Online Master of Dispute Resolution Curriculum

Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Systems is an orientation to the sources and types of law in the United States, the systems of making and administering laws, and the processes of resolving legal conflicts. To establish a foundation for advanced topics and issues, this course surveys the US Constitution and its structures for making, reviewing, and administering laws, including federalism and civil rights. The course compares major categories of law, explores their intersections, describes civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution, and raises critical issues of justice in law and society.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the structure of the US legal system, both federal and state courts and the relationship between the two.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how laws are made and administered.
• Understand and articulate the relationship between case law, statutes, and administrative regulations.
• Understand and explain the basic concepts of and differences between civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
• Recognize and articulate critical issues of justice in relationship to law and society.

This class will teach students how to perform legal research, writing, and analysis. Students will learn how to identify, use, and analyze primary and secondary legal authorities to solve legal problems and how to structure and draft legal memoranda, letters, oral presentations, and other professional communications.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a general knowledge of the structure, components, and functioning of the US legal system.
• Comprehend and explain the reasoning and rules contained in legal authorities and apply them in a variety of client situations.
• Understand when and how to employ simple strategies and technologies to retrieve, use, and manage well-known and commonly used research materials and information.

This course examines the theory and practice of negotiation as a process used to put deals together or to resolve disputes and legal claims. Students learn about competitive positional bargaining and collaborative problem solving and acquire insight into the strategic management of the tension between the two approaches.

Through simulated exercises, students develop skills and confidence as negotiators, including an awareness of the psychological encouragements and barriers to consensus. Special challenges of multiparty negotiations are addressed with an emphasis on the attorney-client relationship, including applicable ethical standards, codes, and law.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Analyze theories of and demonstrate an understanding of the practical skills of negotiation by preparing a substantive research paper.
• Demonstrate negotiation skills by engaging in simulated exercises and in multiparty negotiations.
• Show an awareness of ethical rules and informal constraints regulating the conduct of lawyers and negotiators in certain settings.

The mediation class examines the dynamics, benefits, constraints, and skills related to third-party intervention in the resolution of legal disputes. The course explores mediation as a collaborative process of resolving conflict; the legislative, ethical, and practical constraints on its use; as well as the skills needed to serve in a mediation capacity. There is an emphasis on learning through simulation exercises, which are drawn from the labor, family, and commercial areas.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a methodical approach to mediation.
• Articulate and apply mediation techniques in a legal dispute.
• Differentiate between ethical and unethical practices in mediation, and identify potential ethical dilemmas and solutions.
• Demonstrate awareness of legal and public policy concerns regarding the practice of mediation.

This course is designed to put students in the driver’s seat, confronting them with scenarios and issues that are familiar to legal counselors and advocates in arbitration. By the time students complete this class, they should be able to:

• Differentiate the many forms and applications of arbitration processes in a variety of transactions and settings.
• Compare and contrast arbitration with mediation and other “ADR” approaches and with litigation in court.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of arbitration usages in business and the roles of arbitrators and party representatives.
• Negotiate and draft an arbitration/dispute resolution agreement.
• Show an understanding of key differences associated with different arbitration rules and procedures, including differences in provider institutions and arbitrator appointment procedures.
• Describe how to prepare for and conduct an arbitration hearing from the commencement of the process through the rendition of an arbitration award, including the prehearing conference, development of a procedural order, and setting a timetable for arbitration.
• Identify and explain issues or process choices likely to arise during the course of an arbitration.
• Show an understanding of the kinds of remedies available in arbitration and ways of framing arbitration awards and what happens after an award is rendered.
• Enumerate key ethical obligations of arbitrators, with special emphasis on procedural fairness, independence, and impartiality.
• Identify special concerns associated with arbitration occurring under standardized contracts involving consumers or employees.
• Identify the issues that arise when the same person is a mediator as well as an arbitrator in a case and ways of addressing related concerns.

It is important that this class seem as relevant and useful to students’ lives and careers as possible. Today, some arbitration processes are heavily affected by the law and lawyers, but they are widely used to resolve business disputes. Students do not have to have a legal background to thoroughly understand what is covered in this course.

The course examines how obvious and not-so-obvious cultural differences impact resolution of interpersonal and interstate (international) disputes. Specifically, the course will bring an international perspective to understanding the impact of culture in the most commonly used international and domestic dispute resolution practices (negotiation and mediation).

This course also surveys the impact that cultural differences, stereotypes, and attributions have on key dispute resolution processes and on conflict generally. It is designed to build theoretical knowledge, to equip students with an analytical framework useful in determining suitable dispute resolution processes, and to instill practical skills and strategies to enhance effectiveness in cross-cultural contexts.

Cultural differences in language, customs, values, legal systems, and worldviews are examined along various dimensions: orientation toward the individual or the collective community; importance of career success over quality of life; deference to authority; long- vs. short-term orientation; extent to which expectations for behavior are implicit or express; perceptions of time and personal space; and aversion to risk.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Practice negotiation and mediation techniques by engaging in role-playing exercises.
• Practice legal writing skills and demonstrate an understanding of dispute resolution theory through preparation of an original research paper addressing a topic related to cross-cultural conflict and dispute resolution.

Psychology of Conflict and Communication is a survey course covering the intersection of psychology, law, conflict, and dispute resolution with application to human communication. This course explores psychological phenomena, the frameworks for analyzing conflict that results from these phenomena, as well as conflict resolution communication skills to address these phenomena. This course is designed to provide insights from areas of cognitive and social psychology, neuro-collaboration, and communication theory and apply those insights to dispute resolution and negotiations.

Topics addressed in this course include paradigms for the sources of conflict; escalation and de-escalation theory; the physiology of conflict; managing personalities in conflict resolution, both “regular” and “high-conflict” personalities; emotional intelligence competencies and conflict resolution; exposure to the canon of personality instruments, including MBTI and TKI; the myth of rationality and decision-making; cognitive biases; neuropsychology including empathy, mirror neurons, and memory; trust and altruism; persuasion, rhetoric, dialogue, narrative paradigm, and linguistics; power, threat, and face-saving; and anger and the limits of argumentation and rationality.

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Develop and demonstrate a deep understanding of the psychology of conflict communication and its intersection with dispute resolution and lawyering through participation in role playing, simulations, and other skills-based learning exercises.
• Assess professional obligations, in part, by preparing simulation response papers in which students explore reflective professionalism, which includes fostering self-awareness, exploring a paradigm for giving and receiving feedback, and developing a language for critique of their own professional performance.
• Appraise their own approach to conflict, and improve their ability as a problem solver and human being to resolve conflicts through participation in skill-based learning exercises and preparation of simulation response and research papers.
• Identify personality styles, choose appropriate intervention techniques, and maintain ethical principles while dealing with difficult people professionally and personally through participation in skill-based learning exercises and preparation of simulation response and research papers. Students will identify conflicts in communication, analyze and evaluate the communication competency of conflict participants, and analyze communication theories.

This residency is designed to provide the course participants with a practical view of dispute resolution and an experience in the world of dispute resolution. In this immersive, experiential residency course, students will explore ethics, problem-solving, advocacy, and various stages and kinds of dispute resolution. This residency will be focused on the fields of negotiation and mediation. To develop a deeper understanding of negotiation and mediation in practice, students will engage in case studies, live role plays, mock negotiations, and mediations to learn how dispute-resolution professionals resolve controversies and resolve complex conflicts.

MDR Residency 2 – Dispute Resolution in Practice 2 is an immersive, experiential, and advanced residency course through which students explore ethics, problem solving, advocacy, and various stages and kinds of dispute resolution. This course is focused on the skills of arbitration and arbitration advocacy. This course will also discuss the advanced issues of mixed mode and cross-cultural dispute resolution mechanisms. This residency will be focused on the fields of arbitration and complex dispute resolution mechanisms. To develop a deeper understanding of arbitration and advanced negotiation/mediation in practice, students will engage in case studies, live role plays, and mock negotiations and mediations to learn how dispute resolution professionals resolve controversies and complex conflicts.

Students will practice and experience the hands-on practical training that the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution is known for. Students will get an opportunity to learn from fellow students but also to practice and learn with experienced mediators, negotiators, and legal practitioners, including judges and arbitrators.

This course is designed to put students in the driver’s seat, confronting them with scenarios and issues that are familiar to legal counselors and advocates in arbitration. By the time students complete this class, they should be able to:

• Differentiate the many forms and applications of arbitration processes in a variety of transactions and settings.
• Compare and contrast arbitration with mediation and other “ADR” approaches and with litigation in court.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of arbitration usages in business and the roles of arbitrators and party representatives.
• Negotiate and draft an arbitration/dispute resolution agreement.
• Show an understanding of key differences associated with different arbitration rules and procedures, including differences in provider institutions and arbitrator appointment procedures.
• Describe how to prepare for and conduct an arbitration hearing from the commencement of the process through the rendition of an arbitration award, including the prehearing conference, development of a procedural order, and setting a timetable for arbitration.
• Identify and explain issues or process choices likely to arise during the course of an arbitration.
• Show an understanding of the kinds of remedies available in arbitration and ways of framing arbitration awards and what happens after an award is rendered.
• Enumerate key ethical obligations of arbitrators, with special emphasis on procedural fairness, independence, and impartiality.
• Identify special concerns associated with arbitration occurring under standardized contracts involving consumers or employees.
• Identify the issues that arise when the same person is a mediator as well as an arbitrator in a case and ways of addressing related concerns.

It is important that this class seem as relevant and useful to students’ lives and careers as possible. Today, some arbitration processes are heavily affected by the law and lawyers, but they are widely used to resolve business disputes. Students do not have to have a legal background to thoroughly understand what is covered in this course.

This advanced course examines the consensual processes used to resolve public policy disputes, particularly those concerning environmental and community impact, natural resources management, and land use and regulation. It is designed to equip students to strategically facilitate understandings among large constituencies with divergent interests through, for example, identification of stakeholders, selection of appropriate spokespersons, management of multiple participants, acquisition of approval from public sector entitles, and coordination with elected officials. Negotiated rule-making and the 1990 Administration Dispute Resolution Act are also covered. 

Prerequisite: Mediation Theory and Practice or Alternative Dispute Resolution

This advanced course builds upon and augments the basics of mediation theory and practice through an in-depth examination of selected aspects of the process. Students expand and refine their skills as mediators by addressing topics such as dealing with difficult parties, overcoming impasse, mediating with large numbers of participants, responding to media in a mediation, using a decision-tree analysis, and employing counterintuitive and mindful mediation strategies. Controversial ethical issues and public policy concerns, such as the limits of confidentiality and expectations of procedural fairness, are also explored through complex scenarios. The personal qualities of a mediator and central components integral to a professional mediation practice are examined, together with suggestions for marketing, managing, and building a successful practice.

Prerequisite: Mediation Theory and Practice

This class will examine each of the themes of apology, forgiveness, and reconciliation. A spectrum of definitions and meanings of each theme will be explored. A variety of approaches on how to implement each theme will be discussed. The material will be addressed from the context of governing our own lives, providing professional advice to another as an advocate, and serving as a mediator. Class material will include religious and nonreligious perspectives on these themes.

This course will address protocols for resolving disputes in the nonunionized workplaces. The class will discuss unique concerns originating from the negotiation, mediation, and arbitration of employment claims like race, age, gender, and religious discrimination; sexual harassment, wage hour class actions, Americans with Disabilities Act violations, workers’ compensation, whistleblowers, Family and Medical Leave Act violations, and occupational safety requirements; and wrongful termination, EEOC dispute resolution programs, internal dispute resolution systems for employees, and the growing trend of ombuds offices.

This course focuses on how disputes are resolved in the entertainment industry through mediation and arbitration. A broad range of contexts, such as motion pictures, television, music publishing and records, as well as sports and the arts, form the backdrop for the examination of various cases and simulations. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is explored from the point of view of house counsel, business affairs executives, outside counsel, transactional attorneys, litigators, mediators, arbitrators, agents, creative executives, union representatives, performers, artists, and Olympic athletes. 

Students gain familiarity with details of established dispute resolution programs, such as the following:

• Entertainment Panel of American Arbitration Association (AAA)
• Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)
• Arts Arbitration and Mediation Service (AAMS)
• Writers Guild of America (WGA)
• Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
• NCAA and professional sports leagues dispute resolution protocols 

The course also addresses entertainment industry acceptance of ADR, ethical issues, blended ADR processes, international issues, entertainment industry style and subculture, and practice tips.

This two-unit survey course will explore corporate and organizational conflict management and the design of appropriate dispute resolution systems, emphasizing the role of both attorneys and business leaders as problem solvers. Students will discuss various dispute resolution techniques that corporations and organizations utilize to prevent, manage, and resolve lawsuits, claims, and other forms of conflict.

Students will obtain an overview and understanding of:

• Why litigation and other traditional forms of dispute resolution may not always be the best way for corporations and organizations to resolve conflict.
• What corporations and organizations have done to meet the challenges associated with the costs, time cycle, and uncertainty of litigation and other methods of dispute resolution.
• How some corporations and organizations design and institutionalize a program within their organization to proactively manage conflict.
• The benefits of early case assessment and early resolution strategies.
• The various dispute resolution processes that have been found to be effective in today’s business world.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of how to design and institutionalize a dispute resolution program within a business organization.
• Practice legal writing skills through preparation of an original and significant research paper addressing a dispute resolution topic.

This course will explore the theory and practice of ombuds and ombuds programs. These programs are being created at a quickening pace. Our goal is to provide a thorough background that could be used in making a decision about establishing an ombuds program or in examining ombuds practice as a personal career direction. This course is organized around a series of questions:

1. What is ombuds? (a general overview of the concept and its evolution)
2. Why does ombuds work? (a review of the theory of third-party intervention in conflict)
3. How does ombuds work? (a survey of ombuds practice with opportunities to try it out)
4. How can ombuds get wide institution/constituency support? (an exploration of best programmatic practices for building strong and enduring programs)
5. What are the issues that arise in ombuds practice? (an open-ended discussion of the current opportunities and challenges in the profession)

Time will be spent in a variety of activities: presentation, discussion, brainstorming, and skills practice.

This advanced course explores conflicts that arise in the context of families, with emphasis on negotiating and mediating issues surrounding marital separation and divorce. It is designed to equip students with the strategic judgment, skills and sensitivity needed to help parties build consensus on matters such as child custody, visitation, division of property, spousal support, and child education and support. Relevant emotional concerns, such as feelings of betrayal and loss, are examined, along with techniques for addressing them. Special considerations surrounding high conflict families, domestic violence, spousal or child abuse, and “move aways”, as well as ethical issues related to power differentials, court-mandated mediation, collaborative law and mediator certification, are also covered.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of international arbitration law and practice. Topics explored include the making and enforcement of arbitration agreements; the selection and appointment of the arbitral tribunal; preliminary proceedings, including procedural orders and interim relief; the arbitration hearing; and the making and enforcement of the arbitral award. Particular attention is paid to the enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards, the role of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and other treaties, and their interplay with national laws as a backdrop for private arbitration agreements.

This course will include four asynchronous sessions as well as synchronous learning prior to the five-day study tour in Geneva, Switzerland.

This Online Programs Study Tour examines how international commercial and public disputes, including international sports disputes, are resolved by international organizations and dispute resolution institutions. The study tour employs the historic city of Geneva, Switzerland, as the backdrop for an immersive study-abroad experience. The course begins with an overview of Geneva and its place in the development of international law and international organizations. It then examines international commercial dispute resolution theory and practice and international sports dispute resolution theory and practice. For each of the topics, the asynchronous sessions explore how international organizations and institutions based in Geneva and beyond contribute to dispute resolution. Building on this background, site visits and guest lectures in the international city of Geneva provide opportunities for students to visit and interact with a variety of international and dispute resolution organizations.

Students who complete the study tour will have achieved a better understanding of how international disputes are resolved and will be better equipped to serve and contribute to the global community. The course not only provides a “hands-on” experience but allows students to become acquainted with Geneva’s unique history and its role in international dispute resolution.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Students will understand the key political and legal factors that influence the development of resolving disputes in the international realm. (CA1)
• Students will become familiar with the leading institutions and actors that contribute to transnational alternative dispute resolution. (CA1)
• Students will learn the basic substantive rules of major international dispute resolution bodies, such as those of the International Court of Justice and United Nations. (CA1)
• Students will understand the impact domestic dispute resolution has had and continues to exert over transnational dispute resolution. (CA2)
• Students will be able to wield their growing expertise in dispute resolution in a transnational setting. (CA2)
• Students will develop an understanding and appreciation for the ethical and moral implications and obligations of international dispute resolution bodies, procedures, and practitioners. (ME1) 

Law and Policy Study Tour explores how federal law is made, influenced, and enforced in our country, including the role that politics plays in the legislative and executive branches. Students will examine the roles of Congress, agency counsel, the president, executive officers, federal courts, and lobbyists. In particular, students will learn the intricacies of the legislative process and the oversight functions of Congress that accompany its legislative powers. The course also addresses the role of agencies in how federal law is shaped and enforced, and how lobbyists work to influence federal law and the policy issues that arise from that influence.

Course Format

This course has a substantial in-person learning component, which will include course work over three-and-a-half days, Thursday–Sunday. Preceding the in-person learning component, there will be two live online lectures over the first three weeks of the course.

During the in-person portion of the course, students will:

• Take tours of the Capitol and Supreme Court.
• Join in on a conversation with the clerk of the Supreme Court.
• Attend course work sessions with classmates.
• Attend a reception with Pepperdine alumni.

The program fee for this elective course is $400. Please note that taking this course does not replace the required on-campus residencies.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the U.S. legislative process and methods of congressional oversight.
• Explain the role of lawyers in various federal agencies, in the White House, on the Hill, and in the judiciary.
• Assess the participation of lobbyists in making, defending, challenging, and upholding the law.
• Discuss conflicts between and within the three branches as they make, enforce, and interpret federal law and policy.

This course will include three asynchronous sessions as well as synchronous learning prior to the five-day study tour in London, England.

The course examines the roots of the US legal and governmental systems, within a comparative analysis framework of the US and UK systems. A brief review of UK political history will provide a foundation for a deeper exploration of the structure of the UK government and political systems and its unwritten constitution. This will then lead into an examination of the elements of the UK systems that the Founding Fathers found both attractive and problematic, resulting in the necessary compromises leading to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution with its three branches of government.

The subject matter will be contextualized by viewing the events surrounding the drafting of the Constitution through the eyes of three people with connections to both the US and the UK:

1. Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) – Founding Father, resided in London for 17 years while attempting to negotiate a path whereby the colonies would remain under UK control.
2. Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) – A slave in the US who became a published poet with popularity in the UK. She visited the UK while still a slave and had an audience with the mayor of London.
3. Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) – A free African American almanac author, surveyor, astronomer, and farmer. He was a member of the surveyor team that laid out the borders for the District of Columbia. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson on issues of slavery and racial equality. He crafted a wooden clock that struck on the hour; some speculate that Big Ben (the Elizabeth Tower) is named after Banneker.

Study of these individuals will illuminate that the birth of the US systems did not impact everyone equally, while also helping to bring history to life by visiting sites in London related to each. While in London, site visits could include Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, the “Legal London” tour, Benjamin Franklin’s house, London Mansion House, and the U.S. Embassy.

This course focuses on the law governing government agencies. Focusing primarily on federal law and federal agencies, the course introduces students to the processes of lawmaking and law application by the administrative agencies of the executive branch and their control by the federal courts, Congress, and the president.

The course covers the basic tools used by agencies, such as rulemaking and adjudication, as well as the procedural and substantive rules that limit and guide the use of these tools. Topics studied include the scope of judicial review, access to judicial review, the separation of powers, procedural due process, and freedom of information. In short, the study of administrative law focuses on the activities of government agencies from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Social Security Administration, from the Federal Trade Commission to the National Labor Relations Board.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of applicable administrative law principles in rulemaking, adjudication, executive enforcement, and judicial review.
• Analyze factual scenarios in accordance with applicable administrative law principles to determine appropriate outcomes in legal proceedings.
• Identify applicable administrative law principles and apply them in accordance with the best interests of the client, fairness and equity to all parties, and judicial.

This survey course will introduce students to various aspects of civil procedure, which may include pleadings, discovery, pretrial adjudication, trial, appeal, jurisdiction, venue, joinder of claims and parties, statutes of limitation, and preclusion. The course will also examine how these aspects of civil procedure are applied by litigators.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an ability to critically analyze statutes and rules.
• Outline the general ways in which a civil lawsuit moves through the courts.
• Demonstrate an understanding of trial court procedural posture and appellate court standards of review.
• Understand and apply the rules for pretrial processes, including pleadings, motions, and discovery.
• Explain the role of dispute resolution and how it aids and applies to traditional civil litigation.
• Explain trial by jury, including jury instructions, jury verdicts, and judicial control of the jury.
• Discuss how lawyers might respond to moral, ethical, and professional responsibilities within litigation.

The Constitutional Law (Structure and Rights) course covers both the structural and individual aspects of the US Constitution. The Supreme Court of the United States plays the primary role in interpreting the meaning of the constitution, but all federal courts are limited to deciding issues as they come up in the course of normal litigation.

In the federalist system created by the constitution, the federal government is limited to enumerated powers with commerce power being a historically important power. As for individual rights, laws impacting fundamental rights or creating suspect classifications receive strict scrutiny. Free speech rights and separation of church and state principles are especially important.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the structure of government under the US Constitution.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of individual rights and limitations on state power under the US Constitution.

This survey course will introduce students to various aspects of contract law. The course begins with concepts relating to the formative process of a contract, with questions including:

• What is a contract?
• What component parts are generally necessary for there to be a valid contact?
• When does a contract form, and does it have to be in writing to be valid?
• In a written deal, what do the written terms mean, and is there more to the deal than what is in the writing?
• Who can make a contract?

From contract formation, and a few related items, the course then moves to the operative stage of a contract. This major topic includes issues of performance of promises, contract conditions, and breach of contract. Related concepts include contract defenses, remedies, damages, and other topics such as third-party beneficiaries and assignment/delegation of contract benefits and duties. Finally, students look at the practical side of contract drafting and execution.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Identify the particular elements that make promises legally enforceable and recognize the general problems that arise in legal enforcement of promises.
• Explain doctrinal principles of contract law using real-world contractual language.
• Recognize different remedial options available for breach of contract claims.
• Distinguish and explain the unique ethical problems associated with the making, breaking, and enforcement ofpromises.

This survey course will introduce students to various aspects of criminal law and criminal procedure, including the theory and elements of specific crimes and the constitutional standards of criminal prosecution and police practices. The course will also examine how these laws and procedures are applied by police, prosecutors, defenders, and courts.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an ability to critically analyze statutes and rules.
• Outline the general ways in which a civil lawsuit moves through the courts.
• Demonstrate an understanding of trial court procedural posture and appellate court standards of review.
• Understand and apply the rules for arrest, detention, criminal trial practice, and evidence and constitutional standards.
• Discuss how lawyers might respond to moral, ethical, and professional responsibilities within criminal law and practice.

This course introduces students to the law of property. It primarily focuses on real property but may include a discussion of personal property interests as well. Topics may include adverse possession, estates in land and future interests, concurrent ownership, landlord-tenant, servitudes, nuisance and other property common law topics, land use and zoning, housing, condominiums and homeowner associations, transferring interests in land using a real estate contract and/or the deed, and title assurances.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Explain basic concepts of real and personal property law.
• Comprehend and use the legal terminology typical to practice in real and personal property law.
• Assess and interpret the law of real property by applying it through participation in classroom discussions and examinations.

Torts is one of the fundamental subjects of American law; it covers problems of interference with one’s person, property, or intangible interests. The problems arise in a variety of commonplace situations: for example, trespassing on another’s land, negligently injuring another in an automobile accident, or misrepresenting important facts in a business transaction. The topics covered in the course will include, among others, battery, trespass, negligence, products liability, misrepresentation, defamation, invasion of privacy, and interference with business relations.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Identify and explain the elements of various torts, including intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability.
• Comprehend and use the legal terminology typical to practice in tort law (CA-1).
• Assess and interpret the law of real property by applying it through participation in classroom discussions and examinations.

Law of Business Organizations is an introduction to the law relating to business enterprises. The course especially examines corporations and compares them to sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Specific topics include the formation, financial structure, and control structure of different types of business organizations. Also, the course covers the principles of agency that are involved in contracts between business organizations and the public with which they deal.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Model Business Corporation Act.
• Identify the steps by which a corporation is established.
• Explain and apply the duties of a corporation’s directors and officers.
• Explain and apply the rights of shareholders and creditors.
• Identify legal and ethical issues regarding the corporation’s responsibilities to society.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of basic financial statements and how corporations are financed.
• Assess lawyers’ professional obligations regarding representing a corporation and representing the persons creating the corporation.
• Explain and apply the law of agency.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the differences between close corporations and other corporations.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the differences among corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited liability companies along dimensions of organization, governance, taxation, and limited liability.
• Show proficiency in oral communication through class participation.

A study of the legal aspects of education in America, including the policy principles for creating and maintaining public schools, private schools, home schools, and charter schools. Topics covered include school finance, tort liability, student rights, personnel administration, civil rights, higher education, religious expression, free speech, and voucher programs.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of US law on issues of education.
• Delineate the application of legal principles to its appropriate system—primary, secondary, higher education, private school, and home school.
• Understand the manner in which public education is organized and regulated.
• Show conversancy with the manner in which private sector education is regulated.
• Explain US cases and statutes.
• Demonstrate written legal analysis ability in final research paper.
• Recognize and articulate critical issues of justice in relationship to law.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the ethical, and professional responsibilities of lawyers and policymakers in the system of education in America.
• Demonstrate awareness of the emerging education reform issues and state their own position in light of the reform proposals.

Healthcare is America’s largest and fastest growing business with complex interactions across most sectors of American life in law, economics, politics, business, and families. The law and public policy affect healthcare providers and consumers, employers and employees. Further, the government bears the largest share of the cost for healthcare in the United States, and it is governed by complex webs of law and regulations. This course explores these complex, intersecting laws governing healthcare in the United States as they affect providers, patients, communities, and businesses.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the structure of health law in the United States.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how laws are made and administered.
• Understand and articulate the relationship between case law, statutes, and administrative regulations.
• Understand and explain the basic concepts of and differences in the legal systems and programs that govern healthcare in the United States.
• Recognize and articulate critical issues of justice in relationship to law and society.

This survey course introduces the four fundamental types of intellectual property protection: patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright. Additionally, some time will be spent exploring the concepts of unfair competition and the right of publicity. This course is designed to give students a general working knowledge of the types of intellectual property protection available, as well as the strengths and limitations of each type and how they may be used to complement one another. A technical background is not required, even for the patent materials.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the four fundamental intellectual property protections: patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright, as well as the general concepts of unfair competition and right of publicity.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each type of intellectual property protection and explain how they may be used to complement each other.
• Assess and interpret the law of intellectual property by applying it through participation in classroom discussions and examinations.

This is an elective course on private employment law, in which you will read edited California state law cases. Private employment law involves the study of both federal law and state law. In some areas, federal law and state law are consistent and, in other areas, they differ. Likewise, among the various states, there are both similarities and differences in the law. However, because so much of employment law is state law, and because California is the most heavily regulated state in terms of employment law, this course will use California law as our foundational law while noting similarities and differences with federal law and other states’ law. Additionally, to give you a fuller understanding of how employment law may differ from state to state, students will be assigned to a state other than California and required from time to time to conduct online research regarding the law in their assigned state.

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Identify the most important topics in private employment law.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the substantive rules in private employment law.
• Describe ways in which private employment law is similar and different as between federal law on the one hand and individual states’ laws on the other hand, as well as among the various states’ laws.
• Show how substantive rules in private employment law apply to differing factual scenarios.
• Assess and critique cases interpreting private employment law.
• Show proficiency in reading cases, statutes, and administrative regulations.
• Compare and contrast the lawyer’s dual requirements of zealously representing clients and faithfully serving as an officer of the court.