Seton Hall University School of Law One Newark Center
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 642-8500
law.shu.edu
Interim Dean: John Kip Cornwell, J.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: Cara Foerst, J.D.
Academic Director of Division of Online Learning: Carl Coleman, J.D.
Associate Academic Director Division of Online Learning: Angela Slater, J.D.
Note to Students: The following listing represents those courses that are in the active rotation for each department, i.e., have been offered in the past five years. Some departments have additional courses offered more rarely but still available – to find the complete list of all official courses for a department, please use the “Course Catalogue Search” function in Self-Service Banner.
The Criminal Defense and Community Advocacy Clinic is more than defending community members facing charges. It is wrestling with ways to break away from an unsustainable system and explore, with community members and community partners, where to go from here. The clinic shifts the focus from attorneys and the courts, from the system itself, to communities and their collective power and ingenuity. In particular, the clinic shifts the focus to the community members most affected by the criminal legal system: those facing charges and their loved ones. This is the goal of Participatory Defense, a movement that will guide students’ work in the clinic. Participatory Defense is a community organizing model that shifts the “landscape of power” in the courts to community members facing charges and their families. The community members and their families participate in the defense process, work alongside the defender in case preparation, and have a stronger presence in the court process through weekly, community-led meetings. Students will engage with a mission central to the model’s approach: ending mass incarceration, transforming “time served to time saved” from incarceration (one of the metrics of Participatory Defense). Partnering with community and grassroots organizations and activists, students will develop an active Participatory Defense practice. The clinic students will engage with this model by gaining knowledge and hands-on experience defending community members, including children and young people, facing criminal charges from police station representation and arraignment through hearings, trial, appeals, parole revocation, expungements, sealings, and executive clemency. In addition to the clinic work, students may be assigned to support advocacy and litigation in criminal defense with trial, civil rights or appellate offices in Newark. Clinic students will engage in community and movement legal work, using the law for community members and legal tools to support building the power of movements to create enduring and transformative social change. As a part of the clinic’s policy advocacy, clinic students will engage in projects in related areas of dire need, such as the rights of community members who are incarcerated, holistic reentry based in community-directed and community-led redistributive policies, accountability for – and reduction of –state-sanctioned violence, community member self-advocacy, community empowerment through public legal education projects and community-based solutions, including community-based public safety and collective care. Informed by the approach of the global legal empowerment movement, the clinic’s work will be “community-directed and community-located", and clinic students will collaborate with community partners to run clinic programs. Clinic students should be prepared to travel to -- and work within -- the neighborhood spaces of community partners, organizers and activists in Newark’s West, South and Central Wards.
The Criminal Defense and Community Advocacy Clinic is more than defending community members facing charges. It is wrestling with ways to break away from an unsustainable system and explore, with community members and community partners, where to go from here. The clinic shifts the focus from attorneys and the courts, from the system itself, to communities and their collective power and ingenuity. In particular, the clinic shifts the focus to the community members most affected by the criminal legal system: those facing charges and their loved ones. This is the goal of Participatory Defense, a movement that will guide students’ work in the clinic. Participatory Defense is a community organizing model that shifts the “landscape of power” in the courts to community members facing charges and their families. The community members and their families participate in the defense process, work alongside the defender in case preparation, and have a stronger presence in the court process through weekly, community-led meetings. Students will engage with a mission central to the model’s approach: ending mass incarceration, transforming “time served to time saved” from incarceration (one of the metrics of Participatory Defense). Partnering with community and grassroots organizations and activists, students will develop an active Participatory Defense practice. The clinic students will engage with this model by gaining knowledge and hands-on experience defending community members, including children and young people, facing criminal charges from police station representation and arraignment through hearings, trial, appeals, parole revocation, expungements, sealings, and executive clemency. In addition to the clinic work, students may be assigned to support advocacy and litigation in criminal defense with trial, civil rights or appellate offices in Newark. Clinic students will engage in community and movement legal work, using the law for community members and legal tools to support building the power of movements to create enduring and transformative social change. As a part of the clinic’s policy advocacy, clinic students will engage in projects in related areas of dire need, such as the rights of community members who are incarcerated, holistic reentry based in community-directed and community-led redistributive policies, accountability for – and reduction of –state-sanctioned violence, community member self-advocacy, community empowerment through public legal education projects and community-based solutions, including community-based public safety and collective care. Informed by the approach of the global legal empowerment movement, the clinic’s work will be “community-directed and community-located", and clinic students will collaborate with community partners to run clinic programs. Clinic students should be prepared to travel to -- and work within -- the neighborhood spaces of community partners, organizers and activists in Newark’s West, South and Central Wards.
The Housing Justice and Legal Design Clinic employs a legal design framework to understand and respond to housing inequity in New Jersey. As part of the Housing Justice Project funded by the State, the clinic seeks to offer high-impact support to tenants by engaging in a spectrum of work that shifts legal power to disenfranchised and marginalized communities. Centering tenants and collaborating with organizers, student attorneys will: (1) design, build, and test solutions that makes tenants’ rights more accessible, (2) advocate for legal interventions that stabilize housing for impacted communities, and (3) engage in impact litigation that empowers tenants against unsafe living conditions.
The Housing Justice and Legal Design Clinic employs a legal design framework to understand and respond to housing inequity in New Jersey. As part of the Housing Justice Project funded by the State, the clinic seeks to offer high-impact support to tenants by engaging in a spectrum of work that shifts legal power to disenfranchised and marginalized communities. Centering tenants and collaborating with organizers, student attorneys will: (1) design, build, and test solutions that makes tenants’ rights more accessible, (2) advocate for legal interventions that stabilize housing for impacted communities, and (3) engage in impact litigation that empowers tenants against unsafe living conditions.
The Civil Litigation Clinic provides students with an opportunity to litigate civil cases in a variety of fora and subject areas. The caseload may range from a federal class action lawsuit to landlord-tenant, consumer, and family cases in state court. Students will engage in all phases of the legal process, including interviewing, counseling, negotiation, motions, pleadings, discovery, trials, and appeals. The clinic represents tenants in landlord-tenant cases, represents parents and children in divorce and custody proceedings, and litigates consumer and a variety of other cases as well. The seminar is designed to ensure that students develop a common base of litigation skills through simulated exercises and will also introduce students to relevant substantive law. In addition to the seminar, students participate in weekly team meetings for the cases for which they are responsible. The clinic requires an average of fifteen hours per week in addition to the two hour seminar. Litigation demands will vary on a weekly basis, and students must have the flexibility to commit more extended hours to meet court deadlines. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.
The Civil Litigation Clinic provides students with an opportunity to litigate civil cases in a variety of fora and subject areas. The caseload may range from a federal class action lawsuit to landlord-tenant, consumer, and family cases in state court. Students will engage in all phases of the legal process, including interviewing, counseling, negotiation, motions, pleadings, discovery, trials, and appeals. The clinic represents tenants in landlord-tenant cases, represents parents and children in divorce and custody proceedings, and litigates consumer and a variety of other cases as well. The seminar is designed to ensure that students develop a common base of litigation skills through simulated exercises and will also introduce students to relevant substantive law. In addition to the seminar, students participate in weekly team meetings for the cases for which they are responsible. The Clinic requires an average of fifteen hours per week in addition to the two hour seminar. Litigation demands will vary on a weekly basis, and students must have the flexibility to commit more extended hours to meet court deadlines. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.
The Family Law Clinic provides students with the opportunity to develop practice skills and an intensive understanding of various areas of family law practice. Students serve as counsel to clients in divorce and adoption cases from original interview through final judgment. Students also serve as law guardians for children in termination of parental rights and other cases. They are supervised in their activities by the clinic's attorneys, but have primary responsibility for the conduct of the case. Students draft all pleadings and make court appearances on behalf of their clients. The clinic offers training in techniques of advocacy and in legal ethics as well as providing an important service to those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.
The Family Law Clinic provides students with the opportunity to develop practice skills and an intensive understanding of various areas of family law practice. Students serve as counsel to clients in divorce and adoption cases from original interview through final judgment. Students also serve as law guardians for children in termination of parental rights and other cases. They are supervised in their activities by the clinic's attorneys, but have primary responsibility for the conduct of the case. Students draft all pleadings and make court appearances on behalf of their clients. The clinic offers training in techniques of advocacy and in legal ethics as well as providing an important service to those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.
Each Impact Litigation Clinic student briefs and argues an appeal in federal court over the course of a semester. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit appoints the Impact Litigation Clinic to represent indigent, pro se litigants in federal appellate cases that raise noteworthy legal issues. Cases include a range of subject areas such as employment and housing discrimination, police brutality, and unconstitutional prison conditions. Students work closely with clinical faculty, reviewing the trial court record, preparing the appendix for appeal, consulting with the client, researching and writing the appellate briefs, and preparing for oral argument. At the end of the semester, each student argues her case before the Third Circuit. Both the clinical and classroom component of the course address the legal rules and strategic considerations involved in the appellate process; the course focuses more generally on advanced legal research, analysis and writing, and preparation for effective oral advocacy in the courtroom. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.
Each Impact Litigation Clinic student briefs and argues an appeal in federal court over the course of a semester. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit appoints the Impact Litigation Clinic to represent indigent, pro se litigants in federal appellate cases that raise noteworthy legal issues. Cases include a range of subject areas such as employment and housing discrimination, police brutality, and unconstitutional prison conditions. Students work closely with clinical faculty, reviewing the trial court record, preparing the appendix for appeal, consulting with the client, researching and writing the appellate briefs, and preparing for oral argument. At the end of the semester, each student argues her case before the Third Circuit. Both the clinical and classroom component of the course address the legal rules and strategic considerations involved in the appellate process; the course focuses more generally on advanced legal research, analysis and writing, and preparation for effective oral advocacy in the courtroom. The clinic is open to day and evening students who are the equivalent of a third year day student.
a
The Equal Justice Clinic handles a variety of cases involving civil rights, with a primary focus on the rights of immigrants, women, and other historically vulnerable groups. The clinic employs a range of legal tools to address inequality and human rights violations, including direct-service client representation, civil litigation, and human rights advocacy. The clinic's diverse cases will address issues such as torture, violence against women, racial and gender inequality, and prisoners' rights, exposing students to a variety of lenses ad lawyering skills through which to view and address these issues.
The Equal Justice Clinic handles a variety of cases involving civil rights, with a primary focus on the rights of immigrants, women, and other historically vulnerable groups. The clinic employs a range of legal tools to address inequality and human rights violations, including direct-service client representation, civil litigation, and human rights advocacy. The clinic's diverse cases will address issues such as torture, violence against women, racial and gender inequality, and prisoners' rights, exposing students to a variety of lenses ad lawyering skills through which to view and address these issues.
This important course is a survey of Articles 2, 9 and 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code. It affords students the opportunity to develop enhanced familiarity with the laws of sales and consumer transactions, and then the law of secured financing, which involves the voluntary collateralization of goods. The course then examines related aspects of consumer and commercial bankruptcy law. It concludes with an overview of the law of negotiable instruments, also known as commercial paper. Negotiable instruments are promissory notes and checks. The course explores the predicates to proper transfer of negotiable instruments, the elements and benefits of holder in due course status, and liability for lost, stolen or forged checks.
This course considers the role of insurance in American society, emphasizing: the nature of the insurance contract, including standard clauses; the notion of wager and insurable interest; concealment; representation; contributions; warranty; illegality; waiver; estoppel; and subrogation. It examines both common law principles and state supervision and regulation of the insurance industry.
Secured credit--in the form of bank lending, mortgages, and asset securitizations--is a legal solution to critical business challenges. Secured credit can help creditors lend money while minimizing the risk of loss. It can also help businesses and consumers pledge assets as collateral while retaining the right to use those assets. This course examines the use of credit and collateral in sale and loan transactions, ranging from routine consumer purchases to complex business transactions. This course uses a problem-based approach to explore commercial deals. The course implicates both statutory interpretation and policy considerations in meeting the needs, and reconciling the interests, of the various parties to secured transactions--consumers, manufacturers, dealers, lenders, insurers, and the government. The focus is on developing situations-specific legal strategies and advising clients. There are no pre-requisites for this course, but students who have taken either Commercial Law or Bankruptcy may find the background provided by those courses helpful.
The course will provide a detailed examination of the law associated with construction and real estate development; cover the relationships between the parties in the construction process; and focus on the key provisions to be included in construction contracts. It includes the perspectives of owner, architect/engineer, contractor, subcontractor, supplier, and surety in the context of private and public construction projects. In addition, the course will explore the contractual and statutory obligations and protections for contractors, subcontrctors and suppliers. Finally, there will b an analysis of typical construction disputes arising form contract interpretation, change orders, delay, safety, environmental problems and payment issues; and the means by which those disputes are resolved.
This course provides a survey of remedies available to consumer and business debtors and their creditors under state law and the United States Bankruptcy Code. The course covers topics such as: enforcement of money judgments, commencement of bankruptcy cases, the automatic stay, property of the bankruptcy estate, exemptions, secured and unsecured claims, avoidance of transfers, executory contracts, distribution of property, dismissal and conversion of bankruptcy cases, and discharge of debts in bankruptcy.
This course considers the organization and operation of business enterprises with particular emphasis on the corporate form. The class includes an introduction to agency and partnership and limited liability companies. Corporate issues to be discussed include: nature of the corporation; corporate formation; corporate privilege and power; special problems of close corporations; fiduciary duties of directors and controlling shareholders; rights of shareholders; use of proxy machinery; derivative suits; and liability for insider trading, including an analysis of SEC Rule 10b-5. .
A central challenge to maintaining both competitive edge and regulatory compliance in today’s financial services industry is keeping step with all of the ways technological innovation has changed the way transactions occur, activity is monitored, success is measured, and risks are assessed. The speed of today’s markets is transforming the way we think about institutional and retail financial services industry, and the very definitions of what constitutes such services. While this topic is vast, this course covers the financial technology -- "FinTech" -- issues that consume most of today’s legal and regulatory attention. These include digital currencies; cyber security for trading markets and nonpublic information; cyber-activity and preemption (capital formation/crowdfunding, mobile banking, insurance); AI in banking, big data, and digital advisors; and emerging FinTech products and practices.
This course examines the history and development of the compliance function within global financial services companies. In addition, it will review the broad outline of regulations applicable as well as the respective roles of corporate governance functions (i.e. finance, internal audit, independent auditors, law, compliance, ethics departments, risk management) and their relative interactions with regulators. It will also explore the detailed interaction between business processes and compliance processes.
This course addresses issues of significant and growing importance in the areas of corporate governance, compliance and risk management. The course will principally focus on the risk management and compliance policies developed by or designed for corporations, but we will consider the perspectives and concerns of management, in-house and outside counsel, regulators, other relevant stakeholders who may influence governance, compliance or risk management.
This course analyzes the statutes collectively referred to as the federal securities laws with emphasis on the Securities Act of 1933. Most of the course is devoted to a consideration of defining a security, registration of securities offerings, and exemptions from registration. Liability under the 1933 Act will also be addressed, as will registration of broker-dealers.
This course continues the study begun in Business Associations with emphasis on the financial aspects of the publicly held corporation. It includes: problems of enterprise and securities valuation; capital structure; the issuance and acquisition of securities; security holders' rights; dividends; structural change; mergers and acquisitions.
This course analyzes basic issues to be considered in the organization, operation and disposition of business ventures, combining concepts of partnership, limited liability company and corporate law, finance, securities law and taxation. The course will focus on four primary areas: formation and capitalization of the enterprise, determining participation in profit and loss, rewarding employees and service providers and exit strategies, including business combinations and taxable and tax-free dispositions. In addition to traditional teaching methods, the course involves guest lectures from entrepreneurs, investors and others involved in the field. Significant emphasis will be placed on federal and state tax issues affecting business planning decisions. Fundamental principles of entity-level and pass-through taxation will be discussed. Note: This is a lecture course with an examination, not a skills course.
This course will prepare students to practice in an legal environment increasingly reliant on data and data analysis. The course will begin with an introduction to basic statistics (using an inexpensive, popular book) and basic empirical techniques such as sampling and regression, and aim to arm students with the ability to conduct basic empirical analysis, and as importantly, to be able to understand the limits and potential issues surrounding the use of data, and learn how to challenge data-based arguments made by others. The course will also introduce students to various ways in which the use of data is changing the practice of law, including government investigations, corporate transactions, and document discovery and production. No knowledge of or background in mathematics is required or assumed. The course is aimed at preparing even math-phobic students to practice law in a rapidly changing world, to work in public policy, or simply to be better citizens.
This course provides an overview of the regulation of the banking and financial services industry. The class will situate bank regulation in the broader context of other financial institutions, including investment funds, broker-dealers, and insurance firms, and in the context of other national, regional and international approaches to regulation finance. In addtion to covering U.S. banking law basics - safety and soundness, activities and affiliation restrictions, geographic limit, deposit insurance and supervision - the class will consider issues in central banking, resolving complex financial conglomerates, cross-border regulatory cooperation, institutional design for regulating finance, and financial crisis response.
This course is designed to bridge the gap between the legal theory and practical realities of the practice of law by focusing on the various problems that arise in the daily practice of corporate and securities law. The course will include guest speakers who are prominent practicing lawyers. This course will also include field trips to the American Stock Exchange, to a leading NASDAQ brokerage firm, and to a leading financial publication where students will have the unique experience of seeing how markets are made and reported with respect to major corporations. This course will explore problems engendered by investigations and disciplinary proceedings initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., the stock exchanges and state regulatory authorities. Students will engage in "moot court" arbitrations as council for various parties. The preparation of prospectuses, proxy statements and annual reports will be addressed and students will prepare portions of these documents. Substantive areas of corporate and securities law such as the securities exchange act of 1934 section 10(b) and rule 10b-5 will be discussed. There will be writing assignments during the course of the semester.
Startup Counseling: This course focuses on the legal issues young companies, particularly in the technology space, encounter. Topics that will be discussed include entity formation, obtaining financing from venture capitalists and angel investors (including standard documentation), securities law governing fundraising and equity awards to employees, and common provisions in customer facing agreements (including Terms of Service and Privacy Policies). This class will also delve into case studies of innovation to understand the interaction of law with evolving technologies and business practices, including cryptocurrencies, ride sharing, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer lending. Reading will consist of a mix of public law, transactional documentation and secondary sources. Except with the instructor's permission, students must have taken business associations (and prior or concurrent enrollment in securities regulation and/or corporate finance would help).
In this class we will explore some recent law review articles on corporate debt, and the restructuring of the same. Typically, two related articles will be assigned each week. Grading will be based on response papers to the assigned articles, along with an AWR paper written during the course of the semester. While the class will focus on corporate bankruptcy and related aspects of corporate financial distress, the final paper can be written in any area of corporate law. This year the weekly class meetings and the one-on-one discussions of student papers will take place online.
This course analyzes legal and practical problems in the administration of criminal justice from police investigation through arrest and the commencement of formal proceedings, including: arrest; search and seizure; right to and assistance of counsel; entrapment; police interrogation and confessions; lineups, show ups and other pretrial identification procedures; grand jury investigations; and the exclusionary rule.
This course analyzes legal and practical problems in the administration of criminal justice after the commencement of formal proceedings, including: bail; pretrial release; prosecutorial discretion; preliminary hearing; grand jury review; the right to a speedy trial; discovery and disclosure; plea bargaining; trial by jury; sentencing; double jeopardy; and post-conviction proceedings.
This seminar is about systemic issues that exist within the administration of the criminal justice system. Over the course of the semester, we will explore the processes designed to implement the criminal law, encountering both substantive criminal law issues as well as procedural questions. For example, we will discuss topics like punishment and incarceration, community policing, prosecutorial discretion, bail reform, risk-assessment based sentencing regimes, decriminalization, the right to counsel, post-conviction remedies and reentry, and the effect of big data and artificial intelligence on the administration of the criminal law. This is a writing seminar and each student will be expected to produce a paper that conforms to the Advanced Writing Requirement (AWR). Students will have an opportunity to present their research and paper to the class later in the semester.
This course provides an in-depth study of corporate and white-collar crimes, including: RICO; mail fraud; federal drug offenses; criminal tax enforcement; bank secrecy statutes; false statements to law enforcement agents; criminal civil rights statutes; obstruction of justice; Hobbs Act; Mann Act; securities fraud; environmental crimes; workplace death and injury; and choice between federal and state prosecutions.
This seminar addresses sentencing law. It begins by treating the philosophical, jurisprudential and political considerations which should guide sentencing and then examines current New Jersey and federal sentencing guidelines and practices, with an emphasis on the role of the prosecutor or defense attorney at sentencing. Finally, the seminar will address federal and state constitutional and statutory issues regarding the imposition of the death penalty.
The course introduces the students to the special legal and practical problems involved in developing and litigating a post-conviction case of factual innocence, most particularly the problems of fact investigation, the problems of dealing with waivers and defaults of claims and grounds at various stages in the proceedings, burdens of proof, the problems of coordination involved in schemes of state post-conviction remedies and federal habeas corpus, and the necessity of linking dehors-the-record exculpatory factual allegations to all possible legal claims (newly discovered evidence, actual innocence, and the “constitutional” claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and “Brady” violations). The class will study two significant cases from 2002, in which Federal judges, asked to consider compelling claims of “actual innocence” on applications for writs of habeas corpus, believed they were not authorized under Herrera v. Collins to entertain the “freestanding” claim of actual innocence, but nevertheless wrote opinions that led eventually to relief for the petitioners, one of them on a renewed effort in state court. The class will then go on to study the implications of a more recent case, that of Troy Davis, in which the Supreme Court remanded for an “actual innocence” hearing, and the District Court subsequently held explicitly for the first time that there is a “freestanding” claim of actual innocence under the United States Constitution. The class will compare the Herrera and Davis cases (in which the evidence of innocence was very weak) with the New York cases of People v. Bermudez, People v. Rojas, and Rosario v. Ercole (in which the evidence of innocence was very strong), and draw litigation lessons from the comparis
The emergence of DNA testing over the past thirty years has exposed the conviction of thousands of factually innocent people. This course provides an opportunity to learn about the systemic errors in our legal system that lead to wrongful convictions of factually innocent defendants, as well as exploring more broadly the justice or injustice of our criminal legal system. We will question whether defendants can be wrongfully convicted or wrongfully sentenced regardless of their factual innocence, and what that means. This is a seminar course that also focuses on what happens after an individual’s criminal conviction becomes “final,” that is, after he or she has exhausted the appeals process. Students will learn fundamental basics of post-conviction law (habeas law) to enhance their understanding of wrongful convictions and available remedies.
This seminar affords the student experience in conducting the trial of a criminal case through simulation, including: direct and cross-examination techniques; trial and post-trial motions; summation; and requests to charge. Each student will examine witnesses, introduce documents and other evidence, and make and respond to objections, motions and requests to charge. Students will receive detailed critiques of their performance.
This course provides a survey of the major federal laws pertaining to protection of all environmental media, including land, air, surface water and groundwater. It covers the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("Superfund") and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (the two "solid waste" programs), the Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act, including wetlands protection. The course also covers related government enforcement authorities, environmental auditing, and environmental justice issues.
This course is designed for the transactional lawyer whose practice will require basic knowledge of environmental laws. It will begin with a brief overview of the major environmental laws, and then focus on the impact these laws have on various business transactions and requirements. These include financial accounting and disclosure requirements, insurance and bankruptcy issues, contracting issues and risk allocation techniques in connection with purchases or sales of businesses or property, environmental audits and related privilege issues, and government inspections and enforcement actions. The objective of the course is to explore the growing importance of environmental law to a variety of business-related transactions and requirements.
The course will examine the legal framework governing energy production and consumption in the United States, and policy approaches for balancing energy needs with other societal goals. The course will focus on electricity sector rate-setting, state and federal laws influencing how the electricity sector evolves, and renewable energy, including state renewable portfolio standards.
Renewable Energy Project Finance (2 hours): This class will provide an introduction to the business, finance and development renewable energy, exposing students to real-world tools of the trade as well as the underlying theories and concepts. Students will learn key aspects of renewable energy development and how renewable energy project finance differs from other types of finance. Students will review federal, state and locals laws, and be introduced to a number of legal documents used in U.S. renewable energy projects. Wind and solar projects will serve as case studies for allocating risk, raising debt and equity and key development decisions. We will review renewable technologies, government policies and incentives, and what it takes to develop a project to achieve financing. We will cover development issues such as site control, permitting and interconnection agreement, as well as the main contracts and subject matter experts involved in financing. We will cover the lender due diligence process, financing commitments, terms sheets, loan agreements, security agreements, insurance and other financing-related documents. Pre-requisite: Energy Law
The Judicial Externship Program is open to full-time day and part-time evening students who have completed 25 credit hours and maintained a 2.60 grade point average. The Program is also open to part-time day students who have completed fewer than 25 credit hours and maintained a 2.80 grade point average. It affords the opportunity to spend a semester as an Extern to a judge in all of the New Jersey state courts (except for Landlord/Tenant and Small Claims), United States District Courts or United States Bankruptcy Courts. Externs earn two academic credits upon satisfactorily completing a minimum of 30 pages of written work product and spending a minimum of 180 hours on chambers-related duties. Interested students must submit a Statement of Intent to Extern, available at the Office of the Assistant Dean for Student Services, to the Faculty Director, Professor Robert Martin. Each student is responsible for securing an Extern appointment with a participating judge, which typically occurs through submission of a cover letter, resume and writing sample, followed by an interview in chambers. After the judge has confirmed the appointment and the faculty director has given approval, the student must register for the program. Students may enroll in the course twice for a total of 4 credits. Enrollment is limited to 32 students during the fall and spring semesters, and preference is given to third year students and students who have not had other intern or Extern experience. The program is also offered in the summer.
Students will be awarded 2 credits, Pass/D/Fail, provided the following requirements are fulfilled: 1. Externships are available to students who have completed their first year of law school, provided the student has completed a minimum of 22 credits of study. 2. Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.6. 3. Students must attend a mandatory Externship Orientation. 4. A minimum of 150 hours of work performed on-site at your placement. You must keep your own time records using weekly timesheets to be signed by your supervising attorney. If you are not provided one at your externship, use this timesheet. 5. A minimum of 20 pages of written work from the field placement. Written work must reflect substantial legal analysis and be comparable to the work of a first-year associate. This should be substantially your own work and may consist of a portfolio of numerous shorter writings. Note that this is in addition to the required reflection paper. All written work product must be redacted prior to submitting it to the Externship Administrator. 6. Reflection on the externship experience will occur through a required total of 10 pages of written reflection, completed by the end of the semester. You should keep a journal or use the comments section on your weekly timesheets to record your progress. This will prove extremely useful when writing your reflection paper. Click here for some suggested topics to cover in your paper. Note that this paper will be taken into account in assigning your grade. It is separate from your evaluation of the experience. 7. Timely submission and satisfactory completion of the Student Evaluation Form. 8. You must give your supervising attorney the written Placement Supervisor Evaluation Form at the end of the externship. Your supervising attorney must send the form directly to the Externship Administrator.
One or two students will be nominated for selection in May to extern at the European Court of Justice or the Court of First Instance located in Luxembourg. The European Court of Justice hears cases from the European national courts, interpreting and ruling on the application of European Union law. The Court of First Instance hears and rules on cases in the European Union concerning competition law or antitrust cases. Final selection of student externs is made by specific Judges or Advocates-General of the Court. This program affords the student the opportunity to prepare for international practice by serving as a law clerk under the direct supervision of a Judge or Advocate-General of the Court. Students participate in an orientation program at the beginning of the semester. During the semester, the student can expect to work a total of 600 hours for 12-14 weeks researching relevant community law, drafting reports for hearing and attending hearings to gather information for pending cases and legal memoranda for use in judicial deliberations. The official language of the Court is French although students working for the Advocate-General write and research in the native tongue of the Advocate-General. In addition to the direct supervision by Members of the Court, students are supervised by the program directors, Professors Tracy Kaye, Livingston Baker and Elizabeth Defeis. Students are required to produce a minimum of 50 pages of written work during the internship for review by the program directors.
Students will be awarded 2 credits, Pass/D/Fail, provided the following requirements are fulfilled: 1. Externships are available to students who have completed their first year of law school, provided the student has completed a minimum of 22 credits of study. 2. Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.6. 3. Students must attend a mandatory Externship Orientation. 4. A minimum of 150 hours of work performed on-site at your placement. You must keep your own time records using weekly timesheets to be signed by your supervising attorney. If you are not provided one at your externship, use this timesheet. 5. A minimum of 20 pages of written work from the field placement. Written work must reflect substantial legal analysis and be comparable to the work of a first-year associate. This should be substantially your own work and may consist of a portfolio of numerous shorter writings. Note that this is in addition to the required reflection paper. All written work product must be redacted prior to submitting it to the Externship Administrator. 6. Reflection on the externship experience will occur through a required total of 10 pages of written reflection, completed by the end of the semester. You should keep a journal or use the comments section on your weekly timesheets to record your progress. This will prove extremely useful when writing your reflection paper. Click here for some suggested topics to cover in your paper. Note that this paper will be taken into account in assigning your grade. It is separate from your evaluation of the experience. 7. Timely submission and satisfactory completion of the Student Evaluation Form. 8. You must give your supervising attorney the written Placement Supervisor Evaluation Form at the end of the externship. Your supervising attorney must send the form directly to the Externship Administrator.
This course reviews and applies research study design methodologies (quantitative, qualitative and mixed), as well as statistics for healthcare professionals and practitioners. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics, issues in sampling and hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, and regression. Students use hands-on applications essential to developing, analyzing, and interpreting healthcare studies. Computer software is used for statistical analysis.
Provides a hands-on introduction to basic financial reports and financial analysis for planning and decision-making. Emphasizes tools for analyzing financial statements, determining profitability, cost and pricing models and budgeting critical for managerial decision making. Comprehensive understanding of the application of financial information to support managerial planning, control, and resource allocation functions will be emphasized by exploring the interaction of financial, strategic, organizational policy and the external environment information on decisions.
This course studies the role of the contemporary healthcare manager with emphasis on identifying basic managerial skills and knowledge that contribute to effective healthcare administration. Course materials focus on contemporary knowledge, skills and real-world applications for management of diverse healthcare organizations.
Designed to enhance both analytical and decision-making skills, this course covers financial accounting as applied to healthcare organizations. Emphasizes tools for analyzing financial statements as well as key management issues (profitability and liquidity) and explores the use of debt as part of financial structure. Prepares students to apply financial management theory and concepts as real-world managers in the health services industry. Prerequisite: HCAD 6005 or permission of instructor.
This course is designed to provide health professionals with an essential global health systems skill set. The approach, organization and outcomes of global health systems provides invaluable lessons for health system delivery that can be applied across the continuum of healthcare service and delivery. With the assistance of the instructor, students will complete weekly assignments building on the six components of global health systems and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The intended result of the course is for the students to complete projects that integrate an understanding of global health systems approaches appropriate for making strategic choices in healthcare organization, management, delivery, and outcomes.
Designed to enhance analytical and managerial decision-making skills; this course builds on the concepts presented in HCAD 6005 and covers financial analysis applications such as: working capital needs assessment, risk and return, capital planning, the use of debt and equity in organizational financing structures and the cost of capital as applied to health sector organizations. By focusing on the proper application of financial analysis into the managerial decision-making process this course will enable students to become better stewards of scarce resources. This course has been designed to ensure that students understand, think through and correctly apply key financial concepts and processes to better manage health sector organizations.
Designed to examine the manager’s role, responsibilities and involvement in developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies for community health initiatives. Topics covered include community health assessment techniques, collaboration strategies, and the application of population management models for health promotion. Emphasis on managerial epidemiology (study of distribution and determinants of diseases) and its integration with health systems planning to meet local community needs. Prerequisite: HCAD 7521 or permission of instructor.
Population Health Management provides a comprehensive review of population health approaches, strategies, and programs designed to improve consumers’ access and quality of care while managing costs. Course content covers policy implications and delivery of population health best practices within the health sector, their impact on consumers and providers, and consumer engagement programs throughout the continuum of care. The course also integrates social determinant identification, basic managerial epidemiological concepts, and highlights the potential use of data analytics for decision-making.
This course is designed to provide health professionals with an essential data analytics skill set that can be applied across the continuum of healthcare service and delivery. With the assistance of the instructor, students will complete weekly assignments building on the core functions of data analysis, visualization and presentation, data mining strategies, database management, modelling of trends and population-health management applications. The intended result of the course is for the students to complete projects that integrate an understanding of health data and analytic strategies that are appropriate for making strategic choices in health policy and general healthcare delivery research and management within the Triple Aim framework.
Provides a systematic overview of the structures and organizations in U.S. healthcare delivery systems with emphasis on interactions of governmental policy, authorities, delivery systems, financing of health care, regulation, competition, organizational innovations in healthcare services and alternate delivery strategies. Also examines stakeholder interests.
A major overview of current U.S. health policies and their implications with in-depth study of the policy process and analytical approaches to decision making. Special emphasis on the nature and role of healthcare policy studies in decision-making. Also includes an examination of comparative international systems
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of medical practice management, the issues, tools and techniques to resolve administrative issues. Practice Management will provide the learner with insights into contemporary financial models and regulatory issues that influence today’s practice environment. Specific attention is focused on culture dynamics, human resource applications, and governance issues that make medical practices unique among healthcare organizations.
Designed for pre-service students or for those with fewer than two years of management experience, this course affords students an opportunity to learn management skills through onsite experience. The students must complete a minimum of 300 hours of managerial or administrative work under the tutelage of a healthcare administrator and complete all assignments associated with the internship. Seminar discussions link students’ real-world experience with common human resource management topics. Requires instructor approval. Students may be required to complete and pay for site-specific testing requirements.
Consists of a 3-credit, group-consulting project related to an area of healthcare administration or management. The practicum typically requires the writing of a management report and the delivery of an oral presentation for the partner organization. All work is completed under faculty supervision. May require transportation to practicum site. Requires instructor approval.
Designed for students currently working full time on a supervisory or management level in healthcare, this course gives theeach individual anthe opportunity to design and conduct a research project that focuses on a management or policy problem at his/her place of employment or in the public arena. The student presents methodology, results and recommendations both as a written capstone project and as an oral presentation. Requires instructor approval.
This course is an independent project based on an aspect of healthcare delivery, administration or policy. With the assistance of the instructor, the topic is of the student’s own choosing. The course provides an excellent opportunity for the student to delve more deeply into an area of healthcare which he or she has not previously studied, or to relate the curriculum to their workplace. The intended result of the project is for the student to make a contribution to his or her organization or profession. Requires instructor approval.
The study and application of economic process and methods pertinent to healthcare managers and policy practitioners. Traditional economic models pertaining to supply and demand, competition, market power, production function and efficiency are applied to the healthcare industry. Case studies reflect recent economic conditions and their application to real world management decisions. Prerequisite: HCAD 7521 or permission of instructor.
The study and application of economic process and methods pertinent to healthcare managers and policy practitioners. Traditional economic models of supply and demand, competition, market power, labor choices, production functions and efficiency are applied to the health sector. Primary focus is on the application of economic principles to facilitate real world management decisions.
Study of the role, functions and application of strategic planning and marketing in healthcare organizations. Emphasis on the process of strategy assessment, development, and implementation and the unique aspects of healthcare services and service design/performance as they interact with marketing plans. Prerequisites: HCAD 6005, 7513, 7521, and 8515 or permission of instructor.
Overview of legal issues associated with the delivery of healthcare and the legal pitfalls surrounding everyday practice and administration. Additionally, explores legal aspects of human resource administration in health care, as well as issues of liability and corporate responsibility.
This course provides an overview of quality improvement and information management systems for health care leaders. Quality performance management models, approaches, tools, and techniques are presented in the context of organizational culture and leadership. Management techniques applicable to the use of health information systems are discussed along with QI/QM applications and topics - computerized records, order entry systems, and electronic health care applications. Reviews current ethical, legal and policy implications and regulations.
This course offers students a basis for analyzing medical and healthcare ethics involving clinical practice, legal dimensions, and public policy. Personal, professional, and organizational ethical dilemmas and decision-making responsibilities are discussed in the context of contemporary healthcare factors and environment.
As health professionals at all levels seek to understand the impact of natural and man-made disasters on health status, best practices for emergency management strategies are emerging. Using an all-hazards approach, this course provides an overview of emergency preparedness and its application to all aspects of a population’s health. Focuses on issues such as bioterrorism, food security, pandemics, and other related topics. Skills necessary for performing risk vulnerability assessments, developing emergency management plans, and crisis versus traditional operational processes will be covered.
As health professionals at all levels seek to understand the impact of natural and man-made disasters on health status, best practices for emergency management strategies are emerging. Using an all-hazards approach, this course provides an overview of emergency preparedness and its application to all aspects of a population’s health. Focuses on issues such as bioterrorism, food security, pandemics, and other related topics. Skills necessary for performing risk vulnerability assessments, developing emergency management plans, and crisis versus traditional operational processes will be covered. Prerequisite: HCAD 7521 or permission of instructor.
This course provides an opportunity for intensive graduate study by examining the dynamic nature of leadership in the context of modern healthcare organizations. Students learn and apply leadership principles, theories, models and skills to enhance personal capabilities. Addresses ways of managing career decisions under conditions of accelerated change and focuses on the development of servant leadership skills. Prerequisites: HCAD 7513, 7514, 7522, and 8518 or permission of instructor.
In this first of three courses in Professionalism and Leadership, students will explore the dynamic nature of leadership in the context of modern healthcare organizations. Various theories and models concerning leadership styles will be considered and students will utilize instruments to consider their preferences regarding leadership styles. Additionally, to assist students in their professional development the course will focus on several introductory elements of the MHA Program’s Professionalism Module.
In this second of three courses in Professionalism and Leadership, students will explore the dynamic nature of leadership in the context of modern healthcare organizations. Various concepts related to leadership, including but not limited to power, motivation, talent management, emotional intelligence…etc. will be considered. Additionally, to assist students in their professional development the course will focus on several mid-program elements of the MHA Program’s Professionalism Module.
In this third of three courses in Professionalism and Leadership, students will focus on synthesizing prior MHA course learning and applying it to case studies of modern healthcare organizations facing transformational challenges and to career planning. Students will also reconsider leadership styles, but in the context of leadership teams. Additionally, to assist students in their professional development the course will focus on several noted last year elements of the MHA Program’s Professionalism Module.
This course provides M.S.J. students with an introduction to the legal system as well as basic legal research and writing skills, with a focus on topics relevant to the health and pharmaceutical industries. Students will receive LEXIS, WESTLAW and Internet research training.
This course introduces M.S.J students to principles of contract and corporate law necessary to provide an appropriate background to health law courses. The course includes a writing component that focuses on drafting skills.
This M.S.J. course provides a general overview of the constitutional law doctrines that are most relevant to health professionals. Particular attention is paid to separation of powers, privacy and reproductive rights, and the First Amendment as they relate to government regulation of health care. The course also considers constitutional and other issues raised by the role of administrative agencies and the implementation of legislation in the health care system.
This innovative Health Care Compliance program is a four day, full-tme program for compliance amd other pharmaceutical professionals, as well as attorneys and provides grounding in health care fraud and abuse and an overview of laws governing the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Faculty for this program include high-level government and private lawyers who are expert in pharmaceutical and device fraud and abuse issues. A Health Law and Policy Program professor participates in each semi-annual session. Note: Available to MSJ students only for credit.
This survey course introduces students to the major legal and policy issues surrounding the provision of health care. Topics include the organization and governance of nonprofit hospitals and other health care organizations, financing of care through public and private insurance programs, health care fraud and abuse, quality control in health care, confidentiality of medical information, informed consent, reproductive health care, medical decisions at the end of life, and medical research with human subjects.
This course provides a comprehensive analysis of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) health privacy provisions, and the HITECH ACT (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act), which pose substantial technology and privacy requirements for health plans, health care providers, and their business associates. Topics include HIPAA's administrative simplification provisions, the Privacy Rule, the Transaction Rule, the Security Rule, and the HITECH Act breach notification provisions. Practical experience will be offered in drafting HIPAA business associate contracts and learning how to manage clients and formulate an effective transactional negotiating strategy in this context. There is very little case law in this area, as a result, the course focuses heavily on developing in-depth knowledge of the overall statutory and regulatory regime. This course also involves role plays and experiential learning exercises including substantial student interaction.
This course addresses the legal system’s special treatment of people who have, or are believed to have, behavioral abnormalities associated with mental disorder. In particular, the course will explore the following issues relating to the use of governmental authority to restrict or deprive individuals with mental disorder of liberty or property: the extent of experts’ ability to assess questions of capacity, mental illness, danger, and prognosis; the civil law mechanisms for involuntary confinement of people on the basis of mental disorder, and the closely-related question of legal recognition (or not) of a person’s competency to make treatment and other choices following a diagnosis of mental disorder; public and private payment systems for inpatient and outpatient care; the faults in the outpatient treatment system and legal principles regarding rights to avoid institutionalization; the effects of a diagnosis of mental disorder on the criminal justice system; and the unique and shifting system that has arisen regarding the civil confinement of people convicted of sex offenses. To provide a foundation for the legal analysis of these issues, the nature and treatment of mental disorders will be summarily explored.
This course will examine the laws protecting persons with disabilities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as the cases interpreting these laws. We will explore the definition of “disability,” potential claims, covered entities and their defenses, and the range of remedies. Substantive areas to be covered include education, employment, housing, public accommodations, government services, and the rights of persons in institutions.
This course will introduce you to diverse approaches to bioethical analysis and help you apply different bioethical theories to contemporary issues in health care. Topics covered include Kantian ethical theory; consequentialism; virtue ethics; welfare liberalism; libertarianism; telehealth ethics; and professional ethics and conscience. The course does not focus on legal doctrine per se; rather, it is designed to give you analytical tools that can help you think through the ethical dimensions of current legal debates.
This courser examines the legal, ethical and public policy issues surrounding the use of human subjects in biomedical research, focusing on current controversies and efforts to reform the existing regulatory structure. The course begins with a historical examination of human subject research, but the bulk of the semester is devoted to critical analysis of the current system for overseeing human subject research. Throughout the course we consider how the regulatory system should take into account the changing relationship between academia, industry and government.
This course will examine how national governments in different countries approach key health law issues (“comparative health law”), as well as how the international community works together to manage health-related issues of global concern (“international health law”). It will begin by exploring the concept of a “right to health” in international law, as well as different approaches countries have taken to structuring their national health care systems. It will then examine how different countries regulate core aspects of the provider-patient relationship, including the right to be free from medical negligence, the right to informed consent, and the right of control over patient information. Next, the course will consider diverse national approaches to a range of bioethical issues, including abortion, assisted reproduction, the termination of life-sustaining treatment, and physician aid in dying. Finally, the course will conclude with international issues in public health, with a focus on infectious diseases, tobacco regulation, and research with human subjects.
This course provides an overview of the laws and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration that restrict the sale of unsafe, deceptive or unproven foods and drugs. The pre-market approval system governing drugs will be examined along with the debate about the length of testing. Other topics include the prescription status of drugs, consumer advertisements, and the impact of commercial speech protections. Major issues concerning food regulation are considered such as the appropriateness of a no-risk policy for carcinogens and the use of biotechnology in foods. The justification for the deregulation of dietary supplements will also be explored. The course aims to provide students with an understanding of the principal regulatory means used by the agency, such as rulemaking, and court enforcement. In addition students will be able to consider the appropriateness of schemes based on disclosure and those that impose additional restrictions.
This course will train law students in quantitative and analytic skills related to law enforcement and advocacy. Though many of our examples will relate to cutting edge health law enforcement and compliance, we expect that students in nearly any regulatory or litigation context will find the skills taught both transferable and useful. Substantively, the seminar will focus on fraud and abuse detection tools and methods used by public and private health insurers. Procedurally, the seminar will train students in skills of data analysis, basic statistical and quantitative methods, and data visualization. Skills such as text summarization, chart drafting, and spreadsheet management will be explained and practiced. The course will feature examinations of the intersection of health care law with e-discovery and computational legal analysis. The course will aim to enable students to: (1) excel as uniquely technically qualified attorneys at traditional firms; (2) leverage unique skill sets to compete for positions in compliance departments, revenue cycle management departments, and quality control divisions; and (3) understand cutting edge law enforcement tactics that will prove increasingly important in a world of predictive policing and algorithmic assessments of threats.
This course focuses on traditional principles underlying New Jersey medical malpractice law, using a practical and substantive approach to the subject, focusing on the standard of care, expert-related issues, causation and damages relating or pertaining to medical malpractice actions. The school attendance will be in effect for this course, and class participation is expected.
This course will introduce you to the issue of lawyer and law student wellness. Students will regularly participate in exercises and discussions to develop skills to reduce everyday stress. The class will also include lectures on the scientific research backing up these methods, as well as their philosophical and psychological underpinnings. The class material is based on the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum developed at the Univ. of Massachusetts by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. This curriculum is widely followed by professional programs in the U.S. and around the world.
This seminar engages the student in an extensive study and analysis of empirical data, current statutes and cases as well as proposed changes to the law dealing with issues related to death and dying. Class topics include alternative definitions of death, organ donation, withholding and withdrawal of death-prolonging and life-sustaining treatment, advance directives, patient demands for futile treatment, the cost of end-of-life care, wrongful living, and physician-assisted death.
This seminar examines the structure of public health law, with emphasis on government responsibility and power, individual rights, and the relationship between the law concerning population and individual health. Topics will include responses to threats of terrorism, infectious disease, environmental threats such as tobacco and lead, and privacy concerns.
As consumers increasingly rely on “alternative medicine” as a complement to, or in some cases as a replacement of, their conventional medical care, a host of legal, ethical, and social issues arise. These treatments include acupuncture, dietary and herbal supplements, and other treatments that have some evidence basis but little regulatory oversight. They also include arguably dangerous forms of quackery (some pushed aggressively on various broadly viewed TV programs). This course will explore the health implications of forms of alternative medicine; licensing and scope of practice, where justifications of public safety and individual autonomy can clash; malpractice and informed consent; insurance coverage; the regulation of dietary supplements; and the overlap between alternative medicine and the anti-vaccination movement.
This seminar provides students with the tools to prepare and try a medical malpractice case. Students are provided with three redacted (but otherwise complete) medical charts to analyze. They then conduct medical research, and learn how to locate expert witnesses. Following this each participant prepares pleadings and serves and responds to discovery requests. Students take simulated depositions of parties and experts. They prepare pretrial motions, and attend portions of an on-going medical malpractice trial, a trial call, and motion days. The grade is based on demonstrated competence in preparation of pleadings, discovery documents, motions, and taking depositions. * Not available to M.S.J. students.
This seminar introduces students first to the market triggers that cause corruption in its various forms, the harms to various economies cause by corruption, and mechanisms that address corrupt behavior. The remainder of the course comprises a study of the health and non-health related laws that address corruption, both domestically and abroad, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act 2010; Stark, Anti-kickback and the False Claims Act; Sarbanes Oxley, Dodd-Frank and other relevant non-health laws. Students may receive 3 credits for writing an AWR paper in the course, or 2 credits if they take an exam.
This seminar will examine a variety of legal and policy issues at the forefront of advancements in the life sciences, drawing upon a diverse and interdisciplinary set of reading materials. Topics to be covered include genetics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, neuroscience and synthetic biology.
This Legal Practice course connects the substantive health law that students are learning in their health law classes with the legal skills and problems that commonly arise in the practice of health law. The course uses a mixture of lecture, guest speakers, class discussion, group work, simulations, and writing exercises to explore substantive law and skills specific to three common health law practice settings: government (enforcement, legislative, or regulatory); in-house counsel at a non-profit hospital or health insurer; and patient representation (policy, advocacy, or direct services). For example, students may negotiate and draft agreements between providers and hospitals, conduct investigative inquiries using redacted medical records and other investigative materials in a professional licensing investigation, and research, draft, and promote model health legislation from an advocate’s perspective. The course is graded High Pass, Pass, D, or Fail based on attendance, class participation, preparation for simulations, and writing assignments; there will not be a final examination. To maximize synergy between classroom and real world practice experiences, students are required to secure (or to have completed) a health law externship or other similar health law placement approved by the Health Law Program by the first week of classes.
: This skills course will focus on the skills and professional ethics that comprise corporate compliance.Students will obtain the skills to prioritize enterprise risk and allocate resources to a compliance program; prepare an employee training module; walk through the steps required to conduct an investigation beginning with the decision to impose a litigation hold on documents and perform an initial interview of a corporate employee. In addition, students will meet and learn how to work with forensic accountants to conduct audits; work with an HR professional to manage a whistleblower while minimizing the risk of a retaliation suit; prepare a presentation to a board audit committee on whether a detected government overpayment should be reported as potential fraud; and outline an action plan for managing certifications required by Corporate Integrity Agreements.
This course examines legal and ethical issues in medical treatment and research, with an emphasis on the relationship between bioethical analysis and legal decision-making. Topics covered include medical decision-making at the end of life, organ transplantation, the determination of death, research involving human participants, sterilization of mentally incompetent persons, maternal-fetal decision-making, and assisted reproduction. The course will emphasize bioethical issues relevant to all stages of the life cycle, with a particular focus on issues concerning children and adolescents.
This seminar examines cutting edge and controversial linkages between law and neuroscience. The seminar aims to highlight neuroscientific basis for behavior patterns with legal implications, including how neuroscience intersects with civil law, criminal law, evidentiary rules, memory bias and enhancement, lie and deception detection, adolescent brains and juvenile law. We will look critically at efforts to use neuroimaging in court in connection with predictions of dangerousness and predispositions towards mental illness and substance use and misuse, as well as efforts to identify neurobiological influences on the brain. Does it make sense to speak of the neurobiology of violence or the psychopathology of crime, or future dangerousness? This course will explore the relationship between law and science, more generally, and neuroscience in particular.
With 19 million regular users in the United States, cannabis is one of the most popular drugs in the country. It is also one of the most highly regulated. Until recently, such regulation was virtually synonymous with prohibition. But over the past two decades, a growing number of states have experimented with new approaches to regulating the drug, treating it more like other legal medicines or alcohol than heroin or methamphetamines. These experiments have created a new body of law governing a host of cannabis-related behaviors, from simple possessing the drug to employing those who use it, along with a host of intriguing questions regarding who has authority to regulate the drug. This course takes an in-depth look at the competing approaches to regulating cannabis, the rationales behind these approaches, and where legal authority resides for choosing among them. What are the elements of a cannabis trafficking offense? May a state legalize a drug the federal government forbids? Who is allowed to use and traffic cannabis under state law? How do states prevent diversion of cannabis into forbidden markets? Are contracts with cannabis dealers enforceable? May employers fire employees who use cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes? This course will examine these and other questions as well as examine New Jersey’s recently-enacted cannabis legalization statute and its implementing regulations.
This course will survey the basic doctrines of intellectual property (“IP”) law, including patent, design patent, trade secret, trademark, unfair competition and copyright law. We will also briefly look at related state law forms of protection. The course is intended both for those who intend to practice in an IP field and for those with a more general interest in the topic. Given the interrelations and analogies among IP rights, any specialized IP practitioner should have a working knowledge of IP areas outside his or her area of expertise. Since most lawyers’ business models depend on an understanding of IP law, any practitioner would benefit from this survey course.
The course will examine the Constitutional, economic and political origins of patent, copyright, trademark and design laws in the United States. It will also look at how interest groups have shaped such laws. It will not involve a review of case law but instead will examine influential commentaries on Intellectual Property protections, beginning with materials from the seventeenth century and continuing to contemporary law review articles. For each area of Intellectual Property, a concise summary of that discipline will be provided which will lead to a review and discussion of critical writings in that field. The textbook, Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Law by Robert P. Merges and Jane C. Ginsburg, will be supplemented by summaries and other materials provided by the lecturer. This course will be in addition to, and markedly different from, any introductory course on Intellectual Property: students who have taken that course, as well as those new to the field, would benefit by this course.
Information technology has transformed our everyday lives, but at the same time, it has profound effects on our personal privacy. A vast amount of our personal information is digitized. This includes details about our health and genes, purchasing and reading habits, chats with friends and even our physical location. Government and private companies can access, collect, store, transfer to other parties, and sometimes misuse our personal information. U.S. law has grappled to regulate privacy through a growing amalgamation of judicial decision-making, statutes and regulations. This course will examine the regulation of privacy in the United States. But since information is not confined by national boundaries, it will also examine global privacy regulation (particularly in the European Union) and its impact on privacy regulation in the United States
This course is a general survey and analysis of substantive areas of law relating to the production, distribution and exhibition of products and services in the entertainment and media industries. Areas surveyed include music, film, television, cable, publishing, legitimate stage, the online entertainment industry and the regulation of attorneys, agents and managers. It treats the creation, ownership and regulation of entertainment speech with emphasis on the first amendment, defamation, the right of privacy, the right of publicity, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, the law of ideas, moral rights, theories of credit, contract law and sources of regulation of professionals who work in the entertainment and media industry.
An exploration of the impact of the legal system on the sports industry in America, particularly the sources of legal authority, development and recognition of property rights in sports and the substantive principles of contract law. The course examines the legal relationships among athletes, teams, leagues, governing bodies, sports facilities, licensees, agents and fans, as threaded together through contract, property, labor, intellectual property, constitutional, antitrust, and tort law. We will also study the legal implications of the financial and business platforms relating to the sports industry.
Entertainment Law 1 provides an introduction to the torts that are frequently encountered in the entertainment business. The course covers topics such as the following: • Law of ideas • Copyright law • Trademark law • Privacy torts • Defamation law • Breach of contract
Entertainment Law 2 examines industry-specific approaches with an eye toward transactional practices, insulation from liability, as well as typical workplace and consumer issues. The course covers contracting practices with respect to the following, among others: • Music royalties • Film actor agreements • Liability waivers for reality television and game shows • Contracts regarding credit, pay or play, and profit participation It also examines recurrent workplace and social issues in the industry, such as the following: • Race and gender discrimination • Sexual harassment • Censorship
Intellectual property rights are global assets. Any business that provides goods or services across territorial borders must understand how to protect its intellectual property rights and to engage in intellectual property transactions across different parts of the world. Although there are international treaties that coordinate intellectual property protection internationally, there are no fully harmonized or unified international intellectual property rights. This course will examine differences in patent, copyright, trademark, and related protections in the United States, the European Union, and other parts of the world, with attention to treaties such as the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement that provide some degree of international cohesion. The course will also consider practical aspects of securing, enforcing, and transacting in intellectual property rights across national borders. The course is suitable both for students with specialized interest in intellectual property as well as for students more interested in international business and technology law who will benefit from some familiarity with the course's themes. A primer on basic intellectual property principles will be provided for students who have not previously taken an intellectual property course or who need a refresher.
This course will cover the practical aspects of transactions and negotiations in sports with an overview of both player side and team side contracts. The primary focus will be the NFL and MLB; amateurism and female equity issues will also be discussed. Students will learn how to negotiate player contract and agent contracts, as well as marketing and sponsorship contracts. In addition, agent compliance, agent regulations, statutes, and ethical issues for lawyers representing athletes will also be reviewed. We will also cover the key aspects of representing both male and female coaches. Students will learn how to negotiate the key points of both a NFL and MLB player contract as well as NIL deals for amateur athletes. Team and league issues will also be covered for those interested in learning about being in-house counsel for a professional team or league.
The course examines the intersection of laws applicable to the hospitality and lodging sectors. Students will explore liability associated with premises use and commercial guest visitation and safety, food and beverage liability, human resources and employment law issues specific to these heavily people-oriented businesses, issues related to real estate finance and franchising and operational leasing that commonly exist in this sector. The course will also examine the connectivity of hospitality law to both gaming (sportsbook & casino) and sports facilities and will explore via both site visit and the inclusion of industry guest speakers some of the management and leadership issues that create unique dilemmas for legal practitioners in this sector.
This course examines the newly created right of college athletes to access entrepreneurial opportunities based on their common law rights of publicity, often called of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights. Until recently, amateurism rules prevented college athletes from accessing these rights, but changes in the rules and policies of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), together with recently enacted state laws, have given college athletes a new ability to use and potentially profit from these rights. This course will examine the challenges and opportunities arising from this major shift in the world of intercollegiate athletics. Topics covered include a detailed examination of the legal environment surrounding NIL; the NCAA rules still applicable to NIL and the interplay of these rules with state laws; the key contractual terms and provisions that shape NIL transactions; opportunities allowed and limited under current NIL laws and regulation; institutional responsibilities and liabilities created by NIL; strategies for limiting risk in pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities available under NIL; and the range of third-party participants that have sprung up in the NIL space.
The course is a comprehensive study of the law relating to gaming activities with an emphasis on the laws, policies, and procedures that have developed through court decisions and the regulatory activities of the administrative agencies. In addition, the course will provide an overview of public policy issues, the federal role in regulation of gaming, the economics of gaming, the creation of gaming contrrol systems, the licensing process, gaming contracts and gaming crimes. The course will also explore the nature of the eveil sought to be addressed in gaming laws and regulations, will examine the leading approaches to the regulation of gaming, and will deal with some of the current issues in gaming law.
Internet Law and Governance Foundations. This is the required foundational course module. It asks the questions "what is cyberspace" and "what does it mean to govern in cyberspace?" We will examine questions relating to jurisdiction, enforcement, democratic control, speech, and commerce from the early days of the Internet to the present. This study raises the basic questions addressed throughout all four modules: what is the relationship between "liberty" and "security" in cyberspace?
This course will cover the nature of federalism as it applies to gambling in the United States with a focus on federal statutes that affect gaming. In addition, this course will explore the unique regulatory regimes surrounding Tribal Gaming.
This course covers all phases of common law and statutory copyright including works subject to protection; securing protection; rights of copyright holder and succession to those rights by agreement and inheritance; international problems; and fair use and infringement questions.
This course treats common law and statutory protection of ideas, trade secrets, and trademarks, including: acquisition and loss of trademark rights; registration and licensing; problems of infringement, dilution, and misappropriation of trademarks; fair use and Internet use of trademarks; and related remedies.
This course undertakes an intensive examination of the nature of patents and questions of patent validity and procurement, primarily for those intending to specialize in the patent area in their future practice. It includes: nature of patent property; problems in the procurement of patents including filing date, obtention and maintenance; international practice and problems; patent office practice; problems of validity including novelty, utility and non-obviousness; and transfers of property rights in patents.
This course focuses on the recent case law, relevant legislation, and underlying policies, related to intellectual property protection in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. We will concentrate on key patent cases from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court, and aspects of the FDA law that form the basis for IP protection in these industries. Recent patent cases, including those on enablement, written description, inherent anticipation, infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, inequitable conduct, and research tools, will be reviewed. We will also analyze the Hatch-Waxman Act and competition law that impact both the innovative and generic drug industries, and proposed legislation that is currently being considered by Congress that could dramatically affect these industries.
This course focuses on the daily legal issues facing attorneys in the music industry. It will consider the various legal relationships within a musical group and between the artist and his various representatives. It will then discuss the most heavily negotiated agreements in the music industry, beginning with demonstration, sample and producer agreements. The course will next explore legal pitfalls of production company agreements, and will then dissect various provisions of both recording and music publishing agreements. The course will then consider music industry unions and the American Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists impact of the artist and the record company. Finally, the course will discuss the legal issues facing music industry attorneys in the 21st century, with specific focus on digital transmission of music, down-loading of music over the internet and alternative methods of music delivery
The seminar will provide a comprehensive study of Technology and Intellectual Property Licensing and related issues. Students will analyze various aspects of trademark, copyright, right of publicity/privacy, confidentiality, patent and technology, software, data privacy and security, multimedia licenses, online policies (acceptable use and privacy), and will develop related negotiation skills and litigation strategies. The focus will be practical and will show how value can be unleashed.
This course will provide a comprehensive examination of patent-related litigation in various forums, including federal district court, before the U.S. patent office, and in private litigation. The course will walk through the life of a patent litigation, from pre-suit investigations to discovery to motions to trial to appeal. Along the way, we will discuss substantive patent law topics, the peculiarities of procedural issues in patent cases, and the intersection of procedure and substance to formulate litigation strategy.
This module evaluates the nature of cyber crime and the legal framework for fighting cyber crime. We will learn about common modes of cyber attack, the use of mass crime tools such as "botnets," and the role of organized crime in cyberspace. We will study the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and related U.S. and international laws that apply to computer crimes. We will also consider threats to personal safety arising out of cyberspace, including bullying, stalking, harassment, and child pornography, and we will study the unique legal challenges involved in crafting statutes to address such conduct without unduly impinging on rights of free speech and free association.
This module considers the problem of cyber-terrorism, cyber-espionage, and cyber-war. The U.S. military now considers "cyber" a "fifth domain" of warfare, after land, sea, air, and space. We will consider how the laws of war and emergencies relate to cyber incidents. We will also discuss the nature of Internet surveillance of private citizens, through an in-depth review of cases and materials relating to the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court.
This is a skills-based module centered on the role of the lawyer or compliance officer in mitigating an organization's cyber-risks, conducting forensic investigations in the event of data breaches or other cyber incidents, and presenting evidence in court or in other legal proceedings regarding the nature and causes of a cyber incident. Students will engage in a variety of hands-on skills exercises, such as a simulated "table top" cyber-risk assessment.
"New Media Law" refers to the complex of legal norms that govern the creation and distribution of digital content. In the not very distant past, the fim, music, print, news and television industries operated in different domains with their own top-down business models and under varying legal and regulatory frameworks. Today the Internet blends these forms of media: distribution channels converge on devices such as iPads, smart phones, and smart TVs; new industry players such as Amazon and Netflix challenge established players for market share in original content creation; and the bottom-up user-generated content models produce significant revenue streams, enabling phenomena such as the "professional YouTuber." New Media therefore includes domains such as intellectual property, licensing, corporate, privacy and communications law.
This drafting seminar will focus on the "claim" or "claims" appended to a patent specification. The claim defines the scope of the grant, or the technical extent of the exclusive privilege the patent accords to its owner. Claim drafting assignments will be distributed to the students before each class. Each student's work will be reviewed on an individual basis, with rewriting and revision as needed.
This seminar develops the writing and analytical skills required to draft applications for United States patents. Patent claim drafting skills are not undertaken in this course. Patent prosecution techniques, however, including evaluation of Patent and Trademark Office Official Actions and preparation of responses to these Official Actions are studied. There also is practice in drafting appellate briefs for submission to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
This seminar will discuss the theoretical foundations of trademark law, how the structure of trademark law reflects various goals the law is designed to meet, and how the theory and structure of trademark law compares to the theory and structure of copyright and patent law.
This course is a practical survey and application of technology law, predominately covering patent, copyright and trade secret protection for a critical business asset - the information technology system upon which virtually all commerce rests. After covering essential intellectual property concepts, the course will apply these concepts and focus on how to effectively analyze, negotiate and draft the following types of agreements: software licenses, software development agreements including website/e-commerce development agreements and maintenance/support and technology services agreements from both the acquirer and the provider side. The course will also address the fundamentals of resolving disputes arising from those agreements, including intellectual property infringement and failures of performance, with underlying liability theories, vendor defenses and litigation strategy.
Federal registration provides important benefits to trademark owners, including corporations. Trademarks are among a company’s most valuable assets. Registration work is a staple of many law firm and in-house intellectual property practices. This class will cover the basics of domestic and international trademark registration practice, from selection of a mark and legal screening/clearance through opposition proceedings, registration, and beyond. Hands on, practical use of the USPTO website for filings and research will be explored. Assignments will include hands on drafting of opinion letters, registration papers, and pleadings drawn from real-world examples.
In recent years new information technologies have greatly transformed our everyday lives. The effects of these technologies on our personal privacy have become a particularly pressing matter under constant scrutiny in both the popular discourse and the law-making process. This seminar will focus among other topics on: (1) Internet privacy, including issues related to anonymity, commercial profiling and spam; (2) Health and genetic privacy, including issues relating to medical records, confidentiality of physician-patient relationships, DNA databases and genetic discrimination; (3) Law enforcement privacy, including issues related to wiretapping, surveillance, and counter-terrorism and post 9/11 reactions. In the seminar we will examine the effect of technological change on our social conceptions of privacy and evaluate the legal reactions to these changes.
Blockchain has been described as software that facilitates the transparent use/transmission and storage of encrypted data. The promise of this new technology creates the perception that it is applicable to a wide range of industries and will inevitably disrupt them for the better. However, with measured consideration of the old and the new challenges concerning property, ownership vs. possession, transparency, identity, the role of intermediaries and market efficiency vs inefficiency, we may understand that blockchain is not a fix-all or appropriate for every use imaginable. This class will challenge students to engage in both a foundational and critical exploration of blockchain through legal theory, intellectual property law, and real world considerations. By the end of this class, students will be able to apply a rational and methodological approach in consideration of various legal issues that may arise at the intersection of distributed ledger technology and intellectual property law.
New technologies expand our options at the beginning of life, as we live it and at its end. New reproductive technologies give those who want to procreate more possibilities than ever before. Information technologies and artificial intelligence have changed how we interact and make our life choices. Advances in medical technologies can sustain and prolong life for the sick and dying. This seminar will examine the law and ethical problems that involve use of these technologies. Topics to be covered in class and in papers include: egg and sperm donation; trait selection through use of reproductive technology; postmortem reproduction; technology over-use; artificial intelligence; privacy and advanced technologies; patient demands for futile treatment; physician assisted suicide and organ transplants.
Our technologies change us, but we can also restructure them. In recent decades, technologies ranging from computers, smartphones, the Internet itself, artificial intelligence, robotics, genetics and reproductive technologies transformed our lives. They changed not only the way we live but also the choices we have and what it means to be human. This seminar will examine the law and ethical problems that involve use of these technologies.
This course will allow students to explore in detail the dramatic and quickly changing dynamics of collegiate sports, from changes in conference alignment, the movement toward compensating college athletes, the ending of than 150 years of amateurism with the approval of Name, Image, & Likeness (NIL) in 2021 through a combination of state law changes along with a pull back of NCAA regulation, the course will also examine recent litigation including the effects of the Supreme Court's decision in Alston v. NCAA, the sustainability of coaching contracts and compensation, the continued applicability to Title IX and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to college sports in this new environment. Students will produce a paper of publishable quality to meet the Law Schools' Advanced Writing Requirement) to complete this course's requirements.
The Winter Session course will provide an introduction to the international legal system, its institutional building blocks and the participant, intermediaries and representative transactions that characterize it. The course is designed to introduce students to the sources of law in different legal systems, and the methods of interpretation and decision making. First year students are invited to enroll. Class readings will be organized on an module basis around contemporary legal debates. Topics include: Was Russia's invasion of Georgia contrary to the UN Charter? (introduction to the laws of war, the UN Charter and the role of the Security Council); counter-terrorism and human rights (discussion of the 2008 European Court of Justice judgement in the Kadi case; foreign investment and the ICSID system (discussing recent awards with intersecting economic and environmental issues); EU law (recent EC decisions impacting US companies like Microsoft; international Law in US Courts (discussing recent US Supreme Court cases on Guantanamo and the enforcement of ICJ decisions in the US). Evaluation will be by exam. Note: Students who will have completed less than 15 credits at the end of the Fall semester may enroll at the discretion of the Dean of Students. Course is graded Pass/D or Fail.
This course covers the main principles of international civil litigation. It focuses principally on United States law, but will occasionally draw comparisons with the laws of other nations. The course first addresses the international dimension of some of the topics covered in the basic course on civil procedure (such as personal jurisdiction, service of process and discovery, subject matter jurisdiction, including federal question jurisdiction, alienage jurisdiction and the Alien Tort Claims Act). It also includes an extensive study of foreign sovereign immunity law, including its history, scope and most important exceptions under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (i.e., the commercial activity and non-commercial tort exceptions). The course then turns to forum selection issues, including the forum non conveniens doctrine in international litigation and the enforceability of foreign forum selection clauses and arbitration clauses. Students examine a number of treaties governing the law in this area, including the Hague Service Convention and the Hague Evidence Convention. The course concludes by examining the law governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
This course deals with the relationship between church and state in several different countries, using the law in the United States of America as a basis of comparison. Since 1947, when the Supreme Court of the United States decided the issue whether Ewing Township could provide transportation to and from school for parochial school children (Everson v. Bd. of Ed., 330 U.S. 15), America has debated the role of religion in American public life. At its heart, the issue has become in fact whether religion should play a role at all in American public life or be restricted to the private life of the individual person, as some countries do. Such a view would prevent people from expressing religious allegiance in public (for example, wearing religious symbols such as yarmulkes, crosses, turbans or Muslim head dress) or from inserting religion into the sphere of politics. The status of religion in American constitutional law, the debate about religious heritage in discussions of the draft of the Constitution of the Unione Europeo (EU) and the current status of secularization as well as theoretical conceptions of the place of religion in pluralistic societies will be treated, including several European and Latin American views.
International arbitration has become an important knowledge base and skill set for corporate lawyers and litigators. Because many domestic and international companies routinely choose arbitration as a method of dispute resolution, understanding how arbitration works and where arbitral awards can be enforced is a great asset in international business transactions. Increasingly, arbitration is the default method of dispute resolution in commercial transactions that cross borders, including project finance, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. This is a general course in international arbitration that teaches both substantive law and practical written and oral advocacy techniques. Classes will be split between the case law and institutions of the field, while short drafting and advocacy exercises will be integrated into classes regularly. Two classes will be dedicated to oral arguments in a mock arbitration. Recommended: International Law
This course is an introduction to public international law as applied between independent states and in national courts. It includes selected problems in the sources, development, authority and application of international law; the law of treaties; recognition; territory, nationality, jurisdiction and immunities; the United Nations and other international organizations; international protection of human rights; state responsibility and international claims, and aspects of the law of war.
International Criminal Justice and Hunan Rights at The Hague Taking advantage of the unique attributes of The Hague, this 1-credit course will explore issues in international criminal justice and human rights by examining the operation of tribunals such as the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. We will also visit other sites of legal interest, such as the International Court of Justice and U.S. Embassy. From a procedural standpoint, we will look at due process guarantees, the right of access to justice, and other ways in which human rights affect the operation of international proceedings. From a substantive point of view, we will look at recent international criminal law cases to examine the relationship between human rights and accountability for atrocities. Visits to two international courts will be included. Students will also have the opportunity to meet with practitioners and experts in international justice. Students will have the option of earning an additional 1 credit by completing a paper that satisfies AWR requirements.
This EU Law Course Travel Component awards an additional one credit for a one week program designed to assist the students with their EU Law AWR papers. Those choosing the take-home exam option may also enroll in this course. The travel component builds upon the EU Law course by affording a small group of law students the opportunity to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg during fall break (with faculty) to learn about EU institutions and various EU legal issues. The program will engage with educational partners at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Louvain-la-Neuve and the University of Luxembourg on a wide range of topics, including Brexit, the refugee crisis, and EU external relations. The program will also offer students the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about the EU institutions through visits to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels. (The travel component of EU Law is not a mandatory component of the EU Law AWR seminar.)
This EUBL Course Travel Component is for an additional one credit for a one week program designed to assist the students with their EUBL AWR papers. The travel component builds upon the EUBL course by affording a small group of law students the opportunity to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg during fall break (with faculty) to learn about EU institutions and various business law issues. The program will engage with educational partners at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Louvain-la-Neuve and the University of Luxembourg on a wide range of topics, including state aid, EU tax issues, EU company law, EU external relations, and tax transparency. The program will also offer students the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about the EU institutions through visits to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels.
This seminar will concentrate on the basic legal rules of the common market and the constitutional structure of the European Union. The developing jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union will be analyzed with a particular focus on the free movement of persons, both the rights of workers and establishments, to be free of discriminatory tax obstacles. The seminar will also explore special topics such as company law, TTIP (proposed free trade agreement between EU and US), EU external relations, intellectual property law, and the Treaty articles on state aid. U.S. constitutional principles are compared throughout the course. There is an optional fall break one credit travel component that may be taken by the students in this course. This course fulfills the requirement of EU law and an EU paper that is necessary for application to the European Court Externship Program (Dean Acheson Stage Program). There are no prerequisites for this course.
This seminar will explore current issues of human rights concern and might include topics such as: The United Nations System and Protection of Human Rights, Child Soldiers and Human Rights, Women's Rights as Human Rights, Death Penalty, Genocide and International Crimes, Freedom of Speech - A Comparative Analysis, and Trafficking, among others.
As a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union and the rapid transformation of other non-democratic regimes into democratic nation states, there has been a growing interest in comparative constitutional law. This seminar will explore the extent to which constitutional experience in the Unites States and various other countries can be shared. Specific areas likely to be examined include: judicial review, federalism, due process, and individual liberties such as freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, and freedom of the press.
The EU has changed dramatically over the last decade. Accordingly, this course will look at its origins in the Schuman Declaration, May 9, 1950, to see the values and times as the Founders lived them and compare that with the changing times and values of today, almost 70 years later. EU citizenship, the status of women and the achievement of an internal market will be considered as a basis for examining core values and assaultive challenges. New developments will be examined such as keeping the peace with NATO, intervening in Kosovo and coping with the stance of the Russian Federation, including their Eurasian Economic Union and its oil interests. All-consuming discussions of what Brexit means for the European constitutive treaties dwarfs the crisis in Turkey, the threats in Hungary and Poland and the need for fuller relations with Africa. Other challenges demand legal and political attention. Finally, the culture of corporate and political corruption, security, crimes-and-justice, the status of refugees and forgotten peoples in an age of terrorism and the state of the people's trust and confidence in the institutions of the EU have only become more important in the wake of Brexit. There is an optional fall break one credit travel component (see below) that may be taken by the students in this course. This course fulfills the requirement of EU law and an EU paper that is necessary for application to the European Court Externship Program (Dean Acheson Stage Program). This Seminar meets one night a week in the fall for two hours. The student may choose 3 credits, which requires a 25-page paper fulfilling the AWR requirement or 2 credits, which requires a take- home examination instead of a paper.
This is an AWR course that builds on the concepts in Transnational Law and International Law. Accordingly, students must have taken (or be taking simultaneously) Transnational Law or International Law, with priority given to students who have taken, or are taking, International Law. The course will concentrate on developing AWR-quality papers on topics involving international, comparative, and foreign law. Professors Boon and Lewis will work with students to identify topics followed by researching, writing, and revising papers. We will workshop draft student papers as well as articles by Professors Boon and Lewis. This is a one-credit writing course and, therefore, we will not use the full two-hour class block every week. Students should reserve this time, however, because we will use it for full-class, small group, and one-on-one meetings.
Traditionally, international crimes related to universally condemned practices, such as piracy or the slave trade. However, advances in technology and communications, as well as increased transnational mobility, have led to new categories of conduct being recognized as international crimes. The definition and codification of criminal offenses, the expansion of jurisdiction, and the creation of international criminal courts are now key issues in international criminal law. This seminar will include the following topics: criminal jurisdiction in international law including the five traditional bases; extradition and its legal and constitutional bases; the nature of international crimes in customary international law; the law of war and humanitarianism law; and the definition of international crimes. In addition, the impact of the Nuremberg tribunal will be considered. Other topics include the proposed International Criminal Court, transnational crimes, such as terrorism and drug trafficking, and major treaties pertaining to such activities.
Family law practitioners increasingly advise clients who reside abroad and/or U.S. residents who married, divorced, or had children while living abroad. This seminar explores issues in family law from an international and comparative perspective. It compares and contrasts family law in Canada, Israel, Western Europe, East Asia, and Africa, among others, to the U.S., focusing on international treaties and conventions on marriage, divorce, adoption, domestic violence, child support, and child abduction.
Legal scholar Martti Koskenniemi has emphasized that, just as the classic optical illusion can be viewed as a duck or a rabbit, international events simultaneously carry legal and political significance. This combination of law and politics is apparent as the Biden administration formulates and implements its foreign policy. This seminar will explore the interplay of law and politics in the first year of the Biden presidency. We will look at examples ranging from the US's push to regain a stronger presence in the United Nations to reengagement with the Paris Agreement on climate change. As a course that fulfills the Advanced Writing Requirement (AWR), each student will write a paper on a topic concerning some aspect of foreign policy under the Biden administration. This could focus on a specific country or an issue that spans across jurisdictions. We will discuss the writing and editing process throughout the semester. In addition to the written work, you will present your research to the class as part of the course. The weekly two-hour session will meet remotely.
The Seton Hall Legislative Bureau is devoted to the interaction between the legal profession and the legislative process. The is bifurcated into a journal section and a staffing and projects section. The staffing and projects section essentially functions as a research resource for the New Jersey State Legislature. Members of the Bureau serve as legislative-legal interns with several legislative staffs. The work performed by these interns includes legal-legislative research and bill drafting. In addition, the Bureau undertakes special ad-hoc projects requested by legislators. The relationship between the Legislature and the Bureau is that of the traditional attorney-client relationship, in order to preserve and encourage political neutrality. The Bureau also publishes the Seton Hall Legislative Journal, dedicated to the examination of legislation and the legislative process. Authors include lawyers, judges, law school professors, legislative experts, and students. Journal members acquire valuable skills and expertise in scholarship as well as legal writing and editing. The Bureau also presents a symposium which annually identifies and researches a major topic of political and/or social consequence in New Jersey. A panel of prestigious speakers is assembled to discuss and debate the topic, and the Bureau publishes a symposium edition of the Legislative Journal. Members of the Journal and Bureau staffs are chosen in the spring or summer of their first year by the current and newly-elected Editorial Boards. Selection is based on a writing competition, grades, personal interview, and prior legislative experience. The Editorial Board is chosen by election of the entire organization. Throughout the year, speakers from the Legislature, the legal profession, government, and the private sector address the members. The Journal and the Bureau come together under the guidance of a student and faculty director. Course is graded on a Pass/D or Fail basis. To receive any credits for the Legislative Journal, a student must first complete a student note or comment for this Journal.
The Seton Hall Legislative Bureau is devoted to the interaction between the legal profession and the legislative process. The is bifurcated into a journal section and a staffing and projects section. The staffing and projects section essentially functions as a research resource for the New Jersey State Legislature. Members of the Bureau serve as legislative-legal interns with several legislative staffs. The work performed by these interns includes legal-legislative research and bill drafting. In addition, the Bureau undertakes special ad-hoc projects requested by legislators. The relationship between the Legislature and the Bureau is that of the traditional attorney-client relationship, in order to preserve and encourage political neutrality. The Bureau also publishes the Seton Hall Legislative Journal, dedicated to the examination of legislation and the legislative process. Authors include lawyers, judges, law school professors, legislative experts, and students. Journal members acquire valuable skills and expertise in scholarship as well as legal writing and editing. The Bureau also presents a symposium which annually identifies and researches a major topic of political and/or social consequence in New Jersey. A panel of prestigious speakers is assembled to discuss and debate the topic, and the Bureau publishes a symposium edition of the Legislative Journal. Members of the Journal and Bureau staffs are chosen in the spring or summer of their first year by the current and newly-elected Editorial Boards. Selection is based on a writing competition, grades, personal interview, and prior legislative experience. The Editorial Board is chosen by election of the entire organization. Throughout the year, speakers from the Legislature, the legal profession, government, and the private sector address the members. The Journal and the Bureau come together under the guidance of a student and faculty director. Course is graded on a Pass/D or Fail basis. To receive any credits for the Legislative Journal, a student must first complete a student note or comment for this Journal.
The Seton Hall Legislative Bureau is devoted to the interaction between the legal profession and the legislative process. The is bifurcated into a journal section and a staffing and projects section. The staffing and projects section essentially functions as a research resource for the New Jersey State Legislature. Members of the Bureau serve as legislative-legal interns with several legislative staffs. The work performed by these interns includes legal-legislative research and bill drafting. In addition, the Bureau undertakes special ad-hoc projects requested by legislators. The relationship between the Legislature and the Bureau is that of the traditional attorney-client relationship, in order to preserve and encourage political neutrality. The Bureau also publishes the Seton Hall Legislative Journal, dedicated to the examination of legislation and the legislative process. Authors include lawyers, judges, law school professors, legislative experts, and students. Journal members acquire valuable skills and expertise in scholarship as well as legal writing and editing. The Bureau also presents a symposium which annually identifies and researches a major topic of political and/or social consequence in New Jersey. A panel of prestigious speakers is assembled to discuss and debate the topic, and the Bureau publishes a symposium edition of the Legislative Journal. Members of the Journal and Bureau staffs are chosen in the spring or summer of their first year by the current and newly-elected Editorial Boards. Selection is based on a writing competition, grades, personal interview, and prior legislative experience. The Editorial Board is chosen by election of the entire organization. Throughout the year, speakers from the Legislature, the legal profession, government, and the private sector address the members. The Journal and the Bureau come together under the guidance of a student and faculty director. Course is graded on a Pass/D or Fail basis. To receive any credits for the Legislative Journal, a student must first complete a student note or comment for this Journal.
The quarterly Seton Hall Law Review is a nationally recognized scholarly legal journal that publishes critical and analytical articles on major legal issues by judges, scholars, public officials and practicing attorneys. Commentary on recent judicial decisions and developments is written by students, and there is a survey of current New Jersey law. The Review is edited and managed by its student editorial board and staff. Most candidates are selected on the basis of their demonstrated writing ability. In addition, first year students in the top three percent of the class after the Spring Semester are offered membership on the Seton Hall Law Review. The top three percent in the second year evening division is also offered membership upon the completion of the Fall Semester. Course is graded on a Pass/D or Fail basis. To receive any credits for the Law Review, a student must first complete a comment for this Journal.
The quarterly Seton Hall Law Review is a nationally recognized scholarly legal journal that publishes critical and analytical articles on major legal issues by judges, scholars, public officials and practicing attorneys. Commentary on recent judicial decisions and developments is written by students, and there is a survey of current New Jersey law. The Review is edited and managed by its student editorial board and staff. Most candidates are selected on the basis of their demonstrated writing ability. In addition, first year students in the top three percent of the class after the Spring Semester are offered membership on the Seton Hall Law Review. The top three percent in the second year evening division is also offered membership upon the completion of the Fall Semester. Course is graded on a Pass/D or Fail basis. To receive any credits for the Law Review, a student must first complete a comment for this Journal.
The quarterly Seton Hall Law Review is a nationally recognized scholarly legal journal that publishes critical and analytical articles on major legal issues by judges, scholars, public officials and practicing attorneys. Commentary on recent judicial decisions and developments is written by students, and there is a survey of current New Jersey law. The Review is edited and managed by its student editorial board and staff. Most candidates are selected on the basis of their demonstrated writing ability. In addition, first year students in the top three percent of the class after the Spring Semester are offered membership on the Seton Hall Law Review. The top three percent in the second year evening division is also offered membership upon the completion of the Fall Semester. Course is graded on a Pass/D or Fail basis. To receive any credits for the Law Review, a student must first complete a comment for this Journal.
This course analyzes the establishment, maintenance and survival of the collective bargaining relationship between union and management. It focuses on the National Labor Relations Act which, in conjunction with the Norris-La Guardia Act, governs union organizational campaigns, the process of collective bargaining, and economic tools of both sides, including strikes, lockouts, boycotts and picketing.
This course covers discrimination in employment because of race, gender, age, religion, national origin, and disability by first treating the three main theories of discrimination -- individual disparate treatment, systemic disparate treatment and systemic disparate impact. Second, special problems of discrimination, including sexual harassment, retaliation, reasonable accommodation of religious practices and disabilities and equal pay for equal work, are then studied. Third, the procedural and remedial rules of employment discrimination law are surveyed. The governing statutes include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, 42 U.S.C. section 1981 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This course studies: tax qualified and non-qualified employee benefits in the context of ERISA; forms of employee benefits plans, their administration and termination; and the enforcement of participants' rights. The course also addresses planning aspects of deferred compensation.
This course develops the legal theories underlying the employment relation. It covers: employment contracts; the employment-at-will doctrine and its erosion; the basics of labor/management law; and the development of alternatives to the present structure of employment law
This seminar explores the legal relationship between workers and firms from doctrinal, theoretical, and comparative perspectives. It examines the treatment of worker interests (protections, rights, and other stakes) in the law that governs the firm – that is, whether and how such interests may be addressed not only by what is traditionally viewed as Employment Law, but also by Corporate Law. In doing so, the course focuses on the law in the United States and a number of other countries. It also considers the implications of these legal norms for workers and proposed reforms.
The Introduction to Lawyering course is a six credit, full year, required course for all first year students. It will introduce students to the fundamental skills employed by lawyers across various practice areas and will develop within students the habits of thoughtful, reflective, and ethical professional practice. Students will learn the following core lawyering skills: writing, research, interviewing, fact analysis, client counseling, negotiation and oral advocacy. Through the use of simulations students will be required to step into the lawyer role, practice their skills, and make decisions that are challenging on intellectual, strategic, emotional and ethical levels. Students will be taught how to approach legal problems by thoroughly planning, executing and then critically reflecting on the choices they make. Faculty will provide opportunities for students to experiment with the development of their professional voices and roles, and will expose students to the deep satisfaction that can be found practicing law. Lawyering sections will be small and students will often work collaboratively in teams on projects; thus providing a collegial intimate academic setting.
This course dissects the anatomy of a civil case from complaint through pre-trial proceedings, trial and appeal. It therefore studies the organization and jurisdiction of federal and state courts, including emphasis on personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The focus is on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, exploring issues of pleading, pretrial discovery and motion practice.
This course dissects the anatomy of a civil case from complaint through pre-trial proceedings, trial and appeal. It therefore studies the organization and jurisdiction of federal and state courts, including emphasis on personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The focus is on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, exploring issues of pleading, pretrial discovery and motion practice.
The course considers the law governing consensual relationships. It analyzes the requisites of a legally-enforceable contract, including the offer-acceptance process, consideration, and requirements relating to the capacity of parties and to formalities of contract formation. Invalidating factors such as fraud, duress, mistake, and impossibility are explored. Issues of remedies are examined. Throughout the course, relevant provisions of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code regulating the sale of goods are studied.
The course considers the law governing consensual relationships. It analyzes the requisites of a legally-enforceable contract, including the offer-acceptance process, consideration, and requirements relating to the capacity of parties and to formalities of contract formation. Invalidating factors such as fraud, duress, mistake, and impossibility are explored. Issues of remedies are examined. Throughout the course, relevant provisions of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code regulating the sale of goods are studied.
This course examines the law governing compensation for civil wrongs not arising from agreement and judicial remedies for such wrongs. It includes intentional torts and privilege defenses; negligence-elements and defenses; and strict liability, including ultra-hazardous activities, and product liability. Special emphasis is given to legal theories of causation, standards of care and issues of proof.
This course undertakes a basic survey of the concepts of possession and ownership of land, chattels and other forms of property. It includes the history, legal status and modes of transfer of real and personal property; estates in land -- an introduction to future interests; forms of ownership and title; the transfer of interests in land including landlord/tenant; condemnation; restrictive covenants; and equitable servitude.
This course undertakes a basic survey of the concepts of possession and ownership of land, chattels and other forms of property. It includes the history, legal status and modes of transfer of real and personal property; estates in land -- an introduction to future interests; forms of ownership and title; the transfer of interests in land including landlord/tenant; condemnation; restrictive covenants; and equitable servitude.
The Fall semester treats government authority under the United States Constitution. It begins with an analysis of the scope of judicial review and the development of theories of constitutional adjudication. It then treats the commerce clause and other sources of federal authority, and considers limitations on state and federal regulation of economic and property interests. It explores federalism issues of the relationship between the federal government and the states and issues of the allocation of power among the three branches of the federal government.
The Spring semester surveys the protection of the rights of the individual against state and federal government action under the United States Constitution, including freedom of speech and expression, association, religion and the right of privacy. Protections under the equal protection clause and the right to due process are explored.
This course introduces students to the state's role in the control of deviant behavior through law. It explores theories of responsibility, punishment and reform. It considers general principles of substantive criminal law including: intent; justification and excuse; defenses; elements of particular crimes; attempt; conspiracy; and responsibility for the acts of others.
The course treats government authority under the United States Constitution. It begins with an analysis of the scope of judicial review and the development of theories of constitutional adjudication. It then treats the commerce clause and other sources of federal authority, and considers limitations on state and federal regulation of economic and property interests. It explores federalism issues of the relationship between the federal government and the states and issues of the allocation of power among the three branches of the federal government. The course also surveys the protection of the rights of the individual against state and federal government action under the United States Constitution, including freedom of speech and expression, association, religion and the right of privacy. Protections under the equal protection clause and the right to due process are explored.
This course undertakes a basic survey of the concepts of possession and ownership of land, chattels and other forms of property. It includes the history, legal status and modes of transfer of real and personal property; estates in land -- an introduction to future interests; forms of ownership and title; the transfer of interests in land including landlord/tenant; condemnation; restrictive covenants; and equitable servitude.
This course functions as an advanced legal writing course focusing on the development of legal research, persuasive writing and oral advocacy skills in a simulated appellate process. Each student will prepare a draft and final brief on a current issue in the law. Students then participate in two rounds of oral argument, first arguing before a panel of student judges and later arguing before a panel of attorneys.
Students compete in brief writing and oral argument for the opportunity to represent the law school in the National Appellate Moot Court Competition.
The Appellate Moot Court Board is comprised of third-year day students and fourth-year evening students who create problems to be used in the Appellate Advocacy course, supervise the work of Appellate Advocacy students under the direction of the faculty advisors, and assist in the administration of the required Appellate Advocacy course and optional Appellate Moot Court Competition. Two student directors, one in the Fall and one in the Spring, direct the board members in the completion of their administrative duties. The board members receive two credits after completion of the spring semester.
The Appellate Moot Court Board is comprised of third-year day students and fourth-year evening students who create problems to be used in the Appellate Advocacy course, supervise the work of Appellate Advocacy students under the direction of the faculty advisors, and assist in the administration of the required Appellate Advocacy course and optional Appellate Moot Court Competition. Two student directors, one in the Fall and one in the Spring, direct the board members in the completion of their administrative duties. The board members receive two credits after completion of the spring semester.
The Appellate Moot Court Board is comprised of third-year day students and fourth-year evening students who create problems to be used in the Appellate Advocacy course, supervise the work of Appellate Advocacy students under the direction of the faculty advisors, and assist in the administration of the required Appellate Advocacy course and optional Appellate Moot Court Competition. Two student directors, one in the Fall and one in the Spring, direct the board members in the completion of their administrative duties. The board members receive two credits after completion of the spring semester.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students participate in various inter-school moot court competitions, including the National Moot Court Competition, and competitions in: corporate, constitutional, family, intellectual property, environmental, evidence, international, health, and tax law. Interested students apply to the faculty advisor for each competition. Selection criteria vary by competition. Students who are selected to represent Seton Hall must research the problem, draft and revise a brief, and participate in numerous practice oral arguments. Faculty advisors for some competitions select additional students who research, write, and participate in the practice oral arguments, but do not represent the school at the competition.
This course deals with basic law of marriage, divorce and their incidents-alimony, support and custody; formation and dissolution; jurisdiction; procedure and enforcement.
This course examines the relationship between the state, parents, and children, and how the state creates, regulates, and terminates familial relationships. It analyzes the balance between parents' rights to make childrearing decisions and the state's responsibility to protect children. The course also explores the state's treatment of minors in various contexts, including contracts, health care, and education.
This course provides an in-depth examination of adoption law and policy. Private and public adoption systems will be examined with special emphasis on termination of parental rights and the rights of fathers. Emerging issues such as transracial placements, wrongful adoption and open adoption records will be discussed along with the relationship of new reproductive issues to adoption.
This course will consider the response of the legal system to domestic violence. The focus will be an examination of the intersection of domestic violence with family and criminal law as well as the civil protective order remedy. Topics will also include domestic violence as a human rights violation, remedies for battered immigrants and tort liability for domestic violence.
This course analyzes the regulation of proof in judicial proceedings. It includes: burdens of production and persuasion; judicial notice; presumptions; relevance and its counterweights; the fundamental requirements for admission of testimonial, documentary and non-testimonial evidence; the nature and function of expert testimony; the hearsay rule and its exceptions; character evidence; rules of preference; fixed rules of relevance, and rules of exclusion based on non-inferential policies. (Evidence in Practice and in Depth also satisfies the Evidence requirement).
This course studies selected problems involving federal courts, including: the constitutional basis of federal jurisdiction; the judicial role in the separation of powers doctrine; the jurisdictions of the Supreme Court; the federal courts of appeals and the federal district courts; supplemental jurisdiction; conflicts and tensions between federal and state courts; and "Our Federalism" and other aspects of federal court abstention.
This course is designed to educate students about the issues involved in practicing with a law partnership. Students who intend to go into private practice, and especially in practice at a smaller firm, may be particularly interested in this course. The course will explore the substantive law relevant to law firm formation and dissolution; staffing; compensation agreements; attorney-client issues; fee arrangements; solicitation and cultivation of clients; conflicts; advertising; etc. The course will also explore practical issues related to building a practice, professionalism, profitability, client attraction and retention, marketing, and law firm governance.
This course examines lobbying and advocacy strategies used to influence the legislative and regulatory process. Students will become familiar with foundational concepts of legislative and regulatory procedure, elected officials and staff roles and responsibilities, the operations of an elected official’s office, and the basics of policymaking process. The course will also cover the laws and regulations governing lobbying activities as well as the role of political contributions in cultivating influence. Emphasis will be placed in identifying the best practices of lobbying and familiarizing students with tools of the trade. The class may also include guest speakers (schedules permitting) who are experts in their field to share their first-hand insights and observations on topic areas. Students must follow current events and actively engage in discussions pertinent to legislative and regulatory activity at the federal and state levels. The course will require students to participate in several assignments designed to demonstrate their understanding and applied learnings of lobbying and advocacy, including a final assignment designing an advocacy campaign as well as developing opposing views and arguments to the campaigns developed by classmates.
Leadership, Ethics and Decision-Making is a two credit yearlong offering (one credit per semester) as the curricular component of the Leadership Fellows Program. The class will meet for two hours every other week over the course of the fall and spring semesters. The course will include an executive mentoring component and opportunities for experiential learning. Students will receive a grade on a Pass/Fail basis on the completion of the two semesters, and will be evaluated on the basis of (1) several short writing assignments, (2) class participation in skills-building exercises and (3) contributions to their leadership project.
This course undertakes a detailed examination of the substantive law of civil remedies. It considers restitution, damages and the forms of equitable relief, as well as preconditions for the award of specific remedies, measure of recovery and shaping the award.
This course is an expanded state court counterpart to the first year Civil Procedure Course, and provides a detailed examination of the rules of litigation, practice and procedure for the New Jersey state courts. Primary emphasis is placed upon the court rules and applicable case law governing civil litigation practice before the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, Law Division, Civil and Special Civil Part, and Chancery Division, General Equity and Family Part. The rules of the Superior Court, Law Division, Criminal Part and the N.J. Municipal Courts are also covered. Since rules of practice and procedure vary widely from state to state, this course is especially valuable for a student contemplating practice in New Jersey.
New York Practice and rules differ significantly from federal practice as studied in Civil Procedure I and II. This course focuses on those differences, including: New York's Long Arm Statute; its complex timeliness doctrines; its distinctive motion practice; its unique court structure; and standards for preliminary relief. A student planning to practice in New York is well advised to take this course
Dispute Resolution Processes is a survey course whose aim is to acquaint students with the principal forms of conflict management – negotiation, mediation and arbitration – and select hybrid processes. To appreciate where the field is going, students must first understand the historical origins of the American dispute resolution movement. The instructor will invest a portion of the early classes in exploration of the events and scholarship that has defined the practice. The majority of subsequent sessions will employ the experiential model of “learning by doing.” Students will gain a richer understanding of the discipline through participation in videotaped role plays designed by the American Bar Association. The instructor reserves the right to schedule a “super session” on a date and at a time of shared convenience. The class will likely span 6 hours on a Friday or weekend. The expanded format will facilitate 360-degree critique of participant performance.
In this highly participatory course, students will learn the art of persuasion in the context of the courtroom. Exercises and simulations will focus on the integration of storytelling and thematic development into the basic skills of direct examination, cross-examination, opening statements and closing arguments. By the end of the course students should be more able to argue and more likely to win - whether inside or outside the courtroom. Course is graded on a HIgh Pass, Pass/D or Fail basis. NOTE: Students who have already taken either Civil Trial Practice (PRMD9201) or Criminal Trial (CRJU9425) are not eligible for this course.
It is a fact of modern life that an enormous volume of information is created, exchanged, and stored electronically. Conventional documents originate as computer files, e-mail is taking the place of both telephone calls and postal letters, and electronically stored information (ESI) is commonplace in our personal lives and in the operation of the businesses, public entities, and private organizations. In the past decade, discovery involving word-processed documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, and other ESI has become more routine and no longer a product of large cases involving sophisticated entities. This interactive course is designed to give students an understanding of (1) the legal landscape that has developed since the amendment to the court rules two years ago, (2) how to manage and balance e-discovery issues that will inevitably arise in their practice, and (3) the technology behind the legal issues that arise in the e-discovery context.
Lawyer as Detective requires students to engage with real-world material, including government reports and primary source docum ranging from well-known historical cases, such as the Rosenberg Trial of the 1950s, through current-day national security issues involving torture, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and government transparency. Students work to digest material into presentable reports to educate the public about overlooked details or shine light on groundbreaking discoveries that impact how we interact with our government. The course is fact-heavy, where students sift through large quantities of publicly-accessible documents to find patterns. There is a strong public impact that expands to communications with the press and to complex synthesizing of the Congressional record. The class is grounded in research, collaboration, and analysis and requires students to apply their legal thought and training from other classes and their own experiences to real-world issues that pervade society. Students are also eligible to attend legal hearings at Guantanamo Bay and serve as a representative for the school. This is a year-long course and letter graded. Course count towards the 15 credit limit on legal practice and self-directed work study credits.
Students will learn the unique challenges of working in-house as corporate counsel, developing the perspectives and skills to think and be effective business partners. Each week the students will work either individually or in teams to address simulations and problems covering the different dimensions of an in-house counsel’s job. The simulations may include, risk management, compliance, ethics, governance of the board of directors, crisis management, business strategy, regulatory interpretation for business executives, dealing with regulators, administrative proceedings, internal investigations, contract negotiation, litigation and the management of outside counsel, and employment matters. The intention of the course is to advance the notion that an in-house counsel is a business partner that plays a pivotal role in leading the organization through the anticipation of legal needs to avoid potential disputes. The course will highlight the fact that in-house counsel must not only advise on the law, but additionally navigate complex internal politics, the board of directors, external stakeholders, and regulators. Course is graded High Pass, Pass, Low Pass or Fail.
This course will address the analytical, information-retrieval and reading comprehension skills necessary for success on the Bar exam. To reinforce these critical skills, the course will focus substantively on the most heavily tested legal rules in three multistate Bar-exam subjects. Students will learn how each topic has been tested on the MBE, MEE and the essay portion of the New Jersey Bar exam. The course will include both weekly in-class sessions and on-line assignments designed to sharpen students’ skills and test-taking strategies. At the end of the course, students will take a final exam containing both multiple-choice and essay questions that mirror what students will confront on the Bar exam. Enrollment is limited to students entering their final year of law school, with priority given to those entering their final semester.
The Weekend Bootcamp Bar Exam Workshop is a 2-Day program that will provide students with an introduction to all components of the bar exam. Day 1 will focus on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). Day 2 will focus on writing for the bar. After discussing strategies on how to attack multiple-choice questions, students will complete practice sets focusing on frequently tested issues. The instructor will then provide a review and analysis of each practice set. The instructor will also provide methods, tips, and strategies for approaching the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and Multistate Performance Test (MPT). Students will walk-through both a practice MEE and MPT. The Workshop will include a one-hour take-home exam.
Workshop Description The newly created Denis F. McLaughlin Advanced Trial Advocacy Workshop is a special opportunity for students aspiring to begin their careers as trial lawyers to further develop their trial skills in an intensive, two-week intersession workshop. Interested students who have completed Evidence and Persuasion and Advocacy are encouraged to apply. The McLaughlin Workshop is a two-credit course and will be graded on a credit/fail basis as completion will signal rigorous work by all participants. The workshop will cover all aspects of the trial of a case and will be taught and supervised by the founding director, Professor Denis McLaughlin, together with associate director, Professor Jacob Elberg, team leaders Professor Jamie Pukl-Werbel and Professor Charles Cole, and a select team of expert trial lawyers and judges. The workshop will occur over the ten days of the winter intersession and will culminate with students in pairs trying a simulated case at the federal courthouse before a sitting federal judge and a jury composed of first-year law students. During the workshop, students will attend lectures and demonstrations on discrete trial skills presented plenary style, followed by breakout sessions in smaller groups where the students will perform under the direction of either one or two expert coaches. At least two performances by every student will be videoed for further individualized review and feedback. On seven of the evenings, students will attend an intimate dinner followed by a keynote address by a distinguished trial lawyer or judge on a topic related to professionalism and career development. The dinners are intended to provide an invaluable opportunity for students to hear from and network with some of the most accomplished trial lawyers and judges in the bench and bar.
Legal Practice Technology In this course, students will examine the intersection between legal practice and technology and how the ever-changing technological landscape is impacting the traditional practice of law. Topics will include practice management tools, eDiscovery, coding, artificial intelligence, information security, ethics and privacy, electronic communications, and other emerging areas. An emphasis will be placed on hands-on activities. This course will equip all law students -- regardless of intended practice area, law firm size, jurisdiction, or other factors – with the knowledge necessary to respond to these issues.
This seminar affords the student experience in trying a civil case through simulation. Direct and cross-examination techniques, trial and post-trial motions, summation, and requests to charge will be considered. Each student will, under faculty supervision, examine witnesses, introduce documents and other evidence, and make and respond to objections, motions and requests to charge. Students will receive detailed critiques of their performance.
This seminar combines a theoretical and practical approach to the role of the lawyer as negotiator. It examines the types of negotiation, the role of the lawyer as negotiator, the ethics of negotiation, and the structure of negotiation (including negotiation techniques, planning for negotiation, etc.). The seminar uses simulated negotiations, both bilateral and multilateral.
This seminar explores the use and limits of expert testimony including but not limited to the testimony of scientists, social scientists, forensic experts and other less formal sources of knowledge. The law of expert testimony is expanding exponentially and thereby causing radical changes in the rules of evidence. Students will study relevant principles of evidence and the origins and basis of key areas of expert testimony. For each area of expertise, the seminar will study origins, the history of its admission, use in the courtroom, the effect of the recent changes in the rules of evidence and the point of view of both the proponent and the opponent. Each student will write a paper and give a presentation on a selected area of expertise. Some of the areas to be studied may include: Ballistics, toolmark identification, fingerprint identification, neutron activation analysis, questioned documents, spectrographic voice identification, narcoanalysis and hypnosis, odontology and DNA, and hair follicle identification.
This seminar offers a detailed examination of one of the most important areas of alternative dispute resolution. It places family mediation, and especially divorce mediation, in the context of the litigation process and the alternative dispute resolution movement. It combines a detailed examination or mediation, both in court-annexed and independent settings, to resolve dispute within families, especially in the context of divorce, with training in mediation skills in the family context
From client interview to verdict, this interactive skills course will prepare students for the reality of civil practice. Building on Persuasion & Advocacy (which is a pre-requisite) the course will teach the skills involved in filing and litigating a civil case. Discovery, depositions, and dispositive motions will be addressedalong with trial issues and even a few post trial motions. Course is graded on a HighPass, Pass/D or Fail basis.
This interactive skills course will prepare students for the reality of criminal practice. Building on Persuasion & Advocacy (which is a prerequisite), the course will teach the skills involved in prosecuting and defending a criminal case. Topics covered will include planning and investigation of a criminal case, development of theories and themes, jury voir dire and selection, witness examination techniques, use of informants, preparation of jury charges, and post-trial motions. Course is graded on a High Pass, Pass/D or Fail basis.
Building on Persausion and Advocacy (which is a prerequisite) the course will teach a wide range of litigation skills utitlizing a simulated law firm model.
This skills course combines a theoretical and practical approach to the role of the lawyer as negotiator. It examines the types of negotiation, the role of the lawyer as negotiator, the ethics of negotiation, and the structure of negotiation (including negotiation techniques, planning for negotiation, etc.). The course utilizes simulated negotiations, both bilateral and multilateral, with evaluation and critical analysis by other students and faculty. Course is graded High Pass, Pass/ D or Fail. Note: Students cannot apply both this course and Negotiation (PRMD9206) towards degree requirements.
Through an innovative partnership with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”), students in this course will represent federal litigants for the limited purpose of representation in court-annexed mediation. In an effort to extend new Legal Practice Curriculum opportunities to a broader range of participants, Part-time fourth year and third year students will receive priority registration for this section. While class sessions will be conducted in the evening, students must commit to representing clients during traditional hours of court operation. Under faculty supervision, students will participate in all material aspects of the attorney-client relationship, including conducting the intake meeting, assessing client interests, negotiating with opposing counsel, drafting a pre-mediation statement and advocating for the client in a mediation to be conducted in Manhattan. The instructor will bifurcate the semester into two components: the study of mediation and the practicum phase. During the initial 5 classes, students will come to understand the nature of federal court-annexed mediation, the various mediator styles and effective client counseling techniques. The Newark Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) will conduct a workshop on employment discrimination, the cause of action that plaintiffs most commonly assert in this practicum. The practicum phase will be largely devoted to individualized instruction and interaction with clients and opposing counsel. The course will culminate in a mediation that can range from 3 to 8 hours in Manhattan. Many of those sessions are held on Fridays between the hours of 10:00am – 5:00pm. *N.B.: Practicum classes require students to make a more substantial investment of time than would ordinarily be expected in a 2-credit elective. Under the faculty supervision of licensed attorneys, participants will conduct in-take meetings with prospective clients and liaise with opposing counsel to explore negotiated settlement. If the litigants are unable to reach an amicable resolution of their differences, then the student advocates will proceed to a court-annexed mediation to be held in Manhattan. These classes require that students be flexible about their schedule and be willing to attend meetings and proceedings that fall outside of the regular class time. Due to the additional demands of a practicum, students are strongly discouraged from taking this class concurrent with a Center for Social Justice clinic.
According to recent United States Department of Justice data, nearly 97% of federal criminal prosecutions are resolved without recourse to trial. The plea bargaining process is essential to the timely disposition of those matters. The Professor will instruct this first-of-its-kind offering at Seton Hall Law. Set against the Harvard Principled Negotiation Method, the Professor will examine the most salient moments in a criminal case. These include, pre-indictment advocacy, examination of the grand jury process, review of the federal indictment and the federal information as accusatory instruments, use of cooperation agreements and 5k1.1 letters, the affirmative use of media, consideration of how jury election impacts negotiation and the operative dynamic between the prosecution and defense counsel throughout the plea bargaining process. Students are advised that this 2-credit Legal Practice Curriculum offering will require participation in a six-hour "super session" to be held on a weekend. The exercise will afford participants the opportunity to engage in role plays which approximate practice-based scenarios. The super session will truncate the semester by 3 calendar weeks.
In matters of life and death, law enforcement crisis negotiators employ various skills to de-escalate tension, discern interests, and bring about value-creating resolution to conflict. Many of those same skills, traits, and behaviors are common to both the board room and the courtroom. Crisis Negotiation is an experiential role play course that explores the applicability of hostage and barricade expertise to contemporary legal practice. Drawing upon a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crisis Negotiation Unit, participants will acquire experience substantially similar to that afforded to law enforcement professionals. The offering will provide in-depth analysis of active listening skills and emotion labeling set within the Harvard Principled Negotiation Model. Cutting-edge scholarship and demonstrated best practices from the field will drive each session. Critical consideration of domestic and international case studies will provide the requisite understanding to translate theory into practice.
This course provides a strong framework for basic techniques of taking depositions, and explores a variety of questioning methods. The result is that witnesses are encouraged to give expansive, exhaustive answers -- including other potential sources of information -- and that other potential avenues of escape are closed off. Students also learn to theory-test on subjects of importance to the case. Students receive supportive, helpful suggestions on how to improve performance, utilizing frequent repetitions in the learning-by-doing method to help master new techniques. A portion of the program is also devoted to ethical consideratons in deposition settings and witness preparation.
The course takes a single substantial and complex problem and follows it all the way through a trial. Pre-trial matters and most motions other than those in limine are omitted. Unlike Persuasion & Advocacy, it seeks to integrate evidentiary questions into the formulation and presentation of evidence. The course spends substantial time on the areas that have been omitted from Persuasion & Advocacy, focusing on jury selection, as well as the preparation and examination (and cross examination) of expert witnesses. Like Persuasion & Advocacy, it is extremely participatory, with students expected to perform in almost every class. Unlike Persuasion & Advocacy, however, the performances are not limited to 2 to 3 minute sections of an examination, or even shorter drills. Instead students are required (with a partner) to do full, lengthy and more intricate examinations far more similar to those practicing attorneys actually perform in courtrooms.
The course takes a single substantial and complex problem and follows it all the way through a trial. Pre-trial matters and most motions other than those in limine are omitted. Unlike Persuasion & Advocacy, it seeks to integrate evidentiary questions into the formulation and presentation of evidence. The course spends substantial time on the areas that have been omitted from Persuasion & Advocacy, focusing on jury selection, as well as the preparation and examination (and cross examination) of expert witnesses. Like Persuasion & Advocacy, it is extremely participatory, with students expected to perform in almost every class. Unlike Persuasion & Advocacy, however, the performances are not limited to 2 to 3 minute sections of an examination, or even shorter drills. Instead students are required (with a partner) to do full, lengthy and more intricate examinations far more similar to those practicing attorneys actually perform in courtrooms.
Advanced legal research is designed to build on solid legal-research skills to enable the members of the class, now and later in their professional careers, to develop a research strategy when examining a previously unfamiliar subject. Areas to be covered include the Constitution of the United States, its drafting and ratification, the legislature (session laws, statutory compilations, and legislative materials), the executive branch (executive orders, and agency rule-making and adjudication), the judiciary (case records, law-reporting, and court rules and rule-making), secondary sources (American law Institute publications, uniform laws, treatises, law reviews, and dictionaries), public international law (treaties, executive agreements, and materials from international organizations such as the United Nations), the English and other common-law legal systems, and internet search engines and social media. Written essay-type assignments building on the content covered in each module to be handed in following each module.
This course is intended to provide students with a preview into the early years of practice as a transactional lawyer. It will ground students with a foundational understanding of the business issues routinely encountered in transactional practice, particularly in the context of M&A transactions. It will also teach the fundamentals of contract drafting; students will gain an understanding of the various parts of an agreement and learn how to translate the business deal into provisions that address their client’s needs.
This course studies legal mechanisms for the transmission of wealth from one generation to the next. It includes: intestate succession and special problems of adopted and illegitimate children; protection of the family; wills, their execution and revocation; incorporation of unattested documents; republication and revival; will substitutes; trusts, their origin and nature; creation of trusts; transfer of beneficiaries' interests; termination of trusts; constructive and resulting trusts; charitable and honorary trusts; and policy determinants, emphasizing freedom of testation.
This course is a comprehensive study in governmental land use controls through zoning and planning. Subjects studied include: the validity of zoning and planning; zoning and planning procedures; nonconforming and conditional uses; variances; exclusionary zoning; the Fair Housing Act; regional zoning; and environmental land use controls.
This is a 2-credit lecture course that covers the practical and theoretical aspects of residential landlord-tenant summary proceedings and plenary actions in New Jersey, with frequent comparisons to New York practice. Emphasis is placed on lease drafting and interpretation; prosecuting, defending, settling, trying, and appealing residential nonpayment, holdover, and habitability cases; and market as well as rent-regulated tenancies. Students are required to spend at least 2 hours during the semester observing proceedings in Housing Court in New Jersey.
Elder Law deals with legal issues that directly affect people over 65 years old and indirectly affect the rest of us as well. Thanks in part to medical advances, people are living longer – sometimes out-living their finances, sometimes coping with chronic illness or diminished mental capacity. Their children, now in their fifties and sixties, provide much necessary care and help with navigating “the system"; they may also bear a heavy financial toll. The market for elder law services is therefore growing. This course covers a wide range of topics, including representing clients with diminished capacity and surrogate decision-making options, including guardianship; Medicare and Medicaid eligibility and services; the rights of nursing home residents; end-of-life planning; financial planning, including social security, long term care insurance, and strategies to protect against spousal impoverishment; and elder abuse.
Zoning and land use regulation have a dramatic effect upon the quality of life in urban, suburban, and rural communities. The legal dynamics of zoning and planning are constantly evolving, as a result of changes in both law and politics. This course is a comprehensive study in governmental land use controls through zoning and planning. Students will examine the practical and theoretical underpinnings of land use regulation, as well as current court doctrine at both the federal and state levels. In addition, students will have the opportunity to apply the material to current land use disputes in the form of a client letter, a memorandum of law, and judicial opinion. Subjects studied include: the validity of zoning and planning; zoning and planning procedures; nonconforming and conditional uses; variances; exclusionary zoning; the Fair Housing Act; regional zoning; takings, and environmental land use controls.
This seminar is designed to introduce students to the world of practice before municipal land use planning and zoning boards. The class will briefly review the history and state authorization of land use regulation. Procedural requirements of the practice and jurisdictional pitfalls especially in the areas of the requirements for public notices of meeting, filings and conflict-required recusal of board members will be extensively covered. A substantial portion of the course will be devoted to the nuts and bolts of presenting matters to boards and will deal with such practical topics as: how to determine which is the legally appropriate board to approach; how to obtain (or convince a board to deny) the required relief (subdivision and site plan approvals, bulk variances or use and other (variances); how to prepare a case for presentation including the required legal proofs, and political, timing and related considerations; how to mount effective opposition to an application; and how and when to appeal from an adverse decision. Extensive class participation is expected and students will prepare a land use application with outside planning, traffic and engineering experts. The grade will be based on occasional quizzes, some writing assignments and class and demonstration performances.
This course studies the theory of administrative actions; administrative process; agency organization; determination and promulgation of the administrative regulations; right to notice and hearing; enforcement; judicial review; standing; and the Administrative Procedure Act.
This course analyzes the law governing public and private educational systems. It includes: constitutional issues and recent trends in tenure laws; seniority regulations; rights and responsibilities of parents, students, faculty; due process; search and seizure; substance abuse; Special Education; and attorney fees in school law cases.
This course analyzes the role of statutes in the American legal system, including: legislative function, policy and objectives; legislative organization; influencing legislative action; types of statutes; construction and interpretation; scope of judicial review; codification; repeal.
This course explores the organization and operation of state, county and municipal government. It considers the relation between state and local governmental bodies and the federal government; reserved powers; home rule and other conceptual frameworks; decision-making processes and allocation of authority and services; and liabilities of governmental entities and officers.
This course examines the interaction of law and politics. Topics covered will include the development of the right to vote, the Voting Rights Act, redistricting, the role of political parties, ballot access, election and campaign activities, recounts (including a review of the 2000 Presidential Election recount), and the regulation of money in politics, including an examination of various proposals for campaign finance reform. This course focuses both on federal and New Jersey election and campaign finance law. Students will receive theoretical and practical knowledge of the role that government and courts play in the political process and how that interaction affects campaigns, candidates, and officeholders.
This course studies legal protection of the competitive system under the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act and related legislation. It considers problems relating to monopoly power; "horizontal" restraints on competition such as price fixing and concerted refusals to deal; "vertical" restraints such as resale price maintenance, tying and exclusive dealing arrangements; and limitations on permissible mergers and joint ventures. It explores economic as well as legal implications of federal government regulation of corporations.
This course provides an overview of the third phase of criminal law – the life of convicted defendants after they are sentenced. This course will examine the legal framework around the lives of inmates during and after their incarceration. This course seeks to give future prosecutors, defense counsel, judges, and judicial clerks the legal basis for matters they will face with increasing frequency. Starting with an historical overview and current structure of the prison system in the United States, students will be introduced to the legal issues surrounding prisoners, including the role of religion and speech in prison; inmate searches and discipline (including solitary confinement); provisions of health care, including inmates with chronic long term health needs, mental health issues, and nutrition; prisoner safety and sexual assault prevention; Prison discrimination; inmate communications, mail, and visitation. Students will be introduced to the processes, both in prison and in courts, that seek to enforce those rights given to inmates. This will include a practical review of the use of federal courts to change facility level decisions. Students will then be introduced to the issues that surround probation, parole, and an inmate’s departure from prison, including the impact of criminal justice reform in moving inmates to more post-incarceration time in halfway houses and placement in home confinement. Students will also focus on the role of courts in early and compassionate release cases. This will include the on-going implementation of the First Step and CARES acts as they relate to the in-prison and post incarceration lives of inmates as they move from Jail to Home.
This course provides an introduction to the law governing the acquisition of national status and citizenship in the United States, including: right to immigrate and visas; deportation; administrative procedures; and judicial review of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
It is frequently said that New Jersey has the strongest consumer protection laws in the nation. Moreover, because New Jersey is the corporate headquarters for many significant consumer-oriented businesses including, among others, pharmaceuticals, insurance, banking, telecommunications, and foreign automobiles manufactures. Consequently, the New Jersey courts decide some of the most important and precedent-setting consumer protection-related cases in the country. This class will provide an overview of consumer law in the United States with an emphasis on Federal and New Jersey consumer protection. The class will also focus on private actions and the "private attorney general" as well as the use of class action litigation as a vehicle for consumer protection and fraud prevention.
This course illuminates the way racial hierarchy has played a role in the development of American law. It examines the historical origins of racial hierarchy beginning in the colonial period and continues that examination through modern legal doctrine. Students will evaluate the continuing impact of the history of white supremacy in areas such as housing, law enforcement, and education. The course concludes with an analysis and critique of some current efforts to repair the harms that have been created by racial hierarchy.
This course analyzes the New Jersey Constitution with an emphasis on fundamental rights in the criminal and civil contexts, and procedures and public policies peculiar to New Jersey. It will also compare and contrast state guaranteed rights and federally guaranteed rights. The materials to be studied will be primarily those opinions of the Supreme Court of New Jersey which have made the state judiciary a pioneer in the field of state-guaranteed individual liberties.
Starting in the early 1970s, the incarceration rate in the United States increased dramatically. Today, the United States incarcerates citizens at a rate five times the rate at which it incarcerated them for the first three quarters of the twentieth century. No other nation incarcerates such a large proportion of its population. Historically, racial disparity is inherent in the criminal justice system and has direct connections to the founding of the country. The black to white ratio in imprisonment today is around six to one. One in four black men and one in eight Latino men will go to prison before their mid-thirties. Two in three black men who did not finish high school will be imprisoned in their lifetimes. This course asks several questions: How did we get here? How did the United States become the world’s leader in incarceration? What laws and policies supported this carceral state? How did racial and class inequality in incarceration become so stark? What laws and policies can be implemented to rectify our past and present? What are the consequences of the high rate and dense social concentration of incarceration in the United States? Finally, what can we do about it as lawyers? The course will examine the causes of the growth in the U.S. penal population and historical roots of such growth, from the mid- 20th century to present day. It will examine the legal framework that enabled the policies – the war on drugs, emphasis on punishment and retribution in lieu of rehabilitation or restoration; structure of sentencing (mandatory minimums, discrimination in same); inequities in bail, and less known topics such as the ways in which criminalization affects pregnant women and leads to the carceral child welfare system.
This course explores the rights protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and free exercise of religion, as well as the amendment's prohibition on laws respecting an establishment of religion. Particular topics may include categories of unprotected or less protected speech, regulations based on the non-communicative impact of speech, power regarding speech when the government acts in capacities other than as sovereign, special procedural protections for speech, the right not to speak, the right of expressive association, regulations of money and speech, the meaning of religion, discrimination against religion or among religions, enshrining or coercing religious beliefs, financial aid to religious institutions, and exemptions for religious observers.
This course provides the student with an introduction to constitutional litigation, civil rights policy, and statutory enforcement of civil rights. To that end, emphasis will be placed on gaining a thorough understanding of post-Civil War constitutional amendments and federal civil rights legislation, particularly Section 1983. The course will also investigate some aspects of structural reform litigation, with an emphasis on school desegregation. Intended for students with a strong interest in any or all of the following: constitutional law, civil rights, federal courts, federal/state relations and race relations.
This course will introduce students to social justice lawyering practices from the civil rights era to current movement lawyering, with an emphasis on community lawyering skills used to support social justice movements for racial and social equity. Topics covered include voting rights, criminal justice reform, and economic justice. The course materials will include short law review articles or excerpts, social science articles and pieces from mainstream media, video presentations, and podcasts. The course will feature guest speakers who are attorneys engaged in community lawyering as well as community activists.
This course will examine the legal classification and laws protecting nonhuman animals, as well as a number of topics that fall within the general heading “animal law.” This course deals with the related substantive law, theory and policy including: the historical and philosophical treatment of animals, and how such treatment has affected the ways in which judges, administrators, politicians, lawyers, legal scholars and lay people view animal protection laws; recent campaigns to reform these laws; “standing” and the problems of litigating on behalf of animals and the classification of animals as property. Occasional guest speakers.
The seminar studies opinions construing the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, with particular emphasis on recent church-state cases. Areas of discussion will include government regulatory and adjudicative powers over religious institutions and persons, religious pluralism, and religious expression in public and political forums.
The enactment, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws implicate numerous constitutional issues. This seminar explores how various constitutional provisions and doctrines (e.g. Commerce Clause powers, dormant Commerce Clause, nondelegation, standing preempetion, due process, takings) are applies and interpreted in the field of environmental law.
This seminar explores the First Amendment's free speech guarantees in the context of new avenues of communication. It considers whether and to what extent the government can and should regulate communication, asking what is "speech" and what is a "public forum" in modern society. The seminar will examine the struggle to apply an 18th century clause to such modern institutions as the modern shopping mall, the Internet, and cable television, in order to create a fuller understanding of the applications of the First Amendment as the United States moves forward into the twenty-first century.
Within the Anglo-American common law and constitutional tradition, rights are generally understood to mean individual civil and political rights or rights that guarantee or protect, at best, ¿negative¿ liberty. Largely excluded from the dominant ¿rights talk¿ and marginalized in mainstream constitutional doctrine are understandings of rights that include economic and social rights or guarantees of positive entitlement to public resources to meet basic human needs like health, education, shelter, food, and economic security. The seminar will examine the philosophical roots and doctrinal manifestations and implications of this dichotomous treatment of rights within the Anglo-American legal tradition; survey international and regional human rights instruments and institutions, as well as comparative national constitutional systems (including, within the United States, state constitutions), that recognize and protect various economic and social rights; and examine the strategies and problems of enforcement and implementation and other challenges associated with economic and social rights. Students will be required to write an AWR paper.
This seminar considers a number of areas in which the law addresses human sexuality. These include privacy, fundamental liberty, the regulation of sexual practices, First Amendment rights of expression and speech, Equal Protection as applied to sexual identity, hate speech, workplace discrimination, the proper role of religion and morality in the legal regulation of sexuality, military policy towards women, gay men and lesbians, access of same-sex couples to the benefits of marriage, civil union or domestic partnership, children in non-traditional families, and gender identity issues. Readings from feminist jurisprudence and other jurisprudential traditions will supplement doctrinal readings. The seminar will cover a more limited number of areas to allow time for the preparation of AWR papers. The course will address more areas and will examine some areas in greater depth.
This seminar examines in depth selected topics in the field of immigration law. Some of the topics that may be covered include relief to aliens under removal proceedings; adjustment of status and the marriage fraud act; refugees and asylum in the United States.
This seminar examines gender-based bias in several areas of the law including: spousal abuse; rape; employment discrimination and affirmative action; marriage, divorce and child custody; privacy; and international conventions concerning discrimination. The impact of feminist jurisprudence on the study and development of law will be assessed.
This course is designed for students who have an interest in business and/or tax planning. The course will give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in class to real world business and tax planning issues. Students must have taken Federal Income Taxation or must be taking Federal Income Taxation concurrently. Students will meet at the beginning of the semester to discuss the assignment and learn about the available tax research tools. There will also be six additional one-hour meeting times, to be determined at the class’s convenience. The ABA Tax Section will post the problem in early September. In a team of two, students will review a client’s information to determine how certain issues have impacted the client’s income tax burden and to advise the client of the tax consequences of their future decisions. The final product will consist of a 10-page memorandum and a 5-page client letter to be submitted in early November. By participating in this challenge, teams have the opportunity to compete for the “Best Written Work Product” award or to be selected as one of six semi-finalists. If a team is chosen as a semi-finalist, the team will be invited to the ABA Tax Section’s Midyear Meeting in New Orleans (all expenses paid), from January 17-19, 2019, to give an oral presentation on their memorandum.
This course provides a general introduction to the federal income tax, emphasizing the taxation of individuals. Topics include the history, structure and methodology for interpreting the Internal Revenue Code, as well as fundamental concepts of tax policy. Basic concepts explored include: gross income; deductions; exclusions from income; credits; deferment of income; and capital gains and losses.
This course studies the federal income taxation of corporations and shareholders, including: a detailed examination of the tax problems arising on incorporation; distributions to shareholders; redemptions of stock and liquidation; the Subchapter S corporation, and corporate reorganizations.
This course includes: the statute of limitations, burden of proof and tax penalties; equitable doctrines; administrative procedures, including audits, appeals, request for rulings and technical advice; settlements; closing agreements and compromises. It undertakes an in-depth analysis of the Internal Revenue Service and the functions and responsibilities of its various divisions. It studies choice of forum in civil tax litigation, including the tax court, district court, and claims court. It surveys tax court litigation, including the statutory deficiency notice and tax court petition and other jurisdictional prerequisites; tax refund claims and litigation; the collection process, including assessment of tax, jeopardy assessment, levy and distraint, the tax lien and its priorities, restraining tax collection, the innocent spouse rules and transferee and fiduciary liability.
This course examines the principal features of the most commonly used types of state and local taxes including property taxes, sales and use taxes, income taxes, etc. It will do so by studying the general features of the more common types of taxes used in American jurisdictions. The course will also study federal constitutional limits on state and local taxes as well as the recent decisions regarding the retroactive or non-retroactive effect of decisions invalidating a state tax on federal constitutional grounds.
This course provides an introduction to federal income taxation of partnerships and limited liability companies. It first considers the tax factors that influence choice of entity ("C" Corporation, "S" Corporation, Limited Liability Company or Partnership) and the issue of entity classification for tax purposes as a partnership or a corporation. This course then examines issues that arise in the formation, operation, and dissolution of a partnership or the limited liability company, including: tax consequences of contributions of goods and services; distributions to partners; special allocations; inside and outside basis limitations on the deductibility of losses; and sale or liquidation of partnership interests.
Students will focus on the lawyer in an office practice and as counselor in the family community. Development of drafting skills will be emphasized in short drafting assignments throughout the semester. The course will cover the lawyer's ethical responsibilities, planning and drafting for wealth transfers by will and the alternatives, including gifting inter vivos, and drafting for beneficiary protection and to minimize gift, estate and generation-skipping taxes.
This course considers the basic principles and policies governing the U.S. taxation of international transactions using a problem-oriented approach. Students analyze various problems from the perspective of an attorney responsible for advising American individuals and corporations earning income abroad. Some consideration will be given to the perspective of foreign inerests that receive income form the U. S. sources, but the primary focus will be on outbound transactions.
This offering consists of faculty-directed research for one semester on a topic approved by a faculty member supervising the research and by a committee of the faculty. The resulting paper must be a minimum of 40 pages and is required to meet law review student publication standards. It must be defended before the Independent Research Committee. A student seeking to enroll in Independent Research must receive the consent of a full-time faculty sponsor and the Independent Research Committee prior to enrollment. Those students interested in registering for Independent Research must obtain the appropriate form from the Registrar's Office and return it with the required signatures before being permitted to register for the course. Registration must be completed no later than the Drop/Add period of the semester in which the course is taken.
Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Seton Hall has reached new heights in academic excellence, faculty research and student success. Ready to take the next steps on your academic or career path?
Print this page.
The PDF will include all information unique to this page.
A PDF of the entire 2022-2023 catalog.
A PDF of the entire 2022-2023 catalog.