Course Descriptions

Required Courses

Dispute Resolution and Negotiation (2 credits): This course will examine methods of dispute resolution other than litigation, focusing on negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. It will also explore the use of various hybrid procedures and other mechanisms specifically designed to meet the needs of a particular controversy or categories of controversies. Simulations will be conducted to develop practice skills and as a basis for exploring the public policy and other issues that arise in this area.

Ethics in Law and Public Policy (1 credit): This course focuses on issues of practical professional ethics in legal, policy development, and program management contexts. The course will provoke critical thinking on value judgments underlying decision-making and public policy practices. It will introduce the fundamentals of ethics management and of analytic moral reasoning in policy contexts. It will focus on the responsibilities of policy makers in the context of competing obligations that guide their actions.

Legal Methods and Process: Analysis and Argument (3 credits): This course will introduce students to the structure of the American legal system and the sources of legal authority. It will cover the essentials of legal reasoning and the anatomy of a legal dispute. Students will also develop an understanding of various dispute resolution methods, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation. The course will teach students to read and analyze statutes and to understand the relationships among cases, statutes, and regulations. Students will learn to distinguish among and evaluate various types of legal authority and to use that authority to analyze legal problems. Students will then learn to communicate effectively the results of their analysis, by completing a draft and final version of at least one written project, as well as an oral presentation.

Legal Research (2 credits): The goal of the Legal Research course is to introduce students to legal authorities and legal research resources and techniques. Students will develop an understanding of the sources of legal information and legal citation formats, as well as judgment in identifying appropriate authorities for specific research assignments. The course will also introduce students to the process and strategies involved in effective management of legal research projects. The course will be conducted in a hybrid format, combining online materials and exercises with classroom meetings. There will be several specific deadlines for completion of the course materials, which will include a variety of components such as guided exercises, tutorials, and short open-ended research projects. A portion of the grade may consist of performance on a final research project that relates to the subject matter of the respective student’s chosen concentration.

Public Law and the Regulatory Process (3 credits): This course surveys the fundamental legal principles in the areas of administrative processes and statutory interpretation. The course will examine the roles of administrative agencies in promulgating, administering, and enforcing regulations. After considering the relationship of agencies to the judicial and legislative branches of government, students will study the rule-making process, modes of administrative adjudication, and judicial review of agency decisions.

U.S. Law and the Legal System (3 credits): This course surveys the fundamental legal principles of American law in the areas of torts, contracts, and property. The development of the law will be explored, from common law roots to more recent legislation and judicial decisions, culminating with discussion of current legal topics in each area, and their implications for the workplace and society at large. This course will also introduce students to sources of law including Constitutions, statutes, case law, common law and regulations, as well as the structure and functions of U.S. courts at the federal and state levels, the jurisdiction of federal and state courts, and the role of law in society.

Areas of Emphasis Courses

Cybersecurity Law

Cybercrime (3 credits): This course will explore the legal, regulatory, and policy issues of cybercrime. The course will define cybercrime, teach students about types of cybercrime, and inform them on the methods of cyber criminals. The course distinguishes itself from the introductory law and policy of cybersecurity course in that it will not only offer an analysis of the legal, regulatory, and policy issues with which students may be confronted in their places of work, but also offer them practical solutions to preventing and responding to cybercrime. Students will learn about resources and best practices that they can easily apply to the context of their own jobs and other practical, real-life situations.

Law and Policy of Cybersecurity (3 credits): This survey course will explore the legal, regulatory and policy framework of cybersecurity, cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, and cybercrime. Specifically, this course will examine the laws and policies designed to mitigate cyber threats, address cyber privacy concerns, criminalize cyber offenses, and govern cyber warfare. This course will provide students with a framework for understanding the myriad of federal and state laws and regulations that govern this emerging field. While the focus of the course will be on U.S. cyber law and policy, law and policy of foreign countries will also be addressed. Through the analysis of case studies, students will study the intersection of cyber law and policy in the domain of homeland security and learn about cybersecurity’s role in the real world.

Law and Policy of Artificial Intelligence (3 credits): This course surveys the legal, ethical, and policy dimensions of artificial intelligence for practitioners in business, government, and the nonprofit sector. Students will develop fluency with core AI concepts, evaluate governance frameworks across jurisdictions, and analyze U.S. federal, state, and sectoral approaches, including privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and civil rights.

NSA, Foreign Intelligence and Privacy (3 credits): As a result of massive leaks of top secret information by contractor employee Edward Snowden, a substantial amount of previously secret information has been made public, which shows that either without judicial warrants or with warrants not premised on the traditional probable cause standards, the following examples of information are now readily accessible to the U.S. foreign intelligence community: (1) 100% of the metadata of U.S. phone calls; (2) 75% of the content of emails; (3) virtually all codes for breaking encryption used to keep internet data private; and the communications of over 35 world leaders, many of whom are longstanding allies of the U.S. Also made available by Snowden are previously secret rulings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court which authorize (and, in small measure, critique) much of this data collection, as well as Inspector General reports calling some of these practices into question. Looking at these secret court rulings and the existing “public” body of court rulings on the Fourth Amendment, as well as Congressional testimony and legislative proposals, this course asks the question whether these massive data collection practices can be sustained under the Fourth Amendment. As a result of Snowden’s leaks, avenues of judicial review may have opened up outside of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), presenting the likelihood that the Supreme Court may resolve this important Constitutional question.

Employment Law

Employment Law (3 credits): This survey course provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. employment and labor law with an emphasis on the legal frameworks governing employer–employee relationship, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation in modern workplaces. The course will examine employment law, including focus on relevant statutes, from hiring through separation, wage and hour regulations, anti‑discrimination laws, workplace safety, employee privacy, labor relations, and trending issues such as remote work. The course is an overview of Employment Law and does not duplicate Labor Law nor Employment Discrimination Law.

Employment Discrimination Law (3 credits): The course provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. employment discrimination laws based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability. The course focuses on federal statutory frameworks, key judicial interpretations, and practical implications for workplaces. The course examines anti-discrimination laws regulating hiring, promotion, discipline, termination, and workplace policies, with an emphasis on understanding theories of liability, enforcement mechanisms, and compliance strategies.

Employment Benefits - ERISA Law (3 credits): The course explores the law governing employee benefit plans with a primary focus on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The course examines the legal framework regulating retirement plans, health and welfare benefits, fiduciary responsibilities, compliance obligations, and enforcement mechanisms. The course emphasizes statutory interpretation, regulatory guidance, and compliance to develop an understanding of how ERISA affects employers, plan administrators, HR professionals, compliance officers, and benefits consultants operating in regulated environments.

Information and Data Privacy (3 credits): This course provides a comprehensive examination of U.S. information and data privacy laws as they apply across higher education, healthcare, and employment settings. The course explores federal and state regulatory frameworks, institutional compliance obligations, and data governance structures. The course examines the legal and policy implications of emerging privacy challenges driven by changes in technology, analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Labor Law (3 credits): The course provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. labor law governing collective labor relations in the public and private sectors. The course focuses on statutory framework and contemporary application of labor law, with an emphasis on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), collective bargaining, union organization and representation of employees, unfair labor practices, strikes, and employer–employee rights. The course also explores intersections with employment law, public-sector labor relations, and emerging issues in the workplace.

Legislation and Advocacy (3 credits): This course examines the legislative process and the role of advocacy in shaping law and public policy at the federal, state, and local levels. The course focuses on how legislation is developed, debated, enacted, and implemented, as well as how individuals and organizations engage ethically and effectively in advocacy. Students analyze statutory development, legislative intent, and stakeholder influence while developing skills in policy analysis, legislative tracking, and strategic advocacy. Students may focus on emerging legislative and policy issues in healthcare, education, employment, or other sectors for the final assessment in the course.

Health Care Law

Food & Drug Law (3 credits): This seminar considers the Food and Drug Administration as a case study of an administrative agency that must combine law and science to regulate activities affecting public health and safety. The class is designed both for students who expect to become involved in food and drug matters and for those who are interested in the interplay of law and science. Topics to be discussed may include: history of the food and drug administration; food law, misbranding, and economic issues; nutritional policy and health claims; food additives, and color additives; drug regulation; drug approval process; breakthrough drugs and ethics of drug testing; medical device regulation; and regulation of biotechnology.

Health Care Law & Policy (3 credits): This survey course covers current federal and state regulatory schemes governing the provision of healthcare. The class focuses on three major themes: quality of care, access to care, and cost containment. Students will learn about professional licensure, malpractice, the provider-patient relationship, informed consent, the regulation of healthcare facilities, public and private insurance regulation, bioethics of organ transplantation and end of life care, the Affordable Care Act, and other topics.

Health Care Reform (3 credits): This course will explore how the law through regulation, legislation, and litigation has shaped and is shaping health care reform in the United States. To this end, the course will explore major attempts and proposals to reform public and private insurance, as well as payment and delivery system reform. Students will learn about the historical efforts to reform the U.S. health care system, but this timely course will also discuss current reform efforts such as the Affordable Care Act and the American Health Care Act.

Public Health Law (3 credits): This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the legal, regulatory and ethical issues impacting health care and public health law in the United States. In the process the student will develop an appreciation of the legal and political tensions between individual legal rights and freedoms, societal needs, and public health programs. In addition, the student will gain an appreciation for how law may serve as a tool to organize, implement and change health policies and programs.

Higher Education Law

Higher Education Law & Policy (3 credits): This course provides a comprehensive survey of the legal frameworks governing institutions of higher education in the U.S. by examining constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and case-law foundations related to colleges and universities. The course will focus on governance, academic freedom, student rights, faculty employment, civil rights and nondiscrimination, campus safety, compliance, institutional risk management, and emerging legal issues.

Higher Education Regulatory Compliance (3 credits): This course focuses on the regulatory environment governing colleges and universities with an emphasis on compliance strategy, institutional risk assessment, and legal accountability. The course explores federal and state oversight systems, accreditation requirements, campus safety mandates, data privacy obligations, financial aid compliance, research regulation, and other emerging regulatory trends.

Legal Aspects of Student Affairs in Higher Education (3 credits): This course examines the legal principles, regulatory framework, and case law related to student affairs issues in higher education. The course expands on foundational concepts covered in the Higher Education Law & Policy survey course, with an emphasis on understanding legal risks, compliance obligations and ethical decision-making related to student rights, disability accommodations, campus safety, discrimination, free speech, academic integrity, and emerging issues in student affairs.

Homeland Security & Crisis Management Law

Homeland Security and the Law of Counterterrorism (3 credits): This course addresses the legal implications of the government’s two main roles in dealing with a mass domestic terrorist incidence: crisis and consequence management. “Crisis management” predominantly involves a domestic law enforcement (and sometimes, military) response to terrorist threats, including enforcement and intelligence measures necessary to prevent threats or acts of terrorism, as well as apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of terrorist attacks. “Consequence management” primarily concerns measures to protect public health and safety, including restoring essential government services and providing emergency relief to businesses and individuals affected by the consequences of a terrorist event.

Law and Policy of Emergency Management (3 credits): This survey course will examine how federal, state and local government laws and policies govern responses to emergencies, whether caused by natural disasters or terror attacks. Students will also analyze the various directives and guidance that shape emergency management policy. Among the issues that will be studied are Emergency Operations Planning; Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning and Continuity of Government (COG) planning; the Incident Command System (ICS); the Role of Emergency Management Agencies; Mass Evacuation and Sheltering Planning; Interoperability; Pandemics and Emergency Public Health Response; Port Security; Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP); Planning for Individuals with Functional Needs; and Tests, Training, and Exercises.

Law and Policy of Emergency Public Health Response (3 credits): This course examines the federal, state, and local laws provided to each level of government to respond to a catastrophic public health emergency, whether caused by natural disasters or man-made (i.e. terrorist attack). Issues addressed include governmental powers related to quarantine and isolation, compelled medical testing and treatment, compelled service of health care providers, triaging of patient care, altered standards of care during emergencies, emergency seizures of medical supplies and facilities, compelled service of medical personnel, liability and immunity issues for health care providers and other responders, intergovernmental emergency compacts, emergency licensure of medical personnel and other responders, concerns regarding civil liberties and property interests impacted by the government’s use of emergency powers, deployment of military personnel to provide domestic response services, and related federalism issues.