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Upper-Class Elective Courses
Applicants should understand that the curriculum frequently undergoes revision. By the time that they enter the second or third year at the law school, it is likely that the curriculum may have changed somewhat from that set forth below.
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Administrative Law (3)
This course provides a general introduction to the constraints upon and the procedures used by administrative agencies, sometimes referred to
as "the Fourth Branch of Government," and thus provides critical context for other subjects areas in which administrative agencies play a key role, (e.g., environmental law, securities
regulation, immigration, and taxation). It examines the relationship of administrative agencies to the president, Congress, and the courts--exploring issues such as the delegation of quasi-legislative and quasi-adjudicatory powers to agencies, and the
constitutionality of various means the president and Congress have sought to use to exert control over agency decision making. Introduces students to the process of agency adjudication, exploring both the constitutional due process requirements and requirements imposed by the federal Administrative Procedure
Act (APA). Also familiarizes
students with agency rule-making processes, focusing on the rule-making processes established by the APA. Students will also study judicial review of agency action, in particular considering the availability of judicial review
and the scope of judicial review when it is available. Depending upon the professor, the course may also cover agency's powers to obtain information (by subpoena, record-keeping
requirements, or inspections) and citizens' rights to obtain government information, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, and attend public meetings, pursuant to the Sunshine Act.
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Admiralty Law (2)
Introduces students to the basic principles of admiralty
law, i.e., the statutes and common law regulating the rights and
liabilities associated with the carriage of goods and passengers over
water. The course will cover admiralty jurisdiction (including the
respective jurisdictions of the federal and state courts), as well as
the special procedures applicable to admiralty litigation. Students
will study substantive admiralty law, including the law regarding the
injury and death of maritime workers and passengers, the lease of
vessels (i.e., charter parties), the carriage of goods, marine
insurance, and liability for collisions among ocean-going vessels. As
part of this study, students will explore the impact of and the general
international maritime law upon the maritime law of the United States.
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Advanced Contracts (2)
Supplements the required course in Contracts. Depending upon the interests and prior experience of the class, topics may include justifications for nonperformance, conditions, contract interpretation, the parol evidence rule, third-party beneficiaries, assignment and delegation, and techniques of contracts drafting and risk planning. Some treatment also may be given to the related tort of interference with contractual relations.
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Advanced Intellectual Property (2)
Provides an intensive study of issues and concerns pertaining to the prosecution, protection, exploitation, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Practices and procedures important to obtaining, using, protecting, and defending the use of ideas, trade secrets, copyrights, patents, and trademarks are examined. Students develop their transactional, negotiation, and litigation skills through preparation of documents and mock negotiation. Current developments in intellectual property law are reviewed and integrated into the course study.
Prerequisite: Copyright and Trademark or Business Torts and Intellectual Property or Patent Law.
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Advanced Legislative Research (1)
This 1-credit intensive course will be offered during the Summer Session.
Instruction will consist of lectures and direct research over three
class days. Students will study the theory and methodology of
performing legislative research and compiling legislative histories and
learn to use legislative research as a tool for legal advocacy. The
course will focus on federal legislative materials as well as
legislative documents in New Jersey and New York. Students will gain
hands-on experience utilizing the resources of the Rutgers Law Library
and the library's computer labs and examine legislative documents in
both print and online formats. Each student will produce a legal
memorandum that analyzes the legislative history of a particular
statute.
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Adversarial Negotiations (2)
Negotiation
is driven by several factors: the personalities of the participants,
the relationship between the parties, the nature of the dispute, and
the desired outcome, among others. Those factors dictate the choice of
negotiation strategies and tactics employed by lawyers/participants.
This course will explore the differences between cooperative and
competitive negotiation. Using the philosophy of the martial arts,
particularly Eastern, it will focus on identifying techniques and
tactics that may be employed defensively or offensively in those
situations where the players believe winning is everything.
Prerequisite: Negotiations or Alternative Dispute Resolution.
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Advertising Law (2)
This course considers the constitutional basis for the regulation of advertising. Specifically, students review the constitutional construct developed over the past 25 years which permits governmental authorities and the courts to regulate the dissemination of truthful information by advertisers. At the substantive level, students examine the economics of advertising and the dangers presented by the provision of false or misleading information by advertisers. Students also study the development of controls on false and misleading advertising messages developed under the common law and through statute. Specifically, students study the concurrent regulation of advertising at the federal level both by the Federal Trade Commission and private parties under the Lanham Act. Finally, students study the regulation of advertising by state governments and by private parties under state consumer protection laws.
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Alternative Dispute Resolution (3)
Introduces law students to the range of dispute resolution processes increasingly in use both within and outside of the courts. These techniques--negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and so-called hybrid processes such as early neutral evaluation, summary jury trials, and minitrials--have been incorporated into both state and federal court programs and may be available through private providers. Under a recently adopted New Jersey Court Rule, lawyers are urged to "become familiar with available CDR (Complementary Dispute Resolution) programs and inform their clients of them."
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American Legal History (3)
This course explores the social and cultural meaning of legal texts in American history. It covers topics ranging from 1776 through the 20th century, but focuses on 19th-century themes such as the women's rights movement, the Civil War and Reconstruction-era constitutional amendments, and 19th-century morals regulation, including laws against obscenity and polygamy. A central, though by no means exclusive, organizing frame for the course will be constructions of gender and sexuality in American legal history. Readings consist of both primary and secondary historical sources.
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Antitrust (3)
An introduction to the law of antitrust, including the common law of restraint of trade, the basic federal antitrust statutes, the enforcement policy guidelines of the federal antitrust enforcement agencies, and the application of these statutes and guidelines to various arrangements, practices, and institutions such as formal cartels, price-fixing conspiracies, "conscious parallelism," trade association activities, resale price maintenance, mergers, boycotts, and tying arrangements whose effects are potentially anticompetitive.
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Appellate Advocacy (3)
A study of appellate practice and procedure, brief writing, and oral advocacy through both lectures and practical experiences. Each student is given the record of an actual case and is required to prepare a full brief and present an oral argument.
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Bankruptcy (3)
Covers basic bankruptcy law--Title 11 of the United States Code--and federal regulation of debtor-creditor relations.
Course not open to students who have taken Debtor-Creditor Law.
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Business Associations (3 or 4)
This course covers the standard subject matter of a general course in corporation law, including the nature, formation, promotion, and governance of corporations. Specific topics include comparison of the corporation with the partnership, as well as a discussion of nonpartnership unincorporated businesses (LLC, etc.); powers of the board, officers, and shareholders; the federal proxy rules; insider trading and securities fraud; problems of the close corporation; directors' fiduciary duties to the corporation and duties to the investing public; social concerns and their relation to corporate governance.
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Business Torts and Intellectual Property (3)
Oriented toward an understanding and analysis of the common law and statutory materials available for the acquisition and protection of commercial property rights. Detailed treatment is afforded the law of trademarks, trade secrets, and trade values. The interrelationship of unfair competition, trade values, patents, copyright, and false advertising is considered in some depth. Students will be encouraged to assume the role of legal counsel in typical commercial settings.
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Civil Commercial Trials (2)
Examination of the development of fact and law issues for and at trial as well as trial tactics and strategies from jury selection to closing argument in a variety of cases such as libel, unfair competition, trade secrets, and contracts. Teaching materials include actual trial transcript excerpts. Students also participate in mock trial exercises (e.g., opening statements and direct and cross-examinations). Written work includes short memoranda on evidentiary and trial motion issues.
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Civil Liberties (3)
Examines cases, materials, and issues in First Amendment law, exploring the changing parameters of rights of political and other expression; religious freedom; freedom of the press; privacy; and access to information about government activities. If class size permits, the course is organized around contemporary problems, both real and hypothetical, for which the reading materials provide information and an analytical framework.
Course not open to students who have taken Constitutional Law II.
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Civil Rights (3)
Discusses both the substantive and procedural constitutional and statutory problems involved in the efforts from the end of the Civil War until the present to enforce the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. Legislative, executive, and judicial areas of action considered.
Course not open to students who have taken Constitutional Law II.
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Civil Rights-Section 1983 (3)
Originally enacted immediately following the Civil War, the 1866 and 1872 Civil Rights Acts, now codified as 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 and related statutes, have become the major statutory provisions through which the federal courts protect constitutional rights. Section 1983 has developed into a substantial body of jurisprudence, governing who may sue, who may be sued, when governments and their employees are immune from suit, and availability of remedies. Explores developments and considers the ways in which Section 1983 assists or restricts the use of the law to control government abuses and to facilitate movements for social change.
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Commercial Law (4)
A basic course in sales, secured transactions, and negotiable instruments. Depending on the professor, course coverage can include
Uniform Commercial Code articles 2 (sales), 2A (leases), 3 (negotiable
instruments/payments), 4 (bank deposits), 4A (funds transfers), 5 (letters of
credit), 8 (investment securities), and 9 (secured transactions).
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Comparative Law (3)
Course opens with a
discussion of what is comparative law, partly by studying comparative
literature and partly through a traditional study of European civil and common
law, using commercial (contract) law concepts as the vehicle. After looking at
anthropological perspectives on law, the course considers other sources of
social influence, first comparing European canon law to the Shari'a, and then
looking at how civil and common law systems have been received in selected
former European colonies. A brief study of certain business aspects of Japanese
and post-Communist Chinese law rounds out the course.
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Complex Litigation (2)
Explores procedural and jurisdictional issues as
well as strategic considerations that lawyers are likely to encounter in actual
federal and state court litigation. The perspective of plaintiffs--and
defendants--counsel is considered with emphasis on multidistrict and class
action litigation. The initial focus is on forum selection, the Judicial Panel
on Multidistrict Litigation, removal to federal court and remand, misjoinder,
and forum non conveniens. The course then examines in depth the prosecution and
defense of class actions, including class certification for litigation or
settlement purposes in consumer fraud, mass disaster, product liability, civil
rights, and antitrust litigation. Following the progress of litigation as it
approaches trial, it examines Daubert and Frye hearings to exclude
expert testimony and other motions in limine. Exercises in preparing briefs and
arguing motions based upon the subjects of the course will enable students
to improve their advocacy abilities. Legislative reform proposals for this kind
of litigation will also be analyzed.
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Conflict of Laws (3)
Examination of the legal problems that arise when a lawsuit involves parties and events connected to two or more states. These problems concern personal and subject matter jurisdiction, choice of the applicable state law, and recognition of the judgment by courts of other states. In addition, students will explore the theories used by courts and recommended by scholars to resolve these problems.
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Constitutional Law II (4)
Course includes topics not covered in the basic Constitutional Law course, but covered in the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties courses. Emphasis on First Amendment issues of freedom of speech and religion and federal civil rights legislation implementing the Fourteenth Amendment.
Prerequisite: Constitutional Law. Course not open to students who have taken Civil Rights or Civil Liberties.
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Constitutional Theory (3)
Focus is on the use of constitutional theory in appellate advocacy and judicial opinion writing. The goal is to develop the student's ability to make effective use of political intuitions, values, and concepts in legal argument. Topics will include textualism, original intent, natural law, and political theory (including feminist theory). Among the readings will be selections from Bruce Ackerman, Derrick Bell, Robert Bork, John Hart Ely, Catharine MacKinnon, Martha Minnow, and Suzanna Sherry. In addition to reading and discussing the theories themselves, we will critically examine their use in briefs and judicial opinions.
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Consumer Finance (2)
The study of the statutory and common law regulation of consumer finance transactions. The course explores the law of usury, rate regulation, disclosure of credit terms, credit discrimination, predatory lending, consumer
privacy, and credit reporting. Students will examine the origin and operation of the primary federal statutory schemes governing consumer finance transactions, including the National Bank Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, the
Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and
interpretative case law. The course also will cover certain state statutes, federal preemption doctrines, and the interaction of federal and
state law, as well as the role and effect of governmental enforcement actions and private litigation.
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Copyright and Fictional Heroes (2)
While fictional characters and superheroes may claim the "superpower" of copyright protection, they do not always prevail in their battles with new media and new distribution technologies. This course will explore the way in which literary characters such as Spider-Man, James Bond, and other famous creations have fared in copyright conflicts as others attempt to exploit them in emerging media, on the internet, and in new entertainment sectors such as games. It will analyze the fundamental concepts of copyright law that apply to the protection of characters and fictional works, the nature of a derivative work, and the principles of "fair use" and free speech that are implicated in such cases. The course will also cover those trademark and right of publicity principles that apply to character cases.
Prerequisite: Copyright and Trademark or Business Torts and Intellectual Property.
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Copyright and Trademark (3)
Surveys all areas of intellectual property with a focus on copyright and trademark laws. The student will examine the laws that protect the ideas, trade secrets, rights of publicity, copyrights, trademarks, and patents of creators. This course is based in federal statutes and interpretative case law. However, state law is also reviewed and considered, with particular emphasis on relationships between state and federal laws within the constitutional framework of federalism. The move for global harmonization of intellectual property law is explored while reviewing subject matter of cases that cover a broad spectrum of products and services from the turn of the century to modern-day technologies.
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Corporate Finance (3 or 4)
The law and economics of the financing of corporations, including (1) the valuation of securities and of the issuing corporation; (2) the rights of senior security holders; (3) insolvency reorganization; (4) capital structure and dividend policy; and (5) mergers, recapitalizations, and takeovers. Course materials include basic financial economics and documentation from actual financing transactions in addition to cases, statutes, and other traditional materials.
Prerequisite: Business Associations.
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Corporate Negotiations (2)
The vast majority of disputes are settled out of
court, through negotiation. Accordingly, negotiation is among the most important skills of a lawyer. It is also the skill that lawyers spend much of their time practicing and developing. This course explores the art, science, theory, and strategy of negotiation. The negotiation topics include process, conceptual model, psychological facts, bargaining, conflict style, and ethics. It also covers alternative dispute resolution, including mediation. It
will analyze negotiations not only in litigation, but also in a variety of corporate settings, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations of corporations experiencing financial difficulties, and business deals.
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Corporate Reorganization (2)
This course explores the key legal and policy issues that are implicated when a firm reorganizes under or in the shadow of Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code. These include the substantive and procedural requirements for confirming a plan of reorganization, the choice between judicial and market valuation of the reorganizing firm, the use of auctions and options in the bankruptcy process, the trade-offs between liquidation and reorganization, priorities in distribution, the absolute priority rule and its "new value" exception, private workouts, prepackaged plans of reorganization, claims trading, the relevance of non-bankruptcy law to the reorganization process, and the use of Chapter 11 as a mechanism of corporate governance.
Prerequisite: This course is open only to students who either have previously taken or are concurrently taking Business Associations.
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Criminal Adjudication (3)
Addresses the rules that govern the processing of criminal cases, with emphasis on the adjudication stage: preliminary examination, indictment, plea bargaining, trial, sentence, appeal, and collateral attack.
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Criminal Procedure (4)
Provides an overview of the constitutional amendments regulating police conduct in the administration of criminal justice with special emphasis on the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment; searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment; and police interrogations under the Fifth Amendment. Supreme Court decisions in this area have reflected intense division among the justices. Class lectures and discussion will explore the different types of arguments through which constitutional doctrine is developed and the competing assumptions and values that inform the doctrinal divisions.
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Criminal Trial Presentation (2)
Practice in preparing for and conducting criminal trials with a systematic study of problems of gathering evidence, strategy in planning the trial, order of proof, empaneling a jury, openings to jury, direct- and cross-examination, and summations.
Prerequisite: Evidence.
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Debtor-Creditor Law (4)
Provides an introduction to the law of security interests in personal property under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the law of individual bankruptcy and corporate reorganization under the Federal Bankruptcy Code. Article 9 topics include the creation and perfection of security interests, priority among the holders of competing interests, and the enforcement of contract rights under the UCC. Bankruptcy topics include the rights of creditors in bankruptcy, the individual's right to discharge, the relationship between bankruptcy law and state law, treatment of executory contracts, bankruptcy planning, the restructuring of corporations in Chapter 11, and the procedure for confirming plans of reorganization.
Course not open to students who have taken Bankruptcy or Secured Transactions.
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Economic Regulation (2)
This course explores the legal and economic bases for the economic regulation of business. Included are a review of the constitutional limits upon regulation and the evolving rationales for regulation, and, with increasing frequency, deregulation. While the materials are drawn from several industries, the greatest focus is on the great transformation that has occurred in the last quarter century in the regulation of the traditional public utility firms, particularly those in the energy fields.
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Education Law (3)
A survey of the law governing public elementary and secondary education. The course considers the substantive legal issues that arise in public schools as well as the role of the law and lawyers in public education. Topics include education administration, governance and policymaking; school desegregation, school choice and school finance; students' rights, including the right to attend school, due process, privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion; special education; and employment law issues as they arise in the public school context, including tenure, seniority, discipline, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and collective bargaining.
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Electronic Commerce (3)
The internet is reshaping every aspect of business activity. In the emerging digital age of electronic commerce, companies will have to adapt quickly and cleverly or risk being overwhelmed by rivals. Today's laws were mostly framed for pre-internet conditions, but rapid changes are essential for electronic commerce to flourish. Examines the specific business law-related issues which every firm must address when marketing a product online, executing an electronic payment process, or an associated electronic delivery of goods and services. The internet has changed expectations about convenience, speed, comparability, price, service, and business transactions at every level. Such changes are being reflected in corresponding changes in commercial law. Most of the difficulties addressed by this seminar did not even exist five years ago, such as MP3 pirates, digital signature cross-certification, UCC Article 2B, website tenant rights, among others. Unlike the Internet Law course, which considers a broad cross section of internet legal matters, this course will focus on legal issues associated with computer, information, and telecommunication technologies as well as the internet that result in electronic business transactions.
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Electronic Discovery (2)
The course explores an essential element in modern litigation--the discovery and use of electronic information (emails, databases, and other digital data sources). Recent changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as changing judicial attitudes toward best practices in this area, will be examined. For litigators of the future, basic skill in this area will be critical to success.
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Employee Benefits (2)
An introduction to the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), with a focus on the law's protection of the rights of employees who participate in pension and health plans. The content of the course will give an overview of the law of employee benefit plans under ERISA. Emphasis on issues of interest to labor and management counsel of Taft-Hartley funds, including fiduciary responsibility of plan trustees, investment issues, reporting and disclosure requirements, benefit claims, plan termination, and withdrawal liability. Selected issues concerning benefit rights and discrimination including downsizing, interference with protected rights, and age and disability discrimination; selected issues involving medical benefits, including retiree health, exclusions from coverage, and managed care.
Labor Law or Employment Law recommended but not required.
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Employment Discrimination (3)
Covers substantive and procedural law relating to discrimination in employment on grounds of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Emphasis is placed on developments under the Federal Civil Rights Act. Considers both public and private sector problems; judicial proceedings under the Civil Rights Act; administrative procedures under the acts, under Executive Order 11246 as amended, and under state civil rights acts; the relationship among the administrative process, the judicial process, and arbitration proceedings under collective bargaining agreements; and questions of remedy including issues relating to numerical standards, sometimes called "quotas."
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Employment Law (3)
Current topics in employment relations that fall outside the system of collective bargaining, including: regulation of employment termination; privacy rights on the job (including hiring questionnaires, disclosure of personnel information, searches and seizures, drug testing, electronic monitoring); employment relations of independent contractors and home workers; employee representation on board of directors; employee-owned businesses. Problems relating to invention agreements and covenants not to compete also may be considered.
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Energy, Economics, and the Environment (2)
This course explores the legal and economic basis for the regulation of the energy markets. Provides a brief overview of the history of the regulation of electricity, gas, generation, and transmission. Describes the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Regional Transmission Organizations, and state public utility commissions on regulating energy costs. The materials explore the policy issues associated with deregulation of the energy industry and specifically review New Jersey's experience with deregulation. The materials cover such issues as rate regulation, siting of liquid natural gas facilities, pipelines, and new transmission lines, physical and financial hedging, and policies that encourage new generation and renewable energy. Discusses the impact of CO2 emission reduction laws on energy costs. Covers such topics as mergers and acquisitions in the energy industry and financing of new energy initiatives. The course discusses manipulation in the energy markets and its impact on the cost of energy to the consumer.
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Entertainment Contract Drafting and Negotiation (2)
Contract drafting and negotiation is one of the most significant and critical functions of an attorney in the entertainment industry. This course will help students develop their knowledge of the entertainment industry and their contract drafting and negotiation skills. This will be accomplished by contracting drafting assignments, mock negotiations, critique sessions, and classroom lectures. Students will learn both the dynamics and deal points of importance in the music, motion picture, literary publishing, personal management, and related industries.
Prerequisite: Either Entertainment Law and Business or Law of the Entertainment Industry.
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Entertainment Law and Business (2)
This course examines a variety of legal and business issues confronted by the attorney in the entertainment industry. This practice-oriented course focuses on and explores contractual issues, industry customs and practices, and the law that impacts on entertainment management, music recording and publishing, motion pictures, television, book publishing, live theater, and new and emerging technologies. Current events and new business and legal developments are discussed and analyzed during each class.
Course not open to students who have taken Law of the Entertainment Industry.
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Environmental Law (3 or 4)
The recent attempt to convert societal aspirations for a decent environment into an effective and equitable public policy poses some extraordinarily difficult legal problems: for example, how can government decision making incorporate and balance the wide range of conflicting values; how should burdens of proof be allocated in light of factual uncertainty about long-term environmental consequences of human activities; what are the relative merits of control strategies based on economics, incentives, or direct government regulation; and on whom should the costs of environmental protection be imposed? This introductory course examines substantive areas such as air pollution control, regulation of waste disposal activity, and victim compensation schemes and procedural devices such as environmental impact statements and reporting requirements imposed on land transfers in order to identify common themes and problems underlying environmental law and to analyze how it differs in important respects from other fields of law.
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Estate Planning (2)
The estate tax is on track to end in 2009. Although
there is some thought that it will return in 2011, that result is far from
assured. Even if it remains, the portion of the population subject to it will
be minuscule--far less than 1 percent. Most estate planning will address a
world where the estate tax either does not exist or can be avoided. Class will
open with problems surrounding the initial engagement and documents used in
estate planning. It will then consider the elements of the gift tax (which is not
scheduled to be repealed). The key element in estate planning is frequently
valuation of property, and the legal vehicles and rules surrounding valuation--but not the valuation process itself--will be discussed. Valuation vehicles
are the key to avoiding the estate tax even if it continues. They are also key in circumstances where
the gift tax may arise. The so-called carryover basis regime that will
accompany estate tax repeal will be considered, and dispositive instruments for
the typical two-person married household (more than 80 percent of all decedents)
will be emphasized.
Prerequisite: Federal Income Tax. Trust and Estates is highly recommended.
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Evidence (4)
Prepares the student to use rules of evidence in the preparation and trial of civil and criminal litigation. Using the Federal Rules of Evidence as a framework, the traditional categories (relevance, hearsay, impeachment, writings, experts, privileges, etc.) are examined with the objective of training students to understand the rationale behind all evidence rules so that they can reason about and use all rules of evidence with maximum effectiveness.
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Evidentiary Issues at Trial (2)
This three-day advocacy skills program focuses on special evidence issues presented during examination of witnesses at trial, whether in the criminal or civil context. The course will focus on the legal and practical issues posed by special evidentiary issues that commonly arise using documents, business records, photographs, illustrative and demonstrative aids, tangible evidence, and summary charts. Students will participate in seminars to discuss the specific legal arguments for admission of certain exhibits and then will perform exercises in a simulated trial setting to offer those exhibits into evidence through relevant witnesses. The seminars and performance workshops will be supplemented by lectures on the effective use of exhibits at trial, the mechanics of using exhibits in the courtroom, the relevant evidentiary and presentation issues presented by specific exhibits, such as business records, summary charts, photographs, financial records, and tangible evidence.
Prerequisite: Evidence.
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Fact Investigation (3)
Cases are determined by applying a set of rules or laws to the particular facts of a controversy. In the cases studied in previous courses, facts were provided by appellate courts in their opinions. As a case develops at trial, however, the facts are provided not by the court, but by the attorney. This course explores the process by which factual information is obtained, the manner in which facts shape legal claims, and, in turn, the way in which legal issues shape factual investigation and the presentation of facts at trial.
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Family Law (3 or 4)
Examines the legal aspects of the family unit, including establishment of the marital relationship, intrafamily rights and responsibilities, marriage dissolution, problems of support and the custody of children, and, as time allows, the role of the state in protecting the welfare of children. The changing role of women is implicated and explored in each of these areas. The 4-credit version of this course will include a greater focus on the relationship between parents, children, and the state.
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Federal Courts (4) and Federal Jurisdiction (3)
An inquiry into the powers of the various federal courts; into their relations among themselves and to other arms of governments (state and federal); and into the science, art, and politics of successfully invoking their powers. The major focus is on the role of the federal courts in our constitutional system. We will consider what types of cases the federal courts should adjudicate, the circumstances under which they should hear cases, when they should defer to proceedings in state courts or decisions by state officials, and the extent to which Congress can alter federal court jurisdiction.
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Federal Income Taxation (4)
Basic course in the structure and operation of the federal income tax and its application to individuals and business organizations.
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Federal Income Tax-Corporations and Shareholders (3)
A study of federal income tax laws relating to the conduct of business in corporate form. Deals with the transactions in which tax considerations are of particular importance in business planning, including the organization of a corporation, the formulation of its capital structure, dividend distributions to shareholders, stock redemptions, sales of stock or assets, liquidations, and corporate reorganizations. Primary emphasis on matters of interest in closely held corporations, although many of the principles are also of concern to public companies.
Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.
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First Amendment and Free Expression (2)
Liberty of speech, thought, and association are the first and greatest of American fundamental rights. This seminar explores the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association in a variety of contexts. The issues covered include political and "seditious" speech, political protest, artistic expression, associational rights (including those pertaining to personal relationships, such as same sex unions), political expenditures and contributions as a form of speech, defamation and press freedom, obscene speech and pornography (and more generally sexual expression in the media), hate speech, and internet content regulation.
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Food and Drug Regulation Law (2)
A course in the federal regulation of food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices, four of our most vital industries. Provides an understanding of the statutory provisions and administrative actions that govern marketing of these critical consumer products. It deals with development of federal regulatory controls, pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, with particular focus on the response of Congress to such problems as the use of chemical additives in food, the assurance of the safety and effectiveness of drugs and medical devices, and the safety of cosmetic ingredients. A study of both case law and administrative rule making is undertaken by examining a variety of actions taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in implementing the act. The course is presented to reflect the concerns of the regulated industries as well as those of FDA.
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Foreign, Comparative, and International Legal Research (1)
As the practice of law becomes increasingly influenced by extrajudicial or extranational events and organizations, knowledge of foreign, comparative, and international legal research becomes increasingly important. This course introduces upper-class students to the research strategies and resources useful in the study of transnational legal organizations, foreign jurisdictions, and public international law. Upon completing this course, students should be able to identify and evaluate research resources for public international law, the laws of foreign jurisdictions, and legal materials from international and nongovernmental organizations.
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Health Care Law I (2)
An introduction to the basic tenets of health law, this course will cover fundamental legal principles, laws, regulations, and issues facing health care lawyers, with a focus on health system structure, accreditation, licensing, as well as emphasis on regulatory aspects of the discipline including Medicare fraud and abuse laws, Stark laws, and other federal and state laws. Students who take this course will develop a basic understanding of the practice of health law and the fundamental principles thereof.
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Health Care Law II (2)
Health law is a specialized and complex field of law that is constantly evolving. Health Care Law II will focus more in depth on the fraud and abuse statutes by examining cases involving the False Claims Act, Civil Monetary Penalties, and the Antikickback Statute. Additionally, a review of some of the Office of Inspector General's advisory opinions and the process involved therewith will be examined. The course will also focus on health care compliance, including a review of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and health care organizations that have been subject to corporate integrity agreements or deferred prosecution agreements for compliance program failures. Students will gain a heightened sensitivity to the interplay between compliance and fraud/abuse issues and learn how effective compliance serves to combat fraud and abuse in the health care industry. Collectively, the topics Health Care Law II will cover will enable the students to recognize potential issues that may raise a red flag in the health care industry and how to counsel health care clients effectively in the area of fraud and abuse. Today, in part, because of the dramatic changes in the delivery and regulation of health care services, the practice of health law embraces broader and more complicated legal subject matter.
Course is open to all students, even if they have not taken Health Care Law I, which offers a thorough grounding in health law basics.
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History of the Common Law (3)
This course will survey the deep historical origins of our legal system and set its development in social and cultural context. We will begin by examining the extraordinary, lost world of ancient Germanic and Anglo-Saxon law, including the system of dispute resolution among the Vikings. We then will examine English legal history after the great Norman conquest of 1066 and the legal revolution wrought by Henry II and the Angevin court, the ultimate foundation of our legal system today. Topics will include Roman law and its reception in England and on the continent; the significance of Magna Carta; the legal foundations of feudalism; the development of Parliament and Parliamentary supremacy (against which our federal constitution poses itself); Chancery and the history of equity jurisdiction; the development of forms of action; hundred, shire, seigniorial, and borough courts; the Court of Common Pleas, King's Bench, and Exchequer; compurgation, trial by battle, ordeal, and the history of the jury; the development of the legal profession and the history of legal education; crime and punishment in early modern England; classics of legal historiography, especially the work of F.W. Maitland, and the history and ideological significance of how the development of the common law has been understood and imagined; and the reception of the common law in colonial and revolutionary America. The course will be based in lectures and supplemented by student discussion. No previous historical knowledge required.
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Housing Law and Policy (3)
Explores selected legal and policy issues in housing and urban development, often omitted in the first-year Property course because of time constraints, such as: (1) Is there a right to housing? (2) How private is private property? (3) the limits of eminent domain; (4) private government through homeowner associations; (5) Mount Laurel and exclusionary zoning; (6) landlord/tenant reform efforts (rent strikes, tenant unions, housing courts, the implied warranty of habitability, protection against retaliatory eviction, and other changes); (7) public housing; (8) homelessness; (9) squatting; (10) rent control; (11) antidiscrimination legislation; (12) federal subsidy programs; (13) predatory lending; (14) farmworker housing; (15) housing integration programs, etc.
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Immigration and Naturalization Law (2)
Survey of laws dealing with the defense of alien rights. Analysis of current law governing the admission, exclusion, and deportation of aliens. Discussion of eligibility requirements in various immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories. Reviews of laws pertaining to the acquisition of U.S. citizenship.
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International Alternative Dispute Resolution (2)
This course will explore the distinctive fora, processes, and law governing alternative dispute resolution in the international context, by examining the entire dispute resolution process from beginning to end, i.e., from the drafting of alternative dispute resolution clauses to the enforcement of awards or settlements. Focus is on these issues in the commercial context.
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International Business Law: Trade, Labor, and Human Rights (3)
Explores the intersection of international business and economic regulation with labor and human rights. Some of the questions that we will address include: How do we enforce labor rights in a global economy? What is the relationship between foreign direct investment, liberalization of trade, and respect for human rights? Should the international trading system allow for linkages between trading privileges and human and labor rights enforcement? Does corporate law in different jurisdictions adequately provide for representation and protection of nonshareholder stakeholder interests? How do different regimes regulate labor relations and protect workers rights? How legitimate and effective are self-regulatory regimes that use voluntary codes of conduct to police supply chains and corporate activity? Are there institutions and models used in international business law, such as commercial arbitration, that might be utilized in the human and labor rights arena? Are "core labor rights" as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) such as freedom of association truly universal or useful concepts? What is the business and human rights movement and for what does it advocate?
In exploring these and other questions, we will study basic concepts of international business and human rights law such as international trade law, corporate governance, comparative and international labor law, the UN system, and the International Financial Institutions. Although primarily using a legal methodology, this course will be interdisciplinary and will be of interest to students of business, law, global affairs, and other academic disciplines.
This course is given through Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick.
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International Business Transactions (3)
A study of the private law aspects of international transactions. General topics include U.S. law as it affects the entry of persons, goods, and investment to national markets, multinational corporations, export controls, international institutions that affect private transactions, such as GATT and the EEC, and the comparative study of similar topics in both developed and developing countries.
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International Environmental Law and Sustainable Development (3)
An interdepartmental course offered by the law school and the business school that examines combining business and legal measures to make nature conservation more profitable and effective in developing nations and to make environmentally destructive practices comparatively less profitable. Focuses on topics raised by economic incentive strategies for promoting international environmental protection. These include the integration of sustainable development and conservation programs, creation of start-up businesses in poor countries linked to new conservation commitments, intensive eco-marketing of the resulting products and services in wealthy developed nations, and using information disclosure mandates and other legal mechanisms in consumer nations to reduce the value of goods produced in an ecologically harmful manner. Also, overcoming legal and political barriers to international trade in conservation-compatible goods.
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International Finance (3)
Explores how the law operates in global financial markets and how financial globalization is transforming the law. In 1970, 90 percent of international transactions represented trade in goods and services. Today, up to 90 percent of international transactions reflect movement of capital unrelated to trade. The course will review national and international legal regimes that make up the infrastructure for international financial transactions, and will examine the adequacy of this regime to meet the challenge of financial globalization. Topics include international banking and securities markets, international financial institutions, currency regimes, risk management, financial crises, and financing for development.
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International Law and a Just World Order (3)
The content of the course covers the role of legal processes, institutions, and organizations in the evolving world community. It covers the manner in which traditional international law arose and calls for an analysis of the basic concepts of international law: sources, subjects, sovereignty, treaties and agreements, jurisdiction, state responsibility, the use of force, and peaceful settlement of disputes. Insofar as possible, it deals with the interrelated problems of war, poverty and maldevelopment, social injustice, and ecological instability throughout the globe.
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International Tax (3)
This course deals with U.S. taxation of income from international transactions. U.S. income taxation of foreign persons and of foreign-source income derived by U.S. persons is examined. Topics include operation of the foreign tax credit and of U.S. income tax treaties; the new definitions of U.S. residency under the Tax Reform Act of 1984; U.S. taxation of foreign investment in U.S. real estate; deferral of U.S. tax on income derived by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies; and U.S. tax consequences of differing methods of conducting international business transactions.
Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.
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International Trade Regulation (3)
Introduces students to the principal legal, business, and
policy aspects of international trade, with a strong focus on U.S. trade law within the
context of the WTO-GATT agreements. The
course will generally explore "globalization," in terms of the forms of
international business penetration, income determinations, country
classifications, and principles of sovereignty. The individual topics
covered will include: (1) the foundations of International Trade Law; (2)
international legal structures such as the World
Trade Organization (WTO), General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade
(GATT), and the North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA); (3) the
intersection of international trade and domestic standards; (4)
Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty law; (5) unilateral U.S. retaliation against foreign
practices
under "Section 301" of the U.S. trade statutes; and (6) trade in the
context of intellectual property rights.
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Internet Law (2)
The explosive growth of the internet as a medium for commerce and communications poses novel legal challenges. Addresses issues that must be considered when transacting business, offering services, or merely using the internet. Covers electronic commerce, intellectual property protection, state process and regulations, contracts, privacy, torts, taxation, speech, crime, security regulations, advertising, and jurisdiction, among other issues.
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Islamic Jurisprudence (2)
Introduces the student to the history, sources, and methodology of Islamic law and jurisprudence (the Shari'a). The student will gain a basic familiarity with the four primary sources of the Shari'a: the Holy Qu'ran, the Sunnah (precedent) of the Prophet Muhammad, the Doctrine of Ijma' (Consensus), and Qiyas (methods of analogical reasoning used by Islamic jurists). The course is divided into two parts. In Part I, students study the history, theory, and sources of Islamic jurisprudence. Part II comprises Islamic family law, with specific reference to Islamic family law in American courts.
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Jewish Law (2)
Covers the evolution and development of Jewish law from Biblical to Talmudic to post-Talmudic to current times. Included among the various categories of law are torts, real estate, criminal law, and commercial contracts. Addresses the judiciary and the legislative and other rule-making systems. The course culminates in an intensive study of personal property. No prior knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew is necessary.
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Jurisprudence (3)
The topics covered include: natural law, positivism, legal realism, law and economics, critical legal studies, law and literature, critical race theory, gay rights, postmodern legal theories, lawyering, and jurisprudence.
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Jurisprudence: Human Rights and Animal Rights (3)
We will first examine the concept of a right and the differences between moral theories based on rights and those based on consequences, virtue, or other considerations. As part of this portion of the course, we will consider the relationship between law and morality. We will then explore the ways in which race, sex, sexual orientation, and species limit membership in the moral and legal community. We will examine rights issues raised in various contexts involving humans and nonhumans, including abortion, the status of women in a patriarchal society, gay rights, affirmative action, capital punishment, vegetarianism, the status of nonhumans as property, and the use of animals in biomedical experiments.
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Labor Law (3)
A study of creation and operation of the process of collective bargaining between unions and employers under the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.
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Land Redevelopment Law (2)
This course is oriented toward an understanding and analysis of the context, policy, statutory, and case law structure for redevelopment of New Jersey's urban centers, cities, and towns. This is in the context of New Jersey being the most densely populated state in the country and the Smart Growth trends rendering greenfields development more difficult while creating incentives and mechanisms to facilitate redevelopment utilizing existing infrastructure, systems, and resources.
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Land Use Controls (3)
An analysis of various legal controls which are available to carry out planning policy, with special emphasis on the relationship between implementing various planning goals and the basic principles of constitutional law. Review of the legal problems involved in zoning ordinances and in various types of housing and redevelopment legislation. Special attention given to the implications of such controls for civil liberties and basic democratic values. Current land use problems, including Mount Laurel.
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Law and Economics (3)
An introduction to the central concepts of "law and economics," including alternative notions of efficiency, rational choice and public choice theory, the Coase Theorem, transaction and administrative costs, the impact of public and private regulation on individual behavioral choice, and the application of these concepts to various aspects of the legal system, including: the choices between statutory and common law, rules and standards, property and liability rules, and strict liability and negligence; the determination of damages for breach of contract; and the rules of legal procedure. Some attention will also be paid to the moral, ethical, and philosophical criticisms often made of the economic approach to law. A prior acquaintance with economics is neither assumed nor required.
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Law and Mass Communications (2)
Explores the law that impacts upon the publication and broadcast of news and related content by traditional media, primarily newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. The course covers defamation, privacy causes of action and related news-gathering torts,
journalists' access to government information and government proceedings, reporters' privilege to protect confidential sources and material, broadcast regulation, and the impact of new technologies on media law. Some emphasis is
placed on the problems of developing a coherent theory of "freedom of the press" in the context of the media today.
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Law and the Humanities I and II (2,2)
Law is not the most effective means of social control.
Custom, morality, ethics, religion, and habit are more pervasive and have much
to do with the way people act in their day-to-day lives. Though cultures differ
radically across the planet, the experience of being a human is remarkably
constant in many respects. Drama, music, dance, architecture, painting, and
literature are some practices which are conventionally labeled as humanities.
This seminar is concerned primarily with fiction, albeit other domain--painting, film, drama--are
explored. Fiction is a useful way to explore the experience of being a human in
various societies over time and around the world. Illustrative books from past
courses (some will be repeated) include: The Book of Job; Aeschylus, The
Orestian Trilogy; Plato, Phaedrus; Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter;
Dreiser, Sister Carrie; Eliot, Middlemarch; Dostoyevsky, The
Brothers Karamazov; Morrison, Beloved; Achebe, Things Fall Apart;
Mahfouz, Palace Walk; Amado, Captains of the Sands; Allende, The
House of Spirits; Gordimer, None to Accompany Me; Roy, The
God of Small Things; McEwan, Atonement.
Corequisite: Books may differ in the two courses. Students may enroll in both Law and Humanities I and II in either sequence.
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The Law of Democracy: Elections and the Political Process (3)
Provides a comprehensive overview of the political process, and examines the most significant contemporary legal and constitutional issues affecting federal and state elections. The course will cover rights of access to the political process, voting rights, group-based disenfranchisement, as well as structural issues such as campaign finance regulation, redistricting (generally, as well as partisan and race-based redistricting), the role of political parties, and Bush v. Gore. The course also will touch on critical aspects of New Jersey's election law including the nomination process, reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures, pay-to-play, public financing of campaigns, and other significant topics.
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Law of Military Service and Armed Conflict (3)
An introductory overview of a broad range of military legal issues, beginning with constitutional and statutory issues affecting the individual soldier or civilian, and progressing through international conventions and customs regulating the use of force. The course begins with a review of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and related judicial and adjudicatory issues, and concludes with a study of international conventions and procedures, with a particular view of their application to recent world events.
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Law of the Entertainment Industry (3)
This course will review and discuss the relevant law and business structures in the entertainment industry. The study will encompass case law, statutory law, rules, regulations, and business practices specific to the fields of music, motion picture, print publication, television, and live theater. The topics discussed will range from First Amendment, privacy and publicity rights, to contract issues, new technologies, and the role of labor unions and intellectual property laws. With entertainment serving as the number one export of the United States, global implications and applicable laws of other countries will also be reviewed and discussed.
Course not open to students who have taken Entertainment Law and Business.
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Legal Accounting (2)
Intended for persons who have never studied accounting. It begins with an explanation of double-entry bookkeeping and some practice in making bookkeeping entries, and progresses through the preparation and understanding of financial statements of corporations, the stockholders' equity accounts, and the principles used in determining net corporate income.
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Legal Profession (2)
An introduction to the lawyer's role and the law governing it, including such subjects as confidentiality, conflicts of interest, the limits of advocacy, lawyer fees, delivery of legal services, malpractice liability, and client misconduct. Focuses on a series of problems, which are explored in the light of professional rules, readings, and personal choices.
Course not open to students who have taken Professional Responsibility.
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Legislation (3)
An introduction to the laws governing the legislative process and the approaches to and principles of statutory interpretation. Among other topics, the course will examine
interpretive canons focusing on statutory text, the role of legislative history, legislative intent, and legislative purpose, "plain statement" rules, the effect of the construction of statutes by administrative agencies, and
resolving conflict between statutes. Depending on the professor, the course may cover topics such as lobbying restrictions and the law relating to the election of legislators.
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Legislative Drafting (2)
Focus is on the study of statutes generally, with a goal of developing facility in reading and understanding statutes as well as writing them. We will examine the sources from which statutes are often derived, the different kinds of statutes (i.e., criminal, civil, administrative, etc.), current styles in
statutory writing, and the parts of a statute and their functions. Students will attempt to write a statute on a subject that presents difficult problems in order to explore the kinds of issues
that must be addressed in statutory drafting.
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Leiden Study Abroad (11)
This registration is for students enrolled in the cooperative study abroad program at Leiden University, the Netherlands.
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Mass Tort Litigation (2)
This course on Aggregate Litigation will provide an overview of the unique issues associated with Mass Tort Litigation. Matters to be addressed include procedural and substantive laws affecting such cases, including class certification, federalism, bankruptcy, evidence, and civil procedure. Materials used will include scholarly articles and other background materials as well as both federal and state decisions in high profile cases involving: medical devices and pharmaceuticals (Fen-Phen, Vioxx, and hip replacements); consumer products (tobacco, credit cards, and baby strollers); environmental harms (Ayers, Paoli, Mejckrech); and financial fraud (Lincoln Savings, Enron, and First Jersey Securities). We will reflect upon the societal forces which motivated Congress and many state legislatures to act and/or react to Aggregate Litigation within the last 20 years. Finally, the course will tackle the difficult ethical duties involved in Aggregate Litigation involving the courts, lawyers, dispute resolvers, litigants, objectors, public interest and trade groups, politicians, and the press.
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Matrimonial Litigation (2)
This course aims at familiarizing the students with matrimonial litigation practice. Specifically, the students will learn all procedural aspects associated with the commencement of a divorce action and the related pretrial motion practice necessary to prepare a divorce action for trial. The students will then be taught substantive law in four key areas of New Jersey family practice litigation: equitable distribution, custody, alimony and child support, and attorney's fees. Finally, each student will be given an opportunity to draft and argue before a New Jersey Superior Court judge three distinct motions: an application for pendente lite relief, one to enforce court ordered obligations, and an in limine application to address trial-related issues.
Prerequisite: Family Law.
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Mediation (2 or 3)
Mediation, in which a neutral third party assists people in resolving their disputes, has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the last few years. Many court systems use mediation as a way to settle cases without a trial. Lawyers may urge their clients to try mediation to get better agreements less expensively, without the hostility and aggravation that often accompany litigation. The practice of mediation seems to be on its way to becoming a profession. Even if they do not act as mediators themselves, lawyers may find themselves representing parties in mediation sessions, or drafting mediation clauses for contracts. But mediation raises substantial questions about fairness, accuracy, confidentiality, equity, and differences in power: Should it replace the traditional ways of resolving disputes? This course covers the key skills that mediators should have, using simulated mediations in which students participate. It also covers the conceptual issues that should be understood to make sound judgments about the use of mediation. After initial skills training in the course, students may have the opportunity to act as mediators in real disputes, such as those pending in small claims courts, municipal courts, and other venues. Students should have enough flexibility in their schedules to make themselves available for this kind of work. It is designed to follow up in a more intensive way some of the concepts introduced in Alternative Dispute Resolution, but Alternative Dispute Resolution is not a prerequisite.
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Mental Health Law (3)
Examines various ways in which American law responds to the existence of mental illness. Readings and discussions explore such matters as privacy and the psychiatrist/patient privilege, the psychiatrist's duty to warn potential victims of a patient's violent impulses, a patient's right to refuse medication, the standard for confining those mentally ill individuals who are "dangerous" in mental institutions, and the implications of mental illness for crime and punishment, including such issues as the insanity defense and competency to be executed.
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Mergers and Acquisitions (2)
Examines various issues that arise in the merger and acquisition context. Focus is on public companies. Considers the legal responsibilities of directors with respect to takeover proposals. Looks at various types of takeover defenses, including staggered boards and "poison pills," as well as the tactical and legal considerations behind their use. Analyzes the key components of acquisition agreements against the background of relevant case law, including "no shop" clauses, lockups, and material adverse change provisions. Reviews alternative forms of business combinations and different kinds of consideration, and considers the implication of these options on the structure of the deal.
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Municipal Corporations (2)
Considers the forms and functions of local government; the workings of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches thereof; the relationship of local government to county and state authority; and the legal issues likely to be involved with all of the foregoing. Principal decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the New Jersey courts, with some emphasis given to zoning and planning matters, tort claims, and state and federal constitutional issues that have particular relevance to local government, will also be considered.
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National Security Law (2)
Explores the ways in which terrorism has challenged the traditional legal constructs of international and domestic law designed to protect national security. It will begin with an historical discussion of the evolution of the international law of sovereignty and war, the doctrine of posse comitatus, and the type of terrorism that has led to today's war on terror. It will proceed to examine the ways in which acts of terror were handled pre- and post-9/11, including the passage and implementation of the Patriot Act, the designation of detained individuals as enemy combatants, the use of immigration laws and material witness statutes to detain individuals, and the respective roles of domestic lawmakers and courts, international alliances, and the United Nations in conducting the war on terror.
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Negotiations (3)
Lawyers may negotiate more than they engage in any other single task. Arranging business deals, setting the terms of employment (both union and nonunion), transferring real estate, guiding divorces, setting all kinds of civil litigation, and plea bargaining are all familiar features of lawyers' work. Good negotiating involves both skill and understanding of what one is doing. This course pays attention to both. Students participate in and critique several simulated negotiation exercises, drawn from varied aspects of legal practice. It also surveys key modern ideas about negotiation. The last few decades have seen a substantial growth in the breadth and richness of negotiation theory, and the course will pay attention to how theory can usefully inform practice. Designed to follow up in a more intensive way some of the concepts introduced in Alternative Dispute Resolution, but Alternative Dispute Resolution is not a prerequisite.
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New Jersey Federal Practice (2)
Covers both the theory and the reality of practice before the Federal Court in New Jersey. Using the Local Civil and Criminal Rules of the District of New Jersey as the general outline, the course will examine everything from the authority of the local court to adopt and enforce its own local rules to the ins and outs of interacting with the court's ancillary officers, such as the clerk's office, pretrial services, and marshal's service.
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New Jersey Practice (3)
Examines New Jersey Civil Procedure, covering organization and jurisdiction of the courts, venue, civil actions, process, joinder of parties and claims, discovery, pretrial motions including discovery motions and motions for summary judgment, pretrial conferences, motions during trial, appeals, and satisfaction of judgments.
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New York Practice (2)
Examines the New York Civil Practice Law: organization and jurisdiction of the courts; civil actions, process; joinder of parties, claims and remedies, venue; discovery; pretrial motions, including summary judgment; pretrial conference; consolidation; trial motions; verdicts, finding, and judgments; posttrial motions; executions; Article 78 proceedings; contempt; attachment and capias; injunctions and special proceedings; appeals--final, interlocutory, and discretionary; scope of review; mandate and judgment.
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Nonprofit and Tax Exempt Organizations (2)
Provides an overview of state and federal laws governing the creation and operation of nonprofit organizations including but not limited to the Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-exempt status, 26 U.S.C. § 501 et seq.; the Charitable Registration and Investigation Act N.J.S.A. 45:17A-18 et seq.; and the New Jersey Non-Profit Corporation Act., N.J.S.A. 15A;1-1 et seq. Focus is on state regulations and their First Amendment implications.
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Patent Claim Drafting (2)
Focuses on the mechanics of drafting patent claims to define
the protected scope of an invention. The course will cover drafting and
analysis of independent and dependent claims, apparatus claims, Markush
groups, means-plus-function limitations, method and system claims, and
other claim types. Students will be given a number of claim-drafting
homework exercises focusing on simple inventions that persons from any
technical discipline should be able to understand, and will receive
individualized feedback on their claims. Reading assignments will
consist of court opinions and sections from the Manual of Patent
Examining Procedure.
Prerequisite: Patent Law.
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Patent Law (3 or 4)
A study of the patent law statutes and case
law. Covers the requisites of patentability, including eligible
subject matter, utility, novelty, nonobviousness, and disclosure. It then turns to patent enforcement issues, including claim interpretation, the doctrine of equivalents, and remedies. The course also addresses the policy underpinnings of the patent system and the international context in which patents operate. Designed for a broad range of students, including those who may encounter patent issues as part of a general litigation, corporate, or regulatory practice. No scientific, technical, or patent background is required.
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Patent Litigation (2)
This
course will review the major events and issues in a typical
patent-infringement litigation, beginning with the filing of a
complaint and answer, and ending with an appeal to the Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit. The topics to be covered include pleading
requirements (both as to infringement and defenses), discovery (fact
and expert), patent-claim construction (a so-called Markman hearing),
and motions for summary judgment (validity, infringement, and
enforceability). The practical application of key patent law and
procedural law concepts will be explored through discussion of key
Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions, as well as through the
drafting of briefs and arguing motions in class.
Prerequisite: Patent Law.
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Pharmaceutical Patent Law (2)
Compared
with other types of companies, pharmaceutical/life science companies
face unique challenges in bringing their new products (drugs) to
market, and protecting them once they reach the market, due in large
part to the convergence of patent, FDA, and antitrust laws. This course
will study the various statutory and regulatory regimes in play,
focusing on real-world problems confronting the industry. Topics
include patent litigation between innovators and generics, settlements
and antitrust scrutiny; generic biologics; patent prosecution and
transactional issues; the branded and generic drug approval process;
and Orange Book listing requirements and strategies.
Prerequisites: This course is open to students who either: (a) have completed Patent Law; (b) have completed Copyright and Trademark or Business Torts and Intellectual Property and are simultaneously enrolled in Patent Law; or (c) have taken the Patent Bar or are former patent examiners.
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Political and Corporate Corruption Law (2)
Law is the primary public tool to meet the
challenges posed by political and corporate corruption. Bribery, bidrigging, undisclosed conflicts
of interest, omission of material information from corporate disclosures, legal
restraints on political activity by government workers, and the use of campaign
contributions to gain political influence are all within the range of laws designed
to limit and restrain public and private corruption. This course will examine
leading corruption cases including the Watergate and Iran contra scandals; the
Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom fraud cases; the Abscam congressional payoff
prosecutions; corporate fiduciary duty as seen in the Miliken and Martha Stewart
cases; the Clinton-era Whitewater and impeachment investigations; and the ethics
inquiries of Senator Robert Torricelli and Representative Tom DeLay. An
important feature of the course will be an extended legal analysis of
corruption issues arising out of New Jersey's political and governmental system. The full range
of legal and ethical tools concerning governmental and business corruption will
be explored, including the federal Hobbs Act; civil and criminal RICO applied
to corporate and political corruption cases; New Jersey's antibribery act;
legislative disclosure rules; Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance; the status
of "pay to play" donations under antibribery laws; and obstruction of justice and
destruction of corporate records. Constitutional questions as to state/federal
enforcement power in political and corporate cases will also be examined.
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Poverty Law (3)
After
introduction to some of the basic currents of American antipoverty
policy, the course will examine federal and state constitutional
protections for the poor with regard to housing, access to the courts,
access to the political process, and education, among other areas. It
will then examine federal social welfare law and programs (both the
procedural protections relevant to the award and termination of
benefits and some salient substantive provisions). It will then proceed
to an examination of the intersection of poverty and race and the
application of civil rights law to address issues of particular concern
to low-income communities and individuals of color. Finally, in
whatever time remains, it may address other issues such as the legal
implications of particular interdisciplinary or multifaceted problems
such as homelessness or the application of international human rights
law regimes on issues of world hunger and world poverty.
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Products Liability (3)
Examines and analyzes the origins and current role of products liability law in American society. Discusses current trends in products liability law in Congress and the courts. Additionally, focuses on the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability and the many interesting and complex issues addressed therein from the perspectives of consumers, manufacturers, and plaintiffs' lawyers. These issues include potential causes of action against manufacturers or distributors of products including liability for defective products, including standards for determining whether a product is defective (such as strict liability and risk-utility tests); liability for failure to warn of a product's dangers; and liability for failure to recall a defective product. Considers manufacturers' and distributors' affirmative defenses to such causes of action, e.g., statutes of limitation and repose, compliance with the current state of the art, assumption of risk, failure to prove proximate cause, and preemption.
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Professional Responsibility (3)
The number of suits against lawyers is growing, as is the law of malpractice and the involvement of other lawyers representing plaintiffs or defendants. This course will consider such issues as the applicable causes of action, suits by non-clients, the role of experts, and professional rules, defenses, and the prevention of malpractice.
Course not open to students who have taken Legal Profession.
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Race and the Law (2)
This course will examine American structures, conceptions, and legal issues involving race and racism. It will review how the law has been used to apportion power among groups in American society. The first half of the course will review how that power has been used to privilege some and marginalize and/or oppress others (and will include examination of the unique experiences of African Americans, Native
Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Arab Americans). The second half will focus
on how the law has been used to alter this distribution of power and protect
those who are marginalized and/or oppressed (by surveying legal doctrine regarding equality of educational opportunities, voting rights, language rights, employment and housing discrimination, and hate speech and hate crimes,
among other issues). The course will conclude with a consideration of future and emerging issues.
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Real Estate Transactions (3)
A survey course encompassing typical residential and commercial transactions, title assurances, and financing techniques.
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Rutgers Teaching Associate (2 or 3)
This enterprise provides an opportunity for students to participate as teaching associates for Legal Research and Writing I and II. Students receive 2 credits for assisting with Legal Research and Writing I and 3 credits for Legal Research and Writing II.
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Secured Transactions (3)
We will examine legal and commercial relationships in secured financing, focusing on the interests of borrowers, lenders, and others in personal property used as collateral. We will cover topics including creation and perfections of security interests, priority among conflicting interests, and enforcement of contract rights under Uniform Commercial Code Article 9.
Course not open to students who have taken Debtor-Creditor Law.
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Securities Litigation (2)
Securities
fraud litigation has seen significant legal developments in recent
years, including a number of high profile cases. This course provides
an introduction to the law of securities litigation. Issues covered
will include securities fraud litigation under Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5; Securities Act claims under
Sections 11 and 12(a)(2); tender of offer fraud; and proxy fraud.
Procedural issues that arise in the class action context will also be
included in this analysis. In addition, we will study the enforcement
role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and certain issues that
arise in criminal law cases. Recent statutory developments, including
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, will also be covered. The course will involve
analysis of securities litigation with an emphasis on the
practitioner's role.
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Securities and Market Regulation (4)
Analyzes the series of statutes collectively referred to as the federal securities laws and examines the structure and practices of the key capital markets. The basic materials are court decisions, the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and SEC rules and regulations. Areas covered include public offerings of securities, tender offers, regulation of broker-dealers, and continuous disclosure requirements.
Prerequisite: Business Associations.
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Social Security Benefits (3)
Covers issues of entitlement and benefit calculation arising out of the set of programs popularly referred to as social security. The law of these programs touches the lives of well over 90 percent of all persons living or working in the United States and provides critical income to those who have retired or ceased working due to severe physical or mental disability and members of their families. Both individually and collectively the amounts are very large. For a majority of those receiving social security, the benefits represent at least half their total income. Total payments amount to more than $380 billion a year. The law directing these payments and setting their amount is complex. Questions about proper application of this law are raised in thousands of administrative hearings and federal court proceedings each year. Learning about that law is important, however, not only to those who must resolve questions of social security law as judges or who represent individuals and families seeking social security benefits, but to all individuals, family members, and organizations seeking a clearer understanding of how this program affects their lives and plans. Since these benefits are so important to individuals at critical points in their lives, knowing under what circumstances social security benefits are available and how much they will be is essential for effective financial planning. Decisions about when to retire, how much to save and in what form, and even whether to marry or divorce should in many cases involve consideration of social security. All instruction, including course discussions, takes place via the internet in cooperation with Cornell Law School. All course materials will be on the web. Background and introductory material, points about the readings, problems, and the opening portion of class discussion are all presented using web-linked streaming audio. Web-based tutorials and exercises tightly integrated with the readings and presentations provide a regular means for each student to gauge the level of his or her understanding of each topic in preparation for class discussion. Class discussions take place using written exchange within a web conference environment.
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Sports Law (2)
Explores the legal issues presented in professional and amateur sports. Focuses on judicial, administrative, and private decisions that have created a body of principles by which courts and other tribunals have analyzed and resolved disputes involving athletes, clubs, leagues, spectators, and fans. These decisions address issues of antitrust, labor, tort, agency, and constitutional law. Particular attention is paid to recent events involving professional sports teams and organizations, cases involving free agency, the reserve system and player contracts, collective bargaining and salary arbitration, violence in sports, league structure and governance, and NCAA rules and regulations.
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State and Local Taxation (2)
Focuses on one of the most rapidly growing areas in taxation, examining the major types of taxation imposed and collected by
state and local governments. It will begin with a discussion of the constitutional constraints upon a state's ability to tax out-of-state corporations based on the corporations' "minimum contacts" with their
state and it will then focus on particular types of taxation, beginning with corporate income, franchise, and gross receipts taxes. In
studying such taxes, students will examine how states determine the appropriate proportion of such income taxable by a particular state, and the constraints upon such state determinations. The course will explore sales/use taxes, which
have become a much greater percentage of corporations' overall tax liability. Two major issues raised by such taxes are, first, identifying which receipts are taxable, and, second, determining the proper sourcing of receipts. Property taxes, including the different methods of valuing property and questions regarding which items are included in the tax base, will also be covered. It will conclude with a brief overview of some issues related to payroll taxes. A basic familiarity with state and local taxation is important for anyone currently working in or interested in pursuing a career in taxation, and
may well be helpful to students pursuing a corporate transactional practice.
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State Constitutional Law (2)
A
basic introduction to state constitutional law in the United States--a subject of increasing importance under current federalism
jurisprudence--with some special attention paid to the constitutional
law of New Jersey.
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Tax Policy (3)
This course addresses major issues in tax policy. In part, the subjects depend on political developments, but we will consider alternatives to the current income tax as well as several issues that remain of concern in the current income tax. These will include corporate tax shelters, the preference for capital gains, complexity in the law, behavior of the Internal Revenue Service, and perhaps some issues in state taxation. If then being considered legislatively, transfer taxes may be considered.
Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.
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Toxic Torts and Toxic Substances Regulation (3)
Toxic substances present some of the most
fascinating and difficult problems in tort litigation and environmental and health regulation. The harmful effects of toxic exposures may not appear until
years or decades after initial exposures; thousands or millions of people may
be exposed before the dangers become known, creating the prospect of
multibillion-dollar torts litigation; people are exposed to many chemicals and
drugs in their lives, often making it hard to establish causal connections with
specific exposures; scientific uncertainty is widespread, forcing the tort law
and regulatory systems to deal with serious credibility and reliability issues;
hundreds of chemicals and drugs do not receive adequate testing before they are
marketed; and when a "foreseeability" test is imposed in toxic torts
litigation, this requires very expensive evidentiary proceedings about "who
knew what when" over a long period of time. This course provides a comparative
introduction to toxic torts and regulation. We will consider how these two
imperfect legal institutions deal with characteristic problems of toxic
exposures and toxic effects, and we will also evaluate these institutions from
legal policy and social policy perspectives.
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Transnational Litigation and Dispute Resolution (2 or 3)
Procedural, strategic, and substantive legal issues that are most likely to confront the American lawyer in handling the resolution of disputes that transcend national borders. Topics explored include the gathering of evidence, privileges and immunities, enforcement of judgments and awards, jurisdiction and access to judicial systems, and the extraterritorial application of domestic laws.
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Treaty Regimes: Negotiation and Implementation (2)
Examines
negotiation and implementation of the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),
and related instruments like the Kyoto Protocol, the Additional
Protocol to Safeguards Agreements, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,
and nuclear arms reduction agreements. Topics include what makes treaty
regimes work or fail; compliance and enforcement; the nature of the
obligation to negotiate further agreements under the UNFCCC and the
NPT; the dynamics of negotiations; and the efficacy of treaty regimes
compared to other approaches. Some comparison to other treaty regimes
like those on ozone depletion and chemical weapons.
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Trial Presentation (2 or 3)
Practice in preparing for and conducting trials, including development of trial strategy, opening statements and summations, the making of a trial record, direct- and cross-examination of witnesses, and preparation and introduction of exhibits. Intensive classroom exercises will culminate in simulated bench trials, in which students participate as members of trial teams. In connection with these trials, participant trial teams will be expected to submit trial memoranda of approximately 10-20 pages in length. Each case can be tried in approximately four to five hours and each is conducted in one trial day, thereby simulating an actual trial schedule.
Prerequisite: Evidence.
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Trusts and Estates (4)
A survey of the law of wills, trusts, and other testamentary documents, with an emphasis on state statutes and the Uniform Probate Code. The course also includes some estate and trust administration, guardianships, and some estate and gift tax implications. The tax coverage is limited and will not prepare the students for estate planning.
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Venture Capital (2)
Explores the venture capital
process from forming the "fundable" business through the full life cycle. The
course will feature a number of guest speakers (venture investors, executives
of venture-backed businesses, and subject matter experts on the areas of law
most frequently implicated in venture capital transactions). It will
include discussion and materials on how to set up the "fundable" business from
the perspective of investing intellectual property and creating appropriate
structures and employment arrangements to facilitate a venture transaction; the
securities law and tax implications of the venture capital process; the capital
shopping process; the term sheet process; negotiating and documenting early
stage funding; bridge funding and late-stage funding; what happens when the
investment turns sour; and providing general corporate counsel to the venture-backed business. The course will also involve simulations including the
students and leading practitioners in the field.
Prerequisite: Business Associations.
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White-Collar Crime (2)
This course will consider legal and sociological aspects of the phenomenon commonly called white-collar crime. Assesses the origins of the concept and the growth of public concern about white-collar crime, focusing in particular on differences between white-collar and "street" crime. Examines distinctive characteristics of investigation procedures, prosecution, and defense of white-collar cases, as well as the difficulties faced by judges in sentencing persons convicted of white-collar crimes. The assessment of special prosecution and defense functions will focus attention on the problem of defining legal responsibility and setting the boundary between criminal and civil liability. Looks closely at fraud in insider trading in order to assess this issue of choice of sanctions.
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Youth Advocacy Law (2)
Designed to explore the unique treatment of
children under the federal constitution and numerous federal and state
statutes. The course will help students to understand the forces that shape family
law and child welfare policy, with a special focus on the rights and
responsibilities of young people in the juvenile justice context. We will use
legal, economic, and sociological tools of analysis to examine such issues as
the rights of legal institutionalized minors; the exercise of liberty in the
schoolhouse; the challenges of modern child welfare; state-sanctioned
restrictions on the rights of minors; the constitutionality of the death
penalty as applied to minors; and juvenile justice.
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