AGENCY, PARTNERSHIPS, and LLCs
3 credits
Essential legal aspects of doing business other than through a corporation in practical context: agency, general partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and limited liability companies (LLCs). Topics include: for agency - actual authority, apparent authority, respondeat superior, duties of agent to principal and principal to agent, constructive agency; for general partnerships - formation, basic characteristics (including personal liability), management structure and power-to-bind rules, fiduciary duties, dissociation, dissolution, and winding up; for LLPs - creation of the liability shield, liability despite the shield; for LLCs - formation mechanics, basic characteristics (including liability shield and "separate entity"), management structure and the power to bind, fiduciary duties and the power of the operating agreement, the " pick your partner" concept and charging orders, distinguishing direct and derivative claims. No special background or expertise in business is necessary to take this course.

EVIDENCE
4 credits
The rules of evidence in judicial tribunals are addressed in this course. The Federal Rules of Evidence and cases interpreting them are engaged as the main sources of law. Topics covered include (1) judicial control and administration - functions of judge and jury, problems of relevancy, circumstantial evidence, and unfair prejudice; (2) witnesses - competency, principles of  examination and cross-examination, impeachment and support, expert and lay opinion testimony (3) the hearsay rule and its exceptions, and (4) rules relating to writings, real and scientific evidence. Some comparisons to the California Evidence Code will also be made. Taught in one semester.

NEGOTIATIONS (Fromm)
2 credits
The goals of this course are: 1) to learn about and be able to critically examine negotiating theories, tactics, and styles, and 2) to provide opportunities for personal experience in negotiating selected legal problems, with consequent reflective evaluation. By most standards, any knowledge acquired in a negotiation course will be useful to a lawyer in diverse settings and interactions. Lawyers frequently negotiate, sometimes with little awareness of how they are perceived or how to improve their effectiveness. This course proposes to give students a knowledge base from which insights about the negotiation process generally and one's own performance specifically can be gained. The evaluation for the course will be through a combination of the following factors: class participation, written critiques of selected simulations, skills displayed in a final negotiation (video-taped), respective outcomes achieved in the final negotiation, and a reflective journal of course experiences. Enrollment is limited, and this class is typically oversubscribed.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (McGrath)
3 credits
The roles of the lawyer in society and the obligations implied in those roles are examined. Topics include qualifications for admission, disciplinary standards and procedures, the history and organization of the legal profession; the provision, marketing, and compensation arrangements for legal services; avoiding conflict of interest; obligations to clients, the courts, and society, and conflicts presented by the adversary system for settlements of disputes; and responsibilities of lawyers as public servants and citizens. California and American Bar standards will be reviewed. Required for upper-class students.

SPORTS LAW (McCurdy)
2 credits
This course will address the intersection between the business of sports and various bodies of law.  Topics will include contract law, antitrust, labor law, governance of professional sports leagues, application of antitrust laws to amateur sports, baseball salary arbitration, and player agent practice.  Students will participate in a player-team contract negotiation simulated exercise.  Knowledge of antitrust and labor law is useful but not required.

TAX I (Bishop)
3 credits
Tax I provides students with an understanding of the basic principles of federal income tax, including gross income, deductions, tax accounting, capital transactions, and income shifting. Required for upper-class students.

TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS (Coveny/Dostart)
2 Credits
This course will address the concept and basis for tax exemption; classification as a Private Foundation; special issues relating to Public Charities, charities as operating entities, fundraising issues; California Law applicable to tax exempt organizations; and Unrelated Business Income Taxation (UBIT). There will be 4-8 hrs. p/wk reading assignments in Treasury Regulations.

TRUSTS & ESTATES: WILLS & TRUSTS
3 credits
This survey course provides an introduction to non-tax aspects of estate planning and the law of gratuitous transfers, including inter vivos gifts, intestate succession, wills, will substitutes, trusts, fiduciary administration, and future interests