Courses

This course teaches basic accounting to students with no prior background in accounting. It may be taught live or online. Coverage includes financial statements, including the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement, accounting standards under generally accepted accounting principles, double-entry bookkeeping and construction of financial statements, auditing and federal disclosures, analysis of the Form 10-K, financial statement analysis, accounting for partnerships and corporations, time value of money and valuation. This course may have nongraded and graded interim assessments that must be completed as a part of the course requirements, as well as a final exam. Note: A student cannot register for this course if the student has had prior coursework in accounting or an undergraduate degree in either accounting or business; this course is for students who have had no exposure to accounting, and registration in violation of this policy is a violation of the Honor Code.

Analysis of the administrative process, with an emphasis on the activities of federal regulatory agencies. Topics include legislative delegations of authority to agencies, executive branch controls, rulemaking and adjudicatory procedures, due process rights, and the scope of judicial review of administrative decision making.

This course will explore the constitutional interpretive theory and practice of Originalism—the view that the text of the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted as those words were thought to mean when the people adopted it. This seminar, which is taught by a sitting U.S. District Judge, will explore Originalism’s historical underpinnings and normative justifications, its content, and its deployment in legal advocacy and judicial opinions. Readings will include selected historical writings from the founding era, such as the Federalist Papers and Anti-Federalists Papers, as well as contemporary scholarly arguments for and against Originalism. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Teaches strategies for effective legal research, finding and updating the law, with an emphasis on the structure of American legal bibliography. Covers both manual and electronic research sources in depth. Emphasis on primary and secondary sources of law in federal and state jurisdictions.

This one credit course, taught the first seven weeks of the semester, focuses on research resources used in business and commercial practice. The emphasis of the course is on identifying sources and efficiently undertaking corporate, securities, and general business and commercial law research. It is not a class on the substantive aspects of corporate and securities law except as those aspects relate to the finding and interpretation of legal materials.

This one credit course, taught the first seven weeks of the semester, focuses on research resources used in business and commercial practice. The emphasis of the course is on identifying sources and efficiently undertaking corporate, securities, and general business and commercial law research. It is not a class on the substantive aspects of corporate and securities law except as those aspects relate to the finding and interpretation of legal materials.

This course focuses on research resources used in tax practice. The emphasis of the course is on identifying sources and efficiently undertaking tax law research. It is not a class on the substantive aspects of tax law except as those aspects relate to the finding and interpretation of legal materials. Open only to JD students.

Prerequisites: Trusts & Estates(LAW 6430)

Initial class discussions will focus on selected non-tax topics in fiduciary law, including duties of loyalty and care, accountability to beneficiaries, asset protection trusts, and dynasty trusts. During the semester each student will choose a research topic, give an oral presentation, and complete a substantial paper reflecting the results of the research. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement. Prerequisite: Trusts and Estates.

This course addresses many torts that were not covered in 1L Torts, particularly focusing on the kind of torts that inflict dignitary harms, such as defamation and invasion of privacy, and those that cause economic harm arising from fractured business relationships, such as breach of fiduciary duty and intentional interference with contractual relationships.

This introductory course will provide an orientation to all of the different processes that are available to resolve disputes. We will explore the three main processes (mediation, arbitration and negotiation) as well as hybrid processes ("med-arb", neutral evaluation) and new directions in dispute resolution (restorative justice). It covers the underlying legal, ethical and policy considerations important to understanding resolving disputes outside of the courtroom since trials are the exception in today's legal world in the US. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

An introduction to the fundamental issues and ideas that have shaped the law. Theorists of American law include legislators, governmental administrators, judges, lawyers, legal scholars, and commentators from other disciplines. This course examines basic concepts in legal thought, primarily of the American twentieth century. Topics include: law as literature and as portrayed in literature; law and society; freedom and necessity; the reach of the law; the legal and the non-legal; law and morality; justice; and critical perspectives on law (Critical Legal Studies). This course is especially recommended for students who are interested in the development of legal theory or are considering a career in law teaching.

This course is appropriate for students interested in environmental, family, civil, and criminal practice, all through the perspective of the scope and limitations of laws that implicate animals and the people who care for them. Among other topics, it will explore the intersection of animal law and contractual rights, standing to sue on behalf of animals, housing rights, tort remedies and damages, pet custody disputes, and defense of animals under state and local criminal laws.

A cutting-edge, front-page headline area of law, antitrust touches all aspects of business conduct, from mergers to commercial contracts to corporate structure, dominant firms, and even criminal conspiracies. This course, taught by leading antitrust practitioners with both government and private sector experience, explains how antitrust law is shaping our current business environment, and how to work with antitrust issues in practice. Students will learn how to analyze legal, economic and policy issues under the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, state antitrust laws, and leading case law. In addition to our faculty of UF alumni from Washington DC, Tallahassee and Gainesville, the course will feature guest speakers with recent involvement in some of the most prominent antitrust cases in the world.

This seminar covers a broad range of appellate topics of interest to appellate lawyers, appellate judges, and academics including: issues of current debate (judicial independence, judicial selection methods, judicial free speech, and judicial ethics); the judicial decision-making process (jurisdiction/appellate writs, judicial opinion writing, judicial strategy, en banc v. panel decisions); the structure, performance, and reforms of state and federal appellate court systems (such as dividing large courts, adding judges, staffing/funding appellate courts); and miscellaneous topics (such as technology in and media coverage of appellate courts). Appellate clerkship skills will also be included. Students choose topics on which to write seminar papers and they must present current events for discussion throughout the semester. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Applied Bankruptcy is a corporate business class focused on the intricacies and real-life issues that arise in the context of “mega” restructuring cases and those restructuring matters handled by major law firms in Florida and throughout the country. Each week, a renowned industry leader, including the Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Florida and partners from top law and consulting firms share case studies to round out topics on the never-slow industry: distressed M&A. No prior bankruptcy experience is required.

Arbitration continues to grow in its importance in a wide range of practice areas. It is routinely used in business to business contracts because of the privacy and efficiency. It is ubiquitous in “click to agree” consumer agreements for cell phones, streaming services, and other routine purchases. Arbitration is often the process of choice in construction contracts that depend on the specialized expertise of the trier of fact. Arbitration is preferred in international commercial transactions as an alternative to the domestic court of one contractor or the other. In these different practice areas, the arbitration process can appear quite different. Importantly, it also differs in significant ways from litigation in court. This course covers the rules and procedures unique to arbitration as well as the law governing arbitration and how that law enables or prevents parties from enforcing arbitration agreements and awards. This course will also cover those important aspects of advocacy that distinguish arbitration from litigation in court.

This class deals with the emerging promise and threat posed by AI-generated content, focusing on the application of constitutional principles governing free expression to that content. As the title of the course suggests, you will learn basic principles of First Amendment Law, but you will also learn how those principles interact with tort law and criminal law. Topics include how to address AI-generated speech that invades privacy, defames, threatens, or incites, or perpetuates bias and discrimination. We will also examine the use of AI in journalism, discuss the role of AI in magnifying disinformation in a way that may undermine democracy, and we will examine the constitutionality, practicality, and wisdom of proposals for Big Tech regulations designed to help address the nascent threats AI poses.

This course examines a broad range of legal and policy challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and other emergent technologies. This class explores issues raised by the intersection of algorithms and due process, free speech, bias and discrimination, predictive policing, civil liability for semi-autonomous vehicles and medical devices, the financial sector, privacy and surveillance, ethics, and national security to assess the implications for courts, agency oversight, lawyers, and society.

No prior scientific background is required; merely a willingness to learn.

The bankruptcy course covers creditors' remedies and debtors' rights under state law and in federal bankruptcy proceedings. The course dives into the complex world of financial distress, the relative priority given to different classes of creditors, and the law, policy, and ethics of insolvency in the American federalist system. State law topics include execution, attachment, garnishment, and proceedings in aid of execution. Bankruptcy topics include liquidations, reorganizations, sales, and clawback actions. Students focus not only on what the rules are, but also on how lawyers can help their clients navigate tough times. Professional interest in bankruptcy as a practice area is not a requirement for the course.

This course will prepare students to be effective first-year associates in litigation departments of law firms of all sizes. Meeting at the federal courthouse in Miami, students will engage with state and federal judges and law firm partners and associates from a range of national and state-wide law firms. Students will be exposed to multiple aspects of pre-trial litigation as well as the soft skills necessary for success in law firms.

This course explores the legal impacts of the rise of big data, addressing how our governance mechanisms shape and are shaped by innovations in data; how regulatory choices about data collection, access and control can dictate the winners and losers in a new “information economy”; and the major issues that lawyers dealing with data should understand. It combines an exploration of current topics in data governance and regulation with hands-on exercises that will allow students to gather the skills and knowledge necessary to become critical and ethical users of big data, including practice engaging with data agreements and generating legal responses to data breaches.

An accessible survey of regulatory, privacy, and ethical issues with advanced biotechnologies and artificial intelligence medical software, including safety regulation by the FDA.

This course is an introduction to blockchain technology and related legal and regulatory issues. Students will (1) learn the core technologies of blockchain and its social and philosophical implications; (2) analyze the real-world applications of blockchain such as cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens; (3) analyze emergent legal and regulatory issues posed by blockchain and its applications; and (4) propose solutions to these issues and understand the pros and cons of each solution. This course will feature several guest speakers from industry, government, and academia. Students will have opportunities to engage with blockchain entrepreneurs, regulators, and computer scientists. Previous technical experience is not required.

This course provides comprehensive coverage of the major business organizations, including general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. It emphasizes the major differences among these entities and the role of contracting for the rules of internal affairs. Topics include rules dealing with formation, agency, management structures, admissions and dissociations, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, shareholder litigation, and fundamental transactions.

This seminar will help students develop both substantive legal knowledge and practical skills in the areas of business ethics and compliance. On the compliance front, students will gain an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework surrounding the design, implementation, and execution of an effective corporate compliance program, as well as current issues in corporate governance. On the ethics front, students will learn to deal with business ethics issues in a rational, pragmatic, responsible, and decisive manner through acquiring critical thinking skills. The course will involve a number of case studies that allow students to identify biases and logical fallacies that can affect the persuasiveness of one’s arguments, evaluate frameworks for reconciling legal ethical dilemmas, and an opportunity to satisfy the advanced writing requirement. Please click on the title to see a working syllabus. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Covers child abuse and neglect, juvenile justice, adoption and foster care, and discusses education and health entitlements of children and conflicts between parents and children over medical decision-making, religion, schooling and emancipation.

Analysis of a civil lawsuit from commencement through trial, including consideration of jurisdiction, venue, pleading, motions, discovery, and joinder of parties and of claims; right to trial by jury, selection and instruction of jury, respective roles of judge, jury, and lawyer; trial and post-trial motions; judgments.

This course will cover various procedures, including those for the determination and assessment of federal taxes, tax refund procedures and the statutes of limitations and exceptions. The course will also cover special procedures for partnerships, innocent spouse procedures, the U.S. Tax Court and other courts that hear tax cases, penalties and collection procedures.

This course will focus on the Collaborative Process as an alternative to traditional litigation, mostly in family matters. We will study the history of the Collaborative Process, the Uniform Collaborative Law Act and Rules, the Florida Collaborative Law Process Act and the applicable Collaborative Rule of Procedure and Rule of Professional Conduct in Florida. This will be an experiential course in which the students will assume the roles of all of the participants in the Collaborative Process.

This class shall focus on statutory requirements and practical considerations in the development of condominiums and other homeowner community regimes in Florida, with particular emphasis on community planning and document drafting in today’s real estate environment. That portion of the class shall be presented from the perspective of both a developer and developer’s legal counsel. In addition, the course shall address the role of the community association in operating and governing the community following turnover of control from the developer, with emphasis on current assessment collection and foreclosure issues.

This course explores difficulties that arise when litigating disputes that are connected to more than one state: These include federal/state conflicts (Erie issues), the interstate enforcement of judgements, and the various approaches that states use when deciding which state’s law governs a particular aspect of an interstate dispute.

This seminar examines the basic theoretical, legal, and political issues underlying constitutional change. It surveys the formal structure of constitutional amendment rules, explores how constitutions change informally, tackles the complex interaction of formal and informal processes of change, and engages with ideas for reform to amendment rules. Readings will include material covering the United States Constitution, state constitutions, and foreign constitutions. This course provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Introduction to United States Constitutional Law. Topics include judicial enforcement of the Constitution to preserve individual liberties; judicial review; separation of powers; structure and powers of the federal government; and federalism.

An introduction to the law and theory of legally enforceable agreements and promises, including elements of contract formation; consideration; effects of non-performance; conditions for relief from or discharge of obligations; and remedies.

This course will give you in-depth knowledge of the rules governing U.S. copyright protection, focusing on how copyright law evolves in the shadow of technological change. We will cover: theories of copyright protection; the ownership, co-ownership, and transfer of copyrights; the exclusive rights to copy, distribute, perform, and display works; the legal status of adaptations, translations, new editions, and other transformations of copyrighted works; and the enforcement of copyrights, including against online service providers such as YouTube and Twitch.

Prerequisites: Corporations(LAW 6063)

This course examines the legal and financial economic aspects of corporate finance. Course coverage includes foundational finance theories, and legal aspects of capital structure (including analysis of debt securities, equities, structured finance, and derivatives). Combined with Corporations, this course is intended to provide students with a rigorous background in the legal and financial aspects of corporate business. Corporations (6063) may be taken prior to or concurrent with this course; if not taken, with approval of instructor,

Addresses income tax topics which might be encountered by a general practitioner advising a closely held corporation and its investors. Income tax consequences of transfers of property and services to a corporation, distributions to investors, and corporate liquidations and mergers will be explored. Coverage given to tax treatment of “S Corporations,” an increasingly important choice of entity for small businesses.

Tax considerations in corporate formations, distributions, redemptions and liquidations, including Subchapter C and Subchapter S corporations. Consideration of alternatives relating to the sales of corporate businesses.

Prerequisites: Corporate Taxation I(LAW 7611)

Corporate reorganizations; corporate acquisitions and divisions; corporate penalty taxes. Additional topics may include transfer or inheritance of losses and other tax attributes; consolidated returns provisions.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the idea that corporations have a moral responsibility to voluntarily integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) improvements into their business operations for the benefit of stakeholders (shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, and host communities), the public, and the environment. This seminar will explore corporate social responsibility, corporate purpose, the use of shell corporations in financial crimes, the criminal prosecution of corporations, corporate rights to freedom of speech and religion, CSR reporting, and corporate control through stakeholder markets. Readings will include casebook material, academic articles, CSR reports, and CSR reporting standards. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

This course will examine leading scholarship on various topics in criminal law such as the determinants of crime, policing, plea bargaining, sentencing, and the effects of incarceration. Students will be expected to give an oral presentation and write a paper on a specific topic in criminal law. Guest speakers and authors may address students during the semester. This course provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

The Public Defender Field Placement provides students an opportunity to represent indigent clients charged with criminal offenses under the supervision of a licensed attorney, here in the 8th Judicial Circuit. Students develop the necessary skills to represent clients, including conducting direct client counseling, discovery review and case analysis, case investigation, motion practice, negotiation and trial skills. Students also develop and utilize intercultural competencies needed for holistic lawyering. Students must apply and be accepted in order to register. CLI preferred. 6 credits are S/U and 2 credits are graded.

Prerequisites:

Criminal Procedure: Police and Police Practices (LAW 6111) or Criminal Procedure: Adversary System (LAW 6112)
Evidence (LAW 6330)
Trial Practice (LAW 6363) *Can be taken as a co-requisite

Enrollment by application prior to pre-registration. Internships will normally be in the Gainesville State Attorney's Office. Internships outside the Gainesville area may be arranged with prior approval of the professor. Course objectives and goals: To familiarize students with all aspects the art and craft of prosecution. To instill in students an understanding of the ethical requirements of prosecution. To equip students with the skills necessary for rendering satisfactory performance as entry level prosecutors. 6 credits are S/U and 2 credits are graded.

This seminar will explore the interplay between the existence of ever-more-complex-and-interrelated data and devices and the current legal framework for federal criminal investigations. It will cover the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (as amended), the Fourth Amendment, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Department of Justice policy. The seminar will involve in-depth statutory analysis as well as discussion of the practical and legal implications of conducting criminal investigations at the intersection of existing rules and emerging technologies. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

The course will examine select areas of the criminal justice process that have generated meaningful public and scholarly debate. Course topics will include, but are not limited to, the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, guilty pleas, and sentencing. Students can use this class to satisfy their Advanced Writing Requirement. Students will be required to write on a criminal justice topic that falls within the broad parameters of this course and to give an oral presentation

While the United States continues to house more prisoners per capita than any country in the world, there is also growing bi-partisan momentum around criminal justice reform. This course will highlight the roles and interests of key stakeholders in the criminal justice system — including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, correctional officers, private prison executives, as well as scholars and advocates for criminal defendants and the incarcerated — to assess prospects for and resistance to system-wide reform. We will also consider comparative international models, situating the U.S. criminal justice system in a global context. Readings will include case law, social science literature, and comparative law texts. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Substantive law of crimes, including principles of punishment, elements of typical crimes, responsibility and defenses.

Covers commencement of formal criminal proceedings; bail, the decision to prosecute, the grand jury, the preliminary hearing, venue, joinder and severance, and speedy trial. Trial concerns such as guilty pleas, discovery, jury trial, prejudicial publicity, professional ethics and double jeopardy are also considered. 

The course covers United States Supreme Court rulings on the Fourth Amendment, including arrests, searches, seizures, and investigative stops and frisks; the Fifth Amendment's Self-Incrimination Clause, including cases on Miranda v. Arizona and its progeny and the Sixth Amendment's Right to Counsel.

Welcome to Cybersecurity & Cyberlaw! In this course, we will study the legal, technical, economic, and social aspects of Internet regulation, with a particular focus on information security. We will use an interdisciplinary approach designed, in part, to train lawyers to think more like engineers (and vice versa). The course will cover the technical foundations of Internet-based communications, including networking principles and the systemic challenges of cybersecurity; the legal concepts deployed in Internet law and policy, with particular emphasis on the New Chicago School of regulatory modalities; the issue of Internet exceptionalism; and current controversies such as network neutrality, software security liability, and algorithmic / artificial intelligence governance. The class does not assume any prior exposure to Internet law or to the technologies that undergird it.

This course focuses on the common economic problems that drive deal structuring and deal contracting. Although deals vary in their details, they share common economic problems, such as issues of rent-seeking, moral hazard, and information asymmetry. This course introduces students to the economic tools necessary to evaluate alternative contractual regimes, including transaction costs, information economics, risk sharing and incentives, property rights, and finance. Then, it applies that knowledge to the evaluation of different real-world deals, with the particular deals selected to give students a range of subject matters in order to highlight a common set of problems and solutions that arises in multiple settings. This course may include the study of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, venture financing, movie financing, spin-offs, and securitizations, among others.

Prerequisites: Corporations(LAW 6063) Business Enterprises Survey(LAW 6068)

This is an introduction to debt finance. It provides an overview of debt finance transactions. The class is interactive, providing opportunities to practice preparing for and participating in a mock acquisition financing bid process.
Prerequisite: Corporations or Business Enterprises Survey

This course provides an overview of the retirement support systems that are available in the United States: Social Security covers all workers, while traditional pensions and employment-based savings programs receive tax subsidies from the federal government but cover only a fraction of workers. Deferred Compensation students learn the basics of all of these programs, which includes debunking some persistent myths about them, in particular regarding Social Security.

This is an introduction to taking and defending fact and expert depositions. It provides essential strategies for planning for, taking, and defending depositions. The class is highly interactive, providing opportunities to practice preparing for and conducting mock depositions. In-class exercises will be recorded on video and critiqued by the instructor and by other class members

The course will provide an introduction to Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) Rights by critically evaluating doctrinal concepts concerning the protection of ESC rights in the international, regional, and national systems of human rights protections. We will study the general structure of human rights law, critically examine the nature and substance of states’ legal obligations, including in the United Nations’ system, regional systems (European, Interamerican, African), and national systems to consider, critically, the varied approaches to protection of ESC rights. These human rights include the rights to food, housing, health, education, cultural identity, water, and more. The final list of specific topics will be crafted with student input. This seminar offers students an opportunity to satisfy their AWR.

Explores how the current information explosion is transforming the civil litigation and investigations. The course will examine developing case law and address the practical problems and issues which arise in the preservation, collection, searching, processing, and production of electronic data. The course will focus on utilizing electronically stored information to constructive comprehensive and compelling case stories. The course will introduce technologies, tools, and software currently utilized in this rapidly developing specialty area including various forms of artificial intelligence. Course topics will include the varieties and locations of electronically stored data (ESI); computer forensics, data recovery, and its application in the discovery and litigation process; data preservation obligations under the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; the duties and responsibilities of counsel under Rule 26(f); how to prepare for and handle the Rule 26(f) conference; utilizing ESI in pleadings preparations, motion practice, and defending and taking depositions; preparing and responding to requests for production; the preservation of attorney-client privilege in voluminous productions; the use of quick-peek and non-waiver provisions under Federal Rule of Evidence 502; sampling techniques; the role of experts and vendors in the e-discovery process; obtaining electronic data from 3rd parties; and ethical and disclosure obligations under the new Federal Rules; sanctions for spoliation of data and other e-discovery violations.

This course focuses on financial regulation in the United States and some of the emerging issues that are likely to dominate the field of financial regulation in the near future. Students will review and analyze recent governmental efforts to supervise and regulate climate-related financial risks, cryptoassets, and cybersecurity. Students will also examine central bank and state digital currencies as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its recent activities.

The goal of this course is to introduce the major federal statutes prohibiting workplace discrimination and to develop your ability to analyze employment decisions and workplace conduct under the legal framework created by Congress and the judiciary.

This course is an introduction to and survey of principal statutes and common-law doctrines governing the workplace and relationships between employers and employees. Typical topics covered may include the at-will doctrine, developing exceptions to the at-will doctrine, employment discrimination, conditions of employment, aspects of labor law, hiring, firing and other topics.

This introductory course lies at the crossroads of energy and environmental law. It covers legal and policy concepts important to understanding U.S. energy law, particularly electricity, and, to a lesser extent, transportation. It will expose students to important fundamentals of public utility law, cost of service, and restructured electricity markets.

This course will provide upper-level law students with an interest in environmental law, land use law, and local government law and graduate students in related fields with exposure to transactional environmental and land use professional practice, applied research, and public policy analysis under the supervision of the instructor/clinic director. Graduate students need instructor approval and referral from affiliate faculty.

This interactive speaker series provides students with opportunities to converse with leading environmental thinkers from across the country. Fall 2022’s theme is “Climate Change” and will feature presentations by a series of experts on various dimensions of law and policy related to climate change, including the agricultural, energy, and market implications, as well as explore potential technological and behavioral solutions. This course is graded S/U and is open to all law students, regardless of their involvement in the Environmental, Land Use, & Real Estate Law Program

The focus of this seminar is environmental justice, which is most often used generically to refer to the disparate impact of environmental decision-making on minorities, people of color, indigenous people, and low-income citizens. Such decisions include those relating to enforcement or lack of enforcement of environmental laws and to siting of power plants and industrial facilities that create and\or dispose of toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes. Grading will be based on one or more seminar papers (which can be used to satisfy the law school’s Advanced Writing Requirement) as well as class participation and a short mini-presentation on the subject of the seminar paper.

Introduction to modern environmental regulation and its foundations, covering common law precursors to environmental law and a survey of major regulatory issues and techniques, focusing on the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, with examples drawn from other statutes such as the Clean Air Act.

Prerequisites: Trusts & Estates(LAW 6430) Taxation Of Gratuitous Transfers(LAW 6620)

Using problems as the primary means of instruction, will explore theories and skills involved in estate planning process. Specific topics include: estate planning engagement; information gathering; estate analysis; identification of client objectives; development of remedial and conventional estate plans; and selection of fiduciaries. Students will complete an exercise in document preparation in a transaction context.

Explore the fundamentals of EU tax law to give an understanding of the tensions between the objectives of the EU and Member States fiscal sovereignty, knowledge of the process of harmonization of tax laws among the member states and of how individuals and businesses are affected in tax matters by the European Union. Focus will be on corporate taxation.

Registration priority given to second-year students. A study of the law governing the proof of issues of fact before a judicial tribunal. Topics covered may include judicial notice, presumptions, burden of proof, hearsay, relevancy, testimonial proof, demonstrative and scientific proof, documentary proof and privileged communications. Emphasis is placed on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

This course provides students with a detailed overview of the executive branch, both federal and state. Students learn the constitutional authority of the president of the United States, and of the governor of Florida, along with challenges to the limits of that authority. Issues explored include the full expanse of what is involved in executing the law, including the role of commander-in-chief, the decision to veto legislation, the duty to enforce the law, and the ability to appoint judges. The course deals with current constitutional issues involving the president or governor, historical crises in executive leadership, and the breadth of the administrative stale. Students read and discuss portions of historical documents, relevant litigation and current affairs involving executive power. Students deliberate current affairs involving the president and the governor. Further, in-class exercises simulate the executive process and allow students to apply skills.

The course will be structured to provide a broad base of information for students seeking opportunities to serve as lawyers in federal or state government, as well as those students generally interested in increasing their knowledge of the workings of the government.

Maximum of six credits allowed for any combination of externships. Educational field placements, commonly known as externships, give students the opportunity to gain practical experience, enhance working knowledge of the law and develop professional contacts in the field. Students work in selected agencies or organizations focused on a particular legal field.

This course examines the state's role in regulating family and other intimate and caregiving relationships. It is designed around two major areas of law: adult relationships and parent-child relationships. Topics include laws governing marriage, divorce, nontraditional families, domestic violence, reproduction, child custody, and child support. Class materials consist primarily of case law and statutes, but also include media accounts, legal scholarship, and sources from other academic disciplines.

This course examines the work of the federal courts and their unique and complex role in our constitutional system. It touches upon both the essential procedural and substantive features of federal practice. The course’s core focus is on the tension among three competing constitutional values: (1) the separation between the judiciary and the executive and the legislative branches of government; (2) the balance between federal and state power (especially the balance between federal and state court power); and (3) the protection and redressability of individual rights. The course will address one fundamental question in both the abstract and the particular: What is the proper role of federal courts in our constitutional system of divided government?

This course will study the evolution of the federal habeas corpus remedy, especially in the context of how federal courts review state-law convictions. The course’s focus will be on how the habeas remedy is utilized in the federal court system today, but it will also explore the Great Writ’s foundations in our constitutional system, as well as the modern application of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Our course will provide you an opportunity to observe how constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, civil procedure and even trial and appellate practice all bear upon the federal courts’ struggle to apply habeas corpus law to individual cases.

Substantial research and writing project on a federal tax subject; instruction in tax research techniques. Seminars are offered to satisfy this requirement.

Substantial research and writing project on a federal tax subject; instruction in tax research techniques. Seminars are offered to satisfy this requirement.
This seminar focuses on federal taxation of S corporations and their shareholders. Topics covered include eligibility, election mechanics, shareholder agreements, shareholder-level taxation of income, loss, and distributions, use of shareholder debt, employment taxes, qualified S subsidiaries, corporate-level taxation of built-in gain, termination of S status, and acquisitions and dispositions involving S corporations. The seminar will also examine the § 199A deduction for passthrough owners (including sole proprietors, partners and S shareholders) and the § 1411 tax on net investment income. A central theme is choice of entity, focusing on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of S corporations, C corporations, and partnerships. Paper topics may relate to S corporations or aspects of the taxation of partnerships, corporations, or hybrid entities (e.g., REITs). Paper topics are subject to Professor Burke’s approval.

Prerequisites: Trusts & Estates(LAW 6430)

Problems and the administration of decedents’ estates and of noncommercial trusts, probate procedure, powers of the fiduciary, compensation of fiduciaries and their attorneys.

Note: Students who have taken the 3 credit course in ACCOUNTING FOR LAWYERS may not take this course.

This course covers financial and accounting issues commonly faced by practicing lawyers. It will teach you the basics of finance, including the present value of annuities, sinking funds, and amortization, as well as interest rates. It will also cover accounting issues commonly faced by practicing lawyers, including the basics of accounting under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (and International Financial Reporting Standards), how to read financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows), and unaudited financial statements. Practical exercises cover the use of such statements in family law, torts (for lost income or corporate valuation), corporate law, trust law, or simply running a law practice or small business. You will also learn how to use a financial calculator, as well as how to deal with forensic accountants and expert witnesses on accounting matters.

Technology is redefining financial services—including the way actors make and settle payments, raise capital, extend loans, and memorialize increasingly complex relationships. At the same time, new innovations—from crowdfunding to robo-advising, high frequency trading, marketplace lending, mobile payments, and digital assets—are creating novel legal and regulatory issues. This course provides an overview of the key developments reshaping finance and the rules adopted to oversee them. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Prerequisites: Constitutional Law(LAW 5501)

Distinct from Religion and the Constitution, which focuses on religion, this course analyzes and criticizes philosophical and legal bases of important contemporary restrictions on freedom of expression. Connections with larger issues of tolerance and related principles of First Amendment law also pursued.

Coverage of Florida Administrative Procedure Act (FAPA), rule-making under the FAPA, decisions affecting substantial interests, enforcement of agency action, judicial review under the FAPA, non-FAPA judicial review, government in the sunshine and public records.

Florida Bar Topics is a skills-development course that focuses on improving analytical skills to approach Florida bar exam questions successfully. The course is designed to help you pass. Additional emphasis will be on enhancing memorization skills and learning how to assess your own understanding and work product. The course will include a substantive review of selected subjects routinely tested on the bar exam. I use problems and exercises in a bar exam format to familiarize you with techniques for analyzing, organizing, and writing essays. We will also cover some Florida Multiple choice topics as time allows.

Prerequisites: Civil Procedure(LAW 5301)

This is a practical course focusing on the tactical and strategic use procedural law governing Florida state civil litigation. The course explores in depth Florida procedural and substantive requirements regarding jurisdiction, venue, drafting pleadings, motions attacking the complainant, discovery practice including motion to compel, for protective orders and for sanctions, offers of judgment, punitive damages, multi-party litigation, the enhanced importance of electronically stored information in the litigation process, evidentiary and discovery privileges, injunctions and preliminary injunctions, class certification practice, motions for summary judgment and post-trial motions seeking relief from judgements, and seeking attorney’s fees and costs. The course’s emphasis is the utilization of Florida rules of civil procedure from both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s perspective to advance the client’s best interests and when and how to implement tactical procedural steps including exploration of the necessary strategic decision-making process.

Analysis of selected provisions of the Florida Constitution, with emphasis on recent decisions of the Florida Supreme Court; analysis of current proposals for constitutional change.

This course will familiarize students with the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure; give them a practical knowledge of how to use those rules to the advantage of their clients; and equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to litigate criminal cases in the state courts of Florida.

This compressed course is designed to provide law students with an understanding of the legal principles that encompass contemporary land use law in the state of Florida, with a particular focus on the real-world, practical application of these principles. This course will emphasize the unique combination of legal and political acumen needed to successfully advocate in the Court of Public Opinion: where the rules of evidence don’t apply, the “judges” are elected officials, and “opposing counsel” is often a group of local residents (and angry ones, at that).

Even before the global COVID-19 pandemic, legal regimes governing work in the United States struggled to keep up with a changing world. The increase in gig work chipped away at traditional employment concepts. Globalization and shifts in worker bargaining power confounded efforts to protect worker rights. Advances in technology allow for remote work but also greater worker surveillance, raising workplace discrimination and worker privacy issues. The global pandemic accelerated these trends and the urgency of addressing the legal issues they pose in the workplace.

This week-long, 1-credit course will prepare you to grapple with current legal issues at the edge of American laws governing work. You will be introduced to black letter law – particularly as pertains to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and tests governing worker classification as employees or independent contractors – but this alone is not the goal. Instead, the course will emphasize exposing future practitioners to important concepts and challenging them to apply these to current problems. There are no prerequisites.

Students in our Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic, directed by Professor Stacey Steinberg, provide holistic legal representation to children and partners with juvenile law attorneys to advocate for young clients in foster care.

Students do not need to be CLIs to participate in the Clinic. 2L and 3L students are welcome to apply.

The Gender Justice Clinic (GJC) serves low-income clients who face violence, discrimination or other oppression based on their actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Clients include those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, questioning, intersex, and gender non-conforming.

GJC also assists in state-wide name and gender marker change clinics to aid adults and guardians of minor children with these identity-confirming procedures.

Students do not need to be CLIs to participate in the Clinic. 2L and 3L students are welcome to apply.

This course will allow students to explore the legal structure of sports, media rights, NIL issues, brand protection and licensing concerns, sports betting, and gender inequality issues in sports. By the end of this course, students will be able to understand and appreciate the disparate legal concepts which are commonly associated with “sports law” and identify the areas of legal study and career pathways that could lead to a practice devoted to sport at all levels.

This course provides a broad survey of the fundamental legal issues surrounding the delivery of health care in the United States. Topics include: private and public health insurance systems; state and federal regulation of medical professionals and institutions; common law and statutory duties to treat; anti-discrimination law in health care settings; the structure of health care delivery; and health care fraud and abuse regulations. By the end of this course, students should be able to identify and analyze major legal issues in health care contexts, and understand the relationship between cost, quality, and access to health care. This course provides an introduction to the complex and wide-ranging field of health law. If you have a strong interest in a particular topic, consider taking some of the more specialized health law courses offered at UF Law.

This is a critical course for anyone interested in the major federal and state laws governing the modern health care industry, from hospitals to clinical laboratories, biobanks, and academic medical centers.

The law regarding higher education has become the subject of intense interest lately as legislatures attempt to prohibit the teaching of certain subjects, threaten to remove tenure protections, are redefining conflicts of interest, are imposing certain disciplinary requirements, undermining accreditation, and trying to influence research outcomes. This class will take a deep dive into the myriad topics facing in-house counsel at institutions of higher education, from first amendment to contract to employment law to intellectual property. Who owns the work product of professors and researchers and can students tape and disseminate their professors’ lectures? These are all questions facing universities all over the country. Students will pick a topic and do a deep dive into the law governing that area of higher education law. This course may satisfy the AWR, if needed.

This seminar will be a survey of the legal structure behind historical and archaeological resources protection in the United States. The first part of the seminar will involve lectures, readings, and discussions of federal preservation laws, including both specific federal laws (e.g. the National Historic Preservation Act and NEPA,) as well as federal programs in support of preservation (e.g. the National Register of Historic Places.) The second part of the seminar will focus on the state and local preservation structure, especially the designation and protection of individual landmarks and historic districts. A final section will consider some of the constitutional issues raised by historic preservation, including takings, due process, and first amendment issues. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

The Immigration Law Clinic handles both affirmative and defensive immigration cases, providing holistic representation to individuals navigating U.S. immigration laws. Students assist clients in applying for benefits like asylum, family-based visas, and naturalization, while also defending those facing removal proceedings in Immigration Court. Meeting twice a week for seminars, the clinic combines theoretical learning with practical training through guest speakers, workshops, and exercises. Clinic Students also work with a in house Social Worker to ensure that clients have access to mental health services and other advocacy services. Immigration Clinical Director Juan Caballero teaches the clinic. Clinic students earn 6 credits.

The class is intended to provide a foundation of the US immigration law and the intricacies of the immigration law practice. This course will consider the historical and legal foundations of U.S. immigration law as well as key constitutional and process issues. It will address a number of areas of immigration law including immigrant and non immigrant visa classifications, roles of various federal agencies, grounds of inadmissibility, criminal immigration provisions, detention and removal, refugee and asylum, and U.S. citizenship.

Incarceration is both a pervasive element of society and a hidden aspect of our criminal justice system. This course studies the conditions of confinement, the constitutional and statutory basis for challenging them, and the remedies, limited though they may be, that litigation offers. It also considers other avenues for reform.

Bilateral income tax conventions between countries to alleviate double taxation of income from international investments and activities and to provide for exchanges of tax information and consultation between tax authorities.

Designed to teach the fundamentals of federal income taxation in order to prepare students, as lawyers, to recognize and appreciate income tax consequences of transactions and events they encounter in general practice of law.

Cover the Federal Income Tax as it relates to Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts.

Students may satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement by designing and completing an independent research project under the supervision of a faculty member in an area of law within the faculty member’s expertise. The course is graded pass/fail. A maximum of four credits for this course and Independent Study.

Maximum credits allowed toward graduation are four. Open only to students who have completed three terms and who are in good academic standing. An independent research project under the supervision of a faculty member who has a special interest in the area.

This course provides an introduction and overview of Intellectual Property law. After discussing the policies underlying the protection of Intellectual Property rights, we will cover Trade Secret, Patent, Copyright, and Trademark law, and related doctrines such as the Right of Publicity. This course is appropriate for students who seek a general understanding of how to recognize and manage Intellectual Property issues that are likely to arise in many other areas of legal practice, such as business, family, and criminal/cyber law. It provides a foundation for advanced Intellectual Property courses, but may not be taken if you have already taken one of these advanced courses.

Legal problems involved with commercial transactions across borders, transfer of technology, and foreign investment. Explores international documentary sales, letters of credit, bills of lading, international intellectual property, foreign direct investment issues including risk analysis and the decision to invest, transfer pricing, currency controls, company withdrawal, investing in developing nations, nations in transition, and economically integrated areas such as the NAFTA and the EU, and resolution of international commercial and investment disputes.

Introduction to international protection of human rights, including theoretical and practical aspects of human rights law, focusing on international, regional and domestic law contexts. Particular attention is given to procedures that characterize human rights mechanisms for both prescribing and applying human rights precepts.

The mission of the in-house legal function and the role of the General Counsel have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. This course will explore that transformation and what it means to build, lead and optimize a Modern Effective In-House Legal Function. Students will gain an understanding of modern, technology enabled in-house legal leadership, including creating a vision and way of working, strategic business co-leadership, functional design, legal operations and management and benchmarking/best practice – all in an international business, legal and cultural context.

An introduction to international law as applied between nations and in United States courts.

The International Law Simulation - Treaties course will provide students with a hands-on familiarity with treaties, the primary international law instrument, in their core context: negotiation. The course will have a seminar setting in which the written work product of the students will satisfy the writing requirement. This term the class will negotiate a US-Cuba Investment Treaty presenting a case in which a U.S. multinational wishes to invest in a newly opening market, Cuba. Students will mock negotiate myriad treaty provisions that facilitate international commerce, such as trade, investment, labor, culture, education, human rights, transportation, Statute of Forces Agreement, and tax agreements. The course exposes the complexity of international relations and its reflection on the law and its interpretation in domestic and international courts and other dispute resolution fora. Students can satisfy the writing requirement by writing a paper on the topic (or one of the topics) that s/he negotiates, such as trade, investment, labor, culture, education, human rights, transportation, SOFA, and tax agreements.

This course examines legal issues related to the regulation of international trade under U.S. law and multilateral agreements such as the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

This course focuses on the ever-changing relationship between the law and the Internet. The course covers a broad range of topics, from past and current legal issues to laws aimed at the Internet and new media. We will discuss what constitutes cyberlaw, jurisdiction for Internet cases, First Amendment principles, content regulation, online torts (such as defamation), privacy and the Fourth Amendment, de-listing and the Right to be Forgotten/GDPR, as well as data security and computer misuse.

This week-long intensive introduction to the Prosecution Field Placement Clinic will prepare students to hit the ground running when they begin work at the State Attorney’s Office. Hands-on focus will include case preparation and strategy, making objections, and presentation of evidence. Understanding prosecutors' fundamental duty to seek justice, students will learn about alternatives to prosecution, including restorative justice, adverse childhood experiences, and the impact of race, gender and class on the quality of justice.

This course acquaints students with the defining attributes of the legal profession including a code of ethics and assumption of duties to clients, the justice system, and society. Focuses on the evolving nature of legal services, types of law practices, and demographics of the legal profession and the skills required for law practice.

This advanced level seminar is designed to teach students the fundamental issues and concepts of drafting effective agreements for the licensing and transfer of intellectual property ownership and rights. To enroll in this course students must have taken a basic intellectual property course and either patent law or trademark law.

Exploration of the law governing employer-union-employee relations in the private sector. Topics include employee organization, concerted activities, collective bargaining, and administration of agreements, including arbitration.

Through this course, students will gain a basic understanding of how law firms are operated and discuss the strategies they can use to advance their career. The course will provide students with the skills and insight necessary to navigate the early stages of their career and avoid having to learn these valuable lessons through trial and error.

Political law, and more specifically the study and practice of the authorities in the world of campaign finance and election administration, is certainly a niche field, and one that has received relatively little recent attention prior to the 2020 election. While many Americans go to the polls and vote for candidates without giving much thought to the path candidates navigate to get to that point, the process of declaring candidacy, campaigning for office, and winning (or losing!) an election is truly a legal minefield. This course will cover the legal issues that practitioners advising political candidates and committees face and will explore the relevant authorities in the space.

Research, writing, and editorial work for Florida Law Review. Limited to students whose scholastic average meets the requirements for law review work.

Debt is one of the most fraught concepts in law: empowering and binding lenders and borrowers into a relationship that is far more complex than most people realize. This seminar will dig into debt across a broad range of contexts throughout commercial and consumer law. No final exam. Instead, students will have the chance to develop their own thought in a series of short response papers or one longer paper that will meet the AWR requirement for law students. We will analyze and apply theories ranging from the economic analysis of law, critical legal theory, Islamic finance, the Jubilee tradition, American indigenous thought, and other approaches based on student interest. Cross-registrants from other UF Colleges are encouraged to join the discussion. For cross-registrants, enrollment is by instructor permission only and is capped at a small number of seats. Please send a cover letter describing your background and interest, along with your resume, transcript, and a writing sample, to Professor Hampson.

The purpose of the course is to expose law students to the lawyer discipline system before they begin their careers, with the hopes that they have a better understanding of the conduct that can land a lawyer in trouble so they can avoid issues once they enter the profession. This course will provide students with an overview of the Florida lawyer discipline system, including the purposes, participants, process (from investigation to final determination), sanctions, common violations, discipline case studies, and a high-level overview of fundamental ethics and trust accounting rules and practice tips for avoiding rule violations. The course also will involve review of various disciplinary cases for discussion in small group breakout sessions.

The required course must be taken in either the second or third year and be completed with a passing grade. The class focuses on principals and practice of drafting contracts and other enforceable documents; the interpretation of enforceable documents; and the reinforcement of professional writing skills. Sections may focus on general contract drafting skills, or focus on drafting for specific practice areas. Please note, the Prerequisite for this course is Legal Writing II.

This course introduces students to basic principles of researching statutory and case law at both federal and state levels. Students learn how to locate relevant statutes and case law using both electronic and print formats, including the use of indexes and secondary legal materials such as encyclopedias and treatises.

First half of a two-part course, both required for graduation. Includes emphasis on written legal analysis and preparation of predictive legal memoranda.

The primary objective of this course is to teach students how to construct a thorough analysis of a legal problem using common law principles and express it effectively in writing. Students analyze, interpret, and use statutes and case law to construct legal arguments in the style expected of attorneys practicing in the US. They write and revise several documents to practice these analytical and writing skills.

Prerequisites: Legal Writing(LAW 5792)

Legal Writing II: Persuasive Writing continues the first year legal writing curriculum by focusing on various forms of persuasive writing, including trial briefs, motions and appellate briefs. Students will also have an opportunity to prepare and deliver an oral argument.

Drawing from the fast-paced litigation over the most high-profile pandemic measures, this course explores what to do as a lawyer when government action imposes substantial burdens on life. Whether certain lawsuits are viable in an emergency context, and how best to prosecute or defend them, will be the central themes of each class. Course materials will include a variety of opinions and pleadings at various stages of legal and administrative proceedings in federal and state courts, to equip students with knowledge on how to achieve results in the most appropriate and expedited manner. This is a compressed course.

The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) provides representation to low-income taxpayers who have disputes with the IRS. Students in the LITC will directly represent clients in various types of controversy matters. Additionally, students will develop educational materials and presentations targeted at vulnerable populations within our community. Students will identify systemic issues in tax administration and propose solutions to those issues to help create a more equitable tax system for all. Through this work, students will learn essential lawyering skills, such as, client interviewing, file maintenance, persuasive drafting, and issue spotting.

Focuses on bodies of law regulating the gathering and dissemination of information by the media, including constitutional, statutory, and common law. Specific topics covered include defamation and privacy, liability for physical and economic harms caused by the media, copyright, subpoenas and searches, media access to information, and regulation of broadcasting. Special attention given to the problem of regulating new technologies and to adapting first amendment theory to deal with these.

This course prepares students for the role of the lawyer advocate in the mediation process. Throughout the semester we will explore the different phases of a professional mediation including pre-mediation meetings with the mediator, client preparation, bargaining and value claiming, impasse breaking techniques, and gaining durable commitment. This course includes a capstone exercise in which the students, in attorney client pairs, mediate with professional mediators. The course will include some lecture, analysis of videos of professional mediators and attorneys, class discussion, and role play and debrief. Students are strongly encouraged to take Negotiation prior to enrolling in Mediation Advocacy. Those who have not taken Negotiation will be expected to do some self-directed study in negotiation theory

Participation in the delivery of actual mediation services under supervision combined with instruction in mediation theory and skills, including short role-plays, longer simulated sessions, and observations of actual mediations. Students participate as co-mediators, in addition to observing actual court mediations.Upon successful completion of the Clinic, students are eligible to apply to become Certified Florida Supreme Court County Mediators.

The implications of Florida’s marijuana laws and regulations, as well as the federal regulation and scheduling of marijuana, have widespread impacts on numerous legal practice areas. Practitioners in real estate, bankruptcy, litigation, employment, criminal, medical malpractice, intellectual property, land use, zoning, development, corporate, business, taxation and other areas must understand how state and federal marijuana regulations impact their clients. Despite the interesting subject matter that marijuana law provides, the primary goal of the course is to develop practical lawyering skills and an understanding of how marijuana regulations impact various practice areas. Additionally, the course will explore the ethicalconsiderations for an attorney advising a client engaged in a marijuana-related business.

This course considers the many ways that our society manages pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Therapeutic products confront a distinctive regulatory regime, which in turn poses a variety of questions related to administrative procedure, constitutional law, and torts, among other doctrinal subjects.

This course explores the law’s treatment of individuals with mental disorders. The course will cover governmental efforts to deprive those with mental disorders of liberty and property through the criminal and civil systems, as well as certain entitlements and protection against discrimination.

Prerequisites: Corporations(LAW 6063)

As a class in advanced transactional corporate governance, this class will provide extra details on vertical board takeover defense issues (Unocal doctrine), before proceeding to address board sale issues (Revlon and Time doctrines). The course will then consider horizontal duties issues, including a deep look at the Weinberger doctrine, and avenues for bypassing it. Prerequisite: Corporations (prior or concurrent, or if not taken with approval of instructor).

This course explores the ways that mindfulness may enrich one’s skill set in relationship to the many stimulating and challenging aspects of legal practice. Over the course of the week, students will acquire a foundation level understanding of mindfulness practice, develop foundational tools to integrate mindfulness into their professional and personal lives, and appreciate the role of mindful awareness in the deliberative and creative process of decision-making. Review of neuroscience research findings offer deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms of decision-making and behavior.

This is a substantive and skills-development asynchronous course that provides students with concentrated review of legal subjects that are tested on the MBE. Students will gain substantive knowledge on all seven subjects of the MBE through course lecture and application of the knowledge to the MBE format. Students will be familiar with the techniques and strategies for answering multiple-choice questions of the bar exam. Throughout the course students will gain a better understanding of legal analysis, test taking strategies, and stress management. This course is not a substitute for any commercial bar preparation course.

This course is designed to give students an overview of the process which governs the screening of foreign investment based on national security considerations. We will study the origin and function of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. (CFIUS) as well as the recent law which updates the CFIUS process, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA). Students will learn the composition and function of CFIUS. We will highlight cases which have been blocked by CFIUS, including ones which strained U.S. diplomatic relations with other nations. Students will be asked to conduct their own analysis in balancing national security against free and open investment. We will review the recent executive order which creates a “reverse” CFIUS and requires screening of outbound investment into sensitive technology with a focus on China as well as the recent Treasury Department report to Congress on CFIUS cases. There will be a focus on the possibility that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics could create new threats to national security.

This course surveys the framework of domestic laws—constitutional, statutory, and regulatory—and international laws that authorizes and constrains the U.S. government’s pursuit of national security policies, with an emphasis on developments in this area since September 11, 2001. This broad survey course in national security law analyzes the balance between liberty and security, examining both substantive questions (how and where to strike the balance?) and institutional questions (what are the roles and powers of the president, Congress, and courts in striking that balance?). National security contexts explored include (1) the use of force abroad (including targeted killing), (2) domestic security, (3) secrecy, and (4) investigation, detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected perpetrators of terrorism and atrocity crimes.

Introduction to the management and protection of natural resources, including water, wetlands, and wildlife. Topics may include the development of green energy policy; the use of conservation easements to protect sensitive private lands; the public trust doctrine; and the protection of rivers, lakes, and springs.

Using simulations and role plays, this course explores negotiation skills lawyers employ in both transactional and dispute resolution contexts.

This course addresses the public and private law governing use of the coastal zone and its resources. We cover the major regulations governing coastal and ocean resource use, as well as how U.S. law intersects with international law in the governance of transboundary resources and management of the high seas.

Prerequisites: Income Taxation(LAW 6600)

A general practitioner is likely to encounter many business enterprises (including law firms) engaging in business in the form of a partnership. This course addresses taxation of partnerships and tax consequences of partnership formation or termination, distributions of money or property to partners, and consequences of sale or exchange of a partnership interest or of the death of a partner.

The primary objective of the course is to introduce students to federal taxation of partners and partnerships (including limited liability companies). It covers partnership formation, including contributions of property and admission of service partners, allocation of income and loss, tax accounting, and sharing of recourse and nonrecourse liabilities. Advanced topics include transactions between partners and partnerships, sales of partnership interests, distributions of property, optional and mandatory basis adjustments, planning for retirement or death of a partner, and partnership terminations and mergers. The emphasis is on careful analysis of Code provisions, Treasury Regulations, other administrative materials and important judicial decisions in relation to assigned problems.

This course covers the legal protections for inventions available under the U.S. Patent Act. It follows the life cycle of an innovation, beginning with the requirements and procedures for patenting it; next, the rights a patent confers and the conduct that infringes them; then, enforcement through litigation, including defenses and remedies; and finally, international considerations for inventors. This class does not assume any prior exposure to intellectual property or to the technologies that draw upon it.

This course teaches skills related to patent application preparation and prosecution for various technologies. Students will learn how to interview inventors, conduct a patentability search, render a patentability opinion, draft patent claims, draft a patent specification, electronically file a patent application, and respond to an office action. International patent protection and issues related to patent infringement will also be addressed. Most classes will include a lecture portion and a workshop portion. Patent bar eligibility is a prerequisite for the course and so is Patent Law.

This compressed course provides students with an understanding of biotechnology as an industry and discusses the differences between US and international biotech patent law. It also analyzes issues related to two areas of patenting and biotech: monoclonal antibodies and CRISPR. Although helpful, students need not to have taken patent law to enroll in this course. The instructor will provide an overview of the essential components of patent law that pertain to this course on the first day.

The focus on this seminar is on the practical, ethical, empirical, and theoretical approaches to personal injury practice with the goal of equipping students to join existing firms or create their own personal injury businesses.

This seminar offers an introduction to the substantive law and procedure of public benefit programs in the United States. The seminar will identify persistent controversies in poverty law, including means-test design, funding structure, federalism issues, and behavioral rules, as well as how poverty law interacts with other areas of law such as immigration law and disability law. Throughout, we will examine to what extent the agencies that administer these public benefits are vulnerable to federal litigation and what remedies may result from such litigation.

Prerequisites: Evidence(LAW 6330)

This course is designed for 3Ls who are planning to become civil litigators after graduation. More than 95% of civil cases settle before trial, so most of your legal practice will be “pre-trial” practice. The course therefore offers in-depth study and training in civil litigation up until trial, with the aim of making you practice-ready by the end of semester. We will cover fact and theme development, pleadings, the discovery process—including written requests and responses, motion practice, and depositions—settlement negotiation, and strategic decision-making at each step of the process. You will be assigned to four-person “law firms” and will litigate against an opposing firm in the other section, using a simplified but realistic case file. The sections will sometimes meet together for lecture classes, and you will sometimes receive feedback from the other section’s professor as well as your own. The assignments and workload are the same regardless of which section you join. Please note that although this course is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, the workload is no less than in any graded course, including near-weekly written assignments.

Privacy protection is emerging as one of the most critical legal and practical issues of the Information Age. This course covers the development and scope of the increasingly complex law of privacy, from its origins in common law to the convoluted web of privacy regulations in use today. Substantive issues covered are expected to include the philosophical bases of privacy protection; internet and consumer privacy; the intersection of privacy and the First Amendment; privacy and law enforcement; protection of health information; and privacy regulation and enforcement regimes, including international approaches.

The primary objective of this compressed course is to provide students with a workable knowledge of the fundamental concepts of probate and estate administration, and consideration of tax-related consequences in administering estates. Topics include discussion of selected provisions of the Florida Probate Code (Chapter 733) and the Florida Probate Rules governing the administration of estates and probate procedure. Additionally, students will gain on-hands experience in the preparation of probate documents, e-filing portal procedures, the role and duties of personal representative, estate management, creditor claims, special provisions for distributions, and closing procedures. Finally, this compressed course will conclude with a discussion of the fiduciary responsibility requirements for resolving the final tax of a decedent’s estate with an emphasis on the Estate’s Income Tax Form 1041, Estate and or Gift Tax Returns (Forms 706 or 709).

This course will address a series of topics common to civil and criminal tax fraud matters. Subjects covered will include analysis of relevant statutory concepts and related case-law developments, methodologies of investigation, prosecution, and defense, as well as issues surrounding the resolution of certain types of cases. Emphasis will be on practical and high-level application of subject matter to all aspects of case handling.

Examines role of the individual lawyer and legal profession in contemporary society. Topics include the role of the lawyer as advocate, counselor, and officer of the court; the ethical and moral obligations lawyers owe their clients, other lawyers, courts, and society as derived from general ethical and moral principles and as embodied in model rules of professional conduct and the Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers; and problems encountered in representing particular categories of clients, including individuals, corporations, criminal defendants, and indigents, among others.

The acquisition and possession of real and personal property; estates in land; introduction to future interests; landlord and tenant; survey of modern land transactions and methods of title assurance; easements; and licenses, covenants, and rights incident to land ownership.

Addresses the powers and duties of government to assure the conditions for healthy populations and examines tensions between this goal and civil liberties, such as infectious disease surveillance vs. privacy, vaccine requirements vs. conscientious objection, forced treatment/quarantine vs. autonomous medical decisionmaking, and advertising restrictions vs. free expression.

This course will provide an examination of the real estate development process and legal relationships involved in the process. The course will acquaint the students with such areas as site selection and entity choice, acquisition and disposition transactions, the regulatory process (state and federal), and issues arising during the construction period. This course will be an interactive case study-based course that focuses on multi-family projects currently in development, blending real-life real estate case studies with lessons in personal/professional leadership and law. The course will also touch on the fundamentals of real estate investment and finance.

This course will prepare students interested in both transactional and litigation matters to explore the consequences of drafting through the lens of real estate transactions and real property relationships. These relationships will include landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers, agents, title companies, insurance companies, creditors and debtors in bankruptcy, and more. A real estate litigator must understand the tools that are available to enforce, create, modify, or terminate the rights and responsibilities that exist in real property relationships.

Study of real property, including various definitions and the methods of conveyance. Included will be a detailed study of the contracts commonly used in the purchase and sale of real property, legal descriptions used to describe real property, issues and problems common with the water boundaries in Florida, the recording statutes and the legal issues involving priority and the attorney-client relationships and the Rules regulating lawyers in the practice of real estate law.

This seminar is an introductory exploration of regulation. In its broadest sense, government regulation is to further protection of the public heath, safety and welfare. Focusing on Florida regulated businesses and professions, we’ll cover topics such as regulatory theory, legislative intent and statutory construction, intended and unintended consequences, consumer protection and “level playing fields”, economic and political considerations, current issues, etc. Coursework will consist of assigned readings and exercises, class discussion, engagement with guest speakers and other experts, and a case-study Advanced Writing Requirement paper.

The course has two main parts. The first part is broadly introductory and considers such basic issues as:

What is religion? Defining religion. Is there a distinctly “legal” definition of religion? Is the “truth” of a religious doctrine ever legally at issue? (United States v. Ballard). Relationship to defamation law. The role of sincerity (Ballard). Should social change affect the interpretation of the Religion Clauses?

Why protect religion? Religion vs. science. The Bible vs. Darwin. Belief vs. knowledge (Ballard). Relationship to philosophies of free expression. Belief vs. conduct (Reynolds v. United States). The police powers of the states. Standards of review (Carolene Products). Readings in philosophy, social psychology, sociology of knowledge, and the history of religious thought will be considered.

Origins and theory of the constitutional Religion Clauses. Historical sources and documents. Jefferson’s “wall of separation” between church and state (McCollum v. Board of Education). The Garden and the Wilderness [the church and the world] (Roger Williams, Mark DeWolfe Howe). Interplay between the two Religion Clauses.

Second part. In this part the main doctrines and caselaw of the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause will be studied. Two or more group presentations will be designed and planned around the two Religion Clauses and possibly additional topics (for example, the role of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in litigating religion law), depending on student interest.

Debt is pervasive in the American economy. Security interests, mortgages, and liens are the legal devices by which the parties to loans, deals, and other transactions establish the power relationship among them. The transactions explored range from routine consumer purchases to complex business transactions. Topics include the attachment, perfection, and priority of security interests; filing systems; foreclosure; repossession; replevin; judicial sales; default; acceleration; reinstatement and cure; the modification of debt in bankruptcy; and statutory liens. The course focuses on developing practical legal skills in problem solving, statutory interpretation, and the formulation of legal strategy.

In this course you will study federal statutes, case law, and regulations, which are designed to protect investors from fraud. The course focuses on SEC investigations, examination process, and the antifraud laws governing public and private actors that issue, trade, provide advice about and regulate investments in securities. These actors include: public companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers, regulators, gatekeepers, investors and others.

Prerequisites: Corporations(LAW 6063)

Examination of controls and exemptions relating to the sale and distribution of securities by corporations, underwriters and others, including scope of the securities laws, registration provisions, distribution and resale of restricted securities, express and implied civil liabilities, secondary distributions and tender offers. Issues will be analyzed in context of amended 1933/1934 federal statutes, and state Blue Sky laws. Prerequisite: Corporations (prior or concurrent, or if not taken with approval of instructor).

This course explores how lawyers advance social justice. It examines the meaning of social justice, structural factors that contribute to inequities in the legal system, funding and delivery of legal assistance programs for low-income and underrepresented individuals, and substantive legal arenas in which social justice can be pursued.

You will study the historic and emerging legal issues that have shaped our use of solar energy as an electric generation resource in the United States. It is designed to provide an overview of key topics in solar energy law so that students can develop a foundational understanding of the solar energy industry, how it is financed and developed, as well as analyze some key principles and challenges for solar energy practitioners.

This compressed course will provide an overview of core topics in the study of space law from both domestic and international law perspectives. Students will gain an understanding of legal theories underlying space law and their application in a growing commercial space market. Topics will include jurisdiction, liability, and insurance of space objects and astronauts; state regulation of commercial space activities (e.g. satellites, GPS); environmental space law and space resource utilization; and the law of armed conflict in outer space.

This compressed course will focus on the intersection of sports and law, with topics such as agency, amateurism, intellectual property and contract drafting/disputes under examination. The goal is to provide students with an understanding of how Sports Law is both a combination of other areas of law applied to the business of sports and also its own unique area of the law with precedent formed outside of courts of law.

This course explores the various intersecting bodies of public law that affect the structure, authority, operation, financing, and liabilities of American local governments. Topics include the vertical distribution of power under federal and state constitutions, theories of allocating government power, local government financing arrangements and limitations, civil rights enforcement mechanisms, and the overall relevance and significance of local governments to American democracy and constitutionalism

The goal of the course is to introduce the panoply of taxes and fees imposed by state and local governments, with particular emphasis on the sales/use tax and the corporate income tax, and the federal and state constitutional provisions which must be considered. Topics included are: nature and purpose of the state taxation; comparison of property and excise taxes; uniformity of taxation; assessment and collection procedures; remedies available to taxpayers.

This course focuses especially on statutory interpretation by courts, but also covers the process of statutory enactment by legislatures and statutory implementation and enforcement by executive branches. The course materials include statutes, appellate decisions, and commentary from the relevant legal and political science literature.

*May not enroll if have already taken Legislation

This one credit course will help students become familiar with common problems with case management in Florida courts and identify solutions to those problems.

This course will focus on criminal procedure and criminal law cases that are currently on the docket of the Supreme Court. Each week, the class will read a substantial amount of materials in preparation for one case, including its lower court opinion, the briefs from each party, two sets of amicus briefs, and a Supreme Court opinion drafted by a member of the class.

Students will also be expected to read the most significant Supreme Court precedents involving each case. Prior to each class session, each student will be responsible for writing a 5 page memo critiquing the readings of the week. Students will also be responsible for drafting one 20 page Supreme Court opinion to be distributed to and discussed by the class. Criminal Procedure is not a prerequisite for this course. This does NOT satisfy the AWR.

The Supreme Court is unique among federal courts in that it gets to choose the cases—indeed the questions—it will take. This seminar will explore the procedures that govern and the effects that follow from the Court’s agenda setting power. Readings will include materials from law, political science, and economics. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

In this seminar the current docket of the U.S. Supreme Court is our topic. Each student selects a current U.S. Supreme Court case to concentrate on. The cases selected are discussed by the whole class, and teams of two students prepare for oral arguments on the selected cases at the end of the term. Requirements also include a seminar paper having something to do with the case selected by the student; this paper will satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Study of exemption from federal income tax accorded to a variety of public and private organizations, and tax treatment of contributions to such organizations; public policies underlying exemption from tax and deductibility of contributions.

This course covers the U.S. taxation of financial instruments. The first part of the course is about debt instruments, beginning with an examination of interest and the time value of money and continuing with the tax consequences of issuing or holding a debt instrument that is issued or purchased at a price differing from the instrument’s face value. Subsequent topics include the tax treatment of options, futures, forwards, swaps and other "derivatives.”

This course approaches the study of tax policy from an interdisciplinary perspective: we study the economics and moral rationales for tax policy – what makes good tax policy, and why? We also study the politics of tax, or political economy. We bring the more theoretical discussions of ideal tax policies into the real world by considering what makes tax reform possible, and where and why it deviates from the ideal. We also consider the more practical aspects of writing good tax policy, that is, tax policy from the administrators’ perspective. Finally, we look at why getting the law right is so important as a technical matter. The course covers issues relevant to both domestic and international tax policy.

Prerequisites: Income Taxation(LAW 6600)

This course introduces students to the fundamental principles governing the taxation of business entities, including corporations, S corporations, partnerships and LLCs. It provides an overview of the different business entities and compares the tax rules that apply to (1) formation of the business, (2) ongoing operation of the business, and (3) distributions of profits to owners and other stakeholders. The emphasis is on careful analysis of Code provisions, Treasury Regulations, other administrative materials and important judicial decisions. Prerequisite: Income Taxation (Law 6000) (or concurrently).

In addition to the income tax, taxes are imposed upon the transfer of money or other property by gift, at death, and by certain “generation skipping transfers.” This course explores each of these categories of taxes on gratuitous transfers of wealth, the interrelationships with each other, and their role in estate planning.

Highly Recommended Precursors: Trusts and Estates or Income Taxation. Students should have taken or currently be taking at least one but not necessarily both of these courses.

There are areas on Earth and beyond its atmosphere that are not subject to national appropriation. These include, but are not limited to, outer space, Antarctica, and the High Seas. Although these extra-national areas fall outside the territorial sovereignty of any state, they have been sites of various scientific and commercial activities. This seminar will examine how income generated in these areas is regulated under federal and state tax law. We will review relevant case law, as well as theoretical issues related to residence- and source-based taxation. The seminar will also explore the rationale behind and functioning of the special rules for determining source under the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, we will assess the experiences of foreign countries and examine the applicability of bilateral tax treaties to income sourced from extra-national areas.

Tax problems of individual taxpayers; problems incident to the sale, exchange and other disposition of property, including recognition and characterization concepts.

The course will cover the day to day challenges faced by attorneys general and their staffs in delivering high quality legal advice that will guide state and local governments in a constitutional and ethical manner. The course also will cover the relationship of attorneys general with the federal and state government, the private bar and a myriad of advocacy organizations. It will focus on some of the most controversial of legal issues - challenges to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act; climate litigation; opioid litigation; criminal justice reform; gun rights/control; and cannabis laws and driving under the influence of cannabis to name a few. In addition, it will examine Florida’s unique Cabinet System where the attorney general shares powers with the governor and two other statewide elected officials with regard to a number of state agencies and boards.

Students will read Supreme Court cases, law review articles and book chapters on the Self-incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment. There will be weekly discussions on a different Fifth Amendment topic or issue. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement.

To learn the fundamentals of timing issues in federal income taxation in order to help prepare students, as tax lawyers, to recognize, appreciate and advise on the tax consequences of timing aspects of transactions and events encountered in tax practice. The course has three main parts: Accounting Methods, Time Value of Money and Error Correction.

This seminar will examine specific topics regarding the Constitution of Florida and will particularly examine them with a historical perspective. The subject matter may range broadly, from researching particular areas of Florida constitutional law to examining the legal and societal conditions shaping the creation of our current state constitution. Guest speakers and authors may address the students in this seminar. This seminar provides an opportunity to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement. Students enrolled in this seminar are not prohibited from enrolling in the Florida Constitutional Law course concurrently.

The central question in Torts is how society should respond to the problem of high dollar typically accidental physical harm, when injury is unfortunate, but unintended. Our course will focus mostly on the problem of unintentional harm, as applied to bodily and emotional harms. Theories covered will include negligence, strict liability, products liability and intentional torts as well as all their affirmative defenses. As there are seldom clear answers with legal questions spanning so many perspectives, and amorphous factual inquiries (including the role of the judge and jury, circumstantial evidence and fundamental problems), Torts trains students to answer timeless amorphous questions, thereby developing keen policy and argumentation skills, applicable to a wide variety of legal areas.

Consumers must constantly evaluate and differentiate between brands, while marketplace competitors must be vigilant about their rights and liabilities in using a mark. This course on Trademark Law discusses considerations and requirements for use, registration, enforcement and defenses, with a focus on Constitutional bases and tensions; interpretation of statutory language; and application to common law.

This course will focus on the real estate transaction process as it relates to land conservation. Students will gain an understanding of real estate, real estate finance, and real estate taxation through the lens of land conservation. The course will include skills exercises, including interviewing, drafting, negotiation, and counseling. The course also includes a field trip to a property encumbered with a conservation easement, where students will do baseline monitoring documentation.

This LL.M. course provides a practical, historical, and theoretical understanding of international transfer pricing, with exposure to related areas of taxation. It focus on international transactions between related entities in connection with tax requirement that such transactions be priced as if between unrelated persons.

This course allows students to test and hone their theoretical understanding of various criminal justice and correctional issues. Based on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, this course brings together students from UF Law and incarcerated people at the Florida Department of Corrections to study the criminal justice system. Classes are held inside a prison and are focused on creating a vibrant learning community of incarcerated people (inside students) and those studying law (outside students). Topics include the causes of crime, the rationale for and critiques of the criminal justice system, prison education and re-entry, and alternatives to prosecution such as restorative justice. Through readings and discussion, students integrate their conceptual knowledge with lived experiences. Inside-Out emphasizes collaboration and dialogue, inviting participants to take leadership in addressing crime, justice, and other issues of social concern.

This course examines the origins, operations, and outcomes of “transitional justice”, which refers to both the process and objectives of societies addressing atrocity crimes and other serious human rights violations.

Prerequisites: Evidence(LAW 6330)

Registration priority will be given to third-year students. A study of the trial process, including law relating to trials, trial tactics, and trial techniques. The first half consists of classroom work and a weekly three-hour laboratory, involving role-playing and critical evaluation. The second half consists of simulated trials and critical evaluation.

Prerequisites: Property(LAW 5400)

Topics covered include intestate succession; family protection; execution and revocation of wills; ademption and lapse; gifts; and creation, revocation, modification and termination of trusts.

This course will explore the origins and early interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Readings will focus on English constitutionalism, early state constitutions, the Articles of Confederation, the framing and ratification processes, and Supreme Court opinions from the beginning of the Court to Reconstruction.

The course will explore how the turbulent decades between the 1870s and 1960s witnessed significant changes in society and politics that had an impact on, and were directly affected by, the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The course will explore the give-and-take between the Court and the American people.

Tax definition of resident; distinction between domestic and foreign entities; taxation of business income and nonbusiness income of foreign persons; taxation of income of trades or business carried on by foreign persons in the U.S.; special rules on the U.S. real property interests; and branch interest taxes.

Prerequisites: U.S. International Tax I(LAW 7614)

The foreign tax credit; special rules on controlled foreign corporations; foreign currencies; and cross-border transfers in nonrecognition transactions.

Prerequisites: U.S. International Tax I(LAW 7614) Corporate Taxation I(LAW 7611)

This is an advanced course in international taxation, and concentrates on the U.S. taxation of U.S. persons and businesses earning income outside of the United States.

In this appellate advocacy clinic in a federal administrative law setting, supervised students assist in representing veterans in claims before the VA regional office, appeals before the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and discharge upgrade petitions before the military branches’ boards of correction of military records and review boards. In these cases, students: (1) interview clients and witnesses, (2) research federal statutes, regulations, and cases, (3) review military service records, VA decisional documents, treatment records, and other lay and medical evidence, (4) draft motions, memoranda, and briefs, and (5) work with medical experts, clients, and witnesses to develop evidence. In cases before the Veterans Court, students negotiate settlements with opposing counsel from VA. Before the Board, students may represent clients in hearings. Students also research and draft amicus briefs before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and SCOTUS. Moreover, students work to improve the system by drafting petitions for VA rulemaking and comments on proposed VA rules. Also, students prepare and deliver know your rights presentations to veterans and future military officers and draft research papers to assist military lawyers in providing legal assistance to military personnel.

This is a classroom-based experiential learning course designed for students interested in a career in workplace law. Students will have the opportunity to integrate substantive workplace law concepts while gaining practical skills training and exposure to issues of professionalism in the field. Simulated practice problems will focus on transactional & pre-litigation contexts, such as negotiation of employee hire and exit and internal planning and policy development. Students will prepare a variety of written documents, including letters to clients and opposing counsel, management policies, term sheets, and employment contracts. (Pre-requisite: prior or co-enrollment one foundational workplace law course, e.g., employment law, employment discrimination or labor law, or by instructor permission.)

Clients pay lawyers to write. Lawyers write letters to inform clients, emails to communicate with opposing counsel, pleadings to sue, and contracts to secure transactions. In any lawyer’s workday, there’s one guarantee: the lawyer must write. And whether a lawsuit ensues, most disputes resolve on paper. But beyond a couple of writing courses in law school, few lawyers focus on their writing. Compounding the problem caused by this neglect are bad habits developed from viewing unedited text messages and social media posts. In this course, you’ll hear from prominent jurists and lawyers on the importance of legal writing and will learn from them and the instructor tools necessary to hone a fundamental skill for effective lawyering no matter the specialty.

The primary goal of this course is to educate law students about the practices which lead to wrongful convictions and to engage students directly in the review of actual innocence claims. Students will identify common elements in wrongful conviction cases including mistaken eyewitness identification, false confessions, misuse of informants, flawed forensic evidence, mistakes and misconduct by law enforcement officials, and poor defense representation, among others.