Skills and Litigation

Skills - 2 hours. This course will cover four areas: (1) research; (2) brief writing; (3) appellate strategy; and (4) oral advocacy. The students will be working on actual federal criminal cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. They will draft briefs on behalf of criminal defendants. They will also work on amicus briefs and policy papers on critical issues on behalf of clients such as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies. We'll study the various court rules governing the form, substance and timing of briefs.

Skills – 2 units. This seminar will introduce students to the theory and practice of negotiation, mediation, and other forms of consensual dispute resolution, with a special emphasis on cross-cultural negotiation and mediation related to international business transactions. Theoretical content will be provided through course readings, occasional lectures, and guest presentations from non-U.S. lawyers, mediators, and business professionals. But a primary focus of the class will be simulated negotiation and mediation exercises in small groups.

Law 202 Contracts is recommended.

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 two-credit, skills-based course will offer students hands-on training in the fundamentals of negotiation and mediation, in the specific context of federal court-sponsored mediation. Although it is hardly news that most of today’s law school graduates will spend far more time negotiating than they will trying cases, the need for ADR training continues to outstrip supply. There is a particular need for trained negotiators and mediators in federal court, where it can take a half-decade for civil litigants to reach the courtroom.

Skills - This course is designed to teach students (1) the law that restricts and supports jury selection in criminal law trials (2) the most effective methods of engaging in jury selection (3) how to think critically and strategically about voir dire questioning and juror challenges.

This course will be taught as an accelerated course. Class will meet for first 7 weeks only.

Seminar – 2 hours. Much of our modern federal government relies on administrative agencies exercising authority delegated to them by Congress. Federal courts have traditionally deferred to agencies’ implementation of the statutes they administer, although these courts also set aside (or “vacate”) agency actions they find to be unlawful. In recent years, however, several justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have openly called for revisiting several administrative law doctrines that underlie this system.

Discussion - 3 hours.

All King Hall externships have two components. At the field placement, students handle legal assignments under supervision of an attorney. Under the supervision of a faculty advisor, students complete professional development assignments. See the Externship website for more information.

Discussion. This course will introduce students to a wide variety of alternative dispute resolution procedures, with an emphasis on negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. Although basic skills and effective strategies for each procedure will be discussed, the course will focus primarily on the laws and policies that affect how the procedures are structured and conducted. Successful completion of the course will prepare students for the widespread availability and growing popularity of ADR in almost every area of modern legal practice.

Basic appellate practice and procedure. Beginning instruction in oral advocacy skills and an opportunity to practice these skills in front of a moot court. Students compete in four rounds of oral arguments which, combined with the second semester of the program, determine the rankings for selecting participants in the annual Neumiller Competition and other interschool competition teams and for membership on the Moot Court Board. Both courses 410A and 410B must be taken in order to qualify for most interschool competitions.