Course Details

Administrative Law

This course will examine the legal limits on administrative agencies under the Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act and other statutes. Students will explore constitutional limits on Congress’ power to delegate lawmaking and judicial power to agencies, procedural limits on agency rulemaking and decision making and limits on the availability and scope of judicial review of agency actions.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Adoption Law

This course will give students the opportunity to explore the ethical, moral and legal issues associated with the participants in the adoption process including Birth Fathers, Birth Mothers, Adoptive Parents, the State, and most importantly, the Children placed for adoption. (Sample Syllabus)
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Advanced Legal Research

This course will focus on research techniques and strategies in specialized legal sources beyond the primary and secondary authorities covered in the Lawyering Skills courses. Topics may include, for example, research in specialized administrative law materials, government documents, loose-leaf services, electronic resources and international or foreign legal research sources.
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Advanced Torts

This course will explore in greater depth than is possible in the first year Torts course the theories of liability that govern civil damage actions for injuries caused by negligence. Students will also examine theories and rules governing strict liability, products liability, defamation, invasion of privacy, and infliction of emotional distress.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Alternative Dispute Resolution

This course will encourage students to think outside the box, first in terms of assessing conflict (not just legal conflict but also other forms), and then to broaden the options for addressing it. The course aims to challenge the binary paradigm of "win or lose", and instead focus on problem solving. We will also explore collaborative law, as an open process to promote some of the skills used in ADR. Role simulations will give students a taste of the ADR field. There will be a final take-home exam.
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Antitrust Law

This course will examine federal antitrust law and policy under the Sherman, Clayton and FTC Acts. Students will study laws regulating price fixing, price discrimination, market division, monopolization, exclusionary practices and competitor collaboration. Students will also explore the political and economic underpinnings of antitrust and competition policy. If time permits, the course will cover the relationship between antitrust policy and international trade.
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Banking Law

This course will examine the nature and scope of the federal and state laws regulating financial institutions, including national and state-chartered commercial banks, thrift institutions and holding companies. Students will study the history and evolution of the banking industry and explore the social and economic policies underlying banking regulation. Additional topics will include entry restrictions, expansion of bank activities, branch banking and interstate banking. (Sample Syllabus)
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Bankruptcy

This course will introduce students to basic principles of bankruptcy law and practice. Students will explore topics like eligibility for bankruptcy, powers of the bankruptcy trustee, collection and distribution of the debtor’s estate, rights of creditors and discharge of the debtor. Although the course will focus on individual bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy laws, students will also examine issues of corporate reorganization under Chapter 11 and rehabilitation under Chapter 13. (Sample Syllabus)
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Bioethics

This course will explore how ethical principles apply to medical issues, as those issues are regulated by law. Students will examine legislation and common law in areas such as abortion, artificial reproductive technology, contraception, consent, and end-of-life care. Students will compare important church documents and the underlying anthropology of the human person to the understanding of the person implicit in contemporary law. In lieu of taking an exam, students will choose a topic of interest and write a substantial research paper that may satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. (Sample Syllabus)
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Business Associations

This course will introduce students to basic concepts in agency and partnership law as well as the law of corporations under the Model Business Corporation Act. Students will examine fundamental legal rights and duties between corporate shareholders, directors and officers. The course will cover the legal issues of both closely held and publicly held corporations, as well as those of hybrid organizations like limited liability partnerships. If time permits, students will learn the fundamentals of corporate finance and federal regulation of corporate share trading.
(Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Business Planning

This course will explore issues in forming, operating, and disposing of closely held businesses, building on the foundations laid in the Business Associations and Federal Income Taxation courses. Using readings, problem sets, class discussions, sample agreements, statutes, and regulations, students will explore the factors involved in selecting a sole-proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or limited liability company as the proper form for engaging in business. Students will draw on the experience of experts in the fields of investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance in examining issues relating to the buying and selling of businesses. Students will learn how to draft documents relevant to these transactions. [Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation and Business Associations]
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Canon Law of Marriage

This course will explore the principal canons on matrimony in their historical and doctrinal context. Students will examine the canonical definition of marriage and its ends and properties, canonical preparation for marriage, the impediments to canonically valid marriage, the laws concerning matrimonial consent, the canonical form, mixed marriage, dissolution of the bond, separation, convalidation and sanation. Students will subject some disputed questions concerning marriage to critical analysis from a theological and canonical point of view, e.g., the meaning of covenant, the requirement of faith, the nature of consent, indissolubility, the privilege of the faith and other grounds for dissolution of the marriage bond. Students will examine the nature of the Church’s matrimonial jurisprudence and of selected capita nullitatis of particular relevance to practitioners in both the Roman Rota and American church courts: the so-called traditional capita as well as various psychological bases for nullity. Each student will write a relatio (memorandum) and a sentence concerning the validity of a hypothetical marriage.
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Canon Law: Basic Principles

This course will examine the nature, history and function of law in the Catholic Church by presenting an overview of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and other ecclesiastical laws and regulations concerning general norms (Book I), the rights and obligations of the Christian faithful and ecclesiastical structures (Book II), the teaching office of the Church (Book III) and temporal goods (Book V). The course will provide students with an understanding of the structures, processes and discipline directed to harmony and order for the Christian faithful. It will seek to engender a knowledge and respect for ecclesiastical law as a pastoral instrument and practical science that translates the Church’s teaching into reasonable norms for members’ everyday lives. Students will learn about the basic structures in the Church at the universal, national, diocesan and parochial levels and about resources helpful to their effective participation and ministries in the Church. The course will introduce students to a significantly different juridical system and body of law and will enhance their abilities to deal with legal issues arising in a distinctly different juridical context.
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Civil Pre-Trial Litigation

This course will expose students to the civil pre-trial process – complaint, answer, discovery, depositions, motions and settlement. Enrollment is limited to 20.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Civil Procedure I: Pleading and Practice

This course will examine how civil litigation is conducted from the initiation of a lawsuit to its final resolution in a trial court. Students will examine issues relating to pleadings, joinder of claims and parties, discovery, summary judgment, motions for judgment as a matter of law, motions for new trial, post-trial motions, and ethical limitations on pleadings and motions. The course may include a brief introduction to subject matter and/or personal jurisdiction.
(Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Civil Procedure II: Jurisdiction & Erie

This course will examine the constitutional and statutory framework within which the civil justice system operates. Students will examine the sources and limitations of judicial power over persons and organizations (personal jurisdiction) and over particular cases (subject matter jurisdiction). Students will also explore the extent to which state law must be applied in federal court. (Sample Syllabus1)
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Client Interviewing and Counseling

This course will examine perspectives on interviewing and counseling clients, with an emphasis on interviewing techniques, processes for facilitating and structuring interviews, and active listening to clarify information and develop a relationship with a client. Students will learn to recognize psychological factors affecting the interviewing process, overcome client resistance and hostility and identify legal issues and relevant facts. The course will develop skills through role playing and simulations. Students also will explore the ethical responsibilities of attorneys in the context of client counseling.
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Clinic: Elder Law Practice Group

Students will represent senior citizens in cases raising issues such as Medicaid coverage of long term care, Medicare benefits, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, advance planning for incapacity and end of life, subsidized housing issues for seniors, nursing home rights, elder abuse, and consumer scams targeting the elderly. Students will interview and counsel clients, research the law and investigate facts, draft transactional documents, draft and file pleadings, conduct discovery, negotiate settlements, and represent clients in administrative hearings and trials. Enrollment by permission only. [Prerequisite or Concurrent Enrollment: Professional Responsibility]
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Clinic: Elder Law Practice Group (Advanced)

A small number of students who have completed a semester in the Clinic: Elder Law Practice Group may be asked to participate in the clinic practice for a second semester by continuing client representation and providing assistance to new clinic students. Enrollment by permission only.
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Clinic: Immigration Law Practice Group

Students will represent immigrants seeking to improve their legal status in the United States and may handle political asylum applications, claims under the Violence Against Women Act, and other forms of immigration law relief. Students may conduct client interviews, engage in local and international fact investigation, draft immigration applications and client affidavits, work with expert witnesses, draft legal briefs, and represent clients before immigration judges and immigration-related divisions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Enrollment by permission only. [Prerequisite or Concurrent Enrollment: Professional Responsibility]
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Clinic: Immigration Law Practice Group (Advanced)

A small number of students who have completed a semester in the Clinic: Immigration Law Practice Group may be asked to participate in the clinic practice for a second semester by continuing client representation and providing assistance to new clinic students. Enrollment by permission only
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Community-Based Advocacy

This course will utilize the social doctrine of the Catholic Church as a starting point to address how structural change can empower an economically disadvantaged community. Students will learn the skills necessary to lead social change through "participatory innovation". Students can only enroll with the professor's permission. Those interested must meet with the professor and bring a one-page tentative proposal to discuss during the interview. This proposal should suggest a project that would improve a low-income community and that will be carried out in partnership with community leaders. The proposal should also articulate how this course will enhance the student's educational goals and the law school mission. This course will have a final paper.
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Complex Litigation

This course will examine a variety of issues associated with complex civil litigation. They will include joinder, disposition of duplicative or related litigation, class actions, discovery, remedies, and attorney fees. In considering these issues, we will be looking at civil rights, employment, mass tort, and consumer litigation, as well as other types.
During the last several weeks of the course, we will focus on a particular case, the Minnesota Tobacco Litigation. Adjunct Professors Ciresi and Walburn, partners from Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi who successfully represented the plaintiffs in a $6 billion settlement, will be teaching this portion of the class.
Students will be evaluated on the basis of a final examination, as well as their class participation.
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Constitutional Law

This course will introduce students to the United States Constitution and to the role of courts in interpreting it. Students will examine the governmental structures set up by the Constitution, including the relationship between the federal and state governments and the relationship among branches of the federal government. The course will introduce students to the protection of individual rights under the Fourteenth Amendment in areas like racial, sexual and other forms of equality; implied rights of equality in voting; access to the courts; and rights of privacy in matters like marriage, family and sexual activity. Students will develop skills in framing and responding to constitutional arguments and in evaluating the role of courts in making policy through constitutional decisions. (Sample Syllabus)
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Constitutional Litigation

This course will engage students in the litigation process associated with constitutional issues. Students will be expected to participate in drafting portions of briefs related to cases and issues before various appellate courts and will involve a final examination. Enrollment is limited to 16.
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Consumer Law

This course will examine the federal and state laws regarding unfair and deceptive practices, consumer credit transactions, debt collection and warranties. Students will examine federal statutes, such as the Consumer Credit Protection Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, as well as state statutes and common law.
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Contracts

This course will examine the fundamental principles governing the enforcement of promises in the legal system. Students will explore topics such as the formation of contracts, the interpretation of contracts, reasons for avoiding enforcement of contracts, excuses for performance of contractual obligations, breach of contracts, remedies for breach and the rights of third parties. In the context of contract law, students will develop their analytical skills using the common law, as well as statutory (e.g., the Uniform Commercial Code) and secondary (e.g., the Restatement (Second) of Contracts) authorities. (Sample Syllabus)
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Corporate Finance

This course will examine corporate financial matters, beginning with the financial and economic theory underlying corporate finance laws. Students will explore the concept of “value” as it relates to bankruptcy reorganization, dissenters’ rights and public utility regulation. Topics will also include problems of corporate capital structure, enterprise and securities valuation, dividend policy and reinvestment and shareholder protection in mergers and acquisitions.
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Corporate Governance

This course will familiarize students with the issues and subjects involved in serving on, and counseling, boards of directors of entities chartered under the law. Students will examine the responsibilities and liability of boards of directors, which have come under increasing scrutiny from legislators, regulators, courts, stakeholders, the media, and the public. The course will explore the failure of some boards of directors to take responsibility for assuring the development of an ethical culture in the entity they oversee, and their failure to assume responsibility for the organization’s integrity. Students will be graded on papers, the preparation of model board materials, and class participation.
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Credit and Payment Devices

This course will examine the laws governing lending money and making payments in both consumer and commercial contexts. Students will examine lending laws, including negotiable instrument law relevant primarily to commercial lending (UCC Article 3) and consumer protection law addressing topics such as disclosure of lending terms, credit reporting, privacy and discriminatory lending practices and laws governing payment devices such as checks (UCC Article 4), electronic fund transfers (UCC Article 4A and the Electronic Fund Transfers Act) and credit and debit cards.  (Sample Syllabus)
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Crime and Justice Externship

This course is an Externship at the Council for Crime and Justice – a non-profit research and demonstration organization in downtown Minneapolis that focuses on improving the lives of crime victims, offenders, and at-risk populations as a means to reduce crime and violence.

The Externship will involve 100 hours of total work over the course of the semester. The 100 hours will include time spent in the classroom, on readings and journals, and on the actual project assigned to the student. The student will assist on one of the Council’s ongoing projects and make a presentation(s) to the relevant internal project advisory committee (composed of public official sand community leaders) and external stakeholders (e.g., relevant legislative bodies) at the end of the semester. Grading will be pass/fail.

To be eligible for this externship, a student must meet the following criteria: (1) completion of two semesters of law school in good standing; and (2) a “C” or better in both Lawyering Skills I and II; and (3) enrollment in the University of St. Thomas School of Law in the semester immediately preceding the one in which the student expects to enroll in the Crime & Justice externship.
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Criminal Law

This course will examine the origins, development, purposes and application of the criminal law, which may be the most direct expression of a society’s collective morality. The class will be both theoretical and practical. Students will study and discuss theories of crime and punishment, as well as the real-life consequences of enforcing these theories in an imperfect world. Students will learn the general principles of criminal liability and related defenses, the elements of various crimes, the nature of criminal acts and the requisite mental states. The course will emphasize heavily the ethics of criminalizing behavior and society’s treatment of criminal wrongdoers. (Sample Syllabus)
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Criminal Procedure I: Investigation & Pre-Trial

This course will explore law enforcement interactions with individuals and the ways in which constitutional constraints upon governmental investigative practices limit the use of evidence in criminal trials. In particular, students will examine interactions during police stops, searches and seizures, arrests and interrogation and will view all of these interactions in light of the rights conferred through the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. (Sample Syllabus)
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Criminal Procedure II: Trial & Post-Trial

This course will cover the trial and appeal stages of a criminal prosecution and include issues such as the prosecutor’s discretion in charging, the use of the grand jury, plea bargaining, speedy trial provisions, the right to jury trial, confrontation of witnesses, burdens of proof, jury deliberations, double jeopardy, and sentencing. Other issues may include ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, state court grounds for denying relief, exhaustion of claims, and miscarriages of justice. (Sample Syllabus)
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Critical Perspectives on the Law: Race

This course will explore the history of race in the law and how race today is a significant factor in matters of most importance in people’s daily lives. Students will discuss how the American institutions that control employment, housing, education, voting, and the justice system continue to struggle with institutional bias and racism. Students will also explore and discuss the legal and policy issues, past and present, facing these institutions. Students will discuss the values of the people in power when certain laws were adopted and how those values may impact decision-making. This will all be done under the umbrella of The University of St. Thomas’ School of Law Mission Statement : To integrate faith and reason in the search for truth through focus on morality and social justice. The final is a paper that will satisfy the upper level writing requirement.
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Disability Law

This course will explore the legal protections afforded to persons with disabilities. Through a focus on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students will examine the rights of individuals with disabilities in education, public accommodations, government programs, and the workplace. Students will evaluate critically the assumptions, philosophy, and tools that underlie the law’s current approach and will consider alternative approaches. The course will give students substantial experience in using tools of statutory interpretation as they consider the applicable statutes and their emerging judicial interpretation.
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Employment Discrimination

This course will examine the federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students will learn about basic requirements for proving discrimination, by both overtly discriminatory employment policies and facially neutral rules with a discriminatory impact. Topics also will include affirmative action, pregnancy in the workplace, sexual harassment and reasonable accommodation under the A.D.A. (Sample Syllabus)
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Employment Law

This course will consider the major legal issues arising out of the employment relationship. Students will consider the employment-at-will doctrine and sources of employment law, and then will examine issues involving the establishment and terms of employment; the obligations of employers and employees; the regulation of pay, hours, and the workplace environment; the termination of employment; worker’s compensation; and post-employment benefits such as unemployment compensation, ERISA, and social security.
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Environmental Law

This course will examine the legal mechanisms available to regulate and remedy environmental harm. Although students will learn about some common law claims, most of the course will focus on federal environmental statutes and regulations like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the statutes relating to hazardous substances. The course will introduce students to interviewing, counseling and negotiation skills in an environmental law context. (Sample Syllabus)
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Estate Planning and Taxation of Gifts

This course will focus on the theory and practice of estate planning with an emphasis on the ways in which the estate and gift tax structure informs the estate planning process. While students are encouraged to have taken Wills, Estates and Trusts, it is not a prerequisite for this course. (Sample Syllabus)
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Ethical Leadership in Corporate Practice

This course will help students explore their role as counselors and servant leaders in a corporate practice setting. Using a case study methodology common in business schools, students will discuss cases and real-world problems with a focus on counseling and problem solving. After reflecting on their own values, students will examine the concept of leadership within the profession and will hear from numerous guest lecturers who are leaders in Minnesota’s legal and corporate communities.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Ethical Leadership in Litigation

This course is structured similarly to Ethical Leadership in Corporate Practice described above except that if focuses on the student as an ethical advocate, counselor and servant leader in litigation. The biggest difference is that in nine of the thirteen classes, the speakers for that class are ethical leaders in a specific area of litigation practice (e.g. criminal prosecution, criminal defense, poverty law, complex civil litigation, ADR etc.). The speakers and the class discussion following the speakers will consider servant leadership with clients, colleagues in the firm, adversaries, and decision makers in the context of the particular litigation area for that evening's class. (Sample Syllabus)
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Evidence

This course will consider the rules governing the proof of disputed issues of fact at trial. Students will examine rules relating to relevance, presumptions and burdens, witnesses, scientific and demonstrative evidence, character evidence, hearsay and privileges. (Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Family Law

This course will explore the legal and policy issues relating to the creation and dissolution of family relationships. Students will examine topics such as marriage requirements, co-habitation, marital contracts, property distribution upon divorce, spousal support, child custody and child support. (Sample Syllabus)
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Federal Courts

This course will examine the powers and limits of federal courts, with a focus on the federal courts’ relationship to state courts (federalism) and to Congress and the federal executive branch (separation of powers). Topics will include standing to sue, the power of Congress to restrict the jurisdiction of the federal courts, the obligation of federal courts to apply state law, abstention by the federal courts in favor of state court decision making, the federal courts’ power to issue writs of habeas corpus, constitutional limits on suits against states and a brief introduction to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and other leading federal civil rights statutes. (Sample Syllabus)
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Federal Criminal Law

This course will examine federal criminal jurisdiction and selected substantive federal crimes, such as political corruption, drug offenses, mail and wire fraud, racketeering and organized crime and money laundering. Additionally, students will study federal forfeiture laws and criminal sentencing guidelines. 
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Federal Income Taxation

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of federal income tax law. Topics will include the nature of income, exclusions, deductions, and exemptions. Students also will examine the tax consequences of property transactions, capital gains and losses, and sales of business assets. Return to Course Index | Upper Level Class Schedule

Feminist Jurisprudence

This course will explore feminist philosophy of law, based on the political, economic, and social equality of sexes. Students will examine feminist legal theory and its identification of gendered components and gendered implications of seemingly neutral laws and practices. Topics may include, for example, feminist perspectives on the legal regulation of sexuality, reproduction and the family; domestic violence; employment discrimination (including sexual harassment); pornography; poverty and social welfare policy; or violence against women.
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First Amendment: Religious Liberty

This course will explore the historical development of religious liberty and issues arising under the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment, including religious exemptions from general laws, school vouchers and other forms of government aid to religious organizations, school prayer and other issues concerning religion in government settings, and the involvement of religion in politics.
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Foundations of Justice

The Foundations of Justice course is designed to accomplish several complementary goals.  First, to assure that we implement a pervasive approach to integrating faith and reason in a search for truth with a focus on morality and social justice -- our unique and distinctive mission – we have designed the Foundations of Justice course to provide a "common reader" if you will -- a set of sources and readings everyone will have become familiar with through this class that each of us can then draw upon in some context in our other classes without having to create supplemental materials.  We also believe the foundational concepts that we will be discussing should be part of a "core, legal education."  There are any number of great thinkers/writers/scholars over the centuries, some writing from a variety of religious perspectives, some writing from a more secular perspective, who have written about justice and frameworks for thinking about justice in various contexts.  It is our goal to draw on this rich tradition to provide all students a common grounding in different approaches to thinking about justice.  The pedagogical model will involve discussion of concepts in theory, as applied in some policy context, and then as might be encountered by an attorney in practice.  This leads to the second goal, helping students reinforce their own moral compass that will guide them in the development of their professional identity as lawyers.  In its recent book entitled Educating Lawyers, the Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching criticized legal education for its failure in helping students with professional formation – developing the moral compass they will need to be successful as members of the legal profession.  Foundations of Justice provides students with an opportunity to begin that experience of professional formation by helping them better understand and nurture their own moral compass  Finally, we want Foundations of Justice to accomplish two other goals.  We anticipate offering it in four sections of roughly 38-40 students.  We have been desirous of giving our first year students another "small class" experience in addition to the Lawyering Skills courses they take.  The Foundations of Justice course provides that opportunity for us.  With this smaller class size we also hope to facilitate/model a process of discourse about challenging issues that we believe truly is distinctive among law schools around the country.  We want to provide students opportunities to get experience disagreeing with peers/professors in a context in which they each continue to treat each other with the respect and dignity each deserves as a child of God.  This is a truly innovative and unique aspect of the St. Thomas education that we hope sets the tone for how discussion takes place among students, staff and faculty throughout the three years of law school, both in and out of the classroom.  (Sample Syllabus)
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Health Law

This course will introduce students to legal issues relating to health and health care delivery. Students will explore the potential conflict between quality and cost concerns and may examine topics like patients’ access to health care, the rise of managed care, health care delivery systems, health care insurance and health care financing. Additionally, students will examine the regulation, licensing and liability of health care providers and will explore selected ethical dilemmas in law and medicine.
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Immigration Law

This course will explore issues under the immigration, nationality and naturalization laws of the United States. Students will study the laws relating to refugees, political asylum, citizenship and deportation. They will examine the social and political policy underpinnings of these laws as well as practical problems with their enforcement. Additionally, the course will cover the constitutional basis of the power to control immigration and the constitutional rights of aliens seeking admission to or resisting deportation from the United States.
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Intellectual Property

This course will survey the major statutes protecting intellectual property – trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets – together with related common law doctrines. The course will emphasize basic theories of legal protection as well as the limits on this protection that are designed to preserve a public domain of freely accessible information. The course will introduce students to practical aspects of handling intellectual property, such as patent and trademark applications, licensing of intellectual property and handling of employee inventions. Students will explore the law’s response to new technologies, the preemption of state laws by federal patent law, the impact of international agreements covering intellectual property and the relationship of intellectual property to social justice and economic development.
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International Business Transactions

This course will explore the legal problems that can arise in transactions involving goods, services or money across national borders. Students will analyze potential legal problems with international contracts and agreements, and they will examine governmental regulation of international trade in areas like intellectual property, anti-dumping duties and export controls.
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International Human Rights

This course will introduce students to the nature and sources of international human rights law, including United Nations and regional human rights treaties and enforcement mechanisms. Students will examine the theoretical and historical foundations for human rights norms, the evolution of economic, social and cultural rights, the treatment of international human rights law in domestic courts and individual remedies for human rights violations. (Sample Syllabus)
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International Law

This course will introduce students to the sources, history, institutions, and nature of public international law. Topics will include international law jurisdiction, international institutions, sovereign and diplomatic immunity, limits on the use of force, the law of treaties, international organizations, protection of individuals, protection of the environment and law of the sea. (Sample Syllabus)
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Judicial Externship

This course will offer students an opportunity to learn about the judicial process and the role of judges and judicial clerks while under the direct supervision of a state or federal judge or justice.

The Externship will involve 150 hours of total work over the course of the semester. The 150 hours include time spent in the classroom seminar, on readings and journals and a presentation to the seminar, and on the actual project work assigned by the judge.

The Externship is demanding in terms of the quality of expected work product and the degree of professionalism required. Judges will expect students to have excellent research, analytical, and writing skills. Judges will also expect students to be able to express their opinions about the issues under consideration. Students must be certain that they are prepared to commit to the work schedule a judge may require for a particular project – the work flow for this Externship may be lumpy over the course of the semester.

To be eligible for the Judicial Externship, a student must meet the following criteria: (1) The completion of three semesters of law school; (2) Good academic standing; (3) Successful completion of Evidence, Lawyering Skills I, II, Professional Responsibility and either Lawyering Skills III or the Upper Level Writing Requirement; (4) Enrollment at the University of St. Thomas School of Law during the semester immediately preceding the one in which the student expects to enroll in the Judicial Externship; and (5) Other prerequisites as required by the judge or justice. (Sample Syllabus)
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Jurisprudence

This course will consider the answers offered by leading legal philosophers to the question, “What is law?” Students will review the major jurisprudential schools, including natural law, both classical and modern, positivism, and the historical school, the philosophical foundation of English common law and the doctrine of precedent. The course will examine developments in jurisprudence such as legal realism, legal pragmatism, and law and economics. Additionally, students will consider the relationship of religious faith to law and belief in natural rights.
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Juvenile Law

This course will explore the law related to juvenile delinquency and child protection and welfare. Students will learn how juvenile law developed, from the establishment of separate juvenile courts to the retrenchment of juvenile jurisdiction as a reaction to the increase in serious crimes committed by juveniles. The course will examine public policy issues relating to such topics as certification of juveniles to adult court, dual court jurisdiction, rehabilitation versus punishment, removal of children from their homes, and juvenile privacy. Students will explore the differences in roles of various actors in the system, including those of probation officers, guardians, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. The course also will cover the application of constitutional rights to juveniles.
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Labor Law

This course will examine federal laws regulating labor/management relations, chiefly the National Labor Relations Act. Students will explore problems in regulating industrial conflicts such as strikes, picketing, boycotts and unfair labor practices. They will learn about collective bargaining, collective agreements, dispute arbitration, protection of individual and minority rights and regulation of internal union affairs.
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Land Use Planning

This course will explore the potential conflicts between land use regulation and private property rights and will examine their respective constitutional bases. Students will consider topics like zoning, zoning relief, eminent domain, takings, wetland protection, historic preservation, development incentives and subsidies such as tax increment financing. (Sample Syllabus)
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Law Journal

The University of St. Thomas Law Journal embodies the school's unique mission by publishing excellent legal scholarship that inspires ethical and moral decision-making with an emphasis on social justice. The Journal hosts a series of on campus symposia designed to advance the mission and explore the theme reflected in its Latin subtitle, translated "faith and justice." The semiannual symposia also supplies the bulk of the material for each issue. The format promotes meaningful exploration of an intriguing legal issue, and encourages substantial collaboration between law review and faculty members. It's an arrangement designed to draw on the faculty's expertise, while keeping creative and editorial control in the students' hands. First-year students are selected as journal members based on a write-on competition held immediately after the spring semester.
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Law in Literature

This seminar will explore the law as a subject or theme in selected literary classics. Playwrights from Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons) have used a court of law and the legal profession to help tell their timeless stories. Nineteenth-century novelists Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and twentieth-century novelists Albert Camus (The Stranger) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) have used the law as a theme as well. The seminar will compare the civil and common law systems as reflected in literature and will examine the evolution of the jury. Students will work in teams to write and present papers on topics of their choice.
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Law of Nonprofit Organizations

This course will explore the large and diverse sector of the economy composed of not-for-profit organizations. Topics may include the economic function of non-profits, the applicable tax laws, abuses of their special status, and policy issues underlying their legal treatment. Students will review the special principles that govern non-profit organizations and question the policies underlying their special treatment under the law. (Sample Syllabus)
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Lawyering Skills I: Legal Reasoning, Research and Writing

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of legal problem solving through legal analysis, legal research, and legal writing methods. Students will learn methods of legal analysis, including fact analysis and rule-based reasoning, using common law and statutory sources. Students will learn legal research in primary and secondary sources, in both traditional and electronic formats, emphasizing efficient research strategies. Finally, students will learn to structure, write and edit a formal memorandum of law. Instruction in lawyering skills will be integrated to focus on the problem-solving process and to help students begin to develop independent professional judgment. (Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Lawyering Skills II: Lawyering and Dispute Resolution

This course will refine students’ legal problem-solving skills using legal analysis, legal research, and legal writing strategies and will introduce students to additional lawyering skills. Students will advance from objective to persuasive legal writing projects set in an advocacy context and will draft typical litigation documents, such as pleadings, pre-trial motions, and trial briefs. Students will consider various dynamics of the lawyer/client relationship, conduct a client interview, and prepare a client opinion letter. Finally, the course will explore alternative methods of dispute resolution. (Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Lawyering Skills III: Appellate Brief Writing & Advocacy

This course will focus on the skills necessary for successfully pursuing an appeal. After a brief introduction to the appellate process and its corresponding procedural rules, students will learn to evaluate a case for appeal, identify and narrow issues, develop a persuasive theory, and write an effective appellate brief. Additionally, students will present a 15-minute oral argument on their briefs to a moot court.
(Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Lincoln and the Constitution

This course will focus on major constitutional issues presented during the life, times, and presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The constitutional issues of Lincoln's day are fascinating in their own right, and supply an interesting perspective for understanding Constitutional Law generally and for considering some remarkably similar specific issues of today, including war powers, the use of military tribunals, federalism, suppression of freedom of speech and press, suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and the proper response to wrong and unjust Supreme Court decisions.
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Litigation With the Federal Government

This course will introduce students to the unique principles that apply when the sovereign is a party to a court action. Because the federal government is a party in nearly one-third of all civil cases in the federal courts, an understanding of these principles is vital for any student interested in litigation or government legal practice. Students will examine the role of the Department of Justice, the question of federal sovereign immunity, federal governmental liability in tort and contract, general and specific waivers of sovereign immunity, suits against federal officers, and awards of attorney's fees against the government. Students also will explore when and how the government responds to injuries that it has caused to its citizens.
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Media Law

This course will examine the legal and ethical framework in which media organizations operate, historically and today. Students will explore legal issues such as the First Amendment, prior restraint, libel, intellectual property, privacy, newsgathering, shield laws and government secrecy, and will examine how the traditional legal framework is being adapted to keep up with technology as it is applied to various media from newspapers to television and radio to websites, blogs and pods. Students will also learn how to counsel media clients and review material before it is “published.” This course syllabus will be flexible to accommodate discussions of relevant current events and decisions. Journalists, news and media executives and media attorneys will be invited to speak about their first-hand experience with these topics. This course will require significant student participation.
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Mediation

This course will examine different types of mediation, and will focus on developing mediation skills. These skills will then be put to use in simulations. We will also focus on the concept and process of "value creation". Students will be required to write a short paper in lieu of an examination.

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Mentor Externship

Each year of law study, students are paired with respected lawyers and judges in the community. Mentors introduce students to a wide range of lawyering tasks and judicial activities and share with them the traditions, ideals and skills necessary for a successful career. Each pair is required to engage in a number of lawyering or judicial activities together. For example, the student may accompany his or her mentor to a deposition, client meeting, or an appellate argument. In addition to completing fieldwork requirements with a mentor, students must also attend small group sessions to discuss the issues raised in the mentor program. During the first year of law study, the small group sessions include a full-time faculty member and peer mentors. Peer mentors are second and third-year students who volunteer time to assist student with a variety of needs and challenges in the first year.

Mentor Externship now requires all second- and third-year law student to participate in an academic credit program that combines fieldwork with a contemporaneous seminar component. A skilled full-time or adjunct faculty member facilitates the seminar component. Students will earn one credit each year of Mentor Externship, for a total of two credits during law school.

The Mentor Externship Seminar fosters the habit and skill of reflective lawyering and draws on student/mentor experiences to examine the law school’s mission in a practical setting. Class topics are designed to bridge the gap between student learning and life as a lawyer. Each student is given the opportunity to individualize learning goals specific to his or her unique path of professional development.
(Sample Syllabus Externship) (Sample Syllabus Seminar)
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Mergers and Acquisitions Law

This course will examine the planning, negotiation and completion of mergers and acquisitions. While the legal and business terms of typical acquisition agreements (which may have applicability to many business transactions) will be covered, the M&A process itself will be made clear in a practical sense. The evolving duties of corporate management in both friendly sales and hostile takeovers will be explored. (Prerequisite -- Business Associations) (Sample Syllabus)
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MJF Seminar: Legal Scholarship for Equal Justice

This course, sponsored by the Minnesota Justice Foundation, will focus on applied legal research on issues of importance to poverty lawyers and their clients. Working singly or in small groups, each student (or team) will produce a research paper of publishable quality, addressing a legal issue chosen from a list submitted by local poverty law practitioners. Topics may include both civil and criminal law issues that have a significant impact on low income people. Student papers will be e-published, and will be available to practitioners nationwide. Students will be linked up with the poverty lawyer who submitted their research issue, and that lawyer will serve as a “field instructor,” helping to supervise the student’s project. Students will also spend about 20 hours in the field, gaining an understanding of poverty law practice and of the context for their legal issue. However, this is not an “internship”; students will not assist in the work of the field office. The class meets two hours per week at the University of Minnesota Law School. Enrollment is limited.
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Moot Court Competition

Interscholastic moot court competitions involve writing and advocacy against teams of students from other law schools. In a typical academic year, teams will be selected to participate in the National Moot Court Competition during the fall semester and in a number of spring competitions. Teams are chosen by a committee of faculty members in consultation with student members of the Board of Advocates. Prior to participation in the competition, team members must write, edit, and submit a brief and practice oral arguments before students, faculty, and attorneys. All interscholastic moot court teams work under the guidance of a faculty advisor.
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Native American Law

This course will explore the principles and doctrines governing the complex legal and political relationship between the United States and Native American tribes. Students will examine topics such as the history of federal Indian law and policy, bases for tribal sovereignty, jurisdiction and government, tribal property rights, congressional plenary power and the trust doctrine.
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Negotiation

This course will examine the theory and practice of resolving legal disputes through negotiation, with an emphasis on negotiation theory, negotiation strategy and settlement dynamics. The course will develop negotiation skills through role playing and simulations. Students will also explore the ethics of negotiation and the ethical responsibilities of attorneys in the context of negotiations on behalf of a client.
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Patent Law

This course will introduce students to the legal framework of patent law and important aspects of patent law practice and litigation. Students will explore topics like patentable subject matter, requirements for obtaining a patent, drafting of patent claims, suits for infringement of a patent and remedies for infringement. Additionally, students will examine the relationship between patent law and other forms of intellectual property protection.
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Pension and Employee Benefits

This course will study the laws regulating pensions and other benefits provided to employees by private employers, with a primary but not exclusive emphasis on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Topics covered will include rules designed to prevent forfeiture of pension benefits, fiduciary duties under ERISA regulation of tax-qualified pension plans, the termination insurance program for pension plans, preemption of state law and a variety of issues relating to non-pension welfare benefits plans, such as those providing medical insurance.
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Personal Injury:Automobile

This course will focus upon the theory of no-fault insurance as well as the nuts and bolts associated with trying to resolve disputes about property damage and personal injuries involving automobile accidents in the context of Minnesota's no-fault insurance system.
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Poverty Law I

This course will cover the most common issues facing private attorneys doing pro bono work for the poor, government attorneys advising state and local agencies offering poverty programs, and legal services attorneys. Course topics will include issues in landlord-tenant law, general government benefits law, housing discrimination law, and general elder law. Students will also explore topics that personalize life in poverty. The Poverty Law courses may be useful for students considering clinical courses.
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Poverty Law II

This advanced course will examine specialized areas of poverty law often not covered extensively in traditional law school courses. For example, students may explore issues relating to civil juvenile law, including those involving child maltreatment and welfare; advanced elder law, including kinship caregiving and nursing home regulation; advanced housing law, including the law regulating mobile home parks and public and subsidized housing; and advanced government benefits, disability, rural practice, immigration, education, and migrant law. The Poverty Law courses may be useful for students considering clinical courses. [Students should strongly consider taking Poverty Law I before Poverty Law II, but it is not a prerequisite. There is no overlap in coverage between Poverty Law I and II.] (Sample Syllabus)
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Professional Responsibility

This course will examine issues of legal ethics and the professional responsibility of lawyers. Students will study the law governing the conduct of lawyers in areas like formation of the lawyer/client relationship, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, client communications and the lawyer’s role within the adversarial process. Additionally, students will move beyond the legal rules and regulations to explore expanded and aspirational ideas of what a lawyer’s role can and should be in the lawyer/client relationship, in the profession and in society.
(Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Property

This course will cover fundamental issues associated with the law of property. Students will examine the rights arising from various interests in property, the concept of possession and how possession is acquired and protected and the ways in which possession is transferred, shared and divided. Additionally, students will explore the right to use or restrict the use of property. In the context of property law, students will explore various aspects of lawyering such as interviewing and counseling, fact investigation, dispute resolution, problem-solving and professional responsibility. (Sample Syllabus1) (Sample Syllabus2)
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Race & the Law

This course will explore the history of race in the law and how race is a significant factor in matters of most importance in people’s daily lives. We will analyze why the American institutions that control employment, housing, education, voting, and the justice system continue to struggle with institutional bias and racism. The students in this course will explore and discuss the issues, past and present, facing these
institutions. Race and the law is also subject to factors such as economic and sociological, however this course will have limited review of these other areas. Students will discuss the values of people in power and how those values might impact the decision-making process. Students will be challenged to take a critical look at how these past decisions have shaped our society.
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Real Estate Transactions

This course will cover an array of legal and practical aspects of real estate transactions. Students will explore legal and policy issues within the context of several common real estate transaction types, including purchase agreements and leases. The course will also introduce students to the process and art of critically analyzing, negotiating, and documenting real estate transactions.
(Sample Syllabus)
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The Religious Lawyer

This seminar will explore the relationship between religion and the practice of law by equipping students with the tools to think critically and creatively about the interaction between a religious worldview and professional norms. Readings and discussions will take up various questions regarding the legal system’s presumptions toward religious devotion, the relevance of particular religious beliefs to legal practice, the tensions between a lawyer’s beliefs and a client’s expectations, and the implications of approaching one’s profession as a calling. The seminar is an integral component of our law school’s mission, as it aims to cultivate an environment in which students think seriously about the paths by which faith should (or should not) be integrated with their professional lives. Enrollment is limited to 16 students.

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Sales

This course will cover the law governing contracts for the sale of goods under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Topics will include contract formation, including the statute of frauds and the parole evidence rule; express and implied warranties; the mechanics of performance, including transfer of title and tender; and remedies for breach of contract. (Sample Syllabus)
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Secured Transactions

This course will explore the rights and duties of parties to secured transactions under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Students will examine what remedies are available to secured and unsecured creditors in the collection of debts and what rights remain with debtors in protecting their assets from creditors.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Securities Regulation

This course will examine federal and state securities laws that regulate the process of financing business by distributing securities to the public. Topics will include the nature of a security, exemptions from registration, securities distribution and trading, the functions of the Securities and Exchange Commission, registration and disclosure requirements, “blue sky” laws, proxy rules, broker/dealer regulation, the regulation of investment companies and civil liabilities. (Sample Syllabus)
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Small Firm Practice

This course will introduce students to business decisions made in small firms. Students will examine Decision Areas and analyze them through Decision Issues. Students will develop a framework for making ethical business-side decisions, identify stakeholders in decision-outcomes, and look holistically at the consequences of specific decisions on stakeholders. Students will prepare a mission statement and business plan. (Sample Syllabus)
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Sports Law

This course will explore the legal relationships among parties in both amateur and professional sports as well as survey current issues in sports law. Students will examine eligibility rules, ownership structure, antitrust law, labor law, publicity rights and governance of the game. Additionally, students will consider the role of criminal law and tort law to address on-field actions.
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Supervised Research & Writing

Under the supervision of a faculty member, a student may receive up to two hours of course credit for researching and writing a substantial paper on a topic of the student’s own choosing. The student must receive the instructor’s permission to enroll in this course and must meet periodically with the instructor for discussion, review, and evaluation. Each faculty member may supervise the research of no more than five students each semester.
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Taxation of Business Enterprises

This course will examine the tax treatment of the entity and the owners of a “C” corporation, an “S” corporation, a partnership, and a limited liability company. The course will be useful as an introduction to business taxation to students who are interested in a practice involving tax planning and those interested in a general business practice. Taking an entity life-cycle approach, students will learn the tax consequences of organizing, operating, and liquidating these entities. Students will also consider contributions and distributions of money and property, contributions of services, the treatment of losses and the effect of entity-level debt, allocations of tax items among the owners, and sales of ownership interests. Students will learn the practical application of the issues studied through some basic drafting assignments. [Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation]
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Torts

This course will examine the legal principles that determine whether civil liability will attach to conduct that results in injuries to persons or property. Students will explore in depth, the issues and principles related to the law of negligence and its elements of duty, breach, causation and damages. The course will also address principles of liability for intentional torts. Throughout the course, students will explore the social and economic policies underlying tort law principles. (Sample Syllabus)
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Trial Advocacy

This course will teach trial preparation, technique and strategy. Through lectures, demonstrations and simulations, students will learn how to conduct pretrial negotiations, prepare and respond to motions, deliver opening and closing statements, introduce evidence, respond to objections and conduct direct and cross-examinations of witnesses. (Sample Syllabus)
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Visions of Women's Leadership

This course will help students explore the relevance of their sex to their calling as servant leaders who are endowed with the unique privileges and responsibilities obtained through a legal education. Borrowing from a case study methodology common in business school models, students will discuss cases, articles and speakers' comments with a focus on understanding the role that sex and gender has on members of the legal profession. The course will begin by examining various understandings of sexual difference and how these differences are manifest. The second segment of the course will examine how these differences affect professional conduct and life choices. We will examine what these differences mean in the various circumstances encountered in the practice law. This will provide insight into how we might exercise leadership within the family, community, and profession.
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War, God, and the Constitution

This course will examine some of the jurisprudential, legal and ethical issues presented by past wars and the current “war” against terrorism. The relevant Supreme Court opinions will be studied which delineate civil liberties in the time of war, and the constitutional balance between Congressional (Article I) and Executive (Article II) powers will be articulated. The due process rights of the Guantanamo Bay detainees and the pending litigation testing the suspension of habeas corpus (2006 Military Commission Act) will receive special attention.

In addition, the moral and ethical dilemmas presented by the war against terrorism will be discussed. These issues will be approached both from the viewpoint of attorneys involved in the litigation and attorneys as members of the body politic. To facilitate this discussion the Christian just war tradition and the meaning of Islamic jihad will be examined. The issues will include: deportation, torture, warrantless wiretaps, racial/ethnic profiling, and the potential empiristic implications of the 2002 National Security Strategy.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Western Legal History of Marriage

This course will cover the several millenia history of marriage as a legal relationship in western civilization. Enrollment is limited to 16.
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Wills, Estates and Trusts

This course will introduce students to the law governing the transmission of property following death. Students will examine the justifications and limitations on the power to transmit one’s property, the operation of intestacy statutes, the capacity to make a will, the requirements of a valid will, the construction of wills, and the inter-vivos trust and other will substitutes. (Sample Syllabus)
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Workers’ Compensation

This course will cover the theory and administration of the workers’ compensation laws. Students will examine the rights and responsibilities of injured employees and their employers under workers' compensation and will learn about employer/employee relationships, employees’ remedies apart from workers’ compensation, the classification of risks and disability and death benefits.
(Sample Syllabus)
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Wrongful Convictions

Taught in conjunction with the Innocence Project of Minnesota, this course will educate students about the causes of wrongful convictions. As part of their midterm and final examinations, students will be required to evaluate inmate applications for assistance submitted to the Innocence Project of Minnesota. Enrollment is limited to 20. (Sample Syllabus)
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