Perspective

In addition to offering professional advice as counselors at law, lawyers in America have often been citizen leaders, playing key societal roles in politics, business, and their community. How does traditional legal thinking and analysis work for lawyers in citizen leadership roles, often beyond a purely legal context? This class will address that question, and seek to broaden your approach to problem-solving. We will focus as a case study on how lawyer-leaders performed both in advising policy-makers and sometimes playing those policy roles during the United States' involvement in the Vietnam war. We'll assess the process of their decision-making, and see what lessons can be learned for all citizen lawyers. Henry Kissinger has commented that U.S. foreign policy has suffered in part because key players have often been lawyers, who lack an appropriate historical perspective in making decisions. We'll consider if that is a valid criticism and examine other ways that decisions might have been better made. We will also address the topic of Executive War Powers authority, which remains a live issue for our country today. This class is intended to sharpen your skills in conceptual problem-solving, and how to think beyond narrow legal frameworks when appropriate. The goal is to develop that most vital of all lawyer skills: good judgement. We will also assess how ethical factors contribute to better leadership decision skills. Class Approach: There will be a variety of assigned reading, selected in part from the books noted below. We will consider four groups of decision makers: White House advisors, the State Department, Congress, and the Pentagon, and evaluate how each "client group" contributed to the decisions being made. Prominent guest speakers will be invited to address us as well. Student Eligibility: The seminar is primarily intended for second and third year law students. The course will be graded on Pass-Fail basis, based on class discussion and a short essay to be submitted after the course conclusion. Primary Assigned Reading (Selections): Dereliction of Duty - by Gen. H.R. McMaster Lessons in Disaster - by Gordon M. Goldstein Close Window

A study of the many applications of economic reasoning to problems of law and public policy including economic regulation of business; antitrust enforcement; and more basic areas such as property rights, tort and contract law and remedies, and civil or criminal procedures. No particular background in economics is required; relevant economic concepts will be developed through analysis of various legal applications. Close Window

This course explores the ways in which law and literature intersect in addressing various issues. Students will read and write papers on fiction and non-fiction (books to be determined each term) to examine how legal texts and the legal system affect individuals, society, and culture. Students will submit a response paper prior to each class meeting, focusing on the assigned primary text, in preparation for discussion of the readings. This class will be graded pass/fail. Close Window

This course will explore the intersection of law and politics. Led by leading political scientists as well as former government officials, students will examine critical legal questions through the lens of politics and political science. The course will provide a richer understanding of doctrine (is the search for original meaning a value-laden enterprise; do lawmakers have sufficient incentive to take Supreme Court statutory interpretation methodology into account when enacting a law; does the Supreme Court appreciate the multi-fold ways that presidents can limit independent agency autonomy). The course will also raise questions about judicial legitimacy and independence (does party polarization create psychological roadblocks that stand in the way of neutral judicial decision-making; does the appointments and confirmation process push presidents and Senators to select extremist judges; can collegiality and judicial independence norms serve as a counterweight to elected government efforts to transform the courts into political entities). The course will be graded pass/fail. Students will be graded based on class participation as well as three reaction papers. Close Window

American society and law schools have become intensely politicized in recent years. Is it possible anymore for people who have different political alignments and values to engage with each other in reasoned, respectful dialogue about controversial social and legal issues? This course is offered in the hope that it is possible at least at this law school. We will deepen our understanding of highly-charged contemporary issues, and of others' views on those issues, such as abortion, policing and incarceration, the equal treatment vs. religious freedom struggle occasioned by same-sex marriage, accommodation and acceptance of trans- gender persons, immigration, preferential treatment for particular groups in college and law school admissions and hiring, student protests at invited-speaker events, and calls to abolish the child protection system. We will study alternative perspectives on each issue, not just the prevailing orthodoxy. The semester will begin with canonical texts in political philosophy and critical theory and sociological writings on political parties and perspectives in the U.S. today, to lay some foundation for subsequent conversations about particular contested social policies. Students will assume much of the responsibility for leading discussions and will write a paper at the end of the semester. (No exam) Close Window

This is a course about learning to use power and influence as effective tools for both understanding your surroundings and achieving your goals. It is a course about getting things done in the real world, where politics and personalities can often seem to hinder rather than help you. It is a course for those of you who want to make things happen, despite the obstacles that might stand in your way. Consequently, it is a course about you. Course Objectives: This course presents conceptual models, tactical approaches and self-assessment tools to help you understand political dynamics as they unfold around you and develop your influence style. By focusing on specific expressions of power and influence this course gives you the opportunity to observe their effective and ineffective uses in different contexts and stages of a person's career. The subject matter will introduce different ethical questions. This course should challenge you to define what will constitute the ethical exercise of power and influence in your life. In this course we will rely on a mix of case studies, exercises, self-assessment tools and readings. Your grade will be based 50% on class participation and 50% on the final paper. Close Window

Public policy analysis is vital for defining problems and evaluating alternative solutions that lead to new laws, regulations or government policies. This course prepares students to deal with an increasingly regulated business environment, rapidly changing regulations in environmental science, and the widening scope of the practice of law. Offered one evening per week throughout the semester, the course is team taught by an economics professor and a political science professor in an engaging seminar format using provocative materials with practical application. Topics include markets, political economy, market failure, equity and efficiency, government failure, regression analysis and surveys (including political option polling) and data collection for public policy analysis. Prior exposure to economics or statistics is helpful but not required, and college algebra is sufficient mathematical preparation for the course. Satisfactory completion of this course is a prerequisite for enrollment for graduate students outside Public Policy in subsequent Public Policy courses, whether or not they are cross listed outside of Public Policy. This is a non-law course crosslisted with Law and the course materials will be found in Blackboard. Close Window

This course examines the struggle for racial change in America from the late nineteenth century to the present and the reasons for that change. The goal of this course is to provide an appreciation for the way in which law develops out of a particular social and political context and the way in which law has been used to accomplish racial change in the United States. This course sets forth two paradigms for consideration: the litigation model and the social protest model. In addition, this course also touches on racial struggles in other parts of the world. This course will be graded by a final exam. Close Window

The primary goal of this course is to explore ways in which people have used law both to perpetuate and to challenge racial injustice in the United States. It begins with a brief survey of race-based law from the nation's founding through the Supreme Court's 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia. It then explores the Critical Race Theory academic movement, perspectives on racial identity, race as social construction, and identity performance. And it examines the intersections of race and laws governing (inter alia) education, employment, criminal justice, affirmative action, and electoral processes. The secondary goal of the course is to explore ways in which the increasing diversity of society and of the legal profession affects the practice of law. Legal practice involves interpersonal activity, and all lawyers will interact with colleagues and clients whose cultural heritage differs from their own. This course thus explores the significance of culture and cultural differences in the practice of law. It introduces Intercultural Communication Theory - the study of interactions between people of different cultural backgrounds - to provide students (of all racial/cultural backgrounds) a framework upon which to enhance their capacities to communicate effectively and work productively with attorney colleagues and clients with identity backgrounds different than their own. Grading is based on (1) 2-3 short reflection papers or an in-class presentation (student's choice); and (2) a take-home (24 hrs.) self-scheduled exam, or writing a research paper. Close Window

This course examines the scope and nature of local government powers and their relationship to state and federal governmental authority. Particular emphasis is placed upon matters of concern to cities, counties and other units of local government. Special consideration will be given to questions of governmental design. Specific topics may include state constitutions, theories of authority, boundary changes, Dillon's Rule and home rule, preemption, interlocal conflict and cooperation, finance and fiscal distress, and service delivery. Close Window