Last update: April 3, 2025
Course Schedules
Spring 2026 courses run from January 12 to April 24. For further information as to courses or scheduling, please contact us.
Note: The schedule is subject to change. Hybrid courses are held in-person and synchronously online.
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.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LAW: WRITING SEMINAR (3 credits)
Artificial intelligence (AI) attempts to replicate human intelligence in a machine to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. Based on the capacity to mimic human characteristics, the technology used, the real-world applications, and the theory of the mind, AI is focused on goal-oriented abilities designed to perform specific tasks. Legal practitioners are presented with issues related to: AI and social media, data privacy concerns; implications of AI for employment; health and medical care; reducing energy use; improving cybersecurity; new methods of climate and environmental protection; a safer society; “deep fakes” used to spread disinformation; AI affecting finance, transportation, national security, advertising, and a variety of other fields. The governance of AI is aimed at ensuring AI’s numerous potential benefits while minimizing risks to consumers’ health, safety, security, and privacy. Practitioners, policymakers, and risk management professionals must address these issues related to development, deployment, and use of AI applications. In this AI Law writing course, we explore these topics and possible action items.
CURRENT ISSUES IN JAPANESE LAW (3 credits)
This interactive and participatory course is intended to provide a survey of the current issues pertaining to Japanese law, society, and business. Topics include trends for legal services in corporate law, compliance, entertainment law, AI law, and privacy law among other topics spanning domestic and cross-border business transactions. The course will be interspersed with practical tips, jurisdictional practice highlights and ethical considerations for legal practitioners working or doing business in Japan.
EAST-WEST NEGOTIATIONS (3 credits)
This for credit only (S/U) 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 multi-national 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.
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.
INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT DRAFTING (3 credits)
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.
INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION (2 credits)
This course looks at the procedural issues which arise in disputes in cross-border business and legal cultures. The key issues in transnational arbitration, litigation, and mediation to be covered include obtaining jurisdiction over foreign nationals, choice of forum and law considerations, serving process and obtaining discovery in foreign countries, enforcing foreign judgments, and using alternative dispute resolution.
INTERNATIONAL TAXATION (2 credits)
This course covers fundamental concepts in U.S. taxation of international transactions, both inbound (U.S. taxation of income received by foreign individuals or entities) and outbound (U.S. taxation of the foreign operations of United States taxpayers). The course will address questions of residence, jurisdiction to tax, source of income, the foreign tax credit, tax treaties, transfer pricing, and the operations of the controlled subsidiaries of United States corporations.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW & CONTRACTS (Sales) (3 credits)
This course will introduce legal, business and policy aspects of international trade and investment transactions focusing on formation, performance and enforcement of international contracts involving the sale of goods. Students will study the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and the Japanese Civil Code, considering related issues such as the sale of goods in connection with distribution, license, and joint venture agreements. This course builds directly on doctrine familiar from Contracts courses and explores how those doctrines apply in the international and comparative context.
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 US. 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 US bar examinations.
UNINCORPORATED BUSINESS ENTITIES (3 credits)
Most business organizations in the United States are no longer corporations, but unincorporated business associations such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, or limited liability companies (LLCs). Entities including "mom and pop" stores, high-tech start-ups, and sophisticated investment funds use these business forms. This class examines these business entities, which every attorney engaged in a business practice needs to understand. After a review of agency law, the course will examine partnerships, limited partnerships (LPs), LLCs, and if time permits some less common unincorporated business forms. This subject is tested on many U.S. Bar Examinations.
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.
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.
US BAR EXAM STUDY COURSE II (non-credit)
This course is a comprehensive lecture series on techniques and strategies to take a US state bar exam. This class will help prepare you for the various parts of a bar exam, including the multistate/multiple-choice section, Uniform Bar Exam or state essays, and the multistate/performance test questions. The course will use multiple resources, including doctrinal lectures, classroom discussions, substantive outlines, many practice questions, and individual coaching. The goal is to prepare students to use these various inputs to produce successful outcomes.
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