Catalog

Project- based learning courses, a relatively new curricular offering at NYLS, cover a range of subjects and offer students a chance to practice lawyering skills from client representation to project planning and collaboration. Classes are small, and participating students work together with close guidance from a faculty member on campus carrying out a project, generally with concrete, real-word significance. Examples of projects include creating a Web site on a legal subject, developing policies for a board of education’s policy manual, and co-drafting an amicus curiae brief (with many other possibilities as well). These courses are usually yearlong and generally are offered for 2, 3, or 4 credits, and on a pass-fail or graded basis, as decided by the professor.

Civil Justice Through The Courts
Conservation Law and Policy
Community-Based Initiatives in Family Law Reform
CRES Capstone Seminar on Real Estate Transactional Skills
Detention in the War Against Terrorism
European Union Business Law: European Competition Law after the T-Mobile Decision
The Guardianship Project
Immigration Law and Litigation
International Law Workshop
Knowledge Management in Corporate Practice
Legal Reporting I, II, III and IV
Racial Justice Litigation
Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team

CIVIL JUSTICE THROUGH THE COURTS (graded Pass/Fail with the possibility of “Pass with Distinction”)
Fall (CRN 85419)(1) & Spring (CRN 14876)(1)
Professor Joyce Saltalamachia

Students will work with the Center for Justice and Democracy, http://www.centerjd.org/, a civil justice advocacy organization, on various projects designed to raise awareness about attacks on consumer and citizen access to civil justice through the courts. In a time when so-called ‘tort reform’ once again appears to be at the center of political scrutiny, CJ&D has a mission to increase public awareness of the value of the civil justice system. Topics of interest will be medical malpractice litigation protection, product safety litigation strategies, and federal regulations, along with the full range of contemporary civil litigation areas. Possible projects include drafting legislation in conjunction with the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee, researching advocacy issues for the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, and preparing policy papers for Congressional presentation. Students will work in teams to prepare documents and present research. There will be the opportunity to discuss current tort subjects with practitioners and opinion leaders in the field. Student may have the opportunity to ‘shadow’ a practitioner during tort litigation. The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the wide variety of current issues facing personal injury practitioners and to raise student awareness of the critical role that litigation through court proceedings plays in protecting consumer and citizen health and safety.

Student competencies to be enhanced include analysis and reasoning, researching the law, influencing and advocating, writing, developing relationships within the legal profession, diligence and self-development. There are no pre-requisites beyond successful completion of the first-year Torts class. Recommended classes are Torts II, Medical Malpractice, Insurance, and Mass Torts.

The class will meet once a week, from 1:00-2:00, on either Tuesday or Thursday, depending upon the students’ schedules.

It is contemplated that this course will take from six to eight students. Application process will be through resume and one paragraph statement of interest. Selection will be by Prof. Saltalamachia, in consultation with the staff of the Center for Justice and Democracy.

COMMUNITY-BASED INITIATIVES IN FAMILY LAW REFORM
Spring (CRN 14838)(2)
Visiting Professor Beverly Balos

The course will offer students the opportunity to study and engage in experiential learning and examine the role of lawyer as problem solver in community-based settings. The students will participate in developing public policy proposals, such as changes in police or court protocol, statutory reform, or technical assistance to community organizations. Examples of projects completed in the past include mapping the family court system to identify areas of intervention and procedural obstacles for pro se litigants when domestic violence is present, current authority and use of third party “neutrals” (such a parenting coordinators) in family court and their effect on custody determinations, and an analysis of the differences and overlap between state and federal statutes regulating firearms when domestic violence is present. Once the project is agreed upon, students will work in teams to engage in research, policy formation, and development of a suggested plan for implementing their projects. Their work will require that they engage with their class colleagues, faculty, and agency staff to develop best practices and identify potential unintended consequences of proposed policy changes. The purpose of the course is to expose students to multi-disciplinary perspectives and to have them experience a range of legal roles with the goal of broadening their views with respect to the contribution lawyers can make in tackling crucial societal issues. Students also will be exposed to the formation, development, and implementation of public policy.

Students will have an opportunity to further develop professional skills and values including intellectual and cognitive skills; research and information gathering; communications; planning and organizing; conflict resolution; working with others; and character. There are no prerequisites; “Domestic Violence and the Law” is recommended. This course may satisfy course or capstone requirements of the Abbey Center or the Justice Action Center.

To apply, please submit a resume and a one paragraph statement of interest. Maximum number of students: six.

CONSERVATION LAW AND POLICY (PBL291) (1 credit in the fall, 1 credit in the spring; graded with letter grades)
Professor Gerald Korngold

Students will work on projects from The Nature Conservancy (a leading national and global conservation organization, based in Alexandria VA) as assigned through the senior vp/general counsel of TNC. These projects would cover legal and related policy issues related to TNC’s work in the public and private arenas. Depending on what is happening at the time, this might be position papers on public conservation issues, education materials for the website, working on private conservation transactions facilitated by TNC, legislative work, etc. The students will work on some projects jointly, others alone, but we will meet as a working collaborative group to discuss each other’s work, make suggestions, provide feedback, etc. The semester will begin with readings and class meetings led by the professor to provide a common background for all participants on conservation law. Class meetings will continue throughout the year, approximately every other week.

CRES CAPSTONE SEMINAR: REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONAL SKILLS (LND600) (Fall semester, 2 credits)
Professor Andrew Berman

The CRES Capstone Seminar being offered in Fall 2012 focuses on Real Estate Transactional Skills. In this course we will focus on key skills and competencies of transactional lawyers, taught in the context of a real estate transaction. Importantly, you will mostly learn not through lecture or discussion but by “doing” in various simulated situations. The skills that we will mainly focus on are interviewing, counseling, negotiation, contract drafting, legal research and preparation of a research memo, oral presentations, and the like. These will also provide opportunity for you to develop and refine competencies such as written and oral communication, organization, problem solving, creativity, teamwork, “client” relations, legal analysis, dedication and effort, giving/taking feedback, and some others. We will learn a little substantive law along the way, but that is not our focus—actually, I am counting on the Real Estate Transactions and Finance course which is a pre-requisite to provide substantive background (though I will fill in as necessary).

In addition, you will be working collaboratively with other students. Also, many of the simulations are based on real world issues that confront practicing real estate attorneys, and there will be an opportunity to present some of your work publicly. This course is also designated as a Practice Based Learning (PBL) course.

DETENTION IN THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM
Fall (CRN 85212)(2) & Spring (CRN 14685)(2)
Professor Stephen Ellmann

The central focus of this course will be on US detention policies and practices in Afghanistan, and in particular on the continued development of a website – initiated in the 2010-11 class of this same name – to collect and make available up-to-date information on this issue. Students will work on researching relevant facts about our detention policies and practices, a potentially challenging task. They will also work on identifying and mastering relevant law bearing on such issues as who can be detained, for how long, under what conditions, and with what procedural protections; the sources of law to be examined may include US constitutional law, statutory provisions and cases, as well as international and Afghan materials. Just as important, members of the class will work on assembling the factual and legal materials they have identified and presenting them in accessible ways on the site. Another important part of students’ work will be in writing their own posts/commentary on issues they identify in this field. While each member of the class will have individual responsibilities, the class is meant to function as a group project, in which members of the class will read and edit each other’s work and will as needed make group decisions about website issues.
Co-requisite: Constitutional Law

EUROPEAN UNION BUSINESS LAW: EUROPEAN COMPETITION LAW AFTER THE T-MOBILE DECISION (PBL296) (2 credits in the fall, 2 credits in the spring; regular grading)
Adjunct Professor Marc Firestone

2011-12’s successful Project Based learning Project parsed the crucial T-Mobile decision and considered the range of important issues about European antitrust law which the case raised. The class worked as a team to shape and carry out an “unpacking” of this decision. Sub-teams worked on discrete tasks, and collectively refined its thinking and identified new areas of research. Two members of the team went to Brussels and were able to meet with lawyers and officials active in competition law. The team presented their findings to an outside group of in-house and firm counsel, and created a web-site. This year’s project builds on last year’s. The second phase is to discern trends in both Commission thinking on competition law which resulted from the decision. Using contacts forged this year, students, the members of the class will work as a team to observe the impact of the decision on community law and business practices. A follow-up trip to Brussels is planned. Once again, the team will present their work at the end of the course to an outside group of in-house and firm counsel, and add to the existing web-site. Pre- or co-requisite: European Union Law; recommended: European Union Competition Law.

THE GUARDIANSHIP PROJECT (PBL 140/141) (2 credits in the fall, 2 credits in the spring)
Adjunct Professor Randi Rosenstein

Under the supervision of Professor Rosenstein of the AHRC (a leading advocacy organization in this field), students will be trained and will represent relatives of developmentally disabled or mentally retarded adult dependents to become their legal guardians, an appointment that becomes legally necessary once the DD/MR person turns 18. Many family members are unaware of this until a hospital or doctor informs asks them for proof of guardianship, and then require immediate assistance. Students will represent clients under a practice order in the Surrogate’s Court. The course offers students the opportunity to engage in an intensive, supervised experience in representing a client in a simple, screened (but always surprising) setting, in a situation in which they may be able to complete a simple matter start to finish, under expert supervision. Unlike many representation situations, this is one in which it is a win-win for all involved, who typically share the goal of establishing secure guardianship for someone who needs it. Students will learn an area of law and the skills needed to complete these important cases. The other goal is to enable students to work collaboratively on cases, and experience the need to divide work, to share accountability and responsibility, to self-critique (and be critiqued) and to experience many of the non-doctrinal parts of the practice of law. Students will also evaluate the course in terms of its value educationally and to those the project assists.

INTERNATIONAL LAW WORKSHOP
Fall (CRN 85420) (1 credit) & Spring (CRN 14589) (1 credit)
Professor Tai-Heng Cheng

In conjunction with the establishment of the Institute for Global Law, Justice and Policy, this year-long project based learning course is offered for two graded credits, for 4-6 NYLS student fellows of the new Institute. The Fellows will work with Professor Cheng on the monthly International Economic Law workshop sessions throughout the year, the Global Law and Policy Roundtable in Spring 2013, and the International Legal Theory symposium that the Institute is organizing with the Law Review in Spring 2013, among other projects. Students may also work with Prof. Cheng on the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Annual Meeting Daily Reporter (“ASIL Cables”).

IMMIGRATION LAW AND LITIGATION (PBL104)(2 credit in the fall, 2 credit in the spring)
Professor Lenni Benson

In this project based course students will be trained to screen and represent juveniles before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (the administrative immigration court). The New York immigration court has a special docket where only children’s cases are adjudicated. These children may secure counsel but no free counsel is provided at government expense. This project will require students to master the art of interviewing juveniles and/or their custodians quickly at the court pro bono rooms. Students will be given training in working with translators and juveniles. Working with mentor adjunct faculty, the students will make an assessment of the juvenile’s eligibility for potential relief from removal (deportation). Students will educate juveniles who wish to continue pro se on aspects of the immigration court procedure and strategy. If we identify juveniles who may be eligible for relief, students will prepare detailed summaries of the basic eligibility issues and then work to recruit pro bono counsel through the Justice Action Center’s Safe Passage Project. Students will observe court proceedings and participate in a court watch database. Students may also be required to attend and/or observe family court proceedings concerning guardianships for juveniles. Students will draft research memoranda and sample briefs in support of special immigrant juvenile petitions and or guardianship proceedings. There will be substantial coordination with other non-profit organizations. Recommended prerequisite: Immigration and Nationality Law.

The course is for four credits, two for each semester. Credits are pass/fail. Students must be available to attend the Juvenile Immigration Docket once a month on Thursday mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Additional class meetings and trainings will use free Thursdays mornings at times to be set with the instructors.

Knowledge Management and Corporate Practice (PBL290) (2 credits, spring only, graded as Independent Study)
Professor David Johnson

This project combines a virtual placement at Legal OnRamp, a knowledge management platform that works with corporate legal departments to implement web based functions to enhance the efficiency of information sharing practices, with a seminar on technology and knowledge management in corporate practice. Students will also work with the Neota Logic platform to create a legal expert system on a topic of their choice.

LEGAL REPORTING (one to four semesters; 2 credits per semester; graded with letter grade)Fall (CRN 85194)(2)/(CRN 85196)(2) & Spring (CRN 14658)(2)/(CRN 14659)(2)
Professor Jethro K. Lieberman and Adjunct Professor Michelle Zierler

The Program in Law and Journalism has launched a blog, “Legal As She Is Spoke” (LASIS), which at least at the moment is the only online (and perhaps offline) publication devoted to critiquing legal journalism. LASIS will operate as a newsroom, with students responsible for writing for and managing the publication, under the supervision of Professors Zierler and Lieberman. The blog is intended to be active, with multiple stories posted weekly.

Legal Reporting I (fall) - A prerequisite for LR II, III, and IV. Students learn the basics of journalism and writing while contributing to LASIS.

Legal Reporting II -(spring) Students take on more autonomy, choosing their own story ideas, and working on longer term projects.

Legal Reporting III (fall) and IV (spring) - Students take on staff positions and mentor students in LR I. Contributions in writing also required.

Students seeking to graduate as an Associate in Law and Journalism must take all 4 semesters of Legal Reporting, and electives as set out on the PLJ Website.

RACIAL JUSTICE LITIGATION
Fall (CRN 85835)(2) & Spring (CRN 14618)(2)
Professor Deborah Archer

Students will work on a cutting edge civil rights issue either by researching and writing an appellate brief in a pending civil rights case or by writing a report/litigation guidance on a developing civil rights issue for a major civil rights organization.

VIS INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRARTION MOOT COURT TEAM
Fall and Spring, 1 credit per semester. Graded Pass/Fail with possibility of “Pass with Distinction.”
Prof. Lloyd Bonfield

Each year Pace Law School in conjunction with the University of Vienna hosts an international competition (over 250 law schools participate) in which students are given a hypothetical business transaction which has gone wrong, and for which an arbitration has been arranged. The course would prepare the ‘team’ for the competition. The brief is submitted in December; a reply brief is submitted in January; participation in the moot at Easter. The ‘team’ is indeed a team. Students are assigned issues that emerge from the problem. Although each student is responsible for producing a part of the brief, research is collaborative. Each student critiques the sections produced by other team members. Likewise, oral presentations are critiqued.