Courses
422 - Advanced Administrative Law (2 hours)
This seminar will consider various issues related to the legitimacy of pubic administration, including how legitimacy is impacted by its constitutional status, political oversight, public participation, and other elements of legitimacy. The seminar will also consider how
legitimacy might differ in countries other than the United States.
Students will be graded on their class participation (10%), blogs covering the different assignments (15%), and a two-draft paper (65%). The paper will satisfy the ULWR.
617 - Advanced Family Law: A Case Study (2 hours)
An in-depth analysis of the legal regulation of family relationships, with special emphasis on the complex written agreements that attorneys create and rely upon in this field.
606 - Advanced Legal Research (2 hours)
This course will provide students with an in-depth examination of the legal and law-related research sources available through print, online databases, and the Internet that they will need in order to make the transition from law school to law practice. Students will develop competency in developing cost-effective and efficient research strategies.
611 - Advanced Trial Practice (3 hours)
This course covers several subject areas not covered in depth in the basic trial practice course: voir dire, witness preparation, expert witness examination, and case planning. Students will perform exercises in each of these areas. They will try an advanced civil case for their final exam. The use of PowerPoint is required for the trial. Prerequisites: Evidence and Trial Practice.
649 - Analytical Methods for Lawyers (2 hours)
This course introduces methods of analysis drawn from disciplines such as economics, game theory, accounting, finance and statistics. The concepts and techniques covered here will enable lawyers to analyze legal problems, and communicate with clients, with a richer vocabulary and a broader range of tools. The course will be team-taught, with an emphasis on problems and regular in-class assignments. Offered on a periodic basis.
548 - Appellate Advocacy Clinic (3 hours)
An advanced appellate advocacy seminar involving representation of clients in federal and state appellate tribunals, including representation pursuant to Local Rule 46 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. This course is open only to third-year students. Prerequisite: Appellate Advocacy
420 - Business Drafting LAWR (2 hours)
This course focuses on legal drafting in the business setting. Students will be required to draft and evaluate typical documents including corporate documents, loan and purchase contracts, partnership agreements, and employment agreements. This course will satisfy the LAWR III requirement. Does not satisfy the upper-level writing requirement.
541 - Business Drafting ULWR (2 hours)
This course focuses on legal drafting in the business setting. Students will be required to draft and evaluate typical documents including corporate documents, loan and purchase contracts, partnership agreements, and employment agreements.
667 - Business Litigation (2 hours)
The course focuses on the most common kinds of litigated business disputes with instruction on the short and long paths to their successful conclusions. Students will review procedural principles like "what court" and "where" and best pleading practices. The course will cover business litigation involving creditors' rights, business "splits," contract disputes, and other common business disputes resulting in litigation.
628 - Business Planning (2 hours)
Examination of selected legal problems relating to some of the following topics: choice of business entity, forming a partnership, forming a corporation, corporate restructuring transactions (shifting ownership interests among shareholders), purchase and sale of a business. Prerequisite: Business Organizations.
563 - Child Advocacy Clinic (3 hours)
The Child Advocacy Clinic focuses on the representation of children in three settings: deciding the custody of children in high conflict cases, deciding the custody of children in civil domestic violence actions, and representing children of indigent parents in issues involving the public school system. Students study the various models for representing children - as lawyer advocate, as lawyer guardian ad litem, and as non-lawyer guardian ad litem – and analyze the ethical issues raised in the various settings. Students also study the procedural and substantive law involved in deciding the custody issue in both the family law and the domestic violence settings and in representing children in the educational setting. Students spend an average of 4 to 5 hours a week in their field work.
408 - Commercial Leasing (2 hours)
This course focuses on the negotiation and drafting of commercial real estate leases from the initial letter of intent stage to the final lease closing. Items studied and drafting exercises include: (1) letters of intent, (2) brokerage agreements, (3) commercial leases and lease provisions at various levels of the negotiation process, (4) subordination, nondisturbance and attornment agreements, (5) estoppel certificates, and (6) lease memoranda. The course covers various forms of commercial leases, including ground leases, retail leases, subleases, and license and occupancy agreements. This course also focuses upon professionalism and ethics in the negotiation and drafting process. In addition to learning applicable law, students receive regular evaluation of substantial drafting and negotiation assignments typical of those encountered in actual practice. The negotiation and drafting skills learned in this course apply to other areas of commercial practice. Prerequisite: Property 111.
601 - Community Law & Business Clinic (4 hours)
The work of this clinic is primarily transactional. Students will assist clients at various stages in the business development process, with an emphasis on business, housing, and institutional support in economically disadvantaged segments of the community.
425 - Contracts and Commercial Transactions LAWR (2 hours)
This “best practices” course introduces students to commercial law and to the structuring, negotiation, drafting, and review of common commercial agreements. These agreements include: (1) non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, (2) employment agreements, (3) services agreements, (4) agreements for the sale of goods, and (5) lending and security agreements. In addition to exploring applicable law and theory, students analyze, draft, redline, and actively discuss actual commercial contracts. In so doing, students explore both the specific effects of various contractual provisions and the potential broader commercial implications of such provisions. If not taken to satisfy LAWR III, this course will also satisfy the Practical Skills requirement. This course is a writing course with no exam.
565 - Dispute Resolution (3 hours)
A study of traditional and alternative methods of resolving disputes; use of techniques such as arbitration and mediation will be studied. Negotiation theory and tactics will also be explored. Students who have taken Mediation in the past or who are currently enrolled in or who plan to take Mediation may not register for Dispute Resolution.
604 - Elder Law Clinic (4 hours)
In this clinic, operating since 1991, students work under the supervision of an experienced attorney. They handle legal problems for elderly clients, conduct interviews, draft pleadings and wills, and appear in court and in administrative proceedings. Students make community presentations on laws affecting older adults. A weekly classroom session includes topics such as estate planning for the small estate, Medicare/Medicaid, interviewing skills, and areas of law affecting older adults. A geriatrician, on the medical school faculty, teaches about the common medical issues of older clients, after which students are able to participate in a multidisciplinary clinic at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
414 - Energy Law (2 hours)*
This course studies energy law and policy mostly in the United States -- integrating legal, economic and environmental analysis. The course is designed as a "tutorial" (or "book group") in which students identify and then lead discussions on the topics from online student-created wikibook. Grading: contribution to wikibook (25%), discussion leader (25%), class participation (25%); 5-7 page final paper (25%).
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
670 - Federal Criminal Practice (2 hours)
This course uses a case study of a federal crime and analyzes it from investigation through sentencing. Students study complaints, pretrial motions, suppression hearings, plea negotiations, and sentencing hearings.
622 - Innocence and Justice Clinic (4 hours)*
In this interdisciplinary course, students will examine the legal, scientific, cultural and psychological causes of wrongful convictions. They will apply this knowledge to actual cases by reviewing and investigating claims of actual innocence by inmates and, where appropriate, pursuing legal avenues for exoneration and release from prison. Students will meet for two hours per week to examine and complete field work assignments.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
415 - Intellectual Property Licensing (2 hours)
This course reinforces and expands on the student's understanding of many of the fundamental principles of intellectual property law and focuses specifically on analysis and application of such principles within the context of intellectual-property-related transactions, such as licensing, confidentiality, and joint venture and other types of collaborative agreements. In addition, the course builds on the student's understanding of contract law principles by introducing and analyzing in detail contractual provisions directd to indemnification, representation and warranty, limitation of liability, confidentiality, and others for the purpose of demonstrating the important impact of such provisions on the overall transaction. The course is taught from a practioner's perspective and includes instruction designed to enhance the student's contract review, analysis, and negotiation skills. A pre-requisite or co-requisite of EITHER Intellectual Property (Survey), Patent Law, Copyrights, OR Trademarks is required.
656 - International Environmental Law (2 hours)*
This seminar will examine and assess the legal regimes nations have developed to address international and global environmental problems, including climate change, ozone depletion, marine pollution, and the extinction of species.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
540 - Judicial Externship (3 hours)
A clinical study of law from the viewpoint of the bench offered only during the summer. The student works as a judicial extern for a state or federal judge. Students will observe trials, conferences and hearings and research law and procedure under the judge's direction. A student must have completed their first year of law school in order to participate. Due to scheduling concerns permission must be obtained from the professor before registering for this course.
430 - Law and Aging (2 hours)
The course covers the legal issues affecting the elderly, such as powers of attorney and advance medical directives; ethical issues; guardianship laws and federal programs; medical perspectives on mental capacity; housing issues of older adults; Medicaid coverage of long term care and Medicare basics; long term care insurance; nursing home law; planning for the small estate; and civil and criminal remedies for elder abuse and neglect. Students who take this course will not be eligible for the Elder Law Clinic in the fall of 2013.
609 - Law Practice Management (2 hours)*
A practical study of the work of the lawyer in the practice, the management of a modern law office, the attorney-client relationship, and the drafting of legal instruments.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
427 - Legal Writing for Judicial Chambers LAWR (2 hours)
This course focuses on the various tasks associated with being a judicial clerk in federal or state court. Students will move between the roles of clerk and judge as they work their way through an actual case, from the trial court to the appellate court. Major graded components will include writing a bench memo; drafting a trial court opinion; making a panel presentation and participating in a panel conference; and writing a majority and dissenting opinion. The course is a 2-hour seminar designed to satisfy LAWR III.
603 - Litigation Clinic (5 hours)
A vigorous concurrent program of academic instruction and skills training designed to more fully qualify the student to practice law. Every student participates in both the civil and criminal law elements. Direct field instruction in the civil and criminal practice is provided by practicing attorneys. The classroom component teaches the lawyering skills of communication, interviewing, counseling, discovery, negotiation, and advocacy. All practice is in accord with North Carolina's Student Practice Rule. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure and Evidence. Pre- or co-requisite: Trial Practice. Professional Responsibility and Criminal Procedure are suggested but not required.
553 - Litigation Drafting (2 hours)
Legal drafting in the litigation setting. Students will be required to draft and evaluate typical litigation documents. This course satisfies the Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research III Requirement. Students can take both Litigation Drafting and 570 Pre-trial Practice and Procedure.
645 - Mediation (3 hours)*
This course will address the theory, law, and practice of mediation as a dispute resolution technique. Students passing this course will earn A Certificate of Completion verifying that they have successfully completed 40-hours of superior Court Mediation Training. The North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission has approved this course as satisfying Rule 8A of the Revised Rules Implementing Statewide Mediated Settlement Conferences relating to one of the requirements of Mediator certification. Students who have taken Dispute Resolution in the past or who are enrolled in or who plan to take the Dispute Resolution course may not register for Mediation.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
639 - Metropolitan Externship (13 hours)
Students enrolled in this course will receive 10 credits on a pass-fail basis and 3 credits of graded credit. They will participate in externships based in Washington, D.C. and will meet weekly with the Director to integrate and apply the doctrinal insights received elsewhere in the law school curriculum with the real problems, real cases, and real clients encountered in the externship. Open only to third-year students. Students enrolled in this course must complete all other graduation requirements, apart from the total credit hours requirement, before the starting date of the externship. Enrollment occurs through a specialized application process. This course fulfills the Practical Skills requirement.
600 - Negotiation (2 hours)
Students will learn about and practice negotiation skills.
570 - Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure (3 hours)
An exploration of the procedural requirements involved in getting a civil case to trial. Frequent drafting assignments involving pleadings, discovery, and pre-trial motions required. Students can take both Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure and 553 Litigation Drafting.
675 - Prosecution Externship (2 hours)
The course is a 2-credit placement in a prosecutor's office. The faculty member consults with the supervising attorneys in the office to establish customized learning objectives for each students, achieved through a variety of practice experiences. The number of hours that a student spends at work in the prosecutor's office will be consistent with the hours required for clinical courses. The student will also complete written exercises to promote reflection on the fieldwork. Prosecution Seminar is a prerequisite; permission of the instructor is required.
426 - Prosecution Seminar (2 hours)
This seminar, taught by a full-time faculty member in concert with practicing prosecutors, will explore the environment, objectives, and challenges of the American prosecutor's office. Reading and discussion topics will create a dialogue between theory and practice. Students will be evaluated on the basis of a series of practice-relevant simulations and drafting exercises. Enrollment is limited.
632 - Real Estate Transactions Seminar (3 hours)
This course will survey the legal and business issues relating to the acquisition, development, leasing, and disposition of commercial real estate, with a focus on the issues arising in the development and ownership of large commercial developments such as shopping centers and office buildings. About half the semester will be spent on commercial real estate purchase agreements and the other half on a commercial lease. The course includes a skills component and students will participate in negotiating and drafting a real estate contract (purchase agreement or lease) for a hypothetical client. Property 111 is a prerequisite.
625 - Suing Government (2 hours)
This course deals with lawsuits against federal, state and local governments, with special emphasis on Section 1983 suits and immunity doctrines. Course readings will draw extensively on actual case files and documents. This course fulfills the Practical Skills requirement.
672 - Technology and Law Practice (2 hours)
This course provides students with the opportunity to learn practical technology skills to apply in the workplace and empower them with a core technology knowledge base to be competitive in a changing legal marketplace. The course will focus on the development of best practices for use of technology in a variety of practice settings, from solo practice to large firm.
610 - Trial Practice (3 hours)
A series of classes and simulations devoted to the study of trial techniques, followed by the preparation and trial of a moot case. Prerequisite: Evidence.
