Capstone Courses
Capstone courses offer students opportunities to work as teams to solve real world problems in the areas of environment, labor, and health law while developing skills in key areas. Capstones offer a high level of faculty supervision and regular participation of outside experts as adjunct professors, guest lecturers, mentors, role players, and reviewers.
Simulation capstones (hypothetical situation) provide practice-based experiences in a substantive area of law. Policy development capstones pair students with a community organization or government entity on a project that results in a written report or draft legislation.
Doctrinal Instruction
Students are immersed in a specialized substantive area of the law, learning the relevant legal doctrines, policies, and practice issues. The offerings often are interdisciplinary and involve multiple related areas of law.
Skills Instruction
- Legal research and writing
- Client interviewing and counseling
- Contract drafting and negotiating
- Investigation
- Presentations at community meetings and city council meetings
- Subpoena responses
- Negotiation
- Mediation and arbitration
- Discovery
- Motion practice
- Complex problem-solving
- Communicating with nonlawyer clients
Professionalism
Students assume various roles, including lawyer, client, expert, or government official. They consider ethical issues, exercise independent judgment, and arrive at practical solutions. They work collaboratively in groups and, together with their faculty, experienced professionals, and student colleagues, consider the roles that lawyers play in solving clients’ legal, ethical, and practical problems.