Spring 2027 Class Descriptions
Mediation Skills (LWLP556)
Instructor(s): Lisa Maxwell
2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), 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), Public Interest Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMG), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS), Criminal Law (MSLS), Environmental and Energy Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (MSLS)
Mediation is a process by which a trained and impartial third party helps others resolve a dispute. Lawyers use mediation extensively, both as advocates and as neutrals. Participants will learn to mediate a variety of disputes, using the methodology developed by San Diego's National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC). They will receive a certificate of participation upon their successful completion of the training. Participants must commit to attending each of the training sessions as a condition of enrollment. Enrollment is limited to 42 participants. This course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.
Note: There are limitations on concentration eligibility. Check the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD) and Employment and Labor Law Concentration (JD) web pages for more information.
Additional Information: Civil Litigation Concentration, Employment and Labor Law Concentration
Medical Malpractice (LWGC577)
Instructor(s): Dov Fox, Nicolas Badre
2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD), Health Law (JD)
Welcome to The Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Case for Physicians and Lawyers. Approximately 85,000 medical malpractice cases are filed throughout the United States each year. With medical technology and the practice of medicine constantly evolving, physicians and medical facilities are tasked with meeting higher standards of quality care. For many physicians, the potential for lawsuits cast a long shadow over the practice of medicine.
This class, taught by attorneys and including practicing physicians, will attempt to answer many questions about the realities of medical malpractice litigation in an interdisciplinary context. It will combine law students and medical residents learning together to enhance an understanding of their respective milieus. The course will examine what causes patients to seek out a lawyer after a complication; the frequency of lawsuits and costs associated with the current tort system; how the potential for litigation impacts physicians in their daily practice; and the dynamics of the various stages of litigation, from inception of the lawsuit through trial. Law students and medical residents will learn about the importance of the burden of proof and the “standard of care,” informed consent, documentation and communication with other healthcare providers, defensive medicine, the procedures for taking and defending expert depositions, how to prepare for trial, as well the practical realities and ramifications of settlement or verdict, including reporting to licensing and regulatory bodies.
The objective of the course will be to give law students the experience of handling a medical malpractice case from start to finish, including learning how to effectively represent a physician, take a deposition, and prepare for trial. For medical residents, this course will provide insight into the legal field, aid in the understanding of the mechanics of a lawsuit, and provide a practical understanding of how the legal system actually functions.
Additional Information: Civil Litigation Concentration, Health Law Concentration
Mergers & Acquisitions (LWBC570)
Instructor(s): Caley Petrucci
3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS)
Prerequisite(s): Corporations
This course will examine selected economic, corporate law, and securities law aspects of the acquisition of businesses. Topics covered will include some basic (and necessary) corporate finance theory (such as valuation, efficient capital markets, event studies and option pricing theory); empirical evidence on the social costs and benefits of acquisition activity; the structuring of friendly and hostile acquisitions; the corporate law of takeover defenses; and securities law regulation of acquisition transactions. Some accounting and tax law topics may be touched upon, but they will not be a major focus of the course. Some effort will be made to examine drafting and negotiations aspects of M&A transactions. Students with substantial background in related areas may take Corporations concurrently, with permission. There will be a final exam in the class.
Additional Information: Business and Corporate Law Concentration
Multistate Bar Exam Review (in person section) (LWGC576)
Instructor(s): Ted Sichelman
4 credit(s), Letter Graded
The MBE is given as part of the bar exam in nearly all U.S. jurisdictions. USD has licensed every published MBE question from previous examinations. Students in this course will take these MBE questions each week using customized online software (also accessible from tablets and smartphones), which tracks each student’s strengths and weaknesses in every substantive area of the bar exam (constitutional, criminal, real property, torts, contracts, evidence, and civil procedure). The online software will provide real-time review material for each area of the law. Each in-class session will cover test-taking techniques and the substantive law for one of the seven areas of law. Clickers are used to answer questions and provide immediate feedback to students. Please note that BARBRI, Kaplan, and most other bar exam review courses do not provide access to all of the previously released real exam questions from the MBE. As such, the questions in this course will not be the same as most of the questions that are provided in commercial summer bar preparation courses. Students must complete each week MBE questions in the required online modules (approximately 5-8 hours per week of work). The final grade will be based on two midterms and a final (plus timely completion of the weekly exams is necessary to pass the course).
Note:
Only students planning to graduate in May or December of 2027 may register for the course.
Multistate Bar Exam Review (online format) (LWGC576)
Instructor(s): Staff
4 credit(s), Letter Graded
The Online MBE Course offers a robust conceptual understanding of highly tested areas of law and a flexible approach to solving bar exam questions via an asynchronous online platform. Students will review substantive doctrine through online lectures, assigned text, MBE questions and black-letter law. Through the course, students systematically build exam skills including reading comprehension, issue identification, rule mastery, application, critical thinking, and legal analysis. Students will also learn how to recognize and deal with common MBE “distractors.” Students receive a course textbook, workbook with problems, and access to BARBRI AMP and online lectures. The course assessment includes a 100-question diagnostic/baseline exam, midterm exam, and a comprehensive final exam. The midterm and final exams will be online.
Note:
Only students planning to graduate in May or December of 2027 may register for the course.