Law 699 is an individual research and writing offering designed to lend flexibility to the law school program. It is intended for students who have a strong research and writing interest in a topic not covered by the curriculum. A student wishing to write a research paper for Law 699 credit should identify a faculty member willing to supervise the project. The student and faculty supervisor will work out the details of the project, including the scope of the paper, the number of hours of credit, and any other requirements.
After working out these details, the student should fill out a petition for Law 699 credit (available on the College of Law intranet), and turn it in to the Dean of Students. The faculty supervisor must approve and sign the petition before it is submitted to the Dean of Students. The faculty has adopted these guidelines concerning Law 699: (1) Two hours of credit in Law 699, cumulatively, is the total allowable maximum. (2) Law 699 is not available to students on academic probation. (3) To earn one credit hour, the student usually must produce a research paper of at least 20 pages (excluding footnotes). To earn two credit hours, the student usually must produce a research paper of at least 40 pages (excluding footnotes). (4) Most students will require at least 60 hours of writing and research to complete a one-credit Independent Study project, and at least 120 hours to complete a two-credit project. But in no event will the student receive credit without devoting at least 45 hours per credit to the project. To ensure that this minimum 45-hour requirement is satisfied, the student must keep a record of time devoted to the project. (5) The supervisor must be a University of Illinois Law faculty member. Students may use Law 699 to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. In that case, the project must also satisfy the guidelines of that writing requirement.
Sequence and Prerequisites: None
Independent research under faculty supervision leading to the preparation of a master’s or doctoral thesis.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Open only to LLM or JSD students.
The Advanced Legal Research course is designed to allow interested students to further expand their general legal research knowledge and skills. The course will cover the following topics: Basic legal sources and research refresher; Online searching skills (Boolean logic, advanced natural language searching); Advanced Lexis and Westlaw (Citation analysis, specialized databases); Internet-based legal resources, including commercial and open access online research systems and resources, and cost-effective use of legal sources.
Sequence and Prerequisites: LAW 627, Legal Research is required as a prerequisite.
Evaluation: The course will consist of lectures, discussions, out-of-class assignments, in-class simulation exercises, and an open-book final. The out-of-class assignments allow students to practice and develop their research styles in preparation for legal practice. Simulation exercises provide an opportunity for students to evaluate and research discrete legal topics and prepare comprehensive research summaries. This course requires active participation and attendance throughout the semester.
Course Classification: Experiential
Through a series of transaction related assignments, students will learn to research, analyze, and write legal documents that govern future behavior. Students will perform tasks commonly required of attorneys performing transactional work, including drafting corporate resolutions, forming corporate entities, and completing due diligence research. Students will also negotiate the terms of a deal and draft an Asset Purchase Agreement or Stock Purchase Agreement.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Contracts and Legal Writing and Analysis are prerequisites.
Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on a series of written assignments and a final transactional document project. In order to be eligible for an upper level writing certification, student must successfully complete the course with a grade of a C or higher, as per the requirements in the Academic Policy Handbook.
Course Classification: Experiential
When a claim is first asserted against a client, a diligent attorney should investigate whether there is potential insurance coverage for the claim and should advise the client about necessary steps to secure that coverage. Courts have recognized that an attorney’s failure to flag the insurance issue can constitute malpractice. The attorney who represents the insurer has a corresponding obligation to analyze the claim and provide the policyholder with a timely, appropriate response to the claim. This course provides students with the background necessary to effectively fulfill these obligations, whether their future clients are insurers or policyholders.
In addition, the course offers students instruction and feedback on writing assignments involving cutting-edge issues relevant to real-world practice in insurance law.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Successful completion of the first-year curriculum, including the legal writing series.
Evaluation: Grades will be based on participation in class discussions and three writing assignments:
- A “Reservation of Rights” Letter: analyzing coverage for a claim based on applicable law and policy provisions in plain language (5-7 pages);
- A “Covenant Settlement” Agreement: assigning a tort defendant’s right against its insurer to the claimant (7-10 pages); and
- Memorandum of Law in Support of a Motion for Summary Judgment in a Declaratory Judgment Action: may be on behalf of insurer or insured (10-15 pages).
Course Classification: Experiential
In this specialized research course students will develop the skills needed to be a successful legal researcher in Illinois. Students will be introduced to the structure of the Illinois government and to Illinois specific primary law sources. Students will gain hands-on experience using Illinois primary law, as well as traditional and practitioner-oriented secondary sources– both in print and electronic form. Students will build upon the skills first introduced in LAW 627: Legal Research, including how to find, choose, and cite to appropriate authority; how to evaluate legal resources; the ethical use of information in the law; and the legal research process, all in the context of Illinois law.
Sequence and Prerequisites: LAW 627: Legal Research
Evaluation: The final course grade will be based on a take-home final exam. In addition, students must complete several pass/fail out-of-class assignments and attend and participate in all class sessions. These components are not graded but failing to complete them satisfactorily will result in a reduced or failing grade for the course.
This course is for students who would like more opportunities to practice the critical skills learned in the first-year legal writing courses: analysis, writing, and advocacy. To simulate real-world law practice, students will complete both quick-turnaround and long-term assignments. These assignments, which will include objective and persuasive writing projects, will allow students to write for a variety of audiences and to use a variety of resources. Students will receive individual feedback on writing projects to help them prepare for the final project of the semester – a brief on a motion for summary judgment.
For objective writing projects, students will learn an efficient process for analyzing legal problems and writing a well-organized, clear, and concise response for a client or supervisor. For persuasive writing projects, students will learn to craft strong arguments and devise compelling themes to effectively advocate for clients before the court. Students will also learn about editing their own writing, creating personal editing checklists, and editing colleagues’ work. Class sessions will incorporate interactive exercises and writing labs.
Sequence and Prerequisites: Legal Writing & Analysis, Legal Research, and Introduction to Advocacy.
Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on short writing assignments and a final brief.
The course will engage students in a research and writing exercise on pressing issues in labor and employment law that may have call on legislative address – by a state statute or a city ordinance (in a home rule city such as Chicago). Students will be asked to do these three things once a topic is selected:
- Prepare a “deep dive” report on the problem: on how extensive the problem is, surveying all the critical business, economic, scientific, or engineering or medical, or other necessary literature that explains and situates the problem.
- Survey such law as many exist that deals with the problem – domestic and, if possible, foreign (depending on language facility) – and assess the strengths and deficiencies.
- Draft a statute or ordinance setting out your proposal for a solution accompanied by a detailed explanation of how the law would work, pitfalls – practical as well as legal – that could be anticipated and how your proposal deals with them.
Enrollment Procedure:
Students should notify the instructor and secure approval of his or her selection as soon as possible. Because the depth of research is so critical it is strongly recommended that the topic be selected by the end of the preceding semester so that research can be commenced during break.
Students will select (or be assigned) a date for presentation of their work in progress. No later than the Monday preceding the class the student should circulate to the class: (1) a statement of the problem; (2) a summary or abstract of the business, economic, and scientific context based on the student’s in-depth research – a bibliography could suffice as background for the student’s oral representation; and (3) the text of the proposed statute or ordinance. The class will discuss, comment on and question the presenter on the proposal. The student’s final paper should deal with the criticism the class generates.
This course is eligible for upper-level writing credit.
Sequence and Prerequisites: None
Evaluation: The grade in the course will be based 90% on the paper and 10% on class performance – of the student’s presentation and the acuity of student comment on the work of others.
Employee benefits are everywhere, in people’s lives and in the law. Pension plans, health care plans, disability insurance, and other employer-provided benefits are vital to countless people’s economic security, and to the success or failure of many businesses. As a result, legal issues relating to benefit plans matter, even for lawyers who are not experts in the field; they loom large for practitioners in fields including corporate law, family law, estate planning, and litigation. This introductory course surveys federal law regarding employee benefit plans and digs more deeply into selected topics, in order to provide students with a basic grounding in the area.
Sequence and Prerequisites: None
Evaluation: Administered final exam