LAW 375P - Local Government Law Practicum.

This practicum simulates the experience of serving as an Assistant City Attorney in the City Attorney’s Office of a significant Virginia municipality. The course will be organized in modules, with each module focused on legal issues that might commonly be encountered in this type of practice. Topics addressed in the course may include: (i) professional responsibility; (ii) Freedom of Information Act requests; (iii) public procurement and construction (as would occur when the city undertakes a major new project, such as an airport runway or landfill); (iv) sovereign immunity (in connection with a civil lawsuit against the city); (v) land use (as might arise, for example, in connection with locating a big box retailer in the city; (vi) Conflict of Interests Act issues; (vii) personnel matters; and, (viii) other topics, depending on time and class interest. Students may interact with simulated clients (members of the City Council, for example), citizens, and other lawyers, both in person and in writing. One or more projects will be performed in teams. Four hours. Williams