Course Descriptions

This is a 1-4 credit clinical experience will be open to students who have previously enrolled in the 4 credit Civil Rights Appellate Clinic and will build upon the skills that they learned in their earlier experience in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic. 

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course examines the constitutional, statutory and rule-based issues that arise in the formal processing of a criminal case. Subjects include the decision to charge, prosecutorial discretion, grand jury and preliminary hearing, joinder and severance, bail and pretrial release, discovery, plea bargaining and guilty pleas, speedy trial, jury composition and selection, pre-trial publicity, confrontation, cross-examination and the privilege against self-incrimination.

This 2-3 credit clinical experience will be open to students who have previously enrolled in the 5-credit Family Law Clinic Course and will build upon the skills they have learned. The course will involve a senior role in pending clinic cases; leadership in clinic initiatives such as community legal workshops; and further development of close client relationships and casework developed in the student's previous semester. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

The Advanced Intellectual Property Clinic provides students who have already taken at least one semester of the Intellectual Property Clinic an opportunity to gain advanced practice-ready skills in intellectual property law. Under the clinic director, students will provide legal services to the clinic's start-up clients in much the same manner as practicing IP lawyers.

Students in the clinic will engage in client counseling regarding patents and trademarks and other intellectual property.  Projects may include: preparing and prosecuting US patent applications before the US Patent and Trademark office, performing patentability searches, developing a patent portfolio strategies for early-stage companies, performing diligence (i.e. freedom to operate studies and/or patent landscape analysis), and registering US Trademarks.  Students will adhere to standard patent law office practices such as conflict checks, maintenance of strict confidentiality, docketing, and time-recordation. Students will learn and conform to the professional responsibilities of lawyers engaged in IP transactional practice as well as the Rules of Ethics of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The clinic will meet as a weekly class to discuss current client cases, intellectual property law in practice, ethics, and special projects. In addition, students will inter face with clients in-person, via telephone, and via email to discuss client intake, IP evaluation, and counseling. Students will also meet individually, as necessary, with the clinic director regarding the representation of particular clients and special projects.

Visit the Intellectual Property Clinic site for more information.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course focuses on torts not involving physical injury, such as misrepresentation, defamation, invasion of privacy, interference with business relations, and misuse of legal procedure. These subjects are not ordinarily covered in the four-hour Torts course required in the first year, but have become burgeoning areas of potential liability due to the emergence of electronic communications. An effort will be made to integrate substantive doctrine and practice implications with legal, economic, political and social theory.

This course will introduce students to the range of current and emerging issues that confront agricultural producers, agri-business firms, and other segments of that broader sector of the economy referred to as the "food industry." The course will address a variety of issues including the history and objectives of agricultural policy, land use planning for agricultural activities, resource use and allocation, industrialization in the agricultural sector, intergenerational transfers of farm businesses, international trade, and ethical issues that confront practitioners.

This course is principally an examination of antitrust law and policy in the U.S. as evolved through prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. There is brief coverage of: (a) European Union and Canadian competition laws plus evolving proposals for supranational norms; and (b) leading market regulatory schemes such as those affecting marketing of foods, drugs, textiles, toxic substances, securities, and consumer products. In the antitrust area, commercial conduct alleged to violate price fixing, market allocation, tying, exclusive dealing, asset acquisition, and price discrimination norms are considered at length with some attention to state antitrust law.

Applied Legal Analysis & Writing I introduces first year law students to analyzing and writing about clients’ legal issues.  Throughout the semester, students will represent fictional clients.  To assist those clients, students must learn to conduct accurate and in-depth legal analysis to help the clients with particular legal issues, and students must learn to communicate that in-depth legal analysis in both written and oral communications.  In Applied Legal Analysis & Writing I, the focus of the semester is on objective analysis, fact-finding, and writing. Students will learn to draft formal and informal office memoranda, which are fundamental tools for communicating objective analysis.  Students receive significant individual feedback on writing assignments.

This clinic is designed to acquaint students with the unique yet pragmatic knowledge and skills incident to rendering quality legal service in the art, sports, and entertainment professions. The clinic may be taken for 1 or 2 graded credits. Visit the Art, Sports and Entertainment Law Clinic for more information. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

The rights, duties, and remedies of both debtor and creditor are examined. The course covers the collection process, enforcement of money judgments, and insolvency proceedings. Federal bankruptcy law is emphasized.

This course surveys the law of bioethics.  Most of the course will focus on the law of decision making in healthcare or medical settings.  We will begin by examining the treatment relationship between patients and their healthcare providers, focusing on the fiduciary nature of the relationship and the doctrine of informed consent.  Informed consent is also the foundation of human subjects research regulation, which is the next topic in the course.  We will then explore the law of organ transplantation before moving into special types of healthcare decision making-reproductive and end-of-life decision making.  We conclude the survey with the law of public health. 

This course first focuses on various topics that are important in M&A transactions involving both closely-held and publicly-held corporations, including directors duties, shareholder voting and dissenters' rights, basic issues under the Federal securities laws, fundamentals of Federal income taxation and accounting, use of modern valuation techniques, including DCF and CAPM, in M&A, and basic issues in antitrust and pre-merger notification. The course then turns to an analysis of various forms of negotiated acquisition, including acquisitions of stock and assets of closely-held corporations and acquisitions of publicly-held corporations in negotiated transactions. The course is based on the first half of Thompson, Business Planning for Mergers and Acquisitions: Corporate, Securities, Tax, Antitrust, International, and Related Aspects (2008).

This course examines the legal position of the child in society and the extent to which the child may be legally controlled by parent(s) or state. Subject matters include the right of the child to control reproductive decision-making, child support and paternity issues, child pornography and minors' access to pornography, child abuse and neglect, foster care, termination of parental rights, adoption, medical treatment of juveniles, and medical experimentation on juveniles. The course also examines the delinquency jurisdiction of juvenile court, the constitutional protections afforded the child accused of criminal activity, adjudications of delinquency, punishment or placement of the child in the dispositional phase of juvenile proceedings, and treatment of the child as an adult offender.

Disposition before trial occurs in the vast majority of civil lawsuits (e.g., 98% of federal cases), which makes pre-trial advocacy the dominant part of legal practice at most law firms and agencies. This experiential learning course will engage students with a robust client fact pattern, including analysis of client documents and procedural and substantive law. Students will learn how to draft pre-trial advocacy pleadings, discovery, disclosures, and motions, culminating with learning how to draft a motion for summary judgment. Students will learn how to take depositions and negotiate a settlement. By simulating an actual civil litigation case, this “in-context” course will provide students with insight into the process of preparing a case for trial through the pretrial conference and improving the client’s position for a pre-trial disposition.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This clinical offering will provide exposure to drafting merits and amicus briefs in non-criminal civil rights cases in the state courts, federal appellate courts, and the United States Supreme Court. Cases may derive from various sources, such as civil rights advocacy organizations, Third Circuit pro bono referrals and from Penn State Law professors. In addition to brief preparation, students will participate in identifying potential cases for the clinic, case selection and the development of appropriate appellate strategy.

This offering will provide intensive training in appellate advocacy by involving students in non criminal civil rights cases before the state appellate courts, federal courts of appeal and the United States Supreme Court. Students will assist in case selection, the development of substantive legal positions, provide research, assist in appellate strategy development and draft briefs. In working on these cases students will have exposure to top civil rights and appellate litigators in the country. In addition to this work, there will be classroom sessions which will be augmented by presentations by experts in the field and attendance at oral arguments when appropriate. Visit the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic for more information. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Climate change is here and it is already transforming the law (not to mention the planet); the law we have inherited, in turn, is shaping our response to the threat. In this seminar, we will explore these sociolegal dynamics while also establishing a foundational understanding of the wide range of international, national, and subnational laws and policies that any lawyer in the emerging practice of “climate change law” must know. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This seminar explores constitutional law differences in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and South Africa. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

The course examines the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in determining limits of national and state powers and protection of the individual and civil rights provided in the United States Constitution.

This is a practical, simulation course in negotiating, drafting and construing contracts.  The course encompasses basic contract concepts and the development of the analytical skill essential to translate a business deal into a written contract. It involves the drafting of each component of a contract from the preamble to the signature line.  Students will participate in classroom discussion, work collaboratively in class, have regular drafting assignments and will individually draft one or more contract(s) during the semester. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

The course addresses the legal protection afforded to authors and artists under common law and statutory copyright. It considers the rights granted, procedure for their procurement, and protection through litigation. The course also deals with international rights, conveyancing, and interface with the antitrust laws.

This course provides an introduction to the law and policy issues that touch on the responsibility of enterprises for their activities.  It provides an overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR), as a subject of legal regulation within states, as a matter of international law and compliance beyond the state, and as a tool and methodology of corporate governance and finance with governance effect through contract. The emphasis is on the study of the legal and regulatory frameworks, both existing and emerging within states, in international institutions, and within production chains and the apex corporations that manage them. The course begins with definitional issues and variations in approaches between major jurisdictions.  It then turns to the existing law of CSR, focusing specifically on charitable giving and disclosure regimes. It then considers the rise of CSR regulatory regimes as privatizing law making using the mechanisms of contract to regulate CSR related conduct throughout a production chain.  It then considers the emergence of international standards as they inform regulatory efforts in states and enterprises and as normative standards in their own right.

This course primarily addresses organization and operation of commercial organizations in the Anglo-American community. Preliminarily, sole proprietorships and partnerships are considered, after which corporations-for-profit are emphasized with some attention to business trusts and non-profit corporations. In the corporate context, duties of promoters, directors, officers, and other insiders are considered. Availability in the U.S. of the derivative action is treated in terms of both unincorporated and corporate forms of organization. Also treated are the basics of securities regulation at the federal and state levels in the U.S. and the provincial level in Canada.

The Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic provides students with opportunities to not only represent indigent defendants in contested evidentiary hearings in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas, but also to advocate for broader changes in the criminal justice system through the filing of amicus briefs. While students learn a variety of trial skills in the context of hearings before a judge, they will also gain an appreciation for the vast array of problems in the justice system. This real-world experience is accompanied by a classroom component designed to foster practical skills as well as critical thinking.

Students represent indigent defendants at appellate and post-conviction proceedings, in trial and appellate courts, as well as at state prisons. This course includes a classroom component designed to foster both critical thinking and practical knowledge.

Students earn 3 credits per semester for the Post-Conviction/Amicus Track and must commit to participate in the clinic for two semesters (Fall and Spring). Visit the Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic for more information. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Criminal Procedure explores part of the interface between the criminal justice system and the United States Constitution. It introduces students to constitutional analysis by examining key provisions of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments as they apply to police investigation and interrogation as well as to the circumstances under which indigent defendants are guaranteed the assistance of counsel.

This course introduces students to Critical Race Theory and Feminist Legal Theory. The class will explore three major questions during the semester: What comprises Critical Race Theory and Feminist Legal Theory? Do these areas of study remain relevant? If so, what can legal scholars, educators, and practitioners draw from them to effect social justice through legal institutions? Students who successfully complete this course will: Identify, describe, and interpret the fundamental principles of critical race theory and feminist legal theory; Critically engage with scholarly literature; Use critical race theory and feminist legal theory as a lens for thinking critically about how to effect social justice through legal institutions; Demonstrate competency in academic legal writing; Demonstrate competency in public speaking, including the ability to engage in meaningful and respectful discussions around the topics of race and gender.

This course DOES NOT satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This course covers federal and state election law and will examine the constitutional basis for the regulation of elections, the development of the law in this area over the last 30 years, as well as criminal and civil enforcement of the law, the role of the Federal Election Commission, the formation and regulation of political action committees, as well as related federal tax law provisions impacting operation of political committees and advocacy organizations. The course will also examine the intersection of the election law with congressional ethics rules, lobbying regulations and representation of political candidates and entities in election law matters.

The seminar will cover the case law, procedural rules, evidence rules, and rules of professional conduct implicated by the unique attributes of information created and/or stored electronically, as well as the filing and courtroom presentation of documents in electronic format. There are three components to the course. The first part concerns the discovery of ESI, and covers the nature, sources, and terminology of ESI; the different formats of ESI and the implications for preservation and production of ESI attributable to the different formats; the evolution of the rules and case law regarding discovery of ESI; and the obligations of counsel with respect to the preservation of ESI. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This course will provide an overview of significant doctrinal issues in employment discrimination law, and will seek to develop students' skills through a rigorous examination of statutory law, regulations and court decisions. It will introduce students to the fundamental legal theories underlying the substantive coverage of the most significant federal equal employment opportunity laws, and legal issues regarding their application.

Under the supervision of a faculty member/director of the clinic, students learn to represent entrepreneurs, start-ups and not-for-profit organizations in a setting that is similar to a small law firm.   Issues most frequently encountered include choice of entity, entity formation, founder and initial investor agreements, shareholder agreements, loan arrangements, certain intellectual property protection, commercial real estate leasing and acquisition, operating agreements, employee management and compliance with regulatory requirements.  Students will learn the basic skills necessary to attract and interview potential clients, organize a business plan, communicate orally and in writing with a client and third parties, conduct research, draft transactional documents, prepare for and manage closings.  Students will learn basic principles of law office administration and will be expected to comply with law office protocols (e.g. conflict screens, client confidentiality, and time and expense record keeping) and will learn and conform to the professional responsibilities of lawyers engaged in business transactional practice.  The faculty member will hold weekly class sessions for presentation and discussion of client projects, skill development, and legal issues affecting entrepreneurs and counsel for entrepreneurs.  This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Advanced Entrepreneurship Clinic

This course studies the development of equal protection law under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the state action issue, and the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment.

Externship Placements offer students the opportunity to work and learn in a variety of settings outside the Law School under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. Placements are in public service or nonprofit offices, including local, state and federal government and judicial offices. Students work with experienced supervisors in those offices to develop skills in legislative drafting, opinion writing, client counseling, research, administrative and criminal practice, statutory analysis and interpretation, and application and enforcement of regulations. Through their work and class discussions, students are expected to develop a heightened awareness of the methods and functions of the legislative, regulatory, judicial, and public interest representation functions.

Available placements include state cabinet level agencies, state and federal judicial chambers, legal services offices, legislative offices, local governments, Penn State offices, and state prosecutor and public defender offices. More detailed information on our Externship Placement program can be found on our Externships page.

Students may not register for this course until they have secured an approved placement and obtained the permission of the faculty supervisor.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Penn State Law’s exclusive Externships Everywhere program opens the door to a nearly limitless array of externship possibilities across the country and around the world by offering law students the opportunity to step out of the classroom for a semester and gain practical experience working in a legal office in practically any location around the world. The program provides second- and third-year law students the opportunity to spend a semester away from University Park, working and learning under the remote supervision of Penn State Law faculty. Students will be required to complete a minimum of 2 credits in a Research Seminar, including but not limited to an Independent Research and Writing Seminar (ULWR 996), or Independent Study (LWIND 996) during the same semester as the Externships Everywhere program.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

In this clinic, up to seven students per semester represent indigent clients and domestic abuse victims in family law cases. All cases are in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. The work includes divorce, child support, spousal support, custody/visitation, domestic violence, and related matters. Students should expect to work as much time as is necessary to represent their clients successfully, which will be an average of twenty hours per week. Students also participate in a weekly clinic seminar which includes skills training, theoretical examination of clinical work, and case rounds. Each student also meets individually with the clinic supervisor to discuss their case work and their progress in the clinic. Only third-year law students are admitted in the Fall Semester. Students earn 5 graded credits. Visit the Family Law Clinic for more information. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Advanced Family Law Clinic

This course involves elements of constitutional law and civil procedure, addressing the relationship of federal courts to administrative agencies, state courts and private and ad hoc dispute resolution forums (e.g., arbitration, mediation, 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund). Building on the foundational knowledge of federal subject matter jurisdiction addressed in Civil Procedure, this course examines in greater detail advanced problems in standing, mootness, and ripeness. Building on the foundational knowledge of separation of powers and federalism addressed in Constitutional Law, this course examines the power of Congress to allocate judicial power among federal courts, federal agencies, and States. The heart of the course, however, consists of advanced topics including the power of federal courts to create common law, limitations (and complications) in suits against the federal and state governments and their officials, problems arising when administrative agencies or state courts are addressing matters related to the subject of a pending case in federal court, and limitations on federal appellate jurisdiction. This course should prove especially useful to students who anticipate clerking for a federal or state judge, or who plan to litigate before federal or state courts, administrative agencies, arbitral forums or other private or ad hoc dispute resolution entities.

The seminar will utilize a separation of powers analysis to examine federal regulatory and legislative practice. Topics covered will include congressional investigations, federal regulatory agency jurisdiction and procedure, and areas of federal criminal law that are most relevant to legal practice in Washington, DC. The seminar's primary focus will be those areas of Washington legal practice in which administrative and regulatory law, federal criminal law, politics, and public relations intersect to create special problems and challenges for attorneys in government and private practice. A "case study" approach will be used to analyze these topics from both perspectives, examining the legal obligations and professional responsibilities of both government lawyers and private counsel. Highlights of the course include analysis of the Watergate, ABSCA, Iran-Contra, Whitewater, and Clinton-Lewinsky scandals.  This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

When should a vaccine be licensed, a drug approved, or an N95 mask authorized for sale? How do we assure the safety of produce grown in widely dispersed locations or of seafood harvested throughout the world? Should herbal supplements be regulated as food, drugs, or something in between? How aggressively, and in what manner, should the federal government regulate the cosmetics, tobacco, medical device, and human tissue industries?

This course examines the work of the primary federal agency responsible for these issues, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In addition to covering this substantive material, the course will introduce you to the process of understanding a complex statute, its implementing regulations, and related enforcement policies.

This course provides students with a substantive review of selected material routinely tested on the bar exam, primarily through problems and exercises in a bar exam format designed to familiarize students with the exam and techniques for answering multiple choice questions. Individualized feedback is provided every week to assist each student identify areas of strength and weakness. The goal is to enhance student ability to prepare for the bar exam and is intended to supplement, not replace, commercial bar preparation courses. This course is not focused an any particular state, so all students will benefit regardless of where they are sitting for the bar exam. Students enrolled in BAREX 900 are not permitted to use laptops, phones or other devices during class. BAREX 900 is graded on a pass/fail basis, but does not count toward the one pass/fail course a student may take as described in the Pass-Fail Rules.

The global sports model operates quite differently than what Americans are used to.  “Major” sports are typically open sports leagues at the top of a pyramid or national representative teams; sports is largely governed by non-profit national governing board, not club owners.  Many of the issues confronting global sports law, however, have important lessons for American sports law.

This special topics course will be taught remotely (please confirm you comply with ABA and immigration requirements to take this course), which will consist of two hours per week of live interaction with leading sports lawyers and officials around the globe, and one hour of asynchronous interaction (via Canvas) with your classmates and me on the relevant issues.  Assessment will be based on your participation in on-line class discussions and a take-home final exam that will be due on the last day of exams.

Bridging theory to practice-a practical approach to litigating a civil lawsuit from inception to jury trial. The course will explore client interviewing, case investigation, discovery requests, including interrogatories, requests for production and requests for admission, conducting depositions, developing themes for trial, identifying and drafting motions in limine, direct and cross-examining lay and expert witnesses, crafting opening and closing statements and utilizing technology in all aspects of the case. The course will include extensive class participation including in-class depositions, openings and closings, and direct and cross examinations. The instructors are seasoned trial attorneys who will utilize real cases throughout the course. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course is devoted to developing problem solving skills related to legal issues in higher education. Students will have a chance to confront problems the way university lawyers do, from the very beginning, before the facts are all known, before goals are clarified, before the full range of options is explored, and before a course of conduct is chosen. This course is intended to help prepare students for the actual practice of law by allowing them to actively to engage in the sorts of discussions and activities that occupy lawyers every day, combining their knowledge of law with practical judgment to help clients.  Topics include faculty and student rights and responsibilities; constitutional issues involving application of the guarantees of the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments; civil rights issues including diversity and affirmative action, the rights of the disabled, and gender-based issues. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course is intended to provide students with a general knowledge of immigration law, including such critical subjects as the constitutional powers of the federal government over immigration matters, admission and exclusion, entry, deportation, and political asylum.

The Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic provides students with several opportunities to work in the criminal justice system within two different tracks.

The Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic involves representation of indigent criminal defendants accused of misdemeanor offenses in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas under the supervision of an attorney from the Centre County Public Defender Office. Students learn litigation, negotiation and advocacy skills as they represent defendants through all stages of a criminal case. This hands-on experience is accompanied by a classroom component designed to give students guidance, feedback and an open forum to discuss their cases and the various facets of defense work. The subject matter of the classroom component is designed to follow the progress of each student’s cases as those cases work their way through the various stages of the criminal justice system.

The Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic provides students with opportunities to not only represent indigent defendants in contested evidentiary hearings in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas, but also to advocate for broader changes in the criminal justice system through the filing of amicus briefs. While students learn a variety of trial skills in the context of hearings before a judge, they will also gain an appreciation for the vast array of problems in the justice system. This real-world experience is accompanied by a classroom component designed to foster practical skills as well as critical thinking.

The Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic has two primary objectives: 1) provide criminal defendants who cannot afford private counsel with highly effective representation that is client-centered, professional and ethical, and 2) create a structured and supervised environment which enables each student to gain a detailed, working knowledge of how to represent a defendant; apply that knowledge to actual criminal cases; and gain feedback and reflection after each important stage of the case.

Students earn 5 credits per semester for the Trial Track and 3 credits per semester for the Post-Conviction/Amicus Track and must commit to participate in the clinic for two semesters (Fall and Spring). Visit the Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic for more information. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Through simulations, this course provides students the opportunity to practice and develop the Fundamental Lawyering Skills and Professional Responsibilities described above in a controlled, safe, supportive, and instructive environment prior to performing adversarial hearings before a Court in the Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic. Specifically, students will learn client management skills, litigation, negotiation, ethics, criminal law and procedure, and advocacy skills as they simulate representation of defendants through all stages of a criminal case, including Pre-trial conferences, jury selection, and a full trial. 

These simulations are designed to provide students with enhanced expertise in all fields of advocacy. The simulations also provide students with the opportunity to play different roles and gain perspectives they would not otherwise have, advocating solely for the defense. The use of simulations dramatically increases the experience and preparedness of the clinic students who are expected to successfully argue and maneuver against prosecutors with years of courtroom experience. The simulations also vary in terms of preparation afforded to each student. Certain simulations permit students hours of preparation time to perfect cross-examination and argument. Other simulations happen with little or no preparation time to give students experience thinking quickly and actively listening in stressful adversarial situations. 

Students are required to enroll in the simulation course both semesters and earn two credits in Fall and two credits in Spring. Students in this clinic course attend a three-hour class one day a week in addition to the time they spend outside of class preparing for the simulations and doing readings for class. 

These four credits do not count against the clinic and externship cap at Penn State Law because no client representation is involved in this part of the course.

This course describes the substantive law relevant to the field of information security or "infosec" law, commonly known to policymakers as "cybersecurity." It examines how courts, legislatures, and regulators confront the major legal issues that information security presents.  The course includes three types of 'readings' - one set introduces you to a key aspect of the history and culture of information security; the second set introduces technical and policy standards; the third consists of statutes and caselaw. The early weeks in this class introduce you to the state of the law of information security and assist you in acquiring technical competence in the terms of art of the field. The later weeks in the course identify and frame current legal debates in Congress, state legislatures, regulatory agencies, and the business community on matters of information security.

The Intellectual Property Clinic provides Penn State Law – University Park students an opportunity to gain practice-ready skills in intellectual property law. Under the clinic director, students will provide legal services to the clinic’s start-up clients in much the same manner as practicing IP lawyers.

Students in the clinic will engage in client counseling regarding patents and trademarks and other intellectual property.  Projects may include: preparing and prosecuting US patent applications before the US Patent and Trademark office, performing patentability searches, developing a patent portfolio strategies for early-stage companies, performing diligence (i.e. freedom to operate studies and/or patent landscape analysis), and registering US Trademarks.  Students will adhere to standard patent law office practices such as conflict checks, maintenance of strict confidentiality, docketing, and time-recordation. Students will learn and conform to the professional responsibilities of lawyers engaged in IP transactional practice as well as the Rules of Ethics of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The clinic will meet as a weekly class to discuss current client cases, intellectual property law in practice, ethics, and special projects. In addition, students will interface with clients in-person, via telephone, and via email to discuss client intake, IP evaluation, and counseling. Students will also meet individually, as necessary, with the clinic director regarding the representation of particular clients and special projects.

Visit the Intellectual Property Clinic site for more information.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course explores the legal frameworks, as well as the strategic considerations, practical skills and policy considerations that are implicated in international arbitration law and practice. International arbitration is the default means by which international commercial disputes are resolved. The effectiveness of its processes and outcomes are assured through a complex interaction of international treaties, national laws, contractual agreements, specialized procedural rules, and international customs and practice norms. The regime is designed to strike an appropriate balance between party autonomy with the sovereign and transnational regulatory interests implicated in disputes. In addition to the doctrinal and practical aspects of international arbitration, this course will also explore the larger trends and theoretical questions raised in contemporary debates about the future of international arbitration.  This course is one that will satisfy the prerequisite for participation in the Vis Moot Competition.

This seminar examines selected aspects of international financial, securities, and banking law. It covers broadly four areas: First, it provides elements of financial law. This includes legal aspects of banking, securities, and money; the objectives of regulations and supervision; an overview of US regulation; and the public and private law of international monetary obligations. Secondly, it examines aspects of international financial and securities regulation. This includes an examination of the financial crisis of 2008 and the regulatory reforms resulting from it; selected comparative aspects of regulation in the US and the EU through a detailed discussion of legislation and case law (e.g. institutional structure, insider trading, rating agencies). Thirdly, it discusses economic and monetary union in the EU and the eurozone crisis. Finally, it provides an overview of the law of the IMF and the international financial architecture. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

“Investment Treaty Arbitration” (which is an umbrella term for arbitration of investment law disputes) is a field of law that has grown exponentially. Not only due to increased foreign direct investments, but due to the increase in states having signed international investment agreements (bilateral and multilateral) and that such agreements typically include an arbitration clause (investor-State dispute settlement). With increase in drafting and signing treaties, on the one hand, and the vast arbitral case law stemming from investment treaty arbitration on the other hand, the importance of international investment law and investor-State dispute settlement has grown exponentially the last century.

With such growth comes challenges of all sorts. A serious legitimacy concern has emerged. Was international investment law developed at the backdrop of post-imperialism and does it have colonial underpinnings? Does (or should) the regime interact with other international legal regimes, such as human rights and environmental law? Are international adjudicators better placed than states to determine what was in their own “public interest”? What level of deference should be displayed in the decision-making process? These are just a few questions of theoretical importance that will be discussed in this course alongside the practice of international investment law and investor-State dispute settlement.

This course is divided in four elements that inform each other: (1) Introduction to international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on investor-State Dispute Settlement, (2) International Investment Law, (3) Investment Arbitration, and (4) Post-Award Proceedings, with an emphasis on sovereign immunity from execution.

(1)    We will briefly cover the origins, history, purpose, and objectives of the regime. We will also discuss the re-emerging legitimacy crisis and backlash. We will briefly go over the core features and history of international dispute resolution (international courts and tribunals, commissions, arbitration bodies, etc).

(2)    We will focus on protection of foreign investments under international law. We will look at treaty law and customary international law. We will also designate some time to the background of international investment agreements (“IIA”), treaty interpretation based on the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (“VCLT”), and state responsibility and attribution based on the ILC Draft on the Rules of State Responsibility (“ARISWA”).

(3)    We will analyze and address procedural issues in connection with investment treaty arbitration. We will look at inter alia jurisdictional issues, admissibility matters, applicable law issues, remedies, confidentiality and transparency, and so on.

(4)    Finally, we will analyze and address post-award challenges; for example, set-aside or annulment procedures, enforcement of investment awards, and particularly the issue of sovereign immunity from enforcement and execution of arbitral awards.

 Pre-knowledge in international dispute resolution and ideally international arbitration is not a strict requirement but would be highly beneficial. Pre-knowledge in public international law is an advantage but not a pre-requisite.

This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This course is intended to acquaint students with the impact of globalization upon the process of litigation. It focuses upon the adjudicatory resolution of disputes created by international contracts and global business transactions through the standard legal trial process and arbitration. Various basic topics are treated, including (1) the certification and training of international lawyers; (2) the liability exposure of multinational enterprises; (3) the State as an actor in global commerce; (4) problems of comparative jurisdiction, service of process and evidence-gathering, proof of foreign law, and the enforcement of foreign judgments; (5) the extraterritorial application of national law; and (6) attempts to establish a transborder law and legal process. The course also provides a thorough introduction to international arbitration and investor-state arbitration.

This course presents the range of legal issues arising from the emergence of cyberspace. The course considers how the law has reacted to challenges posed by the Internet as well as how the law is shaping its future. Specific areas covered include jurisdictional analysis, First Amendment/free speech, digital copyrights, trademarks and domain names, electronic privacy, e-commerce, and Internet governance.

This course is divided into two parts. First, it introduces legal research skills: the basic skills necessary for identifying, locating, and effectively utilizing legal resources. This will include understanding distinctions among legal resources: primary sources of case law and federal/state statutes; sources of secondary legal authority; and research reference tools, to including online legal research tools, commonly used in the practice of law. The course will also introduce citation rules, including an overview of the basic Bluebook citation method. The course will explore the process of legal analysis to better understand sources of legal authority, legal issues, assess credibility and accuracy of primary and secondary sources, and tools for legal analysis and legal reasoning through the application of multiple sources of law. This introductory course will emphasize how legal research can play a critical role legal problem solving and effective legal writing.
 

The course will provide a basic understanding of the goals and techniques used to help families plan for the management and distribution of their personal wealth. Legal concepts from the laws of property, business and tax will be integrated at a fundamental level.
 

To develop a good foundation for the LL.M. students' other course work, this course introduces the United States court system, the role of the Constitution in the United States legal system, and other foundation materials in United States law. The goal is to introduce students to distinctive aspects and/or fundamental principles in U.S. law. Additionally, the course introduces students to skills needed to succeed in law school, such as briefing cases, taking notes, and preparing for exams.

This seminar course will focus on the processes - -procedural and intellectual - - that both trial and appellate courts employ in reaching their decisions. Besides emphasizing judges’ application of legal principles, discussion will focus on the role that judicial discretion plays in the legal process and the limitations placed on the exercise of such discretion. Attention will also be given to methods of selection of judges in federal and state courts, along with ongoing controversy over the extent to which “political” views impact judges’ decisions. The importance of stare decisis and judicial system hierarchy will also be examined.

Active participation by students in each session, including candid discussion of relevant and timely issues, raised by students themselves, will be required. It is expected that Judge Smith will invite experienced jurists from other courts to appear as guests to describe how they and their courts decide cases.

The textbook that will be used for the course is Judicial Decision-Making, by Barry Friedman, et al. It is a paperback volume which, at the time this course was developed, was the only textbook covering the subject matter. It seeks to “marr[y] the approaches and learning of social scientists about how judges and judicial bodies behave…with legal questions, problems, and discussion of legal institutions.”

This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This course will address legal and regulatory issues that arise during the process of developing land, such as using land for commercial, residential, agricultural, industrial, or other land uses. Land use law has common themes in all states, and we will address these themes by reading materials and cases from many states. Students will learn how local governments obtain authority to regulate land use and how these governments plan for the growth of a municipality and regulate that growth. We will also explore the processes that landowners and developers follow to obtain local or state government approval for land development projects and the legal tools used by opponents of land use change.

This course will explore the different ways in which the law regulates and accounts for sexuality in general and sexual orientation in particular. Topics to be covered will include rights to privacy and their impact on the ability of the state to regulate sexual conduct; rights to equal protection by lesbians and gay men; the movement for relationship recognition, marriage equality, and other family rights; rights to free speech and associations of lesbians and gay men (and of those who do not want to associate with them); employment discrimination; and legal issues involving transgender.

This seminar will explore the history, role, and regulation of police officers and police departments in American law.  Topics will include investigative policing, street policing, remedies for legal violations, and possible reforms. 

Criminal Procedure (PSLFY 907) is recommended but not required.

This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

The retention of the intellectual property or the absolute transfer of such interests to other for purposes of economic exploitation is, however, declining in use and popularity. Rather, it has evolved that maximization of the holder's value in the intellectual property may, in some circumstances, be better achieved by sharing some of the rights, while retaining others. This is the topic of the course in the licensing of intellectual property. The offering explores the myriad business, legal, and negotiating issues involved in the drafting and use of intellectual property licensing agreements.

This course explores U.S. common law analytical methods and discourse. Students will analyze cases and statutes to solve client problems. Students will draft objective memoranda and other documents to communicate their legal analysis in writing. Students will also learn the basics of U.S. legal research.

This seminar is broken into the following three parts:

Part I, Introduction and in-Depth Analysis of the Minority-White Gap in Business Ownership, will focus on understanding the current state of the differences between white and minority business ownership and the underlying reasons for such differences. This section of the course will run for four weeks.

Part II, The Lawyer’s Essential Tools In Representing a Minority-Owned Small Business, will focus on some of the basic tools a lawyer needs when advising on the formation and operation of a small business, including a practical introduction to the following concepts: (1) the organization and operation of the basic forms of business (i.e., corporation, partnership, and limited liability company (LLC), (2) the federal income tax considerations in the choice of business entity (i.e., C corporation, S corporation, partnership, or LLC), (3) the private placement exception to the registration requirement of the Federal securities laws, (4) negotiating Small Business Administration assistance for a minority-owned business, and (5) the drafting of an agreement for the acquisition of a small business. In looking at each of these topics, consideration will be given to any issue that is unique to minority businesses. This section will run for eight weeks, and students will make joint presentations on assigned topics with a practicing lawyer.

Part III, The Big Ideas for Addressing the Minority-White Gap in Business Ownership, will focus on (1) a critique of various existing private and public proposals, and (2) the development of new public and private proposals, for addressing the problem. This section will run for two weeks, and students will make presentations on an assigned topic.

This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This four-credit course meets twice a week for two 75-minute class sessions per week (like a three-credit course) and is the second of a two-course sequence. National Security Law I (Foundations) is a prerequisite.  National Security Law II (Leadership in Crisis Simulation) is an extended simulation course designed to replicate legal practice in the national security environment while developing leadership and communication skills.  Legal issues arise against an intense backdrop of competing domestic and international political interests under time constraints with lives often on the line.  Students represent members of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as well foreign governments, the media, and non-governmental advocacy groups as they confront a complex national security problem across the semester.  Throughout the course, students fill leadership roles enriched by leadership readings and classroom discussion.  Students learn to write on short deadlines and communicate verbally with confidence, clarity, and efficiency.  Students receive extensive individual performance feedback to include multiple one-on-one mentoring sessions; regular written performance evaluations; and detailed writing critiques.  Visitors with high-level experience enrich the class by providing analysis and perspective.  This experience will be particularly valuable for students considering careers in national security specifically, the public sector generally, or within non-governmental advocacy groups; however, skills emphasized in the course will be relevant to any student wishing to think precisely, communicate clearly, and collaborate creatively under deadlines with high stakes. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course is an introduction to the public and private claims to natural resources. Its focus is the common law but brief introductions of major natural resource protection statutes like the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and others are included. The course also studies major resource-types like water, minerals, timber, recreation and scenery in their overall legal context. 

This course will address the basic concepts in oil and gas law within the United States as well as the specific legal issues associated with the development of the Marcellus Shale formation. This specific topics to be covered include the ownership or oil and gas, oil and gas leasing, oil and gas conservation laws, oil and gas interests, and government regulation of development.

Payment Systems and Financial Transactions is a general overview of the law of negotiable instruments (e.g., checks), and other mechanisms for making payments, including credit cards, debit cards, ACH payments, and wire transfers. The course also will cover credit enhancement systems such as guaranties and letters of credit. The course will address both uniform state law (UCC Articles 3, 4, 4A, and 5), and applicable federal statutes and regulations (such as the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, and the Electronic Fund Transfers Act).

This seminar is designed to improve students’ understanding of the theoretical and policy justifications underlying the prosecution of white collar crime. Students will examine current issues in the debate over corporate criminal liability, prosecutorial discretion, the use of plea agreements to achieve structural reform of corporations, and the federalization of crime. In addition, the class will examine white collar crime in particular industries such as health care and securities regulation. Students will examine these issues both theoretically and practically by reviewing law review articles, Department of Justice policies, pleadings, and case studies on some of the most notorious white collar crime cases in recent years. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

Through the use of hypothetical situations, this course attempts to generate student sensitivity to ethical problems faced by lawyers in various kinds of practice. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the older Code of Professional Responsibility are the basic tools, but discussion centers as well on case law, ABA opinions and standards, statutes, and the dictates of conscience. Discipline and professional malpractice are also treated.

The goal of the seminar is to examine the relationship between property and poverty with a particular focus on the work of Hernando de Soto. More generally, we will consider what happens to property rights and entitlements during periods of social change, and the implications of these changes for whether a country and its citizens remain poor. Case studies will be taken from across the developing world, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. Special attention will be paid to the role of formal legal institutions in maintaining or transforming existing economic interests and social arrangements

This course DOES NOT satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.

This course will focus on the regulation of commercial banks in the U.S, and will include an overview of the regulation of other financial institutions, such as insurers, securities brokers-dealers and investment companies.

This seminar will explore the range of legal issues that arise in the development of small scale (distributed), community scale, and utility scale renewable energy, focusing primarily on solar and wind energy development. The course will identify policy methods for mandating, incentivizing, and financing renewable energy development and associated infrastructure. We will also address land use issues such as local zoning for renewables, state preemption of local control, transmission line siting, and public and private legal tools for resolving landowner conflicts in the renewable energy sphere. The final portion of the course will tour the social, cultural, and environmental legal issues associated with renewable energy development, focusing on wildlife laws, environmental review statutes, and community negotiation tools.

Within each of these topics, the course will focus on the equity issues that arise in renewable energy development, meaning the extent to which individuals and groups experience different benefits and costs of renewable energy development. The course will analyze the extent to which energy law fails to address these equity issues and will identify improved legal tools that are emerging. Students will write papers and prepare presentations that propose solutions to an actual renewable energy policy issue.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course will address relationships and responsibilities of representing the professional athlete. Students will also get an introduction and in-depth examination of Representation through group exercises, class discussions and professional contract analysis. There will be time dedicated to the NCAA Rules that affect Agent interaction with potential clients and individual State enacted laws governing the modern Agent. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course explores sources of administrative law, with primary emphasis on federal administrative law, and provides students the opportunity to research regulations, agency decisions, and other administrative legal resources using a variety of sources.  The goal of the course is to give students a practical understanding of where administrative authority and law originates and how to find it.  Emphasis will be placed on using free, authentic resources to conduct much of this research, but attention to premium online resources will also be included. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

Article Two of the Uniform Commercial Code is an integrated body of statutory law that prescribes the rights and obligations of parties involved in transactions in goods. Although we will review general principles of contract law and contrast them with the approach adopted in Article Two, this course emphasizes the special techniques of statutory construction utilized in interpreting a code as opposed to an isolated statute. Classroom discussion is devoted almost exclusively to developing analyses of written problems distributed to the students in advance of the class. The problems require students to fashion arguments based on the statutory language. The problems also require students to develop an understanding of the legal and commercial context based on the assigned readings, and then to interpret the statutory language in light of this context. The course topics are: code methodology (including the history and jurisprudence of Article Two), contract formation and interpretation, performance obligations, breach and remedies.

This course explores how various areas of the law impact the sports industry. The "law" that is used by most sports lawyers is principally the application of settled principles of other legal fields to the sports industry: contract law, labor law, tax law, products liability law, intellectual property law, etc.

The Sports Law course, then focuses on important areas that provide the foundational principles that drive the outcome of most legal disputes arising in the sports industry. The course also examines on certain areas of the law such as antitrust, labor, and constitutional law, that have specific and unique applications to sports.

Street law teaches law students to use and develop interactive methods to teach young people about fundamental principles of the U.S. legal system and practical lessons about the law.  Participating law students attend a comprehensive orientation program and participate in weekly class sessions focused on pedagogical practices and community lawyering. 

Throughout the semester, law students learn how to design small group exercises, role-plays, and simulations of legal proceedings. The program has two focuses: a law course characterized by rich legal content, examining practical law and legal policy; the second, a legal literacy focus designed to further develop law student expressive skills, critical thinking, problem solving, and other professional skills.

This second dimension exposes law students to the culture and experiences of their students and helps them see the law through the eyes of others. It also teaches law students many of the skills necessary to be good lawyers, including: researching contemporary legal topics; breaking down complex legal concepts to laypersons; and working with a diverse clientele of a wide range of abilities.

This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course examines current constitutional doctrine concerning religion under the First Amendment to the Constitution. The focus will be on the essential cases and principles of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment. These cases and principles are organized along three thematic lines: (1) the regulation of religious activity (free exercise and neutrality, governmental interests, legislative accommodation), (2) the funding of religious activity (establishment and neutrality, governmental support of religious institutions), and (3) the treatment of religion in government's culture shaping activities (public schools, school curriculum, religious speech). The course ends with a discussion of the definition of "religion" for purposes of federal constitutional law.

The course will explore the history, constitutional, legal foundation and separation of powers issues involved in the government independent counsel from Teapot Dome to Watergate, Iran-Contra, Whitewater and the Russian hacking investigations. It will explore in depth, the unique problems and legal issues encountered in these cases, including conflict with parallel congressional inquiries, assertion and application of Fifth Amendment, executive and DOJ authority over the independent counsel as well as Supreme Court and lower court jurisdiction limning the office. The course will also examine collateral constitutional issues under the pardon power and the relation to Congress’ impeachment processes.

This course examines the unique aspects of working as a lawyer within a corporation. The course explores the key roles today's in-house counsel play, including advising the Board of Directors and senior management, selecting and managing outside counsel, meeting corporate compliance and regulatory obligations, conducting internal investigations, drafting and negotiating commercial transaction agreements, managing litigation and balancing the dual roles of trusted business advisor and guardian of the ethical and reputational capital of the enterprise. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course provides an introduction to the domestic law and practice of arbitration. It assesses the statutory and decisional law basis for arbitration, especially the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act. It investigates the central doctrinal issues in the field: the enforceability of unilaterally-imposed arbitration agreements, the arbitrability of statutory rights — in particular, civil rights matters, and the use of contract to establish the law of arbitration between the arbitrating parties. Emphasis is placed upon practical problems that have emerged in the practice of arbitration law: the selection of arbitrators, the use of discovery and evidence-gathering in arbitral proceedings, and the content of arbitration agreements. The course also addresses the new uses of arbitration in consumer, health, and employment fields.

A review and analysis of the USPTO Manual of Patent Examination Procedure with a focus on patent application examination, review, administrative review, and appeals. This includes Utility, Design, Plant, and PCT applications. The course will include intensive review of requirements and practice questions from the USPTO’s Patent Bar examination.

The law of trademarks is central to the concept of fair dealing in the commercial environment. The history of common law and statutory trademarks is explored as well as registration, conveyancing and foreign rights. The course deals with the duty of the merchant to compete honestly and remedies for failure to do so.

This course introduces students to the main features of leading forms of unincorporated business associations, including limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships, and limited partnerships. Topics covered include choice of entity, management structure, fiduciary duty, financial rights, transfer rights, and dissociation and dissolution, as well as the differences of these entities relative to corporations. This course is intended to be practice oriented and will survey the practical issues arising out of the formation, governance, operation and dissolution of unincorporated business associations. 

This course is designed to teach students about the veterans benefit system, by analyzing the statutes and regulations that govern that system, studying the administrative agency tasked with applying the law and distributing the benefits, and analyzing both administrative and judicial decisions interpreting those laws. Students will study the policy goals of the system, the role of attorney representation of veterans as it has changed over time, how to be an effective advocate for the veteran in this system, and the challenges the system faces due to the unprecedented number of claims filed and appealed.

This course will cover the substantive law and procedures of major white-collar crimes, including conspiracy, fraud, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law (RICO), money laundering, public corruption, and economic crimes. It will also examine their civil counterparts and civil and administrative consequences and analyze the theory and policies of these hybrid criminal statutes. Finally, the class will learn and practice skills associated with white-collar crime cases, for example, investigative techniques, negotiation, and development of effective theories of the case.

 As an overwhelming majority of civil cases in federal courts never go to trial or oral argument, federal courts decide cases primarily on the parties' written motions and briefs.  As such, knowing how, in a written document, to persuade courts to take a desired course of action is an essential skill for today’s advocates.  In this course, students will study the science of persuasion, from classical rhetoric to modern cognitive psychology, and will study the art of persuasion by examining how successful appellate advocates write.  Students will practice writing their own compelling motions and briefs in the context of an actual federal civil rights action.  Students will receive individualized feedback throughout the course. This course satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

This course is intended to give students a practical knowledge base they can apply in their future law practice, whether principally in workers’ compensation practice, or in many other practice settings where knowledge of workers’ compensation law may prove useful, e.g., personal injury, disability, or employment law, as in-house counsel or in human resources management. Grades will be based on participation and a final paper on a workers' compensation topic of the students' interest and choice.

This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.