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SLO Examples: Overview

Advocacy

Appellate Advocacy for Moot Court (Writing Course)

 

from Larry Cunningham’s Blog, https://lawschoolassessment.org/2016/08/18/syllabus-examples/posted on August 18, 2016

 

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • work effectively in a team; (Because this class is specific for students in our Moot Court Honor Society, I want them to learn how to work together in groups. We talk in class about how to do so.)
  • understand and apply standard of review;
  • understand and comply with rules of procedure for appellate courts and moot court competitions;  (The course focuses on both real world appellate procedure and moot court competitions.)
  • research effectively online and in print publications;
  • organize an appellate brief involving a sophisticated and complex legal or mixed legal/factual issue;
  • compose a brief that is centered around a cohesive and persuasive theme;
  • draft effective point headings;
  • write effective arguments using effective, concise arguments;
  • summarize facts in a persuasive manner;
  • write in a clear, legalese-free, and plain manner; and
  • conduct an oral argument that is persuasive, conversational, and effective.  (This course is ambitious, but students earn 3 credits.)

Bar Prep

Erin Lain – Bar Prep syllabus

Learning Objectives

1. Review content of the 11 topics tested on the uniform bar exam.

2. Identify areas of the law in which you will need to spend additional time learning while preparing for the bar exam.

3. Understand and be able to utilize techniques for answering multiple choice and essay questions.

4. Understand and become familiar with types of question asked on the bar exam

5. Develop a personal strategy for passing the bar exam

C. Reid Flinn, Fall 2016 Legal Fundamentals syllabus, George Mason Law School https://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/academics/schedule/2016/spring/Flinn_178-S.pdf

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Students will understand the format, administration, scoring, and substantive coverage of

the Virginia Bar Examination.

2. Students will learn the most-tested rules of law on the MBE and the Essay Exam.

3. Students will become familiar with MBE and Essay Exam questions and will improve

their ability to reason to a correct answer.

4. Students will learn to manage weekly assignments within a limited time budget.

5. Students will quantify their progress over the semester, both individually and vs. peers.

6. Students will understand how to make optimal use of their time during Bar Exam review.

7. Students will understand how to use their course materials to augment their commercial

Bar review materials.

8. Students will identify specific areas for individual improvement.

 

Clinic

Liebmann, Fall 2016 Youth Advocacy Clinic Syllabus, Hofstra Law School http://law.hofstra.edu/currentstudents/academics/academicresources/readingassignmentsandsyllabi/2016-17/fall/upperdivision/youthadvocacyclinic/liebmann/syllabus.pdf

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Through your participation in the Youth Advocacy Clinic you will be working toward the following Law School Learning Outcomes:

 

You will develop your ability to write analytically and persuasively, and to draft legal documents.

 

You will demonstrate proficiency in the following:

• extracting rules and policy from cases, statutes, and administrative regulations and analyzing, interpreting and arguing differing interpretations of rules and statutes;

• conducting investigation of facts and constructing a coherent narrative based on that investigation;

• identifying legal issues in facts and applying rules and policy to facts;

• weighing evidence to reach factual inferences;

• constructing arguments and identifying flaws in an argument;

• performing comprehensive legal research;

• presenting analysis orally and arguing orally; and,

• using policy to analyze and persuade;

• strategic planning;

• problem solving in light of a client’s objectives;

• counseling clients;

• interviewing;

• using procedural tools such as motions and discovery;

• working collaboratively;

• learning from experience through self-critique;

• managing projects within time and resource limitations;

• presenting orally outside of litigation;

 

You will learn how to:

• present written and oral communications and conduct yourself in professional settings in a

manner that meets the standards of the legal profession;

• conduct yourself in accordance with standards of professional conduct;

• fulfill a lawyer’s commitment to competence, integrity, accountability, and social responsibility;

• apply the principles and policies reflected in the law governing lawyers, including a lawyer’s

duty of loyalty to clients, fiduciary duties, and obligation of zealous representation.

 

Comparative Law

David Oppenheimer, Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law, UC Berkeley Law School https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/46295/files/27679472/download?verifier=6Py2wPQH64o1rpAEo4JkYTJufsST413Ys9M1UtSQ&wrap=1

 

Week 1 -- Introduction -- What is Equality?

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of week 1, students will be able to:

  • Identify several important sources of equality law in the United States and European Union legal systems;
  • Articulate and critique multiple analytical approaches to equality and anti-discrimination issues;
  • Compare U.S. and European legal doctrine on formal and substantive racial equality;
  • Discuss the impact of the Holocaust and slavery on how Europeans and Americans approach issues of formal and substantive equality.

 

Weeks 2 & 3 -- Employment Discrimination

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of week 3, students will be able to:

  • Discuss the kinds of evidentiary proof required for European and U.S. employment discrimination cases;
  • Consider the role of psychology in understanding, and proving, employment discrimination;
  • Consider the role of statistics in understanding, and proving, employment discrimination;
  • Compare, with examples, the criminal and civil (non-criminal) law approaches to employment discrimination.
  • Analyze a basic employment discrimination case under U.S. and European law;
  • Compare the analytic approaches of the U.S. Supreme Court, the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights;
  • Discuss the differences in the U.S. and French approach to sexual harassment in the workplace;
  • Discuss the historical and social reasons why South Africa’s legal approach to discrimination differs from the U.S. or European approach.

 

Weeks 4 & 5 -- Affirmative Action

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of week 5, students will be able to:

  • Compare the justifications for affirmative action under U.S., E.U., Indian, French, Brazilian and South African law;
  • Assess an affirmative action program under governing law;
  • Analyze judicial decisions on affirmative action law;
  • Describe their own analysis of what kinds of affirmative action programs (if any) should be permitted.

 

Week 6 -- Same-Sex Marriage

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of week 6, students will be able to:

  • Compare the development of same-sex marriage in North America with Europe;
  • Analyze the factors that have led courts to rule in favor of, and against, same-sex marriage;
  • Discuss the political and cultural advantages in determining whether to permit same-sex marriage through legislation or litigation;
  • Describe the role of religious belief and institutions in the same-sex marriage debate;
  • Discuss the question of whether same-sex marriage creates a conflict of rights in states recognizing a right to freedom of religion.

 

Weeks 7 & 8 -- Secularism and Freedom of Religion

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of these three classes, students will be able to:

  • Compare the meaning of and approach to secularism in several legal/social systems;
  • Describe the range of approaches to religion in public life adopted by several legal/social systems;
  • Analyze court decisions applying secular principles;
  • Discuss the relationship between secularism and gender equality;
  • Analyze a religious equality – free exercise claim under U.S. law;
  • Compare the U.S. approach with several other legal systems, including those of France, Turkey, and Germany;
  • Discuss opposing views on whether a state may ban the display of religious symbols in public places.

 

Week 8 (second ½) -- Hate Speech

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of week 8, students will be able to:

  • Analyze a hate speech case under U.S. law;
  • Compare the French and German view of hate speech regulation with the U.S. view;
  • Discuss the historical factors that explain the difference in U.S. and European views of hate speech regulation;
  • Debate the merits of regulation of hate speech.

Constitutional Law

Robin Charlow, Fall 2016 Constitutional Law I syllabus, Hofstra Law School http://law.hofstra.edu/currentstudents/academics/academicresources/readingassignmentsandsyllabi/2016-17/fall/upperdivision/constitutionallaw1/charlow/syllabus.pdf

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, students should:

• have acquired a knowledge of the basic rules, doctrines, and policies used by courts to

enforce the federal Constitution in the areas covered;

• have perfected their ability to extract rules and rationales from cases, particularly U.S.

Supreme Court cases;

• understand how to read, analyze, interpret, and argue for different interpretations of the

constitutional provisions studied, and appreciate how courts (especially the U.S. Supreme

Court) do this;

• recognize the roles that various institutions and constituencies play in the understanding

and development of federal constitutional law;

• appreciate how and why our understanding of constitutional principles may seem to

change over time;

• be able to identify legal issues in facts; apply rules, doctrines, and policy to facts; and

weigh evidence to reach factual inferences and conclusions;

• be able to construct legal arguments and identify flaws in an argument;

• be able to present analysis orally and argue orally;

• know how to use policy to analyze and persuade.

Patricia A. Broussard, Fall 2016 Constitutional Law II syllabus, Florida A&M University College of Law http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Con-Law-II-Syllabus-Prof.-Broussard-Fall-2016.pdf

 

By the end of this course students should:

1. Be able to read and brief a US Supreme Court Case.

2. Be able to analyze a Supreme Court case using context rules, history, public policy, and politics.

3. Be conversant, generally, with the US Constitution.

4. Demonstrate knowledge of Equal Protection.

5. Demonstrate knowledge of Due Process.

6. Demonstrate an understanding of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

7. Be able to demonstrate the skills enumerated in the “course description.”

8. Be able to apply rules and concepts to new scenarios.

9. Demonstrate the ability to work in a group.

Contracts

Ronald Colombo, Fall 2016 Contracts I syllabus, Hofstra Law School http://law.hofstra.edu/currentstudents/academics/academicresources/readingassignmentsandsyllabi/2016-17/fall/firstyear/contracts1/colombo/syllabus.pdf

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students should:

• Have acquired a knowledge of the essential elements of contract formation

• Appreciate the challenge of balancing several important and, at times, competing

values within a coherent legal framework

• Know how to extract rules and policy from judicial opinions

• Be able to identify issues and holdings in judicial opinions

• Recognize the various sides of a given legal issue, and effectively articulate the

strengths and weaknesses of each

• Distinguish or harmonize, as appropriate, cases on the basis of law and/or fact

Criminal Law

from Larry Cunningham’s Blog, https://lawschoolassessment.org/2016/08/18/syllabus-examples/posted on August 18, 2016

 

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • understand and apply the theories of punishment;
  • present and summarize cases in an effective and targeted manner;  (This is a particular goal that I work on with students early in the semester. I teach them how to present cases in a manner that cuts to the heart of the issue.)
  • articulate basic principles of substantive criminal law as well as specific offenses and defenses;
  • spot issues and solve complex criminal law problems under New York law, the common law, and the Model Penal Code;
  • craft arguments in support of and in opposition to criminal liability;
  • interview police officers, witnesses, and clients to determine appropriate criminal charges; (Even thought this is a doctrinal course, I include skills exercises through flipped-classroom exercises.) and
  • work with codes (e.g., New York Penal Law) effectively.

Criminal Procedure

Charles Weisselberg, Spring 2015 Criminal Procedure – Investigation, UC Berkeley Law School

https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/46295/files/27679704/download?verifier=L4G0WG0OJMBFf2DVkiUR2zbNrCvjEBS8Jt4Tev5X&wrap=1

 

Learning Objectives

Here are some learning objectives in addition to simply understanding doctrine.

 

By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

  • describe the historical development and current contours of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments;
  • analyze fact patterns with possible Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment issues as judges and lawyers do—chronologically and defendant-by-defendant;
  • on a given fact pattern, identify and explain the constitutional bases for admitting or excluding evidence and statements obtained by the government during a criminal investigation;
  • understand and analyze how constitutional law decisions influence police and affect the individuals and communities whom officers serve;
  • assess the strengths and weaknesses of different mechanisms to regulate police;
  • discuss the function of police and prosecutorial discretion, and any limits to the exercise of that discretion;
  • identify and discuss issues of race, ethnicity, immigration status, youth, and other group characteristics as they relate to constitutional criminal procedure and policing;
  • analyze, from a public policy perspective, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment decisions, and proposed legislation related to the police, prosecution and defense functions;
  • understand and describe the procedural framework for adjudicating Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment issues in the trial courts, as well as on direct appeal and collateral review;
  • understand and analyze the roles of professionals in the criminal justice system, including police, judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel.

from Larry Cunningham’s Blog, https://lawschoolassessment.org/2016/08/18/syllabus-examples/posted on August 18, 2016

 

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • understand the rules that govern arraignment through sentencing in a criminal case
  • appreciate and articulate the rationales governing basic rules of “bail to jail” criminal procedure and the Supreme Court precedents in this area
  • identify the various pitfalls for unwary prosecutors and defense counsel and know how to avoid them
  • argue persuasively at a pretrial release hearing and other proceedings  (I use a class meeting to conduct mock bail hearings.)
  • appreciate the ethical obligations of prosecutors and defense attorneys  (In retrospect, “appreciate” is perhaps not a good word choice. It’s too fuzzy. “Understand” might be better.)

Domestic Violence

Roxann Ryan – Domestic Violence syllabus

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

  • To understand the dynamics of domestic abuse and how it affects clients,

their family and coworkers, and those in the justice system.

  • To identify abusive behavior and its impact on the targets of abuse.
  • To examine how the justice system responds to both abusers and the

targets of abuse.

  • To foster sensitivity to issues of domestic abuse, including the impact of

race, ethnicity, citizenship status, and gender.

  • To apply theory and research to the zealous representation of clients and

the improvement of the justice system.

Evidence

Steven Friedland, Fall 2008 Evidence syllabus, Elon University School of Law http://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/law/cell/evidence-friedland-f2008.docx

 

COURSE GOALS and LEARNING OUTCOMES

A.            GOALS

1.            To understand and apply the rules of evidence.

2.            To learn associated trial and lawyering skills.

3.            To develop an ethical approach to lawyering.

4.            To have fun.

 

B.  LEARNING OUTCOMES

1.            To develop a deep understanding of the individual Federal Rules of Evidence

2.            To be able to synthesize the rules and use them in the context of a trial or other proceeding.

3.            To be able to apply the rules of evidence to a wide variety of fact situations.

4.            To use the Protocols:  (1) Rule/Meaning, Exception/Meaning; and (2)

                Rule/Application

5.            To develop competent advocacy skills relating to evidence issues.

 

Externships

William A. Schroeder, Fall 2012 Semester in Practice: Criminal Practice syllabus, Southern Illinois University School of Law http://www.law.siu.edu/%20common/documents/courses/fa12-syllabi/semester-criminal.pdf

 

Course Objectives: During this class, students will:

1. Improve lawyering skills, including writing, research and legal analysis.

2. Demonstrate professional behavior and general job-related skills, including job knowledge, organization, interpersonal skills, and courtroom skills and etiquette.

3. Reflect on the values and obligations of the legal profession as they apply to the court, to one’s

clients and to the public.

4. Learn how the criminal justice system operates and, more specifically, how courts deal with

criminal cases.

5. Observe and reflect upon the work of judges and attorneys practicing before the court.

Family Law

Rhoda Pierre Cato, Fall 2016 Family Law syllabus, Florida A & M University College of Law   http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Family-Law-Syllabus-Fall-2016-R.-Cato.pdf

 

Upon completing the course you will be able to address and answer complex issues and important questions such as:

· What is a “family”? This theme will recur throughout this course as we examine how the definition of “family” varies according to the context, reflecting society’s values and policy goals.

· How does and how should family law address nontraditional families?

· What is the appropriate balance between family autonomy and state regulation?

· How do race, gender, and class affect family law?

· How does family law address questions of religious freedom?

 

Additionally, you will acquire the following practical skills for family law practice:

· Analytical skills

· Ability to interview and advise a client on a family law matter

· Ability to determine whether to seek temporary relief.

· Prepare marriage dissolution documents.

· Observe a family law proceeding.

· Observe a juvenile dependency hearing.

· Collaborate with peers on case strategy.

· Prepare and present a professional demonstration on a family law matter.

Food Law

Baylen J. Linnekin, Fall 2016 Food Law & Policy Seminar, George Mason Law School http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/academics/schedule/2016/fall/Linnekin%20481-S.pdf

 

Class Learning Objectives

•Understand the past, present, and future of the field of Food Law & Policy

•Comprehend both the interplay and independence of federal, state, and local food laws and

policies

•Develop and display critical thinking skills pertaining to the field

• Participate in thoughtful discussions about a variety of important issues in the field

•Use evidence from the field (and, where appropriate, from other fields and disciplines) to develop

arguments and counterarguments

•Research, organize, and write an article (“Final Research Paper”) of publishable quality

 

Health Law

Denise Hill – Health Law Ethics syllabus

 

At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Analyze the impact of key legal constitutional principles, statues, case law, and regulations on health care scenarios;

2. Utilize professional codes of ethics and analyze health care ethical dilemmas by applying a principle-based ethical framework to recommend a decision;

4. Recognize the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on patient access and decision-making;

5. Assess whether there is a legal or ethical duty to provide treatment to a person in a given situation;

6. Explain the process of establishing and limiting the scope of a patient relationship;

7. Identify primary legal and ethical duties in the patient / provider relationship and ethical obligations to provide informed consent and honor refusal of care in specific situations;

8. Recognize and respond to medical records concerns and privacy issues that arise when delivering patient-care;

9. Describe the primary legal and ethical duties providers have to follow the standard of care and related liability for negligence;

10. Apply the lessons learned about human reproduction from identified laws and court cases to current events;

11. Describe the role of advanced directives and the primary legal and ethical duties of providers to honor them;

12. Analyze the impact of historical events and human subject protections on contemporary health care policy and practice;

13. Develop recommendations to address complex legal and ethical issues in a given scenario; and

14. Assess team members' participation in a learning community

Barbara Colombo and Sheri Beck, Summer 2016 HIPAA Privacy & Security syllabus, Mitchell-Hamline School of Law http://mitchellhamline.edu/health-law-institute/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/10/HIPAA-Syllabus-Summer-2016.pdf

 

Session One: Introduction to HIPAA & Key Terms

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Describe the purpose and underlying philosophy of HIPAA;

2. Recognize the basic HIPAA rule and key terms; and

3. Identify and explain who is required to protect Protected Health Information (PHI)

under HIPAA.

 

Session Two: Authorization and Exceptions

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Identify the elements of a HIPAA authorization form;

2. Describe when authorization is not required; and

3. Describe special applications relating to uses and disclosures.

 

Session Three: Individual Rights

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Describe how HIPAA protects individual privacy rights; and

2. Apply the HIPAA requirements related to a notice of privacy practices through review and analysis of a notice of privacy practices.

 

Session Four: Preemption Analysis

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Explain the general rule of federal preemption analysis under HIPAA, and determine the types of exceptions that allow states to craft more stringent privacy laws in the health care setting; and

2. Describe specific examples of state laws that fall within the preemption exceptions due to the laws being more protective of health information than HIPAA.

 

Session Five: HIPAA Security Rule and Compliance

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Differentiate between the purposes of the security rule and the privacy rule;

2. Describe and provide examples of the security rule safeguards and summarize how to conduct a security assessment;

3. Understand how privacy relates to compliance activities for Covered Entities and Business Associates; and

4. Understand the basics of a compliance program, including the 7 elements of an effective compliance program.

 

Session Six: HIPAA Security Rule and Mobile Device Challenges

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Identify the general HIPAA security standards and implementation specifications applicable to Covered Entities and their Business Associates; and

2. Recognize how the HIPAA standards and implementation specifications meet the challenges posed by the pervasive use of mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets and smart phones.

 

Session Seven: Privacy Breaches

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Describe key terms, including unsecured protected health information and breach;

2. Explain the risk assessment process used for determining whether a breach has occurred; and

3. Differentiate breach notification under HIPAA and state law.

 

Session Eight: HIPAA Enforcement

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Describe how HIPAA is enforced through state activity, the Office of Civil Rights, and civil and criminal penalties;

2. Recognize 21st Century innovations and, therefore, challenges related to enforcement; and

3. Relate the incentive program used to increase the use of electronic health records, and identify unintended consequences of the program.

 

Session Nine: How to Respond to a Data Breach

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this session, the student will have gained insight into:

1. Setting-up a proper response plan and team to address a data breach in the healthcare sector;

2. Detecting and containing a breach when it occurs;

3. Managing communications effectively during a breach; and

4. Using lessons learned from a breach in order to improve data security and privacy.

 

Session Ten: HIPAA – Security of Electronic Information and Cybercrime

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this session, the student should be able to:

1. Identify security threats due to the use of electronic devices;

2. Recognize the general types of information that can be recovered from deleted information and how to avoid a security threat when discarding used electronic devices; and

3. Review ethical considerations related to non-traditional evidence sources of information.

 

Katie Keith & Jennifer Mishory, Spring 2016 Affordable Care Act: Law and Policy Governing Private Health Insurance syllabus, Georgetown Law School https://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/graduate-programs/current-students/upload/The-Affordable-Care-Act-Law-and-Policy-Governing-Private-Health-Insurance-Keith-Mishory.pdf

 

Course Learning Objectives: The primary objective of the course is to teach students about the regulation of private health insurance at the federal and state level, with the rare opportunity to witness real-time changes to this complex system as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Through this course, students will gain practical experience in identifying and analyzing federal and state laws, regulations, and administrative materials. Students will also gain a broader understanding of the concept of regulatory advocacy, its significance in administrative law, and how it affects Affordable Care Act implementation as well as improve critical thinking and analytic skills by identifying regulatory challenges in the Affordable Care Act and its implementing regulations. By the end of the course, students will be able to describe how private health insurance is regulated at the federal and state level, the major reforms ushered in by the Affordable Care Act, federal and state progress in Affordable Care Act implementation, and areas where future reforms may be necessary.

Jamie Olson and Thaddeus Pope, Summer 2016 Medical Marijuana Law syllabus, Mitchell-Hamline School of Law http://mitchellhamline.edu/health-law-institute/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/10/Olson-Pope-MMJ-Syllabus.pdf

 

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will have:

A. A basic systematic understanding of:

1. How and when a state law is preempted by a federal law

2. How preemption jurisprudence may be applied to medical marijuana laws

3. How common legal issues are further complicated when applied to

medical marijuana patients, manufacturers, and health care providers

4. Public policy behind medical marijuana laws and the legal and policy

differences between the varying models applied by states

B. Further honed legal analysis and writing abilities, through:

1. Exposure to and critique of legal arguments in judicial opinions,

legislative reports, and scholarly writing

2. Participation in discussion boards

3. Completion of, and feedback on, weekly problems

4. Completion of, and feedback on, a written final examination

C. Integration of material learned in other classes, such as: constitutional law, tax,

criminal law, and employment law.

Intellectual Property

Shontavia Johnson – Intellectual Property syllabus

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

I. Affective Goal

a. The professor and student will have an enjoyable and challenging learning

experience.

II. Values

a. Students will:

i. Demonstrate respect for students, faculty and staff;

ii. Develop an attitude of cooperation with students, faculty, clients,

attorneys and judges;

iii. Understand the multiple roles of an intellectual property attorney; and

iv. Demonstrate honesty, reliability, responsibility, judgment, self-motivation,

hard work, and critical self-reflection.

III. Skills

a. Given a set of facts either: (1) about one party’s quest for intellectual property

protection or (2) between two or more parties relating to an intellectual

property dispute:

i. Be able to identify the intellectual property issues raised by the client

and facts;

ii. Be able to explain why something is or is not entitled to protection;

iii. Be able to develop the arguments reasonable attorneys would make

with respect to the dispute;

iv. Be able to predict how a judicial body or agency would evaluate those

applications or arguments;

v. Be able to draft correspondence to legal clients; and

vi. Gain experience reading and reviewing legal documents.

b. Be able to effectively self-regulate your learning in the course.

IV. Content Goals

a. Students will know, with a high degree of accuracy, the rules that govern:

i. Copyrights;

ii. Trademarks;

iii. Patents;

iv. Trade Secrets (if time permits); and

v. Rights of Publicity (if time permits).

Law & Religion

Nise Guzman Nekheba, Fall 2016 Advanced Topics in Law & Religion syllabus, Florida A&M University College of Law http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Law-and-Religion-Syllabus-2016%20Nekheba.pdf

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

* To gain a firm understanding of the nexus between law and religion in the United States.

* To understand the role of the Supreme Court, Congress, state counterparts, religious

institutions, interest groups and individuals in the development of the jurisprudence of law and

religion.

* To grapple with the meaning of religious freedom in the context of neo-patriotism, and

pluralism.

 

Upon completing this course, students will be able to address and answer complex issues and

important questions such as:

• What is the legal and social history of the term "religion"

• How have courts defined religious conduct?

• How did religion impact our legal history?

• What is legal positivism within the context of law and religion?

• What are the leading 19th, 20th and 21st century cases and laws that impacted the construction

of the free exercise of religion?

• What are the leading 19th, 20th and 21st century cases and laws that impacted the construction

of a state's entanglement with religion?

• How did these laws impact U.S. notions for democracy, pluralism and diversity?

• How did these laws impact popular, social and political notions of religion?

• Did September 11th change the traditional, constitutional construction of the Free Exercise and

Establishment Clauses?

• How might we legally contextualize and interpret current political rhetoric and proposals to

ban Muslims from migrating here?

• How can we interpret proposed religious freedom statutes regarding employing gays?

 

SKILLS OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this course, students will acquire the following practical skills:

·Ability to legally analyze a cause of action pertinent to religion and law.

·Ability to interview a client on a religion and law matter.

·Ability to prioritize issues in a religion and law matter.

·Ability to determine whether to seek relief.

·Ability to collaborate with peers on case strategy.

·Ability to prepare and present a professional presentation on a religion and the law matter.

Legal Research

Karen Wallace and Rebecca Lutkenhaus – Advanced Legal Research: Iowa Law syllabus

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND EXAMPLES OF LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students will create and implement effective, efficient research strategies.

Students will:

  • understand the precise information need and how the information will be used and will satisfy all research parameters
  • analyze research problems to determine the relevant jurisdiction and authorities and to identify key facts and issues
  • recognize when a legal issue may involve laws enacted by local governments
  • pose questions to resolve ambiguities after initial analysis of research assignments
  • draft research plans exercising professional judgment in choosing the sources and formats that best serve the research parameters
  • document sources used and provide complete citations for relevant legal authorities

 

Students will effectively use information and sources.

Students will:

  • understand how the use and importance of secondary sources varies depending upon the legal issue being researched and the researcher’s pre-existing knowledge of the area of law
  • critically evaluate information sources and research strategies
  • determine the authenticity and currency of information sources
  • describe and assess the search options and/or finding aids available for information sources in various formats
  • thoroughly document their search strategies to demonstrate search proficiency
  • review preliminary search results and narrow or broaden searches accordingly
  • apply skills learned from familiar sources to master new information sources

 

Students will apply information effectively to resolve a specific issue or need.

Students will:

  • recognize when their research is sufficient to explain and support their conclusions
  • ensure the results of their research satisfy the information need
  • use citators and other updating tools as appropriate
  • recognize factual gaps in their knowledge and explain why the knowledge is required to assess how legal authorities will apply to a hypothetical research problem
  • review the information obtained to determine whether related legal issues should be explored
  • synthesize information from binding authority and apply it to their client’s situation
  • use the results of their research to formulate their legal analysis and to prepare a professional work product suitable to the situation

Legal Writing

Minimum Competencies for Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy (Weresh)

By the end of the first year course in legal analysis, research, writing, and appellate advocacy, students will do the following:

Learning Outcomes

Performance Criteria

Assessment Tools

LO 1:  Identify and apply concepts relating to the legal system of the United States

 

PC 1-1:Students will recognize and apply basic concepts of federalism and the three branches of government.

 

PC 1-2:Students will recognize, differentiate between, and apply concepts related to sources of law, and explain and/or apply how each is applied and enforced, and how they relate to one another.

 

PC 1-3:Students will identify and apply concepts related to the basic structure and function of the American court system.

 

PC 1-4:Students will recognize and apply basic concepts regarding jurisdiction, hierarchy, and weight of authority.

 

Clickers quiz; In-Class exercises; Writing assignments: Objective memos, Appellate Brief

 

LO 2:  Analyze facts, issues, and legal authorities

PC 2-1: Students will appreciate the importance of, and obligation to, gather facts relevant to key legal issues and will employ strategies to gather such facts.

 

PC 2-2:Students will synthesize authorities into legal principles with elements, factors, or conditions, as appropriate.

 

PC 2-3:Students will strategize legal analysis by taking into account the hierarchy and relative weight of authority as appropriate for the jurisdiction and the client’s particular issue.

 

PC 2-4:Students will apply synthesized legal principles to the client’s factual scenario, analogizing and distinguishing legal sources to the client’s facts, as appropriate.

 

PC 2-5:Students will identify, discriminate between, and select appropriate and conventional frameworks for legal analysis, including text-based, analogical, narrative, and policy-based reasoning.

 

PC 2-6:Students will recognize the range of possible outcomes/solutions for client problems, including reasonable arguments and counterarguments, and will produce reasonable predictions as to the resolution of a client matter, including available alternative courses of action.

 

 

Student conferences; Skills exercises; Clickers quiz; In-Class exercises; Writing assignments: Objective memos, E-mail assignment, Appellate Brief, Client letter, Petition, Answer; Class Participation

LO 3:  Conduct legal research efficiently in print and electronic sources

PC 3-1:Students will be able to locate, discriminate between, and use basic sources of legal authority, including primary and secondary authority, to select legally relevant and factually relevant sources for a particular issue.

 

PC 3-2:Students will employ and document effective and efficient research strategies, including the production of research plans and research trails.

 

PC 3-3:Students will recognize the obligation, and employ appropriate strategies, to update and validate sources.

 

PC 3-4:Students will determine when research has been exhaustive in the jurisdiction, and when it has been exhaustive beyond the jurisdiction, given the time and financial limitations of law practice.

 

Student conferences; Research exercises; Writing assignments: Objective memos, Appellate Brief, Client letter, Petition, Answer, Drafting Assignment; Research log; Honigsburg grid; Slocum grid

LO 4:  Recognize and identify the purpose and form of legal citation and be able to cite in accordance with at least one established, authoritative citation manual.

PC 4-1:Students will cite to every legal proposition.

 

PC 4-2:Students will employ accurate citation format.

 

PC 4-3:Students will accurately use signals.

 

PC 4-4:Students will accurately use explanatory parantheticals.

 

PC 4-5:Students will accurately format quotations.

 

PC 4-6:Students will accurately use citation formats for embedded sources.

 

Student conferences; Writing assignments: Objective memos, Appellate Brief; Attribution Exercise; Citation exercises

LO 5:  Communicate effectively in writing

PC 5-1:Students will identify and distinguish between conventional legal documents, including the purpose of a particular document and how the purpose affects content and approach, and be able to craft those documents according to their conventional frameworks.

 

PC 5-2:Students will employ appropriate large-scale organization.

 

PC 5-3:Students will employ appropriate small-scale organization.

 

PC 5-4:Students will accurately and effectively communicate legal argument, including analysis and counteranalysis.

 

PC 5-5: Students will use topic and thesis sentences and appropriate transitions to create coherence.

 

PC 5-6:Students will craft legal documents that are clear and concise and that employ appropriate tone and purpose.

 

PC 5-7: {} Students will write a legal memorandum that accomplishes the following:

  1. Articulates a thorough and complete question presented that identifies the relevant source of law, legal question, and legally significant facts;
  2. Predicts a result for the client;
  3. Organizes the discussion section around a synthesized rule of law;
  4. Employs a deductive framework for large and small-scale organization (overview and thesis paragraphs);
  5. Explains the law within each analytical element with appropriate detail from the relevant authorities (RE paragraphs);
  6. Applies the law clearly and thoroughly, referencing the relevant authority and its relationship to relevant client facts and illustrating analysis and counteranalysis.

Student conferences; Skills exercises; Writing assignments: Objective memos, Appellate Brief, Client letter, Petition, Answer, Drafting Assignment; Honigsburg grid; Slocum grid; Grammar diagnostic; CALI exercises

LO 6:Communicate effectively orally

PC 6-1:Students will observe law school and court rules, procedures, conventions, and etiquette.

 

PC 6-2:Students will speak in a clear, concise, well-organized, and professional manner that is appropriate to the audience and circumstances.

 

Student conferences; Class Participation; Oral Argument

LO 7:  Recognize, identify, and address issues of ethics and professionalism.

PC 7-1:Students will recognize and apply basic concepts of ethics, professionalism, and civility as they relate to legal writing and integrate professional knowledge, skills, and ethics into judgment.

 

PC 7-2:Students will recognize and address limits on expertise with respect to legal analysis, research, and conventional forms of lawyering communication.

 

PC 7-3:Students will recognize and apply the obligation of candor, including the obligation to advance meritorious claims and to present adverse authority, and the prohibition on presenting false information.

 

PC 7-4:Students will recognize and apply the ethical and professional obligations associated with conventions of attribution.

 

PC 7-5:Students will recognize and apply the principle of allocation of authority between lawyer and client with respect to representation and how that allocation.

 

Student conferences; Ethics exercises, Plagiarism exercise, Writing assignments: Objective memos, E-mail assignment, Appellate Brief, Client letter, Petition, Answer (absence of plagiarism and proper attribution, tone, candor, truthfulness), Clickers Quizzes, Oral Argument, Peer Editing, Class Participation

LO 8:  Recognize and employ functional and effective strategies for law practice management.

PC 8-1:Students will identify and follow work priorities and scheduling systems related to time and resources in order to achieve objectives.

 

PC 8-2:Students will memorialize events and communications.

 

PC 8-3:Students will record work and bill time effectively and ethically.

 

PC 8-4:Students will collaborate by working with others to share responsibility and credit.

 

Meeting deadlines for assignments, Scheduling and Attending Conferences, Research Logs, Time Sheets for Writing Assignments, Peer Editing

 

 

from Larry Cunningham’s Blog, https://lawschoolassessment.org/2016/08/18/syllabus-examples/posted on August 18, 2016

 

By the end of this semester, you should be able to:

  • research in secondary authorities, statutes, cases, administrative materials, and legislative history, in both state and federal systems;
  • conduct research in both print and electronic form;
  • articulate the structural and rhetorical differences between objective and persuasive writing;
  • craft legal arguments using a variety of persuasive devices;
  • cite authorities in Bluebook form;
  • write each of the components of an appellate brief;
  • present oral argument to a court; and
  • continue to spot and analyze basic issues of professional responsibility.

Mediation

John Paul Jones, Fall 2016 Mediation syllabus, Florida A&M University College of Law

http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mediation-Syllabus-Fall-2016-JP-Jones.pdf

 

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the sources of conflict and the fuel that keeps it going.

2. Understand the range of ADR processes for resolving conflict and how mediation fits among the various processes.

3. Understand the various models of mediation and of facilitative mediation in particular.

4. Understand the principles of interest-based bargaining and the win-win approach to the resolution of conflict.

5. Understand the role of the mediator in the mediation process.

6. Understand the roles of the parties in the mediation process.

7. Understand the role of the attorney in the mediation process and the differences between the attorney’s role in mediation and the litigation process.

8. Understand the critical importance of confidentiality as it relates to mediation.

9. Understand the basic provisions of court-connected mediation in Florida and of the rules governing such mediation.

10. Understand the importance of clear and effective communication in the mediation process.

11. Understand the importance of the skill of listening in the mediation process and in particular the importance of non-judgmental listening.

12. Develop improved skills in listening and communicating.

13. Acquire the skills necessary to conduct mediation in conformance with the facilitative model of mediation.

14. Understand the necessity of mediator impartiality in the mediation process.

Property

Asmara M. Tekle, 2016-2017 Property I & II syllabus, Texas Southern University School of Law http://www.tsulaw.edu/faculty/docs/SYLLABUSPROPERTYweb2016-17.pdf

 

OBJECTIVES:

1. To acquire a proficient understanding of general property law in preparation for the

multi-state bar exam and legal practice.

2. To reinforce some of the legal writing skills introduced and acquired in Lawyering

Process, including distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant facts, organizing

writing in IRAC format, and articulating legal issues. Fifty percent of the Texas bar

exam is writing, and much of legal practice involves legal writing.

3. To hone reading and analysis of judicial opinions, the foundation of the common law.

4. To practice and develop professional skills such as being on time, engaging in active

listening and public speaking, being prepared, and being ethical.

5. To experience and simulate as much as possible key aspects of real property law

practice, including adverse possession, concurrent ownership, leaseholds, real

property sales, nuisance law, and servitudes.

Nise Guzman Nekheba, Fall 2016 Property I syllabus, Florida A&M University College of Law http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Prop1Syllabus%20Nekheba.pdf

 

Course Objectives

By the end of the semester, students will be able to analyze specific facts and apply relevant laws

to the following areas of property law: licenses; conflicting claims regarding personal property

(finders and the law of capture); trespass; public access; possession; adverse possession; private

nuisance; zoning; easements; and covenants.

 

Upon completing Property I, students will be able to address and answer complex issues and

important questions such as:

• What is real property?

• When can a property owner exclude someone from her property?

• When does a property owner not have the right to exclude someone from his property?

• How can a squatter legally own the property they are possessing?

• What is actual possession?

• What is civil trespass?

• What rights does the finder of personal property have?

• What is an easement?

• What competing claims might exist regarding an easement?

• What is a covenant, and how might it impact the use of a property?

• What is required to successfully prove the existence of an implied easement?

• Can an easement terminate? How?

• What is a public accommodation?

• What are the property rights of a new homeowner whose home is by a lake?

• What is required for a successful private nuisance claim?

 

Skills Objectives

Upon completing this yearlong course, students will acquire the following practical skills for

property law practice:

·Ability to analyze a property law matter.

·Ability to interview a client on a property law matter.

·Ability to prioritize issues in a property law matter.

·Ability to determine whether to seek temporary relief.

·Ability to collaborate with peers on case strategy.

·Ability to prepare and present a professional demonstration on a property law matter.

Sales

Rhoda Pierre Cato, Spring 2016 Sales syllabus, Florida A & M University College of Law  http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sales-Syllabus-Fall-2016-R.-Cato.pdf

 

Upon completing the course you will be able to:

· Recognize the differences and similarities among the UCC, common-law contracts, and the CISG.

 · Understand the special obligations merchants have under the UCC.

 · Recognize that the UCC is the “default position”—that parties are generally free to include whatever terms they choose in their contract.

 · Be aware of the scope and limitations of the UCC.

· Understand that the law of sales not only incorporates many aspects of common-law contract but also addresses some distinct issues that do not occur in contracts for the sale of real estate or services.

· Identify similarities and differences in obligations imposed on parties under the UCC and the common law.

· Article 2 governs the sale of goods only, defined as things movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale.

· Article 2 governs the sale of goods only, defined as things movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale.

 

Additionally, you will acquire the following practical skills for Uniform Commercial Code Sales law practice:

· Analytical skills

· Ability to interview and advise a client on a sales matter.

· Ability to identify a sale of goods.

· Be able to collaborate with peers on case strategy.

 · Be able to distinguish a merchant from a seller.

 · Distinguish a lease from a sales agreement.

 · Explain how courts deal with hybrid situations: mixtures of the sale of goods and of real estate, mixtures of goods and services.

Torts

Deleso A. Alford, Fall 2016 Torts I syllabus, Florida A&M University College of Law  http://law.famu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Torts-I-Syllabus-Fall-2016-D.-Alford.pdf

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, you should:

1. Be able to issue spot and articulate key tort issues based on recognition of key facts and

applicable rules, policies and rationales;

2. Develop and construct arguments and opinions based on tort rules of law and principles;

3. Demonstrate an ability to reason by analogy, arrive at rational conclusions based on

applicable legal principles, examine alternative solutions critically and recognize any pertinent non-legal and/or policy concerns;

4. Synthesize individual tort case holding to conceptualize broader legal principles.

5. Be able to critically examine how cultural competency acknowledges notions of gender, race, ethnicity, class and its influence on legal rulemaking in the area of Torts.

 

Wills, Trusts and Estates

Gans, Fall 2016 Wills, Trusts and Estates Syllabus, Hofstra Law School (http://law.hofstra.edu/currentstudents/academics/academicresources/readingassignmentsandsyllabi/2016-17/fall/upperdivision/willstrustsandestates/gans/syllabus.pdf

 

Learning outcomes:

  • Students should obtain an understanding of the principal theme driving the law of wealth

transfers

  • Students should obtain an understanding of how this theme influences the outcome of

wealth-transfer cases

  • Students should obtain an understanding of default rules in the wealth-transfer context

and how lawyers who practice in this area need to take these default rules into account in

consulting with clients and in the drafting of documents

  • Students should obtain a general sense of how lawyers who practice in this area engage

with their clients in attempting to help the clients fulfill their objectives

  • Students should obtain a sense of strategic planning so that they will be able to assist

clients in developing a plan to accomplish their wealth-transfer goals

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