Courses
Wake Law offers a variety of courses in many areas of legal theory and practice. Below you will find a complete course listing. You can also find lists of courses that satsify the Practical Skills Requirement, Upper-level Writing Requirement, and Legal Research and Writing III Requirement.
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An examination of the procedural and substantive aspects of United States admiralty practice and jurisdiction. Offered in alternate years.
606 - Advanced Legal Research (2 hours)
This course will provide instruction in advanced search strategies and techniques for finding information efficiently and effectively. Internet research, database searching, website design and search engines, and the use of computers in law practice will be addressed.
611 - Advanced Trial Practice (3 hours)
This course covers several subject areas not covered in depth in the basic trial practice course: voir dire, witness preparation, expert witness examination, and case planning. Students will perform exercises in each of these areas. They will try an advanced civil case for their final exam. The use of PowerPoint is required for the trial. Prerequisites: Evidence and Trial Practice.
401 - Agency (2 hours)
A study of the principal and agent relationship and rights and obligations of third parties with regard to principal and agent.
649 - Analytical Methods for Lawyers (2 hours)
This course introduces methods of analysis drawn from disciplines such as economics, game theory, accounting, finance and statistics. The concepts and techniques covered here will enable lawyers to analyze legal problems, and communicate with clients, with a richer vocabulary and a broader range of tools. The course will be team-taught, with an emphasis on problems and regular in-class assignments.
642 - Animal Law (2 hours)
A survey of legal, ethical, and policy issues regarding non-human animals. Topics include anti-cruelty laws; medical and scientific research; liability for injuries to, or caused by, animals; hunting laws; and standing for animals. Students will write a paper in this course.
538 - Antitrust (3 hours)
A study of federal antitrust laws to prevent monopolies and various anticompetitive practices with special consideration of mergers, price fixing, price discrimination, tying arrangements, exclusive dealing, territorial and customer restraints, boycotts, and monopolization.
219 - Appellate Advocacy (2 hours)
Experience in the preparation, research, and writing of an appellate brief and in oral argument before an appellate court. Participation in the intramural Stanley Moot Court competition is an option in the Fall. This course satisfies the Legal Research and Writing III requirement.
549 - Appellate Advocacy (Competition) (1 hour)
Seminar in advanced appellate advocacy involving research and drafting of briefs and presentation of oral arguments as a member of an interscholastic moot court team. Students may repeat this course for a maximum of two hours credit.
548 - Appellate Advocacy Clinic (3 hours)
An advanced appellate advocacy seminar involving representation of clients pursuant to Local Rule 46 of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. This course is open only to third-year students. Prerequisite: Legal Research and Writing III.
529 - Aviation Law (2 hours)
A study of airport law, governmental liability, litigation management, air carrier liability, and economic regulation of airlines both domestic and international. Offered in alternate years.
543 - Banking Law (2 hours)
A study of traditional banking regulation questions.
568 - Bankruptcy: Advanced Topics (2 hours)
This course will examine current topics of interest in bankruptcy law and practice, with an emphasis on business reorganizations under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Prerequisite: Debtor-Creditor Law.
594 - Bio-Ethics (2 hours)
Students will act as a court or administrative agency and write opinions addressing emerging legal issues created by society's advancement in medicine and technology, including genetics, medical experimentation and research, reproductive rights and end of life decisions.
657 - Biotechnology Law and Policy (2 hours)
Biotechnology is a major growth industry and both large and boutique law firms are establishing biotech or “life sciences” practice groups. This course surveys a range of legal topics in this field, such as: FDA regulation of drugs and devices, regulation of medical research, products liability, insurance coverage of pharmaceuticals, intellectual property, and genetics.
559 - Business Crimes and Torts (3 hours)*
This course compares business torts with the substantive and procedural aspects of white-collar crimes.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
541 - Business Drafting (2 hours)
This course focuses on legal drafting as a process in the business setting. Students will be required to draft and evaluate typical documents including corporate documents, loan and purchase contracts, partnership agreements, and employment agreements. This course satisfies the Legal Research and Writing III requirement.
203 - Business Organization (4 hours)
A study of the nature, powers, and obligations of private corporations, including their formation, management, and dissolution; the rights and duties of promoters, directors, officers, and stockholders; and the rights of creditors and others against the corporation; together with a study of the creation, nature, and characteristics of business partnerships.
628 - Business Planning (2 hours)
Examination of selected legal problems relating to some of the following topics: choice of business entity, forming a partnership, forming a corporation, corporate restructuring transactions (shifting ownership interests among shareholders), purchase and sale of a business. Prerequisite: Business Organizations.
602 - Civil Law Tradition (2 hours)
This course traces the development of European civil law systems from their common source in Roman law and legal science to modern civil codes (in particular the Austrian, French, German, Swiss, and Dutch). The course will also examine the ongoing process of harmonization and unification of private law in the European Union.
104 - Civil Procedure I (3 hours)
A survey of proceedings in a civil action, including jurisdiction of state and federal courts, law for the case, pleading and parties, pre-trial and discovery, trial and appeal.
105 - Civil Procedure II (3 hours)
A survey of proceedings in a civil action, including jurisdiction of state and federal courts, law for the case, pleading and parties, pre-trial and discovery, trial and appeal.
643 - Civil Rights Remedies (2 hours)*
This course will examine how the judiciary should respond to race discrimination and the efficacy and competency of federal courts in redressing race discrimination. The class will take as a given that a legal violation has been proven; the question becomes how the courts should respond. Students will examine such issues as voting districts based on race; compelled integration of public housing; compensatory education programs in formerly segregated school systems; affirmative action programs; and the question of whether any judicially-imposed remedy is appropriate for race discrimination.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
601 - Community Development Clinic (4 hours)
The work of this clinic is primarily transactional. Students will assist clients at various stages in the business development process, with an emphasis on business, housing, and institutional support in economically disadvantaged segments of the community.
590 - Comparative Constitutional Law (2 hours)
This course will explore questions central to public law issues in the United States and across the world. It will consider the purposes for which constitutions are established, and the processes of constitution-making and constitutional change.
583 - Comparative Law (2 hours)
This course introduces comparative methods of legal analysis, with a focus on the "civil law tradition" in Latin America. Study includes the development of the civil law tradition in Europe, the spread of that tradition to Latin America, and particular topics of Latin American law. Weekly graded papers; no final exam.
576 - Complex Civil Litigation (3 hours)
This course is about complex civil litigation and covers a variety of civil procedure topics not taught in the first year course (and a few that are) that bear on complex litigation. Topics that are covered include consideration of what makes a civil case complex, advanced joinder devices (intervention, necessary parties, interpleader, consolidation), multidistrict litigation, overlapping state and federal actions, including injunctions against prosecuting duplicative actions, discovery and the conflict between zealous representation and the obligation of cooperation in discovery, confidentiality orders, appellate jurisdiction, attorney’s fees, and mechanisms to structure the trial, such as bifurcation of issues. A substantial portion of the course covers class actions.
575 - Computer Law (2 hours)
An introduction to the legal problems raised by computer use and applications with emphasis on law related computer issues such as copyright and patent problems involving computer hardware and software, the negotiation and purchase of software and equipment, and warranty and tort issues arising from such transactions. Offered in alternate years.
403 - Conflict of Laws (3 hours)
A study of the choice of law rules applicable where at least one of the operative facts in a case is connected with some state or country other than the one in which suit is brought.
120 - Constitutional Law I (3 hours)
A survey of the protection of individual liberties under the Constitution with emphasis on application of the Bill of Rights to the states; substantive due process, including the right to privacy; First Amendment guarantees of free speech and religion; the state action requirement; and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection. The course also focuses on types of constitutional argument and analysis.
209 - Constitutional Law II (2 hours)
An examination of the role of the Congress and the Supreme Court in the American legal system with emphasis on the powers of Congress, especially over commerce; judicial review, justiciability; separation of powers; executive authority; limitations on state power under preemption, the dormant commerce clause, and the interstate privileges or immunities clause; and procedural due process as a limit on government power. Students also study types of constitutional arguments and analysis.
511 - Consumer Protection (2 hours)
A study of the sale of consumer goods on credit and the lending of money. Issues covered include false advertising, retail sales practices and consumer fraud, the Federal Trade Commission Act and State "Mini-FTC" Acts, state and federal warranty laws, deceptive pricing, debt collection practices, and truth in lending laws. Offered in alternate years.
101 - Contracts I (3 hours)
A study of the formation, essentials, interpretation, and operation of contracts as well as the discharge of contractual duties and remedies for breach.
102 - Contracts II (3 hours)
A study of the formation, essentials, interpretation, and operation of contracts as well as the discharge of contractual duties and remedies for breach.
586 - Copyrights (2 hours)*
This course focuses on the basics of copyright law, including: the subject matter of copyright; how copyright is secured and maintained; the scope of protection; and the duration, renewal and transfer of rights. It also explores enforcement of copyright, the impact of new technologies, and issues relating to access and use of copyrightable subject matter.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
574 - Copyrights: Selected Topics (2 hours)*
This course covers a variety of subjects not covered in depth in Copyrights 586. Copyrights 586 is not a prerequisite
* This course may be offered for 1 hour during some years.
619 - Corporate Finance (2 hours)
A study of the allowable changes in a corporation's financial structure with concentration on the recapitalization of solvent corporations, reorganization of insolvent corporations, and concepts of valuation. This course will emphasize the role that lawyers play in structuring and implementing financial transactions for corporations. Prerequisite: Business Organizations.
653 - Corporate Governance and Professional Responsibility (1 hour)
This course will consider the real world challenges and pitfalls for a lawyer for the corporation. The topics to be covered include fiduciary duties of corporate directors and officers, the special ethical role of the lawyer for the corporation, the lawyer-client privilege and work product rules in the corporate setting, and the lawyer’s role in avoiding implications of client fraud.
561 - Corporations: Advanced Topics (2 hours)
An in-depth analysis of federal and state regulation of corporate takeovers to include acquisition techniques, legal protection afforded shareholders and others, federal tender offer and disclosure rules, state corporate fiduciary law and anti-takeover statutes. Prerequisite: Business Organizations.
646 - Crime Policy and the Limits of the Law (2 hours)
In this seminar, students will consider the real-world impact of legal rules in various criminal policy settings such as capital punishment and gun control. The materials in this course will concentrate on efforts by social scientists, journalists, polemicists, and others, to evaluate existing laws and to predict the impact of potential laws.
103 - Criminal Law (3 hours)
General principles of criminal law, specific crimes, and defenses.
400 - Criminal Procedure (4 hours)
A study of state and federal criminal procedure from investigation through trial to appeal and post-trial remedies, including constitutional rights of those accused of crime, suppression of evidence, and discovery.
500 - Criminal Procedure: Selected Topics (2 hours)*
A detailed study of one or more selected aspects of criminal procedure. The topics covered in recent years have included sentencing law, police accountability, and the jurisprudence of the death penalty.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
303 - Debtor-Creditor Law (3 hours)
A study of the collection of money judgments, including collection procedures and defenses, relief measures for debtors, and federal bankruptcy law.
306 - Decedents' Estates and Trusts (4 hours)
A study of the descent of property by operation of wills and intestacy and the nature, creation, and elements of a trust.
591 - Disability Law (2 hours)
A study of the federal laws regarding the rights of the disabled in employment and education.
565 - Dispute Resolution (3 hours)
A study of traditional and alternative methods of resolving disputes; use of techniques such as arbitration and mediation will be studied. Negotiation theory and tactics will also be explored.
537 - Donative Transfers (2 hours)
A study of rules of construction which courts have adopted in resolving ambiguous dispositive instruments, including wills, trusts, and deeds. Decedent’s Estates & Trusts is recommended.
652 - Economic Torts (2 hours)*
This course covers tort protection of economic interests. Tort law’s primary focus is on protecting against personal injury and property damage. When the only harm caused is economic loss, such as lost profits, identity theft, a loss of an inheritance, the benefit of the bargain in a contract, an opportunity to start a new business, or a product that does not perform as it should have, tort law has been very restrictive about providing relief, leaving most of such harm to contract law or uncompensated. This course will cover the areas in which tort law does provide protection for “pure” economic loss, including misrepresentation and especially fraud. This course might have been titled business torts because corporations cannot suffer personal injury and most often when they sue other companies in tort, it involves economic loss. If time permits, legal malpractice and consumer protection, both of which entail economic loss, will also receive coverage.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
552 - Education Law (2 hours)
This course will examine the legal authority and current legal problems of public and private elementary/secondary schools and higher educational institutions.
604 - Elder Law Clinic (4 hours)
A legal clinic operated by the School of Law, and located at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Students work under the supervision of a managing attorney. They handle legal problems for elderly clients, conduct interviews, draft pleadings and wills, and appear in court and in administrative proceedings. Students make community presentations on laws affecting older adults. A weekly classroom session includes topics such as estate planning for the small estate, Medicare/Medicaid, interviewing skills, and areas of law affecting older adults.
650 - Election Law and Democracy (2 hours)*
This course will focus on selected topics related to the legal structure of the political process in the United States. Topics covered will typically include the right to participate in the political process, reapportionment, redistricting, racial and political gerrymandering, the role of political parties, money and politics, legal issues in election administration, and remedies for defective elections.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
546 - Employee Benefits and Pension Law (2 hours)
A seminar exploring the labor law implications of administering and advising clients concerning employee benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
513 - Employment Discrimination (3 hours)*
This course surveys the federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability. It includes theories of liability, defenses, administrative procedures, and remedies. Students may not take this course and Employment Discrimination: Selected Topics 562. Offered in alternate years.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
562 - Employment Discrimination: Selected Topics (1 hour)
This course examines significant unresolved issues arising from the federal anti-discrimination statutes. Students will write two essays in response to the assigned readings. Employment Law 526 is a pre- or co-requisite. Students may not take this course and Employment Discrimination 513.
526 - Employment Law (3 hours)
This course is the foundational survey of the statutory and common laws governing the non-union workplace. It includes wrongful discharge, contracts, wages and hours, occupational safety and health, workers' compensation, and privacy rights. It also includes an overview of the federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability.
599 - Entertainment Law (2 hours)
A study of the law relevant to the representation of entertainers and the promoters and producers of entertainment.
512 - Environmental Law (3 hours)
A selective survey of Federal approaches to public health and environmental regulation, including study of at least one of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
304 - Equitable and Legal Remedies (3 hours)
This course focuses on monetary damages (including the "rightful position" principle, consequential damages, and monetary damages for dignitary and constitutional harms) and injunctions - preventive, reparative, and structural. Other topics include contempt and attorneys' fees.
621 - Estate Planning (2 hours)
A course in planning both the administrative provisions and the dispositive provisions of wills and trust agreements, leading toward the drafting of an illustrative instrument. Prerequisites: Federal Estate and Gift Taxation and Decedents' Estates & Trusts.
572 - European Community Law (2 hours)
A survey of the significant laws and policies of the European Community, including the legal and institutional framework, the internal market, competition and environmental laws and an overview of external relations and commercial policy.
207 - Evidence (4 hours)
A study of the rules and standards by which the admission of proof at a trial is regulated. Special reference to the Federal Rules of Evidence.
508 - Family Law (3 hours)
An exploration of the nature, requirements, and economic consequences of marriage, annulment, divorce and child custody as these topics relate to the traditional and non-traditional definition of "family."
563 - Family Law: Selected Topics (2 hours)
A study of the economic consequences of divorce--property division, alimony, and child support--and of child custody. Prerequisite: Family Law.
579 - Federal Criminal Law (3 hours)*
This course is an upper-level elective that supplements the first-year substantive criminal law course. Topics covered include: federal criminal jurisdiction, limitations on federal criminal authority, conspiracy, RICO, drug trafficking, mail fraud, and problems of federal-state jurisdictional overlap. The course is not a seminar.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
514 - Federal Jurisdiction (3 hours)
A study of the jurisdiction of the United States trial and appellate courts and the role of these tribunals in the federal system.
518 - Financial Products and Payment Systems (3 hours)
A study of Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which applies to negotiable intruments and related topics.
584 - Freedom of Religion Under the Constitution (3 hours)
An examination of the law of religious freedom as fashioned by the U.S. Supreme Court, under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
588 - Freedom of Speech, Press and Petition: Selected Topics (2 hours)
This seminar course will address state and federal constitutional decisions in the First Amendment areas of speech, press and petition.
647 - Gender and the Law (2 hours)
This course will examine how the law affects women’s lives in a number of different contexts. The class will consider a number of different areas, including but not limited to employment, education, family responsibilities, violence against women, and other issues affecting women’s bodies, including pornography and prostitution. The class will also review a number of feminist legal theories and issues relating to the intersection of gender with race and class.
525 - Health Care Law and Policy (2 hours)
This course introduces students to the structure, financing and regulation of the health care system and proposals for its reform. Legal topics include Medicare, medical staff disputes, health care antitrust, HMOs and insurance regulation.
564 - Immigration Law (3 hours)
A survey of immigration law and policy, including the criteria for admission and exclusion, the substantive and procedural rights of aliens, and the current immigration issues faced by employers, businesses, and all of society.
558 - Immigration Law: Selected Topics (3 hours)*
This seminar will cover topics of current interest in immigration law. Past topics have included the intersection between immigration law and criminal law.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
505 - Independent Study (1 hour)
Research and writing in selected legal fields under faculty supervision. (No student may earn more than a total of three Independent Study credits in all, and no more than two credits on a single project or from a single professor.)
605 - Independent Study: Intensive (2 hours)
Research and writing in selected legal fields under faculty supervision. (No student may earn more than a total of three Independent Study credits in all, and no more than two credits on a single project or from a single professor.)
509 - Insurance Law (2 hours)
A study of the nature, requisites, and legal effect of the insurance contract.
534 - Intellectual Property (3 hours)
A survey course designed to provide the prospective general practitioner with knowledge of the basic principles of intellectual property and unfair competition law.
577 - International Business Transactions (3 hours)
A study of a wide range of international transactions, including marketing of goods and services; license or transfer of technology; joint ventures; finance and governmental regulation. Various multi-lateral initiatives, such as the Vienna Convention on contracts for the sale of goods, will be discussed.
504 - International Civil Litigation (3 hours)
This seminar centers on problems connected with civil litigation in the international context with emphasis on U.S. practice. Offered in alternate years.
656 - International Environmental Law (2 hours)*
This seminar will examine and assess the legal regimes nations have developed to address international and global environmental problems, including climate change, ozone depletion, marine pollution, and the extinction of species.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
592 - International Human Rights (3 hours)
The course will examine the international law of human rights from a moral as well as from a legal perspective.
501 - International Law (3 hours)
An examination of the nature of international law, sources and evidence of international law and agreements, and international dispute resolution, including the use of force.
654 - International Trade Law (2 hours)*
This course will examine the legal framework that governs international economic relations, including in particular international trade in goods. It will discuss the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and NAFTA, looking not only at how the international rules work, but also at how they conflict with or complement efforts to protect other goals, such as protecting labor rights and the environment. There is no prerequisite.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
596 - Internet Business Law (2 hours)
This course will examine the legal aspects of doing business on the internet. Topics will include intellectual property protection, domain names and cyberpiracy, privacy, and internet-related contracts.
540 - Judicial Externship (3 hours)
A clinical study of law from the viewpoint of the bench. The student works as a law clerk for a state or federal judge, observing trials, conferences and hearings; researching law and procedure; and fulfilling the general role of a law clerk. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure I and II and Evidence. Due to scheduling concerns permission must be obtained from the professor before registering for this course.
502 - Jurisprudence (2 hours)*
Seminar discussion of some of the problems concerning the nature and sources of law, schools of jurisprudence, and the nature of judicial process with application to cases and other materials.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
531 - Juvenile Law (2 hours)
This seminar considers the special procedural and substantive law applicable to children, with particular emphasis given to specialized juvenile courts.
503 - Labor Law (3 hours)*
A survey of the rights and duties of employers, unions, and employees under the National Labor Relations Act.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
536 - Land Use Regulation and Planning (3 hours)
A study of the public regulation of land use and its alternatives. Primary focus is on the scope of the police power in the zoning process.
567 - Law and Economics (2 hours)
The course will consider the application of economic theory to a number of central issues dealt with by the legal system such as property rights, contract formation and enforceability, contract damages and product liability.
524 - Law and Medicine (2 hours)
An exploration of several legal aspects of the practice of medicine including medical malpractice, informed consent, hospital liability, and the right to die.
655 - Law and Terrorism (2 hours)*
This seminar examines the complex array of legal and policy issues generated by the phenomenon of terrorism, with an emphasis on post-9/11 developments. Topics likely to be addressed include: the scope of federal criminal laws relating to terrorism (and constitutional concerns raised by some such laws); the nature of the FBI’s investigative authorities (and constitutional concerns that they raise); the regulation of intelligence-gathering and other activities conducted by other government agencies; the use of military force in connection with counterterrorism policy (including the full array of constitutional, international, and statutory issues raised by Guantanamo, military detentions, targeted killings, and war crime trials); and issues associated with interrogation.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
589 - Law and Valuation (2 hours)
This course considers the interplay of the law and modern valuation techniques. We look at modern valuation theory and methods, and their application in particular legal valuation contexts such as bankruptcy, equitable distribution, medical malpractice litigation, government takings and corporate buyouts. Students will present a group project and write a short paper on a topic of their choice.
609 - Law Practice Management (3 hours)
A practical study of the work of the lawyer in the practice, the management of a modern law office, the attorney-client relationship, and the drafting of legal instruments.
595 - Law Review (2 hours)
The Wake Forest Law Review is a student-run organization that publishes four issues annually, hosts a lecture series, and sponsors a daylong symposium focused on a specific, dedicated Law Review topic. Membership is determined through academic performance and/or participation in a writing competition.
519 - Law, Literature, and Culture (3 hours)*
The course asks students to reflect on justice by examining ethical and moral issues faced by lawyers in literature and film. Study of classic works in law and literature curriculum as well as of less often studied works and several films will give students new tools of analysis and moral perspective. These tools will be brought to bear on the study of some legal opinions that will be read as narratives in a specific context.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
535 - Legal History- American (3 hours)*
A study of how the law has reflected and shaped American culture. The course includes English origins of ideas of individual rights and limited government, controversies that shaped the American Revolution, the development of torts in the 19th century, and how the controversy over slavery shaped the Fourteenth Amendment.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
700 - Legal History- English (3 hours)
A study of selected topics and areas of English legal history including the early court system, common law actions, and extraordinary remedies. Offered in London during the summer. Only one English legal history course may be taken.
110 - Legal Research and Writing I (1 hour)
Seminar instruction in the lawyering skills of case analysis, statutory interpretation, persuasive argument, and legal research through the preparation of legal memoranda and briefs.
119 - Legal Research and Writing II (2 hours)
Seminar instruction in the lawyering skills of case analysis, statutory interpretation, persuasive argument, and legal research through the preparation of legal memoranda and briefs.
200 - Legislation and Administrative Law (3 hours)
This course surveys the legislative process, fundamentals of statutory interpretation, and the work of administrative agencies, with special emphasis on the administrative rule-making process.
616 - Legislation and Administrative Law Research (1 hour)
This course will provide instruction in advanced search strategies and techniques for legislative and administrative/regulatory research at both the federal and state level. Topics will include cost-effective legal research strategies, legislative tracking and history, updating statutes, regulatory tracking and history, researching administrative decisions, and making freedom of information requests. Successful completion of, or concurrent enrollment in, Legislation and Administrative Law (200), while not required, is strongly recommended.
603 - Litigation Clinic (4 hours)
A vigorous concurrent program of academic instruction and skills training designed to more fully qualify the student to practice law. Every student participates in both the civil and criminal law elements. Direct field instruction in the civil and criminal practice is provided by practicing attorneys. The classroom component teaches the lawyering skills of communication, interviewing, counseling, discovery, negotiation, and advocacy. All practice is in accord with North Carolina's Student Practice Rule. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence, and Trial Practice. Professional Responsibility and Criminal Procedure are recommended.
553 - Litigation Drafting (2 hours)
Legal drafting in the litigation setting. Students will be required to draft and evaluate typical litigation documents. This course satisfies the Legal Research and Writing III requirement. Students can take both Litigation Drafting and 570 Pre-trial Practice and Procedure.
645 - Mediation (2 hours)
This course will address the theory, law, and practice of mediation as a dispute resolution technique. Students who have taken Dispute Resolution in the past or who are enrolled in or who plan to take the Dispute Resolution course may not register for Mediation.
547 - Moot Court Problem Book (1 hour)
The Moot Court Board is a student-run organization that oversees moot court competitions and the preparation and publication of an annual Problem Book. Students selected by the Moot Court Board to prepare and edit the Problem Book receive one academic credit on certification of their work by a faculty member.
566 - National Security Law (2 hours)
A study of separation of powers; the legislative process; military jurisdiction; and civil court review of military actions.
581 - Native American Law (2 hours)*
This course deals with legal protections for tribal sovereignty, the enforcement of the trust responsibility, the protection of land and natural resources, federal recognition, gaming and financing of tribal projects. This field of law supports a vibrant legal practice for attorneys in a complex regulatory environment.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
530 - Natural Resources (2 hours)
A study of the ownership, development, and use of natural resources as oil, gas, coal, water, and timber and an exploration of the tension between development and conservation. Coverage may include the management of resources on federal public lands, including hardrock mining, the leasing system for energy fuels, and protection of recreational and wilderness values.
600 - Negotiation (2 hours)
Students will learn about and practice negotiation skills. Students who have taken Dispute Resolution in the past or who are enrolled in or who plan to take the Dispute Resolution course may not register for Negotiation.
582 - Non-Profit Organization Law (2 hours)
This course deals with the legal aspects of non-profit organizations ranging from small unincorporated fraternal and political groups to large charitable organizations, churches, museums, libraries, and hospitals. Offered in alternate years.
545 - Patent Law (2 hours)
A study of patentability, rights of a patentee, problems of enforcement, antitrust constraints, the licensing of patents and procedures.
570 - Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure (3 hours)
An exploration of the procedural requirements involved in getting a civil case to trial. Frequent drafting assignments involving pleadings, discovery, and pre-trial motions required.
523 - Products Liability (3 hours)*
An in-depth study of the law of products liability, with emphasis on problems of proof and other litigation problems.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
305 - Professional Responsibility (2 hours)
Consideration of major issues lawyers must deal with in the field of professional responsibility, conflicts of interest, preservation of confidences, acceptable tactics in an adversary system, and other selected topics.
111 - Property (4 hours)
Introduction to basic concepts and principles of Anglo-American law as they relate to personal and real property.
578 - Race and the Law (2 hours)
This seminar will examine the relationship between race and law in America. It will explore the role that the law has played throughout American history in areas such as slavery, the administration of justice, public accommodations, voting rights, the Civil Rights movement, and interracial marriage. Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I and Constitutional Law II .
539 - Real Estate Finance (2 hours)
A study of financing complex real estate transactions, including major residential developments (subdivisions, planned unit developments, and condominiums), shopping centers, and other commercial and industrial projects. Prerequisites: Real Property Security and Federal Income Taxation.
208 - Real Property Security (2 hours)
The law of real estate financing primarily as applied to residential real estate transactions.
641 - Regulatory Law and Policy (3 hours)
This course examines legal, political, and policy aspects of government regulation with an emphasis on the public policy arguments that lawyers use when they appear before legislatures and regulatory agencies.
644 - Risk Regulation Law and Policy (2 hours)
This seminar addresses the law, science, economics, and social policies involved in efforts to assess and abate risks and harm to people and the environment. After study and discussion of different aspects of risk regulation, students will write papers on topics relating to risk reduction issues of their choosing.
517 - Sales, Leases, Transactions and International Sales (3 hours)
A study of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and related topics.
852 - Scholarly Writing for Internation Lawyers (2 hours)
This course is designed to supplement the thesis or other academic writing requirement necessary to obtain the LLM in American Law Degree. An important object of the thesis (or an alternative writing requirement) is to teach LLM students to communicate critical thinking in (legal) English through writing. The course reinforces graduate student production by refining discourse and promoting pragmatic (not just grammatical) competence in a scholarly context that includes conferences, academic presentations and critical research papers with a view toward publication at home and abroad. This course is required for students electing the thesis track and is optional (but would be extremely beneficial) for those pursuing the alternative writing requirement.
516 - Secured Transactions (3 hours)
A study of Articles 9 and 6 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC),, which apply to transactions in which a debtor borrows money from a creditor and grants to the creditor a security interest in personal property of the debtor to secure the debtor's promise to repay the loan.
620 - Securities Regulation (3 hours)
An analysis of the federal regulation of the distribution and trading of securities, including an examination of the registration process, insider trading, and fraud in connection with the purchase and sale of securities. Prerequisite: Business Organizations.
651 - Sexuality, Religion and the Law (2 hours)
Sexuality, Religion and the Law brings law and divinity students together in one course to explore a wide variety of issues related to sexual identity and sexual orientation. With the law as the starting point, the overarching questions that define the place of the gay individual in American society will be examined. We will consider, among other topics, the regulation of sexuality, sexual orientation, gender roles, the workplace, the intersection of law and religion, same-sex relationships and gay parenting. Much of the legal doctrine considered in this course will be constitutional in nature, including studies of the right to privacy, the First Amendment and equal protection.
573 - Sports Law (2 hours)
This course deals with issues that arise in the representation of individuals and organizations involved in sports.
510 - State and Local Government (2 hours)
A study of the nature and organization of municipal corporations, state legislative control of local government units, municipal police power, tort and contractual liability, constitutional and statutory limitations on taxation, borrowing, and the expenditure of funds.
614 - Taxation Research (1 hour)
The course focuses on developing research strategies for finding and using a variety of tax materials in a changing information environment. Emphasis is on federal income tax research but also includes an overview of state and international materials.
557 - Taxation: Corporate Reorganizations (2 hours)
A study of tax-free corporate acquisitions and divisions, including transfer of loss carryovers and other tax attributes. Prerequisite: Taxation: Corporations and Shareholders.
556 - Taxation: Corporations and Shareholders (3 hours)
An examination of the income tax aspects of doing business in the corporate form. Major topics include corporate formation, liquidating and non-liquidating distributions, the taxable sale of an incorporated business, and Subchapter S. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
212 - Taxation: Federal Estate and Gift Taxation (3 hours)
A survey course intended to acquaint students with a system of taxation that impacts a wide spectrum of law practice beyond estate planning.
206 - Taxation: Federal Income Taxation (3 hours)
A survey of the basic principles of federal income taxation, with emphasis on the Internal Revenue Code and its administrative and judicial interpretations.
635 - Taxation: Income of Trusts and Estates (2 hours)
A study of the principles of assignment income, income taxation of trusts and estates, and selected topics. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
542 - Taxation: International Tax (3 hours)
A study of United States taxation of United States citizens and corporations earning income abroad and United States taxation of foreign corporations and citizens earning income in the United States. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
658 - Taxation: Mergers and Acquisitions (1 hour)
The class will deal with the tax consequences to the acquiring corporation, the target corporation, and the shareholders. This course is only open to students who either have taken, or are concurrently taking Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders. No student is allowed to enroll in both this course and 557 Taxation of Corporate Reorganizations.
544 - Taxation: Policy (2 hours)
A study of the social and economic consequences of current and proposed tax legislation. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
630 - Taxation: Taxation of Partnerships (3 hours)
An analysis of income tax problems in the organization, operation, reorganization, and dissolution of partnerships. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
108 - Torts (4 hours)
Introduction to the law of torts including a study of its historical development and legislatively created systems of compensation designed to supplant traditional actions at law.
597 - Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition (2 hours)
This course will cover the field of trade secrets and covenants not to compete. It will not overlap substantially with Intellectual Property, Patent Law, Copyrights, or Trademarks.
587 - Trademarks (2 hours)
This course focuses on the basics of trademark law, including: how trademark rights are acquired at common law and under the Lanham Act; the distinctiveness spectrum and the problems of "genericness;" and how to protect product packaging and design as souce identifiers. It also explores issues relating to traditional trademeark infringement as well as dilution and anti-cybersquatting. Students taking this course will be required to complete a team project for their final grade.
610 - Trial Practice (3 hours)
A series of classes and simulations devoted to the study of trial techniques, followed by the preparation and trial of a moot case. Prerequisite: Evidence.
615 - Trial Practice (Competition) (1 hour)
Interscholastic trial competition for selected students. Students may repeat this course for a maximum of three hours credit.
800 - Upper-Level Writing Requirement (0 hours)
All students are required to do an extensive piece of supervised legal writing during their 2nd and 3rd year. Students may select from a list of courses (primarily seminars) that can satisfy this requirement.
555 - Worker's Compensation Law (2 hours)
A study of the substantive and procedural elements of state mandated compensation systems for injured workers with an emphasis on the employer/employee relation, compensable injuries and occupational diseases, and the exclusivity of the remedy; additionally, these systems will be compared with and contrasted to other public compensation systems and private sources of injury relief.
