Spring 2025

By examining key constitutional moments involving race, rights, and revolutions, students will explore how legal meaning changes over time.

Examines the social, political, legal and psychological forces that created the most punitive democracy in history. Materials include documentaries, journalistic investigations, NGO reports.

Provides a comprehensive analysis of the criminal justice system and an overview of the fundamentals of substantive criminal law.

Introduces the U.S. legal system and its relationship to basic principles of the rule of law. Examines lawmaking institutions, judicial processes and contemporary legal issues.

Examines how American law protects and facilitates intellectual property and its modern utility. Provides a practical understanding of laws regulating patents, copyrights and trademarks.

Examines current immigration law in America, the normative debates over immigration policies and the role the government plays in expanding or limiting immigration rights.

Examines law and the legal system from different disciplinary perspectives. It explores how various disciplines provide different insights to the legal regime.

Exposes students to the impact of legal decisions on society through analysis of pending and recent cases on the courts docket.

Traces the development of U.S. constitutional and statutory mechanisms designed to fulfill the promise of equality under the law.

The main concepts and topics in American law, in the historical, economic and cultural contexts in which they have developed.

Learn about international law and courts trying these cases, while also reflecting on whether criminal trials are the best response to bringing healing and reconciliation to affected societies.

Examines key legal principles governing the entertainment industry by exploring legal challenges faced by professionals in music, film, sports, gaming and other areas of entertainment.

Studies how law, politics and culture interacted to shape the institution of slavery and the development of modern conceptions of race.

Examines the relevance and application of legal structures to all participants in the sports enterprise by providing an overview of legal and ethical issues.

Examines areas of the law that impact entrepreneurs, starting, operating and financing businesses. Topics include: selection of business entities; securities laws and issues that arise in fundraising; employment law; contracts; torts; intellectual property; global expansion; mergers and acquisitions; and IPOs.

Examines the current housing crisis by interweaving tenant/landlord law, local ordinances, historical exclusionary policies and reviewing current reporting and scholarship.

An introduction to the study of law from a historical perspective; explores the interaction of law, culture and politics from the Revolution through the New Deal.

Foundational legal and practice concepts at the intersection of law and psychology through three intersecting systems: the mental health, the criminal and the immigration systems.

Explores the U.S. Bill of Rights and the limits that the Constitution imposes on the state majoritys ability to impose its will on an individual.

Individual research and readings.

Introduces students to the basics of legal writing and research, with a focus on legal scholarship and law review-type journal articles.

A cumulative experience demonstrating a student's depth of knowledge in applying research and writing skills on examining the legal system.

Intensive experience with a law-related non-profit organization, or public agency.

Consideration of the participants in litigation; private and public plaintiffs, defendants, and courts. Information exchange, process, outcomes, and costs of lawsuits.

The interpretation and enforcement of promises and agreements.

The crime problem and the legislative response to it through substantive criminal law; administration of criminal justice through police, prosecutorial, sentencing, and penological discretion.

Functions of the lawyer in modern society; history and organization of the legal profession; the adversary system; equal access to justice; other problems of ethics and professional responsibility.

The idea of property as understood through economic and philosophical concepts. Rights in land, water and other natural resources. Forms of shared ownership (e.g., landlord and tenant), and a survey of mechanisms for controlling land use.

Considers the delineation of spheres of responsibility between the judiciary and legislature, the nation and the state, and the government and the individual.

Examination of the basic sources of law for federal and California jurisdictions, utilizing a vast array of sources from books to computer-assisted research and analyzing research methodology and techniques. Graded CR/D/F.

Two-semester course focusing on developing analytic and communication skills. Lawyers will analyze legal principles and incisively apply them to facts. Graded CR/D/F.

Continuation of LAW 515. Development of legal research, writing, and advocacy skills. Emphasis on persuasive legal writing, including appellate briefs, and researching statutory and administrative law. Participation in a moot court program. Registration restricted to Law students.

The basic structure of government in the U.S., including the constitutionally mandated division of power in the federal government and the federal system of power sharing between state and federal systems. A comparative perspective on selected substantive and procedural matters, such as common law reasoning, jury trials, adversary process, and various aspects of civil procedure. Open to incoming LL.M. students only.

This course will provide LL.M. and M.C.L. students with a survey of various topics in American law including criminal law, evidence, family law, constitutional law, torts, wills and trusts, administrative law and property law. Open to LL.M. and M.C.L. students only.

Focuses exclusively on issues related to copyright and fair use, trademark, trade secrets and related laws that seek to protect intellectual property.

Covers legal ethics issues with an emphasis on access to justice, nonprofit practice settings and duties of prosecutors and defense attorneys. Fulfills Legal Profession requirement.

Examines constitutional rights particularly ones protected under the Equal Protection/Due Process Clauses and related questions of judicial role and theories of interpretation.

A student-run periodical that publishes student-written and peer-edited articles relevant to the intersection between law and business.

Addresses evolving issues in using generative AI to produce commercial products and services relating to intellectual property rights such as copyright and trademark.

Provides an overview of human resource related law, and various legal issues involved in the employment relationship.

Explores purpose and form of legal documents and emphasizes effective communication.

Explores the communication and presentation skills necessary for persuasive legal advocacy.

Explores effective legal communication and professionalism skills.

Students learn basic and advanced mediation skills, practice their skills in simulated mediations, and upon certification by the instructor, mediate in the Los Angeles County courts.

Introduction to regimes that regulate business practices on a global level and compliance of such regimes, such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, and other regulations.

An externship allows a student to gain hands-on professional experience in legal and business settings. Students will be placed with a legal services provider, business or organization, government agency or state or federal judge under faculty supervision. All externships include an initial orientation and subsequent academic assignments. A maximum of 8 units may be earned over two externships.

Part-time or full-time, practical work experience in the student's field of study. The internship must be located at an off-campus facility. Students are individually supervised by faculty. May not be taken until the student has completed at least one semester of enrollment in the graduate program with a cumulative 3.0 GPA.

Federal tax statutes, technical issues and social problems involved in tax planning, tax litigation, and reform of the tax laws.

Requires students to draft legal documents they were not exposed to in the first-year writing course, such as client letters, demand letters and contracts.

Criminal procedure in the courts, and the regulation of lawenforcement by the courts through rules of evidence andinterpretation of the Bill of Rights.

Organization of economic activity especially the modern corporation as institutions of social power. The roles of managers, owners, and regulatory agencies in shaping processes ofdecision making.

Selected problems to supplement LAW 605.

Gratuitous transfer of wealth, especially the transmission of wealth from one generation to the next as a settlement of family affairs. Comparative analysis of the legal mechanisms of gifts, wills, and trusts. Introduction to problems of fiduciary administration.

The purpose and character of trial. Problems of adversary presentation and the nature of proof. The basis for admission and exclusion of evidence in judicial proceedings.

Examines the California rules of civil procedure. Emphasizes California law, with some discussion of the differences between state and federal procedure.

Students work in groups using principles of contract design analyzing concrete cases based on actual events in transactions handled by a large commercial law firm. Open to law students only.

Studies the statutes and cases governing campaign finance in America and the latest research into their effects.

Creating, regulating and dissolving family relationships. Explore moral and power relations among men, women, children, and the State. Develop skills to help clients in families.

Covers the regulation of groundwater and surface water by the courts and the State Water Resources Control Board.

Examine the protection offered to foreign investors through international investment agreements, which includes recourse to arbitration against the host states.

Explores real estate joint ventures, formed by institutional capital sources and local developers or operators, through review and discussion of hypothetical fact patterns and contract provisions. Various issues attached to real estate transactions are also explored, including topics such as: finance, development, zoning and purchase agreements for commercial property.

Continuation of LAW-630

This course introduces law students to the tools, concept, and language of business. It is premised on the belief that to excel as a business lawyer, one must understand the business world from the perspective of the clients one counsels and assists. The course will cover, in compressed form, the basic subjects from the MBA program which are most useful to lawyers. Open only to law students.

Examines the regulation of employment discrimination under federal law. Pays primary attention to issues of race, sex, age and disability discrimination.

The interrelation of labor, business, and government in collective bargaining, federal regulation of union and management practices and pressures, especially through the Taft-Hartley Act.

Examination of the institutions and laws that regulate international economic relations. Students will be introduced to the major international agreements and national laws that regulate international trade goods, services and capital.

This is a course on Chattel paper and secured transactions involving personal property under Article 9 of the Uniform Commerical Code and some related bodies of law.

Contemporary topics in the field of entertainment law.

Examines the legal and policy issues involved with the emergence of cyber crimes and cyber security issues, including government access and privacy issues.

Focus on contract drafting and negotiation issues relevant to an artist's pursuit of a career in the music business.

An in-depth study of television industry legal concepts, contracts, business structures and economic models.

Problems of integrating the corporate, securities, tax, business, antitrust, accounting and contractual aspects of corporate mergers and aquisitions.

A practice-oriented introduction to various elements of land use and real estate development law.

Principles of international law involving relations among governments. The function of international tribunals and organizations.

An intensive, two-semester course preparing students interested in U.S. trademark and unfair competition law for participation in the annual Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition.

Invitation-only course for students in the Hale Moot Court Honors Program. Students present an oral argument and judge first-year student rounds. Graded CR/NC.

Evaluation and supervision of the preparation of briefs and oral arguments in the Hale Moot Court honors competition.

Preparation of oral arguments in approved moot court competitions, such as national and state prize rounds, (other than Hale Moot Court Program). Graded CR/69/65. Open only to law students.

Preparation of briefs in approved moot court competitions, such as national and state prize rounds (other than Hale Moot Court Program).

Covers the nuts and bolts of negotiating a deal with investors, and emphasizes legal concepts used in drafting key business agreements.

Covers the most essential topics in video game law, including: content creation and acquisition; distribution, publishing and marketing; brand management; user management; data security; esports; online gambling; virtual currency and property; and related international issues.

Writing, source-checking, and preliminary editing of articles and comments for publication in the Review of Law and Social Justice. For second year students serving as staff members on the Review. Open to law students only. Graded CR/D/F.

Writing, source-checking and preliminary editing of articles and comments for publication in the Review of Law and Social Justice.

Supervision of research and writing, and final editing of articles and comments for publication in the Review of Law and Social Justice. For officers of the Review. Open to law students only. Graded IP to CR/D/F.

Important business and economic concepts that will assist with problems lawyers in every practice area routinely encounter.

Introduction to a practice-oriented approach to interviewing and counseling clients. Enables students to develop a useful framework for effectively interviewing and representing clients.

A one-semester clinical course where students represent non-citizens in appellate matters before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals, and in petitions for writs of habeas corpus before the U.S. District Court.

Focuses on the business, legal, and financial issues that relate to the creation, financing, and exploitation of digital media.

Teaches best practices for overseeing the development, implementation, maintenance and adherence to current privacy laws and regulations.

Contextualizes criminal law through analyzing the legal and social characterizations of "victims" and "perpetrators" in U.S. law, politics and popular culture.

Explores how legal, social, racial, cultural and economic factors contribute to health disparities and the role that physicians and lawyers can play in advocating for patients and policy changes to promote health equity.

An introduction to statutory interpretation and administrative law.

Learn how to effectively interview child witnesses. Students will practice mock interviews, and may be eligible to conduct actual interviews of child witnesses.

Students will work on cases in the following areas: (1) Dependent and neglected children: All children who are wards of the court must have legal counsel. (2) Children with AIDS: Legal implications of such issues as health care and custody. (3) Guardianships or other temporary arrangements for children whose parents are terminally ill or are otherwise unable to care for them.

The law of community property, including disposition of property on dissolution of the marriage and questions of conflict of laws.

Highlights the complex interactions between health, law and human rights, emphasizing the use of human rights in public health thinking and practice. Duplicates credit in PM-577.

Covers the fundamentals of reviewing and analyzing business contracts and strategies for negotiating business issues with an emphasis on developing practical skills. Open only to Law students.

Contract drafting and negotiating will teach students the mechanics of drafting and negotiating sophisticated contracts from a variety of legal disciplines including entertainment law, real estate law and general corporate law.

Students present to the class their assessment of assigned contracts, then draft their own contracts, interpret a complex contract, followed by team-based rewrites.

Real world advocacy projects involving issues such as civil rights, disability rights, foster care, welfare, and health care, among others.

Develops enhanced negotiation skills and a working understanding of ADR processes and procedures in an interactive classroom experience.

Exploration of the origin, development, and practice of mediation, arbitration and other forms of ADR, emphasizing the policies underlying these increasingly significant and evolving areas.

Sports law is a blend of contract, labor, antitrust, agency, tax, intellectual property, tort, civil rights and constitutional law. Open only to Law Students.

Legal and economic aspects of corporate finance including capital structure, policy, mergers, takeovers, and freeze-outs; analysis of policy relating to present law and possible reforms.

This course examines the role of race (and other markers of social marginality) in the administration of justice in American courts.

This course deals with the formation, features and functions of general partnerships, limited partnerships and limited liability companies. It will also focus on business planning, recognizing business and legal objectives and selecting the appropriate entity to accomplish these objectives.

Study and evaluation of the municipal and regional legal institutions. Emphasis on the crises in financing and governing the urban society.

Students provide legal assistance to small businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations that cannot pay market rates for legal services. Graded CR/NC. Open to Law students only.

History of distribution and sale of marijuana, including the backstory to the federal-state stand-off, the inability of marijuana businesses to utilize federally-insured bank accounts, customary business tax deductions and bankruptcy protections, and essential information to ethically practice in the field.

Intersectionality, deconstruction and critical histoiography; specifically affirmative action in education, hate speech and immigration reform. Open only to Law students.

Structured around consumer transactions; studies contemporary consumer law; examines consumer law statutes in the context of the common law, primarily tort and contract.

Regulation by state and federal agencies of issuance of, and trading in, stocks, bonds, and other securities. Particular reference to SEC regulations.

Introduction to the doctrines of Indian law governing the legal relationship between the United States, states and Indian tribes.

Laws designed to preserve and promote business competition, with heavy emphasis on the federal antitrust laws.

Source-checking and preliminary editing of articles and comments for publication in the Interdisciplinary Law Journal. For third year students serving as staff members on the Journal. Graded CR/NC.

Students will write journal notes as members of the Interdisciplinary Law Journal.

Supervision and final editing of articles and comments for publication in the Interdisciplinary Law Journal. Graded CR/69/65.

Survey of legal aspects of international trade and investment transactions, including tax considerations.

Writing, source- checking, and preliminary editing of articles and comments for publication in the Southern California Law Review. For second year students serving as staff members on the Review. Graded CR/NC.

Writing, source-checking and preliminary editing of articles and comments for publication in the Southern California Law Review.