General Courses
Contract Drafting: LAW JD 788
3 credits
This course is the foundational skills course within the Transactional Law Program. It teaches students basic principles and skills of drafting and analyzing commercial and transaction agreements, with a focus on recognizing, and addressing through contractual provisions, key business issues in transactions. Although the course will be of particular interest to students interested in a corporate or transactional law practice, since most practicing attorneys will need to work with contracts at some point in their career, the concepts and skills which the course conveys are applicable to virtually all practice areas and specialties. While the course utilizes lectures to introduce various contract concepts and techniques essential for drafting and reviewing commercial and transaction agreements, it also requires that students complete both in-class exercises and out-of-class assignments as a means of building basic drafting skills and a solid understanding of the structure and operation of contractual provisions in a business transaction. The course also considers various ethical issues that may arise in the contract drafting and review process and in transactional practice generally. Grades will be based on class participation and graded drafting assignments. CLASS SIZE: 12 students. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT/EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING REQUIREMENT: This course is a designated Professional Writing Course which may be used to partially satisfy the Upper-Class Writing Requirement (with a grade of B or higher) or the 6-credit Experiential Learning Requirement, but not both. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar will be administratively dropped from the course. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first class to be considered for enrollment. Because the course involves regular in-class exercises, some of which are done in teams, and class participation is a significant component of a student's final grade, regular class attendance is essential and thus the course cannot accommodate flexibility in attendance.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 788 A1 , Sep 5th to Dec 5th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue | 8:30 am | 10:30 am | 3 | Elizabeth Brody Gluck | LAW | 418 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 3 | Young M. Park | LAW | 513 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Wed | 6:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 3 | John F. Cohan | LAW | 513 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Wed | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 3 | Yael D. DeCapo | LAW | 513 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 3 | Cecily Banks | LAW | 513 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 3 | John F. Cohan | LAW | 420 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Yael D. DeCapo | LAW | 418 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Wed | 6:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 3 | Daniel Johnston | LAW | 416 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 3 | Cecily Banks | LAW | 513 |
Entertainment Law (S): LAW JD 905
3 credits
This seminar will focus on the varied legal and business doctrines that influence the practice of entertainment law. Some of the primary topics include copyright and trademark protection and enforcement; defamation and freedom of speech; privacy and publicity rights; social media; licensing and merchandising entertainment properties; and other general contractual relations within the entertainment industry. The course will also examine the practical aspects of entertainment law, such as client counseling and negotiations and contract drafting. There will be no final exam. Grades will be based upon papers and class participation. NOTES: This class may not be used to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 18 students. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 905 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 24th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Wed | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 3 | Schreyer | LAW | 418 |
Intellectual Property: LAW JD 857
4 credits
In our modern information economy, the law of intellectual property has taken on enormous importance to both creators and users. This course introduces students to the principles of trade secret, patent, copyright, and trademark law, and explores the ways in which those principles are shifting and adapting in response to new technology. The course is open to all upper level students, without prerequisite. No scientific or technical background is required.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 857 A1 , Sep 6th to Dec 6th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 4 | Michael J. Meurer | LAW | 103 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue,Thu | 8:30 am | 10:30 am | 4 | Stacey Dogan | LAW | 702 |
Law & Regulation Of Online Platforms (S): LAW JD 791
3 credits
Technology platforms -- the intermediaries that enable (and shape) our communications with friends, consumption of content, product purchases, game-playing, and more -- have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. In the early years of the internet, Congress and the courts approached tech platforms with cautious deference, concerned that any government interference with innovation would thwart technological progress to the detriment of the public. Policymakers and courts largely left platforms to their own devices in setting the terms of their relationship with advertisers and consumers, which enabled the collection of vast troves of personal data that fueled the growth of today's tech giants. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, moreover, gave platforms almost complete immunity for the misuse of their networks by third parties. Only in the area of intellectual property -- where well-funded interest groups provided a powerful counterweight to the presumption against interference -- did a compromise emerge between rights-holders and platforms. The platforms made good use of their freedoms, building innovative networks whose popularity fueled their data collection, which enabled their extraordinary growth and -- at least arguably -- gave them the power and incentive to snuff out competitors through acquisition or exclusionary conduct. Despite warnings that the platforms were engaged in "killer acquisitions" and other exclusionary behavior, however, antitrust regulators showed little interest in blocking mergers or bringing monopolization claims against them. In short, across a wide range of substantive areas of law -- from privacy to data security to defamation to antitrust -- policymakers, regulators, and courts put a thumb on the scale for technology platforms through at least the mid-2010s. Over the past several years, however, the tide has begun to turn. A rising chorus of critics has argued that online platforms are causing a range of harms for which they should be held legally responsible. Some of these harms relate to the platform's own behavior -- such as the collection of personal data, the deployment of harmful algorithms, and the use of exclusionary practices to thwart potential competitors. Some of the harms result from third party behavior -- like election interference, revenge porn, and defamation -- that takes place on technology networks. Advocates argue for a variety of different legal reforms, including (but not limited to) robust privacy laws, repeal of section 230, increased antitrust enforcement, and regulatory oversight of algorithms. This seminar will introduce these debates by exploring the history of platform law and regulation since the mid-1990s. We will cover a range of topics, including: intermediary liability under trademark and copyright law (including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act); the history and current role of section 230; debates over (and changing federal policy with respect to) net neutrality; state and federal laws governing privacy, data protection, and consumer protection; and antitrust litigation and reform efforts. Given time constraints, we'll cover some of these topics in passing, and others in greater depth, but students should come away with an understanding of the key legal and policy debates across the different areas of law. RECOMMENDED COURSES: A previous course in Intellectual Property or Information Privacy is highly recommended. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may be used to partially satisfy the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 791 A1 , Sep 5th to Dec 5th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 3 | Stacey Dogan | LAW | 418 |
Law and Sports (S): LAW JD 886
3 credits
This seminar will survey a range of legal issues presented by sports in America. There are no pre-requisites. However, students should be prepared to learn and apply basic principles of antitrust law and labor law. Intellectual property law, constitutional law, administrative law, anti-discrimination law, contract law and tort law also will be applied. Topics will include the legal, contractual, and economic relationship between professional sports franchises and the sports and entertainment venues in which they play, and the ownership of athlete identity and its utilization by athletes, teams, sponsors, and equipment manufacturers. The course also will treat the regulation of agent representation of athletes, the regulation of sports franchises and sports leagues. Grades will be based on client-directed writing and on oral class participation, including an advocacy presentation. There is no examination. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. OFFERING PATTERN: This class not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 886 A1 , Jan 16th to Apr 23rd 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Michael J. Wall | LAW | 418 |
Transaction Simulation: IP Counsel for New Music Streaming Service: LAW JD 787
3 credits
Practice Areas: Intellectual Property and Corporate Finance This course is one of the semester-long transaction simulations offered as part of the Transactional Law Program and satisfies the Transaction Simulation requirement of the Transactional Practice Concentration. The course will cover matters and transactions engaged in by a startup company (the "Company") seeking to disrupt the music industry with a new music streaming platform. During this course, students will play the role of a transactional intellectual property attorney, advising the Company on several key strategic intellectual property decisions and matters in connection with launching its music streaming service. Some of these lawyering tasks will be foundational, such as advising the Company in selecting a strong trademark and deciding which open source software to use as the base of its otherwise proprietary software. Other tasks will focus on the key music licensing hurdles for the Company, including advising the Company on music licenses it will need to stream music and launch an advertising campaign. Later in the semester, students will work on a proposed equity investment in the Company, representing either the Company or the investor. The course also addresses various ethical issues that may arise in connection with these types of matters and transactions and in transactional practice generally. CLASS SIZE: Limited to 12 students. PREREQUISITE: IP Survey Course OR at least two of the following courses; Patent Law, Copyright Law, or Trademark Law. Contract Drafting is recommended, but not required. NOTES: This course counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement and also satisfies the Transaction Simulation requirement of the Transactional Practice Concentration. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar will be administratively dropped from the course. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first class to be considered for enrollment. Because the course involves regular in-class exercises, some of which are done in teams, and class participation is a significant component of a student's final grade, regular class attendance is essential and thus the course normally does not accommodate flexibility in attendance.