As a complement to your law school seminar, the goal of Advanced Legal and Scholarly Writing (ALSW) is to help you become a better legal researcher and writer. In ALSW your professor leads you through drafting a scholarly paper in English, from selecting a topic to finalizing a full draft. You will submit several writing assignments that map onto your seminar paper, culminating in submitting your best final draft. 

This course focuses primarily on the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments (free speech, due process, and equal protection) and the role of the Supreme Court as ultimate interpreter and guardian of the Bill of Rights.

Note for Professor Barnett's Fall section: As a way to understand the structure of current doctrines, Professor Barnett’s course will stress how and why the doctrines evolved from the Founding through the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Warren and Rehnquist Courts to the Roberts Court today. The course will also stress the effect that slavery had on the original Constitution and the Reconstruction Amendments. Coverage will include the Second and Ninth Amendments. Professor Barnett's section will consist of a 3-hour unit consisting of two 85 minute class sessions and a 1-hour unit consisting of video presentations on the theory and practice of originalism that students can view at their convenience at any time before or during the semester.  Internet access on any device is not allowed during class; all laptop use is disallowed in Professor Barnett's course (unless necessary to conduct Zoom instruction).  

Learning goals for Professor Spann's section

The primary goal of the course is to teach students how to manipulate the doctri­nal rules and underlying policy consid­era­tions that govern the topics in the course, and to get students to confront the norma­tive implications raised by such vast amounts of doctrinal indetermi­nacy, especially for the law’s claim of neutrality toward subordinated groups. 

Students should note that Corporations is a prerequisite for Advanced Corporate Law, Comparative Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, Securities Regulation, Business Planning Seminar, and corporate law seminars.

This is a basic course in business corporations. Brief coverage is given to factors bearing on choice of organization, including partnership attributes, process of corporate formation, corporate privileges and powers, corporate capital structure, and limited liability. Close examination is given to the governance structure of the corporation and the fiduciary obligations of directors and officers. The particular nature of the public corporation is explored. Topics studied may include stock trading by corporate insiders, transactions in corporation control, and the procedural problems in stockholder derivative suits. Along with a focus on such policy questions as federal-state jurisdiction, the nature of the corporate governance system, and the role of the corporation in modern society, the course deals with the role of the lawyer in corporate matters.

This course will presume familiarity with the basic vocabulary and fundamental concepts of corporate law and focus on salient divergent features of US corporate law.

Students should note that Corporations is a prerequisite for Advanced Corporate Law, Comparative Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, Securities Regulation, Business Planning Seminar, and corporate law seminars.

This is a basic course in business organizations with a primary focus on corporations and including a brief examination of limited liability companies. Throughout the course, students will consider the role of lawyers in corporate matters. Brief coverage is given to factors bearing on choice of organization, including process of corporate formation, corporate privileges and powers, corporate capital structure, and limited liability. Close examination is given to the governance structure of the corporation and the obligations of directors and officers. The particular nature of the public corporation is explored. Topics studied may include stock trading by corporate insiders, transactions in corporation control, the procedural problems in stockholder derivative suits, and judicial disregard of the corporate form.

Lawyers, regardless of their practice area, need to be able to negotiate and communicate effectively—to resolve disputes, make deals, solve problems, promote the public interest, persuade judges, juries, bosses, and colleagues, and assist clients in navigating legal systems.

This course introduces foreign-educated LL.M. students to the principles, processes and techniques for drafting contracts in the United States, but with a cross-border, multi-country setting. Students will develop skills in reading and interpreting a contract and will thereby better understand the function of its component provisions. Students will learn how to draft contract provisions with precision and clarity. Among the topics covered will be: the structure of the contract, representations, covenants, conditions, allocation of risk, incentives, stipulative provisions, remedies, enforceability, and applicable law. The course will address the lawyer’s role in deal-making, including the negotiation of the contract’s terms and related ethical and practical aspects of transactional practice. Some attention will be devoted to characteristics of U.S. legal culture that contribute to the distinct features of its contracts.

This course introduces foreign-educated LL.M. students to the principles, processes and techniques for drafting contracts in the United States. Students will develop skills in reading and interpreting a contract and will thereby better understand the function of its component provisions. Students will learn how to draft contract provisions with precision and clarity. Among the topics covered will be: the structure of the contract, representations, covenants, conditions, allocation of risk, incentives, stipulative provisions, remedies, enforceability, and applicable law. The course will address the lawyer’s role in deal-making, including the negotiation of the contract’s terms and related ethical and practical aspects of transactional practice. 

This course provides a general survey of the rules of evidence and the reasons underlying these rules with a particular emphasis on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Included are the subjects of relevance, examination of witnesses, privileges, expert testimony, admission and exclusion of evidence, writings, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, and scientific evidence, among other subjects relating to the regulation of proof at trials.

The course, taught by a former federal judge who was also a prosecutor, will focus on the actual problems confronted in trials when evidence is offered at those trials. The course intends to equip students with the practical working knowledge that can be used to try a case competently.

This course introduces foreign-educated LL.M. students to the basics of American law and to the special dynamics of the U.S. legal classroom before they begin a full schedule of classes in the Fall semester. Students will learn about the U.S. legal system, common law reasoning, and contemporary legal issues in the United States. This course will teach common law development and the judicial process through a study of traditional law school subjects, including criminal procedure, corporations, contracts, and constitutional law.

Intensive Legal English Program (no credits)

Instructors: Andrew Kerr, Julie Lake, Almas Khan

Intensive Legal English Program (non-credit) consists of a three-week intensive written and oral communication skills curriculum. The curriculum focuses on English language skills needed to succeed in the LL.M. program. Students will enhance their daily, academic and professional English skills, as well as their understanding of U.S. legal culture.

This program is limited to 20 students. The faculty has a wide range of practical and academic experience and will work closely with students in classroom instruction and individual conferences four days a week and planned excursions in the Washington, DC area one day a week. The small class size, high faculty-to-student ratio and pre- and post-program assessments will allow each student to receive individualized feedback and attention to work toward his or her professional and academic goals in the use of legal English. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a Certificate in Professional Legal English.

Questions: Contact the Legal English Program Director, slep@law.georgetown.edu

This course will introduce students to a substantive area of American law: contracts. This course exposes students to the major themes in contract law. Specifically, we will cover contract formation, breach of contract, and contract remedies. Focusing exclusively on the common law, this class will familiarize students with the basic concepts of offer, acceptance, consideration, performance, breach, remedies, and third party issues.

Learning objectives:

To understand the fundamental principles of the law of contracts.

This course will introduce students to the American law of torts. It will focus on the basics of common law negligence, and explore five major areas: duty, breach of duty, causation, affirmative defenses and damages. The course will also cover two other specific types of tort claims - medical malpractice and products liability - and their relationship to the common law negligence cause of action.

This course will introduce students to the American law of torts. It will focus first on negligence, and explore five major areas: duty, breach of duty, scope of liability, affirmative defenses and damages. It will then use product liability law as an example of the imposition of strict tort liability.

This course will cover the major issues that arise in litigating civil cases in the federal courts of the United States. Following an introduction to the structure and process for judicial review in the federal and state courts, the readings and discussions will cover personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction and venue in federal courts and the key litigation phases/procedures (e.g. pleadings, motions practice, discovery, joinder of parties and claims, etc.), related statutory requirements and provision, problems of mixed federal and state law claims, what law applies in federal will also provide a general overview of the appellate process.

This course provides an overview of the major constitutional cases over the last 200 years. A portion of the course focuses on how the Constitution affects the fundamental structure of American government. Particular attention will be paid to the critical balances of power between the Federal and state governments (federalism) and among the three branches of the Federal government. The rest of the course will focus on individual rights, with particular emphasis on individual rights in the areas of equal protection, and substantive due process.

The United States Constitution is the basic charter between the American people and their national government. This course will introduce you to some of the foundational legal concepts and questions surrounding that document. We will examine those concepts and questions primarily by reading decisions of the United States Supreme Court that interpret and apply the Constitution.   

In the first part of the course, we will focus on the Constitution’s provisions that create the structure of the federal government. We will learn how those provisions divide power between the federal and state governments and separate the powers granted to the federal government among its three branches. We will also examine the scope of the powers granted to the President and Congress. 

In the second portion of the course, we will study the Constitution’s protections for individual rights. The focus of that study will be the guarantees of equal protection, due process, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion found in the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution

This course provides an overview of the major constitutional cases over the last 200 years. A portion of the course focuses on how the Constitution affects the fundamental structure of American government. Particular attention will be paid to the critical balances of power between the Federal and state governments (federalism) and among the three branches of the Federal government. The rest of the course will focus on individual rights, with particular emphasis on individual rights in the areas of equal protection, and substantive due process.

This course introduces students to the institutions, methods, and practices at the core of the American common-law legal system. During the first half of the course we will focus on the Judicial Branch of the Government. We will examine the structure and boundaries of judicial power; the procedural mechanisms through which that power is exercised; and the ways in which common-law courts make (or decline to make) law. We will pay close attention to the political and social contexts in which the cases that we study arise, and we will consider how changing contexts affect the judicial decision-making process. During the second half of the course, we will turn our attention to the Legislative Branch of the Government, with special attention to problems of statutory construction. We will examine the tools—both legal and linguistic—that common-law courts employ when called upon to determine the proper interpretation of a statute.

This course introduces students to the institutions, methods, and practices at the core of the American common-law legal system. During the first half of the course we will focus on the Judicial Branch of the Government. We will examine the structure and boundaries of judicial power; the procedural mechanisms through which that power is exercised; and the ways in which common-law courts make (or decline to make) law. We will pay close attention to the political and social contexts in which the cases that we study arise, and we will consider how changing contexts affect the judicial decision-making process. During the second half of the course, we will turn our attention to the Legislative Branch of the Government, with special attention to problems of statutory construction. We will examine the tools—both legal and linguistic—that common-law courts employ when called upon to determine the proper interpretation of a statute.

Students will produce a substantive paper comprising not less than 40 pages, addressing a current violation of African women’s human rights, and including innovative and practical solutions targeted to the various branches of government, civil society, and individual women. Students will develop their theses in consideration of the social, religious, cultural and economic conditions of the country or countries addressed. The first half of the course will examine comparative women’s human rights on the specific topics selected by the students during LAWA Seminar I. The second half of the course will be dedicated to the oral presentation of research papers and discussion of these paper topics, including preparation for presentations before USAID and other interested audiences. This course is open only to Fellows in the Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Program.

This seminar focuses on the communication skills lawyers are required to master. The seminar includes work on the preparation and presentation of informational briefings and persuasive speeches to both expert and lay audiences, from a listening perspective. The seminar does not address trial or appellate advocacy skills. In addition to lecture/discussions of the principles and techniques, students deliver presentations which are video-recorded, analyzed and critiqued by the seminar participants and the professor.

Learning objectives:

Upon completion of this course, students will have an understanding of and enhanced professional skill in creating and presenting listenable presentations.

This course provides a practical and practice-oriented approach to the ethical, moral, and social issues that lawyers deal with in the practice of law. The primary objectives are to prepare students to recognize ethical problems when they arise; identify the applicable authorities – in particular the rules of professional conduct – that are most likely to bear on the matter; and arrive at a sound resolution. Necessary to these ends will be consideration of the ways in which the ethics rules address the often competing interests of clients, opposing parties, non-parties, the justice system as a whole, and lawyers themselves. 

Class discussions will focus primarily on the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Because disciplinary matters are largely the responsibility of state supreme courts, most of the cases we will discuss arise under the ethics rules adopted by individual states (which are often based on, but not always identical to, the ABA Model Rules). We will also discuss a limited number of federal cases that implicate ethical issues, including the recusal of judges and First Amendment considerations.

Although particular attention will be placed on the ABA Model Rules and other authorities that govern the resolution of ethical issues, some attention will be paid to putting the subject in a setting that encompasses both a macroscopic view of the role of lawyers in society and a more earth-bound understanding of the processes by which the professional responsibilities of lawyers are enforced. 

This course provides a practical and practice-oriented approach to the ethical, moral, and social issues that lawyers deal with in the practice of law. The primary objectives are to prepare students to recognize ethical problems when they arise; identify the applicable authorities – in particular the rules of professional conduct – that are most likely to bear on the matter; and arrive at a sound resolution. Necessary to these ends will be consideration of how the ethics rules address the often competing interests of clients, opposing parties, non-parties, the justice system as a whole, and lawyers themselves.
Class discussions will focus primarily on the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Because disciplinary matters are largely the responsibility of state supreme courts, most of the cases we will discuss arise under the ethics rules adopted by individual states (which are often based on, but not always identical to, the ABA Model Rules). We will also discuss a limited number of federal cases that implicate ethical issues, including the recusal of judges and First Amendment considerations.
Although particular attention will be placed on the ABA Model Rules and other authorities that govern the resolution of ethical issues, some attention will be paid to putting the subject in a setting that encompasses both a macroscopic view of the role of lawyers in society and a more earth-bound understanding of the processes by which the professional responsibilities of lawyers are enforced.

This course introduces students to scholarly legal writing, focusing on African women’s human rights topics. Students will be introduced to legal research techniques for selecting and narrowing their topics. These strategies will help students to develop a "kernel," which is a well-researched and well-written 10-page background section of their thesis. In addition to regular class meetings to discuss research strategies, outlining techniques, organization tools, use of footnotes for authority and attribution, and audience expectations, students will meet with the professor to discuss the progress of their writing. Students will receive written feedback from the professor on each submission. Students will be required to research and write at least 10 pages combining scholarship with their original thoughts or experiences on their topics. At least two drafts must be submitted and revised during the course to receive a passing grade.

This course will provide students with a historical framework for understanding how the United States Constitution reached its current form. Students will focus on the ways in which political processes and social forces impacted constitutional developments in the United States. Constitutional norms will be covered in passing, while the primary focus will be on events unfolding in American society as the legal concepts came into existence. 

The course is designed for foreign-trained LL.M. students and will provide participants with a conceptual framework for better understanding Constitutional Law I. 

An examination of the basic Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment principles that govern the interaction of the police and suspects in the investigation of crime. From stop and frisks to coerced confessions, the course will examine the constitutional doctrines developed to regulate police behavior and the admissibility of evidence. The core concepts will include the definition of a “search,” the meaning of probable cause and reasonable suspicion, the requirement of a search warrant and the many exceptions to the warrant requirement, Miranda and related limits on interrogation, and the pre-trial right to counsel. The course will also focus on the role of the courts in enforcing the constitutional guarantees, particularly through the exclusionary rule.

Introduces students to U.S. legal resources, research methods, and analytical paradigms. Assignments give students the opportunity to develop written analyses using the approaches, forms, and conventions common in U.S. law. Students will write a series of documents that are related to their representation of a client in the context of a U.S. law firm. Students will analyze the client's legal position, perform individual legal research on the related law, and write a legal memorandum that will address the client's concerns. Students will also give oral presentations of their research findings. Students will receive individual feedback on both written and oral work.

This class will introduce students to U.S. legal resources, research methods, and analytical paradigms, and will give students the opportunity to develop written analysis using the approaches, forms, and conventions common in U.S. law. Students will write a series of documents that are related to their representation of a client in their context of a U.S. law firm, and will give oral presentations of their research findings. Students will receive individual feedback on both written and oral work.

Students will write a series of documents that are related to their representation of a client in the context of a U.S. law firm. Students will analyze the client's legal position, perform individual legal research on the related law, and prepare memoranda that will address the client's concerns. Students will receive individual feedback on their written work. 

This section of USLRAW provides a comprehensive introduction to US legal writing that is designed exclusively for students in the Two-Year LLM Program. 

In the first half of the semester, students will explore US legal discourse through a critical examination of legal resources, research methods, and analytical paradigms.  During this first half of the semester, students will meet as a large group with Legal English faculty to review language, form, and rhetorical conventions that US lawyers use in legal writing.

In the second half of the semester, students will meet in smaller groups with adjunct faculty where students will apply what they have learned in the first half of the semester.  Each student will do independent legal research and write a legal memorandum.  As part of this legal writing project, students will also meet with law librarians to learn more about legal research and citation.

Each student will submit a first draft of the memorandum, and the Legal English faculty and the adjunct faculty will provide written feedback on the first draft.  After an individual conference with a faculty member, each student will submit a final draft of the memorandum.