LAW 375P - Local Government Law Practicum.

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. Williams