Study

This course is designed to provide a practical overview of the main labor law issues that arise in the U.S. workplace. Using a variety of approaches of instruction including mock exercises, outside speakers, writing exercises and analysis of current events, the course will familiarize students with not just the basic concepts underlying the broad range of labor law but cover more advanced topics. As such, the course is appropriate both for students who have taken Labor Law and those new to the topic. To a certain extent, the class topics will be “collectively bargained,” meaning students will actually bargain over class material with the Professor, much as what happens in a union-management relationship.

Class will meet seven times through the semester.

This one-credit fast- track advanced legal research workshop will provide students with hands-on research practice across a spectrum of topics, using assignments designed to simulate legal practice. In addition to primary legal sources, students will practice using litigation documents and analytics products, statutory interpretation and legislative history materials, corporate and contract drafting resources, regulatory materials, interdisciplinary and data research resources, and other research resources. In-class exercises and take-home assignments will be primarily based on current and recent legal disputes illustrative of those matters students are likely to encounter. Ethical and efficient research methods will be emphasized. Students should come away prepared to tackle research in a variety of legal work settings, including law firm, court, or public interest practice. Successful prior completion of LARW or equivalent is required.

Class will meet for 9 classes on Mondays from 2:00-3:25, with the last class on 3/31. Grading will be on a Credit/No Credit basis, with two take home assignments and a take home final required to receive credit.

You’ve heard it before: “Don’t be a lawyer. Lawyers are miserable people.”

Research has continuously shown that lawyers (and law students) experience depression, overwork, dissatisfaction, substance abuse, and psychological distress more severely and at a rate much higher than that of other high-stress professions. In a real sense, lawyers take on the worries of their clients.  It is possible to be a diligent (or even great) lawyer and still maintain well-being and happiness?

In this class, participants will join the growing movement to better define and address that question. Participants will read a survey of the ever-growing theoretical and empirical research on lawyer well-being from both legal academia and positive psychology. In particular, participants will aim to develop a broad perspective of the well-being issues in the legal industry. In doing so, participants will be asked to look for flaws and outliers in the perspective described above – after all, some lawyers are, in fact, happy people. Participants will discuss why that is, and consider whether “happiness” should be an expectation or achievable goal for the average lawyer.

Each participant will be asked to imagine a legal industry in which its well-being problems, while likely never solvable, are at least minimized. To that end, in addition to reflection papers, each participant will be challenged to outline an article, program, idea, or other contribution to thought leadership that will help ameliorate one or more of the legal industry’s well-being problems.

Along the way, this work should be beneficial to each participant’s own well-being and development of a functional – and possibly even happy – professional identity.

This class is a one-credit, pass-fail seminar that will meet nine times for 90-minute sessions. It is open to 2L, 3L and LLM students, with an enrollment cap of 25.  Reflection papers, project work, and class participation will be required.

January 16: Class #1

January 23: Class #2

February 6: Class #3

February 13: Class #4

February 27: Class #5

March 6: Class #6

March 20: Class #7

March 27: Class #8

April 10: Class #9