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Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Chomsky,Carol L
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor:
Matheson,John H
(Grad and Profl Teaching Award)
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Bix,Brian H
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Okediji,Ruth L
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Schwarcz,Daniel
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Prereq: dept consent
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Weissbrodt,David
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Klass,Alexandra B.
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Goodwin,Michele Bratcher
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Prereq: dept consent
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Kitrosser,Heidi
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Co-Instructor: Arimond,Lucy
Co-Instructor: Weissbrodt,David
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Kruger,Muria J
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Prereq: LL.M. student
Description: How to conduct legal research, interpret statutes, analyze cases, and write research papers and legal memoranda. Written English, style/form used by U.S. lawyers to present a legal argument.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Causes of wrongful convictions. Students practice law in safe, classroom setting. Run in conjuction with Innocence Project of MN.
Instructor: STAFF
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Equivalencies:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Legal foundations/social implications of regulating contraception, abortion, and alternative reproductive technology. Access, funding. Rights of men, women, minors, and fetuses. Ethical considerations, international perspectives. Cases, statutes, critical writings.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor:
Kuzma,Jennifer
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Instructor Bio
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Elliott Jr,Bruce Carleton
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Stein,Robert A
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Nguyen,Dennis Luan Thuc
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: McDonnell,Brett H
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Description: The initial part of this course is an introduction to the general law of multi-person unincorporated business organizations, principally partnerships, limited partnerships and limited liability companies. Matters covered include the procedures for forming such organizations and the rights and obligations of the participants as among themselves and with respect to third persons. The remaining class hours constitute the first portion of the basic Corporations course, and will cover such matters as corporate organization; the distribution of powers among the corporate board of directors, its officers and its stockholders; the proxy system; control devices in the close corporation; and the fiduciary duties of directors, officers and controlling shareholders. Matters dealing with "corporate finance" (issuance of shares, payment of dividends, and corporate reorganizations) are covered Corporations II.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Each student is assigned to a judge and serves as a part-time law clerk for one semester. Positions are available with federal district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges, with state court of appeals and district court judges, and with tribal courts. Every effort is made to place students according to their expressed preferences among the courts. The students prepare research memoranda, observe judicial proceedings, and participate in the drafting of opinions and orders. A student will work for a judge for 100 hours (2 credits) or for 150 hours (3 credits), as agreed with the judge. In addition, students will periodically attend a one hour seminar in which readings on the judicial process will be discussed and will view a judicial training session. Enrollment is limited to 30 students. The periodic class meetings will be held during the noon hour. A complete schedule will be distributed at the first class meeting. You should arrange your class schedule so you have several large blocks of time available to work for a judge; free mornings are especially important for attending court hearings.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Balos,Beverly
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Description: This basic course in federal income taxation introduces the student to the Internal Revenue Code and the income taxation of individuals through the following topics: definition of income, relevant accounting concepts, exclusions, deductions, income splitting, sales and dispositions of property, amortization, capital losses, and current issues of tax policy.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Overview of all major IRS functions including returns selection, examinations, administrative appeals, tax litigation, collection activities (liens and levies), bankruptcy, and criminal tax enforcement. Effective representation of clients in all phases of ITS encounters.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Students will prepare an appellate brief on behalf of an indigent criminal defendant under the supervision of the Office of the State Public Defender. Students will be required to evaluate the trial record, research possible legal issues, and write an appellate brief that will be submitted to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Stringent time requirements for the filing of the brief as set by the appellate court must be met. The class will meet as a group two or three times; students also will meet with the supervising attorney individually prior to filing the brief.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This three-credit course will cover approximately half of a traditional five- or six-credit "Federal Courts" curriculum; the other half is covered in "Federal and State Courts." Students may take either course or both courses, in any order. This course will explore issues that were raised in Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure regarding federal courts and the interactions between the federal and state judicial systems. Topics discussed may include Congressional power over jurisdiction, legislative courts, justiciability, appellate jurisdiction, Supreme Court review over state court decisions, and general principles of federal subject matter jurisdiction. This course is important for anyone planning a judicial clerkship or a legal career that includes litigation in federal courts.
Instructor: Stras,David Ryan
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Description: This course deals with donative freedom. It covers intestate succession, wills, trusts, will substitutes, the rudiments of gifts and estate taxation, and future interests. It also raises professional responsibility issues unique to the estate planning process. The goal of the course is to allow students to become familiar with the field and to prepare them for study in other courses and seminars.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Burkhart,Ann M
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Description: How does a court decide what law to apply in a case with multi-state aspects? When is a judgment of another jurisdiction binding elsewhere? Vital course for prospective litigators in state and federal courts. A lawyer who has not taken this course would be unlikely even to be able spot the critical issues.
Instructor: Cooper,Laura J
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Description: This course focuses upon the system of federal law regulating labor-management relations. Examines procedures for union representation elections and the control of electioneering conduct, union collective action and collective bargaining.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The course in Antitrust will focus on competition, how that term has been defined by the court and agencies, and the role that competition plays in society. We will study the federal antitrust statutes and the case interpretation and application of those statutes. To put antitrust in perspective, the interdisciplinary nature of the subject will be emphasized, including the historical debates, enforcement trends and economic theories. The antitrust substantive law will cover horizontal restraints (between competitors), vertical restraints (franchise or distributional restrictions), monopolies (market power) and mergers. We also will focus on procedural issues relevant in both public and private enforcement suits. The goals and objectives of the course are to teach: 1) the substantive law of antitrust, 2) the relevant procedural and litigation issues, 3) the economic analysis of antitrust issues and 4) the historical and doctrinal development of antitrust. There will be a final examination. Grades will be based on the final exam, which will be an essay exam, and classroom contribution. Regular class attendance and participation are expected.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The course examines the acquisition and development of real property. Topics include listing agreements, purchase agreements, conveyancing, real estate finance and security instruments, foreclosure, mechanics' liens, and forms of real estate development.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Procedural aspects of the investigation and adjudication of criminal violations. Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment Federal Constitutional limitations on the gathering and presenting of evidence and at trial will be emphasized.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: A study of relevance, admission and exclusion of evidence, direct and cross- examination, judicial notice, hearsay, expert testimony, burdens of proof and presumptions, privileged communications. A study of relevance, admission and exclusion of evidence, direct and cross- examination, judicial notice, hearsay, expert testimony, burdens of proof and presumptions, privileged communications.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This course reviews constitutional, federal, state and municipal law as they specifically affect low income persons. We review the history of anti-poverty programs, the constitutional requirements for such programs, and specific problems in conducting legal research on poverty law programs. The course does not have an exam, but will have five short research assignments.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This course offers an overview of patent law for both those students intending to specialize in patent prosecution and those whose general practice may include patent litigation and licensing. Topics to be covered include the requirements for patentable subject matter; standards of novelty, utility, and non-obviousness; statutory bars; conception, priority, enablement, and written description requirements in patent procurement; direct and vicarious patent infringement; claims interpretation
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The recent explosive expansion of common law and statutory rights and remedies designed to protect consumers from defective and dangerous products.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This course focuses on preparation of patent applications and prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Topics include types of patent applications, inventor interviews, analysis of prior art, preparation of the patent specification, claim drafting, inventorship determination, ownership determination, amendment practice, and argument practice, with coverage of U.S. law and regulations governing patent prosecution practice. The course is highly practical and will include a number of drafting assignments. A technical background is not required to take this course.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This course covers the unique jurisdictional, regulatory and business environment on Indian reservations and involving Indian people in the United States. The core of the course involves developing an understanding of the relationship between the United States, the Indian tribes, and states, and issues that arise under the tripartite federalist system in the United States. It also reaches issues of sovereignty, race theory, separation of powers, and several substantive law fields, including criminal law, natural resources, constitutional law, tax law, and sovereign immunity. For purposes of context, the course also touches on the development of Indian policy over the past two and a half centuries and also discusses some facets of internal tribal laws and tribal courts.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: An in-depth inquiry into the First Amendment, including both the doctrine and theory of free expression. Topics will include political incitement and public fora; hate speech; obscenity and pornography; campaign finance reform and commercial speech; mass media regulation and access to government and compelled speech and associational rights. The religion clauses may also be covered. Religion clause coverage may include school prayer and parochial school vouchers; religious exemptions and accommodation; and government-sponsored religious symbols.
Instructor: STAFF
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Prereq: Taxation I
Description: The course is a general introduction to employee benefit plans, including retirement-type plans (401ks and traditional pension plans) and health and welfare plans. The public policies behind the very complex rules governing these plans are emphasized to assist understanding of the purpose and goals of the regulatory framework. Practical real-life application of these rules in law practice will be routinely included. The grade will be based solely on a short-essay, open book final exam.
Instructor: STAFF
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Prereq: dept consent
Description: This course will focus on basic skills necessary for all lawyers. We will discuss and do simulated exercises in each of the skills, focusing on skill development and self-reflection to improve skills. The course will emphasize planning, performance and reflection over a range of civil and criminal cases.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The primary focus of the class will be on the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the FDA. In addition, time will be spent on specific food and drug aspects of other areas of the law. For example, the class will review the special rules and cases in the product liability field relating to food and drugs and the interface between food and drug regulation and subjects such as environmental law, the practice of medicine, and free choice in medical care
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Examination of the role and function of the legal profession in our society and the principles, standards and rules governing ethics of the profession and their enforcement.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The course is an introduction to public international law. It will examine the sources and history of the law of nations, and concepts of jurisdiction and conflicts of jurisdiction of nation states. It will also provide a brief survey of the law of international organizations (including the United Nations) international economic law, international environmental law, international protection of human rights, dispute resolution, and the control of the use of force (including peacekeeping, war crimes, and related topics).
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Prereq: dept consent
Description: This course provides a broad survey of the laws governing most areas of intellectual property including trademark, trade secret, copyright, computer chip protection and some patent law, as well as a survey of laws governing unethical and deceptive business practices. An examination of the extent and limits of federal preemption of state laws governing intellectual property rights forms a secondary (but important) part of the course. There are no prerequisites to this course. An interest in business practices and problems arising from rivalry among business firms will be helpful as will be an interest in stimuli to innovation in a competitive economy. Most of the material is case law, but the coursework will require that students become familiar with statuary provisions governing trademarks, copyrights, patents and computer chip protection.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Law governing judicial review of the decisions of government officials and agencies. Decisions of federal and state officials subject to various kinds of judicial review range from regulatory decisions by public service commissions governing the rates of suppliers of electricity and local telephone service to decisions governing entitlement to benefits under welfare programs. Some decisions have wide-ranging social and economic effects such as rulemaking decisions under the Clean Air Act while the impact of other decisions may be limited to a few individuals. The course is designed to assist motivated students to acquire the skills necessary to master a complex and difficult body of law.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Okediji,Ruth L
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Prereq: Evidence
Description: Selected problems in litigation. Exercises in jury selection, introduction of evidence, expert testimony, direct and cross examination and impeachment of witnesses, opening statements and closing arguments.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This course is designed to familiarize the students with the regulatory system of international trade. Through the materials discussed in the course, focusing on the case law and jurisprudence of the WTO/GATT, the course is aimed at understanding the institutional framework of that system and the ways in which it functions. In addition the course deals with a large number of substantive issues to be found on the agenda of international trade scholars and lawyers. While the course is focused on legal theory and doctrine of international trade, we will approach each and every topic from economic and social perspectives. Thus, the course is designed to follow a truly interdisciplinary tour of the relevant subject-matter. The issues covered in the course include: Theory and Policy of International Trade; The Legal Structure of the GATT/WTO System; Dispute Settlement; Tariff Bindings and Customs Law: Classification, Valuation and Rules of Origin; Quotas; The Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Principle; Multilateralism and Regionalism; The National Treatment Clause, Discriminatory Taxes and Regulations; Government Procurement; Escape Clauses and Safeguards; Dumping and Antidumping Law; Subsidies and Countervailing Duties; Trade and Intellectual Property Rights: the TRIPS Agreement; Trade in Services: the GATS; Trade and the environment; and Technical Regulations and Standards: the SPS & TBT Agreements.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Explore legal issues relating to disabilty in the context of employment relationship. Principal focus on application of Americans with Disabilities Act to the workplace. Include the Family and Medical Leave Act and workers compensation system.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This course explores the rapidly expanding body of law governing the workplace. The Employment Law course goes beyond the traditional employment fields of Labor Law (union/management relations) and Employment Discrimination to focus on a number of recurring workplace issues. Topics include medical and drug screening, workplace privacy, the emerging exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine, wage and hour regulation, and occupational safety and health.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor:
Welke,Barbara Young
(Morse Alumni Award)
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Instructor Bio
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Description: This seminar focuses on the substantive law of capital punishment and on the procedural aspects of post-conviction proceedings. The course will include an examination of the history of death penalty jurisprudence, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, habeas corpus, and state and federal death penalty statutes. A paper of 20 to 30 pages will be required. Guest speakers will attend the seminar from time to time throughout the semester. This seminar focuses on the substantive law of capital punishment and on the procedural aspects of post-conviction proceedings. The course will include an examination of the history of death penalty jurisprudence, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, habeas corpus, and state and federal death penalty statutes. A paper of 20 to 30 pages will be required. Guest speakers will attend the seminar from time to time throughout the semester.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Adams,Edward Scott
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Kritzer,Herbert M
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Description: Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) 18 U.S.C. 1961This course concerns litigation under the federal RICO statute.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This seminar will explore various federal and state regulations that affect structure of health care transactions. We will focus on Medicare Fraud & Abuse Law, Stark Law, IRS tax exemption regulations, various licensure requirements, corp practice of medicine prohibitions, federal antitrust law, HIPAA reg governing privacy and security of health info.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Study of how the law affects race and social psychology.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Co-Instructor: Nelson,Debra R
Co-Instructor: Keyes,Jeffrey J
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Description: This seminar will take the contract principles that students learned in their first year and build upon them in a practical way. Students will review and revise contracts, draft sample provisions, draft contracts from "scratch" and discuss options for managing risk through effective drafting. This seminar will take the contract principles that students learned in their first year and build upon them in a practical way. Students will review and revise contracts, draft sample provisions, draft contracts from "scratch" and discuss options for managing risk through effective drafting. Prerequisities: None
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This seminar is intended to focus upon a series of major issues of current importance. During the first half of the semester, the seminar will take up a separate issue every one or two weeks. The issues will include (not necessarily in the following order):1. Antitrust analysis in the Chicago and post-Chicago schools2. The antitrust law of the European Community examined from the perspective of a U.S. antitrust lawyer.3. Trading issues and their relation to antitrust law.4. Antitrust and the health care industry.5. Antitrust laws and the issues of intellectual property protection.6. The interface between antitrust law and labor law.7. The state-action doctrine, municipalities, and the antitrust laws.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Practical experience in making an effective appellate argument, both orally and in writing; analysis of the appellate decision-making process; the basis of perfecting an appeal. Prerequisites: Some knowledge of civil procedure helpful, but not necessary.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This seminar addresses the history, underlying criminological theories, current practices, and proposals for reform of criminal punishment in America.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Limited enrollment seminar (30 students) emphasizing legal research strategies and practical use of secondary source materials, administrative law materials, government documents and legal non-legal databases. Students are expected to complete short research problems and produce a research guide in a specialized area. Attendance is required. This course satisfies the senior writing requirement.
Instructor: STAFF
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Prereq: dept consent
Description: Many of the most challenging issues of the 21st century will be those at the intersection of law and the life sciences. How do we govern research, assess the safety and potential impact of new technologies, and regulate or even ban them? This seminar will explore those questions, examining a wide range of developments in health, environment, and the life sciences, such as genomics, gene therapy, genetically modified organisms, genetic patents, ecosystems change, environmental health, managed care, and challenges to public health. Weekly presentation will be made by faculty drawn from graduate programs affiliated with the Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences. Faculty will lead discussion of articles on topics that may range from science policy and regulation of genetic engineering to natural resource conservation and international harmonization of pharmaceutical patents. The seminar is required each year for Joint Degree Program students and open to other students by consent of the instructor. Students will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis for satisfactory participation.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Helmius,Ingrid Cecilia
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Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This class will provide an introduction to international human rights: law, policy, and process. The class will focus on different aspects of the study of international human rights to provide a representative sampling of the subject through: 1) various procedural postures, 2) diverse institutional settings, 3) a geographical spread of countries, 4) several substantive human rights and humanitarian law norms, and 5) changing approaches to learning. The class will be conducted through lectures, speakers, problems for discussion, small group discussions, role playing exercises, etc. The class will touch on each of the major procedural channels for implementing human rights: on-site observation and fact-finding, state reporting, individual complaints, emergency procedures, state v. state complaints, litigation in domestic courts, legislative hearings, public discourse in international forums, the work of nongovernmental organizations, criminal prosecution, procedures for compensating victims, etc. The problems are set in most of the major international institutions, and include procedures of the UN, the Human Rights Committee, the Inter-American Commission on and Court of Human Rights, the European human rights system, international criminal tribunals, and nongovernmental organizations. The principal focus is on factual contexts in the United States or efforts that can be mounted from this country, but chapters also relate to violations and perspectives in other countries.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This seminar includes a thorough examination of sentencing goals, structures (guidelines, mandatory penalties, indeterminate sentencing, etc.), alternatives, and consequences. A term paper is required.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Challenges facing U.S. cities and suburbs in the context of the structure of local government law. Focus on 1)problems posed by interaction of housing discrimination and local zoning prerogative 2)local fiscal competition and evolving legal structure of local, state & regional finance, 3)growing local & state regulatory response to suburban devlopment & 4)evolving legal structure of regional governance in America large metro areas.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: Islamic law is one of the oldest system in the contemporary age. This course introduces the origins of Islamic law, its sources, and major school of jurisprudence. The course will explore several substantive ares of Islamic law, criminal law, constitutional law, international law, comm\'l law, banking law and insurance, marriage, divorce and child custody cases. Paper required
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Co-Instructor: Warren,Carl Micah
Co-Instructor: Moriearty,Perry Lane
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: This seminar will examine the concepts and core principles of the Rule of Law. Seminar sessions will be devoted to identifying the meaning of the terms ?rule of law? and ?independence of the judiciary.? The importance of a strong and independent legal profession to the rule of law will be discussed. Seminar sessions will focus on such issues as the problem of corruption and the rule of law, the relationship between human rights law and the rule of law, and the challenges of war crimes and genocide. The seminar will explore the relationship between the rule of law and economic development and alleviation of poverty. The seminar will include a discussion of the responsibility of lawyers to support and promote the rule of law within their own country and in other developing countries.
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The Civil Practice Clinic provides a unique opportunity for students to gain both practical experience in the lawyering process and the satisfaction of helping real clients. The Clinic introduces students to the practice of lawyering through a combination of instructional methods. Classroom sessions, explore topics such as interviewing, negotiation, and motion practice. Simulated exercises allow students to apply classroom learning in a life-like setting. Finally, each student handles approximately three live cases involving topics such as family, administrative, human rights, tort, consumer and contract law. These cases provide student attorneys with the opportunity to participate in almost all aspects of the lawyering process including actual court and administrative hearings. The Clinic course is a two semester program, although the classroom portion is completed during the first semester. Students may begin the Civil Practice Clinic course in either semester of the second year or in fall semester of the third year. Those students beginning in spring semester can complete their second semester during either the summer or fall semester of the following academic year. Students earn a total of four credits which may be allocated between the two semesters. A significant advantage to Clinic enrollment during the second year of law school is eligibility for selection as a third year student director. Student directors act as "junior partners" in the Clinic law firm in terms of handling the more difficult clinic cases and supervising beginning student attorneys.
Instructor: STAFF
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Prereq: dept consent
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Students in the Innocence Project Clinic will work in conjunction with the Innocence Project of Minnesota. In the clinic, students will investigate claims of actual innocence being made by inmates in Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. Students begin working a claim by obtaining primary source material?police reports, forensic reports, court pleadings, transcripts, appellate briefs, and opinions. At that point, many students will have the opportunity to talk to the trial and appellate attorneys who had previously worked on the case. After reviewing all of the source material, if the case still appears to be a viable one, the students will often visit the inmate in prison, giving them an opportunity to meet the inmate in person and question them about their claim. Students will also search for new evidence, and may visit crime scenes and interview witnesses. Students will be expected to prepare written summaries of what they do, and to present and discuss those experiences during class. Prerequisities: None
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: Cox,Prentiss
Grading basis/credits:
Description: This two-semester course provides an introduction to practice in employment law with an emphasis on assisting low-wage workers such as temporary or day laborers and immigrant workers. Clinic participants work in collaboration with a non-profit Workers Center in the Twin Cities that is part of a nationwide movement advocating for and organizing low-wage and immigrant workers. These workers? cases typically involve wage and hour violations and national origin/race discrimination. Students work together with the Workers Center to consider a variety of methods of addressing the workplace problems, including work by non-lawyer advocates, organizing and collective action, and the legal services our clinic provides. Clinic students are involved in client intake in various community settings, particularly in the Latino, Somali and Hmong immigrant communities. In addition to direct client representation, field work may also include community legal education and working with non-legal advocates, labor unions, and labor organizers. The clinic attempts to have at least one complex case involving discrimination or retaliation on its docket during the year. The clinic has a three-hour class component in the first semester and a two-hour session in the second semester. Class work involves training in the core lawyering skills of interviewing, counseling, negotiation, discovery, motion practice and legal ethics in practice. Class work also includes substantive reading and discussions on the efficacy of traditional labor and employment law for meeting the workplace needs of marginalized workers and strategies for change. Classes also discuss new client interviews conducted both by our students and lay advocate volunteers and interns at the Workers Center intake sites. Students do case rounds and discuss questions that come up in their case work and organizing. Prerequisities: None
Instructor: STAFF
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Description: The Special Education Law Clinic offers advanced-standing law students the opportunity to work with and represent children with disabilities and their families. The law students, working under the supervision of an experienced school law attorney, assist with special education legal questions, reviewing special education documents, participating in conciliation conferences and mediations, working informally with schools to resolve disputes, and provide representation in state-level administrative complaints, hearings, and court actions. Law students may also participate in research projects and legislative and administrative proceedings. The Special Education Law Clinic is a two-semester program. It contains a classroom component mainly during the first semester. Throughout the program, law students will have a chance to meet and hear from professionals in the special education law community, including student advocates and attorneys, opposing counsel, school district staff, and state-level administrative decision makers.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Prereq: dept consent
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Prereq: dept consent
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic offers students the opportunity to advise and represent individuals in serious financial difficulty. This two-semester, four-credit course includes a classroom component, preparing the students to counsel clients about consumer bankruptcy and discussing important portions of the Bankruptcy Code and Rules. The majority of the course involves actually representing clients in financial difficulty. This includes advising clients of their options, communicating with their creditors, and filing bankruptcy cases (either Chapter 7 or 13). Students will also have the opportunity to represent clients in adversary proceedings, including discovery and trial as well as settlement negotiations with both creditors and the U.S. Trustee. Occasionally, students represent individual creditors as well.
Instructor: STAFF
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Prereq: dept consent
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The Indian Child Welfare Act Clinic is a two-semester clinic offered annually since 1996. The clinic gives students practical experience in handling family law and juvenile law cases with a special emphasis on the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) passed by Congress in 1978. Weekly classroom sessions are held in conjunction with the Child Advocacy Clinic and cover such topics as interviewing, negotiation, and motion practice. Students handle two to three cases over two semesters. Cases are referred from the Indian Child Welfare Law Center and students work closely with Shannon Smith, the Executive Director of ICWA, and other Center staff attorneys. These cases are selected to provide students with a variety of substantive and procedural experiences. The clinic course is a two-semester program beginning in the fall semester. Students earn a total of four credits allocated over two semesters
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The educational goals of this clinic are knowledge, an understanding of, and the ability to practice in a criminal justice system. This course involves supervised student representation of persons charged with misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses in Hennepin County District Court. Student attorneys represent clients at all stages of the criminal process, including arraignments, pretrial conferences, and trials. Student attorneys attend at least three arraignment sessions where they interview individuals who have charges pending against them on that day's arraignment calendar. The student attorney evaluates the charges, negotiates with the City Attorney, and appears with the client in court. Student attorneys in the clinic follow up on cases they open up at arraignments, and some of these cases may go all the way through a jury trial. A weekly two-hour lecture is devoted to misdemeanor laws and procedure, trial and advocacy skills, evidence problems as related to criminal law, and other areas of law and procedure related to the local criminal justice system. Student attorneys are required to participate in one ride-along with a police department in the metro area. Prerequisities: None
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The educational goals of this clinic are knowledge, understanding of, and the ability to practice in a criminal justice system. This course involves the supervised prosecution of individuals charged with petty misdemeanors, misdemeanors, and gross misdemeanors in Ramsey and Hennepin County District Court. Prosecution students are supervised by prosecutors in several different jurisdictions in Hennepin and Ramsey District Court. Students handle cases at all stages of the criminal process, including arraignments, pretrial conferences and court trials. The weekly two-hour class component of the clinic includes lectures, simulations and role playing. The lectures are on substantive and procedural aspects of criminal law, and on skills performance. The simulations and role playing involve the pre-trial and trial skills necessary to be an effective advocate in the criminal justice system. The students are also required to participate in one ride-along with a police department. Prerequisities: None
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The Child Advocacy Clinic is a two-semester clinic offered annually since 1995. The clinic gives students practical experience in handling family law and juvenile law cases with an emphasis on children's rights. Weekly classroom sessions cover such topics as interviewing, negotiation, and motion practice. Students earn a total of four credits to be allocated between the semesters. Beginning in the fall semester, students handle three to four cases over the academic year. The cases are selected to provide students with a variety of experience in pretrial procedure, negotiation, discovery, and courtroom practice. The Child Advocacy Clinic also has a project with the Hennepin County Public Defender?s Office to provide representation to juveniles in CHIPS (Children in Need of Protection and Services) matters in juvenile court. Additional cases involve family court custody and Guardian ad Litem representation for the Hennepin County Guardian ad Litem program. The clinic is designed with a classroom component, a simulation component and an actual case-handling component in family and juvenile court. The classroom and simulation portions of the course occur during the first semester. The classroom component consists of topics specifically relating to children's issues including child development and interviewing children. The simulation component revolves around mock cases designed to familiarize students with family and juvenile court procedure. The actual case component of the course stretches over both semesters.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The Immigration Law Clinic handles immigration law matters, primarily applications for political asylum, withholding of removal, and Article 3 claims under the Convention Against Torture. Students will interview clients, research country conditions, write legal memoranda on asylum issues, and prepare and present claims to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Immigration Court, and the Board of Immigration Appeals under the student practice rule. Each student will handle up to two asylum cases. Students can choose from cases presented affirmatively to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and those presented defensively before the Immigration Court. Students appearing before the Court will handle case and client preparation and courtroom appearances. It is preferred that students have prior experience in or exposure to asylum law or other aspects of immigration law, but neither is required. Enrollment is generally limited to six students. Interested students should write a brief statement of interest and/or experience. Students will be notified if they have been selected for the Immigration Law Clinic shortly after finals end. Students who participate in the Immigration Law Clinic will add the clinic through the drop/add process in the Fall
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic is a two-semester, 6-credit experience for 3Ls. Students enrolled in the clinic the have the opportunity to gain broad transactional experience working with startup businesses and entrepreneurial clients. Students work with clients whose legal needs are transactional. Transactional practice includes the creation and interpretation of contracts and agreements. It also includes strategizing about legal issues of business formation, management, and governance. The delivery model is different from other clinics at the law school in several respects. Typically, law school clinic clients need assistance to resolve a dispute with another person or a government entity. Dispute resolution is not a part of clinic practice in the Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic. As participants in this multi-profession clinic, students work with attorneys, accountants, and business consultants. This aspect of clinic practice closely replicates the practice of business law. Experienced business law and corporate group attorneys from several law firms and accounting firms supervise teams of law students working with clients who apply for clinic services. The 42-hour transactional skills curriculum component of the clinic includes extensive practice in negotiation and drafting, as well as self-assessments of problem solving and communication styles. The curriculum also includes segments on client interviewing and negotiation ethics. Students are encouraged to learn about themselves as practitioners.
Instructor: STAFF
Grading basis/credits:
Description: The Tax Clinic, first offered in 1981, is composed of two components. First, the clinic provides an opportunity for law students to represent low income taxpayers who have a controversy with the IRS. Representation can occur at audit, in the Appeals Office, in the collection process, before the U.S. Tax Court or, on occasion, before the U.S. District Court or 8th Circuit. In addition representation may also extend to controversies with the MN Department of Revenue. Clinic students do not prepare tax returns. The clinic receives client referrals from the IRS and Tax Court in addition to those that come from community organizations (such as free tax assistance sites). Students in the clinic are also asked to participate in community education and outreach, since approximately one-third of our clients speak English as a second language. A clinic seminar meets weekly for both semesters. The seminar provides training in lawyering skills, such as interviewing, counseling, negotiation, and professional responsibility. In addition, guest speakers at the seminar from the IRS, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, and practicing bar provide useful information about the practice of tax law. Students must have taken (or be concurrently enrolled in) Federal Tax Procedure. Tax I is encouraged as well. Each year three students are selected to serve as directors in the clinic during their third year. Each summer the Tax Clinic hires three students to work full-time in the clinic. If you are interested in serving as a director during your third year for academic credit or a summer job for pay, preference is given to students enrolled in the Tax Clinic (i.e., enroll in your second year to be eligible).
Instructor: STAFF