Schedule of Classes

Sources and structure of law; history of Bill of Rights emphasizing effect on criminal justice system; limits of law in solving problems in American society. Not available for major credit.

Issues at the intersection of law and psychology, both civil--e.g. civil commitment--and criminal-e.g. the insanity defense. Emphasis on ethical issues.

An examination of debates and controversies surrounding the nature and scope of civil rights and civil liberties. Recommended preparation: POSC 340 or POSC 440

Off campus coursework; title of course taken at host institution appears as a section title.

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

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

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

The function of the American Constitution: allocation of authority among branches of the national government; division of authority between the nation and the state; limitations of government control of the individual. The process of constitutional interpretation and the role of the United States Supreme Court.

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

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

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

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

Criminal procedure in the courts, and the regulation of law enforcement by the courts through rules of evidence and interpretation of the Bill of Rights.

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

The regulation of land development through planning, zoning, subdivision controls, and private devices. Mechanisms for coordinating regional development and financing new urban infrastructure.

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

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

Consideration of legal regulation of the right to vote and otherwise to participate in the electoral process.

Explores the interaction of law, culture, and politics in American society from the Revolution through the New Deal.

Deals with the rights and remedies of mortgage lenders and borrowers after the mortgage loan has gone into default. Recommended preparation: LAW 605.

Analysis of the constitutional and statutory debates about the meaning of equality, and the recognition and accommodation of differences.

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

Comparison of the remedial goals of contracts, torts, and property and the impact of procedural devices in law and equity. Damages, injunctions, specific performance and restitution. Remedial theory and transactional application.

Steps in the arbitration process, attorney's functions in the process, relation of arbitration to national courts, policy issues, issues involved when governments are parties to international commercial disputes. Open to Law students only.

Selected problems to supplement LAW 629.

A survey of the major types of financing used for real estate and the basic techniques used to make real estate investment and financing decisions. Open to law students only.

Students receive the training required to become professional mediators for civil cases in the L.A. County Superior Court, and mediate these cases.

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

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

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

This course will examine the laws governing fraud in securities markets. The course will focus on several sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 including fraudulent statements and insider trading, fraud in th;e takeover context, fraud in proxies, and controlling personal liability.

Contemporary topics in the field of entertainment law.

An examination of how the courts are handling selected, "cutting edge" topics in entertainment law. The topics will include the scope of and limitations on the right of publicity; fair use and parody defenses to copyright infringement; future technology clauses in rights contracts; and copyright and defamation issues arising in the online world. Previous entertainment law courses recommended, but not required.

Supervised internship for students enrolled in LAW 650. Graded CR/D/F.

The course will focus on a contract drafting and negotiation issues relevant to an artist's pursuit of a career in the music business. Open to Law students only. Recommended preparation: LAW 839.

Focus on environmental law policy and practice. This course is a combination of regulatory and private law, with a special emphasis on disputes and regulations involving contamination in soil, water and air.

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

A rigorous introduction to a law of trademarks. A trademark can be any word, symbol, design, sound fragrance or product configuration that is used to distinguish the goods or services of one person from those of another, and to indicate the origin of the goods or services.

Examination of the nature of the United States' national security law, focusing on how it is created, violated and enforced.

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

Evaluation and supervision of the preparation of briefs and oral arguments in the Hale Moot Court honors competition. Graded CR/69/65.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Students prepare oral arguments on the issues in a problem that is the basis for the Jessup International Moot Court Competition. Participation is by faculty selection only. Graded CR/D/F.

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

Focuses on the discovery phase of pre-trial litigation and many of the skills new lawyers are called upon to use right out of law school.

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

Students will work on cases in the following areas: 1) dependent and neglected children: All children who are wards of the court must have legal counsel. 2) Children with AIDS: Legal implications of such issues as health care and custody. 3) Guardianships or other temporary arrangements for children whose parents are terminally ill or are otherwise unable to care for them. Graded CR/69/65.

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

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

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

Develops enhanced negotiation skills and a working understanding of ADR processes and procedures in an interactive classroon experience. (Duplicates credit in LAW 638.) Graded CR/NC.

Legal and tax considerations important to the lawyer advising his or her client on the transmission of wealth from one generation to the next.

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

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

Executive malfeasance, shareholder rights, securities class actions, asset securitizations, hedge fund regulation and corporate social responsibility from a theoretical and corporate finance framework. Open only to Law students.

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

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

Reorganization of failing corporations under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy act. Claims, protective committee, plans, tax considerations.

Provides legal advice to clients in the area of employment law. Open to law students only. Graded CR/69/65.

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

Comparison of the U.S. Constitution with constitutions in other nations. Exploration of differences in structure and substance, with a focus on how nations address pluralism. Open to law students only.

This course examines the impact of historical events, world wars, cold war and civil rights and understanding the role of the Constitution in American life.

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

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

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

Writing of an article for the Interdisciplinary Law Journal. For second year students serving as staff members on the Journal.

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

Problems of adjudication in the federal system. Allocation of authority between federal and state courts, and among Congress, the Executive and the Courts; choice of federal and state law; jurisdiction of federal courts and significant rules of practice.

Analyzes selected contributions to intellectual property scholarship and explores some challenging problems in contemporary intellectual property law.

A special section of selected seminars for second-year Law students writing journal notes. Open only to Law students. Graded numeric.

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

Preparation of a second note of publishable quality. For third year students serving as staff members on the Review.

Supervision of research and writing, and final editing of articles and comments for publication in the Southern California Law Review. For officers of the Review. Graded CR/69/65.

Explores the place of groups (such as racial and ethnic groups, labor unions, family, neighborhood, class and religious groups), in the legal order governed and protected by the Constitution. Asks whether groups have rights comparable in stature to the rights of persons, and if they do, how conflicts between the group rights and individual rights should be adjudicated.

Legal principles subject to judicial control and the alternative ways in which agencies can be organized to serve their purposes.

This course will analyze the buying and selling of goods both in domestic and international transactions with a heavy focus on Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Continuation of LAW 771. Open to Law students only.

A clinical internship or judicial externship allows a student to gain hands-on legal experience in legal settings. Students will be assigned to a legal services program, government agency, state or federal judges, under faculty supervision. Graded CR/NC.

Advanced clinical training/externship. Graded CR/NC

Students should register for 2-4 units of dissertation to engage in supervised research and writing which is expected to result in a paper of publishable quality. Any regular, full-time member of the faculty (including full-time visitors) may supervise students in this course upon agreement by the faculty member and the student. Other persons who teach in the JD program may supervise dissertation only upon the approval of the Administrative Board. A 1 unit registration for dissertation will be available only where the unit is to be added to a course where a paper is already required, in recognition that the student's paper will require substantially more work than that expected of other students in the course. Students may take a total of 4 units of dissertation during their educational experience at the Law Center.

Examination of the best scholarly work currently done by legal, moral and political philosophers in the country. Open only to Law students.

Key concepts and cutting-edge research in law and economics. Workshops with leading scholars from around the country. Open only to Law students.

Continuation of LAW 776. Enrollment restricted to law students.

Patent laws, litigation, and the process of prosecuting the patent application. The concept of invention and ownership of rights under patents.

Examines conceptual and practical aspects of interviewing, counseling, negotiation, settlement, drafting and formal advocacy in the handling of legal cases.

Examines decicion-making by counsel in the litigation of cases. Emphasis is given to decisions involving tactics, strategies, and their implications for the functioning of legal institutions and substantive doctrine. Extensive use of simulated trial practice exercises.

Role of the attorney in startup firms: business plan, employment agreements, lease, stock option plan, financing documents and distribution and strategic partnership arrangements. Enrollment restricted to law students.

Study of federal copyright law, analysis of property rights and interests created thereunder. Manner in which these rights can be exploited in the various entertainment media.

Taught in honor of James Ackerman, USC Law graduate of 1948, this class examines selected topics in Maritime and Admiralty Law. May be repeated with permission of the instructor as topics vary.

The lessons of the 'Enron era' and the 'financial crisis era' from many top practitioners in the field.

Assist in teaching writing and advocacy. Responsibilities include helping prepare lesson plans and draft writing assignments and sample answers; leading class exercises; and judging first-year moot court practice rounds. Graded CR/D/F.

The First Amendment, freedom of expression (political speech, symbolic expression, obscenity, commercial speech, defamation), rights of access to the media of expression. The protection of religion and the prohibition of the establishment of religion.

Students will research, write, and rewrite an appellate brief and may work on motions and oral advocacy as well. Open to Law students only.

Directed research may be taken only with the approval of the Administrative Board. This course is intended for substantial independent research and study that does not result in a paper of publishable quality. It includes, but is not limited to, preparation of research memoranda for faculty research projects, empirical research for such projects and supervised independent study. Directed research is to be supervised by a regular, full-time faculty member (including full-time visiting faculty). Students may take a maximum of 4 units of Directed Research during their educational experience at the Law Center.

Continuation of LAW 891.

For third-year students who wish to continue their clinical training.