Legal Theory and Ethics

Seminar – 2 hours. Seminar exploring lawyer's roles, ethical obligations and critical choices regarding maintaining and preserving the rule of law and democracy. Will examine scenarios from historical crossroads and current circumstances, reviewing narrative, primary and statutory source materials. Participants will take turns, as assigned, helping to lead class discussions. A well-researched original reflection piece of 20 pages, not including bibliography, will be required at the end of the semester. Graded on class participation and final paper.

Skills – 1 unit - This course will introduce students to the practice of conscious lawyering, including concepts in professional and personal identity, self-awareness, focus, emotional intelligence, cultural and personal values, mindfulness, meditation, and mind-body connection. This course will help train students to be mindful and aware while engaging in the practice of law including litigation, negotiations, transactional deals, client management, and day-to-day work in a law practice.

Discussion - 2 hours. This course covers the ethical duties of lawyers in a variety of different contexts.  Students will examine topics such as client control over the major decisions in a case, the duty of zealous advocacy, representation of organizations, and the unique role of government attorneys.

Seminar - This discussion-based course will focus on academic articles, mostly drawn from critical race and critical feminist traditions, that examine the theory and doctrine covered in 218A: Constitutional Law II--Equal Protection. The choice and sequence of readings will be tied to those assigned in 218A in order to create dialogue between Equal Protection doctrine and critical perspectives on that doctrine.

Discussion – 2 hours. This course will examine major cases, statutes, and events in the law, both on the books and in action, dealing with nonwhites. The course will include discussion of the situation of African Americans, Asians, Indigenous People, and Latinx People, from the Colonial era to the present. In addition to examining legal doctrine and policy, it will explore how the contemporary United States has been shaped by racial discrimination.

Seminar - 2 or 3 hours. This seminar explores the ways political units in different countries attempt to maintain social order and advance criminal justice. Students examine the people, policies, and institutions responsible for adjudicating alleged criminal law violations around the globe. They also learn about how rules of professional responsibility and legal ethics guide the behavior of the institutional actors who participate in these criminal processes.

Discussion - 3 hours.  This course examines the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise from research on and use of biomedical technologies.  The course introduces and critically evaluates the dominant principlist approach to Western bioethics. It uses interdisciplinary methods, including critical theory and science and technology studies to consider the role of law on issues arising from biotechnology and science-based knowledge systems that implicate social norms and personal values.

Discussion - 2 hours.  This seminar will provide an overview of the theory and practice of human rights law. The course requirements include weekly discussion responses, a seminar paper (which can fulfill the writing requirement), and active class participation.  Topics covered include the major human rights treaties and institutions; the universality of human rights; women’s human rights; human rights and digital technology; and human rights advocacy and enforcement.

Seminar - 3 hours. This class will focus on two questions. The first question to be considered is: What is law and, in particular, what is the relationship between law and morality? Topics to be covered include natural law, legal positivism and legal realism. The readings related to this question will be drawn primarily from legal philosophy. The second (related) question to be considered is: What are the main traditions in current American legal thought as to the role of law in society? Topics to be surveyed include law and economics, critical legal studies and formalism.

Discussion - 3 hours. This course introduces students to the economic analysis of law. Students will learn to use the tools of economic analysis (marginal cost and benefit, supply and demand, opportunity cost, etc.) to illuminate and critique familiar areas of law, including property, contracts, torts, and criminal law. Throughout the course, students will consider how economic analysis complements and conflicts with other concerns of the legal system, including fairness and efficiency.  The course does not require any background in economics.