Summer Programs for Law Students

Please note: This course meets from May 24 - June 16, 2021.

Learn more about speech, the art of debate, and oral advocacy by experiencing it through interactive exercises with law students and undergraduates. Professors of law and communication will collaborate to give you individualized feedback on your coursework and performance during trial and moot court arguments.

This course offers an overview of the historical, legal, and policy framework for food and agriculture in the United States. Agricultural and food laws and regulations play a vital role in determining both the health outcomes for our nation and the level of environmental impact to shared natural resources such as air, water, soil, and biodiversity. The course discusses federal environmental statutes in the context of food and agricultural production, and provides an introduction to the U.S. Farm Bill, pesticides, farmed animal welfare, genetically modified foods, food access, food safety, and labeling schemes.

A very practical and problem-based approach to the study of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which applies to sales or transactions in goods, and related topics. Primarily, the focus is commercial, B-2-B and B-2-C sales. The emphasis is complex transactional issues that are not covered in contracts courses and, importantly, the growing relevance of tort law in supplementing and displacing sales law.

An examination of the role of the Congress and the Supreme Court in the American legal system with emphasis on the powers of Congress, especially over commerce; judicial review, justiciability; separation of powers; executive authority; limitations on state power under preemption, the dormant commerce clause, and the interstate privileges or immunities clause; and procedural due process as a limit on government power. Students also study types of constitutional arguments and analysis. The 3 credit section of this course is designed both for students who wish to pursue Constitutional Law in more depth and for students who may have struggled in Con Law I and feel they could benefit from additional exposure to this material. Coverage will track the subject matter of Law 209, but the additional classes will allow the class to enjoy in depth analysis of constitutional arguments and analysis. Time will also be spent reviewing major themes of Con Law I and linking the Court's approaches there to the Court's approaches to the topics covered in Con Law II.

A study of Articles 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which applies to transactions in which a debtor gives any creditor a consensual lien on any or all personal property of the debtor to secure the debtor’s obligation to the creditor. Primarily, the course explores typical, commercial debt financing, which is common to every business, large and small. Almost every business is financed by a bank or other commercial lender, and the debtor’s property—inventory, equipment, receivables, IP—is the lender’s collateral. And, when a consumer finances the purchase of goods—including cars, boats, mobile homes—the seller or a bank acquires a lien to secure the price. Article 9 equally applies to such consumer transactions. The approach is practical and largely problem-based.

Prepare yourself to transition from student to lawyer with a course that develops your knowledge, skills, and expectations of work as a new associate. The class will include new and mid-level associates as guest lecturers to share their experiences. The goal of the course is to give you the tools you need to excel as a new legal professional.