Course Descriptions

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Advanced Legal Writing (LWGC505)

Instructor(s): Staff

1 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential OR Writing
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMG), Criminal Law (MSLS)

Advanced Legal Writing is a one-unit course specifically designed to help students strengthen their fundamental legal writing skills. The class will help students master the skills needed to be a good legal writer, including: (1) Selecting active and powerful word choices; (2) Constructing paragraphs; (3) Using proper grammar and punctuation; (4) Creating a strong micro and macro legal structure; (5) Developing thesis and conclusion sentences; (6) Issue spotting; (7) Extracting, formulating, and synthesizing rules of law; (8) Crafting explicit factual comparisons; and (9) Revising, editing, and perfecting their work product. The class requires no outside research.

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Advocacy Competition Teams (LWAC500)

Instructor(s): Linda Lane

1 credit(s), P/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential

The Advocacy Competition Teams represent a variety of competitive advocacy experiences in which students learn techniques for effective and persuasive advocacy as they prepare to compete in tournaments against teams within our own law school and from other law schools.  Only students selected for membership in one of the Advocacy Competition Teams may register.  

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Agency Externship (LWVL596)

Instructor(s): Kimberly Gosling, Staff

1-6 credit(s), P/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Children's Rights (JD), Civil Litigation (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Employment and Labor Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Health Law (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMUS), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

The Agency Externship program gives students the opportunity to gain academic credit for work in an approved government agency or non-profit organization  during the fall, spring, or summer semesters. (Note: this program applies only to government and nonprofit law office work; students who wish to receive academic credit for work at a private law firm should apply for the Law Firm Externship program.) All placements are subject to approval by the professor, and students must receive approval before enrolling in the course. Students may earn 1-6 units of credit for work performed between the start of classes and the last day of final exams; work performed outside this time period does not count towards academic credit requirements. 

Students who previously enrolled in Agency Externship, Agency Externship I, or Agency Externship II may enroll in Agency Externship. Academic requirements include: mandatory orientation, time logs, reflection papers, and a satisfactory evaluation by the on-site supervisor. Academic requirements may be changed at the discretion of the professor. The externship is graded on a pass/fail basis. 

If you have been offered and have accepted a qualifying position, agree to meet the course obligations, and want to register for the course, fill out the Field Placement Form here. After you submit the form, the Law Careers office will review it and send you an email with directions on how to enroll. If you have any questions, read the FAQs available at the link to the form. If the FAQs do not answer your questions, contact the Law Careers office at lawcareers@sandiego.edu. 

Note:

There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the JD concentrations web pages for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your work in this externship qualifies for the concentration

Additional Information: Handbook

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Alternative Dispute Resolution (LWLP517)

Instructor(s): Scott Metzger

2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Civil Litigation (JD), Employment and Labor Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Health Law (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMUS), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS), Environmental and Energy Law (MSLS)

Alternative Dispute Resolution: This course will offer students an opportunity to learn practice and procedure with respect to two increasingly prevalent alternative dispute resolution methods, arbitration and mediation. The majority of the course will focus on Federal and California state arbitration practice and procedure, including drafting arbitration agreements, enforcing them, arbitrators selection and ethics, arbitration practice itself, and enforcing and challenging arbitration awards. We will also cover mediation practice, including mediation methods, privileges and settlement enforcement procedures. The class will be graded on a HPLF scale. Grading will be based on class participation and no more than two written assignments.

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Antitrust (LWBC503)

Instructor(s): David McGowan

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), Criminal Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (MSLS)

Antitrust law governs the way companies compete with each other. It aims to promote competition by prohibiting anticompetitive conduct. Antitrust is a foundational course for students interested in business law. This course studies the primary federal laws, the Sherman Act and Clayton Act, and teaches principles relevant to state antitrust law as well. The course covers economic concepts but is not a class in economics as such. This class will have a take-home final exam administered on TWEN.

Note: There are limitations on Intellectual Property (JD) concentration eligibility. Please check the Intellectual Property Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: Intellectual Property Concentration (JD)

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Appellate Clinic I (LWVL501)

Instructor(s): Michael Devitt, David Schlesinger

2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD)
Prerequisite(s): Civil Procedure, Evidence or concurrent enrollment, Professional Responsibility or concurrently, Crim Pro I or concurrent enrollment

The Appellate Clinic is a semester-long clinic opportunity in which teams of students will enjoy the hands-on experience of litigating from start to finish an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. During the fall semester, students will write an opening brief. Students who choose to continue take appellate clinic II in the spring semester students will write a reply brief and participate in oral argument. Additional periodic classroom sessions held throughout the academic year will focus upon appellate procedure and persuasive written and oral advocacy. From time to time, class sessions will feature guest speakers such as judges and local practicing attorneys. The Appellate Clinic is open only to third and fourth year law students; and students must have completed or take concurrently with the Appellate Clinic the following courses: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Criminal Procedure.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Civil Litigation Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: Civil Litigation Concentration

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Appellate Clinic II (LWVL509)

Instructor(s): Michael Devitt, David Schlesinger

2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Civil Litigation (JD)
Prerequisite(s): Civil Procedure, Evidence or concurrent enrollment, Professional Responsibility or concurrently, Crim Pro I or concurrent enrollment

The Appellate Clinic is a semester-long clinic opportunity in which teams of students will enjoy the hands-on experience of litigating from start to finish an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. During the fall semester, students will write an opening brief. Students who choose to continue take appellate clinic II in the spring semester students will write a reply brief and participate in oral argument. Additional periodic classroom sessions held throughout the academic year will focus upon appellate procedure and persuasive written and oral advocacy. From time to time, class sessions will feature guest speakers such as judges and local practicing attorneys. The Appellate Clinic is open only to third and fourth year law students; and students must have completed or take concurrently with the Appellate Clinic the following courses: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Criminal Procedure.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Civil Litigation Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: Civil Litigation Concentration