Course Guide

Business law refers to a wide range of law that regulates how businesses are owned and operated and how business is conducted.

Legal work in this area often takes the form of transactional work, advising businesses and assisting in their operations. Business law may also be the subject of litigation arising out of business organization and operations Transactional work can take many forms: negotiating contracts, working with businesses in bankruptcy, offering tax advice, and advising on deals such as venture capital financing, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, or other securities offerings. Litigators may work on conflicts that arise out of any of these types of transactions.

The three primary categories of business law courses are Commercial Law, Corporate Law, and Tax Law. Follow the link to each area to see a more detailed overview as well as a listing and description of particular courses in that category. A complete list of courses, seminars, and clinics in Business law is included here. Although commercial, corporate, and tax sometimes constitute distinct areas of practice, it is advisable for anyone working within any one of these areas to have some knowledge about the other two fields.

In addition, the Law School offers a few courses that do not fall neatly into any of the three separate areas of Business Law, but which are still important for the practice of many business lawyers—see here. Chief among these are courses on antitrust law.

Courses: Accounting & Finance for Lawyers Administrative Law Advanced Corporate Law Advanced Torts Antitrust Antitrust Seminar Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Clinic Business Associations/Corporations (BA/Corps) Commercial Paper Consumer Protection and Transactions Contract Drafting Seminar Copyright Corporate Compliance Seminar Corporate Externship Corporate Finance Corporate Tax Corporations - 1L Creditor's Remedies/Secured Transactions Employee Benefits Estate Planning Federal Securities Regulation Federal Tax Procedure Financial Institutions Law Seminar Financial Market Analysis for Lawyers Food Drug Law Health Care Transactions Seminar Insurance International Business Transactions International Contracts Seminar International Tax International Trade Investment Banking, Private Equity & Hedge Funds Sem. Law & Economics Workshop Law & Inequality Journal MBA Concepts for Lawyers Seminar Mergers & Acquisitions Minnesota Journal of International Law Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology Minnesota Law Review Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic Modern Real Estate Negotiation Seminar Partnership Taxation Products Liability Seminar Professional Responsibility Real Estate Transactions Seminar Regulated Industries RICO Seminar Sales State and Local Taxation Statistics for Lawyers Structured/Securitization Finance Seminar Tax Clinic Tax I Transactional Lawyering Skills Unincorporated Business Associations White Collar/Corporate Crime Workers' Rights Clinic

Faculty: Professor Edward Adams Professor Mary Alton Professor Ann Burkhart Professor Carol Chomsky Professor Tom Cotter Professor Prentiss Cox Professor Mary Louise Fellows Professor Daniel Gifford Professor Oren Gross Professor Ralph Hall Professor Kristin Hickman Professor Claire Hill Professor Herbert M. Kritzer Professor Maury Landsman Professor Donald Marshall Professor John Matheson Professor Brett McDonnell Professor Steve Meili Professor Amy B. Monahan Professor Ruth Okediji Professor Richard W. Painter Professor Kevin Reitz Professor Daniel Schwarcz Professor Kathryn Sedo Professor Gregory Shaffer Professor Bruce Shnider Professor Robert Stein Professor Lisa Stratton Professor E. Thomas Sullivan Professor Susan M. Wolf Adj Prof Nguyen Adjunct Professor Alt Adjunct Professor Burns Adjunct Professor Cutler Adjunct Professor Darji Adjunct Professor Grell Adjunct Professor Kennedy Adjunct Professor Macaluso Adjunct Professor Mohring Adjunct Professor R. Johnson Adjunct Professor Ross Adjunct Professor Schultz Adjunct Professor Willardson Professor K. Hickman

Commercial law embraces the study of state and federal law that regulates interactions among economic actors such as consumers and businesses, creditors and debtors, holders and obligors, and buyers and sellers. There are trillions of dollars of transactions and relationships in the United States alone that fall within the purview of commercial law specialties such as real estate, sales, commercial paper, creditors’ remedies/secured transactions, securitization and structured finance, bankruptcy, and insurance. Most practicing lawyers will find themselves and their clients significantly affected by these areas of the law. As a consequence, pragmatic lawyers often consider it important to have at least a basic understanding of these areas .

Lawyers who practice in the commercial law arena confront a wide variety of legal issues, that span both litigation and transactional practice as well as consumer and corporate law. For example, bankruptcy attorneys might advise multi-billion dollar entities in connection with their Chapter 11 reorganization, structure and formulate Chapter 11 reorganization plans, or litigate issues involving voidable preferences or fraudulent transfers. Others who practice bankruptcy law might work with consumers to resolve their claims with credit card companies, satisfy illness-related medical expenses, or maintain ownership of their homes. Another type of commercial attorney might work with clients to structure sale, lease, or other business transactions or draft contracts for complicated international sales of good or services and help structure the financing of those sales. Attorneys may represent lenders and creditors in connection with preparation and negotiation of loan documentation, as well as litigation that often follows the non-payment of indebtedness.

Courses, seminars, and clinics in the commercial law area are listed below. Those interested in the study of commercial law should consider at a minimum courses in Bankruptcy, Commercial Paper, Creditors’ Remedies/Secured Transactions, Modern Real Estate, and Sales.

A variety of more specialized courses, seminars and clinics are also available for consideration by students depending upon their areas of interest. Those courses, seminars and clinics include the following:

• Bankruptcy Clinic
• Contract Drafting Seminar
• Corporate Compliance Seminar
• E-Commerce
• Financial Institutions Law Seminar
• Hot Topics in Business & Corporate Law
• Insurance
• International Business Transactions
• International Contracts Seminar
• MBA Concepts for Lawyers
• Real Estate Transactions Seminar
• Securitization/Structured Finance Seminar
• Transactional Lawyering Skills
• White Collar/Corporate Crime

Students with an interest in commercial law are also urged to enroll in the foundational corporate law course, BA/Corps. In addition, it would serve interested students well to consider more specialized corporate law courses such as Accounting for Lawyers, Federal Securities Regulation, and Corporate Tax. Finally, courses listed under headings such as Business Law, Intellectual Property, and Tax Law are often highly-relevant to those with an interest in commercial law.

Courses: Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Clinic Commercial Paper Contract Drafting Seminar Corporate Compliance Seminar Creditor's Remedies/Secured Transactions Financial Institutions Law Seminar Insurance International Business Transactions International Contracts Seminar Mass Torts:What They Are & How to Solve Them Seminar Modern Real Estate Real Estate Transactions Seminar Sales Transactional Lawyering Skills White Collar/Corporate Crime

Faculty: Professor Edward Adams Professor Mary Alton Professor Ann Burkhart Professor Carol Chomsky Professor Oren Gross Professor Ralph Hall Professor John Matheson Professor Daniel Schwarcz Adj Prof Zimmerman Adjunct Professor Alt Adjunct Professor Cutler Adjunct Professor Darji Adjunct Professor Kennedy Adjunct Professor Mohring Adjunct Professor Willardson

The Law School’s Constitutional Law courses cover a broad range of topics arising under both the federal and state constitutions. The courses touch on matters both timely and timeless. Students deal with contemporary hot topics like the scope of presidential power in wartime, affirmative action, abortion, and gay rights. Students also confront recurrent topics that have occupied courts and commentators from the earliest days of the nation, including the power of judicial review, the balance of power between the states and the federal government, the separation of powers among the three branches of the federal government, and the source and definition of rights.

The courses offer both intellectual and professional rewards. The competing theories of constitutional interpretation are interesting in their own right, as are the difficulties of applying these theories to actual cases. Gaining some understanding of constitutional law is essential to being a well-informed citizen and a well-rounded lawyer. Professionally, constitutional law is a critical subject for any student thinking about a career in government, either as a prosecutor, an elected representative or executive, or as an administrator. Certainly, students interested in public-interest legal work will need an understanding of the civil-rights and powers issues that arise in constitutional litigation. Even those inclined to a career in private practice will confront constitutional issues in everything from business litigation to criminal defense to intellectual property and bankruptcy.

The required first-year course, Constitutional Law I, covers the basic constitutional design of American government. This includes an introduction to judicial review, congressional power, federalism, and executive power. The required upper-level course, Constitutional Law II, introduces students to basic liberties protected by the federal constitution. This includes, depending on the instructor, substantive due process, the Equal Protection Clause, the Takings Clause, the First Amendment, and congressional power to enforce civil rights under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The more specialized upper-level courses cover many important topics. The First Amendment course is recommended for all of the professional and intellectual reasons discussed above, and is especially important for any student interested in the possibility of government employment or a media prcatice. The course gives detailed attention to the freedom of speech, including issues like protection for subversive speech, pornography, hate speech, and libel. Depending on the instructor for this course, it may also include coverage of student speech and speech by government employees. The freedom of association is also often covered. The religion clauses, including the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause, are addressed. For students with even more specialized First Amendment interests, courses in Election Law, Media Law, and Theories of Free Expression are occasionally offered.

Students interested in public-interest work are especially advised to consider the State Constitutional Law course, the Constitutional/Civil Rights Litigation seminar, the Voting Rights seminar, Indian Law, and the Privacy seminar. For those interested in criminal defense or criminal prosecution work, the Criminal Procedure course is essential.

Students thinking of representing gay and lesbian clients or who are simply interested in gay-rights legal controversies should take the seminar on Sexual Orientation and the Law, which is generally offered every other year. To take this seminar, the student is required to have taken Constitutional Law II and is recommended to have taken the First Amendment course.

Several courses analyze controversies involving the Constitution and balance of powers, especially in time of war. These include Congress and the President, the Constitutional Powers of the Presidency seminar, and the National Security Law seminar.

For those interested in the contrasts and similarities between the U.S. Constitution and other constitutions, the Comparative Constitutional Law course is occasionally available. Students interested in current controversies in constitutional law will want to consider the Supreme Court seminar, which considers a wide range of significant cases on the Court’s current docket.

Courses: Constitutional Law II - Morrison Constitutional Law-Theories of Freedom of Expression Constitutional Law II - Carpenter & Kitrosser Constitutional Powers of the Presidency Seminar Criminal Procedure Election Law Seminar Federal Indian Law First Amendment Great Cases Law, Race & Social Psychology National Security Law Seminar Privacy Seminar Race in Litigation:Anatomy of the Race Card Seminar Selected Fundamental Principles of Constitutional Law Seminar Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar State Constitutional Law Supreme Court Seminar

Faculty: Professor Eugene Borgida Professor John Borrows Professor Dale Carpenter Professor Guy-Uriel Charles Professor Barry Feld Professor Richard Frase Professor Jill Hasday Professor Jane Kirtley Professor Heidi Kitrosser Professor William McGeveran Professor Perry Moriearty Professor Kevin Reitz Professor Robert Stein Professor David Stras Professor Carl Warren Adjunct Professor Mark Rotenberg Adjunct Professor Schultz Justice Thomas

Corporate law includes the study of state and federal laws that regulate the formation, operation, and structures of different forms of business associations, such as corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and the like. It also includes federal and state law that regulates capital markets and financial institutions.

Legal work in this area can take the form of either litigation or transactional work. Those doing transactional work may focus on advising public corporations or smaller businesses that are not traded in public markets. They may work on transactions such as venture capital financing, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, or other forms of securities offerings. Litigators may work on securities class actions or on corporate law cases.

Courses, seminars, and clinics in the Corporate Law area are listed here [link]. Business Associations/Corporations is the basic gateway course in this area. It serves as a prerequisite for many other courses in the area, so those interested in taking a number of courses in the field should take it early in their time at the Law School, while those interested in just one corporate law course will generally make that the course they take.

After taking BA/Corps, those interested in further courses in the field can choose among three main extensions of that basic course. Advanced Corporate Law considers several topics not fully covered in BA/Corps, including capital structure, mergers and acquisitions, and hostile takeovers. Corporate Finance. . . Federal Securities Regulation covers the main elements of the two major federal securities laws, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Another course that is strongly recommended for anyone interested in working as a corporate lawyer is Accounting for Lawyers.

A variety of specialized courses and seminars are also available in the Corporate Law area. Students are advised to pick and choose among these courses depending upon their particular interests. These courses include:

• Corporate Compliance Seminar
• Corporate Regulation of Non-Banking Financial
• Services Entities
• Enron Seminar
• Financial Institutions Law Seminar
• Hot Topics in Business & Corporate Law
• MBA Concepts for Lawyers Seminar
• RICO Seminar
• Securitization/Structured Finance Seminar
• White Collar/Corporate Crime

A unique opportunity for students in this area is the Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic, in which students provide legal services for start-up businesses. Working in the clinic provides a better sense of what transactional lawyers actually do than one generally can get from taking regular law school classes. Transactional clinics are still not terribly common, so this is a special option for Minnesota students interested in a transactional business law practice.

Several courses in other fields are also of particular relevance for students interested in working in the area of corporate law. Of particular importance are Taxation of Business Organizations and Partnership Taxation. Also of note are other courses listed under Taxation, courses listed under Commercial Law, and Antitrust, Intellectual Property, and International Business Transactions.

There are several lawyering skills classes that are of particular interest for those considering doing transactional work. These include Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiating, the Negotiations Seminar, Contract Drafting, the International Contracts Seminar, and Transactional Lawyer Skills. For those planning on doing corporate and securities litigation, there are a wide variety of relevant lawyering skills and doctrinal classes worth considering. These are described in the Litigation, Skills and Advocacy area description.

Courses: Accounting & Finance for Lawyers Advanced Corporate Law Business Associations/Corporations (BA/Corps) Contract Drafting Seminar Corporate Compliance Seminar Corporate Externship Corporate Finance Corporations - 1L Federal Securities Regulation Financial Market Analysis for Lawyers Investment Management Law Law & Economics Workshop MBA Concepts for Lawyers Seminar Mergers & Acquisitions Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic RICO Seminar Securities Litigation Structured/Securitization Finance Seminar Transactional Lawyering Skills Unincorporated Business Associations

Faculty: Professor Edward Adams Professor Mary Alton Professor Ralph Hall Professor Claire Hill Professor John Matheson Professor Brett McDonnell Professor Richard W. Painter Adj Prof Nguyen Adj Prof Royal Adjunct Professor Alt Adjunct Professor Grell Adjunct Professor Macaluso Adjunct Professor Willardson

The legal, public policy, and practice issues which arise in criminal cases are dealt with in a variety of course offerings at the Law School. Approximately twenty courses, seminars, and clinics are exclusively devoted to the study of criminal justice issues, and a number of other offerings include substantial criminal justice content.

Three foundational courses address a broad range of criminal justice issues. The required first-year Criminal Law course examines general principles of criminal liability (required act and intent; affirmative defenses such self defense and insanity), and the purposes and limitations of criminal punishment. The Criminal Procedure course, taken in the second or third year, focuses primarily on federal constitutional limitations on police investigations, in particular, the Fourth Amendment prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures; the Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination; the Sixth Amendment right to counsel; the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clauses; and the available remedies to enforce these protections (in particular, rules excluding evidence obtained by violating the protections). A second, foundational upper-level course, Criminal Process, examines other important issues of criminal procedure, including: prosecutorial discretion; decisions about bail and pretrial release; pretrial discovery of proposed trial evidence; grand jury and preliminary hearing procedures; speedy trial; double jeopardy; right to counsel, jury trial, and other important criminal trial rights; guilty pleas; and appellate review. Some of these issues are also covered to a limited extent in some sections of the Criminal Procedure course, so students may wish to enroll in one of those sections if they do not expect to also take the Criminal Process course.

Numerous advanced and specialized criminal justice courses, seminars, and clinics are offered at the Law School. The Juvenile Justice course examines issues of juvenile crime and crime policy, and the separate pretrial, trial, and sentencing systems applied to juveniles. Students may also take courses and seminars focusing on issues of advanced criminal procedure, capital punishment, comparative criminal procedure (how other countries and international tribunals handle these issues), criminal punishment (history, current practices, reform proposals), domestic violence, prosecution of international crimes, sentencing guidelines, sentencing policy (purposes; available alternatives), and wrongful convictions.

The Law School’s strong clinical and skills training program includes many offerings which permit students to learn practice skills and deepen their understanding of law and policy in the context of criminal justice. Clinics focusing exclusively on criminal justice issues include: Criminal Appeals Clinic (second chair role, researching and writing defense appeal briefs in Minnesota state courts); Domestic Assault Prosecution and Domestic Felony Prosecution clinics (first and second-chair roles, respectively); Federal Defense Clinic (second-chair role, researching and writing in connection with federal felony cases); Innocence Clinic (second-chair research role); and the Misdemeanor Defense and Misdemeanor Prosecution clinics (first-chair pretrial and trial roles).

Several other courses, seminars, and clinics, while not devoted exclusively to criminal law and procedure, can be very useful as background for criminal justice courses and practice. These offerings include Child Advocacy Clinic; Computer Digital Evidence; Constitutional Litigation; Domestic Violence Clinic; Evidence; Federal Jurisdiction and Courts; Physical Evidence; Torture, Violence, War on Terror & Law Seminar; and Trial Practice.

Students should select from the preceding offerings in accordance with their interests and career plans. Most prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys are litigators, so students interested in those careers should focus on courses and clinics emphasizing trial practice skills, evidence law, and first- chair practice opportunities. Students interested in civil litigation will also benefit from taking these courses and clinics. Since federal criminal laws, white-collar crimes, domestic violence laws, death penalties, other sentencing laws, and international human rights issues are often highly complex, specialized courses, seminars, and clinics on those topics can be particularly useful to students planning to work in these areas.

Many offerings have announced course prerequisites (already completed) or co-requisites (completed or taken concurrently). Even where prior courses are not required as a pre-requisite or co-requisite, students should generally take the more basic elective courses (e.g., Criminal Procedure and/or Criminal Process) before taking a related advanced offering (e.g., Comparative Criminal Procedure or Criminal Appeals Clinic). Students planning to take a first-chair, live-client clinic (Child Advocacy; Domestic Assault Prosecution; Domestic Violence; Misdemeanor Defense) may wish to take Professional Responsibility first or in the same term. They may also wish to take Evidence, even if the latter is not listed as a course pre-requisite.

A well-rounded package of criminal justice courses would include, in addition to the three foundational courses, a mix of advanced and specialized offerings examining both theory and practice.

Courses: Advanced Criminal Law Seminar Advanced Criminal Procedure Seminar Advanced Trial Practice Child Advocacy Clinic Comparative Criminal Procedure Criminal Appeals Clinic Criminal Procedure Criminal Process Criminal Punishment Seminar Death Penalty Seminar Digital Evidence & E-Discovery Seminar Evidence Federal Defense Clinic Innocence Project Clinic International Criminal Prosecution Seminar Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiating Judicial Externship Juvenile Justice Misdemeanor Defense Clinic Misdemeanor Prosecution Clinic Philosophy of Punishment Seminar Physical Evidence Sentencing Policy Seminar Sentencing Policy Workshop Seminar Trial Practice White Collar/Corporate Crime Wrongful Convictions

Faculty: Professor Carol Chomsky Professor Brad Clary Professor Stephen J. Cribari Professor Robert Levy Professor Barry Feld Professor Richard Frase Professor Michael Hannon Professor Maury Landsman Professor Perry Moriearty Professor Kevin Reitz Professor Jean Sanderson Professor Stephen Simon Professor Laura Thomas Professor Michael Tonry Adj Prof Merz-Godes Adjunct Professor Beens Adjunct Professor Hopeman Adjunct Professor Jonas Adjunct Professor Mohring Adjunct Professor Noel Adjunct Professor Spurbeck Adjunct Professor Thompson Adjunct Professor Wells Adjunct Professor Wilhelm Professor van Geughten

A substantial percentage of University of Minnesota Law School graduates will engage in litigation or alternative dispute resolution during their careers, or will act as advocates for their clients (or for causes) in some way. Courses designed to develop lawyering and advocacy skills can be divided into four types: (1) doctrine courses directly related to the judicial process; (2) skills courses; (3) live client clinics; and (4) externships.

1. Doctrine Courses

First year Civil Procedure provides the building blocks for all courses related to the judicial process. Students interested in a litigation practice of any type should consider the following courses focusing on frequently encountered matters of law: Evidence, Remedies, and Conflicts. In addition, Alternative Dispute Resolution should receive serious consideration by students interested in either litigation or general advocacy.

The following courses can best be characterized as advanced civil procedure classes. Students likely to encounter class action litigation in their intended careers, such as those interested in securities or antitrust law, may want to enroll in Complex Litigation. Students interested in such matters of complex litigation or practicing in areas dominated by federal law also should consider the following two related courses: Federal/State Courts, and Federal Jurisdiction/Courts.

Several upper level courses combine study of specific substantive areas with a focus on litigation concerns or skill development related to that subject, including Constitutional and Civil Rights Litigation, Supreme Court Seminar, Federal Tax Procedure, Labor Law Writing, Patent Prosecution Practice, Patent Litigation Law and Law and Strategy of Copyright, Trademark and Entertainment Litigation Seminar. Other courses that may be considered by students interested in learning about the details of the litigation process are Judicial Process and Administration, and Imagination. The Imagination seminar is a unique course in which students discuss how a case should be decided based solely on the facts of the case, without reference to the governing law.

2. Skills Courses

Several upper-level courses provide training in specific skills relied on by practicing attorneys. Skills courses usually involve both classroom and simulated exercises, such as a mock interview, deposition or trial. These courses often are taught by adjunct professors. The University of Minnesota is fortunate to have a superb adjunct faculty that includes prominent federal and state court judges and litigators.

Basic Lawyering Skills Courses. The course on Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiating is appropriate for any student intending to engage in litigation or non-litigation advocacy, including students intending to pursue careers involving primarily transactional work. The Negotiations Seminar course focuses on this one set of skills that also is critical for most practicing attorneys.

Litigation Skills Courses. A series of litigation skills classes are best understood in terms of the chronology of a lawsuit, as follows:

Pretrial Skills carries the student from complaint drafting through discovery to the eve of trial. Depositions is a simulation course focused on this important pretrial discovery tool. These classes will be helpful to all students interested in litigation, and are likely to be immediately relevant for students who expect to work in a large firm litigation practice, public or private.
Trial Advocacy (and Advanced Trial Advocacy) is appropriate for any student interested in litigation and highly recommended for students planning to work as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney or a civil attorney likely to experience substantial trial work, such as a lawyer involved in personal injury suits. Art of Appellate Advocacy will be of interest to students intending to represent clients in appellate work or planning on an appellate judicial clerkship.

Transactional Skills Courses. A final set of skills classes are devoted to non-litigation topics. Contract Drafting, International Contracts Seminar, and Transactional Lawyering Skills are courses that should be considered by students intending to represent clients in transactional work, such as corporate or business law.

3. Live Client Clinics

The University of Minnesota Law School offers one of the nation's largest live client clinical programs. Most interested students have the opportunity to enroll in one of the 18 available clinics. The differences in the substantive area of work for the clinic should be obvious from the course title and description. Beyond the substantive law differences, the clinics offer different types of experiences at which the student can integrate theory and skills in the practice of law.

Students most interested in appearing in court, and possibly handling a trial, should consider enrolling in one of the criminal law clinics, including Domestic Felony Prosecution, Misdemeanor Prosecution Misdemeanor Defense, Federal Defense and Domestic Assault Prosecution, or the Housing or Domestic Violence clinics, which also involve more frequent court appearances. Many of the civil clinics offer less frequent courtroom experiences but typically include more drafting of pleadings and a longer-term relationship with clients, including Bankruptcy, Civil Practice, Consumer Protection, Immigration Tax Special Education Child Advocacy, Indian Child Welfare and Worker's Rights.

Students interested in transaction work should look at the Multi-Profession Business Clinic. The Innocence Project is a criminal appellate clinic. The Legislative Process course is a clinical-type experience that should be considered by students who want to work in public policy or lobbying, or who want to pursue public office.

4. Externships

Externships provide students with the opportunity to work on projects involving placements outside the law school. The Judicial Externship will prove useful for students interested in any aspect of litigation or the judicial process. The Public Interest Law externship is especially useful for students with an interest in poverty law issues or employment legal aid. Students interested in corporate law and transactional work should consider the Corporate Externship Program.

Courses: Advanced Legal Research Seminar Art of Appellate Advocacy Seminar Complex Litigation Seminar Conflicts Evidence Federal & State Courts Federal Jurisdiction & Courts Federal Tax Procedure Immigration Law Judicial Process and Administration Learning the Law by Avoiding it in the Process Patent Litigation Law and Procedure Patent Prosecution Practice Pretrial Skills Professional Responsibility Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic Supreme Court Seminar Trial Practice

Faculty: Professor Guy-Uriel Charles Professor Brad Clary Professor Laura Cooper Professor Prentiss Cox Professor Stephen J. Cribari Professor Allan Erbsen Professor George Jackson Professor Maury Landsman Professor Richard W. Painter Professor Kevin Reitz Professor Kathryn Sedo Professor David Stras Professor David Weissbrodt Adj Prof Abrams Adjunct Professor Anderson Adjunct Professor Budd, T. Adjunct Professor Burns Adjunct Professor Cox, C. Adjunct Professor Daly Adjunct Professor Danielson Adjunct Professor Gross, D. Adjunct Professor Gustafson Adjunct Professor Kalitowski Adjunct Professor Kimker Adjunct Professor Poradek Adjunct Professor Schultz Adjunct Professor Short Adjunct Professor Shumaker Adjunct Professor Sieffert

Employment and labor law addresses federal and state laws regulating the workplace, most frequently the employee-employer relationship.

Three foundational courses explore a broad range of workplace-related issues. Employment Law is a survey course that addresses a multitude of issues involving the individual employer-employee relationship. This course covers such issues as the employment-at-will rule and its many exceptions, pre-employment screening, wages and benefits, conditions of employment, workplace safety, unemployment compensation, and retirement. The Labor Law course, in contrast, examines collective workplace topics in the context of union-management relations. This course primarily focuses on three basic employee rights protected by the National Labor Relations Act: to organize, to designate a union representative to bargain collectively, and to engage in concerted acts such as strikes and boycotts. The third foundational course, Employment Discrimination, concentrates on substance and procedure under three federal anti-discrimination statutes: Title VII (banning discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, and color), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Law School also offers a number of advanced and specialized courses including:

• Employee Benefits
• ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) in the Workplace
• Regulated Issues in Employment Law
• Disability in the Workplace
• Mediation Training
• Seminar: Labor Law Writing
• Seminar: Public Employment
• Seminar: Advanced Topics in labor & Employment law
• Comparative Labor and Employment Law

The Law School's strong clinical and skills training program includes further offerings in which students can learn practice skills and deepen their understanding of law and policy in the specialized context of labor and employment law. Students can bid to participate in the Wagner Moot Court program during their second year of law school. These students satisfy their second-year writing requirement by drafting a brief on cutting-edge workplace issues, while also honing oral argument skills in simulated appellate arguments. Third-year students serving as Directors in the Wagner program help supervise the work of second-year students and write their own briefs for and participate in an annual competition in New York. The Workers Rights Clinic provides a second unique opportunity. Students participating in the Clinic represent low-income workers in actual cases under the supervision of Clinic faculty. Top students in the Clinic may assume leadership roles as 3L program directors. Finally, the Law School sponsors a limited number of internships at regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Students participating in these internship programs have independent responsibility for investigating violations of law under the supervision of experienced government attorneys administering the principal federal labor and employment law statutes.

Several other Law School courses, while more general in subject matter coverage, are of particular relevance for students interested in the labor and employment law. These include:

• Civil Rights
• Immigration Law
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Seminar: Negotiations
• Mediation (Cross-Listed with Public Affairs)

Finally, law students may earn up to six Law School credits through a wide range of employment-related graduate courses offered by other University of Minnesota departments. Eligible graduate-level courses include:

• Topics in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HRIR)
• Systems of Conflict and Dispute Resolution (HRIR)
• Managing Diversity (HRIR)
• Employee Performance: Appraisal and Management (HRIR)
• Comparative and Int'l Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HRIR)
• Innovative HR Leadership (HRIR)
• Public Policies on Employee Benefits (HRIR)
• Public Policies on Work and Pay (HRIR)
• Personnel Economics (HRIR)
• Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining (HRIR)
• Employee Benefits and Pensions (INS)
• Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy (PA)
• Public Policies on Work and Pay (PA)
• Labor Economics (APEC)
• Social Stratification and Mobility (SOC)
• Work and Occupations (SOC)

Students desiring to demonstrate their interest and expertise in the field may satisfy the requirements for a Concentration in Labor and Employment Law. Qualifying students must complete at least 12 credits from a list of approved "required' or "recommended" Concentration courses as well as a significant writing and research component of at least 25 pages in length.

See Concentration requirements at: http://www.law.umn.edu/prospective/curriculum.html.

Courses: ADR in the Workplace Advanced Topics in Labor & Employment Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Employee Benefits Employment Discrimination Employment Law Insurance Labor & Employment Law Capstone Labor Law Negotiation Seminar Public Employment Law Seminar Public Employment Seminar Workers' Rights Clinic

Faculty: Professor Stephen Befort Professor Laura Cooper Professor Ralph Hall Professor Jill Hasday Professor Amy B. Monahan Professor Ruth Okediji Professor Daniel Schwarcz Professor Lisa Stratton Adj Prof Chalmers

The field of environmental law and land use embraces several diverse areas of law, all of which touch on the use of land and natural resources and how that use impacts public health, the environment and the way we live. Legal work in this area can include:

Environmental and land use issues associated with real estate development and transactional maters;
Litigation, regulatory and transactional matters dealing with local, state and federal environmental laws governing air emissions, discharge of pollutants, water resources, environmental review, toxic substances, pesticides and hazardous waste;
Litigation, regulatory and policy matters involving energy and alternative energy development;
Advice and negotiation relating to conservation easements and protection of scenic and natural areas;
Eminent domain, zoning and other local and state land use matters.

Students interested in these areas can pursue careers in federal, state and local governments, private law firms, nonprofit organizations (including environmental advocacy groups and land trust organizations), corporations, banks, real estate firms, or solo practice. Lawyers in this area also work for governments, corporations and nonprofits to develop and set policy relating to environmental regulation, conservation and energy issues.

The following courses are substantially devoted to the study of environmental and/or land use law:

• Environmental Law
• Land Use Law
• Natural Resources Law
• Water Law
• Environmental Remediation and Redevelopment
• International Environmental Law
• Environmental Advocacy Seminar

Various seminars not on the list above will often be offered on a rotating basis depending on student demand and instructor availability.

Students interested in the environmental law field should generally begin with the basic environmental law course and then move on to more specialized courses based on interest.

In addition, students interested in a career that involves, at least in part, environmental and land use law are strongly encouraged to enroll in related foundational courses such as Administrative Law, Federal Jurisdiction and Courts, and Local Governmental Law.

Courses: Administrative Law Advanced Environmental Law Seminar Business Environmental Law Seminar Cities, Suburbs:Race, Taxes & Development in Amer Metropolis Climate Change, the Clean Air Act & Energy Law Enivronmental Remediation and Redevelopment Environmental Law Environmental Law Capstone Course: Brownfields Redevelopment and Litigation Environmental Sustainability Clinic European Environmental Law Seminar International Environmental Law Land Use Planning Modern Real Estate Natural Resources Smart Growth Water Law

Faculty: Professor Ann Burkhart Professor Prentiss Cox Professor Daniel Gifford Professor Kristin Hickman Professor Brad Karkkainen Professor Alexandra Klass Professor Fred Morrison Professor Ruth Okediji Professor Myron Orfield Professor Gregory Shaffer Adj Prof Seha Adjunct Professor Davis Adjunct Professor Nauen Visiting Professor Darpo

The sources of family and property law are universal institutions­­—the family and private property, respectively. Family law and property law are natural partners. They share common characteristics. These are found wherever and whenever there are people. The bodies of law governing each of these institutions have undergone significant change over centuries and across cultures. While each is now a thoroughly modern subject, neither has been completely revolutionized in our society. Both thus retain much of the old with the new, performing their modern tasks with some rules and concepts drawn from ancient ways of looking at social relations in an ordered society. This mix makes for uneasy tensions within each body of law and reveals conflict between the joint objectives of each: promoting stability while accommodating change. Both these bodies of law allocate and distribute resources, including wealth, power, and human capital. They thus bear in fundamental ways on central issues in present-day life. The student who studies them studies, as well, social history, social relations, and social reform.

In practice, family law and property law intersect and overlap. Families fight about property. Property considerations influence family arrangements. The lawyer who practices in these fields is called upon to deal with the problems of, and opportunities for, all kinds of families including even those who have no legal standing. The lawyer’s task is to consider the assets of any group that thinks of itself as a family and arrange those assets to provide financial security for present members of the family as well as for those who will or may become family members in the future. The lawyer in these fields becomes privy to the client’s personal and financial secrets and serves clients over a long span of time, ranging from birth to death and on to future generations.

Here at the law school we offer a variety of courses, clinics, and seminars dealing with these subjects. The sequence begins with first-year Property, a required course. In it, family and property law meet directly in the materials on future interests, which facilitate the intergenerational transmission of wealthy, and in the materials on marital regimes—the economic rules and regulations society prescribes for married and unmarried families and the children they produce. The connections between family and property law show up frequently throughout the curriculum in other electives, most directly in the following:

• Family Law
• Wills and Trusts
• Estate Planning (Basic and advanced course and seminar)
• Divorce Negotiation
• Domestic Violence (Courses and clinic)
• Child Advocacy Clinic
• Assisted Reproductive Technology (Course and seminar)
• Choice: The Law of Reproductive Rights
• Real Estate Transactions
• Modern Real Estate

A variety of other courses are also relevant to this area. These include Land Use Planning, Indian Law, Privacy Seminar, Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar, Law and Economics, Employee Benefits, Tax (course and clinic), Alternative Dispute Resolution, Professional Responsibility, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Intellectual Property, Development of Western Legal Tradition, International Human Rights, Indian Child Welfare Clinic, Health Law (course and seminar), Biblical Law and Jewish Ethics, Obligation to Life Seminar, Feminist Theory, among others.

Courses: Advanced Estate Planning Seminar Choice: The Law of Reproductive Rights Concept of the Person Seminar Divorce Neg Employment Discrimination Estate Planning Family Law - Bix & Younger Family Law-Hasday Land Use Planning Law, Public Policy and Domestic Violence Reproductive Rights Theory of Ownership Seminar Wills and Trusts

Faculty: Professor Beverly Balos Professor Brian Bix Professor Susanna Blumenthal Professor Ann Burkhart Professor Robert Levy Professor Mary Louise Fellows Professor Thomas P. Gallanis Professor Jill Hasday Professor Brad Karkkainen Professor Ruth Okediji Professor Myron Orfield Professor Robert Stein Professor Judith T. Younger Adjunct Professor B. Cound

Category description under review.

Courses: Administrative Law Choice: The Law of Reproductive Rights Employee Benefits Family Law - Bix & Younger Family Law-Hasday Food Drug Law Genetics & Assisted Reproduction: Law & Ethics Seminar Health Care Fraud & Abuse Seminar Health Care Law & Policy Health Care Transactions Seminar Health Law Health Law Complance Capstone Health Law Seminar Insurance International Human Rights Law, Biomedicine & Bioethics Seminar Regulated Industries Reproductive Rights Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar Women's International Human Rights Seminar

Faculty: Professor Brian Bix Professor Dale Carpenter Professor Daniel Gifford Professor Michele Goodwin Professor Ralph Hall Professor Jill Hasday Professor Kristin Hickman Professor Amy B. Monahan Professor Daniel Schwarcz Professor Gregory Shaffer Professor David Weissbrodt Professor Susan M. Wolf Professor Judith T. Younger Adjunct Professor Einisman Adjunct Professor Freeman Adjunct Professor Frey Adjunct Professor R. Johnson Adjunct Professor Struthers

The term "intellectual property" or "I.P." embraces several distinct but related bodies of law, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and unfair competition law. As a general matter, patent law deals with exclusive rights in inventions; copyright in works of authorship such as literature, music, and software; and trademarks in source identifiers such as brand names. Unfair competition law encompasses the law of trade secrets, publicity rights, and several other business torts. Students with an interest in any or all of these bodies of law may select from a wide variety of course offerings.

Courses and seminars that are substantially devoted to the study of intellectual property law, broadly defined, include the following: Advanced Patents; Antitrust/I.P. Seminar; Art Law; Copyright; Cyberspace & the Law Seminar; Entertainment Law; Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Moot Court; Intellectual Property Theory; Intellectual Property Transactions; International Intellectual Property; Patent Litigation Law and Procedure; Patent Prosecution Practice; Patents; Technological Protection for Authors; Trademarks; Trademark Practice and Prosecution; Traditional Knowledge; and Unfair Competition.

Students are advised to select from the preceding courses in accordance with their interests and career plans. Students who look forward to a career in general business law, for example, may wish to take the Intellectual Property course (which provides a basic overview of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets), or perhaps Trademarks or Unfair Competition, to enrich their understanding of issues that are likely to be of growing importance to a general business practice. Students who expect to devote a substantial portion of their careers specifically to I.P. law may prefer to skip the general Intellectual Property course and to focus instead on the stand-alone courses in Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks, and other relevant advanced courses. Alternatively, a student who plans a career as a patent lawyer may decide to take all or most of the patent-related courses and the seminars, plus the general Intellectual Property course for basic coverage of copyrights and trademarks. Students interested in art, entertainment, or sports law, on the other hand, may wish to focus on Copyright, Trademarks, Unfair Competition, and other related advanced courses. As a general rule, students should take the more basic course (e.g., Patents) before taking a related advanced offering (e.g., Advanced Patents). Instructors may decide, however, that certain courses or seminars have other pre- or corequisites, at their discretion.

Students also are strongly advised to consider other more general courses or seminars that can be highly relevant to I.P. practice and policy, such as (depending on one’s specific interests) Administrative Law, Antitrust, E-Commerce, Federal Jurisdiction and Courts, First Amendment Law, Food and Drug Law, Health Law, Law and Economics, Media Law, Privacy Law, Sports Law, and Telecommunications Law.

Courses: Antitrust Antitrust & Intellectual Property Antitrust Seminar Comparative Antitrust Law Seminar Copyright Cyberspace and the Law Seminar Intellectual Property Intellectual Property Moot Court International Intellectual Property Patent Litigation Law and Procedure Patent Prosecution Practice Patents Trademarks Unfair Competition

Faculty: Professor Tom Cotter Professor Daniel Gifford Professor Joan Howland Professor William McGeveran Professor Ruth Okediji Professor E. Thomas Sullivan Adjunct Professor Budd, T. Adjunct Professor Gross, D. Adjunct Professor Poradek Adjunct Professor Shumaker Adjunct Professor Sieffert

The University of Minnesota Law School has a sterling national and international reputation for its teaching in international law. It has also a substantive and complimentary set of offerings in the comparative law field. In recent years that traditional reputation has been considerably augmented by the additional of new faculty in the international law field considerably extending the range and depth of courses and seminars available to students. At this juncture there is no mandatory requirement for students to take core international law courses in order to then enroll for specialized seminars or courses. However, faculty teaching in this area strongly recommends that students give serious consideration to taking core courses as a basis for extending and deepening the intellectual and learning experience that they take away from the specialized offerings.

International law includes both public and private international law teaching offerings. The Law School offers such core courses as International Law, International Trade Law, International Human Rights Law, International Business Transactions, and European Union Law. All of these courses are presently offered only to second and third year law students. Generally, all core courses are taught on a year-by-year basis (though not exclusively by the same faculty members). Seminars and specialized course offerings may not always be offered year after academic year, and are made rotationally available by the international law faculty.

Other course and seminar offerings include comparative constitutional law, developing nations seminar, European human rights law, immigration clinic, immigration law, international human rights advocacy, international humanitarian law, international law and the use of force, international intellectual property, international contracts seminar, international law moot court and Philip C. Jessup international moot court competition, torture, violence and the war on terror, and women’s international human rights law.

In addition, the Law School’s International Committee is considering a proposal to pursue a summer program which might augment international offerings with such courses as a basic course in international human rights law; humanitarian law; business and human rights; refugee law; and human rights and terrorism.

Students can take a number of pathways with respect to these course offerings. The international faculty recommends that all students should take at least one course offering during their law school studies that has an international dimension. We also strongly recommend that students take a comparative law course or seminar, allowing them to gain insights and knowledge of other legal system and/or the way in which other countries and legal systems regulate specific legal domains such as constitutional or criminal law. For students interested in transactional work and corporate practice a relevant course might be international business transactions. For students interested in specialization in the tax field, international tax law might be a useful compliment to domestic law courses. For students who might wish to work for an international organization or for a firm with a strong international profile, courses from both the private and public offerings would be relevant. A number of the course offerings reflect legal interface with key political and legal developments of the contemporary moment (see e.g. use of force or international humanitarian law). For students who wish to ensure that their legal studies also give them a broad legal perspective and knowledge concerning contemporary legal and political issues such specialized courses / seminars may be of particular interest.

Students with a particular interest in human rights should note that they can gain a concentration in human rights law at the law school by completing 12 credits from approved "required" or "recommended" concentration courses. Student wanting to gain the concentration must also take at least one course, seminar or independent study that requires a significant writing or research component. Further details on the lists of required and recommended law courses can be found at http://www.law.umn.edu/uploads/images/3022/Concentration_in_Human_Rights_Law.pdf

Courses: Comparative Law Conflicts European Environmental Law Seminar European Human Rights Law Foreign Relations Law Human Rights Advocacy Humphrey Law Seminar Immigration Law Immigration-Human Rights Law Clinic Inter-American Human Rights System Seminar International and Foreign Legal Research Seminar International Business Transactions International Contracts Seminar International Criminal Prosecution Seminar International Environmental Law International Human Rights International Humanitarian Law International Intellectual Property International Law International Law and its Impacts: The US and the World Seminar International Moot Court and the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition International Tax International Trade Islamic Law Seminar LL.M. Judicial Observation Seminar LLM Legal Research and Writing Seminar Minnesota Journal of International Law National Security Law Seminar Rule of Law Seminar Topics in Islamic Law Seminar Use of Force Seminar Women's International Human Rights Seminar

Faculty: Professor Guy-Uriel Charles Professor Laura Cooper Professor Tom Cotter Professor Oren Gross Professor Jill Hasday Professor Kristin Hickman Professor Brad Karkkainen Professor Steve Meili Professor Fred Morrison Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Professor Ruth Okediji Professor Francesco Parisi Professor Mary Rumsey Professor Gregory Shaffer Professor Robert Stein Professor David Weissbrodt Adj Prof David Simon Adj Prof. Sheik Osman Adjunct Professor Danielson Adjunct Professor Freeman Adjunct Professor Frey Adjunct Professor Kennedy Adjunct Professor McKenzie Adjunct Professor SheikOsman Frey, Barbara Kruger Kruger, Muria Marrero-Fente, Raul Professor van Geughten Visiting Professor Darpo

Students at Minnesota have the opportunity to earn credit for work done while editing a variety of student-run law journals. For a description of law journals edited at Minnesota, see http://www.law.umn.edu/journals.html

Courses: ABA Moot Court Competition Team and the Maynard Pirsig Moot Court ABA Negotiation Competition Civil Rights Moot Court Environmental Moot Court International Moot Court and the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Law & Inequality Journal Minnesota Intellectual Property Review Minnesota Journal of International Law Minnesota Journal of International Law Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology Minnesota Law Review Misdemeanor Defense Clinic National Moot Court Wagner Moot Court Labor and Employment Law William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court

Faculty: Professor Mary Alton Professor Brad Clary Professor Laura Cooper Professor Stephen Simon Professor Carl Warren Professor Susan M. Wolf Adjuncts

The Law School offers an unusually wide number of opportunities for students to work with real clients through its extensive clinical offerings. For a description of the clinical program, see http://www.law.umn.edu/clinics/index.html

Courses: Advanced Legal Research Seminar Advanced Trial Practice Alternative Dispute Resolution Art of Appellate Advocacy Seminar Bankruptcy Clinic Child Advocacy Clinic Civil Practice Clinic Corporate Externship Criminal Appeals Clinic Environmental Sustainability Clinic Federal Defense Clinic Housing Law Clinic Human Rights Litigation & Int'l Advocacy Clinic Immigration Law Indian Child Welfare Clinic Innocence Project Clinic International Contracts Seminar Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiating Judicial Externship Learning the Law by Avoiding it in the Process Minnesota Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic Misdemeanor Prosecution Clinic Negotiation Seminar Phillip C. Carruthers Public Interest Law Clinic Practice & Professionalism - 1L Pretrial Skills Professional Responsibility Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Civil Practice Clinic Special Education Clinic Supreme Court Seminar Tax Clinic Transactional Lawyering Skills Trial Practice Workers' Rights Clinic

Faculty: Professor Mary Alton Professor Stephen Befort Professor Carol Chomsky Professor Nancy Cook Professor Prentiss Cox Professor Richard Frase Professor Jennie Green Professor Ralph Hall Professor George Jackson Professor Brad Karkkainen Professor Alexandra Klass Professor Maury Landsman Professor Steve Meili Professor Perry Moriearty Professor Richard W. Painter Professor Kevin Reitz Professor Jean Sanderson Professor Kathryn Sedo Professor Stephen Simon Professor David Stras Professor Lisa Stratton Professor Laura Thomas Professor Carl Warren Professor David Weissbrodt Adj Prof Chalmers Adj Prof Merz-Godes Adjunct Professor Beens Adjunct Professor Bogucki Adjunct Professor Burns Adjunct Professor Cox, C. Adjunct Professor Cutler Adjunct Professor Daly Adjunct Professor Danielson Adjunct Professor Gustafson Adjunct Professor Hopeman Adjunct Professor Johnson Adjunct Professor Jonas Adjunct Professor Kalitowski Adjunct Professor Kennedy Adjunct Professor Kimker Adjunct Professor McDonough Adjunct Professor Schaffer Adjunct Professor Schultz Adjunct Professor Short Adjunct Professor Spurbeck Adjunct Professor Stewart Adjunct Professor Thompson Adjunct Professor Wilhelm Adjunct Professor Williamsen

The Perspectives curricular area includes courses that examine all or some parts of the law from the perspective of a particular disciplinary methodology or that of a particular social group. Thus, this area include courses that that build on the methods of other areas of study, such as economics, history, philosophy, literature, and so on. It also includes courses that focus on how the law affects a variety of particular groups, such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, lesbians and gay men, and so on.

This is quite a broad and disparate group, and students are free to pick and choose among the courses within it based on their interests. There is no natural order in which to take the courses, for the most part, and no one course serves as a prerequisite for other courses within the field. That said, two courses do provide a broad introduction to a variety of the perspectives covered by this field. Jurisprudence surveys a variety of major conceptual approaches to the law, although it is particularly concerned with the application of ideas and methods drawn from philosophy to foundational legal questions. Perspectives on the Law brings together professors who research in several different perspective areas to show how their areas apply to a variety of legal questions. The Imagination seminar is a unique course in which students discuss how a case should be decided based solely on the facts of the case, without reference to the governing law.

Several courses other than Jurisprudence explore philosophical topics as applied to specific areas of the law. The International Legal Theory Seminar covers various jurisprudential questions as they pertain to international law. The Philosophy of Law and Punishment seminar considers broad philosophical issues as they arise in the criminal law. Judicial Process and Administration provides an overview and critical examination of the judicial process. The Rule of Law seminar examines the concepts and core principles of the Rule of Law.

There are several courses that draw upon economics. Analytical Methods provides training in basic tools such as economic theory, accounting, and game theory. The Law and Economics course provides an overview of leading developments in the application of law to economics. The Law and Economics Workshop features speakers presenting ongoing research in which they are engaged, and focuses every year on a different area of the law. Statistics for Lawyers covers a variety of basic statistical tools and shows how they have been applied to legal questions.

Other courses draw upon history. The course on the Development of the Western Legal Tradition surveys major developments in European and English legal history, beginning in ancient Greece and concluding in the late nineteenth century. The Legal History seminar features speakers presenting ongoing research in which they are engaged. The American Indian History seminar focuses on American Indian history. Another discipline included in the Law School’s curriculum is Law and Literature, which focuses on the interpretation of both literary and legal texts.

Several courses in this area consider the intersection of the law with various issues in the natural sciences. These courses include Health Law, the Health Law seminar, and the Law, Biomedicine, and Bioethics seminar.

The other main type of course in the Perspectives area focuses on understanding the law from the perspective of various groups within society. American Indian Law and the American Indian History seminar examine the law related to American Indians. Critical Feminist Theory examines the law using feminist theory. Biblical Law and Jewish Ethics examines legal issues within the context of Jewish tradition and texts. Poverty Law and Poverty Law II analyze a variety of laws that especially affect people living in poverty. Sexual Orientation and the Law examines areas of the law that affect the regulation of sexual orientation.

Courses: American Indian History Seminar American Indian Law Analytical Methods Cyberspace and the Law Seminar Game Theory and the Law Seminar Genetics & Assisted Reproduction: Law & Ethics Seminar Health Law Health Law Seminar Judicial Process and Administration Jurisprudence Law and Economics Law and Literature Seminar Law and Public Policy Seminar Law, Biomedicine & Bioethics Seminar Law, Ethnicity & Economic Development Legal History Workshop Seminar Nanotechnology & Society Seminar Native American Law Seminar Perspectives - 1L Perspectives on the Law Poverty Law I Rule of Law Seminar Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar Statistics for Lawyers

Faculty: Professor Brian Bix Professor Susanna Blumenthal Professor John Borrows Professor Dale Carpenter Professor Mary Louise Fellows Professor Michele Goodwin Professor Joan Howland Professor Herbert M. Kritzer Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Professor Francesco Parisi Professor Robert Stein Professor Susan M. Wolf Adjunct Professor Anderson Adjunct Professor Bogucki Adjunct Professor Einisman Adjunct Professor McDonough Adjunct Professor Slater Crandall Adjunct Professor Street Kuzma, Jennifer Paradise, Jordan

"Public law" refers to law defining the relationship between the state and individuals, or between states. It is a broad and loosely-defined category, and there is much debate about what areas of law fall within it. Two important areas within public law are constitutional law and criminal law. The Law School’s offerings in those two areas are described separately.

Public law is set within constitutions, treaties, statutes, and administrative regulations. Thus, one part of the public law field is learning how to interpret these sources of law. For more on constitutions and treaties, see the field descriptions for Constitutional Law and International and Comparative Law. The Statutory Interpretation course explores general principles for interpreting statutes. Administrative Law explores the general rules and principles governing the creation and interpretation of government agency rules and regulations. The Advanced Administrative Law seminar explores advanced issues in this area. Local Government studies some of the rules governing lawmaking by governments at the local level. The Public Law Workshop involves faculty from Minnesota and other law schools presenting scholarly papers that they are currently writing, giving students a chance to observe the scholarly process.

The other courses listed under the Public Law heading fall into several categories. Some courses explore various questions of judicial and administrative process. These include Federal and State Courts, Federal Jurisdiction and Courts, Judicial Process and Administration, the Legislative Process Seminar, and the Rule of Law Seminar.

Other courses listed below allow for study in a variety of substantive legal areas that fit within the rubric of public law. These areas include Indian law, civil rights, election law, health law, poverty law, national security law, and water law, among others.

Courses: Administrative Law American Indian Law American Legal History Analytical Methods Biotechnology & Law Seminar Cases/Nations Child Advocacy Clinic Cities, Suburbs:Race, Taxes & Development in Amer Metropolis Civil Procedure II Complex Litigation Seminar Constitutional Law II - Morrison Constitutional Law II - Carpenter & Kitrosser Constitutional Powers of the Presidency Seminar Contemporary Problems in Freedom on Speech and Press Election Law Seminar Equal Justice Federal & State Courts Federal Indian Law Federal Jurisdiction & Courts Feminist Theory First Amendment Habeas Corpus Seminar Health Care Fraud & Abuse Seminar Health Law Introduction to American Law Introduction to Roman Law Judicial Process and Administration Law & Archaeology: Law, Biomedicine & Bioethics Seminar Law, Health & the Life Sciences: Joint Degree Program Proseminar Legal Scholarship for Equal Justice (LSEJ) Legislation Legislative Process Seminar LL.M. Judicial Observation Seminar Local Government Local Govt Economic Development Mass Torts:What They Are & How to Solve Them Seminar National Security Law Seminar Native American Law and Literature Natural Resources Poverty Law I Professional Responsibility Public Law Workshop Seminar Race in Litigation:Anatomy of the Race Card Seminar Rule of Law Seminar State Constitutional Law Street Law Seminar Theory of Ownership Seminar Tribal Courts Seminar Water Law Work As A Lawyer Seminar

Faculty: Professor Susanna Blumenthal Professor John Borrows Professor Ann Burkhart Professor Dale Carpenter Professor Guy-Uriel Charles Professor Carol Chomsky Professor Stephen J. Cribari Professor Allan Erbsen Professor Daniel Gifford Professor Michele Goodwin Professor Jill Hasday Professor Kristin Hickman Professor Brad Karkkainen Professor Jane Kirtley Professor Heidi Kitrosser Professor Alexandra Klass Professor Herbert M. Kritzer Professor Maury Landsman Professor Perry Moriearty Professor Fred Morrison Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Professor Kirsten Nussbaumer Professor Myron Orfield Professor Richard W. Painter Professor Francesco Parisi Professor Kevin Reitz Professor Jean Sanderson Professor Gregory Shaffer Professor George Sheets Professor Robert Stein Professor David Stras Professor Carl Warren Professor Susan M. Wolf Adj Prof Abrams Adj Prof Zimmerman Adjunct Professor Anderson Adjunct Professor Bloom Adjunct Professor Bogucki Adjunct Professor Burns Adjunct Professor Mark Rotenberg Adjunct Professor McDonough Adjunct Professor O'Neill Adjunct Professor Paradise Adjunct Professor Schultz Adjunct Professor Street Adjunct Professor Struthers Kruger, Muria Professor Colin Campbell

Tax law studies at the Law School cover a wide range of international, U.S. federal, and state statutes, regulations, rulings, cases, and concepts that govern taxpayers and provide all levels of government with the funds that they need to function.

Legal work in this area covers a wide range of matters including transaction planning, general compliance, and tax controversies. Transactional and compliance work involves advising taxpayers on how to structure their affairs to both minimize their tax burdens and comply with the tax laws. Tax controversy work involves tax enforcement matters before federal, state, and local taxing authorities and in the courts.

Courses, seminars, and other programs in the Tax Law area are listed here [link]. Tax I is the basic gateway course in this area. Tax I covers basic income tax principles with an emphasis on the federal individual income tax laws. Students who are interested in taking just one tax law course will generally make Tax I the course they take. For those interested in taking a number of tax courses, Tax I serves as a prerequisite for most other courses in the area. Regardless, all students should consider taking Tax I early in their Law School career, as this course can be useful in appreciating and understanding many non-tax courses including Business Organizations and upper-level business law courses, Wills and Trusts, Creditors’ Rights, and Family Law.

After Tax I, the Law School offers several specialized tax courses, seminars, and other programs. Corporate Tax and Partnership Tax cover federal tax laws and concepts governing entities other than individuals and are particularly recommended for students considering careers in business or transactional law. Estate Planning presents the principles of transfer taxation, is useful for those interested in transactional work with closely-held businesses, and is essential for anyone who plans to work in the area of trusts and estates law. Federal Tax Procedure, the Tax Clinic, and judicial externship opportunities with the Minnesota Tax Court provide exposure to issues in federal and state tax controversy practice. Other advanced tax offerings include International Tax, State and Local Tax, and a Tax Policy seminar.

Courses: Accounting & Finance for Lawyers Corporate Tax Estate Planning Federal Tax Procedure International Tax Law and Public Policy Seminar Partnership Taxation Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic State and Local Taxation Tax I Tax Policy

Faculty: Professor Edward Adams Professor Mary Louise Fellows Professor Kristin Hickman Professor Amy B. Monahan Professor Kathryn Sedo Professor Bruce Shnider Professor Robert Stein Adj Prof Jenner Professor K. Hickman