Relevant bar examination topic.

Three semester hours credit.

The course focus is upon the basic understanding of criminal accountability that dictates, in other than strict liability offenses, the government must establish four basic components: a mens rea (or mental state), an actus reus (a prohibited act), a concurrence of the two, and causation. The primary offenses focused upon as well as their historical and philosophical development include homicide, non-homicide offenses against the person or against public safety, accomplice liability and inchoate offenses, theft and related crimes, strict liability offenses, and law of the parties. Attention will also be given to the presumption of innocence, burdens of proof, and a number of defenses, such as self-defense, defense of others, defense of property, and insanity. Additional topics covered may include theories of punishment, sentencing, constitutional limitations on penal legislation, historical development of certain felonies and defenses, the Model Penal Code, Texas criminal law, the role of prosecutorial discretion, modern federal criminal statutes, and regulatory offenses.

Relevant bar examination topic.

Four semester hours credit.

Introductory course on the history and objectives of civil litigation, including sources of law, case law and the doctrine of stare decisis, and the history and development of equitable remedies; the anatomy of a legal proceeding before, during, and after trial of a civil case, including basic jurisdictional concepts in federal and state court, the law applied in federal court, adjudication of multiple claims and cases involving multiple parties, discovery, pretrial procedures and disposition without trial; basic concepts and strategies regarding litigation; and the law of former adjudication.

Relevant bar examination topic.

Four semester hours credit.

Historical development of the federal constitution; the judicial function in constitutional cases; express and implied federal legislative power, including the Commerce Clause; express and implied federal executive power; doctrine of separation of powers; doctrine of delegation of powers; doctrines of federalism, including powers reserved to the states, federal preemption, and the dormant commerce clause; incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the 14th Amendment; the state action doctrine; substantive and procedural due process; the Equal Protection Clause; and procedures regarding constitutional amendment. (Material on the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and the press, free exercise of religion, the Establishment Clause, and right of assembly and freedom of association are covered in an upper-level First Amendment Law elective course.)

Relevant bar examination topic.

Four semester hours credit. Normally offered three times each academic year.

This course focuses on federal criminal procedure, and includes the constitutional and statutory rules defining the limits of permissible government conduct in the investigation, trial, and punishment of criminal suspects and defendants. Some attention may be given to those parameters that differ at the state level.

Relevant bar examination topic.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered three times each academic year.

History and development of the rules relating to presentation of proof and evidentiary matters pertaining to the judicial functions, with emphasis on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Texas Rules of Evidence, including preparation for trial, examination of witnesses, competency of witnesses, types of evidence, burden of proof, hearsay rule and exceptions, judicial notice, privileges, and impeachment in civil and criminal proceedings.

Relevant bar examination topic.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year.

Texas civil procedure in trial courts from the prelitigation phase to the beginning of trial. Includes subject matter jurisdiction in the Texas courts, provisional remedies, prelitigation devices, jurisdiction over the person, venue, pleadings, parties, res judicata and collateral estoppel, discovery tools and techniques, and summary judgment and other methods of disposition without trial, as governed by Texas law.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered three times each academic year.

Organization and procedure of federal and state administrative agencies; boards and bureaus; distinction between legislative, executive and judicial powers; delegation of powers; requirements of due process; constitutional limitations; and judicial control over administrative agencies are among the topics covered.

Two semester hours credit. Offered periodically.

Examination of the organization and operation of legislative bodies, including the role of the executive, public agencies, and private groups in the legislative process; drafting of statutes; enactment, amendment and repeal of statutes; limitations on legislative power and statutory interpretation and the use of legislative history.

Three semester hours credit. Offered periodically.

Survey of the basic relationship between federal, state, and local government; state constitutional authority for local government; land use, zoning and planning; municipal budgeting and finance; rights and duties of public officials and office holders and government tort immunity and liability.

Two semester hours credit. Graded honors pass, pass, low pass, or fail. Normally offered as an intersession course.

Four-day skills workshop teaching students to assess cases and strategize during different phases of litigation: when deciding whether to bring suit, during settlement negotiations or plea bargaining, discovery, trial, and assessment of damages or sanctions. Decision trees, basic game theory models, discounted valuations of damages or liability, information costs, and trial sequencing are core skills taught. Students receive an introduction to relevant economic concepts like moral hazard, adverse selection, best cost avoider, the knee of the curve, risk allocation, Pareto Optimality, and negative externalities, which as litigators they can incorporate into a theory of the case or analysis of an opponent’s arguments. Strategies include calculating whether suits should be brought and when they should settle; calculating optimal initial demand amounts during negotiations; and using the sequence of issues in the upcoming trial itself to influence settlement negotiations beforehand.

Two semester hours credit. Graded honors pass, pass, low pass, or fail. Normally offered as an intersession course.

Examination of the attorney-client relationship, including establishing the relationship in the initial interview; billing arrangements; the importance of continuing communications; case analysis; decision-making; counseling with the client as to case development and strategy; preparation of the client for settlement negotiations as well as trial; termination of the relationship, including the collection of fees. Students will conduct several mock interviews throughout the course.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered three times each academic year. Enrollment limited to 24 students.

This course provides students an opportunity to develop, practice drafting, comment on, and redline the substantive portions of an agreement. The primary goal of the class is to teach students how to translate the terms of a business deal into contract concepts, and draft the contract to close the transaction. Specifically, students will learn how and when to use the basic contract building blocks: covenants, conditions, representations, warranties, rights, discretionary authority, and declarations. The basic parts of a contract will be analyzed in detail and students will learn how to (1) avoid legalese, (2) obtain clarity through document formatting and sentence structure, (3) prevent ambiguity, (4) understand the appropriate use of vague terms, and (5) use various other drafting considerations. Learning how the transactional attorney adds value to the deal by helping the client attain the client’s business goals while avoiding unacceptable risks will be covered as well as several typical ethics issues that arise in transactional work.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year. Enrollment limited to 24 students.

This course is designed to provide students with the skills necessary to: (1) identify issues that should be negotiated in complex business contracts; (2) draft several key provisions to be included in the final contract as negotiated; and (3) negotiate a “real” business contract. A variety of assignments help to assure each student completes a variety of tasks that need to be integrated based on an appropriate level of legal issue analysis resulting in an effective and usable work product. Skill development also includes an appreciation of business and legal risks that need to be dealt with when negotiating and drafting.

Relevant bar examination topic.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year.

Texas civil procedure in trial courts from the beginning of the trial through the motion for new trial with particular emphasis on pleading and practice in Texas and jury charge, jury and non-jury trial, verdict and judgment. Appellate procedure, method, nature and scope of appellate relief; appealable judgments; jurisdiction of appellate courts; procedure and parties; effect of transfer; supersedeas; records and brief; motion for rehearing review by the Court of Civil Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year.

Prerequisites: Must have completed 45 semester hours and have taken or be concurrently enrolled in Texas Pretrial Procedure. These prerequisites will be strictly enforced.

The structure of the course involves students in preparing a realistic civil case against an opponent. Students engage in all aspects of pretrial discovery and motion practice, including client interview, attempts to settle, drafting pleadings, paper discovery, taking depositions, procedural and dispositive motions, and pretrial orders.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year.

Prerequisites: Must have completed 45 semester hours and Evidence. These prerequisites will be strictly enforced.

Note: Students may receive credit toward graduation for only one trial advocacy course (Civil Trial Advocacy, Criminal Trial Advocacy, or Family Law Trial Advocacy).

The structure of the course involves students in trying a realistic civil case against an opponent. Students engage in all aspects of the trial, including trial motions, voir dire examination of jurors, opening statement, examination of witnesses and closing argument.

One semester hour credit. Graded honors pass, pass, low pass, or fail. Normally offered as an intersession course.

Provides students with mediation certificate training, during which students serve as third-party neutrals, settlement advocates and parties to the dispute. Emphasis is on the practice of mediation through intensive skills training. Students develop an appreciation both for the functioning of the third-party neutral and for the advocate’s role in the alternative dispute resolution process. This course is designed to satisfy the current 40-hour Texas requirement for mediator certification.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year. Enrollment is limited to 24 students.

This course examines mediation theory and practice. A variety of readings, exercises, and role-plays will be employed to encourage rigorous analysis of mediation concepts and critical assessment of the application of these concepts in practice. Topics to be covered include negotiation theory, stages of the mediation process, ethical issues in mediation, bringing parties to agreement, legal issues in mediation, dealing with power imbalances, and the lawyer’s role in the mediation process. Students will participate in exercises at various stages of the mediation process.

Two semester hours credit. Offered periodically.

This course first provides an in-depth study of negotiation because mediation is essentially a facilitated negotiation. Next, students will be exposed to mediation theory and process in order to gain an understanding of what is important while representing clients in the mediation session itself. Pre-mediation matters will be addressed including preparing cases and clients for mediation. The course will also cover advocacy during the mediation process. All students will have the opportunity to play the role of advocate in several in-class mediations. The goal of this interactive course is for students to develop the essential problem-solving skills for effective client representation in the mediation process.

Three or four semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of all courses required for graduation (with the exception of the substantial writing requirement) and not less than 45 credit hours and a 2.8 grade point average. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Criminal Procedure is recommended.

Students arrange their own placements in the office of the Harris County District Attorney, the district attorney’s office of neighboring counties, or with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office. Potential placement sections within the prosecutor’s office include felony, misdemeanor, welfare fraud, domestic violence, and environmental crimes. Depending upon the placement, and upon obtaining a temporary bar card, students may observe and participate in pretrial investigation, plea negotiations, and trial.

Three or four semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of all courses required for graduation (with the exception of the substantial writing requirement) and not less than 45 credit hours and a 2.8 grade point average. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Texas Pretrial Procedure is recommended.

Students arrange their own placements with local governmental agencies. Potential placements include the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the legal department of the City of South Texas College of Law, the Harris County Attorney’s Office, the EEOC, the IRS, the Office of Homeland Security, and many others. These placements provide access to the South Texas College of Law legal community and give law students the opportunity to expand their professional skills and identify challenging and fulfilling work possibilities.

Two semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of not less than 30, nor more than 44, credit hours and a 2.8 grade point average.

Students arrange their own placements with local, federal, and state judges on both the trial and appellate level, including probate, bankruptcy, and immigration courts. During the Judicial Process Clinic, students observe how the law works in practice, what lawyers do and what judges expect. All students will apply lawyering skills and improve their legal research and writing abilities while preparing legal memoranda, as required by the supervising judge.

Two or three semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of all courses required for graduation (with the exception of the substantial writing requirement) and not less than 45 credit hours and a 2.8 grade point average. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Texas Pretrial Procedure is recommended.

Students arrange their own placements with local federal and state judges on both the trial and appellate level, including probate, bankruptcy and immigration courts. During these clinics, students observe how the law works in practice, what lawyers do and what judges expect. All students will apply their analytical skills and improve their legal research and writing abilities through the production of legal memoranda.

Three or four semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of all courses required for graduation (with the exception of the substantial writing requirement) and not less than 45 credit hours and a 2.8 grade point average. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Texas Pretrial Procedure is suggested.

Students arrange their own placements with local nonprofit agencies or with charitable organizations. Potential placements include the Lone Star Legal Aid Society, the Texas Defender Project, Catholic Charities, Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, South Texas College of Law Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP), Children at Risk, the Cathedral Justice Project, and many others. These placements provide broad access to the South Texas College of Law legal community and give law students the opportunity to expand their professional skills and identify challenging and fulfilling work possibilities. Students with a particular interest in family law should contact Assistant Dean Elizabeth Dennis to inquire about the Family Law Internship Program (FLIP) where students work in private law offices on HVLP referral cases.

Students who have completed 60 credit hours, or have completed 45 credit hours and are concurrently enrolled in an academic internship, are encouraged to acquire a temporary bar card and thereby increase opportunities to apply their knowledge in practice under the tutelage and supervision of a licensed attorney.

Two semester hours credit. Maximum of eight students.

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours and successfully completed Professional Responsibility.

This hands-on civil practice clinic focuses on educating non-lawyers about the law. While preparing and then presenting legal topics and concepts to a lay audience, Clinic students develop strength in discrete lawyering skills such as legal research, written communication, and oral communication. Clinic students acquire an understanding of basic adult learning theory as they hone their ability to tailor the nature, form and content of their communications to suit their audience. Under faculty and clinic staff supervision, students create, develop, and present informational materials in a variety of settings and to a range of potential audiences. In some semesters, the Clinic follows a “Street Law” model, while in other semesters participating students may focus on a specific legal issue of import to the community.

Three semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: 30 semester hours completed. Recommended: Criminal Procedure.

Students in the Actual Innocence Clinic investigate allegations of wrongful conviction based on claims of innocence, suggest strategies for relief on those cases, and study the root causes leading to wrongful convictions. In addition to work on individual cases, students research criminal justice practices, and when appropriate, recommend systemic changes and reforms.

Three semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: 45 hours completed.

Students in this clinic aid children and vulnerable adults – those who were forced into prostitution or labor by human traffickers, those who were abandoned in this country by their parents, and those who came here themselves to escape danger in their native countries. These cases present opportunities for students to hone lawyering skills in a variety of venues, including state court, federal agency hearings, and federal court.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year.

Prerequisites: At least 45 total credit hours.

Students represent the interests of children where the Texas Department of Family Protective Services has been appointed permanent managing conservator. Students interview their clients and various service providers, conduct home visits, and work to achieve the goals of the child’s permanency plan.

Three semester hours credit.

Prerequisites: 45 hours completed. Recommended: Family Law.

Students in this clinic work with organizations and agencies at the front line of direct representation of domestic violence clients. In addition to work on individual cases, students research root causes of domestic violence, its intersections in criminal/civil and family law practice, contemporary legislative and judicial responses, and the impact of domestic violence on diverse communities within the greater South Texas College of Law metropolitan area.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered three times each academic year. Maximum of eight students.

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours and must have taken or be concurrently taking Wills, Trusts & Estates or a Probate Clinic.

This hands-on civil practice clinic targets skills development in client interviewing and counseling and transactional document drafting. These cases tend to be balanced between client counseling and intensive document drafting. There is some limited skill development in legal research, file documentation and maintenance, legal and case theory development, and professional development. The beginning of the course will teach students basic interviewing skills using classroom lecture components, simulations, a live-client file, and a supervised live-client interview in which students interview a client with modest estate planning needs. Subsequently and within the contextual setting of each client’s articulated needs and goals, students draft the appropriate array of seven potential estate planning documents.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered three times each academic year. Maximum of eight students.

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours and Professional Responsibility.

Cases in this clinic tend to be simple divorces without children or any substantial property. This hands-on civil practice clinic seeks to develop a skills set in factual investigation, client interviewing and counseling, and document drafting (transactional and court-related). There is some limited skills development in legal research, file documentation and maintenance, legal and case theory development, and professional development. The beginning of the course teaches students basic factual investigation and interviewing skills using classroom lecture components, simulations, a live-client file, and a supervised live-client interview. Within the contextual setting of each client’s articulated needs and goals, students draft the appropriate transactional and court-related documents in anticipation of filing and prosecuting the case in a Harris County family district court. Student document assembly software discs are provided early in the class for loading onto student laptops, and complementary course materials are provided through a Westlaw TWEN course page.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year. Maximum of eight students.

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours and a Family Law course or a Family Law Clinic.

Cases in this clinic tend to have more advanced, mixed issues than are found in Family Law Clinic-Basic, such as a divorce joined with contested property, children issues, parentage, grandparent access, post-judgment enforcement or modification, state agency involvement, or service in a court-appointed position (AAL or AMICUS). This hands-on civil practice clinic targets skills development in factual investigation, client interviewing and counseling, legal research, document drafting (transactional and court-related), file documentation and maintenance, legal and case theory development, and professional development. This course assumes some basic knowledge of family law substantive practice.

Two semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year. Maximum of eight students.

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours and must have taken or be concurrently taking Wills, Trusts & Estates; a Probate Clinic; or the Estate Planning Clinic.

This hands-on civil practice clinic develops skills predominantly in the areas of client interviewing and counseling and court-related document drafting. This clinic tends to be heavily transactional. There is some limited skill development in legal research, file documentation and maintenance, legal and case theory development, and professional development. The beginning of the course teaches students basic interviewing skills using classroom lecture components, simulations, a live-client file, and a supervised live-client interview. Students interview a client seeking guardianship of the person over a proposed ward under supervised conditions. Subsequently and within the contextual setting of each client’s articulated needs and goals, students draft the appropriate transactional and court-related documents in anticipation of filing and prosecuting the case in a Harris County probate court.

Description coming soon.

Three or four semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year. Maximum of twelve students.

Prerequisites: Mediation Practice, Mediation Theory, or Mediation Theory & Practice.

Students serve as third-party neutrals in Harris County cases requiring dispute resolution procedures and also participate in a classroom component featuring simulated mediation exercises. Students may also participate in EEOC mediations. Throughout the semester, emphasis is on a broad-based exposure to the development, research, and practice of alternative dispute resolution.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered twice each academic year. Maximum of eight students.

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed a minimum of 45 semester hours and Wills, Trusts & Estates; the Guardianship Clinic; or the Estate Planning Clinic.

This hands-on civil practice clinic develops skills in factual investigation, client interviewing and counseling, legal research, document drafting (transactional and/or court-related), file documentation and maintenance, legal and case theory development, and professional development. The beginning of the course teaches students critical factual investigation and interviewing skills using classroom lecture components, simulations, a live-client file, and a supervised live-client interview. Students conduct a supervised interview of a client seeking to transfer property from a testate or intestate decedent to potential beneficiaries taking into consideration estate assets, property characterization, estate liquidity, and debt. Subsequently and within the contextual setting of each client’s articulated needs and goals, students research the appropriate options consistent with the client’s goals, counsel the client in a supervised setting, and draft the appropriate transactional or court-related documents. If filing is anticipated, students prosecute the case in a Harris County probate court.

Three semester hours credit. Normally offered once each academic year.

Prerequisites: At least 45 total credit hours.

Students practice in the administrative law field as they assist clients in applying for social security and veteran’s benefits. Students interview and counsel clients, research federal regulations and caselaw, develop theories for the granting of claims, and draft applications.