Selecting Courses by Area of Interest

Corporate, Commercial and Bankruptcy Law

A student interested in practicing corporate or commercial law in any of its various facets (whether doing securities or bankruptcy work at a Wall Street firm, working with corporate clients and business people at a small or mid-size firm, or perhaps serving as in-house counsel for a company), needs a solid grounding in a number of different areas of law. As a result, if you believe you are headed in this direction, you should take all or most of the following “core business courses”:

• Business Organizations
• Commercial Transactions Survey
• Debtor-Creditor
• Federal Income Taxation of Individuals
• Real Estate Transactions
• Business Drafting

These courses provide fundamental groundwork for all commercial and corporate practice. They are prerequisites for many different upper-level courses in the commercial or corporate curriculum, and you should take at least 3 of them in the second year if at all possible. This may mean putting off Evidence until the third year. Although many students–especially those planning to take litigation skills courses–take Evidence in the second year, for those who are certain they are headed into corporate or commercial practice, it may not make sense to displace important foundational courses.

In addition, since so much business law practice involves counseling clients and negotiating deals, it is useful for any student who anticipates practicing in this area to take Legal Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation.

Corporate and Securities Law

If your ambitions lie in Corporate and Securities Law, and assuming you have taken the majority of the “core business courses” discussed above, you should be looking seriously at upper level courses like:

• Accounting for Lawyers
• Administrative Law
• Advanced Bankruptcy
• Antitrust Law
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Governance
• Federal Income Taxation of Corporations
• Mergers & Acquistions
• Regulation of Broker/Dealers
• Securities Regulation

There are also a number of related areas in which a background is helpful:

• You will probably want some exposure to international business practice, through courses like International Taxation; Law of International Trade; International Business Transactions; or International Commercial Arbitration.
• You should also get some foundation in labor and employment issues, through a course like Employment Law, Employment Discrimination, ERISA and Pension Rights, or Labor Law.
• It is also useful to take some courses focusing on specific aspects of commercial law, like Banking Law, Commercial Leasing, Debtor Rehabilitation, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Survey, and so on.
• You will want some background in tax, such as Advanced Corporate Tax, Partnership Tax, Federal Estate and Gift Tax or International Tax.

Business and Commercial Practice

If your interest lies less in securities and more in general commercial practice, the list of central advanced courses is somewhat different. You should be looking to acquire a significant number of credits from courses addressing (a) corporate issues, (b) the structure, negotiation and drafting of business deals and transactions; (c) business regulation; (d) employment relationships; and (e) tax. Thus, you probably want some advanced courses from each of these groups:

• Corporate Issues: Accounting for Lawyers; Advanced Bankruptcy; Corporate Finance; Corporate Governance; Complex Corporate Transactions; Debtor Rehabilitation; Nonprofit Corporations.
• Business Transactions: Business Drafting; Business Planning; Commercial Leasing; Real Estate Finance; Environmental Issues in Commercial Transactions; Cooperatives, Condominiums and Homeowners’ Associations; International Business Transactions; International Commercial Arbitration; Insurance Law.
• Regulation of Business: Administrative Law; Energy Law & Policy; Energy, the Environment and the Global Economy; Environmental Law; Health & Safety Regulation; Intellectual Property Survey; Law of International Trade; Product Liability; Unfair Trade Practices; Consumer Law.
• Employment Relationships: Employment Law; Employment Discrimination; Labor Law; ERISA & Pension Rights; Sex-Based Discrimination.
• Tax Law: Corporate Tax; Advanced Corporate Tax; Taxation of Real Estate Transactions; Federal Estates & Gift Tax; Estate Planning; State & Local Taxation; Taxation of Partnerships; Ethical Problems in Federal Tax Practice; International Taxation.

Criminal Law

The Law School curriculum offers a variety of courses and programs for students to study criminal law and its practice from both defense and prosecutorial perspectives. Almost all law students should consider enrolling in the basic Evidence and Criminal Procedure courses. These courses introduce students to the rules governing the collection of evidence by law enforcement and the use of that evidence in court. Students interested in practicing criminal law should attempt to complete Evidence and Criminal Procedure during their second year of law school, since these courses provide helpful background and are sometimes required for more specialized courses and skills-based programs within the curriculum.

Students should then consider a variety of more advanced courses specific to criminal law and courses that are relevant to the prosecution or defense perspectives. These include: Courtroom Criminal Procedure, International Criminal Law, Comparative Criminal Punishment, Death Penalty, Juvenile Justice, Scientific Evidence, Immigration Law, Sentencing Reform, The Prosecutor’s Role: Prosecuting a Criminal Case, White-Collar Crime, Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Criminal Justice clinic.

Students should also make every effort to develop their litigation and counseling skills. Although the Criminal Justice clinic provides an opportunity for students to represent clients in criminal cases, the school’s other clinical programs also provide skills training that is adaptable to the criminal law context. The school’s externship program is another way for students to work directly in the criminal law field with judges, a prosecutor’s office, or a criminal defense agency.

Students would also benefit from enrolling in simulation-based skills courses, such as Trial Techniques, the Prosecutor’s Role: Prosecuting a Criminal Case, Advanced Trial Techniques; Applied Evidence, Courtroom Criminal Procedure and Motion to Suppress. Students who complete the Trial Techniques course will be eligible to compete for placement in the school’s trial competition program.

Family Law

The Law School curriculum offers many family law courses and co-curricular activities which use a variety of teaching methods and which approach the subject from different orientations. Offerings include:

• the basic Family Law course, usually offered each semester;
• a number of electives taught in traditional classroom settings (e.g., Child, Family and State, Equitable Distribution, Child Abuse and Neglect);
• research and editing as a member of the student staff of the Family Court Review (student staff is chosen at the beginning of the second year, first semester);
• two simulation-based skills-oriented courses in which law students are educated alongside mental health students from the psychology department: Introduction to Divorce Practice and Introduction to Child Advocacy;
• the Child Advocacy Clinic, in which students represent children in child protection cases, usually offered each semester.

Virtually all law students should consider taking Family Law, as it examines how the legal system regulates a fundamental social institution. In addition, family law subjects are often included on state Bar examinations.

Students who are interested in taking any of the advanced offerings should take Family Law as early as possible in their legal education, preferably in the first semester of their second year. Family Law is a pre- or co-requisite for most of the advanced courses, a requirement that generally can be waived only with the permission of the instructor.

Students interested in improving their client representation skills, or who are considering pursuing family law as a career should consider taking one or more of the advanced skills-based offerings, either in our Summer Skills Institute or during the academic year, as well as the Child Advocacy Clinic. Students interested in taking either Introduction to Divorce Practice and Introduction to Child Advocacy can take Family Law simultaneously with enrollment in either course. Those students who are interested in taking Child and Family Advocacy are advised (but not required) to take Trial Techniques in advance of enrollment. Introduction to Divorce Practice and Introduction to Child Advocacy are suggested, but not required, preparation for enrollment in the Child Advocacy Clinic.

Students who are accepted for the Family Court Review staff are required to take Family Law before graduation. The course is, however, essential background for the research and writing for their note topics. Students are thus advised to take the course in the first semester of their second year if possible.

Students interested in exploring family law as a career should also consider taking a variety of related courses in the law school curriculum, such as Debtor-Creditor; Federal Income Taxation of Individuals; Wills, Trusts and Estates; Estate Planning; Alternatives to Litigation; and Legal Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation.

Labor and Employment Law

Hofstra Law School has a strong labor and employment law program. The labor and employment law curriculum is broadly divided into three areas: labor law, employment law, and employment discrimination law.

Labor law involves the law governing the regulation of the relationship between employers and labor organizations (most generally, unions). Students interested in this area should start by taking Labor Law, which involves a general introduction to the principal federal statute governing labor-management relations in private employment. The course is a prerequisite for most of the advanced labor law courses.

There are several advanced labor law courses. Three courses – Collective Bargaining; Labor Arbitration; and Strikes, Boycotts, Picketing, and Injunctions – explore advanced topics with respect to the federal labor law governing private employment. Public Sector Labor Law, on the other hand, examines the constitutional and statutory rights of governmental employers and employees, with special emphasis on New York law. Sports Law may also touch upon labor-related issues.

Employment law involves the law governing the relationship between employers and individual employees. Students interested in this area can start with Employment Law, which covers a variety of issues such as the at-will employment doctrine, pension and benefit regulations, the Fair Labor Standards Act, unemployment compensation, and workers’ compensation. Although the course provides a good overview of many areas of the law, it is not a prerequisite to more advanced courses in the area, which include, most notably, Employment Discrimination, Health and Safety Regulation, and the ERISA and Pension Rights Seminar.

Employment Discrimination focuses on the major federal antidiscrimination statutes, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and, time permitting, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Other courses, such as Sex-Based Discrimination, Sexuality and the Law, and Law and Race, may also touch upon employment discrimination topics.

A student interested in practicing labor and/or employment law should also take a number of courses in related areas. Federal Income Taxation of Individuals, for example, provides important background for many issues that arise. Nearly all labor and employment attorneys spend a substantial amount of time and effort interacting with government agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This makes Administrative Law an important course for students thinking about practicing in these areas. Many labor and employment disputes are settled pursuant to agreements calling for mediation or arbitration, making Legal Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation, Alternatives to Litigation, the Mediation Clinic and related courses valuable for students thinking about this area of practice.

In addition to these course offerings, Hofstra offers many other opportunities to students interested in labor and employment law. The law school often co-sponsors speakers or other events with the Center for Labor and Democracy. Students with a more active bent may join the Unemployment Action Center and represent clients seeking unemployment benefits. Each year, several students are chosen to participate on the Wagner Moot Court team, a national labor and employment law moot court competition. Students may also be invited to become members of the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal. The Law School also sponsors several awards and scholarships related to labor and employment law.

Health Law

Since Health Law involves many areas of legal practice, and raises many social, economic, and philosophical issues, students considering a career in Health Law should become broadly educated in the law, and learn as much as possible about finance, policy, and human relations.

Study should begin in the second year with the basic course in Health Law. This course introduces students to legal issues relevant to the organization and financing of health-care; the relationship between patients and health-care providers, and between health-care providers and the institutions they serve; the liability of health-care providers and health-care institutions; and insurance and managed care.

After completing the basic course, students should consider a variety of more advanced courses specific to health law. These include:

• Aging and the Law
• Bioethics and the Law
• Health and Safety Regulation
• Law and Psychiatry
• The Law’s Response to Reproductive Technology
• Managed-Care and the Evolution of the Doctor – Patient Relationship
• Drug Discovery

In addition, students should take advanced courses in an area of minor concentration. For example, students interested in malpractice litigation should take advanced courses in torts; those interested in hospital administration or government work should take advanced courses in administrative law, business law, and labor law; and those interested in policy and bioethics should take advanced courses in jurisprudence.

All students concentrating in health law would benefit by taking basic courses in taxation, business, family law, and trusts and estates. Health law students should also consider participating in the Law School's externship program, and by undertaking a significant writing project related to health law. The project can be part of a relevant seminar (e.g., The Law's Response to Reproductive Technology, Scientific Evidence, Jurisprudence).

Finally, students would benefit by taking courses that teach specific legal skills. Options include Legal Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation; Advanced Mediation; Introduction to Divorce Practice; and Trial Techniques. The Child Advocacy Clinic also offers an exciting opportunity to work with health professionals in a legal setting.

International and Comparative Law

Hofstra offers a range of advanced courses in both public and private international law and comparative law that are designed to equip today’s law students to deal with the myriad international issues that they will encounter in practice.

Students who are considering a career in international business law should begin by taking the basic courses in International Law, Comparative Law, and International Business Transactions. They should also consider taking courses from the following group:

• International Commercial Arbitration; Law of International Trade; International Environmental Law; Energy, the Environment and the Global Economy; and International Taxation.

Students who are interested in practicing in the field of public international law (whether with a governmental agency, international institution or non-governmental organization), ought to consider taking several of the following courses, along with the basic International and Comparative Law courses:

• International Institutions, International Human Rights Law, Citizenship and Nationality Law, Foreign Affairs and the Constitution, Immigration Law, Law of the Sea, Political Asylum Clinic.

All students interested in international practice should also strongly consider participating in one of the Law School’s International and Comparative Summer Study Abroad Programs – including summer programs in Sorrento, Italy and Sydney, Australia, and a winter program in Curacao, the Netherlands Antilles. These programs feature specialized courses on a wide variety of transnational legal issues, along with extracurricular activities designed to introduce students to the local legal culture and institutions. Such students should also consider applying to a semester abroad exchange program at one of several European Law Schools. Currently, the Law School has exchange relationships with Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the University of Ghent in Belgium, Helsinki University in Finland, the University of Warsaw in Poland, and the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.

Real Estate Law

Student interest in real estate comes from several different directions: some students expect to enter a general practice in which they expect real estate to play some part; others intend to focus on real estate law, and commercial real estate in particular; and others expect to be involved in real estate from a business perspective rather than (or in addition to) the legal side.

For those who expect to be in a general practice that includes some real estate, the basic Real Estate Transactions course is critical. It provides the foundational understanding to address a range of real estate problems. Upper level courses in real estate are far less important, although a general practitioner obviously needs to develop negotiation and drafting skills in general.

For those who are interested in commercial real estate law and/or development, we have an extremely rich array of courses – more than you can realistically fit into your schedule. You should be certain to take Real Estate Transactions and Business Organizations in your second year, and probably Federal Income Taxation of Individuals as well. This leaves you the room to take upper level offerings in your third year. These upper level offerings change from year to year, but generally include:

• Commercial Leasing
• Condominiums, Cooperatives and Homeowners Associations
• Environmental Issues in Commercial and Real Estate Transactions
• Housing and Community Development
• Housing Rights Clinic
• Preservation Law
• Real Estate Finance
• Real Estate Negotiation Techniques
• State and Local Government
• Land Use Law
• Taxation of Real Property Transactions

Students who expect to practice real estate law should try to take three or four of these courses in the third year. More than that, and you will not have room for other important courses and will find that your law school education is too narrow to serve you well. This is especially true because you should be trying to take several other commercial law courses that are of immense value in real estate practice, including Debtor/Creditor Law, Commercial Transactions Survey, Transactional Lawyering, and Business Drafting. And real estate development often depends on securing numerous governmental approvals (zoning, environmental review, water rights, highway access, tax abatements and so forth), making Administrative Law an extremely valuable course that many overlook.

Tax Law

All students should seriously consider taking the basic tax course, Federal Income Taxation of Individuals. It is a particularly important course for any student who intends to practice in a business-related area. Students who intend to practice in other areas will find the course valuable as well. For example, lawyers who practice in the litigation area need to understand the tax consequences of different ways of structuring a settlement agreement. Even those students who don’t anticipate practicing in an area that implicates tax issues might profit from the exposure. Given the number of advanced tax offerings and the possibility that the basic course will stimulate interest in further study, it would be wise to take it as early as possible.

For those students interested in business-related areas of practice, there are two primary courses that should be considered: Taxation of Partnerships and Federal Income Taxation of Corporations. While these courses are mandatory for those students who intend to practice in the tax area, they also offer an opportunity for students who anticipate doing transactional work to gain an understanding of the different models of business taxation. For those students interested in specializing in the tax area, the courses in Ethical Problems in Federal Tax Practice, International Taxation and Advanced Corporate Tax are also essential. Such students should consider, as well, the courses in Federal Tax Procedure, ERISA and Pension Rights, and the Tax Policy Seminar.

Students interested in trusts-and-estates practice should take the course in Wills, Trusts and Estates as early as possible. After completing this course, it would be advisable for such students to take the courses in Federal Estate and Gift Tax and Estate Planning. Students who intend to practice in the tax area but who do not intend to do any trusts-and-estates work should nevertheless consider these courses inasmuch as some familiarity with this subject matter could be helpful in any general tax practice.