing a high volume of these cases as well.) |
| Law 261.76 Genocide 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This course focuses on the international crime of Genocide to enquire about the origins of modern international criminal law and their impact on current directions in law, policy, and culture. It takes the trial of Nazi leaders at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg – with particular attention to ‘genocide’ (protection of groups) and ‘crimes against humanity’ (protection of individuals) – to explore the impact since the 1990s, when the international criminal law project was "re-born" with the creation of the ad-hoc international criminal tribunals and the International Criminal Court. The course examines how law is created, interpreted, and represented, and how it shapes our understanding of events over time and among different communities, and through different disciplines and mediums. Using my book East West Street as a reference text, the central question is the protection of the individual and the group under international (criminal) law. We will consider the role of individuals and how the precedent of Nuremberg has been represented in law, history, literature, and film over the decades; how it has come to have different meanings at different times and in different places in the world; and how it has shaped subsequent developments, from the Yugoslav and Rwanda Tribunals, to the International Criminal Court and, going forward, the current conflicts involving Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine. The course will thus be a study of law itself: how it is made, how it operates in the world, its limits and unintended consequences, and of the origins of international criminal law. |
| Law 262.11 Advanced Constitutional Law: Israel in a Comparative Perspective 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Israel is a uniquely instructive case study for engagement and reflection on key questions of constitutional law: after five decades with no written constitution, it has transitioned in the 1990’s towards a formal constitutional regime, albeit an incomplete one, as its contours are still being negotiated. Its legal and political culture is a hybrid of Anglo-American and Continental-European traditions. It defines itself as a “Jewish and democratic state,” adopting a non-neutral, ethno-national identity, thereby raising concerns regarding the status - symbolic and tangible - of fifth of its population, while at the same time committing to civic quality and a liberal human rights regime, and engaging the discourse of cultural group rights. Finally, Israel faces well-known security threats, as well as immigration challenges and class-and-ethnic-based disparities. These challenges are further compounded by the debates surrounding the legal regime applicable in the West Bank. Constitutional law has been a central arena in which Israel’s response to such challenges is debated and examined. We will follow debates regarding constitutional design (including separation of powers, judicial review and judicial independence), equal protection of rights (of national, ethnic, and religious minorities), gender discrimination, free speech, social and economic rights, state and religion, the use of force and attempts to address political corruption. We will discuss each of these issues in the abstract, surveying the main theoretical frameworks of analysis and evaluation, and then employ the generalized notions to the case of Israel. We will read together closely at least one representative case dealing with each of the above mentioned topics, with the intention that by the end of the course participants will have a usable understanding of the main issues tackled by the Israeli Society, the manner through which they are dealt, and the respective legal and social implications. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship between legal doctrine and social, economic and political factors. The class should therefore be of interest both to those with a specific interest in Israeli constitutional politics, as well as to those seeking an in-depth examination of central issues in constitutional theory. This course meets: Thursday, February 20th 6:25-9:00 pm Friday, February 21st 10 am -12:15 pm and 3:10 pm- 4:45 pm Thursday, February 27th 6:25-9:00 pm Friday, February 28th 10 am -12:15 pm and 3:10 pm- 4:45 pm |
| Law 262.3 International Trade 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course examines the law of international trade, focusing principally on the law of the World Trade Organization and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. We will examine the rules restraining national restrictions on trade that address, among other things, tariff and non-tariff barriers, discrimination, regionalism, and safeguards. The course will also spend time considering the relationship between trade and other areas or social values, such as economic development, health and safety standards, human rights, and other facets of globalization. Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Mr. Trachok has an extensive background in gaming law, particularly from the international perspective. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients. Mr. Trachok currently serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He is also Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT), a UK PLC traded on the NYSE. Mr. Trachok has been recognized by his peers and consistently is included in the annual Best Lawyers rankings for Administrative/Regulatory Law, Energy Law, and Gaming Law. He served 15 years as an adjunct professor at UNR, teaching construction law in the graduate construction management program (1988-2003). He was also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law from 2006 to 2013, teaching the Laws of International Trade. Mr. Trachok is currently a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, teaching the Law of International Trade and Gaming Law. Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also is a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017. Spring 2021 Description: This course will examine the laws, policies, and multilateral institutions governing the global trade in goods and services, with a particular focus on the main multilateral trading body, the World Trade Organization (WTO). After an introduction to WTO rules concerning tariffs, non-tariff barriers, as well as the exceptions to these disciplines provided for by public policy and other rationales, we will turn to a series of specific areas, including trade and national security, services, agriculture, regional agreements, and environmental concerns. No prior knowledge of international trade or of international law is required. Spring 2022 Description: This course will examine the laws, policies, and multilateral institutions governing the global trade in goods and services, with a particular focus on the main multilateral trading body, the World Trade Organization (WTO). After an introduction to WTO rules concerning tariffs, non-tariff barriers, as well as the exceptions to these disciplines provided for by public policy and other rationales, we will turn to a series of specific areas, including trade and national security, services, agriculture, regional agreements, and environmental concerns. No prior knowledge of international trade or of international law is required. Fall 2024 Description: This course will examine the laws, policies, and multilateral institutions governing the global trade in goods and services, with a particular focus on the main multilateral trading body, the World Trade Organization (WTO). After an introduction to WTO rules concerning tariffs, non-tariff barriers, as well as the exceptions to these disciplines provided by public policy and other rationales, we will turn to a series of specific topic areas, including trade and national security, services, agriculture, environmental concerns, labor, and regional agreements. No prior knowledge of international trade or of international law is required. |
| Law 262.5 Comparative Constitutional Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: How are fundamental rights -- freedom of speech and religion, equality, property, privacy, voting, due process --defined and protected in other constitutional democracies? How is judicial independence maintained? How are questions of standing, justiciability and remedies handled? And most importantly: what lessons can we learn from the constitutional experience of other jurisdictions? Students will be offered the opportunity to examine and critically evaluate key features of constitutional jurisprudence in selected jurisdictions. Attention will be paid to methodology -- how do we compare? -- as well as to possible justifications (and limits) of the comparative enterprise. The course will then focus on the practical insights that can be drawn from the different separation-of-powers and rights-protection schemes modern democracies adopt, with an eye to the relationship between constitutional law, markets, technology and politics. Students interested in public law adjudication, globalization and transnational regulation will therefore find the exercise useful. Course meets: Thursday, February 6th 6:25-9:00 pm Friday, February 7th 10 am -12:15 pm and 3:10 pm- 4:45 pm Thursday, February 13th 6:25-9:00 pm Friday, February 14th 10 am -12:15 pm and 3:10 pm- 4:45 pm Spring 2021 Description: How are fundamental rights -- freedom of speech and religion, equality, property, privacy, voting, due process --defined and protected in other constitutional democracies? How is judicial independence maintained? How are questions of standing, justiciability and remedies handled? And most importantly: what lessons can we learn from the constitutional experience of other jurisdictions? These questions will be at the heart of our foray into the comparative constitutional realm. Obviously, we will also be mindful of emergency powers and their impact. Students will be offered the opportunity to examine and critically evaluate key features of constitutional jurisprudence in selected jurisdictions. Attention will be paid to methodology -- how do we compare? -- as well as to possible justifications (and limits) of the comparative enterprise. The course will then focus on the practical insights that can be drawn from the different separation-of-powers and rights-protection schemes modern democracies adopt. Obviously, we will also be mindful of emergency powers and their impact on rights and separation of powers with an eye to the relationship between constitutional law, markets, technology and politics. Students interested in public law adjudication, globalization and transnational regulation will therefore find the exercise useful. Fall 2021 Description: How are fundamental rights -- freedom of speech and religion, equality, property, privacy, voting, due process --defined and protected in other constitutional democracies? How are emergencies constitutionally regulated? How are questions of standing, justiciability and remedies handled? And most importantly: what lessons can we learn from the constitutional experience of other jurisdictions? Students will be offered the opportunity to examine and critically evaluate key features of constitutional jurisprudence in selected jurisdictions. Attention will be paid to methodology -- how do we compare? -- as well as to possible justifications (and limits) of the comparative enterprise. The course will then focus on the practical insights that can be drawn from the different separation-of-powers and rights-protection schemes modern democracies adopt, with an eye to the relationship between courts, markets, technology and politics. Students interested in public law adjudication, globalization and transnational regulation will therefore find the exercise useful. |
| Law 262.51 Human Rights Practice Workshop 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: What does it mean to be a human rights lawyer today? This class explores the role of human rights lawyers in a range of institutional settings. Even while the human rights movement faces increasing repression worldwide, human rights practitioners work within NGOs, government agencies, courts, companies, and international institutions to leverage international human rights law to tackle anti-Black racism, corruption, climate change, justice for survivors of atrocities, and other urgent issues. We will invite innovative human rights lawyers to discuss their current work along several axes: What is the theory of change that animates the work? How does this work break new legal ground, integrate human rights protections into policy, generate or sustain social mobilization, and/or advance transnational advocacy efforts? Is the role of a human rights lawyer changing, and if so, how? Students will learn about human rights mechanisms and to think critically about the promise and limitations of mobilizing human rights norms, strategies, and institutions. This course is geared for 1Ls and those curious about the practice of human rights law. |
| Law 262.52 Regional Human Rights Protection: The Inter-American System 3 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This course provides an in-depth introduction and overview of the doctrine and practice of the Inter-American Human Rights System (“IAHRS”). We will do so from a comparative perspective, comparing and contrasting the IAHRS to other regional systems and the universal (United Nations) mechanisms. Students will examine the instruments that protect human rights in the IAHRS, the jurisprudence of the system, and the practice of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. The course will also assess the engagement, challenges and opportunities the system creates for civil society groups, victims, and advocates. Class sessions will consider not only the norms of the system, but also its internal dynamics. In addition, we will consider the impact of the system, evaluating implementation of decisions, as well as the general relevance of the IAHRS to human rights debates, legislation, and practice at the local and national level in countries throughout the hemisphere. In this regard, we will consider the differing impact of the system across Latin America, and in the primarily Anglophone countries of the Caribbean and North America, including the United States. Students will also evaluate the inter-American system in comparative perspective, occasionally comparing rulings, implementation and impact to those of regional and universal counterparts. James (Jim) Cavallaro is the Executive Director of the University Network for Human Rights. He teaches courses on human rights law and practice at Wesleyan University, Yale Law School and UCLA Law School. Prior to co-founding the University Network, he served as a professor of law at Stanford Law School (2011-2019) and a clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School (2002-2011). At both Harvard and Stanford, he established and directed human rights clinics and ran human rights centers. Cavallaro has overseen dozens of projects with scores of students in over twenty countries. In June 2013, Cavallaro was elected to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He served as President of that body from 2016-2017. A scholar and sought-after voice on international human rights issues, he is frequently called upon by the media and civil society to offer his expertise. Cavallaro received his BA from Harvard University and his JD from Berkeley Law School. He also holds a doctorate in human rights and development (Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain). In 1994, he opened a joint office for Human Rights Watch and the Center for Justice and International Law in Rio de Janeiro and served as director, overseeing research, reporting, and litigation before the Inter-American system’s human rights bodies. In 1999, he founded the Global Justice Center, a leading Brazilian human rights NGO. Cavallaro has authored or co-authored dozens of books, reports, and articles on human rights issues, a list of which is available at; https://www.humanrightsnetwork.org/james-cavallaros-publications. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Sofía Galván is a Senior Advisor at University Network for Human Rights. Galván is an attorney and expert in human rights standards and practice and a specialist in the Inter-American system for the protection of human rights with particular expertise in the rights of persons deprived of liberty and those with disabilities. Galván has researched, documented and written or co-written dozens of studies, reports and articles on human rights abuses. Prior to joining the University Network, Galván served for a decade as a human rights specialist in the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). At the IACHR, Galván until recently held the post of Coordinator of the Human Rights Monitoring Section that oversaw the the rights of persons deprived of liberty, the rights of migrants and the rights of children. Galván also oversaw rights monitoring for 17 countries in the Western Hemisphere, including Cuba, Haiti, the United States and countries in the Anglophone Caribbean. Galván spent five years coordinating the work of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived or Liberty. Prior to joining the staff at the IACHR, Galván was the Director for Mexico and Central America of Disability Rights International. In addition to establishing the regional office, she designed litigation and impact strategies at the national and international level to strengthen protections for persons with disabilities. Galván served as a visiting professional with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. |
| Law 262.53 Technology and Human Rights 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: Technology and Human Rights prepares future attorneys to issue spot and problem solve human rights challenges in their future legal work, whether at a law firm, in-house at a tech company, or working for the government or an NGO. This seminar introduces students to a burgeoning area of law that reflects an increased focus by businesses on human rights issues. In this course, students will learn directly from human rights practitioners about some of the most pressing challenges for businesses of our time and complete assignments designed to mimic the work of a practitioner in this field. This seminar will address substantive tech and human rights issues like freedom of expression and right to privacy, as well as practical outputs, like human rights policies, impact assessments, and responsible innovation and AI. Colleen "Betsy" Popken serves as the Co-Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law. Previously, Betsy co-founded and co-led the Business & Human Rights practice at the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. While Betsy’s practice as Sustainability & Human Rights Counsel at Orrick spanned sectors, she had a particular passion for helping clients tackle human rights issues raised by emerging technologies. Betsy also worked on United Nations-mediated peace and ceasefire negotiations in Darfur, Syria, and Yemen through the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). She previously taught negotiations at Stanford Law School, drawing from her experience in these real-world negotiations. Betsy is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Fall 2024 Description: How should human rights advocates harness digital technologies to convey complex information about legal responsibility for violations? Once the mainstay of human rights campaigns, there is a limited audience for traditional human rights fact-finding reports in the new media landscape, which is instead dominated by social media exposure to human rights violations. Fact-finding and public reporting can ultimately drive change on the ground, and in the current information environment, facts are increasingly found in a digital format. However, the fields of law and human rights lag behind fields like journalism and data science in harnessing digital technologies to narrate facts. This course will examine a variety of new technologies and their application to and implications for human rights advocacy and story-telling, including, for example, artificial intelligence, data visualization, machine learning, visual and augmented reality, and other audio and visual tools. We will analyze the moral, legal, and technological frameworks that shape the challenges and opportunities for human rights advocates to generate compelling digital portrayals of human rights violations that can motivate public audiences to care about impacted communities, thereby generating the social power that is often necessary to induce human rights compliance and real-world change. We will also consider the extent to which these new technologies can advance human rights and what conditions are necessary to safeguard individual and collective rights as advocates use new technologies. Over the semester, students will identify potential applications of new technology to human rights advocacy and assess the opportunities and tradeoffs of specific applications through a series of written assignments. Students are expected to participate in class discussions and in-class exercises. |
| Law 262.54 Human Rights Futures: New Directions in Law and Practice 3 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: The global human rights movement is transforming as it confronts unprecedented challenges to an international system that was built for the last century. At the same time, international human rights organizations in the global North continue to have outsized power within the movement. Thus, as the international human rights movement faces external challenges, it faces pressure to shift the locus of the movement to the global South, where most international interventions take place. This course will examine current debates about the external challenges facing human rights advocates, how these intersect with North-South hierarchies within the movement, and the new thinking and initiatives advocates are developing to respond to the present moment. A premise of this course is that the role of human rights advocates in the global North will have a significant impact on how effectively a global human rights movement will meet the twenty-first century human rights challenges. Students will therefore analyze and reflect on the extent to which current efforts to transform the role of human rights lawyers and advocates in the global North are likely to succeed. Through guest speakers, case studies, and examples of current strategies, this course will analyze promising substantive, structural, and methodological innovations in the global human rights movement with specific attention to the role of North-based practitioners. Examples of topics include: (1) approaches to the substantive challenges of the climate crisis, social and economic inequality, rising authoritarianism, and disruptive capabilities of emerging technologies, among others; (2) efforts to overcome structural barriers to develop resilient transnational collaboration models, build power of human rights groups in the global South, and address funding inequities; and (3) new methods of solidaristic advocacy that legitimize local knowledge and expertise, decenter the international NGO expert, and enhance community agency. The course uses multiple teaching methods of reading discussion, exercises, written reflections, and guest speakers to equip students with knowledge of the legal, institutional, and conceptual frameworks that undergird current debates. Students will be expected to attend class, actively engage in discussion, as well as participate in-class exercises. |
| Law 262.62 From Minority Rights to Human Rights -- 1878-2018 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will review the almost two centuries-long and to this day controversial history of "Minority Treaties". The "Great Powers" that helped new nations to gain national autonomy from the decaying Ottoman Empire provided that help on condition that these nations in their turn guaranteed the religious, ethnic and linguistic minority populations within their borders political, civic, social and cultural rights. Particularly in the Balkans these obligations were bitterly resented and poorly enforced. Yet at the end of World War I, when more new nations were formed (in Central/Eastern Europe and in the Near and Middle East), the Allies doubled down on this imposed treaty regime policy. In the 20 years before World War II the resentment both of dominant groups and of newly subservient groups stranded by new borders outside their "homeland" rose to the point that the system was a non-trivial factor contributing to that war. The United Nations, making minority rights part of the early postwar Compacts/Conventions, at first continued this tradition now made necessary but also aggravated by decolonization in South and Southeast Asia and Africa. And the difficulties continue to this day -- see only Kashmir, Iraq, Israel, and -- perhaps surprisingly -- Belgium for examples. This is a legal as much as a political and socio-cultural history, which we will explore (in this short seven-week timeframe) through a judicious selection of primary and secondary sources as well as a couple of visiting experts. Students will be evaluated on the basis of an 8-10 page written assignment. Course reader will be provided. Spring 2021 Description: This course will review the almost two centuries-long and to this day controversial history of "Minority Treaties". The "Great Powers" that helped new nations to gain national autonomy from the decaying Ottoman Empire provided that help on condition that these nations in their turn guaranteed the religious, ethnic and linguistic minority populations within their borders political, civic, social and cultural rights. Particularly in the Balkans these obligations were bitterly resented and poorly enforced. Yet at the end of World War I, when more new nations were formed (in Central/Eastern Europe and in the Near and Middle East), the Allies doubled down on this imposed treaty regime policy. In the 20 years before World War II the resentment both of dominant groups and of newly subservient groups stranded by new borders outside their "homeland" rose to the point that the system was a non-trivial factor contributing to that war. The United Nations, making minority rights part of the early postwar Compacts and Conventions, at first continued this tradition now made necessary but also aggravated by decolonization in South and Southeast Asia and Africa. And the difficulties continue to this day -- see only Syria, India, Israel, Myanmar, the Cameroons and -- perhaps surprisingly -- Belgium for examples. "Minorities", however, encompass more than linguistic, religious and ethnic categories, even when expanded to include Indigenous Communities, Migrant Laborers, and the growing number of War and Climate Refugees. Rather, the postwar issues also concern Women and Children, LTGBQI groups and the Disabled. This is a legal as much as a political and socio-cultural subject, which we will explore (in this short seven-week time frame) through a judicious selection of primary and secondary sources. as well as a couple of visiting experts. A Course Reader, with links to sources for required and recommended reading, will be provided. |
| Law 262.63 Human Rights Advocacy Through Stories and Film 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This class explores the rewards and challenges of human rights advocacy by looking in depth at some of the iconic human rights campaigns and cases. For example, human rights advocates led the international campaign to outlaw torture, the struggle against impunity for genocide in Guatemala, the victory in South Africa’s constitutional court recognizing access to HIV treatment as a human right, and the suit against the oil company Unocal for human rights violations. These landmark victories developed international human rights law through the mobilization of transnational advocacy networks. How and to what extent these efforts succeeded tells us much about the dynamics of international human rights advocacy. We will examine specific case studies through accounts by advocates, guest speakers involved in these struggles, as well as through film. Questions that we will consider include: What are the problems that lend themselves to being addressed by international human rights law and mechanisms? What are the strategies that human rights lawyers utilized and why? What ethical and other challenges did they face and how well were they resolved? Our goal is to expose students to the nature and dynamics of international human rights advocacy. Please note that synchronous attendance is mandatory and that we will not be recording sessions in order to foster an intimate learning environment. Students will be required to write two reflection pieces of three (double-spaced) pages in length. This courses meets every other Tuesday beginning August 18th. (August 18, September 1, September 15, September 29, October 13, October 27 and November 10) This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 262.65 Human Rights and Social Justice Writing Workshop 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Human rights is a body of domestic and international law that seeks to promote human dignity, equality, and justice. Writing about topics within this field of law opens up many possibilities for grappling with the root causes and prevention of human suffering, the protection of citizens living in armed conflict or under authoritarian or corrupt states, and the broad array of ways to seek and gain justice. This seminar will provide an opportunity to prepare a piece of writing suitable for publication. The written product could examine topics within the broad categories of legal accountability, transitional justice, war crimes, health and human rights, climate change, gender-based violence, the rights of LGBTI persons, counter-terrorism policies, gun violence, forensics, and migrant and refugee rights. The seminar will begin with a discussion of how to create the architecture and content for excellent scholarly writing. For the bulk of the semester, students will present their work, one to two times. The professors will provide students with a template for feedback to each other in the seminar sessions. The seminar is co-taught by Professors Carolyn Patty Blum, Clinical Professor of Law, Emerita, and Eric Stover, Faculty Director of the UCB Human Rights Center. Blum was the founder of the law school’s International Human Rights Law Clinic and previously taught this seminar at Berkeley Law. She has extensive experience representing refugees and litigating human rights cases in U.S. courts and working in and writing about transitional justice, human rights and culture, counter-terrorism policies, criminal accountability, and extradition. Stover’s expertise is in public health, qualitative methodologies, international humanitarian and criminal law, human trafficking, torture, war crimes, and forensics. Together, they bring decades of experience and a belief in the importance of clear and thoughtful writing as precursor to any future career in law or policy. Over the semester, participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing, such as a chapter for a Masters or PhD dissertation, an article for an academic journal, or a long-form journalistic piece. The course is designed for JD, LLM, JSD and PhD candidates from the JSP programs, as well as graduate students from other departments and schools. The final product can be used to meet the Berkeley Law’s legal writing requirement. Students will be assigned to one of the professors to be their primary supervisor. The course requirements will be weekly readings, including a careful reading of the works-in-progress of their classmates, active class participation, and the submission of a final, polished paper (with at least one complete revision Spring 2022 Description: Human rights is a body of domestic and international law that seeks to promote human dignity, equality, and justice. Writing about topics within this field of law opens up many possibilities for grappling with the root causes and prevention of human suffering, the protection of citizens living in armed conflict or under authoritarian or corrupt states, and the broad array of ways to seek and gain justice. This seminar will provide an opportunity to prepare a piece of writing suitable for publication. The written product could examine topics within the broad categories of legal accountability, transitional justice, war crimes, health and human rights, climate change, gender-based violence, the rights of LGBTI persons, counter-terrorism policies, gun violence, forensics, human trafficking, and migrant and refugee rights. The seminar will begin with a discussion of how to create the architecture and content for excellent scholarly writing. For the bulk of the semester, we will host a range of guest lecturers including legal scholars, journalists, and editors who will advise students on engaging writing techniques and how to prepare their work for publication. Students will also present drafts of certain sections of their papers for in-class feedback and discussion.. The seminar is co-taught by Professors Carolyn Patty Blum, Clinical Professor of Law, Emerita, and Eric Stover, Faculty Director of the UCB Human Rights Center. Blum was the founder of the law school’s International Human Rights Law Clinic and previously taught this seminar at Berkeley Law. She has extensive experience representing refugees and litigating human rights cases in U.S. courts and working in and writing about transitional justice, human rights and culture, counter-terrorism policies, criminal accountability, and extradition. Stover’s expertise is in public health, qualitative methodologies, international humanitarian and criminal law, human trafficking, torture, war crimes, and forensics. Together, they bring decades of experience and a belief in the importance of clear and thoughtful writing as a precursor to any future career in law or policy. Over the semester, participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing, such as a chapter for a Masters or Ph.D. dissertation, an article for an academic journal, or a long-form journalistic piece. The course is designed for JD, LLM, JSD and Ph.D. candidates from the JSP programs, as well as graduate students from other departments and schools. The final product can be used to meet Berkeley Law’s legal writing requirement. Students will be assigned to one of the professors to be their primary supervisors. The course requirements will be weekly readings, including a careful reading of the works-in-progress of their classmates, active class participation, and the submission of a final, polished paper (with at least one complete revision). Spring 2023 Description: Human rights is a body of domestic and international law that seeks to promote human dignity, equality, and justice. Writing about topics within this field of law opens up many possibilities for grappling with the root causes and prevention of human suffering, the protection of citizens living in armed conflict or under authoritarian or corrupt states, and the broad array of ways to seek and gain justice. This seminar will provide an opportunity to write a paper suitable for publication. The written product could examine topics within the broad categories of legal accountability, transitional justice, war crimes, health and human rights, climate change, gender-based violence, the rights of LGBTI persons, counter-terrorism policies, gun violence, forensics, human trafficking, and migrant and refugee rights. The seminar will begin with a discussion of how to create the architecture and content for excellent scholarly writing. For the bulk of the semester, we will host a range of guest lecturers including legal scholars, journalists, and editors who will advise students on engaging writing techniques and how to prepare their work for publication. Students will also present drafts of certain sections of their papers for in-class feedback and discussion. The seminar is co-taught by Professors Carolyn Patty Blum, Clinical Professor of Law, Emerita, and Eric Stover, Faculty Director of the UCB Human Rights Center. Blum was the founder of the law school’s International Human Rights Law Clinic and previously taught this seminar at Berkeley Law. She has extensive experience representing refugees and litigating human rights cases in U.S. courts and working in and writing about transitional justice, human rights and culture, counter-terrorism policies, criminal accountability, and extradition. Stover’s expertise is in public health, qualitative methodologies, international humanitarian and criminal law, human trafficking, torture, war crimes, and forensics. Together, they bring decades of experience and a belief in the importance of clear and thoughtful writing as a precursor to any future career in law or policy. Over the semester, participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing, such as a chapter for a Masters or Ph.D. dissertation, an article for an academic journal, or a long-form journalistic piece. The course is designed for JD, LLM, JSD and Ph.D. candidates from the JSP programs, as well as graduate students from other departments and schools. The final product can be used to meet Berkeley Law’s writing requirement. Students will be assigned to one of the professors to be their primary supervisors. The course requirements will be weekly readings, including a careful reading of the works-in-progress of their classmates, active class participation, and the submission of a final, polished paper (with at least one complete revision). Spring 2024 Description: Human rights is a body of domestic and international law that seeks to promote human dignity, equality, and justice. Writing about topics within this field of law opens up many possibilities for grappling with the root causes and prevention of human suffering, the protection of citizens living in armed conflict or under authoritarian or corrupt states, and the broad array of ways to seek and gain justice. This seminar will provide an opportunity to write a paper suitable for publication. The written product could examine topics within the broad categories of legal accountability, transitional justice, war crimes, health and human rights, climate change, gender-based violence, the rights of LGBTI persons, counter-terrorism policies, gun violence, forensics, human trafficking, and migrant and refugee rights. The seminar will begin with a discussion of how to create the architecture and content for excellent scholarly writing. For the bulk of the semester, we will host a range of guest lecturers including legal scholars, journalists, and editors who will advise students on engaging writing techniques and how to prepare their work for publication. Students will also present drafts of certain sections of their papers for in-class feedback and discussion. The seminar is co-taught by Professors Eric Stover and Alexa Koenig, Co-Faculty Directors of the UCB Human Rights Center. Stover’s expertise is in public health, qualitative methodologies, international humanitarian and criminal law, human trafficking, war crimes investigations, and forensics. Koenig has significant experience conducting digital investigations for legal, journalistic and research-related purposes, and has written extensively on the impact of new and emerging technologies on human rights. Together, they bring decades of experience and a belief in the importance of clear and thoughtful writing as a precursor to any future career in law or policy. Over the semester, participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing, such as a chapter for a Masters or Ph.D. dissertation, an article for an academic journal, or a long-form journalistic piece. The course is designed for JD, LLM, JSD and Ph.D. candidates from the JSP programs, as well as graduate students from other departments and schools. The final product can be used to meet Berkeley Law’s writing requirement. Students will be assigned to one of the professors to be their primary supervisors. The course requirements will be weekly readings, including a careful reading of the works-in-progress of their classmates, active class participation, and the submission of a final, polished paper (with at least one complete revision). Students should have a topic(s) in mind for the writing workshop. Please feel free to reach out to one of the professors (Alexa Koenig: kalexakm@berkeley.edu or Eric Stover: stovere@berkeley.edu) during the registration period. Spring 2025 Description: Human rights is a body of domestic and international law that seeks to promote human dignity, equality, and justice. Writing about topics within this field of law opens up many possibilities for grappling with the root causes and prevention of human suffering, the protection of citizens living in armed conflict or under authoritarian or corrupt states, and the broad array of ways to seek and gain justice. This seminar will provide an opportunity to write a paper suitable for publication. The written product could examine topics within the broad categories of legal accountability, transitional justice, war crimes, health and human rights, climate change, gender-based violence, the rights of LGBTI persons, counter-terrorism policies, gun violence, forensics, human trafficking, and migrant and refugee rights. The seminar will begin with a discussion of how to create the architecture and content for excellent scholarly writing. For the bulk of the semester, we will host a range of guest lecturers including legal scholars, journalists, and editors who will advise students on engaging writing techniques and how to prepare their work for publication. Students will also present drafts of certain sections of their papers for in-class feedback and discussion. The seminar is co-taught by Professor Eric Stover, Co-Faculty Director of the UCB Human Rights Center. Stover’s expertise is in public health, qualitative methodologies, international humanitarian and criminal law, human trafficking, war crimes investigations, and forensics. He brings decades of experience and a belief in the importance of clear and thoughtful writing as a precursor to any future career in law or policy. Over the semester, participants will draft a 30-page piece of academic writing, such as a chapter for a Masters or Ph.D. dissertation, an article for an academic journal, or a long-form journalistic piece. The course is designed for JD, LLM, JSD and Ph.D. candidates from the JSP programs, as well as graduate students from other departments and schools. The final product can be used to meet Berkeley Law’s writing requirement. The course requirements will be weekly readings, including a careful reading of the works-in-progress of their classmates, active class participation, and the submission of a final, polished paper (with at least one complete revision). Students should have a topic(s) in mind for the writing workshop. Please feel free to reach out to Professor Eric Stover (stovere@berkeley.edu) during the registration period. |
| Law 262.66 Forced Migration 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: In the past century, massive movements of forced migrants have often caught the international community unprepared. Whether in the form of Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion or diverse groups of migrants at the U.S. southern border, forced migration will continue to shape politics, economics, and culture in our globalized world for decades to come. This seminar will introduce students to the key concepts, norms, and narratives of forced migration. We will critically examine legal and policy responses to population displacement in the international and domestic spheres, and explore some important aspects of forced migration, including human trafficking, unaccompanied children, and ecomigration. As part of our immersion in this complex phenomenon, students will have the opportunity to identify and write a short paper about a topical issue that interests them. Tilman Jacobs previously taught at the University of Colorado Law School and the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he was Robert J. Golten Fellow of International Human Rights. As a lawyer, he has worked for various immigrants’ rights organizations across the country, representing and advocating for adults and children seeking refuge in the U.S. He received his J.D. with a certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies from Georgetown University Law Center and his M.A. in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Fall 2023 Description: In the past century, increasing numbers of people around the world have been forced from their homes by interlinked factors, including persecution, armed conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters, development, and socio-economic distress. Whether in the form of Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion, diverse groups of migrants at the U.S. southern border, or refugees in protracted displacement in the Global South, "forced migration" will continue to shape politics, economics, and culture in our globalized world for decades to come. This seminar will introduce students to key concepts, norms, and narratives of forced migration. We will critically examine legal and policy responses to population displacement in the international and domestic spheres, and explore some important aspects of forced migration, including human trafficking, children on the move, and ecomigration. As part of our immersion in this complex phenomenon, students will have the opportunity to identify and write a short paper about a topical issue that interests them. Fall 2024 Description: In the past century, increasing numbers of people around the world have been forced from their homes by interlinked factors, including persecution, armed conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters, development, and socio-economic distress. Whether in the form of Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion, diverse groups of migrants at the U.S. southern border, or refugees in protracted displacement in the Global South, "forced migration" will continue to shape politics, economics, and culture in our globalized world for decades to come. This seminar will introduce students to key concepts, norms, and narratives of forced migration. We will critically examine legal and policy responses to population displacement in the international and domestic spheres, and explore some important aspects of forced migration, including human trafficking, children on the move, and ecomigration. As part of our immersion in this complex phenomenon, students will have the opportunity to identify and write a short paper about a topical issue that interests them. Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 262.67 Human Rights Investigations in the Digital Age 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This class will introduce 1L students to the practice of digital open-source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly-available, internet-based sources to develop evidence for human rights advocacy and legal accountability. Students will learn the background information needed to effectively and ethically collect and authenticate information on war crimes, grave international crimes, and human rights abuses from digital sources. The course will be led by the Human Rights Center's executive director, Alexa Koeng. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 262.68 Human Rights and War Crimes Investigations 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar introduces the concepts and practices underlying human rights and war crimes investigations, including online open source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly accessible, internet-based sources to gather and verify evidence for advocacy and legal accountability. In addition to lectures and readings, the course will introduce students to the Investigations Lab at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center, a program that provides students with an opportunity to engage in real-world investigations with a number of organizations that are working to bring awareness to grave international crimes and other human rights abuses. Partners include legal investigators, investigative reporters, and human rights advocacy organizations (such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch). In the course, students will learn the fundamentals of conducting international investigations, including how to collect and authenticate documentary information--including digital evidence--of war crimes and human rights abuses. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar introduces the concepts and practices underlying human rights and war crimes investigations, including online open source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly accessible, internet-based sources to gather and verify evidence for advocacy and legal accountability. In addition to lectures and readings, the course will introduce students to the Investigations Lab at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center, a program that provides students with an opportunity to engage in real-world investigations with a number of organizations that are working to bring awareness to grave international crimes and other human rights abuses. Partners include legal investigators, investigative reporters, and human rights advocacy organizations (such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch). In the course, students will learn the fundamentals of conducting international investigations, including how to collect and authenticate documentary information--including digital evidence--of war crimes and human rights abuses. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar introduces the concepts and practices underlying human rights and war crimes investigations, including online open source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly accessible, internet-based sources to gather and verify evidence for advocacy and legal accountability. In addition to lectures and readings, the course will introduce students to investigations and research at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center, which provides students with an opportunity to engage in real-world investigations with a number of organizations that are working to bring awareness to grave international crimes and other human rights abuses. Partners include legal investigators, investigative reporters, and human rights non-profit organizations. In the course, students will learn the fundamentals of conducting international investigations, including how to collect and authenticate documentary information--including digital evidence--of war crimes and human rights abuses. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar introduces the concepts and practices underlying human rights and war crimes investigations, including online open source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly accessible, internet-based sources to gather and verify evidence for advocacy and legal accountability. In addition to lectures and readings, the course will introduce students to investigations and research at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center, which provides students with an opportunity to engage in real-world investigations with a number of organizations that are working to bring awareness to grave international crimes and other human rights abuses. Partners include legal investigators, investigative reporters, and human rights non-profit organizations. In the course, students will learn the fundamentals of conducting international investigations, including how to collect and authenticate documentary information--including digital evidence--of war crimes and human rights abuses. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar introduces the concepts and practices underlying human rights and war crimes investigations, including online open-source investigations: investigations that use social media and other publicly accessible, internet-based sources to gather and verify evidence for advocacy and legal accountability. In addition to lectures and readings, the course will introduce students to investigations and research at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center, which provides students with an opportunity to engage in real-world investigations with a number of organizations that are working to bring awareness to grave international crimes and other human rights abuses. Partners include legal investigators, investigative reporters, and human rights non-profit organizations. In the course, students will learn the fundamentals of conducting international investigations, including how to collect and authenticate documentary information--including digital evidence--of war crimes and human rights abuses. |
| Law 262.71 Citizenship and Globalization 3 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: From legal battles over the US-Mexico border to heated debates about the citizenship oath in Canada, to recurring refugee crises in Europe and the rising global challenges of climate migration, the movement of people across borders has been high on the agenda. Moving beyond the traditional country-specific lens, this course explores major developments in citizenship and migration law and policy from a comparative perspective. We will survey key debates and topics such as admission requirements, steps to naturalization, the rights of non-members, civic integration tests, identity-based claims for exemption and accommodation, cultural diversity, barriers to the acquisition of citizenship, visa-waiver programs, dual nationality, and new border regimes. Throughout the course, we will place these developments in a broader theoretical, comparative, and international context. Emphasis will be given to the growing influence of bilateral and multilateral instruments in regulating mobility, emerging patterns of policy diffusion and inter-jurisdictional learning, and the turn to AI in immigration decision-making. Highlighting the dynamic interactions between countries of origin, transit, and destination, we will consider the implications of these developments on the meaning of citizenship, the rights of migrants, and the future of borders in a post-pandemic world. |
| Law 262.81 Anticorruption Compliance 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. It is also increasingly the subject of international and intergovernmental organization scrutiny. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. Note this course meets every Tuesday January 14th-March 10th (except January 28th and February 18th). Fall 2021 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. It is also increasingly the subject of international and intergovernmental organization scrutiny. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. This course meets over three days: Thursday, November 4th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM Friday, November 5th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, November 6th 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM - 4:10 PM Fall 2022 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. It is also increasingly the subject of international and intergovernmental organization scrutiny. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. This course meets on a condensed schedule over three consecutive days. Fall 2023 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. It is also increasingly the subject of international and intergovernmental organization scrutiny. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. This course meets on a condensed schedule over three consecutive days. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. It is also increasingly the subject of international and intergovernmental organization scrutiny. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards, and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. This course meets on a condensed schedule over three consecutive days. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 262.91 The Killing of Jamal Khashoggi and the Search for Justice 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: The brazen 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the ongoing attempt to hold his assassins accountable offers a window into the challenges and possibilities of human rights investigations and transnational justice-seeking efforts. This seminar examines a murder that implicates international law, a head of state, a sustained assault on truth, and the puzzle of promoting criminal and civil redress for grave human rights abuses. The Killing of Jamal Khashoggi and the Search for Justice introduces students to the world of legal authoritarianism, law and diplomacy, and the pursuit of justice across multiple jurisdictions and bodies of law. In this course, students will learn directly from professors and human rights practitioners using modern investigatory and prosecutorial tools to address an international crime. Noah Novogrodsky is the Carl M. Williams Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Wyoming. Professor Novogrodsky teaches International Human Rights Law, Public International Law, Immigration Law, and Civil Procedure. Professor Novogrodsky is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with highest honors from Swarthmore College; he holds a law degree from Yale and an M.Phil. in International Relations from Queens' College at Cambridge University, where he won the Daniel Vincent Prize for the best thesis on the Middle East. After law school, he served as law clerk to the Honorable Nancy Gertner of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; as a Robert L. Bernstein Fellow in International Human Rights in Asmara, Eritrea, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Cape Town, South Africa; as a litigation associate at the firm of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin in San Francisco (now Aronold & Porter LLP); and as the founding director of the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Professor Novogrodsky has also been a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Connecticut School of Law; and a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His scholarship is focused on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, international criminal justice, and transnational human rights problems. Alexa Koenig is executive director of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center (winner of the 2015 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions) and a lecturer at Berkeley Law. She is also co-founder of the Investigations Lab, which has pioneered the use of social media and other online information to strengthen legal investigations and investigative reporting, and she has trained hundreds of war crimes investigators and journalists around the world in these methods. Alexa directed development of the Berkeley Protocol, which was released in December 2020 in partnership between Berkeley's Human Rights Center and the United Nations Human Rights Office to set international standards for digital open source investigations. Alexa is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility, and co-Chair of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Law Committee, among other posts. She has been honored with the United Nations Association-SF’s Global Human Rights Award, UC Berkeley’s Mark Bingham Award for Excellence, and as a 2020 Woman Inspiring Change by Harvard Law School. |
| Law 262S Anti-Corruption Compliance 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. Real-time attendance is encouraged for the benefit of class discussion (but is not mandatory) Summer 2022 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. Summer 2023 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. This course will examine the issue of corruption and the existing legal frameworks under US, foreign, and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The course will evaluate and compare existing foreign and international frameworks for combating corruption. Summer 2024 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. This course will examine the issue of corruption and the existing legal frameworks under U.S., foreign, and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The course will also evaluate and compare existing foreign and international frameworks for combating corruption. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 263 International Human Rights 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course offers an introduction to the theory and practice of human rights. We will critically examine the international and domestic laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the protection of human rights. We will examine the major sources of international human rights law--including treaties, customary international law, international soft law, and domestic law. Key mechanisms of human rights protection also will be discussed including, multilateral organizations (e.g. the United Nations Security Council and Human Rights Council); international, regional, and national courts and tribunals; and quasi-judicial treaty bodies (e.g. the U.N. Committee Against Torture). The role of a range of non-State actors will also be discussed including international nongovernmental organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch; multi-national corporations; and armed opposition groups like ISIL. We will discuss the conceptual foundations of human rights and key theoretical debates about the field with a focus on recurring questions regarding legitimacy, justiciability, compliance, and efficacy. Finally we will consider critical perspectives on the human rights regime from feminists, Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), and international LGBTI advocates. Fall 2020 Description: This course critically examines the international laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the protection of human rights. The course includes discussion of conceptual foundations of human rights; the substantive protections of human rights law and the limits of the law in areas including the death penalty, systematic racism, and freedom of speech; international, regional, and national mechanisms for the interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of human rights, including civil, criminal, and non-legal methods of redress; and challenges to human rights enforcement and strategies for promoting protection of human rights. Spring 2022 Description: This course critically examines the international laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the protection of human rights. The course includes discussion of conceptual foundations of human rights; the substantive protections of human rights law and the limits of the law in areas including the death penalty, systematic racism, and freedom of speech; international, regional, and national mechanisms for the interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of human rights, including civil, criminal, and non-legal methods of redress; and challenges to human rights enforcement and strategies for promoting protection of human rights. Spring 2023 Description: This course critically examines the international and domestic laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the protection of human rights. The course includes discussion of conceptual foundations of human rights; the substantive protections of human rights law and the limits of the law in areas including the death penalty, systematic racism, and freedom of speech; international, regional, and national mechanisms for the interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of human rights, including civil, criminal, and non-legal methods of redress; and challenges to human rights enforcement and strategies for promoting protection of human rights. Spring 2024 Description: This course critically examines the key international and domestic laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the promotion and protection of human rights. We will study international, regional, and national mechanisms for the interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of human rights, including civil, criminal, and non-legal methods of accountability redress. We will focus on emerging, complicated and controversial topics in human rights law, such as climate change; refugees/asylum/migration; tech and free expression; and humanitarian intervention. The course will also discuss the effectiveness of the international human rights system, including the role of the United Nations, state actors, international NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and national level actors. Finally, we will consider the many challenges to human rights in an increasingly authoritarian and multipolar world posed by key exceptionalists, such as the United States, China, Russia and India, as well as corporations and other non-state actors. Clara Long is a human rights lawyer who is the Director of Policy and Organizing at Human Impact Partners, a national public health non-profit focused on building power for equity and justice. She is responsible for developing and implementing HIP's strategy for policy, advocacy, organizing, and research on climate justice, the criminal legal system, housing justice and economic justice. For the previous decade, Long focused on addressing US human rights issues at Human Rights Watch, with a particular emphasis on migration and border policy, including human rights and climate migration. She has written and researched in-depth reports and advocacy materials on deaths in US immigration detention, mistreatment and dismissal of asylum seekers at the US border, illegal returns of asylum seekers to Central America, US border policing abuses, and family separation, among other issues. Brad Adams is Executive Director of Climate Rights International, which he founded in 2022. From 2002-2022, he was the Executive Director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, overseeing investigations, advocacy and media work in twenty countries. Brad has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, the Guardian, Foreign Affairs, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. He regularly appears on the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and other major media. Prior to Human Rights Watch, Brad worked in Cambodia as the senior lawyer for the Cambodia field office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He is the founder of the Berkeley Community Law Center (now the East Bay Community Law Center), where he worked as a legal aid lawyer. He is a member of the California State Bar. Fall 2024 Description: This course critically examines the international and domestic laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the protection of human rights. The course includes discussion of conceptual foundations of human rights; the substantive protections of human rights law and the limits of the law in areas including the death penalty, systematic racism, and freedom of speech; international, regional, and national mechanisms for the interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of human rights, including civil, criminal, and non-legal methods of redress; and challenges to human rights enforcement and strategies for promoting protection of human rights. Fall 2025 Description: This course offers an introduction to the theory and practice of human rights. We will critically examine the international and domestic laws, actors, and institutions that play a role in the protection of human rights. We will examine the major sources of international human rights law--including treaties, customary international law, international soft law, and domestic law. Key mechanisms of human rights protection also will be discussed including, multilateral organizations (e.g. the United Nations Security Council and Human Rights Council); international, regional, and national courts and tribunals; and quasi-judicial treaty bodies (e.g. the U.N. Committee Against Torture). The role of a range of non-State actors will also be discussed including international nongovernmental organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch; multi-national corporations; and armed opposition groups like ISIL. We will discuss the conceptual foundations of human rights and key theoretical debates about the field with a focus on recurring questions regarding legitimacy, justiciability, compliance, and efficacy. We will consider the impact and application of digital technologies on the enjoyment and enforcement of human rights. Finally, we will consider critical perspectives on the human rights regime from feminists, Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), and international LGBTI advocates. |
| Law 263.1 Advanced Topics in Corporate Governance: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S and Asia 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This is a seminar course focusing on a comparative analysis of business systems across the world, particularly those in the US and Asia. We will discuss the basic question: how does law matter to business practice? To answer this question, we need to take into consideration two complementarities. First, the legal system in a given country consists of a variety of legal subject areas, including corporate law, securities regulation, labor law, bankruptcy law, and tax law, among others. These areas of law do not operate in isolation but rather in complement to affect the business practices in a country. Second, the law operates in conjunction with economic markets and social norms. With this in mind, I propose the following framework: consider the firm as a forum for incentive bargaining among four major participants: management, employees, creditors, and shareholders. How do the complementary effects of various laws, markets, and norms affect the incentives of each participant? How has this affected the accepted business practices in a country, and in turn, the broader business system? Each week, students will be exposed to readings in business law theory, as well as more recent scholarship that applies those theories to case studies of modern US and Asian firms. Through the readings and participation in class discussions, my hope is that students will learn to think critically about the dynamic interplay of legal systems, economic markets, and social norms and their combined effects on business systems. This class will be a great introduction to US business law via a comparative law approach with Asia. Zenichi Shishido is Professor of Law at Hitotsubashi University, Graduate School of Law and continues to be a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley Law on a regular basis. Professor Shishido taught at Seikei University (1983-2009) and has been a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School (1998-1999), Harvard Law School (2005) and Duke Law School (2020), a Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School (2015), a Senior Research Scholar at National University of Singapore (2017), and a BFI (Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago) Visitor. Professor Shishido is a well-known authority on Japanese and comparative corporate governance, having written extensively on the subject in both Japanese and English. He has also served on advisory councils to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ). His publications in English include the books Enterprise Law: Contracts, Markets, and Laws in the US and Japan (Edward Elgar, 2014); Joint Venture Strategies: Design, Bargaining, and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2015). Fall 2021 Description: This is a seminar course focusing on a comparative analysis of business systems across the world, particularly those in the US and Asia. We will discuss the basic question: how does law matter to business practice? To answer this question, we need to take into consideration two complementarities. First, the legal system in a given country consists of a variety of legal subject areas, including corporate law, securities regulation, labor law, bankruptcy law, and tax law, among others. These areas of law do not operate in isolation but rather in complement to affect the business practices in a country. Second, the law operates in conjunction with economic markets and social norms. With this in mind, I propose the following framework: consider the firm as a forum for incentive bargaining among four major participants: management, employees, creditors, and shareholders. How do the complementary effects of various laws, markets, and norms affect the incentives of each participant? How has this affected the accepted business practices in a country, and in turn, the broader business system? Each week, students will be exposed to readings in business law theory, as well as more recent scholarship that applies those theories to case studies of modern US and Asian firms. Through the readings and participation in class discussions, my hope is that students will learn to think critically about the dynamic interplay of legal systems, economic markets, and social norms and their combined effects on business systems. This class will be a great introduction to US business law via a comparative law approach with Asia. This course will have a 8-10-page final paper. Zenichi Shishido is Professor of Law at Musahino Univesity, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University and continues to be a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley Law on a regular basis. Professor Shishido taught at Seikei University (1983-2009) and has been a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School (1998-1999), Harvard Law School (2005) and Duke Law School (2020), a Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School (2015), a Senior Research Scholar at National University of Singapore (2017), and a BFI (Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago) Visitor. Professor Shishido is a well-known authority on Japanese and comparative corporate governance, having written extensively on the subject in both Japanese and English. He has also served on advisory councils to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ). His publications in English include the books Enterprise Law: Contracts, Markets, and Laws in the US and Japan (Edward Elgar, 2014); Joint Venture Strategies: Design, Bargaining, and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2015). Fall 2023 Description: This seminar course focuses on a comparative analysis of business systems across the world, particularly those in the US and Asia. We will discuss the basic question: how does law matter to business practice? To answer this question, we need to take into consideration two complementarities. First, the legal system in a given country consists of a variety of legal subject areas, including corporate law, securities regulation, labor law, bankruptcy law, and tax law, among others. These areas of law do not operate in isolation but rather in complement to affect the business practices in a country. Second, the law operates in conjunction with economic markets and social norms. With this in mind, I propose the following framework: consider the firm as a forum for incentive bargaining among four major participants: management, employees, creditors, and shareholders. How do the complementary effects of various laws, markets, and norms affect the incentives of each participant? How has this affected the accepted business practices in a country, and in turn, the broader business system? Each week, students will be exposed to readings in business law theory, as well as more recent scholarship that applies those theories to case studies of modern US and Asian firms. Through the readings and participation in class discussions, my hope is that students will learn to think critically about the dynamic interplay of legal systems, economic markets, and social norms and their combined effects on business systems. This class will be a great introduction to US business law via a comparative law approach with Asia. This course will have an 8-10-page final paper. Zenichi Shishido is Professor of Law at Musashino Univesity, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, and continues to be a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley School of Law on a regular basis. Professor Shishido taught at Seikei University (1983-2009) and has been a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School (1998 -1999), Harvard Law School (2005) and Duke Law School (2020), and a Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School (2015). He is also a Senior Research Scholar at National University of Singapore (2017) and a BFI (Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago) Visitor. Professor Shishido is a well-known authority on Japanese and comparative corporate governance, having written extensively on the subject in both Japanese and English. He has also served on advisory councils to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ). His publications in English include the books Enterprise Law: Contracts, Markets, and Laws in the US and Japan (Edward Elgar, 2014), and Joint Venture Strategies: Design, Bargaining, and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2015). Fall 2024 Description: This seminar course focuses on a comparative analysis of business systems across the world, particularly those in the US, Japan, and China. We will discuss the basic question: how does law matter to business practice? To answer this question, we need to take into consideration two complementarities. First, the legal system in a given country consists of a variety of legal subject areas, including corporate law, securities regulation, labor law, bankruptcy law, and tax law, among others. These areas of law do not operate in isolation but rather in complement to affect the business practices in a country. Second, the law operates in conjunction with economic markets and social norms. With this in mind, I propose the following framework: consider the firm as a forum for incentive bargaining among four major participants: management, employees, creditors, and shareholders. How do the complementary effects of various laws, markets, and norms affect the incentives of each participant? How has this affected the accepted business practices in a country, and in turn, the broader business system? Each week, students will be exposed to readings in business law theory, as well as more recent scholarship that applies those theories to case studies of modern US, Japanese, and Chinese firms. Through the readings and participation in class discussions, I hope that students will learn to think critically about the dynamic interplay of legal systems, economic markets, and social norms and their combined effects on business systems. This class will be a great introduction to US business law via a comparative law approach with Japan and China. This course will have an 8-10-page final paper. Zenichi Shishido is Professor of Law at Musashino University, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, and continues to be a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley School of Law on a regular basis. Professor Shishido taught at Seikei University (1983-2009) and has been a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School (1998 -1999), Harvard Law School (2005), and Duke Law School (2020), and a Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School (2015). He is also a Senior Research Scholar at the National University of Singapore (2017) and a BFI (Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago) Visitor. Professor Shishido is a well-known authority on Japanese and comparative corporate governance, having written extensively on the subject in both Japanese and English. He has also served on advisory councils to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and Cabinet Office. His publications in English include the books Enterprise Law: Contracts, Markets, and Laws in the US and Japan (Edward Elgar, 2014), and Joint Venture Strategies: Design, Bargaining, and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2015). |
| Law 263.12 International Peace Negotiations 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course explores how international law guides international peace negotiations of conflicts around the world. Each class will focus on substantive and procedural issues affiliated with peace negotiations (e.g. foundational documents, agenda setting, red teaming, and backchannel negotiations). In each class, we will also welcome one or more guest speakers with first-hand experience in peace negotiations in different places around the world for a fireside chat. In addition to your reading of the firsthand account of U.S. Ambassador Wendy Sherman of her experience leading nuclear negotiations with Iran and preparing questions for each guest speaker, you will also learn how to prepare for a hypothetical international peace negotiation. This course teaches students how to lawyer peace from on-the-ground practitioners and direct exposure to the work. |
| Law 263.5 Law and Policy in the Administrative State 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar is designed to give students a sophisticated understanding of the relationships among law, policymaking, and real-world outcomes in a variety of federal programs, and will include some case studies on specific policies, probably including immigration, affirmative action, poverty, and campaign finance. After a brief review of the administrative process, we will discuss how policy effectiveness is measured; the legal and social cultures that shape law and policy; the roles of information, incentives, and politics; the limits of courts and the law; regulation and its discontents; the structural ingredients of sound law and policy; the challenges of policy implementation; how markets undermine coherent policymaking; the nature of the federal bureaucracy; and reform options. Because it will introduce and elaborate on key concepts in administrative law, it is appropriate both for students who have taken the basic administrative law course and those who have not. Diverse assigned readings will prepare students for weekly discussions, perhaps including occasional outside speakers. Each student must write a 15-20 page paper that will meet the requirement of Option 1. |
| Law 264.1 Ocean and Coastal Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course will cover the law governing the oceans, from the coastal zone to the high seas, and from the local and state level to the global level. We will briefly cover the historical legal treatment of the oceans and their resources, and the transition from a perception of inexhaustible resources to one of ecological and economic crisis. We will talk about fisheries, shipping, and fossil fuel extraction; about governing coastal development; about the balance between public and private rights; about the federalism structure of ocean and coastal management in the US; about dividing or sharing rights among nations; about the role of science in ocean management; and about efforts to deal with the impacts of warming, rising, and acidifying seas. Students will have the choice of taking a final exam or writing a substantial paper. Spring 2023 Description: This course will cover the law governing the oceans, from the coastal zone to the high seas, and from the local and state level to the global level. We will briefly cover the historical legal treatment of the oceans and their resources, and the transition from a perception of inexhaustible resources to one of ecological and economic crisis. We will talk about fisheries, shipping, and fossil fuel extraction; about governing coastal development; about the balance between public and private rights; about the federalism structure of ocean and coastal management in the US; about dividing or sharing rights among nations; about the role of science in ocean management; and about efforts to deal with the impacts of warming, rising, and acidifying seas. Students will have the choice of taking a final exam or writing a substantial paper. Fall 2024 Description: This course will cover the law governing the oceans, from the coastal zone to the high seas, and from the local and state levels to the global level. We will briefly cover the historical legal treatment of the oceans and their resources, and the transition from a perception of inexhaustible resources to one of ecological and economic crisis. We will talk about fisheries, shipping, and fossil fuel extraction; about governing coastal development; about the balance between public and private rights; about the federalism structure of ocean and coastal management in the US; about dividing or sharing rights among nations; about the role of science in ocean management; and about efforts to deal with the impacts of warming, rising, and acidifying seas. Students will have the choice of taking a final exam or writing a substantial paper. |
| Law 264.5 Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law uses a problem-based approach to examine a global view of anti-discrimination law, comparing US, European, and other national, regional and international legal systems, including those of India, Brazil and South Africa. The course covers 8 topic modules: 1. Theories and sources of equality and anti-discrimination law; 2. Employment discrimination (race, sex, age, disability, LBGTQ+); 3. Sexual harassment/Violence; 4. Affirmative action (race, caste, origin)/gender parity; 5. Marriage equality (race, same-sex); 6. Hate Speech; 7. Disability rights; and 8. Secularism and the rights of religious minorities. The class will meet for 75 minutes, twice a week for 14 weeks, on Zoom. Office hours will be by appointment, on Zoom. Most of the reading will be from a casebook, Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law (3d ed. 2020). You can purchase it from the publisher (Edward Elgar, in the UK) for a discounted price of $68 (or at full price ($85) from Amazon). See the syllabus or email professor Oppenheimer for a link. Some of the reading will be from The Global #MeToo Movement (2020). You can purchase a copy from the publisher or Amazon for $16, or download a copy for free. See the syllabus for a link. Some of the course material will be delivered through an edX web-based course. The course materials mix brief lectures with simulated dialog, video and audio recordings of group discussions, debates, and interviews with 36 scholars and activists from six continents. This material is provided through Stanford University’s edX portal at an access fee per student of $75. To enroll in the Stanford materials, see the syllabus for a link. Students will be required to write a 15-20 page paper, which will satisfy the “Option-1” portion of the writing requirement for the JD degree. The paper must compare how two national/legal systems approach a particular problem of inequality. Students will be required to meet individually with Professor Oppenheimer a minimum of four times, (1) to discuss their topic selection by September 9, (2) to discuss their research progress and preliminary outline by October 7, (3) to discuss their in-class presentation of their research by October 28, and (4) to discuss my written comments at least one draft by November 13. Papers will be due on the last day of exams (December 17). During the first ten weeks of the semester we will focus on the readings and edX materials, with occasional discussion of students’ research on their paper topics. During the final four weeks of the semester we will focus on your papers, with presentations of student research, at times in breakout rooms. Draft papers must be shared with the other students in the class. Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes, with video on. Absences may be excused upon request. Students who must miss a class session will be required to review the recording of the class. Exceptions to video on requirement may be granted upon request, with recognition that having one’s video on increases engagement. Grading: The grade will be based 90% on the research paper and 10% based on class participation. |
| Law 264.51 Comparative Equality Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar Will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. In Spring 2021 we will focus on an intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. Students who wish to enroll should contact Professor Oppenheimer at doppenheimer@law.berkeley.edu Fall 2021 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the fall semester are still in the planning stages, but in past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students who wish to enroll should contact Professor Oppenheimer at doppenheimer@law.berkeley.edu Spring 2022 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the spring semester are still in the planning stages, but in past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students who wish to enroll should contact Professor Oppenheimer at doppenheimer@law.berkeley.edu Fall 2023 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will study comparative equality law in a weekly seminar and conduct 8 hours/week of legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the fall semester are still in the initial stages, but are likely to include projects with an equality law clinic in Brussels and a feminist law NGO in London. In past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students will work in teams. Students who wish to enroll should email their cover letter and resume to Professor Oppenheimer's Faculty Assistant, Jessie Davis (jadavis@berkeley.edu). Six of the eight students will be selected by April 21st. To optimize your chance of admission, please apply in early April. Two slots will be held for LLM/transfer students and/or late applications, and will be reviewed soon after August 15. Spring 2024 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will study comparative equality law in a weekly seminar and conduct 8 hours/week of legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. In past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students will work in teams. In the seminar we will study comparative equality law and use our cases/projects as a basis to discuss equality law issues. Students who wish to enroll should email their cover letter and resume to Professor Oppenheimer's Faculty Assistant, Jessie Davis (jadavis@berkeley.edu). Students enrolling in the seminar must also enroll in the practicum. |
| Law 264.52 Comparative Equality Practicum 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar Will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. Spring 2021, we will focus on an intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. Fall 2021 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the fall semester are still in the planning stages, but in past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students who wish to enroll should contact Professor Oppenheimer at doppenheimer@law.berkeley.edu Spring 2022 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the spring semester are still in the planning stages, but in past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students who wish to enroll should contact Professor Oppenheimer at doppenheimer@law.berkeley.edu Fall 2023 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the fall semester are still in the initial stages, but will include projects with an equality law clinic in Brussels and a feminist law NGO in London. In past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students enrolled in the 8 hour/week practicum must also enroll in the 2 unit seminar. Students who wish to enroll should email their cover letter and resume to Professor Oppenheimer's Faculty Assistant, Jessie Davis (jadavis@berkeley.edu). Six of the eight students will be selected by April 21st. To optimize your chance of admission, please apply in early April. Two slots will be held for LLM/transfer students and/or late applications, and will be reviewed soon after August 15. Spring 2024 Description: Students enrolled in the Comparative Equality Law Practicum & Seminar will conduct legal research and advocacy work on equality law cases and/or policy papers under the supervision of Professor David Oppenheimer. Projects may include amicus briefs, policy papers, and intervention in litigation in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The plans for the spring semester are still in the initial stages. Past projects have included amicus briefs before non-U.S. courts and commissions, and policy papers written in collaboration with NGOs from Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In past semesters we have worked on: An amicus brief for the Supreme Court of Japan on behalf of a feminist activist who spoke out against pornography and was sued for defamation; A policy paper on discrimination against Muslim women and girls in Europe; A project to reform sexual harassment laws across Africa; An intersectional employment discrimination case involving disability rights for communities of women of color, with the hope of having an impact on the opportunities of women of color with disabilities to be treated equally in STEM positions. We work closely with public interest firms and NGOs from around the globe. Students enrolled in the 8 hour/week practicum must also enroll in the 2 unit seminar. Students who wish to enroll should email their cover letter and resume to Professor Oppenheimer's Faculty Assistant, Jessie Davis (jadavis@berkeley.edu). Please apply by midnight on November 11 to be in the first group reviewed. Enrollment will be by rolling admissions. |
| Law 264.53 Comparative Equality 1 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: Comparative Equality Law: A multi-university course plus a Berkeley seminar Comparative Equality Law uses a problem-based approach to examine how various legal systems address problems of discrimination and inequality. The overarching themes are (1) equality in theory, (2) equality in law, and (3) equality in society. The course will comparatively examine the United States, the European Union and Council of Europe (and some of their member states), India, Colombia, South Africa, Canada, and Brazil. Topics will include employment discrimination, gender harassment/violence, marriage equality, affirmative action, reproductive rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and gender in the regulation of Muslim women’s clothing. The course is taught as two courses which must be taken together. The first course is taught on Zoom and includes law students and faculty from 15 universities, with representation from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. The second course is a Berkeley Law seminar. The multi-university course meets weekly for two hours. Each class session includes two faculty lectures (approximately 15 minutes each), two small group discussions in break-out rooms (typically 4-6 students from 3-6 countries plus a discussion leader, again for 15 minutes each), and two plenary session discussions. The Berkeley seminar meets weekly once a week for two hours for discussions of the reading, discussion of the multi-university lectures and discussions, and presentations and discussion of student papers. Students will write and present a 8-10-page paper, which will be due on November 1, and will present the paper using presentation software (PowerPoint or an alternative) to the seminar participants in November. Each university supplies discussion leaders for the breakout sessions in the weekly multi- university Zoom meetings. Berkeley students enrolled in the course will each lead 5 breakout sessions over the course of the semester. Each student will turn in a brief (2-3 page) reflection after leading their discussion groups (thus, 5 reflections total). Preparation to lead a breakout session requires the student to attend or watch a recording of a thirty-minute faculty meeting at which the breakout question is discussed. Grades for the seminar will be based on the papers and presentations, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Grades for the multi-university course will be based on the reflection essays, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Fall 2025 Description: Comparative Equality Law: A multi-university course plus a Berkeley seminar Comparative Equality Law uses a problem-based approach to examine how various legal systems address problems of discrimination and inequality. The overarching themes are (1) equality in theory, (2) equality in law, and (3) equality in society. The course will comparatively examine the United States, the European Union and the Council of Europe (and some of their member states), India, Colombia, South Africa, Canada, and Brazil. Topics will include employment discrimination, gender harassment/violence, marriage equality, affirmative action, reproductive rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and gender in the regulation of Muslim women’s clothing. The course is taught as two courses which must be taken together. The first course is taught on Zoom and includes law students and faculty from 15 universities, with representation from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. The second course is a Berkeley Law seminar. For 2025 the course will be organized around seven clusters: (1) an introduction to comparative equality; (2) equality, (under)representation, and “merit”; (3) formal and substantive equality; (4) stereotypes and stigma; (5) equality, dignity, and voice; (6) practicing equality and human rights law; and (7) inclusion and exclusion. The multi-university course meets weekly for two hours. Each class session includes two faculty lectures (approximately 15 minutes each), two small group discussions in break-out rooms (typically 4-6 students from 3-6 countries plus a discussion leader, again for 15 minutes each), and two plenary session discussions. This is a distance learning course. The Berkeley seminar meets weekly once a week for two hours for discussions of the reading, discussion of the multi-university lectures and discussions, and presentations and discussion of student papers. Students will write and present a 8-10-page paper, which will be due on Monday, November 1, and will present the paper using presentation software (PowerPoint or an alternative) to the seminar participants in November. Each university supplies discussion leaders for the breakout sessions in the weekly multi-university Zoom meetings. Berkeley students enrolled in the course will each lead 6 breakout sessions (2 per day on three days) over the course of the semester. Each student will turn in a brief (2-3 page) reflection after leading their discussion groups (thus, 6 reflections total). Preparation to lead a breakout session requires the student to attend or watch a recording of a thirty-minute faculty meeting at which the breakout question is discussed. Grades for the seminar will be based on the papers and presentations, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Grades for the multi-university course will be based on the reflection essays, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. |
| Law 264.54 Comparative Equality 2 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: Comparative Equality Law: A multi-university course plus a Berkeley seminar Comparative Equality Law uses a problem-based approach to examine how various legal systems address problems of discrimination and inequality. The overarching themes are (1) equality in theory, (2) equality in law, and (3) equality in society. The course will comparatively examine the United States, the European Union and Council of Europe (and some of their member states), India, Colombia, South Africa, Canada, and Brazil. Topics will include employment discrimination, gender harassment/violence, marriage equality, affirmative action, reproductive rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and gender in the regulation of Muslim women’s clothing. The course is taught as two courses which must be taken together. The first course is taught on Zoom and includes law students and faculty from 15 universities, with representation from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. The second course is a Berkeley Law seminar. The multi-university course meets weekly for two hours. Each class session includes two faculty lectures (approximately 15 minutes each), two small group discussions in break-out rooms (typically 4-6 students from 3-6 countries plus a discussion leader, again for 15 minutes each), and two plenary session discussions. The Berkeley seminar meets weekly once a week for two hours for discussions of the reading, discussion of the multi-university lectures and discussions, and presentations and discussion of student papers. Students will write and present a 8-10-page paper, which will be due on November 1, and will present the paper using presentation software (PowerPoint or an alternative) to the seminar participants in November. Each university supplies discussion leaders for the breakout sessions in the weekly multi- university Zoom meetings. Berkeley students enrolled in the course will each lead 5 breakout sessions over the course of the semester. Each student will turn in a brief (2-3 page) reflection after leading their discussion groups (thus, 5 reflections total). Preparation to lead a breakout session requires the student to attend or watch a recording of a thirty-minute faculty meeting at which the breakout question is discussed. Grades for the seminar will be based on the papers and presentations, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Grades for the multi-university course will be based on the reflection essays, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Fall 2025 Description: Comparative Equality Law: A multi-university course (plus a Berkeley seminar) Comparative Equality Law uses a problem-based approach to examine how various legal systems address problems of discrimination and inequality. The overarching themes are (1) equality in theory, (2) equality in law, and (3) equality in society. The course will comparatively examine the United States, the European Union and the Council of Europe (and some of their member states), India, Colombia, South Africa, Canada, and Brazil. Topics will include employment discrimination, gender harassment/violence, marriage equality, affirmative action, reproductive rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and gender in the regulation of Muslim women’s clothing. The course is taught as two courses which must be taken together. This, the first course, is taught on Zoom and includes law students and faculty from 12-15 universities, with representation from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. The second course (264.53) is a Berkeley Law seminar. This is a distance learning course. For 2025 the course will be organized around seven clusters: (1) an introduction to comparative equality; (2) equality, (under)representation, and “merit”; (3) formal and substantive equality; (4) stereotypes and stigma; (5) equality, dignity, and voice; (6) practicing equality and human rights law; and (7) inclusion and exclusion. The multi-university course meets weekly for two hours. Each class session includes two faculty lectures (approximately 15 minutes each), two small group discussions in break-out rooms (typically 4-6 students from 3-6 countries plus a discussion leader, again for 15 minutes each), and two plenary session discussions. The Berkeley seminar (264.53) meets weekly once a week for two hours for discussions of the reading, discussion of the multi-university lectures and discussions, and presentations and discussion of student papers. Students will write and present an 8-10-page paper, which will be due on November 1, and will present the paper using presentation software (PowerPoint or an alternative) to the seminar participants in November. Each university supplies discussion leaders for the breakout sessions in the weekly multi-university Zoom meetings. Berkeley students enrolled in the course will each lead 6 breakout sessions over the course of the semester. Each student will turn in a brief (2-3 page) reflection after leading their discussion groups (thus, 6 reflections total). Preparation to lead a breakout session requires the student to attend or watch a recording of a thirty-minute faculty meeting at which the breakout question is discussed. Grades for the seminar will be based on the papers and presentations, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. Grades for the multi-university course will be based on the reflection essays, and in the case of a tie may be raised based on class participation. |
| Law 264.6 Health and Human Rights in Times of War and Peace 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will explore how international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms impact public health in times of armed conflict and in peacetime, and how health policies and practices may help promote human rights or potentially violate them. We will examine a wide range of topics including the role of health and legal professionals in documenting the health consequences of war crimes and human rights abuses; treating survivors of torture and sexual violence; addressing the special health and human rights concerns of vulnerable groups, including children, human trafficking survivors, and prisoners; and resolving conflicts between civil liberties and public health policies during epidemics. We will also examine the role of international humanitarian organizations in armed conflict, and health and human rights impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. The course is offered through the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Law. Fall 2021 Description: This course will explore how international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms impact public health in times of armed conflict and in peacetime, and how health policies and practices may help promote human rights or potentially violate them. We will examine a wide range of topics including the role of health and legal professionals in documenting the health consequences of war crimes and human rights abuses; treating survivors of torture and sexual violence; addressing the special health and human rights concerns of vulnerable groups, including children, human trafficking survivors, and prisoners; and resolving conflicts between civil liberties and public health policies during epidemics. We will also examine the role of international humanitarian organizations in armed conflict, and health and human rights impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. The course is offered through the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Law. Fall 2022 Description: This course will explore how international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms impact public health, both in times of peace and in conflict. We will examine a wide range of topics including the role of health and legal professionals in documenting the health consequences of war crimes and human rights abuses; treating survivors of torture and sexual violence; addressing the special health and human rights concerns of vulnerable groups, including children, human trafficking survivors, and prisoners; and resolving conflicts between civil liberties and public health policies during epidemics. We will also examine the role of international humanitarian organizations in armed conflict, and health and human rights impacts of climate change and COVID-19 related human rights policies. The course is offered through the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Law. Fall 2023 Description: This course will explore how international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms impact public health, both in times of peace and in conflict. We will examine a wide range of topics including the role of health and legal professionals in documenting the health consequences of war crimes and human rights abuses; treating survivors of torture and sexual violence; addressing the special health and human rights concerns of vulnerable groups, including children, human trafficking survivors, and prisoners; and resolving conflicts between civil liberties and public health policies during epidemics. We will also examine the role of international humanitarian organizations in armed conflict, and health and human rights impacts of climate change and COVID-19 related human rights policies. The course is offered through the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Law. Fall 2024 Description: This course will explore how international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms interact with health, medicine and ethics both in times of peace and conflict. The course will be grounded in the foundations of human rights and humanitarian law, public health and medical ethics, and then move to the practice of health and human rights: research, investigations, policy-making and advocacy. We will examine a wide range of topics including tensions between public health and civil liberties, documenting the health consequences of war crimes and human rights abuses; treating survivors of torture and sexual violence; investigating disappearances and crimes against humanity, protecting health workers in conflict, addressing the special concerns of children, trafficking survivors, and incarcerated people; the impact of crowd control weapons, labor rights and health, immigration, racial and gender disparities, and the role of new technologies such as DNA analysis and open source investigations. Guest speakers will bring their experience working on climate change, journalism, investigations, epidemiological research, war crimes investigations and legal advocacy and community engagement. Students will actively engage in discussions, and bring their own interests to presentations and a final research paper to develop their expertise. The course is offered through the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Law. Fall 2025 Description: This course will explore how international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms interact with health, medicine, and ethics both in times of peace and conflict. The course will be grounded in the foundations of human rights and humanitarian law, public health, and medical ethics, and then move to the practice of health and human rights: research, investigations, policy-making, and advocacy. We will examine a wide range of topics including tensions between public health and civil liberties, documenting the health consequences of war crimes and human rights abuses; treating survivors of torture and sexual violence; investigating disappearances and crimes against humanity, protecting health workers in conflict, addressing the special concerns of children, trafficking survivors, and incarcerated people; the impact of crowd control weapons, labor rights and health, immigration, racial and gender disparities, and the role of new technologies such as DNA analysis and open source investigations. Guest speakers will bring their experience working on climate change, journalism, investigations, epidemiological research, war crimes investigations, legal advocacy, and community engagement. Students will actively engage in discussions, and bring their own interests to presentations and a final research paper to develop their expertise. The course is offered through the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and School of Law. |
| Law 264.75 Introduction to Comparative Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: “Comparative Law” is a perplexing expression. It does not refer to any particular branch of law nor to the existence of a specific body of rules. It is most of all, the study of the relationship between legal systems in order to observe how similar socio-cultural, political or economical issues receive distinct or similar legal solutions within diverse societies. It thus provides us with a better understanding of how legal rules and legal institutions are established and implemented in our own legal system. This basic course on comparative law is an introduction to the method and concept of comparative law as well as a study and a comparison of different legal traditions and legal systems with their distinctive components and internal relations (Civil Law, Common Law, Religious Law). In particular, we will read and discuss a series of short scholarly papers ( 1 or 2 per week) published on various legal issues in both private and public law. Requirement: A final research paper (12-15 pages) outlining a legal issue of your choice in one or more foreign countries of your choice. 1/3 of final grade is based on participation in class discussion. Spring 2022 Description: “Comparative Law” is a perplexing expression. It does not refer to any particular branch of law nor to the existence of a specific body of rules. It is most of all, the study of the relationship between legal systems in order to observe how similar socio-cultural, political or economical issues receive distinct or similar legal solutions within diverse societies. It thus provides us with a better understanding of how legal rules and legal institutions are established and implemented in our own legal system. This basic course on comparative law is an introduction to the method and concept of comparative law as well as a study and a comparison of different legal traditions and legal systems with their distinctive components and internal relations (Civil Law, Common Law, Religious Law). In particular, we will read and discuss a series of short scholarly papers (1 or 2 per week) published on various legal issues in both private and public law. Requirement: A final research paper (12-15 pages) or in-class presentation outlining a legal issue of your choice in one or more foreign countries of your choice. Spring 2023 Description: “Comparative Law” is a perplexing expression. It does not refer to any particular branch of law nor to the existence of a specific body of rules. It is most of all, the study of the relationship between legal systems in order to observe how similar socio-cultural, political or economical issues receive distinct or similar legal solutions within diverse societies. It thus provides us with a better understanding of how legal rules and legal institutions are established and implemented in our own legal system. This basic course on comparative law is an introduction to the method and concept of comparative law as well as a study and a comparison of different legal traditions and legal systems with their distinctive components and internal relations (Civil Law, Common Law, Religious Law). In particular, we will read and discuss a series of short scholarly papers (1 or 2 per week) published on various legal issues in both private and public law. Requirement: A final research paper (12 pages) or in-class presentation outlining a legal issue of your choice in one or more foreign countries of your choice. Spring 2024 Description: “Comparative Law” is a perplexing expression. It does not refer to any particular branch of law nor to the existence of a specific body of rules. It is most of all, the study of the relationship between legal systems in order to observe how similar socio-cultural, political or economical issues receive distinct or similar legal solutions within diverse societies. It thus provides us with a better understanding of how legal rules and legal institutions are established and implemented in our own legal system. This basic course on comparative law is an introduction to the method and concept of comparative law as well as a study and a comparison of different legal traditions and legal systems with their distinctive components and internal relations (Civil Law, Common Law, Religious Law). In particular, we will read and discuss a series of short scholarly papers (1 or 2 per week) published on various legal issues in both private and public law including legal education and the legal profession in various countries. Requirement: A final research paper (8-10 pages) or in-class presentation outlining a legal issue of your choice in one or more foreign countries of your choice. |
| Law 264.93 Islamic Law Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course provides an overview of Islamic law in the contemporary world. We begin with abbreviated and introductory sessions on Islamic legal history and historiography, as well as Islamic jurisprudence. The course then moves on to exploring colonialism, neo-colonialism, secularism, international law, and governance. Through country and topical case studies, the class will deal with some of the more important current issues shaping Islamic law. No prior knowledge of Islamic law is necessary. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 265.2 Asian Legal Systems 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course will provide an introduction to the different legal systems of various Asian countries, with emphasis on China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Classes will include lectures and presentations by members of the Asian legal profession, including professors, judges, and practitioners. The course requires a 12-15 page paper. Spring 2025 Description: This course will provide an introduction to the legal systems of various Asian countries, with emphasis on China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Classes will include a series of lectures and presentations on diverse legal issues ( inter alia Rule of Law, judicial power, family law, the legal profession, AI, Digital companies regulations, criminal law and procedure) by members of the legal profession in Asian countries, including academics, judges, and practitioners. The course requires a 10-12 page paper. |
| Law 265.21 Introduction to Sub-Saharan African Legal Systems 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course is an introduction to the comparative examination of the legal systems of selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The first week of class will be dedicated to the history of the African kingdoms and empires prior to colonization, the impact of the slave trade, the consequences of colonization and the emergence of independent States with the end of the colonial period. This comparative examination will focus on the circumstances and process leading to the advent and development of the current legal systems. The following week will address the common components of sub-Saharan legal systems including the legal dynamics and regional normative frameworks, legal pluralism and legal sources, conflicts between tradition and modernity, constitutionalism and rights. The remaining sections of the class will be dedicated to the respective study of the laws and legal institutions of the following countries: Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Cameroon. In this section, we will examine public and private law issues including the law-making process, judicial governance, the legal profession, land tenure and the legal framework of the exploitation of natural resources and environmental protection, family, kinship and inheritance. Class requirement : 8-10 pages paper |
| Law 265.4 Jewish Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course provides an introduction to Jewish law. The course will consider foundational questions about the relation between law and ethics, the advocacy system and its alternatives, the legal role of rights and obligations, and legal evolution in the face of change -- and offer a comparative lens from which to reflect on the US legal system. It will consider a variety of substantive legal areas to illuminate overarching themes. Students will be expected to write short reflection papers. Together with Prof. Bamberger, the class will include guest teaching by Berkeley Rabbi Yonatan Cohen. ** Assigned readings are all in English. ** No prior knowledge is required. Spring 2024 Description: This one-unit course provides an introduction to Jewish law. The course will consider foundational questions about the relation between law and ethics, the advocacy system and its alternatives, the legal role of rights and obligations, and legal evolution in the face of change -- and offer a comparative lens from which to reflect on the US legal system. It will consider a variety of substantive legal areas to illuminate overarching themes. Students will be expected to write short reflection papers. ** Assigned readings are all in English. ** No prior knowledge is required. |
| Law 265.41 Religion & Equality in a Diverse World 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: Diversity and equality are two of our most fundamental social values. Yet they increasingly appear to be on a collision course. In the United States, prominent conflicts between principles of antidiscrimination and claims for religious accommodation have occurred in education, employment, and health care. In other parts of the world, similar clashes erupt around the regulation of marriage and divorce, child custody and visitation, women’s religious attire, access to holy sites, private dispute resolution, and property and inheritance regimes. In a growing number of jurisdictions, debates rage over definitions of membership, expressions of sexual orientation, and contestations over which institutions have the authority to interpret religious texts and traditions which may exist in tension with constitutional provisions of equality and the duty of state neutrality. Focusing on the relationship between religious diversity and gender equity, this course will consist of three parts. The first part will explore different constitutional models of the relationship between law and religion and their implications for collective membership and individual rights. The second part will examine specific policy areas that have become flashpoints in the debate about diversity and equality. Considering a range of current legal disputes, the third and final part of the course will examine emerging institutional designs and remedies aimed at mitigating these tensions. |
| Law 265.51 Canon Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Introduction to canon law, the legal system of the catholic church from the first ecumenical councils in the 4th and 5th centuries up to the promulgation of the revised code of canon law by Pope John Paul II in 1983. Topics will include : (1)the story of the legal sources, in particular medieval compilations that constituted the "Body of Canon Law" (Corpus Iuris canonici) up to the first codification that took effect in 1918 and its revision in 1983, after the Second Vatican Council (2) the hierarchical constitution of the Church and its government (3) the sacrament of marriage (4) canonical procedure and penalties. We will be reading primary sources translated in English, knowledge of foreign languages including Latin is not required. Requirement : one 12-15 page paper. |
| Law 266.5 Poverty Law and Policy 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This course provides an introduction to the relationship between law and poverty, including the relevance of doctrine, policy, and practice to the significant inequality in income, assets, and basic social goods impacting tens of millions of people in the United States. We will consider historical and contemporary trends in domestic poverty, policy perspectives on social relief, and the legal framework under which poverty-related claims have been adjudicated, and the role of lawyers in combating poverty. Grounded in data, theory, and doctrine, we will explore modern government anti-poverty programs and issues such as welfare, work, housing, health, education, criminalization, and access to justice. We will also consider non-traditional approaches to combating poverty, including market-based solutions and human rights, with an emphasis on what role law, lawyers, and legal institutions can play in such efforts. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides an introduction to the relationship between law and poverty, including the relevance of doctrine, policy, and practice to the significant inequality in income, assets, and basic social goods impacting tens of millions of people in the United States. We will consider historical and contemporary trends in domestic poverty, policy perspectives on social relief, and the legal framework under which poverty-related claims have been adjudicated, and the role of lawyers in combating poverty. Grounded in data, theory, and doctrine, we will explore modern government anti-poverty programs and issues such as welfare, work, housing, health, education, criminalization, and access to justice. We will also consider non-traditional approaches to combating poverty, including market-based solutions and human rights, with an emphasis on what role law, lawyers, and legal institutions can play in such efforts. Fall 2025 Description: This course provides an introduction to the relationship between law and poverty, including the relevance of doctrine, policy, and practice to the significant inequality in income, assets, and basic social goods impacting tens of millions of people in the United States. We will consider historical and contemporary trends in domestic poverty, policy perspectives on social relief, the legal framework under which poverty-related claims have been adjudicated, and the role of lawyers in combating poverty. Grounded in data, theory, and doctrine, we will explore modern government anti-poverty programs and issues such as welfare, work, housing, health, education, criminalization, and access to justice. We will also consider non-traditional approaches to combating poverty, including market-based solutions and human rights, with an emphasis on what role law, lawyers, and legal institutions can play in such efforts. |
| Law 267 American Legal History 4 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course will offer a selective overview of the history of law and the legal profession in American life. Our subjects will include legal contests among imperial powers and Indigenous sovereigns, the law of capitalism and slavery, legal and constitutional change brought about by the Civil War and Reconstruction, the construction of the American empire, the transformation of governance in the twentieth century, and the civil rights era and its aftermath. Our readings will include selections from scholarly literature alongside primary sources offering both elite and bottom-up perspectives on law. Students will be assessed based on class participation, response papers, and a take-home final exam. Students with a focused research proposal in legal history may request to write a research paper in lieu of the final exam. Spring 2025 Description: This course will offer a selective overview of the history of law and the legal profession in American life. Our subjects will include legal contests among imperial powers and Indigenous sovereigns, the law of capitalism and slavery, legal and constitutional change brought about by the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the construction of the American empire. Our readings will include selections from scholarly literature alongside primary sources offering both elite and bottom-up perspectives on law. Students will be assessed based on class participation and a take-home final exam. |
| Law 267.31 Civil Rights in American History 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course explores the roots and meanings of civil rights in the United States since the mid-1800s. Civil rights has meant different things at different times. It has been intimately related to questions of gender, race, class, and sexuality; it has catalyzed key shifts in the legal profession, such as the rise of cause lawyering; it has pulled legal professionals into conversation and confrontation with popular social movements; and it has drawn from a range of doctrinal and cultural principles rooted in federalism, personal status, non-discrimination, labor rights, and property rights. In exploring these histories, we will seek to discuss what debates about civil rights reveal about Americans’ changing conceptions of legal and Constitutional authority, and of who was ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the community of citizens. There is a dominant emphasis on African Americans. That will probably change in future versions of the course. Students will gain from this course the ability to take apart legal arguments, to situate them in historical contexts, and to become familiar with important recent trends in legal history scholarship. For law students, the course offers a chance to step back from case law for a wide-angle perspective on the social dynamics that lie behind exemplary legal cases, how context shapes legal institutions and arguments, and how previous generations have conceptualized what it means to be a “civil rights lawyer.” For doctoral students, it offers the chance to look at how legal ideas shape social processes, to become familiar with a range of research methods and concepts, and to formulate and advance their own research interests. Readings will consist of a selection of scholarship, as well as a few key statutes and cases. The final paper will be a critical review essay. |
| Law 267.4 Law & History Foundation Seminar 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Law 267.4 is The Law & History Foundation Seminar for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Graduate Program at Berkeley Law. It is a reading and discussion seminar open to all JSP graduate students, Berkeley Law JD, LLM, and JSD students, and graduate students from other campus programs and other Bay Area institutions. This is a shared course with History and Critical Theory and students from those departments should register in their department's course accordingly. # As in previous years, Law 267.4 will explore the central themes of American legal development, while also investigating the way legal history has matured as a field of study or “discipline.” But we are living in interesting times, in which the varied exploitations of colonialism, racism, and capitalism have become the subject of intense public examination and argument. So this semester I want to give explicit attention to the question of how history - as theory, as philosophy, as method, or simply as narrative - can help us understand the role that law has played, and plays, in the construction of our times. The course will concentrate on the legal history of the United States, but it will begin and end with pointed glances at other Anglophone common law jurisdictions - England and Australia. And, to set our discussion of theory and method off with a bang, we will begin in week 1 with work by Louis Althusser, one of the most famous Marxist philosophers of the twentieth century, which poses the issue of how we should think about law as a phenomenon. In other words, what is “law”? # Considered as a field of study, legal history is as much history as law, and history is primarily a discipline of the book. For this reason I have chosen to make Law 267.4 a course that focuses on books. We will read a wide selection of the field’s best work, ranging from classics that have structured the field, stirred controversy, and inspired generations of scholars (like James Willard Hurst’s *Law and the Conditions of Freedom* and Morton Horwitz’s *Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860*), to the best work of the current generation of field leaders (like Laura Edwards’ *The People and their Peace* and Kunal Parker’s *Legal Thought Before Modernism*), to notable recent work by rising scholars (like Karen Tani’s *States of Dependency* and Ken Mack’s *Representing the Race*). We will accumulate considerable knowledge of the substance of American legal history, but we will also give close critical attention to the very different ways in which scholars have chosen to write the history of American law, and the very different subjects about which they have considered it appropriate to write). # In the American law school curriculum, a legal history course is usually considered an "enrichment” or “perspective” elective because it does not offer instruction in doctrine or skills directly oriented to law practice. One might consider the absence of a clear instrumental function liberating. Law school is likely to be the last extended period in a budding lawyer’s life when they can explore general ideas about law, probe theories, think about large issues of justice or policy, and develop skills in research and analysis. In a legal history course, student and teacher are freed to enjoy the intellectual experience of reading and discussing intelligently-written material unconstrained by the necessity that it be directly “relevant” to, say, bar admission. # Still, lack of direct relevance may not seem very sensible to students with crowded schedules. Why read all this stuff if it has no direct instrumental take-away? # This is a sensible question, to which there are two answers. The first is the enrichment/perspective answer: to study the history of law is to study the culture and practice of one’s chosen profession. Historical knowledge supplies both “deep background” on what one is doing in the present, and also a fund of examples and parallels that help one understand why one is doing it. The second answer is that how one studies in a course like this can be of real practical benefit. Lawyers (particularly young lawyers) are required to assimilate large amounts of information efficiently in a short period of time, grasp the essentials, and analyze them. This course requires that you develop an ability to assimilate and analyze large quantities of information. # Our emphasis will be on weekly discussions of common readings. Concretely, each week we will all read a book, in whole or in part. We will all come to class prepared and willing to talk about what we have read. To prime discussion, each class participant will circulate (via bCourses) brief and informal impressions/questions about the week’s reading to every other participant and to the instructor. # For more detailed information on readings and assessment, see the course syllabus (on bCourses or obtainable from the instructor). As the syllabus indicates, reading preparation for the first class meeting is required. # Students enroll in this course for 3 units. JSP students are required to take an additional 1 unit in conjunction with this course through enrolling in Law 602. The additional unit of credit requires additional work within the course framework. To enroll in Law 602, JSP students must complete an Add Form by the add deadline and submit the completed form to the Registrar's Office. Fall 2021 Description: Law 267.4 is The Law & History Foundation Seminar for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Graduate Program at Berkeley Law. It is a reading and discussion seminar open to all JSP graduate students, Berkeley Law JD, LLM, and JSD students, and graduate students from other campus programs and other Bay Area institutions. This is a shared course with History and Critical Theory and students from those departments should register in their department's course accordingly. # As in previous years, Law 267.4 will explore the central themes of American legal development, while also investigating the way legal history has matured as a field of study or “discipline.” But we are living in interesting times, in which the varied exploitations of colonialism, racism, and capitalism have become the subject of intense public examination and argument. So this semester I want to give explicit attention to the question of how history - as theory, as philosophy, as method, or simply as narrative - can help us understand the role that law has played, and plays, in the construction of our times. The course will concentrate on the legal history of the United States, but it will begin and end with pointed glances at other Anglophone common law jurisdictions - England and Australia. And, to set our discussion of theory and method off with a bang, we will begin in week 1 with work by Louis Althusser, one of the most famous Marxist philosophers of the twentieth century, which poses the issue of how we should think about law as a phenomenon. In other words, what is “law”? # Considered as a field of study, legal history is as much history as law, and history is primarily a discipline of the book. For this reason I have chosen to make Law 267.4 a course that focuses on books. We will read a wide selection of the field’s best work, ranging from classics that have structured the field, stirred controversy, and inspired generations of scholars (like James Willard Hurst’s *Law and the Conditions of Freedom* and Morton Horwitz’s *Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860*), to the best work of the current generation of field leaders (like Laura Edwards’ *The People and their Peace* and Kunal Parker’s *Legal Thought Before Modernism*), to notable recent work by rising scholars (like Karen Tani’s *States of Dependency* and Ken Mack’s *Representing the Race*). We will accumulate considerable knowledge of the substance of American legal history, but we will also give close critical attention to the very different ways in which scholars have chosen to write the history of American law, and the very different subjects about which they have considered it appropriate to write). # In the American law school curriculum, a legal history course is usually considered an "enrichment” or “perspective” elective because it does not offer instruction in doctrine or skills directly oriented to law practice. One might consider the absence of a clear instrumental function liberating. Law school is likely to be the last extended period in a budding lawyer’s life when they can explore general ideas about law, probe theories, think about large issues of justice or policy, and develop skills in research and analysis. In a legal history course, student and teacher are freed to enjoy the intellectual experience of reading and discussing intelligently-written material unconstrained by the necessity that it be directly “relevant” to, say, bar admission. # Still, lack of direct relevance may not seem very sensible to students with crowded schedules. Why read all this stuff if it has no direct instrumental take-away? # This is a sensible question, to which there are two answers. The first is the enrichment/perspective answer: to study the history of law is to study the culture and practice of one’s chosen profession. Historical knowledge supplies both “deep background” on what one is doing in the present, and also a fund of examples and parallels that help one understand why one is doing it. The second answer is that how one studies in a course like this can be of real practical benefit. Lawyers (particularly young lawyers) are required to assimilate large amounts of information efficiently in a short period of time, grasp the essentials, and analyze them. This course requires that you develop an ability to assimilate and analyze large quantities of information. # Our emphasis will be on weekly discussions of common readings. Concretely, each week we will all read a book, in whole or in part. We will all come to class prepared and willing to talk about what we have read. To prime discussion, each class participant will circulate (via bCourses) brief and informal impressions/questions about the week’s reading to every other participant and to the instructor. # For more detailed information on readings and assessment, see the course syllabus (on bCourses or obtainable from the instructor). As the syllabus indicates, reading preparation for the first class meeting is required. # Students enroll in this course for 3 units. JSP students are required to take an additional 1 unit in conjunction with this course through enrolling in Law 602. The additional unit of credit requires additional work within the course framework. To enroll in Law 602, JSP students must complete an Add Form by the add deadline and submit the completed form to the Registrar's Office. Fall 2022 Description: Law 267.4 is The Law & History Foundation Seminar for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Graduate Program at Berkeley Law. It is a reading and discussion seminar open to all JSP graduate students, Berkeley Law JD, LLM, and JSD students, and graduate students from other campus programs and other Bay Area institutions. This is a shared course with History and Critical Theory and students from those departments should register in their department's course accordingly. As in previous years, Law 267.4 will explore the central themes of American legal development, while also investigating the way legal history has matured as a field of study or “discipline.” But we are living in interesting times, in which the varied exploitations of colonialism, racism, and capitalism have become the subject of intense public examination and argument. So this semester I want to give explicit attention to the question of how history - as theory, as philosophy, as method, or simply as narrative - can help us understand the role that law has played, and plays, in the construction of our times. The course will concentrate on the legal history of the United States, but it will begin with a pointed glance at Early America, which will help to pose the question of how we should think about law as a phenomenon. In other words, what is “law”? Considered as a field of study, legal history is as much history as law, and history is primarily a discipline of the book. For this reason I have chosen to make Law 267.4 a course that focuses on books. We will read a wide selection of the field’s best work, ranging from classics that have structured the field, stirred controversy, and inspired generations of scholars (like James Willard Hurst’s *Law and the Conditions of Freedom* and Morton Horwitz’s *Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860*), to the best work of the current generation of field leaders (like Laura Edwards’ *The People and their Peace* and Michael Willrich's *City of Courts*), to notable recent work (like William Novak's *New Democracy* and Ken Kersch's *Conservatives and the Constitution*). We will accumulate considerable knowledge of the substance of American legal history, but we will also give close critical attention to the very different ways in which scholars have chosen to write the history of American law, and the very different subjects about which they have considered it appropriate to write). In the American law school curriculum, a legal history course is usually considered an "enrichment” or “perspective” elective because it does not offer instruction in doctrine or skills directly oriented to law practice. One might consider the absence of a clear instrumental function liberating. Law school is likely to be the last extended period in a budding lawyer’s life when they can explore general ideas about law, probe theories, think about large issues of justice or policy, and develop skills in research and analysis. In a legal history course, student and teacher are freed to enjoy the intellectual experience of reading and discussing intelligently-written material unconstrained by the necessity that it be directly “relevant” to, say, bar admission. Still, lack of direct relevance may not seem very sensible to students with crowded schedules. Why read all this stuff if it has no direct instrumental take-away? This is a sensible question, to which there are two answers. The first is the enrichment/perspective answer: to study the history of law is to study the culture and practice of one’s chosen profession. Historical knowledge supplies both “deep background” on what one is doing in the present, and also a fund of examples and parallels that help one understand why one is doing it. The second answer is that how one studies in a course like this can be of real practical benefit. Lawyers (particularly young lawyers) are required to assimilate large amounts of information efficiently in a short period of time, grasp the essentials, and analyze them. This course requires that you develop an ability to assimilate and analyze large quantities of information. Our emphasis will be on weekly discussions of common readings. Concretely, each week we will all read a book, in whole or in part. We will all come to class prepared and willing to talk about what we have read. To prime discussion, each class participant will circulate (via bCourses) brief and informal impressions/questions about the week’s reading to every other participant and to the instructor. For more detailed information on readings and assessment, see the course syllabus (on bCourses or obtainable from the instructor). As the syllabus indicates, reading preparation for the first class meeting is required. Students enroll in this course for 3 units. JSP students are required to take an additional 1 unit in conjunction with this course through enrolling in Law 602. The additional unit of credit requires additional work within the course framework. To enroll in Law 602, JSP students must complete an Add Form by the add deadline and submit the completed form to the Registrar's Office. Fall 2023 Description: Law 267.4 is The Law & History Foundation Seminar for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Graduate Program at Berkeley Law. It is a reading and discussion seminar open to all JSP graduate students, Berkeley Law JD, LLM, and JSD students, and graduate students from other campus programs and other Bay Area institutions. This is a shared course with History and the Program in Critical Theory. Students from those departments should register in their department's course accordingly. As in previous years, Law 267.4 will explore the central themes of American legal development, while also investigating the way legal history has matured as a field of study or “discipline.” But we are living in interesting times, in which the varied exploitations of colonialism, racism, and capitalism have become the subject of intense public examination and argument. So the course will give explicit attention to the question of how history - as theory, as philosophy, as method, or simply as narrative - can help us understand the role that law has played, and plays, in the construction of our times. The course will concentrate on the legal history of the United States, but it will begin with a pointed glance at Early America, which will help to pose the question of how we should think about law as a phenomenon. In other words, what is “law”? Considered as a field of study, legal history is as much history as law, and history is primarily a discipline of the book. For this reason I have chosen to make Law 267.4 a course that focuses on books. We will read a wide selection of the field’s best work, ranging from classics that have structured the field, stirred controversy, and inspired generations of scholars (like James Willard Hurst’s *Law and the Conditions of Freedom* and Morton Horwitz’s *Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860*), to the best work of the current generation of field leaders (like Laura Edwards’ *The People and their Peace* and Michael Willrich's *City of Courts*), to notable recent work (like William Novak's *New Democracy* and Ken Kersch's *Conservatives and the Constitution*). We will accumulate considerable knowledge of the substance of American legal history, but we will also give close critical attention to the very different ways in which scholars have chosen to write the history of American law, and the very different subjects about which they have considered it appropriate to write). In the American law school curriculum, a legal history course is usually considered an "enrichment” or “perspective” elective because it does not offer instruction in doctrine or skills directly oriented to law practice. One might consider the absence of a clear instrumental function liberating. Law school is likely to be the last extended period in a budding lawyer’s life when they can explore general ideas about law, probe theories, think about large issues of justice or policy, and develop skills in research and analysis. In a legal history course, student and teacher are freed to enjoy the intellectual experience of reading and discussing intelligently-written material unconstrained by the necessity that it be directly “relevant” to, say, bar admission. Still, lack of direct relevance may not seem very sensible to students with crowded schedules. Why read all this stuff if it has no direct instrumental take-away? This is a sensible question, to which there are two answers. The first is the enrichment/perspective answer: to study the history of law is to study the culture and practice of one’s chosen profession. Historical knowledge supplies both “deep background” on what one is doing in the present, and also a fund of examples and parallels that help one understand why one is doing it. The second answer is that how one studies in a course like this can be of real practical benefit. Lawyers (particularly young lawyers) are required to assimilate large amounts of information efficiently in a short period of time, grasp the essentials, and analyze them. This course requires that you develop an ability to assimilate and analyze large quantities of information. Our emphasis will be on weekly discussions of common readings. Concretely, each week we will all read a book, in whole or in part. We will all come to class prepared and willing to talk about what we have read. To prime discussion, each class participant will circulate (via bCourses) brief and informal impressions/questions about the week’s reading to every other participant and to the instructor. For more detailed information on readings and assessment, see the course syllabus (on bCourses or obtainable from the instructor). As the syllabus indicates, reading preparation for the first class meeting is required. Students enroll in this course for 3 units. JSP students are required to take an additional 1 unit in conjunction with this course through enrolling in Law 602. The additional unit of credit requires additional work within the course framework. To enroll in Law 602, JSP students must complete an Add Form by the add deadline and submit the completed form to the Registrar's Office. Fall 2024 Description: Law 267.4 is The Law & History Foundation Seminar for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Graduate Program at Berkeley Law. It is a reading and discussion seminar open to all JSP graduate students, Berkeley Law JD, LLM, and JSD students, and graduate students from other campus programs and other Bay Area institutions. This is a shared course with History and the Program in Critical Theory. Students from those departments should register in their department's course accordingly. As in previous years, Law 267.4 will explore the central themes of American legal development, while also investigating the way legal history has matured as a field of study or “discipline.” But we are living in interesting times, in which the varied exploitations of colonialism, racism, and capitalism have become the subject of intense public examination and argument. So the course will give explicit attention to the question of how history - as theory, as philosophy, as method, or simply as narrative - can help us understand the role that law has played, and plays, in the construction of our times. The course will concentrate on the legal history of the United States, but it will begin with a pointed glance at Early America, which will help to pose the question of how we should think about law as a phenomenon. In other words, what is “law”? Considered as a field of study, legal history is as much history as law, and history is primarily a discipline of the book. For this reason I have chosen to make Law 267.4 a course that focuses on books. We will read a wide selection of the field’s best work, ranging from classics that have structured the field, stirred controversy, and inspired generations of scholars (like James Willard Hurst’s *Law and the Conditions of Freedom* and Morton Horwitz’s *Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860*), to the best work of the current generation of field leaders (like Laura Edwards’ *The People and their Peace* and Michael Willrich's *City of Courts*), to notable recent work (like William Novak's *New Democracy* and Ken Kersch's *Conservatives and the Constitution*). We will accumulate considerable knowledge of the substance of American legal history, but we will also give close critical attention to the very different ways in which scholars have chosen to write the history of American law, and the very different subjects about which they have considered it appropriate to write). In the American law school curriculum, a legal history course is usually considered an "enrichment” or “perspective” elective because it does not offer instruction in doctrine or skills directly oriented to law practice. One might consider the absence of a clear instrumental function liberating. Law school is likely to be the last extended period in a budding lawyer’s life when they can explore general ideas about law, probe theories, think about large issues of justice or policy, and develop skills in research and analysis. In a legal history course, student and teacher are freed to enjoy the intellectual experience of reading and discussing intelligently-written material unconstrained by the necessity that it be directly “relevant” to, say, bar admission. Still, lack of direct relevance may not seem very sensible to students with crowded schedules. Why read all this stuff if it has no direct instrumental take-away? This is a sensible question, to which there are two answers. The first is the enrichment/perspective answer: to study the history of law is to study the culture and practice of one’s chosen profession. Historical knowledge supplies both “deep background” on what one is doing in the present, and also a fund of examples and parallels that help one understand why one is doing it. The second answer is that how one studies in a course like this can be of real practical benefit. Lawyers (particularly young lawyers) are required to assimilate large amounts of information efficiently, grasp the essentials, and analyze them. This course requires that you develop an ability to assimilate and analyze large quantities of information. Our emphasis will be on weekly discussions of common readings. Concretely, each week we will all read a book, in whole or in part. We will all come to class prepared and willing to talk about what we have read. To prime discussion, each class participant will circulate (via bCourses) brief and informal impressions/questions about the week’s reading to every other participant and to the instructor. For more detailed information on readings and assessment, see the course syllabus (on bCourses or obtainable from the instructor). *As the syllabus indicates, reading preparation for the first class meeting is required.* Students enroll in this course for 3 units. JSP students are required to take an additional 1 unit in conjunction with this course through enrolling in Law 602. The additional unit of credit requires additional work within the course framework. To enroll in Law 602, JSP students must complete an Add Form by the add deadline and submit the completed form to the Registrar's Office. Fall 2025 Description: Law 267.4 is The Law & History Foundation Seminar for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Graduate Program at Berkeley Law. It is a reading and discussion seminar open to all JSP graduate students, Berkeley Law JD, LLM, and JSD students, and graduate students from other campus programs and other Bay Area institutions. This is a shared seating course with History (280D) and the Program in Critical Theory (CT 290). Students from those departments should register in their department's course accordingly. Law 267.4 explores the central themes of American legal development, while also investigating the way legal history has matured as a field of study or “discipline.” But we are living in interesting times, in which the varied exploitations of colonialism, racism, and capitalism have become the subject of intense public examination and argument. So the course will give explicit attention to the question of how history - as theory, as philosophy, as method, or simply as narrative - can help us understand the role that law has played, and plays, in the construction of our times. The course will concentrate on the legal history of the United States from the early nineteenth century, with some attention to Early America, which will help to pose the question of how we should think about law as a phenomenon. Considered as a field of study, legal history is as much history as law, and history is primarily a discipline of the book. For this reason, Law 267.4 is a course that focuses on books. We will read a wide selection of the field’s best work, ranging from classics that have structured the field, stirred controversy, and inspired generations of scholars (like James Willard Hurst’s *Law and the Conditions of Freedom* and Morton Horwitz’s *Transformation of American Law*), to the best work of the current generation of field leaders (like Laura Edwards *The People and their Peace* and Michael Willrich *City of Courts*), to notable recent work (like William Novak's *New Democracy* and Kunal Parker *The Turn to Process*). We will accumulate considerable knowledge of the substance of American legal history, but we will also give close critical attention to the very different ways in which scholars have chosen to write the history of American law, and the very different subjects about which they have considered it appropriate to write). In the American law school curriculum, a legal history course is usually considered an "enrichment” or “perspective” elective because it does not offer instruction in doctrine or skills directly oriented to law practice. One might consider the absence of a clear instrumental function liberating. Law school is likely to be the last extended period in a budding lawyer’s life when they can explore general ideas about law, probe theories, think about large issues of justice or policy, and develop skills in research and analysis. In a legal history course, student and teacher are freed to enjoy the intellectual experience of reading and discussing intelligently-written material unconstrained by the necessity that it be directly “relevant” to, say, bar admission. Still, lack of direct relevance may not seem very sensible to students with crowded schedules. Why read all this stuff if it has no direct instrumental take-away? This is a sensible question, to which there are two answers. The first is the enrichment/perspective answer: to study the history of law is to study the culture and practice of one’s chosen profession. Historical knowledge supplies both “deep background” on what one is doing in the present, and also a fund of examples and parallels that help one understand why one is doing it. The second answer is that how one studies in a course like this can be of real practical benefit. Lawyers (particularly young lawyers) are required to assimilate large amounts of information efficiently, grasp the essentials, and analyze them. This course requires that you develop an ability to assimilate and analyze large quantities of information. Our emphasis will be on weekly discussions of common readings. Concretely, each week we will all read a book, in whole or in part. We will all come to class prepared and willing to talk about what we have read. To prime discussion, each class participant will circulate (via bCourses) brief and informal impressions/questions about the coming week’s reading to every other participant and to the instructor. For more detailed information on readings and assessment, see the course syllabus (on bCourses or obtainable from the instructor). *As the syllabus indicates, reading preparation for the first class meeting is required.* Students enroll in this course for 3 units. JSP students are required to take an additional 1 unit in conjunction with this course through enrolling in Law 602. The additional unit of credit requires additional work within the course framework. To enroll in Law 602, JSP students must complete an Add Form by the add deadline and submit the completed form to the Registrar's Office. |
| Law 267.51 Introduction to Roman Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will offer an introduction to Roman law focused on Roman legal institutions and ideas. As the root of most European legal systems, a study of Roman law provides insight into current structures. It offers comparisons to Anglo-American Common Law, which students will encounter in 1L classes. Readings will be drawn from a mix of primary and secondary sources. No knowledge of Roman law, Roman history, or Latin is assumed. This course will meet every other week for 7 sessions beginning Tuesday, August 18th. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2023 Description: This one unit course will offer an introduction to Roman law focused on Roman legal institutions and legal concepts in private and public law. A study of Roman law is valuable both because of its influence on civil and common law systems and for the comparison it offers to Anglo-American Common Law (i.e. Ownership and Possession, Torts, Contracts, Intellectual Property, Legal Status of Citizen and Aliens). Readings will be drawn from a mix of primary and secondary sources. No knowledge of Roman law, Roman history, or Latin and ancient Greek is assumed nor required. |
| Law 270.1 Environmental Law Practice Project Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Students in this course will complete a substantial environmental legal project on behalf of a client. Projects may involve litigation (such as submission of an amicus brief) or administrative practice (such as submission of comments on a rule proposed by a federal or state environmental agency). With supervision from the instructors, the students will research the relevant legal, policy, and factual background, draft sections of the relevant work product, and help produce the final work product. The course will provide students with an opportunity to be directly involved in the practice of environmental law. Practicum students must also enroll in the 2-unit practicum component - 274.5 Environmental Law Practicum. Students should expect a significant time commitment for the course. Students should have previously taken both Environmental Law and Policy and Administrative Law. (With permission from the instructors, students may take one or both of those courses concurrently with this course.) Students will be assigned to work on a project, though they will be able to express a preference. Students interested in the course must apply for admission by November 8. Applications are available by contacting Professor Biber at ebiber@law.berkeley.edu. Students will be notified by November 12 if they have been admitted to the course. After the deadline passes, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. Kevin Bundy is a partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP. He began his career at the firm in 2005, spent several years as a Senior Attorney and Climate Legal Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, and returned to the firm in 2018. Mr. Bundy primarily represents public interest clients in litigation and other matters involving the California Environmental Quality Act, local ballot measures, local land use law, and federal environmental statutes and regulation. He has argued cases before the California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia and Ninth Circuits, and he has represented clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, and California Public Utilities Commission. Seph Petta is a partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, where he has been practicing land use and environmental law since 2012. Seph represents local governments and community groups on a range of environmental and land use topics including housing, access to public lands, wildfire risk, CEQA, and real property exchanges. Seph currently serves as Assistant City Attorney to the City of Marina and General Counsel to the Mendocino City Community Services District and the Ladera Recreation District. |
| Law 270.4 A Just Transition to Clean Energy 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Berkeley Law offers a sequence of courses related to energy law, regulation, and policy. This course is intended to provide interested students with an introductory exposure to energy law and policy and to many of the professional paths available for those interested in energy law. Topics that may be covered during the course are an overview of energy sources, climate change and decarbonization goals and how policies like clean energy standards help achieve those goals, the role the government, utilities, and other stakeholders play, and considerations for a just and equitable clean energy transition. There will be a required written paper and no final exam. Janea A. Scott serves as the Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management at the U.S. Department of Interior. Scott previously served as the Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission, California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. She was lead Commissioner on the Electric Program Investment Charge program, the Natural Gas Research Program, the Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group, the clean transportation program, and collaboration within the western electrical grid. Prior to joining the Energy Commission, Scott worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Office of the Secretary as the Deputy Counselor for Renewable Energy and at Environmental Defense Fund as a senior attorney in the climate and air program. |
| Law 270.41 Fire Science, Law, and Policy 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: Fire is part of California’s history, present, and future. Fire was an integral part of California landscapes and ecosystems up until the early twentieth century, but has been largely absent for over a century, primarily because of human development and suppression of fires. Fires have now returned to California, causing social and economic disruption, creating severe air pollution problems, and threatening lives and property. This course will examine the law, science, and policy in California and the broader Western United States. It will provide a basic overview of the key scientific research on fire behavior, fire history, the impacts of fire on ecosystems and air quality, and the interaction of climate change with fire. It will provide an overview of the legal and policy structure that shapes how California responds to fire - including management of public and private forest lands, exurban development across the landscape, air quality laws, liability for the use of fire on lands, and the use of fire by Native communities. The course will be a shared seating course with the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Law students will engage with graduate students from that department, as well as guest lecturers who will bring a range of perspectives and training to the problem of fire in California. Students will prepare a research paper as their final assessment in the class. |
| Law 270.6 Energy Law and Policy 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This class covers the basics of energy law in the United States and California. Because of its connection to climate change, the energy system has become the focus of intense public attention and controversy. Energy law also implicates issues about equity, federalism, innovation, and market regulation. The course has a particular focus on our electric grid, public utilities and the regulation of various sources of generation. We will cover not just the law, but also the economic, technological, and policy context for the legal doctrine. Key topics include renewable energy, climate change concerns, energy independence and security, the price of electricity, and changes in energy demand. Students will gain an understanding of historical and current energy use, law and policy, and the regulatory and political environment in which electric utilities and other energy companies operate. Fall 2021 Description: This class covers the basics of energy law in the United States and California. The course has a particular focus on our electric grid, public utilities and the regulation of various sources of generation. We will cover not just the law, but also the economic, technological, and policy context for the legal doctrine. Key topics include renewable energy, climate change concerns, energy independence and security, the price of electricity, equity in access to electricity, and changes in energy demand. Students will gain an understanding of historical and current energy use, law and policy, and the regulatory and political environment in which electric utilities and other energy companies operate. Fall 2022 Description: This course teaches foundational principles in energy law and regulation. We will trace the history of modern energy production, transportation and distribution and explore regulation of those enterprises by state and federal courts, legislators and regulators. We will pay particular attention to the regulation of natural gas and electricity and the partial restructuring of those industries. The course will conclude with discussion of contemporary challenges for energy law and regulation. Spring 2024 Description: This course teaches foundational principles in energy law and regulation. We will trace the history of modern energy production, transportation and distribution and explore regulation of those enterprises by state and federal courts, legislators and regulators. We will pay particular attention to the regulation of natural gas and electricity and the partial restructuring of those industries. We will also discuss contemporary challenges for the energy system, including those related to climate change, energy justice, and the energy transition. Fall 2024 Description: This course teaches foundational principles in energy law and regulation. We will trace the history of modern energy production, transportation and distribution and explore regulation of those enterprises by state and federal courts, legislators and regulators. We will pay particular attention to the regulation of natural gas and electricity and the partial restructuring of those industries. We will also discuss contemporary challenges for the energy system, including those related to climate change, energy justice, and the energy transition. Fall 2025 Description: This course teaches foundational principles in energy law and regulation. We will trace the history of modern energy production, transportation, and distribution and explore regulation of those enterprises by state and federal courts, legislators, and regulators. We will pay particular attention to the regulation of natural gas and electricity and the partial restructuring of those industries. We will also discuss contemporary challenges for the energy system, including those related to climate change and the energy transition. |
| Law 270.65 Energy Project Development & Finance 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Please note this course follows Law's Academic Calendar and the first day of instruction is Wednesday, January 15, 2020. It is required all students attend the first class including students on the waitlist. This is an interdisciplinary course and we encourage interested graduate students from outside Berkeley Law to enroll. The course will follow the progression of the development and financing of an energy project. In addition to covering utility-scale energy generation, the course will address issues unique to the development and financing of other modern types of energy infrastructure, including distributed energy resources, energy storage, demand response, energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, biofuels, fuel cells, and portfolios of small projects. In the first half of the course we focus on energy project development, including federal and state energy regulatory and jurisdictional issues, site development, interconnection, offtake arrangements, project construction, operation and maintenance and disposition. In the second half of the course we will cover project financing, including corporate structuring, joint venturing, equity, debt and tax equity financing. The course addresses the theoretical foundations for risk allocation and project finance structures typically used in the energy and infrastructure industries, while also covering practical negotiation and contract drafting strategies for addressing business, transactional and legal issues that arise on energy projects. We will also discuss cutting edge energy industry developments and policy issues in the context of project development and finance. Students will complete the course with a fundamental understanding of how energy projects are developed and financed, and how the key regulatory and commercial forces affect the development of such projects, with a particular emphasis on the factors important to non-conventional energy projects. While the course focuses specifically development and finance of energy projects, students will acquire skills broadly useful to transactional legal practices in other industries that incorporate aspects of corporate law, commercial transactions, technology transactions, regulatory proceedings and financing transactions. The course is taught by Todd Glass and Scott Zimmermann, partners in the Energy and Infrastructure practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Spring 2021 Description: This is an interdisciplinary course and we encourage interested graduate students from outside Berkeley Law to enroll. The course will follow the progression of the development and financing of an energy project. In addition to covering utility-scale energy generation, the course will address issues unique to the development and financing of other modern types of energy infrastructure, including distributed energy resources, energy storage, demand response, energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, biofuels, fuel cells, and portfolios of small projects. In the first half of the course we focus on energy project development, including federal and state energy regulatory and jurisdictional issues, site development, interconnection, offtake arrangements, project construction, operation and maintenance and disposition. In the second half of the course we will cover project financing, including corporate structuring, joint venturing, equity, debt and tax equity financing. The course addresses the theoretical foundations for risk allocation and project finance structures typically used in the energy and infrastructure industries, while also covering practical negotiation and contract drafting strategies for addressing business, transactional and legal issues that arise on energy projects. We will also discuss cutting edge energy industry developments and policy issues in the context of project development and finance. Students will complete the course with a fundamental understanding of how energy projects are developed and financed, and how the key regulatory and commercial forces affect the development of such projects, with a particular emphasis on the factors important to non-conventional energy projects. While the course focuses specifically on development and finance of energy projects, students will acquire skills broadly useful to transactional legal practices in other industries that incorporate aspects of corporate law, commercial transactions, technology transactions, regulatory proceedings and financing transactions. The course is taught by Todd Glass and Scott Zimmermann, partners in the Energy and Infrastructure practice at Wilson Sonsini. Spring 2022 Description: This is an interdisciplinary course and we encourage interested graduate students from outside Berkeley Law to enroll. The course will follow the progression of the development and financing of an energy project. In addition to covering utility-scale energy generation, the course will address issues unique to the development and financing of other modern types of energy infrastructure, including distributed energy resources, energy storage, demand response, energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, biofuels, fuel cells, and portfolios of small projects. In the first half of the course we focus on energy project development, including federal and state energy regulatory and jurisdictional issues, site development, interconnection, offtake arrangements, project construction, operation and maintenance and disposition. In the second half of the course we will cover project financing, including corporate structuring, joint venturing, equity, debt and tax equity financing. The course addresses the theoretical foundations for risk allocation and project finance structures typically used in the energy and infrastructure industries, while also covering practical negotiation and contract drafting strategies for addressing business, transactional and legal issues that arise on energy projects. We will also discuss cutting edge energy industry developments and policy issues in the context of project development and finance. Students will complete the course with a fundamental understanding of how energy projects are developed and financed, and how the key regulatory and commercial forces affect the development of such projects, with a particular emphasis on the factors important to non-conventional energy projects. While the course focuses specifically on the development and finance of energy projects, students will acquire skills broadly useful to transactional legal practices in other industries that incorporate aspects of corporate law, commercial transactions, technology transactions, regulatory proceedings and financing transactions. The course is taught by Todd Glass and Scott Zimmermann, partners in the Energy and Infrastructure practice at Wilson Sonsini. Spring 2023 Description: The course will follow the progression of the development and financing of projects in the clean energy and decarbonization industries. In addition to covering utility-scale energy generation, the course will address issues unique to the development and financing of other modern types of clean energy and decarbonization infrastructure, including distributed energy resources, energy storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, green hydrogen, biofuels, hydro and fuel cells. In the first half of the course we focus on project development, including applicable federal and state energy regulatory and jurisdictional issues, site development, interconnection, offtake arrangements, project construction, operation and maintenance and disposition. In the second half of the course we will cover project financing, including secured debt, corporate structuring, joint venturing, equity, tax equity and government incentives. The course addresses the theory of risk allocation and project finance structures commonly employed, while also covering practical negotiation and contract drafting strategies for addressing business, transactional and legal issues that arise on energy projects. We will also discuss industry developments and policy issues that impact the clean energy and decarbonization industries. Students will complete the course with a fundamental understanding of how projects are developed and financed, and how the key regulatory and commercial forces affect the development of such projects, with a particular emphasis on the factors important to clean energy and decarbonization projects. While the course focuses specifically on the development and finance of projects, students will acquire skills broadly useful to transactional legal practices in other industries that incorporate aspects of corporate law, commercial transactions, technology transactions, regulatory proceedings and financing transactions. This is an interdisciplinary course and we encourage interested graduate students from outside Berkeley Law to enroll. The course is taught by Todd Glass and Scott Zimmermann, partners in the Energy & Climate Solutions practice at Wilson Sonsini. Spring 2024 Description: The course will follow the progression of the development and financing of projects in the clean energy and decarbonization industries. In addition to covering utility-scale energy generation, the course will address issues unique to the development and financing of other modern types of clean energy and decarbonization infrastructure, including distributed energy resources, energy storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, green hydrogen, biofuels, hydro and fuel cells. In the first half of the course we focus on project development, including applicable federal and state energy regulatory and jurisdictional issues, site development, interconnection, offtake arrangements, project construction, operation and maintenance and disposition. In the second half of the course we will cover project financing, including secured debt, corporate structuring, joint venturing, equity, tax equity and government incentives. The course addresses the theory of risk allocation in transactions and project finance structures commonly employed, while also covering practical negotiation and contract drafting strategies for addressing business, transactional and legal issues that arise on energy projects. We will also discuss industry developments and policy issues the impact the clean energy and decarbonization industries. Students will complete the course with a fundamental understanding of how projects are developed and financed, and how the key regulatory and commercial forces affect the development of such projects, with a particular emphasis on the factors important to clean energy and decarbonization projects. While the course focuses specifically development and finance of projects, students will acquire skills broadly useful to transactional legal practices in other industries that incorporate aspects of corporate law, commercial transactions, technology transactions, regulatory proceedings and financing transactions. The course is taught by Todd Glass and Scott Zimmermann, partners in the Energy & Climate Solutions practice at Wilson Sonsini. This is an interdisciplinary course and we encourage interested graduate students from outside Berkeley Law to enroll. Spring 2025 Description: The course will follow the progression of the development and financing of projects in the clean energy and decarbonization industries. In addition to covering utility-scale energy generation, the course will address issues unique to the development and financing of other modern types of clean energy and decarbonization infrastructure, including distributed energy resources, energy storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, green hydrogen, biofuels, hydro and carbon removal projects. In the first half of the course, we focus on project development, including applicable federal and state energy regulatory and jurisdictional issues, site development, interconnection, offtake arrangements, project construction, operation and maintenance and disposition. In the second half of the course, we will cover project financing, including secured debt, corporate structuring, joint venturing, equity, tax equity and government incentives. The course addresses the theory of risk allocation in transactions and project finance structures commonly employed, while also covering practical negotiation and contract drafting strategies for addressing business, transactional and legal issues that arise on energy projects. We will also discuss industry developments and policy issues that impact the clean energy and decarbonization industries. Students will complete the course with a fundamental understanding of how projects are developed and financed, and how the key regulatory and commercial forces affect the development of such projects, with a particular emphasis on the factors important to clean energy and decarbonization projects. While the course focuses specifically development and finance of projects, students will acquire skills broadly useful to transactional legal practices in other industries that incorporate aspects of corporate law, commercial transactions, technology transactions, regulatory proceedings and financing transactions. The course is taught by Todd Glass and Scott Zimmermann, partners in the Energy & Climate Solutions practice at Wilson Sonsini. This is an interdisciplinary course and we encourage interested graduate students from outside Berkeley Law to enroll. |
| Law 270.7 Renewable Energy Law and Policy 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Public policies seeking to transform energy systems to utilize more renewable forms of energy have created a highly dynamic and exciting body of law. The goal of the course is to gain sufficient familiarity with applicable statutes, regulations, regulatory agency decisions, and other technical or policy information to enable students to advocate effectively before regulatory agencies and legislative bodies on issues related to renewable energy. This is fundamentally an experiential learning course. Thus, the focus will be not only on understanding the legal foundations of renewable energy law but also developing the practical advocacy and drafting skills that are necessary to participate in regulatory forums as a lawyer. Students are expected to be already familiar with the basic physical and regulatory design of the U.S. energy system (through, e.g., having worked in the energy industry or taken other basic energy law or policy coursework), or to develop this familiarity independently through recommended reading. We will begin this course by considering renewable energy's specific role within the larger energy system, including gaining a high-level understanding of the entire renewable energy development process and the important role of transmission. Next, we will review dominant forms of renewable energy with a goal of understanding the relative advantages and drawbacks of each. The heart of the course will be an in-depth examination of various renewable energy promotion policy alternatives, including reviewing laws and regulations associated with each type of policy. These will include: Feed-in tariffs; renewable portfolio standards; auction mechanisms; community solar programs (solar community gardens); net energy metering programs; tax incentives; direct public subsidy programs; loan guarantee programs; research and development programs; and direct public procurement programs. Although case studies will predominantly focus on California, we will end this segment of the course with a comparative review of renewable energy policies adopted in selected other countries. Time permitting, the course will also cover: interconnection and grid integration issues associated with renewables; regulatory review of renewable power purchase agreements; environmental and social justice considerations with renewable energy; and biofuels. Student grades will be based upon participation in classroom discussion, performance in legal skill development exercises (e.g., mock hearings, workshops, brief/comment drafting, presentations, legislative drafting), and a final exam consisting of a take-home final. Students from other U.C. Berkeley graduate departments may apply to take this course with the instructor's permission. Note: Non-law students cannot be granted enrollment until the Law's Add/Drop deadline, which is two weeks after the start of class. Non-law students are required to attend the first class, unless the student has the instructor's prior permission not to attend. Non-Law students will not be enrolled in the course unless there are open seats available and no waitlist. Grady Mathai-Jackson has practiced within the fields of energy and environmental law since 2003. He has taught Renewable Energy Law and Policy and Introduction to Energy Law at Berkeley Law School, and he conducted independent comparative research on renewable energy integration policy in Germany in 2017. Mr. Mathai-Jackson currently represents Pacific Gas and Electric Company in regulatory proceedings, particularly those related to renewable energy and energy storage policy, legislation, planning, and compliance. Prior to PG&E, Mr. Mathai-Jackson practiced air pollution law for the United States Environmental Protection Agency - Region 9, was in private practice with Latham & Watkins LLP, and served as a Luce Scholar and visiting fellow at the Thailand Environment Institute. Spring 2021 Description: Public policies seeking to transform energy systems to utilize more renewable forms of energy have created a highly dynamic and exciting body of law. The goal of the course is to gain sufficient familiarity with applicable statutes, regulations, regulatory agency decisions, and other technical and policy information to enable students to advocate effectively before regulatory agencies (e.g., the California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and legislative bodies on issues related to renewable energy. This is fundamentally an experiential learning course. Thus, the focus will be not only on understanding the legal foundations of renewable energy law but also developing the practical advocacy and drafting skills that are necessary to participate in regulatory forums. Students are expected to be already familiar with the basic physical and regulatory design of the U.S. energy system (through, e.g., having worked in the energy industry or taken other basic energy law or policy coursework), or to develop this familiarity independently through recommended reading. We will begin this course by considering renewable energy's specific role within the larger energy system, including gaining a high-level understanding of the entire renewable energy development process and the important role of integration of renewable electricity generators into the larger electric grid. Next, we will review dominant forms of renewable energy with a goal of understanding the relative advantages and drawbacks of each. The heart of the course will be an in-depth examination of various renewable energy promotion policy alternatives, including reviewing laws and regulations associated with each type of policy. These will include: Feed-in tariffs; renewable portfolio standards; auction mechanisms; community solar programs (solar community gardens); net energy metering programs; tax incentives; direct public subsidy programs; loan guarantee programs; research and development programs; and direct public procurement programs. Although case studies will predominantly focus on California, we will end this segment of the course with a comparative review of renewable energy policies adopted in selected other countries and U.S. jurisdictions. Time permitting, the course will also cover: regulatory review of renewable power purchase agreements; environmental and social justice considerations associated with renewable energy; and biofuels. Student grades will be based upon participation in classroom discussion and exercises, performance in legal skill development exercises (e.g., mock hearings, workshops, brief/comment drafting, presentations, legislative drafting), and a final exam consisting of a take-home final. Students from other U.C. Berkeley graduate departments may apply to take this course with the instructor's permission. Note: Non-law students cannot be granted enrollment until the Law's Add/Drop deadline, which is two weeks after the start of class. Non-law students are required to attend the first class, unless the student has the instructor's prior permission not to attend. Non-Law students will not be enrolled in the course unless there are open seats available and no waitlist. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Grady Mathai-Jackson has practiced within the fields of energy and environmental law since 2003. He has taught Renewable Energy Law and Policy and Introduction to Energy Law at Berkeley Law School, and he conducted independent comparative research on renewable energy integration policy in Germany in 2017. Mr. Mathai-Jackson currently represents Pacific Gas and Electric Company in regulatory proceedings, particularly those related to microgrids, renewable energy, and energy storage. Prior to PG&E, Mr. Mathai-Jackson practiced air pollution law for the United States Environmental Protection Agency - Region 9, was in private practice with Latham & Watkins LLP, and served as a Luce Scholar and visiting fellow at the Thailand Environment Institute. Mr. Mathai-Jackson served as a law clerk to Judge (Ret.) Irma Gonzalez in the United State District Court for the Southern District of California. Mr. Mathai-Jackson currently serves as a Director of the Conference of California Public Utilities Counsel. Spring 2022 Description: The transition of our energy system from reliance on fossil fuels to renewables resources has created a highly dynamic and exciting body of law and policy, with California leading the way on the pace of deployment and clean energy innovation. The goal of the course is to gain sufficient familiarity with applicable statutes, regulations, technical and policy information to enable students to advocate effectively before regulatory agencies such as state Public Utilities Commissions on issues related to renewable energy. This is an experiential learning course. The focus will not only be on understanding the legal foundations of renewable energy law but also developing the practical advocacy and litigation skills necessary to participate in regulatory proceedings such as drafting discovery, cross examination of expert witnesses and ex parte meetings. Students are expected to be familiar with the basic physical and regulatory design of the U.S. energy system (through, e.g., having worked in the energy industry or taken other basic energy law or policy coursework), or to develop this familiarity independently through recommended reading (which students before or concurrent with taking the class). We will begin this course with a high-level overview of the clean energy landscape and the role of integration of renewable electricity generators into the larger electric grid and the respective roles of California energy agencies in the clean energy transition. Next, we will review dominant forms of renewable energy with a goal of understanding the relative advantages and drawbacks of each. The heart of the course will be an in-depth examination of various renewable energy promotion policy alternatives, including reviewing laws and regulations associated with each type of policy. These will include: renewable portfolio standards; net energy metering programs; integrated resource plans and renewable auction mechanisms, voluntary and corporate renewable programs and their environmental integrity. The course will also explore current debates on the role of renewable gas and hydrogen in decarbonization and environmental and social justice considerations associated with renewable energy access and deployment. Student grades will be based upon participation in classroom discussion and exercises; performance in legal skill development exercises; and a take-home final exam. Students from other U.C. Berkeley graduate departments may apply to take this course with the instructor's permission. Note: Non-law students cannot be granted enrollment until the Law's Add/Drop deadline, which is two weeks after the start of class. Non-law students are required to attend the first class, unless the student has the instructor's prior permission not to attend. Non-Law students will not be enrolled in the course unless there are open seats available and no waitlist. Matt Vespa is a senior clean energy attorney at Earthjustice where he primarily practices before the California Public Utilities Commission on environmental matters such as rooftop solar policy, building electrification, opposing new proposed gas plants and pipelines and exposing gas utility obstruction of climate progress. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Matt worked on clean energy-related advocacy at the Sierra Club and at the Center for Biological Diversity where he developed the law and policy related to the analysis of greenhouse gas impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). Matt also served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York for the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis. Matt holds a law degree from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, where he was elected Order of the Coif, a master's in conservation biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's in biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Matt was a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay and the recipient of the 2016 Environmental Leadership Award from the Ecology Law Quarterly at U.C. Berkeley School of Law. Spring 2023 Description: The transition of our energy system from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable resources has created a highly dynamic and exciting body of law and policy, with California leading the way on the pace of deployment and clean energy innovation. The goal of the course is to gain sufficient familiarity with applicable statutes, regulations, technical and policy information, as well as experience in the to enable students to advocate effectively before regulatory agencies such as state Public Utilities Commissions on issues related to renewable energy and electrification of fossil-fueled end uses such as gas appliances and combustion vehicles. This is an experiential learning course. The focus will not only be on understanding the legal foundations of renewable energy law but also developing the practical advocacy and litigation skills necessary to participate in regulatory proceedings such as drafting discovery, cross examination of expert witnesses and ex parte meetings. Students are expected to be familiar with the basic physical and regulatory design of the U.S. energy system (through, e.g., having worked in the energy industry or taken other basic energy law or policy coursework), or to develop this familiarity independently through recommended reading (which students can complete before or concurrently with taking the class). We will begin this course with a high-level overview of the clean energy landscape and the role of integration of renewable electricity generators into the larger electric grid and the respective roles of California energy agencies in the clean energy transition. Next, we will review dominant forms of renewable energy with a goal of understanding the relative advantages and drawbacks of each. The heart of the course will be an in-depth examination of various renewable energy promotion policy alternatives, including reviewing laws and regulations associated with each type of policy. These will include: renewable portfolio standards; net energy metering programs; integrated resource plans and voluntary and corporate renewable programs and their environmental integrity. The course will also explore current debates on the role of renewable gas and hydrogen in decarbonization and environmental and social justice considerations associated with renewable energy access and deployment. Student grades will be based upon participation in classroom discussion and exercises; performance in legal skill development exercises; and a take-home final exam. Matt Vespa is a senior clean energy attorney at Earthjustice where he primarily practices before the California Public Utilities Commission on environmental matters such as rooftop solar policy, building electrification, opposing new proposed gas plants and pipelines and exposing gas utility obstruction of climate progress. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Matt worked on clean energy-related advocacy at the Sierra Club and at the Center for Biological Diversity where he developed the law and policy related to the analysis of greenhouse gas impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). Matt also served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York for the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis. Matt holds a law degree from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, where he was elected Order of the Coif, a master's in conservation biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's in biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Matt was a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay and the recipient of the 2016 Environmental Leadership Award from the Ecology Law Quarterly at U.C. Berkeley School of Law. Spring 2025 Description: The transition of our energy system from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable resources has created a dynamic body of law and policy, with California leading the way in clean energy deployment and innovation. In this course, students will become familiar with key clean energy laws and policies and gain practical experience in advocating before implementing agencies such as state Public Utilities Commissions. The course begins with a high-level overview of the clean energy landscape and the respective roles of California energy agencies in the clean energy transition. Next, we review different types of renewable energy resources and their relative advantages and limitations. From there, we proceed to an in-depth examination of laws and policies governing clean energy deployment such as renewable portfolio standards, compensation for rooftop solar, electric system resource planning, as well as emerging issues such as the production and use of hydrogen and “renewable” natural gas. As an experiential learning course, following review of the fundamentals of a specific policy, students will represent parties advocating for specific outcomes through exercises that include cross-examination of expert witnesses and ex parte meetings with decision-makers. Student grades will be based upon participation in classroom discussion and exercises; performance in legal skill development exercises; and a take-home final exam. Matt Vespa is a Senior Attorney in the Clean Energy Program at Earthjustice. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Matt worked on clean energy-related advocacy at the Sierra Club. Matt also served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York for the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis. Matt holds a law degree from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, where he was elected Order of the Coif, a master's in conservation biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's in biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Matt was a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay and the recipient of the 2016 Environmental Leadership Award from the Ecology Law Quarterly at U.C. Berkeley School of Law. |
| Law 270.72 Pathways to Carbon Neutrality 2 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: To avoid severe harm from climate change, society will need to drastically reduce emissions in the next few decades, and to limit global warming to well below two degrees, countries need to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. Subnational governments - states/provinces and cities -- are setting up their policies and targets towards this target. Examples include California's 2045 Carbon Neutrality Pathway and Shanghai’s 2025 carbon emission peaking plan. These pioneering efforts will ultimately need to be replicated at a much larger scale. This interdisciplinary workshop will explore the policy and legal challenges facing these plans. The instructors and outside speakers will address the economic and technological unknowns that confront these plans, strategies and innovation for overcoming them. In both China and the U.S., subnational governments must work within the frame of constitutional structures and national legislation, raising federalism issues. In the United States, these issues take the form of preemption and dormant commerce clause limitations on state actions. In China, the relationship between national and local governments can also be complex. Apart from these federalism issues, speakers will also address the problems of designing the legal and regulatory mechanisms to achieve carbon reduction goals. Finally, the class will also consider emerging national efforts in China and the U.S., as well as other major economies to achieve dramatic emissions limitations. Spring 2023 Description: To avoid severe harm from climate change, society will need to drastically reduce emissions in the next few decades, and to limit global warming to well below two degrees, countries need to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. Subnational governments - states/provinces and cities -- are setting up their policies and targets towards this target. Examples include California's 2045 Carbon Neutrality Pathway and Shanghai’s 2025 carbon emission peaking plan. These pioneering efforts will ultimately need to be replicated at a much larger scale. This interdisciplinary class will explore the policy and legal challenges facing these plans. The instructors and outside speakers will address the economic and technological unknowns that confront these plans, strategies and innovation for overcoming them. In both China and the U.S., subnational governments must work within the frame of constitutional structures and national legislation, raising federalism issues. Apart from these federalism issues, speakers will also address the problems of designing the legal and regulatory mechanisms to achieve carbon reduction goals. Finally, the class will also consider emerging national efforts in China and the U.S., as well as other major economies to achieve dramatic emissions limitations. Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 271 Environmental Law & Policy 4 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on challenges to using law to address threats to the environment and legal strategies to address environmental degradation, including the common law, “command-and-control” regulation, market-based instruments and information generation and disclosure. We will study many of the major federal environmental statutes - the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. We will also introduce cross-cutting issues such as risk regulation, environmental federalism, and environmental enforcement. Spring 2021 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, as well as the strategies to address environmental degradation, including the common law, “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information-gathering mechanisms. We will study many of the major federal environmental statutes - the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act - and the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled "American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70," American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; The Law of Hazardous Waste: CERCLA, RCRA and Common Law Claims; Evidence; Contracts for LLMs; and Remedies. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting Executive Director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was named a “John and Elizabeth Boalt Lecturer.” Fall 2021 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, as well as the strategies to address environmental degradation, including the common law, “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information-gathering mechanisms. We will study many of the major federal environmental statutes - the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act - and the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled "American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70," American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; The Law of Hazardous Waste: CERCLA, RCRA and Common Law Claims; Evidence; Contracts for LLMs; and Remedies. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting Executive Director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was named a “John and Elizabeth Boalt Lecturer.” Spring 2022 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on challenges to using law to address threats to the environment and legal strategies to address environmental degradation, including the common law, “command-and-control” regulation, market-based instruments and information generation and disclosure. We will study many of the major federal environmental statutes - the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. We will also introduce cross-cutting issues such as risk regulation, environmental federalism, and environmental enforcement. Fall 2022 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, and four approaches to address environmental degradation: a litigation model, so-called “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information dissemination mechanisms. We will study three major federal environmental statutes - the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act – to illustrate these approaches. We will also analyze the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Instructor Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Spring 2023 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, and four approaches to address environmental degradation: a litigation model, so-called “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information dissemination mechanisms. We will study three major federal environmental statutes - the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act – to illustrate these approaches. We will also analyze the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (V ol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Fall 2023 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, and four approaches to address environmental degradation: a litigation model, so-called “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information dissemination mechanisms. We will study three major federal environmental statutes - the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act – to illustrate these approaches. We will also analyze the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (V ol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; Remedies and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Spring 2024 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, and four approaches to address environmental degradation: a litigation model, so-called “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information dissemination mechanisms. We will study three major federal environmental statutes - the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act – to illustrate these approaches. We will also analyze the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (V ol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; Remedies and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Fall 2024 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, as well as the strategies to address environmental degradation, including the common law, “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments, and information-gathering mechanisms. We will study many of the major federal environmental statutes−including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act cross-cutting issues such as environmental federalism and environmental justice. Spring 2025 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, and four approaches to address environmental degradation: a litigation model, so-called “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments and information dissemination mechanisms. We will study several major federal environmental statutes to illustrate these approaches. We will also analyze the controversies surrounding risk assessment, environmental federalism and enforcement. Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as the Clean Water Act and climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; Introduction to the Law of Hazardous Waste and Substances, and Remedies. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Fall 2025 Description: This introductory course will explore fundamental legal and policy issues in environmental law. We will focus on the challenges posed by threats to the environment, as well as the strategies to address environmental degradation, including the common law, “command-and-control” regulation, market instruments, and information-gathering mechanisms. We will study many of the major federal environmental statutes−including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act - as well as cross-cutting issues such as federalism and environmental justice. |
| Law 271.2 Biodiversity Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This class provides an overview of biodiversity protection law and policy. We will discuss the history of wildlife law, the US Endangered Species Act (and state analogues), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Convention on Biological Diversity and, time permitting, other provisions such as the Clean Water Act's wetlands protection provision and the conservation requirements of the Magnuson Act (the US fishing regulation law). Along the way, we will consider the goals of biodiversity protection; US constitutional limits; procedural choices; the role of science and economics; the use of market-based incentives; climate change and prioritization; and the emerging rights of nature movement. Students will have the option of taking a final exam or writing a paper that satisfies the writing requirement. |
| Law 271.4 Environmental Transactional Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Environmental issues often play a critical role in business and corporate transactions. This class provides practical skills development focusing on the environmental aspects of business and corporate transactions, with a core emphasis on identification, management, and allocation of environmental liability risks across many industries. The class will use simulated assignments and activities throughout the semester so that class participants will have the opportunity to study legal principles and practical methods as they are embodied in the potential transactions of hypothetical clients. We will provide structured feedback to the students on their assignments and activities through the course of the semester. By the end of the semester, students will have developed a firm understanding of environmental transactional law, including the underlying legal concepts, common issues, and real-world skills central to its practice. The course will take the law students through one entire transactional experience (in the context of a single real-world transaction), from the initial outset of the transaction to post-closing considerations. The course will include the following practice-based activities: (i) the essential methodology for conducting due diligence to identify environmental liabilities; (ii) providing legal advice to clients; (iii) best practices in reviewing, negotiating, and drafting transactional documents for environmental matters; (iv) retaining and working with expert consultants; (v) use of various risk-management tools; and (vi) addressing post-closing and other special considerations. Our goal is to offer a practice-oriented, experiential-based law course that will be different from environmental or business law courses that are currently offered. Students will be given short written assignments and exercises throughout the semester, focused on skills that are developed during class sessions, and are expected to attend and contribute to in-class lectures, discussions, and practical exercises. Students will be evaluated on the basis of in-class participation and the take-home assignments and exercises. Spring 2023 Description: Environmental issues often play a critical role in business and corporate transactions. Our course on Environmental Transactional Law provides practical skills development focusing on the environmental aspects of business and corporate transactions, with a core emphasis on identification, management, and allocation of environmental liability risks across many industries. The class will use simulated assignments and activities throughout the semester so that class participants will have the opportunity to study legal principles and practical methods as they are embodied in the potential transactions of hypothetical clients. We will provide structured feedback to the students on their assignments and activities through the course of the semester. By the end of the semester, students will have developed a firm understanding of environmental transactional law, including the underlying legal concepts, common issues, and real-world skills central to its practice. The course will take the law students through one entire transactional experience (in the context of a single real-world transaction), from the initial outset of the transaction to post-closing considerations. The course will include the following practice-based activities: (i) the essential methodology for conducting due diligence to identify environmental liabilities; (ii) providing legal advice to clients; (iii) best practices in reviewing, negotiating, and drafting transactional documents for environmental matters; (iv) retaining and working with expert consultants; (v) use of various risk-management tools; and (vi) addressing post-closing and other special considerations. Our goal is to offer a practice-oriented, experiential-based law course that will be different from environmental or business law courses that are currently offered. Students will be given seven written and/or verbal assignments throughout the semester, focused on skills that are developed during class sessions, and are expected to attend and contribute to in-class lectures, discussions, and practical exercises. Students will be evaluated on the basis of in-class participation (including in-class exercises) and the take-home assignments. Spring 2024 Description: Environmental issues often play a critical role in business and corporate transactions. Our course on Environmental Transactional Law provides practical skills development focusing on the environmental aspects of business and corporate transactions, with a core emphasis on identification, management, and allocation of environmental liability risks across many industries. The class will use simulated assignments and activities throughout the semester so that class participants will have the opportunity to study legal principles and practical methods as they are embodied in the potential transactions of hypothetical clients. We will provide structured feedback to the students on their assignments and activities through the course of the semester. By the end of the semester, students will have developed a firm understanding of environmental transactional law, including the underlying legal concepts, common issues, and real-world skills central to its practice. The course will take the law students through one entire transactional experience (in the context of a single real-world transaction), from the initial outset of the transaction to post-closing considerations. The course will include the following practice-based activities: (i) the essential methodology for conducting due diligence to identify environmental liabilities; (ii) providing legal advice to clients; (iii) best practices in reviewing, negotiating, and drafting transactional documents for environmental matters; (iv) retaining and working with expert consultants; (v) use of various risk-management tools; and (vi) addressing post-closing and other special considerations. Our goal is to offer a practice-oriented, experiential-based law course that will be different from environmental or business law courses that are currently offered. Students will be given five written and/or verbal assignments throughout the semester, focused on skills that are developed during class sessions, and are expected to attend and contribute to in-class lectures, discussions, and practical exercises. Students will be evaluated on the basis of in-class participation (including in-class exercises) and the take-home assignments. Spring 2025 Description: Environmental issues often play a critical role in business and corporate transactions. Our course on Environmental Transactional Law provides practical skills development focusing on the environmental aspects of business and corporate transactions, with a core emphasis on identification, management, and allocation of environmental liability risks across many industries. The class uses simulated assignments and activities throughout the semester so that class participants have the opportunity to study legal principles and practical methods as they are embodied in the potential transactions of hypothetical clients. We will provide structured feedback to the students on their assignments and activities throughout the semester. By the end of the semester, students will have developed a firm understanding of environmental transactional law, including the underlying legal concepts, common issues, and real-world skills central to its practice. The course will take the law students through one entire transactional experience (in the context of a single real-world transaction), from the initial outset of the transaction to post-closing considerations. The course will include the following practice-based activities: (i) the essential methodology for conducting due diligence to identify environmental liabilities; (ii) providing legal advice to clients; (iii) best practices in reviewing, negotiating, and drafting transactional documents for environmental matters; (iv) retaining and working with expert consultants; (v) use of various risk-management tools; and (vi) addressing post-closing and other special considerations. Our goal is to offer a practice-oriented, experiential-based law course that will be different from environmental or business law courses that are currently offered. Students will be given four written and/or verbal assignments throughout the semester, focused on skills that are developed during class sessions, and are expected to attend and contribute to in-class lectures, discussions, and practical exercises. Students will be evaluated on the basis of in-class participation (including in-class exercises) and take-home assignments. |
| Law 271.5 Environmental Law Writing Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The Environmental Law Writing Seminar is designed for students who are interested in environmental, land use or natural resources law and want to contribute to legal scholarship. It offers an opportunity to produce comments and case notes about important opinions and other developments in the field for inclusion in the Ecology Law Quarterly’s renowned Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. Working with Professor Doremus and Mr. Infelise during the fall semester, and with an instructor and the ELQ editorial staff during the spring semester, students will improve their writing and research skills while helping to shape the development of the law. JD students will have the opportunity to bid for topics chosen by the instructors. LLM students will have the opportunity to write a comment on an important topic related to energy or environmental law, with the potential for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly’s online journal, Currents. Students interested in the course must apply for admission. Applications will be available through the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Because this class provides papers for ELQ's Annual Review, once enrolled students may not drop the course, must complete their paper, and must enroll in the spring semester. Fall 2021 Description: The Environmental Law Writing Seminar is designed for students who are interested in environmental, land use, or natural resources law and want to contribute to legal scholarship. It offers an opportunity to produce comments and case notes about important opinions and other developments in the field for inclusion in the Ecology Law Quarterly’s renowned Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. Working with Professors Farber and Infelise during the fall semester, and with an instructor and continuing work during the spring semester, students will improve their writing and research skills while helping to shape the development of the law. JD students will have the opportunity to bid for topics chosen by the instructors. LLM students will have the opportunity to write a comment on an important topic related to energy or environmental law, with the potential for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly’s online journal, Currents. Students interested in the course must apply for admission. Applications will be available through the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Because this class provides papers for ELQ's Annual Review, once enrolled students may not drop the course, must complete their paper, and must enroll in the spring semester. JD Applications are due Friday, April 23rd with decisions made the following week. LLM Applications are due July 16th. (This includes Spring 2021 start and Fall 2021 start LLMs). After these deadlines, late applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as space permits. You can find the application in the under the Supplemental File at the bottom of this page. Fall 2022 Description: The Environmental Law Writing Seminar is designed for students who are keenly interested in environmental, land use, natural resources law or energy law, and want to contribute to legal scholarship. It offers an opportunity to produce comments/case notes about important opinions and other developments in the field for inclusion in the Ecology Law Quarterly’s renowned Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. Working with Professor Doremus and Mr. Infelise during the fall semester, and with Mr. Infelise and the ELQ editorial staff during the spring semester, students will improve their writing and research skills while helping to shape the development of the law. J.D. students will bid for topics chosen by the instructors. LLM students will have the opportunity to write a comment on an important topic, with the potential for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly’s online journal, Currents. Students interested in the course must apply for admission. Applications will be available through the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Because this class provides papers for ELQ’s Annual Review, once J.D. students bid on topic, they may not drop the course, and must complete their paper. Students whose papers are accepted for publication for ELQ following the end of the fall semester must enroll in the spring semester Writing Seminar. J.D. applications will be due April 13. Students will be notified shortly thereafter if they have been admitted to the course. LLM applications will be due July 22. After these deadlines pass, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. Biography: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s San Francisco office and later served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise writes and speaks on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, as well as climate change. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). In addition to this course, Mr. Infelise teaches Environmental Law & Policy; the Environmental Law Writing Seminar; Climate Change and the Law; Pathways to Carbon Neutrality; and Evidence. He is the former chair of the Advisory Committee, as well as former acting executive director, of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. In 2002-2003, Mr. Infelise was the acting head of Berkeley Law’s environmental law program. In 2014, he was given an honorific title, and is now a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer. Mr. Infelise proudly serves as the faculty advisor to the Ecology Law Quarterly. Fall 2023 Description: The Environmental Law Writing Seminar is designed for students who are keenly interested in environmental, land use, natural resources law or energy law, and want to contribute to legal scholarship. It offers an opportunity to produce papers dealing with important opinions and other developments in the field for inclusion in the Ecology Law Quarterly’s Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. Working with Professor Doremus and Mr. Infelise during the fall semester, and with an instructor and the ELQ editorial staff during the spring semester, students will improve their writing and research skills while helping to shape the development of the law. J.D. students will bid for topics chosen by the instructors. LLM students will have the opportunity to write a comment on an important topic, with the potential for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly’s online journal, Currents. Students must have previously taken or be concurrently enrolled in Environmental Law and Policy. Students interested in the course must apply for admission. Applications will be available through the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Because this class provides papers for ELQ’s Annual Review, once J.D. students bid on topic, they may not drop the course, and must complete their paper. Students whose papers are accepted for publication for ELQ following the end of the fall semester must enroll in the spring semester Writing Seminar. J.D. applications will be due sometime in April. Students will be notified shortly thereafter if they have been admitted to the course. LLM applications will be due in July. (This includes spring 2023 start and fall 2023 start LLMs.) After these deadlines pass, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. Fall 2024 Description: The Environmental Law Writing Seminar is designed for students who are keenly interested in environmental, land use, natural resources law or energy law, and want to contribute to legal scholarship. It offers an opportunity to produce papers dealing with important opinions and other developments in the field. There is also the possibility for inclusion in the Ecology Law Quarterly’s Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law or ELQ's online journal (at the journal's discretion). Students will work on crafting their papers in the fall and will work on editing and polishing them in the spring. For students who wish to submit their paper for possible publication in ELQ's Annual Review or online journal, topics must either be chosen from a list generated by ELQ and the Professor or approved by ELQ and the Professor. During the process, students will improve their writing and research skills while helping to shape the development of the law. Students must have previously taken or be concurrently enrolled in Environmental Law and Policy or Energy Law and Policy. Students interested in the course must apply for admission. Applications will be available through the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. Because this class provides papers for ELQ’s Annual Review, once J.D. students select their topic, they may not drop the course and must complete their paper. Students whose papers are accepted for publication for ELQ following the end of the fall semester must enroll in the spring semester Writing Seminar. J.D. applications will be due on April 8th. Students will be notified by April 12th if they have been admitted to the course. LLM applications will be due July 15th, with a response by August 1st. After these deadlines pass, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. Fall 2025 Description: The Environmental Law Writing Seminar is designed for students who are keenly interested in environmental, land use, natural resources law, or energy law, and want to contribute to legal scholarship. It offers an opportunity to produce papers dealing with important opinions and other developments in the field for potential inclusion in the Ecology Law Quarterly’s Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. Students will work in the fall on developing a paper for submission to ELQ, and in the spring on refining that paper. Students will improve their writing and research skills while helping to shape the development of the law. J.D. students will bid for topics chosen by the instructor. LLM students will choose their own topic, in consultation with the instructor. Students must have previously taken or be concurrently enrolled in Environmental Law and Policy. Students interested in the course must apply for admission. Applications will be available through the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. The direct links can also be accessed here for J.D. students (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qW83ErPq_ePOsXTTV9dR1rXTV3pg1pqQnrYgLb0xRJ8/edit?usp=sharing) and here for LLM students (https://docs.google.com/document/d/14nX_olTjVz4j_JB2LH-2_P_HSp6mhphOMArxiL3VJ8M/edit?tab=t.0). Because this class provides papers for ELQ’s Annual Review, once J.D. students bid on a topic, they may not drop the course, and must complete their paper. Students whose papers are accepted for publication for ELQ following the end of the fall semester must enroll in the spring semester Writing Seminar. J.D. applications will be due April 11. Students will be notified by April 21 if they have been admitted to the course. LLM applications will be due July 15, with a response by August 1. After these deadlines pass, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. |
| Law 271.51 Environmental Law Writing Seminar II 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The spring Environmental Law Writing Seminar is only open to those students (i) who completed the fall Environmental Law Writing Seminar and (ii) whose papers were provisionally accepted by the Ecology Law Quarterly for inclusion in the upcoming Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Boalt Hall in 1980. Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox Castle & Nicholson, LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise has written for industry publications and spoken to real estate groups and lawyers on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, insurance for environmental claims and California’s Proposition 65. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar, the Workshop on Development and the Environment, Remedies and, from time to time, Environmental Law and Policy and The Law of Hazardous Waste. He formerly served as the acting executive director of the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. Spring 2021 Description: The spring Environmental Law Writing Seminar is only open to those students (i) who completed the fall Environmental Law Writing Seminar and (ii) whose papers were provisionally accepted by the Ecology Law Quarterly for inclusion in the upcoming Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Boalt Hall in 1980. Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox Castle & Nicholson, LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise has written for industry publications and spoken to real estate groups and lawyers on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, insurance for environmental claims and California’s Proposition 65. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar, the Workshop on Development and the Environment, Remedies and, from time to time, Environmental Law and Policy and The Law of Hazardous Waste. He formerly served as the acting executive director of the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. Spring 2022 Description: The spring Environmental Law Writing Seminar is only open to those students (i) who completed the fall Environmental Law Writing Seminar and (ii) whose papers were provisionally accepted by the Ecology Law Quarterly for inclusion in the upcoming Annual Review of Environmental and Natural Resource Law. INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY: Robert D. Infelise received his A.B. from Cal in 1977 and his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1980. Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Infelise joined the Los Angeles office of Cox Castle & Nicholson, LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms specializing in the real estate and financial services industries. Since the mid-1980’s, he has specialized in litigation involving soil and groundwater contamination. In 1998, Mr. Infelise helped found Cox Castle & Nicholson's San Francisco office and served as its managing partner. Mr. Infelise has written for industry publications and spoken to real estate groups and lawyers on issues involving soil and groundwater pollution, insurance for environmental claims and California’s Proposition 65. His scholarly work begins and ends with an article co-authored by Professor Robert A. Kagan entitled “American State Supreme Court Justices, 1900-70,” American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984 (Vol. 2, Spring). Mr. Infelise teaches the Environmental Law Writing Seminar, the Workshop on Development and the Environment, Remedies and, from time to time, Environmental Law and Policy, Climate Change and the Law and Pathways to Carbon Neutrality. He formerly served as the acting executive director of the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. Spring 2023 Description: This is a continuation of Law 271.5, Environmental Law Writing Seminar I. You must have been enrolled in that class in Fall 2022 and have permission of the instructor to enroll in this class. Over the course of this semester, you will work on a paper for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly. Spring 2024 Description: This is a continuation of Law 271.5, Environmental Law Writing Seminar I. You must have been enrolled in that class in Fall 2023 and have the permission of the instructor to enroll in this class. Over the course of this semester, you will work on a paper for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly. Spring 2025 Description: This is a continuation of Law 271.5, Environmental Law Writing Seminar I. You must have been enrolled in that class in Fall 2024 and have the permission of the instructor to enroll in this class. Over the course of this semester, you will work on a paper for publication in Ecology Law Quarterly. |
| Law 271.6 Science and Regulatory Policy 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This seminar will examine the use, misuse, and abuse of the scientific process and scientific information in regulatory decisions. Topics covered will include the role and limits of science, use of scientific information in the regulatory process, identifying and controlling improper political interference, and judicial review of science-laden agency decisions. Many examples will be drawn from environmental and natural resource regulation, but the course will range well beyond those topics. |
| Law 271.71 International Environmental Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is a seminar on the role of law in the management of international environmental issues. Students will benefit from but need not have taken courses in international law and or environmental law. The course will include a brief overview of public international law as it relates to the environment. Throughout the course, we will look at international environmental law “in context” - i.e., why (or whether) international environmental law matters in contemporary society. Participants in the course will study a range of environmental issues, legal sources and institutions. The course will cover substantial ground but will not attempt to treat every important aspect of international environmental law. There is too much happening in the field to cover it all meaningfully in a one-semester, two-unit seminar. We will explore a range of sources of international environmental law, including treaties, customary international law and case law. We will examine the protection of various environmental sectors, the regulation of environmentally harmful activities, climate change, and the relationship between international environmental law and other aspects of international law and policy. We will also take a step back to ponder the effectiveness of international environmental law as a means of influencing human conduct (individual, government and corporate) and protecting the environment. Students will examine substantive and procedural approaches to environmental protection. Grades will be based on two written assignments to be handed out during the semester, and classroom participation. The written assignments count for 2/3 of the grade; class participation counts for 1/3. Written assignments will be handed out in class, and generally will be due two weeks later. Spring 2021 Description: This course is a seminar on the role of law in the management of international environmental issues. Students will benefit from but need not have taken courses in international law and or environmental law. The course will include a brief overview of public international law as it relates to the environment. Throughout the course, we will look at international environmental law “in context” - i.e., why (or whether) international environmental law matters in contemporary society. Participants in the course will study a range of environmental issues, legal sources and institutions. The course will cover substantial ground but will not attempt to treat every important aspect of international environmental law. There is too much happening in the field to cover it all meaningfully in a one-semester, two-unit seminar. We will explore a range of sources of international environmental law, including treaties, customary international law and case law. We will examine the protection of various environmental sectors, the regulation of environmentally harmful activities, climate change, and the relationship between international environmental law and other aspects of international law and policy. We will also take a step back to ponder the effectiveness of international environmental law as a means of influencing human conduct (individual, government and corporate) and protecting the environment. Students will examine substantive and procedural approaches to environmental protection. Grades will be based on two written assignments to be handed out during the semester, and classroom participation. The written assignments count for 2/3 of the grade; class participation counts for 1/3. Written assignments will be handed out in class, and generally will be due two weeks later. Spring 2022 Description: This course is a seminar on the role of law in the management of international environmental issues. Students will benefit from but need not have taken courses in international law and or environmental law. The course will include a brief overview of public international law as it relates to the environment. Throughout the course, we will look at international environmental law “in context” - i.e., why (or whether) international environmental law matters in contemporary society. Participants in the course will study a range of environmental issues, legal sources and institutions. The course will cover substantial ground but will not attempt to treat every important aspect of international environmental law. There is too much happening in the field to cover it all meaningfully in a one-semester, two-unit seminar. We will explore a range of sources of international environmental law, including treaties, customary international law and case law. We will examine the protection of various environmental sectors, the regulation of environmentally harmful activities, climate change, and the relationship between international environmental law and other aspects of international law and policy. We will also take a step back to ponder the effectiveness of international environmental law as a means of influencing human conduct (individual, government and corporate) and protecting the environment. Students will examine substantive and procedural approaches to environmental protection. Grades will be based on two written assignments to be handed out during the semester, and classroom participation. The written assignments count for 2/3 of the grade; class participation counts for 1/3. Written assignments will be handed out in class, and generally will be due two weeks later. Spring 2023 Description: This course is a seminar on the role of law in the management of international environmental issues. Students will benefit from but need not have taken courses in international law and/or environmental law. The course will include a brief overview of public international law as it relates to the environment. Throughout the course, we will look at international environmental law “in context” - i.e., why (or whether) international environmental law matters in contemporary society. Participants in the course will study a range of environmental issues, legal sources and institutions. The course will cover substantial ground but will not attempt to treat every important aspect of international environmental law. There is too much happening in the field to cover it all meaningfully in a one-semester, two-unit seminar. We will explore a range of sources of international environmental law, including treaties, customary international law and case law. We will examine the protection of various environmental sectors, the regulation of environmentally harmful activities, climate change, and the relationship between international environmental law and other aspects of international law and policy. We will also take a step back to ponder the effectiveness of international environmental law as a means of influencing human conduct (individual, government and corporate) and protecting the environment. Students will examine substantive and procedural approaches to environmental protection. Grades will be based on two written assignments to be handed out during the semester, and classroom participation. The written assignments count for 2/3 of the grade; class participation counts for 1/3. Written assignments will be handed out in class, and generally will be due two weeks later. Spring 2024 Description: This course is a seminar on the role of law in the management of international environmental issues. Students will benefit from but need not have taken courses in international law and/or environmental law. The course will include a brief overview of public international law as it relates to the environment. Throughout the course, we will look at international environmental law “in context” -- i.e., why (or whether) international environmental law matters in contemporary society. Participants in the course will study a range of environmental issues, legal sources and institutions. The course will cover substantial ground but will not attempt to treat every important aspect of international environmental law. There is too much happening in the field to cover it all meaningfully in a one-semester, two-unit seminar. We will explore a range of sources of international environmental law, including treaties, customary international law and case law. We will examine the protection of various environmental sectors, the regulation of environmentally harmful activities, climate change, and the relationship between international environmental law and other aspects of international law and policy. We will also take a step back to ponder the effectiveness of international environmental law as a means of influencing human conduct (individual, government and corporate) and protecting the environment. Students will examine substantive and procedural approaches to environmental protection. Grades will be based on two written assignments to be handed out during the semester, and classroom participation. The written assignments count for 75% of the grade; class participation counts for 25%. Written assignments will be handed out in class, and generally will be due two weeks later. Spring 2025 Description: This course focuses on the role of law in the management of international environmental issues. Students will benefit from but need not have taken courses in international law and/or environmental law. The course will include a brief overview of public international law as it relates to the environment. Throughout the course, we will look at international environmental law “in context” -- i.e., why (or whether) international environmental law matters in contemporary society. Participants in the course will study a range of environmental issues, legal sources and institutions. The course will cover substantial ground but will not attempt to treat every important aspect of international environmental law. There is too much happening in the field to cover it all meaningfully in a one-semester, two-unit seminar. We will explore a range of sources of international environmental law, including treaties, customary international law and case law. We will examine the protection of various environmental sectors, the regulation of environmentally harmful activities, climate change, and the relationship between international environmental law and other aspects of international law and policy. We will also take a step back to ponder the effectiveness of international environmental law as a means of influencing human conduct (individual, government and corporate) and protecting the environment. Students will examine substantive and procedural approaches to environmental protection. Grades will be based on two written assignments to be handed out during the semester (and generally due two weeks later), and classroom participation. The written assignments count for 80% of the grade; class participation counts for 20%. |
| Law 272.1 Water Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Water is a unique resource for which the law has developed unique doctrines. This class will concentrate on the allocation of rights to divert water from natural waterways for human use, and regulatory limitations on those rights. We will cover the historical development and modern formulation of both the riparian water system typical of the eastern U.S. and the appropriative water rights system typical of the west. We will examine overlying and non-overlying groundwater rights, and the relationship of such groundwater rights to California's 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. A key theme explored in the class will be the tension between rights to divert surface waters out of stream and impound water instream (on the one hand) and rights to keep water flowing instream (on the other hand), with an examination of the sources of law (public trust doctrine, reasonable use doctrine, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act) that provide for adequate instream flows. The course will also consider the Law of the Colorado River, with a survey of sources of international law pertaining the allocation of the Colorado River between Mexico and the United States. The semester will close with an examination of the effects of climate change on water resources and water rights, and the relationship of water rights to constitutional provisions establishing the government's obligation to pay just compensation of the taking of property. Spring 2022 Description: Water is a unique resource for which the law has developed unique doctrines. This class will concentrate on the allocation of rights to divert water from natural waterways for human use, and regulatory limitations on those rights. We will cover the historical development and modern formulation of both the riparian system typical of the eastern U.S. and the appropriative rights system typical of the west. We will look at changes in water law over time, but also at the systematic pressures for stability. We will concentrate on surface resources and the state systems that play the primary role in water allocation, but will also look at groundwater regulation and a variety of federal limitations on state choices. We will cover resolution of interstate water conflicts, operation of federal water projects, the relationship between water quality and water allocation, and water marketing as a mechanism for reallocation. We will close the semester with a discussion of the effects of climate change on water resources in the U.S., with some emphasis on California, and the ability of the legal system to adequately respond. Spring 2024 Description: Water is a unique resource for which the law has developed unique doctrines. This class will concentrate on the allocation of rights to divert water from natural waterways for human use, and regulatory limitations on those rights. We will cover the historical development and modern formulation of both the riparian system typical of the eastern U.S. and the appropriative rights system typical of the west. We will look at changes in water law over time, but also at the systematic pressures for stability. We will concentrate on surface resources and the state systems that play the primary role in water allocation, but will also look at groundwater regulation and a variety of federal limitations on state choices. We will cover resolution of interstate water conflicts, operation of federal water projects, the relationship between water quality and water allocation, and water marketing as a mechanism for reallocation. We will close the semester with a discussion of the effects of climate change on water resources in the U.S., with some emphasis on California, and the ability of the legal system to adequately respond. |
| Law 272.2 Environmental Justice: Race, Class, and the Environment 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Environmental justice describes a social and political movement to seek greater equity in the distribution of environmental harms and benefits in our society, and in particular, to address the disproportionate impact of pollution on low-income communities of color. This course explores the intersection between traditional environmental law and civil rights; how decision-making affects not only our natural environment but also our lived environment. The course will provide an overview of traditional and emerging environmental justice topics, and the innovative methods practitioners are using to address systemic environmental inequalities. Fall 2021 Description: Environmental justice describes a social and political movement to seek greater equity in the distribution of environmental harms and benefits in our society, and in particular, to address the disproportionate impact of pollution on low-income communities of color. This course explores the intersection between traditional environmental law and civil rights; how decision-making affects not only our natural environment but also our lived environment. The course will provide an overview of traditional and emerging environmental justice topics, and the innovative methods practitioners are using to address systemic environmental inequalities. Spring 2023 Description: Environmental justice describes a social and political movement to seek greater equity in the distribution of environmental harms and benefits in our society, and in particular, to address the disproportionate impact of pollution on low-income communities of color. This course explores the intersection between traditional environmental law and civil rights; how decision-making affects not only our natural environment but also our lived environment. The course will provide an overview of traditional and emerging environmental justice topics, and the innovative methods practitioners are using to address systemic environmental inequalities. Instructor bios: Michelle Ghafar is a senior attorney with Earthjustice’s California regional office in San Francisco. Her work focuses on challenging state and federal oil and gas projects and advocating for clean energy. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Michelle served as a public service fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, where she staffed the Second Chance Reentry Legal Clinic. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Law, where she completed both the Epstein Public Interest Law & Policy Program as well as the Critical Race Studies Specialization. Chelsea Tu Chelsea is the executive director of Monterey Waterkeeper. Previously, Chelsea worked as a senior attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, where she advocated for sustainable land use and infrastructure investments in low-income communities of color in the San Joaquin Valley. Chelsea also led climate justice advocacy at Public Advocates, and worked to protect freshwater resources, curb sprawl, and reduce toxins and pesticides at the Center for Biological Diversity. Fall 2024 Description: Environmental justice describes a social and political movement to seek greater equity in the distribution of environmental harms and benefits in our society and, in particular, to address the disproportionate impacts of pollution on low-income communities and communities of color. This course explores the intersection between traditional environmental law and civil rights, and how decision-making affects not only our natural environment but also our lived environment. The course will provide an overview of traditional and emerging environmental justice topics, examine the innovative methods practitioners are using to address systemic environmental inequalities, and help students develop practical advocacy and litigation skills needed for environmental justice attorneys in California. Instructor Bios: Michelle Ghafar is a senior attorney with Earthjustice. Based in San Francisco, Michelle works on oil and gas, clean air, and clean energy issues. She litigates cases in state and federal court, in addition to handling advocacy before state and local agencies. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Michelle provided reentry legal services at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Law, where she completed the Epstein Public Interest Law and Policy Program and the Critical Race Studies Specialization. She is admitted to practice in California. Chelsea Tu is the executive director of Monterey Waterkeeper. Previously, Chelsea worked as a senior attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, where she advocated for sustainable land use and infrastructure investments in low-income communities of color in the San Joaquin Valley. Chelsea also led climate justice advocacy at Public Advocates, and worked to protect freshwater resources, curb sprawl, and reduce toxins and pesticides at the Center for Biological Diversity. Fall 2025 Description: Environmental justice describes a social and political movement to seek greater equity in the distribution of environmental harms and benefits in our society and, in particular, to address the disproportionate impacts of pollution on low-income communities and communities of color. This course explores the intersection between traditional environmental law and civil rights, and how decision-making affects not only our natural environment but also our lived environment. The course will provide an overview of traditional and emerging environmental justice topics, examine the innovative methods practitioners are using to address systemic environmental inequalities, and help students develop practical advocacy and litigation skills needed for environmental justice attorneys in California. Instructor Bios: Michelle Ghafar is a senior attorney with Earthjustice. Based in San Francisco, Michelle works on oil and gas, clean air, and clean energy issues. She litigates cases in state and federal court, in addition to handling advocacy before state and local agencies. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Michelle provided reentry legal services at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Law, where she completed the Epstein Public Interest Law and Policy Program and the Critical Race Studies Specialization. She is admitted to practice in California. Chelsea Tu is the executive director of Monterey Waterkeeper. Previously, Chelsea worked as a senior attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, where she advocated for sustainable land use and infrastructure investments in low-income communities of color in the San Joaquin Valley. Chelsea also led climate justice advocacy at Public Advocates, and worked to protect freshwater resources, curb sprawl, and reduce toxins and pesticides at the Center for Biological Diversity. |
| Law 272.2A Environmental Justice in Practice 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is designed to introduce students to environmental justice as a social movement to improve the conditions of vulnerable communities in their lived environments. The course will primarily focus on practical environmental concepts by using case studies to investigate racial and economic disparities in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. The course will engage students in activities that will help them develop practical tools, which they can apply broadly across other social movements and areas of legal practice. Spring 2022 Description: This course is designed to introduce students to environmental justice as a social movement to improve the conditions of vulnerable communities in their lived environments. The course will primarily focus on practical environmental concepts by using case studies to investigate racial and economic disparities in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. The course will engage students in activities that will help them develop practical tools, which they can apply broadly across other social movements and areas of legal practice. Suma Peesapati is the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's inaugural Environmental Justice and Community Engagement Officer. Before that, she was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019 to serve as Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency. She has more than twenty years of experience practicing law in the private, nonprofit and public sectors, specializing in environmental law and environmental justice. Veronica Eady is Senior Deputy Executive Officer for Policy and Equity at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, where is responsible for all policy and equity work. She has held several teaching positions, including at Stanford Law School, Fordham Law School, and Vermont Law School. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California, and her law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law. Spring 2023 Description: Introduction to the field of environmental justice. This course will cover the origins and history of the Environmental Justice movement; Environmental Justice’s distinctive approach to lawyering, with an emphasis on building power rather than winning cases; and an introduction to important topics in environmental justice, including siting of locally unwanted land uses; community-based research; the connections between Environmental Justice and the planning and public health professions; and global climate change. Guest speakers will be invited when available and appropriate. Spring 2024 Description: Introduction to the field of environmental justice. This course will cover the origins and history of the Environmental Justice movement; Environmental Justice’s distinctive approach to lawyering, with an emphasis on building power rather than winning cases; and an introduction to important topics in environmental justice, including siting of locally unwanted land uses; community-based research; the connections between Environmental Justice and the planning and public health professions; and global climate change. Guest speakers will be invited when available and appropriate. |
| Law 272.3 Climate Change and the Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: The U.S. is only beginning to acknowledge and confront what will likely be the 21st Century’s greatest environmental challenges, mitigating the human contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of global warming. If we are going to effectively face these challenges, every level of government will have to develop policies and strategies that will change much about the way we currently live. A single semester does not provide enough time to even touch upon the range of issues raised by global warming. So this course will instead largely focus on pivotal developments in three clusters - mitigation, adaptation and environmental justice: Mitigation: EPA’s evolving regulatory authority since Massachusetts v. EPA, including the potential for the 2015 Paris Agreement to expand EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; and the efficacy of California’s cap-and-trade program. Adaptation: Water scarcity and rights; the effect of sea level rise on property rights, including “rolling” beach easements, beach re-nourishment, managed retreat and removal requirements. Environmental Justice: Food insecurity; natural disasters; and the distributional inequalities in cap-and-trade regimes. Spring 2022 Description: The U.S. is only beginning to acknowledge and confront what will likely be the 21st Century’s greatest environmental challenges, mitigating the human contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of global warming. If we are going to effectively face these challenges, every level of government will have to develop policies and strategies that will change much about the way we currently live. A single semester does not provide enough time to even touch upon the range of issues raised by global warming. So this course will instead largely focus on pivotal developments in three clusters - mitigation, adaptation and environmental justice: Mitigation: EPA’s evolving regulatory authority since Massachusetts v. EPA, including the potential for the 2015 Paris Agreement to expand EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; and the efficacy of California’s cap-and-trade program. Adaptation: Water scarcity and rights; the effect of sea level rise on property rights, including “rolling” beach easements, beach renourishment, managed retreat and removal requirements. Environmental Justice: Food insecurity; natural disasters; and the distributional inequalities in cap-and-trade regimes. Spring 2023 Description: We stand at a pivotal time in the effort to confront climate change. Emissions reduction must move rapidly if we are going to keep changes in climate manageable. Congress has recently provided billions of dollars in funding to accelerate the transition away from the carbon economy; EPA is issuing new regulations; and states like California have ambitious regulatory schemes. Meanwhile the clock is ticking. We are also beginning to see just how much harm global warming can cause. This class will provide a solid background on the law and policy of climate change. We begin with background on climate policy and climate justice, followed by a deep dive into federal and state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. We will then consider international efforts to reduce emissions, the challenges of adapting to the surge in extreme weather events and sea level rise; and the possibility of managing climate change through geo-engineering. Students will emerge with a broad understanding of the complex legal framework applying to the climate issue. The grade will be based on short papers on individual topics chosen by the students. Spring 2024 Description: The U.S. is only beginning to acknowledge and confront what will likely be the 21st Century’s greatest environmental challenges, mitigating the human contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of global warming. If we are going to effectively face these challenges, every level of government will have to develop policies and strategies that will change much about the way we currently live. A single semester does not provide enough time to even touch upon the range of issues raised by global warming. So this course will instead largely focus on pivotal developments in three clusters - mitigation, adaptation and environmental justice: Mitigation: EPA’s evolving regulatory authority since Massachusetts v. EPA, including the potential for the 2015 Paris Agreement to expand EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; and the efficacy of California’s cap-and-trade program. Adaptation: Water scarcity and rights; the effect of sea level rise on property rights, including “rolling” beach easements, beach renourishment, managed retreat and removal requirements. Environmental Justice: Food insecurity; natural disasters; and the distributional inequalities in cap-and-trade regimes. Spring 2025 Description: We stand at a pivotal time in the effort to confront climate change. This class will provide a solid background on the law and policy of climate change. The class covers federal and state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, international efforts to reduce emissions, adaptation to extreme weather events and sea level rise; and geo-engineering. Students will emerge with a broad understanding of the complex legal framework applying to the climate issue. The grade will be based on short papers on individual topics chosen by the students. Background on environmental issues is helpful but the course is also aimed at students who simply have a keen interest in the subject. |
| Law 272.31 The Supreme Court Confronts Climate Change 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: In 2007, the Supreme Court decided its first case relating to climate change. Massachusetts v. EPA was a historic ruling. It marked the first time a branch of the U.S. government official acknowledged the reality of climate change. The Court rejected the Bush Administration’s excuses for inaction and started the U.S. down the road to reduce emissions. In this seminar, we’ll try to understand this litigation: the historical context, the strategies of the environmental lawyers, the legal issues, and the dynamics within the Supreme Court. We’ll also look at how EPA responded to the decision under Presidents Obama and Trump, and where the future may lead. No background in environmental law is required. Students will be required to write two very short papers (3 pp. apiece) based on the readings and news stories. This course meets every other week for 7 sessions beginning on Thursday, August 20th. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: In 2007, the Supreme Court decided its first case relating to climate change. Massachusetts v. EPA was a historic ruling. It marked the first time a branch of the U.S. government official acknowledged the reality of climate change. The Court rejected the Bush Administration’s excuses for inaction and started the U.S. down the road to reduce emissions. In this seminar, we’ll try to understand this litigation: the historical context, the strategies of the environmental lawyers, the legal issues, and the dynamics within the Supreme Court. We’ll also look at how EPA responded to the decision under Presidents Obama and Trump, and where the future may lead. This course is designed for students who have not taken other environmental law courses, and no environmental background is required. Students will be required to write two very short papers (3 pp. apiece) based on the readings and current events. This course meets every other week for 7 sessions: January 25th, February 8th, February 22nd, March 8th, March 29th, April 12th and April 26th This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 272.32 The Common Law of Climate Change 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: A core societal challenge of our time is reducing and responding to global climate change caused by the accumulation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere. Climate change challenges the full range of societal institutions, including those of law. In the United States, there is as yet no comprehensive statutory framework for limiting GHG emissions or assigning responsibility for GHG-caused harms. This course will look at the role of the common law, the judge-made, primarily state-based doctrines that historically provided the earliest legal response to pollution, in GHG regulation and recovery for harm. We will cover the basics of climate change science; why climate change is a difficult problem for law to solve; the various tort (as opposed to statutory) theories that have been advanced; whether GHG tort cases belong in state or federal court, and why that matters; the evidence plaintiffs must produce; the remedies that may be available and how responsibility might be assigned; and why plaintiffs might choose to pursue lawsuits even if the chances of success are low. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 272.33 Environmental Health Law Through Film 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: Why do so many kids have asthma? Why is aggressive brain cancer becoming more common? Why do dangerous beauty products preferentially harm BIPOC women? Why is human fertility decreasing by 1% per year? Through the lens of environmental feature films and documentaries, this course will discuss the legal structures that under-protect our environmental health and that magnify health inequity. Films are likely to include The China Syndrome (nuclear reactor accidents), Erin Brokovitch (toxic air emissions), Dark Waters (contaminated drinking water), Not So Pretty HBO Max series (hazardous cosmetics and personal care products), and various Native American and other Indigenous shorts (addressing, for example, pollution impacts on wild rice harvests). The course will meet for a total of 7 classroom discussion sessions spaced throughout the semester. Outside of the seminar sessions, students will generally have the option to view films on their own through streaming services, or as a group in our regularly assigned classroom and time slot. The course will include at least one opportunity to interact with a movie's production crew to discuss the role of filmmaking in effecting social change. Grading will be based on completion of three short response papers. The pedagogical goal is for you to learn a lot about substantive environmental health issues and environmental law while also having fun and eating popcorn. Fall 2023 Description: Why do so many kids have asthma? Why is aggressive brain cancer becoming more common? Why do dangerous beauty products preferentially harm BIPOC women? Why is human fertility decreasing by 1% per year? Through the lens of environmental feature films and documentaries, this course will discuss the legal structures that under-protect our environmental health and that magnify health inequity. Films are likely to include Erin Brockovich (toxic air emissions), Dark Waters (contaminated drinking water), Into the Weeds (pesticide exposure); Gather (Native American food systems), The People v. Agent Orange (weaponization of toxics), and the HBO Max docu-series Not So Pretty (hazardous cosmetics and personal care products). The course will meet for a total of 7 classroom discussion sessions spaced throughout the semester. Outside of the seminar sessions, students will generally have the option to view films on their own through streaming services, or as a group in our regularly assigned classroom and time slot. The course will include opportunities to interact with some combination of issue experts/film participants/a film editor to discuss the role of film in effecting social change. Completion of three short response papers are required to receive credit. The pedagogical goal is for you to learn a lot about substantive environmental health issues and environmental law while also having fun and eating popcorn. |
| Law 272.34 The Law of Fire and Flood 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Wildfire season is burning longer and hotter, often in the western states, but sometimes in unexpected places. For example, the deadliest fires in modern U.S. history swept through Maui, Hawaii, in fall 2023, destroying thousands of homes and entire communities. At the same time, flooding has become a common event, even in desert places like Palm Springs, California, which received over half its annual rainfall during one storm in the fall of 2023. What do these two phenomena—fire and flood—have in common? Can lessons from one context inform the other? In this course, we will explore the law, science, history, and policy of fire and floods in the United States. We will ask how a variety of actors—including the federal government, corporations, private insurers, and individual actors—have amplified the harm from “natural” disasters, and how we can best formulate law and policy going forward. The course will be based on group discussion. Students will sign up for on-call panels to lead the conversation each week, supplemented by lectures by the instructor and possible guest speakers. The course will be taught by Christine A. Klein, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida Levin College of Law, who obtained her law degrees from Columbia University Law School (LL.M.) and the University of Colorado Law School (J.D.). Professor Klein began her career as a water rights litigator in the Colorado Office of the Attorney General, and specializes in natural resources law, water rights law, and property law. Her CV and biographical information are available here: https://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/christine-a-klein |
| Law 272.35 Case Studies in Environmental Litigation: Going to Court to Protect the Planet 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 273.1 Land Use Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course explores both doctrinal and pragmatic aspects of contemporary land use law and policy. Topics include land use planning and zoning, subdivision controls, vested property rights, development agreements, regulatory takings and exactions, environmental review, growth control, direct democracy, and climate change. The course will be of interest to students interested in environmental topics, local government, and real estate. Jeffrey Hare is currently a sole practitioner with a broad background in real estate and land use law. Mr. Hare’s experience includes over twelve years working for various municipalities in Santa Clara County, primarily in the area of planning and land use. Mr. Hare’s current practice includes primarily real estate transactions and mediation, and is a licensed real estate broker. He has had extensive experience in matters involving zoning regulations, eminent domain, and CEQA litigation. In addition, Mr. Hare has handled cases involving special needs housing, homeless shelter projects, and redevelopment agency programs. In addition to teaching Local Government Law at Santa Clara University School of Law, Mr. Hare has been a panelist, presenter or committee member for numerous organizations such as the League of California Cities, the Real Property Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, and the Downtown Development Committee for the Rotary Club of San Jose. Spring 2021 Description: This course explores both doctrinal and policy aspects of contemporary land use law. Doctrinal topics include land use planning and zoning, subdivision controls, vested property rights, development agreements, environmental review, regulatory takings and exactions. Policy topics include the impacts of land use regulation on residential exclusion and segregation, the cost of housing, and climate change. The course will be of interest to students interested in environmental law, housing affordability, segregation, local government, and real estate. Spring 2022 Description: This course explores both doctrinal and policy aspects of contemporary land use law. Doctrinal topics include land use planning and zoning, subdivision controls, vested property rights, development agreements, environmental review, regulatory takings and exactions. Policy topics include the impacts of land use regulation on residential exclusion and segregation, the cost of housing, and climate change. The course will be of interest to students interested in environmental law, housing affordability, segregation, local government, and real estate. Andrew Schwartz is a partner at Shute, Mahaly and Weinberger. He has extensive experience litigating land use cases there, including serving as lead counsel in San Remo Hotel, L.P. v. City and County of San Francisco, 545 U.S. 323 (2005), holding that unsuccessful state-court takings claimants are not entitled to relitigate their claims in federal court, and San Remo Hotel, L.P. v. City and County of San Francisco, 27 Cal.4th 643 (2002), holding that legislative exactions are not subject to heightened judicial review. Prior to joining Shute, Mahaly and Weinberger, Andrew Schwartz spent 22 years in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, where he headed the Land Use & Environmental Litigation section. He has taught Land Use at Stanford Law School. Spring 2023 Description: This course explores both doctrinal and policy aspects of contemporary land use law. Doctrinal topics include land use planning and zoning, subdivision controls, vested property rights, development agreements, environmental review, regulatory takings and exactions. Policy topics include the impacts of land use regulation on residential exclusion and segregation, the cost of housing, and climate change. The course will be of interest to students interested in environmental law, housing affordability, segregation, local government, and real estate. Andrew Schwartz is a partner at Shute, Mahaly and Weinberger. He has extensive experience litigating land use cases there, including serving as lead counsel in San Remo Hotel, L.P. v. City and County of San Francisco, 545 U.S. 323 (2005), holding that unsuccessful state-court takings claimants are not entitled to relitigate their claims in federal court, and San Remo Hotel, L.P. v. City and County of San Francisco, 27 Cal.4th 643 (2002), holding that legislative exactions are not subject to heightened judicial review. Prior to joining Shute, Mahaly and Weinberger, Andrew Schwartz spent 22 years in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, where he headed the Land Use & Environmental Litigation section. He has taught Land Use at Stanford Law School. Spring 2025 Description: This course explores both doctrinal and policy aspects of contemporary land use law. Doctrinal topics include land use planning and zoning, subdivision controls, vested property rights, development agreements, environmental review, regulatory takings and exactions. Policy topics include the impacts of land use regulation on residential exclusion and segregation, the cost of housing, and climate change. The course will be of interest to students interested in environmental law, housing affordability, segregation, local government, and real estate. |
| Law 273.4 The Law of Hazardous Waste: CERCLA, RCRA and Common Law Claims 3 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: Environmental lawyers are frequently called upon to navigate clients through the myriad issues raised by contaminated soil and groundwater. Real estate transaction lawyers also confront these issues frequently. The good news is that there are federal laws – the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) – specifically designed to facilitate remediation and allocate liability for the associated costs. The bad news is that those federal laws have plenty of “quirks.” When these disputes boil over into the courtroom, outcomes often turn in part on tort law. This course will drill down on RCRA, CERCLA and the relevant common law claims, as well as strategies to achieve optimal outcomes. Students who complete the course should be able to contribute meaningfully to legal teams working on these issues. |
| Law 273.63 Public Lands and Natural Resources Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Forests are beautiful, but they are also essential to the production of the timber that we use to make paper and build houses. Oil and natural gas remain cornerstones of energy production in the United States, but their development can scar the landscape, destroy wildlife habitat, and contribute to climate change. Millions of acres of grasslands in the United States are devoted to cattle grazing, but at the possible cost of serious soil erosion. Mining for metals is essential to our economy, but requires massive disturbance of the land. We designate lands as parks and wilderness to protect natural values, but at what cost, for what purposes, and for whose benefit? How does the law manage these conflicting goals for the management of our natural resources? The answer to that question is particularly challenging in the United States where over 30% of the land is owned by the federal government, including much of the land most valuable for the economic production of natural resources and the protection of important environmental benefits. That percentage rises to over 50% in California, and much higher in other Western states. Accordingly, how the law manages natural resources in the United States involves questions of not just private property, but the design and management of public institutions. To help explore these questions, this course surveys the management of public and private natural resources, with a particular focus on management of federal lands such as National Forests, Bureau of Land Management lands, and National Parks. The course looks closely at the agencies that manage those public lands, and explores the role that courts and the legal system should play in supervising how those agencies manage the lands and the associated natural resources. We will cover a substantial amount of administrative law and its application to natural resources management. We will also talk about state and federal regulation of natural resources on private lands including oil and gas law. Statutes covered in detail include the National Forest Management Act, the General Mining Law of 1872, the Taylor Grazing Act, the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Antiquities Act, the Park Service Organic Act, and the Wilderness Act. The course will provide students an opportunity to work with and produce materials commonly used in administrative and environmental law practice, such as comments on proposed rules and environmental review documents. Spring 2023 Description: Nearly a third of the total land in the United States, and almost half of the eleven western States, is currently owned by the federal government. Management of these vast federal public lands and their enormous natural resources impacts all of us and will profoundly affect our collective capacity to stabilize the climate, redress colonial injustice, and preserve biodiversity in the 21st century. This course surveys the complex constitutional and statutory law governing federal public lands and natural resources. We will review the history of public land acquisition, disposition, and reservation, and we will look closely at the agencies responsible for administering federal lands today. We will cover a substantial amount of administrative law and its application to natural resources management, with a particular emphasis on the judiciary’s role in public land management. Statutes covered in detail include the National Forest Management Act, the General Mining Law of 1872, the Taylor Grazing Act, the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Antiquities Act, the Park Service Organic Act, and the Wilderness Act. Students will have an opportunity to work with and produce materials commonly used in administrative and environmental law practice, such as comments on proposed rules and environmental review documents. Greg Loarie is a senior attorney at the public interest environmental law firm Earthjustice, where he has had the opportunity to litigate cases involving nearly all the principal statutes governing federal public lands and natural resources. Fall 2024 Description: Nearly a third of the total land in the United States, and almost half of the eleven western States, is currently owned by the federal government. Management of these vast federal lands and their enormous natural resources impacts all of us and will profoundly affect our collective capacity to stabilize the climate, redress colonial injustice, and preserve biodiversity in the 21st century. This course surveys the complex constitutional and statutory law governing federal public lands and natural resources. We will review the history of federal land acquisition, disposition, and reservation, and we will look closely at the agencies responsible for administering federal lands today. We will cover a substantial amount of administrative law, with a particular emphasis on the judiciary’s role in federal land management. Substantive statutes covered in detail will include the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the National Forest Management Act, the Mineral Leasing Act and the Wilderness Act. Students will have an opportunity to work with materials commonly used in administrative and environmental law practice, such as comments on proposed rules and environmental review documents. Greg Loarie is a senior attorney at the public interest environmental law firm Earthjustice, where he has had the opportunity to litigate cases involving most of the principal statutes governing federal public lands and natural resources. |
| Law 273.72 Environmental Justice and Advocacy in California 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course will examine the meaning of environmental justice and how to achieve environmental equity. It will look at disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities in California, which are often low income and communities of color. The course will go into depth on key advocacy tools that can be utilized to make social change, including, but not limited to legislative & policy, capacity & coalition-building, and public participation. The course will spend a couple of sessions on state and local legislative processes. Students will hear from speakers operating in these spaces, from state and local elected officials, grassroots activists, and community-based organization outreach & engagement specialists. The class will cover community-centered lawyering skills and best practices in working on issues with these communities. Students will write periodic short response papers to some of the topics covered. This course will be one credit and will be held during the first seven weeks of the semester. Sabrina Ashjian is a Clinical Supervising Attorney in the Environmental Law Clinic. She has extensive experience in government and non-profit sectors, with a focus on regulatory law and legislative policy. She served as California Cannabis Control Appeals Panel Chairperson, after being appointed by Governor Brown. She was the California State Director for the Humane Society of the United States. Prior to that she was a public defender and environmental crimes & consumer fraud prosecutor. She serves on numerous non-profit boards in the spaces of women's advancement, access to justice, and environmental protection. Fall 2023 Description: This course will examine the meaning of environmental justice and how to achieve environmental equity. It will look at disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities in California, which are often low income and communities of color. The course will go into depth on key advocacy tools that can be utilized to make social change, including, but not limited to legislative & policy, capacity & coalition-building, and public participation. The course will spend a couple of sessions on state and local legislative processes. Students will hear from speakers operating in these spaces, from state and local elected officials, grassroots activists, and community-based organization outreach & engagement specialists. The class will cover community-centered lawyering skills and best practices in working on issues with these communities. Students will write periodic short response papers to some of the topics covered. This course will be one credit and will be held during the first seven weeks of the semester. Sabrina Ashjian is a Clinical Supervising Attorney in the Environmental Law Clinic. She has extensive experience in government and non-profit sectors, with a focus on regulatory law and legislative policy. She has been appointed by two governors to serve California; first by Governor Brown to the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel and most recently by Governor Newsom to the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board. She was the California State Director for the Humane Society of the United States. Prior to that she was a public defender and environmental crimes & consumer fraud prosecutor. She serves on numerous non-profit boards in the spaces of women's advancement, access to justice, and environmental protection. |
| Law 273.73 Environmental Justice & Health Equity 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course will examine the disparate health impacts on environmentally burdened communities, which are often low income and communities of color. It will cover what causes these health inequities, metrics for examining health outcomes, and how environmental practitioners can drive solutions to these issues. Students will be confronted with and discuss real issues impacting individuals in rural and urban areas of California including safe and affordable drinking water in the Central Valley, climate change extreme heat related health complications in underserved communities throughout the state, and toxic facility pollution in urban centers. The class will include guest lecturers to discuss their work on these issues. Students will write short response papers to some of the topics covered. This course will be one credit and will be held during the second seven weeks of the semester. Sabrina Ashjian is a Clinical Supervising Attorney in the Environmental Law Clinic. She has extensive experience in government and non-profit sectors, with a focus on regulatory law and legislative policy. She served as California Cannabis Control Appeals Panel Chairperson, after being appointed by Governor Brown. She was the California State Director for the Humane Society of the United States. Prior to that she was a public defender and environmental crimes & consumer fraud prosecutor. She serves on numerous non-profit boards in the spaces of women's advancement, access to justice, and environmental protection. Fall 2023 Description: This course will examine the disparate health impacts on environmentally burdened communities, which are often low income and communities of color. It will cover what causes these health inequities, metrics for examining health outcomes, and how environmental practitioners can drive solutions to these issues. Students will be confronted with and discuss real issues impacting individuals in rural and urban areas of California including safe and affordable drinking water in the Central Valley, climate change extreme heat related health complications in underserved communities throughout the state, and toxic facility pollution in urban centers. The class will include guest lecturers to discuss their work on these issues. Students will write short response papers to some of the topics covered. This course will be one credit and will be held during the second seven weeks of the semester. Sabrina Ashjian is a Clinical Supervising Attorney in the Environmental Law Clinic. She has extensive experience in government and non-profit sectors, with a focus on regulatory law and legislative policy. She has been appointed by two governors to serve California; first by Governor Brown to the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel and most recently by Governor Newsom to the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board. She was the California State Director for the Humane Society of the United States. Prior to that she was a public defender and environmental crimes & consumer fraud prosecutor. She serves on numerous non-profit boards in the spaces of women's advancement, access to justice, and environmental protection. |
| Law 273.74 California Climate Law and Policy 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: This course examines the legal and policy tools that have made California a global leader in addressing global climate change. The course will begin with California’s unique legal authority under the Clean Air Act which has enabled the state to lay the groundwork for its climate change laws and policies. We will look at the state’s legal framework, including Assembly Bill (AB) 32 and subsequent laws that establish economy-wide greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and laws that have established targets for the energy sector, land use, and other emission sources. We will also cover the state’s climate change assessment process, sectoral regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, market-based mechanisms, sustainable land use, environmental justice, and adaptation and resilience Louise Bedsworth is the Executive Director at the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) at Berkeley Law, where she also serves as a Senior Advisor to the California China Climate Institute. Before joining CLEE, she spent nearly a decade working for the State of California, most recently as the Executive Director of the Strategic Growth Council, a Cabinet-level State institution that brings together multiple agencies and departments to support sustainable communities emphasizing strong economies, social equity, and environmental stewardship. While with the State, Louise also served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Planning and Research in Governor Jerry Brown’s office. Louise has also held positions at the Public Policy Institute of California, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Redefining Progress, and the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis. Louise received a B.S. in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering and Ph.D. in Energy and Resources, both from the University of California at Berkeley. Cliff Rechtschaffen currently is a board member on the California Air Resources Board. He was a commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission from 2017-2023, where he was the lead on a number of key decarbonization and clean energy proceedings, and instrumental in the adoption of the CPUC’s Environmental and Social Justice Action Plan. He was a senior policy advisor on climate, energy and environmental issues for Governor Jerry Brown from 2011 to 2017, and Attorney General Brown from 2007 to 2010. From 1997 to 2003, he was a full time professor and director of the environmental law program at Golden Gate Law School. There he also co-founded and co-directed Golden Gate’s Environmental Law & Justice Clinic. He worked in the Environment Section of the California Attorney General’s Office from 1986 to 1993. He has authored or co-authored several books and numerous articles on environmental law and policy, including casebooks on environmental justice and environmental enforcement, and a guide to common law remedies for protecting the environment. |
| Law 274.5 Environmental Law Practice Project Field Component 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Students in this course will complete a substantial environmental legal project on behalf of a client. Projects may involve litigation (such as submission of an amicus brief) or administrative practice (such as submission of comments on a rule proposed by a federal or state environmental agency). With supervision from the instructors, the students will research the relevant legal, policy, and factual background, draft sections of the relevant work product, and help produce the final work product. The course will provide students with an opportunity to be directly involved in the practice of environmental law. Practicum students must also enroll in the two-unit classroom component - 270.1 Environmental Law Practicum Seminar... Students should expect a significant time commitment for the Practicum and Seminar. Students should have previously taken both Environmental Law and Policy and Administrative Law. (With permission from the instructors, students may take one or both of those courses concurrently with this course.) Students will be assigned to work on a project, though they will be able to express a preference. Students interested in the course must apply for admission by November 8. Applications are available by contacting Professor Biber at ebiber@law.berkeley.edu. Students will be notified by November 12 if they have been admitted to the course. After the deadline passes, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. Kevin Bundy is a partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP. He began his career at the firm in 2005, spent several years as a Senior Attorney and Climate Legal Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, and returned to the firm in 2018. Mr. Bundy primarily represents public interest clients in litigation and other matters involving the California Environmental Quality Act, local ballot measures, local land use law, and federal environmental statutes and regulation. He has argued cases before the California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia and Ninth Circuits, and he has represented clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, and California Public Utilities Commission. Seph Petta is a partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, where he has been practicing land use and environmental law since 2012. Seph represents local governments and community groups on a range of environmental and land use topics including housing, access to public lands, wildfire risk, CEQA, and real property exchanges. Seph currently serves as Assistant City Attorney to the City of Marina and General Counsel to the Mendocino City Community Services District and the Ladera Recreation District. |
| Law 274.7 Environmental Law Colloquium 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course will focus on cutting-edge issues in environmental and energy law scholarship (including natural resources, environmental justice, and land-use law), with students reading and commenting (in writing and in discussion) upon new and forthcoming articles by scholars here at Berkeley and elsewhere. The broad theme this semester will be Climate Change Adaptation. Most sessions will include presentations by the authors themselves. The workshop gives students an opportunity to interact with leading established and rising scholars in environmental and energy law, to explore key issues in environmental and energy law and policy with some of the sharpest thinkers in the country, and to gain exposure to some of the best environmental and energy law scholarship. The class should be of interest to students who are interested in legal academia in the field as well as to students who are interested in pursuing a role in environmental and energy policymaking or advocacy in their future career. Spring 2025 Description: This course will focus on cutting-edge issues in environmental and energy law scholarship (including natural resources, environmental justice, and land-use law), with students reading and commenting (in writing and in discussion) upon new and forthcoming articles by scholars here at Berkeley and elsewhere. Most sessions will include presentations by the authors themselves. The workshop gives students an opportunity to interact with leading established and rising scholars in environmental and energy law; to explore key issues in environmental and energy law and policy with some of the sharpest thinkers in the country; and to gain exposure to some of the best environmental and energy law scholarship. The class should be of interest to students who are interested in legal academia in the field as well as to students who are interested in pursuing a role in environmental and energy policymaking or advocacy in their future career. |
| Law 275.2 Video Game Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games -- whether through a browser, mobile device or game console -- and spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? - How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? - Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring real-world locations in their game? - As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback or rock star violate their right of publicity? - Does limiting a minor's access to violent video games infringe their First Amendment rights? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct a mock developer-publisher negotiation and two other in-class exercises. Throughout the semester we will be joined by guests from the industry who will share their perspectives on how legal issues translate into actual practice. The class ends with a take-home final exam. Todd Smithline is the managing principal of Smithline PC, a San Francisco law firm representing software, Internet and digital entertainment companies in their strategic licensing matters. Fall 2021 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games -- whether through a browser, mobile device or game console -- and spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? - How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? - Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring real-world locations in their game? - As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback or rock star violate their right of publicity? - Does limiting a minor's access to violent video games infringe their First Amendment rights? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct a mock developer-publisher negotiation and at least one other in-class exercise. Throughout the semester we will be joined by guests from the industry who will share their perspectives on how legal issues translate into actual practice. The class ends with a take-home final exam. Todd Smithline is the managing principal of Smithline PC, a San Francisco law firm representing software/SaaS, Internet and digital entertainment companies in technology transactions, product legal and open source matters. Fall 2022 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games -- whether through a browser, mobile device or game console -- and spending on interactive content now rivals that for streaming, movies and music. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? - How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? - Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring real-world locations in their game? - As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback or rock star violate their right of publicity? - Does limiting a minor's access to violent video games infringe their First Amendment rights? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct a mock developer-publisher negotiation and at least one other in-class exercise. Throughout the semester we will be joined by guests from the industry who will share their perspectives on how legal issues translate into actual practice. The class ends with a take-home final exam. Todd Smithline is the CEO of Bonterms, a legal tech startup which is simplifying commercial contracting. Previously he was managing principal of Smithline PC, a San Francisco law firm representing software/SaaS, Internet and digital entertainment companies in technology transactions, product legal and open source matters. Spring 2024 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games -- whether through a browser, mobile device or game console -- and spending on interactive content now rivals that for streaming, movies and music. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? - How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? - Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring real-world locations in their game? - As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback or rock star violate their right of publicity? - Does limiting a minor's access to violent video games infringe their First Amendment rights? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct a mock developer-publisher negotiation and at least one other in-class exercise. Throughout the semester we may be joined by guests from the industry who will share their perspectives on how legal issues translate into actual practice. The class ends with a take-home final exam. Spring 2025 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games -- whether through a browser, mobile device or game console -- and spending on interactive content now rivals that for streaming, movies, and music. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? - How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? - Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring real-world locations in their game? - As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback or rock star violate their right of publicity? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed, and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct a mock developer-publisher negotiation and at least one other in-class exercise. Throughout the semester we may be joined by guests from the industry who will share their perspectives on how legal issues translate into actual practice. The class ends with a take-home final exam. |
| Law 275.21S Streaming Media, Business, and Deal Strategies Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2024 Description: Streaming Business and Deal Strategies. The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the business of streaming in the entertainment industry (specifically, in film and television) and introduce students to the key components of film and television streaming deals. We will gain insights through recommended reading materials provided on the course website and a guest speaker. In addition, students will have an opportunity to work individually or in groups to explore case studies based on real-world examples and learn to apply business context to their negotiation strategies. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Summer 2025 Description: In this course, students will learn about the practicalities of negotiating streaming deals in the current entertainment marketplace and receive an overview of the business of streaming specifically, in film and television. Students will be introduced to key components of these deals and will have an opportunity to work individually or in groups to explore case studies based on real-world examples. Elizabeth Polk is the founding partner of The BALA Firm, a legal consulting firm providing high level business and legal affairs and strategic consulting, primarily to companies, on a fractional basis. She was formerly the head of business & legal affairs for the Independent Film and Documentary Film divisions at Netflix, Inc. There she oversaw business affairs, legal, and led strategies across several content portfolios, including international film, young adult and family film, anime, independent film and documentary film. She was part of the team that launched the streaming platform in 130+ new markets in 2016, and was an early architect of the film studio and developed deals for the creation of content in the U.S. and U.K. She is also the co-founder & chief executive officer of Speir Pilates with Andrea Speir, a leading pilates innovator. |
| Law 275.2S Video Game Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games whether through a browser, mobile device or game console and spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? 1. How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? 2. Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring a real-world vehicle or nightclub in their game? 3. As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback violate their right of publicity? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct an “advise the CEO” exercise. The class ends with a take-home final exam. This course is for credit/no credit. Attendance is mandatory. Summer 2022 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games whether through a browser, mobile device or game console and spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? 1. How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? 2. Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring a real-world vehicle or nightclub in their game? 3. As games become stunningly realistic, when does a depiction of a college quarterback violate their right of publicity? We will answer these questions and more as we explore the legal issues surrounding how video games are developed, distributed and consumed. After learning the relevant law, we will assume the mantle of in-house counsel and conduct an “advise the CEO” exercise. The class ends with a take-home final exam. This course is for credit/no credit. Attendance is mandatory. Summer 2023 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games whether through a browser, mobile device or game console and spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? 1. How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? 2. Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring a real-world vehicle or nightclub in their game? 3. What legal issues arise from the inclusion of NFTs, loot boxes, and virtual currency in video games? Summer 2024 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games, whether through a browser, mobile device, or game console, and spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? 1. How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? 2. Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring a real-world vehicle or nightclub in their game? 3. What legal issues arise from the use of AI in video games? Summer 2025 Description: More than half of all Americans play video games whether through a browser, mobile device, or game console. Spending on interactive content now rivals that for TV and movies. Video games are great fun and big business, but what are the legal implications? 1. How has copyright law evolved in an era when a hit iPhone game can spawn a lookalike competitor within months? 2. Should trademark law prevent a developer from featuring a real-world vehicle or nightclub in their game? 3. What legal issues arise from the use of AI in video games? Joseph Schenck is a partner at Fenwick where he represents technology companies in commercial transactions involving intellectual property. He has extensive experience with IP transactions, including acquisitions, mergers and secured financings in the areas of software, SaaS, mobile platform products and other information technology assets. Joseph is a top advisor in the games and interactive entertainment industries. He regularly counsels clients on commercial transactions involving games and eSports, including mergers and acquisitions, stock purchases and complex licensing transactions, including game publishing and developer agreements. Prior to joining Fenwick, Joseph was an associate in the IP and litigation practice groups of a leading international law firm. He also was a programmer analyst for the U.S. Air Force, receiving an Achievement Medal from NATO for the creation of software to automate flight planning operations. |
| Law 275.3 Intellectual Property Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of utility and design patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including: patent protection for software and biotechnology; copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age; and protecting trademarks on the Internet. Fall 2020 Description: This course introduces students to the main features of modern intellectual property law and provides as a gateway to Berkeley's Law and Technology program. It covers federal patent, copyright, and trademark law along with trade secrets and other forms of state protection. The course also identifies important policy arguments that are commonly used to explain or criticize existing doctrine. Spring 2021 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of utility and design patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including: patent protection for software and biotechnology; copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age; and protecting trademarks on the Internet. Fall 2021 Description: This course introduces students to the main features of modern intellectual property law and provides a gateway to Berkeley's Law and Technology program. It covers federal patent, copyright, and trademark law along with trade secrets and other forms of state protection. The course also identifies important policy arguments that are commonly used to explain or criticize existing doctrine. Spring 2022 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of utility and design patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including: patent protection for software and biotechnology; copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age; protecting trademarks on the Internet; and the Defend Trade Secrets Act. Due to the public health situation, this class is likely to be conducted via Zoom to accommodate an instructor health issue. Fall 2022 Description: This course introduces students to the main features of modern intellectual property law and provides a gateway to Berkeley's Law and Technology program. It covers federal patent, copyright, and trademark law along with trade secrets and other forms of state protection. The course also identifies important policy arguments that are commonly used to explain or criticize existing doctrine. Spring 2023 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software and biotechnology, copyright in the digital age, and design protection. Fall 2023 Description: This course introduces students to the main features of modern intellectual property law and provides a gateway to Berkeley's Law and Technology program. It covers federal patent, copyright, and trademark law along with trade secrets and other forms of state protection. The course also identifies important policy arguments that are commonly used to explain or criticize existing doctrine. Spring 2024 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software and biotechnology, artificial intelligence, copyright in the digital age, design protection, and right of publicity (NIL). Fall 2024 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying intellectual property law. It then covers the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including: patent protection for software and biotechnology; copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age; protecting trademarks on the Internet; and the application of common law intellectual property doctrines to the Internet. Throughout, our analysis of doctrine will be informed by competing theories of the subject matter, purposes, and political economy of IP laws and alternative innovation policies. Spring 2025 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software and biotechnology, artificial intelligence, copyright in the digital age, design protection, and right of publicity (NIL). Fall 2025 Description: This course introduces students to the main features of modern intellectual property law in the United States and provides a gateway to Berkeley's Law and Technology program. It covers federal patent, copyright, and trademark law along with trade secrets and other forms of state law protection. The course also considers important policy arguments that are commonly used to explain or criticize existing doctrine. |
| Law 275.32 Network Neutrality Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Each of the Federal Communications Commission’s attempts at network neutrality (or net neutrality) regulation and deregulation have been met with substantial controversy. The agency’s most recent proceeding attracted over 22 million comments. Indeed, it is fair to say that network neutrality is one of the most public internet policy debates still raging today. This class takes a deep dive into various questions related to the Commission’s ongoing back-and-forth over network neutrality regulation. Each week, we’ll closely examine some aspect of the Commission’s (and the Judiciary’s) approach to this important, salient legal and policy question. Topics will include the Commission’s power to issue network neutrality regulations; the States’ power to issue network neutrality regulations (and the Commission’s power to preempt such local rules); zero-rating and data caps; internet interconnection and Netflix’s various disputes with Verizon and Comcast; among others. This is an Option 1 class. Hence, there will be no final exam for the course. Instead, students will be assessed on two axes. One, students will be required to two reaction papers, no more than two pages long, analyzing and responding to any one week’s reading. Two, students must also submit one research paper, about fifteen pages long, on network neutrality or some related topic. Details and deadlines (including interim draft deadlines) will be described in the course syllabus. |
| Law 275.3S Intellectual Property Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Summer 2023: Remote Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course is intended for students who are interested in a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software, business methods and medical diagnostics, copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age, and the role and difficulties of protecting trademarks on the Internet. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 12th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: This course is intended for students who are interested in a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software, business methods and medical diagnostics, copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age, and the role and difficulties of protecting trademarks on the Internet. Summer 2023 Description: This course is intended for students who are interested in a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software, business methods and medical diagnostics, copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age, and the role and difficulties of protecting trademarks on the Internet. Summer 2024 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software and biotechnology, artificial intelligence, copyright in the digital age, design protection, and right of publicity (NIL). Summer 2025 Description: This course serves as a gateway to Berkeley Law’s extensive law and technology curriculum by providing a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and other state IP-related areas of law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software and biotechnology, artificial intelligence, copyright in the digital age, design protection, and right of publicity (NIL). Professor Talha Syed’s research focuses on law and political economy, with applications to intellectual property, property, torts, antitrust, and theories of distributive justice. He has a forthcoming book, Pharmaceutical Innovation Policy—From Patents to Public Utility, and is working on a series of articles on the legal and social theory of “law and political economy,” as well as the intersection of antitrust and IP. At Berkeley Law, he teaches Torts, Intellectual Property Law, Antitrust, and the Law and Technology Writing Workshop. |
| Law 275.65 Transnational Intellectual Property Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course features comparative law discussions of important features of the major national IP systems in the world (China, Europe, the US). We cover Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Design Protection in each of these three major jurisdictions. The primary aim of the course is to add a solid international dimension to the student's understanding of the law and policy of IP law. An additional goal is to help prepare the student for the globalized IP practice that is rapidly emerging. The casebook for this course is the newly published Robert Merges and Seagull Song, Transnational International Property (Edward Elgar Publishers, 2018). One particular strength of this book is that it includes the most detailed and most recent English translation of important statutes, cases, and regulations in the field of Chinese IP law. It also includes extensive treatment of EU IP law, with a particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Chapters include a basic introduction to US IP law in the covered fields as well. Course requirements include class participation, and a take-home final. If class size permits, I may offer a paper-in-lieu-of-final option for those who have a well-developed topic that they clear with me early in the semester. Fall 2021 Description: This course features comparative law discussions of important features of the major national IP systems in the world (China, Europe, the US). We cover Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Design Protection in each of these three major jurisdictions. The primary aim of the course is to add a solid international dimension to the student's understanding of the law and policy of IP law. An additional goal is to help prepare the student for the globalized IP practice that is rapidly emerging. The casebook for this course is the newly published Robert Merges and Seagull Song, Transnational International Property (Edward Elgar Publishers, 2018). One particular strength of this book is that it includes the most detailed and most recent English translation of important statutes, cases, and regulations in the field of Chinese IP law. It also includes extensive treatment of EU IP law, with a particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Chapters include a basic introduction to US IP law in the covered fields as well. Course requirements include class participation, and a take-home final. Fall 2022 Description: This course features comparative law discussions of important features of the major national IP systems in the world (China, Europe, the US). We cover Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Design Protection in each of these three major jurisdictions. The primary aim of the course is to add a solid international dimension to the student's understanding of the law and policy of IP law. An additional goal is to help prepare the student for the globalized IP practice that is rapidly emerging. The casebook for this course is the Robert Merges and Seagull Song, Transnational International Property (Edward Elgar Publishers, 2018). One particular strength of this book is that it includes the most detailed and most recent English translation of important statutes, cases, and regulations in the field of Chinese IP law. It also includes extensive treatment of EU IP law, with a particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Chapters include a basic introduction to US IP law in the covered fields as well. Course requirements include class participation, and a take-home final. Fall 2023 Description: This course features comparative law discussions of important features of the major national IP systems in the world (China, Europe, the US). We cover Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Design Protection in each of these three major jurisdictions. The primary aim of the course is to add a solid international dimension to the student's understanding of the law and policy of IP law. An additional goal is to help prepare the student for the globalized IP practice that is rapidly emerging. The casebook for this course is by Robert Merges and Seagull Song, Transnational International Property (Edward Elgar Publishers, 2018). One particular strength of this book is that it includes the most detailed and most recent English translation of important statutes, cases, and regulations in the field of Chinese IP law. It also includes extensive treatment of EU IP law, with a particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Chapters include a basic introduction to US IP law in the covered fields as well. Course requirements include class participation, and a take-home final. |
| Law 275.66 Chinese IP Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Intellectual property protection in China has never been more important in bilateral and multilateral trade relations than today. Students will be exposed to case law, statutory, international law, empirical and other materials analyzing China's IP system. In the past, leading US and Chinese current and former officials, judges, and practitioners have also joined the class. The class is the oldest class taught in North America on China's IP system The course does not require prior study of intellectual property law. Students who have taken Chinese intellectual property law in China have found the course offers a different content and perspective. Students interested in technology transfer, comparative law, Chinese law, international trade, and government relations have all benefited from the class in the past. Knowledge of Chinese is not required. Many non-Chinese speaking students have written successful papers by comparing China's IP regime to the US or third countries, discussing US cases, or analyzing trade implications of China's IP practices. Often these papers have been published. The course covers patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, design protection, and IP enforcement in China, including IP-related antitrust. It also covers the impact of Chinese IP regime on the United States, including transnational IP litigation, US customs remedies, and trade remedies. The course will address the full range of controversial issues involved in Chinese IP: Does China effectively enforce IP? Does political pressure help? Is China out-innovating the US? Is China improving its IP system, including its courts, and are these reforms helping foreign companies? What is the impact of China's e-commerce environment on the US? Are there particular ethical considerations implicated in practicing IP law in China?, etc. Students will have access to specialized IP databases to conduct research. The instructor will review drafts of the paper mid-semester, and will assist students after the class is over should they wish to submit their papers for publication. Come to this class with an open-mind and be ready to re-examine prior perspectives on China's IP environment. We will all benefit from each other's experience. The instructor, Mark Cohen, is a Senior Fellow and Director at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. He was formerly Senior Counsel, China at the USPTO, where he supervised a team of 21 people involved in intellectual property issues in China. He also served as the first US IP Attache on behalf of USPTO, while working at the US Embassy, Beijing and runs the popular blog, www.chinaipr.com. Spring 2022 Description: Intellectual property protection in China has never been more important in bilateral and multilateral trade relations than today. Students will be exposed to case law, statutory, international law, empirical and other materials analyzing China's IP system. Leading US and Chinese current and former officials, judges, and practitioners will also join the class. The class is the longest-running class taught in North America on China's IP system The course does not require prior study of intellectual property law. Students who have taken Chinese intellectual property law in China have found that the course offers different content and perspective. Students interested in technology transfer, comparative law, Chinese commercial law, international trade, and government relations have all benefited from the class in the past. Knowledge of Chinese is not required. Many non-Chinese speaking students have written successful papers by comparing China's IP regime to the US or third countries, discussing US cases, or analyzing trade implications of China's IP practices. Often these papers have been published. The course covers patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, design protection, and IP enforcement in China, including IP-related antitrust. It also covers the impact of Chinese IP regime on the United States, including transnational IP litigation and trade remedies. The course will address the full range of controversial issues involved in Chinese IP, such as: Does China effectively enforce IP? Does political pressure help? How should the United States stop "IP theft."? Is China out-innovating the US? What is the impact of China's e-commerce environment on the US? Are there particular ethical considerations implicated in practicing IP law in China? The instructor will review drafts of the paper mid-semester, and will assist students after the class is over if their paper is under consideration for publication. Come to this class with an open mind and be ready to re-examine prior perspectives on China's IP environment. We will all benefit from each other's experiences. The instructor, Mark Cohen, is a Senior Fellow and Director at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. He was formerly Senior Counsel, China at the USPTO, where he supervised a team of 21 people involved in intellectual property issues in China. He also served as the first US IP Attached on behalf of USPTO, while working at the US Embassy, Beijing and runs the popular blog, www.chinaipr.com. Spring 2023 Description: This course focuses on developing informed and practical perspectives on Chinese intellectual property (IP) law from a public policy perspective. China’s IP regime has long been a contentious topic between China and the developed world, especially the United States. If you have taken a class on intellectual property law at a Chinese law school or taken a Comparative IP law class, you are likely to find the scope and approach of this class to be different. The class will look at aspects of China’s IP regime from differing perspectives: historical, empirical, comparative, legal realist, political science/international relations, rule of law and trade, rather than proceeding comprehensively through the substantive law and doctrine of patents, trademarks, copyright , etc. As an example, rather than ask “how does China protect pharmaceutical patents”, we might inquire “why does China protect pharmaceutical patents and what are its interests in protecting or not protecting them?” In addition to some of the basics of China’s IP law, we will also cover many of the hot topics in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, as well as licensing, enforcement and trade issues. Recent elevated bilateral tensions around allegations of “IP theft” by China, the Phase 1 Trade Agreement and the use of trade sanctions will also be discussed, as well as other efforts to limit or encourage bilateral cooperation. Students with a background in Chinese law, comparative law or intellectual property law or specific technology or business disciplines (biotechnology, computer science, media studies, etc.) will find opportunities to apply their knowledge to the topics covered and to write a paper based on their interests. The final paper involves comparative research of an outstanding legal issue in Chinese IP, a proposed solution to the problem, and an opportunity to discuss your paper with US government and private sector officials. Please use this class to pursue your intellectual passions. |
| Law 275.7 Law and Technology Scholarship Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is an interdisciplinary seminar on law and technology scholarship. The seminar is organized as a scholarly workshop, with scholars from Berkeley and elsewhere submitting new and forthcoming articles and attending class to present and discuss their articles. Students read and comment (in writing and in discussion) on the scholars’ articles. Through this process, students gain familiarity with legal scholarship and cutting-edge technology law issues while developing writing and analytical skills. The course requirements are to prepare a series of brief written comments on presented papers, to participate actively in discussion, and to serve as a discussion leader for at least one session. Topics will include intellectual property, privacy, and emerging technologies. For example, in past semesters, scholars have discussed work on patents, copyrights, social media influencing, law and emojis, robot cops, automated trucking, CRISPR, and other technology law topics. The class meets over lunch time to accommodate scholars attending the workshop. Lunch will be served. Fall 2023 Description: This will be an interdisciplinary seminar on intellectual property scholarship, with students reading and commenting (in writing and in discussion) on new and forthcoming articles by scholars here at Berkeley and elsewhere. The course requirements are to participate actively in discussion, and to comment in writing on several of the presented papers. Students may also pursue an independent writing project for additional 299 credit with professor approval. |
| Law 275.71 Law and Technology Colloquium 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: In the context of technology, how can the law promote abundance, efficiency, and access while also advancing values like fairness, safety, and privacy? What institutional arrangements and governance structures best support the consistent and equitable application of the law? And what empirical and legal theoretical insights can be leveraged to explain or improve the development and operation of technology law and policy? The Law and Technology Colloquium will explore these and related questions through the lens of seven projects, whose subject matter will draw from intellectual property, telecommunications, and related bodies of technology law. We will typically take one week to discuss the paper amongst ourselves, and then, in the following week, hold a workshop for the paper. During a typical discussion week, students will read the assigned scholarly work (and related works) and prepare critiques and questions for our guests. Then, during a typical workshop, an invited scholar will present their work. Students (and faculty) will join in the open discussion that follows. |
| Law 276 Technology for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This class will give students an introduction to key technologies that will impact their careers, their clients, and society in the next decades. It will provide an understanding of some fundamental ideas behind those technologies and some of the legal issues that they will raise. 1. Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies 2. Communication Technology 3. Artificial Intelligence 4. Computer Technology 5. Quantum Physics 6. Transportation: Ride Sharing / Autonomous Vehicles / Flying Cars 7. Statistics and Game Theory 8. Genetics Spring 2021 Description: This class will give students an introduction to key technologies that will impact their careers, their clients, and society in the next decades. It will provide an understanding of some fundamental ideas behind those technologies and some of the legal issues that they will raise. 1. Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies 2. Genetics 3. Communication Technology 4. Artificial Intelligence 5. Computer Technology and Security 6. Quantum Physics 7. Environmental Technology: Recycling and Reusable Energy 8. Transportation: Ride Sharing / Autonomous Vehicles / Flying Cars Spring 2022 Description: This class will give students an introduction to key technologies that will impact their careers, their clients, and society in the next decades. It will provide an understanding of some fundamental ideas behind those technologies and some of the legal issues that they will raise. 1. Vaccines and Access 2. Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies 3. Computer Technology and Security 4. Quantum Physics 5. Genetics and Immunotherapy 6. Transportation: Ride Sharing / Autonomous Vehicles / Flying Cars / Scooters 7. Environmental Technology: Plastics Recycling and the Circular Economy 8. Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology 9. Statistics 10. Communication Technology Spring 2023 Description: This class will give students an introduction to key technologies that will impact their careers, their clients, and society in the next decades. It will provide an understanding of some fundamental ideas behind those technologies and some of the legal issues that they will raise. Example class topics are listed below. 1. Vaccines and Access 2. Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies 3. Computer Technology and Security 4. Quantum Physics 5. Genetics and Immunotherapy 6. Transportation: Ride Sharing / Autonomous Vehicles /Flying Cars / Scooters 7. Environmental Technology: Plastics Recycling and theCircular Economy 8. Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology 9. Statistics 10. Communication Technology Spring 2024 Description: This class will give students an introduction to key technologies that will impact their careers, their clients, and society in the next decades. It will provide an understanding of some fundamental ideas behind those technologies and some of the legal issues that they will raise. Example class topics are listed below. 1. Vaccines and Access 2. Cryptography and Cryptocurrencies 3. Computer Technology and Security 4. Quantum Physics and Quantum Computing 5. Genetics and Immunotherapy 6. Tech Startups for Lawyers 7. Environmental Technology: Plastics Recycling and the Circular Economy 8. Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology 9. Statistics 10. Communication Technology |
| Law 276.11 Cybersecurity in Context 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Cybersecurity has become instrumental to economic activity and human rights alike. But as digital technologies penetrate deeply into almost every aspect of human experience, a broad range of social-political-economic-legal-ethical-military and other considerations have come to envelop the cybersecurity landscape. Cybersecurity in Context will explore the most important elements that shape the playing field on which cybersecurity problems emerge and are managed. The course will emphasize how ethical, legal, and economic frameworks enable and constrain security technologies and policies. It will introduce some of the most important macro-elements (such as national security considerations and the interests of nation-states) and micro-elements (such as behavioral economic insights into how people understand and interact with security features). Specific topics include policymaking (on the national, international, and organizational level), business models, legal frameworks (including duties of security, privacy issues, law enforcement access issues, computer hacking, and economic/military espionage), standards making, and the roles of users, government, and industry. |
| Law 276.11S Cybersecurity: Present and Future 2 Units |
| Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2022 Description: Cybersecurity has become instrumental to economic activity and human rights alike. But as digital technologies penetrate deeply into almost every aspect of human experience, a broad range of social-political-economic-legal-ethical-military and other considerations have come to envelop the cybersecurity landscape. Cybersecurity: Present and Future will explore the most important elements that shape the playing field on which cybersecurity problems emerge and are managed. The course will emphasize how ethical, legal, and economic frameworks enable and constrain security technologies and policies. It will introduce some of the most important macro-elements (such as national security considerations and the interests of nation-states) and micro-elements (such as behavioral economic insights into how people understand and interact with security features). Specific topics include policymaking (on the national, international, and organizational level), business models, legal frameworks (including duties of security, privacy issues, law enforcement access issues, computer hacking, and economic/military espionage), standards making, and the roles of users, government, and industry. Summer 2023 Description: Cybersecurity has become instrumental to economic activity and human rights alike. But as digital technologies penetrate deeply into almost every aspect of human experience, a broad range of social-political-economic-legal-ethical-military and other considerations have come to envelop the cybersecurity landscape. Cybersecurity: Present and Future will explore the most important elements that shape the playing field on which cybersecurity problems emerge and are managed. The course will emphasize how ethical, legal, and economic frameworks enable and constrain security technologies and policies. It will introduce some of the most important macro-elements (such as national security considerations and the interests of nation-states) and micro-elements (such as behavioral economic insights into how people understand and interact with security features). Specific topics include policymaking (on the national, international, and organizational level), business models, legal frameworks (including duties of security, privacy issues, law enforcement access issues, computer hacking, and economic/military espionage), standards making, and the roles of users, government, and industry. NOTE: This course allows enrollment by remote or in-person students. All classes will be held in-person at Berkeley Law, but all Quarter 1 class sessions will be recorded and posted on bCourses to allow remote students to view recordings. Summer 2024 Description: Cybersecurity has become instrumental to economic activity and human rights alike. But as digital technologies penetrate deeply into almost every aspect of human experience, a broad range of social-political-economic-legal-ethical-military and other considerations have come to envelop the cybersecurity landscape. Cybersecurity: Present and Future will explore the most important elements that shape the playing field on which cybersecurity problems emerge and are managed. The course will emphasize how ethical, legal, and economic frameworks enable and constrain security technologies and policies. It will introduce some of the most important macro-elements (such as national security considerations and the interests of nation-states) and micro-elements (such as behavioral economic insights into how people understand and interact with security features). Specific topics include policymaking (on the national, international, and organizational level), business models, legal frameworks (including duties of security, privacy issues, law enforcement access issues, computer hacking, and economic/military espionage), standards making, and the roles of users, government, and industry. NOTE: Students will perform in-class "labs" using their laptop computer. Any computer---including a Chromebook---will suffice. Students who do not possess a laptop can contact the Law Library in advance for a computer loan. Summer 2025 Description: Cybersecurity has become instrumental to economic activity and human rights alike. But as digital technologies penetrate deeply into almost every aspect of human experience, a broad range of social-political-economic-legal-ethical-military and other considerations have come to envelop the cybersecurity landscape. This course will explore the most important elements that shape the playing field on which cybersecurity problems emerge and are managed. The course will emphasize how ethical, legal, and economic frameworks enable and constrain security technologies and policies. It will introduce some of the most important macro-elements (such as national security considerations and the interests of nation-states) and micro-elements (such as behavioral economic insights into how people understand and interact with security features). Specific topics include policymaking (on the national, international, and organizational level), business models, legal frameworks (including duties of security, privacy issues, law enforcement access issues, computer hacking, and economic/military espionage), standards making, and the roles of users, government, and industry. NOTE: Students will perform in-class "labs" using their laptop computer. Any computer---including a Chromebook---will suffice. Students who do not possess a laptop can contact the Law Library in advance for a computer loan. Professor Chris Jay Hoofnagle focuses on the interplay of law and technology. At Berkeley Law, he teaches torts, cybersecurity, consumer protection, python programming, and seminars on new technologies. He is an affiliated faculty member of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, and the Center for Security in Politics. Hoofnagle’s forthcoming book is Cybersecurity in Context (with Golden Richard III, 2024). He is also the author of Law and Policy for the Quantum Age (with Simson Garfinkel, Cambridge University Press, 2022) and Federal Trade Commission Privacy Law and Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Hoofnagle is of counsel to Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP, and an elected member of the American Law Institute. In Spring 2024, Hoofnagle was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. |
| Law 276.12 Future of Cybersecurity Workshop 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Future of Cybersecurity Reading Group (FCRG, known as a workshop for the law school) is a one-credit discussion seminar focused on cybersecurity. In the seminar, graduate, professional, and undergraduate students discuss current cybersecurity scholarship, notable cybersecurity books, developments in the science of security, and evolving thinking in how cybersecurity relates to political science, law, economics, military, and intelligence gathering. Students are required to participate in weekly sessions, present short papers on the readings, and write response pieces. The goals of the FCRG are to provide a forum for students from different disciplinary perspectives to deepen their understanding of cybersecurity and to foster and workshop scholarship on cybersecurity. Spring 2021 Description: The Future of Cybersecurity Workshop is a one-credit discussion seminar focused on cybersecurity. In this seminar, graduate, and professional students discuss current cybersecurity scholarship, notable cybersecurity books, developments in the science of security, and evolving thinking in how cybersecurity relates to political science, law, economics, military, and intelligence gathering. Students are required to participate in weekly sessions, present short papers on the readings, and write response pieces. The goals of this class are to provide a forum for students from different disciplinary perspectives to deepen their understanding of cybersecurity and to foster and workshop scholarship on cybersecurity. Fall 2021 Description: This course will be held in South Hall 205. The Future of Cybersecurity Workshop is a one-credit discussion seminar focused on cybersecurity. In this seminar, graduate, and professional students discuss current cybersecurity scholarship, notable cybersecurity books, developments in the science of security, and evolving thinking in how cybersecurity relates to political science, law, economics, military, and intelligence gathering. Students are required to participate in weekly sessions, present short papers on the readings, and write response pieces. The goals of this class are to provide a forum for students from different disciplinary perspectives to deepen their understanding of cybersecurity and to foster and workshop scholarship on cybersecurity. |
| Law 276.13 Cybersecurity Law and Policy 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Cybersecurity Law is a dynamic and growing field that explores a range of related subjects. This course looks at the different sources of the obligations of companies to protect information and avoid liability. It explores the caselaw around various cybersecurity issues and looks at the steps that victims of cybersecurity intrusions can take in self-defense. It also considers how government is regulating this area and the emerging international law of cybersecurity. Spring 2021 Description: This course examines cutting-edge issues in cybersecurity law. The stakes and risks for nation states, organizations, and individuals in handling data and avoiding injury and incidents are high. Hackers pose threats to our national security as well as the functioning of organizations. For individuals, data breaches can lead to cases of identity theft that will imperil an individual’s financial well-being. Among the topics of the class covered in this course will be data breach notification laws; cybersecurity litigation; cybersecurity and corporate governance; anti-hacking laws; international cybersecurity law; and homeland security issues. Spring 2022 Description: This course examines cutting-edge issues in cybersecurity law. The stakes and risks for nation states, organizations, and individuals in handling data and avoiding injury and incidents are high. Hackers pose threats to our national security as well as the functioning of organizations. For individuals, data breaches can lead to cases of identity theft that will imperil an individual’s financial well-being. Among the topics of the class covered in this course will be data breach notification laws; cybersecurity litigation; cybersecurity and corporate governance; anti-hacking laws; international cybersecurity law; and homeland security issues. Spring 2023 Description: This course examines cutting-edge issues in cybersecurity law. Today, the stakes and risks for nation states, organizations, and individuals in handling data and avoiding injury and incidents are high. Hackers pose threats to our national security as well as the functioning of organizations. For individuals, data breaches can lead to cases of identity theft that will imperil an individual’s financial well-being. Among the topics of the class covered in this course will be data breach notification laws; cybersecurity litigation; cybersecurity and corporate governance; anti-hacking laws; international cybersecurity law; and homeland security issues. Spring 2024 Description: This course examines cutting-edge issues in cybersecurity law. Today, the stakes and risks for nation states, organizations, and individuals in handling data and avoiding injury and incidents are high. Hackers pose threats to our national security as well as the functioning of organizations. For individuals, data breaches can lead to cases of identity theft that will imperil an individual’s financial well-being. Among the topics of the class covered in this course will be data breach notification laws; cybersecurity litigation; cybersecurity and corporate governance; anti-hacking laws; international cybersecurity law; and homeland security issues. Spring 2025 Description: This course examines cutting-edge issues in cybersecurity law. Today, the stakes and risks for nation-states, organizations, and individuals in handling data and avoiding injury and incidents are high. Hackers pose threats to our national security as well as the functioning of organizations. For individuals, data breaches can lead to cases of identity theft that will imperil an individual’s financial well-being. Among the topics of the class covered in this course will be data breach notification laws; cybersecurity litigation; cybersecurity and corporate governance; anti-hacking laws; international cybersecurity law; and homeland security issues. |
| Law 276.14 The Law and Governance of Artificial Intelligence 3 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Artificial intelligence technologies including generative and large language models, neural networks, and robotics are augmenting and replacing humans in a growing number of human endeavors including content creation, driving, policing, and waging war. In this course, students will gain fluency with AI technologies and examine the ways in which law and policy are being developed and applied in order to minimize the harms (e.g. in the form of bias, privacy-, inequality, and security-related harms) and maximize the benefits (e.g. in the form of reduced costs, greater access, and greater personalization) offered by AI. Examining a variety of governance tools, including court adjudication, legislation, regulatory frameworks, industry standards, and best practices, this course will dive deeply into the intersections of AI and human rights, civil liberties, privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, employment, and other laws. The class will draw upon course materials co-curated by lawyers advising firms on AI matters, as well as simulations and exercises that will be used to hone skills of analysis and expression as well as build substantive knowledge. One focus of the class will be on how AI is transforming the practice of law, and the opportunities offered by technologies of automation and artificial intelligence to ameliorate or exacerbate existing inequalities in the practice of law, including the access to justice gap. Fall 2024 Description: Artificial intelligence technologies including generative and large language models, neural networks, and robotics are augmenting and replacing humans in a growing number of human endeavors including content creation, driving, policing, and waging war. In this course, students will gain fluency with AI technologies and examine the ways in which law and policy are being developed and applied to minimize the harms (e.g. in the form of bias, privacy-, inequality, and security-related harms) and maximize the benefits (e.g. in the form of reduced costs, greater access, and greater personalization) offered by AI. Examining a variety of las and governance tools, including court adjudication, legislation, regulatory frameworks, industry standards, and best practices, this course will dive deeply into the intersections of AI and human rights, civil liberties, privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, employment, and other laws. The class will draw upon course materials co-curated by lawyers advising firms on AI matters, as well as simulations and exercises that will be used to hone skills of analysis and expression as well as build substantive knowledge. One focus of the class will be on how AI is transforming the practice of law, and the opportunities offered by technologies of automation and artificial intelligence to ameliorate or exacerbate existing inequalities in the practice of law, including the access to justice gap. Fall 2025 Description: Artificial intelligence technologies including generative and large language models, neural networks, and robotics are augmenting and replacing humans in a growing number of human endeavors including content creation, driving, policing, and waging war. In this course, students will gain fluency with AI technologies and examine the ways in which law and policy are being developed and applied to minimize the harms (e.g. in the form of bias, privacy-, inequality, and security-related harms) and maximize the benefits (e.g. in the form of reduced costs, greater access, and greater personalization) offered by AI. Examining a variety of laws and governance tools, including court adjudication, legislation, regulatory frameworks, industry standards, and best practices, this course will dive deeply into the intersections of AI and human rights, civil liberties, privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, employment, and other laws. The class will draw upon materials co-curated by lawyers advising firms on AI matters. In addition, we will use simulations and exercises to hone skills of analysis, expression, and substantive knowledge. One focus of the class will be on how AI is transforming the practice of law, and the opportunities offered by technologies of automation and artificial intelligence to ameliorate or exacerbate existing inequalities in the practice of law, including the access to justice gap. |
| Law 276.14S The Law and Governance of Artificial Intelligence 3 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: Artificial intelligence technologies including generative and large language models, neural networks, and robotics are augmenting and replacing humans in a growing number of human endeavors including content creation, driving, policing, and waging war. In this course, students will gain fluency with AI technologies and examine the ways in which law and policy are being developed and applied to minimize the harms (e.g. in the form of bias, privacy-, inequality, and security-related harms) and maximize the benefits (e.g. in the form of reduced costs, greater access, and greater personalization) offered by AI. Examining a variety of law and governance tools, including court adjudication, legislation, regulatory frameworks, industry standards, and best practices, this course will dive deeply into the intersections of AI and human rights, civil liberties, privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, employment, and other laws. The class will draw upon course materials co-curated by lawyers advising firms on AI matters, as well as simulations and exercises that will be used to hone skills of analysis and expression and build substantive knowledge. One focus of the class will be on how AI is transforming the practice of law, and the opportunities offered by technologies of automation and artificial intelligence to ameliorate or exacerbate existing inequalities in the practice of law, including the access to justice gap. Colleen Chien is Professor of Law at the Berkeley Law School where she teaches and conducts empirical research on intellectual property, innovation, artificial intelligence, and the criminal justice system and co-directs the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology and serves as Faculty advisor to the Berkeley Criminal Law & Justice Center. Chien is among the top 20-cited intellectual property and cyberlaw scholars in the US, and her work has been published in leading academic journals, reported on in the mainstream media, and been the subject of testimony she has provided before Congressional subcommittees and executive and state agencies. From 2013-2015, Chien served in the Obama White House as a Senior Advisor, Intellectual Property and Innovation; she also served on the Biden-Harris Transition team and in the Department of Commerce. Chien is known for her in-depth empirical studies of patent litigation, patent-assertion entities (PAEs) (a term that she coined), the secondary market for patents, and, in the criminal justice realm, on the “second chance” gap between those eligible for and receiving relief from the criminal justice system. She founded and directs two grant-funded research initiatives: the Innovator Diversity Pilots Initiative (diversitypilots.org), which develops rigorous evidence to boost inclusion in innovation, and the Paper Prisons Initiative (paperprisons.org), which conducts research to address and advance economic and racial justice through empirical study of the second chance gap in expungement, driver’s license suspension policies, and the California Racial Justice Act. Chien is a graduate of Stanford (Engineering) and Berkeley Law School and lives in Oakland with her husband and their two sons. David Evan Harris is a Chancellor’s Public Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and faculty member at the Haas School of Business. He teaches courses including AI Ethics for Leaders; Social Movements & Social Media; Civic Technology; and Scenario Planning. He has advised the White House, US Congress, European Union, United Nations, NATO, and California Legislature about tech policy. His writings and commentary have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN, BBC, AP, Guardian, Bloomberg, and The Atlantic, among others. He was named to Business Insider’s AI 100 list in 2023. Harris also advises numerous organizations working on technology policy. He is a Senior Policy Advisor at the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED); Senior Advisor, AI & Elections at the Brennan Center for Justice; Senior Research Fellow at the International Computer Science Institute; and Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He previously worked as a Research Manager at Meta (formerly Facebook) on the Responsible AI and Civic Integrity teams. In his role at Meta, Harris led a team of quantitative and qualitative researchers focused on AI fairness, governance, and accountability. |
| Law 276.15 Cybersecurity, Computer Crime, & Investigation 4 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Cybersecurity is instrumental to economic activity and human rights alike. But as digital technologies penetrate almost every aspect of human experience, a broad range of social- political-economic-legal-ethical-military and other considerations have come to envelop the cybersecurity landscape. Cybersecurity in Context (CiC) explores the most important elements that shape the playing field on which cybersecurity problems emerge and are managed. On policy, the course will emphasize how ethical, legal, and economic frameworks enable and constrain security technologies and policies. It will introduce some of the most important macro-elements (such as national security considerations and the interests of nation-states) and micro-elements (such as behavioral economic insights into how people understand and interact with security features). On law, the course covers the major computer crimes and how investigators access data on individuals' computers and in cloud services. CiC includes an in-class computer lab component designed to upskill students and expose them to the actual technologies and methods of computer attack, because in order to understand defense, one must be familiar with offense. Students will pledge to not use this knowledge for any illegal or unethical purpose. Students will need a computer (i.e. a Mac or PC, not a tablet/iPad/chromebook) There are no prerequisites for this course and it is not necessary to have programming or other advanced computer skills. |
| Law 276.15S Making AI Work for the People 1 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: The use of artificial intelligence technology is rapidly growing in both the public and private sector. Lawyers working in a variety of fields must be able to understand AI’s implications for both business and society and the levers to make AI work for people and avoid legal and ethical problems down the line. The class will provide students with an important foundation on issues, as well as existing and emerging legal frameworks, at the intersection of AI and data collection and use, AI and government surveillance, AI and access to social services, and AI and work. The class will draw upon real-life case studies and exercises for students to build substantive knowledge, develop skills to identify and address issues, and understand interventions that can and should be used to minimize legal, ethical, and reputational risk and protect and promote access, equity, rights, and justice in the AI age. Nicole Ozer is a nationally recognized expert on legal issues at the intersection of technology, civil rights, and democracy, including artificial intelligence, privacy and surveillance, intellectual property, and online speech. Nicole developed, and has led, the ACLU’s cutting-edge work in California to defend and promote rights in the modern digital world since 2004. Nicole sets the strategic vision for this work and implements an integrated advocacy approach that coordinates legal work in the courts, in communities, with companies, and policymakers to drive access, equity, and justice in the digital age. Nicole graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, studied comparative civil rights history at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and earned her J.D. with a Certificate in Law and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Nicole has been a Visiting Researcher at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, a Non-Residential Fellow at the Stanford Digital Civil Society Lab, and is a 2024-2025 Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center at Harvard Kennedy School. |
| Law 276.16S AI Transactions and Licensing 1 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: This course will expose students to cutting-edge transactional and licensing issues currently arising in deals related to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Students will study a wide range of relevant concepts, including: licensing and transactional fundamentals; relevant intellectual property and AI ownership issues; licensing of AI systems, data, and outputs; licensing of content for AI training purposes; university licensing of AI technologies; AI SaaS agreements; and acquisition issues and strategies for AI technologies. Wherever possible, students will engage in practical exercises to develop experience in negotiating these agreements, using real-world documents wherever possible as references. Several guest practitioners will join the course to share their perspectives and on-the-ground experiences with licensing and transactions of AI technologies. Instructor Allison Schmitt is the inaugural Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology's Life Sciences Law and Policy Center and a research fellow at Berkeley Law. Allison has served as a lecturer for multiple Berkeley Law courses, focused on intellectual property, law and technology, and life sciences issues. Allison’s research focuses on exploring theoretical and practical issues at the interface of emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence), life sciences and the law, including IP, regulatory, and funding considerations. After graduating from Berkeley Law (JD ’15), Allison clerked for the Honorable Stanley R. Chesler at the District of New Jersey, and the Honorable Kathleen M. O’Malley at the Federal Circuit. She then spent several years in private practice, focusing on life science patent litigation, patent counseling, diligence, licensing, and policy matters. Allison also earned a PhD in Chemistry from Duke University. |
| Law 276.17S Trust and Safety 1 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: More than ever, companies must ensure their platforms aren’t being used to host or share a variety of harmful user-generated content. Furthermore, the increasingly widespread adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) services has caused lawmakers and the public to be concerned about the potential rise in harmful content and conduct across the Internet. This course will survey an array of legal and policy topics relating to online safety, including different harm types, intermediary liability and online safety regulations, and content policy development and enforcement. Students will learn about how companies are navigating these issues, including risk mitigation strategies being adopted to address these harms. Lastly, the course will cover how these foundational trust & safety concepts may be applied to the development and deployment of generative AI models. Emmie Tran is currently the Head of Trust & Safety Legal at Adobe. In her role, she advises stakeholders and leadership on risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, and policy advocacy strategies relating to a variety of online safety and abuse issues. This includes content moderation and intermediary liability, generative AI safety and product development, children's online safety, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reporting, law enforcement, and civil data disclosures. Prior to her time at Adobe, she was at LinkedIn, Google, and several law firms where she also advised on privacy and data protection matters. She received her B.A. in Political Science (with Honors) and Mass Communications with a minor in Public Policy, and as well as her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. |
| Law 276.18S The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence 2 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 276.1S Cybersecurity 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Corporations, government agencies and other institutions are under constant cyberattack, threatening personal privacy, corporate trade secrets, critical infrastructure, national security, and democratic processes. In response, what role does the law play? Starting with the question of what is cybersecurity, this course will explore the range of legal and policy questions posed when a cyberattack occurs and will consider how the law can be deployed to improve cybersecurity, including criminal law, data breach notification, civil liability and litigation, administrative agency regulation and enforcement, and national security law. It will examine how standards of care are being defined for cybersecurity. It will seek to offer insights on governance and risk management relevant to in-house counsel, private attorneys, and government officials. While the focus will be on U.S. law and policy, reference will be made to international norms. Summer 2022 Description: Corporations, government agencies and other institutions are under constant cyberattack, threatening personal privacy, corporate trade secrets, critical infrastructure, national security, and democratic processes. In response, what role does the law play? Starting with the question of what is cybersecurity, this course will explore the range of legal and policy questions posed when a cyberattack occurs and will consider how the law can be deployed to improve cybersecurity, including criminal law, data breach notification, civil liability and litigation, administrative agency regulation and enforcement, and national security law. It will examine how standards of care are being defined for cybersecurity. It will seek to offer insights on governance and risk management relevant to in-house counsel, private attorneys, and government officials. While the focus will be on U.S. law and policy, reference will be made to international norms. Summer 2023 Description: Corporations, government agencies and other institutions are under constant cyberattack, threatening personal privacy, corporate trade secrets, critical infrastructure, national security, and democratic processes. In response, what role does the law play? Starting with the question of what is cybersecurity, this course will explore the range of legal and policy questions posed when a cyberattack occurs and will consider how the law can be deployed to improve cybersecurity, including criminal law, data breach notification, civil liability and litigation, administrative agency regulation and enforcement, and national security law. It will examine how standards of care are being defined for cybersecurity. It will seek to offer insights on governance and risk management relevant to in-house counsel, private attorneys, and government officials. While the focus will be on U.S. law and policy, reference will be made to international norms. All assigned readings will be available online. NOTE: This course allows enrollment by remote or in-person students. All classes will be held in-person at Berkeley Law, but all Quarter 4 class sessions will be recorded and posted on bCourses to allow remote students to view recordings. Summer 2024 Description: Corporations, government agencies, and other institutions are under constant cyberattack, threatening personal privacy, corporate trade secrets, critical infrastructure, national security, and democratic processes. In response, what role does the law play? Starting with the question of what is cybersecurity, this survey course will explore the range of legal and policy questions posed when a cyberattack occurs and will consider how the law can be deployed to improve cybersecurity. It will examine how the law of cybersecurity in the U.S. is a patchwork, including criminal law, data breach notification, tort law and other theories of civil liability, barriers to cybersecurity litigation, administrative agency regulation and enforcement, and national security law. It will examine how standards of care are being defined for cybersecurity, including for critical infrastructure. Looking forward, it will identify major trends in U.S. cybersecurity law and explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. It will seek to offer insights on governance and risk management relevant to in-house counsel, private attorneys, and government officials. While the focus will be on U.S. law and policy, reference will be made to international norms. The class will meet over four days; each day will feature an interactive exercise, with students pre-assigned to respond. Required readings will be drawn from Dempsey & Carlin, Cybersecurity Law Fundamentals (2d edition, 2024) and from material posted on bCourses. Summer 2025 Description: Corporations, government agencies, and other institutions are under constant cyberattack, threatening personal privacy, corporate trade secrets, critical infrastructure, national security, and democratic processes. In response, what role does the law play? Starting with the question of what is cybersecurity, this survey course will explore the range of legal and policy questions posed when a cyberattack occurs and will consider how the law can be deployed to improve cybersecurity. It will examine how the law of cybersecurity in the U.S. is a patchwork, including criminal law, data breach notification, tort law and other common law theories of civil liability, barriers to cybersecurity litigation, administrative agency regulation and enforcement, and national security law. It will examine how standards of care are being defined for cybersecurity, including for critical infrastructure. Looking forward, it will identify major trends in U.S. cybersecurity law and explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. It will seek to offer insights on governance and risk management relevant to in-house counsel, private attorneys, and government officials. Given the complexity and rapid change that characterizes the field, the focus will be on U.S. law and policy. The class will meet over four days; attendance at each session is mandatory to receive credit. Each day will feature an interactive exercise, with a number of students pre-assigned to respond. Readings will be drawn from original sources (statutes, regulations, judicial opinions, administrative agency rulings, and new articles). All materials will be made available electronically on bCourses. Jim Dempsey has been a leading expert on privacy and Internet policy for three decades. From January 2015 through May 2021, he was executive director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT), where he helped maintain Berkeley’s #1 rating in IP law. Prior to that, he was at the Center for Democracy & Technology, where he held a number of leadership positions, including Executive Director (2003 to 2005) and head of CDT West (2005 to 2014). Currently, in addition to teaching a course on cybersecurity law in the LLM executive track program at Berkeley, Jim is Senior Policy Advisor to the Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. In August 2012, after Senate confirmation, Jim was appointed by President Obama as a part-time member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), an independent federal agency charged with advising senior policymakers and overseeing the nation’s counterterrorism programs. He served in that position until January 2017, while also leading BCLT. Prior to joining CDT, Dempsey served as Deputy Director of the non-profit Center for National Security Studies and Special Counsel to the National Security Archive. From 1985 to 1995, Jim was Assistant Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. He practiced law as an associate at Arnold & Porter, in Washington, DC, and clerked for Judge Robert Braucher of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Jim is the author of Cybersecurity Law Fundamentals (IAPP, 2021), a comprehensive survey of cybersecurity law for practitioners. He is also author or co-author of articles in law reviews and other journals, including “Breaking the Privacy Gridlock: A Broader Look at Remedies” (2021) (with Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Ira S. Rubinstein, and Katherine J. Strandburg); “The Path to ECPA Reform and the Implications of United States v. Jones,” Univ. of San Francisco L. Rev. (2012), and “Privacy as an Enabler, Not an Impediment: Building Trust into Health Information Exchange,” Health Affairs, (2009); co-author of the book Terrorism & the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security (New Press, Third edition, 2006) (with Prof. David Cole of Georgetown); and co-editor of Bulk Collection: Systematic Government Access to Private-Sector Data (Oxford, 2017) (with Fred H. Cate). He writes on cybersecurity policy issues at Lawfareblog.com |
| Law 276.23S Fundamentals of AI Technology 2 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: Taught by AI governance expert Brandie Nonnecke, PhD, this course provides lawyers with a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning, covering the continuum from narrow AI to the theoretical frontier of strong AI. Learners will explore the essential types of machine learning—including supervised and unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, and deep learning—gaining insights into how these technologies operate, their real-world applications, and the legal implications that come with their use. This course is designed to demystify AI concepts, empowering legal professionals to engage knowledgeably with AI-related cases, policies, and ethical considerations. Brandie Nonnecke, PhD is Founding Director of the CITRIS Policy Lab, headquartered at UC Berkeley. She is an Associate Research Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) where she directs the Tech Policy Initiative, a collaboration between CITRIS and GSPP to strengthen tech policy education, research, and impact. Brandie is the Director of Our Better Web, a program that supports empirical research, policy analysis, training, and engagement to address the rise of online harms. She serves as co-director at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at Berkeley Law and the UC Berkeley AI Policy Hub. Brandie is the host of TecHype, a groundbreaking video and audio series that debunks misunderstandings around emerging technologies and the laws and policies that shape them. Her research has been featured in Science, Wired, NPR, BBC News, MIT Technology Review, Buzzfeed News, among others. Brandie received the SF Business Times INSPIRE Award for her leadership in AI in 2024 and was named one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics in 2021. |
| Law 276.24S Pro-Innovation Risk Analysis for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: AI ethics – why does it matter? AI safety – why does it matter? This course will take a practical approach towards reviewing litigation and regulatory issues with respect to AI technology innovation. These include cases involving lawyers’ improper use of AI in legal briefs, class action and mass tort product liability theories against AI products, issues relating to scraping, copyright, and fair use, as well as fun cases involving allegations of defamation based on an AI “speech.” We will cover AI platform abuse issues and litigation, including financial fraud, scams, bots, API abuse, information manipulation, sextortion, and issues around drugs, guns, and extremism. Our class will take a close look at how courts around the country are applying Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to AI controversies. We’ll also see how companies are beginning to deal with legal regimes such as new AI laws in the United States, the European Union, and elsewhere. We will study how agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission are approaching AI developers, including reviewing filed enforcement actions. The class will take a case-study approach looking at real litigation and controversies involving technologies in the wild. We’ll have guests from industry, including lawyers from technology companies navigating the complexities of the AI regulatory and litigation landscape. Students will have an opportunity to team up and do a hearing-style mini-debate on the AI law trends we review. Michael Burshteyn, the instructor, is a Partner at Greenberg Traurig in San Francisco. He represents technology companies, including AI innovators, in litigation and regulatory disputes across the US and worldwide. He is lead counsel in multiple disputes involving over $100m in controversy. Mike has handled a variety of cases involving product liability styled allegations of AI-gone-wrong, including claims relating to wrongful death from purported failure of AI to detect dangerous content. He was formerly the CEO and Founder of a technology company, which gives Mike a practical perspective on how businesses look at emerging legal regimes. In addition to his litigation practice, Mike coordinates the legal roadmap for many AI startups as outside general counsel. He attended Berkeley Law as a visiting student and attended Cal for undergrad, where he led the team to the #1 college debate ranking in the United States. |
| Law 276.25S Global Regulation of AI 1 Units |
| Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2025 Description: This course explores the global regulatory landscape surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), beginning with foundational definitions, applications, and existing regulatory frameworks. Students will critically analyze the risks associated with AI technologies, including privacy, ethics, and societal impacts, and discuss the need for additional regulations to address evolving challenges. The course will highlight different regulatory approaches, focusing on the European model and significant legislative frameworks like the GDPR and the EU-AI Act, while contrasting these with the U.S. harm-focused approach. Key topics will include legislation, regulation, and enforcement mechanisms, complemented by practical tools from Determann's Field Guide to Artificial Intelligence Law for global compliance (excerpts will be provided to students). Students will have the opportunity to examine current draft bills and enforcement cases to anticipate the future of AI regulation, preparing them to navigate this dynamic field as informed legal professionals – whether as outside or inhouse counsel to organizations or in public service. Students will engage in active discussions, review and find new regulatory approaches, participate in quizzes, and examine real-world case studies on AI governance. Importantly, students will learn how to practice law and advise organizations concerning compliance requirements under global AI regulations. Prof. Dr. Determann has been teaching Computer Law for more than 20 years at Berkeley Law and courses on AI & IT Law, Data Privacy, Electronic Commerce, and other subjects at Berkeley Law, the Free University of Berlin, Stanford Law School and other law schools. He has been practicing technology law at Baker McKenzie, admitted in California and Germany, and published more than 170 articles and 6 books, including Determann's Field Guide to Artificial Intelligence Law (2024), soon available also in Chinese, German, Korean and Spanish. For more information, see www.prof-determann.info |
| Law 276.32 Topics in Privacy and Security Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course examines emerging issues in privacy and cybersecurity law. The law faces new challenges as technology develops, changes, and transforms daily life. Issues now arise regarding: the security of our financial and health records; the ideal regulation of encryption technology; the interaction of different legal regimes for privacy and security in different countries; legal access to the global cloud; the use of biometric information; and a host of other issues. This course will explore a series of different cutting-edge topics. Fall 2021 Description: This course examines emerging issues in privacy and cybersecurity law. The law faces new challenges as technology develops, changes, and transforms daily life. Issues now arise regarding: the security of our financial and health records; the ideal regulation of encryption technology; the interaction of different legal regimes for privacy and security in different countries; legal access to the global cloud; the use of biometric information; and a host of other issues. This course will explore a series of different cutting-edge topics. Fall 2022 Description: This course examines emerging issues in privacy and cybersecurity law. The law faces new challenges as technology develops, changes, and transforms daily life. Issues now arise regarding: the security of our financial and health records; the ideal regulation of encryption technology; the interaction of different legal regimes for privacy and security in different countries; legal access to the global cloud; the use of biometric information; and a host of other issues. This course will explore a series of different cutting-edge topics. Fall 2023 Description: This course examines emerging issues in privacy and cybersecurity law. The law faces new challenges as technology develops, changes, and transforms daily life. Issues now arise regarding such areas as the security of our financial and health records; the ideal regulation of encryption technology; the interaction of different legal regimes for privacy and security in different countries; legal access to the global cloud; the use of biometric information; international transfers of personal information; and a host of other issues. This course will explore a series of different cutting-edge topics. Fall 2024 Description: This course examines emerging issues in privacy and cybersecurity law. The law faces new challenges as technology develops, changes, and transforms daily life. Issues now arise regarding such areas as the security of our financial and health records; the ideal regulation of encryption technology; the interaction of different legal regimes for privacy and security in different countries; legal access to the global cloud; the use of biometric information; international transfers of personal information; and a host of other issues. This course will explore a series of different cutting-edge topics. Fall 2025 Description: This course examines emerging issues in privacy and cybersecurity law. The law faces new challenges as technology develops, changes, and transforms daily life. Issues now arise regarding such areas as the security of our financial and health records; the ideal regulation of encryption technology; the interaction of different legal regimes for privacy and security in different countries; legal access to the global cloud; the use of biometric information; international transfers of personal information; and a host of other issues. This course will explore a series of different cutting-edge topics and feature presentations by leading academics, who will present works-in-progress each week. Students will critique and discuss these works. |
| Law 276.33 Regulating Internet Platforms 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: In the mid-1990s, Congress passed two laws that limited the liability of online service providers (OPSs) for unlawful acts of their users. In enacting § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Congress hoped to encourage OSPs to engage in content moderation by immunizing them from liability for wrongful acts by users such as defamation, hate speech, and privacy violations. Congress took a different approach when it came to copyright infringement by users. Under the safe harbors of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, OSPs are obliged to take down user-uploaded infringements upon receiving notice from the works' copyright owners. Both laws have fostered incredible growth of the Internet economy. But both laws are under siege now because of the proliferation of online wrongdoing. Proposed legislation would significantly alter these rules. This course will consider, among other things, some First Amendment limits on what the government can do to regulate speech that takes place on online platforms. Can the government require Facebook to stop disinformation campaigns? Can President Trump order other government agencies to require platforms to be neutral or stop censoring some critics? Will private initiatives such as the Facebook Oversight Board mitigate content moderation problems? Will modifying the DMCA safe harbors reduce copyright infringement? These are examples of the questions we will have a chance to address in this course. This course meets every other week for 7 sessions beginning Tuesday August 18th. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: In the mid-1990s, Congress passed a law that limits the liability of online service providers (OPSs) for unlawful acts of their users. In enacting what is widely known as § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Congress hoped to encourage OSPs to engage in content moderation by immunizing them from liability for wrongful acts by users (such as defamation, hate speech, and privacy violations). This law has fostered incredible growth of the Internet economy. Courts have interpreted that law very liberally, and some platforms have abused the immunity. As a consequence, this law is under siege now because of the proliferation of online wrongdoing. Proposed legislation would significantly alter this law. In addition to reviewing key cases and legislative options, the course will consider the challenges of engaging in content moderation at scale and discuss the private governance mechanisms that online platforms use (and sometimes fail to use) to stop the proliferation of harmful content. This course will consider, among other things, First Amendment limits on what the government can do to regulate speech that takes place on online platforms. Can the government require Facebook to stop disinformation campaigns? Can President Trump order other government agencies to require platforms to be neutral or stop censoring some critics? Will private initiatives such as the Facebook Oversight Board mitigate content moderation problems? These are examples of the questions we will have a chance to address in this course. This course meets every week for 7 sessions beginning Monday, January 25, 2021. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2022 Description: In the mid-1990s, Congress passed a law that limits the liability of online service providers (OSPs) for unlawful acts of their users. In enacting what is widely known as § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Congress hoped to encourage OSPs to engage in content moderation by immunizing them from liability for wrongful acts by users (such as defamation, hate speech, and privacy violations). This law has fostered incredible growth of the Internet economy. Courts have interpreted that law very liberally, and some platforms have abused the immunity. As a consequence, this law is under siege now because of the proliferation of online wrongdoing. Proposed legislation would significantly alter this law. In addition to reviewing key cases and legislative options, the course will consider the challenges of engaging in content moderation at scale and discuss the private governance mechanisms that online platforms use (and sometimes fail to use) to stop the proliferation of harmful content. This course will consider, among other things, First Amendment limits on what the government can do to regulate speech that takes place on online platforms. Can the government require Facebook to stop disinformation campaigns? Can governments require platforms to be neutral or stop "censoring" some critics? Will private initiatives such as the Facebook Oversight Board mitigate content moderation problems? These are examples of the questions we will have a chance to address in this course. Spring 2023 Description: In the mid-1990s, Congress passed a law that immunizes Internet platforms for wrongful content (e.g., defamation) posted by their users. In enacting what is widely known as § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Congress hoped, among other things, to encourage OSPs to engage in content moderation to stop the spread of hate speech and other harmful content. This law has fostered incredible growth of the Internet economy and sites populated with user-generated content. Courts have so far interpreted this law very liberally. Complaints are widespread, however, that platforms have abused this immunity, either by taking down too much user-posted content or taking down too little. As a consequence, this law is under siege because of the proliferation of online wrongdoing. Proposed legislation in Congress would significantly alter this law. In addition to reviewing key cases and legislative options, the course will explore the challenges that platforms face when engaging in content moderation at scale and discuss the private governance mechanisms that online platforms use (and sometimes fail to use) to stop the proliferation of harmful content. This course will consider, among other things, First Amendment limits on what the government can do to regulate speech that takes place on online platforms. Can the government require Facebook to stop disinformation campaigns? Can states require platforms to be neutral or stop "censoring" some critics? Will private initiatives such as the Facebook Oversight Board mitigate content moderation problems? These are examples of the questions we will have a chance to address in this course. Spring 2024 Description: In the mid-1990s, Congress passed a law that immunizes Internet platforms for wrongful content (e.g., defamation) posted by their users. In enacting what is widely known as § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Congress hoped, among other things, to encourage OSPs to engage in content moderation to stop the spread of hate speech and other harmful content. This law has fostered incredible growth of the Internet economy and sites populated with user-generated content. Courts have so far interpreted this law very liberally. Complaints are widespread, however, that platforms have abused this immunity, either by taking down too much user-posted content or taking down too little. As a consequence, this law is under siege because of the proliferation of online wrongdoing. Proposed legislation in Congress would significantly alter this law. In addition, many state legislatures have enacted laws to regulate Internet platforms that are being challenged as violations of the First Amendment. Two such cases are pending before the Supreme Court this term. In addition to reviewing key cases and legislative options, the course will explore the challenges that platforms face when engaging in content moderation at scale and discuss the private governance mechanisms that online platforms use (and sometimes fail to use) to stop the proliferation of harmful content. This course will consider, among other things, First Amendment limits on what the government can do to regulate speech that takes place on online platforms. Can the government require Facebook to stop disinformation campaigns? Can states require platforms to be neutral or stop "censoring" some critics? These are examples of the questions we will have a chance to address in this course. Spring 2025 Description: In the mid-1990s, Congress passed a law that immunizes Internet platforms for wrongful content (e.g., defamation) posted by their users. In enacting what is widely known as § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Congress hoped, among other things, to encourage OSPs to engage in content moderation to stop the spread of hate speech and other harmful content. This law has fostered incredible growth of the Internet economy and sites populated with user-generated content. Courts have so far interpreted this law very liberally. Complaints are widespread, however, that platforms have abused this immunity, either by taking down too much user-posted content or taking down too little. As a consequence, this law is under siege because of the proliferation of online wrongdoing. Proposed legislation in Congress would significantly alter this law. In addition, many state legislatures have enacted laws to regulate Internet platforms that are being challenged as violations of the First Amendment. Two such cases are pending before the Supreme Court this term. In addition to reviewing key cases and legislative options, the course will explore the challenges that platforms face when engaging in content moderation at scale and discuss the private governance mechanisms that online platforms use (and sometimes fail to use) to stop the proliferation of harmful content. This course will consider, among other things, First Amendment limits on what the government can do to regulate speech that takes place on online platforms. Can the government require Facebook to stop disinformation campaigns? Can states require platforms to be neutral or stop "censoring" some critics? These are examples of the questions we will have a chance to address in this course. |
| Law 276.34 Computer Programming for Lawyers 4 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Clients increasingly want their lawyers to understand their products and services on a technical level. Regulators need to understand how their rules will be implemented in code. Lawyers increasingly need tools to automate the process of collecting, organizing, and making sense of impossibly large troves of information. Computer Programming for Lawyers introduces law students to the Python programming language with an emphasis on text analysis. For instance, we will use the same tools data scientists employ to "scrape" (collect) data, organize it, clean it, and use it to explore legally-relevant questions. This course will lay the foundation for understanding the basics of how companies leverage software engineering and “big data.” These skills have applications from legal discovery, to deposition preparation, to research into administrative or judicial action. Computer Programming for Lawyers also acquaints the student with the logic of computer reasoning, and offers opportunities to contrast it with legal reasoning. How would the procedure and substance of legal decisions change if more of the law were legible to computers and executable by computers? This course requires the student to complete in-class labs and problem sets as homework in order to demonstrate skill acquisition. It is four credits because of its intensity. Learning Python will be much like learning a new language; we thus expect a serious commitment from the student in this course. This course is designed for students with no prior exposure to computer programming; consult the instructors prior to enrolling if you have experience programming in languages such as Python, C++, Ruby, Java, R, etc. Spring 2022 Description: Clients increasingly want their lawyers to understand their products and services on a technical level. Regulators need to understand how their rules will be implemented in code. Lawyers increasingly need tools to automate the process of collecting, organizing, and making sense of impossibly large troves of information. Computer Programming for Lawyers introduces law students to the Python programming language with an emphasis on text analysis. For instance, we will use the same tools data scientists employ to "scrape" (collect) data, organize it, clean it, and use it to explore legally-relevant questions. This course will lay the foundation for understanding the basics of how companies leverage software engineering and “big data.” These skills have applications from legal discovery, to deposition preparation, to research into administrative or judicial action. Computer Programming for Lawyers also acquaints the student with the logic of computer reasoning, and offers opportunities to contrast it with legal reasoning. How would the procedure and substance of legal decisions change if more of the law were legible to computers and executable by computers? This course requires the student to complete in-class labs and problem sets as homework in order to demonstrate skill acquisition. It is four credits because of its intensity. Learning Python will be much like learning a new language; we thus expect a serious commitment from the student in this course. This course is designed for students with no prior exposure to computer programming; consult the instructors prior to enrolling if you have experience programming in languages such as Python, C++, Ruby, Java, R, etc. Spring 2023 Description: Clients increasingly want their lawyers to understand their products and services on a technical level. Regulators need to understand how their rules will be implemented in code. Lawyers increasingly need tools to automate the process of collecting, organizing, and making sense of impossibly large troves of information. Computer Programming for Lawyers introduces law students to the Python programming language with an emphasis on text analysis. For instance, we will use the same tools data scientists employ to "scrape" (collect) data, organize it, clean it, and use it to explore legally-relevant questions. This course will lay the foundation for understanding the basics of how companies leverage software engineering and “big data.” These skills have applications from legal discovery, to deposition preparation, to research into administrative or judicial action. We also cover regular expressions, some HTML, JSON, and APIs. Computer Programming for Lawyers also acquaints the student with the logic of computer reasoning, and offers opportunities to contrast it with legal reasoning. How would the procedure and substance of legal decisions change if more of the law were legible to computers and executable by computers? This course requires the student to complete in-class labs and problem sets as homework in order to demonstrate skill acquisition. It is four credits because of its intensity. Learning Python will be much like learning a new language; we thus expect a serious commitment from the student in this course. This course is designed for students with no prior exposure to computer programming; consult the instructors prior to enrolling if you have experience programming in languages such as Python, C++, Ruby, Java, R, etc. Spring 2025 Description: Clients increasingly want their lawyers to understand their products and services on a technical level. Regulators need to understand how their rules will be implemented in code. Lawyers increasingly need tools to automate the process of collecting, organizing, and making sense of impossibly large troves of information. Computer Programming for Lawyers introduces law students to the Python programming language with an emphasis on text analysis. For instance, we will use the same tools data scientists employ to "scrape" (collect) data, organize it, clean it, and use it to explore legally-relevant questions. This course will lay the foundation for understanding the basics of how companies leverage software engineering and “big data.” These skills have applications from legal discovery, to deposition preparation, to research into administrative or judicial action. We also cover regular expressions, some HTML, JSON, and APIs. Computer Programming for Lawyers also acquaints the student with the logic of computer reasoning and offers opportunities to contrast it with legal reasoning. How would the procedure and substance of legal decisions change if more of the law were legible to computers and executable by computers? This course requires the student to complete in-class labs and problem sets as homework in order to demonstrate skill acquisition. It is four credits because of its intensity. Learning Python will be much like learning a new language; we thus expect a serious commitment from the students in this course. This course is designed for students with no prior exposure to computer programming; consult the instructors prior to enrolling if you have experience programming in languages such as Python, C++, Ruby, Java, R, etc. |
| Law 276.35 Social Media Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: Billions of people now use social media to create, disseminate, and consume information. The social and political impacts of this relatively new form of human interaction are incredibly complex and regularly dominate headlines around the globe. This course will examine some of the legal issues that have uniquely developed around social media. Topics will include: The history of the Communications Decency Act and proposals for its reform; whether legislation should require--or restrict the ability of--social media companies to edit user information and whether the First Amendment would constrain such legislation; efforts to protect vulnerable populations from exploitation through social media; the role of social media in spreading and combating disinformation and what, if anything, the law can do about it; privacy and the ownership of user information in the world of “big data” and targeted advertising; whether the antitrust laws can or should be applied to social media platforms; and the various models of content self-moderation deployed by social media companies. We will also discuss and contrast approaches to regulating social media in the United States and Europe. Bryn Williams is an attorney at Keker, Van Nest & Peters where he represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation and intellectual property disputes and advises individuals and businesses on pre-dispute matters. |
| Law 276.4 Computer Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Hybrid Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course explores laws, industry practices and policy considerations relating to the development, protection and commercialization of software, computers and information technology services. The primary focus will be on two areas of law: intellectual property and contracts. We will also cover international and commercial issues, antitrust law, as well as current hot topics, such as apps, cloud, Internet of Things, open source licensing and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We will also cover data as an asset, but not information privacy or data security topics. The course is interactive, focused on practical problem-solving, exercises and quizzes. Please look at the First Assignment and Abbreviated Syllabus for this course at the bottom of this page. Prior courses in intellectual property topics are recommended but not required; there will be no or minimal overlap with other courses. No technical background is required; a hands-on introduction to information technology will be provided as part of the course. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has two automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2021 Description: This course explores laws, industry practices, and policy considerations relating to the development, protection, and commercialization of software, computers, and information technology services. The primary focus will be on two areas of law: intellectual property and contracts. We will also cover international and commercial issues, antitrust law, as well as current hot topics, such as artificial intelligence, apps, cloud, Internet of Things, open source licensing, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We will also cover data as an asset, but not information privacy or data protection law topics. The course is interactive, focused on practical problem-solving, exercises and quizzes. Prior courses in intellectual property topics are recommended but not required; there will be no or minimal overlap with other courses. No technical background is required; a hands-on introduction to information technology will be provided as part of the course. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has two automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2022 Description: This course explores laws, industry practices, and policy considerations relating to the development, protection, and commercialization of software, computers, and information technology services. The primary focus will be on two areas of law: intellectual property and contracts. We will also cover international and commercial issues, antitrust law, as well as current hot topics, such as artificial intelligence, metaverse, cloud computing and open source licensing. We will cover data as an asset, but not information privacy or data protection law topics. The course is interactive, focused on practical problem-solving, exercises and quizzes. Prior courses in intellectual property topics are highly recommended, such as "Intellectual Property Law" or "Intro to IP Law." We will not review basic intellectual property or technology law in this course. An engineering or programming background is not necessary. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has two automatic make-up classes scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2023 Description: Based on a case study focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI), this course explores laws, industry practices, and policy considerations relating to the development, protection, and commercialization of software, computers, and information technology services. The primary focus will be on intellectual property law, but we will also cover contracts, antitrust,international and commercial issues, as well as different technology and business models, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and open source licensing. We will cover data as an asset, but not information privacy or data protection law topics. The course is interactive, focused on practical problem-solving, exercises and quizzes. Optionally, it will offer discussion and research opportunities concerning AI development and safety. Prior courses in intellectual property topics are highly recommended, such as "Intellectual Property Law" or "Intro to IP Law." We will not review basic intellectual property or technology law in this course. An engineering or programming background is not necessary. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has two automatic make-up classes scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Fall 2024 Description: Based on a case study focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI), this course explores laws, industry practices, and policy considerations relating to the development, protection, and commercialization of software, computers, and information technology services. The primary focus will be on intellectual property law, but we will also cover contracts, antitrust, international and commercial issues, as well as different technology and business models, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and open source licensing. We will cover data as an asset, but not information privacy or data protection law topics. The course is interactive, focused on practical problem-solving, exercises and quizzes. Optionally, it will offer discussion and research opportunities concerning AI development and safety. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has two automatic make-up classes scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 276.41 Advanced IT Contracts: Drafting and Negotiating 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate technology contracts. The goal is to prepare them to practice as transactional attorneys in the IT industry. The secondary benefit is training on contract drafting and negotiation in general, which supports legal work in any industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in cloud computing contracts, software licenses, and the other bread-and-butter agreements of the IT industry. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, particularly a primer on contract drafting itself, a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns, and a primer on intellectual property as it applies to the industry. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play an important role. The course is taught by David W. Tollen, who is an author, expert witness, trainer, and attorney. He wrote The Tech Contracts Handbook: Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers And Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2015). The book is the number-one bestseller from the IP Section of the American Bar Association, and it will serve as the course’s key text. Mr. Tollen is also the founder of Tech Contracts Academy™, LLP, where he teaches lawyers and businesspeople to draft and negotiate IT agreements. Finally, Mr. Tollen is the founder of Sycamore Legal® P.C., an IP and IT boutique law firm in San Francisco. There, he represents buyers and sellers in IT transactions and also serves as an expert witness for cases on the same topic. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and has an Ll.M. from Cambridge University and a B.A. in history from U.C. Berkeley. Spring 2022 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate technology contracts. The goal is to prepare them to practice as transactional attorneys in the IT industry. The secondary benefit is training on contract drafting and negotiation in general, which supports legal work in any industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in cloud computing contracts, software licenses, and the other bread-and-butter agreements of the IT industry. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, particularly a primer on contract drafting itself, a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns, and a primer on intellectual property as it applies to the industry. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play a role. The course is taught by David W. Tollen, who is an author, expert witness, trainer, and attorney. He wrote The Tech Contracts Handbook: Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers And Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2021). The book is the number-one bestseller from the IP Section of the American Bar Association, and it will serve as the course’s key text. Mr. Tollen is also the founder of Tech Contracts Academy™, LLP, where he teaches lawyers and businesspeople to draft and negotiate IT agreements. Finally, Mr. Tollen is the founder of Sycamore Legal® P.C., an IP and IT boutique law firm in San Francisco. There, he represents buyers and sellers in IT transactions and also serves as an expert witness for cases on the same topic. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and has an Ll.M. from Cambridge University and a B.A. in history from U.C. Berkeley. Spring 2023 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate technology contracts. The goal is to prepare them to practice as transactional attorneys in the IT industry. The secondary benefit is training on contract drafting and negotiation in general, which supports legal work in any industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in softare-as-a-service and other cloud computing contracts, software licenses, and the other bread-and-butter agreements of the IT industry. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, particularly a primer on contract drafting itself, a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns (e.g., open source software), and a primer on intellectual property as it applies to the industry. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play a role. The course is taught by David W. Tollen, an author, expert witness, trainer, and attorney. Mr. Tollen wrote The Tech Contracts Handbook: Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers And Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2021). The book is the number-one bestseller from the IP Section of the American Bar Association, and it will serve as the course’s key text. Mr. Tollen is also the founder of Tech Contracts Academy™, LLP, where he teaches lawyers and businesspeople to draft and negotiate IT agreements. Finally, Mr. Tollen is the founder of Sycamore Legal® P.C., an IP and IT boutique law firm in San Francisco. There, he represents buyers and sellers in IT transactions and also serves as an expert witness for cases on the same topic. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and has an Ll.M. from Cambridge University and a B.A. in history from U.C. Berkeley. Spring 2025 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate information technology (IT) contracts. The goal is to prepare them to practice as transactional attorneys in the IT industry. The secondary benefit is training on contract drafting and negotiation in general, which supports legal work in any industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of contracts about artificial intelligence, software-as-a-service, and other forms of IT, including on-premise software licenses and cloud infrastructure agreements. In other words, the course covers the bread-and-butter agreements of the IT industry. The course will also include content that is not clause-specific, particularly a primer on contract drafting itself, a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns (e.g., open source software), and a primer on intellectual property as it applies to the industry. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play a role. The course is called "Advanced" because students do best if they have experience with drafting contracts, even if very limited experience. Students without that experience have succeeded in past classes, but they've often found the pace too fast. The necessary experience could involve work in a legal clinic or nearly any other legal setting. The course is taught by David W. Tollen, an author, expert witness, trainer, and attorney. Mr. Tollen wrote The Tech Contracts Handbook: Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers And Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2021). The book one of the top three bestsellers from the American Bar Association, and it will serve as the course’s key text. Mr. Tollen is also the founder of Tech Contracts Academy™, LLP, where he teaches lawyers and businesspeople to draft and negotiate IT agreements. Finally, Mr. Tollen is the founder of Sycamore Legal® P.C., an IP and IT boutique law firm in San Francisco. There, he represents buyers and sellers in IT transactions and also serves as an expert witness for cases on the same topic. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and has an Ll.M. from Cambridge University and a B.A. in history from U.C. Berkeley. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course also has two automatic make-up classes scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Those dates will only be used if one of the scheduled 7 has be moved, but in case that happens, students should make sure they’re available for dates on the 8th and 9th weeks as well. |
| Law 276.41S Advanced IT Contracts: Drafting and Negotiating 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate cloud services contracts, software licenses, and other technology contracts. The goal is to prepare you to practice as a transactional attorney in the IT industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in the bread-and-butter contracts of the IT industry. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, including a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns and an exploration of open source software. Finally, the course will involve brief take-home work -- particularly preparation of contract clauses, based on hypotheticals -- as well as in-class moot negotiations and other peer-to-peer interaction. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play an important role. The course content does not include basic training on how to write a contract, but some of that knowledge is necessary or at least very helpful. Students will do best if they have worked on contracts in a legal clinic, taken a workshop involving contract drafting and/or negotiation (not just a first year Contracts class), done contract-drafting as a paralegal or contract manager, or practiced law in a transactional setting. Summer 2022 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate cloud services contracts, software licenses, and other technology contracts. The goal is to prepare you to practice as a transactional attorney in the IT industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in the bread-and-butter contracts of the IT industry. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, including a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns and an exploration of open source software. Finally, the course will involve brief take-home work -- particularly preparation of contract clauses, based on hypotheticals -- as well as in-class moot negotiations and other peer-to-peer interaction. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play an important role. The course content does not include basic training on how to write a contract, but some of that knowledge is necessary or at least very helpful. Students will do best if they have worked on contracts in a legal clinic, taken a workshop involving contract drafting and/or negotiation (not just a first year Contracts class), done contract-drafting as a paralegal or contract manager, or practiced law in a transactional setting. Summer 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 276.46 IP and Human Creativity in the AI Age 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: We are at the dawn of an age enabled by artificial intelligence. While the concept of AI goes back to the 1950’s, the recent exponential increase in data and computing power and improved models are largely responsible for its current widespread implementation. Most interestingly, during the past few years AI has started to permeate creative activities, which were always perceived to be human beings’ sole remit. A paradigm shift of creation may be rapidly dawning, as the burgeoning projects of “AI for science” and Generative AI’s most recent disruption to the artistic markets (+ new litigation) inspired us. In this new creative paradigm, human being and AI may have complementary roles to play, constituting an “1+1 2” effect. In the longer term, it may have profound impact on the creative economy. Over the past centuries, human beings have established the good old intellectual property system to incentivize and honor our creativity. How should IP adapt to the paradigm shift in creation then, to ensure that “machine creativity” would be deployed to promote human creativity, rather than to replace it? This is the theme question this new class aims to explore. At this crucial inflection point, together with the brilliant students of Berkeley Law, we aim to break some new ground in how IP could continue to facilitate human creativity in the AI-enabled age, including but not limited to the following issues: The technological and epistemological underpinnings for the emerging human + AI creative synergy; The patentability of AI technologies; The challenges to the patent doctrines of inventorship and ownership by “AI generated” technologies; The challenges to the patent doctrine of inventiveness / non-obviousness by “AI generated” technologies; The challenges to the patent doctrine of enablement / disclosure by “AI generated” technologies; The challenges to the copyright doctrines of authorship and ownership by “AI generated works”; Copyright infringement is sues through the training of “Generative AI”; The defense of fair use / transformative use in the context of Generative AI; IP’s role in addressing AI ethics; Theoretical framework of justifying intellectual property in the AI age: the divergent foundations of utilitarianism and normative rights; the principle of dignity – how does the theoretical framework inform doctrinal adaptations; The interplay of intellectual property and human right in the AI age; The interplay of intellectual property and antitrust in the AI age. Spring 2025 Description: We are at the dawn of an age enabled by artificial intelligence. While the concept of AI dates back to the 1950s, the recent exponential increase in data, computing power, and improved models is largely responsible for its recent breakthroughs and widespread implementation. Most interestingly, in the past few years, AI has begun to permeate creative activities, which were always perceived to be the sole remit of human beings. A paradigm shift in creation may be rapidly dawning, as the burgeoning projects of “AI for science” and Generative AI’s recent disruption of artistic markets (along with high-stakes litigation) have inspired us. In this new creative paradigm, humans and AI may have complementary roles to play, constituting a “1+1 2” effect. In the longer term, this may have a profound impact on the creative economy. Over the past centuries, human beings have established the good old intellectual property system to incentivize and honor our creativity. How should IP adapt to this paradigm shift in creation to ensure that “machine creativity” is deployed to promote human creativity rather than replace it? This is the central question this class aims to explore. At this crucial inflection point, together with the brilliant students of Berkeley Law, we aim to break new ground in understanding how IP can continue to facilitate human creativity in the AI-enabled age, including but not limited to the following issues: The technological and epistemological underpinnings of the emerging human + AI creative synergy; The patentability of AI technologies; The challenges to the patent doctrines of inventorship posed by "AI-generated inventions"; The challenges to the patent doctrine of inventiveness/non-obviousness posed by “AI-generated inventions”; The challenges to the patent doctrine of enablement/disclosure posed by “AI-generated inventions"; The challenges to the copyright doctrines of authorship posed by “AI-generated works”; Copyright infringement issues related to the training of “Generative AI”; The defense of fair use in the context of Generative AI; Right of publicity in the "AI age"; IP’s role in addressing AI ethics; The theoretical framework for justifying intellectual property in the "AI age": the divergent foundations of utilitarianism and normative rights; the principle of dignity – how does the theoretical framework inform doctrinal adaptations; The interplay of intellectual property and human rights in the "AI age"; The interplay of intellectual property and antitrust in the "AI age". |
| Law 276.47 Intellectual Property Protection for Industrial and Product Design 1 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 276.6 Technology Expertise in Law & Policy 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Law and policymaking increasingly rely on technological expertise. Yet, by and large, neither judges nor legislators are technical experts; and leaders of executive branch agencies -- even ones that routinely set technology policy -- frequently lack deep expertise. This short one-credit CR/NC course will address this issue, increasingly at the heart of governance. The course will center around attendance at the two-day Spring 2020 BCLT/BTLJ Symposium, where leading scholars and practitioners at the intersection of law and technology will address this issue. This course will meet for five Fridays. Three Friday meetings will happen before the Symposium to familiarize ourselves with the scholarship on technology expertise in governance and the work of the panelists. The fourth Friday meeting will happen at the second day of the Symposium on Friday, February 28th, which the professor will attend with the class. The fifth and final meeting will happen after the Symposium, to process and analyze the issues raised. Attendance at the first day of the Symposium, Thursday, February 27th, is not required, but students will be responsible for the information shared that day. So, students can either attend on Thursday or watch a video of the panels. This course will meet as follows: Friday, January 31st 10AM-12PM Friday, February 7th 10AM-12PM Friday, February 21st 10AM-12PM Friday, February 28th 8AM-3PM Friday, March 6th 10AM-12PM |
| Law 276.61 Biotechnology Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will examine legal issues encountered uniquely and frequently in the biotechnology industry. Particular attention will be given to biotechnology-specific patent issues, technology licensing, litigation, the regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals and agricultural products, and various hot topics such as the CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape. The course emphasis is on myriad real-life complexities faced by practitioners in the biosciences. Barbara McClung is Chief Legal Officer for Caribou Biosciences and Jen Johnson is Associate General Counsel for DuPont's biotechnology business. Fall 2021 Description: This course will examine legal issues encountered uniquely and frequently in the biotechnology industry. Particular attention will be given to biotechnology-specific patent issues, technology licensing, litigation, the regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals and agricultural products, and various hot topics such as the CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape. The course emphasis is on myriad real-life complexities faced by practitioners in the biosciences. Barbara McClung is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Caribou Biosciences, Inc. since April 2015, where she is responsible for all legal functions, including intellectual property strategy and portfolio management, contracts, corporate transactions, litigation, board governance, and employment law. Ms. McClung has spent over 30 years in the biotech industry, first as a patent attorney and then as a general counsel. She is a member of the California, Delaware and Pennsylvania bars, as well as being a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ms. McClung received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Matthew Show is Intellectual Property Corporate Counsel for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), where he is lead patent counsel for IFF's Animal Nutrition business. Matt has been practicing law for 11 years, both in industry and in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Mintz Levin PC. He is a member of the California bar and is a registered patent attorney. Matt received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of the Law. Fall 2022 Description: This course will examine legal issues encountered uniquely and frequently in the biotechnology industry. Particular attention will be given to biotechnology-specific patent issues, technology licensing, litigation, the regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals and agricultural products, and various hot topics such as the CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape. The course emphasis is on myriad real-life complexities faced by practitioners in the biosciences. Barbara McClung is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Caribou Biosciences, Inc. since April 2015, where she is responsible for all legal functions, including intellectual property strategy and portfolio management, contracts, corporate transactions, litigation, board governance, and employment law. Ms. McClung has spent over 30 years in the biotech industry, first as a patent attorney and then as a general counsel. She is a member of the California, Delaware and Pennsylvania bars, as well as being a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ms. McClung received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Matthew Show is Intellectual Property Corporate Counsel for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), where he is lead patent counsel for IFF's Animal Nutrition business. Matt has been practicing law for 11 years, both in industry and in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Mintz Levin PC. He is a member of the California bar and is a registered patent attorney. Matt received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of the Law. Fall 2023 Description: This course will examine legal issues encountered uniquely and frequently in the biotechnology industry. Particular attention will be given to biotechnology-specific patent issues, intellectual property licensing, biotech patent prosecution considerations (U.S. and foreign), patent litigation, conducting due diligence in the biotech space, the regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals and other biotech products, and various hot topics such as biotech patent cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and the CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape. The course emphasis is on myriad real-life complexities faced by practitioners in the biosciences. Barbara McClung is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Caribou Biosciences, Inc. since April 2015, where she is responsible for all legal functions, including intellectual property strategy and portfolio management, contracts, corporate transactions, litigation, board governance, securities, and employment law. Ms. McClung has spent over 30 years in the biotech industry, first as a patent attorney and then as a general counsel. She is a member of the California, Delaware and Pennsylvania bars, as well as being a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ms. McClung received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Matthew Show is Intellectual Property Counsel and Biosciences Team Lead for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), where he is lead patent counsel for IFF's Animal Nutrition business and oversees intellectual property operations for IFF's grain, personal care, food and dairy enzyme, and expression platform technology businesses. Matt has been practicing law for 13 years, both in industry and in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Mintz Levin PC. He is a member of the California bar and is a registered patent attorney. Matt received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Fall 2024 Description: This course will examine legal issues encountered uniquely and frequently in the biotechnology industry. Particular attention will be given to biotechnology-specific patent issues, intellectual property licensing, biotech patent prosecution considerations (U.S. and foreign), patent litigation, conducting due diligence in the biotech space, the regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals and other biotech products, and various hot topics such as biotech patent cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and the CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape. The course emphasis is on myriad real-life complexities faced by practitioners in the biosciences. Barbara McClung is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Caribou Biosciences, Inc. since April 2015, where she is responsible for all legal functions, including intellectual property strategy and portfolio management, contracts, corporate transactions, litigation, board governance, securities, and employment law. Ms. McClung has spent over 30 years in the biotech industry, first as a patent attorney and then as a general counsel. She is a member of the California, Delaware and Pennsylvania bars, as well as being a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ms. McClung received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Matthew Show is Intellectual Property Counsel and Biosciences Team Lead for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), where he is lead patent counsel for IFF's Animal Nutrition business and oversees intellectual property operations for IFF's grain, personal care, food and dairy enzyme, and expression platform technology businesses. Matt has been practicing law for 14 years, both in industry and in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Mintz Levin PC. He is a member of the California bar and is a registered patent attorney. Matt received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Fall 2025 Description: This course will examine legal issues encountered uniquely and frequently in the biotechnology industry. Particular attention will be given to biotechnology-specific patent issues, intellectual property licensing, biotech patent prosecution considerations (U.S. and foreign), patent litigation, conducting due diligence in the biotech space, the regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals and other biotech products, and various hot topics such as biotech patent cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and the CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape. The course emphasis is on myriad real-life complexities faced by practitioners in the biosciences. Barbara McClung has been the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Caribou Biosciences, Inc. since April 2015, where she is responsible for all legal functions, including intellectual property strategy and portfolio management, contracts, corporate transactions, litigation, board governance, securities, and employment law. Ms. McClung has spent over 30 years in the biotech industry, first as a patent attorney and then as a general counsel. She is a member of the California, Delaware, and Pennsylvania bars, as well as being a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ms. McClung received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Matthew Show is Intellectual Property Counsel and Biosciences Team Lead for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), where he is lead patent counsel for IFF's Animal Nutrition business and oversees intellectual property operations for IFF's grain, personal care, food and dairy enzyme, and expression platform technology businesses. Matt has been practicing law for 14 years, both in industry and in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP and Mintz Levin PC. He is a member of the California bar and is a registered patent attorney. Matt received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. |
| Law 276.66 Topics in Pharmaceutical Policy: the Case of Biotherapeutics 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will spark discussion of the growing industry of biotherapeutics, which has been widely hailed as the fastest-growing sector in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2017, revenues from biotherapeutics were estimated at $163 billion. Given that biologics (treatments derived from living cells) make up more than 50% of drugs currently in development, this is only predicted to increase. So, why have this course at a law school? Biologics are taking off at a time when we are wrestling with global intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry. In this course we will use case studies from the United States, the European Union, and India to explore the impact of the gaps, conflicts, and overlaps in different countries’ patent systems on the pricing of pharmaceutical products. Students will learn to consider and compare different methods of intellectual property protection for biologic drugs, as well as how to apply ethical frameworks to consider their impact. This course has no prerequisites; there will be an overview at the outset of the patentability of biologic products that will provide a sufficient basis for the expected level of discussion. The course is particularly designed to benefit and seek input from students with international practice experience, though both LL.M. and J.D. students are encouraged to enroll. Professor Zuraw earned her J.D. and Master's in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught courses in law and bioethics at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She subsequently practiced at firms in the Bay Area for several years in the areas of health care and complex intellectual property litigation. Professor Zuraw's current scholarship is focused on drug pricing and accessibility. Spring 2021 Description: Biotherapeutics, which has been widely hailed as the fastest-growing sector in the pharmaceutical industry, have been much in the news lately. Revenues are already in the hundreds of billions, and given that biologics (treatments derived from living cells) make up more than 50% of drugs currently in development, this is only predicted to increase. Furthermore, the race to develop treatments and vaccines to counter the COVID-19 global pandemic has started the world talking about biologics like monoclonal antibodies. So, why have this course at a law school? Biologics are taking off at a time when we are wrestling with global intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry. In this course we will use case studies from the United States, the European Union, and India to explore the impact of the gaps, conflicts, and overlaps in different countries’ patent systems and marketing approvals on the pricing and accessibility of pharmaceutical products. Students will learn to consider and compare different methods of intellectual property protection for biologic drugs, as well as how to apply ethical frameworks to consider their impact. This course has no prerequisites; there will be an overview at the outset of the patentability of biologic products that will provide a sufficient basis for the expected level of discussion. The course is particularly designed to benefit and seek input from students with international practice experience, though both LL.M. and J.D. students are encouraged to enroll. Professor Zuraw earned her J.D. and Master's in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught courses in law and bioethics at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She subsequently practiced at firms in the Bay Area for several years in the areas of health care and complex intellectual property litigation. Spring 2022 Description: Biotherapeutics, which has been widely hailed as the fastest-growing sector in the pharmaceutical industry, have been much in the news lately -- and not solely due to the use of monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19. Revenues are already in the hundreds of billions, and given that biologics (treatments derived from living cells) make up more than 50% of drugs currently in development, this is only predicted to increase. Furthermore, the development and repurposing of treatments and vaccines to counter the COVID-19 global pandemic has made the world interested in further possibilities. So, why have this course at a law school? Biologics are taking off at a time when we are wrestling with global intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry. In this course we will use case studies from the United States, the European Union, and India to explore the impact of the gaps, conflicts, and overlaps in different countries’ patent systems and marketing approvals on the pricing and accessibility of pharmaceutical products. Students will learn to consider and compare different methods of intellectual property protection for biologic drugs, as well as how to apply ethical frameworks to consider their impact. This course has no prerequisites; there will be an overview at the outset of the patentability of biologic products that will provide a sufficient basis for the expected level of discussion. The course is particularly designed to benefit and seek input from students with international practice experience, though both LL.M. and J.D. students are encouraged to enroll. Professor Zuraw earned her J.D. and Master's in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught courses in law and bioethics at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She subsequently practiced at firms in the Bay Area for several years in the areas of health care and complex intellectual property litigation. Spring 2023 Description: Biotherapeutics, which has been widely hailed as the fastest-growing sector in the pharmaceutical industry, have been much in the news lately -- and not solely due to the use of monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19. Revenues are already in the hundreds of billions, and given that biologics (treatments derived from living cells) make up more than 50% of drugs currently in development, this is only predicted to increase. Furthermore, the development and repurposing of treatments and vaccines to counter the COVID-19 global pandemic has made the world interested in further possibilities. So, why have this course at a law school? Biologics are taking off at a time when we are wrestling with global intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry. In this course we will use case studies from the United States, the European Union, and India to explore the impact of the gaps, conflicts, and overlaps in different countries’ patent systems and marketing approvals on the pricing and accessibility of pharmaceutical products. Students will learn to consider and compare different methods of intellectual property protection for biologic drugs, as well as how to apply ethical frameworks to consider their impact. This course has no prerequisites; there will be an overview at the outset of the patentability of biologic products that will provide a sufficient basis for the expected level of discussion. The course is particularly designed to benefit and seek input from students with international practice experience, though both LL.M. and J.D. students are encouraged to enroll. Professor Zuraw earned her J.D. and Master's in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught courses in law and bioethics at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She subsequently practiced at firms in the Bay Area for several years in the areas of health care and complex intellectual property litigation. |
| Law 276.67 Advanced IP: Theories of Innovation Policy and Culture 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Intellectual property (IP) rights such as patents, copyright, trademark, trade secrets and "rights of publicity" are of huge economic, cultural and social significance, being central levers for shaping the information economy and internet culture. This course will explore the theoretical foundations and policy implications of these legal regimes, taking into account the leading philosophical, economic and cultural theories developed to understand, evaluate and perhaps modify such laws. Special focus will be given to topics that are of particular economic or cultural significance or current legal controversy. Grading will be based on class participation, 4 short response papers on a week's readings (2-pages each) and a final paper on a topic of your choice that I approve (a list of possible topics will be provided, but you will also be free to choose your own). Students may satisfy the writing requirement in this course. Spring 2021 Description: Intellectual property (IP) rights such as patents, copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and "rights of publicity" are of major economic, cultural, and social significance, being central levers for shaping the information economy and internet culture. This course will explore the theoretical foundations and policy implications of these legal regimes, taking into account the leading philosophical, economic, and cultural theories developed to understand, evaluate and perhaps modify such laws. Special focus will be given to topics that are of particular economic or cultural significance or current legal controversy. Grading will be based on class participation, 4 short response papers on a week's readings (2-pages each) and a final paper on a topic of your choice that I approve (a list of possible topics will be provided, but you will also be free to choose your own). |
| Law 276.73 California Privacy Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: 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, 4th Ed. 2020. 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. You earn one credit with this course. We will meet seven times for two-hour classes towards the beginning of the semester. 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 a grade 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 July 2020 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 Francis-co & Los Angeles Daily Journal and as a leading lawyer by Chambers, Legal 500, IAM and oth-ers. For more information see www.bakermckenzie.com. Contact: ldeter-mann@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 150 articles and treatise contributions as well as 5 books, including Determann’s Field Guide to Data Privacy Law (4th Edition, 2020, also available in Chinese, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish) and California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary on U.S. Federal and California Law (4th Ed. 2020). 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). Spring 2023 Description: 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 (the 5th Ed. will be released in early 2023). 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. You earn one credit with this course. We will meet seven times for two-hour classes towards the beginning of the semester. 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 July 2020 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 Francis-co & Los Angeles Daily Journal and as a leading lawyer by Chambers, Legal 500, IAM and oth-ers. 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 150 articles and treatise contributions as well as 5 books, including Determann’s Field Guide to Data Privacy Law (5th Edition, 2022, also available in Arabic, Chinese5German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish) and California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary on U.S. Federal and California Law (5th Ed. 2023 forthcoming). 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). Spring 2024 Description: 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 (5th Ed., 2023). 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 July 2020 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 Francis-co & Los Angeles Daily Journal and as a leading lawyer by Chambers, Legal 500, IAM and oth-ers. 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 150 articles and treatise contributions as well as 5 books, including Determann’s Field Guide to Data Privacy Law (5th Edition, 2022, also available in Arabic, Chinese5German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish) and California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary on U.S. Federal and California Law (5th Ed. 2023 forthcoming). 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). Spring 2025 Description: 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 (5th Ed., 2023). 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 Francis-co & 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 (5th Edition, 2022, 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 (5th Ed. 2023), 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). |
| Law 276.74 Privacy Counseling & Compliance 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Privacy counseling and compliance is a rapidly growing and increasingly important function, both within companies and throughout the legal profession. The task is becoming evermore complex as companies grapple with adherance to new legislation and regulation, as well as local and international standards and norms. This interdisciplinary course seeks to help prepare students for this changing ethical, legal, and regulatory landscape. The academic perspective will be grounded in a real world examination of compliance challenges which will be presented by leading privacy professionals including in-house legal and compliance experts. Spring 2022 Description: Privacy counseling and compliance is a rapidly growing and increasingly important function, both within companies and throughout the legal profession. The task is becoming ever more complex as companies grapple with adherence to new legislation and regulation, as well as local and international standards and norms. This interdisciplinary course seeks to help prepare students for this changing ethical, legal, and regulatory landscape, providing a hands-on introduction to technological challenges to privacy, privacy-protecting technology, data flow mapping, and privacy impact assessments. The academic perspective will be grounded in a real world examination of compliance challenges which will be presented by both the instructors and leading privacy professionals including in-house legal and compliance experts. |
| Law 276.75 Reproductive and Genetic Technologies 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Human Reproductive and Genetic Technologies: Social, Ethical, and Legal Implications Berkeley Way West (located at 1919 Shattuck Ave.) Room 1205 Human reproductive and genetic technologies such as assisted reproduction, screening embryos to choose a child’s genetic makeup, and the prospect of personalized therapies are redefining modern medicine. If used properly, these technologies have great potential for treating disease, alleviating suffering, and improving many aspects of our daily lives. If misused, however, these technologies may lead to harmful outcomes that can undermine public health understandings of disease and health disparities as well as legal commitments to equality and human rights. This seminar examines these technologies' promise and potential peril in the context of the regulatory vacuum that currently exists in the United States. We will pay close attention to the particular implications these technologies may have for historically marginalized groups such as women, people with disabilities, and racial minorities. No particular background in the sciences is required. |
| Law 276.76 Life Sciences and Innovation Workshop I 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This research workshop will explore the roles of patent protection, government research, regulation, and funding, prizes, and philanthropy in driving life sciences innovation. We will explore the history of biomedical research, sources of innovation (genius, brute force, serendipity), the structure of industry, the role of the medical profession, and the role of universities in driving innovation. The early sessions will provide students with a broad understanding of these forces and players. Students will then be assigned case studies for exploring innovation drivers. Students will be involved in identifying and allocating the case studies. Potential case study topics include mRNA vaccines, HIV/AIDs, BTK inhibitors, medical diagnostics, medical devices (e.g., catheters), gene editing, CAR-T, protease inhibitors, and microbiomes. Students will produce a pathfinder, outline, and first draft of their case study during the fall semester. During the spring semester (as part of Life Sciences and Innovation Workshop II), students will make a presentation of their case study and produce a final draft. Students will be expected to participate in all of the sessions and offer input and assistance on each other's projects. Application Deadlines: Non-LLMs - April 11th. New students, transfers and LLMs - July 23rd This course will be co-taught by Professor Peter Menell and BCLT Life Sciences Project Director Allison Schmitt. Peter Menell is Koret Professor of Law. He co-founded the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. Much of his research has focused on intellectual property law. Allison is a Fellow of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology and is the first Director of the BCLT Life Sciences Project. She holds a PhD in chemistry from Duke University, where she studied problems in physical biochemistry and biological chemistry. After graduating from Berkeley Law, Allison clerked for the Honorable Stanley R. Chesler at the District of New Jersey and the Honorable Kathleen M. O'Malley at the Federal Circuit, where she worked extensively on cases implicating life science inventions. She then spent several years in private practice, focusing on life science patent litigation, patent counseling and strategy, and policy matters. |
| Law 276.77 Life Sciences and Innovation Workshop II 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This research workshop is a continuation of Law 276.76 Life Sciences and Innovation Workshop I (Fall 2022). It is open only to students who have participated in the Fall 2022 course. Students in the class will be converting their Fall 2022 draft into a final paper. The sessions will focus on writing academic papers, presentations of student papers, and special/guest lectures on topics relating to life sciences and innovation. Students will be expected to participate in all of the sessions and offer input and assistance on each other’s projects. |
| Law 276.78 Fundamentals of Technology Transactions 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: “Technology Transactions” are the deals through which intellectual property-based products and services are created and sold. These deals form the legal webbing between software, SaaS, Internet and device companies and their customers, distribution channels and developers. In other words, Technology Transactions are how tech companies make money. The framework for the course will be a "Technology Transactions Desk Reference" spanning the core Intellectual Property, contract, privacy and negotiation fundamentals necessary to practice as an in-house or law firm commercial or product legal counsel. As this is the first time the course is being taught, each student will choose a topic from the Desk Reference, conduct research and produce an analysis in the form of practitioner-friendly training materials in fulfillment of their writing assignment. At the student’s option, their work may be considered for inclusion for the next version of the Desk Reference (which will be released for free under CC BY 4.0). The class will be primarily discussion based and will include in-class exercises and expert guest speakers. Attendance in every class session is mandatory and except during in-class exercises, use of phones, laptops or other devices in class is prohibited. Fall 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 276.79 Technology and Trade Sanctions 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: � In this course, we will learn about the rapidly evolving area of technology-related trade sanctions, including technology, technology-intensive products, and data privacy. The course will discuss the range of currently available US sanctions, including controls imposed on inbound investments, proposed controls on outbound investments, financial sanctions, export controls on "dual-use" (military/civil) technology, and foreign-filing licenses for patents. We will evaluate them in the context of bilateral relations with China on dual-use technology. We will look at multilateral regimes to control exports as well as the impact of "national security" exemptions on international trade. Recent cases, such as US litigation involving TikTok and China's WTO case against US controls on semiconductor technology, will also be discussed. |
| Law 276.81 Secrecy: The Use and Abuse of Information Control in the Courts 3 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: It is a long-standing legal principle that, when it comes to litigation, “the public has a right to every person’s evidence,” and that what happens in courtrooms and court records should be transparent and open to all. Yet, courts routinely block subpoenas, seal records, and close hearings to protect sensitive information from disclosure. This seminar will explore the use and abuse of secrecy in the courts. Illustrative topics include: prohibitions on subpoenas for social media records; the use of confidential informants to conceal warrantless cell phone tracking; “grey mail” tactics of threatening disclosure in litigation in order to force dismissal; trade secret obstacles to making challenges to algorithmic decisions; and the reporter’s privilege not to reveal anonymous sources. How does secrecy in courts affect trust in the judicial system and its democratic legitimacy? We will engage in close reading of foundational cases, as well as litigation documents and legal scholarship. |
| Law 276.82 Secrecy: The Use and Abuse of Information Control in the Courts 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that a New York State prosecutor has the power to compel an accounting firm to disclose President Donald J. Trump's tax returns for a grand jury investigation because no one -- not even the President -- is above the law. Chief Justice Roberts opened this historic opinion with the statement: "In our judicial system, the public has a right to every man’s evidence.” Yet, in other cases, courts routinely block litigants' power to compel disclosures of relevant evidence. They do this to protect a range of conflicting interests, such as personal privacy, intellectual property, law enforcement methods, state secrets, and more. This course will explore tensions between, on the one hand, the commitment "to every man's evidence," and on the other hand, the commitment to keeping sensitive information secret, even when that secrecy undermines accuracy and fairness in the courts. This course is designed specifically for 1Ls. We will engage in close reading of foundational cases, as well as litigation documents and legal scholarship. This course will also provide weekly tips about legal thinking and argument to help provide you with a solid footing for your law school career. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that a New York State prosecutor has the power to compel an accounting firm to disclose President Donald J. Trump's tax returns for a grand jury investigation because no one -- not even the President -- is above the law. Chief Justice Roberts opened this historic opinion with the statement: "In our judicial system, the public has a right to every man’s evidence.” Yet, in other cases, courts routinely block litigants' power to compel disclosures of relevant evidence. They do this to protect a range of conflicting interests, such as personal privacy, intellectual property, law enforcement methods, state secrets, and more. This course will explore tensions between, on the one hand, the commitment "to every man's evidence," and on the other hand, the commitment to keeping sensitive information secret, even when that secrecy undermines accuracy and fairness in the courts. This course will engage in close reading of foundational cases, as well as litigation documents and legal scholarship. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 276.85 Intro to Information Privacy 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar will examine basics of information privacy law. Topics include the regulation of social media platforms and biometrics. We will also explore scholarship about the nature of privacy in the digital age. Finally, the class will discuss movies that have touched on privacy-related themes. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar will examine some basic concepts of information privacy law. Topics include the regulation of social media platforms and biometrics. We will also explore scholarship about the nature of privacy in the digital age and discuss movies that have touched on privacy-related themes. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 276.9 Patent Prosecution 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Students will learn the key elements of patent strategy and patent prosecution. High profile patents will be analyzed as examples. Students will participate in mock invention disclosures and mock Examiner Interviews. Patent claim analysis, designing around patents, reexaminations, inter partes and covered business method reviews, post grant reviews, patent valuation and patent strategies will also be covered. Fall 2022 Description: Students will learn the key elements of patent strategy and patent prosecution. High profile patents will be analyzed as examples. Students will participate in mock invention disclosures and mock Examiner Interviews. Patent claim analysis, designing around patents, reexaminations, inter partes and covered business method reviews, post grant reviews, patent valuation, and patent strategies will also be covered. Fall 2024 Description: Students will learn the key elements of patent strategy and patent prosecution. High-profile patents will be analyzed as examples. Students will participate in mock invention disclosures and mock Examiner Interviews. Patent claim analysis, designing around patents, reexaminations, inter partes and covered business method reviews, post-grant reviews, patent valuation, and patent strategies will also be covered. |
| Law 276.91 IP Remedies Units |
| Spring 2023: N/A Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: What drives patent litigation? Remedies. Damages. Injunctions. Find out why patent cases are filed and how blocking a product and/or money damages drives this growing field of litigation. This course is designed for all students and will help you get to the top of your game when practicing in the field of patent law. There are no prerequisites for the course and you do not need a science or technical background to take it. |
| Law 276.92 Unified Patent Court: A New European Patent Litigation Forum 1 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 276.93 Law and Business of Patent Licensing 3 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course explores the intersection of law and business in the important field of patent licensing. Through a blend of lectures, case studies, discussions, and practical exercises, students will learn the fundamentals of patent licensing, including business models, royalty and financial structures, license agreements, dispute resolution, and more. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate complex patent licensing transactions in today’s competitive global marketplace. Topics include: (1) Licensing Business Models; (2) The Negotiation Process; (3) Financial aspects of licensing; (3) Standards groups and patent pools; (4) License enforcement; and (5) Arbitration. |
| Law 276P Information Privacy Law 4 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Information privacy law and policy has become a hotly debated topic. Businesses, government agencies and individuals need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US and European privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century and beyond, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of statutory law, torts, contracts, constitutional law, and other sources. Fall 2021 Description: Information privacy law and policy has become a hotly debated topic. Businesses, government agencies, and individuals need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US and European privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century and beyond, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of statutory law, torts, contracts, constitutional law, and other sources. Fall 2022 Description: Information privacy law and policy has become a hotly debated topic. Businesses, government agencies and individuals also need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US and European privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century and beyond, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of statutory law, torts, contracts, constitutional law, and other sources. Fall 2023 Description: Information privacy law and policy has become a hotly debated topic. Businesses, government agencies and individuals all need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a "right to be let alone," modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of U.S. and European privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century and beyond, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" collect, share, and reveal information constantly. In the United States, this area of law is built up of a patchwork that draws on statutory law, the common law, constitutional law, and federal and state law sources. Fall 2024 Description: Information privacy law and policy has become a hotly debated topic. Businesses, government agencies, and individuals all need legal advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a "right to be let alone," modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of U.S. and European privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century and beyond, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" collect, share, and reveal information constantly. In the United States, this area of law is built up of a patchwork that draws on statutory law, the common law, constitutional law, and federal and state law sources. Fall 2025 Description: Information privacy law and policy has become a hotly debated topic. Businesses, government agencies, and individuals all need legal advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a "right to be let alone," modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of U.S. and European privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century and beyond, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" collect, share, and reveal information constantly. In the United States, this area of law is built up of a patchwork that draws on statutory law, the common law, constitutional law, and federal and state law sources. |
| Law 276PS Information Privacy Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Ten years ago, only a handful of practitioners could be called "privacy lawyers," but now many lawyers concentrate in information privacy law. Today almost all modern businesses need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US privacy law, its evolution in the 21st century, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of torts, contracts, constitutional law, statutory law, and soft law norms. It also involves global aspects, including the European Union's pathbreaking General Data Protection Regulation. This course will meet in-person on campus on June 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: Ten years ago, only a handful of practitioners could be called "privacy lawyers," but now many lawyers concentrate in information privacy law. Today almost all modern businesses need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US privacy law, its evolution in the 21st century, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of torts, contracts, constitutional law, statutory law, and soft law norms. It also involves global aspects, including the European Union's pathbreaking General Data Protection Regulation. Summer 2023 Description: Ten years ago, only a handful of practitioners could be called "privacy lawyers," but now many lawyers concentrate in information privacy law. Today almost all modern businesses need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US privacy law, its evolution in the 21st century, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of torts, contracts, constitutional law, statutory law, and soft law norms. It also involves global aspects, including the European Union's pathbreaking General Data Protection Regulation. Summer 2024 Description: Ten years ago, a handful of practitioners could be called "privacy lawyers," but now thousands consider themselves to concentrate in information privacy law. Today almost all modern businesses need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the U.S. started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of U.S. privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of torts, contracts, constitutional law, statutory law, and soft law norms. Summer 2025 Description: Ten years ago, a handful of practitioners could be called "privacy lawyers," but now thousands consider themselves experts in information privacy law. Today almost all modern businesses need advice about information privacy law. While the roots of privacy law in the U.S. started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US privacy law, its evolution in the 20th century, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of torts, contracts, constitutional law, statutory law, and soft law norms. We will explore how these laws and norms apply to long-standing problems as well as emerging issues, such as efforts to regulate potential harms flowing from personal information in the inputs and outputs of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Erik Stallman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic. He is also a Faculty Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. His primary interests are regulation of access to information and open internet issues. Since 2005, Stallman has worked on intellectual property and telecommunications law and policy in Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, nongovernmental organizations, and private practice. Prior to coming to Berkeley, he served as policy counsel at Google, covering copyright, telecommunications, and media regulation. Before that, he led the Open Internet Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), where he was also General Counsel. Earlier, he served as counsel and policy advisor to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren at the US House of Representatives. He was also an Honors Attorney in the FCC Media Bureau and an associate at Steptoe & Johnson. Stallman is a 2003 graduate of Berkeley Law and was a law clerk for Judge Susan P. Graber of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. |
| Law 277.1 Trade Secret Law and Litigation 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Trade secret law is one of the four types of intellectual property law, along with patent, trademark, and copyright. Trade secret law has never been more important, as demonstrated by the recent boom in trade secret litigation, legislation, and media and scholarly attention. This class will explore all major aspects of trade secrets law, including its policy tensions, doctrines, strategies, and practicalities. Spring 2022 Description: Trade secret law is one of the four types of intellectual property law, along with patent, trademark, and copyright. Trade secret law has never been more important, as demonstrated by the recent boom in trade secret litigation, legislation, and media and scholarly attention. This class will explore all major aspects of trade secrets law, including its policy tensions, doctrines, strategies, and practicalities. Fall 2022 Description: Trade secret law is one of the four types of intellectual property law, along with patent, trademark, and copyright. Trade secret law has never been more important, as demonstrated by the recent boom in trade secret litigation, legislation, and media and scholarly attention. This class will explore all major aspects of trade secrets law, including its policy tensions, doctrines, strategies, and practicalities. Fall 2023 Description: Trade secret law is one of the four types of intellectual property law, along with patent, trademark, and copyright. Trade secret law has never been more important, as demonstrated by the recent boom in trade secret litigation, legislation, and media and scholarly attention. This class will explore all major aspects of trade secrets law, including its policy tensions, doctrines, strategies, and practicalities. Fall 2024 Description: Trade secret law is one of the four types of intellectual property law, along with patent, trademark, and copyright. Trade secret law has never been more important, as demonstrated by the recent boom in trade secret litigation, legislation, and media and scholarly attention. This class will explore all major aspects of trade secrets law, including its policy tensions, doctrines, strategies, and practicalities. Fall 2025 Description: Trade secret law is one of the four types of intellectual property law, along with patent, trademark, and copyright. Trade secret law has never been more important, as demonstrated by the recent boom in trade secret litigation, legislation, and media and scholarly attention. This class will explore all major aspects of trade secrets law, including its policy tensions, doctrines, strategies, and practicalities. |
| Law 277.2 Patent Litigation I 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Our course provides an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in all phases of a federal court litigation. Starting with early procedural motions and continuing with arguments from all principal phases of a federal court litigation including a Federal Circuit appeal, students will argue important and often cutting-edge issues that make patent litigation one of the most compelling areas of contemporary civil litigation. This course is designed to help students tune their oral and written advocacy skills while gaining experience with the kinds of real-world issues that will be confronted in practice. Although total enrollment is limited, students on the waitlist are encouraged to come to the first day of class, because many students adjust their schedules and room usually opens up. Spring 2021 Description: Our course provides an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in all phases of a federal court litigation. Starting with early procedural motions and continuing with arguments from all principal phases of a federal court litigation including a Federal Circuit appeal, students will argue important and often cutting-edge issues that make patent litigation one of the most compelling areas of contemporary civil litigation. This course is designed to help students tune their oral and written advocacy skills while gaining experience with the kinds of real-world issues that will be confronted in practice. Students will be required to write a series of papers. Although total enrollment is limited, students on the waitlist are encouraged to come to the first day of class, because many students adjust their schedules and room usually opens up. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2022 Description: Our course provides an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in all phases of a federal court litigation. Starting with early procedural motions and continuing with arguments from all principal phases of a federal court litigation, students will argue important and often cutting-edge issues that make patent litigation one of the most compelling areas of contemporary civil litigation. This course is designed to help students tune their oral and written advocacy skills while gaining experience with the kinds of real-world issues that will be confronted in practice. Students will be required to write a series of papers. Although total enrollment is limited, students on the waitlist are encouraged to come to the first day of class, because many students adjust their schedules and room usually opens up. Spring 2023 Description: This course will be a hands-on introduction to federal court litigation. The class will be taught around a hypothetical patent litigation. Through this hypothetical, the students will practice essential litigation skills such as brief writing, taking and defending depositions, and oral arguments. They will also explore the practical application of key patent law and procedural law concepts. The students will not only discuss relevant Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions, but will also advocate on behalf of the hypothetical plaintiff’s and defendant’s positions. Spring 2024 Description: This course will be a hands-on introduction to federal court litigation. The class will be taught around a hypothetical patent litigation. Through this hypothetical, the students will practice essential litigation skills such as brief writing, taking and defending depositions, and oral arguments. They will also explore the practical application of key patent law and procedural law concepts. The students will not only discuss relevant Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions, but will also advocate on behalf of the hypothetical plaintiff’s and defendant’s positions. Spring 2025 Description: This course will be a hands-on introduction to federal court litigation. The class will be taught around a hypothetical patent lawsuit. Through this hypothetical, the students will practice essential litigation skills such as brief writing, taking and defending depositions, and oral arguments. They will also explore the practical application of key patent law and procedural law concepts. The students will not only discuss relevant Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions, but will also advocate on behalf of the hypothetical plaintiff’s and defendant’s positions. |
| Law 277.3 Patent Litigation II: PTAB and ITC 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: The patent litigation landscape has greatly expanded over the past two decades to encompass PTO proceedings and investigations at the International Trade Commission. This course provides in-depth, hands-on exploration and training in these important tribunals. It also provides students with substantial skills training including petition drafting, motion and brief writing, depositions, oral advocacy, and strategic analysis. This class complements the basic patent litigation class, which focuses on district court litigation and appeals. Although total enrollment is limited, students unable to enroll are encouraged to come to the first day of class, because many students adjust their schedules and room usually opens up for all. While not absolutely required, all students are strongly encouraged to attend the first class. Jeff Homrig has a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is an experienced trial lawyer and patent litigator and is a member of Latham & Watkin's global intellectual property practice. He is one of the coauthors of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, 3rd Ed., which is published by the Federal Judicial Center and provided to all federal judges as a best practices guide for handling patent cases. Steve Carlson is a law graduate of Yale Law School. He is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Robins Kaplan LLP, where his practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. He is a co-author of the book Patents in Germany and Europe: Procurement, Enforcement, and Defense, and is also a coauthor of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, 3rd Ed. Fall 2023 Description: The patent litigation landscape has greatly expanded over the past two decades to encompass PTO proceedings and investigations at the International Trade Commission. This course provides in-depth, hands-on exploration and training in these important tribunals. It also provides students with substantial skills training including petition drafting, motion and brief writing, depositions, oral advocacy, and strategic analysis. This class complements the basic patent litigation class, which focuses on district court litigation and appeals. Although total enrollment is limited, students unable to enroll are encouraged to come to the first day of class, because many students adjust their schedules and room usually opens up for all. While not absolutely required, all students are strongly encouraged to attend the first class. Jeff Homrig has a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is an experienced trial lawyer and patent litigator and is Vice-Chair of Latham & Watkins' global intellectual property practice. He is one of the coauthors of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, 3rd Ed., which is published by the Federal Judicial Center and provided to all federal judges as a best practices guide for handling patent cases. Steve Carlson is a law graduate of Yale Law School. He is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Robins Kaplan LLP, where his practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. He is a co-author of the book Patents in Germany and Europe: Procurement, Enforcement, and Defense, and is also a coauthor of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, 3rd Ed. Fall 2025 Description: The patent litigation landscape has greatly expanded over the past two decades to encompass PTO proceedings and investigations at the International Trade Commission. This course provides in-depth, hands-on exploration and training in these important tribunals. It also provides students with substantial skills training including petition drafting, motion and brief writing, depositions, oral advocacy, and strategic analysis. This class complements the basic patent litigation class, which focuses on district court litigation and appeals. Although total enrollment is limited, students on the waitlist are encouraged to come to the first day of class, because many students adjust their schedules, and room usually opens up for all. While not absolutely required, all students are strongly encouraged to attend the first class. Jeff Homrig has a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is an experienced trial lawyer and patent litigator and is Vice-Chair of Latham & Watkins' global intellectual property practice. He is one of the coauthors of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, 3rd Ed., which is published by the Federal Judicial Center and provided to all federal judges as a best practices guide for handling patent cases. Steve Carlson is a law graduate of Yale Law School. He is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Robins Kaplan LLP, where his practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. He is a co-author of the book Patents in Germany and Europe: Procurement, Enforcement, and Defense, and is also a coauthor of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, 3rd Ed. |
| Law 277.42 Patent Remedies 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: What drives patent litigation? Remedies. Figure out why patent cases are filed and how the prospect of damages and remedies drives strategy. This is a unique seminar course that will give you practical and theoretical skills. |
| Law 277.43 Preparing to Practice Patent Law for 1Ls 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This seminar will assist 1Ls interested in patent law practice (prosecution, litigation, transactions, or strategy) prepare to work in patent law practice following their first year of law school. Students in the seminar must be simultaneously enrolled in Law 275.3 (Intellectual Property Law). No specific technical background or training is required--this course will serve as a primer for all 1Ls interested in patent practice. The seminar combines several elements: (1) deeper coverage of several patent law topics (patent eligibility, nonobviousness, written description, claim construction, and pharmaceutical patent litigation); (2) discussion of the different types of patent law practice (patent prosecution and strategy, patent litigation, tech transactions); and (3) practical information about making the most of patent-focused summer associate programs. Classes will include traditional lectures, guest lectures, and discussions with 2Ls and 3Ls who have worked in patent-focused summer associate programs. Assessment for the class is a series of papers. Interested students must submit an application form (attached below as Supplemental File) by November 11, 2022. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar will assist 1Ls interested in patent law practice (prosecution, litigation, transactions, or strategy) prepare to work in patent law practice following their first year of law school. Students in the seminar must be simultaneously enrolled in Law 275.3 (Intellectual Property Law). No specific technical background or training is required--this course will serve as a primer for all 1Ls interested in patent practice. The seminar combines several elements: (1) deeper coverage of several patent law topics (patent eligibility, nonobviousness, written description, claim construction, and pharmaceutical patent litigation); (2) discussion of the different types of patent law practice (patent prosecution and strategy, patent litigation, tech transactions); and (3) practical information about making the most of patent-focused summer associate programs. Classes will include traditional lectures, guest lectures, and discussions with 2Ls and 3Ls who have worked in patent-focused summer associate programs. Assessment for the class is a series of response papers, in which students will practice the practical skills learned in class. Interested students must submit an application form (attached below as Supplemental File) by November 17, 2023. |
| Law 277.7 Art and Cultural Property Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This seminar will explore and analyze the intersection of law with art and culture. Topics will include U.S. and international law as they relate to the illicit trade in antiquities and Nazi-era looting and restitution. We also will examine aspects of law pertaining to museums, artist's rights, art merchants, auction houses, and dealers, as well as issues regarding authenticity, title, and the statute of limitations. Additional subjects will include underwater cultural heritage and indigenous cultural concerns. Guest lecturers from the art and cultural property community will provide their unique perspectives. This course is open to all law students. Carla Shapreau teaches Art and Cultural Property Law and is a Senior Fellow in the Institute of European Studies at U.C. Berkeley, where she is conducting cultural property research. Ms. Shapreau's legal practice has an emphasis in intellectual property, art, and cultural property law. She has represented a wide range of clients in the arts including museums, artists, collectors, academic institutions, non-profit entities, and galleries. Ms. Shapreau has written and lectured on a broad array of topics pertaining to arts and culture. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar will explore and analyze the intersection of law with art and culture. Topics will include U.S. and international law as they relate to the illicit trade in antiquities and Nazi-era looting and restitution. We also will examine aspects of law pertaining to museums, artist's rights, art merchants, auction houses, and dealers, as well as issues regarding authenticity, title, and the statute of limitations. Materials will be provided regarding underwater cultural heritage and indigenous cultural concerns. Guest lecturers from the art and cultural property community will provide their unique perspectives. This course is open to all law students. Carla Shapreau teaches Art and Cultural Property Law and is a Senior Fellow in the Institute of European Studies at U.C. Berkeley, where she is conducting cultural property research. Ms. Shapreau's legal practice has an emphasis in intellectual property, art, and cultural property law. She has represented a wide range of clients in the arts including museums, artists, collectors, academic institutions, non-profit entities, and galleries. Ms. Shapreau has written and lectured on a broad array of topics pertaining to arts and culture. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar will explore and analyze the intersection of law with art and culture. Topics will include U.S. and international law and policy regarding the illicit trade in antiquities, Nazi-era looting, colonial-era aquisitions, and restitution. We also will examine aspects of law pertaining to museums, artist's rights, art merchants, auction houses, and dealers, as well as issues regarding authenticity, title, and the statute of limitations. Materials will be provided regarding underwater cultural heritage and NAGPRA. Guests from the art and cultural property community will provide their unique perspectives. This course is open to all law students. Carla Shapreau teaches Art and Cultural Property Law and is a Senior Fellow in the Institute of European Studies at U.C. Berkeley, where she is conducting cultural property research. Ms. Shapreau's legal practice has an emphasis in intellectual property, art, and cultural property law. She has represented a wide range of clients in the arts including museums, artists, collectors, academic institutions, non-profit entities, and galleries. Ms. Shapreau has written and lectured on a broad array of topics pertaining to arts and culture. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar will explore and analyze the intersection of law with art and culture. Topics will include U.S. and international law and policy regarding the illicit trade in antiquities, Nazi-era looting, colonial-era acquisitions, and restitution. We also will examine aspects of law pertaining to museums, artist's rights, art merchants, auction houses, and dealers, as well as issues regarding authenticity, title, and the statute of limitations. Materials will be provided regarding underwater cultural heritage and NAGPRA. Guests from the art and cultural property community will provide their unique perspectives. Carla Shapreau teaches Art and Cultural Property Law and is a Senior Fellow in the Institute of European Studies at U.C. Berkeley, where she is conducting cultural property research. Ms. Shapreau's legal practice has an emphasis in intellectual property, art, and cultural property law. She has represented a wide range of clients in the arts including museums, artists, collectors, academic institutions, non-profit entities, and galleries. Ms. Shapreau has written and lectured on a broad array of topics pertaining to arts and culture. |
| Law 277W Patent Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have been raised over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. Spring 2021 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have reshaped patent law over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. No technical training is required; every effort is made to clearly explain the various inventions at issue in the cases, so as to keep the focus on legal doctrine and policy. Spring 2022 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have reshaped patent law over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. No technical training is required; every effort is made to clearly explain the various inventions at issue in the cases, so as to keep the focus on legal doctrine and policy. Spring 2023 Description: The basics of US patent law: validity requirements, infringement analysis, and remedies. The emphasis is on comprehensive understanding of the acquisition and enforcement of patents, from both practical and pubic policy perspectives. In-depth coverage of the foundational cases as well as the most contemporary case law and legislation, using the well-honed 8th edition of Professor Merges's Patent Law and Policy casebook. This course is not limited to students who have a science or engineering degree; every effort is made to explain the subject of each case in straightforward terms. Spring 2024 Description: The basics of US patent law: validity requirements, infringement analysis, and remedies. The emphasis is on comprehensive understanding of the acquisition and enforcement of patents, from both practical and public policy perspectives. In-depth coverage of the foundational cases as well as the most contemporary case law and legislation, using the well-honed 8th edition of Professor Merges's Patent Law and Policy casebook. This course is not limited to students who have a science or engineering degree; every effort is made to explain the subject of each case in straightforward terms. Spring 2025 Description: The basics of US patent law: validity requirements, infringement analysis, and remedies. The emphasis is on comprehensive understanding of the acquisition and enforcement of patents, from both practical and pubic policy perspectives. In-depth coverage of the foundational cases as well as the most contemporary case law and legislation. This course is not limited to students who have a science or engineering degree; every effort is made to explain the subject of each case in straightforward terms. |
| Law 277WS Patent Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have been raised over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 26th, and 27th in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have been raised over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. Summer 2023 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have been raised over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. Summer 2024 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have been raised over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. |
| Law 278 Copyright, Competition, and Technology 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This seminar will present a selective overview of current topics at the intersection of copyright and antitrust law. From music, to the "metaverse," to social media networks, to mobile device operating systems, digital initiatives across industries increasingly implicate both of these complex legal regimes, rather than just one. Policy solutions to challenges presented by new technologies frequently reflect limitations imposed by antitrust and copyright working in tandem--or, occasionally, at cross-purposes; to consider legislative, regulatory, or judicial responses by reference to one body of law without the other is to ignore an entire category of essential constraints and opportunities. Topics to be addressed over the course of the semester include, among others: * Content moderation requirements as a barrier to platform competition; * Current issues in collective music licensing; * Does copyright misuse care about competition? * The law and economics of DMCA anticircumvention claims as a "tying" tool; * NFTs, digital scarcity, and the blockchain as a mechanism for royalty tracking. The seminar will be led by Andy Gass, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco. Mr. Gass graduated from Berkeley Law in 2008, clerked for the Honorable Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and has taught a variety of courses on copyright- and competition-related topics at Berkeley law since 2011. Syllabi from prior years are available at https://andygass.home.blog/. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar will present a selective overview of current topics at the intersection of copyright and antitrust law. From music, to the "metaverse," to social media networks, to mobile device operating systems, digital initiatives across industries increasingly implicate both of these complex legal regimes, rather than just one. Policy solutions to challenges presented by new technologies frequently reflect limitations imposed by antitrust and copyright working in tandem--or, occasionally, at cross-purposes; to consider legislative, regulatory, or judicial responses by reference to one body of law without the other is to ignore an entire category of essential constraints and opportunities. Topics to be addressed over the course of the semester include, among others: * Content moderation requirements as a barrier to platform competition; * Current issues in collective music licensing; * Does copyright misuse care about competition? * The law and economics of DMCA anticircumvention claims as a "tying" tool; * NFTs, digital scarcity, and the blockchain as a mechanism for royalty tracking. The seminar will be led by Andy Gass, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco. Mr. Gass graduated from Berkeley Law in 2008, clerked for the Honorable Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and has taught a variety of courses on copyright- and competition-related topics at Berkeley law since 2011. Syllabi from prior years are available at https://andygass.home.blog/. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar will present a selective overview of current topics at the intersection of copyright and antitrust law. From AI to streaming services and beyond, digital initiatives across industries increasingly implicate both of these complex legal regimes, rather than just one. Policy solutions to challenges presented by new technologies frequently reflect limitations imposed by antitrust and copyright working in tandem--or, occasionally, at cross-purposes. To consider legislative, regulatory, or judicial responses by reference to one body of law without the other is to ignore an entire category of essential constraints and opportunities. Topics to be addressed over the course of the semester include, among others: * Incentivizing safe and responsible AI through sound policy choices; * Current issues in industry-wide music licensing; * Does copyright misuse care about competition? * The law and economics of DMCA anticircumvention claims as a "tying" tool; * Content moderation requirements as a barrier to platform competition The seminar will be led by Andy Gass, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco. Mr. Gass graduated from Berkeley Law in 2008, clerked for the Honorable Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and has taught a variety of courses on copyright- and competition-related topics at Berkeley law since 2011. Syllabi from prior years are available at https://andygass.org. Spring 2025 Description: This class will present a selective overview of current topics at the intersection of copyright and antitrust law. From AI to streaming services and beyond, digital initiatives across industries increasingly implicate both of these complex legal regimes, rather than just one. Policy solutions to challenges presented by new technologies frequently reflect limitations imposed by antitrust and copyright working in tandem--or, occasionally, at cross-purposes. To consider legislative, regulatory, or judicial responses by reference to one body of law without the other is to ignore an entire category of essential constraints and opportunities. Topics to be addressed over the course of the semester include, among others: * Regulating AI through IP; * Current issues in industry-wide music licensing; * Does copyright misuse care about competition?; * The law and economics of DMCA anticircumvention claims as a "tying" tool; * Content moderation requirements as a barrier to platform competition The seminar will be led by Andy Gass, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco. Mr. Gass graduated from Berkeley Law in 2008, clerked for the Honorable Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and has taught a variety of courses on copyright- and competition-related topics at Berkeley law since 2011. Syllabi from prior years are available at https://andygass.org. |
| Law 278.1 Trademark Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This is a survey course in international trademark law and practice. The course will cover theories of trademark/trade name infringement and dilution, including defenses such as parody and fair use, and explore mechanisms of trademark protection globally, such as international treaties and international protection strategies. The course also covers trademark issues in cyberspace, as well as rights of publicity, trade dress, false advertising and trademark licensing issues. Spring 2023 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. Fall 2023 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. Spring 2025 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services, including within advertising. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. |
| Law 278.11 Trademark Practice 3 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to experience the trademark law practice. After reviewing the fundamentals of trademark law, students will work through a series of simulations of trademark practice activities and proceedings, including selecting trademarks and conducting due diligence, registering trademarks, drafting a complaint, use of survey experts, preliminary injunction briefing and argument, settlement conference, summary judgment briefing and argument, and UDRP proceedings. Students are required to have taken Intellectual Property Law. Enrollment in the class will be limited to 18 students. Students will be evaluated based on their performance on the simulations. Real-time attendance at all sessions is expected. This course will be by application, please complete the application attached to the Supplemental File on the course page. Applications are due Friday, April 23, 2021 with decisions made the week after. After this date, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to experience trademark law practice. After reviewing the fundamentals of trademark law, students will work through a series of simulations of trademark practice activities and proceedings, including selecting trademarks and conducting due diligence, registering trademarks, drafting a complaint, use of survey experts, preliminary injunction briefing and argument, settlement conference, summary judgment briefing and argument, and trial proceedings. Students are required to have taken Intellectual Property Law. Enrollment in the class will be limited to 15 students. Students will be evaluated based on their performance on the simulations. Real-time attendance at all sessions is expected. Interested students must submit an application form (attached below as Supplemental File) by November 11, 2022. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to experience trademark law practice. After reviewing the fundamentals of trademark law, students will work through a series of simulations of trademark practice activities and proceedings, including selecting trademarks and conducting due diligence, registering trademarks, responding to an office action from the United States Patent & Trademark Office, negotiating a co-existence agreement, drafting a complaint, use of survey experts, drafting dispositive motions, and trial proceedings. Students will be evaluated based on their performance on the simulations and a practical, final project. Attendance at all sessions is expected. Angela litigates trademark, copyright, trade secrets and unfair competition cases - as well as other complex commercial disputes - for the world’s top companies. She has tried numerous cases to a jury verdict and has substantial experience in the federal appellate courts, including successful arguments before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in high-profile, published cases. Among these, Angela represented Google in an important genericide trademark suit, Elliott v. Google, in which the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed summary judgment that the GOOGLE trademark is not generic. She represented Blurb in the “monkey selfies” copyright suit, Naruto v. Slater, procuring affirmance of the lower court’s dismissal order on the ground that animals, as non-humans, lack standing under the Copyright Act. Angela also obtained dismissal and affirmance for eBay on copyright preemption grounds of claims asserted under the California Resale Royalty Act (Close v. Sotheby’s). In other notable cases, Angela served as lead counsel for 23andMe in a trademark dispute with Ancestry.com over rights to the term “ancestry,” and she co-led a team that procured dismissal with prejudice of two different cases against Meta Platforms - one of which, Dfinity Foundation v. Meta Platforms, was recognized by Law360 as a top trademark decision of 2022. Angela’s current practice focuses on intellectual property issues arising from generative AI. She represents Midjourney, a prominent generative artificial intelligence platform, in connection with a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit asserting copyright infringement, Digital Millennium Copyright Act and right of publicity claims; is defending Meta Platforms against copyright infringement and related claims filed by comedian Sarah Silverman, writer Michael Chabon and others directed to its large language model, LLaMA; and is advising numerous other companies on the development and use of generative AI tools. Angela widely presents and lectures on the intellectual property implications of generative AI. World Trademark Review describes Angela as a “high-caliber trial lawyer,” as well as a “great writer and strategist who leaves no stone unturned in developing her positions.” She has repeatedly been named one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California by Daily Journal and a leading lawyer for commercial disputes by The Legal 500 US. In 2022, she taught trademark law and branding at UC Berkeley School of Law. Kelley represents clients ranging from iconic brands to emerging growth companies, including many of the most recognized startups in the world. She maintains a varied intellectual property practice that includes client counseling and litigation across a range of trademark, copyright and advertising matters. She has significant experience counseling clients in complex matters relating to trademarks, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, false advertising, unfair competition, cybersquatting and counterfeiting. She routinely coaches clients on worldwide brand selection, protection, and enforcement, manages global IP portfolios, prosecutes U.S. trademark applications, advises on complex licensing and assignments, and partners on strategic corporate transactions. She also practices before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, in federal court, and arbitrates domain name disputes before the National Arbitration Forum and World Intellectual Property Organization. Kelley is also a member of the International Trademark Association Geographical Indications Committee. Judd is a Special Counsel in the San Francisco office of Cooley LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Trademark Copyright & Advertising group, where his practice is focused on trademark and copyright litigation, counseling, and prosecution. As a career trademark practitioner, Judd has deep experience navigating trademark issues before federal courts and the USPTO and he is a trusted advisor to start-ups and household names alike. Judd has had a lifelong interest in science and technology and has followed developments in the field of artificial intelligence closely. As generative AI has begun to transform business and the law, Judd has assumed a leading role in advising clients on the legal complexities and challenges implicated by these technologies. Spring 2025 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to experience trademark law practice. After reviewing the fundamentals of trademark law, students will work through a series of simulations of trademark practice activities and proceedings, including selecting trademarks and conducting due diligence, registering trademarks, responding to an office action from the United States Patent & Trademark Office, analyzing a complaint, assessing expert surveys, crafting arguments for dispositive motions, mediation, and oral argument. Students will be evaluated based on their participation and performance on the in-class simulations and accompanying written work product. Attendance at all sessions is expected. Angela is a litigation partner at Cleary Gottlieb where she litigates trademark, copyright, trade secrets and unfair competition cases - as well as other complex commercial disputes - for the world’s top companies. She has tried numerous cases to a jury verdict and has substantial experience in the federal appellate courts, including successful arguments before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in high-profile, published cases. Among these, Angela represented Google in an important genericide trademark suit, Elliott v. Google, in which the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed summary judgment that the GOOGLE trademark is not generic. She represented Blurb in the “monkey selfies” copyright suit, Naruto v. Slater, procuring affirmance of the lower court’s dismissal order on the ground that animals, as non-humans, lack standing under the Copyright Act. Angela also obtained dismissal and affirmance for eBay on copyright preemption grounds of claims asserted under the California Resale Royalty Act (Close v. Sotheby’s). In other notable cases, Angela served as lead counsel for 23andMe in a trademark dispute with Ancestry.com over rights to the term “ancestry,” and she co-led a team that procured dismissal with prejudice of two different cases against Meta Platforms - one of which, Dfinity Foundation v. Meta Platforms, was recognized by Law360 as a top trademark decision of 2022. Angela’s current practice focuses on intellectual property issues arising from generative AI. She represents Midjourney, a prominent generative artificial intelligence platform, in connection with a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit asserting copyright infringement and trade dress claims; is defending a major technology company against copyright claims filed by comedian Sarah Silverman, writer Michael Chabon, and others directed to its large language model; and is advising numerous other companies on the development and use of generative AI tools. Angela widely presents and lectures on the intellectual property implications of generative AI. World Trademark Review describes Angela as a “high-caliber trial lawyer,” as well as a “great writer and strategist who leaves no stone unturned in developing her positions.” She has repeatedly been named one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California by Daily Journal, a leading lawyer for commercial disputes by The Legal 500 US, and most recently a "Leading Woman Lawyer in Technology (IP)" by Law.com. Angela is a member of the International Trademark Association. She has previously taught trademark law classes as an adjunct at the University of California, Berkeley. Judd is a Special Counsel in the San Francisco office of Cooley LLP. He has extensive experience managing all aspects of federal litigation and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In addition to litigation and dispute work, Judd advises clients on copyright, trademark and advertising issues, and he actively manages global trademark and copyright portfolios for startups and household names alike. Judd has had a lifelong interest in science and technology and has followed developments in the field of AI closely. As generative AI has begun to transform business and the law, Judd has assumed a leading role in advising clients on the legal complexities and challenges implicated by these technologies. Judd is also defending a major technology company against copyright claims arising from the training of its large language models. World Trademark Review recognizes Judd as one of the top lawyers in California for trademark enforcement and litigation, noting his “well thought-out and sound legal advice” and delivery of “excellent substantive support with very timely service.” Judd is a member of the International Trademark Association. He regularly speaks on a variety of intellectual property topics and has previously taught trademark law as an adjunct at the University of California, Berkeley. |
| Law 278.1S Trademark Law and Branding 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. This course will meet in-person on campus on May 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th in room 105. Summer 2022 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. Summer 2023 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. NOTE: This course allows enrollment by remote or in-person students. All classes will be held in-person at Berkeley Law, but all Quarter 1 class sessions will be recorded and posted on bCourses to allow remote students to view recordings. Summer 2024 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved and discuss the reasons for those changes. Summer 2025 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved and discuss the reasons for those changes. |
| Law 278.31 Copyright Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course provides an in-depth review of U.S. copyright law, while also offering a comparative analysis with copyright laws of other jurisdictions insofar as those nations' rules differ from U.S. rules. We will study: --the subject matter of copyright protection; --criteria that works must meet to be eligible for copyright protection; --ownership and transfers of copyright interests; --the types of conduct authors have the right to control (and not control); --fair uses and other copyright exceptions and limitations; --infringement standards; --remedies for infringement; --supplementary forms of protections for copyrighted works and federal preemption of some state law claims. Owing largely to challenges posed by digital technologies, copyright law has become quite controversial, some of which play out in Congress and some in litigation. By taking this class, you will be better prepared to practice law in this dynamic field. --constitutional, statutory and common law dimensions of copyright; and --the relationship between federal copyright protection and similar state law rights. The course will feature periodical discussion of current controversies in copyright litigation, legislation and scholarship. It will offer an international perspective on each topic covered. It covers many topics not addressed in the Introduction to Intellectual Property class. Spring 2022 Description: Can you copyright a garden design or a yoga sequence? Does a privately drafted building code lose copyright protection when a legislature adopts it as the law? Does embedding a photo you like on social media infringe copyright in the photo? Is appropriation art fair use? If you "buy" an e-book can you resell it if the publisher says in fine print you only have a license? These are a few of the dozens of questions this course will address. It provides an in-depth review of U.S. copyright law, while also offering a comparative analysis with copyright laws of other jurisdictions insofar as those nations' rules differ from U.S. rules. We will study: --the subject matters of copyright protection; --criteria that works must meet to be eligible for copyright protection; --ownership and transfers of copyright interests; --the types of conduct authors have the right to control (and not control); --fair uses and other copyright exceptions and limitations; --infringement standards; --remedies for infringement; --supplementary forms of protections for copyrighted works and federal preemption of some state law claims. --constitutional, statutory and common law dimensions of copyright; and --the relationship between federal copyright protection and similar state law rights. Owing largely to challenges posed by digital technologies, copyright law has become quite controversial, some of which play out in Congress and some in litigation. By taking this class, you will be better prepared to practice law in this dynamic field. The course will offer an international perspective on each topic covered. It covers many topics not addressed in the Introduction to Intellectual Property class. Two short ungraded assignments during the term will give you experience applying copyright law to real or hypothetical fact patterns. Spring 2023 Description: This course will delve into the principal features of U.S. copyright law: what is (and is not) copyrightable subject matter, the originality and fixation requirements for copyright protection, ownership and transfer of rights issues, in-depth analysis of the exclusive rights, the scope of protection that copyright law affords to works of authorship, limiting principles, exceptions, and defenses to infringement, standards for judging direct and indirect infringement, and remedies available in copyright lawsuits. Both statutory and common law developments will be considered, as well as neighboring rights such as anti-circumvention rules. Current controversies about the contours of and theoretical underpinnings of copyright and the public domain will be discussed. Comparative copyright law and international treaties affecting copyright law will also be given some attention. Students who have previously taken Intellectual Property law are eligible to take this course. Spring 2024 Description: This course will focus on the principal features of U.S. copyright law: what is (and is not) copyrightable subject matter, the originality and fixation requirements for copyright protection, ownership and transfer of rights issues, in-depth analysis of the exclusive rights, the scope of protection that copyright law affords to works of authorship, limiting principles, exceptions, and defenses to infringement, standards for judging direct and indirect infringement, and remedies available in copyright lawsuits. Both statutory and common law developments will be considered, as well as neighboring rights such as anti-circumvention rules. Current controversies about the contours of and theoretical underpinnings of copyright and the public domain will be discussed. Comparative copyright law and international treaties affecting copyright law will also be given some attention. Students who have previously taken Intellectual Property Law are eligible to take this course. Students without an IP background are also welcome. Spring 2025 Description: This course will focus on the principal features of U.S. copyright law: what is (and is not) copyrightable subject matter, the originality and fixation requirements for copyright protection, ownership and transfer of rights issues, in-depth analysis of the exclusive rights, the scope of protection that copyright law affords to works of authorship, limiting principles, exceptions, and defenses to infringement, standards for judging direct and indirect infringement, and remedies available in copyright lawsuits. Both statutory and common law developments will be considered, as well as neighboring rights such as anti-circumvention rules. Current controversies about the contours of and theoretical underpinnings of copyright and the public domain will be discussed. Comparative copyright law and international treaties affecting copyright law will also be given some attention. Students who have previously taken Intellectual Property Law are eligible to also take this course. Students without an IP background are also welcome. |
| Law 278.3S Copyright Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2021: Hybrid Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: This course is a study of U.S. federal copyright law as it pertains to works of art, motion pictures, music, literature, and software. This course will begin with a discussion of the purposes of copyright law, will proceed to investigate the subject matter of copyright protection, criteria that works must meet to be eligible, who owns copyrights, what types of conduct authors have rights to control (and not control) certain kinds of uses of their works, special rules concerning transfers of rights, infringement standards, and remedies for infringement, and will consider constitutional, statutory, and common law dimensions of copyright and related rights such as anti-circumvention rules. Current controversies in copyright litigation, legislation, and scholarship will also be covered. This course will meet in-person on campus on July 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 8th in room 110. Summer 2022 Description: This course reviews U.S. federal copyright law regarding creative works. We discuss the purposes of copyright law, investigate the requirements for copyright protection, rules concerning transfers of copyright ownership, the various infringement standards in federal courts, limitations of copyright protection, and remedies for infringement. We consider the constitutional, statutory, and common law dimensions of copyright law and related rights such as anti-circumvention rules. Upon completing a review of copyright law's core legal framework, we examine landmark disputes and recurring topics in some of the primary content industries, including modern art, television and motion pictures, music, literature, photography, databases, software, etc. We cover current controversies in copyright litigation, legislation, and novel topics related to emerging technologies throughout the semester. All readings for this course are included in Ben Depoorter, Copyright Law: Cases (2021, 3rd ed) Available for order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BT895GS?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Summer 2023 Description: This course reviews U.S. federal copyright law regarding creative works. We consider copyright law's constitutional, statutory, and common law dimensions, and related rights such as anti-circumvention rules. We discuss the purposes of copyright law, investigate the requirements for copyright protection, rules concerning transfers of copyright ownership, the various infringement standards in federal courts, limitations of copyright protection, and remedies for infringement. After reviewing copyright law's core legal framework, we examine landmark disputes and recurring topics in the primary content industries, including modern art, television and motion pictures, music, literature, photography, databases, software, etc. Throughout the semester, we cover current controversies in copyright litigation, legislation, and novel topics related to emerging technologies. Summer 2024 Description: This course provides a survey of U.S. federal copyright law. It will address the constitutional, statutory, and common law aspects of copyright law and explore related rights. The curriculum will involve a study of the objectives of copyright law, criteria for copyright protection, rules for transferring copyright ownership, infringement standards in federal courts, limitations to copyright protection, and available remedies for infringement. Subsequently, the course will evaluate seminal disputes and prevailing themes within primary content industries, such as modern art, television, motion pictures, and software. Current controversies and emergent topics in copyright litigation and legislation related to novel technologies will be explored. The goal is to present a comprehensive and precise exploration of copyright law. Summer 2025 Description: This course provides a survey of U.S. federal copyright law. It will address the constitutional, statutory, and common law aspects of copyright law and explore related rights. The curriculum will involve a study of the objectives of copyright law, criteria for copyright protection, rules for transferring copyright ownership, infringement standards in federal courts, limitations to copyright protection, and available remedies for infringement. Subsequently, the course will evaluate seminal disputes and prevailing themes within primary content industries, such as modern art, television, motion pictures, and software. Current controversies and emergent topics in copyright litigation and legislation related to novel technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, will be explored. The goal is to present a comprehensive and precise exploration of copyright law. Professor Depoorter is a frequent visiting professor at Berkeley Law, teaching in the LL.M.’s Professional Track. He is also the Max Radin Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Law, EMLE coordinator at CASLE Ghent University, and Affiliate Scholar at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet at Society. Copyright law is one of his major areas of expertise, where Depoorter has investigated a variety of questions relating to enforcement of intellectual property law in the digital era, including whether and how fees-shifting can be used to align incentives between authors in way that promote creativity, how punitive approaches to copyright law adversely impact copyright social norms, and how automated enforcement measures create false positives. Litigation theory is Depoorter’s other major area of expertise, where he has investigated the strategic pursuit of losing litigation by interest groups that seek to mobilize public and political support, examined the feedback effect of tort settlements on legal precedent, and described the shaping effect of legal uncertainty and court delay. Recent publications include “When the Remedy is the Wrong: Statutory Damages in the Digital Age”, UCLA Law Review (2019); “The Upside of Losing”, “Fair Trespass”, Columbia Law Review (2014, 2011); “Using Fee Shifting to Promote Fair Use and Fair Licensing”, California Law Review (2015); “Copyright Backlash”, Southern California Law Review (2011); “Law in the Shadow Bargaining: The Feedback Effect of Civil Settlements”, Cornell Law Review (2010); “Technology & Uncertainty: The Shaping Effect on Copyright Law”, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2010), and “Liquidated Damages and Moral Hazard: An Experiment”, JITE (2016). His interdisciplinary work on anticommons property is widely cited in American law reviews and international peer-reviewed journals and was featured in a 2010 issue of the New Yorker. Professor Ben Depoorter completed his studies at Yale Law School (2003, 2009) on a full scholarship from the BAEF. As an Oscar Cox and Olin Fellow at Yale, Depoorter served as an editor of the Yale J. Reg. He was a Santander Research Fellow at U.C. Berkeley and a recipient of a Fulbright scholarship. |
| Law 278.61 Technological Disruption and Social Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: For nearly all segments of American society and a growing portion of the world, life increasingly revolves around intellectual creativity, technological disruption, entrepreneurship, and the digital domain. Intellectual property has driven technological change, but it has at times hampered building on pioneering inventions and expressive works. The digital/information revolution - encompassing the Internet, file-sharing, mobile telecommunications, social media (Facebook/Twitter/YouTube), online advertising, the sharing economy (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb), autonomous vehicles, and AI/machine learning - has transformed society. These changes have profound ramifications for social justice - from control of knowledge dissemination, creative freedom, discrimination in labor markets, criminal justice, electoral politics, military/weapon capability, to distribution of wealth and opportunity. Increasingly rapid technological advances portend further imaginable and unimaginable disruptions to come. This seminar will explore the policy tensions and social justice ramifications associated with technological disruption. The first session will trace the history of technological disruption, intellectual property, regulation, freedom of expression, and philosophical perspectives on social justice. Subsequent sessions will discuss and debate the ramifications of digital technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for society. Illustrative topics will include: file-sharing, social media and targeted advertising; social media and electoral politics; AI and discrimination (civil rights, criminal law); online markets (Uber, Airbnb) and regulation; and job displacement and inequality. Students do not need technology backgrounds to participate fully in the seminar. We welcome a broad range of students. As preparation for most sessions, participants will view documentaries or other engaging videos. There will also be some background readings for some sessions. We will also have some guest experts. Students will be required to prepare short essays on two selected topics and serve as a co-discussion leader for two topics. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: For nearly all segments of American society and a growing portion of the world, life increasingly revolves around intellectual creativity, technological disruption, entrepreneurship, and the digital domain. Intellectual property has driven technological change, but it has at times hampered building on pioneering inventions and expressive works. The digital/information revolution - encompassing the Internet, file-sharing, mobile telecommunications, social media (Facebook/Twitter/YouTube), online advertising, the sharing economy (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb), autonomous vehicles, and AI/machine learning - has transformed society. These changes have profound ramifications for social justice - from control of knowledge dissemination, creative freedom, discrimination in labor markets, criminal justice, electoral politics, military/weapon capability, to distribution of wealth and opportunity. Increasingly rapid technological advances portend further imaginable and unimaginable disruptions to come. This seminar will explore the policy tensions and social justice ramifications associated with technological disruption. The first session will trace the history of technological disruption, intellectual property, regulation, freedom of expression, and philosophical perspectives on social justice. Subsequent sessions will discuss and debate the ramifications of digital technology and artificial intelligence for society. Topics will include: social media and targeted advertising; social media and electoral politics; AI and discrimination (civil rights, criminal law, venture capital institutions); the gig economy (Uber, Airbnb) and regulation; and job displacement and inequality. Students do not need technology backgrounds to participate fully in the seminar. We welcome a broad range of students. As preparation for most sessions, participants will view documentaries or other engaging videos. There will also be some background readings for some sessions. We will also have some guest experts. Students are required to prepare a one page submission for each class (not including the first) with their reactions, thoughts, and questions regarding the videos/readings or other materials that they would like to bring into the discussion. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Fall 2021 Description: For nearly all segments of American society and a growing portion of the world, life increasingly revolves around intellectual creativity, technological disruption, entrepreneurship, and the digital domain. Intellectual property has driven technological change, but it has at times hampered building on pioneering inventions and expressive works. The digital/information revolution - encompassing the Internet, file-sharing, mobile telecommunications, social media (Facebook/Twitter/YouTube), online advertising, the sharing economy (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb), autonomous vehicles, and AI/machine learning - has transformed society. These changes have profound ramifications for social justice - from control of knowledge dissemination, creative freedom, discrimination in labor markets, criminal justice, electoral politics, military/weapon capability, to distribution of wealth and opportunity. Increasingly rapid technological advances portend further imaginable and unimaginable disruptions to come. This seminar will explore the policy tensions and social justice ramifications associated with technological disruption. The first session will trace the history of technological disruption, intellectual property, regulation, freedom of expression, and philosophical perspectives on social justice. Subsequent sessions will discuss and debate the ramifications of digital technology and artificial intelligence for society. Topics will include: social media and targeted advertising; social media and electoral politics; AI and discrimination (civil rights, criminal law, venture capital institutions); the gig economy (Uber, Airbnb) and regulation; and job displacement and inequality. Students do not need technology backgrounds to participate fully in the seminar. We welcome a broad range of students. As preparation for most sessions, participants will view documentaries or other engaging videos. There will also be some background readings for some sessions. We will also have some guest experts. Students are required to prepare a one page submission for each class (not including the first) with their reactions, thoughts, and questions regarding the videos/readings or other materials that they would like to bring into the discussion. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 278.62 Technology Law and Public Policy Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course surveys several different areas of law and policy that have, over the past two decades, meaningfully affected the growth and trajectory of online businesses such as e-commerce stores, search engines, and social networks. Specific focus areas will include content liability and laws governing immunity for hosting user-generated content (e.g., the Communications Decency Act), copyright liability and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, consumer privacy and the role of online businesses in responding to government requests for customer information, the rise of software patents and patent assertion entities, and the evolution of antitrust laws and their application to online businesses. Because the technologies on which online businesses are built have global relevance, the class will also touch on some international aspects of these legal and policy issues. The format of the class is a seminar, and students who take this class are expected to attend and contribute actively to the conversations in class, which will largely revolve around practical questions and controversies raised by the issues presented within each focus area. Each week we’ll discuss an area of law or policy that affects how online businesses operate, innovate, and grow. In some cases, we’ll also examine whether the law (or lack thereof) achieves the policy goals for which it was designed, and whether there might be better ways of achieving those goals. Successful completion of the class will require two written memoranda (of no more than six pages) in which students will analyze hypothetical problems arising from some of the issues raised in class and offer practical advice to corporate clients. Instructor: David A. Zapolsky, SVP, General Counsel & Secretary, Amazon.com, Inc. Email: david.zapolsky@gmail.com Before becoming General Counsel in 2012, David Zapolsky served for thirteen years as Associate General Counsel, leading Amazon’s Litigation and Regulatory group and advising on a variety of litigation, privacy, consumer protection, competition law, securities regulation, intellectual property, and labor and employment matters. Prior to joining Amazon in 1999, Zapolsky was a litigation partner in the Seattle offices of Dorsey & Whitney and Bogle & Gates. He moved to Seattle in 1994 from New York, where he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, focusing primarily on sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence prosecutions, and an associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he practiced securities litigation and white collar defense. He is a graduate of Berkeley Law and Columbia College. In addition to his work at Amazon, Zapolsky is active in several civic, educational, and legal organizations that, among other things, seek to promote diversity and pro bono work in the legal profession. He has served as President and a Trustee of the King County Bar Foundation, a member of the Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) Washington State Advisory Committee, a corporate advisory member of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, a member of the Leaders Council for the Legal Services Corporation, and a Director of Seattle’s Alliance for Education, the Berkeley Law Alumni Association, and the University of Washington Foundation. In 2013, he founded the Amazon legal department’s pro bono initiative, also known as the Amazon Justice League, which encourages and enables Amazon attorneys and legal professionals around the world to donate thousands of hours of pro bono legal work each year. |
| Law 278.7 IP in the Music Industry 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will examine copyright law, talent agent regulation, the right of publicity, and other legal issues relating to the music industry from a variety of perspectives: historical, business, legal, social, technological, and ethical. It will pay special attention to the practice of music law and policy issues raised by the digital revolution. The course will be taught predominantly through a series of in-depth case files focusing on representation of talent, infringement standards, music mashups, online enforcement, compulsory license rate-setting, artist compensation, and termination of transfers. Interested students must submit an application form that is available at the bottom of this course page under "Supplemental File." The instructors will consider students' prior background and experience in the music field and career interests. The instructors will inform students of the selection decisions soon after the course selection window closes. Applications are due November 8th. Spring 2022 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to experience music law practice. After reviewing the fundamentals of pertinent intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, right of publicity), music industry structure, and relevant institutions, students will work through a series of in-depth case files focusing on talent representation, negotiating agreements, infringement standards, music mashups, online enforcement, termination of copyright transfers, artist compensation, and legislative reform. Enrollment in the class will be limited to 18 students. Interested students must submit an application form that is available at the bottom of this course page under “Supplemental File.” The instructors will consider students’ prior background and experience in the music field and career interests. The instructors will inform students of the selection decisions soon after the course selection window closes. Applications are due November 5th. Due to the public health situation, one of the co-instructors will likely participate via Zoom to accommodate a health issue. Fall 2024 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to experience the practice of music law, led by an experienced practitioner and meant to simulate practicing at a law firm. After reviewing the fundamentals of pertinent intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, right of publicity), music industry structure, and relevant institutions, students will work through a series of in-depth case files focusing on such topics as talent representation, negotiating agreements, infringement standards, termination of copyright transfers, artist compensation, and legislative reform. Topics include transactional and litigation matters. The class often features guest speakers from different areas of the music business. Except during their own presentations, students may not use computers (laptops, iPads, mobile phones, or other devices) in class without instructor permission. |
| Law 278.75 Entertainment Law in the TV Industry 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course will introduce students to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the television industry. Through a combination of lectures and in-class discussions, students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted TV content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in TV. This course meets: Friday, November 6th and November 13th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, November 7th and November 14th 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM INSTRUCTOR: Rafael Gómez-Cabrera serves as Senior Vice President and Head of Business Affairs, Original Programming, at Peacock (NBC Universal's streaming service) in Los Angeles, California. His practice over the last decade has focused on the entertainment industry and involves negotiating writer, actor, director, and other entertainment agreements with Hollywood agents and attorneys. Prior to joining NBC Universal, Rafael was an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions department at Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Chicago & Miami offices. Mr. Gómez-Cabrera holds a J.D. from Harvard University. Fall 2021 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course will introduce students to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the television industry. Through a combination of lectures and in-class discussions, students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted TV content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in TV. This course meets: Friday, October 8th and October 15th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:10 PM - 6:10 PM Saturday, October 9th and October 16th 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM INSTRUCTOR: Rafael Gómez-Cabrera serves as Senior Vice President and Head of Business Affairs, Original Programming, at Peacock (NBC Universal's streaming service) in Los Angeles, California. His practice over the last decade has focused on the entertainment industry and involves negotiating writer, actor, director, and other entertainment agreements with Hollywood agents and attorneys. Prior to joining NBC Universal, Rafael was an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions department at Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Chicago & Miami offices. Mr. Gómez-Cabrera holds a J.D. from Harvard University. Fall 2022 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course will introduce students to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the television industry. Through a combination of lectures and in-class discussions, students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted TV content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in TV. INSTRUCTOR: Rafael Gómez-Cabrera serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Affairs, at AMC Networks ("Mad Men", "The Walking Dead", "Breaking Bad") in Los Angeles, California. He is also the former head of business affairs at USA, SYFY and Peacock. His practice over the last decade has focused on the entertainment industry and involves negotiating writer, actor, director, and other entertainment agreements with Hollywood agents and attorneys. Prior to entering the entertainment field, Rafael was an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions department at Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Chicago & Miami offices. Mr. Gómez-Cabrera holds a J.D. from Harvard University. Fall 2023 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course will introduce students to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the television industry. Through a combination of lectures and in-class discussions, students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted TV content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in TV. INSTRUCTOR: Rafael Gómez-Cabrera serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Affairs, at AMC Networks ("Mad Men", "The Walking Dead", "Breaking Bad", "Interview with The Vampire") in Los Angeles, California. He is also the former head of business affairs at USA, SYFY and Peacock part of NBC Universal. His practice over the last decade has focused on the entertainment industry and involves negotiating writer, actor, director, and other entertainment agreements with Hollywood agents and attorneys. Prior to entering the entertainment field, Rafael was an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions department at Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Chicago & Miami offices. Mr. Gómez-Cabrera holds a J.D. from Harvard University. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. Fall 2024 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course will introduce students to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the television industry. Through a combination of lectures and in-class discussions, students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director, and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted TV content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in TV. INSTRUCTOR: Rafael Gómez-Cabrera serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Affairs, at AMC Networks ("Mad Men", "The Walking Dead", "Breaking Bad", "Interview with The Vampire") in Los Angeles, California. He is also the former head of business affairs at USA, SYFY and Peacock part of NBC Universal. His practice over the last decade has focused on the entertainment industry and involves negotiating writer, actor, director, and other entertainment agreements with Hollywood agents and attorneys. Prior to entering the entertainment field, Rafael was an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions department at Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Chicago & Miami offices. Mr. Gómez-Cabrera holds a J.D. from Harvard University. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 278.75S Entertainment Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course provides an introduction to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the film and television industries. Students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television and film agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in film and TV. |
| Law 278.78 Computer Crime Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The recent shift to digital crimes and digital evidence creates major challenges for the law governing the prohibition, investigation, and prosecution of criminal activity. We will study those challenges and understand how courts and legislators are responding to them. Topics include the law of computer hacking, Internet threats and harassment, criminal data theft, Internet gambling, encryption, online undercover operations and entrapment, the Fourth Amendment online, the law of executing search warrants for digital evidence, crimes involving digital evidence of child pornography, applying the Wiretap Act to the Internet, the Stored Communications Act, the Cloud Act, the role of federalism in the investigation of digital crimes, and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws around the world. The course is aimed at generalists. It does not assume that students have taken a prior course in criminal procedure or that they have a technical background. Spring 2021 Description: The recent shift to digital crimes and digital evidence creates major challenges for the law governing the prohibition, investigation, and prosecution of criminal activity. We will study those challenges and understand how courts and legislators are responding to them. Topics include the law of computer hacking, Internet threats and harassment, criminal data theft, Internet gambling, encryption, online undercover operations and entrapment, the Fourth Amendment online, the law of executing search warrants for digital evidence, crimes involving digital evidence of child pornography, applying the Wiretap Act to the Internet, the Stored Communications Act, the Cloud Act, the role of federalism in the investigation of digital crimes, and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws around the world. The course is aimed at generalists. It does not assume that students have taken a prior course in criminal procedure or that they have a technical background. Spring 2022 Description: The recent shift to digital crimes and digital evidence creates major challenges for the law governing the prohibition, investigation, and prosecution of criminal activity. We will study those challenges and understand how courts and legislators are responding to them. Topics include the law of computer hacking, Internet threats and harassment, criminal data theft, Internet gambling, encryption, online undercover operations and entrapment, the Fourth Amendment online, the law of executing search warrants for digital evidence, CSAM offenses, applying the Wiretap Act to the Internet, the Stored Communications Act, the Cloud Act, the role of federalism in the investigation of digital crimes, and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws around the world. The course is aimed at generalists. It does not assume that students have taken a prior course in criminal procedure or that they have a technical background. Fall 2022 Description: The recent shift to digital crimes and digital evidence creates major challenges for the law governing the prohibition, investigation, and prosecution of criminal activity. We will study those challenges and understand how courts and legislators are responding to them. Topics include the law of computer hacking, Internet threats and harassment, criminal data theft, Internet gambling, encryption, online undercover operations and entrapment, the Fourth Amendment online, the law of executing search warrants for digital evidence, CSAM offenses, applying the Wiretap Act to the Internet, the Stored Communications Act, the Cloud Act, the role of federalism in the investigation of digital crimes, and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws around the world. The course is aimed at generalists. It does not assume that students have taken a prior course in criminal procedure or that they have a technical background. Spring 2024 Description: The recent shift to digital crimes and digital evidence creates major challenges for the law governing the prohibition, investigation, and prosecution of criminal activity. We will study those challenges and understand how courts and legislators are responding to them. Topics include the law of computer hacking, Internet threats and harassment, criminal data theft, Internet gambling, encryption, online undercover operations and entrapment, the Fourth Amendment online, the law of executing search warrants for digital evidence, CSAM offenses, applying the Wiretap Act to the Internet, the Stored Communications Act, the Cloud Act, the role of federalism in the investigation of digital crimes, and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws around the world. The course is aimed at generalists. It does not assume that students have taken a prior course in criminal procedure or that they have a technical background. Fall 2024 Description: The recent shift to digital crimes and digital evidence creates major challenges for the law governing the prohibition, investigation, and prosecution of criminal activity. We will study those challenges and understand how courts and legislators are responding to them. Topics include the law of computer hacking, Internet threats and harassment, criminal data theft, Internet gambling, encryption, online undercover operations and entrapment, the Fourth Amendment online, the law of executing search warrants for digital evidence, CSAM offenses, applying the Wiretap Act to the Internet, the Stored Communications Act, the Cloud Act, the role of federalism in the investigation of digital crimes, and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws around the world. The course is aimed at generalists. It does not assume that students have taken a prior course in criminal procedure or that they have a technical background. |
| Law 278.7S Music Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2022 Description: This class will give an overview of the legal landscape of the music industry in the United States. Topics including music publishing, master recordings and label agreements, developments in copyright infringement litigation, and recent legislative changes such as the Music Modernization Act. |
| Law 278.8 Wine Law 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: California accounts for 90 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $51.8 billion on the state’s economy and $125.3 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, intellectual property, land use and contractual relationships. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, appellations of origin, wine and health, land use planning,and resource conservation issues for vineyards and wineries and contractual relationships between members of the wine industry. There are no prerequisites. Fall 2021 Description: California accounts for 90 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $51.8 billion on the state’s economy and $125.3 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, intellectual property, land use and contractual relationships. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, appellations of origin, wine and health, land use planning and resource conservation issues for vineyards and wineries and contractual relationships between members of the wine industry. Spring 2023 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems, wine labeling, and appellations of origin. Spring 2024 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems, wine labeling, appellations of origin and comparative legal and policy considerations between the wine, beer and spirits categories. Spring 2025 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems, wine labeling, appellations of origin, and comparative legal and policy considerations between the wine, beer, and spirits categories. |
| Law 278.8S Wine Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2022: In-Person Summer 2023: In-Person Summer 2024: In-Person Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Summer 2021 Description: California accounts for 90 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $51.8 billion on the state’s economy and $125.3 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, and appellations of origin. Summer 2022 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, and appellations of origin. Summer 2023 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, and appellations of origin. Summer 2024 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, and appellations of origin. Summer 2025 Description: California accounts for 81 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $57.6 billion on the state’s economy and $114 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, and appellations of origin. |
| Law 279.3 The Business of Intellectual Property 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: From IP-driven corporate transactions to the rise (and recent fall) of patent monetization entities, attorneys are increasingly called upon to offer not only legal but practical, real-world business advice. So, how does IP fit in the corporate world? This class will examine not only how to create a strategy around IP, but also how IP is perceived, misperceived, used, misused, understood and misunderstood. It will look at how the best-laid plans to monetize IP have succeeded and failed, and occasionally, how some just get lucky. We will look at the business of IP in litigation, transactional, and policy contexts. This course is taught by Jeffrey E. Ostrow. Jeff chairs the global IP practice for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. He is both a seasoned IP transactional lawyer as well as a litigator who has tried IP cases for myriad of companies across technologies. Jeff has been named as one of the "Daily Journal’s" Top 100 IP Lawyers in California, and has accumulated many other accolades. Spring 2021 Description: From patent monetization entities and IP-driven corporate transactions, to global data and privacy policy, to how to approach the uncomfortable clash between AI and IP, lawyers are increasingly called upon to examine an ever changing business landscape and help craft IP strategy that aligns with a set of business, policy and even cultural goals. This course will explore how one approaches and makes those decisions. This class will examine not only how to create a strategy around IP, but also how IP is perceived, misperceived, used, misused, understood and misunderstood. It will look at how the best-laid plans to monetize IP have succeeded and failed, and occasionally, how some just get lucky. We will look at the business of IP in litigation, transactional, and policy contexts. This course requires students to write a series of papers. This course is taught by Jeffrey E. Ostrow. Jeff chairs the global IP practice for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. He is both a seasoned IP transactional lawyer as well as a litigator who has tried IP cases for myriad of companies across technologies. Jeff has been named as one of the "Daily Journal’s" Top 100 IP Lawyers in California, and has accumulated many other accolades. Fall 2022 Description: From patent monetization entities and IP-driven corporate transactions, to the world of Blockchain and global data issues, through how to approach the uncomfortable clash between AI and IP, organizations and their lawyers are increasingly called upon to examine an ever changing business landscape and help craft IP strategy that aligns with a set of business, policy and even cultural goals. This course will explore how one identifies, approaches and meets those goals. This class will examine not only how to create a strategy around IP, but also how IP is perceived, misperceived, used, misused, understood and misunderstood. It will look at how the best-laid plans to monetize IP have succeeded and failed, and occasionally, how some just got lucky. We will look at the business of IP in litigation, transactional, and policy contexts, covering more than a dozen separate subject areas. Fall 2023 Description: From patent monetization entities and IP-driven corporate transactions, to the world of Blockchain and global data issues, through how to approach the uncomfortable clash between AI and IP, organizations and their lawyers are increasingly called upon to examine an ever changing business landscape and help craft IP strategy that aligns with a set of business, policy and even cultural goals. This course will explore how one identifies, approaches and meets those goals. This class will examine not only how to create a strategy around IP, but also how IP is perceived, misperceived, used, misused, understood and misunderstood. It will look at how the best-laid plans to monetize IP have succeeded and failed, and occasionally, how some just got lucky. We will look at the business of IP in litigation, transactional, and policy contexts, covering more than a dozen separate subject areas. Fall 2024 Description: In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, IP issues impact (and can even drive) key business decisions. Increasingly, IP lawyers must navigate and help craft IP strategy for their clients that aligns with a set of business, policy, and even cultural goals. This course explores how to weigh competing concerns and approach decision-making in a shifting environment. This class examines not only how to create a strategy around IP, but also how IP is perceived, misperceived, used, misused, understood, and misunderstood. It looks at how the best-laid plans surrounding IP have succeeded and failed, and occasionally, how some players just get lucky. For example, we look at how patent monetization entities may impact IP-driven corporate transactions, how the unprecedented reach of global data strains IP protections, and how advances in AI challenge established tenets of IP policy. In sum, we look at the business of IP in diverse litigation, transactional, and policy contexts. Fall 2025 Description: In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, IP issues impact (and can even drive) key business decisions. Increasingly, lawyers must navigate and help craft strategy for their clients that aligns with a set of business, policy, and even cultural goals. This course explores how to weigh competing concerns and approach decision-making in a shifting environment. This class examines not only how to think about strategic IP issues, but also how IP is perceived, misperceived, used, misused, understood, and misunderstood. It looks at how the best-laid plans have succeeded and failed, and occasionally, how some players just get lucky. For example, we look at how patent monetization entities may impact IP-driven corporate transactions, how the unprecedented reach of global data strains IP protections, and how advances in AI challenge established tenets of IP law and policy. In sum, we look at the business of IP in diverse litigation, transactional, and policy contexts. |
| Law 279.31 Deep Tech Commercialization Strategies 3 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course explores deep technology commercialization at the interface of business, technology, and intellectual property. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams on real-world, deep tech commercialization projects from leading research institutions and startups. Using the concepts taught in the course, student-led teams will conduct technology and patent analyses, explore the competitive technology landscape, and uncover market entry opportunities to assess the commercial potential of the technology. This is an incredible opportunity to gain real-world experience while learning the fundamentals of deep tech commercialization. This course is the first of an experiential and two semester sequence that gives students the ability to assess any deep technology or science commercialization opportunity. The first semester focuses on technology and customer discovery, how to generate and identify the most promising business opportunities from a deep tech breakthrough, and licensing strategies; the second focuses on business models, technology strategies, entrepreneurial finance, intellectual property, and the strategic opportunities that arise in the clever management of these challenges. The course will be based upon a significant collaborative project that will require application of course concepts and frameworks, through the development and recommendation of a commercialization strategy for a technology from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs or other collaboration partners. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1. Expose students to the strategic intersection of technology, business, and intellectual property (IP) that is inherent to commercializing deep tech innovations. 2. Learn frameworks to identify and analyze the key technology and IP assets that make up the foundational building blocks of a deep tech innovation. 3. Apply an interdisciplinary toolset to support the process of technology capture, positioning, and commercialization by mapping and analyzing competitive technology positions, market positions, and IP-based control positions. 4. Evaluate and prioritize commercial opportunities by identifying potential customer value propositions, business models, and revenues. 5. Hone communication and leadership skills through customer discovery, presenting to peers and industry professionals, and providing recommendations (both positive and negative) to project team leaders throughout the course. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will learn real-world strategies to analyze deep technology innovations from the perspective of technology, IP, and commercialization. Students will learn how to professionally interact with a variety of people from potential customers to tech transfer officers, and leading researchers. They will have gained practical experience applying a unique interdisciplinary toolset to assess the potential to commercialize deep tech innovations. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Matthew Rappaport is the General Partner of Future Frontier Capital (FFC), a pre-seed, frontier technology venture capital fund. Prior to FFC, in 2004 Matthew co-founded IP Checkups, Inc., an intellectual property strategy and software firm where he managed hundreds of innovation projects for early-stage start-ups and large corporations. Matthew is on the faculty at the Fung Institute of Engineering Leadership at UC Berkeley and Project Manager for the Deep Tech Lab at the Tusher Strategic Initiative for Technology Leadership at the Institute for Business Innovation, at the Haas School of Business. He has mentored and taught hundreds of graduate students from Berkeley Law, Haas School of Business, and the Fung Institute on real-world technology commercialization projects in collaboration with startups, corporate innovation departments, and research labs including Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. Matthew has been selected every year since 2011 by his peers as one of the IAM 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Bowman Heiden is the Executive Director of the Tusher Strategic Initiative for Technology Leadership at UC-Berkeley and co-chair of the Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property program at the Classical Liberal Institute at the NYU School of Law. He is also the Director of the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP) at University of Gothenburg, which is a joint platform between academia and industry focused on the transformation of knowledge into wealth and welfare. Dr. Heiden was recently a member of the European Commission Expert Group on Standard Essential Patents. Dr. Heiden is the co-founder of the Berkeley Deep Tech Innovation Lab, the Dynamic Competition Initiative, ICM Global, and Increasing Diversity in Innovation. Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Heiden has also managed over 150 innovation projects with industry, university research institutes, healthcare providers, and start-up ventures. Dr. Heiden holds degrees in engineering, technology management, and economics, and his research is at the interdisciplinary interface of economics, law, and innovation, in particular, intellectual property, innovation economics, and competition policy in knowledge-intensive sectors. Before turning his focus to the fields of innovation strategy and policy, Dr. Heiden played professional basketball in a number of European countries. This is why he is so tall. Fall 2025 Description: COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course explores deep technology commercialization at the interface of business, technology, and intellectual property. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams on real-world, deep tech commercialization projects from leading research institutions and startups. Using the concepts taught in the course, student-led teams will conduct technology and patent analyses, explore the competitive technology landscape, and uncover market entry opportunities to assess the commercial potential of the technology. This is an incredible opportunity to gain real-world experience while learning the fundamentals of deep tech commercialization. This course is the first of an experiential and two-semester sequence that gives students the ability to assess any deep technology or science commercialization opportunity. The first semester focuses on technology and customer discovery, how to generate and identify the most promising business opportunities from a deep tech breakthrough, and licensing strategies; the second focuses on business models, technology strategies, entrepreneurial finance, intellectual property, and the strategic opportunities that arise in the clever management of these challenges. The course will be based upon a significant collaborative project that will require the application of course concepts and frameworks, through the development and recommendation of a commercialization strategy for a technology from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs or other collaboration partners. J.D. applications will be due April 11. Students will be notified by April 21 if they have been admitted to the course. LLM applications will be due July 15, with a response by August 1. After these deadlines pass, late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. Please use the following link to apply (https://forms.gle/u4jbxCVo7pSjmqEk7). COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1. Expose students to the strategic intersection of technology, business, and intellectual property (IP) that is inherent to commercializing deep tech innovations. 2. Learn frameworks to identify and analyze the key technology and IP assets that make up the foundational building blocks of a deep tech innovation. 3. Apply an interdisciplinary toolset to support the process of technology capture, positioning, and commercialization by mapping and analyzing competitive technology positions, market positions, and IP-based control positions. 4. Evaluate and prioritize commercial opportunities by identifying potential customer value propositions, business models, and revenues. 5. Hone communication and leadership skills through customer discovery, presenting to peers and industry professionals, and providing recommendations (both positive and negative) to project team leaders throughout the course. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will learn real-world strategies to analyze deep technology innovations from the perspective of technology, IP, and commercialization. Students will learn how to professionally interact with a variety of people from potential customers to tech transfer officers, and leading researchers. They will have gained practical experience applying a unique interdisciplinary toolset to assess the potential to commercialize deep tech innovations. Our program focuses heavily on human interaction, networking, and communication with outside experts, businesses, and interdisciplinary team members. Students will gain experience working in interdisciplinary teams and the product of the teamwork will be graded. We believe that building relationships with external partners and working in interdisciplinary teams are soft skills that are essential for navigating modern workplaces. ____________________________________________________________________ Matthew Rappaport is the General Partner of Future Frontier Capital (FFC), a pre-seed, frontier technology venture capital fund. Prior to FFC, in 2004 Matthew co-founded IP Checkups, Inc., an intellectual property strategy and software firm where he managed hundreds of innovation projects for early-stage start-ups and large corporations. Matthew is on the faculty at the Fung Institute of Engineering Leadership at UC Berkeley and Co-founder-director for the Deep TechInnovation Lab at the Haas School of Business. He has mentored and taught hundreds of graduate students from Berkeley Law, Haas School of Business, and the Fung Institute on real-world technology commercialization projects in collaboration with startups, corporate innovation departments, and research labs including Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. Dr. Bowman Heiden is the Executive Director of the Tusher Strategic Initiative for Technology Leadership at UC-Berkeley and co-chair of the Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property program at the Classical Liberal Institute at the NYU School of Law. He is also the Director of the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP) at University of Gothenburg. Dr. Heiden was recently a member of the European Commission Expert Group on Standard Essential Patents. Dr. Heiden is the co-founder of the Berkeley Deep Tech Innovation Lab, the Dynamic Competition Initiative, ICM Global, and Increasing Diversity in Innovation. Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Heiden has also managed over 150 innovation projects with industry, university research institutes, healthcare providers, and start-up ventures. Dr. Heiden holds degrees in engineering, technology management, and economics, and his research is at the interdisciplinary interface of economics, law, and innovation, in particular, intellectual property, innovation economics, and competition policy in knowledge-intensive sectors. Before turning his focus to the fields of innovation strategy and policy, Dr. Heiden played professional basketball in a number of European countries. This is why he is so tall. |
| Law 279.32 Deep Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship 3 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This course explores the challenges of deep technology innovation and entrepreneurship at the interface of business, technology, and intellectual property. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams with real-world, deep-tech ventures that have recently been launched by leading research universities, labs, and startups. The early-stage venture focus of this course gives students the opportunity to work closely with a founder team to solve the challenges of market entry, scaling-up, building strategic partnerships, overcoming regulatory hurdles, and gaining access to financing in the face of global competition. This is an incredible opportunity to understand real-world issues while learning the fundamentals of deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship. Objectives & Outcomes COURSE OBJECTIVES • Expose students to the strategic intersection of technology, business, and intellectual property (IP) that is inherent to deep tech ventures and entrepreneurship. • Hone communication and leadership skills through customer discovery, presenting to peers and industry professionals, and providing recommendations (both positive and negative) to venture founders throughout the course. • Evaluate and develop market entry and business model scenarios. • Learn to adapt leading-edge theoretical models for practical use in a complex commercial environment. • Learn how startups search and apply new information to pivot to alternative commercial opportunities. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Students will develop practical skills critical for success in the deep tech space, focusing on areas such as venture/startup formation, business model development, technology marketing strategies, value chain mapping, competitive landscape analysis, and methods for value creation and capture. They will have gained practical experience applying a unique interdisciplinary toolset to develop an early-stage deep tech venture. |
| Law 279.33 Antitrust and Emerging Technologies 4 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course addresses a vital question of law and policy today: how competition and closely related laws (of intellectual property) do and should apply to the digital economy’s business models, practices, and emerging technologies--principally big data, LLMs, and generative AI. Roughly two-thirds of the course will take up the application of American antitrust law to both the giants of the digital economy (Google, Meta/Facebook, Amazon, Apple) and emerging data- and AI-based business models, with the remaining third devoted to analysis of intellectual property laws as applied to data and AI-based processes and outputs. |
| Law 279.9 Space Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course explores the international and national laws governing outer space. It begins with a brief look back over the first half-century of spaceflight, and the global, intergovernmental lawmaking process that produced the international legal framework for space, as a lens for analyzing the legal dimensions of contemporary and future space activities, the primary focus of the course. As space activities are increasingly conducted by private entities, space lawmaking is shifting to national legislatures and regulatory agencies extending treaty obligations to non-governmental actors, and regulating for other public policy ends. The course will introduce students to the U.S. regulatory frameworks for launch and reentry of spacecraft, satellite communications, Earth imaging, and ongoing legislative efforts to address next-generation commercial space activities. The course will conclude with a look at governmental and commercial plans for the second half-century of spaceflight - including harvesting the resources of celestial bodies and human settlements in space - and opportunities for students to play a role in this future, whether in government, a private space company, or a VC fund. Students will select a paper topic analyzing the legal dimensions of a contemporary or future space activity. This course meets: Thursday, January 23rd 6:25PM-9:25PM Friday, January 24th 10AM-12PM and 3:10PM-5:10PM Saturday, January 25th 9AM-12PM and 2PM-5PM Spring 2022 Description: This course explores the international and national laws governing outer space. It begins with a brief look back over the first half-century of spaceflight, and the global, intergovernmental lawmaking process that produced the international legal framework for space, as a lens for analyzing the legal dimensions of contemporary and future space activities, the primary focus of the course. As space activities are increasingly conducted by private entities, space lawmaking is shifting to national legislatures and regulatory agencies extending treaty obligations to non-governmental actors, and regulating for other public policy ends. The course will introduce students to the U.S. regulatory frameworks for launch and reentry of spacecraft, satellite communications, Earth imaging, and ongoing legislative efforts to address next-generation commercial space activities. The course will conclude with a look at governmental and commercial plans for the second half-century of spaceflight - including harvesting the resources of celestial bodies and human settlements in space - and opportunities for students to play a role in this future, whether in government, a private space company, or a VC fund. Students will select a paper topic analyzing the legal dimensions of a contemporary or future space activity. This course meets: Thursday, March 10th 6:25PM-9:25PM Friday, March 11th 10AM-12PM and 3:10PM-5:10PM Saturday, March 12th 9AM-12PM and 2PM-5PM |
| Law 280A Law and Technology Writing Workshop 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: In this writing workshop students will prepare 30+ page papers commenting on important law and technology developments for potential publication in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review of Law and Technology issue. Topics may include developments in the law of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.), privacy, cybersecurity, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and other relevant subject matter areas. Accepted papers will be finalized for publication in Spring 2020 (with one unit of 299 credit available in that semester for additional work). Admission will be based on an application process. The application form , including submission instructions, is posted below as a "supplemental file." JD and JSP applications are due April 30th. For transfer JDs and LLMs, applications are due July 17th. Fall 2021 Description: In this writing workshop students will prepare 30+ page papers commenting on important law and technology developments for potential publication in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review of Law and Technology issue. Topics may include developments in the law of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.), privacy, cybersecurity, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and other relevant subject matter areas. Accepted papers will be finalized for publication in Spring 2022 (with one unit available in that semester for additional work). Admission will be based on an application process. The application form, including submission instructions, is posted below as a "supplemental file." JD and JSP applications are due April 30th. For transfer JDs and LLMs, applications are due in July 16th. Fall 2022 Description: In this writing workshop students will prepare 30+ page papers commenting on important law and technology developments for potential publication in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review of Law and Technology issue. Topics may include developments in the law of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.), privacy, cybersecurity, telecommunications, antitrust, artificial intelligence, and other relevant subject matter areas. Accepted papers will be finalized for publication in Spring 2023 (with one unit available in that semester for additional work). Admission will be based on an application process. The application form, including submission instructions, is posted below as a "supplemental file." JD and JSP applications are due April 30th. For transfer JDs and LLMs, applications are due on July 16th. Fall 2023 Description: In this writing workshop students will prepare 30+ page papers commenting on important law and technology developments for potential publication in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review of Law and Technology issue. Topics may include developments in the law of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.), privacy, cybersecurity, telecommunications, antitrust, artificial intelligence, and other relevant subject matter areas. Accepted papers will be finalized for publication in Spring 2024 . Admission will be based on an application process. The application form, including submission instructions, is posted below as a "supplemental file." JD and JSP applications are due April 30th. For transfer JDs and LLMs, applications are due July 31st. Fall 2024 Description: In this writing workshop students will prepare 30+ page papers commenting on important law and technology developments for potential publication in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review of Law and Technology issue. Topics may include developments in the law of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.), privacy, cybersecurity, telecommunications, antitrust, artificial intelligence, and other relevant subject matter areas. Accepted papers will be finalized for publication in Spring 2025. Admission will be based on an application process. The application form, including submission instructions, is posted below as a "supplemental file." Applications from current JD and JSP students are due April 30th. For LLMs and transfer JDs, applications are due July 31st. Fall 2025 Description: In this writing workshop students will prepare 30+ page papers commenting on important law and technology developments for potential inclusion in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review of Law & Technology. Topics may include developments in the law of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.), privacy, telecommunications, etc. Accepted papers will be finalized for publication in Spring 2026. Admission will be based on an application process. Application materials, including deadline information and submission instructions, will be posted in the “supplemental files” section of the course description page. Applications are due by April 11th. Students will be told admissions decisions by April 21st. For LLMs and transfer JDs, applications are due July 31st, with a response by August 11. |
| Law 280B Law and Technology Writing Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This is a continuation of Law 280A, Law and Technology Writing Workshop I. You must have been enrolled in that class in Fall 2023 and have permission of the instructor to enroll in this class. Over the course of this semester, you will work on a paper for publication in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 281 Family Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will explore the changes that have occurred in the legal and popular definition of the family over the years by probing questions about the ways in which the American legal system has regulated the family and intimate life. This course will cover basic family law issues such as marriage, divorce, parenthood, child custody, and non-traditional families. In addition to these specific topics, we will consider the role that gender, class, sexuality, gender identity, and race play in constructing the normative ideal of intimate life. Overall, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the doctrines and social policies that affect families and to enable you to think critically about them. Spring 2021 Description: This course will explore the changes that have occurred in the legal and popular definition of the family over the years by probing questions about the ways in which the American legal system has regulated the family and intimate life. This course will cover basic family law issues such as marriage, divorce, parenthood, child custody, and non-traditional families. In addition to these specific topics, we will consider the role that gender, class, sexuality, gender identity, and race play in constructing the normative ideal of intimate life. Overall, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the doctrines and social policies that affect families and to enable you to think critically about them. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course will explore the changes that have occurred in the legal and popular definition of the family over the years by probing questions about the ways in which the American legal system has regulated the family and intimate life. This course will cover basic family law issues such as marriage, divorce, parenthood, child custody, and non-traditional families. In addition to these specific topics, we will consider the role that gender, class, sexuality, gender identity, and race play in constructing the normative ideal of intimate life. Overall, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the doctrines and social policies that affect families and to enable you to think critically about them. Spring 2023 Description: This course will explore the changes that have occurred in the legal and popular definition of the family over the years by probing questions about the ways in which the American legal system has regulated the family and intimate life. This course will cover basic family law issues such as marriage, divorce, parenthood, child custody, and non-traditional families. In addition to these specific topics, we will consider the role that gender, class, sexuality, gender identity, and race play in constructing the normative ideal of intimate life. Overall, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the doctrines and social policies that affect families and to enable you to think critically about them. Fall 2023 Description: This course will explore the changes that have occurred in the legal and popular definition of the family over the years by probing questions about the ways in which the American legal system has regulated the family and intimate life. This course will cover basic family law issues such as marriage, divorce, parenthood, child custody, and non-traditional families. In addition to these specific topics, we will consider the role that gender, class, sexuality, gender identity, and race play in constructing the normative ideal of intimate life. Overall, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the doctrines and social policies that affect families and to enable you to think critically about them. |
| Law 281.41 Litigating Children's Civil Rights: The Immigration Crisis 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This one-credit course will focus on the role of class action litigation as a tool to advance the civil rights of children, with a particular emphasis on the Flores v. Barr case and the rights of immigrant children in federal custody. The course will introduce students to the complexities of children’s class action cases designed to reform state and federal child-serving systems. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that child advocates consider in shaping class action litigation, the laws that are relied upon to achieve reforms, typical challenges that are raised during litigation, and the complex factors that must be addressed in order to improve struggling systems once cases move from active litigation to implementation of a consent decree. Leecia Welch is the Senior Director of Legal Advocacy and Child Welfare at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) in Oakland. She specializes in class action litigation designed to improve the lives of children in state and federal foster care. She is currently class counsel in the Flores v. Barr and Lucas R. v. Azar cases, representing thousands of immigrant children in the federal custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She is also class counsel for children in foster care in Missouri and for a putative class of children in Kansas’s broken foster care system. For three years, she was lead counsel on David C. v. Huntsman, a class action lawsuit in Utah that resulted in significant reforms of the foster care system. Leecia has also worked on successful damages cases and class action lawsuits in Nevada, Washington, and California. Prior to joining NCYL in 2004, Leecia was an associate in the litigation department at San Francisco’s Morrison & Foerster LLP, and spent three years focusing her time nearly exclusively on Williams v. State of California, a class action that resulted in increased funding, oversight and resources for California’s public education system. Spring 2021 Description: This one-credit course will focus on the role of class action litigation as a tool to advance the civil rights of children, with a particular emphasis on the rights of immigrant children in federal custody. The course will introduce students to the complexities of children’s class action cases designed to reform state and federal child-serving systems. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that child advocates consider in shaping class action litigation, the laws that are relied upon to achieve reforms, typical challenges that are raised during litigation, and the complex factors that must be addressed in order to improve struggling systems once cases move from active litigation to implementation of a consent decree. Leecia Welch is the Senior Director of Legal Advocacy and Child Welfare at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) in Oakland. She specializes in class action litigation designed to improve the lives of children in state and federal foster care. She is currently class counsel in the Flores v. Barr and Lucas R. v. Azar cases, representing thousands of immigrant children in the federal custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She is also class counsel for children in foster care in Missouri and Kansas. For three years, she was lead counsel on David C. v. Huntsman, a class action lawsuit in Utah that resulted in significant reforms of the foster care system. Leecia has also worked on successful damages cases and class action lawsuits in Nevada, Washington, and California. Prior to joining NCYL in 2004, Leecia was an associate in the litigation department at San Francisco’s Morrison & Foerster LLP, and spent three years focusing her time nearly exclusively on Williams v. State of California, a class action that resulted in increased funding, oversight and resources for California’s public education system. Spring 2022 Description: This one-credit course will focus on the role of class action litigation as a tool to advance the civil rights of children, with a particular emphasis on the rights of immigrant children in federal custody. The course will introduce students to the complexities of children’s class action cases designed to reform state and federal child-serving systems. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that child advocates consider in shaping class action litigation, the laws that are relied upon to achieve reforms, typical challenges that are raised during litigation, and the complex factors that must be addressed in order to improve struggling systems once cases move from active litigation to implementation of a consent decree. Leecia Welch is a Lead Counsel at Children's Rights in New York City. She specializes in class action litigation designed to improve the lives of children in state and federal foster care. She is currently class counsel in the Flores v. Barr case, representing thousands of immigrant children in the federal custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She is also class counsel for children in foster care in Missouri and Kansas. For three years, she was lead counsel on David C. v. Huntsman, a class action lawsuit in Utah that resulted in significant reforms of the foster care system. Leecia has also worked on successful damages cases and class action lawsuits in Nevada, Washington, and California. Prior to joining Children's Rights, Leecia was the Senior Director of Child Welfare and Legal Advocacy at the National Center for Youth Law - where she worked for nearly 17 years. Leecia was also an associate in the litigation department at San Francisco’s Morrison & Foerster LLP, and spent three years focusing her time nearly exclusively on Williams v. State of California, a class action that resulted in increased funding, oversight and resources for California’s public education system. Spring 2023 Description: This one-credit course will focus on the role of class action litigation as a tool to advance the civil rights of children, with a particular emphasis on the rights of immigrant children in federal custody. The course will introduce students to the complexities of children’s class action cases designed to reform state and federal child-serving systems. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that child advocates consider in shaping class action litigation, the laws that are relied upon to achieve reforms, typical challenges that are raised during litigation, and the complex factors that must be addressed in order to improve struggling systems once cases move from active litigation to implementation of a consent decree. By the end of the semester, students should have a: • Basic understanding of legal claims regularly brought in children’s civil rights cases, including under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment provisions of the Medicaid Act. • Understanding of key constitutional law cases addressing the rights of children. • Understanding of the history and continuing relevance of the Flores case in the struggle to protect the rights of children and families in federal immigration detention. • Understanding of the most pressing problems with federal immigration detention of children. • Understanding of how children’s civil rights attorneys develop impact cases – including working with plaintiffs, identifying appropriate defendants, developing legal claims, and shaping the remedy. • Basic understanding of the phases of impact litigation – pre-filing investigation, post-filing motion practice, class certification, discovery, trial, settlement, and post-judgment implementation. • Basic understanding of the crucial need for trauma-informed mental health services to address the complex trauma needs of children in (and released from) federal immigration detention and the barriers to accessing those services. Credit will be awarded based on (1) one 2-3 page reflection paper on the reading for week 2, (2) two designated on-call classes where you will be expected (along with other assigned students) to actively guide class discussion, and (3) one 5-7 page reflection paper due at the end of the course. Leecia Welch is the Deputy Litigation Director at Children’s Rights in New York City. She was previously the Senior Director of Child Welfare and Legal Advocacy at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) for seventeen years. She specializes in class action litigation designed to improve the lives of children in state and federal foster care. She is currently class counsel in the Flores v. Garland case, representing a nationwide class of detained immigrant children to enforce a settlement that governs their release and treatment in federal immigration custody. She has served as class counsel for children in foster care in Missouri and Utah – and currently represents classes of children in foster care in Washington and Kansas. Ms. Welch has also worked on successful damages cases, impact cases, and class action lawsuits on behalf of youth in Nevada and California. Prior to joining NCYL in 2004, Ms. Welch was a senior associate in the litigation department at Morrison & Foerster LLP, and spent three years focusing her time nearly exclusively on Williams v. State of California, a class action that resulted in increased funding, oversight and resources for California’s public education system. She has been recognized by the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, the Impact Fund, and was the 2021 Janet Reno Endowment Women’s Leadership Award. Spring 2024 Description: This one-credit course will focus on the role of class action litigation as a tool to advance the civil rights of children, with a particular emphasis on the rights of immigrant children in federal custody. The course will introduce students to the complexities of children’s class action cases designed to reform state and federal child-serving systems. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that child advocates consider in shaping class action litigation, the laws that are relied upon to achieve reforms, typical challenges that are raised during litigation, and the complex factors that must be addressed in order to improve struggling systems once cases move from active litigation to implementation of a consent decree. By the end of the semester, students should have a: • Basic understanding of legal claims regularly brought in children’s civil rights cases, including under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment provisions of the Medicaid Act. • Understanding of key constitutional law cases addressing the rights of children. • Understanding of the history and continuing relevance of the Flores case in the struggle to protect the rights of children and families in federal immigration detention. • Understanding of the most pressing problems with federal immigration detention of children. • Understanding of how children’s civil rights attorneys develop impact cases – including working with plaintiffs, identifying appropriate defendants, developing legal claims, and shaping the remedy. • Basic understanding of the phases of impact litigation – pre-filing investigation, post-filing motion practice, class certification, discovery, trial, settlement, and post-judgment implementation. • Basic understanding of the crucial need for trauma-informed mental health services to address the complex trauma needs of children in (and released from) federal immigration detention and the barriers to accessing those services. Credit will be awarded based on (1) one 2-3 page reflection paper on the reading for week 2, (2) one designated on-call class where you will be expected (along with other assigned students) to actively guide class discussion, and (3) one 5-7 page reflection paper due at the end of the course. Leecia Welch is the Deputy Litigation Director at Children’s Rights in New York City. She was previously the Senior Director of Child Welfare and Legal Advocacy at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) for seventeen years. She specializes in class action litigation designed to improve the lives of children in state and federal foster care. She is currently class counsel in the Flores v. Garland case, representing a nationwide class of detained immigrant children to enforce a settlement that governs their release and treatment in federal immigration custody. She has served as class counsel for children in foster care in Missouri and Utah – and currently represents children in foster care in Washington, Kansas, Tennessee and California. Ms. Welch has also worked on successful damages cases, impact cases, and class action lawsuits on behalf of youth in Nevada and California. Prior to joining NCYL in 2004, Ms. Welch was a senior associate in the litigation department at Morrison & Foerster LLP, and spent three years focusing her time nearly exclusively on Williams v. State of California, a class action that resulted in increased funding, oversight and resources for California’s public education system. She has been recognized by the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, the Impact Fund, and was the 2021 Janet Reno Endowment Women’s Leadership Award. |
| Law 281.42 Policing Families 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Background: After decades of advocacy and activism, widespread calls to rebuild or abolish systems seeped in white supremacy have shaken long standing institutions and created new, real opportunities for change. One such system is due for a reckoning, but continues to operate away from the public’s scrutiny: the child welfare system. Also referred to as the family regulation system by some scholars, it is enmeshed in institutionalized racism and bias, yet remains largely out of the mainstream discourse of critical systemic change. The U.S. has a long history of devaluing Black, Native American, and Latinx families and systemically separating children of color from their parents, from slavery and Native American boarding schools to family separations at the border and our current-day foster care system. Currently, 53 percent of all Black children and their parents in the U.S. will experience a child abuse or neglect investigation before the child's 18th birthday; compared to only 28% of white children and parents. Once a family is under investigation, children of color are removed from their families’ care at higher rates; within the foster care system, their outcomes are worse at every stage of subjective determination. Yet the most common allegation among their cases is neglect, which is interwoven with poverty - for accusations like an unclean home, excessive school absences, or lack of access to medical care. How might we better ensure that children are safe from harm? That parents who are struggling to meet the demands of parenting are supported? What alternative systemic solutions exist to invest the billions of dollars that are spent on the "foster care industrial complex" each year? This seminar will focus on current-day practices of the state in the child protective system through the policing of parents of color and low-income parents. The seminar will begin with a historical perspective on family separation, such as chattel slavery and Native American boarding schools. We will then take a closer look at current day practices in major cities such as Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York City, consider the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on separated families, and discuss alternative models. The seminar will introduce students to both the subject area and to stakeholders and advocates that practice in the field—e.g., activists, attorneys, public defenders, and other parties. Writing assignments will include reflections on our readings and crafting creative legal arguments and solutions to the problems presented. Spring 2023 Description: After decades of advocacy and activism, widespread calls to re-envision or abolish systems seeped in white supremacy have shaken long standing institutions and created new, real opportunities for change. One such system is due for a reckoning, but continues to operate away from the public’s scrutiny: the “child welfare” system. Also referred to as the “family regulation” system by some scholars, it is enmeshed in institutionalized racism and bias, yet remains largely out of the mainstream discourse of critical systemic change. The U.S. has a long history of devaluing Black, Native American, and Latinx families and systemically separating children of color from their parents, from slavery and Native American boarding schools to family separations at the border and our current-day foster care system. Currently, 53 percent of all Black children and their parents in the U.S. will experience a child abuse or neglect investigation before the child's 18th birthday; compared to only 28% of white children and parents. Once a family is under investigation, children of color are removed from their families’ care at higher rates; within the foster care system, their outcomes are worse at every stage of subjective determination. Yet the most common allegation among their cases is neglect, which is interwoven with poverty - for accusations like an unclean home, excessive school absences, or lack of access to medical care. What’s more, elected officials in some states have weaponized this system to target LGBTQ youth and their families. How might we better ensure that children are safe from harm? That parents who are struggling to meet the demands of parenting are supported? What alternative systemic solutions exist to invest the billions of dollars that are spent on the foster care industrial complex each year? Spring 2024 Description: After decades of advocacy and activism, widespread calls to re-envision or abolish systems seeped in white supremacy have shaken long standing institutions and created new, real opportunities for change. One such system is due for a reckoning, but continues to operate away from the public’s scrutiny: the “child welfare” system. Also referred to as the “family regulation” system by some scholars, it is enmeshed in institutionalized racism and bias, yet remains largely out of the mainstream discourse of critical systemic change. The U.S. has a long history of devaluing Black, Native American, and Latinx families and systemically separating children of color from their parents, from slavery and Native American boarding schools to family separations at the border and our current-day foster care system. Currently, 53 percent of all Black children and their parents in the U.S. will experience a child abuse or neglect investigation before the child's 18th birthday; compared to only 28% of white children and parents. Once a family is under investigation, children of color are removed from their families’ care at higher rates; within the foster care system, their outcomes are worse at every stage of subjective determination. Yet the most common allegation among their cases is neglect, which is interwoven with poverty - for accusations like an unclean home, excessive school absences, or lack of access to medical care. What’s more, elected officials in some states have weaponized this system to target LGBTQ youth and their families. How might we better ensure that children are safe from harm? That parents who are struggling to meet the demands of parenting are supported? What alternative systemic solutions exist to invest the billions of dollars that are spent on the foster care industrial complex each year? This one-unit seminar will focus on current-day practices of the state in the child protective system through the policing of parents of color and low-income parents. The seminar will begin with a historical perspective on family separation, such as chattel slavery and Native American boarding schools. We will then take a closer look at current day practices in major cities such as Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York City, consider the legal bases for the state's separation of children from their families, and discuss alternative models. The seminar will introduce students to both the subject area and to stakeholders and advocates that practice in the field-e.g., activists, attorneys, public defenders, and other parties. Writing assignments will include reflections on our readings and crafting creative legal arguments and new solutions to the problems presented. Spring 2025 Description: After decades of advocacy and activism, widespread calls to re-envision or abolish systems seeped in white supremacy have shaken long-standing institutions and created new, real opportunities for change. One such system is due for a reckoning, but continues to operate away from the public’s scrutiny: the “child welfare” system. Also referred to as the “family policing” system by some scholars, it is enmeshed in institutionalized racism and bias, yet remains largely out of the mainstream discourse of critical systemic change. The U.S. has a long history of devaluing Black, Native American, and Latinx families and systemically separating children of color from their parents, from slavery and Native American boarding schools to migrant family separations and our current-day foster care system. Currently, 53 percent of all Black children and their parents in the U.S. will experience a child abuse or neglect investigation before the child's 18th birthday; compared to only 28% of white children and parents. Once a family is under investigation, children of color are removed from their families’ care at higher rates; within the foster care system, their outcomes are worse at every stage of subjective determination. Yet the most common allegation among their cases is neglect, which is interwoven with poverty - for accusations like an unclean home, substance use, excessive school absences, or lack of access to medical care. What’s more, elected officials in some states have weaponized this system to target transgender youth and their families. How might we better ensure that children are safe from harm? That parents who are struggling to meet the demands of parenting are supported? What alternative systemic solutions exist to invest the billions of dollars that are spent on the foster care industrial complex each year? This course will focus on current-day practices of the state in the child protective system through the policing of parents of color and low-income parents. The seminar will begin with a historical perspective on family separation, such as chattel slavery and Native American boarding schools. We will then take a closer look at current-day practices in major U.S. cities, consider the legal bases for the state's separation of children from their families, and discuss alternative models. The seminar will introduce students to both the subject area and to stakeholders and advocates that practice in the field-e.g., activists, attorneys, public defenders, and other parties. Writing assignments will include reflections on our readings and crafting creative legal arguments and solutions to the problems presented. |
| Law 281.43 Race, Gender, and Policing 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: This class on Race, Gender & Policing, will use the theoretical frameworks of Critical Race Theory, Feminism, and Masculinities Studies. The objects of inquiry will be major Criminalization doctrines, such as Void for Vagueness doctrine, Terry-Stop doctrine, and Whren Pretext doctrine. Frank Rudy Cooper is William S. Boyd Professor of Law and Director of the Program on Race, Gender & Policing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law. He is an award-wining teacher and mentor. |
| Law 281.9 Reproductive Rights and Justice 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar explores Reproductive Justice (“RJ”) as a paradigm for understanding reproductive oppression - that is, the subordination of individuals through their bodies, sexualities, and abilities to reproduce. The RJ paradigm picks up where a reproductive rights framework ends. It contends that the fight for equality and dignity in matters relating to reproduction continues beyond a successful argument that the Constitution ought to protect a “right” to privacy, “right” to access contraception, or “right” to an abortion. An RJ framework observes that “rights” are given meaning - and lose meaning - according to the race, class, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and physical and mental ability (among other attributes) of the rights bearer. As such, RJ analyzes reproductive experiences within a complex context and with respect to the multiple statuses of the persons involved. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to analyze social issues through an RJ lens and develop legal and non-legal strategies for addressing these issues. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar explores Reproductive Justice (“RJ”) as a paradigm for understanding reproductive oppression - that is, the subordination of individuals through their bodies, sexualities, and abilities to reproduce. The RJ paradigm picks up where a reproductive rights framework ends. It contends that the fight for equality and dignity in matters relating to reproduction continues beyond a successful argument that the Constitution ought to protect a “right” to privacy, “right” to access contraception, or “right” to an abortion. An RJ framework observes that “rights” are given meaning - and lose meaning - according to the race, class, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and physical and mental ability (among other attributes) of the rights bearer. As such, RJ analyzes reproductive experiences within a complex context and with respect to the multiple statuses of the persons involved. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to analyze social issues through an RJ lens and develop legal and non-legal strategies for addressing these issues. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar explores Reproductive Justice (“RJ”) as a paradigm for understanding reproductive oppression - that is, the subordination of individuals through their bodies, sexualities, and abilities to reproduce. The RJ paradigm picks up where a reproductive rights framework ends. It contends that the fight for equality and dignity in matters relating to reproduction continues beyond a successful argument that the Constitution ought to protect a “right” to privacy, “right” to access contraception, or “right” to an abortion. An RJ framework observes that “rights” are given meaning - and lose meaning - according to the race, class, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and physical and mental ability (among other attributes) of the rights bearer. As such, RJ analyzes reproductive experiences within a complex context and with respect to the multiple statuses of the persons involved. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to analyze social issues through an RJ lens and develop legal and non-legal strategies for addressing these issues. |
| Law 281.91 Reproductive Justice and Environmental Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will introduce students to the Reproductive Justice (“RJ”) framework as well as the Environmental Justice (“EJ”) framework. While RJ and EJ tend to focus on different areas, this course will put the two frameworks in conversation with one another. It will begin with an exploration of reasons-based abortion bans - focusing on abortion regulations that prohibit healthcare providers from performing an abortion on a patient if they believe that the patient is terminating the pregnancy on account of a fetus’s disability. It will then interrogate disability-selective abortion bans in light of state actions that increase the likelihood that a child will be born with, or develop, a disability. Flint, Michigan will be used as a case study. In 2014 - 2016, government actors knowingly exposed the city’s residents - who were largely poor and black - to dangerous levels of lead in the city’s water. The harm that lead causes fetuses, infants, and children is well-established, with lead being known to cause damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems. This course will explore the racial stakes of public actors engaging in acts that increase the likelihood that children will have a disability, and then endeavoring to compel the birth of children with disabilities through abortion regulations. Here, the state acts in a way that is the inverse of eugenic. Whereas the state, operating under the banner of eugenics, once regulated reproduction with the aim of ensuring that children would have characteristics that the state deemed to be advantageous, the state now regulates reproduction in a way that results in children having disadvantageous (that is, disabling) characteristics. There is a puzzle in these anti-eugenic impulses and behaviors of the state. This course will offer students the opportunity to interrogate this puzzle’s meaning and consequences. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 281.92 Organizing for Reproductive Rights and Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This course will survey the legal and political strategies that are being mobilized to protect reproductive rights, and secure the broader agenda of reproductive justice, following the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs. It will focus in particular on how coalitions are being constructed, and how those not previously politically active are being engaged: to craft and support ballot issues, to support state judicial candidates, to address restrictive state legislation, and to secure an agenda that also encompasses funding, disparities in reproductive health and maternal/infant outcomes, and birthing choices. Among the questions we will consider will be the meanings of reproductive freedom (in its negative and positive manifestations) to those involved, and the possible confluence and divergence between lawyer-led and community-led initiatives. Class sessions will feature zoom presentations by organizers, legal professionals, and scholars actively involved in these issues in several state contexts. |
| Law 282.1 Domestic Violence Law Seminar 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will examine the legal system's response to domestic violence. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will cover historical and psychological materials as well as topics in criminal, family, tort, immigration, welfare, housing, employment, human rights, and constitutional law. Ethical and policy issues will be included throughout, as will discussion of how domestic violence affects different groups - people of the global majority (aka people of color), disabled survivors of abuse, LGBTQ survivors, etc. We will discuss legal issues regarding civil protective orders, how intentional torts have applied to domestic violence, and the erosion of interspousal immunity. In the realm of family law, we will consider how domestic violence is or should be taken to account in custody proceedings, examining how alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, work or don't work in the context of domestic violence. The class will also look at interstate custody problems affecting battered mothers who flee with their children. In the criminal section, we will analyze the efficacy of mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution policies along with liability of police departments and other government bodies for failure to enforce protective orders or to otherwise act to protect victims of domestic violence. The class will cover survivors of domestic violence as complaining witnesses and as defendants, including the claim of self-defense, and the use of expert testimony on the common experiences of such survivors. We will discuss federal legislation pertaining to domestic violence such as VAWA, firearms prohibitions, and the response to domestic violence in the military. Privacy issues, including cyberstalking and medical personnel reporting domestic violence to police will also be addressed. The class will discuss welfare, housing, and employment issues affecting battered women. We will end with the legal rights and problems of immigrant survivors and battered women seeking asylum in the US and look at domestic violence as an international human rights issue. We will use a group discussion format, with each student leading part of one class. Several guest speakers and DVD will be included. A 30-page paper in lieu of a final exam is possible, and the paper can qualify as a writing requirement with permission of the instructor. Nancy Lemon also teaches the Domestic Violence Field Placement (formerly the DV Practicum), 295.6J and 283Q, each spring. While students are allowed to take the field placement without taking the seminar first, they are encouraged to enroll in both courses. Students may take the field placement twice. In it, students work in non-profit, prosecutorial or public defender offices, or with judges around the Bay Area. Topics students work on include prosecution, criminal defense, immigration and asylum law, family law, employment issues, housing, and public benefits. For more information, go to www.law.berkeley.edu/domesticviolencepracticum.htm. Nancy K. D. Lemon has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, she has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement (formerly the DV Practicum) at Berkeley Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 5th edition with West. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project with two of her students and a former student, where she serves as part time Legal Director. FVAP is the only statewide non profit in California providing free appellate representation to survivors of domestic violence, and has already built a body of precedential cases. Fall 2021 Description: This course will examine the legal system's response to domestic violence. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will cover historical and psychological materials as well as topics in criminal, family, tort, immigration, welfare, housing, employment, human rights, and constitutional law. Ethical and policy issues will be included throughout, as will discussion of how domestic violence affects different groups - people of the global majority (aka people of color), disabled survivors of abuse, LGBTQ survivors, etc. We will discuss legal issues regarding civil protective orders, how intentional torts have applied to domestic violence, and the erosion of interspousal immunity. In the realm of family law, we will consider how domestic violence is or should be taken to account in custody proceedings, examining how alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, work or don't work in the context of domestic violence. The class will also look at interstate custody problems affecting battered mothers who flee with their children. In the criminal section, we will analyze the efficacy of mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution policies along with liability of police departments and other government bodies for failure to enforce protective orders or to otherwise act to protect victims of domestic violence. The class will cover survivors of domestic violence as complaining witnesses and as defendants, including the claim of self-defense, and the use of expert testimony on the common experiences of such survivors. We will discuss federal legislation pertaining to domestic violence such as VAWA, firearms prohibitions, and the response to domestic violence in the military. Privacy issues, including cyberstalking and medical personnel reporting domestic violence to police will also be addressed. The class will discuss welfare, housing, and employment issues affecting battered women. We will end with the legal rights and problems of immigrant survivors and battered women seeking asylum in the US and look at domestic violence as an international human rights issue. We will use a group discussion format, with each student leading part of one class. Several guest speakers and DVDs will be included. A 30-page paper in lieu of a final exam is possible, and the paper can qualify as a writing requirement with permission of the instructor. Nancy K. D. Lemon has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, she has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement (formerly the DV Practicum) at Berkeley Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 5th edition with West. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project with two of her students and a former student, where she serves as part time Legal Director. FVAP is the only statewide non-profit in California providing free appellate representation to survivors of domestic violence, and has already built a body of precedential cases. Fall 2022 Description: This course will examine the legal system's response to domestic violence (also known as family violence or intimate partner violence). Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will cover historical, psychological, empirical materials as well as topics in criminal, family, tort, immigration, welfare, housing, employment, human rights, privacy, and constitutional law. We will explore how domestic violence laws disparately affect different groups, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, people of faith communities, and peoples who fall outside of the current normative family structures in the U.S.. Ethical and policy issues will be explored throughout, as will discussions of the trajectory of the anti-domestic violence movement in light of racial justice movements (new and sustained). Through a trauma-centered and intersectional approach, students will be positioned to assess and analyze the responses by the legal system (and lateral/alternative systems) to the persistent and prevalent social issue of domestic violence. We will use a group discussion format, with each student leading part of one class. Several guest speakers and videos will be included. This course will provide students an opportunity to develop their skills of listening (to each other; guest speakers; interviews; videos), writing (reflections and comments on bCourses; final exam), and facilitation/presentation. The course has a take-home, open-book final exam. Each Spring semester, Nancy K. D. Lemon, a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades, teaches the Domestic Violence Field Placement (formerly the DV Practicum) at Berkeley Law. While students are allowed to take the field placement without taking this DV Law seminar first, they are encouraged to enroll in both courses. Students may take the field placement twice. In it, students work in non-profit, prosecutorial or public defender offices, or with judges around the Bay Area. Topics students work on include prosecution, criminal defense, immigration and asylum law, family law, employment issues, housing, and public benefits. For more information, go to https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-practicum/. Fall 2023 Description: This course will examine the legal system's response to domestic violence (also known as family violence or intimate partner violence). Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will cover historical, psychological, empirical materials as well as topics in criminal, family, tort, immigration, welfare, housing, employment, human rights, privacy, and constitutional law. We will explore how domestic violence laws disparately affect different groups, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, people of faith communities, and peoples who fall outside of the current normative family structures in the U.S.. Ethical and policy issues will be explored throughout, as will discussions of the trajectory of the anti-domestic violence movement in light of racial justice movements (new and sustained). Through a trauma-centered and intersectional approach, students will be positioned to assess and analyze the responses by the legal system (and lateral/alternative systems) to the persistent and prevalent social issue of domestic violence. We will use a group discussion format. Several guest speakers and videos will be included. This course will provide students an opportunity to develop their skills of listening (to each other; guest speakers; interviews; videos), writing (reflections and comments on bCourses; final exam), and facilitation/presentation. The course has a take-home, open-book final exam. Each Spring semester Mallika Kaur runs the Domestic Violence Field Placement at Berkeley Law: students work on real cases, supervised by practicing attorneys in a range of practice areas, while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Kaur. Students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. Their work focuses on restraining orders, family law, public benefits, immigration, asylum, employment issues, prosecution, defense of accused and/or incarcerated victims, appellate work, or other issues involving domestic violence. Students also may work on policy matters, including helping draft and advocate for legislation. For more information, go to https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-practicum/. Fall 2024 Description: During their career, all attorneys will–knowingly or unknowingly–work with and/or represent someone victimized by or someone accused of domestic violence (or intimate partner violence). Since millions of people in the U.S. report being victimized by DV each year, the resulting legal needs are as diverse as our population. Further, the efficacy of legal systems to fairly combat DV in the U.S. is passionately debated today. This course will examine the legal system's historic response to domestic violence as well as possible future trajectories. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this seminar will survey historical, psychological, and empirical materials as well as topics in criminal, family, tort, immigration, welfare, housing, employment, human rights, comparative international law, and constitutional law. We will explore how domestic violence laws disparately affect different groups, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, people of faith communities, and people who fall outside of the current normative family structures in the U.S. Ethical and policy issues will be explored throughout, and students will develop a trauma-centered and intersectional approach to issues at the intersection of law and gender asymmetries: race, immigration, incarceration, reproductive care, state’s rights, policing, restorative justice, and more. This course is highly encouraged (though not required) for students interested in enrolling in the unique Domestic Violence Field Placement program in the Spring. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-field-placement/. Fall 2025 Description: During their career, all attorneys will–knowingly or unknowingly–work with and/or represent someone victimized by or someone accused of domestic violence (or intimate partner violence). Since millions of people in the U.S. report being victimized by DV each year, the resulting legal needs are as diverse as our population. Further, the efficacy of legal systems to fairly combat DV in the U.S. is passionately debated today. This course will examine the legal system's historic response to domestic violence as well as possible future trajectories. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this seminar will survey historical, psychological, and empirical materials as well as topics in criminal, family, tort, immigration, welfare, housing, employment, human rights, comparative international, and constitutional law. We will explore how domestic violence laws disparately affect different groups, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, people of faith communities, and people who fall outside of the current normative family structures in the U.S. Ethical and policy issues will be explored throughout, and students will develop a trauma-centered and intersectional approach to issues at the intersection of law and gender asymmetries: race, immigration, incarceration, reproductive care, state’s rights, policing, restorative justice, and more. |
| Law 283 Representing Low Wage Workers 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Laws that govern low wage workers are critical in the context of today’s growing wealth inequality. This seminar will provide students with an overview of the various labor and employment laws that affect low wage workers. We will also address the effective use of those laws to address these issues. The course will focus on areas of the law currently used to advance low wage worker rights, including: · Wage and hour laws most relevant to low wage workers, the class action procedure; · Immigration laws affecting documented and undocumented workers; · Laws surrounding employees’ rights to a workplace free of unlawful harassment and discrimination and family rights in the workplace; · Workers’ right to engage in concerted action and federal and state anti-retaliation provisions; · Laws relevant to the “gig economy” and employee versus independent contractor classification; · Low wage workers and waivers via arbitration agreements; · Current implications of the Affordable Care Act; · Unemployment benefits and other wage replacement resources; · Worker centers, alt-Labor and new forms of worker organizations; and · Living wage and other local legislation Fall 2022 Description: Laws that govern low wage workers are critical in the context of today’s growing wealth inequality. This seminar will provide students with an overview of the various labor and employment laws that affect low wage workers. We will also address the effective use of those laws to address these issues. The course will focus on areas of the law currently used to advance low wage worker rights, including: · Wage and hour laws most relevant to low wage workers and the class action procedure; · Immigration laws affecting documented and undocumented workers; · Laws surrounding employees’ rights to a workplace free of unlawful harassment and discrimination and family rights in the workplace; · Workers’ right to engage in concerted action and federal and state anti-retaliation provisions; · Laws relevant to the “gig economy” and employee versus independent contractor classification; · Waivers of the right to a judicial forum and the class action procedure via arbitration agreements; · Current implications of the Affordable Care Act; · Unemployment benefits and other wage replacement resources; · Worker centers, alt-Labor and new forms of worker organizations; and · Living wage and other local legislation Jannah Manansala is a labor and employment lawyer based in the East Bay. She has represented workers, unions, and employee benefit plans in state and federal court, arbitration, and other administrative hearings for about 15 years. She has specialized in areas of the law such as wage and hour class action litigation and FEHA litigation and workplace investigations, amongst other labor and employment issues. Ms. Manansala has also advised union staff and members on campaigns and developments in California law that affect workers in addition to helping clients move forward legislation that impacts California workers. |
| Law 283.1H Advanced Int'l Human Rights Clinic Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Fall 2020 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic. Students who have completed the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic and Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the International Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced Human Rights Clinic. Students who have completed the Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Fall 2025 Description: This seminar is the companion classroom component to the Advanced Human Rights Clinic. Students who have completed the Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Clinic Seminar are eligible to apply for enrollment in the Advanced Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Clinic Seminar. Students in this Advanced Clinic Seminar will take an active role in select sessions that are combined with the Human Rights Clinic Seminar including, case rounds, guest speakers, and topical discussions. Advanced Clinic Seminar students will contribute to the design and facilitation of some seminar sessions. Students will engage in peer learning and critique, and develop leadership skills. Admission to the Advanced Human Rights Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. |
| Law 283.4 Advanced Civil Rights 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The parameters and boundaries of statutory and constitutional civil rights are an area of deep contestant in the courts and the legislatures of the states and national government. In recent years alone, the Supreme Court has resolved cases pertaining to affirmative action in university admissions, voting rights, the role of tax credits in perpetuating residential racial segregation, racial and political gerrymandering, executive orders blocking travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. These debates have also been reflected in recent battles over Supreme Court Justice vacancies and the evolving views of the members of that Court, and which have occurred amidst a backdrop of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and agitation for societal change. This course will examine civil rights jurisprudence for change and stability. We will examine enduring issues that continually resurface in popular discourse and courtrooms as well as novel questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. We will examine long-standing questions of racial and economic segregation, and the government’s role in creating and remedying these patterns, as well as the constitutional and statutory protections and theories for voting rights. But we will also examine more recent issues such as the War on Drugs and the rise of mass incarceration since the 1970s, hate speech, immigrant detention, and executive power relating to immigration and travel. We will examine long-standing and novel bases for challenging inequality in the administration of justice. john a. powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute ( formerly known as the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society) and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the board of several national organizations. john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment. He has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society. Fall 2021 Description: The parameters and boundaries of statutory and constitutional civil rights are an area of deep contention in the courts and the legislatures of the states and national government. In recent years alone, the Supreme Court has resolved cases pertaining to affirmative action in university admissions, voting rights, the role of tax credits in perpetuating residential racial segregation, racial and political gerrymandering, executive orders blocking travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. These debates have also been reflected in recent battles over Supreme Court Justice vacancies and the evolving views of the members of that Court, and which have occurred amidst a backdrop of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and agitation for societal change. This course will examine civil rights jurisprudence for change and stability. We will examine enduring issues that continually resurface in popular discourse and courtrooms as well as novel questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. We will examine long-standing questions of racial and economic segregation, and the government’s role in creating and remedying these patterns, as well as the constitutional and statutory protections and theories for voting rights. But we will also examine more recent issues such as the War on Drugs and the rise of mass incarceration since the 1970s, hate speech, immigrant detention, and executive power relating to immigration and travel. We will examine long-standing and novel bases for challenging inequality in the administration of justice. john a. powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute ( formerly known as the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society) and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the board of several national organizations. john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment. He has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society. Fall 2022 Description: The parameters and boundaries of statutory and constitutional civil rights are an area of deep contention in the courts and the legislatures of the states and national government. In recent years alone, the Supreme Court has resolved cases pertaining to affirmative action in university admissions, voting rights, the role of tax credits in perpetuating residential racial segregation, racial and political gerrymandering, executive orders blocking travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. These debates have also been reflected in recent battles over Supreme Court Justice vacancies and the evolving views of the members of that Court, and which have occurred amidst a backdrop of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and agitation for societal change. This course will examine civil rights jurisprudence for change and stability. We will examine enduring issues that continually resurface in popular discourse and courtrooms as well as novel questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. We will examine long-standing questions of racial and economic segregation, and the government’s role in creating and remedying these patterns, as well as the constitutional and statutory protections and theories for voting rights. But we will also examine more recent issues such as the War on Drugs and the rise of mass incarceration since the 1970s, hate speech, immigrant detention, and executive power relating to immigration and travel. We will examine long-standing and novel bases for challenging inequality in the administration of justice. john a. powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute ( formerly known as the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society) and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the board of several national organizations. john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment. He has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society. Fall 2023 Description: The parameters and boundaries of statutory and constitutional civil rights are an area of deep contention in the courts and the legislatures of the states and national government. In recent years alone, the Supreme Court has resolved cases pertaining to affirmative action in university admissions, voting rights, the role of tax credits in perpetuating residential racial segregation, racial and political gerrymandering, executive orders blocking travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. These debates have also been reflected in recent battles over Supreme Court Justice vacancies and the evolving views of the members of that Court, and which have occurred amidst a backdrop of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and agitation for societal change. This course will examine civil rights jurisprudence for change and stability. We will examine enduring issues that continually resurface in popular discourse and courtrooms as well as novel questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. We will examine long-standing questions of racial and economic segregation, and the government’s role in creating and remedying these patterns, as well as the constitutional and statutory protections and theories for voting rights. But we will also examine more recent issues such as the War on Drugs and the rise of mass incarceration since the 1970s, hate speech, immigrant detention, and executive power relating to immigration and travel. We will examine long-standing and novel bases for challenging inequality in the administration of justice. john a. powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute ( formerly known as the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society) and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the board of several national organizations. john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment. He has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society. Fall 2024 Description: The parameters and boundaries of statutory and constitutional civil rights are an area of deep contention in the courts and the legislatures of the states and national government. In recent years alone, the Supreme Court has resolved cases pertaining to affirmative action in university admissions, voting rights, the role of tax credits in perpetuating residential racial segregation, racial and political gerrymandering, executive orders blocking travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination based on sexual orientation. These debates have also been reflected in recent battles over Supreme Court Justice vacancies and the evolving views of the members of that Court, and which have occurred amidst a backdrop of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and agitation for societal change. This course will examine civil rights jurisprudence for change and stability. We will examine enduring issues that continually resurface in popular discourse and courtrooms as well as novel questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. We will examine long-standing questions of racial and economic segregation, and the government’s role in creating and remedying these patterns, as well as the constitutional and statutory protections and theories for voting rights. But we will also examine more recent issues such as the War on Drugs and the rise of mass incarceration since the 1970s, hate speech, immigrant detention, and executive power relating to immigration and travel. We will examine long-standing and novel bases for challenging inequality in the administration of justice. john a. powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute ( formerly known as the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society) and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the board of several national organizations. john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment. He has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society. Fall 2025 Description: The parameters and boundaries of statutory and constitutional civil rights are an area of deep contention in the courts and the legislatures of the states and national government. In recent years alone, the Supreme Court has resolved cases pertaining to affirmative action in university admissions, voting rights, the role of tax credits in perpetuating residential racial segregation, racial and political gerrymandering, executive orders blocking travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and the relationship between religious freedom and discrimination based on sexual orientation. These debates have also been reflected in recent battles over Supreme Court Justice vacancies and the evolving views of the members of that Court, and which have occurred amidst a backdrop of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and agitation for societal change. This course will examine civil rights jurisprudence for change and stability. We will examine enduring issues that continually resurface in popular discourse and courtrooms as well as novel questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. We will examine long-standing questions of racial and economic segregation, and the government’s role in creating and remedying these patterns, as well as the constitutional and statutory protections and theories for voting rights. But we will also examine more recent issues such as the War on Drugs and the rise of mass incarceration since the 1970s, hate speech, immigrant detention, and executive power relating to immigration and travel. We will examine long-standing and novel bases for challenging inequality in the administration of justice. john a. powell is Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the board of several national organizations. john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment. He has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society. |
| Law 283.6 Medical-Legal Partnerships: A Collaborative Approach to Social Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course explores how lawyers can collaborate with medical professionals through Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLP). MLPs are an innovative legal aid model: lawyers provide legal services onsite at medical facilities, and doctors make legal referrals and support cases with medical evidence. MLPs across the country tackle poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and other destabilizing social conditions. In this seminar, students can expect to gain concrete skills, including how to develop winning medical evidence, how to prepare medical experts for administrative hearings, and how to navigate the ethical challenges that can arise in interdisciplinary work. The course will also cover the nuts and bolts of starting and running an MLP, such as how to draft foundational legal documents, and will provide an overview of the current state of MLP practice. A medical expert will visit the class to train students on trauma-informed interviewing, how trauma affects memory and testimony, and how to work with clients in crisis. Students will also get an intimate perspective on MLP practice from guest speakers who run MLPs. This course covers a range of populations served by MLPs, such as children, sexual assault survivors, immigrants, Native Americans, veterans, and LGBTQ individuals. Rose Carmen Goldberg founded an MLP for homeless and low-income veterans in Oakland. Her MLP serves sexual assault survivors and veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military due to mental health conditions. She started this MLP as a Skadden Fellow. Rose currently practices impact litigation at the Office of the California Attorney General on behalf of vulnerable populations. She has a background in health policy, including several years at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She also worked in the U.S. Senate on health legislation and at the White House on Native American Affairs. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School and has an MPA from Columbia University. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances and the Labor Day Holiday, this course has 2 automatic make-up class scheduled. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 283H Int'l Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2020 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages student to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2024 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages students to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the Human Rights Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages students to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and accompanying Seminar (2 units) is granted by permission. Due to the intensive nature of clinic projects, students are not permitted to enroll in another clinic or field placement concurrently. For more information about the application process and to apply, please visit the Clinical Program's website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/. Fall 2025 Description: This seminar functions as the companion course for the Human Rights Clinic. It provides training on substantive human rights norms, exposes students to the various types of human rights work (monitoring, litigation, policy, legislation, research, etc.), encourages students to think critically about the goals and trade-offs of human rights methodologies in the context of strengths and limitations of the human rights movement, offers a structured context in which to reflect on the lawyering process, and provides students with the opportunity through student-led class sessions to present aspects of casework for group feedback and discussion (e.g. ethical problems, presentations, written advocacy, etc.). The clinical seminar is graded on the law school’s regular grading scale. We put a high value on the ability of students to reflect on the law and lawyering, engage in self-reflection, and actively participate in class. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and accompanying Seminar (2 units) is granted by permission. Due to the intensive nature of clinic projects, students are not permitted to enroll in another clinic or field placement concurrently. For more information about the application process and to apply, please visit the Clinical Program's website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/. Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. |
| Law 283I Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Are you a creative problem-solver eager to design the future of human rights advocacy through innovative strategies and cutting-edge technology? Launching in January 2025, the Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic (GRIL) offers students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a forward-thinking, experimental learning environment. Designed for 1L students and open to 2Ls, 3Ls, and LLM students, this clinic is perfect for students eager to explore the intersection of human rights and digital technology by focusing on planning future project, prioritizing strategic thinking over traditional client-based tasks. GRIL encourages students to utilize data analysis and technological advancements to brainstorm groundbreaking advocacy strategies. Instead of focusing on immediate client deliverables, in this first GRIL Clinic semester, participants will engage in strategic planning with potential organizational clients—human rights research and advocacy groups—and explore new pathways for addressing global human rights issues through data analysis, visualization, digital storytelling, among other potential tools. Strategic planning projects will involve assessing how data analysis and visualization contributes to human rights investigations, litigation before national and international courts, or social justice policy advocacy. By enrolling in this clinic, students can expect to acquire valuable skills including, interviewing, strategic planning, creative problem-solving, as well as acquiring knowledge of data analysis techniques and appropriate uses of digital tools like data visualization for human rights and social justice advocacy. Additionally, students will develop the ability to craft experimental strategies that leverage technology for social justice. This course is tailored for those with a background in data analysis and a passion for creativity, eager to embrace experimentation. Successful students will enjoy shaping visionary advocacy projects without the constraints of implementing immediate advocacy tools (court filings, reports, etc.). At the GRIL Clinic, unleash your imagination and analytical prowess to craft innovative solutions for the future of human rights advocacy, developing new approaches in justice and technology. Join us in trailblazing a path towards transformative justice initiatives. This is an exciting and unparalleled opportunity for students to shape the future of Berkeley Law’s newest clinical offering which brings together human rights advocacy and emerging technologies. Admission to GRIL Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Students must enroll in both the seminar and the companion clinical component. Fall 2025 Description: The Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic (GRIL) offers students a unique opportunity to prepare for a legal career that uses emerging technologies in legal advocacy. Our particular field of application is human rights but this approach is broadly transferable to other areas of law. GRIL students utilize data-driven and technological advancements for groundbreaking advocacy strategies. Serving organizational clients—human rights research and advocacy groups—GRIL provides advocacy support and strategies to forge new pathways for addressing global human rights issues through data analysis, data science, visualization, digital storytelling, among other potential tools. GRIL clients want to harness data analysis, data science, and visualization to advance human rights investigations, litigation before national and international courts, or social justice policy advocacy. By enrolling in this clinic, students can expect to acquire valuable skills including, legal research and writing, interviewing, acquiring literacy in the application of data science to legal advocacy initiatives, strategic planning, creative problem-solving, as well as building confidence and experience in harnessing digital technologies for legal advocacy. Students will design and help implement appropriate uses of digital tools like data visualization for human rights and social justice advocacy. Additionally, students will develop the ability to craft experimental strategies that leverage technology for social justice. Become the lawyer of the future! This course is targeted for those with a background in data analysis and/or human rights and who have a passion for creativity and are eager to embrace experimentation. At the GRIL Clinic, unleash your imagination and analytical prowess to craft innovative solutions for the future of human rights advocacy, developing new approaches in justice and technology. Admission to GRIL Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. Students must enroll in both the seminar and the companion clinical component. |
| Law 283L Social Enterprise Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This is the companion seminar to the Social Enterprise Clinic. Students enrolling in the Clinic must enroll in the Seminar. The Social Enterprise Clinic is a transactional law clinic that requires students to critically examine issues of racial and economic justice to achieve their entity client goals. The Clinic serves as outside corporate counsel for social enterprise businesses—for-profit and nonprofit companies that use market-based strategies to address social and environmental issues. The Clinic is geared to students who are interested in exploring the potential power and limitations of market-based methods and thinking critically about the relationships between law, business, and racial equity. The Clinic advises social enterprise clients on a variety of corporate governance, regulatory compliance, contract drafting and analysis, corporate structure, and entity formation matters. Students work collaboratively with social enterprise clients to help them minimize risks and avoid pitfalls as they achieve their social impact goals and implement their theory of change. The Social Enterprise Clinic Seminar is a two-credit companion course that first-time Social Enterprise Clinic students must take concurrently. This seminar provides an overview of substantive areas in transactional law, with a focus on social enterprise statutes and corporate governance. It also explores various lawyering theories within the corporate and social justice contexts. In addition to the assigned readings, students must analyze their client representations to illustrate their conclusions and theoretical themes of the course. Admission to Social Enterprise Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. Students must enroll in both the seminar and the companion clinical component. |
| Law 283M Global Rights Innovation Lab Advanced Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This is the companion seminar to the Advanced Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic. Students enrolling in the Advanced Clinic must enroll in the Advanced Seminar. Students will attend selected, joint sessions of the GRIL Clinic Seminar. These joint sessions will be devoted to workshops where students are providing and receiving peer review and input on their clinic projects. Students will practice oral presentations and providing professional, written peer review feedback. Admission to GRIL Advanced Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. |
| Law 283Q Domestic Violence Field Placement Classroom Component: Ethics in Practice 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In this course (295.5J and 283Q) students work on real cases, either at field placements or under the direct supervision of Nancy Lemon, DVP Director (295.5J), while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Ms. Lemon (283Q). In 295.5J, students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. Options include restraining orders, family law, appellate work, public benefits, immigration, asylum, employment issues, consumer issues, prosecution of batterers, and criminal defense. Students may intern with a family law judge. They may also work on policy matters, including perhaps working on amicus briefs. At the placements, students may interview clients, draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions, represent clients at hearings, argue motions, and research policy issues. They may attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. At some placements, students are focused on research and writing, rather than direct client contact. Both parts of the course are open to graduate students in public policy or social welfare as well as law. It is recommended but not required that students first take Domestic Violence Law, 282.1, offered by Ms. Lemon each fall semester. Nancy K. D. Lemon (Berkeley Law JD 1980) has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has also provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, Professor Lemon has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 6th edition. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project, where she is the Legal Director. Spring 2021 Description: In this course (295.5J and 283Q) students work on real cases, either at field placements or under the direct supervision of Nancy Lemon, DVP Director (295.5J), while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Ms. Lemon (283Q). In 295.5J, students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. Options include restraining orders, family law, appellate work, public benefits, immigration, asylum, employment issues, housing issues, prosecution of batterers, and possibly criminal defense. Students may intern with a family law or criminal court judge. They may also work on policy matters, including perhaps working on amicus briefs. At the placements, students may interview clients, draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions, represent clients at hearings, argue motions, and research policy issues. They may attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. At some placements, students are focused on research and writing, rather than direct client contact. Both parts of the course are open to graduate students in public policy or social welfare as well as law. It is recommended but not required that students first take Domestic Violence Law, 282.1, offered by Ms. Lemon each fall semester. Nancy K. D. Lemon (Berkeley Law JD 1980) has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has also provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, Professor Lemon has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 6th edition. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project, where she is the Legal Director. Spring 2022 Description: In these two connected courses (295.5J and 283Q) students work on real cases at field placements. Students usually are able to enroll in the placement they most desire. This course is the classroom component), which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement for graduation through weekly homework focusing on the Rules of Professional Responsibility. Students also report each week on how their placements are going. In the co-requisite course, 295.5J, students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. Options include restraining orders, family law, appellate work, public benefits, immigration, asylum, employment issues, housing issues, juvenile dependency, prosecution of batterers, and possibly criminal defense. Students may intern with a family law or criminal court judge. They may also work on policy matters, including perhaps working on amicus briefs. At the placements, students may interview clients, draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions, represent clients at hearings, argue motions, and research policy issues. They may attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. At some placements, students are focused on research and writing, rather than direct client contact. Both parts of the course are open to graduate students in public policy or social welfare as well as law. It is recommended but not required that students first take Domestic Violence Law, 282.1, offered by Ms. Lemon each fall semester. Nancy K. D. Lemon (Berkeley Law JD 1980) has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has also provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, Professor Lemon has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 6th edition. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project, where she is the Legal Director. Spring 2023 Description: The Domestic Violence Field Placement classroom component is the 2-unit required companion course to the Domestic Violence Field Placement, where students work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys to receive academic credit. Students will gain exposure and have opportunities to explore professional responsibility issues, especially as they arise in their internships. Students will be urged to reflect on their placements and incorporate the skills they are learning into the classroom discussions. The classroom component meets the law school's Professional Responsibility requirement. The classroom component will include time to discuss the readings on Professional Responsibility and domestic violence issues. There will also be time for students to discuss their work and ask questions of the instructor and each other. While enhancing our understanding of domestic violence laws in real life, we will keep a critical eye on developing our capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, increasing self-awareness and appreciation for a diversity of experiences with cultural humility and intellectual curiosity. Spring 2024 Description: The Domestic Violence (DV) Field Placement classroom component is the 2-unit required companion course to the Domestic Violence Field Placement, where students work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys to receive academic credit. Taught by DV Field Placement Director Mallika Kaur, this course helps students reflect on the practical experience they gain through their placement, while engaging with fellow students working in a range of very placements, all related to DV work but in diverse practice areas. Students thus develop a nuanced understanding of DV. (For more information about the DV Field Placement program visit: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-practicum/) Domestic violence does not only appear in the case load for family law attorneys or immigration attorneys or criminal attorneys or estate attorneys or personal injury attorneys. Rather, given the ubiquity of domestic violence, all attorneys, knowingly and unknowingly, serve clients impacted by domestic violence. The Field Placement and this companion course are thus open to any student, regardless of past or future goals and experiences. The placements provide a rewarding opportunity to engage with victim-survivors of DV, to witness the laws around DV in action, to learn important legal skills, to experience negotiating trauma and emotions of legal work, and to build a collaborative network of contacts in the legal community. See, Domestic Violence Field Placement Flyer with partial listing of possible 2023 placements: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DVFP-Flyer-July2023.pdf Apply for Spring 2024 DV Field Placement ideally before November 1, 2023. For questions contact mallikakaur@law.berkeley.edu. Spring 2025 Description: The Domestic Violence (DV) Field Placement classroom component is the 2-unit required companion course to the Domestic Violence Field Placement, where students work in non-profit and government agencies (PDs/DAs/legislative/judicial) under the supervision of attorneys to receive academic credit. Taught by DV Field Placement Program Director Mallika Kaur, this course provides students an opportunity to reflect on their field placement experience in the “lab” of the classroom, exchanging ideas and experimenting with approaches with fellow students working on DV issues in other diverse DV field placements. Students also develop a deeper understanding of the correlation between emotional responses & effective lawyering as they develop their capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue. This course meets the law school's Professional Responsibility requirement. For more information about the DV Field Placement Program including a partial list of placements, visit: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/domestic-violence-law-field-placement/. Domestic violence does not only appear in the caseload for family law attorneys or immigration attorneys or criminal attorneys or estate attorneys or personal injury attorneys. Rather, given the ubiquity of domestic violence, all attorneys, knowingly and unknowingly, serve clients impacted by domestic violence. The Field Placement and this companion course are thus open to any student, regardless of past or future goals and experiences. The placements provide a rewarding opportunity to engage with victim-survivors of DV, to witness the laws around DV in action, to learn important legal skills, to experience negotiating trauma and emotions of legal work, and to build a collaborative network of contacts in the legal community. See, partial listing of possible 2025 placements at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-field-placement/ For questions contact mallikakaur@law.berkeley.edu. |
| Law 284.1 Employment Discrimination 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course examines the law regulating employment discrimination and equal employment opportunity, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The course emphasizes the major analytical frameworks for conceptualizing discrimination and equality in the workplace, as well as related social science perspectives on employment discrimination. This course covers employment discrimination law in the depth and considers litigation strategies for employment discrimination actions. This course does not overlap in coverage with Employment Law (which covers common law and statutory regulation of wages and working conditions) and Labor Law (which covers the law of unions and collective representation). It covers more material about the major employment discrimination statutes, focusing primarily on Title VII, than Antidiscrimination Law, so that both courses can be productively taken together or sequentially. Spring 2021 Description: This course examines the law regulating employment discrimination and equal employment opportunity, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The course emphasizes the major analytical frameworks for conceptualizing discrimination and equality in the workplace, as well as related social science perspectives on employment discrimination. This course covers employment discrimination law in the depth and considers litigation strategies for employment discrimination actions. This course does not overlap in coverage with Employment Law (which covers common law and statutory regulation of wages and working conditions) and Labor Law (which covers the law of unions and collective representation). It covers more material about the major employment discrimination statutes, focusing primarily on Title VII. Fall 2022 Description: The course surveys the legal frameworks for conceptualizing discrimination and equality in the workplace. We will cover the major civil rights statutes regulating employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. We also will examine social science research on how discrimination operates in practice, and litigation strategies in civil rights enforcement actions. This course is one of the three core work law courses, and does not overlap with the other two core courses, Employment Law (which covers common law and statutory regulation of wages and working conditions) and Labor Law (which covers the law of unions and collective representation). Fall 2024 Description: The course surveys the legal frameworks for conceptualizing discrimination and equality in the workplace. We will cover the major civil rights statutes regulating employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. We also will examine social science research on how discrimination operates in practice, and litigation strategies in civil rights enforcement actions. This course is one of the three core work law courses and does not substantially overlap with the other two core courses, Work Law (which covers common law and statutory regulation of wages and working conditions) and Labor Law (which covers the law of unions and collective representation). |
| Law 284.4 Debt, Discrimination, and Inequality 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Debt is a powerful force in our consumer society. It has both generative and destructive capabilities. In its generative capacity, debt facilitates potentially wealth-building endeavors like buying a home or financing an education. In its destructive capacity, however, debt can function as a subordinating force and a limit on social mobility for economically vulnerable and disenfranchised communities. This class will focus on this latter aspect of debt and its influence on entrenched financial distress in economically vulnerable and marginalized communities. Focusing specifically on race and gender and their intersections, we will examine the relationship between socioeconomic inequality and the incidence of disproportionate indebtedness and financial distress among marginalized communities. Weekly readings will be drawn from legal and social science literatures, and students will be required to write a short reaction paper to each week’s readings. |
| Law 284.42 Credit Reporting and Economic Justice 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Your personal history resides in accessible databases. Prospective landlords know where you have lived. Credit card companies can monitor the payment history of your financial accounts. Potential employers see whether you have ever been convicted of a crime. How? Credit reports. Credit reports are the key to access much of today’s economy. To a large extent, they dictate who has access to consumer credit, banking, insurance, housing, and even employment. They contain a staggering amount of information about almost every American. And yet it can be extraordinarily difficult to find out exactly what information about you is out there and who has it. Moreover, the vast electronic collection of this information raises a number of concerns about accuracy, privacy, and systemic inequities. The three big credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) maintain credit files on over 200 million adults, and provide information on over 1.3 billion consumer credit accounts every month. Beyond the “big three,” hundreds of smaller and lesser-known agencies assemble and sell millions of consumer reports. These reports generally contain far more than simple account performance; they may also include employment history, prior addresses, criminal records, insurance claims, prescription drug information, and even vehicle tracking information. This course will explore the regulatory environment, and underlying policy questions, regarding the collection, storage, and accessibility of this data. It will examine the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its state analogs. The course will also analyze how the regulatory environment is changing - and how it might be further changed - in response to the proliferation of consumer reports into new settings and the explosion in the types and extent of data they contain. We will cover (among other things) reporting issues related to transgender consumers; recent eviction masking efforts in states like California, Illinois, and Maine; employment reentry with criminal records and wrongful convictions; data privacy online; credit file “mixing”; and new legislative tools such as the CARES Act to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer credit reporting. The course will be taught by a consumer rights attorney with experience as both a legal aid lawyer and a private practitioner. Spring 2023 Description: Your personal history resides in accessible databases. Prospective landlords know where you have lived. Credit card companies can monitor the payment history of your financial accounts. Potential employers see whether you have ever been convicted of a crime. How? Credit reports. Credit reports are the key to access much of today’s economy. To a large extent, they dictate who has access to consumer credit, banking, insurance, housing, and even employment. They contain a staggering amount of information about almost every American. And yet it can be extraordinarily difficult to find out exactly what information about you is out there and who has it. Moreover, the vast electronic collection of this information raises a number of concerns about accuracy, privacy, and systemic inequities. The three big credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) maintain credit files on over 200 million adults, and provide information on over 1.3 billion consumer credit accounts every month. Beyond the “big three,” hundreds of smaller and lesser-known agencies assemble and sell millions of consumer reports. These reports generally contain far more than simple account performance; they may also include employment history, prior addresses, criminal records, insurance claims, prescription drug information, and even vehicle tracking information. This course will explore the regulatory environment, and underlying policy questions, regarding the collection, storage, and accessibility of this data. It will examine the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its state analogs. The course will also analyze how the regulatory environment is changing - and how it might be further changed - in response to the proliferation of consumer reports into new settings and the explosion in the types and extent of data they contain. We will cover (among other things) reporting issues related to transgender consumers; recent eviction masking efforts in states like California, Illinois, and Maine; employment reentry with criminal records and wrongful convictions; data privacy online; credit file “mixing”; and new legislative tools such as the CARES Act to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer credit reporting. The course will be taught by a consumer rights attorney with experience as both a legal aid lawyer and a private practitioner. Spring 2024 Description: Your personal history resides in accessible databases. Prospective landlords know where you have lived. Credit card companies can monitor the payment history of your financial accounts. Potential employers see whether you have ever been convicted of a crime. How? Credit reports. Credit reports are the key to access much of today’s economy. To a large extent, they dictate who has access to consumer credit, banking, insurance, housing, and even employment. They contain a staggering amount of information about almost every American. And yet it can be extraordinarily difficult to find out exactly what information about you is out there and who has it. Moreover, the vast electronic collection of this information raises a number of concerns about accuracy, privacy, and systemic inequities. The three big credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) maintain credit files on over 200 million adults, and provide information on over 1.3 billion consumer credit accounts every month. Beyond the “big three,” hundreds of smaller and lesser-known agencies assemble and sell millions of consumer reports. These reports generally contain far more than simple account performance; they may also include employment history, prior addresses, criminal records, insurance claims, prescription drug information, and even vehicle tracking information. This course will explore the regulatory environment, and underlying policy questions, regarding the collection, storage, and accessibility of this data. It will examine the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its state analogs. The course will also analyze how the regulatory environment is changing - and how it might be further changed - in response to the proliferation of consumer reports into new settings and the explosion in the types and extent of data they contain. We will cover (among other things) reporting issues related to transgender consumers; recent eviction masking efforts in states like California, Illinois, and Maine; employment reentry with criminal records and wrongful convictions; data privacy online; credit file “mixing”; and new legislative tools such as the CARES Act to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer credit reporting. The course will be taught by a consumer rights attorney with experience as both a legal aid lawyer and a private practitioner. |
| Law 284.43 Radical Lawyering: Legal Work in Working-Class Struggle 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Students will assess how legal workers develop both theory & praxis for lawyering in service of movements for transformative change. They will examine the core analysis upon which anti-capitalist, working-class movements are based and interrogate the limits that lawyers in social justice movements encounter when engaging that analysis in legal work that can be largely structurally determined. Through a combination of readings, guest lectures, and discussions, students will gain a deeper understanding of the movement landscape. Students will also learn how legal workers adapt legal strategies to serve movement objectives and develop creative interventions beyond their prescribed legal tools to become genuine protagonists of transformative change. Students will submit four short written reflections throughout the seven weeks applying the learnings from the class to a specific current working-class movement. Instructor Bio: Jay Kim is the Co-Deputy Director at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). Jay joined EBCLC in 2020 with over twelve years of community lawyering and nonprofit management experience. As a Co-Founder and Co-Director of Common Law, a non-profit organization in New York City that supported community organizing efforts through legal education and legal assistance, Jay defended organized street vendors against excessive fines and administrative violations; represented low-income tenants in the Lower East Side fighting eviction and gentrification; and also created a foreclosure defense legal clinic for pro se homeowners. Prior to joining EBCLC, Jay served as the Executive Director of the Bay Area chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), the largest NLG chapter in the country. Guest lecturer bio: Thomas Mariadason is the Director of the Center for Political Education, a resource for political organizations on the left, progressive social movements, the working class and people of color. Thomas has previously served as the Deputy Director of Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus, Program Director of the Justice Project at the Advancement Project, and Staff Attorney at Juvenile Law Center. |
| Law 284.61 Colloquium on the Worldwide #MeToo Movement 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Colloquium on the #MeToo Movement Professors Russell Robinson & David Oppenheimer This one-unit course will meet seven times to discuss the global impact of the #MeToo Movement. The majority of speakers will be from North America, but some will be from other parts of the world, and the readings will be global in scope. The guest speakers will be predominantly women. Readings will include chapters from the not-yet-published "The Globalization of the #MeToo Movement," edited by Ann Noel and David Oppenheimer (forthcoming 2020). Students will be expected to complete readings for each class, to post questions about the reading on BCourses prior to each class meeting, and to participate in class discussions. Students will be expected to post questions about the reading on bCourses prior to each course meeting. |
| Law 284.62 Gender and Sexuality in the Era of #MeToo 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will use the occasion provided by the #MeToo movement to assess several questions: 1) what theories of gender and sexuality from the 'equality' theory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the dominance feminism of Catharine MacKinnon to intersectional and poststructural theories of Kimberle Crenshaw, Judith Butler and others have able to achieve in the domain of law, particularly as applied to gender-specific violence; 2) what failures of legal response, thrown into relief by recent political developments, have given rise to #MeToo, and how the #MeToo response has been distinct from earlier feminist efforts to address gender-specific violence; 3) what women and other targets of sexualized violence -- particularly those too young to have participated fully in earlier debates -- are seeking from this present moment. This may include: better understanding of the pervasiveness and variability of sexual harassment/sexual violence; more tangible institutional commitment to eliminating sexual coercion in workplaces and educational setting; more accountability (or less impunity) for offenders. 4) what avenues for vindicating the promise of #MeToo legally and institutionally are likely to prove most fruitful. The course will consider at least three: statutory and enforcement reforms; policies for addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment on college campuses; and strategies for avoiding carceral solutions and/or implementing principles of restorative justice. Note: This course will be structured as a writing course that fulfills the Option 1 writing requirement. There will be regular, in-class discussion of paper topics and development of arguments, and workshops in the latter part of the course in which students will present parts of their works-in-progress and receive feedback. Although the course is structured around the expectation that most students will write papers, there will be a take-home exam option for students whose other commitments make it impossible for them to undertake a research paper during the semester. Students taking the exam option will be expected to participate fully in all workshops and discussions of classmates' works-in-progress. All students will be graded on the same curve, regardless of how they fulfill the course requirement. Spring 2021 Description: This course will use the occasion provided by the #MeToo movement to assess several questions: 1) What have theories of gender and sexuality from the 'equality' theory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the dominance feminism of Catharine MacKinnon to intersectional and post-structural theories of Kimberle Crenshaw, Judith Butler and others have able to achieve in the domain of law, particularly as applied to gender-specific violence? 2) What failures of legal response, thrown into relief by recent political developments, have given rise to #MeToo? and how has the #MeToo response has been distinct from earlier feminist efforts to address gender-specific violence? 3) What are women and other targets of sexualized violence (particularly those too young to have participated fully in earlier debates) seeking from this present moment? This may include: better understanding of the pervasiveness and variability of sexual harassment/sexual violence; more tangible institutional commitment to eliminating sexual coercion in workplaces and educational setting; more accountability (or less impunity) for offenders. 4) what avenues for vindicating the promise of #MeToo legally and institutionally are likely to prove most fruitful? The course will consider at least three: statutory and enforcement reforms; policies for addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment on college campuses; and strategies for avoiding carceral solutions and/or implementing principles of restorative justice. 5) Does the #MeToo iteration of feminism seem more likely to address or to reproduce the problems of racial hierarchy and denial of women's agency that plagued early iterations of dominance and other forms of feminism? |
| Law 284.64 Widening the Frame of #MeToo: Collectivity, Intersectionality, and Sexual Violence 3 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: This course will examine the unfinished work of the #metoo movement. It will take its focus from two prominent critiques of #metoo: first, that it failed to address sexual harassment and sexual assault beyond the cases of relatively privileged white women in the entertainment industry or the professions; and second, that the increased enforcement against sexual violence that it contemplates will feed a carceral system that has devastating, disproportionate effects on communities of color. After briefly revisiting the #metoo movement itself, the course will examine contexts such as tipped and low-wage labor, work performed in home, and sexual violence perpetrated not in the workplace but in the street, and by law enforcement officials. It will then consider the critique of "carceral feminism" and look at efforts to address sexual violence through non-carceral frameworks such as restorative and transformative justice. |
| Law 284.92 COVID-19 and Global Inequality 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and caused millions of people to lose their jobs and/or businesses. Its impact has been global, and it is commonplace for people to say, “we’re all in this together.” We’re not. In fact, the impact has been disproportionately felt by people who are already disadvantaged by reasons of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, poverty, age, and intersections of disfavored identity. This online multi-university law course will explore the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on members of disadvantaged communities through the lens of equality law. Topics of discussion are still under discussion, but will tentatively include: Introduction to instructors and topics. (August 13) (recorded for Berkeley students) Theories of equality. (August 20) (first class meeting for Berkeley students) Sources of equality law (August 27) Gender. (September 3) Race and racism, including issues of police misconduct. (September 10) Intersectional inequality. (September 17) Poverty. (September 24) Domestic Violence. (October 1) Incarceration (October 8) Low wage workers (October 15) Migrants. (October 22) Persons with disabilities (October 29) Age (November 5) (Daylight Saving Time ends) LGBTQI+. (November 12) TBD (November 19) (last day for Berkeley students) The class will be hosted by Berkeley and the University of Portsmouth (UK), and will include students and instructors from many universities spanning the globe. Other universities are still joining but at this point we have partners from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Italy, the Netherlands South Africa, and the United Kingdom. We are in discussions with universities in Canada, Hong Kong and India. By the time classes start we will probably have partners on six continents. For Berkeley students, all class sessions will include students and faculty from North, Central and South America; some class sessions will also include students and faculty from Europe/Africa or Asia/Australia. For Berkeley students, the class meets once a week, on Thursdays, for 110 minutes. Because the class includes students and faculty from universities in many time zones, on some Thursdays it meets in the morning (8:00-9:50, or on one occasion at 7:00-8:50 after we return to standard time) while on other Thursdays it meets in the late afternoon (5:00-6:50, or twice at 4:00-5:50 after we return to standard time). For our first five meetings (August 20 and 27, September 3, 10 and 17) we will meet at 5:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time. The meeting times for each week will be clearly stated on the syllabus. Berkeley students who are residing anywhere in North, Central or South America can take the course "live" on the same schedule as students present in Berkeley. Students who are unable to attend in real-time will be expected to watch class videos and may have opportunities for optional engagement in real-time sessions in other time zones. In total, six Berkeley class meetings will be at 5:00 PM, five will be at 8:00 AM, two will be at 4:00 PM and one will be at 7:00 AM. |
| Law 285.2D Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I is limited to J.D. students who are accepted for enrollment in the Death Penalty Clinic for Academic year 2020-21. The clinic and the seminar are year-long commitments. The seminar addresses the substantive and procedural law issues relevant to clinic's death penalty cases and offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Professor Elisabeth Semel, Director of the Death Penalty Clinic, and Professor Ty Alper, the clinic's Associate Director, co-teach the seminar. Their faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page as well as on the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I is limited to J.D. students who are accepted for enrollment in the Death Penalty Clinic for Academic year 2021-22. The clinic and the seminar are year-long commitments. The seminar addresses the substantive and procedural law issues relevant to clinic's death penalty cases and offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Professor Elisabeth Semel, Director of the Death Penalty Clinic, and Professor Ty Alper, a member of the clinic faculty, co-teach the seminar. Their faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page as well as on the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2022 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I is limited to J.D. students who are accepted for enrollment in the Death Penalty Clinic for Academic year 2022-23. The clinic and the seminar are year-long commitments. The seminar addresses the substantive and procedural law issues relevant to clinic's death penalty cases and offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Professor Elisabeth Semel and Professor Ty Alper, Death Penalty Clinic Co-Directors, teach the seminar. Their faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page as well as on the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2023 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I is limited to J.D. students who are accepted for enrollment in the Death Penalty Clinic for Academic year 2023-24. The clinic and the seminar are year-long commitments. The seminar addresses the substantive and procedural law issues relevant to clinic's death penalty cases and offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects.. During the 2023-24 year, Professor Lis Semel, Co-Director of the Clinic, will be on sabbatical and this Clinic Seminar will be co-taught by Professor Ty Alper (Co-Director of the Clinic) and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Fall 2024 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I is limited to J.D. students who are accepted for enrollment in the Death Penalty Clinic for Academic year 2024-25. The clinic and the seminar are year-long commitments. The seminar addresses substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the clinic's death penalty cases and offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Professor Elisabeth Semel and Professor Ty Alper, the Death Penalty Clinic Co-Directors, teach the seminar. Their faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page as well as on the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2025 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar I is limited to J.D. students who are accepted for enrollment in the Death Penalty Clinic for academic year 2025-26. The clinic and the seminar are year-long commitments. The seminar addresses substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the clinic's death penalty cases and offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Students must apply for both the clinic and the companion seminar through the Clinical Program application process during Spring 2025. In academic year 2025-26, Professor Elisabeth Semel (the clinic's co-director) and Professor Mridula Raman (the clinic's deputy director) will teach the seminar. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. |
| Law 285.32 The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This 1 unit class will offer an overview of the law of gender equality in the United States spanning from before the Supreme Court recognized heightened scrutiny for gender discrimination through battles being waged today and explore the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the 1970s and beyond in changing the relevant legal landscape with respect to gender discrimination and the law. It will begin with an overview of the law on gender discrimination before the 1970s, focus in depth on the important decade spanning 1970-1980, and then take the story forward through the decades that followed, concluding with a window into some of the gender discrimination issues that are being litigated today. Schedule-permitting, we will welcome some guest speakers. Students will be evaluated based on class participation and a series of short reaction papers. |
| Law 285.33 How to Think and Write Like a Judge 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: � When I was first appointed to the appellate bench, I recognized that while law school taught the tools for analyzing and arguing the law, it did not teach a methodology for determining how much weight to give to precedent, legislative history, the text of the constitutional or statutory provision at issue, the canons of statutory construction, or the underlying public policy. As a new justice, I therefore set out to read judicial biographies of famous judges to determine how the greatest of our jurists handled their job and then developed my own methodology. This seven- session course will teach students how to analyze a case as an appellate judge would, the different methodologies that have been utilized by different judges for deciding a case, how a judge organizes and presents his or her analysis in an opinion, and how an attorney should present his or her arguments in a brief in light of how judges ordinarily approach their cases. We will do this by analyzing and discussing the methodologies and analytical and literary techniques of some of the most respected U.S. jurists by reviewing their opinions. These jurists will include Oliver Wendell Holmes, Benjamin Cardozo, Robert Jackson, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Hugo Black, and Richard Posner. In this connection, we will also discuss rhetorical devices that judges (as well as orators and even lyricists) use in their opinions, which can also be used in briefs. And in the process, students will learn a range of legal subjects and some legal history. Whether you aspire to be a law clerk, a judge, a litigator, or a transactional attorney, this course will make you more effective in your work. Even a transactional attorney must understand how a judge may interpret the resulting documentation. Daniel M. Kolkey served as an associate justice on the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District; as counsel to California Governor Pete Wilson; as an advisor to two other state governors; and as a negotiator for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is a retired partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he worked for 32 years, and is currently President of the California Supreme Court Historical Society. |
| Law 285.3D Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II is limited to students who are currently enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic. The course will address substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the cases that the clinic is litigating and offer students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Spring 2021 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II is limited to students who are currently enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic. The course will address substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the cases that the clinic is litigating and offer students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2022 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II is limited to students who are currently enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic. The course will address substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the cases that the clinic is litigating and offer students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Spring 2023 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II is limited to students who are currently enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic. The course will address substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the cases that the clinic is litigating and the policy projects in which it is currently engaged. The seminar also offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Spring 2024 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II is limited to students who are currently enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic. The course will address substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the cases that the clinic is litigating and the policy projects in which it is currently engaged. The seminar also offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. Spring 2025 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic Seminar II is limited to students who enrolled in the Death Penalty Clinic for Fall 2024 and Spring 2024. No new students may enroll for Spring 2025. The course will address substantive and procedural law issues relevant to the cases that the clinic is litigating and the policy projects in which it is currently engaged. The seminar also offers students an opportunity to workshop their clinic projects. |
| Law 285.4 Consumer Protection Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The law of consumer protection governs every purchase you make, every advertisement you see, every student loan in your expanding portfolio. It may be the single most relevant body of law to your own experience and your everyday life. And yet - somehow you haven't learned in law school whether it would be better to buy that casebook with a credit card or a debit card, why Cafe Zeb doesn't have calories on the menu board when so many restaurants do, or whether you'll be able to enroll in income-based loan repayment when you graduate. Consumer rights also form the leading edge of economic justice. When predatory lenders target communities of color or scammers engage in affinity fraud within immigrant populations, the resulting losses affect not just individuals but whole communities. The work of consumer protection law is to try to prevent those losses before they happen, and to remedy them if they do occur. In addition, consumer laws are increasingly being applied to remedy civil rights violations and even abuses in the criminal justice system. This course will explore the theoretical and historical underpinnings of consumer protection law as it has developed over the past century and as it operates (or fails to operate) today. The course will examine constitutional issues governing consumer law, from "commercial speech" to federal preemption of state law. It will provide an introduction to the substantive law of predatory lending, debt collection, and product warranties. It will explore the application of consumer law to emerging technologies. And it will do all this in just three hours each week. (How much would you pay for this course? Wait - don't answer yet. There's more....) With debates raging over the proper level and means of marketplace regulation, the class will examine proposed laws and rules, perhaps submit comments on those proposals, and possibly offer some proposals of its own. (NOW, how much would you pay?) The low, low price: There will be two papers, one fairly short (5-8 pages) and one fairly long (15-20 pages or more). Fall 2021 Description: The law of consumer protection governs every purchase you make, every advertisement you see, every student loan in your expanding portfolio. It may be the single most relevant body of law to your own experience and your everyday life. And yet - somehow you haven't learned in law school whether it would be better to buy that casebook with a credit card or a debit card, why some restaurants don't have calories on the menu board when so many restaurants do, or whether you'll be able to enroll in income-based loan repayment when you graduate. Consumer rights also form the leading edge of economic justice. When predatory lenders target communities of color or scammers engage in affinity fraud within immigrant populations, the resulting losses affect not just individuals but whole communities. The work of consumer protection law is to try to prevent those losses before they happen, and to remedy them if they do occur. In addition, consumer laws are increasingly being applied to redress civil rights violations, domestic and elder abuse, and even transactions that are part of the criminal justice system. This course will explore the theoretical and historical underpinnings of consumer protection law as it has developed over the past century and as it operates (or fails to operate) today. The course will examine constitutional issues governing consumer law, from "commercial speech" to federal preemption of state law. It will provide an introduction to the substantive law of predatory lending, debt collection, and product warranties. It will explore the application of consumer law to emerging technologies. It will include at least one site visit (optional). And it will do all this in just three hours each week. (How much would you pay for this course? Wait - don't answer yet. There's more....) With debates raging over the proper level and means of marketplace regulation, the class will examine proposed laws and rules, perhaps submit comments on those proposals, and possibly offer some proposals of its own. (NOW, how much would you pay?) The low, low price: There will be two papers, one fairly short (5-8 pages) and one fairly long (15-20 pages or more). Fall 2022 Description: The law of consumer protection governs every purchase you make, every advertisement you see, every student loan in your expanding portfolio. It may be the single most relevant body of law to your own experience and your everyday life. And yet - somehow you haven't learned in law school whether it would be better to buy that casebook with a credit card or a debit card, why some restaurants don't have calories on the menu board when so many restaurants do, or whether you'll be able to enroll in income-driven loan repayment when you graduate. Consumer rights also form the leading edge of economic justice. When predatory lenders target communities of color or scammers engage in affinity fraud within immigrant populations, the resulting losses affect not just individuals but whole communities. The work of consumer protection law is to try to prevent those losses before they happen, and to remedy them if they do occur. In addition, consumer laws are increasingly being applied to redress civil rights violations, domestic and elder abuse, and even transactions that are part of the criminal justice system. This course will explore the theoretical and historical underpinnings of consumer protection law as it has developed over the past century and as it operates (or fails to operate) today. The course will examine constitutional issues governing consumer law, from "commercial speech" to federal preemption of state law. It will provide an introduction to the substantive law of predatory lending, debt collection, and product warranties. It will explore the application of consumer law to emerging technologies. It will include at least one optional site visit. And it will do all this in just three hours each week. (How much would you pay for this course? Wait - don't answer yet. There's more....) With debates raging over the proper level and means of marketplace regulation, the class will examine proposed laws and rules, perhaps submit comments on those proposals, and possibly offer some proposals of its own. (NOW, how much would you pay?) The low, low price: There will be two papers, one fairly short (5-8 pages) and one fairly long (15-20 pages or more). Fall 2023 Description: The law of consumer protection governs every purchase you make, every advertisement you see, every student loan in your expanding portfolio. It may be the single most relevant body of law to your own experience and your everyday life. And yet - somehow you haven't learned in law school whether it would be better to buy that casebook with a credit card or a debit card, why some restaurants don't have calories on the menu board when so many restaurants do, or whether you'll be able to enroll in income-driven loan repayment when you graduate. Consumer rights also form the leading edge of economic justice. When predatory lenders target communities of color or scammers engage in affinity fraud within immigrant populations, the resulting losses affect not just individuals but whole communities. The work of consumer protection law is to try to prevent those losses before they happen, and to remedy them if they do occur. In addition, consumer laws are increasingly being applied to redress civil rights violations, domestic and elder abuse, and even transactions that are part of the criminal justice system. This course will explore the theoretical and historical underpinnings of consumer protection law as it has developed over the past century and as it operates (or fails to operate) today. The course will examine constitutional issues governing consumer law, from "commercial speech" to federal preemption of state law. It will provide an introduction to the substantive law of predatory lending, debt collection, and product warranties. It will explore the application of consumer law to emerging technologies. It will include at least one optional site visit. And it will do all this in just three hours each week. (How much would you pay for this course? Wait - don't answer yet. There's more....) With debates raging over the proper level and means of marketplace regulation, the class will examine proposed laws and rules, perhaps submit comments on those proposals, and possibly offer some proposals of its own. (NOW, how much would you pay?) The low, low price: There will be two papers, one fairly short (5-8 pages) and one fairly long (15-20 pages or more). Fall 2025 Description: The law of consumer protection governs every purchase you make, every advertisement you see, every student loan in your expanding portfolio. It may be the single most relevant body of law to your own experience and your everyday life. Consumer rights also form the leading edge of economic justice. When predatory lenders target communities of color or scammers engage in affinity fraud within immigrant populations, the resulting losses affect not just individuals but whole communities. The work of consumer protection law is to try to prevent those losses before they happen and to remedy them if they do occur. In addition, consumer laws are increasingly being applied to redress civil rights violations, domestic and elder abuse, climate change, and even transactions that are part of the criminal justice system. This course will explore the theoretical and historical underpinnings of consumer protection law as it has developed over the past century and as it operates (or fails to operate) today. The course will examine constitutional issues governing consumer law, from "commercial speech" to federal preemption of state law. It will provide an introduction to the substantive law of predatory lending, debt collection, and product warranties. It will explore the application of consumer law to emerging technologies. It will include at least one optional site visit. And it will do all this in just three hours each week. (How much would you pay for this course? Wait - don't answer yet. There's more....) With debates raging over the proper level and means of marketplace regulation, the class will examine proposed laws and rules, perhaps submit comments on those proposals, and possibly offer some proposals of its own. (NOW, how much would you pay?) The low, low price: There will be two papers, one fairly short (5-8 pages) and one fairly long (15-20 pages or more). |
| Law 285.41 Comparative Consumer Law for LL.M.s 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: DO YOU WANT TO TRAVEL THE GLOBE, ENCOUNTER OTHER CULTURES, AND SAMPLE INTERNATIONAL CUISINE?? (Well, this is really not the way to do that. But it is and compelling and useful course. Read on!) This one-unit course offers LL.M. students the opportunity to explore the different methods used by countries around the world to address issues of consumer rights and economic justice. Participants in the course will determine which particular aspects of Consumer Law to explore – past years' subjects have included deceptive advertising, aggregate litigation (class actions), regulation of pharmaceuticals, credit reporting, and small-dollar lending, among others. Class requirements: The class will meet 5 times. For each meeting, students will research and present their country's legal regime addressing that week's topic, with accompanying visual aids and examples. (Responsibility for provision of snacks rotates around the globe.) That's it. Spring 2023 Description: This class for LLM students (and perhaps the occasional intrepid JD) focuses on the illuminating differences among countries in addressing similar issues in consumer law and economic justice. Students will choose the 5 or 6 topics that the course will explore – past years have included consumer privacy, tenants' rights/evictions, credit reporting, class actions and aggregate litigation, product liability, and e-commerce. This year: cryptocurrency, perhaps? Price-gouging during a pandemic? You decide. Each session, all students research how their home country addresses that week's issue and present their research to the class. Spring 2024 Description: This class for LLM students (and perhaps the occasional intrepid JD) focuses on the different ways that countries around the world address issues of consumer protection law and economic justice. Students will choose the 5 or 6 topics that the course will explore – past years have included consumer privacy, tenants' rights/evictions, credit reporting, class actions and aggregate litigation, product liability, and e-commerce. This year: cryptocurrency, perhaps? Price-gouging during a pandemic? AI and tenant screening? You decide. Each session, all students research how their home country addresses that week's issue and present their research to the class. (The snacks tend to be shared, international, and delicious.) *This class will be an application only course. To apply, students should submit their interest via email to mermin@berkeley.edu by the end of the day on November 1st. After this date admission will continue on a rolling basis. Students should expect a response within 3 days.* |
| Law 285.44 Consumer Law and Economic Justice Workshop 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course will provide students with an opportunity to be exposed to and discuss ongoing research in consumer law and economic justice. At most sessions, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Speakers will include prominent scholars in law and social sciences. Students will write three short papers, one in advance of each of three of the speakers. Spring 2023 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to be exposed to and discuss ongoing research and scholarship in consumer law and economic justice. Every other week, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present a work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Non-speaker class meetings will be spent in discussing the work and preparing to meet the speaker. Speakers will include prominent thought leaders in law, public policy, and the social sciences. This year’s workshop will focus on topics related to economic justice and inequality: asset building and economic opportunity; the availability and cost of housing; the nature of work and the level of wages, the chimera (or reality) of financial inclusion in fintech & crypto; the promise and reality of anti-poverty programs; and the disbursement, and cancellation, of student loans. Students will write three short papers, one in advance of each of three of the speakers. Active participation will be encouraged during all weeks. Spring 2024 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to be exposed to and discuss ongoing research and scholarship in consumer law and economic justice. Every other week, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present a work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Non-speaker class meetings will be spent in discussing the work and preparing to meet the speaker. Speakers will include prominent thought leaders in law, public policy, and the social sciences. This year’s workshop will focus on topics related to economic justice and inequality: asset building and economic opportunity; the availability and cost of housing; the nature of work and the level of wages, the chimera (or reality) of financial inclusion in fintech & crypto; the promise and reality of anti-poverty programs; and the disbursement, and cancellation, of student loans. Students will write three short papers, one in advance of each of three of the speakers. Active participation will be encouraged during all weeks. Spring 2025 Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to be exposed to and discuss ongoing research and scholarship in consumer law and economic justice. Every other week, an invited speaker from Berkeley or elsewhere will present a work in progress, and then take questions from students and faculty in the audience. Non-speaker class meetings will be spent in discussing the work and preparing to meet the speaker. Speakers will include prominent thought leaders in law, public policy, and the social sciences. This year’s workshop will focus on topics related to economic justice and inequality: asset building and economic opportunity; the availability and cost of housing; the nature of work and the level of wages, the chimera (or reality) of financial inclusion in fintech & crypto; the promise and reality of anti-poverty programs; and the disbursement, and cancellation, of student loans. Students will write three short papers, one in advance of each of three of the speakers. Active participation will be encouraged during all weeks. |
| Law 285.45 Legislative Advocacy for Economic Justice 2 Units |
| Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2024 Description: Legislative advocacy is a necessary and potent tool for advancing and safeguarding economic justice. It means working on behalf of others, and often alongside impacted communities. It can mean taking action to affirmatively advance a change in the law or stepping in to stop a harmful proposal in its tracks. From curtailing abusive marketplace practices that siphon economic resources from vulnerable communities to using legislation to establish agencies to protect consumer rights, legislative bodies debate consequential bills that can change the law and significantly impact consumer protections. As future attorneys, law students are uniquely poised to advance economic justice by developing and deploying their professional skills to influence lawmaking at its source, before legislative bodies. Using the California Legislature as the backdrop, this course will cover the practical components and considerations necessary to successfully advance a bill from an idea to statutory law. Practical skills taught in this course include learning how to articulate the need for legislative action to achieve greater consumer protection and economic justice; identifying the appropriate California Code sections for amendment; drafting bill language; articulating strategies for working with legislators and their staff; identifying the main components of successful lobbying as well as ethical considerations for lawyers engaged in this role; identifying the advantages and challenges of working in coalitions; articulating successful negotiation strategies and how to navigate the interests of varied stakeholders; identifying the interplay of politics and timing; engaging media in amplifying advocacy efforts; and defending victories when success is achieved. This course will also provide an understanding of how legislative advocacy skills can be applied across multiple subject matter areas and integrated with other essential lawyering skills including investigation, research and writing, legal and policy analysis, statutory drafting, negotiation, and persuasive oral and written advocacy. Students will meet with legislators and staff as guest speakers, and will either remotely attend a legislative hearing taking place in the State Capitol in Sacramento or watch an archived hearing. Students will also meet with movement-building organizations led by impacted people who are or will be the subject of legislative efforts. For a final project, students will design a legislative advocacy plan and present it to the class. Instructor: Norma P. Garcia is an award-winning attorney and public policy expert who worked as a Senior Attorney with Consumers Union (now Consumer Reports) for nearly 25 years. At CU, she led groundbreaking legislative and regulatory campaigns on behalf of low-to-moderate income communities and engaged in complex litigation impacting millions of consumers. She has also served as Policy Counsel and Director of Advocacy for Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), a trailblazing nonprofit dedicated to building equity by promoting Latino prosperity, community ownership and civic power in San Francisco’s Mission District, her neighborhood of origin. At MEDA, she ran key programmatic and legislative initiatives to strengthen inclusion and social justice for culturally diverse communities driving greater access to affordable housing, healthcare, education, workforce training and small business development. Fall 2025 Description: Legislative advocacy is a necessary and potent tool for advancing and safeguarding economic justice. It means working on behalf of others, and often alongside impacted communities. It can mean taking action to affirmatively advance a change in the law or stepping in to stop a harmful proposal in its tracks. From curtailing abusive marketplace practices that siphon economic resources from vulnerable communities to using legislation to establish agencies to protect consumer rights, legislative bodies debate consequential bills that can change the law, significantly impact consumer protections, and reshape public policy to address racism and other forms of systemic inequality. As future attorneys, law students are uniquely poised to advance economic justice by developing and deploying their professional skills to influence lawmaking at its source, before legislative bodies. Using the California Legislature as the backdrop, this course will cover the practical components and considerations necessary to successfully advance a bill from an idea to statutory law. Practical skills taught in this course include learning how to articulate the need for legislative action to achieve greater consumer protection and economic justice for vulnerable communities; identifying the appropriate California Code sections for amendment; drafting bill language; articulating strategies for working with legislators and their staff; identifying the main components of successful lobbying as well as ethical considerations for lawyers engaged in this role; identifying the advantages and challenges of working in coalitions; articulating successful negotiation strategies and how to navigate the interests of varied stakeholders; identifying the interplay of politics and timing; engaging media in amplifying advocacy efforts; and defending victories when success is achieved. This course will also provide an understanding of how legislative advocacy skills can be applied across multiple subject matter areas and integrated with other essential lawyering skills including investigation, research and writing, legal and policy analysis, statutory drafting, negotiation, and persuasive oral and written advocacy. Students will meet with legislators and staff as guest speakers, and will either remotely attend a legislative hearing taking place in the State Capitol in Sacramento or watch an archived hearing. Students will also meet with movement-building organizations led by impacted people who are or will be the subject of legislative efforts. For a final project, students will design a legislative advocacy plan and present it to the class. Instructor: Norma P. Garcia is an award-winning attorney and public policy expert who worked as a Senior Attorney with Consumers Union (now Consumer Reports) for nearly 25 years. At CU, she led groundbreaking legislative and regulatory campaigns on behalf of low-to-moderate income communities and engaged in complex litigation impacting millions of consumers. She has also served as Policy Counsel and Director of Advocacy for Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), a trailblazing nonprofit dedicated to building equity by promoting Latino prosperity, community ownership and civic power in San Francisco’s Mission District, her neighborhood of origin. At MEDA, she ran key programmatic and legislative initiatives to strengthen inclusion and social justice for culturally diverse communities driving greater access to affordable housing, healthcare, education, workforce training and small business development. |
| Law 285.62 Animal Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course presents a survey of the historical and current status of this rapidly developing specialty. In brief, animal law encompasses all areas of the law in which the nature -- legal, social or biological -- of nonhuman animals is an important factor. It is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area -- one with a growing number of cases and laws, increasing public and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal and philosophical foundations than most other courses. Topics covered include animal cruelty, animals as property, tort claims regarding animals, farm animals, animals in entertainment, and federal issues regarding animals. The course combines current events regarding ongoing animal law cases and a survey of the development and current state of the animal law field. Spring 2023 Description: This course presents a survey of the historical and current status of this rapidly developing specialty. In brief, animal law encompasses all areas of the law in which the nature -- legal, social or biological -- of nonhuman animals is an important factor. It is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area -- one with a growing number of cases and laws, increasing public and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal and philosophical foundations than most other courses. Topics covered include animal cruelty, animals as property, tort claims regarding animals, farm animals, animals in entertainment, and federal issues regarding animals. The course combines current events regarding ongoing animal law cases and a survey of the development and current state of the animal law field. Fall 2025 Description: This course presents a survey of the historical and current status of this rapidly developing specialty. In brief, animal law encompasses all areas of the law in which the nature -- legal, social or biological -- of nonhuman animals is an important factor. It is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area -- one with a growing number of cases and laws, increasing public and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal and philosophical foundations than most other courses. Topics covered include animal cruelty, animals as property, systemic discrimination against humans and animals, tort claims regarding animals, farm animals, animals in entertainment, and federal legal issues that impact animals, including the First Amendment, Commerce Clause, Article III standing, and numerous federal animal protection laws. The course combines current events regarding ongoing animal law cases and a survey of the development and current state of the animal law field. |
| Law 285.69 Property, Theory, and Social Justice 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This is an interdisciplinary course that explores various aspects of property, both doctrinally and institutionally, from theoretical perspectives. The topics will be eclectic and wide-ranging, but we will pay particular attention to racial justice and other ways in which social justice intersects with property. Some of the topics include: whiteness as property; conquest and slavery; reparations; the body and body parts; squatters; restrictive covenants and social norms. We will also consider some of the traditional theories of property rights. I will make each week's readings available online prior to class for you to download. For your information, I am the A. Robert Noll Professor of Law Emeritus, at Cornell Law School. Property and property theory are my primary areas of interest. I am co-author of the leading property casebook, Dukeminier, Krier, Alexander, Schill & Strahilevitz, and am also co-author (with Eduardo Penalver) of a leading textbook on property theory, An Introduction to Property Theory (Cambridge). I've been a visiting professor at other major law schools, including Harvard, Virginia, and most recently, Berkeley. |
| Law 285.81 Lawyering in the Public Interest/Public Sector World 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Making the decision to go to law school is not easy. Figuring out what kind of lawyer you want to be can be even more difficult. This course will introduce and engage students in conversations about different kinds of public interest and public sector lawyering, including litigation (direct services and impact), legislative, administrative, policy, movement, and community lawyering. Students will be asked to conduct interviews and review various types of media (including articles) about lawyers and lawyering to help students develop their own interests, goals, skills, and passions. Given the current moment, we will also discuss how lawyers are adapting, embracing, and working with uncertainty, remote challenges, demands for racial justice, economic instability, and more. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: Many students come to law school expressing a desire to pursue a public interest path. But what does that really mean? What are the options? The different paths? How do you connect with practitioners to learn more? These are all important inquiries on this path. This course will provide an opportunity to explore different types of public interest and public sector lawyering by introducing and organizing conversations with lawyers in the field. The course will look at lawyering strategies, including litigation (direct services and impact), legislative, administrative, policy, movement, and community lawyering. Students will be asked to conduct interviews and review resources about lawyers and lawyering to help develop and deepen their own interests, goals, skills, and passions. A primary goal of this class is to provide networking opportunities for students to delve more deeply into the actual practice and learn from practitioners. Guest speakers will share their career paths, including transitioning from different areas of practice, such as private firms to government to non-profit or vice-versa. In addition, given the current moment, we will also discuss how lawyers are adapting, embracing, and working with uncertainty, remote challenges, demands for racial justice, economic instability, and more. Whether you believe this is your path and/or you want to explore this path in a classroom setting to learn more, all students are welcome. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2022 Description: Many students come to law school expressing a desire to pursue a public interest path. But what does that really mean? What are the options? The different paths? How do you connect with practitioners to learn more? These are all important inquiries on this path. This course will provide an opportunity to explore different types of public interest and public sector lawyering by introducing and organizing conversations with lawyers in the field. The course will look at lawyering strategies, including litigation (direct services and impact), legislative, administrative, policy, movement, and community lawyering. Students will be asked to conduct interviews and review resources about lawyers and lawyering to help develop and deepen their own interests, goals, skills, and passions. A primary goal of this class is to provide networking opportunities for students to delve more deeply into the actual practice and learn from practitioners. Guest speakers will share their career paths, including transitioning from different areas of practice, such as private firms to government to non-profit or vice-versa. In addition, given the current moment, we will also discuss how lawyers are adapting, embracing, and working with uncertainty, remote challenges, demands for racial justice, economic instability, and more. Whether you believe this is your path and/or you want to explore this path in a classroom setting to learn more, all students are welcome. Spring 2023 Description: Many students come to law school expressing a desire to pursue a public interest path. But what does that really mean? What are the options? The different paths? How do you connect with practitioners to learn more? These are all important inquiries on this path. This course will provide an opportunity to explore different types of public interest and public sector lawyering by engaging in conversations with lawyers in the field. The course will look at lawyering strategies, including litigation (direct services and impact), legislative, administrative, policy, movement, and community lawyering. Students will be asked to conduct interviews and review resources about lawyers and lawyering to help develop and deepen their own interests, goals, skills, and passions. A primary goal of this class is to provide networking opportunities for students to delve more deeply into the actual practice and learn from practitioners. Guest speakers will share their career paths, including transitioning from different areas of practice, such as private firms to government to non-profit or vice-versa. In addition, given the current moment, we will also discuss how lawyers are adapting, embracing, and working with uncertainty, remote challenges, demands for racial justice, economic instability, and more. Whether you believe this is your path and/or you want to explore this path in a classroom setting to learn more, all students are welcome. Spring 2024 Description: Many students come to law school expressing a desire to pursue a public interest path. But what does that really mean? What are the options? The different paths? How do you connect with practitioners to learn more? These are all important inquiries on this path. This course will provide an opportunity to explore different types of public interest and public sector lawyering by engaging in conversations with lawyers in the field. The course will look at lawyering strategies, including litigation (direct services and impact), legislative, administrative, policy, movement, and community lawyering. Students will be asked to conduct interviews and review resources about lawyers and lawyering to help develop and deepen their own interests, goals, skills, and passions. A primary goal of this class is to provide networking opportunities for students to delve more deeply into the actual practice and learn from practitioners. Guest speakers will share their career paths, including transitioning from different areas of practice, such as private firms to government to non-profit or vice-versa. In addition, given the current moment, we will also discuss how lawyers are adapting, embracing, and working with uncertainty, remote challenges, demands for racial justice, economic instability, and more. Whether you believe this is your path and/or you want to explore this path in a classroom setting to learn more, all students are welcome. Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 285.82 Preparing for Social Justice Practice for 1Ls and LL.M.s 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 285.85 Community Economic Development 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar on Community Economic Development ("CED") will introduce students to some of the legal, business, finance, planning and development issues faced by community organizations, public agencies and nonprofit corporations and their lawyers in initiating business enterprises and housing developments located in low income neighborhoods. Topics to be discussed include the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, the New Markets Tax Credit program, the Community Reinvestment Act and the role of local and state governments in CED activities. Additionally, the class will analyze CED-related activities through the lens of Critical Race Theory with a focus on the Bay Area, and more specifically, several cities located in the East Bay. Bio: Professor Luis A. Rodriguez is a partner at the law firm of Goldfarb & Lipman LLP located in Oakland, California. He practices in the areas of affordable housing and community economic development law having worked primarily with nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout his 15 years in law practice. He started as an attorney working in the legal services field in the area of community economic development before transitioning to private practice. A graduate of UCLA Law School (J.D.), University of Chicago (M.A.) and UCLA (B.A. majoring in Sociology), Professor Rodriguez is a board member of East Bay Housing Organizations and an Adjunct Professor at UC Hastings School of Law teaching a Community Economic Development Seminar. |
| Law 285.9 Samuelson Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. As part of your participation in the seminar, you will engage in in-depth discussion, analysis, and application of the California and ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in the context of the real-world legal practice of clinic work. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Fall 2020 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. As part of your participation in the seminar, you will engage in in-depth discussion, analysis, and application of professional conduct in the context of the real-world legal practice of clinic work. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. As part of your participation in the seminar, you will engage in in-depth discussion, analysis, and application of the California and ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in the context of the real-world legal practice of clinic work. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. As part of your participation in the seminar, you will engage in in-depth discussion, analysis, and application of the California and ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in the context of the real-world legal practice of clinic work. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Spring 2022 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Fall 2022 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Spring 2023 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Fall 2023 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Spring 2024 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Fall 2024 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations, and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Spring 2025 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations, and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. Fall 2025 Description: Students who take the Samuelson Clinic for the first time are required to enroll in this two-credit companion seminar. The seminar is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Some of our primary goals in the seminar are to help you to learn how to learn from your clinical experience, and to think through how to apply the rules of professional responsibility in practice. Consequently, we place a high value on your ability to be reflective and self-critical. The seminar will include readings (both theoretical and skills-based) and discussions of the readings, presentations, and workshops by clinic staff and guest speakers, case rounds (short presentations of student projects), workshops of student projects (longer presentations requiring oral and written feedback from students), and other exercises designed to expose you to the practice of technology law in the public interest. This may fulfill the professional responsibility requirement. Students may elect to have the combination of the Clinic and Clinic Seminar satisfy one of the following requirements: the professional responsibility requirement, the experiential requirement or, with approval of the instructor, Option 2 of the Writing requirement. |
| Law 285.9B Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. The course will meet every other week for two hours. As a result, students cannot schedule other classes during the seminar time. Fall 2020 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Students cannot schedule other classes during the seminar time and students can only enroll in one clinic component. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Students cannot schedule other classes during the seminar time and students can only enroll in one clinic. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Students cannot schedule other classes during the seminar time and students can only enroll in one clinic. Spring 2022 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Students cannot schedule other classes during the seminar time and students can only enroll in one clinic. Fall 2022 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Students cannot schedule other classes during the seminar time and students can only enroll in one clinic. Spring 2023 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Fall 2023 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Spring 2024 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. Fall 2025 Description: Students who take the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also enroll in this one-credit companion seminar. As with the seminar for first-time Samuelson Clinic students, this course is designed to help you reflect on the practice of law, the nature of public interest law, and, more specifically, on your experience practicing technology law in the public interest. |
| Law 286.21 Women's Leadership in the Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: This course focuses on women’s leadership in the law. We will study paths toward leadership for women in the legal profession, as well as challenges to leadership for women lawyers. Readings will cover a range of subjects related to women's leadership in various fields of the legal profession, and class meetings will feature guest speakers who are leaders in their fields of the law and will include discussion among class members. Enrollment is limited. To be considered for enrollment in the course, please submit a short statement (no more than 300 words) explaining your interest in the course, including any perspectives you would bring to the course and what you hope to get out of the course. Please include your application statement in the text of an email (not as an attachment), and send with the subject line "Women's Leadership Application" to smohamed@law.berkeley.edu by 5pm on Nov. 12. Applicants selected for enrollment will be given the Class Number before Nov. 16 (day 1 of Phase II registration). After November 12th, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2023 Description: This course focuses on women’s leadership in the law. We will study paths toward leadership for women in the legal profession, as well as challenges to leadership for women lawyers. Readings will cover a range of subjects related to women's leadership in various fields of the legal profession, and class meetings will feature guest speakers who are leaders in their fields of the law and will include discussion among class members. Enrollment is limited. To be considered for enrollment in the course, please submit a short statement (no more than 300 words) explaining your interest in the course, including any perspectives you would bring to the course and what you hope to get out of the course. Please include your application statement in the text of an email (not as an attachment), and send with the subject line "Women's Leadership Application - [your name]" to smohamed@law.berkeley.edu by 5pm on Nov. 11, 2022. |
| Law 286.22 Changemaking Leadership: A Student-Centered Approach 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: � Survey after survey shows that leadership skills are critical lawyering skills. This course will include a day-long exploration of leadership theories and strategies with the goal of students having space and support to dive into their own leadership styles while uplifting strengths, lived experiences, and intersectional identities. There will be two follow-up meetings to creatively workshop student leadership issues and opportunities. Students will be asked to identify leadership challenges and opportunities they are facing on campus and through the class, we will discuss inclusive and effective strategies for this important work. The course will be open to students who are and/or consider themselves student leaders. The course will be taught experientially - with exercises, role plays, teaching rounds, and other interactive exercises. The course will be co-taught by Elica Vafaie, Interim Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, SF; Xavier Johnson, Director of Policy Justice at Just Cities Institute and currently on the Berkeley Rent Board (and a former Berkeley Law SABL co-chair and active student leader at Berkeley Law); and Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director. The class meetings will be on Saturday, August 26 from 10:00 - 5:00, then on two Saturdays, September 23 and October 14, from 9:30 - 12:30. Interested students are asked to complete an application: https://forms.gle/SxS6FgZwSu4xwUDC6 If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Sue Schechter, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu |
| Law 286.31 Legal Risks and Protections for Low-Income Car Purchasers and Owners 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The modern American needs a car to live, and a car is often the most valuable asset most Americans will own. This combination of need and expense is a siren call to creative predators, who take advantage of people who need something they can’t normally afford. This class will teach you how real-world contract law, tort law, and consumer protection statutes do (and don’t) operate to protect the public from unscrupulous salesmen, finance companies, mechanics, repossession companies, auto title lenders, and even local government, all of whom want to separate you from your money as quickly as possible. Lessons will be based on real-world clients and cases, and will teach you: - How car contracts are actually made, interpreted, and enforced. - How to use existing laws to protect people from unscrupulous automobile sales, repair, and lending outfits. - How class action attorneys fight automobile fraud. - How public advocates have and are continuing to use legislation, litigation, and grassroots advocacy to reign in the automobile industry, fight drivers’ license suspensions for unpaid tickets, and combat tows. The final will be a short paper, legislative proposal, legal memorandum, or other practical project you craft to begin or support necessary reforms to fix these problems. Some of your predecessors used similar projects to draft, propose, and ultimately pass laws that benefit hundreds of thousands of Californians; now it’s your turn. Sharon Djemal is the Director of the Consumer Justice Clinic at the East Bay Community Law Center, a community-based legal services clinic affiliated with UC Berkeley School of Law. The Consumer Justice Clinic defends, enforces, and advances the rights of low-income consumers by engaging in a full range of litigation, policy advocacy, and community education. Sharon joined EBCLC as a Supervising Attorney in the Housing Practice in 2000. Prior to her work at EBCLC, she was a Soros Fellow at the Urban Justice Center’s Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project, where she represented public housing tenants being evicted from their homes based on criminal allegations. EDUCATION J.D., Columbia Law School (1998) B.A., Macalester College (1991) Miguel is a Supervising Attorney at the East Bay Community Law Center's Consumer Justice Clinic. He attended UC Berkeley as an undergrad and Santa Clara University as a law student. While at law school he spent two years with the consumer program at the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center. After graduating he worked as a solo practitioner focusing on consumer protection cases. He also volunteered with the Justice and Diversity Center in San Francisco, providing pro bono legal services for low income consumer cases. |
| Law 286.32 Civil Liberties in a Pandemic 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will examine constitutional issues arising in the context of the current pandemic. It will look at issues such as the constitutionality of shelter-in-place and business closure regulations, allocation of power between national and state governments, voting, free exercise of religion, abortion rights, and takings claims. No prior knowledge of constitutional law is expected. The central issue for the course is how civil liberties should be balanced against society's need to protect public health. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: This course will examine constitutional issues arising in the context of the current pandemic. It will look at issues such as the constitutionality of shelter-in-place and business closure regulations, allocation of power between national and state governments, voting, free exercise of religion, abortion rights, and takings claims. No prior knowledge of constitutional law is expected. The central issue for the course is how civil liberties should be balanced against society's need to protect public health. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 286.4 Asian Americans and the Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: Course description: Since the 19th century, American law has shaped the demographics, experiences, and possibilities of Asian Americans. Asian Americans have also dramatically shaped the course of American Law. In this seminar we will examine this relationship through discussing cases, law review articles, and scholarship in Asian American studies. The course will be primarily organized around particular themes shaping the racialization of Asian Americans, which might include immigration exclusion, disenfranchisement from citizenship, racial triangulation, colonialism, internment and redress, 9/11 and its aftermath, U.S. militarism and the creation of refugees, and COVID-19 violence. We could pick myriad themes around which to organize a course such as this. As a result, the intent of the course is for maximum flexibility in order to accommodate student interest. The final syllabus will be determined by class consensus during our initial meetings. The readings will be deliberately interdisciplinary, and stage a conversation about legal questions from several vantage points. Students with primarily legal training may be exposed to Asian American Studies texts rooted in fields such as literature, history, political theory, cultural studies, and anthropology. Course requirements include critical reading and reflection with short responses to readings, collaborative learning and class participation including co-leading class discussion, and the writing of a final research paper (20 pages double-spaced) on a topic of your choice. We will work throughout the semester on the different stages of the research paper and you will have the opportunity to receive both peer and instructor feedback. |
| Law 286.5 Federal Indian Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Federal Indian Law is an introduction to federal law about Indian Nations. It explores the treaties, statutes, regulations, and common law and constitutional doctrines that govern the relationship between the United States and Indian Nations. The course will focus upon three major topics: the treaty system and the trust relationship between the United States and Indian Nations; Tribal sovereignty, including jurisdiction in Indian Country and the plenary power doctrine; and Indian property rights. Though the focus will be upon domestic federal law, the course will also consider Indian Nations’ powers and rights as sovereigns under international law and the rights of Native Peoples under Indigenous human rights law. In addition to introducing students to the doctrines and principles of Federal Indian Law, this course will explore questions concerning the role of the government attorney and the role of litigation as a vehicle for social and political change. Spring 2021 Description: Federal Indian Law is an introduction to federal law about Indian Nations. It explores the treaties, statutes, regulations, and common law and constitutional doctrines that govern the relationship between the United States and Indian Nations. The course will focus upon three major topics: the treaty system and the trust relationship between the United States and Indian Nations; Tribal sovereignty, including jurisdiction in Indian Country and the plenary power doctrine; and Indian property rights. Though the focus will be upon domestic federal law, the course will also consider Indian Nations’ powers and rights as sovereigns under international law and the rights of Native Peoples under Indigenous human rights law. In addition to introducing students to the doctrines and principles of Federal Indian Law, this course will explore questions concerning the role of the government attorney and the role of litigation as a vehicle for social and political change. Spring 2022 Description: Federal Indian Law is an introduction to federal law about Native Nations. It explores the treaties, statutes, regulations, common law, and constitutional doctrines that govern the relationship between the United States and Native Nations. Federal authority, or plenary power, over Native Nations is rooted in the legacy of settler colonialism and white supremacy. It poses many challenges and some opportunities for Native Nation building. The course will focus upon four major topics: Native Nation building and federal Indian laws; fundamental doctrines, themes, and history of federal Indian law; contemporary problems in Native Nation building and federal Indian law; and the future of federal Indian law. Though the focus will be upon domestic federal law, the course will also consider Native Nations’ powers and rights as inherent sovereigns under Tribal and international human rights law. This class draws on a wide range of foundational doctrinal topics and so is best suited to upper-level students. 1L students are advised to wait to enroll unless they have relevant work or life experience that prepares them to study this complex topic. Spring 2023 Description: Federal Indian Law is an introduction to federal law about American Indian Nations. It explores the treaties, statutes, regulations, and common law and constitutional doctrines that govern the relationship between the United States and Indian Nations. The course will focus upon three major topics: the treaty system and the trust relationship between the United States and Indian Nations; tribal sovereignty, including jurisdiction in Indian Country and the plenary power doctrine; and Indian property rights. Spring 2025 Description: Federal Indian Law is an introduction to federal law about American Indian Nations. It explores the treaties, statutes, regulations, and common law and constitutional doctrines that govern the relationship between the United States and Indian Nations. The course will focus upon three major topics: the treaty system and the trust relationship between the United States and Indian Nations; tribal sovereignty, including jurisdiction in Indian Country and the plenary power doctrine; and Indian property rights. |
| Law 286.51 Federal Indian Law Writing Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This seminar will teach fundamental concepts and doctrines of Federal Indian Law through an applied project focused upon how UC Berkeley and local missions have preserved thousands of Native ancestors in violation of long-held funerary practices. Students will work closely with the instructor on archival research into the history of salvage archaeology at UC Berkeley and the history of mass burials at California missions. They will learn about doctrines of Federal Indian Law, including those such as plenary power, the Indian trust doctrine, and NAGPRA, that bear upon the problem of salvage archaeology of Native ancestors and the taking of Native belongings. Students will also learn about California state laws, including CalNAGPRA, which affect California Native Nations. In addition, students will learn about the histories of California’s Native Nations, including the histories of colonialism in California. Finally, students will learn how to carry out ethically responsible research that affects Native Nations. Students will write an Option 1 paper. |
| Law 286.5A Selected Topics In Federal Indian Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: Federal Indian Law is federal law about the relationship between the United States and American Indian and Alaska Native nations. It consists of the treaties, statutes, regulations, and common law and constitutional doctrines that govern the relationship between the United States and Native nations. This seminar will focus upon selected topics in Federal Indian Law as a way of introducing this important area of law. It will explore some fundamental questions about (1) the treaty system and the trust relationship between the United States and Native nations, (2) tribal sovereignty, and (3) Indian property rights. Students will pursue their own research projects based upon the topics covered in the seminar. |
| Law 286.6 Race, Sexuality and the Law 3 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course will examine the ways in which race and sexuality intertwine to shape the law, public discourse and society. We will approach these issues by applying intersectionality, which teaches that identities such as race, gender, and sexual orientation overlap to create distinct experiences and forms of discrimination. Relatedly, we will study issues of intragroup discrimination and examine the capacity of any one social movement (based on race, gender/gender identity, or sexual orientation) to represent all people who share a trait. We will approach these provocative issues from a comparative perspective; for instance, we will compare the stereotyping of black male sexuality and Asian male sexuality. Pedagogical methods will include not just reading cases and legal scholarship but analyzing literary texts, viewing and critiquing film and television and discussing issues with various guest speakers. Questions we will study include the following: How do the media represent the sexualities and identities of people of color, and of LGBTQ people of color? To what extent do interracial couplings reduce or reflect racial stereotypes? How can law be reformed to recognize distinct forms of intersectional discrimination? Spring 2023 Description: This course will examine the ways in which race, gender, and sexuality intertwine to shape the law, public discourse and culture. We will also explore issues related to the experiences of LGBTQ people of color and their relationship to the dominant LGBTQ community and movement. The latter issues are related to broader questions of intragroup discrimination and the capacity of any one social movement to represent all people who share a trait, as exemplified by Black feminist critiques of male dominance in the Black civil rights movement and White female control over feminist spaces. We will approach these provocative issues from a comparative perspective; for instance, we will compare the stereotyping of Black male sexuality and Asian male sexuality. Pedagogical methods will include not just reading cases and legal scholarship but analyzing inter-disciplinary scholarship, viewing and critiquing film and television and discussing issues with guest speakers. Questions we will study include the following: How do the media represent the sexualities and identities of people of color, and of LGBTQ people of color? How do these representations influence law? To what extent do interracial couplings reduce or reflect racial stereotypes? Do legal analysis and public discourse regarding LGBTQ rights tend to assume a white, cisgender male subject? How can heterosexuals and sexual and gender minorities find common ground and build coalitions? |
| Law 286.65 Criminalizing Race and Poverty: The Enduring Consequences of Court Ordered Debt 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will explore the multitudes of ways in which the criminal justice system has turned a profit on the backs of people accused of and convicted of crimes, from convicting leasing, to chain gangs, to the rise of our reliance as a society on revenues derived from traffic tickets and misdemeanors. The course will introduce students to the subject area and to stakeholders and advocates that practice in the field—e.g., attorneys, public defenders, judges, court personnel, and other parties. Writing assignments will include reflections on our readings and crafting creative legal arguments and legislative solutions to the problems presented. Asher Waite-Jones is an attorney clinical instructor at the East Bay Community Law Center where he focuses on decriminalization of poverty. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law. Prior to joining EBCLC, Asher was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Legal Services for Children in San Francisco, where he represented clients in moving violation and quality of life infraction proceedings in juvenile and adult traffic courts. Spring 2021 Description: This course will explore the multitudes of ways in which the criminal justice system has turned a profit on the backs of people accused of and convicted of crimes, from convicting leasing, to chain gangs, to the rise of our reliance as a society on revenues derived from traffic tickets and misdemeanors. The course will introduce students to the subject area and to stakeholders and advocates that practice in the field - e.g., attorneys, activists, policy advocates, and impacted people. Writing assignments will include reflections on our readings and crafting creative legal arguments and legislative solutions to the problems presented. Asher Waite-Jones is an attorney clinical instructor at the East Bay Community Law Center where he focuses on decriminalization of poverty. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law. Prior to joining EBCLC, Asher was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Legal Services for Children in San Francisco, where he represented clients in moving violation and quality of life infraction proceedings in juvenile and adult traffic courts. Spring 2023 Description: This class will explore court-ordered fines, fees, municipal debt, and other monetary sanctions and our reliance as a society on revenues derived from traffic tickets, municipal debt, and misdemeanors. At the end of the seminar students will have a basic understanding of several schemes of fines and fees, specifically: a broad overview of different types of criminal court fees, parking tickets, traffic and infraction tickets, and child support and develop a basic understanding of the various ways fines and fees impact marginalized communities, particularly low-income Black and Brown communities. We will explore the ways in which race impacts the likelihood of being assessed fines and fees and appreciate the ways in which economic insecurity exacerbates other systemic inequalities. Students will use this framework to explore how best to advocate for their clients using clients’ lived experience and stories. Candy Michelle Smallwood is a Staff Attorney and Clinical Supervisor in the Decriminalization of Poverty practice at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). Candy, a woman of color who grew up in public housing in San Francisco experienced first-hand how low-income communities, particularly Black and Brown communities, are marginalized and disenfranchised. Prior to working at EBCLC, Candy worked with public housing residents in San Francisco and with unhoused communities in California, Oregon, and Colorado. |
| Law 286.72 Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: This course, we will talk about justice as a matter of substance. We will read a number of classics and contemporary works on political thought, including: Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, John Stuart Mill, WEB Du Bois, John Rawls, Chantal Mouffe, and Tommie Shelby. We'll read a 30-50pp excerpt for each session and talk about the conception of a society it critiques and imagines. No prior background is expected, just an openness to a variety of perspectives and a commitment to charitable interpretation. Our readings will vary depending on participants’ interests.Work for the course will be active discussion participation and submitting six 1-2pp written reactions to the weekly reading. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. |
| Law 286.73 Food Justice 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: The world of food involves a dazzling array of legal and policy issues. This course will focus on issues related to discrimination and inequality--particularly in relation to race, gender, and immigration status. Topics will include worker rights in the agriculture, food processing, and restaurant sectors; intellectual property and cultural appropriation issues connected to food; and problems related to food insecurity and the government programs designed to address it. Students will be required to submit weekly 1-page responses to the assigned reading in advance of each session. This class is among the special Fall 2020 1L elective seminars designed to give entering 1Ls an extra opportunity to form connections despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, these classes will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. These classes will all be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis and total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2021 Description: The world of food involves a dazzling array of legal and policy issues. This course will focus on issues related to discrimination and inequality--particularly in relation to race, gender, and immigration status. Topics will include worker rights in the agriculture, food processing, and restaurant sectors; intellectual property and cultural appropriation issues connected to food; and problems related to food insecurity and the government programs designed to address it. Students will be required to submit weekly 1-page responses to the assigned reading in advance of each session. This class is designed to give students an extra opportunity to engage despite our remote form of interaction. In light of that goal, this class will expect real-time attendance and may not be recorded. The total written work requirement will be no more than 8 double-spaced pages. Spring 2022 Description: This course will introduce students to some of the many intersections between food and social justice. Topics will include worker rights in the agriculture, food processing, and restaurant sectors; intellectual property and cultural appropriation issues connected to food; and problems related to food insecurity and the government programs designed to address it. Students will be required to submit weekly 1-page responses to the assigned reading in advance of each session. Depending on the public health situation, this class may be conducted via Zoom to accommodate the instructor's family health situation. |
| Law 286.8 Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and the Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course will explore legal doctrines specifically affecting the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people. The law is currently in flux and varies considerably from state to state, with regards to such issues as employment and public accommodation discrimination, relationship recognition, parenting, youth rights and determination of legal gender. We will cover these topics with a particular focus on constitutional doctrines, including equal protection and due process/privacy. Transgender legal issues will be integrated throughout the course. Course readings will include cases, legal theory, news articles, and activist writing, and we will examine current "hot" topics with an eye to understanding how the law developed, what choices activists and attorneys made in shaping legal arguments, and how future developments in the law will affect the lives of real people (LGBTI and otherwise). Constitutional Law is recommended, but not required. Anne Tamar-Mattis was the founder of interACT, a nonprofit that advocates for the civil and human rights of children born with intersex traits, and has been an activist in LGBTI communities for over 30 years. She is currently the Executive Director of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. |
| Law 286.81 Transgender Rights & The Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In this seminar, students explore the role of an attorney in advocating on behalf of transgender people, whether the community as a whole or individual members. Students can expect to gain a working knowledge of the laws and legal systems that often affect transgender people. These include the laws around name and gender marker changes; anti-discrimination law in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations; and access to health care including transition-related care. Students can also expect to examine the hyper criminalization of transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, and the resulting rates of incarceration as well as the disproportionate violence transgender face in prison. Similarly, students can expect to examine the ways in which our immigration system detains and harms transgender immigrants who come to the United States often fleeing violence in their countries of origin. Spring 2021 Description: In this seminar, students explore the role of an attorney in advocating on behalf of transgender people, whether the community as a whole or individual members. Students can expect to gain a working knowledge of the laws and legal systems that often affect transgender people. These include the laws around name and gender marker changes; anti-discrimination law in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations; and access to health care including transition-related care. Students can also expect to examine the hyper criminalization of transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, and the resulting rates of incarceration as well as the disproportionate violence transgender people face in prison. Similarly, students can expect to examine the ways in which our immigration system detains and harms transgender immigrants who come to the United States often fleeing violence in their countries of origin. This course will have a series of short papers and a final paper. Spring 2022 Description: In this seminar, students explore the role of an attorney in advocating on behalf of transgender people, whether the community as a whole or individual members. Students can expect to gain a working knowledge of the laws and legal systems that often affect transgender people. These include the laws around name and gender marker changes; anti-discrimination law in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations; and access to health care including transition-related care. Students can also expect to examine the hyper criminalization of transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, and the resulting rates of incarceration as well as the disproportionate violence transgender people face in prison. Similarly, students can expect to examine the ways in which our immigration system detains and harms transgender immigrants who come to the United States often fleeing violence in their countries of origin. This class will focus on race, racism, and anti-racism as they undergird both the creation and enforcement of laws that affect transgender people; the class will equip students with an intersectional lens with which to discuss each legal issue. This course will have a series of short papers and a final paper. Spring 2023 Description: Students can expect to gain a working knowledge of the laws and legal systems that affect transgender people. These include the laws around name and gender marker changes; anti-discrimination law in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations; and access to health care including transition-related care. Students can also expect to examine the criminalization of transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, and the resulting rates of incarceration as well as the disproportionate violence transgender people face in prison. Similarly, students can expect to examine the ways in which our immigration system detains and harms transgender immigrants who come to the United States often fleeing violence in their countries of origin. In this seminar, students will also explore the role of an attorney in advocating on behalf of transgender people, whether the community as a whole or individual members. This course will have a series of short response papers. Spring 2025 Description: This course will explore the landscape of relevant legal principles that impact the transgender community. These include the laws around name and gender marker changes, anti-discrimination law in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations; and access to healthcare including transition-related care and trans parentage. We will also examine the criminalization of transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, the resulting rates of incarceration, and the disproportionate violence transgender people face in prison. We will be reading several texts including case law, interdisciplinary scholarship, commentary on current events and engage in discussions about the future of transgender rights in the legal and political landscape. In this seminar, students should expect to explore the role of advocacy and legal reform in advancing transgender equality. This course will have a series of short response papers. As director of the Health & Welfare unit at East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), Milo primarily advocates for individuals living with HIV, women of color, and folks of trans experience, so that they may access and maintain public benefits and stable housing. He also supervises UC Berkeley Law School’s monthly student-led Name and Gender Change Clinic. Prior to joining EBCLC, Milo was a staff attorney at Legal Assistance for Seniors supporting older adults and those living with disabilities to access public benefits, health law and housing. Milo is a transmasculine white passing immigrant who hopes to keep leveraging his privileges to uplift and contribute to our trans communities of color. In his free time, Milo enjoys hot springs, RnB concerts, playing soccer, and spending time with his two pre-teen kids, chosen family and community. |
| Law 286.82 Special Topics in Education Policy: Race, Gender, and Sexuality 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: The public school classroom sits at the heart of America's modern-day culture wars. Once seen as mundane administrative meetings, school board hearings throughout the country are now the site of raucous protests to reform school administration and curricula. These efforts track the growing politicization of public education, from "anti-Critical Race Theory" bills that revise and obscure history, to legislation forcing teachers to ‘out’ students who confide in them. While these initiatives are framed as efforts to prevent student discomfort in the school setting, advocates are compelled to ask: whose comfort is being prioritized, and at whose expense? Engaging the law from a policy advocacy perspective, this course surveys state and local efforts to reshape the public education system and its resultant consequences. Students will engage with legislative and administrative materials, supplemented by case law, in order to situate the current moment within the larger movement for education equity. Utilizing Critical Race and Queer theories as frameworks, students will examine the role that race and gender does, could, and should play in the development of our society's youngest minds. This course is offered in a round-table format, for which student participation and knowledge-generation is essential to the learning experience. Students should expect to contribute to the class discussion through submission of short papers and co-facilitation of class sessions on topics of personal interest. |
| Law 286.83 The Struggle for Education Equity and Excellence 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: There have been explicit efforts to improve equity and excellence in public education for over sixty years using legislation, regulation, and litigation to prescribe, monitor, and enforce change. Local, state, and federal efforts have taken a variety of forms and been driven by varying combinations of ideology, research, politics, fiscal considerations, explicit and implicit biases, conscious and unconscious biases, and more. All of the policy designs have elements familiar to other forms of social and economic regulation. All told, the generations of effort have failed to narrow the gaps in educational and life outcomes among students with various racial, ethnic and family income backgrounds. This course will provide a historical foundation to consider and evaluate current efforts to deliver on the promise of a high-quality education for each and every child, regardless of zip code, race, gender, language and ability. Beyond the historical review of education policy at the federal and state levels, other topics include: defining and measuring equity and excellence; accountability and consequences; equity and adequacy for English language learners; access to effective instruction; early childhood education; brain sciences, adversity, and whole child equity. Students will be required to make a short presentation (10-12 minutes) on a topic or issue that relates to an education-related legislative, policy, or regulatory issue of interest to them. The presentation will require research and analysis and accompanying PowerPoint slides. Students may collaborate on research but must make their own presentations and slides. |
| Law 286.84 Antisemitism and the Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This class will explore the intersection of antisemitism and the law. It will begin by covering the history of law as a vehicle for institutionalizing antisemitism, law as a vehicle for combating antisemitism, and law as a political tool to combat antisemitism. We will also review discriminatory laws in the United States and other areas and countries against Jews, including in Nazi Germany. Other topics covered will include the intersection of legal antisemitism definitions and anti-Zionism, the intersection of free speech laws and antisemitism (e.g., the Skokie march and chants for ethnic cleansing of Jews), the historical discrimination of college and university campuses against Jews through admission quotas as well as the modern day application of Title VI of the Higher Education Act to issues of antisemitism on college and university campuses. We will also study issues of international law including the Genocide Convention as well as the Nuremberg trials. |
| Law 286T Race and American Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The entwined relationship between race and American law reaches back to the earliest colonial settlements in North America, which codified the transformation of unfree labor into race-based slavery and used law to excuse the seizure of Native American land. It also threatens to extend deep into the future. In addition to surveying this enormous field, Race and American Law has three goals: to promote a basic literacy in canonical race law cases; to emphasize how race has evolved since the civil rights era; and to examine the interplay of racism with other social hierarchies, especially gender and class. The course emphasizes class participation. It overlaps only slightly with Constitutional Law and Critical Race Theory seminar, and may be taken concurrently with either. The final exam is a take-home essay. Spring 2021 Description: The entwined relationship between race and American law reaches back to the earliest colonial settlements in North America, which codified the transformation of unfree labor into race-based slavery and used law to excuse the seizure of Native American land. It also threatens to extend deep into the future. In addition to surveying this enormous field, Race and American Law has three goals: to promote a basic literacy in canonical race law cases; to emphasize how race has evolved since the civil rights era; and to examine the interplay of racism with other social hierarchies, especially gender and class. The course emphasizes class participation. It overlaps only slightly with courses on Constitutional Law and Critical Race Theory, and may be taken concurrently with these classes. The final exam is a take-home essay. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 286U Race, Equity, and Workplace Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This course examines the ways in which workplace laws reinforce structural inequality and how social movements mobilize to challenge inequalities across a number of dimensions, including but not limited to race, immigration, union or nonunion status, pay equity and wage theft. Major topics are the growth of the administrative state in areas such as labor-management relations, the eradication of prohibited discrimination and wage theft committed against workers of color and immigrants. Another major focus is theoretical perspectives, including power relationships in the workplace, the roles unions play in a racially stratified society, court interpretations in affecting how justice is administered, and legislative strategies for dealing with complex social and workplace issues impacting vulnerable or marginal workers.We will also study how social movements work through nonlegal channels when legislative change is slow or nonexistent. I have been a full-time law professor for the past twenty-one years, including the last twelve years at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV, where I co-direct the Workplace Law Program. I am honored to be an elected member of the American Law Institute, and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, based on my record of teaching, scholarship and service to the profession and the field of workplace law. I have principally taught Labor Law, Constitutional Law and Employment Law, but I have also taught Employment Discrimination, International Labor Law, Legal Ethics, and Civil Procedure. I have taught Employment Law as a Visiting Professor at Brooklyn Law School, and Constitutional Law as a Visiting Professor at UCSD, UC-Davis Law, and in Spring 2024, at UC-Berkeley Law. I have written more than 20 law review articles on the law of the workplace and the Constitution, and two books including “Marginal Workers,” published by New York University Press (2012) and a work in progress for the University of California Press on “Critical Wage Theory: Why Wage Justice is Racial Justice (2024). I am also a co-author on the sixth edition of the book “Legal Protection for the Individual Employee,” published by Thomson West (2021). I earned an A.B. from Stanford, a J.D. from UCLA, and a Master of Laws from the University of Wisconsin, where I held a prestigious William H. Hastie Fellowship. After law school, I was a labor lawyer at Rothner, Segall and Greenstone in Pasadena, CA. I have served on the national Board of Directors of the American Constitution Society and am the faculty advisor to the UNLV Chapter of the ACS. I also serve on the executive committee of the Labor Law Group, consisting of esteemed national and international members of the academy, which since its founding in 1953 has produced quality casebooks for use in labor and employment classes nationally. |
| Law 287 Disability Rights 2 Units |
| Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This course covers disability history, the core principles of disability nondiscrimination, disability rights practice, and the role of disability rights in the social issues of our time, including technology, immigration, police and prison reform, data collection in the context of public health, including vaccine distribution and healthcare rationing, and burgeoning intersectional legal issues. Classes explore disability rights in employment, housing, education (including special education), technology, international law, community life, healthcare, government programs, emergency planning and inclusion, and private businesses. We intend to foster vigorous engagement with the materials and with one another throughout the course. Individual thought and preparation, as well as mutual discussion and study, are the tools that allow us to discern together the multiple long standing barriers to full social, economic, civic, and legal engagement to which civil rights laws and policies are a response. The course is an OPTION 1 CLASS that requires the completion of a 15-page research paper on a mutually agreed topic, and grading will also be based in significant part on attendance and participation through an oral presentation classroom discussions and short writing assignments throughout the class. Instructors are Arlene Mayerson, Founding Directing Attorney Emeritus of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Silvia Yee, Senior Attorney of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and Elizabeth Zirker, a Managing Attorney with Disability Rights California. Guest speakers will include renowned scholars and practitioners. Fall 2023 Description: This course covers disability history, the core principles of disability nondiscrimination, disability rights practice, and the role of disability rights in the social issues of our time, including technology, immigration, police and prison reform, data collection in the context of public health, including vaccine distribution and healthcare rationing, and burgeoning intersectional legal issues. Classes explore disability rights in employment, housing, education (including special education), technology, international law, community life, healthcare, government programs, emergency planning and inclusion, and private businesses. We intend to foster vigorous engagement with the materials and with one another throughout the course. Individual thought and preparation, as well as mutual discussion and study, are the tools that allow us to discern together the multiple long standing barriers to full social, economic, civic, and legal engagement to which civil rights laws and policies are a response. The course is an OPTION 1 CLASS that requires the completion of a 15-page research paper on a mutually agreed topic, and grading will also be based in significant part on attendance and participation which can include oral presentation, classroom discussions, and short writing assignments throughout the class. Instructors are Arlene Mayerson, Founding Directing Attorney Emeritus of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Silvia Yee, Senior Attorney of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and Elizabeth Zirker, a Managing Attorney with Disability Rights California. Guest speakers will include renowned scholars and practitioners. Fall 2025 Description: This course covers disability history, the core principles of disability nondiscrimination, disability rights practice, and the role of disability rights in the social issues of our time, including technology, immigration, police and prison reform, data collection in the context of public health, including vaccine distribution and healthcare rationing, and burgeoning intersectional legal issues. Classes explore disability rights in employment, housing, education (including special education), technology, international law, community life, healthcare, government programs and benefits, emergency planning and inclusion, civic engagement, and private businesses. We intend to foster vigorous engagement with the materials and with one another throughout the course. Individual thought and preparation, as well as mutual discussion and study, are the tools that allow us to discern together the multiple longstanding barriers to full social, economic, civic, and legal engagement to which civil rights laws and policies are a response. The course is an OPTION 1 CLASS that requires the completion of a 15-page research paper on a mutually agreed topic, and grading will also be based in significant part on attendance and participation which can include oral presentation, classroom discussions, and short writing assignments throughout the class. Instructors are Arlene Mayerson, Founding Directing Attorney Emeritus of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Silvia Yee, Policy Director of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and Elizabeth Zirker, a Managing Attorney with Disability Rights California. Guest speakers will include renowned scholars and practitioners. |
| Law 287.11 Negotiating Trauma, Emotions & the Practice of Law 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will explore how lawyers may better engage emotions, including traumatic responses, to the benefit of their clients and themselves. Emotions- every day and extreme; controllable and unconscious - affect case preparation, lend to client management issues, and make certain practice areas seemingly more challenging than satisfying for new attorneys. The practical requirements of the course will provide students a real-life opportunity to practice deftly negotiating emotions & trauma, a regular requirement in diverse legal practice areas. Discussing trauma-informed practice is relatively new for the legal profession - and especially new for law schools - even though the struggles of engaging trauma are as old as the profession. Through this new course, students will have an opportunity to develop a personal approach to navigating trauma with practical utility for engaging their peers and profession. The goals of this course include building understanding of how process, e.g. client interviews, can inform the substance of cases in ethical legal practice; enhance skills of interviewing and presenting on non-traditional/traditionally uncomfortable topic; developing capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue; and increasing self-awareness, recognizing biases, appreciating diversity with cultural humility. While this is not a course on self-care for lawyers, through guest speakers & simulations, we will have occasion to consider vicarious/secondary trauma where it effects representation and professional responsibility. Through theory and hands-on exercises, this course will provide the foundation for more reflexive, sustainable and intentional legal practice that engages trauma without adopting it. Students will be assessed on a series of shorter assignments during the course of the semester: including responding to Discussion Threads on bCourses; Presenting on a Chosen Topic; and Interviewing a Practitioner related to Trauma & Lawyering. Spring 2021 Description: This course explores how lawyers may better engage emotions, including traumatic responses, to the benefit of their clients and themselves. Emotions -- every day and extreme; controllable and unconscious -- affect case preparation, lend to client management issues, and make certain practice areas seemingly more challenging than satisfying for new attorneys. The practical requirements of the course will provide students a real-life opportunity to practice deftly negotiating emotions & trauma, a regular requirement in diverse legal practice areas. Discussing trauma-centered practice is relatively new for the legal profession, and including law schools, even though the struggles of engaging trauma are as old as the profession. Through this course, students have an opportunity to develop a personal approach to navigating trauma with practical utility for engaging their peers and profession. We will have an opportunity to engage with lawyers from various practice areas about their concerns, considerations, options and possibilities around managing trauma & the demands of lawyering. The goals of this course include building understanding of how process can inform the substance of cases in ethical legal practice; enhancing skills of interviewing and presenting on non-traditional/traditionally uncomfortable topics; developing capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue; and increasing self-awareness, recognizing biases, appreciating diversity with cultural humility. While this is not a course on self-care for lawyers, through guest speakers & simulations, we will have occasion to consider vicarious/secondary trauma where it affects representation and professional responsibility. Through theory and hands-on exercises, this course will provide the foundation for more reflexive, sustainable and intentional legal practice that engages trauma without adopting it. Students will be assessed on a series of shorter assignments during the course of the semester: including, responding to discussion threads on bCourses; presenting on a chosen topic; and interviewing practitioners related to Trauma & Lawyering. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2023 Description: Discussing “trauma-informed” practice is relatively new for the legal profession even though the struggles of engaging trauma are as old as the profession. This course will explore how lawyers may better engage emotions, including traumatic responses, with a focus on strengthening lawyering to the benefit of the client, case, colleagues, staff, and self. Emotions--every day and extreme; controllable and unconscious--affect case preparation, lend to client management issues, and make certain practice areas seemingly more challenging than satisfying for new attorneys. While the course aims to assist future lawyers (in any practice area), it will engage your current experiences as law students and seeks to aid in your visioning, preparation and reflexivity as future attorneys. The practical requirements are aimed at providing real-life opportunities to practice deftly negotiating emotions & trauma, a regular requirement in diverse legal practice areas. The goals of this course are for students to: • Increase understanding of correlation between emotional responses & effective representation • Understand how process, e.g. client interviews, can inform the substance of cases in ethical legal practice • Enhance skills of interviewing & presenting on traditionally uncomfortable topics • Develop capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue • Increase self-awareness, recognize biases, appreciate diversity with cultural humility While this is not a course on self-care for lawyers, through simulations and speakers, students will have occasion to consider vicarious/secondary trauma where it effects representations and thus engage with issues surrounding professional responsibility. Through theory and hands-on exercises, this course will provide the foundation for more reflexive and trauma-informed lawyering: sustainable and intentional legal practice that engages trauma without adopting it. Spring 2024 Description: Discussing “trauma-informed” practice is relatively new for the legal profession even though the struggles of engaging trauma are as old as the profession. This course will explore how lawyers may better engage emotions, including traumatic responses, with a focus on strengthening lawyering to the benefit of the client, case, colleagues, staff, and self. Emotions--every day and extreme; controllable and unconscious--affect case preparation, lend to client management issues, and make certain practice areas seemingly more challenging than satisfying for new attorneys. While the course aims to assist future lawyers (in any practice area), it will engage your current experiences as law students and seeks to aid in your visioning, preparation and reflexivity as future attorneys. The practical requirements are aimed at providing real-life opportunities to practice deftly negotiating emotions & trauma, a regular requirement in diverse legal practice areas. The goals of this course are for students to: • Increase understanding of correlation between emotional responses & effective representation • Understand how process, e.g. client interviews, can inform the substance of cases in ethical legal practice • Enhance skills of interviewing & presenting on traditionally uncomfortable topics • Develop capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue • Increase self-awareness, recognize biases, appreciate diversity with cultural humility Through simulations and speakers, students will have occasion to consider vicarious/secondary trauma where it affects representation and thus engage with issues surrounding professional responsibility. Through theory and hands-on exercises, this course will provide the foundation for more reflexive and trauma-informed lawyering: sustainable and intentional legal practice that engages trauma without adopting it. Spring 2025 Description: Discussing “trauma-informed” practice is relatively new for the legal profession even though the struggles of engaging trauma are as old as the profession. This course will explore how lawyers may better engage emotions, including traumatic responses, with a focus on strengthening lawyering to the benefit of the client, case, colleagues, staff, and self. Emotions--every day and extreme; controllable and unconscious--affect case preparation, lend to client management issues, and make certain practice areas seemingly more challenging than satisfying for new attorneys. While the course aims to assist future lawyers (in any practice area), it will engage your current experiences as law students and seeks to aid in your visioning, preparation, and reflexivity as future attorneys. The practical requirements are aimed at providing real-life opportunities to practice deftly negotiating emotions & trauma, a regular requirement in diverse legal practice areas. The goals of this course are for students to: • Increase understanding of correlation between emotional responses & effective representation • Understand how process, e.g. client interviews, can inform the substance of cases in ethical legal practice • Enhance skills of interviewing & presenting on traditionally uncomfortable topics • Develop capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue • Increase self-awareness, recognize biases, appreciate diversity with cultural humility Through simulations and speakers, students will have occasion to consider vicarious/secondary trauma where it affects representation and thus engage with issues surrounding professional responsibility. Through theory and hands-on exercises, this course will provide the foundation for more reflexive and trauma-informed lawyering: sustainable and intentional legal practice that engages trauma without adopting it. |
| Law 287.51 Housing Litigation and Policy 2 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: Housing litigation covers everything from anoxic brain injuries due to carbon monoxide poisoning, a class action case against a slumlord or large corporation, a federal civil rights case seeking an injunction prohibiting the displacement of unhoused people on public property, to the more basic, but not less important, defense of an unlawful detainer or eviction lawsuit. We will study the various types of lawsuits referenced above, the strategies involved in successfully navigating each type of case, and how even individual cases can be used to leverage broad impact in a community. By the end of this course, students will understand the anatomy of various types of civil lawsuits, obtain practical issue spotting skills that will be applicable in real-world scenarios, and will know the historical development of how housing laws were used to create racial and social inequities that persist today. Course requirements include a short paper and a final exam. Additionally, for each class session, a group of students will be provided moving and opposing papers from actual motions that were filed in superior court and will be asked to argue a side. The course is a chance to develop writing, litigation and public speaking skills, all while learning about a field of law that has helped shape the boundaries of wealth, inequality and justice in this country. Mr. Bracamontes is a civil rights attorney focusing his practice on individuals in landlord-tenant, employment, and personal injury matters. In the housing context, Mr. Bracamontes has successfully handled cases involving carbon monoxide exposure, lead poisoning, wrongful death, and general habitability concerns. Mr. Bracamontes currently sits on the board of Consumer Attorneys of California and California Rural Legal Assistance. He is also a contributing author to the CEB California Eviction Defense Manual. Spring 2023 Description: Housing litigation covers everything from anoxic brain injuries due to carbon monoxide poisoning, a class action case against a slum lord or large corporation, a federal civil rights case seeking an injunction prohibiting the displacement of unhoused people on public property, to the more basic, but not less important, defense of an unlawful detainer or eviction lawsuit. We will study the various types of lawsuits referenced above, the strategies involved in successfully navigating each type of case, and how even individual cases can be used to leverage broad impact in a community. By the end of this course, students will understand the anatomy of various types of civil lawsuits, obtain practical issue spotting skills that will be applicable in real-world scenarios, and will know the historical development of how housing laws were used to create racial and social inequities that persist today. Course requirements include a short paper and a final exam. Additionally, for each class session, a group of students will be provided moving and opposing papers from actual motions that were filed in superior court and given the chance to argue a side. The course is a chance to develop writing, litigation and public speaking skills, all while learning about a field of law that has helped shape the boundaries of wealth, inequality and justice in this country. Spring 2024 Description: Housing litigation covers everything from anoxic brain injuries due to carbon monoxide poisoning, a class action case against a slum lord or large corporation, a federal civil rights case seeking an injunction prohibiting the displacement of unhoused people on public property, to the more basic, but not less important, defense of an unlawful detainer or eviction lawsuit. We will study the various types of lawsuits referenced above, the strategies involved in successfully navigating each type of case, and how even individual cases can be used to leverage broad impact in a community. By the end of this course, students will understand the anatomy of various types of civil lawsuits, obtain practical issue spotting skills that will be applicable in real-world scenarios, and will know the historical development of how housing laws were used to create racial and social inequities that persist today. Course requirements include a final exam. Additionally, for each class session, two students will be provided moving and opposing papers from actual motions that were filed in superior court and given the chance to argue a side. The course is a chance to develop writing, litigation, and public speaking skills, all while learning about a field of law that has helped shape the boundaries of wealth, inequality, and justice in this country. |
| Law 287.7 Civil Rights and Anti-Discrimination Law 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: How does the law address inequality? This course probes the fundamental frameworks of civil rights and anti-discrimination law. Among the topics we will cover are discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and religion, across a variety of social contexts (schools, work, housing, public accommodations, and the criminal justice system). Students should leave the class with a clear and practical understanding of existing federal law, while being equipped to grapple with questions about the real-world consequences and limits of the current legal frameworks. Because the class emphasizes the application of civil rights law outside the workplace, it is designed to complement Employment Discrimination, and both classes can be productively taken together or in sequence. Prior to joining the full-time faculty at Berkeley Law, Professor Milligan practiced civil rights law at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund (LDF). As an Assistant Counsel in LDF’s Economic Justice section, she litigated employment discrimination, fair housing, racial profiling, and environmental justice cases, including suits against the Chicago Fire Department, New York City Board of Education, New York City Housing Authority, the New York Police Department, and Tennessee state, county, and city agencies. Her work also encompassed regulatory advocacy before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state human rights agencies around the employment rights of people with past criminal convictions, and amicus briefs in class action, arbitration, affirmative action, and minority-set-aside cases in the Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. Spring 2021 Description: How does the law address inequality? This course probes the fundamental frameworks of civil rights and anti-discrimination law. Among the topics we will cover are discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and religion, across a variety of social contexts (schools, work, housing, public accommodations, and governmental services). Students should leave the class with a clear and practical understanding of existing federal law, while being equipped to grapple with questions about the real-world consequences and limits of the current legal frameworks. Because the class emphasizes the application of civil rights law outside the workplace, it is designed to complement Employment Discrimination. Spring 2023 Description: How does the law address inequality? This course probes the fundamental frameworks of civil rights and anti-discrimination law. Among the topics we will cover are discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, across a variety of social contexts (we will focus primarily on work and education, but will also touch on public accommodations, and governmental services). Students should leave the class with an understanding of federal statutory frameworks including Title VII, Title IX and the ADA, and their constitutional underpinnings. The course will also draw on critical legal theories, including critical race theory, feminist theory, queer theory and disability theory, to help us grapple with questions about the real-world consequences and limits of the current legal frameworks. Because the class emphasizes the application of civil rights law outside the workplace, it is designed to complement Employment Discrimination. Fall 2023 Description: How does the law address inequality? This course probes the fundamental frameworks of civil rights and anti-discrimination law. Among the topics we will cover are discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, across a variety of social contexts (we will focus primarily on work and education, but will also touch on public accommodations, and governmental services). Students should leave the class with an understanding of federal statutory frameworks including Title VII, Title IX and the ADA, and their constitutional underpinnings. It will also include a brief unit on the role of state constitutions in addressing inequality. The course will draw on critical legal theories, including critical race theory, feminist theory, queer theory and disability theory, to help us grapple with questions about the real-world consequences and limits of the current legal frameworks. Although the course has modest overlap with both Constitutional Law and Employment Discrimination, students who have taken (or hope to take) either of these courses may enroll in this one. Fall 2024 Description: How does the law address inequality? This course probes the fundamental frameworks of civil rights and anti-discrimination law. Among the topics we will cover are discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, across a variety of social contexts (we will focus primarily on work and education, but will also touch on public accommodations, and governmental services). Students should leave the class with an understanding of federal statutory frameworks including Title VII, Title IX, and the ADA, and their constitutional underpinnings. It will also include a brief unit on the role of state constitutions in addressing inequality. The course will draw on critical legal theories, including critical race theory, feminist theory, queer theory, and disability theory, to help us grapple with questions about the real-world consequences and limits of the current legal frameworks. Although the course has modest overlap with both Constitutional Law and Employment Discrimination, students who have taken (or hope to take) either of these courses may enroll in this one. |
| Law 287.71 Disability in Higher Education 1 Units |
| Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2022 Description: This course will review the key elements of the Americans with Disabilities Act in higher education as interpreted by the Office of Civil Rights, IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Additional issues related to FERPA, HIPAA and the right to privacy in higher education are also explored and analyzed, and specific case examples will be offered. Course Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, students should be able to: • Exhibit an understanding of the requirements for compliance with disability rights laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, IDEA, and the Rehabilitation Act. • Analyze and solve complex legal scenarios involving accommodations for both students and employees with disabilities. • Apply the privacy protections of FERPA and HIPAA to given hypotheticals. • Examine and discuss emerging issues in disability law, such as assistive technology, international human rights, professional licensing, emergency preparedness, and testing accommodations. • Map resources that assist disability service professionals in complying with the law. • Create a written policy that will elucidate a complex area of disability law in higher education for a lay audience. |
| Law 287.72 Substantive Due Process 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: Can the Constitution achieve its post-Reconstruction goal of becoming an inclusive legal document with rights accessible to constituencies more diverse than the framers initially imagined? Substantive due process, or the idea that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments’ due process clauses serve as reservoirs of unenumerated and seemingly invisible rights discoverable by a federal judiciary, has been the intellectual and doctrinal space for affirming the existence of non-textual rights outside the framers’ purview. With this idea comes considerable controversy, most recently seen in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned nearly five decades of precedent to find that the Constitution does not acknowledge a fundamental right to abortion. This seminar will examine each angle of the substantive due process debate, and place the conversation in a doctrinal, historical, and sociological context that will help seminar participants think critically about its nuances. Topics covered include questions about fundamental rights involving marriage, family rights, education, sexuality, reproductive rights, contraception, and more. Students are encouraged but not required to take Constitutional Law before this seminar, or concurrently enroll during the semester this class is offered. |
| Law 287.8 Constitutional Litigation 3 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: This class explores federal constitutional litigation. Students will read and discuss the most important cases and statutes governing actions in which plaintiffs have sought damages from government actors to vindicate federal rights . Students will also connect the substantive law to the practical and strategic choices a civil rights lawyer makes before, during, and at the conclusion of litigation. In addition, the class will work through a number of problems to explore what parties may be sued, what relief may be available, and what means of proof are most likely to lead to a favorable result. Spring 2024 Description: This class explores federal constitutional litigation. Students will read and discuss the most important cases and statutes governing actions in which plaintiffs have sought damages from government actors to vindicate federal rights. Students will also connect the substantive law to the practical and strategic choices a civil rights lawyer makes before, during, and at the conclusion of litigation. In addition, the class will work through a number of problems to explore what parties may be sued, what relief may be available, and what means of proof are most likely to lead to a favorable result. Spring 2025 Description: This class explores federal constitutional litigation. Students will read and discuss the most important cases and statutes governing actions in which plaintiffs have sought damages from government actors to vindicate federal rights. Students will also connect the substantive law to the practical and strategic choices a civil rights lawyer makes before, during, and at the conclusion of litigation. In addition, the class will work through a number of problems to explore what parties may be sued, what relief may be available, and what means of proof are most likely to lead to a favorable result. |
| Law 288.1 Immigration Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course surveys the legal, historical, and political considerations that shape U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States, and, to some extent, the constitutional rights of noncitizens in the country; the history of U.S. immigration law and policy; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy, including the roles played by various federal agencies in immigration decisions; the admission of nonimmigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the deportation and exclusion of nonimmigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; undocumented immigration; immigration and national security; and citizenship and naturalization. Much of the course focuses on the comprehensive immigration law, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended by numerous laws (including the 1996 Anti-Terrorist and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, and the 2005 REAL ID Act) and its implementing regulations. Although comparisons to immigration law and policy of other countries are drawn upon from time to time, the primary focus of this class is immigration law in the U.S. Fall 2020 Description: This course surveys the legal, historical, and political considerations that shape U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States, and, to some extent, the constitutional rights of noncitizens in the country; the history of U.S. immigration law and policy; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy, including the roles played by various federal agencies in immigration decisions; the admission of nonimmigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the deportation and exclusion of nonimmigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; undocumented immigration; immigration and national security; and citizenship and naturalization. Much of the course focuses on the comprehensive immigration law, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended by numerous laws (including the 1996 Anti-Terrorist and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, and the 2005 REAL ID Act) and its implementing regulations. Although comparisons to immigration law and policy of other countries are drawn upon from time to time, the primary focus of this class is immigration law in the U.S. Fall 2021 Description: This course surveys the legal, historical, and political considerations that shape U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States, and, to some extent, the constitutional rights of noncitizens in the country; the history of U.S. immigration law and policy; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy, including the roles played by various federal agencies in immigration decisions; the admission of nonimmigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the deportation and exclusion of nonimmigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; undocumented immigration; immigration and national security; and citizenship and naturalization. Much of the course focuses on the comprehensive immigration law, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended by numerous laws (including the 1996 Anti-Terrorist and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, and the 2005 REAL ID Act) and its implementing regulations. Although comparisons to immigration law and policy of other countries are drawn upon from time to time, the primary focus of this class is immigration law in the U.S. Spring 2023 Description: This course surveys U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy; the admission of nonimmigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the detention, deportation, and exclusion of nonimmigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; and immigration and national security. Spring 2024 Description: This course surveys U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy; the admission of nonimmigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the detention, deportation, and exclusion of nonimmigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; and immigration and national security. Spring 2025 Description: This course surveys U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy; the admission of nonimmigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the detention, deportation, and exclusion of nonimmigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; and immigration and national security. |
| Law 288.4 Refugee Law and Processes 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course will explore US refugee and asylum law and process, beginning with its roots in the UN Refugee Convention and passage of the 1980 Refugee Act and continuing through current executive orders and Attorney General opinions affecting asylum and refugee admission. By the semester's end, students will understand the legal requirements for asylum and refugee status in the US, having applied them to various real-world scenarios. Students will also gain deeper insight into the impact of recent changes to refugee and asylum policy in the US. The course will employ case hypotheticals and simulations to highlight various topics in refugee protection, including unaccompanied minors, gender and LGBTI-based claims, and the tension between meeting international obligations to refugees while ensuring national security and addressing transnational crime. This course is essential for students interested in asylum representation, as well as for those interested in refugee rights, human rights, immigration law, and public international law. Students will complete a take-home midterm, consisting of a draft brief on asylum eligibility for a hypothetical case. Students will then build on this initial case work through a moot court hearing and, as a final paper, a full legal brief supporting or opposing asylum eligibility. As this is an applied learning course, class participation is essential, and it will count toward the final grade. This course will satisfy the Option 1 writing requirement. Kyra S. Lilien is a Staff Attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where she analyzes immigration-related petitions for review. Previously, Kyra was an Asylum Officer at the USCIS Asylum Office in San Francisco where she adjudicated asylum applications and trained new asylum officers. Kyra practiced immigration law for several years before joining the Asylum Office, most recently at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, where she served as Immigration Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: This course will explore US refugee and asylum law and process, beginning with its roots in the UN Refugee Convention and passage of the 1980 Refugee Act and continuing through current executive orders and Attorney General opinions affecting asylum and refugee admission. By the semester's end, students will understand the legal requirements for asylum and refugee status in the US, having applied them to various real-world scenarios. Students will also gain deeper insight into the impact of recent changes to refugee and asylum policy in the US. The course will employ case hypotheticals and simulations to highlight various topics in refugee protection, including unaccompanied minors, gender and LGBTI-based claims, and the tension between meeting international obligations to refugees while ensuring national security and addressing transnational crime. This course is essential for students interested in asylum representation, as well as for those interested in refugee rights, human rights, immigration law, and public international law. Students will complete a take-home midterm, consisting of a draft brief on asylum eligibility for a hypothetical case. Students will then build on this initial case work through a moot court hearing and, as a final paper, a full legal brief supporting or opposing asylum eligibility. As this is an applied learning course, class participation is essential, and it will count toward the final grade. Kyra S. Lilien is the Director of the Immigration Legal Services program at Jewish Family & Community Services - East Bay. Previously, Kyra served as Staff Attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where she analyzed immigration-related petitions for review. Kyra has also worked as an Asylum Officer at the USCIS Asylum Office in San Francisco where she adjudicated asylum applications and trained new asylum officers. Kyra practiced immigration law for several years before joining the Asylum Office, most recently at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, where she served as Immigration Program Director. |
| Law 288.42 The Future of Asylum: The Case of the U.S.-Mexico Border 1 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: Asylum is under pressure around the world, with many developed countries in particular seeking to evade their treaty obligations to refugees, and rising numbers of forcibly displaced persons. As we mark the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, what is the future of asylum? This class will explore the past, present and future of the international refugee regime using the U.S.- Mexico border as a case study. We will examine the international and domestic law rationale for having an asylum system in the first place: who benefits, who is left out, and why? We’ll assess measures taken by the U.S. government since 2017 to deny access to territory and to procedures; to deter through criminal prosecution, family separation and detention; and to defy Congressional intent and international law by redefining terms, overruling precedent, and politicizing asylum adjudication. We’ll then look at efforts to counter these steps - by representation of individual asylum seekers, by challenging policies in court, by engaging in the administrative rulemaking process, by working with Congress on oversight and marker bills, by forming new coalitions inside and outside the U.S., and by public education and messaging. If there is a new direction in January, we will discuss legal avenues and pitfalls for unwinding the thicket of changes made by the executive branch, potential legislative priorities, and operational issues that will challenge any administration in reviving a system that has been essentially destroyed, much less making it better than it was before. If the government stays on the same course, we will explore what other levers could be used to protect refugees. There are no prerequisites for this course, and it is open to 1Ls. It is an excellent introduction to the law, policy, and politics of a critical humanitarian and national security issue. The instructor is director of policy and advocacy at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at UC Hastings. She has worked for UNHCR and for the Department of Homeland Security, has served as an expert on asylum for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and was part of the ABA Commission on Immigration’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards Advisory Task Force. She is active in the leadership of the American Society of International Law and now serves on the Executive Committee of its International Refugee Law Interest Group. Her most recent article, with Sayoni Maitra, is Matter of A-B- One Year Later: Winning Back Gender-Based Asylum Through Litigation and Legislation, 18(1) SANTA CLARA JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 48 (2020). She has been a lecturer at Berkeley Law since 2002. |
| Law 288.43 Climate Refugees? Responding to Climate Displacement 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: As climate change becomes more apparent each day, there is growing awareness that many people must flee their homes and in some cases their countries as a result. This results in a legal gap, as people displaced across borders in the context of climate change or natural disasters are not generally considered to be refugees under international law. At the same time, people who do fit squarely within that definition are increasingly unwelcome, with many developed countries in particular seeking to evade their treaty obligations to refugees. How can we reconcile a retreat from protection with a growing need for international solutions? This class will explore efforts to date to address cross-border climate-related displacement drawing on international and U.S. law. We will examine the rationale for having an asylum system in the first place, as well as its critiques: who benefits, who is left out, and why? We will explore international and Inter-American refugee and human rights law efforts to encompass climate displacement. We will then look at how human mobility is addressed in the context of climate change law. After this grounding in the international law framework, we’ll turn to the United States and assess litigation, legislation, and administrative measures that could position the United States to step up to this challenge. This class is an excellent introduction to the law, policy, and politics of a critical humanitarian, racial justice, and national security issue. Kate Jastram is the Director of Policy & Advocacy at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She has worked for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and for the Department of Homeland Security, has served as an expert on asylum for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and was part of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards Advisory Task Force. She is active in the leadership of the American Society of International Law and now serves on the Executive Committee of its International Refugee Law Interest Group. She won the Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2005, with the interdisciplinary team that wrote the USCIRF expedited removal study. Her scholarly work has been published in the International Journal of the Red Cross, the Journal of International Criminal Justice, and the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, with book chapters in Critical Issues in International Refugee Law, Migration and International Legal Norms, and Refugee Protection in International Law. Her most recent article is Climate Change and Cross-Border Displacement: What the Courts, the Administration, and Congress Can Do to Improve Options for the United States (forthcoming, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law). She is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Refugee Law. |
| Law 288.44 U.S. Asylum Law in Practice 3 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: This applied learning course will introduce students to the legal frameworks for noncitizens in the U.S. seeking protection against refoulement (forced repatriation). Students will learn the elements of eligibility for asylum in the U.S. and experience the asylum process from beginning to resolution, through simulations, role plays, and analysis of real-world scenarios. Using adaptations of actual asylum cases, students will practice essential advocacy skills, including interviewing clients, eliciting testimony, developing legal theories, composing and delivering oral arguments, recognizing ethical pitfalls, and navigating evidentiary norms, in the unique context of the U.S. immigration system. The course will also highlight various related topics, including alternative forms of protection, unaccompanied minors, gender- and LGBTQ-based claims, and immigrant detention. By the semester's end, students will understand the legal landscape facing asylum seekers in the U.S., recognize the eccentricities of asylum adjudications in our legal system, and feel more confident about their ability to manage uncertainty in these complex and peculiar processes. Class participation will be an integral part of this simulation course, in conjunction with a final paper, a legal brief based on the record of one of the cases we study over the course of the semester. |
| Law 289 East Bay Community Law Center Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Hybrid Spring 2022: Hybrid Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm is required, as is acceptance into EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. *Please note that approximately half of all seminar sessions during the semester will be held at EBCLC's offices, which are offsite in downtown Berkeley.* Fall 2020 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application (http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application ( http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website ( http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Spring 2022 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Education Advocacy Clinic, (4) Health and Welfare Clinic, (5) Housing Law Clinic, (6) Immigration Law Clinic, or (7) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Fall 2022 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (a href=http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htmhttp://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm/a). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (a href=http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Spring 2023 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Fall 2023 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Spring 2024 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and complexity of representing real clients. Fall 2024 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (https://ebclc.org/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and challenges of representing real clients. Spring 2025 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. To be admitted to EBCLC Clinic you must fill out an application and be admitted by EBCLC (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5Y). In addition to the seminar, clinic students work a minimum of 16 hours per week (4 units) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and complexity of representing real clients. Fall 2025 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of EBCLC’s eight clinics. Please see EBCLC's website for the full list of clinics and descriptions: https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/. The seminar and clinic provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about the professional responsibilities and complexity of representing real clients. |
| Law 289A Judicial Externship Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. The Seminar is co-taught by two Judicial Officers. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 17 , 2020, and then will meet as a class three other Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students must attend the January 17 Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 17, 2020 for a full day and then three other Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. Fall 2020 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. The Seminar is co-taught by two Judicial Officers. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, August 21, 2020, and then will meet as a class four other Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students must attend the August 21 Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, August 21, 2020 for a full day and then four other Tuesday evenings throughout the semester (August 25th, September 22nd, October 20th and November 10th). Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 22, 2021, and then will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students must attend the January 22nd Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 22, 2021 for a full day and four additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, August 20, 2021, and then will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the August 20th Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, August 20, 2021 for a full day and four additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Spring 2022 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 14, 2022, and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the January 14th Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 14, 2022 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Fall 2022 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, August 26, and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the August 26th Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships and therefore cannot have any conflicts that day. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: a href=sschechter.youcanbook.me sschechter.youcanbook.me/a. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, August 26, 2022 for a full day and four additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Spring 2023 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This course does NOT meet the professional responsibility requirement. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 13, and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the January 13th Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 13, 2022 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This course does NOT meet the professional responsibility requirement. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 13, and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the January 13th Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 13, 2022 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This course does NOT meet the professional responsibility requirement. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 12, 2024 and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the entire January 12th Orientation in order to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn the academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 12, 2022 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This course does NOT meet the Professional Responsibility requirement. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, August 23, 2024 and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the entire August 23rd Orientation to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, August 23, 2024 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This course does NOT meet the Professional Responsibility requirement. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, January 17, 2025, and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the entire January 17th Orientation to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, January 17, 2025 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester, and attendance is required at all of these. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: The Judicial Externship Seminar is the required 1-unit companion course for Judicial Externships. Students identify judicial externships with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, or other judicially-related work and complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/, to be eligible for academic credit for their work. This course does NOT meet the Professional Responsibility requirement. This Seminar is front-loaded - it will meet for a full day on Friday, August 22, 2025, and then will meet on three Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are required to attend the entire August 22nd Orientation to receive credit for the Seminar and their Externships. Students complete memos, timesheets, and forms/reports to earn academic credit. Contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director with any questions or for assistance in identifying judicial externships. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. PLEASE NOTE: Course will meet Friday, August 22, 2025 for a full day and three additional Tuesday evenings during the semester, and attendance is required at all of these. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 290A Policy Advocacy Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In the Policy Advocacy Clinic, interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial, economic and social injustice. The clinic’s approach is bottom-up (grounded in the lives of real people), problem-based (addressing pressing social issues) and client-driven (accountable to advocacy organizations). Students support local and state change campaigns while exploring the capacities and limits of lawyers to influence law and public policy. Current projects include state and national efforts to end the regressive and racially discriminatory impact of fines, fees and bail on people in the juvenile and criminal legal systems. A multi-year project to abolish juvenile fees in other states may require clinic-funded travel outside of California. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. They interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (impacted people, community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics) and participate in reform campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including: draft legislation, rules and policies; internal work product for clients; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies and state legislatures. Returning students may serve as senior advisors on each team. There are no prerequisites, though prior experience working with low income clients and communities may be taken into consideration. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and clinic (4-9 units) is by permission of the instructors. Fall 2020 Description: This is the seminar component of the Policy Advocacy Clinic, where interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial, economic, and social injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues) and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Students support local and state change campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. Current projects include efforts to abolish regressive and racially discriminatory monetary sanctions (fines, fees and restitution) imposed on people in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on the interests of youth and families. A multi-year campaign to abolish juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. They interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in reform campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including: draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 8-12 JD students and 8-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior advisors on each team. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial, economic, and social justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors strive to build and foster an equitable and inclusive clinic environment. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credit) and clinic is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: This is the seminar for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), where interdisciplinary teams of JD and MPP students pursue non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial and economic injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current projects are focused on abolishing racialized wealth extraction in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on ending harm to youth in the juvenile system. Students support state and local abolition campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. A multi-year campaign to end juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California (if travel is permitted). In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. You will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local abolition campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD students and 10-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credits) and clinic (4-10 credits) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2022 Description: This is the seminar for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), where interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue creative, non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial and economic injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current projects are focused on abolishing racialized wealth extraction in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on ending harm to youth in the juvenile system. Students support state and local abolition campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. A multi-year campaign to end juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California (if travel is permitted). In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. You will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local abolition campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD students and 10-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credits) and clinic (4-9 credits) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2023 Description: In the Policy Advocacy Clinic, interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue creative, non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial and economic injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current projects are focused on abolishing racialized wealth extraction in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on ending harm to youth in the juvenile system. Students support state and local abolition campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. A multi-year campaign to end juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California (if travel is permitted). In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. You will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local abolition campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD students and 10-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credits) and clinic (4-9 credits) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2024 Description: This is the seminar for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), an experiential learning course where teams of law and public policy students support community-led advocacy campaigns for racial and economic justice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current clinic projects support campaigns to: (1) end criminal and juvenile system fees, (2) reimagine restitution, (3) reduce mass incarceration, and (4) hold police accountable for misconduct. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills: you will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local change campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments: you will draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students may also have the opportunity to hone their oral advocacy skills: you will prepare, moot, and deliver testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. Some projects may require clinic-funded travel within and outside of California. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD (law) students and 10-12 MPP (public policy) students to work together on interdisciplinary project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors and clinical program are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning and practice environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic, field placement, or internship. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and clinic (4-9 units, 16-36 hours/week) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2025 Description: This is the seminar for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), an experiential learning course where teams of law and public policy students support community-led advocacy campaigns for racial and economic justice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current clinic projects support campaigns to: (1) end criminal and juvenile system fees, (2) reimagine restitution, (3) reduce mass incarceration, and (4) hold police accountable for misconduct. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills: you will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local change campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments: you will draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students may also have the opportunity to hone their oral advocacy skills: you will prepare, moot, and deliver testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. Some projects may require clinic-funded travel within and outside of California. The enrollment target is 12-15 JD (law) students and 12-15 MPP (public policy) students to work together on interdisciplinary project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors and clinical program are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning and practice environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic, field placement, or internship. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and clinic (4-9 units, 16-36 hours/week) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. |
| Law 290B Advanced Policy Advocacy Clinic Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Fall 2020 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: This 1-credit seminar is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Spring 2022 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Fall 2022 Description: This 1-credit seminar is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. |
| Law 290C Policy Advocacy Clinic Seminar for 1Ls 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: In the Policy Advocacy Clinic (PAC), law and public policy students support change campaigns to contest and shrink the carceral state. PAC's approach is ground-up (informed by directly impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client- driven (accountable to community organizations and coalitions). PAC students have supported successful campaigns in California to abolish all fees in the juvenile legal system and to repeal dozens of fees in the criminal (adult) legal system, relieving youth and families of more than $18 billion to date. This clinical experience for first-year students (1Ls and first-year MPPs) has two required components -- this course, which is the 1-unit required seminar, and 2-units of required fieldwork, Policy Advocacy Clinic for 1Ls. Students will represent an organization that has retained PAC to help identify, research, and analyze new bills in the California Legislature that would expand or deepen the carceral state. This “bad bills” project will introduce students to the lawmaking process in Sacramento from the introduction of bills in January through their substantive hearings in policy committees in March and April. Students will learn law and policy skills, including conducting legal and social science research and analysis and consulting stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics). By participating actively in client and working group meetings, students will also learn advocacy skills, including facilitation, interviewing, messaging, and strategic decision-making. On behalf of PAC’s client, students will draft internal work product such as bill analyses, talking points, and fiscal memos, and public-facing work product such as fact sheets, public comments, and opposition letters. Depending on the bill and client need, students may have the opportunity to draft and file Public Records Act requests (California’s equivalent to FOIA) and to prepare and deliver testimony or public comment at a hearing in Sacramento. The enrollment target is 3-5 JD students and 3-5 MPP students to work together on teams. There are no prerequisites, but an application is required (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Applications open at 3pm on 10/29 and are due at noon on November 4. Prior experience working on criminal justice reform or racial and economic justice more generally may be taken into consideration. The instructor is committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning and practice environment. Enrollment in the co-requisite seminar (1 unit) and clinic (2 units) are by permission of the instructor. |
| Law 291A Environmental Law Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and oral advocacy), and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar will feature topical readings and occasional guest speakers and site visits. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. Fall 2020 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite for the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in Clinic projects and environmental advocacy more generally (such as legal ethics, persuasive writing, and administrative advocacy), environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, and an opportunity for discussion of and reflection on Clinic projects. The seminar also seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. The seminar will feature topical readings, occasional guest speakers, and a site visit. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and oral advocacy), and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar will feature a number of guest speakers and topical readings. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and oral advocacy), in-depth exposure to ethical issues that arise in environmental law practice, and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar will feature a number of guest speakers and topical readings. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. The seminar also addresses issues, tensions, and coalition-building within the environmental advocacy movement as we find it. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. Spring 2022 Description: This seminar (Law 291A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and oral advocacy), and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar will feature additional speakers and topical readings. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. Fall 2022 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and case investigation), and an opportunity for discussion of and reflection on Clinic projects. The seminar will feature topical readings and other activities designed to enhance students' project experience and broaden their understanding of the varied advocacy tools available for addressing environmental concerns. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. This course satisfies the Skills Requirement. Spring 2023 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as interviewing, brief writing, and case investigation), and an opportunity for discussion of and reflection on Clinic projects. The seminar will feature topical readings and other activities designed to enhance students' project experience and broaden their understanding of the varied advocacy tools available for addressing environmental concerns. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. We also explore and provide some training in media advocacy as a means of achieving systemic reform. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. This course satisfies the Skills Requirement. Fall 2023 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as interviewing, other fact-gathering, and collaborative document drafting), and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. This course satisfies the Skills Requirement. Spring 2024 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and oral advocacy), and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar will feature a number of guest speakers and topical readings. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. This course satisfies the Skills Requirement. Fall 2025 Description: This seminar (Law 291.A) is a co-requisite to the Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E). The seminar will complement work in the Clinic by providing environmental subject-matter background relevant to specific Clinic projects, training in practical lawyering skills necessary for success in these projects (such as brief writing and effective use of public records requests), and an opportunity for reflection on and discussion of Clinic projects. The seminar will feature guest speakers and topical readings. The seminar seeks to train students in tactical analysis of environmental problems and solutions, so that they can begin to identify which among litigation, legislative, and/or policy strategies will be most effective in producing a desired environmental outcome. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and the Clinic (4 units) is by permission of the instructor; see description of Law 295.5E (Environmental Law Clinic) for link to application. Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. This course satisfies the Skills Requirement. |
| Law 292A New Business Community Law Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The New Business Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know re: law and management in order to survive and thrive? * How can consultants assist entrepreneurs effectively, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can lawyers and other professionals (e.g., MBAs) work effectively together to assist new businesses, given the often interconnected nature of legal and business problems? Like the other UCB Law clinics, students wanting to enroll need to submit an application, which includes a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, field trips, and simulations. Students can start working with entrepreneur clients by the second week and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Note: This course meets Mondays and Wednesdays 3:35PM-5:25PM January 13th-January 29th. Then Mondays 3:35PM-5:25PM and Wednesdays 3:35PM-4:50PM February 3rd-April 28th. Fall 2020 Description: The New Business Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know re: law and management in order to survive and thrive? * How can consultants assist entrepreneurs effectively, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can lawyers and other professionals (e.g., MBAs) work effectively together to assist new businesses, given the often interconnected nature of legal and business problems? Like the other UCB Law clinics, students wanting to enroll need to submit an application, which includes a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, field trips, and simulations. Students can start working with entrepreneur clients by the second week and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: The New Business Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know re: law and management in order to survive and thrive? * How can consultants assist entrepreneurs effectively, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can lawyers and other professionals (e.g., MBAs) work effectively together to assist new businesses, given the often interconnected nature of legal and business problems? Like the other UCB Law clinics, students wanting to enroll need to submit an application, which includes a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. Students can start working with entrepreneur clients by the second week and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The New Business Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know re: law and management in order to survive and thrive? * How can consultants assist entrepreneurs effectively, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can lawyers and other professionals (e.g., MBAs) work effectively together to assist new businesses, given the often interconnected nature of legal and business problems? Students wanting to enroll must submit an application, including a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. Students can start working with entrepreneur clients by the second week and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Spring 2022 Description: The New Business Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know re: law and management in order to survive and thrive? * How can consultants assist entrepreneurs effectively, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can lawyers and other professionals (e.g., MBAs) work effectively together to assist new businesses, given the often interconnected nature of legal and business problems? Students wanting to enroll must submit an application, including a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. Students can start working with entrepreneur clients by the second week and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in person, all client meetings and community trainings will be conducted via Zoom. Fall 2022 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Labor Day holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (8/24, 8/31, and 9/7) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Please note this arrangement obviates the need to hold an additional make-up class for the missed Labor Day class later in the term. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. Course Start: August 22, 2022 Course End: November 30, 2022 (Make-up Class for Wednesday of Thanksgiving Week) The New Business Community Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know about the law in order to survive and thrive? * How can lawyers effectively assist entrepreneurs, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can entrepreneurs access legal help that is essential to business success, but so difficult to afford in the first 1-2 years? * How can lawyers help alleviate historical barriers such as redlining and exclusion from economic development programs that have hindered immigrants and other entrepreneurs of color? Clinic students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs from California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. A variety of transactional legal areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas will include, but not be limited to: risk management, contracts, intellectual property, taxation, permits and licenses. Areas of business management will also be examined, including business modeling and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. After receiving intensive training in the first three weeks, students begin working with entrepreneur clients in week 4 and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in teams of 3 to assist 2 clients over the last 10 weeks of the term with a variety of legal needs. Students are also expected to participate individually in six 1-hour appointments with entrepreneur clients who sign up for free office hours through NBCLC’s website. Students research and provide legal advice under Instructor supervision. Students wanting to enroll must submit an application, including a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester Spring 2023 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Martin Luther King holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (1/11, 1/18, and 1/25) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Please note this arrangement obviates the need to hold an additional make-up class later in the term. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. Course Start: January 9th, 2023 Course End: April 25, 2023 The New Business Community Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know about the law in order to survive and thrive? * How can lawyers effectively assist entrepreneurs, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can entrepreneurs access legal help that is essential to business success, but so difficult to afford in the first 1-2 years? * How can lawyers help alleviate historical barriers such as redlining and exclusion from economic development programs that have hindered immigrants and other entrepreneurs of color? Clinic students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs from California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. A variety of transactional legal areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas will include, but not be limited to: risk management, contracts, intellectual property, taxation, permits and licenses. Areas of business management will also be examined, including business modeling and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. After receiving intensive training in the first three weeks, students begin working with entrepreneur clients in week 4 and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in teams of 2 or 3 to assist two clients over the last 10 weeks of the term with a variety of legal needs. Students are also expected to participate individually in six 1-hour appointments with entrepreneur clients who sign up for free office hours through NBCLC’s website. Students research and provide legal advice under Instructor supervision. Students wanting to enroll must submit an application, including a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester Fall 2023 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Labor Day holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (8/23, 8/30, and 9/6) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Please note this arrangement obviates the need to hold an additional make-up class later in the term. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. Course Start: August 21, 2023 Course End: November 29, 2023 The New Business Community Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know about the law in order to survive and thrive? * How can lawyers effectively assist entrepreneurs, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can entrepreneurs access legal help that is essential to business success, but so difficult to afford in the first 1-2 years? * How can lawyers help alleviate historical barriers such as redlining and exclusion from economic development programs that have hindered immigrants and other entrepreneurs of color? Clinic students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs from California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. A variety of transactional legal areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas will include, but not be limited to: risk management, contracts, intellectual property, taxation, permits and licenses. Areas of business management will also be examined, including business modeling and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. After receiving intensive training in the first three weeks, students begin working with entrepreneur clients in week 4 and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in teams of 2 or 3 to assist two clients over the last 10 weeks of the term with a variety of legal needs. Students are also expected to participate individually in six 1-hour appointments with entrepreneur clients who sign up for free office hours through NBCLC’s website. Students research and provide legal advice under Instructor supervision. Students wanting to enroll must submit an application, including a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester Spring 2024 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients starting in week four. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Martin Luther King Day holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (1/10, 1/17, and 1/24) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Please note this arrangement obviates the need to hold an additional make-up class later in the term. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. Course Start: January 8, 2024 Course End: April 23, 2024 The New Business Community Law Clinic is a clinical program in which students assist people starting businesses who can't afford an attorney. The course will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know about the law in order to survive and thrive? * How can lawyers effectively assist entrepreneurs, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can entrepreneurs access legal help that is essential to business success, but so difficult to afford in the first 1-2 years? * How can lawyers help alleviate historical barriers such as redlining and exclusion from economic development programs that have hindered immigrants and other entrepreneurs of color? Clinic students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs from California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. A variety of transactional legal areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas will include, but not be limited to: risk management, contracts, intellectual property, taxation, permits and licenses. Areas of business management will also be examined, including business modeling and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. After receiving intensive training in the first three weeks, students begin working with entrepreneur clients in week four and continue through the remainder of the semester. Students work in teams of 2 or 3 to assist two clients over the last 10 weeks of the term with a variety of legal needs. Students are also expected to participate individually in six 1-hour appointments with entrepreneur clients who sign up for free office hours through NBCLC’s website. Students research and provide legal advice under Instructor supervision. The course satisfies the race and law curricular requirement with a regular focus on the experiences of entrepreneurs of color, which represent 80% of NBCLC clients. Gaps in access to capital are prevalent, with minority business loan applicants still denied credit at twice the rate of white applicants who have the same credit scores and collateral. Students come to understand that the credit access gap is even more pronounced with investment capital, where annually less than 2% of venture capital goes to businesses owned by women or entrepreneurs of color. Strategies for helping close the racial wealth and opportunity gap are included throughout the term. Instead of relying on lecture, the uneven playing field is primarily described and experienced in actual client interactions in office hours, and in the course reading materials and visits from class speakers, including minority entrepreneurs and the attorneys that assist them. Students wanting to enroll must submit an application, including a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all Clinic students must sign up for the two credit Seminar as the classroom component, and then also four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester |
| Law 292B New Business Legal Bootcamp 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: New Business Law Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a six week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first five weeks of the term, with the clinic students continuing on after week six to represent their start up clients for the remainder of the semester. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to become a New Business Law Clinic student (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by having students attend and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the mini-course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in two hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All student participation in incubator office hours will be supervised by Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic (Law 295.5M) in a subsequent semester if they concurrently enroll in a one-unit version of the New Business Law Clinic Seminar called the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. Note: This course meets Mondays and Wednesdays 3:35PM-5:25PM January 13th-January 29th. Then Mondays 3:35PM-5:25PM and Wednesdays 3:35PM-4:50PM February 3rd-February 12th. Fall 2020 Description: New Business Law Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a six week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first five weeks of the term, with the clinic students continuing on after week six to represent their start up clients for the remainder of the semester. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to become a New Business Law Clinic student (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by having students attend and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the mini-course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in two hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All student participation in incubator office hours will be supervised by Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic (Law 295.5M) in a subsequent semester if they concurrently enroll in a one-unit version of the New Business Law Clinic Seminar called the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: New Business Law Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a six week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first five weeks of the term, with the clinic students continuing on after week six to represent their start up clients for the remainder of the semester. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to become a New Business Law Clinic student (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by having students attend and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the mini-course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in two hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All student participation in incubator office hours will be supervised by Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic (Law 295.5M) in a subsequent semester if they concurrently enroll in a one-unit version of the New Business Law Clinic Seminar called the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: New Business Law Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a six week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first five weeks of the term, with the clinic students continuing on after week six to represent their start up clients for the remainder of the semester. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to become a New Business Law Clinic student (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by having students attend and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in two hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All student participation in incubator office hours will be supervised by a Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic (Law 295.5M) in a subsequent semester if they concurrently enroll in a one-unit version of the New Business Law Clinic Seminar called the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. Spring 2022 Description: New Business Law Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a six week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first five weeks of the term, with the clinic students continuing on after week six to represent their start-up clients for the remainder of the semester. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to become a New Business Law Clinic student (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by providing (optional) opportunities to observe and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in two hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All office hours will be conducted via Zoom. All student participation in incubator office hours will be supervised by a Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic (Law 295.5M) in a subsequent semester if they concurrently enroll in a one-unit version of the New Business Law Clinic Seminar called the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. Fall 2022 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Labor Day holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (8/24, 8/31, and 9/7) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. The final class is Wednesday, September 21. Course Start: August 22, 2022 Course End: September 21, 2022 New Business Legal Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Community Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a five week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first three weeks of the term, with the Bootcamp students continuing on in weeks four and five to train in drafting transactional documents. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, via Law 292C: the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by providing optional opportunities to observe and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in four hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All office hours will be conducted via Zoom. All student participation in office hours will be supervised by a Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic in a subsequent semester if they submit an application during the Clinic application period. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. If accepted, they will concurrently enroll in the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. 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. Spring 2023 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Martin Luther King holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (1/11, 1/18, and 1/25) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. The final class is Wednesday, February 8. Course Start: January 9, 2023 Course End: February 8, 2023 New Business Legal Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Community Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a five week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first three weeks of the term, with the Bootcamp students continuing on in weeks four and five to train in drafting transactional documents. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, via Law 292C: the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by providing optional opportunities to observe and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in four hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All office hours will be conducted via Zoom. All student participation in office hours will be supervised by a Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic in a subsequent semester if they submit an application during the Clinic application period. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. If accepted, they will concurrently enroll in the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. 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. Fall 2023 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients in Office Hours starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Labor Day holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (8/23, 8/30, and 9/6) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. The final class is Wednesday, September 20. Course Start: August 21, 2023 Course End: September 20, 2023 New Business Legal Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Community Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a five week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first three weeks of the term, with the Bootcamp students continuing on in weeks four and five to train in drafting transactional documents. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, via Law 292C: the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by providing optional opportunities to observe and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in four hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All office hours will be conducted via Zoom. All student participation in office hours will be supervised by a Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic in a subsequent semester if they submit an application during the Clinic application period. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. If accepted, they will concurrently enroll in the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. 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. Spring 2024 Description: In the first three weeks of class, students receive intensive training to ready them to counsel small business clients in Office Hours starting in week 4. To provide adequate time for this and to make up for time lost to the Martin Luther King Day holiday, the first three Wednesday classes (1/10, 1/17, and 1/24) will end at 5:25 pm instead of 4:50 pm. Afterward, all Wednesday classes will end at the usual 4:50 pm time. Also note that Monday classes are from 3:35-5:25 for the entire semester. The final class is Wednesday, February 7. Course Start: January 8, 2023 Course End: February 7, 2023 New Business Legal Bootcamp is a stand-alone offering of the intensive training in transactional law provided to New Business Community Law Clinic students. The Bootcamp is a five week mini-course that provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal and business landscape which entrepreneurs must navigate to succeed. The Bootcamp and the New Business Law Clinic Seminar courses run concurrently for the first three weeks of the term, with the Bootcamp students continuing on in weeks four and five to train in drafting transactional documents. Students who complete the Bootcamp can, in a future term, apply to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, via Law 292C: the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp (see below). Teaching methods for the Bootcamp include classroom lectures and simulations. The course covers a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. The course will also cover the drafting of transactional documents commonly used by start-ups - formation documents, contracts, and capital raising documents such as term sheets, restricted stock agreements and convertible notes. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by providing optional opportunities to observe and critique simulations of first client meetings conducted by clinic students. In the middle of the course, students will have the chance to meet real entrepreneurs in an informal reception setting to hear about their business vision and challenges of start-up. Students will also be expected to participate in four hours of walk-in office hours to interview and counsel new entrepreneurs about their legal needs. All office hours will be conducted via Zoom. All student participation in office hours will be supervised by a Clinic Supervising Attorney or Teaching Fellow. The course satisfies the race and law curricular requirement with a regular focus on the experiences of entrepreneurs of color, which represent 80% of NBCLC clients. Gaps in access to capital are prevalent, with minority business loan applicants still denied credit at twice the rate of white applicants who have the same credit scores and collateral. Students come to understand that the credit access gap is even more pronounced with investment capital, where annually less than 2% of venture capital goes to businesses owned by women or entrepreneurs of color. Strategies for helping close the racial wealth and opportunity gap are included throughout the term. Instead of relying on lecture, the uneven playing field is primarily described and experienced in actual client interactions in office hours, and in the course reading materials and visits from class speakers, including minority entrepreneurs and the attorneys that assist them. Students enrolled in New Business Law Bootcamp will not be eligible to enroll concurrently in the New Business Law Clinic and/or Seminar. However, students who have completed the Bootcamp may participate in the New Business Law Clinic in a subsequent semester if they submit an application during the Clinic application period. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. If accepted, they will concurrently enroll in the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C) and also elect 4 credits of Clinical hours (Law 295.5M). The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Note: Given the nature of this course, short of extraordinary circumstances, students will not be approved to drop after the Cal Central add/drop period ends. 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. |
| Law 292BS Introduction to the Law of US Entrepreneurship 1 Units |
| Summer 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Summer 2024 Description: This course provides an efficient but thorough overview of the legal landscape that entrepreneurs must navigate to start and succeed a U.S. business. Teaching methods for this course include classroom lectures and simulations. We will cover a wide range of legal and business knowledge, reflecting the many areas that entrepreneurs need help with: entity formation, business modeling, capitalization, employment, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and others. In addition, the course introduces important "bedside manner" skills in interviewing and counseling for transactional attorneys, by involving students in simulated interviews and counseling sessions. The course will also acquaint students with the particular challenges of entrepreneurs of color and immigrants, who regularly face inequities in accessing debt and equity capital. Due to the condensed nature of this course, in-person attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. Absences cannot be excused for any reason, including illness or emergencies. The Registrar’s Office will drop any student who misses a session. |
| Law 292C Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: N/A Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Law clinical program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, field trips, and simulations. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Fall 2020 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Law clinical program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 6 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2021 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Law clinical program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 6 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Law clinical program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Business Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 6 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester. Spring 2022 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Law clinical program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community workshops will be conducted via Zoom. Business Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 6 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester. Fall 2022 Description: The Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar consists of the New Business Law Clinic seminar classes not included in the Bootcamp. Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp students begin the Seminar in week seven (on October 3). However, students will begin meeting with their supervising attorneys and assisting entrepreneur clients in the first week. Course Start: October 3, 2022 Course End: November 30, 2022 (Make-up Class for Wednesday of Thanksgiving Week) The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Legal Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The course will continue the learning gained from the New Business Legal Bootcamp, helping prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients. In the larger sense, the course will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business, while highlighting practice issues and ethical matters for transactional lawyers. Critical questions include: * What do entrepreneurs need to know about the law in order to survive and thrive? * How can lawyers effectively assist entrepreneurs, both in dealing with acute legal problems and in planning preventively for the future? * How can entrepreneurs access legal help that is essential to business success, but so difficult to afford in the first 1-2 years? * How can lawyers help alleviate historical barriers such as redlining and exclusion from economic development programs that have hindered immigrants and other entrepreneurs of color? Advanced New Business Legal Bootcamp students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs from California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels, and simulations. A variety of transactional legal areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas will include, but not be limited to: risk management, contracts, intellectual property, taxation, permits and licenses. Areas of business management will also be examined, including business modeling and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students work in teams of 3 to assist 2 full-service clients during the term with a variety of legal needs. Students are also expected to participate individually in six 1-hour appointments with entrepreneur clients who sign up for free office hours through NBCLC’s website. Students research and provide legal advice under Instructor supervision. Spring 2023 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Law clinical program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community workshops will be conducted via Zoom. Business Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 5 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester. Fall 2023 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Community Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Community Law Clinic program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community workshops will be conducted via Zoom. New Business Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 5 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin client work starting in the first week of the semester, but they begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester, starting in week 7. Spring 2024 Description: The one-unit Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is for students who have completed the New Business Law Bootcamp (292B). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar allows these students to participate in the New Business Community Law Clinic, so long as they also elect four credits of the companion New Business Community Law Clinic clinical component. (Law 295.5M). Enrolling in the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar is by application. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. The New Business Community Law Clinic program provides experiential learning to students while assisting start-up businesses. The seminar will prepare students for transactional lawyering and consulting with entrepreneur clients of limited means, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in-depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Teaching methods include classroom lectures, panels and simulations. Students work in teams and under Instructor supervision to research and formulate options that will address their entrepreneur clients' needs. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Students will have the opportunity to provide supervised legal help to entrepreneurs in California's Bay Area and Central Valley, in a variety of contexts: 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, and legal trainings. Students may also research and develop content for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal resource library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community workshops will be conducted via Zoom. New Business Legal Bootcamp students participate in the first 5 weeks of classes for the NBCLC Clinic Seminar (Law 292A). Consequently, Advanced Legal Bootcamp students begin client work starting in the first week of the semester, but they begin attending the Clinic Seminar class later in the semester, starting in week 7. |
| Law 294.02 Current Topics in National Security Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course examines the most pressing national security law issues of the day, introduces key domestic and international legal frameworks necessary to engage in law and policy debates, and provides practical perspectives on these topics. The course will analyze the roles of each of the branches of the U.S. federal government in matters of national security, including debates on the separation of powers, examine the intersection of international and domestic law in this sphere, and provide insight into the practice of national security law in the Executive Branch. Two or more class sessions will be reserved to cover new developments and specific topics may be adjusted based on current events. Past topics covered in the course have included: Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including the international response and debates over criminal accountability; China-Taiwan tensions and the U.S. defense posture; the War Powers Resolution of 1973, its implementation in practice, and pending proposals for reform; the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and the ongoing “forever wars” after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; the laws of armed conflict (IHL) and detention operations and military commissions at Guantanamo; the powers and limits of Congress and the Judiciary to conduct national security oversight of the President; the use of domestic and multilateral sanctions as a national security tool; nuclear non-proliferation challenges, with a focus on Iran; current debates on surveillance and intelligence collection (including FISA reauthorization) and covert action; key debates in cyber law; withdrawal from international organizations and agreements; among others. Dr. Tess Bridgeman is a Senior Fellow & Visiting Scholar at NYU Law School’s Reiss Center on Law and Security and Co-Editor in Chief of Just Security. Bridgeman served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama, Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC), where she provided counsel on a broad range of issues relating to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Bridgeman previously served in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where she was Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser and, prior to that role, an Attorney Adviser in the Office of Political-Military Affairs, focusing on the law of armed conflict. Bridgeman clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. A Rhodes Scholar, Harry S. Truman Scholar, and John Gardner Fellow, Bridgeman has a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from NYU Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, which she attended as a Root-Tilden-Kern and Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. |
| Law 294.03 Listening and Communicating:Stagecraft for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The objective of this course is to train and empower students to be active listeners (who don’t simply wait for their turn to speak), effective communicators (who embody their physical and vocal presence), and inclusive team players (who can collaborate across backgrounds and hierarchies) as they embark on a career in the law. The course will bridge the gap between academic preparation and its successful application in practice. It will combine workshops from the theatre - tailored specifically to address challenges that young lawyers face - with seminar-style discussions to help align the intellectual rigor of legal education with the communication skills necessary to succeed as a practicing attorney. The curriculum will span five aspects of communication: “Listen”; "Process"; "Include"; “(Story)Tell”; and "Collaborate." Every few lessons, we will invite prominent Bay Area lawyers to participate in our class and share personal learnings from their careers. The assignments for this course will include journal entries, readings, and presentations, including developing a theme and telling the story of two assigned cases (typically one criminal and one IP). Mohit Gourisaria has taught legal writing and oral advocacy to law students at Berkeley and Columbia. He clerked on the Second Circuit and practiced as a corporate litigator and federal prosecutor. Mohit studied Theatre Arts in college and performed professionally in Boston before attending law school at Columbia and the London School of Economics. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.04 Mindful Conflict Resolution 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: A judge's decision, a jury's verdict, a negotiated settlement - case resolved? Not so fast. Traditional legal approaches to dispute resolution often fail to provide durable and satisfying outcomes because they ignore the deeper psychological and interpersonal issues that underlie all conflict. Addressing these compelling forces requires emotional intelligence and a more integrative and mindful approach. Drawing from the realms of psychology, non-violent communication, mindfulness, and negotiation theory, this hands-on course offers critical and fundamental skills in navigating conflictual terrain as a lawyer, a neutral, or simply as a human. The course readings, class exercises, and discussions will focus on defining, integrating, and refining both right and left-brain techniques for working with and through conflict. Students will have the opportunity to apply these strategies to conflictual domains in their own lives and can explore how to bring them into the legal arena to resolve disputes in a more comprehensive, meaningful, and sustainable way. Students will be asked to maintain a daily mindfulness practice of about 10 - 15 minutes for the duration of the course. Darshan Brach is a lawyer, mediator, psychotherapist, and mindfulness practitioner. In addition to her private mediation and psychotherapy practices, Darshan also teaches Mediation at UC Berkeley Law. |
| Law 294.06 Transactional Drafting 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The course is designed to facilitate the review and drafting of contracts for commercial transactions and to enhance students’ understanding of contract law. We will focus on style and usage, drafting techniques, and the principles of effective drafting. We will complete exercises designed to sharpen our ability to review and draft effective business documents. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled for the 8th week. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 294.07 Understanding and Drafting Business Documents 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This interactive course will prepare students for advising companies as in-house counsel. Students will review and analyze legal and business issues that arise in contracts, terms of service, communications, and other documents. This course will focus on writing effectively and with precision, translating business terms into legal documents, and presenting legal advice in a business context. In class, students will work individually and in small groups to draft and review business documents. There will be writing assignments throughout the course. BIO: Noga Firstenberg is an attorney with product counseling, transactional, and litigation experience. Noga is currently Lead Counsel at Airbnb. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley. |
| Law 294.08 M&A on the Ground: Hostiles, Proxy Fights and the M&A Ecosystem 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course is taught by a longtime M&A practitioner through the lens of active dealmaking. Steve Lipin runs Gladstone Place Partners, a strategic public relations/investor relations firm specializing in financial transactions, and earlier in his career covered M&A and was finance editor at The Wall Street Journal. This lively and entertaining class will give students a real-world perspective on hostile takeovers, offense and defense, activist proxy fights, the marketing of an M&A deal, the rise of SPACS as an M&A alternative to IPOS, and other topics. The class will attempt to look at examples through the prism of both offense and defense, and include the financial, legal, investor relations, and communications strategies each side deploys. This class will lean heavily on case studies of deals and contested transactions, some of which Steve worked on, and the class will include guest speakers who are part of the M&A ecosystem, which includes media, bankers, arbitrageurs, shareholder activists, PR/IR firms, and others. Becoming aware of this ecosystem now will make you a better deal lawyer later. Case studies include: InBev's hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch AB InBev’s bid $100 billion bid for SAB Miller PLC Elon Musk's bid for Twitter The Walt Disney's defense against Nelson Peltz (twice) The Rise and Fall of SPACs We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.09 Advanced Topics in Delaware Corporate LAw 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course examines current hot topics in Delaware corporate law, relying principally on judicial decisions and academic or practitioner commentary. It is not a high-level survey course; instead, the course will consider issues such as why Delaware occupies a dominant position in the field of corporate law and will explore particular aspects of that law, including judicial standards of review, common law fiduciary duties of managers and directors, change of control transactions, conflict transactions, poison pills, and defensive mechanisms—all in the context of particular decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery and Supreme Court. The class is intended to be a focused course on how corporate law is made in Delaware, as well as the policy reasons underlying that law. Grades will be based on class participation and a final exam. Having taken Business Associations is preferred, but not a prerequisite. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.1 Art Deals, Dealers, and Litigation 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course will examine the laws, principles, and policy issues relevant to art and cultural property. Topics will include the relationship among the various participants in the art market: collectors, dealers, auction houses, and others; the civil and criminal laws applicable to the recovery of stolen and looted art and cultural property; the unique considerations applicable to the war-time theft of art and cultural property; the legal issues present when art is obtained through fraud and the challenges presented by multiple ownership claims. Sharon Cohen Levin is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Litigation Group. She is a leading expert on anti-money laundering, sanctions, and asset forfeiture. She represents a diverse group of clients in connection with criminal, regulatory, and civil actions. Sharon also represents art market participants on matters related to ownership, theft, and fraud. Sharon is a former federal prosecutor who led the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, SDNY for two decades. Her track record of success inspired Forbes to call her “The Babe Ruth of Forfeiture.” Sharon was the lead prosecutor responsible for securing a settlement in the watershed “Portrait of Wally” forfeiture case, which centered on an Egon Schiele painting stolen by Nazis from a Jewish woman in 1938. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.11 The Court of Public Opinion: Storytelling for Corporate Lawyers 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: NOTE: This class will be highly interactive. Please only enroll if you are prepared to be an active participant. Good communication skills have always been a critical part of successful lawyering. This is especially true in companies, where in-house counsel must partner with their corporate communications colleagues to buttress legal arguments with compelling storytelling related to litigation, crises, mergers and acquisitions, business, and policy issues. And they must do so while addressing varied audiences, including the media, regulators, Wall Street, employees, and others. This class will explore the relationship between the legal profession and its more public counterparts in successfully telling stories that advance the interests of clients. |
| Law 294.12 Climate Change and Corporate Governance Reform 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: While climate change is often considered an ‘environmental problem’, the risks and opportunities embedded in a changing climate go well beyond the natural environment. This course focuses on the intersection between climate change and corporate law, specifically in the areas of compliance/litigation, finance, and governance. Compliance/Litigation. We will evaluate the current (and rapidly changing) regulatory framework for GHG emissions, including voluntary (SASB, GRI, ISSB) and required regulations in U.S. states like California (and pending in other states) and the EU - which will impact the vast majority of US companies whether or not the SEC eventually passes new disclosure regulation (which is not expected during the next four years). We will also review the steps that companies and investors must take to evaluate and possibly meet net zero and carbon neutral targets, including participation in industry alliances (and the anti-trust ramifications). We will also review how companies and investors evaluate climate risk using climate risk scenarios and investigate which of the tools introduced by the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure are most effective in achieving climate goals. We will examine green-washing and associated risks from employees, shareholders, customers, regulators, and NGOs. And we will further assess the rise of climate litigation and its use as an effective tool for change. Climate Finance. Current estimates are that $3.5T per year (up from $1.5T) must be invested in climate solutions and infrastructure to not significantly exceed the 1.5C goal set by the Paris Climate Accord (noting that 2024 saw the world reaching 1.5C for the first time). What are the legal tools available to investors and companies that will help in ensuring that capital dedicated to the goals actually reduces emissions? We will explore new forms for aggregating capital for climate as well as mechanisms that can be employed by asset managers to align financial with climate goals. We will examine the various types of securities - from green bonds to performance-linked bonds to pay-for-performance impact securities - that are being employed in this space. Finally, we will review the definitions of "net zero" and "carbon neutral" and the evolving legal framework around the voluntary credit market. Governance. Finally, we will do a deep dive into corporate governance as a driver of value but more importantly as a driver of climate solutions. We will discuss how boards are - and should be - considering climate change in exercising their oversight over management and operations of public and private companies. We will explore the tools available to management, including golden shares, side car public charities, perpetual trusts, partnership arrangements and licensing models, and impact-linked compensation. And we will consider the rise of the public benefit corporation - with dual fiduciary duties - and stakeholder activism - as agents for change. |
| Law 294.14 Structuring and Negotiating Complex Financial Transactions 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course explores key issues in structuring, negotiating, and documenting complex financial transactions within their broader commercial, economic, and regulatory contexts. The course introduces students pragmatically to basic legal and financial concepts and then applies them to a range of transactions. The course balances the theory, policy, and practice of financial transactions and explores how sophisticated contracts and legal structures can be used to manage risk, align investor goals, and create value. The format is mainly a conversational lecture, with in-class student participation expected, plus a practical take-home drafting exercise. The course is a useful introduction to foundational topics often encountered by lawyers involved in corporate and financial transactions, securities, banking, institutional investing, real estate, and financial regulation. The course is taught by Allan Marks. He has taught at UC Berkeley for over 15 years at both Berkeley Law and (previously) the Haas School of Business. He also teaches Energy & Infrastructure Finance at UCLA Law School and is a Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a joint center of the law and climate schools at Columbia University. As a lawyer at Milbank LLP for over 30 years, a partner in the firm’s Global Project, Energy & Infrastructure Finance group, and member a of the Private Equity, Renewable Energy, Latin America, and Global Risk & National Security practices, he handled complex transactions in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Europe with an aggregate value of over $100 billion. His practice encompassed project finance and development, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets, and private placements, international and cross-border business transactions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, banking and regulatory matters. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.15 Real Estate Transactions and Litigation 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This is a nuts-and-bolts course designed to provide students with an overview and understanding of common commercial real estate transactions in California, including key issues in the transaction documents, focusing on the issues facing users of real estate. The course also covers the types of claims and remedies that come into play when disputes arise and land use issues. The main transactions covered by the course include commercial leases, subleases and related agreements, purchase and sale agreements (including title and survey), construction contracts, architect agreements, and real estate financing documents. The class is taught by Susan Reinstra, a partner in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini, and Sean Wilkinson, a senior associate in the real estate group at Wilson Sonsini. Susan has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, graduated from Stanford Law School and has been practicing real estate law for more than 30 years. Sean has an undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University, a law degree from the University of Southern California and has been practicing for more than 10 years. Their practices are focused on the real estate needs of technology and life science companies. |
| Law 294.16 Executive Compensation: Legal Fundamentals and Practical Application 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The executive compensation practice often involves direct interaction with the most senior persons at large institutions regarding their own financial situations and careers, and is therefore almost uniquely personal in nature among the corporate practices of law firms that specialize in advising large companies. However, it is fundamentally a rules-based, multi-disciplinary practice, the first priority of which is to know the applicable guidelines and how to apply them to the many different situations that may arise. Therefore, the first part of the course will introduce students to the legal framework of the executive compensation practice, including the applicable fundamental tax, securities, and employment law rules, with an examination of pertinent statutes, regulations, and regulatory pronouncements. The second part of the course will focus on the application of these rules to specific, real-world situations, including the negotiation of CEO-level employment agreements from the standpoint of both the executive and the employer, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and compensation issues that arise in the boardroom, including how the current environment of vigorous shareholder activism, buttressed by proxy advisory firms, has influenced the way in which directors think about executive compensation. Doreen E. Lilienfeld is Co-Managing Partner of the United States at A&O Sherman and is a member of the Firm's Global Executive Committee. She was previously the Global Governance & Advisory Practice Group Leader of Shearman & Sterling LLP. Her practice focuses on a wide variety of compensation-related matters, including the design and implementation of retention and compensation plans, disclosure and regulatory compliance, and employment negotiations with senior executives. She has advised both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers on corporate governance and regulatory requirements relating to compensation and benefits matters and high-profile individuals in their employment and severance negotiations. Doreen has been a resident in the Frankfurt, London, and Bay Area offices of Shearman & Sterling. For the past twenty-two years, Doreen has spearheaded the publication of the Firm's survey of the compensation-related corporate governance practices of the largest 100 domestic issuers. Doreen was elected as a Fellow by the American College of Governance Counsel, the organization for leading corporate governance lawyers from the U.S. and Canada. She was also named a David Rockefeller Fellow with the Partnership for New York City for 2019 – 2022. Doreen is the winner of the Americas Women in Business Law Award for Best in Corporate Governance (2023) and their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. Her team was awarded Benefits Team of the Year by Law360 in January 2020. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.17 Advanced Topics in Corporate Governance: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S and Asia 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course focuses on a comparative analysis of business systems across the world, particularly those in the US, Japan, and China. We will discuss the basic question: how does law matter to business practice? To answer this question, we need to take into consideration two complementarities. First, the legal system in a given country consists of a variety of legal subject areas, including corporate law, securities regulation, labor law, bankruptcy law, and tax law, among others. These areas of law do not operate in isolation but rather in complement to affect the business practices in a country. Second, the law operates in conjunction with economic markets and social norms. With this in mind, I propose the following framework: consider the firm as a forum for incentive bargaining among four major participants: management, employees, creditors, and shareholders. How do the complementary effects of various laws, markets, and norms affect the incentives of each participant? How has this affected the accepted business practices in a country, and in turn, the broader business system? Each week, students will be exposed to readings in business law theory, as well as more recent scholarship that applies those theories to case studies of modern US, Japanese, and Chinese firms. Through the readings and participation in class discussions, I hope that students will learn to think critically about the dynamic interplay of legal systems, economic markets, and social norms and their combined effects on business systems. This class will be a great introduction to US business law via a comparative law approach with Japan and China. This course will have an 8-10-page final paper. Zenichi Shishido is Professor of Law at Musashino University, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, and continues to be a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley School of Law on a regular basis. Professor Shishido taught at Seikei University (1983-2009) and has been a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School (1998 -1999), Harvard Law School (2005), and Duke Law School (2020), and a Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School (2015). He is also a Senior Research Scholar at the National University of Singapore (2017) and a BFI (Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago) Visitor. Professor Shishido is a well-known authority on Japanese and comparative corporate governance, having written extensively on the subject in both Japanese and English. He has also served on advisory councils to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and Cabinet Office. His publications in English include the books Enterprise Law: Contracts, Markets, and Laws in the US and Japan (Edward Elgar, 2014), and Joint Venture Strategies: Design, Bargaining, and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2015). |
| Law 294.18 The Supreme Court and Emerging Developments in Environmental Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The field of federal environmental law is undergoing significant changes at the U.S. Supreme Court. This course will critically assess these developments by comparing the Court's recent and prior decisions on important topics -- ranging from greenhouse gas regulation, to clean water protections, to principles of judicial review, and beyond. We will aim to identify the through lines that may help explain these doctrinal developments, and predict what further changes may be in store. The course will also explore ways that the practice of environmental law may need to adapt to account for these changes. Ian Fein served as senior counsel for litigation strategy at NRDC, where he worked on high-profile environmental litigation at all stages of the federal judiciary. Prior to joining NRDC, Fein worked in the Supreme Court and Appellate practice of a private law firm. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, Judge William Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit, and Judge Judith Rogers of the D.C. Circuit. He holds a bachelor's degree in English and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated first in his class and served as editor-in-chief of the California Law Review. |
| Law 294.19 Computer Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Based on a case study focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI), this course explores laws, industry practices, and policy considerations relating to the development, protection, and commercialization of software, computers, and information technology services. The primary focus will be on intellectual property law, but we will also cover contracts, antitrust, international and commercial issues, as well as different technology and business models, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and open source licensing. We will cover data as an asset, but not information privacy or data protection law topics. The course is interactive, focused on practical problem-solving, exercises, and quizzes. Optionally, it will offer discussion and research opportunities concerning AI development and safety. This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has two automatic make-up classes scheduled for the 8th and 9th week. Students must be able to attend all 9 scheduled meetings to earn credit. |
| Law 294.2 Entertainment Law in the TV Industry 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course will introduce students to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the television industry. Through a combination of lectures and in-class negotiations, students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director, and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of TV content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in TV. INSTRUCTOR: Rafael Gómez-Cabrera serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Affairs, at AMC Networks ("Mad Men", "The Walking Dead", "Breaking Bad", "Interview with The Vampire") in Los Angeles, California. He is also the former head of business affairs at USA, SYFY, and Peacock part of NBC Universal, working on such TV series as "The Office", "House M.D.", and "Suits". His practice over the last two decades has focused on the entertainment industry and involves negotiating writer, actor, director, and other entertainment agreements with Hollywood agents and attorneys. Prior to entering the entertainment field, Rafael was an attorney in the mergers & acquisitions department at Baker & McKenzie’s Chicago office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Chicago & Miami offices. Mr. Gómez-Cabrera holds a J.D. from Harvard University. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.21 Disputes with Sovereigns 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course covers both national and international law concepts relating to the resolution of disputes with sovereign nations and their agencies and instrumentalities, including how such disputes arise and how they are won, lost, or settled through diplomacy, negotiations, arbitration, litigation, coercion, and even armed conflict. Drawing upon legal history, theory, national and international law, cases, commentators, and lessons from practice, we will examine how--both as a general matter and in specific cases--the international legal order enables the peaceful resolution of such disputes through national and international courts, international arbitration tribunals, and other dispute resolution mechanisms. We will begin with an overview of basic public international law concepts, including the legal status of sovereigns and their authority, rights, and duties vis-à-vis individuals, corporations, and other sovereigns. We will discuss different types of disputes that may arise with sovereigns, and which dispute resolution mechanisms are most effective in resolving particular types of disputes. We will cover the most important categories of disputes with sovereigns, including international investment disputes, commercial disputes, breaches of contract, takings in violation of international law, denials of justice, treaty violations, torts (such as wrongful detentions, human trafficking, terrorism, and torture), the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and award, and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. We will also address sovereign defenses to such claims, ranging from a lack of jurisdiction to sovereign immunity, the act of state doctrine, international comity, forum non conveniens, and the political question doctrine. We will use case studies and examples from practice to examine where and how to litigate or arbitrate cases against sovereigns in national and international courts and tribunals. The course will also cover bilateral investment treaties ("BITs") and investor-state arbitrations under the framework of the International Centre on the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), including key rights, duties, and theories of liability. We will also discuss sovereign-related disputes in other international venues, such as the International Court of Justice, ad hoc and United Nations tribunals, and the World Trade Organization. Finally, we will conclude with a discussion of what it is like to practice in the field of international disputes and what jobs and career opportunities are available to new lawyers with an interest in public or private international law. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.22 Self Determination of Peoples in International Law 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. It is also the subject of considerable disagreement amongst the international community. This course considers the legal underpinnings of self-determination as a fundamental right, outlined in the United Nations Charter, of all peoples to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status without interference. Students will be exposed to and participate in current debates over the legality of modern self-determination movements and respective national and international responses. Topics may include decolonization and secession, internal versus external self-determination, minority rights, state sovereignty, and claims to natural resources. Case studies will focus on debates within the international community on applicable law and the impact of political influence on international decision-making. Cases to be considered include the International Court of Justice’s separate Advisory Opinions on the Chagos Archipelago and Kosovo and modern self-determination movements including those of Quebec, Catalonia, and various members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Students will participate in in-class scenarios reflecting the interests of States, self-determination movements, and other actors. Coursework will include reading, in-class exercises, simulations, and a final group presentation/activity in which students will participate in a simulated United Nations General Assembly debate. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.23 Anticorruption Compliance 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: US regulatory enforcement has entered a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Preexisting norms and previously unquestioned institutional and regulatory structures are now subject to doubt. Career Justice Department lawyers must navigate what this means for their investigative and enforcement duties and compliance professionals are left to guess at the outcome for their clients. Across the body of US law, nowhere is this new uncertainty more pronounced than in the enforcement of federal anticorruption statutes, in particular the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. For decades corporate anticorruption laws generally - and the US FCPA in particular - only increased in importance as an area of legal practice and the subject of international and intergovernmental organization scrutiny. But the Executive Order passed on February 10, 2025 suspending enforcement of the FCPA for at least six months while the Attorney General reviews current guidelines and enforcement actions and reissues new guidance has turned the world of anticorruption enforcement and compliance on its head. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it in light of recent developments. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the FCPA, related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance, but will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law given current regulatory uncertainty. This course meets on a condensed schedule over three consecutive days. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.24 Environmental Health Law Through Film 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Why do so many kids have asthma? Why is aggressive brain cancer becoming more common? Why do dangerous beauty products preferentially harm BIPOC women? Why is human fertility decreasing by 1% per year? Through the lens of environmental feature films and documentaries, this course will discuss the legal structures that under-protect our environmental health and that magnify health inequity. Films will include many of the following: Erin Brockovich (toxic air emissions), Dark Waters (contaminated drinking water), Into the Weeds (pesticide exposure); Gather (Native American food systems), The People v. Agent Orange (weaponization of toxics), and the HBO Max docu-series Not So Pretty (hazardous cosmetics and personal care products). The class will regularly engage with issues of societal bias with respect to race, class, and gender as we consider whose health is considered expendable and which narrative lenses are used to tell stories about environmental health harm. The course will meet for a total of 7 sessions for the first half of the term. In preparation for class discussions, students are required to view films on their own through streaming services (all are available free or cheaply), and to prepare short response papers on three of these films of their choosing. The course will include opportunities to interact with some combination of issue experts/film participants/filmmakers to discuss the role of film in effecting social change. The pedagogical goal is for you to learn a lot about substantive environmental health issues and environmental law while also having fun and eating popcorn. |
| Law 294.25 Perspectives on Judging: Inside a Judge's Chambers 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course provides an in-depth analysis of the judiciary’s role and functions, both within the United States and in international contexts. It covers key topics such as the operation of judicial chambers, judicial processes, the balancing of equities in decision-making, and the importance of globally diverse courts. The course is designed to prepare students for advanced roles in the legal field, with a particular focus on judicial practice and the global evolution of the judiciary. This course will prepare students for federal clerkships. Reading materials will be provided. Judge Trina L. Thompson is currently serving as a District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco division. Before her nomination to the federal bench in 2022, Judge Thompson served as a Superior Court Judge in the Alameda County Rene C. Davidson Court for nearly twenty years and presided over Felony Jury Trials, Preliminary Hearings, Sentencing, and Motions. Judge Thompson also served as the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court and was thereafter appointed to serve on the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in Washington D.C. When Judge Thompson was sworn in to serve on the state court bench in January of 2003, she became the first African American woman elected to serve in the Alameda County Superior Court. |
| Law 294.27 Immigration Law Through Film 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This one-credit course will provide an opportunity to learn about contemporary hot topics in immigration law. Each session will begin with our collective viewing of film clips, which will then frame our discussion, along with the assigned background readings. We will consider how visual images and rhetoric have worked together to shape the perception of immigrants and immigration, including in the 2024 Presidential campaign. In the process we will also be learning about substantive immigration law. Films may include Sentenced Home (on refugees deported for criminal activity), A Well Founded Fear (on the affirmative asylum process), and Immigration Battle (on legislative attempts to create immigration reform), as well as others. We will meet over seven sessions, beginning the week of September 1. Credit (P/F) will be given for attendance, active participation, and the completion of one ten-page (double-spaced) paper. Paper: The ten-page (double-spaced, 12-point font) paper should respond to any of these suggested prompts. 1) Pick at least two of the films we screened and explain how they changed or challenged your perception of immigration law. 2) Trace a particular theme across more than one film and discuss how the theme was portrayed. Suggested themes: justice, citizenship, exclusion, racism, borders, belonging, bureaucracy, foreignness, property, space, history, legality, criminality, refugees, undocumented immigration, the American Dream; theme of your choice. 3) Which of the films did you find the most - or least - compelling or effective? Why? Explain your answer by directly comparing films. 4) If this course were to be taught again, are there other films you would show instead? Please provide film titles and explain in detail why they would be preferable to particular films that we watched. |
| Law 294.28 AI, Democracy, and Elections 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: This course will provide an overview of AI technologies and how they interact with key democratic principles including transparency, accountability, and participation, as well as the role of law in mediating technological impacts on our democracy. Among other topics we will explore are the role that AI has and may soon have on election administration, election security, political advertising and communications, voter suppression, disinformation, manipulation, and the ability to gauge public sentiment (including through public comments to government agencies). We will examine the existing legal framework for these topics, the positive and negative ways in which advances in AI may challenge that framework, and what advocates and legislators have suggested are potential ways to address those challenges. We will also examine some of the more difficult legal questions that are starting to make their way into the courts when it comes to regulating AI in this space. That includes balancing the First Amendment rights of AI developers and social media platforms against the public’s interest in transparency and the integrity of the democratic process, as well as whether Section 230 immunity does or should cover AI developers, and whether AI companies can and should be held liable for election-related harms that flow from their products. Lawrence Norden is Vice President for the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. For nearly 20 years, Norden has led the Brennan Center's work on a variety of issues related to U.S. elections and governance, often with a focus on the ways technology and democracy intersect. He is the lead author of the book The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World (Academy Chicago Press, 2006), and a contributor to Defending Democracies: Combating Foreign Interference in a Digital Age (Oxford University Press, 2021). |
| Law 294.29 Introduction to FinTech and Regulation of New Financial Products 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: Advances in technology have dramatically changed both the delivery of financial services (e.g., bank deposits, credit cards, loans, payments, investments, etc.) and the products available (e.g., crypto). Companies such as PayPal, Venmo, Chime, MoneyLion and RobinHood are now as familiar as Merrill Lynch and Wells Faro. Equally well known, though for the wrong reasons, are Silicon Valley Bank, FTX and Synapse/Yotta. The course will review current trends in FinTech and the application of existing federal and state banking and securities laws to FinTech products. We will discuss whether such laws are adequate to address the unique risks presented by FinTech. We will also discuss whether the current Administration's stated agenda to dramatically reduce the federal government's role in consumer protection, an effort lead by one of the founders of PayPal who is also offering financial products on his social media platform, will leave consumer's at risk. Guest lecturers will assist us in our discussions. Emphasis will be placed on the role of the lawyer in assisting clients to navigate this changing regulatory environment. Paul Clark was a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Seward & Kissel for over 30 years before becoming Senior Counsel. He continues to work with both traditional financial services companies and non-traditional FinTech companies on new products. We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses: -Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations). -The Registrar’s Office will drop a student who does not attend each course session. |
| Law 294.3 Tax Justice in Globalization 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 295 Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the required 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet 9 Tuesday evenings during the semester, from 6:25 - 9:15 with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ . Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2020 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. Students are required to take a companion class compnent. They can take this Seminar or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop class. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet 9 Tuesday evenings during the semester, from 6:25 - 9:15 with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. Students are required to take a companion class component. They can take this Seminar which meets the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop class that does not meet the PR requirement. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. Students are required to take a companion class component. They can take this Seminar which meets the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop class that does not meet the PR requirement. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2022 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. Students are required to take a companion class component. They can either take this Seminar which meets the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop class that does not meet the PR requirement. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2022 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. Students are required to take a companion class component. They can either take this Seminar which meets the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop class that does not meet the PR requirement. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through a href=sschechter.youcanbook.me sschechter.youcanbook.me/a. Spring 2023 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the 2-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of full-time attorneys. Students are required to take a companion class component. They can either take this Seminar, which meets the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement, or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop class, which does not meet the PR requirement. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. Students complete memos, timesheets, forms, and presentations to earn credit for the Field Placement and Seminar. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. In order to be eligible for academic credit, students must complete a Field Placement Application available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students to identify appropriate placements. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the two-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys. The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a civil law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. to meet the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. Students interested in learning more about this class offering, should email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. NOTE: If you have applied to do a fall field placement, the Field Placement Program Office will provide you with the five-digit class number are they approve your placement. Spring 2024 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the two-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys. The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a civil law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. to meet the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Students interested in learning more about this class offering, should email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. NOTE: If you have applied to do a spring field placement, the Field Placement Program Office will provide you with the five-digit class number are they approve your placement. Fall 2024 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the two-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys. The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a civil law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. to meet the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Students interested in learning more about this class offering, should email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. NOTE: If you have applied to do a spring field placement, the Field Placement Program Office will provide you with the five-digit class number are they approve your placement. Spring 2025 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the two-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys. The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a civil law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. to meet the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Students interested in learning more about this class offering, should email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. NOTE: If you have applied to do a spring field placement, the Field Placement Program Office will provide you with the five-digit class number after they approve your placement. Fall 2025 Description: The Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar is the two-unit graded companion course to Civil and Environmental Field Placements, where students are eligible for academic credit for legal work in non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of attorneys. The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students who have participated in a civil law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. to meet the Professional Responsibility (PR) requirement. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please Students interested in learning more about this class offering, should email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. The Seminar's goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics in an experiential learning environment. In the Seminar, students conduct readings, discuss hypotheticals, do presentations, and meet with guest speakers on relevant professional responsibility and field placement topics. The Seminar will meet on Tuesday evenings during the semester with the first required class meeting on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. NOTE: If you have applied to do a fall field placement, the Field Placement Program Office will provide you with the five-digit class number after they approve your placement. |
| Law 295.1A Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law and Justice 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1B Asian American Law Journal 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1D Berkeley Journal of African American Law & Policy 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1E BERKELEY BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1F Berkeley Journal of Entertainment & Sports Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1G California Law Review 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1J Ecology Law Quarterly 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1K Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1M Berkeley Technology Law Journal 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1P Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1S Berkeley Journal of International Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1T Journal of Mid-Eastern & Islamic Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.1V La Raza Law Journal 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for editorial work on law journals. |
| Law 295.31 Moot Court Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.35 Technology and IP Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3A Jessup International Moot Court Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3D Moot Court Directors 1 - 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3E National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3F McGeorge Ethics Mock Trial Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3J McBaine Moot Court Competition 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition is Berkeley Law’s highly-esteemed, advanced-level appellate competition, open to 2Ls, 3Ls, and LL.M.s. A beloved Berkeley Law tradition, McBaine is as gratifying as it is intense. Beyond a mere contest, McBaine is designed to both test and hone written and oral advocacy skills as participants independently prepare an appellate brief and deliver at least two oral arguments. The work is modeled after United States Supreme Court practice, and the cases selected for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. Judges presiding over the final round of oral argument are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. Students will receive the record ahead of Winter Break, submit their briefs in February, and deliver oral arguments in March. Judges, Berkeley Law faculty, and practitioners will evaluate both the briefs and the preliminary oral arguments. Students will advance to the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final round based on their performance on the brief and in the preliminary rounds of oral argument, with the brief counting for at least half of the available points in the earlier rounds. Prizes are awarded for the best oral argument and for the best brief for Petitioner and Respondent, respectively. While McBaine is a strictly independent effort and does not have a traditional classroom component, the Board of Advocates does arrange one or two lunchtime meetings to introduce the case, highlight the relevant law, and provide guidance on how to prepare for oral argument. The competition’s Student Directors, along with McBaine’s Academic Director Scotia Hicks, also will be available for individual meetings throughout the competition for general support and feedback. Each student will receive 2 units for satisfactory participation in the competition, regardless of their final score or rank. NOTE: At this time, McBaine can accommodate 36 students, with spaces allotted for students in both the J.D. and the LL.M. program. Interested students please complete the application at this link McBaine Registration Request form online. We will begin reviewing applications and admitting students on a rolling basis beginning November 11th. Applications submitted by that deadline will be considered first. After that date, applications will be reviewed based on availability. This course is subject to the 3-unit maximum for competition work, as well as the 15-unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work, pursuant to Academic Rule 3.1(b)(2) and Rule 5. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/registrar/academic-rules/. Spring 2021 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s venerable moot court competition and is open to all second- and third-year J.D. students. Competitors will prepare an appellate brief and deliver at least two oral arguments. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. The Competition does not have a regular classroom component. Typically, the Board of Advocates arranges one or two non-mandatory lunchtime meetings to discuss the case and the relevant law and to help students prepare for oral argument. The student directors of the McBaine Competition and Liz Garfinkle, Academic Advisor for the competition, will be available for individual meetings throughout the competition. Students will submit their briefs in late February or early March. Judges, Berkeley Law faculty, and practitioners will evaluate the briefs and initial rounds of oral arguments. The preliminary, quarter, and semi-final rounds will take place on evenings in March and April. (Competitors with evening childcare responsibilities or other serious evening conflicts should contact Kristen Holmquist. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts.) Students will advance to the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final round based on their performance on the brief and in the preliminary rounds of oral argument, with the brief counting for at least half of the available points in the earlier rounds. Prizes are awarded for the best brief and the best oral argument for Petitioner and Respondent, respectively. Competitors receive 2 units for satisfactory participation in the competition. An introductory meeting will be held late in the Fall semester. This course is subject to the three unit maximum for competition work. Please note that there is an overall 15 unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work. ( Academic Rules , Rule 3.1(b)(2) and Rule 5). Spring 2022 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s venerable moot court competition and is open to all second- and third-year J.D. students as well as all LL.M. students. Competitors will prepare an appellate brief and deliver at least two oral arguments. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. The Competition does not have a regular classroom component. Typically, one or two non-mandatory lunchtime meeting opportunities are made available to students enrolled in the competition to discuss the case, the relevant law, and to help students prepare for oral argument. Students can also schedule individual meetings throughout the course of the competition with the student directors of the McBaine Competition and/or Natalie Winters, the McBaine Academic Advisor and Director of the Advocacy Competitions Program. Students will submit their briefs in late February or early March. Judges, Berkeley Law faculty, and practitioners will evaluate the briefs and initial rounds of oral arguments. The preliminary, quarter, and semi-final rounds will take place on evenings in March and April. (Competitors with evening childcare responsibilities or other serious evening conflicts should contact Natalie Winters. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts.) Students will advance to the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final round based on their performance on the brief and in the preliminary rounds of oral argument, with the brief counting for at least half of the available points in the earlier rounds. Prizes are awarded for the best brief and the best oral argument for Petitioner and Respondent, respectively. Competitors receive 2 units for satisfactory participation in the competition. An introductory meeting will be held late in the Fall semester. This course is subject to the overall three unit maximum for competition work. Please note that there is an overall 18 unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work. (at Academic Rules , Rule 3.1(b)(2) and Rule 5). Spring 2023 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s venerable moot court competition and is open to all second- and third-year J.D. students as well as all LL.M. students. Competitors will prepare an appellate brief and deliver at least two oral arguments. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. The Competition does not have a regular classroom component. Students who register for the competition will be required to complete a commitment form in addition to course registration affirming their decision to participate. Three lunchtime training sessions are made available to students enrolled in the competition to help them prepare by providing limited guidance on research, brief writing, and oral argument. While this is primarily a self-guided competition, it is also an educational experience, and participants are highly encouraged to attend all training sessions to maximize their learning and chance of success in the competition. Students can schedule individual meetings throughout the course of the competition with the student directors of the McBaine Competition and/or Greg Washington, the McBaine Academic Director. This competition is also supervised by Natalie Winters, Director of the Advocacy Competitions Program. Students will submit their final briefs in mid-February, with the option to receive limited feedback beforehand by submitting a draft brief to the student directors and the McBaine Academic Advisor in mid-January. Judges, Berkeley Law faculty, and practitioners will evaluate the briefs and initial rounds of oral arguments. Competition rounds will take place in the evening from late February to mid-March and ending before spring break. (Competitors with evening childcare responsibilities or other serious evening conflicts should contact the student directors as soon as possible. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts.) Students will advance from the preliminary rounds based on the combined strength of their written brief and oral argument, with advancement to the semi- and final rounds determined solely based on the quality of the oral argument. Prizes are awarded for the best brief and the best oral argument for Petitioner and Respondent, respectively. Competitors receive 2 units for satisfactory participation in the competition. An introductory meeting will be hosted by the student directors late in the Fall semester. This course is subject to the overall three-unit maximum for competition work. Please note that there is an overall 18-unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work. (at Academic Rules (opens in a new tab), Rule 3.1(b)(2), and Rule 5). This course is subject to the overall three-unit maximum for competition work. Please note that there is an overall 18-unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work. (at Academic Rules (opens in a new tab), Rule 3.1(b)(2), and Rule 5). Fall 2023 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s highly-esteemed moot court competition and is open to all second- and third-year J.D. students as well as all LL.M. students. McBaine is an intense yet gratifying educational experience. Competitors will prepare 1 appellate brief during the fall semester and deliver at least 2 oral arguments during the spring semester. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. McBaine participants will receive 2 units for satisfactory participation in the competition -- 1 unit for completing the brief in the fall semester, and 1 unit for completing at least 2 oral arguments in the spring semester. An introductory meeting will be hosted by the student directors early in the fall semester. McBaine is primarily a self-guided competition and does not have a regular classroom component. Students who register for the competition will be required to complete a commitment form in addition to course registration affirming their decision to participate in both the fall and spring semesters. Multiple lunchtime training sessions will be made available to students enrolled in the competition to help them prepare by providing limited guidance on topics like research, brief writing, and oral argument. While this is primarily a self-guided competition, it is also an educational experience, and participants are highly encouraged to attend all training sessions to maximize their learning and chance of success in the competition. Students can schedule individual meetings throughout the course of the competition with the student directors of the McBaine Competition and/or Greg Washington, the McBaine Academic Director. McBaine is also supervised by Natalie Winters, Director of the Advocacy Competitions Program. Students will submit their final briefs at the end of the fall semester, with the option to receive limited feedback beforehand by submitting a draft brief to the student directors and the McBaine Academic Director. All briefs will be evaluated by a panel of experienced practitioners who, in coordination with the McBaine Academic Director, will determine the Best Brief winners for Respondent and Petitioner (to be announced at the McBaine Final Round in the spring semester). Judges and current legal practitioners will review all McBaine briefs as well as initial rounds of oral arguments. Oral arguments will occur during competition rounds which will take place in the evening in early spring semester. (Competitors with evening childcare responsibilities or other serious evening conflicts should contact the student directors as soon as possible. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts.) This course is subject to the overall three-unit maximum for competition work. Please note that there is an overall 18-unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work. (see Academic Rules 3.1(b)(2) and Rule 5 at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/registrar/academic-rules/) Spring 2024 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s highly-esteemed moot court competition and is open to students who enrolled in McBaine units in the fall. McBaine is an intense yet gratifying educational experience. Competitors will prepare 1 appellate brief during the fall semester and deliver at least 2 oral arguments during the spring semester. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. McBaine participants will receive 2 units for satisfactory participation in the competition -- 1 unit for completing the brief in the fall semester, and 1 unit for completing at least 2 oral arguments in the spring semester. Students who register for the competition will be required to complete a commitment form in addition to course registration affirming their decision to participate in both the fall and spring semesters. Multiple lunchtime training sessions will be made available to students enrolled in the competition to help them prepare by providing limited guidance on topics like research, brief writing, and oral argument. While this is primarily a self-guided competition, it is also an educational experience, and participants are highly encouraged to attend all training sessions to maximize their learning and chance of success in the competition. Students can schedule individual meetings throughout the course of the competition with the student directors of the McBaine Competition and/or Greg Washington, the McBaine Academic Director. McBaine is also supervised by Natalie Winters, Director of the Advocacy Competitions Program. Judges and current legal practitioners will review all McBaine briefs as well as initial rounds of oral arguments. Oral arguments will occur during competition rounds which will take place in the evening in early spring semester. (Competitors with evening childcare responsibilities or other serious evening conflicts should contact the student directors as soon as possible. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts.) This course is subject to the overall three-unit maximum for competition work. Please note that there is an overall 18-unit maximum for non-law/non-classroom work. (see Academic Rules 3.1(b)(2) and Rule 5 at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/registrar/academic-rules/) Fall 2024 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s highly-esteemed moot court competition. McBaine is a self-guided educational experience that is as gratifying as it is intense. Competitors will prepare one appellate brief and deliver two oral arguments during the fall semester. Advancing rounds will be held in January for eligible competitors at the quarter-, semi-, and final round levels. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. Students who register for the competition will be required to complete a commitment form in addition to course registration affirming their decision to participate throughout the tournament. Students can schedule individual meetings throughout the competition with the student directors of the McBaine Competition and/or Greg Washington, the McBaine Academic Director. McBaine is also supervised and operated by Berkeley Law's Advocacy Competitions Program. Judges and current legal practitioners will review all McBaine briefs and oral arguments. Below is an overview of the tournament schedule: McBaine record finalized & released: first week of fall semester classes Final brief deadline: Sunday November 10 Preliminary round 1 (oral argument): Friday November 15 Preliminary round 2 (oral argument): Saturday November 16 Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds (oral argument): Friday January 24 Final round: Thursday January 30 Please note dates may be subject to change due to logistical concerns such as room availability. Competitors who have evening childcare responsibilities or class conflicts should contact the tournament organizers as soon as possible. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts. Fall 2025 Description: The James Patterson McBaine Honors Competition is Berkeley Law’s highly-esteemed moot court competition. McBaine is a self-guided educational experience that is as gratifying as it is intense. Competitors will prepare one appellate brief and deliver two oral arguments during the fall semester. Advancing rounds will be held in January for eligible competitors at the quarter-, semi-, and final rounds. Cases chosen for the competition involve cutting-edge issues of great public importance. The final round judges are typically among the most renowned jurists in the nation. Students who register for the competition will be required to complete a commitment form in addition to course registration affirming their decision to participate throughout the tournament. Students can schedule individual meetings throughout the competition with the student directors of the McBaine Competition and/or Greg Washington, the McBaine Academic Director. McBaine is also supervised and operated by Berkeley Law's Advocacy Competitions Program. Judges and current legal practitioners will review all McBaine briefs and oral arguments. The McBaine record will be finalized and released during the first week of fall semester classes. During the fall semester, competitors will submit a final brief and participate in two preliminary oral argument rounds. For the competitors who advance, the elimination rounds and McBaine finals will take place in January. Please note dates may be subject to change due to logistical concerns such as room availability. Competitors who have evening childcare responsibilities or class conflicts should contact the tournament organizers as soon as possible. We will try in good faith to accommodate these conflicts. |
| Law 295.3K PACE, Environmental Law 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3M Mock Trial Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3P Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3R Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court 1 - 2 Units |
| Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3S Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3T Roger J. Traynor Moot Court 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3V National Moot Court 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Fall 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3W TYLA National Trial Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3X AAJ National Student Trial Advocacy Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.3Y National Appellate Advocacy Competition 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2021 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2022 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2023 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2024 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. Spring 2025 Description: Credit for work in competitions in lawyering skills. |
| Law 295.4C Veterans' Law Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This seminar is the companion to the Veterans Law Practicum. Seminar students will acquire a basic understanding of the problems that many veterans confront, the complex array of benefits that are available to veterans, and how a typical disability claim is evaluated, developed, and litigated. Participants will be required to write a five page paper on a topic to be determined in consultation with the instructor. A partial list of topics that may be covered includes: History of Veterans Benefits and the Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Benefits: The claims process and judicial review Basis for Entitlement Defining “In the Line of Duty” Evidentiary Issues in Veterans Law Rating Disabilities The Requirement for Sympathetic Reading of Claims versus Deference to Agency Decisions Discharge Status Upgrades Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Benefits Specific days and times this seminar will meet will be coordinated by the instructor. Fall 2020 Description: This seminar is the companion to the Veterans Law Practicum Clinic. In this course, students will gain an understanding of substantive veterans law, with a focus on federal benefits and legal remedies available to military sexual assault survivors, veterans with mental health conditions, and veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military. Students will also explore and learn how to navigate the byzantine Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense administrative systems. The seminar will cover foundational veterans law doctrines, evidentiary standards, and claims procedures. In addition, the seminar will cover hot topics in veterans law, such as racial disparities in the military justice system, policies affecting LGBTQ veterans, and cutting-edge class actions that seek to protect veterans’ health, economic welfare, and due process rights. The instructors will schedule the seminar meetings at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Veterans Law Practicum Clinic. *Returning Veterans Law Practicum students should contact instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose.carmen.goldberg@aya.yale.edu) for information about Advanced enrollment. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Spring 2021 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In this course, students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected servicemembers and veterans. Specifically, students will gain an understanding of substantive veterans law, with a focus on federal benefits and legal remedies available to military sexual assault survivors, veterans with mental health conditions, and veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military. Students will also learn how to navigate the byzantine Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense administrative systems. The seminar will cover foundational veterans law doctrines, evidentiary standards, and claims procedures, as well as current hot topics in veterans law. *Students interested in applying the knowledge gained in the Seminar to representation of veteran clients may (but are not required to) also enroll in LAW 295.4D Veterans Law Practicum. The Practicum is not open to 1L students, but they will have the opportunity to enroll in the practicum in a future semester. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor Bios: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Fall 2021 Description: Please note that for academic year 2021-2022, the Veterans Law Practicum Seminar will likely only be offered in the Fall semester. The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In this course, students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected servicemembers and veterans. Specifically, students will gain an understanding of substantive veterans law, with a focus on federal benefits and legal remedies available to military sexual assault survivors, veterans with mental health conditions, and veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military. Students will also learn how to navigate the byzantine Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense administrative systems. The seminar will cover foundational veterans law doctrines, evidentiary standards, and claims procedures, as well as current hot topics in veterans law. *Students interested in applying the knowledge gained in the Seminar to representation of veteran clients may (but are not required to) also enroll in LAW 295.4D Veterans Law Practicum. Instructor Bios: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Fall 2022 Description: Please note that for academic year 2022-2023, the Veterans Law Practicum Seminar will likely only be offered in the Fall semester (with the Spring seminar open only to continuing students). The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In this seminar, the companion course to the Veterans Law Practicum, students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected service members and veterans. Specifically, students will gain an understanding of substantive veterans law, with a focus on federal benefits and legal remedies available to military sexual assault survivors, veterans with mental health conditions, and veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military. Students will also learn how to navigate the byzantine Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense administrative systems. The seminar will cover foundational veterans law doctrines, evidentiary standards, and claims procedures, as well as current hot topics in veterans law. *To participate in the seminar, students must submit the application provided in the course listing for the co-requisite course: LAW 295.4D Veterans Law Practicum. Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She led a successful lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, the California Department of Veterans Affairs Women Veterans Advocates Award, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Fall 2023 Description: Please note that for academic year 2023-2024, the Veterans Law Practicum Seminar will likely only be offered in the Fall semester (with the Spring seminar open only to continuing students). The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In this seminar, the companion course to the Veterans Law Practicum, students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected service members and veterans. Specifically, students will gain an understanding of substantive veterans law, with a focus on federal benefits and legal remedies available to military sexual assault survivors, veterans with mental health conditions, and veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military. Students will also learn how to navigate the byzantine Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense administrative systems. The seminar will cover foundational veterans law doctrines, evidentiary standards, and claims procedures, as well as current hot topics in veterans law. *To participate in the seminar, students must submit the application provided in the course listing for the co-requisite course: LAW 295.4D Veterans Law Practicum. Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans, individuals with disabilities, student loans, and ghost guns. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Fall 2024 Description: Please note that for academic year 2024-2025, the Veterans Law Practicum Seminar will likely only be offered in the Fall semester (with the Spring Seminar open only to continuing students). The U.S. military is a gateway to tackling pressing social justice issues, including sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students learn about these systemic injustices and are armed with the substantive knowledge and lawyering skills necessary to vindicate affected veterans’ rights. The anticipated focus of Fall 2024 VLP is the advancement of Native American veterans' rights. Projects will likely include: (1) supporting efforts to expand the availability of Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts (tribal diversionary courts) for Native veterans facing criminal charges stemming from service traumas, and (2) policy research aimed at expanding remedies for Native veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military due to discrimination. The Seminar portion of the course will be split between lessons and guest speakers on the laws, policies, and practices affecting Native veterans' rights, and project check-ins. Through the Seminar, students will gain an understanding of substantive veterans law, with a focus on federal benefits and legal remedies available to Native veterans, veterans with mental health conditions, and veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military. This will include discussion of veterans law doctrines and evidentiary standards. Students will also learn how to navigate the byzantine Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense administrative systems. *To participate in the Seminar, students must submit the application provided in the course listing for the co-requisite course: LAW 295.4D Veterans Law Practicum. Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans rights and gun violence prevention. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with various awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. She sits on the Advisory Board of the American Indian Cultural District of San Francisco. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.P.A. from Columbia University, and a B.A. from St. John's College's "great books" program in beautiful New Mexico. |
| Law 295.4D Veterans' Law Practicum 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Veterans Law Practicum is dedicated to helping veterans navigate the complex system of benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Students who participate in the Veterans Law Practicum gain first-hand experience working with the large, underserved population of U.S. veterans. Students staff the Practicum’s free legal clinic held at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (and, depending on enrollment, at other locations). At each clinic, students interview prospective clients to identify each client’s particular needs. For legal issues within the scope of the Practicum, students perform background legal research to determine whether the Practicum can provide advice or offer representation. This decision is made jointly by the students and supervising attorney. Students are responsible for following up with the clients they have met. Once a decision is made to take on a client, a team of students will be assigned to work on the case. Students also work on at least two ongoing projects each semester. Many of these projects involve cases that have come from the legal clinic or that have been referred from other sources. Typically, these are appeals following denials of applications for VA disability and other benefits to which the client was entitled. Students develop their legal research and writing skills through the drafting of Notices of Disagreement, Appeals, Complaints, and Motions for Summary Judgment. Students serve as the primary points-of-contact with the clients. Students may also work with clients to prepare for in-person or remote hearings. Practicum students have also worked on variety of projects, including: • Legislation to amend statutes governing certain VA benefits and programs Working with congressional staff, Practicum students have performed research and assisted in the drafting legislative proposals • Upgrading discharge status for veterans discharged under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell program • Assisting veterans with recent criminal convictions through the Oakland Veterans Court program Students may also propose new projects, which will be evaluated by the instructor. An organizational class session will be held during the first week of classes at a time convenient to all participants and the instructor. Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case will be scheduled throughout the semester. Fall 2020 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Students in the Veterans Law Practicum will fight these injustices by representing affected veterans. Practicum casework focuses on correcting the discharge status of veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military, to restore veterans’ access to the healthcare and compensation they earned through their service. The Practicum also focuses on securing disability benefits for sexual trauma survivors, women veterans, LGBTQ veterans, and veterans of color. The Practicum prioritizes representation of vulnerable veterans, including those suffering from homelessness, criminal-justice involvement, and acute mental health conditions. Students will learn essential social justice lawyering skills. Over the course of the semester, students can expect to conduct client and witness interviews, perform legal research, and draft briefs. Students will also gain experience developing medical evidence, working with medical experts, and in administrative law. Dependent upon scheduling, students may also engage in oral advocacy and prepare clients and medical experts for in-person or remote administrative hearings. Students will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more. Policy projects involving research and/or media advocacy are also possible; interested students should discuss options with the instructors. Students may also propose their own projects, which will be evaluated by the instructors. Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. *Returning Veterans Law Practicum students should contact instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose.carmen.goldberg@aya.yale.edu) for information about Advanced enrollment. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Spring 2021 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Students in the Veterans Law Practicum will fight these injustices by representing affected veterans. Practicum casework focuses on correcting the discharge status of veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military, to restore veterans’ access to the healthcare and compensation they earned through their service. The Practicum also focuses on securing disability benefits for sexual trauma survivors, women veterans, LGBTQ veterans, and veterans of color. The Practicum prioritizes representation of vulnerable veterans, including those suffering from homelessness, criminal-justice involvement, and acute mental health conditions. Students will learn essential social justice lawyering skills. Over the course of the semester, students can expect to conduct client and witness interviews, perform legal research, and draft briefs. Students will also gain experience developing medical evidence, working with medical experts, and in administrative law. Dependent upon scheduling, students may also engage in oral advocacy and prepare clients and medical experts for in-person or remote administrative hearings. Students will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more. Policy projects involving research and/or media advocacy are also possible; interested students should discuss options with the instructors. Students may also propose their own projects, which will be evaluated by the instructors. Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Instructor Bios: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Fall 2021 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Students in the Veterans Law Practicum will fight these injustices by representing affected veterans. Practicum casework focuses on correcting the discharge status of veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military, to restore veterans’ access to the healthcare and compensation they earned through their service. The Practicum also focuses on securing disability benefits for sexual trauma survivors, women veterans, LGBTQ veterans, and veterans of color. The Practicum prioritizes representation of vulnerable veterans, including those suffering from homelessness, criminal-justice involvement, and acute mental health conditions. Students will learn essential social justice lawyering skills. Over the course of the semester, students can expect to conduct client and witness interviews, perform legal research, and draft briefs. Students will also gain experience developing medical evidence, working with medical experts, and in administrative law. Dependent upon scheduling, students may also engage in oral advocacy and prepare clients and medical experts for in-person or remote administrative hearings. Students will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more. Policy projects involving research and/or media advocacy are also possible; interested students should discuss options with the instructors. Students may also propose their own projects, which will be evaluated by the instructors. Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Taking the practicum will be by application. Please complete the application at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfycGgM1CnJ6_DMaFYmLDex6JURtgw743UI_cgZlBfBk1F8Zg/viewform?usp=sf_link. Applications are due April 23, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis after this deadline. If you have any questions about the application process please email Olivia Cole: olivia.cole@berkeley.edu. Instructor Bios: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Fall 2022 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Students in the Veterans Law Practicum will fight these injustices through targeted advocacy projects. The Practicum prioritizes advocacy on behalf of vulnerable veterans, including sexual assault survivors, and veterans suffering from homelessness, criminal-legal system involvement, and mental health conditions. Each year's Practicum projects are designed to respond to the needs of the veterans community. In the past, Practicum students have worked to correct the discharge statuses of local veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to experiencing sexual assault and discrimination, and to secure VA disability benefits for veterans with mental health conditions stemming from their service. Students will learn essential social justice lawyering skills. Depending on project needs, students may engage in client and witness interviews, legal research, drafting memos and briefs, developing medical evidence, and working with medical experts. Some semesters may center on policy and media advocacy. Students will work on Practicum projects in teams. Practicum meetings will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructor. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course: 295.4C Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Participation in the Practicum is by application. (Only one application is required for both the Seminar and Practicum components.) Please complete the application at this link: https://forms.gle/q4UADBPR9Puxdo1g6 The priority application deadline is April 11, 2022. The second round application deadline is April 26, 2022. Applications submitted after ***April 26, 2022*** will be considered on a rolling basis if space permits. If you have any questions about the application process please email instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. More information about the Veterans Law Practicum is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/ Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She led a successful lawsuit against the federal administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers' Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, the California Department of Veterans Affairs' Women Veterans Advocates Award, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School. Fall 2023 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Students in the Veterans Law Practicum will fight these injustices through targeted advocacy projects. The Practicum prioritizes advocacy on behalf of marginalized veterans, including sexual assault survivors, and veterans suffering from homelessness, criminal-legal system involvement, and mental health conditions. Each year's Practicum projects are designed to respond to the needs of the veterans community. In the past, Practicum students have done policy advocacy on behalf of deported veterans, worked to correct the discharge statuses of local veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to experiencing sexual assault and discrimination, and to secure VA disability benefits for veterans with mental health conditions stemming from service. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course: 295.4C Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Practicum project meetings will begin upon the conclusion of the seven-week companion Seminar, at the same day and time as the Seminar. Participation in the Practicum is by application. (Only one application is required for both the Seminar and Practicum components.) Please complete the application at this link: https://forms.gle/TfvUHKLVki1UMGPfA The priority application deadline is ***April 12, 2023***. Applications submitted after the priority deadline will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. If you have any questions about the application process please email instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. More information about the Veterans Law Practicum is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/article/veterans-law-practicum-student-advocacy-deportation-health-care/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/ Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans, individuals with disabilities, student loans, and ghost guns. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Fall 2024 Description: The U.S. military is a gateway to tackling pressing social justice issues, including sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students learn about these systemic injustices and are armed with the substantive knowledge and lawyering skills necessary to vindicate affected veterans’ rights. The anticipated focus of Fall 2024 VLP is the advancement of Native American veterans' rights. Projects will likely include: (1) supporting efforts to expand the availability of Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts (tribal diversionary courts) for Native veterans facing criminal charges stemming from service traumas, and (2) policy research aimed at expanding remedies for Native veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military due to discrimination. The Seminar portion of the course will be split between lessons and guest speakers on the laws, policies, and practices affecting Native veterans' rights, and project check-ins. In the Practicum portion, students will conduct project work in consultation with fellow students and the instructor. Practicum project meetings will begin upon the conclusion of the seven-week companion Seminar, at the same day and time as the Seminar. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course: 295.4C Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Participation in the Practicum is by application. (Only one application is required for both the Seminar and Practicum components.) Please complete the application at this link: https://forms.gle/eihofxbEDZjgkdpe8 The priority application deadline is ***April 12, 2024***. Applications submitted after the priority deadline will be considered on a rolling basis as space permits. If you have any questions about the application process please email instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. More information about the Veterans Law Practicum is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/article/veterans-law-practicum-student-advocacy-deportation-health-care/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/ Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans rights and gun violence prevention. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with various awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. She sits on the Advisory Board of the American Indian Cultural District of San Francisco. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.P.A.from Columbia University, and a B.A. from St. John's College's "great books" program in beautiful New Mexico. |
| Law 295.4E Berkeley IP Practicum Clinic Seminar 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: This seminar will expose students to aspects of IP due diligence that arises when startup companies are seeking financing or are involved in merger or acquisition discussions with a third-party. Students will learn about how to ready and counsel a startup company for due diligence, draft and evaluate IP from a business perspective, evaluate third-party IP for freedom to operate, and about licensing strategies for third party IP. Students will also engage in a cursory review of other key areas of diligence. This Seminar will emphasize practical, real-world skill building and will be taught by practicing IP lawyers from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Other guest practitioners will also provide key perspectives. Enrollment requires completion of Intellectual Property Law 275.3, Patent Law, an equivalent course (for LLMs) or permission of instructor. Preference will be given to students with a technical degree and/or relevant work experience. Spring 2025 Description: This seminar will expose students to aspects of IP due diligence that arise when startup companies seek financing or are involved in merger or acquisition discussions with a thirdparty. Students will learn about how to ready and counsel a startup company for due diligence, draft and evaluate IP from a business perspective, evaluate third-party IP for freedom to operate, and about licensing strategies for third party IP. Students will also engage in a cursory review of other key areas of diligence. This Seminar will emphasize practical, real-world skill building, will be co-taught by Allison Schmitt and Adam Cole, with guest practitioners providing key perspectives. Enrollment requires completion of Intellectual Property Law 275.3, Patent Law, an equivalent course, or permission of instructor. Preference will be given to students with a technical degree and/or relevant work experience. To help assess whether to admit you to the IP Practicum Seminar, please complete the application listed below under Supplemental Files. Applications should be emailed to Allison Schmitt (aaschmitt@berkeley.edu), Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Life Sciences Project. All students should apply no later than November 17, 2024. Please note that this application can be used to apply for either the Seminar or the Practicum + Seminar. Students may not take the Practicum without the Seminar. |
| Law 295.4F Berkeley IP Practicum Clinic 2 Units |
| Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: The Berkeley IP Practicum offers students interested in IP law a hands-on experience, representing real startups in IP diligence, under the supervision of a practicing lawyer from a leading law firm. Students are teamed with a practicing attorney to perform an IP review for an early stage start-up in the life sciences. Under the supervision of the practicing attorney, students meet with the client, learn about its innovative technology, and prepare an Intellectual Property Summary, complete with a summary of the Company’s IP strategy and a "freedom to operate" analysis , which the student presents to the client at the end of the semester and which the client can use in its financing activities. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the IP issues confronting early stage businesses as well as hands-on, real world experience working with entrepreneurs. To enroll in the Berkeley IP Practicum, students must also enroll in the Berkeley IP Due Diligence Seminar (Law 295.4E). Enrollment requires completion of Intellectual Property Law 275.3, or Patent Law 277W and a brief application. In the summer, before classes start, students who have signed up for the IP Lab Seminar and Practicum will be matched with a supervisor and will be given the course number for the supervisor’s Practicum. To help assess whether to admit you to the IP Lab and to help us match registered students to a start-up client, please email Allison Schmitt (aaschmitt@berkeley.edu), Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Life Sciences Project, with the following information: Name: Undergraduate degree and major: Graduate coursework or degrees, if any: Patent-related experience (summer jobs, part-time work, etc.): IP-related courses taken at Berkeley Law (or during your previous education, for LLMs): JDs, please apply by April 27th. LLMs and transfer students, please apply by July 31st. Spring 2025 Description: The Berkeley IP Practicum offers students interested in IP law a hands-on experience, representing real startups in IP diligence, under the supervision of a practicing lawyer from a leading law firm. Students are teamed with a practicing attorney to perform an IP review for an early-stage start-up in the life sciences. Under the supervision of the practicing attorney, students meet with the client, learn about its innovative technology, and prepare an Intellectual Property Summary, complete with a summary of the Company’s IP strategy and a "freedom to operate" analysis, which the student presents to the client at the end of the semester and which the client can use in its financing activities. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the IP issues confronting early-stage businesses as well as hands-on, real-world experience working with entrepreneurs. To enroll in the Berkeley IP Practicum, students must also enroll in the Berkeley IP Due Diligence Seminar (Law 295.4E). Enrollment requires completion of Intellectual Property Law 275.3, or Patent Law 277W and a brief application due November 17, 2024. To help assess whether to admit you to the IP Lab and to help us match registered students to a start-up client, please complete the application listed below under Supplemental Files. Applications should be emailed to Allison Schmitt (aaschmitt@berkeley.edu), Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Life Sciences Project. All students should apply no later than November 17, 2024. In the late fall, before Spring classes start, students who have been admitted to the IP Lab Seminar and Practicum will be matched with a supervisor and will be given the course number to enroll in the supervisor’s Practicum. |
| Law 295.4G Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: The NIL seminar is the classroom portion that corresponds to the NIL Practicum. The class will focus on the contract, ethical, and client-management issues faced in IP licensing deals involving name, image, and likeness. The Seminar must be taken at the same time as the NIL Practicum. This course has an application process. There is a single application for both the Seminar and the Practicum which can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4ntCiKvF3mzQLSCjQlYXd-ym2r7b11fG3o-04BU1Lu7ivLw/viewform Applications must be submitted by the end of day on November 3rd. After this date admission will continue on a rolling basis. Students should expect a response within one week. Fall 2024 Description: The NIL seminar is the classroom portion that corresponds to the NIL Practicum. The class will focus on the contract, ethical, and client-management issues faced in IP licensing deals involving name, image, and likeness. The Seminar must be taken at the same time as the NIL Practicum. This course has an application process. There is a single application for both the Seminar and the Practicum which can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4ntCiKvF3mzQLSCjQlYXd-ym2r7b11fG3o-04BU1Lu7ivLw/viewform Applications must be submitted by the end of day on April 8th. After this date admission will continue on a rolling basis. Students should expect a response within one week. |
| Law 295.4I Name, Image & Likeness Practicum 2 Units |
| Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: The NIL Practicum is the client-counseling course that corresponds to the NIL Seminar. The NIL Practicum will focus on assisting student athletes from around the entire state of California with actual legal issues arising in their NIL deals. Each law student will be supervised by leading practitioners. The Practicum must be taken at the same time as the NIL Seminar. The application for the Practicum is available in course description for the NIL Practicum Seminar or here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4ntCiKvF3mzQLSCjQlYXd-ym2r7b11fG3o-04BU1Lu7ivLw/viewform Applications must be submitted by the end of day on November 3rd. After this date admission will continue on a rolling basis. Students should expect a response within one week. If you are selected for Seminar, you will be accepted for the Practicum. Fall 2024 Description: The NIL Practicum is the client-counseling course that corresponds to the NIL Seminar. The NIL Practicum will focus on assisting student-athletes from around the entire state of California with actual legal issues arising in their NIL deals. Each law student will be supervised by leading practitioners. The Practicum must be taken at the same time as the NIL Seminar. The application for the Practicum is available in the course description for the NIL Practicum Seminar or here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4ntCiKvF3mzQLSCjQlYXd-ym2r7b11fG3o-04BU1Lu7ivLw/viewform Applications must be submitted by the end of day on April 8th. After this date, admission will continue on a rolling basis. Students should expect a response within one week. If you are selected for the Seminar, you will be accepted for the Practicum. |
| Law 295.4K Advanced Veterans' Law Practicum 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is for students who have already completed at least one semester of the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar. Students will continue to staff the free legal clinics offered at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and to work on ongoing cases. Students in the Advanced Practicum will be expected to take the lead at the clinics and on the teams working on cases. Fall 2020 Description: This course is for students who have already completed at least one semester of the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar. Students will work on cases for practicum clients, and will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more students (including students in their first semester of the Practicum). Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: This course is for students who have already completed at least one semester of the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar. Students will work on cases for practicum clients, and will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more students. Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: Students will work on cases for practicum clients, and will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more students. Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum Seminar. Taking the practicum will be by application. Please complete the application at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTnb9HWq0AO18tmaxGz-qUz92gDm5KkcTe0ho2zgh4ax9gpA/viewform?usp=sf_link. Applications are due April 23, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis after this deadline. If you have any questions about the application process please email Olivia Cole: olivia.cole@berkeley.edu. Spring 2022 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected servicemembers and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/ Enrollment in the Spring 2022 Advanced Veterans Law Practicum is limited to students who participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum (intro or advanced) in Fall 2021. The Advanced Practicum will focus on casework, which students will do in teams. This course's meetings will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Seminar. Students interested in taking the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar next academic year can contact Professor Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu) and Professor Olivia Cole (olivia.cole@berkeley.edu) for more information. Fall 2022 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected service members and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/ Enrollment in the Fall 2022 Advanced Veterans Law Practicum is limited to students who have previously participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum. ***Continuing students who wish to participate in the Advanced Practicum should email instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg about enrollment by April 11th: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu*** The Advanced Practicum will focus on advocacy projects, which students will do in teams. This course's meetings will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructor. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course: 295.4L Advanced Veterans Law Seminar. Spring 2023 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected servicemembers and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/. In Spring 2023, the Advanced Practicum students will continue their policy advocacy efforts on behalf of veterans deported consequent to criminal convictions that often stem from service-connected mental health conditions. According to best estimates, hundreds of veterans have been deported to Mexico alone, with many others in Jamaica, various countries in Africa, and elsewhere across the globe. Enrollment in the Spring 2023 Advanced Veterans Law Practicum is limited to students who participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum (intro or advanced) in Fall 2022. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Seminar. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans, individuals with disabilities, student loans, and ghost guns. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Fall 2023 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected service members and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/. Enrollment in the Fall 2023 Advanced Veterans Law Practicum is limited to students who have previously participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum. The Advanced Practicum is devoted to project work and students may enroll for either 1 or 2 units (in proportion to time spent on project work). Students should contact the instructor for enrollment procedures: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Seminar. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans, individuals with disabilities, student loans, and ghost guns. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Spring 2024 Description: The U.S. military is a gateway to tackling pressing social justice issues, including sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students learn about these systemic injustices and are armed with the substantive knowledge and lawyering skills necessary to vindicate affected veterans rights. In Spring 2024, VLP will support California Indian Legal Services’ “Military Discharge Upgrade Project,” which helps Native veterans who were unjustly kicked out of the military correct their stigmatizing military records, as well as restore their access to disability, housing, and other earned benefits: https://www.calindian.org/resources/initiatives/veterans-military-discharge-upgrade-project/. The Seminar portion of the course will be split between lessons and guest speakers on the laws, policies, and practices affecting Native veterans rights, and project check-ins. In the Practicum portion, students will work on projects to support California Indian Legal Services’ Discharge Upgrade project, which may include: legal research on military discipline against Native servicemembers for tribal cultural practices; know-your-rights work in support of Two-Spirit Native veterans; and/or research and design of a California Native veteran outreach initiative. Projects will be finalized closer to date based on California Indian Legal Services’ needs. Enrollment in the Spring 2024 Advanced Veterans Law Practicum is limited to students who participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum (intro or advanced) in Fall 2023. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Seminar. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical- Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans rights and gun violence prevention. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including theWall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Fall 2024 Description: The U.S. military is a gateway to tackling pressing social justice issues, including sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students learn about these systemic injustices and are armed with the substantive knowledge and lawyering skills necessary to vindicate affected veterans’ rights. The anticipated focus of Fall 2024 VLP is advancement of Native American veterans' rights. Projects will likely include: (1) supporting efforts to expand the availability of Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts (tribal diversionary courts) for Native veterans facing criminal charges stemming from service traumas, and (2) policy research aimed at expanding remedies for Native veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military due to discrimination. Enrollment in the Fall 2024 Advanced Veterans Law Practicum is limited to students who have previously participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum. The Advanced Practicum is devoted to project work and students may enroll for either 1 or 2 units (in proportion to time spent on project work). Students should contact the instructor for enrollment procedures: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Seminar. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans rights and gun violence prevention. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with various awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. |
| Law 295.4L Advanced Veterans' Law Practicum Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is for students who have completed the Veterans Law Practicum Seminar and Practicum. This course will cover topics related to the appeals process in veterans' claims cases, as well topics of interest selected by agreement between the instructor and the participants. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions. Fall 2020 Description: This course is for students who have already completed at least one semester of the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar. This course will cover current hot topics in veterans law. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: This course is for students who have already completed at least one semester of the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar, and will focus on practicum client casework and legal strategy. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course is for students who have already completed at least one semester of the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar, and will focus on practicum client casework and legal strategy. This course's meetings will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Except for students who have only taken the Veterans Law Practicum Seminar (Law 295.4C), those students will need to enroll in this course AND Law 295.4D (Veterans Law Practicum). Spring 2022 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected servicemembers and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/. Enrollment in the Spring 2022 Advanced Veterans Law Seminar is limited to students who participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum (intro or advanced) in Fall 2021. The Advanced Seminar will focus on advanced veterans law training and practicum casework strategy. This course's meetings will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Students interested in taking the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar next academic year can contact Professor Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu) and Professor Olivia Cole (olivia.cole@berkeley.edu) for more information. Fall 2022 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected service members and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/ Enrollment in the Fall 2022 Advanced Veterans Law Seminar is limited to students who have previously participated in the Veterans Law Seminar. ***Continuing students who wish to participate in the Advanced Seminar should email instructor Rose Carmen Goldberg about enrollment by April 11th: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu*** The Advanced Seminar will focus on advanced veterans law and public interest lawyering training as well as Practicum project strategy. This course's meetings will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructor. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course: 295.4K Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Spring 2023 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected servicemembers and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/. In Spring 2023, the Advanced Seminar will support Advanced VLP students' continued policy advocacy efforts on behalf of veterans deported consequent to criminal convictions that often stem from service-connected mental health conditions. According to best estimates, hundreds of veterans have been deported to Mexico alone, with many others in Jamaica, various countries in Africa, and elsewhere across the globe. Enrollment in the Spring 2023 Advanced Veterans Law Seminar is limited to students who participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum (intro or advanced) in Fall 2022. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans, individuals with disabilities, student loans, and ghost guns. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Fall 2023 Description: The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students will learn about the impact of these and other issues on affected service members and veterans, as well as about legal remedies. More information about VLP is available here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/veterans-law-practicum/. Enrollment in the Fall 2023 Advanced Veterans Law Seminar is limited to students who have previously participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum. The Advanced Seminar will support students' project work. Students should contact the instructor for enrollment procedures: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans, individuals with disabilities, student loans, and ghost guns. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Spring 2024 Description: The U.S. military is a gateway to tackling pressing social justice issues, including sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students learn about these systemic injustices and are armed with the substantive knowledge and lawyering skills necessary to vindicate affected veterans’ rights. In Spring 2024, VLP will support California Indian Legal Services’ “Military Discharge Upgrade Project,” which helps Native veterans who were unjustly kicked out of the military correct their stigmatizing military records, as well as restore their access to disability, housing, and other earned benefits: https://www.calindian.org/resources/initiatives/veterans-military-discharge-upgrade-project/ The Seminar portion of the course will be split between lessons and guest speakers on the laws, policies, and practices affecting Native veterans rights, and project check-ins. In the Practicum portion, students will work on projects to support California Indian Legal Services’ Discharge Upgrade project, which may include: legal research on military discipline against Native servicemembers for tribal cultural practices; know-your-rights work in support of Two-Spirit Native veterans; and/or research and design of a California Native veteran outreach initiative. Projects will be finalized closer to date based on California Indian Legal Services’ needs. Enrollment in the Spring 2024 Advanced Veterans Law Seminar is limited to students who participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum (intro or advanced) in Fall 2023. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans rights and gun violence prevention. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. Fall 2024 Description: The U.S. military is a gateway to tackling pressing social justice issues, including sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. In the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar (VLP), students learn about these systemic injustices and are armed with the substantive knowledge and lawyering skills necessary to vindicate affected veterans’ rights. The anticipated focus of Fall 2024 VLP is advancement of Native American veterans' rights. Projects will likely include: (1) supporting efforts to expand the availability of Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts (tribal diversionary courts) for Native veterans facing criminal charges stemming from service traumas, and (2) policy research aimed at expanding remedies for Native veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military due to discrimination. Enrollment in the Fall 2024 Advanced Veterans Law Seminar is limited to students who have previously participated in the Veterans Law Seminar and Practicum. The Advanced Seminar will support students' project work. Students should contact the instructor for enrollment procedures: rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu. *All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Advanced Veterans Law Practicum. Students interested in learning more about the Veterans Law Practicum and Seminar can contact Prof. Rose Carmen Goldberg (rose-carmen-goldberg@berkeley.edu). Instructor Bio: Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy, with a focus on veterans rights and gun violence prevention. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with various awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented. Rose’s work background includes health policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a stint at the White House working on Native American Affairs, and a fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Rose has a J.D. from Yale Law School and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. |
| Law 295.51 Social Enterprise Clinic 4 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The Social Enterprise Clinic is a transactional law clinic that requires students to critically examine issues of racial and economic justice to achieve their entity client goals. The Clinic serves as outside corporate counsel for social enterprise businesses—for-profit and nonprofit companies that use market-based strategies to address social and environmental issues. The Clinic is geared to students who are interested in exploring the potential power and limitations of market-based methods and thinking critically about the relationships between law, business, and racial equity. The Clinic advises social enterprise clients on a variety of corporate governance, regulatory compliance, contract drafting and analysis, corporate structure, and entity formation matters. Students work collaboratively with social enterprise clients to help them minimize risks and avoid pitfalls as they achieve their social impact goals and implement their theory of change. Admission to Social Enterprise Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. Students must enroll in both the seminar and the companion clinical component. |
| Law 295.52 Global Rights Innovation Lab Advanced Clinic 4 Units |
| Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: The Advanced Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic (GRIL) is open to students who have previously completed the GRIL Clinic. Advanced students will work on new or continuing projects at the intersection of human rights and digital technology to generate compelling, data-driven human rights advocacy through documentation, analysis, and narratives to drive legal advocacy, policy decisions, and social change strategies. Please consult the instructor prior to enrollment regarding the number of units you will elect to earn for this course. Admission to GRIL Advanced Clinic is by separate application through the Clinical Program portal. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. |
| Law 295.5D Death Penalty Clinic 4 - 6 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who facing the death penalty at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The clinic is a year-long program. Therefore, enrollment for Spring 2020 is limited to students who were admitted to the clinic in Fall 2019. Students are supervised by Professor Elisabeth Semel, the director of the Death Penalty Clinic; Professor Ty Alper, the clinic's associate director; and Mridula, the Clinical Supervising Attorney. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2020 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the death penalty at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; and exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment. Students enrolled in the clinic are required to take the companion two-unit Death Penalty Clinic Seminar. The clinic is a year-long program. Students are supervised by Professor Elisabeth Semel, Director of the Death Penalty Clinic; Professor Ty Alper, the clinic's Associate Director; and Mridula Raman, the Clinical Supervising Attorney. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Spring 2021 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the death penalty at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; and exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment. Students enrolled in the clinic are required to take the companion two-unit Death Penalty Clinic Seminar. Because the Death Penalty Clinic is year-long program, enrollment in Spring 2021 is limited to students who enrolled in Fall 2020 Students are supervised by the clinic's director Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Mridula Raman, the Clinical Supervising Attorney. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; and exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment. Interested students will apply through the Clinical Program on-line application process. Students who are accepted are required to take the companion two-unit Death Penalty Clinic Seminar during fall and spring semesters. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Spring 2022 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. For that reason, the clinic does not accept applications in the spring semester. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; and exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2022 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Enrollment is open to 2nd and 3rd year JD students. Students enroll for fall and spring semesters in the clinic and companion seminar. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; and exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Spring 2023 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Students enroll for fall and spring semesters in the clinic and companion seminar. Therefore, enrollment for Spring 2023 is limited to students who are currently enrolled in the clinic. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment; and advances systemic change through litigation and policy advocacy. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2023 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Students enroll for fall and spring semesters in the clinic and companion seminar. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment; and advances systemic change through litigation and policy advocacy. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. NOTE: In the 2023-24 school year, Professor Semel will be on sabbatical. Spring 2024 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Students enroll for fall and spring semesters in the clinic and companion seminar. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing the capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment; and advances systemic change through litigation and policy advocacy. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. NOTE: In the 2023-24 school year, Professor Semel will be on sabbatical. Fall 2024 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Students will enroll for fall 2024 and spring semesters 2025 in the clinic and companion seminar. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment; and advances systemic change through litigation and policy advocacy. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Spring 2025 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Students must enroll in both Fall Semester 2024 and Spring Semester 2025. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment; and advances systemic change through litigation and policy advocacy. Students are supervised by the clinic's faculty: Professor Elisabeth Semel, Professor Ty Alper, and Clinical Supervising Attorney Mridula Raman. Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. Fall 2025 Description: The Death Penalty Clinic is a year-long clinic. Students must apply for both the clinic and the companion seminar through the Clinical Program application process during Spring 2025. Students must enroll in both Fall Semester 2025 and Spring Semester 2026. The clinic is counsel or co-counsel for individuals who are facing capital punishment at trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction proceedings. The Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation; offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful hands-on experience in high-stakes, complex litigation; exposes problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment; and advances systemic change through litigation and policy advocacy. In academic year 2025-26, students will be supervised Professor Elisabeth Semel (the clinic's co-director) and Professor Mridula Raman (the clinic's deputy director). Faculty bios are available on the law school's faculty profiles page and the Death Penalty Clinic's webpage. |
| Law 295.5E Environmental Law Clinic 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) will have a varied issue docket that spans local to global matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic's areas of focus are Environmental Health (limiting human exposure to toxic chemicals, pollution, and radiation) and Environmental Justice (promoting climate justice, the right to safe drinking water, green job creation, and equity in access to nature). The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291.A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Fall 2020 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Health (limiting human exposure to toxic chemicals, pollution, and radiation) and Environmental Justice (including climate justice). The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291.A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Spring 2021 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Health (limiting human exposure to toxic chemicals, pollution, and radiation) and Environmental Justice (with a focus on climate justice). The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291.A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Health (limiting human exposure to toxic chemicals, pollution, and radiation) and Environmental Justice (with a focus on climate justice). The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page ( https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php) for information about the application process. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291.A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Spring 2022 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Health (limiting human exposure to toxic chemicals, pollution, and radiation) and Environmental Justice (with a focus on climate justice). The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page ( https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php) for information about the application process. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Fall 2022 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Health and Environmental Justice. The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page (a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a) for information about the application process. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Spring 2023 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; making an environmental difference; and addressing environmental legal needs of underserved communities. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Health and Environmental Justice. The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that also promotes social and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. (See: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a.) The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Fall 2023 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic (295.5E; 4 units) has a varied issue docket that spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; serving client needs for pro bono representation; and making an environmental difference. The Clinic focuses on Environmental Justice and Environmental Health. The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that promotes social, cultural, racial, and economic equity. Simply put, How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. (See: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a.) The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Spring 2024 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic focuses on Environmental Justice and Environmental Health. Our varied issue docket spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in litigation, administrative agency practice, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; serving client needs for pro bono representation; and making an environmental difference. The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that promotes social, racial, and economic equity. Simply put, how can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. (See: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a.) The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Fall 2024 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic focuses on Environmental Justice and Environmental Health. Our varied issue docket spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in litigation, administrative agency practice, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental lawyers; serving client needs for pro bono representation; and making an environmental difference. The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that promotes social, racial, and economic equity. Simply put, how can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about the application process. (See: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a.) The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. Fall 2025 Description: The Environmental Law Clinic focuses on Environmental Justice and Environmental Health. Our varied issue docket spans local to national matters, and provides hands-on opportunities for students in litigation, administrative agency practice, legislative drafting, and policy formulation. The Clinic has three goals: making students creative and effective environmental advocates; serving client needs for pro bono representation; and making an environmental difference. The Clinic seeks to address major environmental crises of our time in a way that promotes social, racial, and economic equity. Simply put; How can we create a new green economy that is both ecologically sustainable and more just? Students interested in participating in the Environmental Clinic should go to the Clinical Program Application page for information about how to apply. (See: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a.). Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. The Environmental Law Clinic Seminar (Law 291A; 2 units) is a co-requisite. |
| Law 295.5F Advanced Environmental Law Clinic 2 - 5 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on additional Clinic projects, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students typically enroll for 2 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Fall 2020 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on additional Clinic projects, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students typically enroll for 2 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Spring 2021 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on additional Clinic projects, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students typically enroll for 2 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students typically enroll for 2 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Spring 2022 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students typically enroll for 2 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Fall 2022 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students typically enroll for 2 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Spring 2023 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students may enroll for 3 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director. Fall 2023 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students may enroll for 3 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director(s). Spring 2024 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students may enroll for 3 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director(s). Fall 2024 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students may enroll for 3 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director(s). Students with questions can contact Steve Castleman by emailing scastleman@clinical.law.berkeley.edu. Spring 2025 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students may enroll for 3 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director(s). Students with questions can contact Steve Castleman by emailing scastleman@clinical.law.berkeley.edu. Fall 2025 Description: The Advanced Environmental Law Clinic is for students who have completed one or more semesters in the Environmental Law Clinic and wish to continue with an ongoing Clinic project, or take on a new Clinic project, under the supervision of Clinic staff. Students may enroll for 3 to 5 credits. Enrollment is via permission of the Director(s). |
| Law 295.5H International Human Rights Law Clinic 4 - 6 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Fall 2020 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Spring 2021 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Spring 2022 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2022 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic//a for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2023 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic//a for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2023 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic//a for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2024 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic//a for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2024 Description: The International Human Rights Law Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic//a for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Spring 2025 Description: The Human Rights Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/international-human-rights-law-clinic//a for more information on the work of the IHRLC. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Fall 2025 Description: The Human Rights Clinic allows students to design and implement creative solutions to advance the global struggle for the protection of human rights. Students are assigned to work on innovative human rights projects on behalf of individuals and marginalized communities that have been the targets of repression and violence. Clinic students prepare and conduct litigation before national and international judicial forums concerning human rights violations. They also engage in interdisciplinary empirical studies of the impact of human rights abuses--research that aims to achieve policy outcomes. Clinic projects frequently involve policy analysis and the drafting of statutes and standards to govern the conduct of state and non-state actors. Students enrolled in the clinic also take a seminar course that provides a forum for exploring the links between legal theory and their cases and projects. Please visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/human-rights-clinic/projects-and-cases/ for more information on the work of the Human Rights Clinic. Enrollment in the Clinic (4 units per semester) and Seminar (2 units) is by permission. Students can access the Clinical Program portal when applications open via this website: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/apply-to-the-clinics/ under the section "Access the Clinical Program Application." Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. Because of project demands, Clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. |
| Law 295.5I Advanced International Human Rights Clinic 1 - 10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Fall 2020 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Spring 2021 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Spring 2022 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Fall 2022 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Spring 2023 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Fall 2023 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Spring 2024 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Fall 2024 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar. Students enrolled in the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced International Human Rights Law Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Spring 2025 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Clinic Seminar. Enrollment in the course is by permission from the instructor. Students enrolled in the Advanced Human Rights Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced Human Rights Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. Fall 2025 Description: This course is open to students who have previously enrolled in the Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Clinic Seminar. Enrollment in the course is by permission from the instructor. Students enrolled in the Advanced Human Rights Clinic will continue work on on-going projects or may work on new projects. Students are expected to take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate increasingly higher levels of professional performance. Students enrolled in this advanced clinic must also enroll in the companion course, the Advanced Human Rights Clinic Seminar, which is a 1-unit course graded CR/NC. |
| Law 295.5K Policy Advocacy Clinic for 1Ls 2 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: In the Policy Advocacy Clinic (PAC), law and public policy students support change campaigns to contest and shrink the carceral state. PAC's approach is ground-up (informed by directly impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations and coalitions). PAC students have supported successful campaigns in California to abolish all fees in the juvenile legal system and to repeal dozens of fees in the criminal (adult) legal system, relieving youth and families of more than $18 billion to date. This clinical experience for first-year students (1Ls and first-year MPPs) has two required components -- this course, which is the 2-units of required fieldwork, and the required companion seminar, and the 1-unit Policy Advocacy Clinic for 1Ls Seminar (TBD 1035). Students will represent an organization that has retained PAC to help identify, research, and analyze new bills in the California Legislature that would expand or deepen the carceral state. This “bad bills” project will introduce students to the lawmaking process in Sacramento from the introduction of bills in January through their substantive hearings in policy committees in March and April. Students will learn law and policy skills, including conducting legal and social science research and analysis and consulting stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics). By participating actively in client and working group meetings, students will also learn advocacy skills, including facilitation, interviewing, messaging, and strategic decision-making. On behalf of PAC’s client, students will draft internal work product such as bill analyses, talking points, and fiscal memos, and public-facing work product such as fact sheets, public comments, and opposition letters. Depending on the bill and client need, students may have the opportunity to draft and file Public Records Act requests (California’s equivalent to FOIA) and to prepare and deliver testimony or public comment at a hearing in Sacramento. The enrollment target is 3-5 JD students and 3-5 MPP students to work together on teams. There are no prerequisites, but an application is required (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php). Applications open at 3pm on 10/29 and are due at noon on November 4. Prior experience working on criminal justice reform or racial and economic justice more generally may be taken into consideration. The instructor is committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning and practice environment. Enrollment in the co-requisite seminar (1 unit) and clinic (2 units) are by permission of the instructor. |
| Law 295.5M New Business Community Law Clinic 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Clinical Component: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and a four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php . For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Fall 2020 Description: Clinical Component: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and a four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Spring 2021 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and a four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Spring 2022 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Fall 2022 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Spring 2023 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Fall 2023 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. Spring 2024 Description: This course will involve clinical work in the field, providing legal help to new businesses that cannot afford an attorney. The clinical component, like the accompanying Seminar, will help ready students for transactional lawyering and consulting with business clients, but in the larger sense, will demonstrate in depth what is needed to start a successful business. The course will also examine ethical issues and other critical practice matters for transactional lawyers and other professionals. Traditional topic areas will be examined and applied, particularly in the context of assisting new businesses. Areas of law will include: business regulation, risk management, contracts, intellectual property, and taxation. Areas of business management will include financing, marketing, business planning, and evaluating financials. Finally, mixed areas of law and business management will be examined, including entity formation, capital formation, and tax planning. Law 295.5M is the clinical component of the New Business Law Clinic, which can only be elected in conjunction with the New Business Law Clinic Seminar (Law 292A) or the Advanced New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (Law 292C). Clinic JD students and LLMs must elect 295.5M for 4 credits. For students taking the basic clinic course (Law 292A Seminar and Law 295.5M Clinical component), there is an application process, requiring a resume and short personal statement describing what they are looking to gain from the clinical experience. Upon acceptance, all clinic students must sign up for the two credit Law 292A Seminar as the classroom component, and four credits for the clinical work conducted with entrepreneur clients over the term (Law 295.5M). Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinical Program: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. For returning students either from the basic Clinic course, the New Business Law Bootcamp Seminar (292A), or the Advanced Clinic course (Law 295.5N), enrolling in Clinical course hours requires approval of the instructor. Contact Professor Kell if interested in enrolling. |
| Law 295.5N Advanced New Business Community Law Clinic 2 - 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php . Fall 2020 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Spring 2021 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Spring 2022 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community trainings will be conducted via Zoom. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Fall 2022 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community trainings will be conducted via Zoom. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Spring 2023 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community trainings will be conducted via Zoom. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Fall 2023 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. Until it is safe to meet in-person, all client meetings and community trainings will be conducted via Zoom. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. Spring 2024 Description: This course is an advanced version of the New Business Law Clinic for returning Clinic students. It allows students to gain additional curriculum and experience in transactional lawyering under attorney supervision. Advanced students will have opportunities to continue their work from the basic course to provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs of limited means, in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Advanced students participate in all aspects of the clinic legal services delivery system - 1:1 full service representation, limited service walk-in office hours, legal trainings, and content development for the New Business Law Clinic’s online legal library for entrepreneurs of limited means. The course will also likely provide opportunities to mentor students taking the basic course, through case conferences and serving on student teams. Students can apply through the Berkeley Law Clinic Programs: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Schedule of meetings and additional training sessions will be arranged between the Advanced Clinical student and the Instructor. |
| Law 295.5O Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic 1 - 4 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: See the course description for the co-requisite Law 295.5O GRIL Clinic Seminar. Fall 2025 Description: See the course description for the co-requisite Law 295.5O GRIL Clinic Seminar. In the clinical component of the course, students will be doing hands-on work applying digital technologies to human rights advocacy. |
| Law 295.5P Policy Advocacy Clinic 1-10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In the Policy Advocacy Clinic, interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial, economic and social injustice. The clinic’s approach is bottom-up (grounded in the lives of real people), problem-based (addressing pressing social issues) and client-driven (accountable to advocacy organizations). Students support local and state change campaigns while exploring the capacities and limits of lawyers to influence law and public policy. Current projects include state and national efforts to end the regressive and racially discriminatory impact of fines, fees and bail on people in the juvenile and criminal legal systems. A multi-year project to abolish juvenile fees in other states may require clinic-funded travel outside of California. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. They interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (impacted people, community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics) and participate in reform campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including: draft legislation, rules and policies; internal work product for clients; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies and state legislatures. Returning students may serve as senior advisors on each team. There are no prerequisites, though prior experience working with low income clients and communities may be taken into consideration. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and clinic (4-9 units) is by permission of the instructors. Fall 2020 Description: This is the fieldwork component of the Policy Advocacy Clinic, where interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial, economic, and social injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues) and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Students support local and state change campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. Current projects include efforts to abolish regressive and racially discriminatory monetary sanctions (fines, fees and restitution) imposed on people in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on the interests of youth and families. A multi-year campaign to abolish juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. They interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in reform campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including: draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 8-12 JD students and 8-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior advisors on each team. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial, economic, and social justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors strive to build and foster an equitable and inclusive clinic environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credit) and clinic is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: This is the fieldwork component for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), where interdisciplinary teams of JD and MPP students pursue non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial and economic injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current projects are focused on abolishing racialized wealth extraction in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on ending harm to youth in the juvenile system. Students support state and local abolition campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. A multi-year campaign to end juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California (if travel is permitted). In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. You will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local abolition campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, public comments, policy briefs, research reports, practice manuals, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD students and 10-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credits) and clinic (4-10 credits) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2022 Description: This is the fieldwork component for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), where interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue creative, non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial and economic injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current projects are focused on abolishing racialized wealth extraction in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on ending harm to youth in the juvenile system. Students support state and local abolition campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. A multi-year campaign to end juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California (if travel is permitted). In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. You will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local abolition campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD students and 10-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credits) and clinic (4-9 credits) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2023 Description: This is the fieldwork component for the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), where interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students pursue creative, non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial and economic injustice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current projects are focused on abolishing racialized wealth extraction in the criminal legal system, with a special emphasis on ending harm to youth in the juvenile system. Students support state and local abolition campaigns while exploring their capacities and limits to influence law and public policy. A multi-year campaign to end juvenile fines and fees nationally may require clinic-funded travel outside of California (if travel is permitted). In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills. You will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local abolition campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments, including draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students will also hone their oral advocacy skills by preparing, mooting, and delivering testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD students and 10-12 MPP students to work on project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic or field placement. Enrollment in the seminar (2 credits) and clinic (4-9 credits) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2024 Description: This is the fieldwork component of the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), an experiential learning course where teams of law and public policy students support community-led advocacy campaigns for racial and economic justice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current clinic projects support campaigns to: (1) end criminal and juvenile system fees, (2) reimagine restitution, (3) reduce mass incarceration, and (4) hold police accountable for misconduct. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills: you will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local change campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments: you will draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students may also have the opportunity to hone their oral advocacy skills: you will prepare, moot, and deliver testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. Some projects may require clinic-funded travel within and outside of California. The enrollment target is 10-12 JD (law) students and 10-12 MPP (public policy) students to work together on interdisciplinary project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors and clinical program are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning and practice environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic, field placement, or internship. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and clinic (4-9 units, 16-36 hours/week) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Fall 2025 Description: This is the fieldwork component of the Policy Advocacy Clinic (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/policy-advocacy-clinic/), an experiential learning course where teams of law and public policy students support community-led advocacy campaigns for racial and economic justice. The clinic’s approach is ground-up (informed by impacted people), problem-based (addressing pressing issues), and client-driven (accountable to community organizations). Current clinic projects support campaigns to: (1) end criminal and juvenile system fees, (2) reimagine restitution, (3) reduce mass incarceration, and (4) hold police accountable for misconduct. In the clinic, students learn substantive law and policy skills: you will interview clients and experts, conduct legal and social science research and analysis, consult stakeholders (community members, policy and advocacy organizations, public officials, academics), file public records requests, and participate in state and local change campaigns. On behalf of clients and partners, students complete written assignments: you will draft legislation, rules, and policies; internal work product such as legal, policy, and fiscal memos; and external work product for public dissemination, such as fact sheets, policy briefs, research reports, and know your rights materials. Students may also have the opportunity to hone their oral advocacy skills: you will prepare, moot, and deliver testimony and public comment to a variety of audiences, including city councils, county boards of supervisors, regulatory bodies, and state legislatures. Some projects may require clinic-funded travel within and outside of California. The enrollment target is 12-15 JD (law) students and 12-15 MPP (public policy) students to work together on interdisciplinary project teams. Returning students may serve as senior mentors on teams. There are no prerequisites. Prior experience working for racial and economic justice may be taken into consideration, and the instructors and clinical program are committed to an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning and practice environment. Because of project demands, first-time clinic students may not enroll concurrently in another clinic, field placement, or internship. Enrollment in the seminar (2 units) and clinic (4-9 units, 16-36 hours/week) is by permission of the instructors. Interested students should apply here: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. |
| Law 295.5T Samuelson Clinic 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: N/A Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php . Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Fall 2020 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Spring 2021 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Spring 2022 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Fall 2022 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Spring 2023 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to regis ter for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Fall 2023 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to regis ter for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Spring 2024 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Fall 2024 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Spring 2025 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Fall 2025 Description: The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic provides students with real-world experience and an opportunity to help develop sound public policy rules at the increasingly complex intersection of law and technology. In the Clinic, which operates much like a practice group in a law firm or legal services organization, students learn about both the theory and the practice of lawyering, the intricacies of government institutions and the policy-making process, and how to work with complex technological concepts, even when one has little or no background on the topic. Although the Clinic’s docket varies per semester, typical clinic projects include providing in-depth legal research to support client litigation, researching and drafting advocacy materials used by clients to further public policy goals, filing friend-of-the-court briefs, filing rulemaking petitions to federal administrative agencies, writing pamphlets on specialized legal topics for general audiences, commenting on proposed legislation and regulations, and providing legal counseling in matters that raise important issues relating to law and technology. The Clinic represents public interests in a wide variety of subject matter areas, including privacy, free speech, criminal justice reform and public defense, intellectual property, consumer protection, and communications regulation. Because this course allows students to practice law with real clients under the supervision of clinical faculty, its workload is structured differently than most classes. Students are expected to work on their projects every week for an average of 16 hours per week. Please note that this is an average. Due to the real-world nature of the projects, some weeks may require more time, in some cases significantly more time. As with all real-world legal jobs, clinic projects can be unpredictable from day to day and week to week; they require flexibility, so please plan for this. First-time Clinic students are required to register for the companion Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate two-unit course. In recognition of the responsibility real-world legal work entails, students are also expected to make the Clinic their main priority for the semester. Additionally, Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Samuelson Clinic, complete the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Be sure to provide complete answers to all questions. Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. |
| Law 295.5U Advanced Samuelson Clinic 1 - 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Fall 2020 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Spring 2021 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Spring 2022 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Fall 2022 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Spring 2023 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Fall 2023 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Spring 2024 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work for on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. Fall 2025 Description: This is an advanced clinical course for students who have already taken the Samuelson Clinic in a previous semester. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Samuelson Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Samuelson Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Advanced Clinic students work on projects that vary in scope and size. They may work alone, with other advanced students, or on a team with first-time Clinic students. Advanced projects can range from follow-on work on an ongoing Clinic project (often a project the advanced student previously worked on in the Samuelson Clinic) to a new project on a new topic. Regardless of the nature of the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students are expected to act as informal mentors for first-time Clinic students. Depending on the project, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students can receive anywhere from 1 to 4 units of credit for their Advanced Clinic work. As with first-time Clinic students, Advanced Samuelson Clinic students work on ongoing and active legal matters and are entrusted with clients’ confidential and privileged information. Accordingly, students taking the Advanced Clinic are typically not permitted to do outside legal work like an internship with a judge, law firm, or a legal services organization while working on Clinic matters. Non-legal work may be permitted on a case-by-case basis; you must discuss any plans for non-legal work with an instructor in advance. To apply to the Advanced Samuelson Clinic, complete the demographic information and submit a resume in connection with the Berkeley Law Clinical Program application, available at a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/forms/clinics/clinical_application.php/a. Advanced Clinic applicants do not need to complete the short answer questions. |
| Law 295.5X Advanced Policy Advocacy Clinic 1 - 10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Fall 2020 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Spring 2021 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Spring 2022 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Fall 2022 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Spring 2023 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Policy Advocacy Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Policy Advocacy Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Fall 2023 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Course enrollment is by permission of the instructors. Students in the Advanced Policy Advocacy Clinic also register for the companion Advanced Policy Advocacy Clinic Seminar, which is a separate one-unit course. Spring 2024 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Fall 2024 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Spring 2025 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. Fall 2025 Description: This course is for returning (advanced) Policy Advocacy Clinic students who have already completed the introductory seminar and clinic. |
| Law 295.5Y Advanced East Bay Commnity Law Center Clinic 1 - 10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and Clinic (295.5z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. **Please note that returning students to a different clinic within EBCLC must be available on Wednesdays from 3:35 to 5:25 p.m. during the first 6-7 weeks of the semester and also on Friday 1/17/20 and 1/24/20 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in order to participate in clinic specific trainings. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. Fall 2020 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website ( http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Spring 2021 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website ( http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website ( http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Spring 2022 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website ( http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Fall 2022 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (a href=http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/ http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Spring 2023 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (a href=http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/ http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Fall 2023 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (a href=http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/ http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Spring 2024 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website (a href=http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/ http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Fall 2024 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/ Spring 2025 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/ Fall 2025 Description: EBCLC Advanced Clinic (295.5Y) is for students who have completed the EBCLC Seminar (289) and EBCLC Clinic (295.5Z) and are returning in a subsequent semester with the permission of their EBCLC supervisor and the EBCLC Clinical Director. Students returning to EBCLC, but to a different clinic within EBCLC, must submit a clinic application, be admitted, and then sign up for EBCLC Advanced Clinic and select the appropriate number of units as agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. Advanced students work a variable number of units (1-10 for 4-40 hours/week) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of EBCLC’s eight clinics. Please see EBCLC's website for the full list of clinics and descriptions: https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/. |
| Law 295.5Z East Bay Community Law Center Clinic 1 - 9 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage ( www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm ) is required, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/ . Fall 2020 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website ( http://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Spring 2021 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Community Economic Justice Clinic (2) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (3) Consumer Justice Clinic, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Spring 2022 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Education Advocacy Clinic, (4) Health and Welfare Clinic, (5) Housing Law Clinic, (6) Immigration Law Clinic, or (7) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/). Fall 2022 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website a href=https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Spring 2023 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website a href=https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Fall 2023 Description: The clinic (295.5z) and a co-requisite two-unit seminar (289) integrate student lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection and classroom discussion on the lawyer's role in providing legal services to low-income clients and community groups. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice, (4) Education Advocacy Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website a href=https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Spring 2024 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice Clinic, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website a href=https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information/https://ebclc.org/students/academic-year-clinical-program/clinic-information//a). Fall 2024 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice Clinic, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website at https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/ Spring 2025 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of the following clinics: (1) Clean Slate Clinic (community reentry), (2) Consumer Justice Clinic, (3) Community Economic Justice Clinic, (4) Education Justice Clinic, (5) Health and Welfare Clinic, (6) Housing Law Clinic, (7) Immigration Law Clinic, or (8) Youth Defender Clinic. More detailed descriptions of the clinics can be found on EBCLC's website at https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/ Fall 2025 Description: This two-unit seminar (289) and the co-requisite clinic (295.5Z) integrate hands-on lawyering experiences at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) with reading, reflection, and classroom discussion on the theory and practice of women of color centered legal services. An application available on the school's clinic homepage (www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics.htm) is required, as is admission to the specific clinic, and concurrent enrollment in the seminar and clinic is mandatory for new students (advanced clinic work may be conducted in subsequent semesters with the permission of the instructors under Law 295.5y). Applications open 4/8 at 3pm, and are due by noon on 4/15. Students work a minimum of 16 or 20 hours per week (varies per clinic) under the close supervision of attorneys in one of EBCLC’s eight clinics. Please see EBCLC's website for the full list of clinics and descriptions: https://ebclc.org/legal-education/clinical-education/academic-year/. |
| Law 295.6A Civil Field Placement 4-12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2020 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2021 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2021 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, January 11, 2022. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for a description of the Field Placement Program and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies and are encouraged to look at the website for ideas/suggestions. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2023 Description: Civil Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: Civil Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, August 22, 2023. LL.M. students are required to be enrolled in the Practical Lawyering Certificate and take the 1-unit Fall Professional Identity in U.S. Public and Private Sector Practice class to be eligible for a spring field placement. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: Civil Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, January 9, 2024. LL.M. students are required to be enrolled in the Practical Lawyering Certificate and take the 1-unit Fall Professional Identity in U.S. Public and Private Sector Practice class to be eligible for a spring field placement. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: Civil Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, August 20, 2024. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to verify their eligibility for the course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: Civil Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, January 14, 2025. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to verify their eligibility for the course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: Civil Field Placements are the fieldwork component accompanying the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including a list of approved placements and for a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop is Tuesday, August 22, 2025. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to verify their eligibility for the course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.6B Criminal Field Placement 4-12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Fall 2020 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Spring 2021 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Fall 2021 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, January 11, 2022. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for a description of the Field Placement Program. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Spring 2023 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, August 22, 2023. LL.M. students are required to be enrolled in the Practical Lawyering Certificate and take the 1-unit Fall Professional Identity in U.S. Public and Private Sector Practice class to be eligible for a spring field placement. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the course component of Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the class components is Tuesday, January 9, 2024. LL.M. students are required to be enrolled in the Practical Lawyering Certificate and take the 1-unit Fall Professional Identity in U.S. Public and Private Sector Practice class to be eligible for a spring field placement. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the course component of the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meetings for the class components is Tuesday, August 20, 2024. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to confirm eligibility for this course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the course component of the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meetings for the class components is Tuesday, January 14, 2025. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to confirm eligibility for this course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: Criminal Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the course component of the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including how to apply and a list of approved placements or they may propose their own placements with criminal law non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on the number of hours they do legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application and once it is approved, they receive their class numbers for the Program and the accompanying required Seminar or Workshop. The first class meetings for the class components is Tuesday, August 22, 2025. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to confirm eligibility for this course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may contact sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an advising appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.6C Environmental Field Placement 4-12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Environmental Field Placements are graded on a credit/no credit basis. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Fall 2020 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Spring 2021 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Fall 2021 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, January 11, 2022. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Spring 2023 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the field placement component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, August 22, 2023. LL.M. students are required to enroll in the Practical Lawyering Certificate and take the 1-unit Fall Professional Identity in U.S. Public and Private Sector Practice class to be eligible for a spring field placement. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, January 9, 2024. LL.M. students are required to enroll in the Practical Lawyering Certificate and take the 1-unit Fall Professional Identity in U.S. Public and Private Sector Practice class to be eligible for a spring field placement. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: Environmental Field Placements are the fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, August 20, 2024. LL.M. students are advised to talk with their LL.M. advisor about eligibility for this course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: Environmental Field Placements are a fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, January 14, 2025. LL.M. students are advised to talk with their LL.M. advisor about eligibility for this course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: Environmental Field Placements are a fieldwork component that accompanies the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should see: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program including application instructions and list of approved environmental field placements or they may propose their own placements with non-profits or government agencies working in the environmental field. Students receive credit based on legal work under the supervision of an attorney. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete an application available on the website and once it is approved, they will receive their class numbers for the placement and the accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting of the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar and the Field Placement Workshop are Tuesday, August 22, 2025. LL.M. students are advised to talk with their LL.M. advisor about eligibility for this course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. Please go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me to schedule an appointment. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.6D California Law and Policy Field Placements: Sacramento 4 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: California Law and Policy Field Placements: Sacramento is the fieldwork component that accompanies the 1-unit California Law and Policy Field Placement Workshop: Sacramento, where students will be doing part or full-time field placements in Sacramento. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies, where they will be working under the supervision of lawyers doing legal work (broadly defined). Students who participate in the California Law and Policy Field Placements are eligible to receive 4-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are proposing full-time, 8-12 credit Sacramento field placements must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. Students' start and end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students complete a Field Placement Application, and once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Workshop. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. LL.M. students are required to meet with their LL.M. advisor to verify their eligibility for the course. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.6E California Law and Policy Field Placement Workshop: Sacramento 1 Units |
| Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 295.6J Domestic Violence Field Placement 2 - 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: In this course (295.5J and 283Q) students work on real cases or clerk for a superior court judge at faculty-supervised field placements (295.5J) while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Nancy Lemon, the Domestic Violence Field Placement Director (283Q). In 295.5J, students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. The work focuses on restraining orders, family law, appeals, welfare, immigration, asylum, employment issues, housing, prosecution of batterers, or possibly criminal defense of people charged with committing domestic violence. Students may also work on policy matters, including working on amicus briefs, or clerk for a superior court judge. At the placements, students may interview clients; draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions; represent clients at hearings; argue motions; observe hearings and trials; and research policy issues. They may also attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. Both parts of the course are open to graduate students in other departments of UC Berkeley (e.g., public policy, sociology, social welfare, ethnic studies, gender and women's studies). It is recommended but not required that students first take Domestic Violence Law, 282.1, offered by Ms. Lemon each fall semester. Students may enroll in 295.5J more than once. Application forms are available on the website page for the Domestic Violence Practicum (now the Domestic Violence Field Placement) and should be submitted to Nancy Lemon along with a resume. Feel free to contact the instructor at nlemon@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Please note that the units of this practicum count as field placement units subject to the restriction on non-academic units specified in Academic Rule 3.31(c). Nancy K. D. Lemon has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has also provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, Professor Lemon has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 6th edition. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project, where she is the Legal Director. Spring 2021 Description: In this course (295.5J and 283Q) students work on real cases or clerk for a superior court judge at faculty-supervised field placements (295.5J) while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Nancy Lemon, the Domestic Violence Field Placement Director (283Q). In 295.5J, students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. The work focuses on restraining orders, family law, appeals, welfare, immigration, asylum, employment issues, housing, prosecution of batterers, or possibly criminal defense of people charged with committing domestic violence. Students may also work on policy matters, including working on amicus briefs, or clerk for a superior court judge. At the placements, students may interview clients; draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions; represent clients at hearings; argue motions; observe hearings and trials; and research policy issues. They may also attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. Both parts of the course are open to graduate students in other departments of UC Berkeley (e.g., public policy, sociology, social welfare, ethnic studies, gender and women's studies). It is recommended but not required that students first take Domestic Violence Law, 282.1, offered by Ms. Lemon each fall semester. Students may enroll in 295.5J more than once. The application is in the Supplemental File at the bottom of this page and should be submitted to Nancy Lemon along with a resume. Information about the Domestic Violence Field Placement can be found on the website page (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-practicum/). Feel free to contact the instructor at nlemon@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Please note that the units of this practicum count as field placement units subject to the restriction on non-academic units specified in Academic Rule 3.31(c). Nancy K. D. Lemon has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has also provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, Professor Lemon has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 6th edition. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project, where she is the Legal Director. Spring 2022 Description: In these two connected courses (295.5J and 283Q) students work on real cases at field placements. Students usually are able to enroll in the placement they most desire. The course has a co-requisite class taught by Nancy Lemon (283Q), which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement for graduation. In this course, 295.5J, students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. Options include restraining orders, family law, appellate work, public benefits, immigration, asylum, employment issues, housing issues, prosecution of batterers, and possibly criminal defense. Students may intern with a family law or criminal court judge. They may also work on policy matters, including perhaps working on amicus briefs. At the placements, students may interview clients, draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions, represent clients at hearings, argue motions, and research policy issues. They may attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. At some placements, students are focused on research and writing, rather than direct client contact. Both parts of the course are open to graduate students in public policy or social welfare as well as law. Students may enroll in 295.6J (placement component) more than once. It is recommended but not required that students first take Domestic Violence Law, 282.1, offered by Ms. Lemon each fall semester. Nancy K. D. Lemon (Berkeley Law JD 1980) has been a leading authority on domestic violence law for over three decades. A practicing attorney, she has also provided expert testimony in many types of cases. She has worked to craft many pieces of California legislation affecting survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since 1988, Professor Lemon has taught Domestic Violence Law and the Domestic Violence Field Placement at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. She authored the first textbook on Domestic Violence Law in 1996, now in its 6th edition. In 2012, she co-founded the Family Violence Appellate Project, where she is the Legal Director. Spring 2023 Description: Visit the DV Field Placement Webpage: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-practicum/ for detailed information In this course, students work on real cases, either at faculty-supervised field placements or while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Professor Kaur. Students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. Most of the time, students get their first choice. The work focuses on restraining orders, family law, public benefits, immigration, asylum, employment issues, prosecution of batterers, appellate work, or other issues involving domestic violence. Students also may work on policy matters, including helping draft and advocate for legislation. JD students must enroll for a minimum of 3 units; LLMs may enroll for a minimum 2 units (provided you find a placement organization that agrees to this limited time). All students must also enroll in the companion seminar (https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/courses/coursePage.php?cID=31928) (2 hour) class. At the placements, students interview clients; draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions; represent clients at hearings; argue motions; and research policy issues. They may also attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. Spring 2024 Description: Visit the DV Field Placement Webpage: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/domestic-violence-law-practicum/ for detailed information In this course, students work on real cases and policies, supervised by practicing attorneys in a range of practice areas, while enrolled in a classroom component taught by Domestic Violence (DV) Field Placement Director Mallika Kaur. Through their placement, and engaging with fellow students in a range of very diverse placements, students develop a nuanced understanding of DV. Domestic violence does not only appear in the case load for family law attorneys or immigration attorneys or criminal attorneys or estate attorneys or personal injury attorneys. Rather, given the ubiquity of domestic violence, all attorneys, knowingly and unknowingly, serve clients impacted by domestic violence. The Field Placement is thus open to any student, regardless of past or future goals and experiences. Students may choose a placement at one of various legal agencies in the Bay Area. The work focuses on restraining orders, family law, public benefits, immigration, asylum, tort actions, employment issues, prosecution, defense of accused and/or incarcerated victims, appellate work, or other issues involving domestic violence. Students also may work on policy matters, including helping draft and advocate for legislation. At the placements, students interview clients; draft restraining orders, memoranda, and motions; represent clients at hearings; argue motions; and research policy issues. They may also attend meetings with attorneys, government officials, judges and legislators. The placements provide a rewarding opportunity to engage with victim-survivors of Domestic Violence, to witness the laws around DV in action, to learn important legal skills, to experience negotiating trauma and emotions of legal work, and to build a collaborative network of contacts in the legal community. Apply for Spring 2024 DV Field Placement ideally before November 1, 2023. For questions contact mallikakaur@law.berkeley.edu. *DV Field Placement meets Professional Responsibility requirement *DV Field Placement meets J.D. Experiential Requirement *DV Field Placement counts towards LLM Practical Lawyering Certificate See flyer with (partial) list of possible 2023 placements: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DVFP-Flyer-July2023.pdf Spring 2025 Description: In the Domestic Violence (DV) Field Placement course students work in non-profit and government agencies (PDs/DAs/legislative/judicial) under the supervision of attorneys to receive academic credit. The companion course, Domestic Violence Field Placement Classroom Component: Ethics in Practice, is taught by DV Field Placement Program Director Mallika Kaur. Domestic violence does not only appear in the caseload for family law, criminal,or immigration, criminal, estate or personal injury attorneys. Rather, given the ubiquity of domestic violence, all attorneys knowingly and unknowingly, serve clients impacted by domestic violence. The placements provide a rewarding opportunity to engage with victim-survivors of DV, to witness the laws around DV in action, to learn important legal skills, to experience negotiating trauma and emotions of legal work, and to build a collaborative network of contacts in the legal community.The Field Placement is thus open to any student, regardless of past or future goals and experiences. Field placements are available for 4-12 units and there is a diverse range of placements. For more information about the DV Field Placement Program including a partial list of placements, visit: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/domestic-violence-law-field-placement/. For questions contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and/or Mallika Kaur, mallikakaur@law.berkeley.edu. |
| Law 295.6K Structural Change in Public Education Away Field Placement 6 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: N/A Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview Fall 2020 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview Spring 2021 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Applications are due November 2nd, and students may contact Kristen Holmquist with more information about the program and how to apply. Fall 2021 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. Applications are due April 23rd, and students may contact Kristen Holmquist with more information about the program and how to apply. Spring 2022 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Bypass the computer enrollment system. Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Bypass the computer enrollment system. Fall 2023 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Spring 2024 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Fall 2024 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Kristen Holmquist. Spring 2025 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Fall 2025 Description: This field placement is one part of a three-part immersive semester in education law and policy taught at Columbia Law School, through its Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL). CPRL’s intensive, full-semester seminar and field placement immerses students in the theory and practice of managing, governing, and transforming the public systems and social-sector organizations that deliver public education in the U.S. and abroad. Hosted at Columbia, this experiential offering has three components: A comprehensive seminar in the design, governance, regulation, democratic accountability and transformation of P-12 school systems and allied public- and social-sector organizations Skills training in a range of twenty-first century problem-solving competencies, including working in diverse teams to address multi-dimensional problems; design thinking; taking full advantage of difference and diversity; collaborative inquiry; quantitative and qualitative analysis and measurement; organizational macro- and micro-design; project and product management; client-centered and policy-focused information gathering; and the presentation of professional advice to government and social-sector clients A high-priority, professionally guided consulting project on which an interdisciplinary team of graduate students provides design, strategic, planning, and/or implementation advice and support on matters that combine management, legal, governance, policy, regulatory, and/or technological issues crucial to the mission of the client organization - typically, a state department of education, school district, charter school organization, school-support or advocacy group, or other non-profit serving children. For more information, visit CPRL's website at: https://cprl.law.columbia.edu/content/program-overview. To apply, contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu and fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. The application deadline is April 4th at 5pm. |
| Law 295.7A Away Field Placement 10-12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Students who receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director may spend a semester at long-distance placements away from the law school campus and earn 10-12 units doing legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney at approved non-profits or government agencies. Students must have their placements approved before they are eligible to receive academic credit. While students are away, they conduct readings, submit timesheets, memos, and reports/forms, as well as maintain contact with the course Lecturer and the Field Placement Program. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to attend an orientation session the semester before they plan to be off campus. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Fall 2020 Description: Students who receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director may spend a semester at long-distance placements away from the law school campus and earn 10-12 units doing legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney at approved non-profits or government agencies. Students must have their placements approved before they are eligible to receive academic credit. While students are away, they conduct readings, submit timesheets, memos, and reports/forms, as well as maintain contact with the course Lecturer and the Field Placement Program. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to attend an orientation session the semester before they plan to be off campus. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Spring 2021 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students to do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do Away Field Placements for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Given the current moment, students doing Away Field Placements generally are required to do a class component - either the Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar, the Criminal Law Ethics Seminar or the Field Placement Workshop. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Fall 2021 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students to do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do Away Field Placements for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Away Field Placements are being strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students to do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do Away Field Placements after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Away Field Placements are being strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students to do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney for non-profit and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do full-time Away Field Placements after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Away Field Placements are being strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Spring 2023 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students to do legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do Away Field Placements after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Away Field Placements are strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students who do legal work under the supervision of an attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do Away Field Placements after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. The Away Field Placement Workshop is the 1-unit class component for students doing Away Field Placements. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students who do legal work under the supervision of an attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do full-time Away Field Placements after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. The Away Field Placement Workshop is the 1-unit class component for students doing Away Field Placements. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students who do legal work under the supervision of an attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students may do full-time Away Field Placements after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit placements must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their placements approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. The Away Field Placement Workshop is the 1-unit class component for students doing Away Field Placements. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students who do legal work under the supervision of an attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students who are proposing full-time Away Field Placements are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are proposing full-time field placements must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students.All full-time field placement applications must be approved by the Field Placement Office. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement.The Away Field Placement Workshop is the 1-unit class component for students doing Away Field Placements. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: Away Field Placements are the fieldwork component for students who do legal work under the supervision of an attorney for non-profits and government agencies that are not located near the law school. Students who are proposing full-time Away Field Placements are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Away Field Placements are expected to track the academic calendar. Students who are proposing full-time field placements must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students the semester before they propose to leave. All full-time field placement applications must be approved by the Field Placement Office. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Away Field Placement.The Away Field Placement Workshop is the 1-unit class component for students doing Away Field Placements and will begin meeting the first week of the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.7J Berkeley Law in The Hague 4-12 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: Students may receive 10-12 units of credit doing legal work for non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of a lawyer in The Hague. The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands and has been called the "legal capital of the world," being the home to many international courts, tribunals, and organizations. Asa Solway, Berkeley Law '09 and located in The Hague, will offer an additional 1-unit course, International Law in Practice (Law 295I), focusing on a practitioners perspective to international law involving international law scenarios with contributions from guest lecturers. Students will identify and apply to appropriate placements, in coordination with the Field Placement Office. Asa will maintain contact and organize meetings with students while in the country. This course will also be open to students conducting field placements in Europe remotely. Students must receive permission from the Office of Student Services to spend a semester away from the law school campus. Students interested in this Program are invited to schedule an advising appointment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me. While students are away, they will conduct readings, submit timesheets, memos, and reports/forms , as well as maintain contact with the Lecturer and the Field Placement Program. Students are directed to https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/away-field-placement/ for additional information. Students are required to attend an orientation session the semester before they plan to be off campus. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: Students doing field placements in The Hague and nearby locations may receive 4-12 units doing legal work for non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time lawyer. The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands and has been called the "legal capital of the world," being the home to many international courts, tribunals, and organizations. Students will identify and apply to appropriate placements, in coordination with the Field Placement Office. Asa Solway, Berkeley Law '09 and located in The Hague, will maintain contact and organize meetings with students while in the country. This course will also be open to students conducting field placements in Europe remotely. Students who are proposing 10-12 unit placements must receive permission from the Office of Student Services. Students interested in this Program are invited to schedule an advising appointment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Students are directed to https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/away-field-placement/ for additional information. Fall 2021 Description: Students doing field placements in The Hague and nearby locations may receive 4-12 units doing legal work for non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time lawyer. The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands and has been called the "legal capital of the world," being the home to many international courts, tribunals, and organizations. Students will identify and apply to appropriate placements, in coordination with the Field Placement Office. Asa Solway, Berkeley Law '09 and located in The Hague, will maintain contact and organize meetings with students while in the country. Students who are proposing 10-12 unit placements must receive permission from the Office of Student Services. Students interested in this Program are invited to schedule an advising appointment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Students are directed to https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/away-field-placement/ for additional information. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Students doing field placements in The Hague and nearby locations may receive 4-12 units doing legal work for non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time lawyer. The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands and has been called the "legal capital of the world," being the home to many international courts, tribunals, and organizations. Students will identify and apply to appropriate placements, in coordination with the Field Placement Office. Asa Solway, Berkeley Law '09 and located in The Hague, will maintain contact and organize meetings with students while in the country. Students who are proposing 10-12 unit placements must receive permission from the Office of Student Services. Students interested in this Program are invited to schedule an advising appointment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Students are directed to https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/away-field-placement/ for additional information. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: empty |
| Law 295.7K UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement 10 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: N/A Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Students who have been accepted into the UNHR: Geneva Away Field Placement Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F are eligible to participate in this spring Away Field Placement. Eligible students are required to enroll in this course for their fieldwork units. Students participating in this Program must receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director to spend a full-time semester away from the law school campus, students may earn 10-12 units doing legal work under the supervision of the Program's Director with their assignments to designated diplomatic missions in Geneva. While students are in Geneva, they will also be required to enroll in the 1-unit Law 295H: UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar. In addition, students will also be required to conduct a reflective component as part of their Away Field Placements. Students interested in learning more about this Spring Away Field Placement Program are invited to reach out to the Field Placement Program at fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students who are interested in UNHR for future semesters. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2021 Description: Students who have been accepted into the UNHR: Geneva Away Field Placement Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F are eligible to participate in this Spring 2021 Away Field Placement. Eligible students are required to enroll in this course for their fieldwork units. Students participating in this Program must receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director to earn 10-12 units away from the law school campus. Students will be doing legal work under the supervision of the Program's Director with their assignments to designated diplomatic missions in Geneva. While students participate in the UNHR field placement component in Spring 2021, they will also be required to enroll in the 1-unit Law 295H: UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar. In addition, students will also be required to conduct a reflective component as part of their Away Field Placements. Students interested in learning more about this Spring Away Field Placement Program are invited to reach out to the Field Placement Program at fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students who are interested in UNHR for future semesters. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2022 Description: Students who have been accepted into the UNHR: Geneva Away Field Placement Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F are eligible to participate in this Spring 2022 Away Field Placement. Eligible students are required to enroll in this course for their fieldwork units. Students participating in this Program must receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director to earn 10-12 units away from the law school campus. Students will be doing legal work under the supervision of the Program's Director with their assignments to designated diplomatic missions in Geneva. While students participate in the UNHR field placement component in Spring term, they will also be required to enroll in the 1-unit Law 295H: UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar. In addition, students will also be required to conduct a reflective component as part of their Away Field Placements. Students interested in learning more about this Spring Away Field Placement Program are invited to reach out to the Field Placement Program at fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students who are interested in UNHR for future semesters. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Eric Richardson, former US State Department lawyer and diplomat at the UN Human Rights Council, is the adjunct instructor and also supports the field supervisors in Geneva. Spring 2023 Description: Students who have been accepted into the INHR: Geneva Away Field Placement Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F are eligible to participate in this Spring 2023 Away Field Placement. Eligible students are required to enroll in this course for their fieldwork units. Students participating in this Program must receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director to earn 10-12 units away from the law school campus. Students will be doing legal work under the supervision of the Program's Director with their assignments to designated diplomatic missions in Geneva. While students participate in the INHR field placement component in Spring term, they will also be required to enroll in the 1-unit Law 295H: IN Human Rights Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar. In addition, students will also be required to conduct a reflective component as part of their Away Field Placements. Students interested in learning more about this Spring Away Field Placement Program are invited to reach out to the Field Placement Program at fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students who are interested in INHR for future semesters. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Eric Richardson, former US State Department lawyer and diplomat at the UN Human Rights Council, is the lecturer and also supports the field supervisors in Geneva. Spring 2024 Description: Students who have been accepted into the INHR: Geneva Field Placement Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: INHR: Geneva Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this Spring 2024 INHR: Geneva Field Placement. Eligible students are required to enroll in this course for their fieldwork units. Students participating in this Program must receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director to earn 10-12 units away from the law school campus. Students will be doing legal work under the supervision of the Program's Director with their assignments to designated diplomatic missions in Geneva. While students participate in the INHR field placement component in Spring term, they will also be required to enroll in the 1-unit Law 295H: Geneva Advanced Field Placement Seminar. In addition, students will also be required to conduct a reflective component as part of their Away Field Placements. Students interested in learning more about this Program or other Away Field Placements are invited to reach out to the Field Placement Program at fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students who are interested in INHR for future semesters. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Eric Richardson, former US State Department lawyer and diplomat at the UN Human Rights Council, is the lecturer and also supports the field supervisors in Geneva. Spring 2025 Description: To be eligible for this course, students must have taken the Fall 295F, Geneva Field Placement Seminar. Once students are accepted into the INHR: Geneva Field Placement Program, they are eligible to participate in this Spring 2025 INHR: Geneva Field Placement.Students who participate in the INHR: Geneva Field Placement are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are participating in the INHR: Geneva Field Placement Program must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. Students will be doing legal work under the supervision of the Program's Director with assignments to designated diplomatic missions in Geneva. While students participate in the Spring INHR field placement component, they are required to also enroll in the 1-unit Law 295H: Geneva Advanced Field Placement Seminar. Students interested in learning more about this Program or other Away Field Placements are invited to reach out to the Field Placement Program at fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, is available to meet with students who are interested in INHR for future semesters. Students are invited to schedule an advising appointment through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Eric Richardson, former US State Department lawyer and diplomat at the UN Human Rights Council, is the lecturer and also supports the field supervisors in Geneva. |
| Law 295.7L Away Field Placement - Bay Area 4 - 12 Units |
| Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: Away Field Placement: Bay Area is the fieldwork component for students who are living in the Bay Area and whose field placements are located remotely/away from the Bay Area. Students who meet this criteria will be required to take one of the accompanying in-person field placement class components: Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar, Criminal Law Ethics Seminar, Judicial Externship Seminar, or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program, a list of approved placements and a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start/end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students must complete a Field Placement Application and, once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the Field Placement Seminars (Civil and Criminal) and Workshop will be on Tuesday, August 17. The first class meeting for the Judicial Externship Seminar will be on Friday, August 20. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Away Field Placement: Bay Area is the fieldwork component for students who are living in the Bay Area and whose field placements are located remotely/away from the Bay Area. Students who meet this criteria will be required to take one of the accompanying in-person field placement class components: Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar, Criminal Law Ethics Seminar, Judicial Externship Seminar, or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a description of the Field Placement Program, a list of approved placements and a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start/end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students must complete a Field Placement Application and, once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the Field Placement Seminars (Civil and Criminal) and Workshop will be on Tuesday, January 11. The first class meeting for the Judicial Externship Seminar will be on Friday, January 14. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Away Field Placement: Bay Area is the fieldwork component for students who are living in the Bay Area and whose field placements are located remotely/away from the Bay Area. Students who meet this criteria will be required to take one of the accompanying in-person field placement class components: Civil Field Placement Ethics Seminar, Criminal Law Ethics Seminar, Judicial Externship Seminar, or the Field Placement Workshop. Students should go to: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for a description of the Field Placement Program, and a copy of the application. Students may propose their own placements with non-profit or government agencies. Students receive 4-12 units of credit based on legal work under the supervision of a full-time attorney. Students' start/end dates are expected to track the academic calendar. Students must complete a Field Placement Application and, once it is approved, students will receive a class number for the placement and the required accompanying Seminar or Workshop. The first class meeting for the Field Placement Seminars (Civil and Criminal) and Workshop will be on Tuesday, August 23. The day-long orientation for the Judicial Externship Seminar will be on Friday, August 26 (student may not have any conflicts), and then the class will meet on Tuesdays during the semester. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director, is available to assist students in identifying appropriate placements. Students may schedule advising appointments through sschechter.youcanbook.me. |
| Law 295.8A Judicial Externship:Away 10-12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Students who receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director may spend a semester at long-distance Judicial Externships away from the law school campus and earn 10-12 units doing legal work in a court or judicial chambers with appropriate attorney/clerk/judge supervision. Students are expected to work full-time for a minimum of 10 units at their externships. Students must have their externships approved before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Once the application is approved, students will receive a class number. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. While students are away, they conduct readings, submit timesheets, memos, and reports/forms, as well as maintain contact with the course Lecturer and the Field Placement Program. Students are required to attend an orientation session the semester before they plan to be off campus. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for the Field Placement Application. Students are required to schedule an advising apponitment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me, if they are considering an Away Judicial Externship. Fall 2020 Description: Students who receive permission from the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Director may spend a semester at long-distance Judicial Externships away from the law school campus and earn 10-12 units doing legal work in a court or judicial chambers with appropriate attorney/clerk/judge supervision. Students are expected to work full-time for a minimum of 10 units at their externships. Students must have their externships approved before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Once the application is approved, students will receive a class number. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. While students are away, they conduct readings, submit timesheets, memos, and reports/forms, as well as maintain contact with the course Lecturer and the Field Placement Program. Students are required to attend an orientation session the semester before they plan to be off campus. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for the Field Placement Application. Students are required to schedule an advising apponitment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me, if they are considering an Away Judicial Externship. Spring 2021 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Given the current moment, students doing Judicial Externships: Away generally are required to do the Judicial Externship Seminar, which includes a mandatory orientation on Friday, January 22, 2021 and classes on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Judicial Externship: Away. Fall 2021 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Judicial Externships: Away are strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Judicial Externship: Away. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. JD Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. LL.M. students may enroll in this externship only in the Spring semester. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Judicial Externships: Away are strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Judicial Externship: Away. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. JD Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Judicial Externships: Away are strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for additional information. Students are required to schedule an advising appointment at sschechter.youcanbook.me if they are considering an Judicial Externship: Away. Spring 2023 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. JD Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. LL.M. students may enroll in this externship only in the Spring semester. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Students doing Judicial Externships: Away are strongly encouraged to do a class component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. JD Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Judicial Externships: Away students take the Away Field Placement Workshop course component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. JD Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Judicial Externships: Away students take the Away Field Placement Workshop course component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. JD Students may do Away Judicial Externships for 4 - 12 units after their third semester of law school. Students considering 10-12 unit Judicial Externships must be approved by the Office of Student Services and the Field Placement Program. In addition, students must have their externships approved by the Field Placement Program Director before they are eligible to receive academic credit. Judicial Externships: Away students take the Away Field Placement Workshop course component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork away from the Berkeley Law campus. Students who are proposing full-time away judicial externships are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are proposing full-time judicial externships must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. All field placement applications must be approved by the Field Placement Office. Full-time Judicial Externships: Away students who are not taking any other Berkeley Law classes are eligible to take the Away Field Placement Workshop course component. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component for students to work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork away from the Berkeley Law campus. Students who are proposing full-time away judicial externships are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Away Judicial Externships track the academic calendar for start and end dates. Students who are proposing full-time judicial externships must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students the semester before they propose to be away. All field placement applications must be approved by the Field Placement Office. Full-time Judicial Externships: Away students who are not taking any other Berkeley Law classes are eligible to take the Away Field Placement Workshop course component which will begin meeting the first week of the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for additional information. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.8B Judicial Externships: Bay Area 4-12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: N/A Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related field work. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive the approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive a class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be on Friday, January 17, 2020, and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet 3 Tuesday evenings during the semester, from 6:25 - 8:15. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2020 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related field work. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive the approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive a class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be on Friday, April 21, 2020, and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet 3 Tuesday evenings during the semester, from 6:25 - 8:25. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2021 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive a class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be on Friday, January 22, 2021, and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2021 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be on Friday, August 20, 2021, and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, January 14, 2022 and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Fall 2022 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, August 26, 2022 and students are required to attend the full day in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2023 Description: Judicial Externships are the field placement component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive up to 12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, January 13, 2023 and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Spring 2022. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive between 4-12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students in their 3rd semester are limited to 5 field placement units. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, August 25, 2023 and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component to the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students may receive between 4-12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students in their third semester are limited to five field placement units. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, January 12, 2024 and students are required to attend in order to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component of the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). J.D. students may receive between 4-12 units of academic credit for their work with courts, chambers, administrative law judges, and other judicially-related fieldwork. Students identify their Judicial Externships and must receive approval from the Field Placement Director upon submission of a completed Field Placement Application. Students in their third semester are limited to five field placement units. Students who are planning to be off campus full-time (10-12 units) must also receive approval from the Office of Student Services. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, August 23, 2024, and students are required to attend to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component of the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students who are proposing full-time away judicial externships are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are proposing full-time judicial externships must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. All field placement applications must be approved by the Field Placement Office. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. Judicial Externships are expected to track the academic calendar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, January 17, 2025. Students are required to attend the Orientation to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: Judicial Externships are the fieldwork component of the Judicial Externship Seminar (289A). Students who are proposing judicial externships are eligible to receive 4-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Judicial exernships track the academic calendar for start and end dates. Students who are proposing full-time, 8 - 12 credits, judicial externships must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students the semester before they propose to do the externship. Students in their 2L fall are eligible for up to 5 credits for judicial externships. All judicial externship applications must be approved by the Field Placement Office. Once the application is approved, students will receive the class number for the Externship and the Seminar. The Judicial Externship Seminar Orientation will be all day on Friday, August 22, 2025. Students are required to attend the Orientation to receive academic credit for their judicial externships. In addition, the Seminar will meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the semester. Students are directed to: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ for a copy of the Field Placement Application and to learn more about the Judicial Externship Program. For an advising appointment, contact Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director at sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295.9A UCDC: Law Field Placement 10 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: N/A Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a full-time field placement program in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn 10-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. While in Washington DC students enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Fall 2020 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a full-time field placement program in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn 10-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. While in Washington DC students enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Spring 2021 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program in Washington, DC. Students are eligible to earn 4-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. Students enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Fall 2021 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn 4-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. While in Washington DC students enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we anticipate that some placements may involve remote work during Fall 2021. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Field Placement Program Director. Spring 2022 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn 10-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. While in Washington DC students must also enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we are uncertain whether placements will involve remote work during Spring 2022. However, the goal is that all UCDC Law placements will be full-time for Spring 2022. Fall 2022 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn 10-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. While in Washington DC students must also enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Depending on the public health situation and circumstances of specific placements, we are uncertain whether placements will involve remote work during Fall 2022. However, the goal is that all UCDC Law placements will be full-time and in-person for Fall 2022. This of course is subject to change depending on the status of the pandemic. Please contact Director Lehtman for updates. Spring 2023 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn 10-12 credits for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. While in Washington DC, students must also enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu. Fall 2023 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program for students engaged in externships based in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn credit for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. Students who obtain a full-time externship based in Washington DC or a remote part-time externship based in Washington DC must register for the UCDC Law Program field placement. Students working full-time must be based in Washington DC and must enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students who are working part-time remote with a placement based in Washington DC must enroll in the 1-unit companion workshop. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu for additional information. Spring 2024 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program for students engaged in externships based in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn credit for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. Students who obtain a full-time externship based in Washington DC or a remote part-time externship based in Washington DC must register for the UCDC Law Program field placement. Students working full-time must be based in Washington DC and must enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students who are working part-time remote with a placement based in Washington DC must enroll in the 1-unit companion workshop. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu for additional information. Fall 2024 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program for students engaged in externships based in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn credit for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. Students who obtain a full-time externship based in Washington DC or a remote part-time externship based in Washington DC must register for the UCDC Law Program field placement. Students working full-time must be based in Washington DC and must enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students who are working part-time remote with a placement based in Washington DC must enroll in the 1-unit companion workshop. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program should contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu for additional information. Spring 2025 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program for students engaged in externships based in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn credit for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. Students who obtain a full-time externship based in Washington DC or a remote part-time externship based in Washington DC must register for the UCDC Law Program field placement. Students who participate in the UCDC Law Program are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are participating in the UCDC Law Program must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. Students working full-time (8-12 units) must be based in Washington DC and must enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students who are working part-time (7 units or fewer) remotely with a placement based in Washington DC must enroll in the 1-unit companion workshop. All UCDC field placements must be approved by Nicole Lehtman, the UCDC Program Director. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program must contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu for additional information. Fall 2025 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a field placement program for students engaged in externships based in Washington DC. Students are eligible to earn credit for field placements with government agencies, the Hill, or non-profit organizations. Students who obtain a full-time externship based in Washington DC or a remote part-time externship based in Washington DC must register for the UCDC Law Program field placement. Students who participate in the UCDC Law Program are eligible to receive 8-12 units of credit depending on the number of hours they work. Students who are participating in the UCDC Law Program must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students the semester before they propose to go to UCDC. Students working full-time (8-12 units) must be based in Washington DC and must enroll in a 3-unit companion course to accompany their field placements. Students who are working part-time (7 units or fewer) remotely with a placement based in Washington DC must enroll in the 1-unit companion workshop. All UCDC field placements must be approved by Nicole Lehtman, the UCDC Program Director. Students interested in the UCDC Law Program must contact: Nicole Lehtman, UCDC Program Director, at Nicole.Lehtman@ucdc.edu for additional information. |
| Law 295.9K UCDC: Law and Lawyering in the Nation's Capital Workshop 1 Units |
| Spring 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Online Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: Online Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2023 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The Law Program combines a bi-weekly (every other week) workshop with a Washington DC field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation's capital. This version of "Law and Lawyering in the Nation's Capital" is a 1-unit workshop being offered to students who are participating in a remote part-time externship with an organization located in Washington DC. Through the workshop, students will gain an understanding of the practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with three branches of federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. The Workshop, offered to students during the fall and spring semesters, includes law students from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Hasting, UC Irvine, and UCLA. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The Law Program combines a bi-weekly (every other week) workshop and a Washington DC field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation's capital. This version of "Law and Lawyering in the Nation's Capital" is a 1-unit workshop being offered to students who are participating in a remote part-time externship with an organization located in Washington DC. Through the workshop, students will gain an understanding of the practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with three branches of federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. The Workshop, offered to students during the fall and spring semesters, includes law students from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Law SF, UC Irvine, and UCLA. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The Law Program combines a bi-weekly (every other week) workshop and a Washington DC field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation's capital. This version of "Law and Lawyering in the Nation's Capital" is a 1-unit workshop being offered to students who are participating in a remote part-time externship with an organization located in Washington DC. Through the workshop, students will gain an understanding of the practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. The Workshop, offered to students during the fall and spring semesters, includes law students from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Law SF, UC Irvine, and UCLA. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The Law Program combines a bi-weekly (every other week) workshop and a Washington DC field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation's capital. This version of "Law and Lawyering in the Nation's Capital" is a 1-unit workshop being offered to students who are participating in a remote part-time externship with an organization located in Washington DC. Through the workshop, students will gain an understanding of the practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. The Workshop, offered to students during the fall and spring semesters, includes law students from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Law SF, UC Irvine, and UCLA. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295B Field Placement Workshop 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 during the first week of classes. The class will meet 6 Tuesday evenings during the semester from 6:25 -8:25pm. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director and applications and more information is available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ . Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2020 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 18, 2020 during the first week of classes. The class will meet 6 Tuesday evenings during the semester from 6:25 -8:25pm. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information is available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ . Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 during the first week of classes. The class will meet 6 Tuesday evenings during the semester from 6:25 -8:25pm. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 during the first week of classes. The class will meet 6 Tuesday evenings during the semester from 6:25 -8:25pm. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2022 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2022 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profit and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: a href=sschechter.youcanbook.me sschechter.youcanbook.me/a. Spring 2023 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of a full-time attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of an attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of an attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of an attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of an attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: The Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits and government agencies under the supervision of an attorney. The Workshop will meet throughout the semester. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their field placement learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. All placements must be approved by the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295C Criminal Law Ethics Seminar 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a 2-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. The Seminar is a required component for students doing Criminal Field Placements, and is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule and advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The class will meet 9 Tuesday evenings during the semester, from 6:25- 9:15pm. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 from 6:25 - 9:15. Fall 2020 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a 2-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (that does not meet the professional responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule and advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The class will meet 12 Tuesday evenings during the semester, from 6:25- 8:25pm. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a 2-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (that does not meet the professional responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule and advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a 2-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (that does not meet the professional responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. The first required class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Spring 2022 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a 2-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not meet the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. Fall 2022 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a 2-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not meet the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to a href=sschechter.youcanbook.me sschechter.youcanbook.me/a. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by application. Spring 2023 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a two unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. Fall 2023 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a two-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. Spring 2024 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a two-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. Fall 2024 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a two-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. The course is not intended to be an MPRE-prep course. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. Spring 2025 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a two-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. The course is not intended to be an MPRE-prep course. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. Fall 2025 Description: The Criminal Law Ethics Seminar is a two-unit graded class that explores legal ethics issues from a criminal law perspective. The Seminar provides students with an opportunity to explore professional responsibility topics and to work on simulations and presentations related to criminal law. The course is not intended to be an MPRE-prep course. Students doing criminal field placements must take this Seminar (which fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement) or the 1-unit Field Placement Workshop (which does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility requirement). The Seminar is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students who have participated in a criminal law-related experiential learning opportunity - summer internship, SLPS/Pro Bono Project, law school clinic, etc. For questions about eligibility and course coverage, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. To schedule an advising appointment, go to sschechter.youcanbook.me. The first class meeting will be on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester. This course is not by Application. |
| Law 295D UCDC: Law and Lawyering in the Nation's Capital 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person Fall 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a full-time field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. During four months’ total immersion in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering, students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students will receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal lawmaking directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washigton DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Fall 2020 Description: UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a full-time field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. During four months’ total immersion in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering, students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students will receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal lawmaking directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washigton DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Spring 2021 Description: This course meets 3 pm PT – 6 pm PT (6 pm ET – 9 pm ET). UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students will receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 4-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal lawmaking directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Fall 2021 Description: This course meets Tuesday from 3 pm PT - 6 pm PT (6 pm ET - 9 pm ET) UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 4-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal law making directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Spring 2022 Description: This course meets Tuesday from 3 pm PT - 6 pm PT (6 pm ET - 9 pm ET) UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal law making directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Fall 2022 Description: This course meets on Tuesday from 3 pm PT - 6 pm PT (6 pm ET - 9 pm ET) UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal law making directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Spring 2023 Description: This course meets on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST in Washington, DC UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal law making directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Fall 2023 Description: This course meets on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST in Washington, DC UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in person in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal law making directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Bypass the computer enrollment system. Spring 2024 Description: This course meets on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST in Washington, DC UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full- Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in person in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal law making directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: This course meets on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST in Washington, DC UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full-Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in person in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 10-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal lawmaking directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: This course meets on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST in Washington, DC UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full-Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in person in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the program: 8-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” Students who are proposing 8-12 unit placements must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. All UCDC Law Program field placement applications must be approved by Nicole Lehtman, the UCDC Law Program Director. The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal lawmaking directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: This course meets on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST in Washington, DC UCDC LAW PROGRAM - Full-Semester Program in Washington, DC The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in person in Washington, DC. The program combines a weekly seminar course with a field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. The UCDC Law Program will immerse students in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering. Students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits. Students can receive up to 15 units for successful completion of the UCDC program: 8-12 units for the field placements and 3 units for the required companion course, “Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital.” Students who are proposing 8-12 unit placements must receive academic clearance from a JD Academic Advisor in the Office of the Dean of Students. All UCDC Law Program field placement applications must be approved by Nicole Lehtman, the UCDC Law Program Director. The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located in Washington DC. SEMINAR DESCRIPTION The seminar is designed to enhance the externship experience in three ways. First, students will learn about the process of federal lawmaking directly from leading government lawyers, lobbyists, and public interest advocates. Second, students will explore new career opportunities unique to lawyering in Washington, while enhancing their skill sets for success in any career path. Third, students will investigate the role lawyers in Washington, DC have in making and changing federal law and policy. Class sessions include frequent guest lecturers and class discussions based on students' questions. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295F UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: UNHR Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2021 UNHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Students are required to attend nine classes held throughout the semester. There will be additional optional classes. Students may not swap optional classes for required classes. Seminar topics will include: UN Human Rights Council procedures, resolutions, universal periodic review, reports, treaties bodies and an overview of the UN health, labor and humanitarian agencies, along with other relevant topics. The seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. The class presentations will be conducted in conjunction with guest lecturers and other speakers from Geneva and abroad. Students will also be required to work with their future supervisors to draft an agreed statement of work for the away field placement. Students interested in the spring program are required to enroll in this 1-unit course. We have limited space to include students who want to take this class but are not enrolling in the UNHR field placement. If you would like to apply to the class, please fill out an application: https://forms.gle/wFZc1wiyAYzUso679/. Applications are due by August 1st, and after that, we will consider applications on a rolling basis. All students are welcome to apply to this class, including JD, LLM, and JSP students. Please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions. The application period for enrolling in the UNHR field placement in the 2020-2021 academic year has closed. If you have any questions about this, please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. This course will meet weekly on Wednesdays 11:20AM-12:45PM. There will be 9 required courses and the additional dates will be optional. Class will not be held on Wednesday, November 11th due to the Veterans Day Holiday. Fall 2021 Description: UNHR Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2022 UNHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Students are required to attend nine classes held throughout the semester. There will be additional optional classes. Students may not swap optional classes for required classes. Seminar topics will include: UN Human Rights Council procedures, resolutions, universal periodic review, reports, treaties bodies and an overview of the UN health, labor and humanitarian agencies, along with other relevant topics. The seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. The class presentations will be conducted in conjunction with guest lecturers and other speakers from Geneva and abroad. Students will also be required to work with their future supervisors to draft an agreed statement of work for the away field placement. Students interested in the spring program are required to enroll in this 1-unit course. If you have any questions about the UNHR Field Placement Program, please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. This course will meet weekly on Wednesdays. There will be 10 required courses and the additional dates will be optional. Students who are participating may use Room 112 at Berkeley Law. Fall 2022 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2023 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. In the fall, students are required to attend nine classes held throughout the semester. There will be additional optional classes. Students may not swap optional classes for required classes. Seminar topics will include: IN Human Rights Council procedures, resolutions, universal periodic review, reports, treaties bodies and an overview of the IN health, labor and humanitarian agencies, along with other relevant topics. The seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. The class presentations will be conducted in conjunction with guest lecturers and other speakers from Geneva and abroad. Students will also be required to work with their future supervisors to draft an agreed statement of work for the away field placement. Students interested in the Spring program are required to enroll in this 1-unit course. If you have any questions about the INHR Field Placement Program, please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. There will be 10 required class meetings and the additional dates will be optional. Fall 2023 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2024 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. In the fall, students are required to attend nine classes held throughout the semester. There will be additional optional classes. Students may not swap optional classes for required classes. Seminar topics will include: Human Rights Council procedures, resolutions, universal periodic review, reports, treaties bodies and an overview of the UN health, labor and humanitarian agencies, along with other relevant topics. The seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. The class presentations will be conducted in conjunction with guest lecturers and other speakers from Geneva and abroad. Students will also be required to work with their future supervisors to draft an agreed statement of work for the away field placement. Students interested in the Spring program are required to enroll in this 1-unit course. Selection is based on an application and interview process the summer prior to the class. 6-8 students are accepted each year with some students accepted on spec based on availability of a delegation where they could serve in Geneva. If you have any questions about the INHR Field Placement Program, please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. There will be 10 required class meetings and the additional dates will be optional. Fall 2024 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2025 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. In the fall, students are required to attend nine classes held throughout the semester. There will be additional optional classes. Students may not swap optional classes for required classes. Seminar topics will include: Human Rights Council procedures, resolutions, universal periodic review, reports, treaties bodies, and an overview of the UN health, labor, and humanitarian agencies, along with other relevant topics. The seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. The class presentations will be conducted in conjunction with guest lecturers and other speakers from Geneva and abroad. Students will also be required to work with their future supervisors to draft an agreed statement of work for the away field placement. Students interested in the Spring program are required to enroll in this 1-unit course. Selection is based on an application and interview process the summer prior to the class. 6-8 students are accepted each year with some students accepted on spec based on availability of a delegation where they could serve in Geneva. If you have any questions about the INHR Field Placement Program, please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. There will be 10 required class meetings and the additional dates will be optional. Fall 2025 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2026 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. In the fall, students are required to attend nine classes held throughout the semester. There will be additional optional classes. Students may not swap optional classes for required classes. Seminar topics will include: Human Rights Council procedures, resolutions, universal periodic review, reports, treaties bodies, and an overview of the UN health, labor, and humanitarian agencies, along with other relevant topics. The seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. The class presentations will be conducted in conjunction with guest lecturers and other speakers from Geneva and abroad. Students will also be required to work with their future supervisors to draft an agreed statement of work for the away field placement. Students interested in the Spring program are required to enroll in this 1-unit course. Selection is based on an application and interview process the summer prior to the class. The application deadline for INHR is May 19th at 5pm. 6-8 students are accepted each year with some students accepted on spec based on availability of a delegation where they could serve in Geneva. If you have any questions about the INHR Field Placement Program, please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu. There will be 10 required class meetings and the additional dates will be optional. |
| Law 295H UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar 1 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: Remote Instruction Spring 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: UNHR Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the spring 2020 UNHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Seminar topics will include coverage of: Country Resolutions, especially those relevant to the March Human Rights Council Session; Thematic Resolutions: Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; What Diplomats Can Be Like; Looking Ahead to the March HRC Meeting; Non-Discrimination and the Inclusion Agenda; and other topics. The Seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. Only students who have been accepted into this Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this spring Away Field Placement Seminar. Please contact Sue Schechter, field placement director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions or want to learn more about this Away Field Placement Program. Spring 2021 Description: UNHR Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2021 UNHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Seminar topics will include coverage of: Country Resolutions, especially those relevant to the March Human Rights Council Session; Thematic Resolutions: Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; What Diplomats Can Be Like; Looking Ahead to the March HRC Meeting; Non-Discrimination and the Inclusion Agenda; and other topics. The Seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. Students who have been accepted into this Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this spring Away Field Placement Seminar. Please contact Sue Schechter, field placement director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions or want to learn more about this Away Field Placement Program. This course will meet weekly on Wednesdays 11:20AM-12:45PM (Berkeley, CA Time) Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. Spring 2022 Description: UNHR Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2022 UNHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Seminar topics will include coverage of: Country Resolutions, especially those relevant to the March Human Rights Council Session; Thematic Resolutions: Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; What Diplomats Can Be Like; Looking Ahead to the March HRC Meeting; Non-Discrimination and the Inclusion Agenda; and other topics. The Seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. Students who have been accepted into this Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: UN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this Spring Away Field Placement Seminar. Please contact Sue Schechter, field placement director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions or want to learn more about this Away Field Placement Program. Spring 2023 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2023 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where they will each serve as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Seminar topics will include coverage of: Country Resolutions, especially those relevant to the March Human Rights Council Session; Thematic Resolutions: Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; What Diplomats Can Be Like; Looking Ahead to the March HRC Meeting; Non-Discrimination and the Inclusion Agenda; and other topics. The Seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. Students who have been accepted into this Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: IN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this Spring Away Field Placement Seminar. Please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions or want to learn more about this Away Field Placement Program. Spring 2024 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2024 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where each student serves as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Seminar topics will include coverage of: Country Resolutions, especially those relevant to the March Human Rights Council Session; Thematic Resolutions: Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; What Diplomats Can Be Like; Looking Ahead to the March HRC Meeting; Non-Discrimination and the Inclusion Agenda; and other topics. The Seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. Students who have been accepted into this Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: IN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this Spring Away Field Placement Seminar. Please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions or want to learn more about this Away Field Placement Program. Spring 2025 Description: INHR Law and Practice: Geneva Advanced Away Field Placement Seminar is the required course component for all students doing the Spring 2024 INHR Away Field Placement in Geneva, Switzerland where each student serves as a student legal advisor to a diplomatic mission. Seminar topics will include coverage of: Country Resolutions, especially those relevant to the March Human Rights Council Session; Thematic Resolutions: Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; What Diplomats Can Be Like; Looking Ahead to the March HRC Meeting; Non-Discrimination and the Inclusion Agenda; and other topics. The Seminar will include lectures, negotiation activities, and presentations. Only students who have been accepted into this Program and attended the Fall offering of Law 295F: IN Human Rights Law and Practice: Away Field Placement Seminar are eligible to participate in this Spring Away Field Placement Seminar. Please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions or want to learn more about this Away Field Placement Program. |
| Law 295I International Law in Practice 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: International Law in Practice presents students with interactive scenarios rooted in the practical application of international law from the perspective of international organizations, tribunals, governments and civil society. Topics may include: applicability of human rights obligations on non-state actors; inter-state disputes before the International Court of Justice; jurisdictional issues related to international criminal law; implementation of international legal instruments in domestic jurisdictions; and strategic litigation before the European Court of Human Rights and other regional bodies. Students will engage in discussions and interactive exercises from the role of international practitioners. The aim of the course is to provide students with an overview of the challenges related to the implementation of international law, the interaction between domestic and international systems and the procedure and institutions in which international law is practiced. Classes will feature presentations from senior lawyers working in the relevant fields of study. The course will be taught by Asa Solway '09, an international lawyer based in The Hague, Netherlands. We have limited space to include students who want to take this class but are not enrolled in a concurrent field placement. If you would like to apply to the class, please fill out an application: https://forms.gle/wFZc1wiyAYzUso679. Applications are due by August 1st, and after that, we will consider applications on a rolling basis. All students are welcome to apply to this class, including JD, LLM, and JSP students. Please email fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu if you have any questions. If you are planning on taking Law 295I, International Law and Practice, with a concurrent field placement, you will need to fill out the general field placement application at https://forms.gle/RaJVsjxhjUyiExwp6 and set up an advising appointment with Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter.youcanbook.me. This course meets Tuesdays 8-9:50AM (Pacific Time). This course will have 7 class meetings. To allow for a makeup class because of unforeseen circumstances this course has an automatic make-up class scheduled on October 27th. Students must be able to attend all 8 scheduled meetings to earn credit. Due to the nature of this class, some or all of the sessions may not be recorded and posted except as required for accommodation of students with disabilities. Due to the nature of this class, real-time attendance is required (without an alternative way to earn equivalent credit) except in cases of illness or emergency. |
| Law 295J Away Field Placement Workshop 1 Units |
| Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: Remote Instruction Spring 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Spring 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Spring 2025: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2021 Description: This course meets Wednesdays 8:00-9:50AM BERKELEY TIME (Pacific Standard Time). The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits, government agencies and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks that are not located near the law school. The Workshop is strongly encouraged for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2022 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits, government agencies and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks that are not located near the law school. The Workshop is strongly encouraged for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Fall 2022 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing full-time field placements with non-profits, government agencies, and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks that are not located near the law school. The Workshop is strongly encouraged for students doing full-time Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: a href=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/ https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply//a. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Spring 2023 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students doing field placements with non-profits, government agencies and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks that are not located near the law school. The Workshop is strongly encouraged for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and will be scheduled at days and times mutually convenient for students and the instructors. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2023 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students who are not living in the Berkeley area doing field placements with non-profits, government agencies and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks. The Workshop is for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and the meeting dates will be scheduled by the instructor. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2024 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students who doing full-time field placements, and not taking any other courses on the Berkeley Law campus, with non-profits, government agencies and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks. The Workshop is for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and the meeting dates will be scheduled by the instructor. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2024 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students who are doing full-time field placements, and not taking any other courses on the Berkeley Law campus, with non-profits, government agencies, and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks. The Workshop is for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and the meeting dates will be scheduled by the instructor. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Spring 2025 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students who are doing full-time field placements, and not taking any other courses on the Berkeley Law campus, with non-profits, government agencies, and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks. The Workshop is for students doing Away Placements. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, and the meeting dates will be scheduled by the instructor. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Away Field Placements track the academic calendar. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. Fall 2025 Description: The Away Field Placement Workshop is the companion course for students who are doing full-time away field placements, and not taking any other courses on the Berkeley Law campus, with non-profits, government agencies, and judicial externships under the supervision of attorneys and judges/law clerks. The Workshop encourages students to deepen their experiential learning by discussing their experiences with other students and covering topics they will face as legal professionals. This one-unit Workshop does not fulfill the Professional Responsibility Requirement. Students proposing Away Field Placements are required to get approval from a JD Academic Advisor and the Field Placement Director. The course will meet once per week for seven sessions, starting the first week of the semester, and the meeting dates will be scheduled by the instructor. All placements must be approved by Sue Schechter, the Field Placement Director. Applications and more information are available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/field-placement-program/how-to-apply/. The Field Placement Office is available to help students identify appropriate placements. To schedule an advising appointment, go to: sschechter.youcanbook.me. Away Field Placements track the academic calendar. Please reach out to fieldplacementprogram@law.berkeley.edu with any questions. |
| Law 295K Professional Identity in US Public and Private Sector Practice 1 Units |
| Fall 2022: In-Person Fall 2023: In-Person Fall 2024: In-Person |
| Description: Fall 2022 Description: Professionalism in U.S. Public Interest and Private Sector Practice is a 1-unit course designed for LL.M. students to introduce them to lawyers practicing in the U.S. legal system. The course is open to all LL.M. students and will explore professional norms of public interest and private sector law practice in the U.S., primarily through a range of guest speakers sharing their insights and expertise. The speakers will come from non-profit and public interest law organizations, government agencies, corporate counsel offices, and private practices with the goal of discussing what it means to be a legal professional in the U.S.; topics will include professionalism, professional identity, and current issues facing the profession. Fall semester speakers include: August 29- Chrissy Filip, Securities and Exchange Commission, Enforcement Division, San Francisco and Deborah Schlosberg, Berkeley Law Pro Bono Program Director September 12- Helena Engfeldt, Baker & MacKenzie and Rose Goldberg, California Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Team, Veterans Rights Practicum and Berkeley Law Lecturer September 19- Jermel Thomas, Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office and Anya Grossman, Berkeley Law Director of Global Outreach and Professional Engagement October 3- Gurpeet Sandhu, Litigation Associate, Gordon and Rees and Adam Sterling, Executive Director of Berkeley Center for Law and Business and co-founder of StartUp@Berkeley Law October 10- Laura MacGinnis, Family Violence Law Project and Smita Rajmohan, Senior Counsel at Autodesk and Berkeley Law Alumni Association Board, Mentorship Chair October 17- Antonia Carew-Watts, General Counsel, ITVS October 24- Agustina Perez, Child's Rights Senior Associate at Bank Information Center October 31-Hélène Caravallo, Family Law, NY November 7- Jeff Lehtman, Member, Miller & Chevalier, Washington, DC The class will meet on Mondays, from 3:35 - 4:45 in room 141 through November 7, 2020. Interested students are encouraged to enroll as soon as possible. If students have any questions, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director and Lecturer-in-Residence, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. Fall 2023 Description: Professionalism in U.S. Public Interest and Private Sector Practice is a 1-unit course designed for LL.M. students to introduce them to lawyers practicing in the U.S. legal system. The course is open to all LL.M. students and will explore professional norms of public interest and private sector law practice in the U.S., primarily through a range of guest speakers sharing their insights and expertise. The speakers will come from non-profit and public interest law organizations, government agencies, corporate counsel offices, and private practices with the goal of discussing what it means to be a legal professional in the U.S.; topics will include professionalism, professional identity, and current issues facing the profession. LL.M. students are required to take this 1-unit Fall course to be eligible for the LL.M. Practical Lawyering Certificate and to do a spring field placement/judicial externship. Interested students are encouraged to apply using this application by Monday, July 31: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pj1fgh-HdMZU1adYsr_UOgbedXdRVuhGPGqxAmwXkSw/edit?ts=649b5fcd. If students have any questions, please contact Alexis Kelly at akelly@berkeley.edu. Fall 2024 Description: Professionalism in U.S. Public Interest and Private Sector Practice is a 1-unit course designed for LL.M. students to introduce them to lawyers practicing in the U.S. legal system. The course is open to all LL.M. students and will explore professional norms of public interest and private sector law practice in the U.S., primarily through a range of guest speakers sharing their insights and expertise. The speakers will come from non-profit and public interest law organizations, government agencies, corporate counsel offices, and private practices to discuss what it means to be a legal professional in the U.S.; topics will include professionalism, professional identity, and current issues facing the profession. LL.M. students are required to take this 1-unit Fall course to be eligible for the LL.M. Practical Lawyering Certificate and to do a spring field placement/judicial externship. Interested students are encouraged to apply using this application by Wednesday, July 31: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4aXYqBWrseq96zvSZJizHv55KGZtIwL1FDoIMhvyLm2K8rw/viewform?usp=sf_link. If students have any questions, please contact Alexis Kelly at akelly@berkeley.edu. |
| Law 296.5 Directed Dissertation Research for JSP Students 4 - 13 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Summer 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Summer 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Summer 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 297 Self-Tutorial Seminar 1 - 6 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2020 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2021 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2021 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2022 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2022 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2023 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2023 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2024 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2024 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2025 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2025 Description: Individual research projects about legal topics conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. |
| Law 297C Law Practice Field Study 0 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2021: In-Person Instruction Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Summer 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Summer 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Summer 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Summer 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Summer 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 298 Group Research Project 1 - 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Fall 2020 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Spring 2021 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Fall 2021 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Spring 2022 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Fall 2022 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Spring 2023 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Fall 2023 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Spring 2024 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Fall 2024 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Spring 2025 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member Fall 2025 Description: Group research and writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a faculty member |
| Law 298B Research Methods in Law and Society Studies - Special Topics 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty |
| Law 299 Individual Research Project 1 - 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2021: In-Person Instruction Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Instruction Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Summer 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2020 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2021 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Summer 2021 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2021 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2022 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Summer 2022 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2022 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2023 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Summer 2023 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2023 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2024 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Summer 2024 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2024 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Spring 2025 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. Fall 2025 Description: Individual research-and-writing projects conducted under the active supervision of a member of the faculty. |
| Law 299.1 Harvard Law Exchange 1 - 15 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299.11 Harvard Law Experiential 1 - 6 Units |
| Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299.3 Study Abroad 1 - 10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299A Research-Individual Project 4 - 10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299B Research-Individual Project 4 - 10 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299C JSD Independent Study I 1 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2021: In-Person Instruction Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Summer 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Summer 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Summer 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Summer 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299D JSD Independent Study II 1 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299E JSD Independent Study III 1 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 299F JSD Independent Study IV 1 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2021: In-Person Instruction Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Summer 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Summer 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Summer 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Summer 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 300 Professional Training: Supervised Teaching 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 325A Advanced Topics 1 - 6 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 325AB Advanced Topics 1 - 8 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 325B Advanced Topics 4 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 375P Teaching Learning in Higher Education 2 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Spring 2022: In-Person Spring 2023: In-Person Spring 2024: In-Person Spring 2025: In-Person |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: This is a required course for anyone who plans to be a GSI in the Legal Studies Program or any other undergraduate class at UCB. GSIs must either have taken it before the semester they serve as a GSI, or take it concurrently while serving. The course examines standard challenges and problems confronting anyone who teaches, and especially those who teach for the first time. Among them are: constructing a syllabus, constructing and grading tests, constructing and grading writing assignments, developing strategies for creating fair and inclusive classroom climates, developing lesson plans for discussion sections,facilitating participatory and active learning via discussion and other mechanisms, coordinating with co-GSIs, strategies for using writing in and out of the classroom, enhancing educational environments using electronic instructional resources, obtaining feedback from students, dealing with student dishonesty, and managing power and ethics in teaching. The units for this class cannot be counted toward JD, LLM, or JSD degree requirements. Students are expected to attend class regularly and participate in several hands-on assignments both in and outside of class. Spring 2021 Description: This is a required course for anyone who plans to be a GSI in the Legal Studies Program or any other undergraduate class at UCB. GSIs must either have taken it before the semester they serve as a GSI, or take it concurrently while serving. The course examines standard challenges and problems confronting anyone who teaches, and especially those who teach for the first time. Among them are: constructing a syllabus, constructing and grading tests, constructing and grading writing assignments, developing strategies for creating fair and inclusive classroom climates, developing lesson plans for discussion sections,facilitating participatory and active learning via discussion and other mechanisms, coordinating with co-GSIs, strategies for using writing in and out of the classroom, enhancing educational environments using electronic instructional resources, obtaining feedback from students, dealing with student dishonesty, and managing power and ethics in teaching. The units for this class cannot be counted toward JD, LLM, or JSD degree requirements. Students are expected to attend class regularly and participate in several hands-on assignments both in and outside of class. Spring 2022 Description: This is a required course for anyone who plans to be a GSI in the Legal Studies Program or any other undergraduate class at UCB. GSIs must either have taken it before the semester they serve as a GSI, or take it concurrently while serving. The course examines standard challenges and problems confronting anyone who teaches, and especially those who teach for the first time. Among them are: constructing a syllabus, constructing and grading tests, constructing and grading writing assignments, developing strategies for creating fair and inclusive classroom climates, developing lesson plans for discussion sections,facilitating participatory and active learning via discussion and other mechanisms, coordinating with co-GSIs, strategies for using writing in and out of the classroom, enhancing educational environments using electronic instructional resources, obtaining feedback from students, dealing with student dishonesty, and managing power and ethics in teaching. The units for this class cannot be counted toward JD, LLM, or JSD degree requirements. Students are expected to attend class regularly and participate in several hands-on assignments both in and outside of class. Spring 2023 Description: This course introduces graduate students to the theoretical and practical knowledge of teaching and learning within the context of Legal Studies. Among the many common challenges and circumstances of pedagogy covered in the class are: constructing a syllabus; evaluating student learning and performance; creating classroom environments that are inclusive and safe spaces for critical, open inquiry; developing lesson plans for discussion sections; facilitating participatory and active learning via discussion and other mechanisms; strategies for using writing in and out of the classroom; employing electronic instructional resources where helpful; obtaining useful feedback from students; dealing with student dishonesty or other conduct violations; coordinating with co-GSIs where relevant; managing power and ethics in the classroom. The units for this class cannot be counted toward JD, LLM, or JSD degree requirements. Spring 2024 Description: This course introduces graduate students to the theoretical and practical knowledge of teaching and learning within the context of Legal Studies. Among the many common challenges and circumstances of pedagogy covered in the class are: constructing a syllabus; evaluating student learning and performance; creating classroom environments that are inclusive and safe spaces for critical, open inquiry; developing lesson plans for discussion sections; facilitating participatory and active learning via discussion and other mechanisms; strategies for using writing in and out of the classroom; employing electronic instructional resources where helpful; obtaining useful feedback from students; dealing with student dishonesty or other conduct violations; coordinating with co-GSIs where relevant; managing power and ethics in the classroom. The units for this class cannot be counted toward JD, LLM, or JSD degree requirements. Spring 2025 Description: This course introduces graduate students to the theoretical and practical knowledge of teaching and learning within the context of Legal Studies. Among the many common challenges and circumstances of pedagogy covered in the class are: constructing a syllabus; evaluating student learning and performance; creating classroom environments that are inclusive and safe spaces for critical, open inquiry; developing lesson plans for discussion sections; facilitating participatory and active learning via discussion and other mechanisms; strategies for using writing in and out of the classroom; employing electronic instructional resources where helpful; obtaining useful feedback from students; dealing with student dishonesty or other conduct violations; coordinating with co-GSIs where relevant; managing power and ethics in the classroom. The units for this class cannot be counted toward JD, LLM, or JSD degree requirements. |
| Law 601 Individual Study, Jsp Masters 1 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 602 Individual Study, Jsp Doctorate 1 - 12 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Summer 2021: In-Person Instruction Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Summer 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Summer 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Summer 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: empty Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Summer 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Summer 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Summer 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 603 JSP Doctorate - Prospectus Writing 1 - 12 Units |
| Fall 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: In-Person Instruction Spring 2022: In-Person Fall 2022: In-Person Instruction Spring 2023: In-Person Instruction Fall 2023: In-Person Instruction Spring 2024: In-Person Instruction Fall 2024: In-Person Instruction Spring 2025: In-Person Instruction Fall 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: empty Spring 2021 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law 999 Hypothetical Test Course A Units |
| Spring 2024: N/A Summer 2025: N/A |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2025 Description: this section holds the Spring and Fall PDFs as attachments |
| Law W200 Civil Procedure 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This Civil Procedure course covers much of the standard JD Civil Procedure course (which focuses on U.S. federal civil procedure). In the summer quarter, we will cover the following topics in varying levels of detail: jurisdiction and venue, pleading, motion practice, discovery, joinder, class actions, disposition without trial, juries, and preclusion. |
| Law W201 Torts 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Torts law is the common law mechanism for civil liability for all wrongs except breach of contract. Some torts involve minor disputes between individuals, others can involve tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Because it is a common law subject, the Torts class also provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of common law decision-making, civil procedure, and the role of juries in U.S. law. The dramatic and often surprising events in torts cases make the subject ideal for the case method of teaching. Much of the course will focus on the law of negligence and liability for defective products. However, the case will also some torts of particular interest to business and employment lawyers, as well as privacy torts relevant to social media and Internet firms.At a more abstract level, Torts also provides the opportunity to think about the roles of fairness, economic analysis, and litigation problems . |
| Law W202 Contracts 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This survey course explores the basic principles of U.S. common law that govern the formation of, limits on the ability to enter into, breach and enforcement of, and remedies relating to, contracts. Students will also study the related principles embodied in the Uniform Commercial Code, a model for the law shaping sales and other commercial transactions. Textbook: Barnett & Oman, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (6th Ed.) Fall 2021 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W206.4 LLM Legal Research and Writing 1 Units |
| Spring 2024: Remote Instruction Summer 2024: Remote Instruction Spring 2025: Remote Instruction Summer 2025: In-Person Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2024 Description: empty Summer 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty Summer 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W206.5 LLM Legal Research and Writing 2 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Legal Research and Writing for LL.M. Students aims to provide a solid foundation in U.S. legal analysis and communication while teaching students the skills they need to maneuver skillfully through Berkeley Law and U.S. legal culture. This two-credit course teaches case analysis, research strategies, and effective written and oral communication methods. Students focus on predictive legal analysis and writing. The curriculum integrates research instruction with writing assignments. Students also learn basic U.S. legal citation requirements and form. Instruction takes place in small sections led by instructors with extensive legal practice experience. Over the course of the semester, students will prepare a series of research and writing assignments. They will receive extensive feedback on their writing, attend one-on-one conferences with the instructor, and develop revision skills. By the end of this course, students will research and write a draft of their Capstone Project, which is a legal memorandum of 20 to 23 pages in length. In the fall Capstone Writing Workshop (online), students will revise and polish the Capstone Project. |
| Law W206.6 Capstone Writing Workshop 1 Units |
| Fall 2020: Web-based Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: During this one unit online workshop, students will revise and complete the final draft of their Capstone writing project. The project will be a legal memorandum of 5000 to 6000 words in length. Students will have already submitted a draft of this paper during the summer LL.M. Legal Research and Writing course. Students will implement the feedback that they received during the summer course, as well as the fall workshop, and revise their paper to meet the grading criteria. Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W206.8 LRW: Advanced Scholarship 2 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: The course is designed for hybrid students with a U.S. or Canadian J.D. (common law course of study) to take in conjunction with the capstone workshop in the fall. It emphasizes high-level research and analysis. Students will prepare written work typical of legal scholarship, involving sophisticated analysis of legal and related materials, and they will receive written and oral feedback from the Instructor. They will also have the opportunity to hear presentations of cutting-edge scholarship by members of the Berkeley faculty. Written work will include a draft of the Capstone Project that will be completed in the Fall semester. This course is by application only. To apply, please email Professor Farber (dfarber@berkeley.edu) and explain why you are interested in taking this course. |
| Law W208.9 Fundamentals of U.S. Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: N/A Spring 2022: Online Spring 2023: Remote Instruction Spring 2024: Remote Instruction Spring 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: Fundamentals of U.S. Law introduces foreign law students to the fundamental principles of the American legal system and the common-law method of case analysis. In this course, students will focus on crucial doctrines that underpin American governance, including federalism and separation of powers. Students will also study the structure of the U.S. court system, the sources of U.S. law, the lawyer's role in the system, and the culture of the law in this country. The course will introduce students to techniques associated with the common law, particularly the close reading of legal opinions in the context of prior precedent, as well as organization of legal analysis. Throughout the course, students will practice skills that will help them succeed in law school, on the bar examination, and in practice. Spring 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W210.1 Legal Ethics in the Practice of Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course is a practical exploration of the varied and often competing duties and influences that guide lawyers’ conduct. These duties derive largely from written ethical rules and case law. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct have been adopted in one form or another by almost every state except California. The MPRE exam is based on these rules. We will look closely at them. We will also consider the major differences between the ABA Model Rules and California’s rules. But we will drill much more deeply than a mere study of rules and cases. This course will challenge you to understand the limitations of the rules and to reflect on how you would (or do) conduct yourselves when facing a variety of ethical dilemmas. We will explore a range of ethical problems faced by practicing lawyers. We will consider litigation and transactional matters, civil and criminal cases, and the particular concerns of prosecutors and other government lawyers. We will assess the kinds of ethical and moral decisions lawyers must make and the many consequences of those decisions. Classes will contain lectures but will primarily feature an extended conversation among the whole class about a series of current ethical cases and hypothetical problems. The hypos are designed to mirror genuine practice situations that also could be on the bar exam. The problems largely defy the idea of a “correct” answer. We will focus on those difficult cases that fall in the interstices of the rules, a place where common sense and a moral compass offer necessary guidance. They are intended to draw out varying points of view. You are encouraged to offer your own experiences and values as well as your country’s different approaches into the discussions. |
| Law W220.6 Constitutional Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This is an introductory course on constitutional law. The course will begin with controversies surrounding judicial power, including methods of interpretation, judicial authority to invalidate unconstitutional statutes or judicial review, and some limits on the exercise of judicial power. It will go on to cover some of the structural dimensions of constitutions, such as frameworks for separation of powers and federalism. And, finally, the course will spend significant time on constitutional protection of rights. |
| Law W241 Evidence 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course examines the Anglo-American law of proof, with special attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence in the United States. Topics include relevance, hearsay, confrontation, character evidence, impeachment, opinion testimony, expert witnesses, scientific evidence, and privileges (including attorney-client). |
| Law W245.9 International Business Negotiations 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course is structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which half of the students in this class will represent a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the other half of the students will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the businesses and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: In order to successfully complete this class, students must meet the following requirements: 1) Active participation in (i) class discussions concerning the negotiation, (ii) the preparation of the written exchanges in the negotiation, (ii) the live negotiations, and (iii) class analysis of the process and progress of the negotiations. Participation in the exercise will constitute 75% of the final grade. 2) Write a 2-3 page paper that will be due at the end of the class. The topic of the paper will be: “CAN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS ADVANCE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CAUSES? SUPPORT YOUR RESPONSE WITH EXAMPLES.” This paper will constitute 25% of the final grade. Detailed class schedule and preliminary assignments (readings and a 1-hour pre-recorded presentation) are in the syllabus. This course is for credit/no credit. *Please note: This course requires live participation. Students must participate in real-time (not by watching recordings) for the last 3 sessions since they will involve negotiations between students.* |
| Law W247.3 Regulating Banking and FinTech 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course will provide an overview of U.S. (state and federal) banking law; survey of the emerging FinTech market; and explore case studies and examples of FinTech products and how they are regulated. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W247.6 Blockchain for Lawyers 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Blockchain technologies--decentralized databases utilizing public-private key cryptography and consensus mechanisms that would not normally be of interest beyond protocol engineering circles--have captured the imagination and attention of entrepreneurs, investors, multinational enterprises, and governments because of their transformative potential. Visions of “banking the unbanked,” enhancing democracy, and enabling new forms of global collective action. Fears of fueling illicit activity such as terrorist financing and money laundering. In these early days of this embryonic technology, much of this potential remains theoretical, most of the use cases experimental, and the application of existing legal and regulatory frameworks largely unsettled. This course explores the theoretical potential and practical limitations of blockchain technologies, and the evolving legal and regulatory responses to early applications, with a view to distilling the most legally-salient attributes of blockchain technologies for evaluating their opportunities and risks in a range of practice settings. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W248.5 Mergers & Acquisitions 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course introduces the fundamentals of and critical topics in mergers and acquisitions law, as well as the financial and transactional issues that they present. The principal focus of the course will be on the key drivers of M&A activity, the business incentives of the parties to the transactions, and the documentation and negotiation of the deals. Tax, antitrust, securities and other regulatory issues will play a role as well. Students will explore mergers and acquisitions transactions as attempts by the transaction parties to attain business goals and will learn how legal rules and documentation constrain and create opportunity for the parties’ ability to achieve their objectives. In addition to case law, this course will spend a fair amount of time reviewing, analyzing and drafting deal documents (or portions of such documents). Students will analyze and learn to understand how core provisions of an acquisition agreement are negotiated to create value for and allocate risks among the parties. Because this is intended to be a capstone course, prior completion of Business Associations (Law 250) or its equivalent is highly recommended. Class on June 25th will be canceled. A make-up will be held on Friday, June 12th from 2:00-5:00 p.m. Berkeley time. This make-up will be recorded and posted on bCourses. |
| Law W248.8 Venture Capital in Practice 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Web-based Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W250 Business Associations 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Web-based Spring 2022: Online Spring 2023: Remote Instruction Spring 2024: Remote Instruction Spring 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: In virtually every area of legal practice, some rudimentary knowledge about the laws governing business organizations (and particularly corporations) proves helpful. This 3-unit survey course provides much of that orientation, examining the laws governing the modern business organization (with an emphasis on corporations). We will cover a number of topics, including rules of agency law, partnership law, corporate formation, corporate identity, rights of creditors, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions and securities fraud. At core, this is a survey course, so many of the topics we will discuss also have specialized courses offering a more detailed treatment. Consequently, our key goal will be to understand the rudimentary structure of each topic, and how the topics interrelate and in particular how corporate law regulates relationships among multiple different constituencies of the firm, including owners, managers, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. Viewed in this light, the governance of a corporation implicates the same challenges and concerns that affect any multi-party economic relationship, ranging from problems of collective action, free riding, private information, distribution and opportunism. The laws governing business organizations constitute an important set of rules, institutions, and practices that regulate and address these concerns. This course is recommended as a prerequisite for Securities Regulation and Mergers and Acquisitions. Note about scheduling: Each week, students will be asked to complete the assigned readings, watch the lectures, and submit any written assignments by the specified due dates or suggested completion dates. Students should set aside around 14 hours each week for this course. The course runs for six weeks, and there is a written exam at the end. Spring 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W251.5 Corporate Finance 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course explores the financial and legal aspects of a fundamental question for business organizations: how does a firm raise money to finance its operations? In examining this question, the course takes both a theoretical and a practical perspective. As a matter of financial theory, how can a firm use its financial resources as well as various sources of outside financing to enhance its value to investors? We will survey modern financial economics and explore the techniques commonly used for understanding, assessing, and computing a firm's value. In addition, the course also examines the practical aspects of executing a particular financing decision to provide insight into financial contracting strategies. Class on May 26th will be canceled. A make-up will be held on Monday, May 25th from 7:00-10:00 a.m. Berkeley time. This make-up will be recorded and posted on bCourses. |
| Law W252.2 Antitrust Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: The course covers United States federal antitrust law which regulates competition among business enterprises. It explores cartels, monopolies and mergers. We will discuss both horizontal agreements among competitors, as well as vertical restraints of trade between suppliers and customers. Competing conceptions of the economic aims of antitrust law, as well as central doctrinal and policy debates today, will be explored throughout. |
| Law W254.8 Sustainable Capitalism & ESG 2 Units |
| Fall 2020: Web-based Fall 2021: Remote due to COVID Fall 2022: Remote Instruction Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2020 Description: empty Fall 2021 Description: empty Fall 2022 Description: empty Fall 2023 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W255 Venture Capital in Practice 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: It's been said that Silicon Valley is the greatest creation of wealth in the history of the planet. This course will focus on legal and business aspect of what goes on here in the day-to-day life of a corporate attorney advising technology and emerging growth startup companies. The course will touch on key events in the life-cycle of a startup: considerations in starting a technology-based business; choices and details in forming an entity to hold that business; seeking early stage funding; raising venture capital; the fundamental concepts and basic mechanics of a venture capital financing; all pointed toward a liquidity event, such as an IPO. In each case, the emphasis will be on business realities and practical solutions, such as what makes for a good business to attract venture capital; how should entrepreneurs seek investment and the pros and cons of different investment sources; and how founders and investors interact to allocate rewards of the venture between them. The course will be taught using many examples taken from real life. This course is for credit/no credit. Special note for Hybrid Track LL.M. students: If you complete Venture Capital in Summer 2020, you will not be able to take Form+Fund in the Fall 2020 semester as the classes cover the same material. |
| Law W255.5 Securities Regulation 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course provides an overview of the regulation of securities offerings and trading under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The course explores the elaborate disclosure obligations that this country imposes on the distribution and trading of investment securities as well as the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and private plaintiffs in shaping and enforcing these disclosure obligations. Topics to be covered include: public offerings of securities and the registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, exemptions from these registration requirements and the role of exemptions in the financing of private and public firms, and the disclosure obligations of publicly-traded issuers. The course will also examine the role of anti-fraud rules in the issuance and trading of securities as well as liability for insider trading. |
| Law W256 Transactional Drafting 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course will focus on drafting, reviewing, and negotiating U.S. business contracts. Students will learn to (a) translate business terms into contract terms, (b) identify and avoid ambiguities, (c) draft with precision, (d) add value to a deal, and (e) shift risk between contracting parties. Students will also be introduced to the U.S. style of drafting business contracts. There will be daily drafting assignments. In lieu of an exam there will be a take-home drafting assignment. This course is for credit/no credit. Class on June 2nd is canceled and will be rescheduled for Thursday, June 4th, from 4:00- 6:30 p.m. Berkeley time. |
| Law W261.1 International Business Transactions 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course analyzes the contractual and regulatory issues that might arise when a business transaction involves international elements. Typical examples of such transactions include: concluding a supply deal with foreign providers, acquiring a foreign company, seeking financing from foreign investors, and financing a foreign company through the U.S. markets. We will examine the background rules governing international business, including the extraterritorial application of domestic law and the role of international law in the US system. We will also study parties’ freedom in choice of law and dispute resolution fora, including both courts and arbitral tribunals. We will discuss common transaction structures, as well as regulatory approvals needed to complete transactions, such approvals from anti-trust authorities or privacy regulators. We will then assess the main risks associated with a cross-border transaction, including foreign torts and dealing with sovereigns, and discuss contractual devices used to limit these risks’ impact. |
| Law W261.2 International Arbitration 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This 1-unit course taught over 5 days provides a sophisticated immersion into prominent issues faced in resolving a transnational dispute through arbitration and/or litigation. You will learn the structure of the international arbitration system, along with pre-arbitration issues such as enforceability of arbitration agreements, and arbitrability. You also will examine issues arising during the arbitral proceedings such as evidence and expert testimony, multiparty arbitration, and choice of law. You likewise will examine certain aspects of judicial assistance, including interim measures, discovery orders, and letters rogatory. Finally, you will look at post-proceeding issues such as challenging arbitral awards, appeals, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. In discussing these items, the course touches on other mechanisms for dispute resolution such as diplomatic protection, transnational litigation, investment arbitration, and the evolutionary interplay between all of these various mechanisms. Each day class will run for 3 hours and 15 minutes, with two 10-minute breaks. To maintain pace and engagement, various pedagogical approaches will be used: Lecture/discussion; in class discussion of scenarios, interviews and discussion with visiting practitioners. Participants in the class come from many jurisdictions and with varying levels of exposure to international arbitration. The classroom seeks to take advantage of this circumstance and provide a multi-jurisdictional perspective and forum for learning from the experience of each other. Classes will be recorded and students will be able to participate in other ways if not able to attend live. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W262 Anti-Corruption Compliance 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Anticorruption law has become an increasingly important area of practice for in-house and outside counsel alike in recent years. Corruption adversely impacts economic development and stability. Multinational corporations have the power to advance that economic development through trade and investment, but are ethically, and in certain cases legally, bound to ensure that such trade and investment are pursued transparently. For this reason, states are increasingly legislating against and enforcing regulations proscribing corruption. This course will examine the global phenomenon of corruption and the existing legal and voluntary frameworks under both US and international law to govern it. The course will focus primarily on corporate corruption with a comprehensive study of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), related decisions, enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance. It will focus specifically on the role of the in-house counsel and compliance professional in reducing potential liability risks under the law. The course will then evaluate and compare existing international frameworks for combating corruption globally (including the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery) and will close with an examination of private initiatives, voluntary frameworks, standards and guidelines for preventing corporate acts of corruption. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W275.3 Intellectual Property Law 3 Units |
| Spring 2020: Remote due to COVID Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID Spring 2021: Web-based Spring 2022: Online Spring 2023: Remote Instruction Spring 2024: Remote Instruction Spring 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Spring 2020 Description: empty Summer 2020 Description: This course is intended for students who are interested in a general overview of intellectual property law. The course begins with an analysis of the competing policies underlying the intellectual property laws. It covers the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law, as well as some of the salient controversies in intellectual property law, including patent protection for software, business methods and medical diagnostics, copyright enforcement challenges posed by the Internet age, and the role and difficulties of protecting trademarks on the Internet. Spring 2021 Description: empty Spring 2022 Description: empty Spring 2023 Description: empty Spring 2024 Description: empty Spring 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W276.1 Cybersecurity 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Corporations, government agencies and other institutions are under constant cyberattack. Starting with the question of what is cybersecurity, this course will explore the range of legal and policy questions posed when a data breach occurs and will consider how the law can be deployed to improve cybersecurity, including criminal law, breach notification, civil liability and litigation, administrative agency regulation and enforcement, and national security law. It will examine how standards of care are being defined for cybersecurity. It will seek to offer insights on governance and risk management relevant to in-house counsel, private attorneys, and government officials. While the focus will be on U.S. law and policy, reference will be made to international norms. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W276.6 Hot Topics in Intellectual Property & Privacy - Life Sciences 1 Units |
| Fall 2023: Remote Instruction Fall 2024: Remote Instruction Fall 2025: Remote Instruction |
| Description: Fall 2023 Description: empty Fall 2024 Description: empty Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W276.7 Hot Topics in GenAI 1 Units |
| Fall 2025: Online |
| Description: Fall 2025 Description: empty |
| Law W276P Information Privacy Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Ten years ago, a mere handful of practitioners could be called "privacy lawyers," but now there are many lawyers who practice information privacy law. Today, almost all businesses need advice about information privacy, which includes data security regulations. While the roots of privacy law in the US started with a right to be let alone, modern business models, the needs of the administrative state, law enforcement priorities, and our own behavior complicate approaches based upon seclusion or secrecy. This course will explore the roots of US privacy law, its evolution through the 20th century, and the challenges of regulating information in the modern era where institutions and "data subjects" need and reveal information constantly, but also seek basic dignity protections and safety from harm. Privacy law consists of torts, contracts, constitutional law, statutory law, and soft law norms. |
| Law W277W Patent Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course will cover the core concepts of U.S. patent law with special focus on the issues of patent reform that have been raised over the past few years. Using the perspective of an inventor or entrepreneur, we will examine how patents are used as a business tool to commercialize new technologies and innovations. We will also consider fundamental policy questions about the current patent system such as whether it favors big institutions over independent inventors or start-ups and whether it inhibits scientific research and access to medicines. |
| Law W278.1 Trademark Law and Branding 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: A trademark is a designation that distinguishes the source of goods or services. The law of trademarks is part of the broader law of unfair competition, which protects against a variety of “deceptive” and “inequitable” business practices. In this course, we will examine the subject matter of trademark and unfair competition law, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with the patent and copyright regimes, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark (registered or unregistered) has been infringed, defenses to trademark infringement, dilution doctrines, and certain other rights against unfair competition. Studying the doctrinal rules in this area will not be enough, however, since those rules are bound to change. Trademark and unfair competition law have evolved significantly over the last century, and the rate of change has increased exponentially in the technological age. Our objective is both to understand current legal rules and to situate those rules in a broader historical, normative, and doctrinal context, with a particular focus on freedom of expression. Thus, in addition to studying current rules, we will study how trademark and unfair competition law have evolved over time and discuss the reasons for those changes. |
| Law W278.3 Copyright Law 3 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: This course is a study of U.S. federal copyright law as it pertains to works of art, motion pictures, music, literature, and software. The course will concentrate on the scope of copyright protected subject-matter, the exclusive rights granted to creators of "original works of authorship", the nature of the infringement actions, and defenses such as “fair use.” The course also examines recent developments concerning copyright and digital technology. We will explore issues relating to digital piracy and review the role of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the liability of on-line intermediaries for copyright infringement, and the enforcement efforts relating to peer-to-peer file-sharing. The course also covers supplementary state rights, such as the right of publicity and moral rights. |
| Law W278.8 Wine Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: California accounts for 90 percent of all wines produced in the United States and is the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain. The California wine industry has an annual impact of $51.8 billion on the state’s economy and $125.3 billion on the national economy. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in the state. This course examines the major legal issues facing the wine industry in the areas of constitutional law, administrative law, and intellectual property. Specific topics include Prohibition and Twenty-first Amendment jurisprudence, federal and state alcohol beverage regulatory systems (market structure, licensing, product standards, trade practices), wine labeling, and appellations of origin. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W280.1 Entertainment Law 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Taught by a practicing Los Angeles entertainment attorney, this course provides an introduction to the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in the film and television industries. Students will explore (i) the legal basis and structure of key television and film agreements (e.g., writer, producer, director and actor deals), (ii) best practices for successfully negotiating these entertainment agreements, and (iii) other key legal issues that arise in connection with the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted content. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the most common issues that arise in the day-to-day practice of entertainment law in film and TV. This course is for credit/no credit. |
| Law W281.1 Adv IT Contracts: Drafting & Negotiating 1 Units |
| Summer 2020: Remote due to COVID |
| Description: Summer 2020 Description: Students learn to write and negotiate technology contracts. The goal is to prepare them to practice as transactional attorneys in the IT industry. The secondary benefit is training on contract drafting and negotiation in general, which supports legal work in any industry. The primary content is a clause-by-clause review of the key terms in cloud computing contracts, software licenses, and the other bread-and-butter agreements of the IT industry. But the course will also include content that is not clause-specific, particularly a primer on contract drafting itself, a review of the IT industry and its particular legal concerns, and a primer on intellectual property as it applies to the industry. This is not a course on IP licensing. That topic, however, will play an important role. The course is taught by David W. Tollen, who is an author, expert witness, trainer, and attorney. He wrote The Tech Contracts Handbook: Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers And Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2015). The book is the number-one bestseller from the IP Section of the American Bar Association, and it will serve as the course’s key text. Mr. Tollen is also the founder of Tech Contracts Academy™, LLP, where he teaches lawyers and businesspeople to draft and negotiate IT agreements. Finally, Mr. Tollen is the founder of Sycamore Legal® P.C., an IP and IT boutique law firm in San Francisco. There, he represents buyers and sellers in IT transactions and also serves as an expert witness for cases on the same topic. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and has an Ll.M. from Cambridge University and a B.A. in history from U.C. Berkeley. This course is for credit/no credit. |