All Summer Boston classes listed will be offered online only with no in-person session.
Advanced Legal Writing
Schedule: May 19 - June 28, 2025
Mon/Wed 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kaplan
Credits: 3
Course # 2265
Courses in Advanced Legal Writing build proficiency in the legal analysis, research and writing skills introduced in the first-year LPS course. In most sections of the course, students will produce writings that simulate the work that lawyers perform in one specific legal context chosen by the professor, such as criminal litigation, appellate practice, intellectual property litigation, or international law. In all sections of the course, students will complete substantial writing assignments or projects under faculty supervision, with multiple opportunities to receive feedback throughout the course.
Antitrust
Schedule: May 19 - June 26, 2025
Wed 5:30 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.
Instructor: Eckart
Credits: 3
Course # 2038
This course examines public and private enforcement, and judicial interpretation, of the laws regulating competition and monopoly. The issues on which antitrust bears include international competitiveness, industrial policy, mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. Other subjects include cartels, trade association activities, discounting, resale price maintenance, patent licensing, boycotts, predatory pricing, and misuse of governmental processes.
Business Entity Fundamentals
Schedule: May 19 - August 7, 2025
Tues/Thurs 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Gibson
Credits: 4
Course # 2136
This course surveys the law governing different types of business entities, ranging from corporations to LLCs and partnerships. The survey explores core foundational issues and highlights the significance of interdisciplinary perspectives. Business entity law is rationalized around four organizing principles: limited liability of owners for entity obligations; centralization of entity management away from owners; transferability of entity ownership; and duration of entity existence that typically is in perpetuity. Important subcategories include agency, entity formation and dissolution, governance, fiduciary duties, voting and distribution rights of owners, derivative litigation, entity capitalization and liability of owners. This course focuses on basic issues that will provide students with an introduction and foundation to key business entity concepts. It will also prepare students for more advanced courses in unincorporated entities, securities law, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and entity taxation. For those students with an interest in business law, this course should be taken in second year.
Character Strengths and Leadership (In Person)
Schedule: May 19 - June 26, 2025
Tues/Thurs 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Baker
Credits: 2
Course # 2984
Law students are well aware of the need to prepare for the Bar Examination after graduation. Less well known is the requirement in Massachusetts (similarly elsewhere) that graduates demonstrate the requisite "character and fitness" to practice law, including "honesty, integrity and discretion." But while these qualities are foundational, what other qualities are important to develop to bring our best selves to the role? What does fitness mean, such as maintaining well-being - which a recent American Bar Association Task Force said was part of the lawyer's ethical duty of competence - in the face of increasing professional demands? What does fitness also mean to develop a positive professional identity as a lawyer, including qualities of character needed for serving an increasingly diverse clientele and profession? What can students do to shape a positive professional future that fits their unique strengths and values more deliberately? This course is designed to help explore some of these issues to help students better prepare for a successful professional future. The course will include readings, student contemplative and other practices, presentations, short journals, and other assignments, some to be completed after the Intersession concludes, including a brief but reflective final paper in place of an examination. While for pedagogical reasons, the course will be graded on an honors/pass/no pass basis, students should expect to treat the course as a professional assignment, with all the diligence and care that professionalism requires. An opportunity for personal coaching will be available to those who enroll.
Criminal Procedure
Schedule: May 19 - Aug. 7, 2025
Tues/Thurs 5:30pm – 7:10pm
Instructor: Borenstein
Credits: 3
Course # 2605
(Formerly Constitutional Law/Criminal Procedure) This course involves analysis and discussion of decisions in the area of intersection between the Constitution and the criminal process with special emphasis on arrest; search and seizure; privilege against self-incrimination; entrapment; pre-trial identification; bail; prosecutorial discretion; grand jury; professional responsibility; habeas corpus.
Evidence
Schedule: May 18 - August 7, 2025
Mon/Wed 7:35 p.m. - 9:35 p.m.
Instructor: Dyson
Credits: 4
Course # 2166
Evidence will develop the principles, decisions, and jurisdictional choices, relating to the presentation of facts, within the context of the adversarial trial system. Emphasis will be placed upon the Federal Rules of Evidence, applied to issues of: relevance; character and credibility; hearsay; examination of witnesses; opinions; scientific proof; law and fact; functions of the judge and the jury; testimonial, circumstantial and real evidence; competency and privilege; examination and cross examination of witnesses; best evidence rule, parole evidence rule, hearsay exceptions, and burdens of proof.
Family Law
Schedule: May 19 – June 26, 2025
Mon/Wed/Thu 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Perlin
Credits: 3
Course # 2185
Survey of Family Law issues including the factual and legal underpinnings of marriage and divorce; state regulation of marriage and divorce; jurisdictional requirements including venue and domicile; grounds for divorce and separate support; alimony uniform and federal laws; division of marital property; custody and visitation of children; adoption; state intervention in child custody matters; domestic violence; assisted conception; domestic partnership; and the constitutional issues attendant to all of the above.
Intellectual Property
Schedule: May 19 - June 26, 2025
Tues/Thurs 5:30pm-8:30pm
Instructor: Karnakis
Credits: 3
Course # 2216
Intellectual property law protects creations of the mind: inventions, trade secrets, artistic creations, computer software, brand names and image/persona. This course will provide an overview of the US legal systems that protect such creations, with primary focus on patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret law. The course serves as a basic building block for more advanced intellectual property courses within the Intellectual Property Concentration. This course is strongly recommended as a precursor to Patent Law, Copyright Law, and Trademark Law..
Interviewing & Counseling
Schedule: June 30 - Aug. 7, 2025
Tue/Thu 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Nokham
Credits: 2
Course # 2225
This course is designed to raise the student's level of awareness of the interaction between the lawyer and client and train the student in the preventive law and counseling functions of law practice. Among topics included are: the initial interview active and passive listening, the reluctant client, decision making, lawyer and client, who's in charge, and selected ethical considerations. Techniques will include extensive role-playing by each student, student observation, and critique by the students and the instructor. Students using this course to fulfill the experiential learning requirement may not also use this same course to meet the legal writing requirement.
Negotiation
Schedule: May 19 - June 26, 2025
Tues/Thurs 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Vieira
Credits 2
Course #2283
Negotiation is a key skill that all practicing lawyers must have. This course teaches the theory and practice of negotiation in a legal context. Class time will focus on practice in simulations and role-plays, discussion of issues and problems raised by class exercises, analysis of videos, and brief lectures by the professor. Written assignments and grading policies may vary by section. Also available as an Intersession Course.
Professional Responsibilty
Schedule: June 30 - Aug. 7, 2025
Tue. 5:30 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.
Instructor: Schendel
Credits: 3
Course # 2315
Power of courts over the legal profession, admission to practice, lawyer discipline, peer regulation, law firms, lawyer-client relationship, withdrawal, fees, division of fees, confidentiality, conflict of interest, competence and diligence, legal malpractice, limiting liability, raising claims and defenses, ethics in presenting evidence, fraud, perjury, duty to court and adverse parties, role of lawyer as advisor, intermediary, negotiator and mediator, preservation of client's funds and property, duty to use I.O.L.T.A. account, advertising and solicitation, contact with unrepresented persons and public service. Judicial ethics will be referred to only briefly in class. Students are expected to actively participate in the class discussion. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct will be the primary source, but reference will also be made to differences in the Massachusetts Rules, the Code of Professional Responsibility and common law principles. Method of final grading will be determined by professor.
Transactional Skills
Schedule: June 30 - August 7, 2025
Mon/Wed 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Instructor: Ferrey
Credits: 3
Course # 2986
Transactional lawyers need to be able to apply their substantive knowledge and expertise to the real-world transactional deals of their clients. This course is intended to help students prepare for the practice of law by providing foundational skills for commercial and transactional law practice. Students will learn about the role of transactional lawyers, while focusing on the basic skills of translating the business deal into contract concepts, drafting commercial agreements, and analyzing contract terms. Most lawyers will need to work with contracts during their careers and, therefore, this course holds interest for all students and not just those interested in corporate or transactional practice. The course will use using a variety of contract problems because not every contract is of interest to all. Topics to be addressed include: - Role of transactional lawyer and ethics - The context of the contract and deal timeline - The deal lawyer's analytical skill: determining which contract concept best expresses the business deal - Basic techniques for drafting terms - Layout of a contract - How to avoid ambiguity and unintentional vagueness - plain English - Boilerplate - Use of technology in contracts Students are expected to come to class prepared, participate, and satisfactorily complete all assignments by the deadlines. Course grades will be based on the following: - Class participation - 30% - Non-graded assignments and exercises - 20% - Graded assignments - 50%
Trial Advocacy - Summer I (In Person)
Schedule: May 19 - June 26, 2025
Tue/Thu 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Dearborn
Credits: 2
Course # 2009
The focus is on having each student participate in various phases of a trial. Students will be asked to select a jury, make an opening statement, conduct a direct cross-examination, examine an expert, and give a closing statement. Classes consist of short lectures on each topic followed by student participation based on fact situations in Mauet & Wolfish, Materials in Trial Advocacy. Students are required to read about each phase of a trial in Mauet, Trial Techniques, 5th Edition. Evidence is helpful but not a prerequisite. There is no paper. Grades are based upon evaluation of students as they conduct phases of a trial. Because of the heavy emphasis on student participation, enrollment is limited.
Trial Advocacy - Summer II
Schedule: June 30 - August 7, 2025
Tue/Thu 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Bolden
Credits: 2
Course # 2009
The focus is on having each student participate in various phases of a trial. Students will be asked to select a jury, make an opening statement, conduct a direct cross-examination, examine an expert, and give a closing statement. Classes consist of short lectures on each topic followed by student participation based on fact situations in Mauet & Wolfish, Materials in Trial Advocacy. Students are required to read about each phase of a trial in Mauet, Trial Techniques, 5th Edition. Evidence is helpful but not a prerequisite. There is no paper. Grades are based upon evaluation of students as they conduct phases of a trial. Because of the heavy emphasis on student participation, enrollment is limited.
Trusts & Estates
Schedule: May 19 - August 7, 2025
Mon. 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Instructor: Curtin
Credits: 4
Course # 2500
This course provides a basic introduction to the management and transfer of private wealth through the use of Wills, Intestate Statutes, Trusts and Powers of Appointment. Consideration will be given to the theoretical and practical relationships among them. As such, the course is a combination of the two credit course in Estates and the two credit course in Trusts. A more detailed description of the actual course content may be found in the course description for those courses.
Understanding Clemency: Law and Practice in Massachusetts (In Person)
Schedule: May 19 - June 26, 2025
Mon/Wed 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Instructor: Leahy
Credits: 2
Course # 8070
This course explores the concept of clemency within the context of the Massachusetts legal system. Clemency, including pardons and commutations, represents a critical tool for addressing issues of justice, rehabilitation, and mercy in the criminal legal system. Students will examine the historical evolution of clemency, its constitutional and statutory foundations, and the practical procedures involved in seeking clemency in Massachusetts.
Key topics include:
- The legal framework for clemency under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
- The roles and responsibilities of the Governor and the Advisory Board of Pardons.
- Criteria and processes for granting pardons and commutations and analysis of recent clemency cases that were successful.
- Contemporary debates on clemency, including its use in addressing wrongful convictions, disproportionate sentencing, and systemic inequities.
- Comparative analysis of clemency practices in other states and at the federal level.
- The current state of incarceration in Massachusetts, including trends in prison population growth, disparities in sentencing in Massachusetts, and racial and socioeconomic inequities and their implications for justice.
Through case studies, guest speakers, and critical analysis, students will gain an in-depth understanding of clemency as both a legal mechanism and a reflection of broader societal values. The course will also explore the ethical considerations and challenges faced by those petitioning for clemency, as well as the decision-makers tasked with evaluating such requests.
Students will be guided to focus on a particular area within the curriculum and develop a paper topic, which will form the basis for a 10-page paper (in lieu of a final exam). This course is ideal for students interested in criminal law, constitutional law, and public policy, as well as those seeking to understand the intersection of law and human compassion.
Legal Writing Requirement Option: For students seeking to fulfill the legal writing requirement, you have the option of submitting a 20-page paper. You must let Professor Leahy know by the time of your research presentation whether or not you are electing this option. Note that this will require more work than the 10-page option described above. This also requires you to meet with Professor Leahy at least once outside of regular class hours to discuss your plan for fulfilling this requirement.
Learning Objectives Supported by this Course: 302(A), 302(B), 302(C)
Requirements: Attendance, Participation, All Canvas Readings and Assignments, 10-page paper to be developed during the 6 weeks (or optional 20-page paper for the LR requirement, if selected).
Grading Breakdown
Participation: 10%
Presentation of Paper Topic to Class: 20% Research Summary for Paper: 20%
Final Paper: 50%