Dean’s Blog

05/20/2013
Many RWU Law grads take the Connecticut bar exam and the state bar provides much helpful data that facilitates comparisons between and among regional law schools. The results for the February exam...

Fast Facts

In October of 2012, the federal Legal Services Corporation published the Report of the Pro Bono Task Force and described the Pro Bono Collaborative as "one great example of how much can be accomplished through collaboration." 



Course Descriptions - %1

Course Number Descriptionsort icon Credits
LSM.856.A1

Abraham Lincoln: Law and Leadership

In celebration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12. 2009. This course will explore both the public and private Lincoln and his leadership as a lawyer and as president and commander-in-chief in the Civil War. It will examine Lincoln as the “lawyer in the White House” as well as the nature of American democracy. Using significant cases from his law career, Supreme Court decisions during the Civil War, and presidential decisions relating to civil liberties and the conduct of war, we will discuss leadership lessons for today, gleaned from Abraham Lincoln, the leader who spoke the enduring words at Gettysburg that students once memorized, the commander-in-chief who reunited the nation by winning the Civil War, and the chief executive who is continually ranked highest among all American presidents. This course will be taught by Chief Justice Frank J. Williams.

1 Credit(s)
LAW.631

Administrative Law

This course introduces the growth and development of administrative law and procedure. Topics include constitutionality and delegation of power, discretion, policy, regulatory and adjudicative functions, rules orders, jurisdiction, investigative functions, procedures, due process and judicial review.

3 Credit(s)
LAW.780

Admiralty Law

This course involves a study of the jurisdiction of admiralty courts and the laws affecting maritime rights and obligations. Areas included are the history of maritime law, choice of law in admiralty cases, maritime property interests, rights of seamen, carriage of goods, salvage, and
collision.

3 Credit(s)
LAW.680

Advanced Appellate Advocacy: Labor and Employment Law

This course combines skills training with a substantive focus on constitutional law Cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court will be used as the basis for exercises requiring students to play the role of advocates and judges. Each student will be required to prepare one brief and present at least one oral argument, and each student will be required to write and present an opinion resolving one of the cases.

2 Credit(s)
LAW.813

Advanced Business Planning

This course combines advanced work in corporate law and federal corporate taxation in a problem context of business planning and counseling. The course focuses on several complex fact situations, giving students the opportunities to analyze and resolve the advanced issues presented.  Business Planning and Federal Income Tax are  prerequisites

2 Credit(s)
LAW.862

Advanced Criminal Procedure

This course is an analysis of selected and evolving criminal justice issues arising under the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.  Within this context, emphasis is placed on the workings of the advocacy system, prosecution and defense functions.

 

3 Credit(s)
LAW 681

Advanced Evidence: Scientific Evidence & Expert Testimony

This course explores the area of scientific and expert testimony in the federal and state courts.  The course focuses primarily on the evidentiary standards for admission of expert evidence (most commonly the Daubert standard) and its application to specific subject areas.  The course also exposes students to the science underlying various forms of expert evidence, including cutting edge topics such as DNA and neuroscience.  Guest lecturers are used extensively.  A substantial paper is required. 

3 Credit(s)
LSM.856.AH4

Antitrust & Competition in a Global Economy

This course will examine the economic, philosophical and political forces that underpin the law of global capitalism in the 21st century.  From an historical perspective, the course will review the rise of capitalism and the evolution of legal approaches to control it, under the common law, in the United States and beyond.  In the present, the course will compare antitrust and competition law regimes around the world, from the US, to Europe and Japan, through focus on a case study of a global price fixing case and a global merger.  Students will gain familiarity with US, EU and other competition law regimes.  Patricia Sullivan, an antitrust practitioner for over 30 years, will teach this course.

1 Credit(s)
LSM.856.AH6

Appellate Practice through the Lens of the Standard of Review

This course, taught be Judge Francis Flaherty will examine appellate practice through the lens of the standard of review. The standard of review is as important a consideration to an appellate court as the substantive law but is often overlooked or misunderstood by attorneys.  Using sample cases, including some where the courts may have strayed, students will learn about the nuances of these various standards ranging from de novo to the “any evidence” test.    Requires Honors enrollment.

1 Credit(s)
LAW.889

Applied Legal Reasoning

This class is the bridge between the three-year law school curriculum and the two months of bar review following graduation. The course teaches much of the law tested on the bar exam, yet focuses primarily on thinking skills and test-taking strategies. Extensive coverage is given to the most difficult part of the bar exam: the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the 200- question multiple-choice test that is part of the bar exam of every state except Louisiana and Washington State. The course also covers essay and performance test writing techniques. The Fall Semester (1 credit) will cover Torts, Criminal Law, & Criminal Procedure. The Spring course (2 credits) will cover Evidence, Contracts, Property, & Constitutional Law. The Fall Semester course is not a formal prerequisite for the Spring Semester, but is highly recommended.

2 Credit(s)