More often than not, being a “real” lawyer is associated with directly representing clients through litigation. While litigation is certainly a means to achieve exciting and significant outcomes, policy advocacy is another critical lever pulled to impact the public good. This course will provide students the opportunity to examine and model successful policy campaigns from start to finish. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating perspectives from history, social psychology, political science, sociology, and law.

This course examines aspects of international financial regulation, securities law, and banking law. It focuses on U.S. law, transnational regulation, and European Union law. It combines elements of international financial law and comparative securities regulation. The laws of selected other jurisdictions (England, Wales, and Australia) may also be examined in specific areas.

In this seminar, students will explore several of the most newsworthy developments in corporate governance as of late, spanning across boardroom dramas, legislative developments, and the impact of the ever-evolving imperatives of financial investors and strategic investors alike.

The course will focus on the effects of media in the era of the internet, social media, and traditional media sources, etc. on litigation both criminal and civil. Case studies will focus on the advent of mass media coverage of cases/trials, including O.J. Simpson, through present, such as the Depp v. Heard trial. It will also touch upon the representation of high-profile cases, and public figures, when these individuals are reported on, if not lambasted and scorned in the court of public opinion.

Conflict and dispute negotiation and resolution are major aspects of the practice of law. This course will examine principles and best practices of alternative dispute resolution both during, and prior to the institution of, a lawsuit.

This seminar is designed to examine some of the most controversial subjects in constitutional law. Its purpose is to acquaint students to divergent viewpoints as they are articulated through legal rhetoric, precedent, principles, history, norms, and related topics. The seminar brings students into the discussion with leading scholars in the field.

This course will be a hands-on approach to real estate transactions including: residential and commercial real estate closings, title search review, and the lien and foreclosure process. This will include preparation of the real estate contract for purchase and sale, including analysis of the FARBAR Contract and As-Is Contract; practical review of online searches to include entity searches, public records searches and property tax searches.

Florida is a national leader in capital punishment and has been for decades. It houses the largest death row population in the country for states that continue executions and is one of only a handful of states that completes executions. As of August 7, 2023, Florida houses 291 people on death row and has completed five executions in 2023. This two-credit, synchronous virtual course will provide an overview of capital punishment in Florida, focusing on how a sentence of death may be imposed and the constitutional issues involved in capital sentencing.

The course will fully analyze (1) the substantive federal and state laws and regulations concerning deceptive, unfair, and abusive business acts and practices (“UDAAP” and “Little FTC Act”) and (2) the role of the federal and state governmental agencies in enforcing those laws and regulations. The final weeks of the course will involve a hypothetical federal governmental investigation, where the student will play the role of defense counsel for the target of the investigation.

In an era defined by rapid technological innovation, the relationship between technology and civil liberties has become an issue of increasing debate and concern. Are social media companies a blessing or a curse to public discourse? Are Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) a public forum, publisher, a platform or something else? Is it appropriate that social media companies cannot be sued for posts attributed to their users, even when those posts can destroy reputations and lives? With the ubiquity of smart phones, can anyone meaningfully escape surveillance and tracking?