Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s extensive array of electives allows students to design a course of legal studies tailored to their own interests. Below, you will see a list of electives recently offered, or scheduled for this academic year, at the Law School. Please note that not all elective courses are offered every year.
CALS 122
Immigration and Crimes
This course explores the intersection between criminal and immigration law through a hands-on approach to real-world problems. Students learn a practical three-step process for evaluating the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, including various types of immigration statuses and an area of law known as the "categorical approach." The class also examines the increased use of federal criminal courts to prosecute noncitizens through such programs as "Operation Streamline" and "zero tolerance," as well as current cases addressing preemption and state attempts to enforce immigration law. This class may satisfy the upper level writing requirement.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 123
Intro to LGBTQ Rights in CA
This course surveys the historical development and current status of LGBTQ rights under California law. It tracks the law from the criminalization of LGBTQ individuals to the protections that we see today in areas such as employment and marriage. The course also addresses the cultural status of LGBTQ individuals in the legal profession. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 124
Freedom of Information Act Litigation
This course surveys the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including FOIA requests and responses, search declarations and the Vaughn Index, and in-depth considerations of selected exemptions and exclusions focusing on Glomar, trade secret, privacy, and law enforcement issues. This course also examines particular litigation considerations and attorney’s fees issues in FOIA cases. Students will read and become familiar with The United States Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 125
Space Law: Law on the New Frontier
This course introduces the law governing the exploration, militarization, and commercialization of outer space. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 126
Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking
This course addresses sex offenses as they are defined and litigated under the California criminal code– including rape, lewd and lascivious acts, human trafficking, and stalking – as well as sex offender registration, sexual assault forensic examinations, and sexual assault victim rights and resources. This course will be an important supplement to your understanding of the substantive criminal law, and of the law regarding sexual violence and misconduct. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 134
Appellate Advocacy
This course advances students' skills in appellate brief writing, oral advocacy, and appellate practice and procedure. Students will structure, research, and write an appellant's opening brief based on a hypothetical case. Students will then argue the case (in the roles of both appellant's counsel and respondent's counsel) at a mock hearing, demonstrating the ability to make the best arguments on both sides of every issue argued. Lectures, one-on-one writing conferences, and a tour of the local District Court of Appeal (at which students will hear live oral arguments) are included.
CALS 144
Slavery's Imprint on the Constitution
This course examines the history of the institution of slavery in the United States, specifically as it relates to the United States Constitution of 1787. Topics include the international slave trade, “slave rebellions” and the Domestic Insurrections Clause, the Three-fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Northwest Ordinance. More generally, the course discusses the status of slavery as a legal institution in the United States at the time of the founding, as well as the impact on the Constitution of abolitionism as a social movement. Students may receive Upper-Level Writing Credit for this course.
Prereq: CALS 199 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00 Credits: 2.00
CALS 170
Trial Practice
This course provides training in trial techniques through lecture and participation in practice sessions. Students participate in all phases of civil and criminal cases under the supervision of an experienced attorney.
This course has a mandatory week 1 attendance requirement and is graded non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale. Honors designation will convert to a 4.0.
Credits: 3.00
CALS 172
Advanced Contracts - UCC Art. 2 Sales
The course surveys law of sales (UCC Article 2) relating to contract performance and breach when parties transact in goods. The course covers buyers and sellers' remedies, the law of warranties, and the legal principles embodied in Article 9 governing secured transactions.
Credits: 3.00
CALS 204
Federal Income Taxation
This course surveys the fundamentals of federal income taxation, including income, exclusions, deductions, basis, depreciation, and capital gains.
Prereq: CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 And CALS 111 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 3.00
CALS 213
Client Interview'g & Counseling
This course is a skill-building practicum covering the issues of effective client interviewing and counseling. This class includes simulation exercises to enhance students' abilities to interview and counsel clients. This course is graded non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 229
Civil Motion Practice
This course builds on the skills learned in Legal Writing II and Civil Procedure. Students refine advanced persuasive legal writing skills and learn advanced oral advocacy techniques in the context of civil motion practice before both federal and California courts. Classroom instruction will encompass motion theory and principles, evaluation of California and federal procedures, rules, court calendaring, ethical obligations, persuasive oral advocacy, and efficiency in client case management. Students gain practical experience by conducting client and issue-specific research and legal analysis, drafting motion briefs in support of a client position, and arguing motions in a simulated courtroom environment.
Prereq: CALS 199 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00
CALS 237
Entertainment Law and Practice
Entertainment Law and Practice surveys the common legal issues arising in the fields of music, film, tv, and other facets of the entertainment industries from both litigation and transactional perspectives. The course also provides students with a general understanding of the structure of the entertainment industries, including the role of record labels, music publishers, film and television studios, production companies, artist managers, and talent agents. This course may satisfy the upper-level writing requirement.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 238
Int'l Law
This course introduces the law among nations. First, it examines the principal actors in the international legal system, the processes by which international law is created, interpreted, adjudicated and enforced and the relationship between international law and domestic law. Next, it surveys a range of substantive international legal rules, including the law on the use of force, laws regulating state jurisdiction over land, sea and air, international economic law, international human rights law, and international environmental law. Finally, it considers selected aspects of U.S. law that affect U.S. participation in the international legal system. The course is designed for the student who is seeking a basic understanding of international law as part of a balanced and comprehensive legal education and for the student who is seeking a solid foundation for a more intensive study of international law.
Prereq: CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 And CALS 111 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 3.00
CALS 241
Immigration Law
This course explores the fundamental and practical aspects of current U.S. immigration law, policy and procedures relating to visas, asylum, employment authorization, adjustment of status, naturalization, citizenship, detention and removal. This class may satisfy the upper level writing requirement.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 245
Family Law
This course examines the law relating to the formation, regulation, and termination of family relationships. Topics covered include family privacy, marriage, alternative families, domestic violence, divorce, child custody and child support. In addition to examining theoretical and
inter-disciplinary perspectives, this course will also focus on issues relating to the practice of family law by attorneys.
Prereq: CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 And CALS 111 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 3.00
CALS 246
Introduction to Sports Law
This course provides a general introduction to sports law. Topics of discussion range from fans and owners to players and agents. The course covers law in the areas of contract, constitutional, tort and criminal - all in the context of sports. In class discussions include representation of professional athletes, enforcement of sports contracts, league decision making, and sports broadcasting.
Prereq: CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 And CALS 111 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 2.00
CALS 250
Administrative Law
Government agencies influence virtually every aspect of our social lives. Agencies regulate the food supply, workplace, environment, immigration, and money - to name only a few of the areas where agencies wield power. As regulators, federal agencies principally act in three ways - rulemaking, adjudication, and enforcement. In some courses (e.g. securities law, employment law, etc.) students study the regulations produced by a particular agency. In this course, however, students study the law that governs agencies - i.e. how agencies are constrained in their regulatory activities. The course will consider constitutional law (such as separation of powers and procedural due process) and federal statutory law (i.e. the Administrative Procedure Act). Since many of the cases deal with constitutional law issues, the material is often abstract, theoretical and challenging. Students who plan a career in government, with a public interest group or working in a highly regulated industry will likely benefit from taking a course in administrative law. Administrative law is a bar-tested subject in some states.
Prereq: CALS 103 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 3.00
CALS 261
Adjudicatory Criminal Procedure
Adjudicatory Criminal Procedure follows the adjudicative process for criminal prosecutions from charging to post-conviction review. It starts when the criminal case moves from the police station to the courthouse and covers the constitutional rules that govern a criminal prosecution as it proceeds through the courts. Topics include the prosecutor's power to file charges, bail, preliminary hearings, grand juries, speedy trial, discovery, plea bargaining, guilty pleas, jury trials (from jury composition to closing argument), sentencing, and post-conviction review. The course is essential to preparation for criminal practice and covers material tested on the California Bar examination.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 275
Environmental Law
This course surveys federal environmental laws and regulations. It addresses not only the core elements of statutes like the Clean Air Act or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, but also explores the associated legislative, regulatory, and administrative aspects of environmental practice. The course also examines the local regulatory decision-making process with an emphasis on environmental land use controls and permitting.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 292
NegotiationsTheory & Skills
This course introduces the theory of negotiating a deal in a legal context and provides opportunities for students to develop the skills necessary to employ that theory and negotiate effectively on behalf of their clients.
Credits: 3.00
CALS 297
Advanced Legal Research
This course builds upon basic legal research skills with a focus on effective and efficient legal research strategies. In this practical, hands-on course, students will learn how to appropriately use both print and electronic information sources for Federal and California administrative, case and statutory law, court rules, legislative history, and secondary sources such as legal encyclopedias, treatises and form books. Cost efficient research and the integration of print and electronic resources are stressed throughout the course.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 313
Copyright Law
This course focuses on the legal issues arising from the creation, ownership, production, marketing, and distribution of literary, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, musical, digital, and related works. This will include examination of copyrightable subject matter, the idea/expression dichotomy, compilations and derivative works, duration and renewal, fair use and remedies. The course examines the current federal Copyright Act in depth and considers the impact of past laws, related state laws, and international copyright law.
Prereq: CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 And CALS 111 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 3.00
CALS 329
Trademark & Unfair Compt Law
This course focuses on current trademark and unfair competition law from different view points: theory, case law, and litigation strategy.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 354
Law Review
Students requesting a Law Review unit, please email Registrar, Carrie Kazyaka at [email protected]. Upon approval, students will be enrolled in one unit of Law Review by the Registrar's Office. This is graded Honors, Credit, Low Pass, No Credit.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 355
Moot Court
Students requesting Moot Court units, please email Registrar, Carrie Kazyaka at [email protected] and state the number of units you are requesting. Upon approval, students will be enrolled in Moot Court units by the Registrar's Office. This is graded Honors, Credit, Low Pass, No Credit.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 356
Directed Study
Directed Study is a method by which Thomas Jefferson students may obtain credit toward their law degrees by performing legal research and writing in areas of their own choosing. Eligibility for Directed Study is limited to students who have earned at least 30 units and are in good academic standing. A student wishing to obtain credit for Directed Study must first procure the written agreement of a faculty member to supervise that student's project during the school session in which such credits are to be earned. Adjunct faculty members may serve in this role only with the approval of the Associate Dean on a case by case basis. Before registering, the student, with the guidance of his/her intended faculty supervisor, shall select a topic for the student's project, adopt a written plan for its completion, and determine the number of units of credit to be earned through the project. Students may not earn more than 3 Directed Study units per semester. For each Directed Study unit for which a student registers, the student shall perform a minimum of 50 hours of research and writing. A 10-15 page paper is usually required for each unit of Directed Study credit. Honors/Credit/Low Pass/No Credit is the only grading option available. Students requesting enrollment in Directed Study units must submit the Professor signed approved petition to the Registrar's Office. Upon approval, the Registrar's Office will enroll the student in the Directed Study units.
Prereq: CALS 199 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00 Credits: 1.00
CALS 363
Mock Trial
Students requesting Mock Trial units, please email the Registrar, at [email protected] and state the number of units you are requesting. Upon approval, students will be enrolled in Mock Trial units by the Registrar's Office. This is graded Honors, Credit, Low Pass, No Credit.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 383
Public Interest Lawyering
This course provides a foundation for students interested in access to justice issues or public interest law more generally. The course helps students understand the socio-economic underpinnings of the population served and the resources available, as well as the governing substantive law. The course also explores the availability of legal services in the United States and the unmet legal needs of low-and-moderate income individuals. It examines the role of courts, legal services organizations, law schools, and the private bar in advancing free and affordable legal services. Students read about the structure of the legal profession, the current state of government funded legal services, the cost of legal service delivery, and the opportunities and challenges faced by the private bar. The also course surveys substantive areas of law including housing, employment, immigration and criminal. This course challenges students thinking on how legal services are provided and the gaps that attorneys can fill in providing these services, causing students to think creatively about alternate structures for meeting the needs of low-to-moderate income individuals.
Prereq: CALS 199 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00 Credits: 2.00
CALS 418
Scholarly Legal Writing
This Course introduces students to legal scholarship. It is required for, and limited to, Law Review members who are researching or writing their law review note.
This course is graded non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale Credits: 1.00
CALS 423
Introduction to Mediation
Mediation is currently in great demand as an adjunct to the court system, as a mechanism for managing in-house corporate fissures, in labor-management discussions and in international disputes. Although usage varies dramatically depending on context, mediation at its essence is a process in which a neutral third party works to help the parties resolve a dispute. Students will learn the various stages of the process and practice the techniques used in each stage. Class are interactive with in-class mock mediations and communications exercises. Students also conduct a full day of in class mediations. Students will be assessed on in-class participation, as well as a
pre-course written assignment and other assignments announced in class. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 425 ADR
This course surveys various dispute resolution techniques, including negotiation, arbitration and mediation.
Students requesting ADR units, please email Registrar, Carrie Kazyaka at [email protected] and state the number of units you are requesting. Upon approval, students will be enrolled in ADR units by the Registrar's Office.
This course is graded non-anonymously Honors, Credit, Low Pass or No Credit. Credits: 1.00
CALS 429
Veteran's Legal Assistance Clinic
This course trains students to represent clients from Veterans Village of San Diego under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Veterans Village provides housing, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and job training to struggling veterans. The actual composition of students' caseloads will be determined by client need, however, case work is generally concentrated in the areas of family, consumer, and administrative law. This seminar will include reading on substantive law and assignments that will be discussed in class along with the matters on which the students will work for Veterans Village clients. Due to the nature of the course, grading for this course will be non-anonymous. Admission to the clinic is by application that should be submitted to the Clinic Administrator. Instructions are circulated in advance of each semester.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 451
Lawyering Skills
This course instructs and guides students in how to read and think in ways necessary for success in law school, on the bar exam, and in practice. During weekly class meetings, students learn about and practice strategies and approaches for reading and writing for law school and preparing for law school exams. Through structured practice with case briefing, rule deconstruction, rule extraction and rule synthesis, outlining, inferential reasoning, and essay organization, students learn how to study and learn the law. Students build their academic and study skills using subject matter materials connected to at least one doctrinal course in which students are concurrently enrolled.
This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale. Credits: 1.00
CALS 465
Contract Drafting
The course applies concepts learned in the first-year Contracts course to real world situations that students are likely to encounter in a business law practice. Students will learn how to translate business concepts into language that is legally enforceable. The course studies how to draft preambles, recitals, covenants, conditions, representations and warranties, termination provisions and the other elements of most standard business contracts. Through a series of individual and team-based exercises, students will learn how drafting a provision can affect the business deal and allocate risk. To build skills, the course focuses on two types of contracts - asset purchase agreements and employment contracts. The drafting skills covered are applicable to nearly any type of agreement. Students will be given an opportunity to work in groups and research a particular type of agreement of their choosing.
Prereq: CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 2.00
CALS 503
Intro to IP & Sports Law
This course provides second-semester students with an introduction to intellectual property law and its intersection with different relevant areas, issues relevant to both the IP and Sports Law Fellows. Break-out sessions are included to cover non-IP issues relevant to the sports industry, such as marketing, regulation, and management. The course is taught by various faculty members and will include guest lecturers. Students may have reading assignments, and a 10-page paper is required to receive credit. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 506
California Pre-Trial Preparation
This course focuses on the lawyer's role in litigation before trial in California civil court. Classes will focus on the Code of Civil Procedure applicable to pleading, discovery, case management conferences, discovery motions, summary judgment, with review of pretrial strategy and planning, including ADR and ethics. Classes will expose students to client interviewing, developing a theory of the case, developing a discovery plan, and preparation of the case for trial. The course also includes several writing assignments, including the complaint, discovery demands, settlement brief, and motion for summary judgment. The course is designed to prepare the student to take the case from the time a client walks in the door through the trial readiness conference. This course is invaluable for those planning to practice in the California courts. It can satisfy the upper-level writing credit requirement.
Credits: 3.00
CALS 517
Introduction to IP Practice
This course introduces the student to the practice of intellectual property law. It is highly recommended for all IP Fellows. Each class will introduce some basic substantive law that students will then use to complete a project. Projects will include trademark applications, copyright registrations, office actions, non-disclosure agreements, trade secret law, cease and desist letters, IP licenses, and valuing intellectual property.
Prereq: CALS 111 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 And CALS 101 Lecture Min Credits: 5.00 Credits: 3.00
CALS 523
Non-profit + Small Business Clinic
The Non-profit + Small Business Clinic (NPSBC) provides legal assistance and representation to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and non-profits that do not have the means to hire an attorney to advise them. Students who participate in the NPSBC will have the opportunity to assist clients by forming their entities, drafting, negotiating and reviewing contracts, and helping clients through the regulatory process. Students will be guided during representation by a licensed California attorney, but students will have primary responsibility for their cases.
Enrollment in the seminar is at the discretion of the supervising attorney, after having reviewed application materials and interviewed the student.
Students enrolled in the seminar are required to participate in weekly class meetings that focus on the lawyering skills necessary to effectively represent clients. In addition to discussing client interviewing and counseling techniques, students will also focus on substantive areas of law that are relevant to students' cases, including issues of professional responsibility
Credits: 3.00
CALS 525
Solo Practice: Building a Practice
This course will introduce students to the basics of owning a solo law practice, and being a business-focused associate in a small practice. Topics covered will include: deciding to go solo; the nuts and bolts of opening a law firm; developing a business plan; financial planning; selecting a practice area; generating cash flow; networking; marketing; client relations; billing and fees; budgets; trust accounting; collections; work-flow management; legal research solutions; creating a form bank/library; office protocols; strategic planning; hiring and firing; and life/work balance.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 526
Non-Profit & Business Clinic Fieldwork
Students who have taken the Non-Profit + Small Business Clinic seminar may enroll in field work units requiring them to work at least 5 hours per week on case work for clinic clients. Students may earn one-to-three credits with one credit constituting 5 hours per week of work throughout the
14-week semester. Fieldwork is graded non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale.
CALS 529
Veteran's Legal Assist. Clinic Fieldwork
Students who have taken the Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic seminar may enroll in field work units requiring them to work at least 5 hours per week on case work for Veterans Village clients. Students may earn one-to-three credits with one credit constituting 5 hours per week of work throughout the 14-week semester. Fieldwork is graded non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 530
Professional Sports Law
This course examines legal issues in the world of professional sports, including contracts, collective bargaining, antitrust, and employment law. It will also examine the ramifications of decisions made by personnel working in the professional sports industry. Specific topics include coaches, agents and labor.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 543
ADR in the Criminal Context
This course reviews selected topics in ADR in the criminal context. It will largely concern three specific topics: 1) Traditional Retributive versus Alternative (Restorative) responses to gross human rights abuses committed by insurgents or rogue states; 2) victim-offender mediation as an alternative response to "ordinary" crime; and 3) the growth and development of problem-solving courts. As students move through each of these areas, they explore how these alternative approaches to criminal behavior differ philosophically from classic retributive strategies. Students will assess the opportunities and challenges presented by these alternative approaches and work to determine the conditions in which they are most likely to prove successful. Students will be evaluated by in-class performance and a short writing assignment that explores retributive versus restorative strategies using the videos and course readings. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Prereq: CALS 099 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00 Credits: 1.00
CALS 548
Intra School Moot Ct Competition
Students write a ten-page brief (two drafts) and argue both sides of the case as part of an
intra-school moot court competition. Students are required to (1) watch a series of legal writing and oral argument lectures addressing all of the skills necessary to compete in the competition and (2) conduct two oral argument practice sessions with a mentor from the Moot Court Society. This course is graded on the Credit/No Credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 571
Intro to Criminal Trial Practice
This course is a component of the Criminal Law Fellowship Program. Working with a realistic mock case and case materials, students study several fundamental aspects of criminal trial practice, including client interviewing, fact investigation, jury selection, opening statement, direct examination, cross-examination, and closing argument. Participants observe demonstrations of important trial skills, practice these skills through role-playing exercises, and complete a substantial written exercise building on the material studied. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 585
Domestic Violence Seminar
This course introduces students to criminal Domestic Violence (DV). This includes a working knowledge of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), basic DV definitions, DV charges, understanding the complexity of working with DV victims, the Cycle of Violence, services available to DV victims, the path of a DV case through the criminal court system, as well as evidence used to prove a DV case. This course may satisfy the upper level writing requirement.
Credits: 2.00
CALS 596
Patent & Trademark Clinic
Students represent clients seeking to register patents and trademarks with the United States Patent & Trademark Office under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Students proceed through the entire process from the initial client meeting to conducting a patent or trademark search, preparing the application, and responding to office actions. This seminar includes reading on substantive law and assignments that will be discussed in class along with the matters on which the students will work for the Patent & Trademark clinic clients. Due to the nature of the course, grading for this course will be non-anonymous. Admission to the clinic is by application that should be submitted to the Clinic Administrator. Instructions are circulated in advance of each semester.
Credits: 3.00
CALS 597
Patent & Trademark Fieldwork
Students who have taken the Patent & Trademark Clinic seminar may enroll in field work units requiring them to work at least 5 hours per week on case work for Patent & Trademark clinic clients. Students may earn one-to-three credits with one credit constituting 5 hours per week of work throughout the 14-week semester. Fieldwork is graded non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 598
Family Law Workshop
This course provides students with an overview of family law practice and how family law cases proceed through mediation and litigation. There will be an overview of how the family code applies to parental relationships and marriages as well as what issues are most common when couples separate or divorce. The instructors will focus on the practical applications of family law, including managing client interviews at the beginning of a case, issue spotting, and the common steps of a divorce in litigation and mediation. In this interactive class, students practice interviewing clients, reviewing pleadings, discussing potential issues, and role play in a support hearing. Grading is non-anonymous based on class participation and on the Credit/No Credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 616
Sports Agent Registration and Practice
This course provides an in-depth look at the process of becoming a licensed sports agent throughout the top four (4) sport leagues of the United States (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), as well as the negotiation skills and background knowledge necessary to succeed in aspects of recruiting, retaining clients, and negotiating deals both on and off the field. Students will review the union guidelines and histories of the top sports leagues to grasp an understanding of each respective league’s rules and regulations relating to free agency and the ‘Draft’. Students will also learn the difference between negotiating on-field/court contracts and marketing deals, which will lead them into the experiential component of the course, where students will have the opportunity to lead negotiations on a marketing deal for one of their clients on the final day of class.
Students will be evaluated non-anonymously on the Credit/No Credit scale based off of their group participation on Saturday’s experiential learning day. To pass the course, students must attend the Saturday event. Full participation in all activities will garner a student a passing grade. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.The group who ultimately wins, will receive a grade of honors.
CALS 617
Student Athlete Publicity Rights
This course provides a look at the development of new relaxed regulatory authority over college athletes' commercial use of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL). In doing so, students will review the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), their regulatory authority over college sports, the state legislation that forced NCAA action on NIL, and the Supreme Court decision in the antitrust litigation NCAA v. Alston. Finally, students will discuss future issues in NIL regulation, including questions about how current NIL regulation affects athlete individual rights and addresses concerns over gender equity in college sports. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 618
Personal Injury Litigation in California
In this course, students will see and experience the process of litigating a personal injury case in California from client intake to trial. This course covers initial client interview, pre-litigation work up, drafting complaint and answer, all aspects of written discovery, taking and defending depositions, dealing with experts, pre-trial and trial motions. Students will learn by doing, including working with real-life pleadings and papers, interacting with attorneys in this community, and practicing skills in small groups and as a class. To build skills, students will draft discovery, pleadings, and briefs based on real-life fact patterns. Throughout this course, students will be asked to consistently consider what makes for a “good” personal injury attorney. This course applies whether you are counsel for the plaintiff or defendant. This course satifies the Professional Skills graduation requirement.
CALS 644
Mastering the Performance Test
This course enhances students' critical thinking and writing skills. Students analyze case and library files just like those used on the California Bar Exam's performance tests. Although the legal topics will not be the focus of the course, students will encounter issues not usually covered in law school, but often encountered on the bar exam and in law practice. In addition, students learn about the various kinds of documents they will be expected to write for the performance test and in law practice as well.
Class sessions will focus on techniques for efficiently reading and analyzing case and library files, organizing file material, and drafting documents for a specific audience. Students will be introduced to various audiences including the supervisor; the court; opposing counsel; the client; and other audiences such as boards, committees, juries, etc. Students should expect to practice these techniques in class and under time pressure. The course will be especially helpful for students who have not had an opportunity to clerk or to participate in an externship while in law school.
Prereq: CALS 199 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00 Credits: 2.00
CALS 647
Comparative Criminal Procedure - Film
This course enables students to compare U.S. criminal procedures with those of several other legal traditions -- Civil Law (French, German and Nordic), Common Law, Socialist, Islamic, and indigenous -- from arrest through appeal, primarily by viewing, presenting, and discussing specially edited clips of U.S. and foreign films. Through comparative analysis, students gain a deeper understanding of U.S. criminal procedures. Students will also write a 10-page
essay on a film of their choice. The assigned eBook (click here for trailer) provides condensed readings with links to illustrative film clips to choose from. The course provides an overview of U.S. criminal procedure, so it can be taken either before or after the core courses in U.S. criminal procedure. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 682
Whistle Blower Law
This course examines legal protections intended to protect and incentivize whistleblowers to provide information and assist in the enforcement of laws prohibiting fraud and misfeasance in the public and private sectors. Historic whistleblower cases and developing case law will be examined, including those turned into Hollywood blockbusters such as Silkwood, All the President’s Men, Serpico, and Snowden. This course focuses on the substance of the law and the process of lawyering (client interviewing and counseling, drafting and negotiating). The course may include a role-playing exercise. Each student will write a short essay concerning a current policy issue or analyzing a whistleblower case. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 697
Externship I
This course introduces students to client interviewing, fact investigations, counseling, and the development of their professional selves in a discussion-based format. The class is completely interactive, using simulations based on real-life cases to enhance a student's understanding of working with clients. Students discuss issues related to their experiences at their placements. Students write journals based on their experiences. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 698
Externship II
This course builds on Externship I, expanding the discussion on professionalism. Students use critical thinking to solve real-life problems that clients experience. Students write journals to reflect on their experiences. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 699
Externship III
This course builds on Externship I, expanding the discussion on professionalism. Students use critical thinking to solve real-life problems that clients experience. Students write journals to reflect on their experiences. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00
CALS 702
Judical Seminar
This course enables students to discuss issues related to working in chambers. We discuss cases currently being considered and seminal decisions. Students discuss ethical issues facing judges and the inequities within the judicial system. Students write journals reflecting on the experiences. This class is graded on the credit/no credit scale.
Credits: 1.00