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.

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.

Introduces students to the basic aspects of the legal profession.

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

Explores issues of responsibility and credibility. Intentional and unintentional behavior. Clinical biases. Topics include witness credibility, confessions, cults, hostages, battered persons, and repressed memories.

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.

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

The interpretation and enforcement of promises and agreements.

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.

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.

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

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

An introduction to legal interpretation and normative reasoning. Among the topics addressed are statutory and common law interpretation, the rule of law, externalities, and inequality.

Development of legal research, writing, and advocacy skills. Emphasis on objective legal writing, including memoranda, and researching case law through primary and secondary sources. Registration restricted to Law students.

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

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

Covers the delineation of spheres of responsibility between three branches of the federal government, the federal government and the states and the government and individuals.

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

Write or edit articles for the Business Law Advisor, a student-run publication that publishes advisory articles relevant to the intersection of business and law. Open only to Law students. Graded CR/NC.

Explores and develops the legal communication and analytical skills necessary to the practice of law.

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

Explores the foundation for U.S. law and culture, including the historical and contemporary development of U.S. law.

Explores the art of public speaking and effective communication in legal settings.

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 lawenforcement by the courts through rules of evidence andinterpretation of the Bill of Rights.

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

Selected problems to supplement LAW 605.

The land transfer process: arrangements between buyers andsellers, brokers, escrows, recorders, title companies. Real estatefinancing through mortgages and other land security devices.

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.

Surveys federal constitutional and statutory mechanisms designed to fulfill the promise of equality under the law.

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

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.

Covers each phase of the structuring, formation, financing and operation of a new media enterprise.

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.

Legal analysis of the rules of Evidence using problems designed to improve analytic skills and problem-solving. Taken in conjunction with Evidence. Open to Law students only. Graded CR/NC.

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

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.

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.

Bankruptcy of the poor, imprudent or unlucky, and of unsuccessful business. The mechanisms of our law for distributing the debtor's property and discharging his obligations.

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.

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

Invitation-only course offered to second-year students as part of the Hale Moot Court Honors Program. Students write an appellate brief.

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).

Students prepare for competition by writing a brief on the issues in a problem that is the basis for the Jessup International Moot Court Competition. Participation is by faculty selection only.

Studies the important issues at the intersection of law and psychology/psychiatry, both civil and criminal.

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.

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

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

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

Students 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 classroom experience.

Discusses current U.S. foreign policy challenges and the underlying international legal issues and principles which shape them.

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

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

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.

Covers legal and law-related issues, including constitutional law perspectives, concerning biomedical technologies. Open only to LAW students.

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.

Continuation of Small Business Clinic I. Open to Law students only.

Covered topics include offenses relating to fraud and political corruption, terrorism, narcotics, money laundering, organized crime, false statements and obstruction of justice.

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.

Explores laws response to questions of sex discrimination and gender identity and expression, with emphasis upon legal issues facing transgender and intersex persons.

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 IP/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 IP to CR/69/65.

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

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

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 IP to CR/69/65.

Provides law students with the ability to represent clients (under the supervision of the professor) in cutting-edge issues of intellectual property and technology law. Corequisite: LAW 772 or LAW 841. Graded CR/NC.

Students represent clients before Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Immigration Court, and certain law enforcement agencies in cases including applications for relief under the Violence Against Women Act, for asylum, and for relief against deportation. Open only to LAW students.

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

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

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

Focuses on one or two topics per year at the intersection of law, mental health and ethics and explores them from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Medical and law students, in conjunction with public policy advocates, work together to identify and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

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 methods of dispute resolution used in other countries and compares them to those employed in the United States.

Provides law students, lawyers and professional neutrals with an in-depth examination of the rules guiding our behavior in various dispute resolution processes. Open only to law students.

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.

Explores a variety of contract provisions, and teaches students the important drafting skills necessary to achieve a clients goal.

Covers basic aspects of international commercial arbitration and prepares a USC Law School team for participation in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.

Brings an international perspective to understanding the impact of culture in the most commonly used international and domestic dispute resolution practices (negotiation, mediation, and arbitration).

An introductory survey of statutory and case law, and underlying policy issues, concerning copyright, trademark and certain related legal rights. Open only to law students.

Allows students to practice trial techniques and covers cutting-edge techniques in trial preparation.

Develops students' negotiating skills through role plays, reflection and instructor feedback.

Students work under close faculty supervision on cases and projects that involve the application of international law to address human rights violations.

Examines the psychological factors that hinder the making of accurate factual findings.

Introduction to negotiation and mediation from an international perspective. Development of essential skills for effective client representation in negotiation and mediation. Open only to Law students.

Explores the spectrum of interrelated legal and policy issues known as "homeland security" since the events of September 11, 2001.

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.

Examines the U.S. Constitution in transnational perspective. The focus is democracy; slavery, emancipation, and freedom; empire; and governmental structures.

Surveys constitutional doctrines pertaining to the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment and the emergent doctrine regarding the application of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and its state offspring.

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.