Land Use and Resilience Law - Prof. TBA (Richardson or Anderson)
Whether you plan to represent landowners, energy companies, environmental groups, developers, farmers, or local governments, you must know how to navigate the common law and regulatory maze that is land use law. Land Use and Resilience Law includes property rights and regulatory takings, environmental justice, energy, land conservation, agriculture, climate change and more. Land Use and Resilience Law includes these topics and more. This course covers the multi-faceted nature of land use regulation in the United States. Generally, the course begins with common-law and private-law mechanisms for controlling land uses and moves into the regulatory state and land use planning. The common thread running throughout the class involves the tension between private property rights and the rights of the public.
International Human Rights - Prof. Martin
“Human rights” – everyone seems to discuss them, but few seem to understand them, or use them correctly. Whether it’s the war in Syria, resulting in millions of refugees looking for safety, or contaminated water in West Virginia and Michigan, or cuts to welfare benefits, the term “human rights” is often used but not often well explained. International human rights law is about the way the international community answers serious questions about the relationship of individuals to the state, and the relationship between persons (including, perhaps, corporations) living together within a community. Among the issues we address in this three-credit course include: What duties do countries have to protect the rights of human beings? What exactly does it mean to have the right to life under international law? Do corporations have rights? And if we have so many rights under international law, how exactly do you enforce them.
Securities Regulation - Prof. Martin
Securities Regulation serves as a foundation for any law student interested in pursuing a career as a transactional, securities, or corporate law. In short, you need this course more than you think: not to be too dire but, the number one type of legal malpractice cases for business lawyers is not advising their clients on the role of the securities laws. Why? Because securities regulation can pertain to orange groves, payday schemes and even horse racing. But wait! That’s not all. In addition to being a regulatory overlay for a basic business practice, securities regulation deals with anything and everything to do with the stock market; from mergers and acquisitions, fraud, and of course, insider trading. One final thing – for anyone wishing to know more about commercial transactions and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) please feel free to register for Sales and Secured Transactions – I would hate to see the rush out the door when people realize that Securities Regulation is something different.
Advanced Evidence: Experts - Prof. McDiarmid
This course will cover the substantive law, the legal skills, and the scientific problems which attend the use of expert witnesses in United States, West Virginia, and other state courts. The goals are the teach students how to understand this developing field of law, how to practice within that field, and how to argue for policy changes required to improve the field. Students will be evaluated using a mid-term examination, a short policy paper (1-2 pp), exercises designed to evaluate lawyering skills, and a final analytical paper and presentation on an actual current case (5-10 pp). Evidence is a pre-requisite. It is also desirable to have taken either pre-trial litigation or trial advocacy.
Alternative Dispute Resolution - Prof. Rhee
Alternative Dispute Practicum - Prof. Rhee
What is the difference between the Alternative Dispute Resolution (LAW 750) class
and the ADR Practicum LAW 793U?
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Class is a three-credit survey course
that explores, among others, negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations without
any interaction with independent third parties. While that class does complete
some simulations for familiarization, the simulations are solely between students
in the class.
In contrast, the one-credit pass-fail ADR Practicum is focused on self-reflective
practical ADR experience with real-life independent third parties. The ADR Practicum
is primarily focused on self-reflective practice mediating real-life Magistrate
Court cases but we are also incorporating other real-life ADR opportunities like
mediating pro bono Legal Aid and Clinic cases, coaching WVU students in conflict
resolution, teaching K-12 students conflict resolution, facilitating dialogue between
WVU and community members on divisive political and social issues, and participating
in inter-school ADr competitions.
Do I have to take both classes together?
No, you can take ADR or ADR Practicum separately. ADR is not a prerequisite for
ADR Practicum.
What is the difference between the ADR class and Interviewing, Counseling, and
Negotiation (ICN)?
While ICN is offered in the fall semester, ADR is offered in the spring. Both classes
substantively overlap with negotiations. Otherwise, only ICN covers interviewing
and counseling your client and only ADR covers mediation and arbitration. Neither
class is a prerequisite for the other. You can take both classes. ADR Practicum
is also offered in the fall.
If you have any other questions, please email Prof. Will Rhee at william.rhee@mail.wvu.edu.
Race/Racism and American Law - Prof. Rhee
In his 1944 book The American Dilemma, the Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal famously wrote that the problem of race “is an integral part of, or a special phase of, the whole complex of problems in the larger American civilization.” Although this nation has undeniably made progress over the almost 80 years since Myrdal’s book, the distinctively American dilemma of race remains unresolved. This scholarly writing seminar satisfies the perspective requirement. Accordingly, we shall examine different legal perspectives on race, to include so-called critical race theory and so-called colorblind constitutionalism. Non-negotiable prerequisites to taking this course are a commitment to civil discourse and the willingness to understand—not necessarily to agree with—opposing viewpoints accurately and deeply. Likewise, while you are encouraged to take a strong position on race in your seminar paper, to perform well in this class your paper must also acknowledge and persuasively respond to opposing viewpoints. Please email Prof. Rhee with any questions at william.rhee@mail.wvu.edu
The Scholarly Writing Workshop - Prof. Stimeling
Are you planning to enroll in a seminar course this semester? If so, you should consider enrolling in this one-credit, pass/fail course designed to take the mystery and some of the stress out of writing a seminar paper. This course will allow students to gain a better understanding of the qualities and expectations of a seminar paper, and course assignments will help students progress through the seminar paper writing process. As a class, we will work together to support each other, share ideas, address challenges, and offer feedback throughout the writing process. Students previously enrolled in this course found it helpful in keeping their writing on track, and they found that the supportive environment increased their confidence in their writing. Note: You must be enrolled in a seminar course to take this class.
Remedies - Prof. Titolo
What can the law provide to parties who have been wronged? The answer can be found in the law of remedies, which is arguably the most important part of any lawsuit. Remedies, after all, are the primary motivation for parties to litigate in the first place. We will discuss legal theories and principles of remedies, including: legal and equitable remedies; compensatory damages; punitive damages; restitution and unjust enrichment; declaratory judgments and injunctive relief. A mix of practice and theory, this is a great course for students who plan on pursuing a career in civil litigation, but also a helpful review for substantive areas of the law you learned throughout law school such as contracts, torts and statutory causes of action.
Constitutional History - Prof. Titolo
This course focuses on the historical forces that shaped the American constitutional tradition from the late eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. Topics include: the legal context of British governance prior to the American Revolution; the controversy over colonial taxation and the culture of rights in the late eighteenth century; the ratification debates, the compromise Constitution and the question of slavery; economic development, the fiscal state and the Constitution; slavery, Dred Scott & the crisis of the 1850s; Reconstruction and Jim Crow; immigration and citizenship; the New Deal and the Civil Rights revolution. Readings will include classic legal cases and primary sources, and also selections from recent books and articles by leading historians on the development of the American constitutional tradition. Grading will have several components. First, there will be a short interpretive essay on a legal case of historical interest. Second, there will be a final research paper of 15-20 pages on any relevant topic of interest to the student, developed in one-on-one consultations with the professor.
Evidence - Prof. Trychta
"Evidence” explores the Federal Rules of Evidence in the courtroom setting. The course, as taught by Prof. Trychta, focuses exclusive on the FRE (not state rules) and aims to prepare students for both the bar exam and careers in litigation. The course is taught in a flipped classroom, active-learning model, meaning that students will be called upon every class to respond to practice multiple-choice questions, evaluate hypothetical scenarios, diagram rule structures, and offer insights on the policies behind the rules. The course offers multiple opportunities for assessment, including self-paced homework problems, in class quizzes, midterm exam, and comprehensive final exam. The final exam is modeled after the Evidence section of the bar exam, i.e. time crunched multiple choice and short-form essays.
MBE Skills (Bar Prep) Workshop - Prof. Trychta
Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) Skills Workshop is designed to provide in-depth training in the legal reasoning needed to successfully answer multiple-choice questions on the bar examination in any U.S. jurisdiction. This course is meant to serve as an introduction to bar exam studying and is available to every graduating student. This is a two-credit, pass/fail course, and will be offered entirely online using self-paced learning modules. While students will rely on outside resources for content (like the Themis videos and Strategies & Tactics book), the assignments will be submitted and graded entirely in e-campus. More specifically, for each module, students will be tasked with:
- watching roughly 4 hours of lecture videos in the Themis portal,
- reading the corresponding material in the Strategies & Tactics book (recommended),
- completing a lecture comprehension quiz on e-campus,
- completing practice multiple choice questions on e-campus, and
- drafting a self-reflection regarding your performance.
The course also offers weekly exercises designed to assist students in completing the character and fitness component of the bar exam application process.
