JD Program Course Updates

This page will be updated with any corrections, time changes, new courses and cancellations throughout the year as new information becomes available. Please check back regularly to view any new announcements.

Fall 2024

Administrative Law
LAW JD 801 (A1)
We are pleased to announce that Brad Baranowski will teach the fall section of the course.
Brad Baranowski holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a JD from Boston University School of Law. He previously clerked for the Honorable David A. Lowy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was a Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center during the Court’s October 2022 term. While there, his research focused on the developments in civil procedure and the history of judicial rulemaking. He rejoins BU after practicing civil litigation at Jones Day.

Aggregate Litigation
LAW JD 977 (A1)
This 3-credit course will meet on Tuesday/Thursday, 2:30-4:00 p.m. Gary Klein will teach the class. Students may register for the class in MyBU Student during your designated add/drop period, space permitting.

This course will be an introduction to the practice of aggregate litigation from a social justice perspective. Topics will include all aspects of class action practice, an introduction to multidistrict litigation, attorney general and public advocate public interest litigation, public client cases, non-class aggregate litigation, selected bankruptcy issues for individuals as creditors, and other possibilities for litigating public interest issues at scale. Much of the course will focus on consumer protection (including products liability), civil rights and regulated business activities. A sub-unit will address solutions, at scale, to gun violence.

Challenging Carceral Feminism (S)
LAW JD 681 (A1)
Preeti Pratishruti Dash
Wednesday, 10:40-12:40 p.m.

Students may add this new 3-credit seminar to their schedule via MyBU Student.

This seminar is aimed at giving the students an overview of feminist approaches to criminal law, with emphasis on the feminist projects of criminalising violence against women. By mapping the extensive points of contact between feminist groups and the state on the questions of rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, trafficking, and child sexual abuse, the seminar is geared towards critically evaluating the upsides and downsides of such engagement. Besides focus on American domestic criminal law, the seminar will also look at similar issues in other jurisdictions, particularly in the Global South. The seminar will also touch upon feminist interventions in international criminal law to address war-time rape. Further, the course will introduce students to arguments of abolition feminism and other forms of anti-carceral scholarship. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Students may use this class to satisfy the requirement with a 6,000-word research paper. ** 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, 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.

Climate Risk & Financial Institutions
LAW JD767 (A1)
This course will not be offered in 2024-2025.

Corporate Governance (S)
LAW JD 941 (A1)
This seminar will not offer the option to satisfy the Upper-Class Writing Requirement.

Criminal Procedure: Investigatory
LAW JD 821 (A1)
This course has been changed to 3 credits and assigned a new number, JD 848. If you have added this class to your course selections in the fall, please remove JD 821 and replace it with JD 848.

Evidence
LAW JD 831 (A1)
There is an updated description for Professor Gonzales Rose’s section of evidence:

This course will examine the rules and doctrines of Evidence Law with a focus on the Federal Rules of Evidence and pertinent constitutional law. We will cover hearsay and its exceptions, relevance, prejudice, character evidence, impeachment, and other central subjects. Emphasis will be on the practical application, the policies and purposes, and theoretical considerations of Evidence Law. This course utilizes a problem-based approach to learning and encourages critical analysis of how Evidence Law impacts equity and justice. Assessment for the course will be based upon a bar-style multiple-choice final examination, a policy paper, and short review assignments due before each class (after the first week).

Legal Analysis in Practive
LAW JD 700 (A1)
This course has been designated as a Professional Writing course. It will partially satisfy the writing requirement with a grade of B or higher. Students must complete an intent to certify form if using the class to satisfy the writing requirement.

Gender, Law & Policy
LAW JD 966 (A1)

Confirmed speakers for Fall 2024 are: Professors Colleen Campbell (Hofstra Law), Alexander Chen (Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic), Deborah Dinner (Cornell Law), Leigh Goodmark (University of Maryland, Carey School of Law), Katherine Kraschel (Northeastern University School of Law), and Anibal Rosario Lebrón (Rutgers Law School). Lisa Washington (University of Wisconsin Law School). Topics include: family regulation; intimate partner violence; legal history; LGBTQ+ rights and discrimination; and reproductive health, rights, and justice issues.

Intellectual Property
LAW JD 857 (A1)
A section of this course has been added to the fall 2024 schedule, taught by Janet Freilich.  The class will meet on Monday/Wednesday, 10:40 am–12:40 pm.  Students may add this course to their schedule via MyBU Student.

International Law
LAW JD 927 (A1)
This course has been cancelled. Students should remove the class from their preferences before finalizing their selections. Note that section B1 will still be offered in the fall.

Law and Regulation of Online Platforms (S)
LAW JD 791 (A1)
Stacey Dogan/Christopher Conley
Thursday, 2:10-4:10 p.m.

This seminar has been confirmed as a late addition to the fall 2024 schedule and is available for Course Selection in MyBU Student. The revised description is pending and included here.

Technology platforms — the intermediaries that shape as well as enable our social and professional interactions, media consumption and game playing, online purchases, and more — have long been treated with cautious deference by lawmakers and regulators concerned that government interference could hamper innovation. But that has changed in recent years, with calls from all sides of the political spectrum to rein in the power of today’s tech giants through a variety of different legal reforms addressing consumer privacy, freedom of speech, algorithmic bias, anti-competitive behavior, and more.

This seminar will explore the legal framework for platform regulation in the United States, with an emphasis on platforms’ role in enabling harmful third-party conduct. We will begin by contrasting the treatment of intermediaries under copyright and trademark law with the almost-complete immunity that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act confers for non-IP claims. We will then turn to current debates over whether platforms should face greater responsibility for preventing or limiting internet-related harms. Given the fast-changing landscape, precise topics will be determined in the lead-up to the semester, but they may include election interference, harms to children, privacy violations, perceived political bias, algorithmic amplification, and mis/disinformation.

To provide a more robust experience in addressing complex issues at the intersection of law and technology, this course will include joint sessions and projects with a parallel computer science course at MIT, requiring law students and computer science students to collaborate to assess and develop proposals that address the technological as well as legal challenges in regulating platforms.  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, 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.

Life Sciences as a General Counsel
LAW JD 928 (A1)
This course has been cancelled.

Queerness & the Law
LAW JD 917 (A1)
This course has been cancelled. We hope to offer the course in 2025-2026.

Spring 2025

American Indian Law (S)
LAW JD 920 (A1)
Professor Ann Tweedy will teach this seminar which will meet on Tuesday, 2:10-4:10 pm.  Students may add the class to their schedule via MyBU Student.  The seminar will explore the Constitutional and statutory law related to Native Americans, Indian reservations, and tribal governments. The seminar will examine the historical foundations of Indian law and the current legal structures that govern the relationship between the United States and tribal nations. Students will spend significant time on issues surrounding tribal sovereignty, traditional cultural practices, self-determination, and social justice. Students will gain an understanding of the basis for modern Indian law and the complex legal issues facing native communities in the United States and abroad. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is 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, 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.

Bar Exam Skills
LAW JD 608 (C1)
Tigran Eldred
This class will meet on Monday, 2:10-4:10pm. Interested 3Ls may register via the portal through 9/16 or during the spring add/drop period that will begin in October. 

Business Immigration
LAW JD 807 (A1)
Miki Matrician and Robin O’Donoghue will return to co-teach the 2-credit Business Immigration course on Wednesdays, 4:20-6:20pm.

Client Counseling (S)
LAW JD 862 (A1)
This 2-credit seminar will return for spring 2025 and will meet on Thursday, 4:20-6:20 pm, taught by Emily Leung.  Students may add the class to their schedule via MyBU Student.

Emily Leung is the Director of Immigration Advocacy at the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts, a subsidiary of South Coastal Counties Legal Services, which provides civil legal aid to low-income individuals and families in Southeastern Massachusetts. In this role, she helps to develop and implement an immigration advocacy program that works to advance and protect the rights of immigrants. Systemic projects include local ordinances, statewide legislation, administrative notice and comment efforts, strategic litigation and amicus support, and developing legal advisories and materials for immigrants and advocates. Additionally, she helps to oversee a robust team of immigration advocates who engage in direct representation, community education and outreach, community-based clinics, and systemic advocacy. Prior to working at the Justice Center, she has worked at boutique immigration firms and non-profit organizations in the Boston area. Emily received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her M.A. in International Relations, also from Boston University.

Comparative Law and China (S)
LAW JD 915 (A1)
Weijia Rao
Tuesday, 4:20-6:20 p.m.

Students may add this new 3-credit seminar to their schedule via MyBU Student.

Entertainment Law (S)
LAW JD 905 A1
Amanda Schreyer will return to teach this seminar on Tuesday, 10:40am-12:40pm.  Students will be able to register via MyBU Student once the system access is resolved, space permitting.

Federal Courts
LAW JD 836 (B1)
We are pleased to announce that Brad Baranowski will teach the spring section of the course.
Brad Baranowski holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a JD from Boston University School of Law. He previously clerked for the Honorable David A. Lowy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was a Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center during the Court’s October 2022 term. While there, his research focused on the developments in civil procedure and the history of judicial rulemaking. He rejoins BU after practicing civil litigation at Jones Day.

Foreign Relations Law
LAW JD 992 (A1)
This course has been cancelled. Students should remove the class from their preferences before finalizing their selections.

Health Law Research
LAW JD 717 (A1)

The dates for this library research course have been confirmed. The class will meet 2/26/2025-4/16/2025. Students may add this course to their schedule via MyBU Student.

Intellectual Property and the Life Sciences (S)
LAW JD 674 (A1)
Professor Freilich will teach this 3-credit seminar, which will meet on Wednesday, 10:40 am-12:40 pm.  The class will explore legal doctrines in intellectual property–particularly patent law–that shape innovation, research, and development in the life sciences. Students will be introduced to laws that influence decision makers in the life sciences and participate in a series of exercises to apply legal doctrines and understand the incentives and outcomes produced by the existing legal framework. Course topics include selecting drug candidates, IP licensing, material transfer agreements, how firms use IP to protect pharmaceuticals, the optimal timing of patent protection, building patent portfolios, regulatory exclusivity, Hatch-Waxman litigation (litigation between brand-name and generic drug companies), and generic drug development. The course will be a combination of lecture and in-class problem-solving exercises. There are no prerequisites for this class. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT:  All students may attempt to satisfy writing requirement. **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, 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.

International Criminal Law (S)
LAW JD 996 (A1)
This seminar has been cancelled. Students should remove the class from their preferences before finalizing their selections.

International Development & Project Finance (S)
LAW JD 936 (A1)
This 3-credit seminar will return for spring 2025 and will meet on Monday, 10:40am-12:40pm, taught by Thomas Murley.  Students may add this course to their schedule via MyBU Student.

International Law
LAW JD 927 (C1)
Erika George, our new Associate Dean for Equity, Justice and Engagement and R. Gordon Butler Scholar in International Law, will teach a section of the course in the spring. The class will meet on Tuesday/Thursday, 10:40-12:40pm.

IP Law Research
LAW JD 733 (A1)
Brian Flaherty
This class has been added to the Spring 2024 semester, meeting on Thursday from 2:10-4:10pm. The class dates are 1/16/2025 to 2/27/2025. Students will be able to register via the MyBU portal when the next round of spring add/drop begins in October.

Judicial Externship Seminar
Law JD 734 (B1)
This seminar will meet on Tuesdays, 4:20-6:20pm.

Strategic Leadership & Negotiation
LAW JD 702 (A1)
This course offering has been deferred to the 2025-2026 academic year.

Taxation of Corporations & Shareholders
LAW JD 887 (A1)
This course will meet on T/R from 10:45am-12:15pm, as shown in the course selection materials on this website. The meeting pattern was incorrectly displayed as M/W on the MyBU portal.

Tax Policy (S)
LAW JD 799 (A1)
Theodore Sims
The meeting time for this seminar has been updated to Thursdays, from 2:10-4:10 p.m.

Trust, Wills & Basic Estate Planning
LAW JD 871 (B1)
Natasha Varyani
This course will meet Monday/Wednesday, 10:40am-12:40pm. Students may register for the class during the designated add/drop period, space permitting.

updated 7/29/2024