Courses listed may NOT be offered every semester and schedules are subject
to change. Course content and grading methods may vary and will be announced
by the instructor during the semester. For more Information contact the
Registrar's Office at (651) 290-6363.
Family mediation offers divorcing couples a cooperative and constructive way to resolve differences and plan for the future. Minnesota now requires that mediation be considered early in the dissolution process. The interactive course provides student ...more information
Surveys administrative law and procedure covering the constitutional and statutory problems of the agency within the governmental framework, the operation of the agency from investigation through decision making, including the Constitutional requirem ...more information
Explores non-judicial routes to resolving disputes, beginning with mediation and arbitration, with brief examinations of processes such as summary jury trial, non-binding advisory opinions, med-arb, and mini-trial. The course emphasizes experiential ...more information
Students in this course work together as a team to develop a professional-quality dispute resolution program for an actual client. Past clients have included Best Buy and Education Minnesota. Students must plan to approach the project with the disc ...more information
This course will cover important aspects of advanced civil procedure including study of the theory and practice of class action litigation; multi district procedures; removal and remand (forum choices); uses of Rule 30(b)(6); electronic discovery; c ...more information
This course addresses advanced topics in Federal Indian law that cannot be covered in the basic survey course, such as Indian gaming and the Indian Child Welfare Act. ...more information
This seminar offers focused instruction on legal research tools and methods. Students practice research techniques, and develop strategies to approach legal topics previously unfamiliar to them. Classes feature lectures, hands-on exercises, online ...more information
PrintAdvanced Research and Writing Requirement (133)
PrintAdvising the International and Humanitarian NGO (3330)
This course gives students a unique opportunity to work directly with a major international non-profit organization (Mano A Mano International Partners, www.manoamano.org) to help this client carry its work forward in two ways: (1) Provide legal guid ...more information
Teaches students the basic skills all lawyers use in the representation of clients. Students observe and discuss model demonstrations of client communication, persuasion, and advocacy skills and then practice these skills in a small-group setting. Pe ...more information
Covers all aspects of advocacy involved in jury trials, bench trials, administrative hearings, and arbitration. Students learn by performing videotaped exercises in every class, and are critiqued by experienced lawyers and judges. The course covers ...more information
This course begins with the essential concepts of agency law and proceeds to a survey of the most important forms of unincorporated business organizations: general partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and limited liability companie ...more information
Examines major themes and developments in American legal history. The course begins with a focus upon the legal and jurisprudential foundations of the American Revolution and continues up through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Examples of to ...more information
The field of animal law has grown exponentially in recent years, capturing the attention of practioners and academicians as well as the general public. Far from being a homogeneous area of study, animal law draws from and impacts many facets of "tra ...more information
Surveys the antitrust field and legal restraints on economic activity. Focuses on trade practices prohibited by the Sherman, Clayton and FTC Acts, including monopolization, price-fixing, distribution restrictions, boycotts, and tying. Brief review of ...more information
The Apprenticeship Program is an opportunity for students to bridge the gap between being a law student and becoming a lawyer. Targeted primarily at 2Ls, or 3Ls who have not yet had off-campus experience associated with attorneys, this course combi ...more information
Each fall WMCL participates in the national Arbitration Competition. The competition is designed to promote greater knowledge and interest among law students about arbitration by simulating a realistic arbitration hearing. Participating students lea ...more information
This seminar will prepare students to identify, analyze and critique argumentation and persuasion styles, strategies and problems in a wide variety of legal texts, ranging from opening and closing statements to judicial opinions to law review article ...more information
PrintArt, Cultural Heritage, and the Law (formerly Law and the Visual Arts) (8799)
Law and the Visual Arts considers the relationship between the visual arts and a range of international, foreign, and domestic legal documents. It covers such varied topics as the nature and purpose of art, plunder, looting, and reparations, the illi ...more information
PrintAssisted Reproductive Technology and the Law Seminar (3108)
This seminar deals with the legal implications of assisted reproductive technologies on family formation. Topics will include sperm and egg donation, surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and artificial insemination, as well as the constitutional under ...more information
This class provides a general introduction to the law governing organization, regulation, and operation of banks and other financial institutions. The course will analyze certain major statutory developments over the past 20 years, including deregula ...more information
This course is an introduction to the law governing the relationships between financially distressed consumers and businesses and their creditors. The course covers the rights of creditors and debtors outside of bankruptcy (under state and federal la ...more information
Bar Preparation Strategies is a two-credit, graded course offered the semester before graduation. The course is designed to help students refine the skills necessary to succeed on the bar exam and to give them a head start on the bar-preparation proc ...more information
This is a course covering a single buy/sell transaction emulating the experience that a second year associate in a law firm with substantial corporate work would gain under the supervision of a senior partner. The class, limited to 8 students, will b ...more information
Surveys the federal income tax consequences of major events in the "life" of a business for businesses and their owners, including formations, contributions, operations, distributions, redemptions, and liquidations. This course compares taxation of S ...more information
This course is for students who have an interest in public service and children´s issues. The course is designed to provide an overview of the prosecution process in civil and criminal cases involving child abuse and neglect. Students will lea ...more information
Required. Provides an introduction to the civil justice system in the United States, with an emphasis on the rules governing civil litigation and the social values and public policy choices inherent in those rules. Topics include: the Federal Rules ...more information
This course will cover various substantive areas of civil rights law, including discrimination in housing, education, public accommodations, employment, voting, and law enforcement. The course will also explore tactical and theoretical consideration ...more information
This course will introduce students to a practice-oriented approach to interviewing and counseling. Although we will use a standard legal text, we also will rely on materials and guests from other disciplines. The overall objective of the course is t ...more information
Students will represent parents whose children have been removed from the home. The students will meet their clients at the initial hearing and will continue to represent their clients throughout the case, including a trial if necessary. The cases ...more information
Students take full responsibility for representing clients. The course focuses on the challenges of representing real people against real opponents in an ethical, reflective, and creative way. Under close supervision of faculty, students interview an ...more information
Students in the Community Development Clinic tackle unstructured problems, work collaboratively in a multi-discipline arena, and learn how to identify and address legal issues embedded in a problem or project - necessary skills in the problem-solving ...more information
Students prepare an appellate brief on behalf of a criminal defendant under the supervision of a state public defender. Emphasis is placed on the quality of legal research, writing, and argument. This is an advanced research and writing clinic. Stude ...more information
Students represent indigent clients in administrative proceedings before the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Federal Court. Cases concern the immigration status of aliens. Students interview and counsel clients, research laws and regulatio ...more information
PrintClinic - Intellectual Property Law Clinic (5111)
This course will provide students with direct experience working with clients and practicing attorneys in the areas of copyright, patent and trademark law. Students will apply their substantive learning of the law to related IP projects, where they w ...more information
Students work with practicing business and corporate lawyers to provide legal advice to eligible small business clients referred by community organizations. Students may have the opportunity to work with clients in a variety of business law matters t ...more information
Jeanette Boerner, Hennepin County Public Defenders Office
Susan Herlofsky, Hennepin County Public Defenders Office
Spring semester
This clinic is a joint academic project of William Mitchell College of Law, the Department of Psych ...more information
PrintClinic - Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP) Clinic (9002)
This clinic provides civil representation to indigent persons incarcerated in Minnesota. Students represent clients from interview through any trial. Cases include domestic relations, imprisonment-related matters (institutional grievances, parole, an ...more information
PrintClinic - Legal Planning Clinic for Tax-Exempt Organizations and Low Income Clients (9202)
This is a clinic for students interested in working on tax issues, or in representing low income people on a variety of legal planning issues, including estate and end of life planning. Clients include not-for-profit organizations seeking to gain or ...more information
Students provide civil legal services and other assistance to women leaving prison in Shakopee, Minnesota. This clinic uses a holistic model of representation through collaboration with a social worker.
PrintClinic – Community Development Clinic: Greater Minnesota (9104)
This summer the Community Development Clinic will focus on providing legal assistance to community groups and small non-profits in Greater Minnesota. Students will meet in seminar at the beginning and the end of the summer, and will work on a projec ...more information
Considers some of the major issues involved in forming and operating a business whose ownership interests are not publicly traded. Entities considered include close corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), general partnerships (including lim ...more information
Is the United States a unique country? There are many observers who note that America is a nation like no other in the entire world. Its history, its customs, its traditions, its diverse array of people, its constitutional principles, and politics ...more information
PrintComparative Law - Lawyers: Opponents of Democracy? - Field Placement (3502)
A limited number of students enrolled in Comparative Law: Lawyers-Opponents of Democracy? (3500) may enroll in this course. Students will be placed with organizations working on democracy-related projects, which could include democracy oversight and ...more information
PrintComparative Law - Lawyers: Opponents of Democracy? (3500)
This course will examine the role lawyers play in promoting democracy in three countries - France, Indonesia and the United States. For each country, we will study the work lawyers do and the role they play in democratic reform efforts, how the ba ...more information
This course uses an in-depth analysis of the Japanese legal system and the process of law in Japan to introduce students to comparative law methodology. By studying the law of a country with a radically different culture than our own (such as Japan) ...more information
This course will examine how property rights (and in particular the rights to possess, use and exclude others from property) are allocated, protected and limited under different legal and economic systems. We will particularly focus on rights in na ...more information
Provides an introduction to federal constitutional limitations on governmental power to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate individuals, including stopping and detaining people, arrest, frisks, searches and seizures, custodial interrogations, rig ...more information
Covers federal constitutional limitations on the national and state governments including substantive due process, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and equal protection. ...more information
Covers powers of national government including judicial review and limitations on judicial power, separation of powers, Congress' commerce power, taxing and spending power, and power to enforce civil rights; reserved power of states to regulate and t ...more information
The construction industry -- comprised of owners and lenders, architects and engineers, contractors and subcontractors, material suppliers, sureties and insurers -- is perhaps the largest production segment of the American economy, and quite likely o ...more information
Students will examine and apply a variety of consumer rights statutes, in both state and federal courts, to a variety of real world situations. Students will learn private consumer rights law through observing and conducting in-class live-client and ...more information
PrintContemporary Issues in Intellectual Property Law (5003)
The primary emphasis of this course is on researching and presenting, in both oral and written form, an in depth scholarly analysis of an important contemporary issue related to intellectual property law. The oral discussions will take place in a w ...more information
Required. Covers the general scope of the legal protection accorded promises. Topics include mutual assent, consideration, the effect of changed or unforeseen circumstances, conditions, courses of action open to aggrieved party upon other party's d ...more information
Surveys the rights and obligations of the stockholders and creditors of a corporation. The course addresses the concepts of stated capital, surplus, par value shares, the rules relating to dividends and redemption of stock, the competing interests of ...more information
This course introduces the law of corporations. Topics covered include: Formation of corporations; the nature of corporate limited liability; capital formation (including an introduction to the federal securities laws); corporate personhood (includin ...more information
This course examines the legal and doctrinal underpinnings of the substantive criminal law. The course will address: the elements of crimes against persons and property; the theories justifying punishment; the principles of criminal responsibility; a ...more information
This class provides an overview of the theory, substance and practice of white collar litigation in the criminal arena. It begins with a survey of the basic principles and theories underlying this area of law, including the principles that allow corp ...more information
PrintCriminal Procedure - Minnesota Practice (3804)
Emphasizing Minnesota practice, this course examines from a prosecution and defense perspective the problems and tactics arising during the stages of a criminal proceeding, including preparation of a case, pretrial release, evidentiary issues, defens ...more information
This course examines the process of criminal litigation commencing with the filing of charges and continuing through post-conviction, as affected by relevant U.S. constitutional provisions and opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The range of topics p ...more information
PrintDeals and Dispute Resolution: A One-Week J-Term Simulation (3014)
This is a one-week intensive course in which students interview a client and gather facts, conduct legal research, negotiate and draft a deal, and negotiate and draft a resolution to a dispute. The course focuses on the student’s role as a prof ...more information
This course will offer a history of the disability rights movement through a survey of federal disability law. Readings will include primary and secondary materials on such federal legislation as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with D ...more information
PrintDisaster Law: Public Policy & Research Methods (3012)
A skills-based course explicating advanced research methodologies. Natural disasters provide the backdrop for defining the role of the government as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a crisis. Research methods & sources for consti ...more information
This course examines the role of the Food and Drug Administration in the regulation of prescription drugs and medical devices, the tort liability of drug and device manufacturers, the novel legal issues that arise from the acknowledged risks and side ...more information
PrintEducation Law (K-12): Contemporary Issues in Public Education (5302)
This course is intended to introduce law students to the law and policy relating to public education (K-12) in the United States. The course will examine the authority of the state to compel attendance, regulate the contents of curriculum, the contro ...more information
Students in the Elder Justice and Policy will combine an external placement with an elder justice organization (e.g., a legal aid organization serving seniors, an elder advocacy project, or a senior rights organization) with an intense seminar that w ...more information
This course covers the legal issues affecting the older population, including special ethical issues implicated in an elder law practice, planning for retirement, health care, and property decision-making in the event of incapacity, Medicare and Medi ...more information
In this class, students will research and write a substantial annotated bibliography on an issue related to elder law, for publication on the National Elder Law Network (NELN.org). NELN is a website hosted at William Mitchell devoted to creating pub ...more information
PrintElder Law Workshop: Advising the Senior Client (3831)
This course is an optional one-credit supplement to the 2-hour Elder Law course. This workshop aims to broaden students’ understanding of elder law issues and introduce them to issues associated with drafting legal documents for an older cli ...more information
Analyzes the rules and cases that provide the legal framework for electronic discovery in civil cases and the admissibility of digital evidence. With over 90% of all information now being created in electronic form - and close to 100 billion e-mails ...more information
Examines state and federal law governing employment discrimination, recent case law and statutory developments, and explores practice areas, e.g., enforcement agencies, plaintiffs' and defendants' representation, judicial and legislative process. ...more information
The basic course in employment relations, providing an overview of legal regulation of work and employer-employee relations. Emphasizes employment contracts, torts and public policies, wrongful discharge, employee privacy interests, working condition ...more information
This course examines selected topics in the law of extraction and distribution of energy resources. Topics may include: (a) the law governing extraction of one or more fossil fuels (e.g., coal, petroleum, natural gas); (b) regulation of electricity ...more information
This course will explore the common law, statutory and regulatory foundations of U.S. environmental laws. We will study the federal and state laws and policies relating to, among other things, contaminated property, environmental review, hazardous w ...more information
This course will examine the formal and informal legal regimes (state, federal and international) governing the acquisition, control, exploitation and preservation of natural resources, such as oil, wind, water, forest, wildlife, and wilderness. The ...more information
PrintEnvironmental Law - Natural Resources Survey (4870)
This course focuses on natural resources owned and managed by the federal government. It will also discuss state natural resource management as time permits.
The federal government owns approximately one-third of the nation’s land. The ...more information
In designing environmental laws, we decide how much environmental regulation we want. This is a difficult decision, because much environmental regulation comes at a significant cost. Usually, neither the value of the regulation nor the cost is clea ...more information
Covers taxation of gratuitous transfers under the federal estate and gift tax codes, including taxable inter vivos gifts, the annual exclusion, gift splitting, the gift tax marital deduction, the gift tax charitable deduction, gift taxation of powers ...more information
Studies the concepts and techniques required to apply the principles of wills, trusts, and taxation in the development of estate plans. Topics include drafting of wills and trusts, probate practice and procedure, and income taxation of trusts and est ...more information
Studies the law of trusts and decedents’ estates, including intestate succession, limitations on testamentary power, execution, construction, revocation, and contest of wills; effect of change on dispositions; the revocable and irrevocable trus ...more information
Studies the law of trusts and decedents’ estates, including intestate succession, limitations on testamentary power, execution, construction, revocation, and contest of wills; effect of change on dispositions; the revocable and irrevocable trus ...more information
The course provides an overview of the European Union, with a focus on the constitutional, economic, and institutional aspects of the Union. Includes discussions regarding the origin of the European Union; its institutions; the legislative, executiv ...more information
Studies the theory and practice of the Rules of Evidence. Emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of codified rules and common law principles pertaining to foundation, relevancy, character evidence, privileges, witnesses, expert testimony, scienti ...more information
Evidence II picks up where Evidence leaves off. It will focus on certain advanced doctrinal topics such as scientific evidence and privileges. The course will explore in detail, for example, the Daubert framework and the rules governing expert test ...more information
PrintExternship - Administrative Law Externship (8002)
Students attend hearings with Administrative Law Judges at the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings. Each student is required to attend three state agency contested (trial-type) hearings and a rulemaking hearing, and prepare the first draft o ...more information
PrintExternship - Bankruptcy Law Externship (7113)
The course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to observe, participate in, analyze, and reflect upon the work of a consumer bankruptcy lawyer. Students perform pro bono representation of consumer debtors under the supervision of a ba ...more information
PrintExternship - Court of Appeals Externship (8155)
Students intern with judges of the Minnesota Court of Appeals and participate in a variety of court and clerking activities and attend appellate arguments. Students are assigned to individual judges by the Chief Judge. Students must have regular dayt ...more information
SUMMER:Externship - William Mitchell is offering students an opportunity for a criminal justice externship this summer. We will be placing students with the Public Defender´s Offices in the Metropolitan Areas.
PrintExternship - District Court Externship (8805)
Students intern with state court judges, magistrates or referees (occasionally with a federal judge). Students participate in a variety of clerking activities, attend chamber discussion, and observe trials and hearings. Class meetings will be held to ...more information
Students intern with family law practitioners engaged in various professional roles such as mediator, collaborative lawyer, guardian ad litem and traditional practitioner in private and public settings. During the semester, externs will meet regularl ...more information
PrintExternship - Federal Judicial Externship (4901)
Students are placed in externships with federal judges, assisting the judge in a variety of chambers activities. The externship may be taken for either 2, 3 or 4 credits (requiring either 100, 150 or 200 work hours during the semester). The number ...more information
Students may earn credit by participating in lawyering experiences outside the formal externship courses offered. To gain credit, students must present a detailed educational plan to Professor Ann Juergens or Professor Peter Knapp. Plan requiremen ...more information
PrintExternship - Law and Business Externship (8001)
This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to observe, participate in, analyze, and reflect upon the work of a business lawyer or business professional. Students perform fieldwork under the supervision of a lawyer in a company o ...more information
Studies the law as it relates to the family unit with emphasis on the impact of social, economic, moral, and scientific changes in the society on that relationship. Topics covered include marriage, dissolution of marriage, antenuptial contracts, pate ...more information
PrintFamily Law - Advanced Seminar on Domestic Violence (4004)
This seminar focuses on the issue of family violence between partners and spouses. Current law and practice will be analyzed in light of recent social science research. ...more information
Examines the legal and historical basis for the relationship between Indian tribes and the state and federal governments. Emphasizes present problems of civil and criminal jurisdiction, protection of Indian resources ...more information
Studies the principal jurisdictional problems encountered in the federal courts. The course includes an in-depth analysis of diversity and federal question jurisdiction, suits against government officials, federal injunctions of state court proceedin ...more information
Feminist jurisprudence has been called one of the most important movements in legal scholarship today. Feminist scholars argue that the traditional body of law reflects the male emphasis on rights and abstractions while ignoring the distinctive persp ...more information
Analyzes First Amendment theory, including freedom of speech, press, and the religion clauses. The focus is on First Amendment theory and applications in a variety of cases. All students write a paper and make a class presentation on the substance of ...more information
This course will explore some of the many legal issues related to food, from farm to fork and beyond. It will review the regulatory issues that might be addressed in a traditional food and drug course, FDA approval of ingredients and oversight of la ...more information
PrintFundamentals of Human Resources Management (9013)
This course is designed for students with an interest in human resources management, but with little or no formal background. Students will learn the fundamentals of key HR topics, including compensation, benefits, selection, retention, employee rela ...more information
Engages students in simulated learning experiences and exercises. Students practice law in two-person law firms under the supervision of faculty and tutors.
Simulated cases, problems and clients are presented to each law firm during the sem ...more information
PrintGenocide Prevention: A 21st - Century Challenge (4601)
The course will operate in partnership with World Without Genocide, a human rights organization at William Mitchell. Students will participate in selected advocacy efforts at local, state, and national levels to prevent genocide; participate in progr ...more information
Covers the major issues in biomedical ethics today in a problem format. Among these issues are the concepts of health, disease, autonomy and paternalism, physicians' obligations and patients' rights, informed consent, human experimentation, the treat ...more information
Introduces students to the fundamentals of public health law, including those constitutional, administrative, and statutory provisions that empower or mandate government to act for the health of the community and those that curtail the state’s ...more information
This survey course familiarizes students with the policy and legal issues facing health care professionals, institutions and payors. The course examines problems arising from medical errors; the struggle to balance the need for quality care against ...more information
PrintHealth Law II - Health Law Organization and Finance (4153)
This course covers the structure and finance of healthcare enterprises. Particular focus will be placed on tax exempt healthcare organizations, access to healthcare, the duties of physicians and hospitals to treat, the structure of public healthcare ...more information
PrintImmigration Law: Asylum & Human Rights Law Seminar (4201)
This course provides a survey of U.S. treatment of foreign refugee and political asylees and a comparison to international humans rights law and policy. Students will examine relevant regulations, statutes, and international treaties, including Conv ...more information
PrintImmigration Law: Immigration and Citizenship Law Survey (4200)
Provides a comprehensive overview of the federal laws as well as policy affecting the ability of foreign nationals to obtain visas to enter and to lawfully remain in the U.S. Topics include the organizational structure of the different branches of go ...more information
Examines the fundamentals of federal income taxation, including gross income, deductions and credits, assignment of income principles, methods of accounting, gains from dealings in property, non-recognition, capital gains and losses, and tax procedur ...more information
Independent research credit is granted only for studies that involve topics not discussed in courses offered by William Mitchell, or for studies that explore in considerable depth topics covered in courses already completed. Independent projects are ...more information
Examines the law relating to insurance contracts, with a focus on how to read, analyze, and work with insurance policies. The course concentrates on the law governing construction of insurance policies, and attention is given to analyzing the major i ...more information
Standard 2 credit Insurance Law coverage using a casebook dealing with the concept and history of insurance, insurance contract formation and interpretation, regulation of insurance, fire and property insurance, life health and disability insuranc ...more information
This course is designed to help you understand the processes involved in managing an intellectual asset portfolio. It is not about specific elements of any bundle of IP rights. We will discuss the issues of IAM in a variety of settings so that you ...more information
PrintIntellectual Property Law Practice Management (8294)
The management of an intellectual property law practice poses unique challenges, including avoidance of subject matter conflicts of interest, compliance with the duty of candor, maintenance of complex docketing systems and complicated prosecution dea ...more information
Surveys the legal aspects of international business transactions, including international sales contracts, international letters of credit, arbitration, regulation of international trade, restrictions on foreign investment, U.S. laws relating to inte ...more information
PrintInternational Criminal and Humanitarian Law (4615)
The course introduces students to the growing body of individual responsibility for the criminal acts of both governmental and non-governmental actors that have come into being following the WW-II Tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo. It will examine th ...more information
PrintInternational Negotiations and Dispute Resolution (4567)
This interactive, hands-on negotiation and dispute resolution course will focus on cross-cultural elements of negotiating and resolving conflict, different negotiation strategies across the world, and a survey of global dispute resolution mechanisms. ...more information
Students receive hands-on skills training using the Internet for legal research in the law school library labs and in-class discussions of a variety of topics related to using the Internet for legal research. The course concentrates on Web browsers a ...more information
The work of a law professor involves scholarship, teaching and service. Students will have the opportunity to work with a law professor on selected projects.
The professor and student will agree on specific learning objectives and appropriate ...more information
This course is an introduction to Islamic legal theories and their history, focusing both on classical and contemporary applications of Islamic law. This course illustrates the ancient and modern Schools of Islamic law, the opposition movements, and ...more information
This course provides a broad overview of the most important issues involved in tribal legal studies, including an overview of tribal governments, the history of tribal court systems, the modern day structure and operations of tribal courts, and triba ...more information
PrintIP - Comparative and International Copyright and Trademark Law (5115)
The major international law treaties in copyrights and trademarks are studied, including the Berne Convention, the Madrid Agreement and Protocol, and TRIPs. Additionally, important regional agreements in copyrights and trademarks are covered, includi ...more information
PrintIP - Comparative and International Patent Law (5005)
The course will present a comparative study of certain features of foreign patent laws. It will also overview the major multilateral treaties that govern the transnational assertion of patent protection of United States laws that are specifically di ...more information
This course analyzes the rights in works of authorship. It examines copyrightable subject matter, duration and ownership of copyrights, exclusive rights of copyright holders, the fair use defense, and remedies for infringement. ...more information
Building on the foundation established in Copyright Law, this course helps equip students to become participants in the national discussion over copyright. Course readings will include cases and the works of leading copyright scholars. Topics covere ...more information
This course applies advanced legal principles to the specialized practice areas that compose "entertainment law." Through case studies, industry-related readings, and class discussions, the course will analyze the application of constitutional law, ...more information
PrintIP - Intellectual Property Appellate Practice (3600)
This course is a skills-development class directed at teaching the specialized legal writing and oral advocacy skills needed to bring appeals of intellectual property disputes before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Through a combinatio ...more information
This course is designed for students who intend to be general corporate commercial attorneys and not specialists in intellectual property. The course is designed to give such a student a general background in all of the major areas of intellectual p ...more information
This course examines the process of licensing intellectual property rights. Subjects covered in detail include conception, valuation, ascertaining licensing partners, taxation of licenses, international aspects of licensing and others. This course ...more information
This course examines the role of intellectual property in commercial transactions such as acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. This course will be focused on skills development and will include the drafting, reviewing and negotiating of int ...more information
Introduces the history, philosophy and economics of the patent system, including the policy objectives of the system and the major legal mechanisms by which those objectives are carried out. This intr ...more information
Provides a detailed examination of the substantive law and underlying policies that govern the validity, enforceability, and infringement of patents. The subjects to be treated include claim theory, enablement iss ...more information
This course introduces students to the legal and practical considerations involved in litigating patent disputes. The course uses a single litigation as a case study, beginning with a cease-and-desist demand and concluding with closing arguments. Thi ...more information
This course focuses on practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in the prosecution of applications for patents, and addresses considerations in the preparation of a patent application. The course provides an introduction to claim ...more information
Provides an in depth analysis of the fundamental issues involved in protecting indicia of source. The basics concepts in trademark, trade dress, and unfair competition are covered. The subject matter of trademark law, the scope of trademark rights, ...more information
This course covers the private enforcement of trademark rights. The litigation process is covered from counseling a client regarding litigation to final judgment and post judgment motions. This course has a heavy skills component. As such, student ...more information
This course presents the process of registering trademarks with the Patent and Trademark Office. This course covers the entire administrative process from application to appeals to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). This course has a heav ...more information
Examines the procedural and substantive law and judicial administration of the courts in the area of juvenile delinquency. Primary concentration is on rights of accused delinquents, detention and police conduct, constitutional protection, trial, adju ...more information
Surveys the development and current status of federal labor law, primarily the National Labor Relations Act. The course concentrates on the organizational and other NLRA rights of employees, including employees who are not represented by a labor orga ...more information
Introduces students to the history and constitutional framework of modern land use law and planning. The course covers the definitions, applications and limitations of such traditional land use control devices as nuisance law, zoning, the comprehensi ...more information
PrintLaw and Business: Accounting and Finance for the Business Enterprise (2018)
The course provides an overview of accounting and finance concepts and the practical uses of accounting and financial information. Topics will include the application of accounting data and finance principles to assess business performance, attract ...more information
PrintLaw and Business: Commercial Leasing Seminar (2017)
The Commercial Leasing Seminar is a two-credit course designed to introduce law students to a key practice area of real estate law: the representation of lessors, tenants, and lenders in the evaluation, drafting, and negotiation of commercial leases. ...more information
PrintLaw and Business: Mergers and Acquisitions (3013)
The course focuses on the legal issues, financing considerations, and business strategies involved in a typical merger or acquisition. The course is based on a simulation of a transaction, and the goal is to introduce students to the art of doing a ...more information
PrintLaw and Business: The Start-Up Business Enterprise (2016)
This survey course will provide students with a unique perspective on many facets of the start-up business enterprise - from creation and capitalization of the business entity to skills needed for day-to-day business operations. Topics include strate ...more information
Sexual behavior is an essential part of human existence. The species could not survive without it. Similarly, the law as an institution is central to modern ordered society. One might thus expect the interface between the law, as elemental definer of ...more information
This course will examine some of the jurisprudential and legal issues presented by past wars and the current “war” against terrorism. This will include examination of related case law, legislation, and public policy, as well as ...more information
This course is a broadly elementary introduction to Foreign, Comparative and International Law. It is designed for two groups of students. First, the course is designed for those students who have not yet determined their level of interest in these ...more information
This course explores the special role of the lawyer as a leader in order to prepare prospective lawyers to understand, develop, and accept complex leadership roles. The course will examine the major theories of leadership, discuss the traits and qua ...more information
This applied research seminar is a cooperative effort involving all four Twin Cities law schools and the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF). Generally, the goal of the collaborative project is to address legal problems of current importance to socia ...more information
Presents an overview of the legislative process through lectures, readings, speakers, and a series of drafting exercises. Covers a range of topics pertaining to legislative advocacy, including the legislative process, developing an effective legislat ...more information
PrintLong Paper (see Advanced Research and Writing Requirement) (15)
PrintManagement Of Complex Civil Litigation (3540)
Familiarizes students with some of the special legal and practical principles involved in complex litigation. The course exposes students to the tools used by lawyers and the courts to deal with the problems of complex litigation, and also addresses ...more information
This class is about the First Amendment and the Free Press. We will discuss a selection of the legal issues generated by the activities of the mass media. We will consider regulations of print, broadcast, and electronic media, including laws that ...more information
Examines medical and legal aspects of litigation against physicians, hospitals, and other allied health professionals with consideration given to dilemmas of medical ethics not adequately addressed by the tort system. ...more information
PrintNational Native American Law Students’ Association Moot Court (7600)
The National Native American Law Students’ Association (National NALSA) Moot Court Competition examines issues of importance to the Native American community. Students serve on two-person teams of their choosing. The problem is distributed on ...more information
Within a separation-of-powers framework, this course analyzes the laws and policies that affect the detention, interrogation, and trial of suspected terrorists. Other topics include covert action, irregular rendition, the gathering of intelligence t ...more information
Students will explore and apply negotiation in a variety of contexts, including transactional settings, multi-party deals, conflict resolution, and litigation settlement strategy. The course will focus on developing skills through simulated negotiat ...more information
Focuses on the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, including analysis of no-fault, bodily injury liability, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist automobile coverages. Includes a study of the available benefits, problems relating to t ...more information
Develops skills in writing to persuade. The premise is that persuasive legal writing involves two distinct skills: the ability to analyze source materials and the ability to use the rules of grammar and style to state this analysis and the conclusion ...more information
This course challenges students to think about whether the law is or can be an effective anti-poverty strategy. We will review general information about poverty, the history of anti-poverty advocacy in the United States, the development of free lega ...more information
PrintPractice of Theory: A Critical Theory Seminar for Clinic Students (2008)
This course will analyze recent theoretical writing about the law and lawyers in the context of the students’ own experience representing clients. Students will read and discuss a cross-section of writing on narrative theory, critical lawyerin ...more information
Explores the major facets of pretrial litigation. Students study litigation planning, pleadings, discovery, motion practice, and related elements. Students participate in simulated and written exercises involving these skills which are critiqued by e ...more information
Analyzes the theories of recovery, defenses, contribution and indemnity, special applications of products liability law, evidentiary problems, litigation issues and "tort reform" legislation. May include a discussion of product safety and liability p ...more information
Required. Covers the legal profession and the ethical responsibilities of lawyers as they engage in the practice of law. Discussion focuses on situations arising in practice that present important problems of professional conduct, including the conce ...more information
Examines basic concepts relating to ownership and possession of private property. Addresses acquisition of property by find, adverse possession, and gift. Introduces possessory estates and future interests, concurrent ownership and marital interest ...more information
Introduces basic concepts associated with real property transactions and title assurance methods. Covers land use controls imposed by courts (the law of nuisance), private agreements (servitudes), and legislative bodies (zoning). Surveys the law of ...more information
An introduction to the basic elements of public international law, including the status of public international law as law, sources of international law, the law of treaties, customary international law, the role and status of international law in th ...more information
PrintPublic International Law Research Workshop I (4349)
This course is designed to meet two goals: ( a ) provide an intensive overview of the structure of the basic sources and principles of Public International Law, and ( b ) provide a broad introduction to the research methods and tools used in Public I ...more information
PrintPublic International Law Research Workshop II (4359)
This course is designed to fulfill two objectives: (a) provide thorough preparation and appropriate experience for participation in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and (b) provide an opportunity for students to do detailed resea ...more information
Explores the many ways in which race and the law have interacted historically and continue to interact. Students read and discuss a wide variety of materials, presenting a variety of viewpoints. Materials include historical, social-scientific, critic ...more information
PrintReal Estate - Finance and Development of Commercial Real Estate (5262)
Focuses on the development, acquisition, financing, transfer, and leasing of commercial real estate projects. The class discusses and solves "client problems" in these areas. Client problems are assigned and serve as the basis for class discussion. T ...more information
Studies various aspects of real estate development, including contracts of sale, buyer-seller rights and obligations, title insurance, Torrens System, and recordation of title. The course includes a comprehensive study of mortgages, including use of ...more information
PrintRecent Supreme Court Decisions (see Constitutional Law - Recent Supreme Court Decisions) (13)
The course will examine the history of the religion clauses, including the major influences on the concept of religious liberty. It will also focus on the current issues, with special attention to United States Supreme Court decisions dealing with g ...more information
This class, which relies heavily on student participation, surveys the principles and underlying philosophy of equitable and legal relief, including injunctions, specific performance, and damages. Students write papers about a remedies-related topic ...more information
PrintResearch Workshop: Feminist Theory, Law, and Aging (4080)
This course will explore the themes of feminist theory as they relate to issues of gender and age, and show the connections between these themes and topics such as the family, employment discrimination, and violence against women. Readings will inc ...more information
This course will take a comparative law approach in discussing the development of legal discourse, and the ever increasing influence of Western jurisprudence, in modern and contemporary China. We will discuss at length the formation of "Rule by Law" ...more information
Covers basic principles and policies of the Uniform Commercial Code; the creation of an enforceable contract for the sale of goods, including the statute of frauds and the parol evidence rule; the performance and enforcement of the contract, includin ...more information
Covers the creation and perfection of consensual liens known as "security interests" in personal property under Article 9 of the U.C.C., proceeds and priorities problems, remedies and default, repossession and disposition of collateral. Compares the ...more information
A survey of the 1933 and 1934 Acts, including the concept of a "security," registration requirement under the Acts, exemptions from registration, periodic reporting requirements, and a study of insider trading and securities fraud. ...more information
This seminar focuses on Federal and State of Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines. Students will interview members of the judiciary and practitioners on their interpretation and application of the Guidelines. Each student will be asked to interview four ...more information
Sexual behavior is an essential part of human existence. The species could not survive without it. Similarly, the law as an institution is central to modern ordered society. One might thus expect the interface between the law, as elemental definer ...more information
PrintSituational Communication and Problem Solving (8330)
Students will improve their skills of listening, concentrating, speaking spontaneously, considering varied perspectives, working in teams, and solving problems. Students will read social science literature on these skills, participate in class discus ...more information
This course examines cutting-edge issues in the electronic commercial settings of social networks (such as Facebook , Twitter, and photo-sharing sites) and virtual worlds (online games that provide a social environment and "leveling" games where the ...more information
Covers procedural problems encountered in tax cases at the administrative level of the Internal Revenue Service, including the examination of tax returns by the Examination Division, consideration by the Appeals Division and Chief Counsel's office, r ...more information
In this class, students will learn the major research resources in tax law and the skills to conduct research using those resources. Tax law research has a lot in common with general legal research, e.g., the search for controlling statutes and prece ...more information
PrintTaxation - Estate and Gift Taxation (See Estates - Estate and Gift Taxation) (144)
Covers the interaction between budgetary demands and revenue policy; equity and fairness of taxation; effect of taxation on business activity; relationship between federal and state taxing systems; and social, political, and economic implications of ...more information
PrintThe Business of the Practice of Law (Law Firm Management) (8293)
This workshop course is an introduction to the financial, economic, and interpersonal realities of the practice of law in an established law firm setting. The goal is to create an awareness of those common elements and their impact on the routine, ev ...more information
This course addresses the law and theory applicable to the protection of confidential and proprietary business information ranging from formulas to customer lists. It includes coverage of trade secret protection and misappropriation in the employmen ...more information
This skills course teaches negotiation, drafting, and advocacy in both the transactional and litigation contexts. The focus is on how lawyers represent clients in negotiating and drafting contracts and settlement agreements. The course also covers et ...more information
Covers the creation and perfection of consensual liens known as "security interests" in personal property under Article 9 of the U.C.C., proceeds and priorities problems, remedies and default, repossession and disposition of collateral. This area of ...more information
This course will empower students to manage the chaos of information. Many of us work inefficiently, with overflowing inboxes, inconsistent research practices, and non-existent project management skills. This problem is compounded for solos and sma ...more information
Work of the Lawyer students engage in a rigorous study of the often-conflicting moral, professional, financial, personal, and political imperatives inherent in the work of the lawyer. The course consists of two components: a seminar component worth t ...more information
PrintWork of the Lawyer: Small Firms and Non-Profit Organizations and the Quality of Justice (3280)
Work of the Lawyer: Small Firms and Non-Profit Organizations and the Quality of Justice is designed to engage students in a rigorous study of the ethical, political, social and professional imperatives and tensions of law practice in these settings. ...more information
Compares the compensation principle and employees' remedies prior to and apart from workers' compensation; the employer-employee relationship; injuries arising out of and in the court of employment; personal injury and occupational disease; medical e ...more information
PrintWriting and Representation: Advice and Persuasion (WRAP) (1410)
Multifaceted study of skills that are fundamental to representing clients effectively and responsibly. Includes interviewing a client, researching the law and commentary in paper and computer media, reading the law, reasoning about a client’s ...more information
This course will examine the reasons behind wrongful convictions in the United States. There are many people in this nation convicted of, and serving time for, crimes they did not commit. Currently over 200 people have already been exonerated of crim ...more information
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