ADVANCED ARBITRATION SKILLS (PRMD9224)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisite: Dispute Resolution Processes

This skills course is an intensive study of the law relating to arbitration. Coursework will focus on the many applications of arbitration, and discussion topics will include judicial review, enforcement of arbitration awards, and the application of the arbitration process to the public and private sectors. Students will participate in simulated exercises, with evaluation and critical analysis by other students and faculty.

Course is graded High Pass, Pass/ D or Fail.

ADVANCED CIVIL PRACTICE (PRMD9128)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisites: Persuasion and Advocacy, Evidence or Evidence: Theory and Practice

Course is graded High Pass, Pass/D or Fail.

Note: Students cannot take this course if they have already taken Civil Trial Practice (CRJU9201) , Criminal Trial Practice (CRJU9425), Advanced Civil Trial Practice (PRMD9219) or Advanced Criminal Trial Practice (PRMD9219).

ADVANCED CRIMINAL PRACTICE (PRMD9219)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisites: Persuasion and Advocacy, Evidence or Evidence: Theory and Practice

This interactive skills course will prepare students for the reality of criminal practice.  Building on Persuasion & Advocacy (which is a prerequisite), the course will teach the skills involved in prosecuting and defending a criminal case.  Topics covered will include planning and investigation of a criminal case, development of theories and themes, jury voir dire and selection, witness examination techniques, use of informants, preparation of jury charges, and post-trial motions.

Course is graded High Pass, Pass/D or Fail.

Note:  Students cannot take this course if they have already taken Civil Trial Practice (CRJU9201), Criminal Trial Practice (CRJU9425), or Advanced Civil Trial Practice (PRMD9218).

ADVANCED MEDIATION SKILLS (PRMD9228)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisite: Dispute Resolution Processes

Note: Students cannot apply both this course and Mediation and the Settlement Process (PRMD9210) towards degree requirements.

ADVANCED NEGOTIATION SKILLS (PRMD9226)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisite: Dispute Resolution Processes

This skills course combines a theoretical and practical approach to the role of the lawyer as negotiator. It examines the types of negotiation, the role of the lawyer as negotiator, the ethics of negotiation, and the structure of negotiation (including negotiation techniques, planning for negotiation, etc.). The course utilizes simulated negotiations, both bilateral and multilateral, with evaluation and critical analysis by other students and faculty.

Note: Students cannot apply both this course and Negotiation (PRMD9206) towards degree requirements.

COMPLEX COMMERCIAL LITIGATION (PRMD9220)
2 credits. Seminar.

This seminar will examine the philosophical, ethical and legal underpinnings of complex commercial litigation.  This subject matter will be approached from a practical perspective using real world case studies including the lecturer's personal experience as well as appropriate texts and court documents.  Topics covered will include initial client consultation, mapping out themes of the case, discovery, trial, settlement and appeal.  Grading will be based upon several written assignments, class participation and team class projects.

Note:  Students cannot apply both this course and Complex Litigation (Seminar) (PRMD9214) or Complex Litigation (Course) (PRMD7207) towards degree requirements.

COMPLEX LITIGATION (PRMD7207)
3 credits. Lecture.

This course examines the theory and practice of multiparty and other complex cases. It covers a range of advanced procedural topics, including joinder, consolidation, multidistrict litigation, class actions, choice of law, counsel coordination, bifurcated trials, and remedies. The course will examine these topics at both a practical and a theoretical level, considering litigation strategy as well as theoretical perspectives on the adversary system.

NOTE: Students cannot apply both this course and Complex Commercial Litigation (PRMD9220) or Complex Litigation (Seminar) (PRMD9214) towards degree requirements.

COMPLEX LITIGATION (PRMD9214)
3 credits. Seminar.

This seminar examines multiparty and other large scale litigation. The readings and discussions cover the most significant procedural problems and opportunities presented by such litigation, including issues of joinder, overlapping litigation, class actions, discovery, trial and settlement. During the seminar, students will complete four written assignments. To better approximate the actual practice of complex litigation, students will complete the projects in teams randomly assigned for each project.

Note: Students cannot apply both this course and Complex Commercial Litigation (PRMD9220) or Complex Litigation (Course) (PRMD7207) towards degree requirements.

CONFLICT OF LAWS (PRMD8206)
3 credits. Lecture.

This course studies problems relating to transactions and relationships with multi-jurisdictional elements. It includes: common law rules and theories; underlying policies; modern approaches; constitutional limitations in national and international law; jurisdiction of courts; and the effect of foreign judgments.

DISCOVERY & DEPOSITIONS IN CIVIL LITIGATION (PRMD9212)
2 credits. Seminar.
Prerequisite: Evidence.

The vast majority of cases are not won or lost at trial, but rather are won or lost during pretrial discovery.  This is the reason why more than 90% of all civil cases settle before the trial. "Discovery and Depositions in Civil Litigation" will initially teach the students how to promulgate and respond to all forms of paper discovery in complex cases involving science, medicine and technology. The vast majority of the course will be devoted to teaching the students how to skillfully take depositions in such complex cases.  As the vast majority of trial lawyers spend far more time taking depositions than trying cases, this course will provide law students with the valuable skills needed to assume active roles in pretrial discovery immediately upon passing the bar.  This course will utilize the case study method based on the record of three actual cases. The initial portion of the course will comprehensively but quickly review the federal and New Jersey rules of pretrial discovery, including those rules regulating use of interrogatories, depositions, requests for documents, requests to admit, and subpoenas.  Each student will be required to prepare a short paper to demonstrate their knowledge of these rules.  Each student will then be required to draft and respond to each type of pretrial request for discovery utilizing the facts of one of the actual cases.

The majority of the time spent in the course will be devoted to teaching the students how to properly and comprehensively take the pre-trial depositions of the parties and experts in the actual cases. The course will first examine the case law regarding pretrial depositions. The students will then be required to prepare deposition outlines and take the depositions of the plaintiffs, defendants or the experts in the actual case. The parties and expert witnesses will be portrayed by either an instructor or a student, and counsel for the witness will also be portrayed by an instructor or another student who will defend the deposition. Each student will be obligated to take at least four depositions in front of the entire class. Mistakes, e.g., improperly or poorly worded questions and tactical errors or omissions, will be corrected on the spot and redone until proper. For the first two case studies, the students will initially be given, in addition to the medical or other relevant records and expert reports, the transcripts of the depositions of the parties or experts that were actually taken by the lawyers in these two cases. However, for the third case the students will be expected to demonstrate that they have mastered the ability to take a deposition without the benefit of the actual transcripts. The students will be graded on their preparation of a pretrial discovery memorandum, various pretrial discovery documents and several deposition outlines. The final exam will consist of taking the deposition of a defendant or expert in the third case study.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESSES (PRMD8209)
2 credits. Lecture.

This course will explore negotiation, mediation and arbitration as process alternatives to litigation to resolve legal conflicts as well as the principle court-annexed ADR alternatives now used to resolve litigation at the earliest opportunity.  In addition to understanding these ADR processes, this course will provide an in depth understanding of the federal and state statutes and case law which govern and enforce the pre-dispute contractual election to opt for private neutral-administered mediation and arbitration as alternatives to public trials before a court and jury.

Note: Students cannot apply both this course and Negotiation, Mediation & Arbitration (PRMD9209) towards degree requirements.

ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY (PRMD8218)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisites: Persuasion and Advocacy, Evidence or Evidence: Theory and Practice

Course is graded High Pass, Pass/D or Fail.

EVIDENCE (PRMD7201)
Second year day or evening. 3 credits. Lecture.

This course analyzes the regulation of proof in judicial proceedings.  It includes: burdens of production and persuasion; judicial notice; presumptions; relevance and its counterweights; the fundamental requirements for admission of testimonial, documentary and non-testimonial evidence; the nature and function of expert testimony; the hearsay rule and its exceptions; character evidence; rules of preference; fixed rules of relevance, and rules of exclusion based on non-inferential policies.  (Evidence in Practice and in Depth also satisfies the Evidence requirement).

Note:  Students cannot apply both Evidence (PRMD7201) and Evidence in Practice and in Depth (PRMD7205) towards degree requirements.

EVIDENCE: THEORY AND PRACTICE (PRMD7205)
6 credits. Two semesters. Lecture.

This full-year course provides an alternative to the basic evidence course for those who plan to do trial work, or those who want a more complete coverage than is possible in the three credit course. A single grade will be given for the course, but it will be derived from at least two anonymous grading exercises.

NOTE: Students cannot apply both this course and Evidence (PRMD7201) towards degree requirements.

EXPERT WITNESSES (PRMD9211)
2 or 3 credits. Seminar.
Prerequisite: Evidence.

This seminar explores the use and limits of expert testimony including but not limited to the testimony of scientists, social scientists, forensic experts and other less formal sources of knowledge. The law of expert testimony is expanding exponentially and thereby causing radical changes in the rules of evidence. Students will study relevant principles of evidence and the origins and basis of key areas of expert testimony. For each area of expertise, the seminar will study origins, the history of its admission, use in the courtroom, the effect of the recent changes in the rules of evidence and the point of view of both the proponent and the opponent. Each student will write a paper and give a presentation on a selected area of expertise. Some of the areas to be studied may include: Ballistics, toolmark identification, fingerprint identification, neutron activation analysis, questioned documents, spectrographic voice identification, narcoanalysis and hypnosis, odontology and DNA, and hair follicle identification.

FAMILY MEDIATION (PRMD9216)
2 credits. Seminar.
Prerequisites: Family Law, Marriage and Divorce, Dispute Resolutions Processes

This seminar offers a detailed examination of one of the most important areas of alternative dispute resolution.  It places family mediation, and especially divorce mediation, in the context of the litigation process and the alternative dispute resolution movement.  It combines a detailed examination or mediation, both in court-annexed and independent settings, to resolve dispute within families, especially in the context of divorce, with training in mediation skills in the family context.

NOTE: Students cannot apply both Family Mediation (PRMD9216) and Mediation and the Settlement Process (PRMD9210) towards degree requirements.

FEDERAL COURTS (PRMD7203)
3 credits. Lecture.
Prerequisites: Constitutional Law or Constitutional Law I and II.

This course studies selected problems involving federal courts, including: the constitutional basis of federal jurisdiction; the judicial role in the separation of powers doctrine; the jurisdictions of the Supreme Court; the federal courts of appeals and the federal district courts; supplemental jurisdiction; conflicts and tensions between federal and state courts; and "Our Federalism" and other aspects of federal court abstention.

INDEPENDENCE AND DEFERENCE IN FEDERAL COURTS (PRMD9208)
2 or 3 credits.  Seminar.

It is widely thought that one of the virtues of the federal courts is their independent decision making.  Yet in a wide variety of areas, federal judges defer to conclusions reached by others.  This seminar will consider and evaluate examples of deference, such as deference to Congress, state legislatures, administrative agencies, juries, lower federal courts, colleagues, predecessors, and state courts.

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY AND EVIDENCE (PRMD9204)
2 credits. Seminar.
Prerequisites: Civil Procedure or Civil Procedure I and II.

This course focuses on discovery of information that is generated and stored in electronic format.  Requests for such information, and disputes arising from the requests, have become commonplace in the federal civil justice system.  The course will examine how discovery requests are made and responded to, how disputes are addressed under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and how the 12/1/06 amendments to the Rules will affect requests, responses, and the resolution of disputes.  The course will also examine the ethical duties of lawyers in the area of electronic discovery and will introduce students to presentation of evidence in electronic format at trial.

NEGOTIATION, MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION (PRMD9209)
2 credits.  Seminar.

This seminar is designed to develop an appreciation for dispute resolution processes that seek to replace the costly alternatives of litigation and violence.  Through readings, class discussions, demonstrations, simulations, short writing assignments and a final paper, students will be introduced to the theory and practice of the major forms of alternative dispute resolution. No exam will be given. Enrollment will be limited to 12 students who have not taken the ADR survey course, negotiation or mediation.

NOTE:  Students cannot apply both this course and Dispute Resolution Processes (PRMD8209) towards degree requirements.  In addition, students can only apply this course and one of the following two courses, Negotiation (PRMD9206) and Mediation & The Settlement Process (PRMD9210) towards degree requirements.

NEW JERSEY PRACTICE (PRMD8202)
3 credits. Lecture.

This course is an expanded state court counterpart to the first year Civil Procedure Course, and provides a detailed examination of the rules of litigation, practice and procedure for the New Jersey state courts. Primary emphasis is placed upon the court rules and applicable case law governing civil litigation practice before the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, Law Division, Civil and Special Civil Part, and Chancery Division, General Equity and Family Part. The rules of the Superior Court, Law Division, Criminal Part and the N.J. Municipal Courts are also covered. Since rules of practice and procedure vary widely from state to state, this course is especially valuable for a student contemplating practice in New Jersey.

NEW YORK PRACTICE (PRMD8203)
3 credits. Lecture.

New York Practice and rules differ significantly from federal practice as studied in Civil Procedure I and II. This course focuses on those differences, including: New York's Long Arm Statute; its complex timeliness doctrines; its distinctive motion practice; its unique court structure; and standards for preliminary relief. A student planning to practice in New York is well advised to take this course.

NITA DEPOSITION SKILLS PROGRAM (PRMD9240)
1 credit. Skills.
Prerequisites: Persuasion and Advocacy, Evidence or Evidence: Theory and Practice
Pre/co-requisite: Advanced Civil Practice or Advanced Criminal Practice

Course is graded on a High Pass, Pass/D or Fail basis.

PERSUASION & ADVOCACY (PRMD8210)
2 credits. Skills.

In this highly participatory course, students will learn the art of persuasion in the context of the courtroom.  Exercises and simulations will focus on the integration of storytelling and thematic development into the basic skills of direct examination, cross-examination, opening statements and closing arguments.  By the end of the course students should be more able to argue and more likely to win - whether inside or outside the courtroom.

Course is graded High Pass, Pass/D or Fail.

Note: Students who have already taken either Civil Trial Practice (PRMD9201) or Criminal Trial (CRJU9425) are not eligible for this course.

PRETRIAL CIVIL LITIGATION (PRMD9200)
2 credits. Lecture.

This course studies the pretrial prosecution and defense of civil actions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and New Jersey Rules of Court. Commencing with actions taken before the filing of suit, this course discusses civil proceedings through the pleadings stage, discovery, motion practice and pretrial preparation. Subjects of instruction will include: pre-suit investigation; drafting of pleadings; preparation of discovery instruments; conducting depositions; filing and responding to motions; attorney-client privilege; protective orders and the use of experts.

REMEDIES (PRMD8201)
3 credits. Lecture.

This course undertakes a detailed examination of the substantive law of civil remedies. It considers restitution, damages and the forms of equitable relief, as well as preconditions for the award of specific remedies, measure of recovery and shaping the award.

TRANSACTIONAL SKILLS (PRMD9222)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisite: Persuasion and Advocacy

The Transactional Skills course serves as a transition for the upperclass student from the exclusive focus on legal substance to the application of the law to an actual deal.  Students will be divided into teams of opposing counsel and will spend the semester negotiating and drafting the documents for a significant transaction.  Students will be expected to develop their skills in fact finding, managing difficult clients, issue spotting in the transactional context, and drafting.  Students will also consider the unique ethical issues of corporate representation, as well as effective negotiation strategies. 

Course is graded High Pass, Pass/D or Fail.

A TRIAL OF A CIVIL MATTER (PRMD9250)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisites: Persuasion and Advocacy, Evidence or Evidence: Theory and Practice and Advanced Civil Practice

Note: Students cannot apply both A trial of a Civil Matter (PRMD9250) and The Trial of a Criminal Case (PRMD9255) towards degree requirements.

THE TRIAL OF A CRIMINAL CASE (PRMD9255)
2 credits. Skills.
Prerequisites: Persuasion and Advocacy, Evidence or Evidence: Theory and Practice and Advanced Criminal Practice

Note: Students cannot apply both The Trial of a Criminal Case (PRMD9255) and A Trial of a Civil Matter (PRMD9250) towards degree requirements.