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Summer 2017 Class Descriptions: Electives

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Comparative Law - Paris (LWYP528)

Instructor(s): Staff

2 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): International Law (JD), Study Abroad (JD), International Law (LLMUS), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

Most courses in law school are about U.S. law. This course is different as it focuses on foreign law. Obviously, foreign law matters to all U.S. lawyers operating on the international scene, for example in international business or in international arbitration. And just as evidently, foreign law is very important within national law. Indeed, a huge quantity of legal situations in the U.S. involve foreign law (whether it be a contract entered into in New York governed by German law or a deceased person from San Francisco bequeathing real estate in France or the victims of a massive chemical explosion in India suing in U.S. courts). More controversially, there are those (including a number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices) who claim that, in an age of globalization when the U.S. is more interconnected with the rest of the world than ever before, U.S. law ought to derive inspiration from foreign law, for instance in constitutional litigation involving the death penalty or the rights of sexual minorities. This course will apply itself to this debate and discuss to what extent foreign law can or must act as persuasive authority. It will also consider two primordial questions. First, how could a U.S. lawyer get to know foreign law despite all the cultural differences arising across laws? Secondly, to what extent is meaningful understanding of foreign law possible? As regards these issues, various theoretical topics will be raised from an interdisciplinary perspective and some case-studies pertaining to human rights will be considered. 

E-Discovery Law (LWGC521)

Instructor(s): Ruth Hauswirth

1 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMG), Criminal Law (MSLS)

This course examines Electronic discovery or “e-discovery” -- the growing body of law and practice on the treatment of electronically stored information (ESI) in litigation. ESI sources make up most of the universe of potential evidence in today’s technological world, including email, databases, information technology systems, metadata, personal and group network shares, instant messaging, text messaging, smartphones and mobile devices, social networking sites, and many other electronic data sources. The course will focus on the rapidly growing body of case law and the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, with some discussion of California state court procedural rules. The course will discuss best practices to properly identify, preserve, collect, review, produce and use of ESI in litigation, whether in federal or state court, criminal or civil contexts, and alternative dispute resolution forums. The course will also touch on basic technical knowledge that litigation attorneys should possess to litigate cases and will expose law students to actual litigation discovery and review tools that lawyers use in practice today. The course will have an experiential component with in-class exercises including an information custodian interview, a meet and confer session, a case management conference and a motion to compel focused on e-discovery issues. Students will also draft discovery requests and objections, and prepare memos and documentation to implement reasonable preservation hold procedures as they relate to ESI needed in litigation. Students who complete the course will have an understanding of the unique legal issues and developments related to electronic discovery, and important terminology, processes and technologies that are applied to managing ESI in litigation. Students will be graded by a take home final examination.

Evidence (LWLP529)

Instructor(s): Staff

4 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMG)

The rules of evidence in judicial tribunals, focusing on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code are addressed in this course. Also covered are issues relating to: (1) judicial control and administration - functions of judge and jury, judicial notice, burden of proof presumptions, problems of relevancy, circumstantial evidence, and unfair prejudice; and (2) witnesses - competency, privileges, principles of examination and cross-examination, impeachment and support, expert and lay opinion testimony. The hearsay rule and its exceptions, rules relating to writings, real and scientific evidence are also examined.

Global Antitrust: Principles and Selected Applications - London (LWYL537)

Instructor(s): Staff

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): International Law (JD), International Law (LLMUS), LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (MSLS)

More than 100 national or regional governments worldwide have adopted antitrust ("competition") laws, affecting all businesses participating in global markets. This course will explore the common principles underlying these laws, as well as the many differences in principle and application. It will be taught by one of the few practicing attorneys who has litigated to completion antitrust cases before government agencies in China, Europe, South Korea and Japan in addition to the U.S. The course will provide a "real world" perspective by covering the interaction of substantive law, agency process and other forces resulting in particular outcomes.

Int'l Internet & Intellectual Property Law - Paris (LWYP550)

Instructor(s): M. Margaret McKeown

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property (JD), International Law (JD), International Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), International Law (MSLS)

A survey of international intellectual property through the lens of the Internet, this course deals with the intersection of traditional intellectual property law and the Internet. Because this area of the law is in flux, particularly in the international and constitutional arenas, the course will include a discussion of current cases and events, supplemented by presentations from outside experts. The survey includes emerging copyright, trademark, trade secret and criminal law issues in the U.S. and other jurisdictions (especially the European Union), and the applicability of key treaties. In the face of differing cultural and social norms, the course will also focus on domestic and international regulation of the Internet, privacy, speech and content regulation, and social media.

Intellectual Property & Business (LWIP572)

Instructor(s): Staff

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Requirement(s): Writing
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG)
Recommended Class(es): IP Survey or any course in patent law

The best intellectual property and tech-focused corporate lawyers have a thorough understanding of the ways clients use and are affected by IP in their daily business. This seminar will provide an introduction to how patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets (1) are used by IP owners to further their business strategies and (2) affect non-IP owners, who must often license IP rights at substantial cost. Specific topics include: the role of trademarks in promoting product “branding”; the use of patents in commercializing inventions; the effects of trade secrecy on R & D investment and employee mobility; IP and the emerging field of “microinnovation”; the effects of copyright on Internet business models; the use of IP by startup companies; private markets for buying, selling, and licensing IP rights; the role of patents in biotech deals; copyrights in the entertainment industry; and trademarks and “luxury” goods. The majority of the course will consist of lectures and classroom discussions. The only assignment is a paper, which students will present at the end of the course. Prerequisites: None. Either a course in intellectual property law or some work experience at a technology company is recommended, but not required.

International Commercial Negotiations - London (LWYL554)

Instructor(s): Allen Snyder

2 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Civil Litigation (JD), International Law (JD), Study Abroad (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS)

Skills and theory of both competitive and cooperative international commercial negotiating will be taught with simulations and discussions based on readings and current commercial disputes. 

Note: There are limitations on concentration eligibility. Check the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD) and Civil Litigation Concentration (JD) web pages for more information.
Additional Information: Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD), Civil Litigation Concentration (JD)