2018-2019 School of Law Catalog archived
–Curriculum - Second and Third Year
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Curriculum - Second and Third Year
Practicums
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LAW 304P - Criminal Tribunals Practicum.
This innovative International Law Practicum works with a defense team in the Military Commissions Tribunal in Guantanamo, Cuba, the Office of Public Counsel for the Defense at the International Criminal Court, and the Karadzic defense team at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The role of the Practicum is to assist with the right to a fair trial and to support fair trials through effective representation of the accused. W&L students in the Practicum have been undertaking detailed legal research and factual analysis. Prior work has been recognized by the lawyers for its excellence and has been used directly in court proceedings. For the students, researching a broad range of issues under international law and human rights has been a challenge, as many of the questions involved have not been answered before. (Satisfies the actual practice experience.) Either fall or spring. Five hours. Rice and Gabisa. -
LAW 254P - Cross-Border Transactions Practicum.
This course will examine how international cross-border transactions, principally in a mergers and acquisitions setting, are structured, negotiated, documented and closed. It will focus on buyers issues and sellers issues, as well as joint venture and shareholders agreement issues, and various cross-border considerations that may be important to any transaction. All of these issues will be considered through simulated transactions, which will involve group exercises, drafting assignments and significant class participation. Three hours. Manning -
LAW 262P - Deals Practicum.
This course presents an opportunity to engage in sustained analysis of the structure of complex corporate transactions and contracts - that is, “deals.” Students will learn to identify contracting patterns that emerge across various types of deals - potentially including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, and others - developing a toolbox of concepts and skills broadly applicable in transactional legal practice, while discerning idiosyncrasies that affect transaction structures and contracting practices in the various deal contexts studied. The course involves two components. The first acquaints students with a range of conceptual building blocks permitting them to evaluate alternative transaction structures. Readings draw from multiple literatures, and negotiation and drafting exercises illustrate various elements of transactional practice and design. The second component builds on the first, requiring students to apply these concepts to “live” deals. Working in teams, students develop in-depth analyses of complex transactions recently negotiated by practicing transactional lawyers. Following each team’s presentation to the class, the lawyers who negotiated the transaction present their own perspectives and experiences, giving students an opportunity to pursue open questions and reality-check their understanding of the deal against that of the actual participants. Four hours. Prerequisites: Close Business Arrangements and either Publicly Held Businesses or Securities Regulation. Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 276P - e-Commerce Practicum.
The practicum in E-Commercial Law will explore one of the law’s fastest-expanding fields. The video game industry’s budget has long surpassed that of Hollywood. Social networks and online marketplaces are the internet success stories of this decade. Yet most established lawyers know little or nothing about how to advise clients on increasingly important e-commercial issues. This practicum will focus on the practical knowledge lawyers must have to succeed in both e-commerce transactions and e-commercial litigation. The practicum covers arange of topics from core commercial law applied to e-commerce (internet sales and securing financing for internet startups), to currently evolving legal issues, including drafting End User License Agreements for video games and social networking sites, drafting electronic sales agreements, and exploring the novel legal issues raised by the growing commerce of online marketplaces and virtual worlds. The course will cover both transactional and litigation skills, and will involve advising a hypothetical client first in the structuring of an e-commercial enterprise, and then progressing to role-played litigation scenarios based on the students’ transactional work. Three hours. Sereff -
LAW 287P - Estate Planning Practicum.
This course considers the principal tax and asset-management issues encountered in an estate planning practice. The course focuses on estate planning for both (i) persons of little to moderate wealth (whose primary concerns include using trusts or other arrangements to manage assets for beneficiaries, planning for the client’s incapacity, protecting family assets from creditors’ claims, planning for business succession, and minimizing the costs of estate administration); and (ii) persons of significant wealth (whose estate plans are designed primarily to accomplish tax-efficient inter-generational transfers of property). Students will acquire a solid grounding in estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxation. They will also be introduced to the special income tax rules that apply to trusts and estates and their beneficiaries. Students will also be exposed to the law of wills and trusts and the laws governing executors and trustees. All topics will be considered through the lens of simulated practice experiences, in which students will interview and counsel clients, draft estate planning documents, draft letters to clients, counsel executors and trustees, etc.
Students enrolled in the Estate Planning Practicum must also enroll in Estate and Gift Taxation (unless they already took Estate and Gift Taxation as a 2L). Estate and Gift Taxation will be taught on an accelerated basis during the first half of the semester. Students who simultaneously enroll in both Estate and Gift Taxation and the Estate Planning Practicum will receive a grade and credit for the practicum course only, and their grade in the practicum will be worth five credits. Students enrolled in the Estate Planning Practicum who took Estate and Gift Taxation as a 2L will receive three credits for the practicum course, not five. The workload for the practicum is equivalent to that of a three-hour practicum, to account for the two-hour workload associated with Estate and Gift Taxation. Five hours. Danforth Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 393P - Failing Businesses and Potential Remedies: Bankruptcy Practicum.
The legal areas this course covers govern the remedies the law provides to debtors and creditors for failing businesses under either state law or the Federal Bankruptcy Code. The focus of the course, however, will be the work of students in developing solutions to simulated problems from either the debtor or creditor side for a failing business. Such work will be closely supervised. In this regard, the instructors plan to show students how attorneys think about the problems that arise in this area, including problems of professional responsibility. Students will be required to state their proposed resolutions to the problem and to draft the documents necessary to achieve the outcome they seek. Four hours. Rapp Prerequisite: either Secured Transactions or Bankruptcy. Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 291P - Federal Civil Rights Law & Civil Rights Lawyering Practicum.
This practicum course provides both an overview of federal civil rights law and an introduction to the fundamental elements of lawyering in the area of civil rights law. It combines a substantive seminar class with student “field work” in federal civil rights law and policy. The primary goals of this practicum are: (1) to provide a broad survey of what civil rights protections are currently available under federal law; and (2) how civil rights attorneys attempt to assert and apply the full protection of these laws on behalf of clients who claim they have suffered discrimination and who allege violations of federal civil rights law. (Satisfies the actual practice experience requirement.) Five hours. Hu Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 272P - Federal Energy Regulation Practicum.
The class will study the development of the Federal energy regulatory system focusing on Federal regulation of the electric utility and nuclear power industries. The semester will begin with background information related to the necessity for regulation of certain industries and development of regulatory bodies and basic statutes and regulations. We then move to how the relevant statutes have been interpreted by the courts to structure the regulatory bodies - primarily the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - and the industries as we see them today. There is a heavy emphasis on current and ongoing regulatory and other developments in each industry. Beyond the subject-matter of the course, it also serves as a graduate-level course in administrative law; students learn from a practical approach how administrative agencies really function.
There is no casebook, but students are given a detailed syllabus that includes the course materials, such as court and agency cases, statutes, legislative histories, regulations, statements of consideration, law review and other articles. There is no exam in the course; students not only participate in classroom reading and discussion, but also, working in groups, perform research assignments, address practice problems and complete a major research project. In the past years the class has had visiting speakers active in the relevant practice areas and has taken trips to Washington, DC to meet with law firms and/or industry organizations.
The class is conducted as a seminar with a collegial practice-oriented atmosphere. The professor acts as the senior partner in the firm’s energy practice and the students as junior associates. The objective of the course is to prepare the students to move into a work environment in the practice area - whether it be a law firm, corporate law department or government regulatory agency – and be of immediate substantive use. Five hours. Carr -
LAW 307P - Global Corruption and Good Governance Practicum.
This course will engage students in problem-based learning concerning the comprehensive nature of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The course will require students to engage in deep legal analysis of both foreign and domestic anti-corruption law, engage in fact finding and data collection, counsel “clients” (the UN Office of Drugs and Crime and the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission), present findings and legal analysis to both “clients” in writing and in the form of an oral presentation via remote technology.
Student work in the practicum will consist of two primary projects, both of which will require multiple written assignments and will require a sophisticated understanding of domestic and international law related to corruption. First, students will work with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria on the Implementation Review Mechanism. This component of the course will involve detailed analysis of the UN anti-corruption treaty and it’s Implementation Review Mechanism. Students will prepare written memos designed to assist the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in its assessment of countries’ compliance with the treaty. Second, students will collaborate with the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of Legal Counsel to the President of Liberia in an effort to improve Liberia’s domestic legislation concerning corruption. To do so, the students will study and critique the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and assess its applicability in Liberia. Drawing heavily on the FCPA, students in the W&L practicum and at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law in Liberia will create recommendations on Anti-corruption legislation and practices for the Government of Liberia. Students will draft legislation and regulations as well as supporting memoranda. (Satisfies the actual practice experience requirement.) Five hours. Rice -
LAW 298P - Government Contracts Negotiation Practicum.
This practicum will simulate the various interwoven roles of lawyers from in-house counsel, outside counsel, and government during the progression of the government contract and commercial contract lifecycles. Students will draft, redline, and negotiate government and commercial contracts and advise their respective clients in how to deal with their government or commercial counterparts throughout a number of key scenarios. Each student will be assigned to a specific team but will play multiple roles, including Government, Prime Contractor, Subcontractor, and Outside Counsel and those roles will have shifting and conflicting interests, similar to the business world. While the course is concentrated on government contracts, the skills taught within this course are translatable to nearly any kind of industry which employs business lawyers. The exercises will convey a wide range of skills and instincts that a business lawyer in the DC area market should have in order to be an effective legal advisor to a number of different entities with complicated interests. Students will be asked to analyze new and existing laws and provide strategic insights to their clients based on a highly fluid and sometimes volatile legal landscape in a hotly contentious and visible environment. Students will consider direct and indirect consequences of their clients’ actions and will learn to read between the lines of their role as well as understand the foundations of government and commercial law. Students will also delve into to the politics of the expenditure of taxpayer money and how it affects the various players in the economic sphere of government contracts. Three hours. Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 301P - Higher Education Practicum.
A practicum simulating private law practice and in-house counsel practice doing legal work on behalf of universities, including constitutional and statutory compliance issues, such as matters involving constitutional and civil rights law compliance, and issues involving university employment, finance, tax, intellectual property, governance, athletics, and safety/security matters. Students will work in teams to represent students, faculty members, university trustees, university administrators, alumni student organizations, public interest groups, and other parties in a variety of hypothetical problems and exercises requiring strategic thinking, critical analysis of legal principles, and understanding of the cultural, political, and social traditions of American colleges and universities. Although the course operates in a higher-ed context, most student work will be very useful preparation for the general counsel’s office of any business. There are a few higher-ed specific issues like Title IX, but topics like intellectual property, employment law, and litigation technique are much the same regardless of their context. Four hours. Schill and Wood -
LAW 320P - Intellectual Property Practicum.
This practicum will focus on learning and applying the major legal and procedural requirements for obtaining, maintaining, exploiting, and enforcing intellectual property rights. It will include assignments that simulate actual practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as transactional and litigation matters involving copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Students will perform research, draft documents, and engage in exercises relating to registration and licensing. Two hours. Seaman -
LAW 324P - International Business Negotiation Practicum.
This course is structured around a semester-long, simulated negotiation exercise which is intended to provide an in-depth study of the structuring and negotiating of an international business transaction. This class might be taught with students from another law school acting as opposing counsel or by dividing the class in two sections.
The course provides students with an opportunity to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, to learn about the role that lawyers, law and business play in these negotiations, and to develop experience in drafting communications and actual negotiations. Students will also learn about the legal and business issues that may arise in joint ventures, supply agreements and licensing agreements.
The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as preparing for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Five hours. Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 314P - International Competition Law Practicum.
This practicum will teach students how to represent clients that navigate intercontinental economies and their respective multinational rules for competitive behavior. The course will focus on three practical exercises: (1) an international merger investigation; (2) an international cartel investigation; and (3) an international “dominance” or “monopoly” investigation.
Students will represent multinationals in mock proceedings before competition authorities in Asia, the Americas and Europe. During these exercises, students will prepare formal advice to their client Boards of Directors, prepare written and oral submissions to the prosecutorial bodies and tribunals with jurisdiction, and devise optimal legal strategies to help their clients navigate the treacherous and high stakes world of international competition law.
Classroom work will focus on the broad policy strokes painting competition law regimes in the European Union, United States, China, Japan and Korea. To understand these legal schemes, students will study their varied purposes, from social welfare based standards in the European Union, winner take all incentives in the United States, and industrial control standards in China and other nationalist economies. Three hours. Cohen -
LAW 330P - International Human Rights Practicum.
In this practicum, students will learn how to apply the primary international and regional human rights treaties to real-world human rights problems. Student teams will work in partnership with international non-governmental organizations based in the U.S. or domestic human rights organizations based in Africa to promote human rights and seek redress for human rights violations. Projects may involve human rights fact-finding, legislative advocacy, test case litigation, local capacity-building, and other forms of human rights advocacy. Fieldwork abroad will be a component of the projects whenever possible, and all projects will involve careful consideration of the ethics of cross-cultural human rights advocacy. By engaging in extensive legal and policy analysis of real human rights problems, primarily in Africa, students will develop a better understanding of the challenges and social justice potential of the human rights framework. (Satisfies the actual practice experience requirement.) Five hours. Year-long course (2 credits for fall, 3 credits for spring) Bond Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 345P - Labor and Employment Law Practicum.
This practicum is built around simulations in four important sub-fields in contemporary labor and employment law practice: (1) the “contract” of employment, both formal and informal, as a matter of state law, (2) federal employment discrimination law, covering race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability, (3) federal labor standards, such as minimum wage and overtime or family and medical leave regulation, and (4) collective bargaining and labor arbitration. There will be some introductory instruction to provide students an overview of the substantive fields. Students will acquire additional doctrinal understanding, develop practice skills and exercise professional judgment and responsibility through their work on the simulations. Five hours. Tower Prerequisites: None. -
LAW 357P - Law Practice Management Practicum.
Practicum designed to provide students with the experience of opening and operating a solo or small-firm law practice. Students will explore issues surrounding the business of law through a series of simulated experiences. This course will assess learning and performance on projects students complete as they build their simulated practices. Expected work product to include the creation of a business plan, a marketing plan, research results on client management systems and other law office essentials, and a writing portfolio. Two hours. Natkin -
LAW 375P - Local Government Law Practicum.
Students in the Local Government Law Practicum serve as Assistant City Attorneys in the City Attorney’s Office of the City of Steinheim, a medium-sized locality functioning in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The practicum emphasizes the development of skills needed to resolve real legal problems. Many of the issues that the attorneys address arise out of the location, design, construction, and operation of a new City Hall. As the practicum progresses, the students engage in progressively more complex projects. The projects include preparing written work product and making staff presentations, counseling, negotiation, and mediation. Attorneys may also be asked to respond to emergency email requests from various City officials.
Specific projects may include: (i) advising on a public attorney’s obligations under the Rules of Professional Conduct regarding possible environmental contamination of the proposed site for the new City Hall; (ii) advising on a proposed “living wage” ordinance for City contracts; (iii) advising the City Manager and Mayor on (a) a request for a closed meeting of City Council and (b) municipal bankruptcy; (iv) meeting with a local government official to advise on responding to a records request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; (v) negotiating terms of a design contract with counsel for a national architectural firm; and (vi) filing appropriate pleadings and appearing before a Virginia Circuit Court Judge seeking dismissal of a personal injury suit against the City on the grounds of sovereign immunity. For the final project, attorney teams prepare for and mediate a 42 U.S.C. 1983 case with a United States District Court Judge.
Practice areas and legal doctrines may include: (i) The Dillon Rule; (ii) Professional Responsibility for the Local Government Lawyer; (iii) The Virginia Public Procurement Act; (iv) The Virginia Freedom of Information Act; (v) The Virginia Conflict of Interests Act; (vi) Land Use; (vii) Sovereign Immunity; (viii) First Amendment Rights and Local Government Meeting Procedure; (ix) 42 U.S.C. 1983 Claims and Litigation; and (x) Mediation. Three hours. Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 364P - Mergers and Acquisitions Practicum.
This practicum follows the life of an M&A transaction from client intake through initial transaction/project development, drafting and negotiating key M&A documents, researching and advising the client on key issues that arise in the transaction, and post closing dispute resolution. The class will be divided into “modules” focused on different stages or elements of the transaction, some of which will involve non-transactional legal doctrines. The modules will be only partially self-contained - the modules will overlap with each other, one ramping up while the other winds down, with certain issues raised early in the course being revisited in greater detail later. The objective of the course is to simulate the life of a practicing M&A attorney – researching, drafting and negotiating the key corporate/transactional matters, but also being exposed to non-transactional subject matters - all designed to provided the experience of advising clients about the key issues that arise during the life of an M&A transaction. The class will emphasize contractual issues and formulating and delivering (both verbally and in writing) advice to clients in a transactional setting. The class will involve some, but less, substantive legal research. Three or four hours. Chatman Prerequisite: Close Business Arrangements or may be taken concurrently. -
LAW 385P - Negotiations and Conflict Resolution Practicum.
This course will examine negotiation, the basic and most prevalent dispute resolution process. The course will explore the various elements of negotiation, including interest-based, creative problem-solving and distributive aspects of negotiation. Students will practice negotiations in collaborative and traditional negotiation settings and observe and critique demonstrations in mediation. In addition, this course will include a skills training and self-awareness component using various conflict resolution techniques, exercises and demonstrations involving professional and personal conflict situations. Two hours. Morrison
Note: Students may not take this course if they have taken Negotiations or Advanced Negotiations.
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LAW 394P - Patent Litigation Practicum.
Designed to provide an introduction to patent litigation, this course will focus on the trial of a hypothetical patent dispute. The course will emphasize strategic decision-making from the perspectives of both the patent holder and the alleged infringer (with particular focus on the costs and benefits of litigation). Students will engage such tasks and topics as drafting pleadings and briefs, venue considerations, discovery management, affirmative defenses, claim construction, dispositive motions, damages, and trial. Throughout the course the students will consider the role of good writing, project management, civility, collaboration, and legal ethics in modern trial advocacy. Five hours. Stillman While either Patent Law or Intellectual Property would be a helpful background for this practicum, neither is a prerequisite. -
LAW 391P - Poverty Law and Litigation Practicum.
Focus of this course is on the pre-trial stages of litigation where most contested litigation is resolved. Each member of our firm will be assigned a complex paradigm litigation problem of low-income people, such as housing conditions, lender predation, debt collection, child custody, wage rights, utility service, or nursing home admission. Teams within the firm will explore the substantive and procedural law required to pursue each problem from both sides, developing skills at issue-spotting, pleading, and motions practice, with frequent adjudicated argument of pre-trial matters during class meetings. Significant writing opportunity with real-world time constraints, no exam. Five hours. Not offered in 2018-2019. -
LAW 416P - Social Entrepreneurship & Real Estate Development Practicum.
This course is an introduction to the dynamic and unpredictable world of community oriented real estate development as a vehicle for achieving a triple net bottom line - profit, community benefit, and environmental stewardship. Students will comprise an actual development team for Roanoke-based Commonwealth Capital Partners, LLC. They will quickly be exposed to core financial concepts and engage in real team and simulated individual projects - including direct exposure to identifying deals, negotiating them, closing them, and managing projects. Among the course’s many goals is to develop the knowledge and personal skills necessary for exceptional individual leadership, an understanding of high-level team dynamics, and the introductory basics of effective real estate investment, development, and management. This course is most appropriate for students that are extremely self-directed, self-organized, and comfortable with uncertainty and unpredictability. This is a year-long course. Students must commit to both semesters. Eight hours (four per semester.) Walker -
LAW 417P - Statutory Interpretation Practicum.
In this practicum, students will discuss today’s competing and leading methods of statutory interpretation theories—such as debate involving textualism, purposive and dynamic interpretation; issues related to the use of legislative history and canons of construction; unique problems arising in the application of various interpretive tools; and the constitutional foundations of statutory interpretation itself. Through a combination of exercises—such as drafting and debating legislation concerning contemporary controversies; research and writing; delivering moot oral arguments and judging—students will learn first-hand to examine, craft, and proffer statutory interpretation arguments on behalf of their clients. By the end of the practicum, students will develop a strong ability to deliver effective statutory interpretation arguments for their clients, whether they are legislators, parties to a suit, or businesses. Four hours. Hasbrouck -
LAW 422P - Tax Planning for the Closely Held Business Owner Practicum.
The combination of tax and estate planning and business planning is one of the most difficult areas of planning for a client. Planning for a client who owns a closely held business implicates tax issues, business issues, personal and family issues, and business succession issues. This course is designed to provide a student with an overview of the estate and gift tax system in the first half of the semester, which is particularly relevant to a business owner considering business succession issues. The second half of the semester will be devoted to business planning, and the student will draft memoranda and other documents during the second half of the semester that an associate would be expected to prepare for a partner when working with a business client. Each student will be expected to use the early assignments as a basis for developing an overall business plan, which the student will then present to the class at the end of the semester. After the presentation, the student will have the opportunity to address issues raised during the student’s presentation and hand in the revised plan as a part of the student’s grade for the course. Four hours. Mancini Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation of Individuals. -
LAW 420P - Telecommunications Law and Policy Practicum.
This course is aimed at students who are interested in representing clients before federal regulatory bodies and Congress. It is also aimed at students who are interested in telecommunications and media regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. The course will include principles of administrative law and practical exploration of client representation before the FCC and in Congress. During the course of the semester, students will be asked to assume the role of an advocate representing stakeholder interests in FCC proceedings. In that role, students will prepare comments for filing in the proceeding, conduct an ex parte session with FCC staff where they present their arguments and respond to questions, and marshal arguments in anticipation of a possible legal appeal of an FCC decision against their stakeholder’s position. The class also will explore the role Congress plays in defining and overseeing the actions of federal regulatory agencies. In that role, students will prepare background material and brief a Member of Congress on an FCC regulatory action. Through these practical assignments, students will gain a better understanding of the role Federal regulatory agencies play in the legal process and the practical impacts they can have on client interests. They also will gain insights into the relationship between Congress and the administrative state. Three hours. Bone -
LAW 428P - Trial Advocacy Practicum.
This practical course is designed to prepare students for litigation at the trial stage. Through lecture, demonstration, and discussion, students will engage in an in-depth examination of the planning, organization, and techniques necessary for successful trial advocacy. Special emphasis will be placed on presenting the persuasive trial story through planning and organization of opening statements, effective direct and cross examination, the use of demonstrative evidence, and jury argument. Students will be required to develop a comprehensive trial notebook. In addition to the one hour joint meeting, each of the sections will meet separately. The emphasis will be on skills development and students will have the opportunity to plan, organize, and practice trial advocacy. Under the supervision of the instructor, practice exercises involving discrete problems of increasing complexity will culminate with each student preparing and trying a criminal or civil case to a jury. Three hours. Carson, Dorsey, Filson, Hammond, Newell, and Thomas -
LAW 433P - Trusts and Estates Practicum.
This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental lawyering skills associated with a trusts and estates practice. The course focuses on estate planning for persons of little to moderate wealth (specifically, persons whose wealth falls below the thresholds at which the estate and gift taxes apply). All topics will be considered through the lens of simulated practice experiences, in which students will interview and counsel clients, draft estate planning documents, draft letters to clients, counsel executors and trustees, etc. No background in either income taxation or estate and gift taxation is necessary. Two hours. Danforth Pre- or co-requisite: Decedents’ Estates and Trusts. -
LAW 446p - Veterans Law Practicum.
Working on real cases under the supervision of the Instructor and attorneys from the Department of Veterans Services, students will represent service disabled Veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs. Students will gain understanding of an administrative law proceeding, including claims before an agency and the administrative appellate rights. As a practicum, this course allows students to interact with a live case and hone critical and effective drafting skills for the workplace. As students learn key components to the administrative proceedings, they will complete various drafting assignments working with a case file before the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, this course will focus on legislative and regulatory changes and how these changes directly impact client advocacy. The course will conclude with a white paper undertaking a critical analysis of an aspect of a change in the law made by VA or an interpretation of the law by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and how it has/will impact client representation and advocacy. Four hours. Disbennett-Albrecht -
LAW 439P - White Collar Crime Practicum.
This course will present a case study of a corporation’s response to allegations that employees’ conduct may have violated federal law (in this case study, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act). The class begins by establishing a basic understanding of the relevant federal law, corporate criminal liability principles, and corporate governance structures. Through the use of the case study, the class will follow the stages and consequences of a company investigation, including (1) the initiation and structure of an internal investigation; (2) document collection and management; (3) witness interviews; (4) assessments of the sufficiency of accounting controls and compliance programs; (5) reporting findings and deciding how to respond; (6) reporting to Government regulators; (6) resolution and remediation. Each student will participate in the exercise from the point-of-view of a particular participant in the inquiry - corporate general counsel, responsible members of senior management, an outside director of the Board, outside investigating counsel, and key government regulators. At the end of the course, each student will prepare a written memorandum of relevant findings, legal determinations and advice from that participant’s assigned perspective. Three hours. Hanes
Clinics
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LAW 531 - Advanced Administrative Litigation Clinic (Black Lung).
The Advanced Administrative Litigation Clinic (Black Lung) represents coal miners or their survivors in claims for benefits in U.S. Department of Labor proceedings and on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Permission of the instructors is required; limited enrollment. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical program. This is a two semester course. Ten hours (five per semester). MacDonnell -
LAW 530 - Advanced Immigrant Rights Clinic.
This offering is available to student attorneys who have completed the fall semester in the Immigrant Rights Clinic and secured written permission from the IRC Director. Students in Advanced IRC will continue their supervised casework from the fall semester, take on additional matters, conduct community outreach and education activities, and/or engage in legislative advocacy on behalf of immigrant communities before the Virginia General Assembly. Advanced IRC student attorneys will engage in these practical lawyering activities individually and in groups. Three hours. Baluarte -
LAW 532 - Community Legal Practice Center.
The Community Legal Practice Center (“CLPC”) represents lower income Rockbridge area residents in a general law practice setting, but with a particular focus on the elderly, victims of domestic violence, and those with pressing family law concerns. The CLPC attempts to assist its clients with the entire range of legal concerns they present, thus exposing students to a wide variety of substantive legal issues in both litigation and drafting settings. Students are responsible for all aspects of their clients’ matters, from the initial intake interview until the clients’ matters are concluded. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. A student enrolled in the course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical program. This is a two semester course. Ten hours (five per semester). Belmont -
LAW 539 - Criminal Justice Clinic.
Students in the Criminal Justice Clinic represent poor clients facing criminal charges in trial-level state courts. In addition to appearing at court hearings, including trials and sentencing hearings, CJC students represent clients at each stage of the criminal trial process, including factual investigation, legal research, and plea negotiations. The Clinic also contains a classroom component in which students learn substantive law and procedure, as well as trial skills. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. A student enrolled in the course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical program. This is a two-semester course. Ten hours (five hours per semester). King -
LAW 537 - Immigrant Rights Clinic.
The Immigrant Rights Clinic provides direct representation to immigrants in south and central Virginia who cannot afford the services of private attorneys, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable populations. Students will represent juveniles, refugees and other immigrants before the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to help themobtain or maintain legal status in the United States. There is a contemporaneous class component with required attendance. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. Five hours. Baluarte (One semester or full year.) -
LAW 536 - Tax Clinic.
Students will (1) represent low-income taxpayers in resolving their post-filing tax controversies with the IRS; (2) provide outreach to individuals who speak English as a second language on their rights and responsibilities as U.S. taxpayers; and (3) engage in tax and administrative policy advocacy. The classroom component will include instruction in client interviewing skills, tax procedure, and selected tax policy topics of relevance to low-income taxpayers. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical program. Five hours per semester. Ms. Drumbl Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation of Individuals. (One semester or full year.) -
LAW 586 - Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse.
VCCC involves research and writing on issues involving capital punishment in Virginia and assistance to attorneys involved in capital cases. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. This is a two-semester course. Ten hours (five per semester). Bruck Prerequisite: Death Penalty (or may be taken concurrently.)
Externships
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LAW 535 - Criminal Externships.
- Commonwealth Attorneys: Students work with the Commonwealth’s Attorney in a county or city near the Law School to prosecute state criminal offenses. Students must be third year practice certified. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. (Two graded seminar credits and three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).) Five hours. Russell
- United States Attorney: Selected students will work with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Virginia. You will research and prepare motions, briefs, and other court papers, appear in Magistrate’s Court to prosecute misdemeanor cases, and assist in the trial of felony cases. Students must be third year practice certified. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia selects students for this placement, and requires that they also work for the office the summer prior to the externship. (Two graded seminar credits and three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).) Five hours. Russell
LAW 535 - two graded seminar credits.
LAW 535FP - three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass). -
LAW 535FP - Criminal Externships.
- Commonwealth Attorneys: Students work with the Commonwealth’s Attorney in a county or city near the Law School to prosecute state criminal offenses. Students must be third year practice certified. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. (Two graded seminar credits and three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).) Five hours. Russell
- United States Attorney: Selected students will work with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Virginia. You will research and prepare motions, briefs, and other court papers, appear in Magistrate’s Court to prosecute misdemeanor cases, and assist in the trial of felony cases. Students must be third year practice certified. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia selects students for this placement, and requires that they also work for the office the summer prior to the externship. (Two graded seminar credits and three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).) Five hours. Russell
LAW 535 - two graded seminar credits.
LAW 535FP - three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass). -
LAW 533 - Externship Program.
Students may pursue external experiential placements not covered by the other course offerings, including public interest, governmental, private practice or general counsel placements. Students may participate in externships for academic credit after completing two semesters of law school. Students separately apply for the DC and Delaware Programs to pursue external experiential placements. (In the Delaware Program students intern with the Delaware Court of Chancery.)
Students may also pursue a summer program being offered in the Tidewater area of Virginia. The externship runs for 7 weeks in June and July. (Separate application for this program as well.)
There is a contemporaneous class component for all externships with required attendance. Field credits require a minimum of 50 hours work onsite per credit. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in a clinical program. Students will not be allowed to receive academic credit for an externship after having already received credit for an externship, absent a showing of extremely compelling circumstances and subject to the approval of the Director of Externships, in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Placements must be approved by the instructor, must not be compensated, and must be supervised on-site by an attorney. One semester placements only, limited enrollment. Gould
(General Externship - LAW 533 - Two graded seminar credits. LAW 533FP - three concurrent field placements credits (pass/no pass).)
(DC Externship - LAW 533 - Two graded seminar credits. LAW 533FP - ten concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).)
(DE Externship - LAW 533 - Two graded seminar credits. LAW 533FP - ten concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).)
(Tidewater Summer Externship - LAW 533 - One graded seminar credit. LAW 533FP - three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).)
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LAW 533FP - Externship Program.
Students may pursue external experiential placements not covered by the other course offerings, including public interest, governmental, private practice or general counsel placements. Students may participate in externships for academic credit after completing two semesters of law school. Students separately apply for the DC and Delaware Programs to pursue external experiential placements. (In the Delaware Program students intern with the Delaware Court of Chancery.)
Students may also pursue a summer program being offered in the Tidewater area of Virginia. The externship runs for 7 weeks in June and July. (Separate application for this program as well.)
There is a contemporaneous class component for all externships with required attendance. Field credits require a minimum of 50 hours work onsite per credit. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in a clinical program. Students will not be allowed to receive academic credit for an externship after having already received credit for an externship, absent a showing of extremely compelling circumstances and subject to the approval of the Director of Externships, in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Placements must be approved by the instructor, must not be compensated, and must be supervised on-site by an attorney. One semester placements only, limited enrollment. Gould
(General Externship - LAW 533 - Two graded seminar credits. LAW 533FP - three concurrent field placements credits (pass/no pass).)
(DC Externship - LAW 533 - Two graded seminar credits. LAW 533FP - ten concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass).)
(DE Externship - Law 533 - Two graded seminar credits. LAW 533FP - ten concurrent field placements credits (pass/no pass).)
(Tidewater Summer Externship - LAW 533 - One graded seminar credit. LAW 533FP - three concurrent field placement credits (pass/no pass). -
LAW 534 - Judicial Externships.
Students serve as externs for state and federal judges. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. Designated two-semester placements. Carson
LAW 534 - two graded seminar credits each semester.
LAW 534FP - two field placement credits (pass/no pass) each semester. -
LAW 534FP - Judicial Externships.
Students serve as externs for state and federal judges. A student enrolled in this course may not simultaneously participate in another clinical or externship program. Permission of the instructor is required; limited enrollment. Designated two-semester placements. Carson
LAW 534 - two graded seminar credits each semester.
LAW 534FP - two field placement credits (pass/no pass) each semester.
Programs for Academic Credit
Other Activities for Ungraded Credit
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LAW 888 - Summer Internship Program.
Non-graded credit is available to students who work over the summer in an approved, unpaid, full-time internship for a for-profit entity, such as a law firm or corporate counsel’s office, a not-for-profit entity, governmental organization, NGO, trade organization, court or other legal practice setting. An internship term with a term of at least four weeks is eligible for one-half credit; an internship with a term of eight weeks or longer is eligible for one credit. Credit is not available for any internship for which a student received financial support through OCP, PILSA, the Transnational Law Institute, or any other third party source of financial support for unpaid positions. One half to one credit hour per summer, ungraded. (Maximum of two credits.) Faculty
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