Curricular Offerings

Course Offering Frequency

= every year
= every other year
= occasionally

First Year
Upper Level

FALL SEMESTER

You probably have some sense of what a lawsuit is, and how it works. Civil procedure deals with how the legal system lets you identify, bring and resolve non-criminal disputes in federal court. In other words, civil procedure is about the “rules of the road” for preparing, defending, conducting, and concluding a civil lawsuit in federal court. These rules are determined by the constitution, statutes, formal rules (the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure), and court practices, and they have evolved as the courts and our cases have evolved over time. This course will teach you how to read legal materials and how to apply them to actual factual situations, which are skills you will use in every area of your legal study and practice. The course teaches a new language – law and procedure. Recurring themes that you can expect to focus on the rules themselves, fairness, access to justice, legal and practical strategy, and the relationship between state and federal laws and courts.

This course begins by examining the elements generally required for the creation of an enforceable agreement. It next explores possible barriers to contract enforcement. The course then examines the methods by which the meaning of a contract is ascertained, as well as the various remedies available in the event a party breaches the agreement. In connection with these various topics, the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and the common law will be analyzed, compared, and contrasted.

In this course, the student develops the essential skills of legal research, writing, and analysis by completing research and writing assignments focusing on writing for different audiences. These assignments include a series of structured research exercises, a case brief, two legal memoranda (one written for the court and the other for a law partner), and a client letter.

This course is an introduction to the roles of race and racism in U.S. law. It will begin with basic information on race, racism, and U.S. law. Turning to each of the first year law school subjects, it will also specifically focus on race, racism and other related issues in each subject area.

This course examines civil liability, including intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability. The elements of various torts are studied, together with policy issues, and issues relating to insurance and damages. The course also deals with historical and theoretical developments, such as the rise of comparative fault and insurance, and the development of theories such as law and economics and corrective justice as they relate to tort law.

SPRING SEMESTER

This course examines issues related to the United States system of constitutional governance. We will cover the scope of federal powers and the structure of government (separation of powers and federalism), as well as the protection of individual rights (focusing on substantive due process and equal protection). A major focus of the course is the role of the judiciary in the American constitutional system. Although our coverage will be necessarily limited, this course will, nevertheless, provide students with the analytical skills needed to examine general questions of Constitutional Law.

The Framers of the Constitution declared that an important purpose in creating the United States was to “establish Justice.” When it comes to criminal law, what does “justice” mean? How is it to be secured? A useful starting point is to understand that criminal justice is a system for allocating discretion among legislators, judges, juries, the police, prosecutors, and defense counsel and regulating the relationships among them. Our goal is usable knowledge; we “know” the criminal law by knowing how these institutional actors use (or should use) their discretion to seek justice.

This course requires the student to integrate and apply the legal research, analysis, and writing skills developed in Legal Writing I, the previous semester. In a moot court exercise, the student assumes the role of an advocate, who writes an appellate brief in an actual United States Supreme Court case and argues it orally before a panel of judges drawn from the Maine bench and bar, and the Law School faculty.

The course will explore the law regulating the rights of private property. We will consider why we call some resources property, how we allocate those resources, why we regulate an owner’s use of a resource, and the strategies we use to maximize the economic value of resources. We will cover both theory and doctrine addressing ownership, possession and transfer of real and personal property. Aspects of property law that are covered include discovery, creation, capture, the estates system, landlord-tenant law, adverse possession, transfers of land, private and public law systems for regulating land use (including easements, covenants, zoning and eminent domain) and the constitutional protections of property.

Current Curricular Offerings (by subject area)

Business, Commercial, Tax

This course examines the control of private economic power through government enforcement and private damage suits under the Sherman and Clayton Acts. The topics considered include legal and economic concepts of monopoly power and monopolization; collaboration among competitors to restrain trade by fixing prices, allocating markets or customers, or by other conduct with the same effects; vertical relationships among firms at different levels of production that operate to restrain trade; and horizontal, vertical and conglomerate mergers.

Offered: occasionally

This course will focus on federal bankruptcy law and practice. Coverage will include the study of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as applied to business and consumer cases. The public policy issues implicated by the bankruptcy system will also be examined. A business bankruptcy case simulation will be used to teach the capstone module of the course.

Co-requisite: Commercial Law: Sale of Goods & Secured Transactions (LAW 719)

Offered: every year

The primary focus of the course is the legal framework for the governance and operation of the modern corporation and other business associations. Topics include choice of organization, distribution of powers, fiduciary duties, corporate structure and governance, closely held corporations, publicly traded companies, capitalization, stakeholder theory, corporate social responsibility, regulation of securities, and finance transactions. We also will explore principles of agency and the essential attributes of partnerships, limited liability companies, and other enterprise forms. From time to time, we will reference the Maine Business Corporation Act, as well as selected provisions of related Maine statutes and federal tax and securities law, and we will consider the policy underpinnings for the federal and state laws governing corporations.

Offered: every year

This course will examine selected legal topics not addressed – or addressed only at an introductory level – in Business Associations regarding the formation, organization, operation, and capitalization of the principal forms of business associations used today, including partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and for-profit business corporations. The content of the course may vary from year to year depending on the instructor and the matters previously covered in Business Associations. However, topics will likely include an examination of customary organizational, and related operational documents for the various forms of business enterprises; issues arising in connection with the issuance of stock, and other ownership interests, dividends and distributions; an enterprise’s redemption or repurchase of its shares or other ownership interests; valuation of a corporate or other business enterprise; the rights and remedies of preferred shareholders, bond holders and others who hold debt (convertible or other senior securities); mergers, acquisitions and other fundamental transactions; the securities regulation process and the exemptions therefrom; and the rights and liabilities of purchasers and sellers of securities.

Pre-requisite: Business Associations (LAW 601)

Offered: every year

Cannabis Law. Business & Policy covers a spectrum of legal considerations that affect cannabis businesses and the policy driving the legal status of cannabis. It includes the policy reasons behind federal illegality and states’ growing acceptance of cannabis; constitutional considerations around federal law and state laws; the federal, state, and local legal issues that cannabis businesses must consider; and the lawyer’s ethical considerations in assisting cannabis businesses.

Offered: occasionally

This course provides an integrated examination of sales of goods and secured transactions as governed by Articles 2 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and related bodies of law, including Articles 1, 2A, 3, 5 and 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the federal Bankruptcy Code. Commercial law in general – and sales of goods and secured transactions in particular – provide the legal foundation for our economic system, and virtually all lawyers (regardless of practice concentration, and including both litigators and transactional practitioners) will encounter these matters in their practices (both for themselves and on behalf of their clients).

Students taking the course will learn not only the substantive law upon which these transactions are based, but also the commercial and transactional context and vocabulary relevant to these transactions and the role that transactional lawyers play in planning and executing them. Stressing careful statutory analysis and problem solving, we will analyze issues that arise in these transactions from a multitude of perspectives, including those of the buyer, the seller, their creditors and third parties. Additionally, we will examine more modern concepts of contract formation in the age of electronic commerce. The format of this class will be problem and transactional based, providing a more hands-on and practical approach to applying the UCC provisions. Finally, we will consider the impact of bankruptcy on these transactions.

Offered: every year

This course examines the social and environmental obligations, if any, imposed on corporations beyond pure profit maximization. Milton Friedman famously wrote that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits,” and, indeed, a course in the law of business associations likely reinforces the commitment to profit-maximization as a legal obligation as well. However, as evidenced by the development of new corporate forms (such as the “benefit corporation”) and the policies of Fortune 500 companies, the recent trend has been towards a recognition a broader corporate purpose in law and practice.
This course will examine corporate social responsibility, with a particular focus on sustainability and the environment. The course begins with the question of whether such a responsibility exists, drawing on potential legal, ethical, and societal sources. We will then turn to how corporations can meet their environmental obligations, or fail to, under existing law. Looking at what has already been done by some of the “best” actors, we will ultimately aim to determine the proper role for corporate governance in the pursuit of a healthier climate system and planet as a whole.

Offered: occasionally

Businesses, governments and other entities are all at risk of suffering anything from a minor to a catastrophic cyber security attack and data breach. The resulting damages can be financial, reputational or even physical. Consequently, it is important for businesses and other entities of every size and in every sector to engage in best practices to minimize the risk of a cyberattack and data breach, and to be prepared for how to respond if (and, really, when) a cyber data breach occurs. Among the many tools that should be in a business’s cyber risk management arsenal is cyber insurance.

With a focus on commercial business entities, this course will introduce the world of cyber insurance (sometimes more specifically called “cyber liability insurance,” “cyber risk insurance,” “network security insurance” or “privacy breach insurance”). The course will primarily identify the most common types of losses and costs associated with cyber attacks and other privacy and data security breaches, address potential sources of insurance coverage for cyber losses under traditional business insurance policies and newer cyber-specific policies, review some of the more common cyber coverage provisions, consider what contractual obligations an insurer has to a policyholder or other insured under the policy, and review how courts have analyzed coverage for cyber losses under traditional property and liability policies and cyber-specific insurance policies.

Students will also look at how insurers are reforming cyber insurance to shape the required security practices businesses must take to protect themselves from cyberattacks and obtain insurance protection.

Enrollment is limited to 12 students.

Offered: Occasionally

This course would prepare students to provide legal advice to internet retailers in sequential lessons walking through the key legal issues that practitioners may confront in transforming a great idea into the next online empire. Topics covered include understanding what’s under the hood of a commercial website, selecting the right business entity, contracting with online marketplaces and vendors, legal challenges in order fulfillment, crafting an effective privacy policy and online terms, navigating Federal Trade Commission and state law consumer protection requirements, understanding the role of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and complying with state and local transactional taxes.

Offered: occasionally

Economic development takes many forms in a wide range of settings. This course focuses on the domestic policy and practice of development in disadvantaged urban and rural communities, with attention to enterprise organization, finance transactions, and creative use of the law. We will work through a series of problems that require application of lawyering skills in simulated private sector transactions and in related public policy challenges. This work implicates corporate law and alternative enterprise forms, as well as federal tax law such as New Markets Tax Credits, the Low Income Housing Credit, and charitable exemptions and constraints.

Pre-requisites: Business Associations (LAW 601) and Taxation I (LAW 649), or equivalent experience or course work

Enrollment is limited to 12 students, selected by lottery.

Offered: occasionally

This course provides an introduction to the law of employee benefits. We will examine federal regulation of employer-sponsored benefit plans with respect to retirement and health care, and the underlying public policy issues. From time to time, we will discuss related topics such as profit-sharing plans, cafeteria plans, family and medical leave, executive compensation, workers’ compensation law, and collective bargaining. This inquiry necessarily implicates reference to selected provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. Class discussion will be supplemented with selected problem sets and simulations in class. In the context of an employee stock ownership (ESOP) transaction and other workplace settings, we will explore ERISA “qualified plan” operation and administration, employer obligations and fiduciary duties, and rights and responsibilities of employees.

Offered: every other year

This course will cover issues related to employment from hiring to firing. It will provide an overview of the statutory, constitutional, and common law rules that regulate employment relationship. We will cover a variety of topics, focusing on the at-will employment doctrine, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, disability, harassment, retaliation, covenants not to compete, unemployment insurance, employee privacy, workplace freedom, wages and hours regulation, and some other topics. We will also spend significant time discussing issues that commonly arise in employment litigation and client counseling.

Offered: every year

Entertainment law is a mashup of different types of substantive law that converge when creators and distributors package and deliver content to stages, screens, and headphones. This two credit survey course will introduce students to the primary issues and legal dynamics that operate behind the scenes of arts and entertainment ventures within the United States. Because media and entertainment issues can arise in all practice areas, whether in criminal law, estate planning, or otherwise, Entertainment Law will equip students with the skills to spot and steward potential entertainment issues for adequate disposition.

Specifically, this course will explore the legal basis for exploitation and disposition of rights in entertainment ventures, beginning with free expression and sources of ideas and acquisition of underlying rights. Because entertainment law is heavily grounded in copyright law, the course considers the scope of protection and limits of use with respect to original works of authorship (film; tv; literary works). Entertainment Law also explores common ethical issues in representation of entertainment clients, including the California Talent Agencies Act and related agent and attorney regulations; representation of minors; and gender, race, and equity issues in creator/studio deals. The course includes substantive introductory coverage of the intersection of trademarks, rights of publicity, and creative control in entertainment transactions.

Entertainment Law will examine practical applications of entertainment law, including theatrical adaptations; music law (publishing; recording contracts; and distribution); film and television development (financing; production; and distribution); literary publishing (author and publishing agreements); and visual art and cultural property law, including topics in traditional knowledge, source disclosure, and cultural heritage trends. The course concludes with an examination of contemporary issues in entertainment and technology, including digital piracy and artificial intelligence.

Offered: Occasionally

The course examines the goals of the U.S. health care system, which is designed to provide high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care. We will explore the regulation of health care professionals and institutions. The course will also discuss the contract, tort, and administrative law issues that come up in cases of informed consent, liability, malpractice, and end-of-life care. The course will also examine legal efforts to make health care affordable and accessible. We will study the regulation of both public and private insurance systems and use basic insurance principles to explore this area of law. Health law is complex for many reasons, including because it involves the interactions of state and federal statutes (and regulations) with longstanding principles of contract and tort law. The intersections between state and federal statutes and policies are also challenging. The 2010 Affordable Care Act will of course be a focus of the course.

Offered: every other year

There are few fields of law more immediately pressing than information privacy law. The amount of personal information that businesses and governments collect about people, and the ways in which these actors use and share people’s personal information, are rapidly expanding. New technologies raise far-reaching questions about our society’s privacy expectations and cultural values; questions that the law plays a key role in answering.

While the privacy challenges posed by the use of emerging technologies involving big data, artificial intelligence, facial recognition, biometrics, and more are indeed cutting-edge, in some respects they are nothing new. The law has been grappling with how to balance the tension between one person’s right to be let alone and another’s right to know for well over a century. The legal principles developed in response to earlier privacy threats find continued relevance as lawmakers and courts decide how to respond to the privacy threats of our day.

This course is designed to provide you with an introduction to the study of information privacy law and to equip you with the broad issue-spotting and other practical skills needed to navigate the complex array of legal, business, and public policy issues in this area. The course will span foundational privacy issues in the fields of constitutional law and tort law; consumer privacy protections; laws regarding the collection, use, storage, and transfer of personal information; sectoral privacy laws in the U.S.; and emerging issues in privacy law.

Offered: every year

This course is designed to cover the “how” of being a privacy lawyer, including the ethics challenges confronted by in-house privacy counsel serving roles like Chief Privacy Officer and Data Protection Officer. Students will develop practical skills using real world problems in the information privacy and cybersecurity areas. Pragmatic guidance will be provided from experienced in-house and outside privacy counsel. Students will assume the roles of lawyers to perform tasks in hypothetical situations. The goal is to give students the chance to integrate legal theory, practical skills and ethics while engaging in a number of professional skills in a classroom setting.

Case studies will be drawn from various real world examples such as: Cambridge Analytica/Facebook, Equifax data breach and compliance with GDPR to form the basis for a number of different exercises. The exercises will focus on key areas of privacy and cybersecurity legal practice. By way of example, such exercises might focus on the following topics:

Privacy impact assessments – providing advice with respect to when and how to use them, how to go about completing them, tools available for completing assessments and how to utilize the results of the assessment, including action steps to take based on the assessment.

Commercial transactions between parties involving the transfer and handling of personal information – drafting and negotiating contract provisions (from the perspective of both parties) that address privacy and data security concerns (e.g. Data processing agreements) and the related regulatory and other risks associated with handling personal information.

Data breach notification – providing end to end advice to a business that is the victim of a data breach, beginning with the initial notification of the security incident, working with the IT and forensics teams to figure out what happened and how to contain the incident, determining whether there are any breach notification obligations, crafting the breach notification letter, responding to regulatory inquiries and enforcement actions, crafting notice of claim to insurance carriers of third party providers that may be at fault, pursuing insurance claims, defending and bringing litigations, and negotiating resolution of such claims and disputes.

Offered: every other year

This course focuses on the essential role of insurance as an institution in the United States. Substantively, the course focuses on insurance contract interpretation, regulation, and various types of insurance including liability, health, life, and disability insurance. The course will deal with both theoretical issues involving the law and policy of insurance and with practical issues such as how to read insurance contracts. The role of insurance in litigation will receive particular emphasis.

Offered: every other year

This course provides a broad survey of the three main branches of intellectual property law, namely trademark, copyright, and patent law. We will explore the similarities and differences among these varied systems of intellectual property protection, as well as examine the challenges brought about by new technologies. This course provides a foundation for advanced intellectual property courses but is also appropriate for students who seek only a general understanding of intellectual property law. A science or technical background is not necessary.

Offered: every year

This course focuses on three aspects of the law of international trade. First, the basic elements of transnational commercial transactions will be examined. Second, the GATT and various other multinational trade agreements will be considered and discussed. Finally, United States domestic trade legislation will be reviewed and compared to approaches taken by other countries. If time permits, a number of discrete issues in international trade will be considered, including the transfer and protection of technology, the regulation of foreign investment, and the resolution of international commercial disputes.

Offered: occasionally

This course provides a broad survey of the numerous issues arising from the rapid growth of the Internet and other online communications. We will explore whether the application of existing legal rules to new technologies is appropriate or if completely novel approaches are necessary when dealing with problems that arise in cyberspace. Topics to be examined include jurisdiction, the domain name system, regulation of online service providers and digital content creators, freedom of speech as well as privacy.

Offered: occasionally

Negotiation is explored in two ways: readings are assigned on interpersonal communication skills, bargaining theory, and negotiating techniques; and a series of problems assigned which students negotiate. The negotiations are critiqued. A wide range of the types of negotiations in which lawyers participate will be examined in the course. Students in the course will develop a conceptual understanding of the theory behind the negotiation process and practice the skills needed to apply their knowledge.

Offered: occasionally

Federal income taxation of partners and partnerships (and other business entities such as limited liability companies that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes) is governed by a tax regime that is separate and distinct from those that govern the taxation of individuals (Taxation I) and corporations and their shareholders (Taxation II). The course focuses on various aspects of this unique tax regime including the considerations that affect choice of entity and qualification as a partnership, and the tax consequences to the partnership and its partners in connection with the formation, operation and termination of a partnership, the sale of partnership interests and property, distributions from the partnership to its members and allocations of income, losses, deductions and credits.

Pre-requisites: Taxation I (LAW 649).

Offered: occasionally

This course is concerned with the acquisition, financing, development, operation, and disposition of real estate. The course provides an introduction to the essential material that a lawyer needs for participation in sophisticated real estate practice, including relevant doctrines and principles of the law of contracts, property, conveyance, mortgages, and leases. Attention is also devoted to financing techniques for the acquisition and development of real estate.

Offered: every other year

Issues of risk management and compliance are attracting increasing focus and attention throughout society and legal practice. Government regulation and regulatory oversight, industry-based codes of ethics, and standards of social responsibility and conduct all have been proliferating in recent years. These developments raise many issues for lawyers. This course will explore the law and practice relevant to these issues, principally from a transactional lawyer’s perspective. After a general introduction to risk and risk management, we will address a number of specific topics such as the reputational, operational and enterprise implications of risk, the transactional lawyer’s role in helping clients develop and manage appropriate and effective risk management and compliance programs, the tools available to the transactional lawyer to identify and help manage risks in the client’s transactions and business operations, and the transactional lawyer as “whistle blower” or “gate keeper.” Finally, we will examine the transactional lawyer’s own management of the risks she or he encounters in client representation (including the “bad actor” client, conflicts of interest, engagement letters and advance waivers, theories of attorney liability, transactional legal opinions, audit letter responses, and dealing with wayward partners and associates). We will use actual case studies to supplement our discussions.

Offered: every other year

Business start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures present a unique set of legal and business problems and challenges both to the principals undertaking them and to their lawyers and other advisors. The success of these ventures relies heavily on building a world-class team around the founders where the totality of those working to move the startup forward have a common language and goals. Building these ventures requires not only substantive expertise, but also emotional intelligence, an understanding of the risks, goals and personalities involved, and capacity for counseling and guiding the parties on an often wildly unpredictable journey. This course, taught collaboratively by Professors Harkins and Kaufman and including both law and MBA students, will examine these issues through these various lenses.

Topics will include case and client management, business plans, basic financial literacy, entity selection, capital formation (including the unique types, sources and roles of start-up and entrepreneurial financing), operational challenges, intellectual property identification and protection, and the roles of lawyers and other advisors in representing start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Enrollment limited to 12 students, selected by lottery.

Offered: occasionally

Taxation I is a basic federal income tax course dealing with taxation of the individual. It covers the questions of what income is, what expenses are deductible, when such income and deductions are realized or allowed, at what rates the income is taxed, and whether income can be assigned to another. Both policy and practical concerns will be discussed.

Offered: every year

A study of the taxation of corporations (including S corporations) and their shareholders, with principal emphasis on the tax consequences of forming, operating, terminating, and selling an interest in a corporation, as well as some exploration of issues arising when one corporation acquires another corporation.

Pre-requisite: Taxation I (LAW 649)

Offered: every year

This course explores the tax consequences of creating, acquiring, exploiting, and transferring various intellectual property (IP) assets (including patents, trade secrets, know how, copyrights, trademarks, and computer software) in both domestic and international transactions. The course also explores popular tax-planning strategies used in connection with IP (e.g., the use of domestic and foreign IP holding subsidiaries) and raises interesting tax policy questions. Valuation of IP, the use of IP by non-profit organizations, and special business and estate planning considerations involving IP are also addressed.

Pre-requisite: Taxation I (LAW 649).

Enrollment limited to 12 students, selected by lottery.

Offered: occasionally

This course offers students an introduction to acquiring and protecting trademarks. Students learn how to counsel clients on what may serve as a proper trademark, how to register a mark with the state and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the nature of an infringement lawsuit, and defending trademarks against domain name “cybersquatters” in US courts and through international arbitration systems. This course is designed to give students a practical rather than theoretical view of trademark law and as such frequently incorporates local practitioners in delivering course materials and answering students’ questions.

Offered: every other year

This course will introduce students to the lawyer’s role in transactional practice and provide practical experience in the dynamics of a corporate “deal.” Students will examine a hypothetical, Maine-based transaction that includes a business acquisition component, a financing component, and an equity component. Students will “represent” the various parties to the transaction and work through the required tasks and challenges to bring the transaction to fruition, resulting with a “closing” at the end of the course. Deliverables will include negotiated “deal documents” and other related closing items. The course will meet twice per week in 1-1/2 hour sessions. Focus of the sessions will alternate between an examination of the substantive issues and their practical application in a “deal” context.

Pre-requisites: Business Associations (LAW 601) and Taxation I (LAW 649)

Offered: every other year

“History and application of general workers’ compensation principals, relationship to personal injury negligence and strict liability law, and general common tort law. Compare and contrast alternative WC statutory schemes for indemnifying injured workers. Discuss public policy issues of maintaining WC remedies in light of employer cost containment and risk management, changing industrial landscape from manufacturing to service economy.

Course will focus primarily upon Professor Larson seminal treatises and materials. We will be cross-referencing Maine law to provide hands-on understanding of how to initiate and defend WC claim/case.”

Offered: occasionally

Clinics and Experiential

This course is a limited extension of a clinical experience at the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic based on factors such as the nature of litigation engaged in by the student in the prior semester.

Pre-requisites: General Practice Clinic-LAW 663, and permission from the instructor.

Offered: every year

Externships offer second-year and third-year students the opportunity to gain legal experience and receive feedback on their work from seasoned professionals with guidance and support from a faculty member. Externship students earn 6 academic credits and spend approximately 18 hours per week over the course of the semester at their placements, and also participate in a mandatory course, which runs contemporaneously.

Pre-requisites: All placements require the successful completion of all first-year courses, as well as good academic standing. Some placements also require eligibility for certification as a student attorney or specific coursework.

Only students who have been selected for an externship may register for this course and students may only drop with approval from the Externship Program Director.

Offered: every year

This course is designed for students who want to have the broadest possible clinical experience. Each student is admitted to practice in Maine courts as a “student attorney,” and will maintain an active case load of four to eight cases, which may include general civil, family, probate, appellate, or criminal cases. The course is practice- and skill-oriented, covering client counseling, ethics, investigation, pre-trial practice, negotiation, document drafting, trial experience, and appeals. You will learn how to be a lawyer, and how to interact with other lawyers, the courts and clients. Students will work with the close supervision and mentoring of a faculty supervisor. Along with regular work on cases, students also participate in a weekly one-hour seminar to discuss ongoing cases, ethical issues, lawyering skills, and other topics.

Students must have completed at least three semesters of law school to enroll.

Pre-Requisites: Evidence (LAW 644), Trial Practice (LAW 650) [or Trial Advocacy and Evidence (Law 755)], and Professional Responsibility (LAW 632).

Co-Requisite: Lawyering Skills for Clinical Practice (Law 667) is a co-requisite for all students enrolling in a clinical course for the first time. Students must have completed at least three semesters of law school to enroll.

Offered: every year

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the strategies and practical skills necessary to advocate effectively for public policy reform. Students will learn to think beyond litigation and other traditional legal strategies to solve problems and meet societal goals. Students will be required to identify and define a problem that speaks to a pressing systemic racial, economic, or social injustice in the community, which could be addressed through a change in law, regulation, ordinance, or other public policy.

Working individually and in small groups, students will learn and practice key skills to advocate for a policy solution. Students will gain an understanding of the varied strategies involved in developing and advancing a public policy reform as well as the particular skills and tactics required to engage in those strategies. Students will learn how to employ equity-based criteria for policy development, conduct a landscape analysis of decision-makers and influencers, determine a strategy for change, and implement the tactics necessary to carry out that strategy. Specific skills covered include “power mapping”; drafting legislative and/or regulatory proposals, policy papers and reports; locating, evaluating, and using social science research and data; lobbying elected officials; preparing and delivering written and oral testimony; working in coalitions; and developing an external communications plan and targeted messaging. Students will also explore how coalition building, grassroots organizing, and public policy advocacy are used to enhance more traditional legal strategies.

In addition to learning the strategies and skills to advance a policy change, students will gain an understanding of the broader context for influencing law and public policy and the possible roles lawyers can play in change efforts. The goal of the course is to help students become effective advocates and allies for social change as well as good lawyers.

Offered: occasionally

This course serves as both a foundation for and complement to students’ client work in a Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic course, as they will learn specific skills and strategies for serving their clients now and throughout their legal careers. The course gives students an opportunity to dig deeply into the key aspects of lawyering, develop and hone skills through simulations and role playing, work on specific aspects of their current cases, give and receive peer feedback and support, engage in critical reflection, among other activities. During the course the students will learn the specific skills and competencies related the following aspects of lawyering, among others:

professional relationships and communication
developing a meaningful and effective attorney-client relationship
developing and cultivating a cultural humility framework to explore and learn from the perspectives of clients, peers, and instructors in the Clinic
developing key professional and leadership skills for an attorney, including time management, receiving and giving feedback, and deep listening
using narrative theory for persuasion
client interviewing
case theory
fact investigation
negotiation
client counseling
trauma-informed lawyering
trial advocacy
reflection and developing a professional identity
identifying and managing ethical issues

Student must be enrolled for the first time in a Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic class, (General Practice Clinic, Juvenile Justice Clinic, Prisoner Assistance Clinic, or Refugee and Human Rights Clinic) each of which has enrollment caps.

Offered: every year

Mediation Practicum provides students with the opportunity to learn and practice mediation skills. Mediation is an important form of dispute resolution in Maine and many other jurisdictions both in legal and non-legal disputes. In the Mediation Practicum, students learn basic skills of mediating and go to the courthouse to mediate Small Claims cases in Maine District Court (with supervision). In class meetings, students also analyze their mediation experiences and discuss best practices and ethical challenges for mediators.

Enrollment is limited to 6 students, selected by lottery.

Offered: every other year

This course provides students with extensive opportunities to serve clients on a wide range of civil matters, such as family law, trust and probate, contracts, insurance, consumer rights, wages, and any other civil legal issue that might arise. Students enrolled in this clinic are admitted to practice in Maine courts as student attorneys and provide the full range of civil legal services to prisoners in the Maine prison system. Students go to the Maine Correctional Center or Southern Maine Reentry Center (both located in Windham) each week to meet with prisoners seeking legal help. On a few occasions prisoners in other facilities are assisted through telephone and written correspondence. The legal services provided by students can range from answering questions and providing assistance with completion and filing of legal forms to full representation in court proceedings (including trials and appeals). Since the level of representation varies, students in the Prisoner Assistance Clinic will have between six and ten cases at any given time. We do not provide assistance on criminal, post-conviction or prisoners’ rights matters in this program. Along with regular work with with the faculty supervisor on cases, students also participate in a weekly one-hour case rounds meeting to discuss cases.

Students must have completed at least three semesters of law school to enroll.

Pre-Requisites: Evidence (LAW 644), Trial Practice (LAW 650) [or Trial Advocacy and Evidence (Law 755)], and Professional Responsibility (LAW 632).

Co-Requisite: Lawyering Skills for Clinical Practice (Law 667) is a co-requisite for all students enrolling in a clinical course for the first time. Students must have completed at least three semesters of law school to enroll.

Enrollment is by lottery.

Offered: every year

The Refugee and Human Rights Clinic provides an exciting opportunity for students to advocate on behalf of low-income immigrants in a broad range of cases and projects. Clients include, for example, asylum applicants who have fled human rights abuses in their home countries and are seeking refuge in the United States, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, immigrant victims of certain crimes, and abandoned or abused children seeking legal status in the United States. Under faculty supervision, student attorneys not only develop their substantive knowledge of immigration law and human rights laws and norms but they also build core legal skills relevant to the general practice of law. Students’ clinical work includes interviewing clients and witnesses and preparing their testimony, conducting factual and legal investigation and marshaling of evidence, analyzing and presenting human rights documentation, developing case strategies, writing legal briefs, appearing in administrative hearings, and participating in human rights advocacy projects. Along with regular work with the faculty supervisor on the cases, students also participate in a weekly one-hour seminar to discuss ongoing cases, ethical issues, lawyering skills, and substantive and practical aspects of immigration law.

Students must have completed at least three semesters of law school to enroll.

Pre-Requisites: Evidence (LAW 644), Trial Practice (LAW 650) [or Trial Advocacy and Evidence (Law 755)], and Professional Responsibility (LAW 632).

Offered: every year

The Rural Practice Clinic (RPC) is an immersive clinic located in Fort Kent, Maine, where the students will live and work for the semester. The RPC provides students the opportunity to provide direct representation to low-income clients in need of legal assistance in a rural setting– in other words, to practice law. While Clinic faculty provide instruction and supervision, the students are, in every respect, the lawyers for the RPC’s clients. Students will interview and counsel clients, develop case theory, conduct discovery, negotiate outcomes with opposing parties and counsel, prepare cases for court, and handle hearings, trials and other contested evidentiary proceedings. Students represent clients in matters involving a broad range of issues at the trial level including: family, criminal, civil, guardianship, constitutional, administrative, consumer, and probate law.

Another significant component of the RPC is Case Rounds, student-led classes modeled after “rounds” in the medical setting which will provide you with opportunities to learn from and support other students. In each rounds, one or more students will present a particular case (generally one in which a challenge of some kind has arisen) to the group, and all students discuss the case and help the student develop a plan. RPC students will participate in Case Rounds via Zoom with the Portland-based clinical students.

In addition to traditional clinic experiences, RPC students will present to the community and students at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) on a variety legal topics, participate in educational outreach and assistance activities at the courthouse, act as Lawyer of the Day in Fort Kent and Madawaska District Courts, and represent clients in jury trials should the opportunities present themselves. RPC students will live in a suite on the UMFK campus at no cost to them. Fall and spring students will be provided a meal plan. Students will have access to a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities, from Nordic and Alpine skiing to canoeing, biking, and hiking. Most importantly, students will get to experience working with a tight-knit group of lawyers, clerks, and judges on a regular basis while developing their own voices and roles within the community.

Pre-Requisites: Evidence (LAW 644), Trial Practice (LAW 650), and Professional Responsibility (LAW 632).

Co-Requisite: Lawyering Skills for Clinical Practice (Law 667) is a co-requisite for all students enrolling in a clinical course for the first time.

Enrollment is limited to 2 students, selected from applications.

Offered: every year

Pre-Requisites: Evidence (LAW 644), Trial Practice (LAW 650) [or Trial Advocacy and Evidence (Law 755)], and Professional Responsibility (LAW 632).

Enrollment is by lottery, 2 spots are pre-selected.

Offered: every year

Constitutional Law and Civil Rights

This course focuses on the enforcement of federal constitutional rights against state officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The substantive topics we will cover include police misconduct claims under the Fourth Amendment and prisoner litigation under the Eighth Amendment. We will also address the major jurisdictional and procedural obstacles to relief, including the immunities of governments and their officers from suit. Students will gain a practical understanding of civil rights litigation strategies as well as have opportunities to develop lawyering skills through hands-on exercises.

Offered: every other year

This course will focus on the investigative phase of criminal proceedings. We will examine the law that governs police conduct, including search and seizure, arrest, and interrogation of suspects. The class will emphasize the interplay between abstract constitutional principles as interpreted by the courts and law enforcement on the street.

Offered: every year

Disability is not only highly prevalent in the U.S., all human beings may join this demographic group at any time. As such, “disability law” covers the entire lifespan and all possible forms of disability.

This two-credit course surveys federal law as it relates to people with disabilities and will highlight the social, legal and policy issues associated with disability and the distinct legal problems faced by individuals with disabilities. The course also will examine the role of intersectionality and disability justice in law and policy reform efforts.

Topics included: Employment, education, access to public and private entities, substituted decision making, and housing, with a specific focus on the key Federal statutes: the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act.

Offered: occasionally

The course will highlight the social and legal issues associated with an aging society, the distinct legal problems faced by elderly individuals, and government programs established for the benefit of elderly individuals. Examples of topics that will be discussed include: ethical issues and counseling elderly clients, age discrimination, guardianship and protective services, planning for healthcare and financial decisions, property management, elder abuse, long-term care payment and quality, housing issues, and relevant government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The course also will examine the role that characteristics such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, and sexual orientation play in various areas of Elder Law. In addition, each student will be responsible for preparing a scholarly paper addressing an area of elder law in which reform is arguably necessary and setting forth a proposal for reform.

Offered: occasionally

The course addresses three main questions:

When is a federal constitutional right imposed on state action, instead of leaving the matter to state law?
How does a federal system of federal courts and state courts function to enforce federal constitutional rights?
What policies drive both the establishment of federal constitutional rights and their enforcement system?

Getting answers requires employing systemic, policy and historical perspectives. It requires tracing how, over our history, ideas about federalism and the federalism balance have driven what federal constitutional rights have been established and how their enforcement system has functioned. If you want to understand the law today and be able to conduct constitutional litigation, nothing is more practical than having these perspectives.

Offered: every other year

The emphasis of this seminar will be on the body of federal law that defines the relationship between Native Americans and the federal and state governments.

Offered: occasionally

This course will provide an overview of the First Amendment as it pertains to freedom of speech. It will address major topics within First Amendment jurisprudence, including political speech, commercial speech and government restrictions on speech. Students will examine how speech rights intersect with other interests such as national security and privacy. In addition to providing important historical context, this course will also focus on hate speech, obscenity, online speech and other topics relative to current events.

Offered: every other year

Offered: every other year

This course surveys the legal, historical, and political considerations that shape U.S. immigration law. The course will review the constitutional basis for regulating immigration into the United States, and, to some extent, the constitutional rights of non-citizens in the country; the contours of the immigration bureaucracy, including the roles played by various federal agencies in immigration decisions; the admission of non-immigrants (i.e., temporary visitors) and immigrants into the U.S.; the deportation and exclusion of non-immigrants and immigrants; refugee and asylum law; administrative and judicial review; citizenship and naturalization; undocumented migration; and comprehensive immigration reform.

Offered: every other year

Offered: occasionally

This is a research seminar in international human rights law. It covers the fundamentals of the international human rights system, including standards and drafting, human rights treaties, fact-finding and reporting, non-state actors, complaint procedures, charter-based procedures, women’s human rights, refugee and asylum law, humanitarian intervention, regional human rights systems, domestic remedies, and special problems in human rights such as cultural relativism, capacity building and accountability.

Offered: every other year

Juvenile Law is a non-traditional course blending lecture and discussion with a significant skills component. This course will examine the procedural and substantive parameters on juvenile courts and the court’s authority to intervene in children’s lives. We will analyze issues in juvenile justice in the broader context of youth policy, developmental psychology, and the legal status of children.

Offered: every other year

In an address given at Harvard in 1905, Justice Brandeis noted that “the legal profession does afford in America unusual opportunities for usefulness . . . the lawyer has played so large a part in our political life [because their] training fits [them] especially to grapple with the questions which are presented in a democracy.

This course will draw on select case law and seminal legal, philosophical, and sociological writings to explore and answer questions such as:

What is the “common good”?
What is justice?
Are inequities the same as injustices? Does it matter?
Is the legal system just? Is the legal system equitable? How do we know?
If we seek to eliminate inequities and/or injustices – wherever they appear – what are effective mechanisms for change?
What is the role of the impacted community or person?
What is the role of the advocate/lawyer?
How does the advocate/lawyer address inevitable flaws in their position and client or community and still achieve the desired outcome?
What skills are needed to be most effective when addressing difficult topics across cultures?

Contrary to historical depictions of a lone lawyer against a system, addressing matters of public interest and social justice are often accomplished through collaborative and communal efforts. An advocate’s efficacy depends, then, less on individual might and more on harnessing collective power. This course equips students with a broad understanding of foundational theories and concepts that shape how “justice” and “common good” are understood today. Students will also have the opportunity to reflect on their personal leadership development where knowledge of the law and legal strategies are combined with self-awareness, resilience, and cultural awareness to enable students to engage persuasively on various topics of national interest.

Offered: occasionally

Although barely touched upon in many law school courses, states and local governments play an important role in our everyday lives. They enjoy substantial law-making power; are responsible for financing and providing many public goods and services; and are the location of a great deal of political participation. This course will examine the theory behind and sources of local government power as well as the advantages and disadvantages of decentralized decision-making. Specific topics include: voting rights, local government formation and boundary change, state-local relations and local home rule, interlocal conflicts, school finance reform, and regional governance.

Offered: every other year

Students examine several basic and interrelated questions. First, what political and moral assumptions are implicit in American conceptions of legal rights? Second, in an age of skepticism, can fundamental legal rights be justified? Finally, is there a method to legal thought, or were the legal realists correct in asserting that the law depends upon what the judge ate for breakfast?

Offered: occasionally

Constitutional law in the U.S. (based on both the federal and state constitutions) has played active roles in framing issues related to race, gender, and sexual orientation and legal equality in the last sixty years. The course will examine cultural ideas and constitutional theories that relate to civil rights litigation of various types related to these categories. The course will also analyze critiques of those ideas and theories, and consider alternative viewpoints.

Offered: occasionally

This course will explore a range of past and current legal issues that arise from regulations impacting the manufacture, sale and use of firearms. It will include: (1) a constitutional review of 2nd Amendment cases leading up to and following the Supreme Court’s seminal Heller and Bruen decisions, including a review of the provisions in the Maine Constitution protecting the rights of gun owners; (2) review of issues arising from efforts to disarm domestic abusers; (3) a review of the issues arising out of state vs. federal vs. local regulation of firearms, including the role of preemption; and (4) potential liability of manufacturers and dealers for misuse of firearms, including federal immunity from such liability and efforts to pierce that immunity.

Offered: occasionally

The unique challenges associated with regulating speech platforms online deserves more attention. This course will focus on US law and speech online, the jurisdictional issues arising from the internet’s global structure, the ramifications of democratic culture on the internet and the seismic shift in how society communicates ideas, and the First Amendment’s role in contributing to the diversity of all we see and do online today.

The class will be organized into five sections:

Limits on Governmental Regulation of Social Media (e.g., Reno case, NetChoice cases, Thomas concurrence in Knight Institute, Google v. AG Hood cases; Equustek case, Ford trade secret case);

Is the Internet actually a “place”, and how law should apply “there” (e.g., Marsh case, Prager U. v. YouTube case, Halleck case, Internet Brand/Model Mayhem case, Snap’s Speedfilter case, Baidu case, McManus case, Oberdorf Dog Leash case)

Responsibilities of Speakers Online (e.g., O’Kroley case, Stayart case, e-Ventures case, MLB case, Tabari case)

Regulating Hate Speech (e.g., Brandenburg case, Black anti-cross burning case, Revenge Porn case, Packingham sex offender case, Facebook Oversight Board and private regulation)

Recent developments in the Rest of the World (e.g., NetzDG in Germany, Digital Services Act)”

Offered: occasionally

This course explores various aspects of election law by focusing on judicial and legislative regulation of the political and electoral process. We will examine constitutional and statutory law of voting rights in the United States and ways in which the law has shaped the structure of American political participation. We will begin with an overview of the restrictions on the right to vote, ranging from residency requirements to discrimination on the basis of sex and race to the recently enacted Voter ID laws. We will also cover the major Supreme Court cases on topics like reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, popular democracy, judicial elections, term limits, and election administration (and the legacy of the Bush v. Gore litigation).

Offered: occasionally

This is a practice-focused, client-centered, and defense-oriented course that introduces students to some of the tools lawyers use, on behalf of their clients, to challenge racial injustice in the criminal legal process.

The course begins with an orientation to 1) racial disparities in America’s carceral systems, and, specifically, in Maine’s carceral systems; and 2) the legal landscape that has developed as a result of past efforts to address these racial disparities, in the age of mass incarceration and “colorblind,” race neutral laws and policies. That preliminary work will serve as foundation for our study of the ways in which America’s legacy of racial violence and race-based discrimination affect an indigent defendant’s experience at every stage of the criminal legal process, from arrest to sentencing. To bring racial injustice into focus, we will explore different topics, including, for example, bias in the arrest and charging stages of a criminal case; inequities in bail determinations and plea bargaining; and racialized rhetoric in trial presentations. Throughout the semester, we will also consider how these issues arise in Maine practice.

The course is designed to provide students with opportunities to practice core legal research, writing, and advocacy skills through in-class exercises, short writing assignments, and a final writing assignment.

Offered: Occasionally

Criminal Law

A growing number of lawyers market themselves as appellate specialists. This course aims to interest students in the appellate specialty; provide an overview of the different types of appeals and appellate rules of procedure; and provide a forum to practice written and oral appellate advocacy.

Students will ghost write at least two appellate pleadings in pending cases, litigated contemporaneously with the course offering in state and/or federal court. The course also will simulate client management skills and students will have the opportunity to practice oral arguments. In the process, students will learn a variety of fungible skills, e.g. how to evaluate strategic litigation choices and how to communicate those choices to the client; how to work with “good” and “bad” facts; how to best frame the legal questions presented by the case; and how to appropriately confront the ethical issues that routinely confront courtroom lawyers.

At the conclusion of the course, students should feel comfortable independently prosecuting a direct appeal in state or federal court. Students should also pass any question about the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure on the Maine Bar Exam.

Offered: occasionally

At the heart of the criminal process is discretionary decision-making by prosecutors and defense counsel. The prosecutor has vast, unreviewable power over the charging decision. But with that power comes the responsibility to evaluate the truthfulness of potential testimony by cooperating witnesses, police officers, law enforcement experts, and alleged victims. Law by agreement of the prosecutor and defense counsel is the “law” that settles more than 90 percent of criminal cases, and the most important advocacy of defense counsel is often directed to the prosecutor. Before plea bargaining, the lawyers must evaluate everything that has gone before, such as the results of formal and informal discovery, the amount of time served pending trial, and the likelihood of conviction and of a particular sentence. Mutual trust between prosecutors and defense counsel, or its lack, significantly influences the functioning of the criminal process. Having identified the powers of prosecutors and defense counsel, the course attempts an extended inquiry onto how these powers should be exercised.

Offered: every year

This course provides: (1) an orientation to the key rules, concepts, and controversies concerning the presentation and admission of evidence in criminal and civil trials; and (2) an introduction to the specific skills used by attorneys in litigation as proponents and opponents of evidence. Specifically, we will examine: the overall structure of trials; how evidentiary disputes are raised and resolved; the examination and impeachment of witnesses; relevance; character evidence; hearsay; and opinion testimony. The goal is to gain a solid grounding in the key rules, concepts, and controversies to enable you to use the rules strategically and effectively in your own cases (whether in Trial Practice, a clinical or externship course, or your practice), to critically evaluate the evidence rules and their application, and to understand how the rules operate in conjunction with substantive law (i.e. criminal law, tort law, etc.). Accordingly, we will study not only the rules’ explicit requirements and prohibitions but also the policy goals and assumptions underlying the rules. The Federal Rules of Evidence will be our primary focus for the course; however, you are also responsible for learning some important distinctions between the Federal and Maine Rules of Evidence.

Offered: every year

Offered: every other year

This course will cover the criminal court process in Maine from arraignment/initial appearance all the way up to jury selection. Very few cases these days go to trial. The part of the criminal court process this class will cover will be the lion’s share of a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor’s practice when they graduate. The course will start with a high level over view of the entire criminal procedure process. I anticipate this will take up the first class. Each class after that will focus in more detail on every step in the process starting with the arraignment and bail hearing, then proceeding as follows: discovery letters and motions for sanctions, dispositional conference, motion in limine, motion to suppress, docket call, trial call, jury selection.

The course will require the students to observe the following court hearings at least once during the semester: arraignment, bail argument, one “other” motion hearing (could be a motion in limine, motion to terminate deferred disposition, motion to revoke bail, mental health list hearing etc.), dispositional conference, and motion to suppress. The Cumberland County Criminal Court currently conducts three arraignments, three all day dispositional conference lists, two motions lists every week. The Court also has docket call, trial call, and jury selection at least once if not twice a month. Because of this, I believe the students will be able to meet this requirement.

The course will also require the students to write a motion to amend bail, discovery request letter, motion for sanctions, motion to suppress, and a closing argument brief relating to the motion to suppress hearing. After each written assignment is done, the student will participate in a mock hearing to put their motion to the test. For example, a mock arraignment, mock bail hearing, and mock motion to suppress.

Offered: occasionally

Offered: Occasionally

Environmental, Energy, Land Use, and Oceans

Commerce largely moves on water. Almost anything that happens on or near navigable waters may fall within federal admiralty jurisdiction and may be governed by federal maritime law. This course will survey the historical development of admiralty and maritime law starting with the Constitution through to General Maritime Law as laid down by the courts, maritime statutes, and relevant case law. Students will learn general principles of this important federal body of law as they apply to seamen, passengers, certain shore side workers, offshore workers, vessel owners and charterers, cargo owners, and marine insurers.

Offered: every other year

Land used for agricultural purposes (timber land excepted) accounts for nearly 53% of the total land area of the United States – the largest category of land use by far. This course addresses the complex and interconnected relationship of environmental and agricultural law, and its historical roots and modern developments. This class then specifically explores agricultural land use effects, agricultural exceptionalism, farmland transfer, and agricultural conservation easements among other topical concerns.

Offered: occasionally

Students will acquire a fundamental knowledge of Arctic law and science coupled with applied skills in field research compliance. The course will begin with an in-depth study of the Arctic including regional challenges of climate change, commerce and geopolitics. The remainder of the course will entail working with University of Maine scientists (the clients) to prepare an Arctic field expedition to Greenland. Students will review proposed field projects to identify plausible risks and mitigation means. They will determine regulatory requirements including, inter alia, necessary permitting, Government of Greenland regulations, National Science Foundation guidelines, University of Maine Office of General Council directives, the Arctic Science Agreement and related treaties. Students will draft a comprehensive field manual for responsible research in the Arctic. This course may be applied as an elective for the Environmental and Oceans Law Certificate. In addition to class meetings, students must expect to devote at least four hours and forty minutes out of class.

Offered: occasionally

In Climate Change, we are confronted with the defining policy challenge of our generation. Every institution of power, whether it be a national government or a corporate board of directors, must decide how to respond to it. The aim of this course is to inform the leaders who will guide those climate change policy decisions. We will build from an understanding of the fundamental facts of climate change, and its potentially devastating impacts, to the study of the tools available to governmental and non-governmental actors for climate mitigation and adaptation. The course will focus on not only the legal mechanisms targeted at climate change (laws, regulations, litigation), but also on the perhaps equally important measures taken by corporations and other private actors. We will discuss what can, what will, and what should be done.

Offered: occasionally

Mark Twain observed “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” What we understand as climate is the sum total of weather as it evolves day upon day. Weather hazards, such as hurricanes and heatwaves, or persistent unusual weather over time, such as diminished rainfall leading to drought, are climate extremes. It is now understood that many climate extremes are increasing in frequency and intensity with accelerating climate change. When people and property are vulnerable to these hazards, a disaster can result, but meteorological science has devised sophisticated predictive and analytical tools that provide advance warning. The tools are global and thus intersect with international law at every stage of the extreme climate event—prior, during and post. This class will place students at the center of climate and law operations and debates in the experiential learning venue of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Offered: occasionally

For the next generation of lawyers, scientists, policy makers, public health professionals, business executives and entrepreneurs —and for any other career path—understanding and seeking solutions to the complex problems currently faced by humanity and the ecosystem is essential. This requires, more than ever, that students be exposed to multi-method, inter- and trans-disciplinary, experiential learning. Maine and the world are experiencing multiple existential security threats (eg., climate change, geopolitics, health, economy) that are interrelated to one another. While complex problems such as climate change are often identified within the context of a single discipline; they require solutions based on multiple disciplines that not only work together, but also beyond disciplinary boundaries. Further, complex problem-solving requires investigation at local-regional-global scales and must include perspective gained by understanding and engaging past analogs to learn from past successes, avoid repeating past mistakes, and considering new modes of co-creating solutions. The foregoing is our best option to achieve win-win pathways forward. This course will train students in the application of interdisciplinary methods for the resolution of complex problems. Instruction will be delivered by experts from multiple disciplines. Students will work in teams applying explicit methods to a broad range of critical challenges. The course is hosted by the University of Maine Portland Gateway and is open to graduate students in any field across the University of Maine System.

Offered: occasionally

This course will examine corporate social responsibility, with a particular focus on sustainability and the environment. The course begins with the question of whether such a responsibility exists, drawing on potential legal, ethical, and societal sources. We will then turn to how corporations can meet their environmental obligations, or fail to, under existing law. Looking at what has already been done by some of the “best” actors, we will ultimately aim to determine the proper role for corporate governance in the pursuit of a healthier climate system and planet as a whole.

Offered: occasionally

Our modern civilization increasingly is dependent upon energy, yet over 80% of the energy consumed in the U.S. and world is from fossil fuels—which account for the lion’s share of greenhouse gas emissions that are the primary cause of climate change. Climate change has become the subject of major economic, political and scientific concern and debate, with direct impact upon energy law and policy—as well as growing economic, health and social impacts in Maine. Which is creating growing opportunities for work for attorneys and those trained in the law, especially given goals set by the Governor of Maine, and by other States. This course is a practical introduction to the three pillars of energy—electricity, heating, and transportation—and to evolving energy technologies and initiatives being pursued. It will also introduce students to some of the key Maine business and professional leaders in these fields, as well as develop and strengthen their oral and written advocacy skills.

Offered: occasionally

The course will introduce students to the broad and deep field of Environmental Law. Environmental Law is practiced at the local, statewide, national, and (increasingly) international level. It contains elements of energy law, natural resources law, and land use law. It also crosses disciplinary lines with science and engineering, business and finance, and public policy. The course will introduce students to five of the major federal environmental statutes and regulations and the case law that interprets them. The five statutes are the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the National Environmental Policy Act; the Endangered Species Act; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (a/k/a as the Superfund Law). In addition, we will briefly introduce students to several other of the three dozen or more extensive federal statutes addressing environmental issues.

Offered: occasionally

This is a hands-on, experiential skills building course. Increasingly, attorneys who litigate are doing so not before judges or juries, but before regulatory bodies or officers—for example, on issues of planning and zoning, unemployment/social security benefits, environmental permitting, tax review, and asylum to name just a few. The art of advocating for clients in a regulatory arena has differences from a courtroom—oftentimes the adjudicators are laypeople, the rules of evidence do not apply, there may be no discovery, and one must master varying (by agency) procedural rules. This course will begin with an overview of the administrative adjudicatory process, with a primary focus upon Maine law, and then an overview of the relevant environmental law and regulations relating to development projects. As a “practicum” students will develop necessary practical lawyering skills by engaging in a variety of written and oral advocacy exercises using a Maine wind power project simulation; you will one class be representing the developer, the next class representing the opponents. You will draft and orally present to classmates a client memo, op-ed, and a recommended decision on the project. You also will do an expert witness exercise, present an opening or closing argument, and address ethical issues.

Offered: every other year

A seminar providing law students the opportunity to teach a formal course in Environmental Law to undergraduate nonlaw students. Enrollment initially limited to two University of Maine School of Law students for the 2022-2023 academic year. The Maine Law student teachers will be conjoined for the 2022-23 academic year with 10 law student teachers from Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard Law Schools in the BCLS4450-01 Law-Teaching Program Seminar. The intention is to have the program seminar continue thereafter based at the University of Maine School of Law. Under the professor’s direction, two-person teams of law students are trained for the teaching program during the Fall semester in six extensive working sessions plus simulation exercises. They then teach, with faculty status, a Spring semester course in the structures and doctrines of environmental protection law, within an undergraduate curriculum. The initial year’s undergraduate teaching placement for the Maine Law teachers will be within the curriculum of the Center for Sustainable Leadership at St. Joseph’s College of Maine, Standish, Maine. In the program, each team-teaching pair is assigned an enrolled course section comprising fifteen to thirty-five undergraduate students registered for the course, from a variety of undergraduate departments. A weekly law school seminar in the Spring semester coordinates the course preparation, the classroom teaching, and the processes of evaluating their students’ work and assigning grades.

Offered: occasionally

This course examines how land use is regulated and controlled. It begins by discussing why and when government regulation, rather than private market ordering, might be necessary to control land use and development patterns. It considers different regulatory and market-based tools that are available to control land use, including flexibility devices such as transferable development rights, contract zoning, and planned unit development. It then explores land use from the perspective of a project proponent, or developer. It examines the rights that an owner of land has if a particular land use regulation is inefficient, unfairly burdensome, unfairly disruptive of the owner’s settled expectations, or an infringement upon the owner’s civil liberties. The course then looks at land use issues from the other side, examining the rights of those who oppose the landowner’s plans (these project opponents are often neighbors). Finally, the course focuses on particular problems that plague the land use regulatory system, such as exclusionary zoning, the equitable distribution of undesirable land uses, sprawl, and smart growth.

Offered: every year

This course surveys the laws governing the ownership, conservation, exploitation, and preservation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, including wildlife, fisheries, wilderness, parks, water, forests, and energy. It examines the constitutional, historical, political, and economic underpinnings of natural resources law and the means by which public policies are formulated, implemented, challenged, and revised.

Offered: every other year

This is a course in the international law of the sea, one of the oldest branches of international law. The course will devote attention to practical problems that confront mariners and lawyers. We will explore a broad array of oceans law and policy issues from a global perspective then proceed to specialized topics critical to the contemporary law of the sea including the present and future of the Gulf of Maine. Topics will include coastal waters, maritime security, shipping and navigation, climate change and sea level rise, maritime boundaries, international straits and archipelagic waters, the continental shelf, conservation of living and non-living oceans resources, uses of the high seas including flag state jurisdiction, oceans energy, beach access and polar law.

Offered: every other year

Family Law, Trusts & Estates, and Elder Law

Many young lawyers at the beginning of their careers find that child protection is an area of the law where they can gain valuable litigation experience that may be increasingly hard to come by in other areas. Further, child protection is, of course, an area of the law where young lawyers can provide a valuable service to their clients and their community, no matter which one of the various parties to the case they represent. In this course, students will take a deep dive into Maine’s Child and Family Services and Child Protection Act, 22 M.R.S. §§ 4001 et seq., and related issues. They will gain facility with not only the Child Protection Act but also other vital areas of the law, including the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901 et seq.; the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, 5 M.R.S. §§ 8001; and relevant portions of the Probate Code, Title 18-C of the Maine Revised Statutes. They will leave the course familiar with key child protection-related decisions of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and the United States Supreme Court, many of which turn on questions of Constitutional interpretation that will be translatable to any other area of the law.

Offered: occasionally

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every other year

Please edit the course description to: “This course offers an introduction to family law in the United States today. Examples of topics covered include: marriage, divorce, spousal support, marital property distribution, child custody and visitation, child support, and legal issues arising from nonmarital relationships. The course also will examine the role that characteristics such as race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and religion play across various areas of family law.

Offered: every year

Offered: every other year

This seminar will provide an in-depth examination of a number of today’s most salient family law issues. Early in the semester, each student, after consulting with the professor, will select a modern family law issue about which the student will become the “class expert.” Each student will then prepare materials for and lead a one-hour class session on the legal issue the student has chosen. In addition, each student will write a substantial paper on a topic that falls within their chosen modern family law issue. A wide variety of topics are available to students, including: adoption and the foster care system, assisted reproduction, non-marital relationship recognition, divorce mediation, intra-family violence and abuse, how family law addresses issues related to race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and religion, and more. Finally, prior to each class, students will submit an informal, two-page reflection paper in which they respond to the materials assigned for the day. Grading is based upon class participation, weekly reflection papers, and a substantial scholarly paper on a topic of the student’s choice.

Offered: occasionally

This course examines the law of gratuitous transfers and decedents’ estates. Topics to be considered are intestate succession, wills, trusts, and problems of construction. Special attention is given to the Uniform Probate Code.

Offered: every year

Government and Regulation

Recently, there has been an explosion of legal battles involving efforts to undo old regulations and laws, as well as over how statutes and regulations should be interpreted. Moreover, today the vast majority of attorneys who litigate are doing so not before judges or juries, but before regulatory bodies or non-judicial officers without the Rules of Evidence or Civil Procedure, and that have special standards for issues like standing and finality. The American Bar Association estimates that 65 to 70 percent of the practice of adjudication actually occurs in an administrative setting, rather than a courtroom.

This course will first review the fundamental principles of and tools for interpretation of statutes and regulations. We then examine work that federal and state agencies do, the procedures they utilize, and the ways in which the political judicial branches seek to control administrative actions. Students will undertake practical exercises on relevant issues throughout the semester to best develop their oral and written advocacy skills, and to better learn and remember the legislative and regulatory doctrines. Maine Law alums who practice in a variety of regulated areas of law will share their insights with students. The goal is to better enable students to address issues in their other courses, as well as in any jobs they pursue.

Offered: every year

Cannabis Law, Business & Policy covers a spectrum of legal considerations that affect cannabis businesses and the policy driving the legal status of cannabis. It includes the policy reasons behind federal illegality and states’ growing acceptance of cannabis; constitutional considerations around federal law and state laws; the federal, state, and local legal issues that cannabis businesses must consider; and the lawyer’s ethical considerations in assisting cannabis businesses.

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every other year

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every year

Offered: every other year

Offered: occasionally

Health and Bioethics

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every other year

In this course, we will focus on foundations of medical malpractice law. It will include discussions of medical errors and quality; physician liability- negligence, informed consent, causation and affirmative defenses, and damages. We will also look at institutional liability, qualifications of experts and medical malpractice reform. Finally, we will investigate the mechanics of a medical malpractice lawsuit: Evaluation and assessment of a case; identifying experts; pre-suit notifications; commencement of the suit; screening procedures; discovery; trial strategies; expert testimony.

Offered: occasionally

International, Human Rights, and Comparative Law

The principal objects of this course are to introduce law students to the civil law system, which is the legal system which exists in most counties in the world today, and to compare it to the common law system, the legal system which exists in the United States and in other countries whose legal systems were modeled on the law of England. The course will focus on the law of France, which is one of the principal civil law countries and whose legal system has been a model for many other nations in the civil law world. This course examines both private law (e.g., contracts, torts, property, inheritance, family law) and public law (e.g., constitutional law, administrative law, international law) as well as civil and criminal procedure. The course will also touch on those aspects of European Union law that intersect with French law. Comparisons with American law and legal institutions will be considered throughout the course.

Our consideration of the civil law system as it exists in France today seeks to provide a systematic exposure to French law, both public and private, and its relevant contexts. Certain features of the French legal system which differ from U.S. institutions, doctrines, values, and practices are highlighted. Coverage is limited to France to allow for in-depth treatment of its legal system in keeping with another major goal of the course which is to provide a model of how to approach the study of foreign legal systems. France was chosen for a number of reasons.

For historical reasons, constitutional law developed quite differently in France from the way that it developed in the United States. France does not share many of the assumptions about constitutionalism which Americans take for granted or regard as self-evident (like judicial review, the role of judges, sources of law, federalism, etc.). The French also attach meanings different from ours to certain fundamental constitutional ideas, like separation of powers, separation of church and state, and equality. But France has a long tradition of enlightened and progressive government. It has pursued these ends through different legal and institutional arrangements. In the process, it has developed institutions, doctrines, procedures, attitudes, and preconceptions which differ from those with which we are familiar in the United States. Furthermore, French law and institutions have had an enormous influence in many parts of the world, including much of Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Offered: occasionally

The emphasis of this seminar will be on the body of federal law that defines the relationship between Native Americans and the federal and state governments.

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every other year

This is a foundation course in public international law that is primarily, though not exclusively, concerned with legal relations among states and public entities in the global system. The course explores the dynamics by which international law is made and applied by appraising trends and outcomes in international decision bearing on problems of world public order. The goal is to equip students to understand why past decisions were made, to devise methods for predicting future decisions, to develop methods for inventing decision alternatives both at the structural or constitutive level, and to identify the conceptions and skills necessary for influencing future decisions in the range of arenas in which international law is made and applied: parliamentary, diplomatic, judicial, and arbitral in national and international settings. Topics covered include: origins of international law, sources of international law, establishment and transformation of states and other actors, state recognition, diplomatic protection, jurisdiction, international courts and tribunals, international organizations, international human rights, resort to and use of force, nation-building, the regulation of international agreements, sovereign immunity, and enforcement of foreign judgments.

Offered: every year

Offered: occasionally

Intellectual Property and Information Privacy

This course examines the nature of the rights protected under federal copyright law and the types of work that qualify for protection, including literary, artistic, and musical works. This course also covers copyright duration, ownership, formalities, remedies for infringement, and principles of international protection. The Copyright Act of 1976 as amended forms the core statutory material covered by the course.

Offered: occasionally

This course provides an introduction to cybersecurity law, with a focus on the nuts and bolts of how lawyers assist organizations with managing cybersecurity risk, including regulatory compliance and response to data security incidents. It is designed to help students develop the research, analytical and practical skills necessary to deal with the technical and legal issues that may arise in connection with a data security incident, including data breach notification, regulatory investigations and enforcement, and litigation.

This course will use real world case studies, including a ransomware attack and the exfiltration of sensitive data from an organization involving exploitation of a network vulnerability, to illustrate and to teach some of the key technology fundamentals that lawyers need to understand to be able to work effectively with technical experts to assess the legal implications arising from cybersecurity incidents.

Offered: occasionally

Personal data is the raw material for business models in industries ranging from online advertising, social networking, cloud computing, health and financial services. Governments, too, rely on personal data for purposes such as national security and law enforcement, urban planning and traffic control, public health and education. Emerging technologies greatly enhanced data collection, storage and analysis. In this context, public and commercial interests strain against individual rights, with privacy law serving as the mediator. This course will place privacy within a social and legal context and will investigate the complex grid of legal structures and institutions that govern privacy at state, national, and international levels. Students will be taught how to critically analyze privacy problems and make observations about sources of law and their interpretation, with an emphasis on the global nature of data.

century. The legal principles developed in response to earlier privacy threats find continued relevance as lawmakers and courts decide how to respond to the privacy threats of our day.

This course is a prerequisite for the Information Privacy Law Practicum – LAW 735.

Offered: every year

Privacy impact assessments — providing advice with respect to when and how to use them, how to go about completing them, tools available for completing assessments and how to utilize the results of the assessment, including action steps to take based on the assessment.

Commercial transactions between parties involving the transfer and handling of personal information — drafting and negotiating contract provisions (from the perspective of both parties) that address privacy and data security concerns (e.g. Data processing agreements) and the related regulatory and other risks associated with handling personal information.

Data breach notification — providing end to end advice to a business that is the victim of a data breach, beginning with the initial notification of the security incident, working with the IT and forensics teams to figure out what happened and how to contain the incident, determining whether there are any breach notification obligations, crafting the breach notification letter, responding to regulatory inquiries and enforcement actions, crafting notice of claim to insurance carriers of third party providers that may be at fault, pursuing insurance claims, defending and bringing litigations, and negotiating resolution of such claims and disputes.

Pre-requisite: Information Privacy Law (Law 777)

Offered: every other year

Offered: every year

Enrollment is limited to 14 students, selected by lottery.

Offered: occasionally

This course examines the rights and obligations of employees and employers under the National Labor Relations Act. Topics include union organizational campaigns, representation elections, collective bargaining, the use of economic weapons, arbitration, and the enforcement of collective bargaining agreements. In addressing these topics we shall analyze (1) the roles of the Congress, the National Labor Relations Board, and the courts in making labor law, and (2) the principles and ideological assumptions that have informed the development of American labor law.

Offered: Occasionally

The class will be organized into five sections:

Limits on Governmental Regulation of Social Media (e.g., Reno case, NetChoice cases, Thomas concurrence in Knight Institute, Google v. AG Hood cases; Equustek case, Ford trade secret case);

Responsibilities of Speakers Online (e.g., O’Kroley case, Stayart case, e-Ventures case, MLB case, Tabari case)

Regulating Hate Speech (e.g., Brandenburg case, Black anti-cross burning case, Revenge Porn case, Packingham sex offender case, Facebook Oversight Board and private regulation)

Recent developments in the Rest of the World (e.g., NetzDG in Germany, Digital Services Act)

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every other year

The Information Privacy Summer Institute offers a series of one or two credit courses on critical and current information privacy issues. These courses are on a range of topics and provide students the opportunity to gain specialized knowledge in this area of law.

Offered: every year

Litigation and Judiciary

This course considers alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as an important tool for the resolution of civil actions and family matters as well as disputes outside the judicial arena. ADR processes (including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, early neutral evaluation, and hybrid processes) are examined in a theoretical context and through in-class exercises/simulations.

Offered: every other year

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every other year

This course is designed for students interested in developing practical litigation skills and strategies applicable to a wide variety of disputes. We will focus on issues that frequently emerge in civil litigation, both straightforward and complex. For example, we will cover questions relating to aggregate litigation, such as class actions and multidistrict litigation. We will also cover certain aspects of the discovery process, including management of discovery in an age when significant amounts of information exists in electronic form. Finally, we will cover the interaction between alternative dispute resolution and litigation, including mandatory and non-mandatory mediation, individual arbitration, and mass arbitration. The course will cover theory (understanding the legal doctrine that underlies the rules and statutes we discuss), practice (how these rules and statutes operate in day-to-day civil litigation), and strategy (developing holistic approaches for managing a case beginning-to-end). Student evaluation will be based on written assignments; there will be no final examination.

Offered: occasionally

This course deals with legal problems that have contact with more than one jurisdiction (i.e., with more than one state in the United States or with the United States or a U.S. state and a foreign country). As one would expect, given modern transportation and communication (especially the Internet) and the globalization of the economy, the number of transactions, relations, and occurrences across state and national lines having legal implications is now enormous. Today it is very likely that a contract, tort, real or personal property, probate, domestic relations, or other common legal problem implicates more than one jurisdiction. This course considers the structuring of transactions so as to anticipate and provide for many of these problems (e.g., in drafting legal documents like commercial contracts, shareholder agreements, wills and trusts, prenuptial agreements, etc.) and the conduct of litigation involving multi-jurisdictional elements. Specific matters covered are the jurisdiction of courts to litigate matters involving out-of-state actors (like tortfeasors or contractual partners), the recognition and enforcement of sister-state and foreign-country judgments, and choice of law (i.e., what substantive and procedural rules a court will apply to a legal matter with multi-jurisdictional contacts).

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every year

Offered: every other year

Offered: every year

The course addresses three main questions:

When is a federal constitutional right imposed on state action, instead of leaving the matter to state law?
How does a federal system of federal courts and state courts function to enforce federal constitutional rights?
What policies drive both the establishment of federal constitutional rights and their enforcement system?

Offered: every other year

Offered: occasionally

The Mediation Practicum provides students with the opportunity to learn and practice mediation skills. Mediation is an important form of dispute resolution in Maine and many other jurisdictions both in legal and non-legal disputes. In the Mediation Practicum, students learn basic skills of mediating and go to the courthouse to mediate Small Claims cases in Maine District Court (with supervision). In class meetings, students also analyze their mediation experiences and discuss best practices and ethical challenges for mediators.

Offered: every other year

This course is offered to students who have completed Legal Research and Writing I and II (or the equivalent for transfer students) and who are selected through an open competition at the beginning of each fall semester. During the spring semester, selected students participate in an extramural moot court competition against teams from other law schools by writing an appellate brief and orally arguing both sides of it at the competition. Students may compete during their 2L or 3L year, or both.

Offered: every year

Offered: occasionally

The course will expose students to pre-trial practice and procedure through materials and exercises fashioned to familiarize them with civil proceedings’ procedural landscape, including, but not limited to drafting and responding to initial pleading interlocutory, and dispositive motions. In addition, students will learn effective use of available discovery devices and other important aspects of the pre-trial process.

Offered: every year

This course examines the major provisions of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, common law, and statutory law that regulates lawyers’ conduct. We will also consider the policy underpinnings for the rules, the role of a lawyer in today’s society, and ethics issues likely to be encountered by students during their careers as lawyers. The problem-based approach this course uses is designed to encourage thoughtful discussion of ethical issues in law practice.

Successful completion of Professional Responsibility is required for graduation.

Offered: every year

The course applies principles taught in contracts, torts and civil procedure courses to the three primary remedial areas: damages, restitution and injunctive and other equitable relief. Practicing attorneys need a working knowledge of remedies and defenses and the ability to exercise judgment on the basis of knowledge and experience. This course combines theory with a practical perspective.

Offered: every year

Offered: every other year

Trial Evidence and Advocacy is a 6-credit, integrated course that will both teach students the Federal and Maine Rules of Evidence and how to apply them in practical, experiential exercises based upon simulated adjudicatory proceedings. The combination of subjects will enable students to immediately put into practice the concepts they are learning, and to better remember the rules of evidence and advocacy principles. Because 65-70% of adjudication actually occurs in an administrative setting, rather than a courtroom, and people are ten times more likely to be tried by an agency than by a court, this course will train students to be effective advocates in whatever forum their future clients find themselves. Thus, students will learn the basic skills that are necessary to be an effective advocate whether involved in a jury or non-jury trial, or in an adjudicatory hearing before an agency or board.

Students will learn how to develop both a “theme” and “theory” for their client, and learn to how to make proper opening and closing statements, conduct direct and cross-examinations of witnesses, and how to properly present and object to evidence, including expert testimony. Faculty will utilize simulations, role-playing, demonstrations, and individual evaluation and feedback. At the end of the semester, students will try both a Bench Trial and a Jury Trial, which serve to bring together all the elements of a trial in simulated settings.

This class is designed to help you develop (1) a working knowledge of the FRE and MRE; (2) an ability to quickly and accurately solve evidentiary problems; (3) knowledge and understanding of key cases that discuss and analyze the FRE; (4) an understanding of the theory, purpose, goals, and implications of the FRE and MRE; and (5) the ability to both prepare and present persuasive, focused and compelling oral and written communication of your issues, regardless of whether you are representing the moving party or defendant, and regardless of whether your audience is a trial judge, jury, administrative law judge, or other tribunal.

Offered: every year

Open to third-year students, with selection based on performance in the basic Trial Practice course and a competitive try-out process including a performance component, this course will involve development of trial advocacy skills and their application in preparing for the National Mock Trial competition.

Offered: every year

This course offers the opportunity to develop the basic skills necessary to conduct a trial, including developing a case theory and theme, opening statements, direct and cross-examinations of witnesses, use of exhibits, evidentiary objections, and closing arguments. The study of trial techniques is primarily through use of simulations, role-playing, demonstrations, and individual evaluation and feedback.

Offered: every year

History and application of general workers’ compensation principals, relationship to personal injury negligence and strict liability law, and general common tort law. Compare and contrast alternative WC statutory schemes for indemnifying injured workers. Discuss public policy issues of maintaining WC remedies in light of employer cost containment and risk management, changing industrial landscape from manufacturing to service economy.

Offered: occasionally

Research, Writing, and Legal Practice

This course is designed to prepare law students to conduct effective legal research in any setting; while working on a scholarly article or paper, or working as a judicial clerk, as a practitioner in a firm, government, or solo practice. Students will learn about the development of legal research tools and how to evaluate print and electronic resources for currency, authority, comprehensiveness, and utility. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the entire universe of legal resources, be confident when using online sources, and be able to conduct professional-level legal research in any field, on any legal topic. The course will be divided into two major segments: a lecture and discussion section and a practical “lab” meeting in the library. During these lab sessions the students will use the resources discussed in the lecture portion of the course to conduct hands-on research using traditional print resources as well as electronic resources. Grades will be based on a combination of class participation, research assignments, and two larger writing assignments: a website review and a pathfinder on a topic of the students’ choosing.

Offered: occasionally

Externships offer second-year and third-year students the opportunity to gain legal experience and receive feedback on their work from seasoned professionals with guidance and support from a faculty member. Externship students earn 6 academic credits, spend approximately 18 hours per week over the course of the semester at their placements, and also participate in a mandatory course, which runs contemporaneously.

Prerequisites: All placements require the successful completion of all first-year courses as well as good academic standing. Some placements also require eligibility for certification as a student attorney or specific coursework.

Offered: every year

This course is designed to prepare students for the bar exam by focusing on skill development. Specifically, students will receive in-depth skill instruction on legal problem solving, reading comprehension, issue identification, rule mastery, critical thinking, legal analysis, and time management. Students will also gain a strong conceptual understanding and knowledge of highly tested doctrines on the Maine Bar Exam and will be taught how to develop, use, and apply a flexible but strong analytical framework to solve bar exam problems. Students will complete several diagnostic exams and assessments during class and will be provided with written feedback on their performance.

Although the major focus of this class is material that is specific to the Maine Bar Exam, we will spend significant time addressing general bar exam test-taking strategies with a keen focus on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), essay, and Multistate Performance Test (MPT), which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar exams across the country. Therefore, even though the primary focus of the class is the Maine Bar Exam, students who will sit for bar exams in other jurisdictions will greatly benefit from the class.

The course is intended to supplement, not replace, commercial bar preparation courses.

Offered: every year

Upper-class students may form a group under the guidance of a professor for the purpose of studying an area of the law that is not the subject of a currently-offered course. Group studies may not be composed of fewer than four or more than fourteen students. Such groups must be approved by the Curriculum Committee at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the semester. The members of the group must conduct weekly meetings and each member must submit an individual paper at the end of the semester.

Offered: every year

On occasion an upper-class student may wish to pursue independent study, leading toward an original work of publishable quality. If the student secures faculty supervision and the approval of the Vice Dean / Provost, two course credits may be given. Among the factors which the Vice Dean / Provost will consider are whether the study and the resultant paper will be of substantial educational value, the amount of time and effort required to ensure compliance with ABA Standards and Maine Law policies, and whether the study will not be duplicative of the student’s other efforts or previous work. In exceptional circumstances the Vice Dean/Provost may approve the granting of one credit for reworking a previous paper toward publication.

Offered: every year

The Independent Writing course is an independent study course where students, in consultation with a faculty adviser, complete a major research paper. Successful completion of the Independent Writing course satisfies the Upper Level Writing requirement, which is a requirement for graduation.

Offered: every year

The Law Review provides students with an invaluable two-year research, editing, and writing experience that allows each to explore in-depth a legal issue of particular interest. Recent editions have contained student notes examining diverse issues of Maine law, such as the enforceability of local food ordinances, gestational surrogacy contracts, and the extent to which Miranda applies to matter-of-fact-communications with arrestees. Membership on the Law Review is by invitation based on academic performance and writing skills. The Law Review’s staff and board members usually total a combined 29 students. In general, the top six students from the rising second-year class are invited to join the Law Review based on their academic performance, leaving 9 membership positions available for those individuals who are selected after participating in an extensive summer writing competition.

Offered: every year

This course will assist students in reinforcing fundamental skills in legal analysis and legal writing. Using the law from various substantive areas, students will complete a series of in-class and take-home writing exercises throughout the semester. In addition, students will meet individually with the professor to discuss assignments, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and develop strategies for enhancing their lawyering skills.

Offered: every year

Open to those selected as third-year legal writing instructors.

Offered: every year

The Ocean and Coastal Law Journal (OCLJ) is dedicated to facilitating discourse on legal issues related to domestic and international use of the sea and seashores. OCLJ provides two years of research, writing, and editing experience to its student editors, who are required to produce a comment or two case notes of publishable quality on an ocean or coastal issue during their second year. In addition to fulfilling their writing requirement, student editors become familiar with current issues in the field of ocean and coastal law while carefully editing works accepted for publication. Generally, OCLJ will select ten (10) rising second year students to join the Journal each year. Five (5) of these positions are awarded based on first-year academic performance alone, while the other five (5) are selected based on the write-on competition held each summer after the end of students’ first year.

Offered: every year

The Student Journal of Information Privacy Law (SJIPL) is dedicating to publishing student-authored scholarship on the topic of information privacy law. Published papers may be written by students at Maine Law or solicited from students at other schools. The SJIPL publishes three categories of papers: (a) shorter-form commentary blog posts; (b) papers written by Maine Law students to satisfy their Information Privacy Law Certificate requirement; and (c) traditional law journal articles, in paginated volumes published online. Student editors will gain experience researching, writing, and editing papers about information privacy law. Membership on the journal is by invitation based in part on students’ commitments to the study of information privacy law. As the SJIPL is new, the number of students selected to join the journal and the specific process for joining will vary over the next few semesters. The SJIPL’s executive board will make an announcement with more detail on applying for membership on the journal around the time when registration opens up.

Offered: every year

Taxation

Offered: occasionally

The course is an examination of problems arising in the inter vivos and testamentary disposition of estates, including the tax problems of such disposition, the use of the trust and other methods for disposition of estates, and problems of drafting. The course emphasizes a problem oriented approach. Trusts and Estates (LAW 695), Estate and Gift Taxation (LAW 678), and Taxation I (LAW 649) are prerequisites, except by permission of the instructor.

Offered: every other year

Pre-requisites: Taxation I (LAW 649).

Offered: occasionally

Offered: every year

Pre-requisite: Taxation I (LAW 649)

Offered: every year

Pre-requisite: Taxation I (LAW 649).

Enrollment limited to 12 students, selected by lottery.

Offered: occasionally

Bridge Courses

One credit bridge courses introduce students to topics, skills, and issues. Topics will vary from semester to semester and will be restricted in scope. The purpose of bridge courses is to expose students to depth in a particular subject matter not covered by the curriculum or to supplement courses taken in a pathway or certificate program.

FALL SEMESTER

Civil Procedure – LAW 613

Contracts – LAW 603

Legal Research, Analysis, & Communication I – LAW 607

Introduction to Race, Racism, & U.S. Law I – Law 612

Torts – LAW 611

SPRING SEMESTER

Constitutional Law – Law 620

Criminal Law – Law 605

Legal Research, Analysis, & Communication II – LAW 608

Introduction to Race, Racism, & U.S. Law II – Law 612

Property – Law 610

Current Curricular Offerings (by subject area)

Business, Commercial, Tax

Antitrust – LAW 626

Bankruptcy – LAW 625

Business Associations – LAW 601

Business Financing and Securities Regulation – LAW 668

Cannabis Law, Business, & Policy – LAW 756

Commercial Law: Sale of Goods & Secured Transactions – LAW 719

Corporate and Social Responsibility & the Environment – LAW 760

Cybersecurity Insurance Law – LAW 771

E-Commerce Law – LAW 657

Economic Development Law Practicum – LAW 726

Employee Benefits Law – LAW 747

Employment Law – LAW 779

Entertainment Law – LAW 781

Health Care Law and Policy – LAW 618

Information Privacy Law – LAW 777

Information Privacy and Cybersecurity Law Practicum – LAW 735

Insurance Law – LAW 655

Intellectual Property – LAW 661

International Trade Law – LAW 651

Internet Law – LAW 664

Negotiation – LAW 683

Partnership Taxation – LAW 688

Real Estate Transactions – LAW 672

Risk Management and Compliance – Law and Practice – LAW 660

Startup and Entrepreneurship Law – LAW 685

Taxation I – LAW 649

Taxation II – LAW 654

Taxation Law Seminar – LAW 670

Trademark & Unfair Competition – LAW 716

Transactional Practicum: Deals – LAW 662

Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Injuries – Law 769

Clinics and Experiential

Advanced Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic – LAW 718

Externship – LAW 690

General Practice Clinic – LAW 663

Impact Lawyering: A Practicum for Social Justice Reform – LAW 721

Lawyering Skills for Clinical Practice – LAW 667

Mediation Practicum – LAW 665

Prisoner Assistance Clinic – LAW 712

Refugee and Human Rights Clinic – LAW 783

Rural Practice Clinic – LAW 730

Youth Justice Clinic – LAW 724

Constitutional Law and Civil Rights

Civil Rights Litigation – LAW 788

Criminal Procedure: Investigation – LAW 693

Disability Law – LAW 745

Elder Law – LAW 705

Federal Courts – LAW 645

Federal Indian Law – LAW 600

First Amendment – LAW 782

Health Care Law and Policy – LAW 618

Immigration Law – LAW 681

Impact Lawyering: A Practicum for Social Justice Reform – LAW 721

International Human Rights – LAW 795

Juvenile Law – LAW 708

Law, Social Justice, and the Public Interest – LAW 701

Local Government – LAW 616

Philosophy of Law – LAW 674

Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation and the Law – LAW 692

Second Amendment and the Regulation of Firearms – LAW 641

Social Media Regulation – LAW 675

Voting Rights & Election Law – LAW 798

Racial Justice in Criminal Law Practice – LAW 679

Criminal Law

Appellate Litigation Practicum – LAW 706