Teaching

I expect to teach two courses in Fall 2024 and one course in Spring 2025 at LMU Loyola Law School. If you have any questions about the courses, please email me at YourLawSchoolDad@gmail.com, and I will respond as soon as possible.

Civil Litigation Practice I - LAWJ-4045 (3 units)

Fall 2024

Formerly known as Civil Litigation Skills Practicum I (LAWJ-4095), Civil Litigation Practice I is the first semester of a two-semester course. The two-semester course provides a survey of the litigation skills necessary to prosecute and defend a case from the pleading stage, through discovery and motions, up to, but not including trial. While the legal basis of the two-semester class is a survey of the applicable sections of the California Code of Civil Procedure, California Rules of Court, and California Rules of Professional Conduct, the course is not merely a study of legal theories. Rather, the rules will be studied in the context of a simulated dispute that goes through both semesters. In the first semester, students will focus on the beginning stages of a civil litigation matter, including topics such as case assessment, initiating and responding to a lawsuit, discovery plans, and motions to compel. Opportunities will be given to draft such documents as pleadings, document requests, and a discovery motion, individually and in teams, and to argue a simulated motion.

Because Civil Litigation Practice is a two-semester course, students who enroll in Civil Litigation Practice I will automatically be enrolled in Civil Litigation Practice II. Students will not be able to take the first semester in one academic year and the second semester in a subsequent academic year. Civil Litigation Practice I and II are required for the Civil Litigation & Advocacy Concentration. Although students will receive separate grades for each semester, both semesters must be completed consecutively in the same academic year to satisfy the Civil Litigation & Advocacy Concentration requirement. Students will not satisfy the Civil Litigation & Advocacy Concentration requirement merely by completing one semester of the course.

Prerequisites: Civil Procedure (LAWJ-1001 or LAW-1J01) 

Legal Ethics and The Lincoln Lawyer (1 unit)

Fall 2024

Have you ever watched a movie about a lawyer and said to yourself, “How can the lawyer do that?” or “There’s no way that can be ethical”? If so, here is your chance to explore those issues in depth as we assess the legal ethics of attorney Mickey Haller in film entitled “The Lincoln Lawyer.” This course will consider both the ABA Model Rules and the California Rules of Professional Conduct and rely heavily on class participation. Please note the movie includes depictions of sexual violence and dialog containing offensive language that could be triggering and thus may make the course unsuitable. 

Civil Litigation Practice I - LAWJ-4046 (3 units)

Spring 2025

Formerly known as Civil Litigation Skills Practicum II (LAWJ-4096), Civil Litigation Practice II is the second semester of a two-semester course. The two-semester course provides a survey of the litigation skills necessary to prosecute and defend a case from the pleading stage, through discovery and motions, up to, but not including trial. While the legal basis of the two-semester class is a survey of the applicable sections of the California Code of Civil Procedure, California Rules of Court, and California Rules of Professional Conduct, the course is not merely a study of legal theories. Rather, the rules will be studied in the context of a simulated dispute that goes through both semesters. In the second semester, students will build on the documents, skills, and strategies developed during the first semester and focus on the later stages of a civil litigation matter, including topics such as additional written discovery, depositions, dispositive motions, settlement, and pre-trial submissions. Opportunities will be given to draft such documents as interrogatories and requests for admission, a dispositive motion, and a mediation statement, individually and in teams, and to take a simulated deposition.

Because Civil Litigation Practice is a two-semester course, students who enroll in Civil Litigation Practice I will automatically be enrolled in Civil Litigation Practice II. Students will not be able to take the first semester in one academic year and the second semester in a subsequent academic year. Civil Litigation Practice I and II are required for the Civil Litigation & Advocacy Concentration. Although students will receive separate grades for each semester, both semesters must be completed consecutively in the same academic year to satisfy the Civil Litigation & Advocacy Concentration requirement. Students will not satisfy the Civil Litigation & Advocacy Concentration requirement merely by completing one semester of the course. 

Prerequisites: Civil Litigation Practice I (LAWJ-4045)