Administrative Law: Public Institutions and Law

This course explores the phenomena of bureaucracy and regulation that combine to shape the impact of public institutions. The course covers the rules of administrative procedure, which very often form the core opportunity for legal intervention in public interest lawyering, and examines the role of public interest lawyering from inside as well as outside institutions. Students examine the stages of rule-making and adjudication governing executive and legislative administrative agencies. Using analysis of the sources of authority and the premises of expertise and efficiency in regulation as touchstones, students explore the state and federal statutory schemes that allocate power and order implementation across a broad range of substantive areas. More intense study of one particular regulatory scheme - through case studies or participation in the notice and comment phase of an actual rule-making procedure in a particular agency - provides the in-depth focus and context that leads to a more textured understanding of the role and responsibility of administrative agencies in our regulatory state.

Constitutional Structures and the Law

This course examines federalism as a core value and primary structural element of the U.S. Constitution. It scrutinizes the separation of powers within the federal government, as well as the distribution of powers among local, state, and federal governments. Students examine the public-private distinction and "state action," and consider the emergence of federal power from the Commerce, Tax, and Spending Clauses of the Constitution. Contemporary issues include the rise of the "new federalism" and its devolution of power to the states, and the role of, and limits on, public regulation in the marketplace. The course includes focus on other core constitutional concepts central to public interest practice, including mootness, standing, ripeness, and the 11th Amendment.

Evidence and Lawyering in the Public Interest

This course centers on three areas: evidence, advocacy skills, and a theoretical understanding of dispute resolution. In each area, students acquire practical skills necessary to the lawyering role and examine litigation in a broader context, encouraging in-depth understanding of the structure of evidentiary rules, as well as the possibility of alternatives. Doctrinal coverage includes the Federal Rules of Evidence, as well as the common law and New York statutes defining the scope of privileges. Students are challenged not only to master this thicket of rules and their many exceptions, but also to develop an understanding of how they affect the fact-finding process, the development of a theory of the case, the viability of litigation, and the unfolding of the story if the case finally reaches the courthouse.

Property: Law in a Market Economy III

This course gives students a thorough grounding in all aspects of real property law - the concept of ownership, present and future estates in land, easements and covenants, adverse possession, and landlord-tenant law, as well as an exploration of the constitutional and social policy dimensions involved in zoning regulations and the concept of eminent domain. Approaching the study of each of these legal concepts from a public interest perspective, the course focuses on the primary dilemma of property law - the conflict between private ownership and public interest in proper and effective land use, environmental protection, controlled development, and the needs of society as a whole.