Civil Litigation

Covers all aspects of advocacy involved in jury trials, bench trials, administrative hearings, and arbitration. Students learn by performing videotaped exercises in every class, and are critiqued by experienced lawyers and judges. The course covers case preparation, opening statements, direct examination, cross-examination, exhibits, expert witnesses, jury selection, summation, and advocacy ethics. Cases cover a range of civil and criminal problems. Students prepare written questions, outlines, and a trial brief, and try a complete bench trial or arbitration case and a full-day jury trial. Offered as a full-semester course during the fall and spring semesters, and in a concentrated format during summer session.

Grading: Letter-graded, P/F in summer and J-term.
Credits: 3
Offered:

Categories: Experiential

Subject Areas: Civil Litigation

This course will cover important aspects of advanced civil procedure including study of the theory and practice of class-action litigation, multi-district litigation, and appeals. The course provides deeper analysis of topics including conflict of laws, federal jurisdiction, forum selection, and litigation funding.

Grading: Letter-graded
Credits: 3
Offered: Every year

Subject Areas: Civil Litigation

Required. Provides an introduction to the civil justice system in the United States and the various methods of resolving disputes. Topics include: the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, pleading, adjudication by motion, litigation and non-litigation remedies, personal and subject matter jurisdiction, choice of law between judge and jury, post-trial proceedings, judicial review, preclusive effects of judgments, and simple and complex joinder mechanisms.

Grading: Letter graded
Credits: 4
Offered: Fall

Categories: Bar Courses, Required

Subject Areas: Academic Support and Bar Preparation, Civil Litigation

Students take full responsibility for representing clients under the close supervision of faculty. The course focuses on the challenges of representing real people in real matters in an ethical, reflective, and creative way. Goals include developing a critical understanding of legal process and a contextual understanding of clients’ legal problems. Students interview and counsel clients, investigate facts, negotiate disputes, prepare trial memos and motions, and conduct administrative hearings and court trials. Cases cover a variety of subject areas, including landlord-tenant, unemployment compensation, employment, and consumer matters. The current affordable housing crisis has led to some focus on housing matters, including policy research and recommendations to neighborhood organizations and the City of St. Paul. Students meet weekly in seminar and also meet individually with faculty for supervision. Some required activities (such as court appearances, investigation, and community meetings) take place during normal business hours, but most students are able to combine this clinic's work with their own employment and care-giving responsibilities.

Grading: Letter graded
Credits: variable
Offered: Fall/Spring

Categories: Experiential

Subject Areas: Public Interest Law, Civil Litigation

The Economic Inclusion Clinic is designed to give students experience in both transactional law and with some exposure to litigation as it pertains to preparation and evidence gathering for economic discrimination cases brought by impact litigation co-counsel. The EIC would focus various areas where there are disparities in access to opportunities, including but not limited to the following: · Financial Literacy Segment. This area would focus on the legal aspects of financial literacy. While I have found multiple organizations providing financial literacy covering what banks are looking for, I have yet to find materials that focus on the legal perspective, i.e., what banks are allowed to actually do and what many claim they are required by law to do. Students would provide financial literacy either in the form of one-on-one legal counsel, or community Know Your Rights workshops, in tandem with community-based partners who would organize workshops with grassroots partners that would recruiting the attendees and clients. Students would also draft model legislation. All deliverables would be combined and shared on the EIC’s website. Students would learn Dodd-Frank laws and regs, get client experience teaching legal workshops, and legislative experience drafting statutes and working with lobbyists and legislatures. · Mortgage Discrimination litigation. The DOJ recently announced a campaign to tackle racial discrimination in mortgage lending. The clinic could work in tandem with this campaign to counsel clients and assist in fact gathering. This would give the students experience both in litigation and transactional law. · Social Entrepreneurship counseling and support. This piece would focus on working with potential existing social enterprises in structuring deals, or those needing legal counsel who are interested in undergoing B-labs certification, state benefit corporation incorporation, or forming as another hybrid business org structures with a double bottom line. Essentially, it would provide the students transactional legal experience working for businesses or nonprofits with a double bottom line of being financially sustainable while addressing an important community-based issue.

Grading: Letter
Credits: 3
Offered:

Subject Areas: Public Interest Law, Banking, Business and Commercial, Civil Litigation, Constitutional Law and Civil Rights

Students provide civil representation to indigent persons incarcerated in Minnesota. Students represent clients from interview through any trial. Cases include domestic relations, imprisonment-related matters (institutional grievances, parole, and detainers), and the full range of other civil problems including debtor-creditor, wills, contracts, torts, and civil rights issues.

Grading: Letter graded
Credits: variable
Offered: Fall/Spring

Categories: Experiential

Subject Areas: Child and Family Law, Public Interest Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law

Provides an introduction to federal constitutional limitations on governmental power to investigate crime, including stopping and detaining people, arrest, frisks, searches and seizures, custodial interrogations, right to counsel, identification procedures, and confrontation.

Grading: Letter graded
Credits: 3
Offered: Fall/Spring

Categories: Bar Courses

Subject Areas: Academic Support and Bar Preparation, Civil Litigation, Constitutional Law and Civil Rights, Criminal Law

Studies the theory and practice of the Rules of Evidence. Emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of codified rules and common law principles pertaining to foundation, relevancy, character evidence, privileges, witnesses, expert testimony, scientific evidence, hearsay, authentication of real evidence, and documentary evidence. Designed to facilitate understanding of the uses of evidentiary rules in the preparation and trial of cases in state and federal courts. It is recommended that students take Evidence prior to or concurrent with Advocacy.

Grading: Letter graded.
Credits: 3
Offered: Fall/Spring

Categories: Bar Courses

Subject Areas: Civil Litigation, Criminal Law

A study of food labeling and marketing related laws in the United States, including FDA, USDA, FTC and state consumer protection laws and regulations, public and private enforcement. The course will include a discussion on free-speech constitutional limitations, claims like [non-GMO, natural, organic] as well as current ethical issues and industry practices. If time permits, aspects of international labeling and marketing will be included.

Grading: Letter-graded
Credits: 2
Offered: Spring

Subject Areas: Administrative and Legislative Process, Business and Commercial, Civil Litigation

This course provides a comprehensive study of franchise law, with a secondary emphasis on related dealer law issues. A primary focus will be Minnesota law and the Minnesota Franchise Act, but the course will also address other state’s laws, as well as the FTC Act. The course will focus both on business law aspects of franchise law, including registration, disclosure, contract drafting and franchise associations, in addition to a variety of franchise litigation topic. It is taught by two franchise law attorneys with combined franchise law experience of over 60 years – one who primarily represents franchisees and one who has primarily represented franchisors.

Grading:
Credits: 2
Offered: Irregularly

Subject Areas: Civil Litigation

You have obtained the knowledge and tools to determine and litigate when a breach of contract exists or tortious conduct has occurred. Do you know how to get your client what they want? Remedies is a course for the pragmatically-minded attorney who wants to understand the answer to the question, "The law was violated; so now what?" In this course we seek to close the gap between the theoretical concepts of the law and the substantive remedies available to your client. Current case examples will be utilized, along with relevant cases from the text, to consider possible legal and equitable remedies available in various situations.

This is a dialogue-driven course, and includes the opportunity to draft and receive feedback on a pleading and proposed order related to a specific remedy considered in class. Remedies is often necessary for the bar exam to be able to fully answer what types of damages are available to your client - monetary or equitable.

Grading: Letter graded
Credits: 2
Offered: Spring

Subject Areas: Civil Litigation