Course Offerings
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Fall 2024▲
See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.
Introduction to Law, Justice, and Society
LJS 101 - Dean, Nathaniel
An introductory seminar providing a broad, historically grounded foundation in concepts and frameworks of law, along with basic familiarity with a range of forms of law in practice. Beginning with general questions regarding the nature of law, students then move to a survey of American law, focusing on direct student engagement with landmark cases. The seminar concludes with attention to law in international and comparative settings.
Introduction to Jury Advocacy
LJS 231 - Belmont, Carlys E. (Beth)
Graded Pass/Fail only. Introduction to the jury system, federal rules of evidence, and trial practice. Participants are introduced to the legal, practical, and policy implications of jury advocacy in the United States, and put that learning into practice through role plays as both witness and advocate. Members of the intercollegiate mock-trial team are selected from those who complete the courses successfully.
Topics in Law: Feminist and Queer Jurisprudence Seminar
LJS 295AB - Bell, Melina C.
Topics in Law: Decedents' Estates and Trusts
LJS 295B - Light, Matthew W. (Matt)
A study of the gratuitous transfer of property by will, by intestate succession, and by the use of testamentary and inter vivos trusts.
Topics in Law and Legal Studies: Mass Media Law
LJS 295D - Murchison, Brian C.
A study of legal issues involving First Amendment protection of the mass media. Issues include prior restraint, the libel tort and current legislative reform efforts, the torts of invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, press access to government proceedings, reporter’s privilege, and selected problems relating especially to the electronic media, particularly the regulatory role of the Federal Communications Commission.
Topics in Law and Legal Studies: Intellectual Property
LJS 295G - Seaman, Christopher B.
This course is an introduction to intellectual property (IP) law. IP law involves legal protection for “creations of the mind,” including inventions, discoveries, artistic and creative works, brand identifiers, and product design. This course will introduce students to the major doctrines that govern IP — patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law — and the competing policies behind them. It is intended both for students who are interested in a general overview of IP and for students seeking a gateway to more specialized IP courses.
Topics in Law and Legal Studies: Healthcare Law
LJS 295X - Lee, Tiffany A.
This course broadly examines healthcare law in the United States. Topics include (1) the organization and finance of the healthcare industry; (2) the complex system of laws and regulations governing the delivery of, and payment for, healthcare services; (3) the problems of access to healthcare and control of healthcare costs, including the impact of the Affordable Care Act, state and federal managed-care regulation, the effect of ERISA on health insurance, the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act; (4) issues presented by the organization of the healthcare enterprise, including medical staff privileging, labor and employment problems, fraud and abuse, and antitrust; (5) ensuring quality in the healthcare system via the licensure of healthcare providers and the enforcement of quality standards through medical malpractice actions against both individuals and healthcare institutions; and (6) the manner in which acceptable healthcare outcomes depend upon responsible bioethical decision-making in the face of changing technology and increased consumerism.
Topics in Law, Justice, and Society: Should Race Matter?
LJS 297B - Dean, Nathaniel
A study of the social, political, moral, and legal questions raised by two widely contested racial practices: affirmative action and racial profiling. The course focuses on the basic color-conscious versus color-blind sets of conclusions regarding these practices as well as a set of unusual and unorthodox alternatives adduced in recent years. Special attention will also be paid to the distinctly Southern (and Virginian) role played by Justice Lewis F. Powell—a native of Suffolk, Virginia and two-time graduate of Washington and Lee—in establishing the nature, scope, and available justifications for race-consciousness as well as the Supreme Court’s powerful preference for color-blind remedies.
Tutorial in Trial Preparation and Procedure
LJS 431 - Belmont, Carlys E. (Beth)
Graded Pass/Fail only. Preparation for and participation in intercollegiate mock-trial competitions. Participants prepare a case based on an assigned set of facts and assume roles of both lawyer and witness in the classroom and competition.
Spring 2024▲
We do not offer any courses this term.
Winter 2024▲
See complete information about these courses in the course offerings database. For more information about a specific course, including course type, schedule and location, click on its title.
Introduction to Law, Justice, and Society
LJS 101 - Dean, Nathaniel
An introductory seminar providing a broad, historically grounded foundation in concepts and frameworks of law, along with basic familiarity with a range of forms of law in practice. Beginning with general questions regarding the nature of law, students then move to a survey of American law, focusing on direct student engagement with landmark cases. The seminar concludes with attention to law in international and comparative settings.
Introduction to Jury Advocacy
LJS 231 - Belmont, Carlys E. (Beth)
Graded Pass/Fail only. Introduction to the jury system, federal rules of evidence, and trial practice. Participants are introduced to the legal, practical, and policy implications of jury advocacy in the United States, and put that learning into practice through role plays as both witness and advocate. Members of the intercollegiate mock-trial team are selected from those who complete the courses successfully.
Topics in Law and Legal Studies: Voting Rights
LJS 295AA - Edobor, Maureen A.
This course surveys the law and policy governing voting access, political representation, and contested elections. The course will explore political, philosophical, and constitutional conceptions of the right to vote and how the electorate is defined in constitutional text, statute, and in practice. Readings will cover leading Supreme Court voting rights decisions from South Carolina v. Katzenbach, Baker v. Carr through Shelby County v. Holder and Allen v. Milligan. The course will begin with the development of the “right” to vote as a matter of constitutional law under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments during Reconstruction, then explore the multiracial coalitional movement precipitating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 while parsing its' main provisions (dormant and active).
Topics in Law and Legal Studies: Federal Income Tax of Individuals
LJS 295N - Drumbl, Michelle L.
A general study of individual income tax problems, including what is gross income, what is excluded from gross income, when and to whom income is taxable, tax aspects of divorce and separation, personal and business deductions, tax-free exchanges, capital transactions, with some consideration of the policy for various tax provisions and the growing complexity of tax law.
Topics in Law & Legal Studies: Family Law
LJS 295Q - Belmont, Carlys E. (Beth)
A study of legal problems of the family (including non-marital families). Topics discussed include the relationship of the parent, the child, and the state, with emphasis on adoption, child custody, and neglect; the creation and dissolution of marriage; the rights of family members to property, support, and service; and, reproductive decision making.
Topics in Law: Global Environmental Governance: Law, Economics, and Policy
LJS 295S - Drumbl, Mark A.
This course examines challenges to the integrity and well-being of the global environment. Its approach is primarily legal, drawing from international law, but also incorporating perspectives from economics, philosophy, and ecology. The class begins by setting out core legal principles. It then moves though a series of case studies, that include climate change; trade and globalization; biodiversity and intellectual property; deforestation and poverty; marine resources; environment and war; and transboundary movement of hazardous substances. Assessment is by thought-piece research paper and every student teaching a specific case-study.
Law, Justice, and Society Research Capstone
LJS 395 - Dean, Nathaniel
This capstone builds upon the foundations developed in LJS 101 and the courses taken as electives for the LJS minor, emphasizing interdisciplinary exchange and education. It incorporates peer-to-peer learning, including opportunities for students to educate each other on topics and issues from their selected research topics and major disciplines. The central element is a significant independent research project. This project is carried out with continual mentoring by a faculty member. Students document their research in a formal paper and in an oral presentation summarizing their research results.
Law, Justice, and Society Experiential Capstone: The Legal Clinical Experience
LJS 396 - Boaz, Matthew S.
A capstone building upon the foundations developed in LJS 101 and the courses taken as electives for the LJS minor. The central element is participation within or alongside one or more of the Washington and Lee Law School clinics, each of which provides direct legal services to low-income persons in Virginia or West Virginia. The work is carried out with continual mentoring by faculty and third-year law students. Students document and reflect upon their work in writing throughout the term and submit a final oral and written presentation summarizing and reflecting on their experience.
Tutorial in Trial Preparation and Procedure
LJS 431 - Belmont, Carlys E. (Beth)
Graded Pass/Fail only. Preparation for and participation in intercollegiate mock-trial competitions. Participants prepare a case based on an assigned set of facts and assume roles of both lawyer and witness in the classroom and competition.