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2020-2021 Academic Catalog and Student Handbook [Archived Catalog]
Course Descriptions
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Master of Legal Studies |
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MLS 445 - Capstone Course
Required
This course is the culminating experience of the MLS program. It provides students with the opportunity to analyze the practical implications of legal principles and procedures in the context of a specific professional environment. Each student will identify a workplace (such as a hospital, school, law enforcement agency, small business, whether real or hypothetical) and will research the impact of laws and regulations on that setting. Students will present a comprehensive paper at the course conclusion. The Capstone course is supervised by a member of the faculty who approves both the topic and the specific format of the research project. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 500 - Privacy Dilemmas
Elective
This course provides an in-depth look at the scope of privacy rights and the institutional practices and processes that may affect those rights. The course will cover the technology, laws and policies related to privacy issues, including those raised by wiretapping, stored data collection and mining, location tracking, drones and social media. Concentration: Frontiers. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 501 - Bio-Legal Issues
Elective
This course examines the legal and related ethical issues that arise from biomedical research and use of medical technologies. The curriculum may include issues arising from end-of-life care, assisted reproductive technologies, genetic and regenerative medicine research, organ transplantation, cloning and human subject research. Concentration: Frontiers. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 502 - Global Relationships
Elective
This course is a study of the legal rules surrounding the hiring, treatment, and termination of employees, their application in the workforce, and administrative and legal remedies for violations. The course covers Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other federal and state laws concerning employment discrimination and wrongful discharge. Topics include workforce policies, staff manual provisions, employee evaluations, and employment litigation. Concentration: Frontiers. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 503 - Emerging Threats
Elective
This course will provide a systematic study of the legal mechanisms used by governments to respond to emerging threats to security, such as those arising from terrorism, climate change, and public health crises. It will also examine the legal implications of management responses and mitigation strategies. Concentration: Frontiers. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 504 - Emerging Threats with Residency
Elective
This course will provide a systematic study of the legal mechanisms used by governments to respond to emerging threats to security, such as those arising from terrorism, climate change, and public health crises. It will also examine the legal implications of management responses and mitigation strategies. In addition to doing online coursework, students will participate in a multi-day Residency program, during which they will have the opportunity to engage in discussions about these issues with leaders in the legal profession, government, and other fields. Concentration: Frontiers. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 510 - Regulation and Compliance
Elective
Legal/regulatory compliance requirements have seen a sharp increase globally. This increase reflects the rather rapid development of normative values regarding compliance and ethics of society at large. This course will review the various types of compliance requirements, and examine related issues such as compliance audits, document retention policies, data security, IT procedures, privacy concerns and governance. It will also address the analytical tools necessary to understand the complexities of compliance as part of a risk analysis and the role of compliance in shaping an entity’s strategy. Concentration: Regulatory. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 511 - Liability, Risk and Insurance
Elective
All businesses and governments face potential assertions of legal liability, and run the risk of having a penalty assessed against them by a court; they must therefore insure against or otherwise offset the risk of such liability. This course will explore the liabilities faced by modern businesses and governments, the kinds of risks that can flow from those liabilities and the instruments and strategies employed to offset that risk, including choice of a particular business structure. Concentration: Regulatory. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 512 - Data Security & Breach
Elective
This course will examine legal requirements applicable to data security, including responses to data breach. Topics include laws applicable to public and private entities, methods of data breach investigation, data breach notice requirements and practical considerations, and legal risks exposure arising from data breach and notice. Concentration: Regulatory. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 513 - Data Security & Breach with Residency
Elective
This course will examine legal requirements applicable to data security, including responses to data breach. Topics include laws applicable to public and private entities, methods of data breach investigation, data breach notice requirements and practical considerations, and legal risks exposure arising from data breach and notice. In addition to doing online coursework, students will participate in a multi-day Residency program, during which they will have the opportunity to engage in discussions about these issues with leaders in the legal profession, government, and other fields. Concentration: Regulatory. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 514 - Litigation Operations
Elective
This course will examine the challenges faced by litigants in the digital age, focusing on the growing importance (and cost) of electronic discovery. This course will cover four general topics: a) optimized roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders (the entity, in-house and outside law firms, and litigation services companies); b) the importance of well-defined process and project management principles in coordinating a response to litigation, including the principles of excellent investigation; how to identify issues and then plan an investigation; and how to conduct thorough witness interviews; c) cost management in the inherently unpredictable process of identifying and sorting through “big data”; and d) litigation technology. The discussion will focus on the “best practices” established by field practitioners who have identified methods for reducing risks and mitigating costs. Concentration: Regulatory. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (3 units)
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MLS 620 - Capstone Continuation
Elective
Students who do not complete the 4-unit Capstone course within one term may continue their capstone project for an additional term by enrolling in this course. Prerequisite: Elective courses. In order to take elective courses, MLS students must first complete three of the required core courses, not including the Capstone course. Units: (0 units)
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Hybrid Juris Doctor |
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LAW 6000 - Introduction to Legal Fundamentals
This course will provides an introduction to fundamental legal principles and the conceptual framework of the American legal system. Students will study the development of common law and the creation of statutes; the structure of and the relationship between the federal and state court systems; and the processes used to resolve disputes. Units: 3
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LAW 6001 - Introduction to Legal Writing and Analysis
This course teaches the essential skills needed to read, analyze, and write about the law using expected formats, including organization, analysis, citation, the writing process, using plain English, and understanding expected formats. The course focuses on the office memorandum as the basis for teaching the skills necessary to write many different types of legal documents. Units: 3
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LAW 6002 - Introduction to Legal Research
Required
This course provides an introduction to the tools and methods of legal research in primary and secondary sources. Emphasis is placed on federal and California materials, including constitutions, statutes, cases and regulations, in both print and electronic media. Units: 2
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LAW 6115 - Contracts I
Required
A study of the fundamental principles that govern the creation, interpretation, enforcement, and termination of agreements. Course coverage includes contract formation, the Statute of Frauds, assignment and delegation of contracts, express and implied contracts, and remedies available for breach of contract. Units: 3
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LAW 6116 - Contracts II
Required
A study of the fundamental principles that govern the creation, interpretation, enforcement, and termination of agreements. Course coverage includes contract formation, the Statute of Frauds, assignment and delegation of contracts, express and implied contracts, and remedies available for breach of contract. Prerequisite: LAW 6115 Contracts I Units: 3
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LAW 6125 - Torts I
Required
This course considers the nature and extent of the legal protection afforded against interference by others with the security of one’s person, property, or intangible interests. The course covers civil liability for intentional and unintentional behavior, the law of negligence, strict liability, vicarious liability, various forms of immunity, damages and other remedies. Also addressed are: strict and products liability, defamation, invasion of privacy and business-related torts. Units: 3
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LAW 6126 - Torts II
Required
This course surveys cases and material on a wide range of torts, strict and products liability, defamation, invasion of privacy and business-related torts. Prerequisite: LAW 6125 - Torts I Units: 3
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LAW 6205 - Civil Procedure I
Required
This course covers the procedural rules governing civil lawsuits, primarily in federal courts. Topics include the proper court in which to file a lawsuit, joinder of parties and causes of action, discovery, pretrial motions, conduct of a trial, and conflict between state and federal judicial systems.
Units: 3
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LAW 6206 - Civil Procedure II
Required
This course covers the procedural rules governing civil lawsuits, primarily in federal courts. Topics include the proper court in which to file a lawsuit, joinder of parties and causes of action, discovery, pretrial motions, conduct of a trial, and conflict between state and federal judicial systems. Prerequisite: LAW 6205 - Civil Procedure I Units: 3
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LAW 6215 - Real Property I
Required
An analysis of basic property concepts, including the definition, acquisition and transfer of real property. Principal areas covered include the history of land transactions, landlord/tenant relations, land development, public and private control of land use, non-possessory rights in land, covenants and restrictions on the land, and recordation and title searches. Units: 3
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LAW 6216 - Real Property II
Required
An analysis of basic property concepts, including the definition, acquisition and transfer of real property. Principal areas covered include the history of land transactions, landlord/tenant relations, land development, public and private control of land use, non-possessory rights in land, covenants and restrictions on the land, and recordation and title searches. Prerequisite: LAW 6215 - Real Property I Units: 3
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LAW 6225 - Community Property
A survey of the laws relating to community property in California, the fundamentals of that property system, and how it effects virtually every other area of law. Separate and community property, liability for debts and torts, control and management of assets, fiduciary duties between spouses, and the distribution of property on dissolution or death are analyzed in this course. Units: 3
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LAW 6305 - Evidence
Required
This class will introduce and discuss fundamental concepts of evidence codified in the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) and the California Evidence Code (CEC). Units: 3
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LAW 6315 - Constitutional Law I
Required
To understand and become familiar with the substantive issues presented in the study of constitutional law so that the student is able to recognize those issues, research their status as they evolve over time, and incorporate them as required to deal with factual situations presented in the practice of law. Units: 3
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LAW 6316 - Constitutional Law II
Required
To understand and become familiar with the substantive issues presented in the study of constitutional law so that the student is able to recognize those issues, research their status as they evolve over time, and incorporate them as required to deal with factual situations presented in the practice of law. Prerequisite: LAW 6315 - Constitutional Law I Units: 3
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LAW 6325 - Professional Responsibility
Required
An overview of the role of an attorney in society, the attorney -client relationship, ethical standards and the responsibility of an attorney to the client, court and public. Consistent with the requirements of the California Bar Exam, this course will cover California Rules of Professional Conduct (CRPC), relevant sections of the California Business and Professions Code(Bus. & Prof. Code), the California Code of Judicial Ethics and leading federal and state case law on the subject of professional responsibility, in addition to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (ABA MRPC), and the ABA Rules of Judicial Conduct. This course is not designed as preparation for the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), a multiple-choice examination which is administered independently from the California Bar Exam. Units: 3
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LAW 6345 - Remedies
Remedies is a comparison of legal and equitable remedies based on a particular fact scenario. Because most states have merged courts of law and courts of equity (“merger of law and equity”), a plaintiff may seek legal remedies and equitable remedies in the same action. Units: 3
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LAW 6355 - Bar Studies
This course will emphasize the analytical, writing, time-management and organizational skills necessary to prepare for the California General Bar Exam. Students will have the opportunity to become familiar with the subjects tested and formats presented by the exam, including essay, multiple choice and performance test sections. Study and exam-taking strategies will be examined in the context of several bar-tested subjects. Units: 3
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LAW 6415 - Constitutional Criminal Procedure
An exploration of the basic constitutional issues underlying the criminal justice system and the limitations placed on government in its attempt to enforce the criminal law. Specifically covered are the exclusionary rules, arrest, search and seizure, identification of suspects, the right to counsel, and the right to a jury trial. Units: 3
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LAW 6500 - Contemporary Legal Problem Solving
Contemporary Legal Problem Solving explores current approaches to dealing with legal conflicts outside of the litigation process. While traditional legal education tends to emphasize litigation and trial advocacy, actual legal practice more often involves creative problem solving that occurs outside the courtroom. This course will delve into the various methods practicing attorneys use to resolve contemporary legal disputes. From mediation and arbitration to collaborative law and the use of artificial intelligence, Contemporary Legal Problem Solving will allow students to explore the theoretical underpinnings of these important skills and apply them in an engaged online learning environment. Students will complete this course with a better understanding of the different ways in which lawyers can resolve legal problems without resorting to litigation. Units: 3
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LAW 6510 - Comparative Legal Systems
In this course, students learn about the U.S. legal system as it compares to legal systems of countries around the world. Topics include sources of law, organization of courts and the judicial process, and legal education and the legal profession. Students also review case studies that examine how different legal systems and societal issues influence one another to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between law and society. Units: 3
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LAW 6900 - Lawyering Skills: Practical Skills I
Required
Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment.
Units: 1
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LAW 6910 - Lawyering Skills: Litigation I
Building and Telling the Story-Complaint to Motion for Summary Judgment: Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment. Units: 1
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LAW 6911 - Lawyering Skills: Litigation II
Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment. Prerequisite:LAW 6202 Civil Procedure II or LAW 6206 Civil Procedure II Units: 1
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LAW 6920 - Lawyering Skills: Transactional I
Introduction to Transactional Lawyering Skills: Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment. Units: 1
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LAW 6921 - Lawyering Skills: Transactional II
Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment. Prerequisite: LAW 6125 Torts I Units: 1
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LAW 6930 - Lawyering Skills: Professional Leadership and Development I
You have your JD-Now What?: Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment. Units: 1
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LAW 6931 - Lawyering Skills: Professional Leadership and Development II
Each Lawyering Skills unit is dedicated to a practical skill needed by attorneys. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with practicing attorneys and judges to learn, practice and master the skills in a simulated environment. Prerequisite: LAW 6125 Torts I Units: 1
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LAW 7000 - Capstone
Required
This course provides students the opportunity to demonstrate that they have synthesized the knowledge, skills, and values presented throughout the J.D. program. Students are provided a client file that presents a set of facts. The student will assess and develop the facts, identify the legal issues, perform necessary research, create a plan for addressing the issues identified, and execute the plan. Units: 3
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