LAW (LAW)

This course introduces students to one of the foundational subjects of the common law and one of the main sources of civil liability: contract. It focuses on the basic rules of contract law, along with the policies and principles that underlie them. Specific subjects covered include mutual assent, defenses to contract obligation, performance, breach, and remedies. Although the course concentrates on the common law of contract, students will also study selected provisions of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and explore how those provisions have modified the law of contract.

This course provides an introduction to the principles of sound legal research, legal citation, and legal analysis for first semester, first year Executive Two-Year J.D. Program students. This course emphasizes teaching students how to study, read, and think in the ways necessary for success in law school and in legal practice. The focus of this course is on understanding the process of legal research, legal citations, and legal analysis and reasoning. Topics for legal research include strategies and techniques utilizing a variety of research resources in formats including print resources, subscription electronic resources, and free electronic resources, as well as an introduction to the American legal system and the laws created by each branch of government on a state and federal level. Topics for legal citation include all aspects of legal citation and effectively using the The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Topics on legal analysis and reasoning include critical reading, analysis of rule creation and rule application, legal argument, case briefing, and outlining. There are also elements of legal writing involved in this course to effectively prepare students for success in Executive Two-Year J.D. Legal Research & Writing I & II.

This course focuses on competency in legal analysis, research, and objective writing. The course covers foundational legal research and writing skills, including case reading, case synthesis, case research, and citation. Students work on a series of increasingly complex research and writing projects that allow them to research multiple authorities and write a comprehensive analysis of the law, including drafting objective common law research memoranda and writing in the legal paradigm.

This course further develops and enhances analytical and writing skills from LRW I. The course covers enacted law, administrative law, rules, legislative history, and citation. Students will draft memoranda and will also be introduced to persuasive writing, including drafting demand letters and motions.

This course covers the judicial system, how to get to court, how to stay there, or how to get a case dismissed. It examines the concepts attorneys use in litigation, including personal and subject-matter jurisdiction and basic choice of law principles for federal courts in diversity cases. This course also introduces the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including pleading types, joinder of parties and actions, pretrial motions, functional divisions between judges and juries, and summary judgments. It also covers the enforcement of judgments, the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel, and the scope of appellate review.

This introductory course deals with property as an institution and focuses on such areas as possession and ownership, adverse possession, estates in land, future interests, covenants and equitable servitudes, easements, real estate contracts, deeds and titles, takings, eminent domain, and zoning. Several topics, particularly personal property, zoning and land use, real estate contracts, landlord tenant law, deeds and titles, the rule against perpetuities, and eminent domain are covered more fully in advanced courses.

This required first year course examines private lawsuits that seek compensation or other redress for personal injury, property damage, or certain intangible harms such as mental distress. The course surveys a variety of tort claims including negligence; nuisance; strict liability involving animals and abnormally dangerous activities; intentional torts to the person such as assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress; intentional torts to property such as trespass to land, trespass to chattels and conversion. Defenses to tort claims including contributory and comparative negligence, assumption of the risk, and various privileges such as consent, self-defense, and defense of property, and are explored. The course also covers practical and procedural issues such as vicarious liability, apportionment, and joint and several liability.

This introductory survey course covers substantive criminal law. As such, it examines the purpose of criminal law and the varying rationales for punishment, the elements of particular crimes, and the justifications and excuses that serve as partial or complete defenses. The course also introduces students to statutory methods and persuasive argumentation as well as the values of an adversarial criminal justice system.

This course begins during Orientation and continues through the fall semester. This course emphasizes teaching students how to read, study, and think in the ways necessary for success in law school, on the bar exam, and in legal practice. The course will coordinate with doctrinal courses and help to reinforce concepts taught in doctrinal courses by assisting students as they learn to evaluate their own performance on midterms and other assignments in preparation for final exams in those classes. Students will be taught a systematic approach to answering multiple choice and essay questions. The course will also provide students with the expectations for and tools to adhere to professionalism in their written and oral communications, in their networking and public presentations, and in the development of their values and identity as a lawyer.

This course introduces students to lawyering skills and professionalism values through a case study model. It will also integrate aspects of the legal doctrine of torts and real property. In addition to lecture, students engage in small group simulation and role-playing exercises to build and develop the following skills: • Professional responsibility and identity formation • Client relationship and management • Client interviewing and counseling • Investigation and case evaluation • Legal research and writing • Negotiation and dispute resolution This course will cover 3 credits inclusive of the January intersession. The one-week intersession will be 3 hours per day for 4 days for a total of 12 hours. The intercession will introduce the student’s future client via a pop-up clinic designed to help tenants fill out forms to get the necessary repairs done in their apartments. What the lawyer learns from the client far exceeds the limited scope of the pop-up clinic. The students will spend the intercession learning about scope of representation, structure of law firms, how to evaluate a case, how to talk to your supervisor about taking a case, professional identity, preparing for a client interview, and understanding the law. Intercession Learning Outcomes: • Introduce and begin to think about Ethics and Professionalism • Introduce and start to practice fact investigation • Introduce and practice case investigation • Introduce and start to practice client interviewing • Introduce law firm organization and structure • Introduce the concept of pro bono work • Introduce and practice “mini” advocacy through working with a supervisor • Introducing statutory interpretation • Experience working with clients and other lawyers The remainder of the spring course will be approximately 2.5 credits. This course will meet twice a week for 3 hours total. It will be broken into a 1-hour large group lecture with all sections and a 2-hour small group section. There may also be extra time available for additional class activities. The students in each section will work in small groups of 3-4 during the various exercises. In addition to lawyering skills and professionalism, the course will introduce substantive areas of torts and property. The course will use a single unifying problem the entire semester with both tort and property elements, and it will cover both transaction and litigation skills.

(R) for Executive JD Program Only Find course description on posted PDF on website.

Constitutional Law I studies the structure and powers of the federal judicial, legislative, and executive branches, including structural limitations on those powers. Coverage includes constitutional interpretive methodologies; judicial review; congressional powers, such as war and treaty powers, the Spending Clause, and, most especially, the Commerce Clause; and matters relating to presidential authority. This class also addresses federalism issues, including the 10th and 11th Amendments, the Supremacy Clause, and congressional authority to enforce the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments against the states. The course may also address the Dormant Commerce Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clauses.

The purpose of this course is to introduce law students to statistical concepts/techniques, such as descriptive statistics, elements of probability and probability distributions (discrete and normal), sampling distributions, hypotheses testing (comparing means, proportions), nonparametric testing, as well as regression analysis and time series analysis. The course emphasizes the application of statistical concepts to analyze research for best available evidence to support legal practice. In this course, we will use examples related to legal fields, such as employment discrimination, environmental protection, antitrust, and product liability, to name a few. Additionally, the course will discuss ethical issues that may arise when applying data analytics to problems within the legal profession. Lastly, the course provides students with hands-on experience in using statistical software (MegaStat) to assist in making informed decisions.

This course looks through an interdisciplinary lens, and using a text authored by industry leader Deborah Rhode, will explore leadership for lawyers, with particular emphasis on the following: the nature of leadership; leadership skills; ethics in leadership; and leadership challenges. Students will be graded and evaluated based upon a written paper and leadership of course discussion. For the graded paper, students will explore an area of leadership as it relates to the life of lawyers and/or the legal profession.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION AND REGULATION A study of the basic principles of law applicable to Washington State counties and municipalities: how local governments are formed, charters, home rule, legal authority, Washington and federal constitutional issues, elections, initiative and referendum powers., public records, and public meetings. For their final project, students will choose one of a presented list of issues that have been the topic of recent local legislation involving public testimony and local debate. After reviewing all testimony, video-taped debate, and local codes and regulations, they will research and draft a paper on the issue.

Not available to students who matriculated before 2024 This course further develops analysis, research and writing skills with an emphasis on persuasive writing. Students draft pretrial and appellate briefs, with a focus on organization and persuasive rhetoric.

Students may register for this option as a way to complete their Upper-Level Research and Writing Requirement though independent study under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. The resulting papers shall provide evidence of substantial research and shall be of Law Review publishable quality. As a guideline, the paper will typically consist of at least 40 double-spaced pages (or 10,000-13,000 words), including footnotes, in order to meet the 5,100 minutes required by the ABA for two academic credits.

(also known as LRW IV – Drafting for Litigation) Prerequisites: LRW I, II, and III; Litigation Skills and Professionalism Lab through Spring 2021 Prerequisites: LRW I & II beginning Fall 2021 This course focuses on the skills necessary to draft litigation documents. Students draft various pleadings that could include any of the following: complaint, answer, discovery requests/answers, motions, notices, proposed orders, jury instructions, and settlement agreements. This course builds on concepts first introduced in the Litigation Skills and Professionalism Lab and Legal Research and Writing III. Meets Upper-level Legal Research & Writing Requirement

Prerequisite: LR&W I, II, & III; Litigation Skills & Professionalism Lab This course will introduce judicial opinion writing at both the trial and appellate levels. It will benefit not only those who will serve as judicial interns, externs, or law clerks, but also those who move on to serve as administrative, state, or federal judges. Additionally, students who hope to be litigators will benefit from this course’s focus on organization, rhetoric, construction, judicial style, clarity, and ethical considerations.

(also known as LRW IV – Transactional Drafting) Prerequisites: LRW I and II; Transactional Skills and Professionalism Lab through Spring 2021 Prerequisites: LRW I and II beginning Fall 2021 This course develops the skills necessary to draft effective transactional documents, both public and private. It refines skills acquired in the Transactional Skills and Professionalism Lab and prior Legal Research and Writing courses and covers drafting, amending, interpreting, enforcing, defending, or litigating these papers. The course emphasizes organization, accuracy, precision, and clarity by using simple and plain English to effect a desired outcome. Meets Upper-level Legal Research & Writing Requirement

The primary goal of this course is to strengthen legal problem-solving abilities using realistic legal writing exercises. The course focuses on fundamental lawyering skills such as reading comprehension, rule mastery, issue spotting, outlining, the mechanics of legal analysis and strong writing. Throughout the course, students will have multiple opportunities for hands-on practice with focused drills, group exercises and workbook activities to sharpen these skills. The course enhances learning by providing the student with particularized feedback to learn how to evaluate their own work and see a clear pathway for consistent improvement. The course connects the learning activities to law practice and, more immediately, to law school and bar exam success. Special focus will be given to understanding how to succeed on the MPT (a practical, writing-focused component of the bar exam).

This course surveys the law governing the admission of evidence, with an emphasis on the federal rules of evidence. Topics include foundational and other requirements for presenting and ensuring the reliability of various types of evidence (such as witness competence, appropriate question format, objections, authentication and best evidence requirements for documents, and judicial notice); the relevance requirement and its limits; the general rule excluding hearsay evidence and its many exceptions; the admissibility of scientific evidence; and the exclusion of evidence for policy reasons such as privilege. The course also examines procedural issues such as burdens of proof and appealing evidentiary issues.

This course prepares students to become professional attorneys by discussing their responsibilities to clients, the legal system, and the community. By studying the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other ethics law sources, this course deals with the grounds for professional discipline and how to practice law ethically in a variety of contexts. Through discussion and exercises, students learn how to cultivate the values, work habits, and professionalism necessary to develop a rewarding and sustainable professional identity.

This course focuses on the constitutional guarantees found in the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment. It begins by covering the applicability of the Bill of Rights to states and private parties and discusses the Incorporation and State Action doctrines. The course also explores issues and cases under the Equal Protection Clause, centering on laws and actions that have burdened various suspect and quasi-suspect classes, including classifications based on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability status, sexual orientation, and immigrant status. In addition, the course addresses fundamental rights under the Due Process Clause, including questions about family autonomy and reproductive autonomy. Finally, the course examines issues under the 1st Amendment, including the right to free speech and freedom of association. Additional topics may be discussed such as freedom of religion under the 1st Amendment and the right of individuals to own and possess guns under the 2nd Amendment.

This elective course covers some torts claims tested on bar examinations and offers students interested in tort law additional advanced coursework. The part of the course devoted to bar exam-tested torts claims not covered in the first-year course includes the dignitary torts of defamation and invasion of privacy and their constitutional limitations, and the business torts of fraud/misrepresentation and interference with business/contractual relations, and the property tort of nuisance. The part of the course on topics of importance to practicing tort lawyers includes coverage of class actions, tort claims for wrongful discharge, Section 1983 “constitutional tort” claims, deceptive trade practices and other consumer law claims, class actions, workers’ compensation, and legal malpractice claims.

This course focuses on the fundamental aspects of federal constitutional criminal procedure. Emphasis is placed on the constitutional limitations on police investigative practices related to search and seizure and the acquisition of confessions as well as the judicial enforcement of those limitations under the exclusionary rule. Consideration is also given to fundamentals of procedural due process, the defendant’s privilege against self-incrimination, the right to counsel, the right to trial, and double jeopardy.

This course examines the constitutional and statutory law that governs the process of adjudicating a criminal charge. Topics include bail and pretrial detention, prosecutorial charging discretion, preliminary hearings, grand jury proceedings, speedy trials, criminal discovery, jury trials and jury selection, confrontation rights, guilty pleas, double jeopardy, and sentencing. It explores the ethical and professional values inherent in criminal practice and reviews relevant practical skills.

This course builds upon topics covered in Evidence, but provides a much deeper investigation of topics that were either covered quickly or not at all in Evidence. There will be six areas of in-depth analysis (Burdens and Presumptions; Post-Daubert Forensic Expert Witness Analysis; Confrontation Clause Jurisprudence (Criminal Procedure versus Evidence Analysis); Federal Privileges; Media and Crime; and Secrecy (the Use and Abuse of Information in the Courts). The students will have an opportunity to cross-examine actual forensic experts and will uncover media distortions when covering high-profile cases. Assessment in the course will be based upon in-course activities, an exam, and a final project/paper.

Lawyers often are looked to as leaders, but law schools traditionally have done little to intentionally develop leadership skills in law students. And yet the fact remains that lawyers, even early in their careers, will be asked to serve in leadership roles in their communities and work settings. The incorrect assumption that “you either have leadership qualities or you don’t” has given way to a rich field of leadership studies, central to which is the notion that everyone can be a leader, and that leadership qualities can be identified and developed at any age or career stage. Through an interdisciplinary lens, this one-credit course will explore leadership in the context of law. In particular, the course may cover some of the following topics: the nature of leadership; leadership skills; ethics in leadership; and leadership challenges. Students will be graded and evaluated based upon a written paper, quizzes, and participation in class.

This class is designed to give students a greater understanding of legal and law-related research. Building upon skills and resources covered in Legal Research & Writing I & II, the class will demonstrate advanced research techniques using a wide variety of research resources in their multiple formats – print, Westlaw, LexisNexis, and the Internet. The course will specifically cover complex sources like legislative history, administrative materials, and specialized sources that are initially introduced in Legal Research & Writing II. The class will also demonstrate how legal and law-related resources, in their various formats, can be effectively and efficiently integrated into one overall research strategy. Meets Upper-level Legal Research & Writing Requirement

Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I This course examines the legal and practical foundations of the modern administrative state. The central theme explores how administrative law balances “rule of law” values (procedural regularity, substantive limits on arbitrary action) against the often competing values of political accountability, democratic participation, and effective administrative governance. Topics include rationales for delegating to administrative agencies, the legal framework (both constitutional and statutory) that governs agency decision-making, the proper role of agencies in interpreting statutory and regulatory law, and judicial review of agency action. Topics are covered through a combination of cases and examples drawn primarily from the separation-of-powers doctrine; the constitutional law of due process; health, safety, and environmental policy; and national security law.

This course focuses on the role of legislation and regulation in the U.S. constitutional system. Virtually all of modern American law is based on materials produced by legislatures and agencies, yet methods of statutory analysis and interpretation often go overlooked. This class will center around learning the process of how to approach a piece of statutory text, diagnose an interpretive problem in the text, and resolve a problem that advances a particular objective. The goal will be to think like a “statutory lawyer.” This course is organized around three major themes: (1) democratic and legislative process, including theories and doctrines relating to representation, campaign finance, lobbying and corruption, and direct democracy, (2) the toolkit of statutory interpretation theories and textual/substantive canons of construction that go beyond the textualism-versus-purposivism debate, and (3) “legisprudence,” which generally refers to the cluster of theories and norms that go into rational lawmaking. By studying the breadth of questions involved in legislation and regulation, students will gain a sophisticated understanding of the various theories, debates, and practical considerations that go into advancing a public policy objective, the tools a judge utilizes in statutory interpretation, the relationship among legislatures, courts, and agencies, and the way in which legislatures (state and federal) shape the world around us. Please note: this course relates to but does not overlap with Administrative Law.

This course will focus on administrative law research skills. These skills are important because so many areas of law in our modern economy are heavily regulated by agencies (taxes, securities, environmental, health etc.) There are no focus on one specific area of law; the idea is that once students understand administrative law research in general they can use their knowledge to quickly master research in their own areas of interest. By the end of the course, students will understand administrative law research and demonstrated mastery of strategies for finding the primary and secondary information necessary to answer legal questions and develop legal arguments. Toward that end, students will thoroughly examine agencies and their powers, state and federal regulatory processes, organization of administrative law materials, and a variety of online sources of administrative law. Students will learn to efficiently utilize a variety of free and commercial sources and employ a variety of search strategies to find regulations, enabling and authorizing statues, administrative, decisions, guidance documents, executive orders, cases, and secondary source information. In addition, students will learn different techniques for tracking regulatory developments and participating in the regulatory process. Objectives are listed below for each administrative law topic. For the course objectives as a whole, the student will: - Understand the basic framework of administrative law and agencies - Understand state and federal regulatory processes - Understand the organization and purposes of administrative codes and registers - Be familiar with the different online sources for administrative law research - Efficiently use a variety of sources to find regulations and other administrative material on a specific topic - Efficiently use a variety of finding methods (indexes, keyword searching, looseleafs, etc.) to find regulations and other administrative material on a specific topic - Use administrative law sources to determine the answers to legal questions and develop legal arguments.

This course focuses on the federal rules regarding monopolization and both horizontal and vertical restraints of trade. It provides a more in-depth analysis of core issues rather than a survey of a broad variety of subjects. It addresses both antitrust theory and practice.

The course will put students in the role of transactional lawyers for a small business. It will take the students through various stages in the formation and development of the business. Students will advise the business owners and draft documents relating to several of the following: (i) the initial formation of the business entity; (ii) the relationship of the owners; (iii) transactions with financiers, customers, or suppliers; and (iv) a sale, merger, or acquisition. Students might do some or all of their work for this course in teams.

This is an immersive course about advising entrepreneurs and startups on how to build, grow, and finance innovative businesses and how to prevent and address common legal, governance and regulatory challenges. Working with entrepreneurs and startups is exciting because they are often forging into new technologies and business models. But it is also challenging. Starting a company requires making lots of important decisions very thoughtfully, and carefully executing myriad legal and regulatory tasks - all at the speed of business. Practice tips and best practices are discussed throughout the course, as are legal and regulatory red flags. A key theme is the importance of proactively helping companies avoid unnecessary friction, whether in the form of complaints, claims, litigation, regulatory actions or otherwise. Students will learn a framework for assessing the legal and regulatory health of a company called The General Counsel Audit. This framework is introduced early and referred to throughout the course. Professional ethics issues are examined whenever and wherever pertinent, understanding the client, particularly conflicts of interest, and other principles relating to “entity as client” under RPC 1.13.

This course focuses on the community property system. It covers character of ownership, management, disposition, voluntary and involuntary transactions between spouses, and tort and contract liability. Limited attention is given to federal income tax and tax collection issues involved in community property.

Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I This course focuses on the rules regarding conflicts of laws. It examines how these have developed in different ways and discusses managing the problems of conflicting rules, shedding light on how rules of law arise, function, and interact or compete. It includes discussions around domicile, jurisdiction of courts with reference to constitutional limitations, foreign judgments and the impact of the U.S. Constitution, and choice of law problems in general. It also looks at problems concerning law choice in relation to property, family law, contracts, torts, trusts, and estate administration.

This course will provide a detailed look at the law of agency, including the creation of agency relationships, principles of liability, and types of authority. The course will also introduce students to the various non-corporate and corporate forms that a business can select, including partnerships, limited liability entities, and corporations. Students will also learn about the consequences of improper incorporation, including the de facto corporation doctrine and corporation by estoppel. The formation and internal management of such entities will also be covered. The course will also discuss the roles played by partners, managers, promoters, shareholders, directors, and officers in the control and management of a business entity, as well as the fiduciary duties owed by these individuals. Shareholder litigation and the concept of piercing the corporate veil will also be discussed.

The competent use of technology is a critical part of modern law practice—40 states have adopted an ethical duty of technology competency including Washington, Idaho, Arizona, and California. Contrary to popular wisdom, using a computer regularly does not lead to the level of tech competence required by the profession. Students will work with the basic legal technologies necessary for the twenty-first century lawyer and will explore both general technological issues as well as specific legal ramifications of software and hardware choices. The course will focus on case and client management, document management, electronic discovery, information literacy, presentation technologies, hardware and operating systems, and professional responsibility. This course emphasizes hands-on use of these tools, giving students both an opportunity to use these tools and gain an understanding of their development. No background in IT or coding is necessary for this class.

Prerequisite: Intellectual Property (completed or concurrent) This course builds upon the Intellectual Property survey course. It uses the Lanham Act to address the adoption, registration, maintenance, and enforcement of trademarks; false advertising, dilution, counterfeiting, and other aspects of unfair competition; and the relevant defenses and available remedies. The course discusses the advantages of federal trademark protection and key aspects of practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including trademark prosecution and the handling of opposition, cancellation, and concurrent use proceedings. The course covers measures for international protection, including the Madrid Protocol, and issues of branding and domain name protection as well as rights in trademark at common law and the state law right of publicity.

The course builds on the introductory Intellectual Property course and delves deeper into the requirements for copyright protection, the works that may be afforded copyright protection, and the scope of rights enjoyed by copyright owners. In addition, the course will focus specific attention on copyright law as it pertains to the music industry and regulation of the internet. Practical applications such as contracts and licenses for the use of copyrighted material and the use of musical compositions and sound recordings will be explored.

This course introduces the basic principles of legal regulation of environmental protection. Course content focuses on the Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund); Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; National Environmental Policy Act; and Endangered Species Act.

Recommended: Environmental Law or Water Law This course will focus on current and recurring issues in environmental and natural resources law. Topics covered may include, among others, climate change, nontraditional regulatory tools to address environmental problems, and local environmental initiatives. Students will write a research paper on a topic relating to environmental and natural resources law and policy agreed upon with the professor.

This course deals with the Internal Revenue Code and the administrative and judicial interpretations of that code in the context of personal income taxation. It presents a general overview of gross income, deductible items, and capital gains and losses, with some attention given to timing problems of taxation, such as the concept of constructive receipt and deferral of tax impact.

Highly Recommended: Any Tax Course The tax-exempt organization sector is an important part of our society and has been since 1894. Most people are familiar with public charities, which will be featured as a large part of this course. The breadth of the tax-exempt sector however involves much more. It contains ten major groups, twenty-six categories, and over six hundred subcategories. This includes private foundations, social welfare organizations, unions, fraternal organizations, healthcare entities, political entities, and the arts. Taxation will be a significant part of this course, but courses in taxation are not required.

This course covers the basic principles of judicial review and federalism under the Constitution of the United States. It discusses the theory and practice of federalism and the separation of powers, the broad problems of distribution of judicial power between state and federal courts, and jurisdictional conflicts created by the existence of the federal system of government. It also examines appellate and original jurisdiction of the federal courts in terms of review of state court decisions, habeas corpus, appeal and certiorari, federal questions, admiralty, diversity jurisdictions, injunctions against suit, and removal choice of law problems that raise questions of federalism.

This course examines the politics of international law and the legal rules and institutions that govern relationships among nations. The course covers the laws of war, war crimes and tribunals, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, international economic law, the UN Charter, and the challenges of modern international law. The course also explores the role and influence of international organizations and nonstate actors; U.S. foreign relations law; the international legal rules that govern trade, human rights, and the use of force; and the nature of international law itself, including questions of compliance, effectiveness, and enforcement.

# Pending faculty approval. No Description Available.

This course covers property and casualty insurance and the rules involved in analyzing and construing policies, claims handling, regulations, and bad-faith law. Coursework addresses the rights of parties, representations/warranties, waiver/estoppel, subrogation, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages, statutes, and recent developments.

This course studies the National Labor Relations Act, which governs the relationship between most private employers and unions. Topics addressed include representation and campaign issues, collective bargaining, strikes and picketing, contract enforcement, and federal preemption.

This course will build upon the basic corporate law principles learned in the Business Associations course. The course will expand on the roles played by shareholders, directors, and officers in the control and management of a corporation, as well as the fiduciary duties owed by these individuals. Students will learn about exculpation clauses and officer and director insurance. Corporate reorganizations, shareholder agreements, and shareholder litigation will also be covered. The course may also introduce students to securities regulations and discuss issues relating to corporate social responsibility.

This course discusses land use controls at the local level. It focuses on zoning and zoning flexibility devices such as variances, special use permits, and rezones; modern approaches, particularly transfer of development rights (TDR), planned unit development (PUD), and contract zoning; administrative procedures and judicial review; subdivision regulations; exclusionary zoning and growth control; constitutional issues, including taking without just compensation and due process; and equal protection and the First Amendment.  

This course examines constitutional and statutory doctrines regulating the conduct of America’s foreign relations. Areas that will be covered in the course are: foreign relations and the separation of powers doctrine; the scope of and limitation on the treaty power; presidential power to conclude international agreements outside Article II treaty power; constitutional and domestic status of customary international law; foreign sovereign immunity and the act of state doctrine; congressional and presidential war-making powers; constitutional rights and the war on terrorism; extraterritorial application of the U.S. Constitution and U.S. laws; and the power of states in relation to foreign affairs. Further, this course will focus on the U.S. constitutional structure and how that affects the role the United States plays in the international domain. This course delves into how the Constitution enables and constrains the manner in which the United States government participates in lawmaking internationally and how that in turn affects private rights within the United States.

Washington State has over 1,000 wineries producing 17 million cases of wine and that contribute $8.4 billion to the state economy. The California wine industry ranks as the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind France, Italy, and Spain with an impact of $114 billion to the national economy. Presently, all 50 states have bonded wineries. This course provides an introduction to the wine industry and the regulatory framework which governs the growing of wine grapes, the production of wine, the differing trade practices systems among the various states and the federal government, the labeling of wine, the shipping of wine across state lines, and the limitations on the marketing and sale of the finished product. Students will also receive an introduction in the business of wine with practical instruction as to how wine grapes are grown in the vineyard, how wine is made in the winery and stored in the cellar, how fine wine is evaluated for sale, and an overview of the historically important wine grape varieties and the major regions of the world that produce fine wine.

Products liability provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the doctrinal, practical, philosophical, and strategic issues related to the products liability regime that exists in most states. Products liability cases involve consumers and others suffering injury from a defect in a product purchased from a defendant manufacturer. The course will focus on manufacturing defects, design defects, failures to warn, and defenses. The course will also cover the specific application to products liability of fundamental torts concepts, such as causation, damages, and statutes of limitations. Class will fully engage the case method, but will also bring in real-live examples, many of which will be known to students or arise from current events. Students will explore the systemic effects of regulating manufacturing decisions and how that affects consumer choice and consumer safety.

This basic course covers the elements of real estate transactions. Topics include mortgages, deeds of trust, real estate contracts, title insurance policies, and liens as they relate to real estate closings. The course also considers certain state tax aspects of real estate closings, although federal income tax implications are beyond the scope of this course. Various federal and state land-use laws and regulations are also discussed in relation to the closing of real estate transactions.

(R) for Executive JD Program Only An introduction for law students to the fundamental concepts of accounting and finance. Students will learn basic financial accounting, the time value of money, capital structure, the relation between risk and return, and analysis of financial statements of business organizations. This course positions students for success in the practice of law in the areas of estate and trusts, tax planning, divorce litigation, non-profits, and business advising, among others, by providing the critical foundation for understanding the language of business.

This course provides students with a basic understanding of the Federal Securities Act of 1933 and the registration of securities or the exemption of securities from registration. Particular attention is given to the roles, relationships, responsibilities, and liability exposure of the various persons involved in the offer and sale of securities. The course also examines the various types of investment transactions that constitute the sale of securities.

This course examines types and characteristics of local government units; sources of authority; and limitations on exercise of authority, both legislative and judicial. In addition, the course introduces the student to substantive doctrines which govern major local government activities. Particular attention is given to: (1) exercise of the police power; (2) financing local government; and (3) civil rights suits under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

This course will discuss the social responsibility of American and multi-national corporations. Traditionally the goal of these firms has been to make profit for their shareholders. Over the last several decades however many commentators and business leaders have argued that given the wealth and power of these companies they should also embrace broader purposes. Those would include the interests of various corporate stakeholders as well as the common good. In that regard, this class will explore how corporate decision making should take into account, among other things, considerations such as human and labor rights and environmental concerns. The course will have readings and discussions on that topic. Students will prepare research papers on this matter and present their findings to the class.

This survey course studies the federal tax effects of gifts during life and transfers at death. It focuses on all aspects of the transmission of wealth, both by testate and intestate methods, from the viewpoint of drafting exercises and considering tax and nontax problems inherent in property transmission. Some work is done in actual planning principles and how to reduce federal transfer taxes through proper planning.

This course provides more in-depth exposure to Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code than is possible in the first-year Contracts course. The course first explores which transactions are governed by Article 2. It then focuses on key concepts, including contract formation; warranties; risk of loss; acceptance, rejection, and revocation; and remedies for breach. If time permits, the rules of Article 2 are compared to those in Article 2A, which deals with leases of goods, and to selected provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

This course provides a background in wills and trusts. It examines the law of gratuitous transfers and decedent’s estates, including intestate and testate succession and the probate process; the nature and elements of the modern trust and other will substitutes; aspects of powers of appointment; and fiduciary powers, duties and liabilities.

Prerequisite: Wills and Trusts (completed or concurrent) These skills labs involve some of the following: interviewing clients; preparing documents for probating an intestate estate; drafting wills, durable powers of attorney and/or trust documents; exploring guardianship requirements for the elderly; and/or exploring settlement options in a will contest case.

Prerequisite: Evidence (completed or concurrent) This practical course introduces students to the objectives, skills, and ethical considerations of trying a case. Topics include jury selection, openings, direct exam, cross-exam, and closing arguments, and provide a practical command of evidentiary foundations and objections. The course is made up of weekly lectures along with weekly small-session labs for applying trial skills.

The goal of this course is to equip students with an understanding of mediation theory and practice through interactive simulations, client interviewing, and creative course content. The course objectives are to provide students with an understanding of the processes and basic skills of mediation.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to mediate small claims court cases before they go to trial – giving students a venue to apply conflict resolution competencies and skills learned from the summer and fall courses. The Small Claims Mediation is an applied opportunity; equally, it fills a vital role of access to justice for parties in the Spokane community and increased efficiency for the small claims court. As externs, students will mediate online or in person cases that are pending before the Small Claims Court of Spokane County – giving students live experience in facilitating conversation, giving the parties a chance to be heard, and helping resolve parties’ disputes.

This course introduces students to secured transactions and the law that governs them. After a brief overview of the difficulties in collecting unsecured debts, the course explores the role collateral plays in ensuring repayment. Students then study the principal concepts of Article 9: the requisites for attachment of a security interest, the various methods of perfecting and enforcing security interests, and the Uniform Commercial Code’s resolution of various priority disputes. During the course, students will learn the terminology of secured transactions and the basics of commercial finance, hone their statutory interpretation skills, and explore the various policies underlying the Uniform Commercial Code.

This course provides an introduction to both the law governing family relationships and the types of court proceedings that can create or terminate family relationships, such as paternity, adoptions, legal separations, declarations regarding validity of marriage, dissolutions, and termination of parental rights. A significant portion of class is spent discussing how the state regulates families, implicating constitutional privacy concerns and state intervention as individuals order their family lives. Consideration is given to state law, constitutional law, and model rules as well as the policy concerns that underpin the decisions and rules in this area.

Recommended: Secured Transactions This course introduces students to the federal bankruptcy law system and explores the various policies underlying the Bankruptcy Code. It focuses on how the Bankruptcy Code modifies creditors’ nonbankruptcy rights and how it protects debtors. Key general concepts studied include the bankruptcy estate, the different claims classifications, exemptions, discharge, the automatic stay, preferences, and fraudulent transfers. In examining the different types of bankruptcy proceedings, the course starts with the rules for liquidations, explores individual reorganizations, and ends with an overview of business reorganizations.

The Center for Law, Ethics, and Commerce hosts several guest speakers each semester, focusing on topics such as business law, technology, entrepreneurship, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and legal ethics. This course offers students an enhanced experience for CLEC events by coupling guest speakers, symposia, and other lectures with reading assignments that focus on a particular subject area. Students will also draft questions to prepare for meaningful interaction with speakers during events. After events, students will participate in discussion board activities and response papers to more deeply reflect on CLEC events. The final assignment will involve a longer paper focusing on the student’s own critique of one of the topics covered.

This course examines how to perform transnational business in a globalized economy. It introduces students to cross-border business transactions between private business firms and considers the wide range of transactions occurring across borders. The course deals with international trading of goods, including international contracting for sale of goods, payment arrangements, delivery of goods, and laws related to international trade, such as import and export, licensing, and foreign direct investment. It also deals with imports, exports, foreign investments, licensing, and international contracting. A deep background in business or business law is not required, although the basic corporations course is recommended (but not required).

This comprehensive survey considers the unique body of law affecting American Indians and American Indian property interests. Topics covered include the competing claims to jurisdiction by state, federal, and tribal governments; treaties and the abrogation thereof; civil rights of tribal members; powers of tribal self-government; water and fishing rights; Indian education programs; and patterns of Indian property ownership.

This course will examine the historical and cultural antecedents of the child welfare system and its disproportionate impact on Native American children and he many laws enacted to remedy the persistent state sponsored destruction of Native families, including the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, state laws, with an emphasis on the Washington State Indian Child Welfare Act, and policies and procedures of state agencies, with an emphasis on the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

The United States is a federalist nation. As such, the United States has a government-to-government relationship with not only the 50 states and various territories, but also with 576 federally recognized tribal nations. Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country traces the development of the rules governing the exercise of criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country by three sovereigns: federal government, state government, and tribal government. Examining treaties, case law, federal and state statutes, and tribal law, this course explores the juridical and practical effects of colonization on local, state, federal, and tribal law jurisdiction. Focusing primarily on criminal law and procedure, this course offers an introduction to some of the jurisdictional issues that are the result of federal policies such as the numerous Trade and Intercourse Acts (1790s), The General Crimes Act (1817), the Major Crimes Act (1885), the General Allotment Act (1887), Public Law 280 (1953), Indian Self-Determination Act (1975) the Tribal Law and Order Act (2013) the Violence Against Women’s Act (2013) and its subsequent reauthorizations (2022) and more. Major case covered include: Ex Parte Crow Dog (1883), U.S. v. Kagama (1885), Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978), Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (1978), U.S. v. Mitchell (1980), U.S. v. Lara (2004), McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) and Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (2022). Students should complete the course with the ability to analyze and understand criminal jurisdiction problems in Indian Country and contribute to discussions regarding Indian Country criminal jurisdiction.

This elective course examines the concept of “rightful position” in different areas of law and surveys the options available to courts to put successful civil litigants in their rightful position. It compares and explores actual and punitive damages, attorney’s fees, declaratory judgments, injunctions, restitution, and special remedies such as constructive trusts. In particular, the course addresses the court’s equitable powers to issue post-trial injunctions and interim relief, including temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions as well as equitable defenses and contempt options to enforce equitable orders. The course also explores practical issues, such as methods for and limits on collection of judgments and restitution claims and remedies.

The IHRL Children’s Rights Seminar is designed to educate students about current legal issues, policy concerns, and access to legal resources that many children face internationally. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its Option Protocols will provide the legal framework for the course. The class will be structured so as to encourage students to gain a broad foundation of information and viewpoints related to children’s issues. This seminar will satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. In addition to learning substantive law, students will also learn various research methodologies used in international legal advocacy work. Students will produce a substantive analytical research paper of publishable quality on a topic related to international children’s rights.

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of human rights. The class examines the major human rights laws, including treaties, customs, and other international and national laws, as well as the various institutions in which human rights are challenged, adjudicated, and enforced. Specific current topics addressed are selected on an ongoing basis throughout the semester. The class identifies a contemporary international human rights problem and develops a human rights case to challenge in different local, national, regional, and international forums. The course also deals with business and human rights, artificial intelligence and human rights, cybersecurity and human rights, terrorism, economic inequality, and other contemporary issues relating to human rights.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to protect human rights by reducing human sufferings and by saving human lives. As AI has been gradually being integrated in all societal domains its development and deployment also raise human rights concerns in terms of ethical and legal context both at the national and international levels. AI has complicated the human rights issues even further in the areas of human rights related to the rights of marginalized people, discrimination, right to work, right to movement, freedom of speech and expression, right to privacy, violence and indecent representation of women and children to name a few. This course critically examines the negative impact of AI systems across public policies, corporate practices, and international regulation on human rights. It examines existing major national, regional, and international AI laws and human rights laws. In the process of examining the said existing laws, this course will explore algorithmic accountability and justice to avoid violation of human rights. This course also covers the difference between intelligent AI, Conscious AI (with an introduction of quantum physics and Sanskrit meta-physics), and jurisprudential models to different forms of AIs and human rights. By navigating the legal complexities of AI technologies, this course serves as an innovating learning experience for students as future lawyers and policy makers in AI and human rights by equipping them with persuasive skills and critical thinking necessary to understand and practice this area of law. There are no formal prerequisites to take this class. Students will learn from active engagement in lively discussion from multi-stakeholders’ perspectives, collaborative group projects, and interrelationship between AI technology, law related to AI, and human rights laws.

This general survey course deals with the domestic legal protections available for intellectual property, focusing upon the key areas of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret. It examines the elements of infringement claims, defenses, and remedies, along with the interaction between the federal intellectual property statutes and competition law. The course also considers the policies underlying the laws of intellectual property and the ways in which organizations and businesses can protect their intellectual property.

This course, building on the Intellectual Property survey course, examines the transactional components of intellectual property practice, including the negotiation of licenses. The course will explore the acquisition and maintenance of Intellectual Property rights under federal law; introduce students to the concepts, laws, and business of intellectual property licensing, and give students the opportunity to analyze and draft several different types of license agreements. The course is designed to be useful not only for students interested in pursuing careers in intellectual property law but also those whose practice will involve working with transactional business clients.

This course, a follow-up to the Intellectual Property survey course, provides an understanding of the processes for acquiring and maintaining intellectual property rights across national borders as well as the regulations for and issues concerning the enforcement of those rights. Students will examine the key international conventions and agreements governing rights in copyright, trademark and patent, discuss states’ compliance with the obligations imposed by those agreements, and review the ongoing effort toward harmonization of intellectual property laws. Students will also explore the significance of intellectual property laws in the realms of international trade and international human rights, including the role of the World Trade Organization, the consequences of international piracy, and related human rights issues concerning traditional knowledge and biodiversity.

Recommended: Constitutional Law II This course explores a variety of topics, including gender, sexuality, and identity construction and discrimination; sexualized violence; the intersections of race, sexuality, and class; disputes over custody, adoption, and reproductive technologies; liberty interests versus equality claims; defining consent; and alternate forms of marriage. The readings center on U.S. case law while drawing on critical theory, current events, and popular culture sources to contextualize the topics in the current legal landscape.

This course will explore the impact of artificial intelligence (“AI”), particularly generative AI, on individual rights, business, technology, and the legal profession. It will address the basics of AI, along with AI bias and civil and human rights. Specific industry case studies such as deepfakes, the impact of AI on the workplace and predictive policing will also be covered. Lastly, the course will emphasize the impact of AI on the legal profession, including the legal ethics implications of lawyers’ use of AI.

This course provides an introduction to the legal principles that protect personal information in the digital age. Students will study the laws that shape privacy and data security in the United States, including the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, federal agency actions, state statutes, contract law, and tort law. Some international dimensions, particularly European Union regulations, will be included as well. Students will explore the technological underpinnings of data security and privacy, while also thinking critically about how the law should respond to ever-evolving technology.

Recommended (completed or concurrent): Evidence This course introduces students to the practical, procedural, and substantive legal issues around electronically stored information (ESI). It discusses common problems that arise in litigation in relation to the discovery, production, and presentation of ESI as evidence. Topics include the importance of ESI, IT sources, and the electronic reference model; ESI law and principals; prelitigation action; ESI preservation; litigation holds; meet and confer obligations; the use of a special master; the e-discovery process; ESI as evidence; federal statutes addressing ESI; and ethics and ESI. The class may also explore computer forensics and the potential future of ESI.

This course examines the discoverability of social media data in pretrial civil litigation, including the different approaches courts take to discovery of websites like Facebook or Snapchat, the privacy issues involved, and the ethical constraints on attorney conduct. In addition to learning more about the law of discovery, students in this skills course will work with a simulated personal injury case and will draft discovery requests, pretrial motions, and other discovery-related documents.

This one-week intersession course provides a practical, hands-on learning experience that focuses on the primary written discovery procedures in federal court. Students will learn the appropriate use of interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admission, and requests for physical and mental examinations. Responses to these discovery devises, including objections, protective orders, and document production, will also be covered. The class will follow a hypothetical that exposes students to the perspectives of all sides in conducting discovery. Students will formulate a plan for discovery, draft discovery devices, and formulate responses to discovery requests.

Prerequisite: Intellectual Property Special Topics in Intellectual Property Law is intended to give students advanced grounding in the world of Intellectual Property (IP). Particular areas of focus for the course will vary by instructor and course year. Potential areas of focus for the course include technology transfer, Internet domain names, IP in international trade and treaties, counterfeiting, and IP litigation.

This one-credit online course introduces students to United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") practice through a focused simulation. The content of this course includes the ethics of IP work, using prior art or clearance search software, working with USPTO docketing systems, using templates, doing client intake, working with USPTO forms, and conducting USPTO examiner interviews. This course is a simulation that goes through a mock file for a simulated client, including a mock Examiner interview experience. While this course will be a pre-requisite for both tracks of the IP Clinic, it is also open for students only interested in the one-credit simulation experience.

The course focuses on the skills required for success in practicing law. Through the use of lectures, student exercises, drills, modeling, and role-playing, students learn about the communication skills necessary for persuasion, gaining rapport and trust, fostering client relationships, effective listening, and effective argument. The course also covers questioning techniques, memory skills, organization, and time management.

This second course in Civil Procedure focuses on important issues not covered in the first-year Civil Procedure course. Most of the cases covered in first-year Civil Procedure dealt with one plaintiff suing one defendant over one issue, which is not how most cases unfold. This course discusses cases with multiple causes of action and multiple parties, and in this context applies concepts such as joinder, res judicata, collateral estoppel, and forum battles (forum non conveniens, transfer, federal vs. state court). The course also spends time on class actions and how they evolve. This practical and problem-based course is useful for those who either loved first-year Civil Procedure or seek more confidence in applying its concepts.

Prerequisite: Intellectual Property. Pre-req may be waived by professor if student has a copyright in entertainment background. Contact professor at brunt@gonzaga.edu for permission or more information. This introductory course addresses legal issues within the entertainment industry, with a focus on film/television, music, gaming, publishing, and marketing. Topics include constitutional, contract, tort, ethical, and intellectual property issues of significance in this area. The course also provides a basic background on typical deal structures, the major contract types used, and the unique ways in which standard contract issues arise in these sectors of the entertainment industry.

This course will prepare law students to represent children by offering a foundation in rights and policies affecting children and an overview of dependency court actions and practice skills. Students will explore the basis of dependency litigation, as well as barriers child advocates face, such as poverty, racial disparity, education, government services, special needs, and much more. This course prepares students for success in child advocacy through curriculum, skills building, and practical training. The materials, which comprise of a casebook and supplemental sources assigned throughout the semester, will provide not only doctrinal instruction, but enhance understanding of current legislative action, case law, and the state of the child dependency system in Washington State.

This course focuses on the study of the death penalty in the United States. Topics include the history of capital punishment, arguments supporting and opposing capital punishment, constitutional issues under the 8th and 14th Amendments, the role of mitigating and aggravating evidence in guiding the sentencer’s decision to impose death, jury selection and considerations, the use of experts in capital trials, state post-conviction remedies, the scope of federal habeas corpus review, constitutional challengers to the arbitrary imposition of the death sentence to those deserving death, the recently-expanded federal death penalty, and international law and capital punishments.

This elective course surveys the major issues in workplace law. Topics include employment at will and its exceptions, such as wrongful discharge claims; wage and hour laws; statutory employment discrimination claims; labor law; workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation; health insurance and pension benefits; negligent hiring and other job-related torts; and protections for employee speech and privacy. The course also covers the role of arbitration in resolving workplace disputes and provides students with opportunities to consider employment law issues from both employee and employer perspectives.

This course focuses on the laws that prohibit discrimination in employment and what is and is not unlawful discrimination. It covers the laws regarding discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, age, and physical and mental disability, in particular Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Class participation is an important element in this course. Employment Law is not a prerequisite.

This course gives students the opportunity to hone their written and oral advocacy skills as they represent a fictitious client in a semester-long simulation of an employment discrimination case. Students may experience interviewing and counseling clients, conducting an investigation, filing claims with administrative agencies, conducting research, drafting pleadings and legal memoranda, negotiating, engaging in discovery, and representing clients in mediation or litigation motion practice. Much of the students’ work will be self-directed, but classroom sessions will offer opportunities for instruction and coaching, as well as self-evaluation, of student performance of practice skills. This practicum counts toward the skills requirement necessary to graduate.

A survey of the classic questions in jurisprudence, the study of the nature, norms, and justifications of legal systems. Questions addressed include: What is law? How do judges decide cases? Do legal rules or standards constrain judicial decision-making? What makes a rule/norm a rule of law? Is morality legally binding regardless of whether it has been enacted into a law by a legislature? How should cases be decided when there is no “controlling law"? Can there be "right" answers to legal disputes or is legal reasoning essentially indeterminate? What is distinctive about judicial decision-making? The course will survey the major legal theorists and schools of jurisprudence and the issues that concern them—especially Legal Realism, Natural Law, Legal Positivism, and Critical Legal Theory. No familiarity with either jurisprudence or philosophy will be presupposed, though some readings may be philosophically demanding.

This course explores specific legal issues of concern to women worldwide and the concomitant social and cultural factors that affect policy-making. The role of international organizations and nongovernmental organizations and the impact of international and regional treaties and conventions on gender-related human rights issues are examined through a comparative lens using the U.S. experience as a reference point. Topics include marriage and family law, traditions, and rituals; work and education; health care and reproduction; violence against women, including sexual harassment, prostitution, pornography, rape, and intimate partner abuse; and additional women’s rights issues based on current events.

This course covers the history and theory of the juvenile court system. It discusses its jurisdiction, investigation, detention and hearing procedures, as well as the constitutional rights of persons in the juvenile courts. National trends and Washington law is also explored. Special attention is given to the role of the attorney in these matters.

Recommended (completed or concurrent): Constitutional Law I and Constitutional Law II This elective course surveys the constitutional issues, statutes, and case law governing public elementary and secondary schools. It emphasizes the legal relationships among the school, its employees, and its students. Topics regarding students include speech, records, search and seizure, discipline, discrimination, duties and right to attend school, and special education law. Employee issues include teacher certification, tenure, and termination; collective bargaining issues; discrimination; and employee speech rights. Institutional issues include liability, government aid to religious private schools, religion in public schools, and curriculum issues. The course introduces selected educational concepts and explores the impact of legal regulation on school system operations and the law’s treatment of educational issues.

Students will survey the major areas of law (including family law, consumer, employment, public benefits, housing, and health care) practiced by nonprofit law firms and civil legal services providers. Particular emphasis will be placed on the legal needs of low-income communities. Students also will practice various skills used in advocating for clients in small group settings and receive feedback and guidance from experienced practitioners. Through completing the class, students will be introduced to a wide variety of placement opportunities with civil legal services providers throughout Washington.

The United States is a settler colonial nation. It’s territorial boundaries, various legal and political systems, and institutional bureaucracies require the historical and ongoing dispossession of its Indigenous peoples to exist. Taking settler colonialism as its theoretical framework, this seminar examines the ways in which dispossession and colonialism operate through law, at both the macro level and in the everyday. This course explore how law is historically and currently a central instrument for colonial projects in North America by examining major constitutional questions, cases, and issues, such as the doctrine of discovery and conquest, the plenary powers doctrine, the “domestic-dependent nation” categorization of American Indian tribes, the federal tribal recognition process and more. It also looks at Indigenous led legal movements of resistance, such as the American Indian Movement (AIM) #Landback, No Dakota Access Pipeline (NODAPL), Standing Rock, and others. Further topics explored include, but are not limited to: The conflict of Individual rights/equal protection and tribal sovereignty, the cultural and environmental revitalization and resistance projects of the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT), the Native Hawai’ian sovereignty movement, constitutional challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Alaska Native land claims, the fishing rights wars of the Pacific Northwest, lake Coeur d’Alene at the Supreme Court, the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, and more.

Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I This course covers the history, theory, case law, and practice of the First Amendment, including freedom of speech, free press, and freedom of religion (it covers all of the clauses and rights contained in the First Amendment except the Right to Petition the Government for redress). For Free Speech and Expression, the course covers the history and development of various freedom of expression doctrines, including (but not limited to) prior restraints, vagueness and overbreadth, political speech, symbolic speech, “time, place, and manner” restrictions on speech, the distinction between content-based and content-neutral restrictions on speech, and categories of “unprotected” or “less-protected” speech. For Free Press, this course covers the press’s right of access, and for the Religion clauses, this course covers government entanglement and aid, among others.

This course studies the many and various ways in which race and the American legal system interact. It draws on both history and contemporary debates to better understand how the law influences the lives of racial groups. Particular emphasis is placed on the role the law played in reinforcing slavery, shaping Reconstruction, and influencing the development of the West. The seminar also examines some of the current issues surrounding the legal treatment of race.

This course provides an overview of water law, including riparian and appropriative rights; groundwater; legal transitions; federal and state navigability; the public trust doctrine; federal water rights; and environmental limitations on water rights. Although the class will discuss the intersection of water quality and quantity issues, Water Law focuses on access and allocation policy. Students interested in water pollution control should take the Environmental Law course.

This course explores restorative justice’s global roots, theoretical underpinnings, values, limitations, and modern practices. The U.S. is beginning to engage in a critical examination of its criminal justice system, which tends to overutilize retributive principles for behavior correction. Thus the need for investigating alternative possibilities becomes increasingly important. If we hope to reform our criminal justice system into one that is more effective and fair, we must have realistic, well-measured suggestions for improvements. This course also offers a critical perspective of restorative justice, an opportunity to discuss the inherent challenges. Spring 2021 offering meets Upper-level Legal Research & Writing Requirement

This course provides a basic understanding of how to enforce individual claims for violations of civil rights and liberties and how to defend against such claims. A significant portion of the course focuses on the main civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, looking at its history, the elements of a cause of action, defenses and immunities, and remedies. The course also covers other civil rights statutes, such as 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242, and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, and 1985(3).

An examination of the federal income tax relationships between corporations and their shareholders. Following introductory material related to choice of business entity, there is a detailed consideration of corporate formation, distributions, redemptions, liquidations, and the possible application of penalty taxes on undistributed corporate income. Also discussed and analyzed will be the debt vs. equity issues involved in a corporation’s capital structure, a general analysis of relevant tax considerations relating to the sale of corporate businesses, including an analysis of taxable corporate acquisitions and tax-free corporate reorganizations. This course will also provide an analysis of the federal income tax treatment of partners and partnerships including problems associated with the formation, operation, and dissolution of the partnership, the sale of partnership interests, and the termination, retirement, and death of a partner. Issues include definition of a partnership, income allocation problems, liability basis rules, application of the at-risk and passive activity rules, and approaches to the drafting of partnership agreements.

The Civil Rights Simulation is designed to educate students about the legal theories, advocacy strategies, and practices used by civil rights and movement lawyers. The primary focus of the course is on systemic injustices impacting discrete and insular minorities, including concerns over access to justice, criminal justice, and individual and systemic discrimination. In addition to weekly readings and discussion groups, students will learn about impact advocacy and movement lawyering through a semester-long project in which they research and write an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief. Working in pairs or in small groups, students will identify a case currently on appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court (or lower court, with permission), creatively assess how they could contribute to an impactful result, and draft a brief which complies with the expectations, goals, and requirements of amicus curiae briefs. Though the brief will not be filed, students will have the opportunity to engage in appellate advocacy and be exposed to the skills essential to civil rights and movement lawyering.

This course introduces law students to trauma-informed care and representation principles. Using evidence-based pedagogical strategies, students learn foundational aspects of trauma-informed standards of practice. They will read, discuss, participate in simulations/role plays, and begin the first of a series of courses designed to equip law students with the doctrinal and practical skills necessary to effectively listen and connect with children in need of counsel. This course builds on skills, and ethical consideration of providing assistance to children who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The course is taught by a lawyer with experience in child advocacy and a PhD School of Ed professor who specializes in counseling and trauma-informed care.

This course provides a review of various topics concerning federal public lands, such as the source and scope of federal authority, forestry, grazing, hard-rock mining on federal lands, federal oil and gas leases, fish and wildlife recreation, and wilderness issues.

Modeled on Columbia Law School’s Supreme Court Seminar, this course provides second- and third-year students the chance to analyze, argue, and decide cases that are currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The majority of students will be divided into nine member “courts.” Each member of a “court” will be assigned the role of a particular currently-serving Justice. The remaining students (the “Advocates”) will be assigned the petitioner’s or respondent’s position in a current case and will be tasked with arguing their party’s respective position at the end of the week. After argument, the “court” will conference with each Justice giving their views of the case and how they would resolve it. After conferencing, each Justice in the majority will be tasked with writing an opinion for the “court,” each Justice in the minority will draft a dissent, and the Advocates will draft a reflection-type essay on their argument experience and strategy.

This course focuses on the values involved in appellate decision-making, how these values conflict, and the interplay of these values in the quest for a just system. More particularly, the course examines the substantive foundations of appellate law, including the doctrines of res judicata, collateral estoppel, and law of the case, along with the law regarding preservation of error, stare decisis, justiciable controversy, mootness, dicta, and related concepts. The course provides an introduction to state and federal appellate systems and the practical workings of the Washington appellate system, and surveys the Washington Rules of Appellate Procedure.

This one-credit course will introduce students to the skills and techniques necessary for effective client-centered interviewing and counseling. The goals for the course are for students to develop skills in: (1) interviewing to build a trusting attorney/client relationship and gather necessary information; and (2) counseling clients to solve problems and achieve their goals. This is primarily a simulation-based course designed to give students opportunities to practice critical lawyering skills. Emphasis will be placed on the values of professionalism and ethics involved in dealing with clients.

Construction contracts address risk assessment for tort liability, insurance coverages, performance delays, environmental protections, Labor & Industries concerns and dispute resolution at a minimum. This course will focus on legal issues commonly encountered in the construction process. Students will be exposed to a variety of governing forms and rules, to areas of negotiation, and to related concerns from various points of view of the involved entities. The course will explore contract formation, liability distribution, delay claims, change orders, construction defects, and remedies. Classes will include case law analysis, directed discussions, and will present an actual case study.

This course examines issues respecting amateur and professional sports, including sports league decision-making, labor and sports, negotiating player contracts, and enforcing sports contracts, NCAA matters, drug testing, and torts in sports. It also covers governing structures.

Prerequisite: Intellectual Property This course, a follow-up to Intellectual Property, provides an in-depth examination of practicing patent law. It focuses on legal issues related to the patent application process, post-issuance review of patent validity, litigating patent cases, and the interplay between patent prosecution and litigation. It introduces the drafting of patent applications and issues associated with prosecuting patents before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, such as infringement, validity, and the claim construction; preliminary injunction practice, damages, and appeals; and the role of expert witnesses. This course is for not only those with technical backgrounds who intend to take the Patent Bar, but also for students interested in patent litigation, for whom a technical background is not required.

A concentrated focus on the law governing oil and gas and mineral estates, including classification of property interests; detailed examination of the oil and gas lease, implied covenants and equitable principles; matters of title and real estate conveyances embracing judicial construction of deed and lease terms and recording statutes; recurring probate-related issues; introduction to reservoir mechanics and exploration/drilling practices; conservation and regulatory controls, including pooling and utilization; and well operator duties to protect the surface.

This course focuses on the substantive state and federal laws applicable to residential and commercial tenancies. The state component includes an examination of Title 59 of the Revised Code of Washington, which addresses tenancies in mobile home parks. The federal law component examines the rights of tenants in public housing as well as issues related to housing discrimination.

Recommended: Trusts & Wills This course examines legal, ethical, and social issues raised by our nation’s growing elder population. Focus is on both the substantive areas of law as well as the practical application of the current laws. Special attention is given to the ethical issues that often arise for attorneys who represent elder clients. The substantive areas include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, health care decisions-making, guardianships, age discrimination, elder abuse, and end-of-life planning.

This course introduces the theory and practice of negotiation in a simulation workshop setting. We will examine the basic stages of a negotiation; the major tensions at play in negotiation; distributive bargaining, value-creating, and problem-solving techniques; the management of communication and emotional elements in negotiation; power dynamics and ethics; and other topics as time allows. The course is designed to help students develop negotiating skills and a framework for ongoing self-learning through role-playing simulations, discussion, reading assignments, and regular journal and writing exercises.

This course explores the institutions, rules, and principles concerning the protection of the environment and climate change at the international level. The course is designed in order to develop students' knowledge of the key sources of international environmental law, their understanding of some of the most important treaties in this field, including climate change and an awareness of the challenges associated with the development and enforcement of international environmental law with particular focus on international climate change law. This course has two parts. The first explores the central international legal architecture addressing climate change, namely the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), its Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the Paris Agreement (2015) along with other international environmental treaties that are directly related to international climate change law. The second part of the course critically explores select advanced issues within the climate regime, analyzing these issues in transnational and interdisciplinary framings. Climate change is a global (as well as local) issue, which requires international cooperation in order to be tackled. Therefore, national climate change laws and policies of major greenhouse gas contributing countries also will be discussed to understand and to analyze the existing externalities in climate change negotiation.

The goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the full range of dispute resolution processes including interviewing and counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and mixed processes, such as the mini-trial. The overall objectives are to give the students familiarity with these processes, rudimentary skills in using them, and some experience in how to help a client choose or build the most appropriate dispute resolution or prevention process.

This course focuses on the substantive law controlling immigration into the United States and effecting noncitizens in the country. Topics include constitutional law aspects of the immigration and removal process, admission, naturalization, relief from removal, and asylum.

Recommended: Immigration Law In this two-credit seminar, students will learn about the evolving area of gender-based asylum law in the United States, as well as other international humanitarian relief for victims of gender-related violence. In the seminar, students will: 1) learn the substantive foundations of asylum and refugee law, with a particular focus on what it means to have a well-founded fear of persecution based on membership in a particular social group; 2) engage in the relevant statutory, regulatory, and case law concerning asylum and refugee law; 3) become familiar with the procedural and practical skills necessary to represent humanitarian asylum-seekers in their applications for relief before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (U.S.C.I.S.) and the Immigration Court; and 4) become engaged in the legal and policy discussion about the human rights issues surrounding the availability of international protection for victims of gender-related violence.

This two-credit course will provide students with the opportunity to practice critical analytical skills as it relates to how criminal and immigration law intersect. Students will be presented with fact patterns from real-life cases where noncitizens have criminal conduct or convictions that can negatively impact their immigration cases. Students will be provided a case file for each case with necessary information and documents to assist them in their analysis. Students will be given one case file to be used for two class periods, totaling 6 different case files over the semester. In-class activities will include mock trials and/or administrative hearings, small-group writing projects, presentations, oral arguments, and more. Students’ grade will be based on class participation and the final exam. The final exam will be an MPT-style take-home exam.

This course explores the relevant legal processes and the civil, constitutional, and criminal issues affecting persons with mental disabilities. Topics include involuntary civil commitment, institutional rights, the right to refuse treatment, deinstitutionalization, the Americans with Disabilities Act, competencies, the insanity defense, sexually violent predator acts, and the impact of mental disability in the criminal trial process on issues such as confessions and sentencing. Spring 2021 offering meets Upper-level Legal Research & Writing Requirement

For decades, American law has developed to advance the civil rights of underprivileged groups. While classifications such as race, religion and sex have been most prominent, disability is increasingly salient to our rights and interests in public spaces. This course introduces students to the law governing issues of disability, and the relationship between law, medicine and social justice. Throughout the term, students will be encouraged to problematize the adequacy of legal tools that aim to serve all relevant stakeholders to meet the financial, social, medical and emotional burdens of disability marginalization. The topics covered in the course are illustrative of the concerns of disability law, rather than cover the scope of the field. The materials, which comprise of a casebook and supplemental sources, enable students to develop a fuller appreciation of the intricacies of the theory and jurisprudence affecting the rights and lived experiences of people with disabilities. Students will be required to participate in online discussions and write an exam.

This course examines the financing and organization of health care delivery in the United States, the legal and public policy issues the current structure raises, and the implications for health care reform. The course begins with a historical overview of the American health care system, identifies the stakeholders, and discusses how health care is currently financed, accessed, and delivered. It reviews the major payers (private health insurance, self-insured health plans, Medicare, Medicaid), and the necessity for and breadth of regulation and reimbursement of heath care providers, including traditional providers and providers of alternative medicine. The class considers health care reform options, including underlying policy considerations and political obstacles.

This course examines international, national, and regional laws concerning forced migration within human rights protections. It specifically addresses individuals considered victims of forced migration, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, stateless individuals, and those who have suffered enforced disappearances. The primary aim is to analyze the distinctions and commonalities among these forcibly displaced populations while assessing the protective frameworks available to them as vulnerable groups, taking into account the push and pull factors that lead to population displacements. Employing an interdisciplinary approach that merges legal, historical, and political analysis, the course enhances student understanding. It explores the history of forced migration by investigating its causes and impacts; investigates key legal principles related to forced migration, highlighting international and regional legal standards, policies, and institutions; and includes case studies focused on specific populations, such as women, children, and indigenous peoples.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the content and strategy of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). The course will expose students to portions of substantive subjects tested on the Uniform Bar Exam. Students will take a diagnostic multiple-choice assessment as a baseline. Licensed Multi-state Bar Exam (MBE) and Multi-State Essay Exam (MEE) questions will be used to test on the subjects covered in the course. Additionally, time in the course will be spent learning and practicing the performance test portion of the bar exam using the Multi-state Performance Tests (MPT).

This course is designed as an introduction to the content and strategy of the California Bar Exam. This course will expose students to the format of the exam, with a focus on California essay subjects. Students will learn strategies for taking the California bar and will complete practice essays, performance tests, and multiple-choice practice sets. Students will have an introduction to the development of their substantive knowledge of highly tested California law topics and will also develop self-assessment skills to enhance their continued bar exam preparation after completion of the course. This course is designed to give students a head start going into their commercial bar course after graduation.

This course is designed to jumpstart students’ bar exam preparation by developing substantive knowledge and sharpening skills. Specifically, students will receive in-depth review of highly tested topics in Contracts, Evidence, Torts and Real Property. Each substantive review segment is comprised of mini-lessons followed by check-point activities to promote mastery and a capstone assessment to measure learning. Substantive review segments are followed by interactive skill development and skill reinforcement lessons to sharpen students’ problem-solving skills, develop flexibility navigating a variety of question types, and reinforce students’ understanding of the substantive law. The skill development segments use client scenarios as vehicles to develop skill proficiency and reinforce understanding of the law. Students will receive feedback on assessments throughout the course.

This Externship Seminar provides students with opportunities for professional development, to obtain practical lawyering skills, to create or expand professional networks, and to assess and gain insight into the workings of the legal system. Opportunities are created through exposure to the system with the guidance of a supervising attorney or judge. This seminar supplements those experiences, providing students with opportunities for personal and professional skill development through self-assessment and reflection.

Taken concurrently with Externship Field Credits This Externship Seminar provides opportunities for professional development for students who have completed their first externship. It allows them to obtain practical lawyering skills, create or expand professional networks, and assess and gain insight into the workings of the legal system. Opportunities are created through exposure to the system with the guidance of a supervising attorney or judge. This seminar moves beyond the foundational questions of professional identity and gives students an opportunity to continue developing an individualized plan for deeper skills. It provides personal and professional development while investigating questions about the current and future states of the legal profession.

Directed Research is a course of independent study for academic credit, under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. The independent study must involve both substantial research on the part of the student and written work product. By signing the paperwork to register for Directed Research credits, the supervising faculty member certifies that the planned project is designed to require at least 2,550 minutes per credit. A Directed Research Project will not satisfy the Upper-Level Research and Writing Requirement.

Directed Research is a course of independent study for academic credit, under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. The independent study must involve both substantial research on the part of the student and written work product. By signing the paperwork to register for Directed Research credits, the supervising faculty member certifies that the planned project is designed to require at least 2,550 minutes per credit. A Directed Research Project will not satisfy the Upper-Level Research and Writing Requirement.

This 1-credit asynchronous online course takes law review members through the Cite & Source process for articles to be published in Gonzaga Law Review. Topics covered include the fundamentals of law review production, editing and citation training, and the expectations for Cite & Source work. By the end of the course, Editorial Staff members will complete Cite & Source projects. Enrollment is open to Gonzaga Law Review members.

This 1-credit asynchronous online course takes law review members through the process of supervising Cite & Source teams for articles to be published in Gonzaga Law Review. Topics covered include the fundamentals of supervising Cite & Source work. By the end of the course, Associate Editors will supervise and finalize Cite & Source projects. Enrollment is open to Gonzaga Law Review members.

This 2-credit asynchronous online course takes law review members through the process of writing an academic paper for potential publication in a law review. Topics covered include the fundamentals of academic legal writing, the academic legal research and writing process, and the steps for revising, editing, and finalizing long-form academic writing projects. By the end of the course, students will complete a note or comment with a word count of 10,000-13,000 words (including footnotes). Enrollment is open to law review editorial staff.

This 3-credit asynchronous online course takes law review Editorial Board members through their substantive board work for Gonzaga Law Review. Topics covered include the fundamentals of each board position, expectations for work performed, and general leadership training. By the end of the course, after receiving formative feedback, Editorial Board members will complete a portfolio of work based on position expectations. Enrollment is open to GLR Editorial Board Members.

This 1-credit asynchronous online course takes Gonzaga Journal of International Law members through the process of supervising Cite & Source teams for articles to be published in GJIL. Topics covered include the fundamentals of supervising Cite & Source work. By the end of the course, Associate Editors will supervise and finalize Cite & Source projects. Enrollment is open to GJIL members in their second year of membership on the journal.

This 1-credit asynchronous online course takes Gonzaga Journal of International Law members through the Cite & Source process for articles to be published in GJIL. Topics covered include the fundamentals of law journal production, editing and citation training, and the expectations for Cite & Source work. By the end of the course, Editorial Staff members will complete Cite & Source projects. Enrollment is open to GJIL members in their first year of membership on the journal.

This 2-credit asynchronous online course takes Gonzaga Journal of International Law members through the process of writing an academic paper for potential publication in a law journal. Topics covered include the fundamentals of academic legal writing, the academic legal research and writing process, and the steps for revising, editing, and finalizing long-form academic writing projects. By the end of the course, students will complete a note or comment of publishable quality on an international law-related topic. Enrollment is open to GJIL editorial staff in their final year of law school.

This 3-credit asynchronous online course takes Gonzaga Journal of International Law Editorial Board members through the substantive board work for GJIL. Topics covered include the fundamentals of each board position, expectations for work performed, and general leadership training. By the end of the course, after receiving formative feedback, Editorial Board members will complete a portfolio of work based on position expectations. Enrollment is open to GJIL Editorial Board members identified in the GJIL Bylaws.

Participating students have the opportunity to represent low-income elderly clients in a variety of legal areas affecting the elderly which include Public Entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, VA), housing, estate planning (wills, powers of attorney and health care directives), surrogate decision making, health care, family and consumer law. Classroom topics include ethics and capacity issues, basic estate planning and advanced directives, guardianships and durable powers of attorney, elder abuse and public benefit programs. In the classroom, the clinic also meets as a firm to confer on cases, clients and courses of action.

GONZAGA LAW IN ACTION This course offers an experiential learning opportunity to provide legal advocacy for asylum seekers and other forced migrants. The one-week immersion experience will focus on direct consultations with immigrants. Instruction preceding travel will emphasize international refugee law, U.S. asylum law and policy, the root causes of displacement, and best practices for trauma-informed lawyering.

This course explores ancient and contemporary legal issues in the Maya Empire—present day Guatemala and Belize. You will learn about the legal system of the Maya, including its political and social structures, sources of law, and select aspects of its criminal, property, family, and international laws. You will also learn about current challenges facing this region, including human rights abuses, climate change, and immigration. This course will be a valuable addition to your legal education. Its comparative features will help broaden your perspective on the U.S. legal system, and its international aspects will enable you to develop cross-cultural competence needed to navigate an increasingly transnational legal field. Following the completion of a series of online modules, you will spend two weeks in Guatemala and Belize, where you will explore Maya ruins, meet with a variety of people and organizations, and immerse yourself in one of the most vibrant and rich cultures anywhere in the world.

International human rights class will discuss the foundational principles of human rights and analyzes the existing international mechanisms and institutional frameworks for protecting and promoting human rights. The course will focus on human rights violations by multinational corporations (MNCs), and the class will develop a case against an MNC for the violation of the human rights in domestic forum (court) and international forum. Overall, this course will not only make students able to understand human rights law but also prepare them to practice human rights cases.

In this unique international skills program, students will learn the history, objectives, and methods of international mediation in both commercial law and human rights contexts, culminating in an international competition co-hosted with the University of Florence School of Law. To begin, prior to the start of the Florence program, students will study online to build a foundation for mediation practices. Once in Florence, to prepare for the competition, students will practice mediation methods with Gonzaga faculty and Italian mediation expert Dr. Ilaria Forestieri, Avv. The mediation program itself covers two days. On day one, students will attend a seminar on mediation practices with world-renowned mediation experts. For example, last year, the seminar speakers were Pietro Galizzi, Avv., General Counsel of Eni Oil and Gas, one of the largest industrial companies in the world, and Dr. Johanna Hawari-Bourjeily, director of the mediation program at the University of St. Joseph School of Law in Beirut, Lebanon. After this seminar, Gonzaga and Florence students will retire for a happy hour and social activities to cultivate professional relationships. On day two, five teams of four Gonzaga students will compete against five teams of Florence students. That evening, the schools will host an awards dinner and gala, where faculty, students, and other guests celebrate the program and student accomplishments.

In a law firm setting, students will be introduced to U.S. immigration law and practice, and will have the opportunity to develop lawyering skills through interviewing clients, researching, advising and counseling clients regarding options, case evaluation and planning. Students will need to continuously reflect on their experience as an advocate and be able to articulate the next steps in their case work. Students may also need to cope with uncertainty, inconsistency, and ambiguity relating to the ultimate outcomes for their clients.

The Catholic Charities Immigration Clinic: Client Advocacy - Youth Focus course provides opportunities for students to strengthen social justice advocacy skills. Students will analyze systemic problems in immigration law and gaps in the legal rights of immigrant youth, craft solutions, and build resources for immigrant youth and their advocates. Students working on Clinic projects will learn critical legal skills related to providing humanitarian legal assistance to refugee children. There will be a special focus on how to competently and zealously represent immigrant youth who are (or were) unaccompanied, abused, neglected, or abandoned refugee minors in humanitarian immigration matters in a trauma informed and culturally-competent manner. Students will practice and learn about policy advocacy strategies, including partnering with stakeholder groups; working with state or local officials on policies to protect immigrants’ rights and facilitate immigrant youth integration. If the opportunity arises, the course will also include appellate impact work, including contributions to amicus curiae briefs or other appellate briefs in collaboration with advocacy partners. This course will include a weekly seminar component grounded in students’ experiences with advocacy projects, and incorporating reflective learning, critical analysis, and the collaborative process.

This clinic functions as a patent law firm. Student responsibilities may include interviewing and managing clients, instructing clients on intellectual property, conducting research on likelihood of patentability, researching and preparing a prior art search report, preparing a patent application for filing, responding to patent office actions, and/or otherwise managing patent services for clients. Students who qualify to take the patent bar can receive temporary federal USPTO license numbers during their participation with the Clinic. Students who do not qualify for the patent bar may still fully participate in this clinic without their own temporary license number.

This clinic functions as a trademark law firm. Student responsibilities may include interviewing and managing clients, instructing clients on intellectual property, conducting research on likelihood of confusion, researching and preparing a clearance search report, preparing a trademark application for filing, responding to trademark office actions, and/or otherwise managing trademark services for our clients. They will work closely with an attorney-mentor throughout the process. Students will receive temporary federal USPTO license numbers during their participation with the Clinic.

Participating students will be responsible for researching issues, meeting/counseling clients, drafting public comment and public testimony, attending public hearings, and preparing legal pleadings related to public interest environmental and climate law issues. Environmental and climate law issues may include advocacy for the protection of local streams, rivers and healthy air quality, addressing issues impacting climate change, addressing the environmental and public health concerns of local neighborhoods and Tribal lands, and drafting local ordinances and other laws to support climate resilience. The clinic will contribute to environmental protection efforts while also empowering students with practical experience, strengthening community engagement, and fostering a culture of advocacy for future generations of legal professionals.

The Sports Law Clinic offers law students an opportunity to prepare educational resources and engage in policy work and advocacy relating to legal issues arising out of college sports. For educational resources, students will prepare materials and presentations to educate college athletes about their rights and obligations under applicable rules. Students may also engage in policy work, surveying the ever-changing law around name-image-likeness rules and related concepts, with opportunities to challenge and promote laws and policies that better protect student rights. The clinic’s work will cover a range of sports law matters, including IP rights, contracts and licensing deals, and tax and business issues relating to college athletics.

Prerequisite: Business Associations (completed or concurrent) Participating students will be responsible for interviewing clients, understanding clients' business enterprises, preparing a variety of documents including charter documents (for-profit and non-profit), employment agreements, member and shareholder agreements, licensing agreements, vendor and customer contracts, and applications for federal tax exempt status. In most cases, students will have an opportunity to work with start-up and development-stage enterprises that are referred by Washington’s Small Business Development Center or other regional economic development agencies.

The Lincoln LBGTQ+ Rights Clinic will provide opportunities for students to advocate primarily in the areas of civil rights and discrimination, with faculty guidance. Students will provide direct legal representation and create research-based policy proposals for addressing systemic inequalities in the law and legal systems. In addition to working on projects and cases, students will meet in a weekly two-hour seminar to learn and reflect on ethical issues, procedural law, substantive law, and skills.

The Federal Tax Clinic offers law students an opportunity to make a direct and immediate impact on the lives of their clients. Students will help low to middle-income taxpayers who are experiencing problems with their individual and/or small business taxes. Students will be working directly with the IRS and negotiate issues such as penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief, individual and business audits, administrative hearings regarding liens and levies, and other collection issues. Additionally, some students will participate in United States Tax Court proceedings.