Fall 2026 Class Descriptions
Administrative Law (LWPP510)
Instructor(s): Michael Rappaport
4 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Children's Rights (JD), Employment and Labor Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Health Law (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMUS), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (MSLS)
This course discusses the basic rules and principles governing federal administrative agencies. Subjects covered include the procedures governing administrative agencies, judicial review of administrative action, and presidential and congressional controls over agencies. The rules governing agencies are quite different from those that govern courts. Knowledge of these rules has become increasingly important, as many practitioners are now likely to spend more time dealing with administrative agencies than litigating in court.
Note:
This is a required course for the Environmental & Energy Law and Public Interest Law concentrations (JD). This course may be applied as part of the nine required credits for the Health Law Concentration (JD).
Additional Information: Concentrations Page
Advanced Legal Writing (LWGC505)
Instructor(s): Staff
1 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Advanced Legal Writing is a one-unit course specifically designed to help students strengthen their fundamental legal writing skills. The class will help students master the skills needed to be a good legal writer, including: (1) Selecting active and powerful word choices; (2) Constructing paragraphs; (3) Using proper grammar and punctuation; (4) Creating a strong micro and macro legal structure; (5) Developing thesis and conclusion sentences; (6) Issue spotting; (7) Extracting, formulating, and synthesizing rules of law; (8) Crafting explicit factual comparisons; and (9) Revising, editing, and perfecting their work product. The class requires no outside research.Note:
This course could satisfy the law school upper division writing requirement OR the experiential requirement.
Advocacy Competition Teams (LWAC500)
Instructor(s): Linda Lane
1 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
The Advocacy Competition Teams represent a variety of competitive advocacy experiences in which students learn techniques for effective and persuasive advocacy as they prepare to compete in tournaments against teams within our own law school and from other law schools. Only students selected for membership in one of the Advocacy Competition Teams may register.
Agency Externship (LWVL596)
Instructor(s): Kimberly Gosling
1-6 credit(s), P/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Children's Rights (JD), Civil Litigation (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Employment and Labor Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Health Law (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), International Law (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), International Law (LLMUS), Taxation (LLMUS), LLM in Taxation (LLMT), Criminal Law (LLMG), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), LLM in International Law (LLMI), Criminal Law (MSLS), Environmental and Energy Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), International Law (MSLS), Taxation (MSLS)
The Agency Externship program gives students the opportunity to gain academic credit for work in an approved government agency or non-profit organization during the fall, spring, or summer semesters. (Note: this program applies only to government and nonprofit law office work; students who wish to receive academic credit for work at a private law firm should apply for the Law Firm Externship program.) All placements are subject to approval by the professor, and students must receive approval before enrolling in the course. Students may earn 1-6 units of credit for work performed between the start of classes and the last day of final exams; work performed outside this time period does not count towards academic credit requirements.
Students may enroll in Agency Externship more than once. Academic requirements include: a mandatory orientation; time logs; individual written assignments; peer group meetings and written group assignments; a training on on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism; and a satisfactory evaluation by the on-site supervisor. Academic requirements may be changed at the discretion of the professor. The externship is graded on a pass/fail basis.
If you have been offered and have accepted a qualifying position, agree to meet the course obligations, and want to register for the course, fill out the Field Placement Form here. After you submit the form, the Law Careers office will review it and send you an email with directions on how to enroll. If you have any questions, read the FAQs available at the link to the form. If the FAQs do not answer your questions, contact the Law Careers office at lawcareers@sandiego.edu.
Note:
There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the JD concentrations web pages for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your work in this externship qualifies for the concentration.
Antitrust (LWBC503)
Instructor(s): David McGowan
3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Children's Rights (JD), Civil Litigation (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS), Criminal Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (MSLS)
Antitrust law governs the way companies compete with each other. It aims to promote competition by prohibiting anticompetitive conduct. Antitrust is a foundational course for students interested in business law. This course studies the primary federal laws, the Sherman Act and Clayton Act, and teaches principles relevant to state antitrust law as well. The course covers economic concepts but is not a class in economics as such.
Note: There are limitations on Intellectual Property (JD) concentration eligibility. Please check the Intellectual Property Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: Intellectual Property Concentration (JD)
Appellate Clinic I (LWVL501)
Instructor(s): Michael Devitt, David Schlesinger
2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD)
Prerequisite(s): Civil Procedure, Evidence or concurrent enrollment, PR or concurrent enrollment, Crim Pro I or concurrent enrollment
The Appellate Clinic is a semester-long clinic opportunity in which teams of students will enjoy the hands-on experience of litigating from start to finish an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. During the fall semester, students will write an opening brief. Students who choose to continue take appellate clinic II in the spring semester students will write a reply brief and participate in oral argument. Additional periodic classroom sessions held throughout the academic year will focus upon appellate procedure and persuasive written and oral advocacy. From time to time, class sessions will feature guest speakers such as judges and local practicing attorneys. The Appellate Clinic is open only to third and fourth year law students; and students must have completed or take concurrently with the Appellate Clinic the following courses: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Criminal Procedure.
Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Civil Litigation Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: Civil Litigation Concentration
Art Law (LWIP505)
Instructor(s): Bert Lazerow
3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property (JD), International Law (JD), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), International Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), LLM in International Law (LLMI), Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), International Law (MSLS)
This course will consider some legal problems of the art world encountered by artists, art middlemen, and museums. Some of the following topics will be considered: art in wartime, the international art trade, the artist's rights in works, artistic freedom, the collector's security, the tax collector, and the museum as trustee and entrepreneur. This course draws from doctrines in many fields, including contracts, property, torts, constitutional law, administrative law, tax, intellectual property, and international law.
Note:
There are limitations on Intellectual Property (JD) concentration eligibility. Please check the Intellectual Property Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: Intellectual Property Concentration (JD), International Law Concentration