Last update: September 29, 2023

Course Schedules

Spring 2024 courses run from January 15 to April 26. For further information as to courses or scheduling, please contact us.

*JD students may not enroll in the following courses: Legal Research and Writing.

Note: The schedule is subject to change. 

Course Descriptions

This tentative course schedule is subject to change.

ADVISING MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES ON GLOBAL LEGAL ISSUES (2 credits)

This interactive and participatory course is intended to provide a survey of the types of issues confronting lawyers, and particularly in-house lawyers, who advise multinational corporations on a worldwide basis. The areas to be discussed include topics that will cover corporate law (including M&As), labor and employment law, employee benefits, litigation, and corporate compliance. Practical examples will be used to illustrate the complicated nature yet importance of this type of practice. Further, in addition to the more substantive legal topics to be covered, the course will also be interspersed with practice tips, jurisdictional practice highlights and ethical considerations for the multinational practitioner.

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EAST-WEST NEGOTIATIONS (3 credits)

This pass/fail course introduces students to the practical, legal, and cultural issues encountered when drafting and negotiating international agreements in the Asian context. The course particularly emphasizes negotiations involving American and Japanese parties through the examination of actual international commercial transactions. Students have an opportunity to participate in the preparation of mock agreements and negotiations. This course satisfies the skills graduation requirement for JD students.

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INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE LAW (3 credits)

Increased globalization of commerce has substantially increased the risk of fines, sanctions and costly litigation resulting from the way and manner business is conducted around the world. Governments and Unions have responded to globalization to varying degrees by enforcing existing laws, enacting new laws and regulatory requirements addressing competition, market manipulation, trade, and corruption. Aside from costly fines levied against the Corporation, various legal regimes have begun to impose direct liability on directors, managers and third parties who have failed to implement and oversee reasonable compliance programs. These factors require a vigorous and ever-changing compliance program for corporations. A thorough understanding of compliance issues helps lawyers to craft creative and effective legal solutions for their clients. An excellent compliance program cannot only prevent problems but discover issues at an early stage and can be used to receive credit where a corporation runs afoul of a law.

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INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT DRAFTING (3 credits) (2 sections) 

This course bridges the gap between contract theory and contract practice and offers practical insights into international contracts such as licenses, distributorships, and joint ventures. Students will focus principally on developing skills in drafting these types of contracts and undertake ancillary preparation exercises. This course satisfies the skills graduation requirement for JD students and advanced writing requirement for LLM students.

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INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT LAW (3 credits) 

This course deals with selected legal issues which affect persons active in various aspects of the international entertainment industry. Topics will include privacy rights, contract law, copyright law, and labor law which will be discussed in the context of the stages of development of an international entertainment project.

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INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING (3 credits)

This course will cover the broad outlines of the four major branches of intellectual property law – patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law – and will consider the following topics: obtaining rights by registration in the U.S. and other typical examination countries; exploitation of intellectual property rights with a focus on technology transfer including compulsory licensing, foreign ownership requirements in ventures and antitrust considerations; protection of rights with a focus on the difficulties of protecting intellectual property rights by litigation, policing property rights, preventing international distribution, international trade piracy, and gray market goods; and other topics.

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INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: WRITING SEMINAR (3 credits) 

This writing seminar introduces students to the basic features of the contemporary international human rights system, paying particular attention to the emerging field of Human Rights & SDGs in Business. The course addresses key concepts in corporate law related to limited liability, corporate personhood, and the “Business Judgement Rule.” We will discuss how these concepts can lead to corporate decision-making that focuses on profitability as opposed to the respect for or protection of human rights. We will pay special attention to incorporating sustainability and corporate social responsibility into contracts with suppliers and overseas business partners. We will analyze case studies where industry representatives have successfully engaged with affected stakeholders and where there is room to improve by having companies acknowledge the impact they have on human rights and sustainability when doing business. This course satisfies the advanced writing requirement for JD and LLM students

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INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE LAW (3 credits)

This course introduces students to Japanese law and the major principles of civil law systems. Students will examine the history, structure, and content of the Japanese legal system, the role of domestic and international law in Japan, the Japanese Constitution, and the major areas of Japanese law. To better equip students for transnational work involving Japanese entities, the course will focus on how Japanese laws, regulations, and culture affect corporations, business transactions, and individual rights in Japan. It will also consider the role of Japanese law in promoting transnational investment, current issues in the practice of law in Japan, and several current social issues on which law has an impact. Students with a law degree from a Japanese university may not enroll in this class.

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LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING (3 credits)

This course explores legal research, writing, and advocacy. After being introduced to the U.S. legal system and basic research techniques (including on-line databases such as LexisNexis), students work on assigned problems to develop their writing and analytical skills. The program aims to develop basic legal research and writing skills in a hands-on seminar style atmosphere. This course is required of all US Law LLM students. For LLM and Certificate students only.

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PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (3 credits)

This core course — also known as the “Law of Lawyering” — focuses on the practical and ethical questions that attorneys constantly face. These range from signing up new clients and evaluating complex conflicts of interest scenarios to unrepresented party interaction and attorney advertising. Utilizing select case law excerpts, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, American Bar Association Committee on Ethics opinions, the California Rules of Professional Conduct, relevant sections of the California Business and Professions Code, select state and local bar ethics opinions, and topical news articles, the class takes a real-world approach to Professional Responsibility. It will also help prepare students for the MPRE, as Professional Responsibility is tested on Bar Exams throughout the U.S. The societal role of attorneys in shaping our judicial system is also a focus, particularly issues of racism and wealthism in skewing the scales of justice. This subject is tested on many U.S. Bar Examinations.

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TRUSTS AND ESTATES (3 credits)

This course surveys the principal devices used in the transmission of accumulated family wealth, concentrating primarily on the requirements for creating, modifying and terminating wills and trusts.  It also considers intestate succession, will substitutes and selected issues concerning future interests, powers of appointment and fiduciary administration.  This subject is tested on many U.S. Bar Examinations

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GUIDED RESEARCH (2-3 credits)

This faculty-supervised independent research offers students an opportunity to satisfy the graduation advanced writing and research requirement. Students hone their research, writing and analytical abilities by producing a substantive research or serial writing paper. Students must receive approval from the supervising faculty to take guided research, including their proposed research topic.

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BEGINNER JAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSE (non-credit)

This course is intended to give students with little to no Japanese language ability, basic speaking and listening proficiency to be able to live comfortably in Tokyo for the semester. This course also will focus on Japanese communications and cultural practices in business, including practice making self-introductions and job interviewing.

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U.S. BAR EXAM STUDY COURSE II (non-credit)

This course is a comprehensive lecture series on techniques and strategies to take a U.S. state bar exam. This class will help prepare you for the various parts of a bar exam, including the multistate/multiple-choice section (“the MBE”), Uniform Bar Exam or state essays, and the multistate performance test (“MPT”) questions. The course will use multiple resources, including doctrinal lectures, classroom discussions, substantive outlines, many practice questions, and individual coaching. In this class, as with the bar exam, what matters most is results, and our goal is to make sure that each of you can use these various inputs to produce successful outcomes.

*Learn more about faculty here