USC 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.

Examination of the rules and realities of American politics, and the role politics plays in American life and culture. Not available for major credit to law students.

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

Examines the Constitution of the United States in transnational perspective, both historically and today. Focuses on democracy; slavery, emancipation, and freedom; empire; and governmental structures.

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

Consideration of the participants in litigation; private and public plaintiffs, defendants, and courts; information exchange, process, outcomes, and costs of law suits.

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.

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

Individual's obligation not to harm others; bases for compensating persons who are harmed, either by holding responsible whoever is at fault, or by invoking other principles of liability, including the efficiency of resource allocation and the spreading of losses.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

The lawyer's skills needed to understand the financial affairs of a business client.

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

Examination of the evolving role of work in our society and the nature and scope of legal regulation of the employment relationship.

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.

Continuation of LAW 630

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

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.

Tax principles and practice applicable to business, especially problems of formation, liquidation, and reorganization.

Involves issues including loan restructuring; what loan agreements cover; how representations, covenants, default and financial and repayment terms interrelate; and how security documents fit in. Graded CR/D/F.

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.

An in-depth study of television industry legal concepts, contracts, business structures and economic models. Graded Numeric. Open only to LAW students.

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.

Involves the legal and business principles involved in structuring, negotiating and documenting agreements relating to the development, production and distribution of theatrical motion pictures. Prerequisite: LAW 772 or LAW 841. Corequisite: LAW 650.

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. Prerequisite: LAW 772 or LAW 841.

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.

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.

This course will examine the statutory, constitutional, and international legal structures that form the base of American diplomacy.

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.

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

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

Students examine contracts and present to the class their assessment of why the specific provisions were drafted and possible alternatives and challenges to those provisions.

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

Studies the theory and practice of class action litigation in the United States.

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.

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.

Students will acquire a basic familiarity with the constitutional rules governing reproductive rights, and with legal and sociolegal theories that interpret and challenge those rules.

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.

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

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

Problems of adjudication in a 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.

Special seminars to provide a forum for students who wish to produce a paper for academic publication to receive guidance and feedback.

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

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

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.

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.

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, or state or federal judge under faculty supervision. Graded CR/D/F.

Advanced clinical training/externship. Graded CR/NC

Examines where the law comes from, how it operates in society, and how it shapes and is shaped by competing social, economic, and political institutions.

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

Continuation of LAW 776. Enrollment restricted to law students. Prerequisite: LAW 776.

Introduces students to the unique legal and financial aspects of the venture capital industry and the skills needed to represent entrepreneurs and venture capital investors. Prerequisite: LAW 603. Corequisites: LAW 681 or LAW 719.

Emphasizes strategies and tactics in asking and objecting to questions at a deposition in a civil case. Students will conduct mock depositions.

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

Examines the major components of deals in the entertainment industry, and provides students the opportunity to learn real-world negotiating skills in the process.

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. Prerequisite: LAW 772 or LAW 841.

Students will write and present papers discussing topics in tax policy.

Examines refugee law and forced migration, including the causes and consequences of forced migration and the responses to forced migration.

Continuation of the Inernational Human Rights Clinic

Students work in teams to develop innovative ways of addressing shortcomings in our legal systems to improve access, quality, efficiency and global integration and prosperity.

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.

This course will concentrate on the regulation of broadcast television, cable television, telephone, and spectrum management.

Covers the prosecution, trial and punishment of individuals suspected of crimes considered among the most serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Introduces law students to the real world issues of major civil and criminal corporate fraud.

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

Freedom of expression (political speech, symbolic expression, obscenity, commercial speech, defamation), rights of access to the media, religious protection and prohibition of establishment of religion.

Explores the interplay between the law, politics, and media, particularly mass media, in the digital age.

Seminar course devoted to different methods of reading the Constitution.

Hone written advocacy skills for pretrial litigation practice. Draft motions, letters, and other communications to court, opposing counsel, and client. Practice oral communication through exercises.

Develop communication skills for international transactional practice. Practice drafting memoranda, letters, and other communications to partners, clients, and other attorneys. Practice negotiation in intercultural setting. Open only to law students.

Focuses on individual rights and liberties, with special attention paid to equal protection and substantive due process.

Considers the role of faith in a lawyers life and work. Discusses issues in constitutional law, tort law, criminal law, professional responsibility and more. Duplicates credit in LAW 748.

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.