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JD Program Course Descriptions
A listing of Course Prerequisites can be found here (PDF)
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | ZA
5310 Administrative Law (3)Principles, factors and statutory provisions which govern availability of relief (both judicial and administrative) to persons or entities aggrieved by the actions or inactions of governmental officials or agencies.
5311 Adoption Law & Policy (1-2) This course will student Adoption Law & Policy. It will not overlap with either Family Law or Children and the Law. Topics include: Origins of adoption & modern adoption law, who may be adopted, who may adopt a child (including sexual orientation issues), the Adoption process, Guardianship, International adoption, post adoption disputes, open adoption arrangements, confidentiality of adoption records, Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) constraints on adoption, Interstate Compact For the Placement of Children (ICPC) , adoption tax credits, and various technology issues affecting adoption including confidentiality issues. Course is Graded.
5320 Advanced Legal Research (1-2) Skills training in advanced research techniques and resources used in law practice. Designed to help students become critical consumers of legal information. Emphasis on developing effective, cost-efficient research strategies. Advanced topics include researching legislative history, administrative regulations, and international law. Covers looseleaf services, formbooks and other practitioner materials. Hands-on Internet practice and advanced CALR training.
5330 Advocacy, Family Violence and Public Policy (2) Interdisciplinary presentations examine both the state of family violence in America and the cross disciplinary issues in effective intervention. The seminar is open to 2nd or 3rd year law students and other professional graduate students with permission of the faculty. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5332 Advocacy & Government Agencies (3) This course will begin with a brief review of the structure of government: what the various programmatic tools (such as different types of regulation and the delivery of services) are, when they are used, how they work, and why. It will look at how to advocate your cause before agencies, such as informal contacts, formal submittals, and the role of scientific and economic information. We will review the increasing use of the web and what it means for interacting with agencies. It will look at how agencies are managed and the reviews inside the government to ensure "quality" decisions. It will look at the ethical requirements on government employees and their effects on advocacy. It will also look at restrictions on the outside, with a brief review of the law of lobbying. A good portion of this class will be practical advocacy before agencies and how to challenge agency action in court. We will also talk about the role of the President (or governor) and Congress (or the legislature) in achieving your goal before an agency. A general familiarity with Administrative Law is critical. Thus, a course in Administrative Law (5310) or its equivalent is required as a prerequisite.
5085 Advocacy and Research (2) This course is subject to change later in the year. Currently, it is an introduction to Computer Assisted Legal Research, written advocacy, oral advocacy, and the Missouri rules of appellate procedure. Each student writes a trial court motion and brief and then argues that motion. Each student also writes an appellate brief and presents an oral argument in the First Year Moot Court Competition directed by the Board of Advocates (BOA). Prerequisite: 510L, 512L Legal Reasoning (1). A limited enrollment course designed to assist first-year students to better understand the legal system, prepare for examinations and improve their legal analysis and reasoning skills.
5337 American Legal History to 1865 (2-33) This is a revision of Legal History. The course covers such topics as the impact of the English common law heritage; the development of law in the American colonies; slavery, race and gender in nineteenth century America. The course ends with the conclusion of the Civil War. The course will explore the effects of historical events on the development of law, but the course does not presume prior study of American history.
5338 American Legal History From 1865 (2-3) Historical study of the development of American law since the Civil War. The course will cover such topics as the Civil War amendments to the Constitution; Reconstruction and its aftermath; legal change during the rise of industrialism; race and gender in late 19th century and 20th century America; law in the Progressive Era; the growth of civil liberties and civil rights in the Supreme Court; the law during war and the Depression; jurisprudential trends; and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The course will explore the effects of historical events on the development of law, but the course does not presume prior study of American history.
5340 Antitrust Law (3) Introduces antitrust and economic analysis and the role of competition, with emphasis on price fixing, horizontal and vertical restraints of trade, monopoly and merger problems.
5345 Appellate Advocacy (2) Enhanced skills training for the preservation and presentation of matters on appeal. In addition, an introductory examination of extraordinary remedies (as a complement to appeal) and other unique actions filed in the Supreme Court of Missouri. Prerequisite: 5085 Advocacy & Research.
5350 Arbitration (3) Law, policy and practices relating to the arbitration process as it is utilized in labor and commercial sectors. Topics include modern arbitration statutes, enforceability of agreements to arbitrate, public policy defenses against enforcement of arbitration agreements, arbitrators and administering institutions, components of the arbitral process, arbitral remedies and awards, and the arbitration award in the courts.
B
5360 Banking Law (2-3)This course is an effort to take a "from the ground up" approach to banking regulations in recognition of the far-reaching changes in banking law practice imposed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Special attention will be given to securities, derivatives, and insurance activities of banks and their functional regulation by non-banking regulators. As time permits, failed bank resolution, interstate operations, branching, and foreign exchange operations will be discussed.
5365 Bankruptcy (3) Focuses on the rights of both secured and unsecured creditors under state and federal law. State law covers collective actions and such individual actions as execution, attachment, garnishment, and the law of fraudulent conveyances. Federal law concentrates on liquidation proceedings under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code and reorganizations for wage earners under Chapter 13 of the Code. Includes, as time permits, an introduction to the business reorganization provisions of Chapter 11.
5370 Basic Business Principles for Lawyers (3) This course will provide an introduction to the basic economic and financial concepts underlying most modern business transactions. It will provide the student with an understanding of the economic, financial, and institutional details of corporate business practices. Four broad themes will be developed. The first is economics, where we will focus on issues of supply and demand, market structure and social costs (Coase Theorem). Accounting issues will then be examined to include the preparation/interpretation of financial statements and ratio analysis. A discussion of capital markets, financial instruments, portfolio theory, and time-value of money represent the finance-related topics. Lastly, the course will review the elementary statistical issues associated with the interpretation and evaluation of quantitative business data and asset performance. Students who feel uncomfortable with financial concepts may want to take this course prior to or concurrently with the corporate, tax or commercial-law classes in our curriculum. Students with a degree in economics, accounting, finance, business administration, or a similar field may take this course only with the prior approval of the instructor.
5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation (3-4) Federal income tax problems of individual taxpayers; nature of income; when and to whom income is taxable; exclusions from tax base; deductions; tax effects of exchange or other disposition of capital assets. This course is designed to introduce students to the income tax considerations that arise in a variety of legal contexts and will benefit even those students not planning to pursue a career in tax.
5380 Bioethics Seminar (2-3) An examination of some of the legal and ethical issues presented by modern medical science, such as the redefining of death, the withholding or refusal of life-sustaining medical treatment, reproductive technology (which raises issues such as paternity, custody, safety and access), organ transfer, genetic counseling and the public health issues raised by the AIDS epidemic. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5385 BOA Competition (1) While this is a late summer moot court competition directed by the Board of Advocates (BOA), the course registration is for the fall semester. The competition is open to 2Ls and 3Ls, but only 2Ls can advance to the final rounds. Students receive an assignment in the spring, submit their written appellate briefs at the end of July, and participate in oral arguments at the beginning of fall semester. The top six 2L competitors present their final arguments in Jefferson City before Missouri Supreme Court judges. These finalists are invited to represent the law school during the following academic year as members of our regional teams for the National Moot Court Competition. Regional team members must enroll in Moot Court I and Moot Court II. Prerequisite: 5085 Advocacy & Research.
5390 Business Bankruptcy (2) Study financially distressed businesses with an emphasis on business reorganizations under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The course will emphasize lawyering skills and may include students representing parties in a simulated Chapter 11. Prior or concurrent enrollment required in 5365 Bankruptcy.
5395 Business Organizations (3-4) The law schools foundation course in business law; recommended for students in all areas of interest. Course coverage includes the study of agency, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. This course is a prerequisite for several advanced electives in business law.
5400 Business Planning (2) This course will address planning considerations involved in the formation, operation, and disposition of a business enterprise. Our study will involve the integration of corporate, partnership, tax, and securities laws. The course will provide practical experience for the student who wishes to become a transactional attorney by giving students problems for which they must identify issues, develop a solution, and draft appropriate documents to implement the solution. Business Organizations (5395) is a prerequisite and students must have either completed or be concurrently enrolled in Corporate Tax (5465) or Partnership Tax (5815).
5401 Business Torts (1-4) This course examines topics in business torts and the intersection with principles of contract law, focusing primarily on matters related to contract formation and performance. Primary topics include intentional and negligent interference with contract and economic opportunities, misrepresentation, duress, aiding and abetting and civil conspiracy liability, tortious litigation and tactics and statutory causes of action. Prerequisites: Contracts I and II; Torts. Course is Graded.
C
5402 Certiorari Review in the United States Supreme Court (1)This course will examine the United States Supreme Court's certiorari review of state and federal court decisions. Topics will include history and origins, constitutional and statutory underpinnings, Supreme Court rules and operating procedures, and factors motivating grant of the writ. Students will review certiorari petitions granted during the prior Term and will select a recently decided federal or state court decision and draft a petition for certiorari for that case. Course is Graded.
5405 Child Protection Clinic (3) The Child Protection Clinic offers law students who have earned at least 45 credit hours towards graduation, and thereby eligible for Rule 13 certification, a practical experience in handling juvenile and family law cases with an emphasis on termination of parental rights and guardianship proceedings. Students will assume full responsibility for the drafting of petitions, researching legal issues relevant to the court proceedings, interviewing witnesses, preparing for hearings and trials, and conducting hearing and trials in court. Students must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in 5280 Professional Responsibility and Child Protection and the Law Seminar. (Not available to students on probation.)
5410 Children and the Law (2-3) Study of the philosophy underlying juvenile law as well as specific provisions of the Juvenile Code and pertinent court decisions in such areas as delinquency, abuse and neglect, child support, child custody, protective legislation, termination of parental rights and related court services.
5010 Civil Procedure I (3) Fundamental and recurrent problems in civil actions in federal and state courts, remedies, pleading, discovery, trials, jurisdiction, appeals, joinder, and preclusion.
5015 Civil Procedure II (2) Continuation of 5010.
5415 Civil Rights (2-3) Advanced analysis of protection of civil liberties that derive from the United States Constitution and federal statutes. The federal statutes which will be covered most extensively include the Reconstruction Era statutes of 42 U.S.C. sections 1981 and 1983, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Titles II and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
5420 Client Interviewing and Counseling (1-3) Basic interviewing techniques; psychological factors affecting the interviewing process; facilitating and structuring the interview; clarification of statements and ascertaining legal issues; dealing with client resistance and hostility; the nature and conduct of counseling process. Graded S/U.
5425 Clinical Skills (1-3) Skills training for students enrolled in the criminal clinic. Lectures and simulations designed to facilitate student skills in case preparation and presentation and client representation: ethical concerns, fact investigation, interviewing and counseling, drafting legal documents, direct and cross exam, making and responding to objections. (Not available to students on probation.)
5313 Collateral Consequences of Sentencing (3) The class will examine the collateral consequences of sentencing. In three-parts, the course will examine sentencing, the consequences associated with sentencing (i.e. deprivations an disabilities that an offender encounters), and the process of restoration and reentry for offenders following their sentences. Given the scope of offenses and sentences, the course will focus exclusively on felonies and the resultant consequences from such convictions. Part I will provide students with a brief overview of sentencing history and its reform. Part II will focus on the plethora of deprivations and disabilities that offenders encounter upon being sentenced for a felony. And finally, Part III will discuss the various methods and processes for an ex-offender to regain their rights.
5430 Commercial Real Estate Transactions & Development Seminar (3) This course will cover all aspects of the development and financing of a retail shopping center. Topics will include appraisal, taxation, choice of entity, land acquisition, title issues, zoning, environmental regulation, mortgage loan documentation, and construction. Limited attention will be given to leasing and bankruptcy issues. Must have taken Real Estate Transactions & Finance (5855). (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5917 Comparative Constitutional Law (3) The course begins with a discussion of the nature of comparative constitutional law, and the value (and limitations) of comparison. What are the functions of constitutions, and how can constitutions advance constitutionalism? After an examination of the role and structure of constitutional courts in various jurisdictions, the rest of the course will offer comparative perspectives on individual rights - e.g., equality, expression, association, religion, abortion.
6720 Comparative Dispute Resolution (2) This course will explore a number of critical issues in the ways that societies structure their dispute resolutions systems. The course will analyze and compare a range of dispute resolution processes (such as litigation, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration) and applications to deal with specific types of problems (such as criminal, employment, public policy, family conflicts) in different societies. The course will examine the extent to which various factors such as the history, culture, institutional developments, legal norms influence the systems for handling of these issues. The course will include readings, lectures, and exercises to provide students with an enhanced understanding of differences in dispute resolution processes.
5435 Comparative Law (2-3) Foreign legal systems and the comparative method in analysis and solution of legal problems, based on the legal systems of modern France and Germany. Major groupings of historically and structurally related legal systems.
5440 Complex Litigation (2-3) Will examine principles and practical techniques relevant to complex civil cases. Building on civil procedure, the course will focus on litigation involving multiple parties and/or multiple jurisdictions. Each student will be required to complete several drafting assignments.
5445 Conflict of Laws (2-3) Study of how disputes, and transactions are affected by having contacts with more than one jurisdiction. The three principal areas of study are: Where can suit be brought? What law will be applied? What will be the effect of any judgment?
5450 Conflict Theory (3) This course is designed to give lawyers a better understanding of the meaning and dynamics of conflict, so they may better understand their client's situations, as well as the mechanisms that may be most appropriate to the resolution of any particular dispute. Course draws its theoretical teachings from a variety of disciplines beyond law: psychology, sociology, anthropology and economics. This course is also open to Journalism students.
5220 Constitutional Law (4) (First semester/second year)
Study of the theories of judicial review and justiciability, sources of federal legislative power, commerce, taxing, spending, treaty, presidential and military powers, power of states to regulate and tax interstate commerce, preemption, state actions doctrine, due process, equal protection, and First Amendment rights.
5020 & 5025 Contracts (6) Study of the theories of judicial review and justiciability, sources of federal legislative power, commerce, taxing, spending, treaty, presidential and military powers, power of states to regulate and tax interstate commerce, preemption, state actions doctrine, due process, equal protection, and First Amendment rights.
Contract formation, insufficient and defective agreement, bases of promissory liability (including consideration and promissory estoppel), restitution, and abuse of bargaining process. Statute of frauds, parol evidence rule and principles of interpretation, contract performance and risk allocation, remedies for breach.
5455 Copyright Law (2-3) Nature of copyright law; common law misappropriation; scope of common law copyrights; Copyright Revision Act of 1976 as amended: formalities of registration (fixation, copyright notice); copyrightable subject matter; originality; exclusive rights of copyright owner; scope of copyright protection; substantial similarity and infringement; fair use; joint and composite works; duration, renewal, termination, transfer; remedies; artists moral rights; federal preemption; international protection; copyrightability of computer software; copyright issues on the Internet.
5460 Corporate Finance (3) Principles of corporate finance, including: valuation of businesses: considerations of capital structure; characteristics of various types of corporate securities; fiduciary obligations in transactions affecting finance; securities law restrictions on financing alternatives. Prerequisite: 5395 Business Organizations or consent of professor.
5465 Corporate Taxation (3)
Course examines the tax aspects of establishing and capitalizing a corporation; of corporate distributions to its shareholders and of selling or liquidating a corporation, with an introduction to corporate reorganizations. Comparison of the tax treatment of S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs). Prerequisite: 5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation.
5470 Criminal Clinic (2) The Criminal Clinic is available during both the Fall and Winter semesters. It can only be taken once. Enrollment is limited to 8 students per semester. Students must also enroll in Clinical Skills and Criminal Clinic Writing Project and have completed, or be enrolled in, Professional Responsibility. Students must have prior permission of Professor Johnson to enroll. The companion Criminal Clinic Writing Project course will be graded but does not fulfill the "writing" requirement for graduation. (Not available to students on probation.)
5035 Criminal Law (4) The purposes of criminal law, nature of criminal responsibility, characteristics of particular crimes.
5475 Criminal Clinic Writing Project (1)
5477 Criminal Justice Administration (3) This course will examine the justice system's processing of formal criminal cases from the point at which a defendant is formally charged forward. In other words, it will be a "procedure" course reviewing the processing and adjudication of criminal cases. Topics might include the defendant's rights under the Sixth Amendment (including jury trial, speedy trial, confrontation clause, and compulsory process rights), Eighth Amendment issues (including bail and cruel and unusual punishment), criminal discovery (including the prosecutor's Brady obligation to provide exculpatory evidence to defendants and notice requirements for alibi and insanity defenses), expert witnesses, pretrial and trial publicity, plea bargaining, sentencing (under discretionary, guidelines, and minimum mandatory systems), criminal appeals, and post-conviction relief (habeas corpus, pardons, and commutations). The course may also review advanced topics in the substantive criminal law, including such issues as fraud, other white collar crimes, conspiracy, and the expanding federal presence in investigation, prosecution, and incarceration. In other words, this will be both an advanced criminal procedure course (similar to "bail to jail" courses at other law schools) and an advanced criminal law course. It is strongly recommended that students successfully complete both Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure before taking this course.
5480 Criminal Litigation Skills (3) This skills course concentrates on the pretrial process in the criminal justice system. Topics include attorney-client decision making, interviewing, counseling, plea bargaining and voir dire.
5240 Criminal Procedure (3) (Second or Third year)
Constitutional and other limitations placed upon law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
5485 Cross Cultural Negotiation (3) Constitutional and other limitations placed upon law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
This course reflects the Cross Cultural Negotiation component of the International Dispute Resolution course that has been offered in the past. The course will focus on the impact culture can have on the private ordering of disputes.
5490 Current Topics in Bankruptcy (1) "Hot" areas of bankruptcy law, including both issues relating to consumer bankruptcies (Chapter 7 and 13) as well as issues relating to business reorganizations (Chapter 11), equitable subordination of creditors' claims, dismissal of Chapter 7 cases for substantial abuse, and the interplay between divorce and bankruptcy.
5495 Cyberspace Law and Cyberlawyering (3) This course explores cutting edge cyberspace law issues, especially as they relate to intellectual property. We will explore such issues as jurisdiction over the Internet, privacy, piracy, cybersquatting, e-commerce, net culture, and identity theft. We will explore the controversies of online music and online copying. We will also explore an attorneys obligations to be (or not to be) on the Information Superhighway (as lawyers, consultants, and advertisers) and pitfalls to attorneys investing in high tech clients business in lieu of traditional fees. In lieu of a final exam, a substantial research paper and presentation of the paper is required. There are no prerequisites and a technical background is not required.
D
5895 Damages: A Case Study (1)The purpose of this seminar will be to teach students about both the lawyering/dispute resolution concepts and the legal principles implicated by the suit described in Damages: One Family's Legal Struggles in the World of Medicine. In this book, the author chronicles a medical malpractice case arising out of the delivery of a severely compromised baby. In contrast to A Civil Action, Damages attempts to put a human face on all the participants in the dispute, not merely the plantiff or plaintiff's counsel. To receive one unitl of credit, students will be expected to attend the class, participate in class discussions, read Damages and the companion materials assigned by faculty, and write a 20-page paper on some aspect of the law or lawyering implicated by the book. This seminar will be graded. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5497 Death Penalty Law (3) The primary focus of this course will be on the Supreme Court's capital punishment jurisprudence over the past thirty-five years, with particular attention to how it has shaped state statutory schemes and legal argumentation in capital sentencing trials.
5500 Digital Divide: Race, Class, Education & Technology (3) This course will focus primarily on racial education choices: choices made on who will be educated, how they will be educated, who will be provided technology and how education will be funded. The course will allow students to explore the reasons for these choices. We will explore the domestic racial, economic and gender issues of the digital divide. As time permits, students also will explore the international aspects of the digital divide as developing countries also face difficulty accessing technology and the Internet. Further, as time permits, we will also explore how women and some people of color continue to face barriers to entry and barriers to success in high tech law. We will explore various creative solutions to resolving racial education inequities and inequities on the Internet. A paper may be required at the end of the semester. There are no prerequisites and a technical background is not required. This course is interdisciplinary and students outside of the law school may enroll.
5505 Disability Law (2-3) The Disability Law course provides an overview of disability law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Specific topics include disability discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, and education (at all levels). Many of the policy issues that arise in the area of disability law will also be explored. The course also provides an opportunity to work with a well-developed statutory and regulatory structure. The course is relevant to persons interested in general practice, family law, education law, employment law, civil rights, and other fields.
5510 Dispute Resolution (2-3) Study of various dispute resolution processes including interviewing and counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and mixed processes such as the mini-trial. Consideration of issues involved in creating dispute resolution systems and choosing among available processes.
5515 Dispute Resolution and Lawyering Case Studies (3) This course is intended to help students 1) improve their writing and investigative skills, and 2) learn about how lawyering and dispute resolution decisions are made and how to improve on those decisions. Students will learn about good writing and the information-gathering methods used by investigative reporters, read cases studies, and prepare a case study designed to get beneath the surface (the law and the legally-relevant facts) and to understand how the dispute arose, and how the clients and lawyers contributed to its development and resolution. Legal writing credit is available.
5520 Drafting Legal Instruments (2) Problems frequently encountered in general office practice (land transfers, mortgages, leases, contracts, wills, business organizations, etc.), with drafting of the related instruments. Use and adaptation of legal forms. Graded S/U.
E
5525 Education Law (3)This course examines the application of discrete doctrines from criminal law, constitutional law, juvenile law, employment law, and disability law to the legal problems facing American schools. Students will explore the ways in which the objectives of these discrete legal doctrines either promote or interfere with our educational policies. Substantive areas of concentration include state regulation of education; freedom of speech, association and religion; equal educational opportunity; employment of teachers; and discipline of students.
5530 Elder Law (3) This course addresses legal issues impacting older individuals, including discussion of government benefits (Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income), long-term care (types, contract issues, civil rights, and financial planning), guardianship and conservatorship, planning for incapacity, and health care decisions at the end of life. The course emphasizes planning techniques for the average client. Grade will be based on a short paper and take-home exam. The course may be taken for writing credit.
5532 Election Law (2-3) Election Law has become more important in recent years. This course will introduce students to the many theoretical and practical constitutional, statutory, common law, and policy issues that accompany the franchise, including: legislative districting, voting rights, campaign finance, political parties, interest groups, direct democracy, and alternative democratic structures. The course will emphasize federal law, but will also address Missouri state law as appropriate.
5535 Electronic Commerce Law (3) This course will focus on preparing to advise business clients dealing with electronic commerce and internet law issues. There is no technological background requirement or prerequisite to take the class. We will explore a variety of themes including the control over the internet by both government and private actors; how online activities differ from their offline counterparts; and how the laws should react to new forms of interaction and social structures found online. Specific doctrinal topics include problems of digital authorship and publication including rights of anonymity, copyrights, trademarks, defamation and other torts; sales and licensing of products; marketing, advertising and data-mining, including privacy issues; jurisdiction over online actors; and cyber-squatting.
Grades will be based on the final exam and an optional short paper.
5537 Emotional Intelligence in Law (3) Grades will be based on the final exam and an optional short paper.
This course/seminar is intended to help students develop skills and perspectives that will enable them to provide better service to their clients and gain more satisfaction in professional practices - such as serving as a lawyer, mediator, or judge - and in law school. The legal profession faces two special, related problems: 1. The strength and pervasiveness of the narrow, adversarial perspective, and the routine fashion in which many lawyers follow it, which sometimes leads to inadequate or inappropriate service to clients; and 2. A high incidence of depression, dissatisfaction, and substance abuse, which undermine appropriate service to clients. Individual lawyers can address such problems through the development of what psychologist Daniel Goleman has called "Emotional Intelligence," which is a better predictor of success in virtually any endeavor than academic intelligence, and entails five "basic emotional and social competencies": self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intellegence: Why it Can Matter More than I.Q. (Bantam 1995). This course seeks to help students develop emotional intelligence and related self-awareness capacities and apply them to lawyering skills that are routine but which lawyers often have trouble carrying out well, such as listening, negotiating, persuading, and writing. To develop these capacities, the course will rely principally on mindfulness mediation - and ancient method of non-judgmental observation currently employed in the U.S. in law firms and law schools, corporations, and athletics - and will stress methods of integrating mindfulness into law practice. We will also draw on other forms of mediation, as well as contemplative practices and practices drawn from modern psychology. Course work will include reading, mediation practice, reflective journaling and writing a paper. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5536 Employee Benefits Law (3)Retirement plans, health insurance and other employee benefit plans are central features of the employment relationship in the United States. The legal regulation of these plans is both an independent area of legal specialization and a subject that overlaps many other fields of law, including corporate, labor, tax, health, trust, employment discrimination and domestic relations law. The course will focus primarily on private retirement and health plans. The main focus will be on various bodies of regulatory law, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 , as amended ("ERISA"), and its case law, as well as the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. In addition to providing an overview of the main types of retirement and health plans, the course will look at rules governing coverage, vesting, funding, fiduciary standards, claims administration and preemption of state law. The course grade will be determined by an in-class final examination. Tax is not a prerequisite. No prior knowledge of tax is assumed.
5540 Employment Discrimination (2-3) Examination of laws prohibiting discriminatory practices in employment and the administrative and judicial processes available for dealing with them; affirmative action requirements and litigation problems in civil rights cases.
5543 Employment Law (1-4) Employment Law focuses on the legal relationship between employers and employees in the non-unionized workplace. The course will survey a variety of issues regarding the establishment, maintenance and termination of the employment relationship. For example, the course will cover the common law aspects of that relationship, particularly contracts and torts. It will examine statutory modifications of the common law in areas such as wage and hours, pensions, whistle-blower protection, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and heath and safety. Course is Graded.
5545 Environmental Law (2-3) Federal and state regulation of the environment, including the economic and philosophical foundations of environmental regulation, the common law roots of environmental regulation, and substantive coverage of a number of environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Endangered Species Act.
5555 Estate Planning & Taxation (3-4) This is a tax-oriented planning course, including discussion of federal estate and gift tax, income taxation of estates and trusts, and techniques for transferring property at a minimal tax cost both during life and at death. Grade will be based on the preparation of one or more projects. Prerequisites include 5560 Estates and Trusts and 5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation.
5560 Estates and Trusts I (3-4) Wills: probate process and will contests; intestate succession; restrictions on testation; execution, revocation, revival of wills; integration, incorporation by reference, events of independent significance; will substitutes; will construction; family protection. Trusts: elements and creation; modification and termination; beneficial interests; charitable trusts; trust construction; powers of appointment; trust administration and fiduciary duties.
5565 European Union Law (3) Introduction to the law of the European Union. Emphasis will be on the constitution of the Union: treaty structure, institutions including the European Court of Justice and its jurisdiction, relationships of EU law and institutions to those Member States, and the role of the EU in external relations. Substantive topics include the four freedoms (free movement of goods, persons, services and capital among the Member States), competition policy, and harmonization of laws; others may include environmental protection, social policy, gender equality and monetary union.
5260 Evidence (4) (First or Second semester/second year)
The basic law of evidence; use in trials, relevancy, circumstantial proof and real proof; use of witnesses, methods of examination; presumptions and burden of proof; functions of judge and jury.
5570 Externship (1-3) The basic law of evidence; use in trials, relevancy, circumstantial proof and real proof; use of witnesses, methods of examination; presumptions and burden of proof; functions of judge and jury.
An opportunity to develop the skills necessary to bridge the gap between law school and law practice. During the winter semester, externs attend weekly classes and work 5 to 10 hours per week at the placement sites of their choice where they are supervised by attorneys and judges who have agreed to serve as mentors. For the summer session, externs attend classes before summer school begins. Placements are available in public interest settings, prosecutor and defender offices, federal and state agencies, courts, and non-profit organizations. Students cannot serve as externs at private law firms, and they cannot receive compensation for their work as externs. During the winter semester, students receive one credit for the weekly class meetings plus one credit for each 60 hours worked at placement sites. During the summer, students receive one credit for each 60 hours worked at the placement sites, but no credit for class meetings. Students are limited to a total of 3 hours of externship credit. Graded S/U. (Not available to students on probation.)
F
5572 Fair Housing (3)The goals of this course are (1) to provide students with a conceptual framework for understanding the different forms that housing discrimination can take and how such discrimination affects our society, and (2) to equip students with practical tools for analyzing and litigating fair housing cases.
The course will focus primarily on the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. We will examine the Fair Housing Act, its legislative history, early case law, and the development of the basic doctrine. We will progress to the "modern" era of fair housing law, after the Fair Housing Amendments Act added disability and familial status as protected classes. We will explore the ways in which the concept of what constitutes "housing discrimination" has expanded, and how the law has developed accordingly. For example, we will discuss sexual harassment in housing, and the requirements that new multifamily housing be built so that it is accessible to persons with disabilities. In addition, the course will cover more systematic ways in which housing discrimination can manifest itself, such as through municipal land use and zoning decisions, and the mortgage lending practices of financial institutions (including discriminatory refusals to lend, redlining, and predatory lending).
In addition to these doctrinal issues, the course will cover the private and public enforcement mechanisms of the Act; theories of liability (including disparate treatment, disparate impact, and failure to reasonably accommodate); damages; and issues of proof (including the uses of statistical and testing evidence).
5575 Family Law (3) Marriage, annulment, dissolution, maintenance and separation agreements, child custody, spousal and child support, children born out of wedlock, adoption, and selected other issues relating to domestic law.
5580 Family Violence Clinic: Individual and Social Justice (4) The Family Violence Clinic will be available in both the Fall and Winter semesters. It can only be taken once. Enrollment is limited to 8 students in Fall and 8
students in Winter Students will represent approximately 12 abused women and/or children during the semester by obtaining orders of protection and in proceedings before the juvenile court. The Family Violence Clinic will emphasize courtroom representation. Enrollees will represent indigent individuals in civil and juvenile courts and will undertake faculty guided projects to do public problem solving with legislators, interprofessional graduate students, and law students from other schools. This clinic formerly provided 3 credits for individual representation; students found the workload too heavy. Increasing the credits to 4 will balance the workload. Adding new activities will provide students with leadership opportunities to advance social justice. The clinic is pass/fail. Professional Responsibility and Advocacy, Family Violence, and Public Policy must be taken in the fall by all students no matter which semester the clinic is taken. Students must have prior permission of Professor Beck to enroll, and must become Rule 13 certified. (Not available to students on probation.)
5583 (In)Famous Trials (3) This course reviews historically prominent trials as a means of learning about the American criminal and, to a more limited extent, civil justice system. Each session of the class will feature one or two trials. From each case, the course will attempt to extract lessons about our justice system, including effective (and ineffective) litigation tactics, the effect of racial and other prejudice on juries, the interaction of public sentiment, politics, and litigation. Prior to each session of this class, students will be required to read several items about the featured trial and to find and read additional materials about these trials. After a short quiz, most classes will move to a discussion of the featured trial(s). Each student will be required to participate in the discussion during each class. To cover these trials completely, class sessions will often last longer than the scheduled 75 minutes. Often, the class will meet for one hour and fifty minutes, with a ten minute break. Adjustments will be made to the schedule for the semester, so that the class meets no more than an average of 150 per week over the course of the semester. Do NOT register for this course unless you are free from 3:00 to 4:50 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. The class will be taught as a Law School class and a class for Honors College seniors. Each student will participate as a member of a two-student team (one senior and one law student) to research and report upon a somewhat prominent Missouri (or other) trial. On or before set deadlines during the
semester, each team will be required to: (a) select an acceptable trial for its report; (b) compile sufficient source materials; (c) submit a first draft of the written report; (d) participate in an editing meeting with the instructor; (e) submit a final draft of the report (for grading and for distribution to the other students in the class); and (f) conduct an in-class lecture or other presentation and lead a class discussion about the case.
5585 Federal Courts (3) The role of federal courts and their relationship to state courts. Topics covered: justiciability; federal question and diversity jurisdiction, sovereign immunity; abstention; and habeas corpus.
5587 Foreign Affairs and the Constitution (3)This course will focus on the laws governing and related to the conduct of foreign relations by the United States including the respective powers of Congress, the president, the courts, and the states and the application of those powers overseas. The course also considers the relationship between constitutional and international law and the domestic legal system of the US.
5590 Freedom of Speech and Association (3) A study of the rights of speech and association under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Major Supreme Court decisions regarding freedom of speech, including content-based and content-neutral restrictions of speech, regulation of commercial speech, regulation of obscenity and pornography, regulation of speech in public and private fora, libel and privacy law, forced association with persons or ideas and subsidization of speech.
G
5595 Gender and the Law (2-3)A study of the treatment of gender by the legal system. Topics will include: a survey of writings by influential feminist legal scholars, historians and social scientists; a comparison of different theoretical frameworks; and an overview of substantive law and the latest legal developments involving gender. The primary aim of the course is to study various feminist theories to discern how gender is viewed by today's lawmakers and courts.
5600 Genetics & The Law (2) A study of the legal issues posed by modern human genetics, including identification of the ethical and policy considerations that will drive the legal debates. Topics will include, as time permits, genetic testing of adults, embryos, fetuses and children; genetic engineering to treat disease and to enhance normal traits; cloning; ownership of genes; privacy; discrimination in employment and insurance; DNA profiles; behavioral genetics and legal responsibility; and other current issues.
5601 Genetics Law & Policy (2-3)This class will examine the complex policy issues raised by human and agricultural biotechnology. An important theme that runs through both areas is whether humankind's tinkering with nature can at some point become immoral. No prior scientific knowledge is required for this course.
5605 Government Information & Privacy (2) This course covers laws relating to the disclosure of information in the possession of governments, particularly the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), state "government in the sunshine" laws and federal and state privacy laws.
H
5615 Health Care Law and Policy (2-3)A study of the legal doctrines which play a major role in the effort to regulate the quality, accessibility and cost of health care. The class ordinarily covers tort liability, staff privileges, duties to treat, cost containment and other related topics as time permits.
I
5620 Immigration Law (2-3)A study of the development of U.S. immigration and refugee law and policy, with emphasis on current immigration problems and issues, recent changes in the immigration laws, and future trends in dealing with increasing immigrant pressures. The course covers the historical and Constitutional underpinnings; immigrant and non-immigrant categories; admission, exclusion, deportation and cancellation of removal; refugees and asylees; undocumented aliens; employer sanctions; and citizenship.
5630 Individual Employment Rights (2) This course will explore the legal environment in which non-unionized employees and their employers operate.
5632 Innocence Clinic (1-4) This is a joint clinic among the MU and UMKC law schools, the MU School of Journalism and a non-profit group and is called The Midwestern Innocence Project. Law students will work under the supervision of the Clinic Director, a practicing lawyer, on cases of possible actual innocence from six states. Prerequisite: Wrongful Convictions.
5635 Insurance Law (2-3) A basic course in the fundamentals of insurance law. Topics covered include: defining insurance; risk and the nature of the insurance relationship; insurable interests; indemnity; fortuity; subrogation; coordination of benefits; interpretation; rights at variance with policy provisions; contract formation; warranties, misrepresentation and concealment; conditions; agents and brokers; introduction to regulation; introduction to insurance coverage.
5640 Intellectual Property (2-3) This course is an introduction to the four broad areas of intellectual property. Students will learn about intellectual property, using a pedagogy that will build upon the property, contract, and tort knowledge gained from the first year curriculum. The course will cover trademarks, trade secrets, patent law, and copyright law. Thus, the course will cover how one obtains the special property rights called the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret. It will also cover how these property rights can be bought, sold and otherwise transferred via contract. Further, the course will cover how these intellectual property property rights are protected from the tortious act of infringement, as well as any defenses to infringe-ment. It is important to note that this introductory class cannot be used to satisfy any of the requirements for the Intellectual Property certificate; nor is this introductory course a substitute for the more in-depth coverage offered by Patent Law & Policy, Copyright Law or Trademark Law. Rather, it is designed to allow students to explore basic intellectual property issues and to meet any prerequisites for Cyberspace Law, Software Law and International Intellectual Property. Students may find that taking this introductory course complements the rest of the intellectual property curriculum. Class participation and preparation is required, as is class attendance. An exam and several small written projects will be required. Law students should anticipate that this course might be cross-listed, allowing other departments to register graduate students.
5645 International Aspects of Intellectual Property Law (3) This course focuses on the international system regulating the protection of intellectual property rights. The U.S. computer software, pharmaceutical, record and motion picture and book publishing industries are greatly affected by the level of international protection afforded their products. The course will examine the various treaties covering patents, copyrights, trademarks and designs; study the role of the World Intellectual Property Organization; consider the regulatory system of the European Union and other regions; and study the ways that individuals and businesses may transfer and protect their intellectual property rights on an international basis through licensing arrangements. The course will include discussion of the problems facing developing countries in acquiring technology and promoting its development and examination of the new role to be played by the GATT in regulation of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. Students are strongly encouraged to take Introduction to Intellectual Property, Patent Law, Copyright Law, or Trademark Law before taking this course. Class participation and preparation is required, as is class attendance.
5650 International Business Transactions (2-3) A survey of legal problems and institutional arrangements involved in international trade and investment; private law of international trade, governmental regulation of international trade and investment, international regulation of international trade and investment.
5652 International Commercial Arbitration (2-3) This course offers a study of arbitration as a dispute resolution process for international trade and business disputes. This course reviews ad hoc and institutional arbitration, the authority of arbitral panels, enforcement of agreement to arbitrate, challenging arbitrators, procedure and choice of law in arbitral proceedings, and enforcement of international arbitral awards. Special attention will be given to the international convention on the recognition and enforcement of international arbitral agreements and awards (New York Convention) and the UNCITRAL (U.N. Commission of International Trade Law) arbitral rules and model law. The course focuses on commercial arbitration as an international practice and not on arbitration under any particular national system. Students will participate in a hypothetical arbitration matter, beginning from the development of the claim to preliminary proceedings, the arbitration hearing, and ending with the arbitrators' award.
5655 International Dispute Resolution (3) This course begins with a preliminary discussion of the need for a dispute resolution process in the international setting. It examines the impact of cultural differences (including differences in language, customs and values) on dispute resolution processes and integrates theories of dispute resolution with actual practices in the international community. The course will focus on cross-cultural negotiations and international commercial arbitration, which is gaining popularity as a means of resolving disputes arising out of international business transactions. Open to JD and LLM students.
5660 International Human Rights (3) The purpose of this course is to enable students to develop a basic understanding of the concept of international human rights law and the role played by international and regional organizations, states and private actors in defining and enforcing human rights. Beginning with the historical origins of human rights, the course will examine the international and regional human rights instruments and institutions that form the sources of human rights law (the UN system, including the Charter and treaties, European, African and Inter-American human rights regimes). It will also examine the role of non-governmental organization, the International Criminal Court and international humanitarian law (the law of war), and the interaction between US civil rights law and international human rights. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to important critical themes of human rights, including: the distinction between public and private acts, evolving theories of statehood, sovereignty immunity, cultural relativism and the western tradition of individual rights, and the relationship between rights and duties. Issues examined will include: political participation and democratization, religious freedom, the use of torture, corporate liability, women's rights, the rights and status of refugees, genocide and war crimes.
5665 International Law (3) Introduction to the international legal system, with emphasis on relations between nation-states or international entities. Topics include statehood and recognition, legislative and judicial jurisdiction, human rights and the status of the individual, treaties and international organizations.
5670 International Moot Court (1) The structure and jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and the techniques and resources for research in international law. Purpose of the course is to prepare students for the Jessup International Moot Court Competition. Students are not precluded from taking International Law by taking this course.
5675 International Taxation (2-3)
A study of the federal income taxation of international transactions. This course will explore how the United States taxes income earned by U.S. citizens living overseas ("outbound transactions"), as well as how taxes are imposed by the United States on income derived by foreign persons from U.S. sources ("inbound transactions"). Prerequisite: 5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation.
J
5680 Journal of Dispute Resolution (1-3)Credit for work as prescribed by the faculty for members of the Journal of Dispute Resolution. Graded S/U.
5681 Judicial Clinic (2) Students will serve as law clerks to judges, averaging 7-10 hours per week. Working under the supervision of a judge students will assist in researching issues, drafting, and aiding the judge in resolution of pending issues. Students may be assigned to judges at the Missouri Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Federal District Court, and Missouri Circuit Courts. Students will be expected to meet periodically with the professor and to maintain a journal of their activities. Students must also enroll in the Judicial Clinic Seminar. Prerequisite: 5280 Professional Responsibility. Enrollment only by permission of the Professor. (Not available to students on probation.)
5682 Judicial Clinic Seminar (2) The course covers the role of the judge and law clerk; judicial opinion writing; docket management and control; judicial qualifications; selection and training; judicial ethics; disqualification and recusal; and removal and discipline of judges. Practicing and former judges may serve as periodic guest professors. Grade will be based on a course related research paper. Students must also enroll in Judicial Clinic. Prerequisite: 5280 Professional Responsibility. Enrollment only by permission of Professor. (Not available to students on probation.)
5690 Jurisprudence (3) The major part of the course will cover classic jurisprudential questions about the nature of law - what law is- and related questions regarding judicial decision-making: Under what conditions is a rule a law within a legal system? Are there moral principles that are part of the law even though a legislature has not enacted them? How do judges actually interpret statutes and constitutional clauses? How should they interpret them and are there definitive right answers to disputes about what the law is? Is it possible to refrain from "legislating from the bench," or does judicial decision-making necessarily involve making new law based on moral and political judgments? In the second part of the course, we will begin thinking about the proper function or aim of some core areas of substantive law. For example, questions might include: Does the criminal law aim to exact retributive justice, to achieve deterrence, or both? Is it legitimate for a legislature to use law to enforce morality or the community's moral beliefs? Does tort law aim to achieve corrective justice? Does corrective justice require reparations to groups for long past injuries? Readings will include Hart, Fuller, Dworkin, Raz, Ely, Holmes, Scalia, Feinberg, and others.
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5695 Labor Law (3)The regulation of relations between employers and labor unions at common law and under federal and state legislation; primary emphasis on the National Labor Relations Act, as amended.
5700 Land Use Controls (2-3) Constitutional parameters, master plans and official maps, zoning, subdivision controls, planned unit developments and other innovative techniques, open space and historic preservation, transferable development rights, exclusionary and inclusionary zoning, aesthetic regulation.
5715 Law and Economics (3) Study of the use of microeconomic analysis and methods in influencing the law. Topics to include: economic analysis of tort, contract and property law, the use and misuse of economics in the common law judging tradition, limitations on the use of economic analysis in law and links between economic analysis and constitutional law/public choice theory.
5720 Law & Literature (2-3) An examination of the relationship between law and literature, falling into two main areas: law-in-literature (law, legal institutions, and lawyers as depicted in literary works) and law-as-literature (legal documents as literary texts subject to literary techniques of textual analysis and criticism), with emphasis on the former. Specific content may vary from year to year. Readings will include literary and legal texts.
5722 Law and Religion (2) This course utilizes works of literature as catalysts to facilitate a conversation about the intersections of faith and justice. The course examines a series of themes relating broadly to Western and Near Eastern religious and legal culture. These include: divine intervention, God as lawgiver, the early Christian church, the rise of the institutional church, the life of St. Thomas More, and law and Islam. The grade in this course will be based on two components - a final paper worth 70% of the grade, and class participation, worth 30% of the grade.
5726 Law and Society (2) Law is a common and yet distinct element of daily life in modern societies, and not only shapes society but is also shaped by society. The creation, interpretation, and enforcement of laws occur in the context of historical changes, societal norms, and the subjective concerns and whims of those charged with its creation. Utilizing an interdisciplinary perspective, the course will explore the nature of law as a set of social systems, central actors in the systems, legal reasoning, and the relationship of the legal form and reasoning to social change. By the end of the course, students should be able to evaluate the law and legal institutions, especially in relation to equality, justice, and fairness, and understand how law is involved in the processes of social control, social conflict, and social change.
5725 Law & Social Sciences (2-3) The course will focus on empirical and theoretical political science study of law, courts and the judicial process. We will consider, among other things, studies of the policymaking role and impact of the Supreme Court, lower appellate courts, and trial courts; the politics of judicial selection; the impact of interest group litigation; and the dynamics and determinants of judicial decision making.
Law Practice Management & Technology (3) Solo and small firm practitioners confront an increasingly competitive legal market. Managing a law practice requires knowledge about the business of practicing law (financing, billing, calendaring, trust accounting, securing office space, hiring and managing staff, designing and implementing office systems and procedures, client development, record management and more). Lawyers must be technologically savvy to practice in an increasingly global environment. This course introduces students to different law practice automation systems and software products and provides hands-on instruction in their use. Students gain practical experience in preparing a law firm business plan, managing a simulated client matter from start to finish, and integrating technology in the business and practice of law. Guest practitioners will discuss current law practice trends and what it takes to launch a successful legal career. The course covers major topics in both litigation and transactional practice
5727 Law of Tax Exempt Organizations (2) This course will briefly address theories and rational for exempt organizations and examine in some depth the Internal Revenue Services' tests for tax-exemption and the major types of 501 (c)(3) organizations and related contribution deductions, as well as a collection of other 501 (c) associations. Attention will be paid to state law regarding formation and operation of Missouri Nonprofit corporations and the IRS application process for recognition of tax exemption in addition to nonprofit corporate governance matters. Focus will be on Internal Revenue Code provision, Treasury Regulations, IRS interpretive rulings and case law.
5730 Law Review (1-3) Credit for work as prescribed by the faculty for members of the Missouri Law Review. Graded S/U.
5095 Lawyering: Problem Solving and Dispute Resolution (2-3) This course is designed to provide students an introduction to critical lawyering skills; to give students an overview of the alternative processes that a lawyer can employ to resolve a client's problem; and to offer students an understanding of the lawyer's role as a problem solver. It includes an introduction to Interviewing, Counseling, Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration, mixed dispute resolution processes and ways to choose or build a dispute resolution process.
5080 Legal Research and Writing (2) An introduction to the basics of legal research (using print materials), legal citation and legal writing. Each student writes two objective office memoranda, and a client letter.
5090 Legal Reasoning (1) A limited enrollment course designed to assist first-year students to better understand the legal system, prepare for examinations and improve their legal analysis and reasoning skills.
5745 Legislation (2-3) Study of how statutes are drafted, adopted, and interpreted. The principal focus of the course is on the interpretation of statutes by courts.
5746 Legislative Practicum (3) Students will be assigned to work with individual lawyer legislators, or lawyer staff, at the Missouri General Assembly, averaging 8-10 hours per week. The students will assist members of the General Assembly by drafting legislation, preparing materials for hearings, and conducting research and analysis to respond to broad public policy issues as well as constituent concerns. On occasion students may be assigned to legislative committees, legislative staff support services, or to groups lobbying for legislation. There will be a required classroom component which may cover such topics as: the legislative process (primary emphasis on Missouri); interest groups in the legislative process; ethical issues relating to legislators, legislative lawyers, and lobbyist generally; bill drafting; legislative advocacy; and Missouri specific statutory interpretation issues. Current and former legislators and staff may serve as periodic guest professors. Students will be expected to meet periodically with the
professor and to maintain a journal of their activities. No Prerequisites, graded Pass/Fail.
NOTE WELL: The legislative session typically begins at 4PM on Mondays and tends to end Thursday afternoon. There are no sessions on Friday and many legislators are gone on Friday. It is important that you keep as much free time as possible in your schedule on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to have time to work in Jefferson City.
5750 Local Government Law (2-3) NOTE WELL: The legislative session typically begins at 4PM on Mondays and tends to end Thursday afternoon. There are no sessions on Friday and many legislators are gone on Friday. It is important that you keep as much free time as possible in your schedule on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to have time to work in Jefferson City.
Structure and powers of local government units; state-local relations, including "home rule"; local government finance, including taxation and indebtedness; incorporation and annexation; eminent domain; tort liability; land use controls; labor relations. Prior or concurrent enrollment in 5220 Constitutional Law is required.
6500 London Law Consortium (10-16) MU cooperates with several other law schools to provide a special opportunity to spend a semester in London in your second or third year. For more information contact the Associate Dean.
M
5760 Media Law (3)Focuses on practical aspects of representing plaintiffs and defendants in media law cases and in access cases. Includes access to records and meetings, computerized government databases; damage control in libel, invasion of privacy, negligence and outrage and aiding and abetting; taking pictures and recording phone conversations; search warrants vs. privacy protection act; FCC and FTC rules; copyright and Internet issues; gag orders and access to court proceedings.
5765 Mediation (2-3) A study of the process in which a neutral third party assists others in resolving a dispute or planning a transaction. Includes discussion of the nature of mediation and its relationship to other forms of dispute processing, its possibilities and limitations and future uses. The course addresses the mediation movement as it regards public policy, politics, professional responsibility, malpractice, and negotiation. Students develop mediation and negotiation skills through readings, demonstrations, and experiential exercises.
5770 Mediation Clinic (1-2) THE MEDIATION CLINIC IS OFFERED IN THE FALL SEMESTER WITH PRIORITY TO J.D. STUDENTS AND IN THE WINTER SEMESTER WITH PRIORITY TO LLM STUDENTS. J.D. students may enroll in the Winter semester if space is available and the students have previously enrolled in the Mediation Course (5765) or an approved training. During the semester, students will have an opportunity to mediate cases in a variety of contexts, including cases referred by state agencies and small claims courts. Students will also have the opportunity to observe mediations conducted by the Division of Workers' Compensation and a Federal Magistrate Judge. Enrollment is capped at six. (Not available to students on probation.)
5775 MELPR (Missouri Environmental Law & Policy Review) (1-3) Credit for work as prescribed by the faculty for members of the Missouri Environmental Law & Policy Review. Graded S/U.
5780 Mental Disability and the Law (2) Forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology are burgeoning fields. The news media frequently reports sordid details of heinous crimes that the general public believe could only have been perpetrated by a madman and simultaneously, calls are made to bring these individuals to justice. Social sentiments, and thus public policy initiatives, are becoming increasingly conservative and restrictive in the management of individuals who have a mental disorders and have become entangled in the criminal justice system. This course will explore the impact and interaction of mental disability and the law with a special focus on issues related to the criminal context. Topics will include: mental disorders: comparison and contrasts between clinical and legal definitions; functional implications of mental disorders; legal and clinical issues in the process of criminal forensic evaluations; competence to stand trial; insanity and related defenses; disposition of insanity aquittees; clinical predictions of dangerousness and sexually dangerous persons; competence to be executed; involuntary hospitalization; involuntary treatment; right to treatment; right to refuse treatment; Americans with Disabilities Act; confidentially; rights of criminally committed persons; sexual predator legislation; and therapeutic jurisprudence.
5785 Mergers & Acquisitions (3) A study in the regulatory and financial economics environment of corporate takeovers, including federal securities law requirements, state corporate law limits on managerial discretion, valuation of publicly traded entities, and motivations for corporate takeovers. The course is cross-listed in the College of Business MBA program, with MBA students and law students coming together in a cooperative learning experience to simulate a corporate takeover. Law students are expected to have taken 5395 Business Organizations before enrolling in this course.
5790 Mining, Oil and Gas Law (2-3) Severance and classification of mineral interests, mineral lease clauses, implied covenants, title and conveyancing problems, transfers by lessor or lessee, pooling and unitization, taxation, pollution and surface reclamation, surface and mineral owner relations.
5795 Modern Payment Systems (3) A study of the mechanisms by which credit is extended and payment is made in our society, including coverage of negotiable and quasi-negotiable instruments, letters of credit, bank card systems, and electronic funds transfer systems.
5800 Moot Court I (1) Required only for those students participating in the National Moot Court or ABA Moot Court Competitions. Graded S/U.
5805 Moot Court II (1) Required only for those students participating in the National Moot Court or ABA Moot Court Competitions. Graded S/U.
N
Natural Resources Law (1-3) Water Law -- diffused surface water, groundwater, riparian rights, prior appropriation, permit systems, recreational rights, public trust doctrine, interstate allocation, federal project & regulatory powers; Mining, Oil & Gas Law – severance and classification of mineral interests, mineral leases & royalties, implied covenants, regulation of oil & gas production, pooling & unitization, surface owner rights, surface reclamation.
5810 Negotiation (3)
Theory, strategy, and skill development for negotiating in the lawyer's role within a variety of legal contexts.
P
5815 Partnership Taxation (3)Tax aspects of the formation, operation and dissolution of partnerships and other unincorporated entities. Prerequisite: 5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation.
5820 Patent Law and Policy (2-3) This course will provide comprehensive coverage of the U.S. Patent Laws for those interested in obtaining general information about patents, as well as for those interested in practicing before the Patent and Trademark Office. The course will trace an invention through the application, examination, reconsideration, re-examination and litigation processes. If time permits, there may also be coverage of international treaties that affect U.S. Patent Laws as well as some comparison of U.S. Patent Laws and the Patent Laws of select countries. There are no course prerequisites and a technical background is not required because the course primarily focuses on the Patent Act, its requirements and its jurisprudence. Thus, students need only be familiar with applying statutes and cases to a fact pattern. In lieu of an examination or a paper, up to six written projects, between 3-10 pages each (approx. 40 pages overall), will be due at the semester, giving students an intensive writing experience. The professor will review drafts of some of these projects during the semester and all of the projects will be discussed in class. These projects will allow students to help solve a clients hypothetical patent problem as we work through the Patent Act and its jurisprudence. Students may also have the opportunity to engage in client interviewing and counseling in order to complete the projects. There are no prerequisites and a technical background is not required.
5830 Pretrial Litigation (3) Will focus on the study of the legal principles, techniques, strategies and skills which pertain to civil pretrial practice, including: professional and ethical considerations, case selection, case investigation, development of a case theory, pleading, discovery, pretrial conference, motion practice, settlement process, and alternative dispute resolution.
5835 Products Liability (2-3) A study of civil liability for personal injury, property damage, and economic loss caused by defective products. The study includes actions for negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty and misrepresentation. The study also includes defenses to those actions and and the effect of state and federal legislation on those actions.
5280 Professional Responsibility (3) (Second or Third year)
Responsibilities of lawyer to client, courts and the public. Topics include: organization of the legal profession, fees, conflicts of interest, the confidential relationship, advertising and solicitation, unauthorized practice and courtroom behavior.
5050 Property (5) Responsibilities of lawyer to client, courts and the public. Topics include: organization of the legal profession, fees, conflicts of interest, the confidential relationship, advertising and solicitation, unauthorized practice and courtroom behavior.
Classification of real and personal property, rights to found goods, bailments, possession and adverse possession, estates in land and future interests, and concurrent ownership. Landlord and tenant, easements, profits and licenses, covenants running with land and equitable servitudes, contracts for the sale of land, conveyancing and recording of conveyances.
5840 Public Policy Dispute Resolution (1-3) Judges, administrators, legislatures and disputants have concluded that traditional court processes are often unsuitable for resolving environmental and other disputes. This course explores the nature and characteristics of environmental disputes, examines alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes, and assesses policy and practical considerations that are relevant when selecting a process (including litigation) for resolution of a particular dispute. Statutes, including the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act and the Negotiated Rulemaking Act, will be examined. Simulations, including mediation and arbitration of siting disputes, are used to provide practical exposure to the ADR processes studied. The course focuses on resolving complex, multi-party issues involving public policy. It includes negotiated rulemaking. While the course necessarily deals with some of the issues of traditional dispute resolution involving the government (such as mediating a contract dispute or a quick overview of the government's use of arbitration) the major emphasis is on getting agreements on policy issues.
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5847 Race-Based Remedies (3)This class will be legal history course that takes us from Dred Scott to the recent school-districting cases. It will study the legal, social, and public policy issues raised when government takes race into account, as in affirmative action programs and voting rights cases. The class will study the key Supreme Court decisions and will focus primarily on track the evolution of the Court’s thinking about this issue during the fifty years that have passed since it decided Brown v. Board of Education.
As part of this inquiry, the class will Court’s choices when it has faced crucial doctrine “forks-in-the-road,” such as whether to permit race-based remedial measures to cure proven racial discrimination, whether to permit race-conscious remediation for “societal” discrimination, and when to conclude that too much time has passed for further remediation. The class will also examine the Court’s current shift to a “diversity” rationale and explore the implications of that shift for the fate of existing race-based programs. In addition, we will examine data about the racial achievement gap and its historical roots and ask how that history informs our thinking.
If enrollment is under 20, then this class will be conducted as a seminar in which students often lead discussion. Grades will be based on two 10 page papers (probably 40% each) and on class participation (20%) which may include an assignment to be a class “discussion leader”. If it is larger, then a final examination will be combined with class participation duties.
5855 Real Estate Transactions & Finance (3) Real estate mortgages and mortgage substitutes, including the absolute deed, the installment contract, the covenant not to convey and the deed of trust; theories of title; mortgages of rents and receiverships; waste and environmental contamination; transfers of mortgagors and mortgagees interests; payment and prepayment; acceleration and marshaling; foreclosure, surplus and deficiencies.
5860 Regulation of Hazardous Waste & Hazardous Substances (2) This course covers RCRA, CERCLA and the impact of contamination on land transactions through a problem solving and writing intensive approach that includes a 60-day multi-party negotiation exercise.
5865 Religious Liberty (2-3) A study of the legal protection of religious exercise and the structuring of church-state relations under the U.S. Constitution and selected federal statutes. Examination of how religious liberty developed and analysis of Supreme Court cases decided under the establishment, free exercise, and free speech clauses of the First Amendment.
5870 Remedies (3) Survey of damages, history of equity; coverage of various equitable remedies and their adequacy, practicability, defenses, procedural problems, enforcement of decrees, merger of law and equity and contempt.
5875 Research (1-3) Independent Research with a faculty member is available during the Summer, Fall and Winter Semesters. Any student enrolling for Research credit must designate at the time of enrollment the professor who will supervise the research project. Credit is earned at the rate of 20 pages per credit hour. No more than three hours of Research may be taken or counted toward the law degree. Enrollment in 5875 may, but need not, be structured so as to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. Enrollment in 5875 Research satisfies the Law School's writing requirement only if the project culminates in an individually authored paper of at least 20 pages, based on independent research, through a process that involves an initial draft, critique by the supervising faculty members, and rewrite. [For students who first matriculated before Fall 2006, see the appropriate writing requirement here]
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5880 Sales and Leases of Goods (2)The course covers the law governing the domestic sale and lease of goods, primarily focusing on warranties of quality under Articles 2 and 2A of the Uniform Commercial Code and related state and federal legislation.
5885 Secured Transactions (3) The course focuses on the creation, enforcement and treatment in bankruptcy of security interests created under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
5890 Securities Regulation (3) Financing of businesses through the sale of securities. Emphasis on federal securities acts, with some consideration of state statutes. Consideration of the registration process, exemptions from registration, the special antifraud rules, liabilities and criminal penalties; reporting, insider trading and proxy solicitation problems.
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Communications Law Seminar (2) Interactive setting with guest speakers, student presentations and papers. Covers various communications law topics including: access to records and meetings, computerized government databases; damage control in libel, invasion of privacy, negligence and outrage and aiding and abetting; taking pictures and recording phone conversations; search warrants vs. privacy protection act; FCC and FTC rules; copyright and Internet issues; gag orders and access to court proceedings. Writing credit available. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Social and Legal Implications of Genetically Modified Food (2) This class will search for the truth behind the rhetoric about genetically modified food. It will be an interdisciplinary examination of issues such as the patenting of living things, environmental risk and regulation, food safety, food labeling, liability to neighboring farms, "volunteer" seed, globalization and corporate power, research ethics, world hunger, and animal ethics. Lectures will be contributed by faculty from philosophy, agricultural economics, rural sociology, biochemistry, and political science.
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Seminar on Environmental Law (2) Selected problems in environmental law. Students give two oral presentations on subjects selected by the professor and write a paper on a subject selected by the student, which is also orally presented. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Foundations of the American Constitution and Bill of Rights Seminar (2) The course focuses on the history and political theory of the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments. Advocates of differing interpretations of these documents have taken distinct views, some arguing that the authors were motivated by commitments to ideals and principles, whereas others argue that the participants acted out of practical experience acquired by the unique circumstances which confronted the American colonies, and still others argue that the drafters designed a constitution and elevated particular rights to further their own social, economic and political interests. In exploring these disparate interpretations, the course will compare recent scholarship on the Constitutions antecedents in European political philosophy, the English struggles between Crown and Parliament, American colonial charters, compacts and covenants, the American Revolution, early statehood constitutions, and failure of the Articles of Confederation. The formative Constitutional Convention of 1787 will be examined, as well as the ensuing ratification debates in the states, the enumeration of rights in the First Congress, and their subsequent ratification of a Bill of Rights. We will be looking for the formative origins of such ideas as the justification for revolution, reliance on a written constitution, government by consent, popular sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, due process of law, rights of the criminally accused, role of the jury, an independent judiciary and disestablishment. The semester will begin by reading and discussing four or five books. The presentation of written papers will follow, which, along with class participation, will be the basis for a grade. Enrollment is limited to fifteen law students with enrollment up to five additional students (with junior, senior or graduate status), majoring in either history or political science. Completion of an undergraduate or law school survey course in Constitutional Law is a prerequisite. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Health Insurance Seminar (2) Explores health insurance law and the mechanisms through which health insurance is regulated. Topics covered include private insurance (e.g., employer-provided insurance, self-insurance, Blue Cross-Blue Shield plans, HMOs and other managed care entities, etc.); public insurance (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid); federal and state regulation; the relationship between health insurance and the health care delivery system; proposals for health insurance reform. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Child Protection and the Law Seminar (2) This seminar provides substantive and practical analysis of Federal and State law as it relates to the termination of parental rights, guardianship proceedings and child protection services. This will be an interactive approach with guest speakers assisting in providing practical approaches to the child protection area. The seminar is open to second and third year students. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: International Protection of Human Rights Seminar (2) Nature, development and sources of modern international human rights law; judicial and non-judicial institutional arrangements, including the UN and regional systems, for implementing international human rights standards; selected substantive topics which may include capital punishment, freedom of expression, non-discrimination, rights to political participation, economic and social rights. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Life Skills for Lawyers Seminar (2) Readings and discussions will focus on how members of the class want to live their lives as a lawyer. Students will be asked to examine their law school experience and visualize their place in the legal profession. Various problems faced by lawyers (e.g. the pressure to produce billable hours and dealing with clients) will be discussed. Some of the positive aspects of being a lawyer will be identified. The emphasis will be on what the problems and opportunities mean to you personally and the importance of taking responsibility for your own personal and professional life. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Perspectives on the Death Penalty Seminar (2) Capital punishment has been part of the range of punishments available to criminal justice systems worldwide since the beginning of recorded history. In the United States, social sentiments and public policy have often shifted as to the efficacy, appropriateness and fairness of capital punishment. Our judicial system has also wrestled with those issues. This course will explore the death penalty in the United States and attempt to bring into focus the ways in which our criminal justice system and our society have continued to try to reconcile those issues. Topics will include: (1) theories supporting the death penalty; (2) various statutory schemes; (3) history and methods of execution; (4) evidence often presented in capital cases; (5) competency to be executed; (6) actual innocence; (7) exculpatory evidence, and false or misleading evidence; (8) counsel and funding issues; (9) race; (10) aggravators; (11) mitigation; (12) mental retardation; (13) juveniles; (14) voir dire and Batson challenges; and (15) victim impact evidence. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation and the Law (2) This course is taught as a seminar in which students select the topics covered. The purpose of the seminar is to examine the social dynamics of race, ethnicity, culture, gender and sexual orientation and how legal norms should address the inherent tensions raised by such diversity. Possible topics include: law school hierarchy, affirmative action, gay marriage and hate speech. Readings may include: constitutional case law, critical analyses from feminist theory, critical race theory (including Lat/Crit and Critical White Studies), critical Legal Studies, and queer theory; and sociological, psychological and political science research and theory. The seminar format provides students with the option of fulfilling course requirements by writing a long paper that fulfills the Law Schools paper writing requirements or two shorter papers. Class participation will count towards the final grade. There is no final examination. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5895 Selected Seminar Topics: Seminar on Ethical Dilemmas Confronting the Criminal Defense Lawyer and Prosecutor (2)This seminar will explore a number of the common ethical dilemmas that bedevil criminal practitioners and prosecutors. After an introductory class examining in depth the role of the criminal defense lawyer and the prosecutor in our adversarial system of criminal justice, each student will be assigned a particular vexing ethical problem that a defense lawyer or prosecutor will frequently encounter. The assigned topics will include, among others, a defense counsel's duty to cross-examine the truthful witness, the scope of the prosecutor's duty to disclose exculpatory evidence, the ethics of surreptitious taping, and defense counsel's duty to turn over physical evidence to the police or prosecutor. Each student will write a paper analyzing the resolution of the assigned ethical dilemma, present the suggested resolution orally to the class, and then lead a class discussion on the topic. A student's grade will be based on the initial draft of the paper, the final version and the quality of the oral presentation. Finally, class participation will also count toward the final grade. Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite for this seminar, or may be taken concurrently. (Not available to students on probation, except for students classified as 3L students.)
5900 Software Law (3) This course attempts to provide students with the tools needed to give solid advice to high tech clients in order to avoid litigation or to better prepare for litigation. Consequently, Software Law will examine, among other topics, a company's ability to protect computer programs, software, and related products (Software) through Patents, Copyrights, Trademark/Trade Dress, Design Patents and Trade Secrets. We may also review software licensing. A portion of the lecture period may include some technological training on the Internet, computer-based research services, and other research tools specifically for Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks. To provide students with a practical way of applying the abstract law, up to four written projects, reviewing a clients intellectual property software-related problems, will be required. Students may also have the opportunity to engage in client interviewing and counseling in order to complete some of the above mentioned projects. In lieu of a final exam, the above written projects will be due at the end of the semester. There are no prerequisites and a technical background is not required.
5905 Sports Law (2-3) Substantive areas of concentration include sports litigation, labor law, NCAA regulations, legal relationships in professional sports, anti-trust aspects of sports activities, and collective bargaining. Students are required to negotiate the length and subject matter of at least one graded, written assignment encompassing one or more areas of substantive sports law.
5910 State Constitutional Law (2) Since the departure of Chief Justice Warren, the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts have taken a less expansive view of the rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. Congress has also taken steps to turn over both funds and authority to states. Both developments have increased the importance of state constitutional law.
The course would be taught in three parts: (1) History of state constitutions; their relationship to the U.S. Constitution and the major differences among them; (2) Individual rights; instances in which state constitutional provisions that are facially similar or identical to the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, have been interpreted by state courts to extend beyond the federal rights, and instances where state constitutions guarantee individual rights that are different from or in addition to those in the U.S. Constitution; and (3) Governmental obligations and authority; Constitutional provisions allocating governmental authority, such as limitations on legislative authority, the authority of the people to act through referendum or initiative and the relative authority of independent constitutional and officers.
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5915 Tax Research (1)A study of research methods unique to taxation. This course will provide students an opportunity to gain experience in using tax research tools. Grade will be based on written assignments to be completed throughout the semester. Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment is 5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation. Must have taken or be currently enrolled in 5325 Advanced Topics in Taxation.
5916 Taxation of Property Transactions (3) This course was formerly called Advanced Tax. The course has been renamed and changed from 2 credit hours to 3 credit hours. An advanced study of the federal income taxation of individuals. Topics may include like-kind exchanges and other non-recognition transactions, installment sales, depreciation recapture, and cash versus accrual methods of accounting. This course is designed to provide a detailed analysis of complex tax provisions, an understanding of which is necessary for advanced tax planning. Prerequisite: 5375 Basic Federal Income Taxation.
5070 Torts (5) Principles and practices governing recovery of damages for injuries to person or property. Defamation, invasion of privacy, dignitary wrongs, products liability, fraud liability insurance, immunities and a survey of various "no fault" proposals.
5920 Trademark Law (2-3) Nature of trademark law; common law and statutory trademarks and trade names; Lanham Act of 1946; distinctiveness; types of marks; qualification of marks for registration (use in commerce, intent-to-use certification, secondary meaning, abandonment); registration procedures; exclusive rights of trademark owner; scope of protection; concurrent use; infringement (including gray market use); international protection; remedies; state trademark acts; related common law doctrines: unfair competition, right of publicity, dilution; federal unfair competition and dilution; trademark usage on the Internet; domain name issues.
5923 Transnational Litigation (1-4) This course addresses common areas of concern in private transnational litigation and provides students with an understanding of litigation tactics in this growing area of law. Topics include jurisdictional issues, forum selection, international service of process, international discovery, international choice of law, proving foreign law in U.S. courts, multiple proceedings (including parallel proceedings and interim/interlocutory assistance) and enforcement of foreign judgments. Although international in nature, the course covers many of the same sorts of concerns that arise in other sorts of complex civil litigation and emphasizes practical strategy points and transactional considerations. Course is Graded.
5925 Trial Practice (2-4) Techniques of pleading, discovery, opening statements, direct/cross examination of witnesses, preparing jury instructions and closing arguments. Each student participates in classroom problems selected from various phases and litigation and in two complete trials.
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5930 Voir Dire & Jury Selection (1)This course is designed to provide the students with hands-on experience in selecting a jury. Students will act as lawyers, jurors and one student presiding as judge in the concluding 2-1/2 hour courtroom simulation where a jury is selected after making challenges for cause and end exercising preemptory strikes. An actual case involving a badly injured young plantiff and a large corporate defendant--where liability is questionable--will be the basis for this exercise. The course will outline the purpose of voir dire and the law pertaining to jury selection. Students will learn active listening skills and how to interpret non-verbal behavior. Examples from prominent, practicing lawyers will be presented. The ultimate purpose of the course is to bring recognition that jury selection is an art--not a science-- and should be tailored to the facts of the case and the witnesses the attorney expects to present.
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5935 Water Law (2-3)Diffused surface water, groundwater, riparian rights, prior appropriation, permit systems, public rights, public trust doctrine, interstate allocation, federal government powers and constraints on government powers.
5940 White Collar Crime (2-3) Study of what are generally considered to be business or organizational crimes. General topics to be explored may include: mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, securities fraud, tax fraud, government contracting fraud (with particular emphasis on the False Claims Act), the Hobbs Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
5945 Will & Trust Drafting (2) Building on Estates and Trusts, applies substantive law of wills and trusts to actual drafting of documents typical of those used in law practice. Grade based entirely on student projects. Prerequisites: 5560 Estates & Trusts.
5946 Wrongful Convictions (1-4) This course offers students an insider's look into the operation of the criminal justice system. It should be of particular interest to any student interested in working in a prosecutor's office, public defender's office or for a firm doing defense work. It is a prerequisite for any student wishing to enroll in the Innocence Project clinic. The course is designed to help students gain insight into features of the criminal justice system that have a tendency to produce wrongful convictions. In addition to examining the causes of wrongful convictions, the course will consider systemic reforms that might minimize convicting the innocent. We will also work with The Midwestern Innocence Project on cases of possible actual innocence. Finally, the class will also focus on recurring ethical issues that confront prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers. Course is Graded.
