Master of Comparative Law (MCL) Program 2023 - 2024
Curriculum
During the spring 2024 semester, MCL students will take a set of specially identified courses at Emory Law in Atlanta. This curriculum includes:
Spring Semester (January 8 - April 22)
Required Courses
- Introduction to the U.S. Legal System - 2 credits
- American Legal Writing, Analysis and Research I - 2 credits
Electives
In addition, students will select three of the following 3-credit electives:
- Business Associations
- Contracts
- Criminal Law
- Family Law
- Health Law
- Immigration Law
- Intellectual Property
- International Law
Summer Semester (TBD)
Required Courses
- MCL Capstone: Comparative Law - 3 credits
- US Courts and Oral Advocacy - 2 credits
Required Courses
Introduction to the American Legal System
Designed for lawyers trained outside of the United States, the course provides an overview of the constitutional principles, history, and governmental structures that shape the U.S. legal system; the constitutional foundations of the U.S. legal system, including the concepts of separation of powers and federalism; the structure of the state and federal court systems and concepts of jurisdiction; the mechanisms by which the law is assessed and applied by the courts; the role of lawyers and the relationship between law and society; and the primary subject areas of 1st year legal study.
Legal Writing & Research
This course introduces students to the concepts of legal analysis and the techniques and strategies for legal research, as well as the requirements and analytical structures for legal writing in the American common law legal system.
Elective Courses
Business Associations
A study of foundational concepts in agency, partnership, and corporation law. Topics include choice of business form, entity formation, organization, financing, and dissolution, as well as the rights and responsibilities of, and the allocation of power among, the business entity's owners/shareholders, management, and other stakeholders. The course also covers closely held enterprises, as well as basic issues in corporate finance and federal securities law. Students will be required to complete regular homework exercises and participate in a group exercise (ungraded) over the course of the semester.
Contracts
A study of the basic principles governing the formation, performance, enforcement, and imposition of contractual obligations, and the role of these principles in the ordering processes of society.
Criminal Law
A study of common and statutory criminal law, including origin and purpose; classification of crimes; elements of criminal liability and the development of the law respecting specific crimes; emphasis on the trend toward codification; and the influence of the Model Penal Code, including a study of the circumstances and factors that constitute a defense to, or alter and affect, criminal responsibility.
Family Law
This course explores the legal regulation of the family and its members. Materials and discussion will address the problems, policies, and laws related to the formation and dissolution of the marital family. Among the topics covered will be premarital controversies; constitutional limitations on entry into marriage; substantive and procedural regulation of marriage; marital rights and responsibilities; marriage equality; divorce; child custody, adoption, and other related topics.
Health Law
Health care is one of the largest sectors of the economy, and the practice of health law is growing. This course is an introduction to regulatory health law as well as some prominent medical controversies. The course will address selected topics in health law related to issues of quality, access, cost, and choice. Possible topics include: regulation of physicians and health care institutions, confidentiality, informed consent, individual and institutional obligations to provide care, discrimination in access to care, ERISA preemption and regulation, public and private health insurance structures and some of the major statutes that govern them, fraud and abuse, government powers in public health emergencies, genetic discrimination and eugenics, assisted suicide, and human and nonhuman animal experimentation for medical purposes.
Immigration Law
Description not available
Intellectual Property
This course will introduce students to the concept of intellectual property through the four forms of intellectual property regimes in the United States: copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and patents. The course looks at each of these regimes through a comparative lens, looking at how the purpose and protections are similar and different. This course is designed both for those who are interested in pursuing IP as a career, and those who are looking only for a basic knowledge of the subject. There are no prerequisites, and a scientific background is not required. At the end of the course, students should know the basics for each doctrine, the differences in the subject matter protected, how protection in each regime is established, the scope of the rights afforded, and remedies. Students should also be able to compare and contrast the law, policy, and theories for each type of intellectual property.
International Law
This course provides a broad introduction to the nature, sources, and operation of international law. In particular, this course will focus on the following key learning objectives: the sources, foundation and structure of international law; the participants in the international legal system and their respective roles; the application of fundamental principles of international law, including jurisdiction, immunities and state responsibility; the application of international law in the domestic law of nations, particularly in the United States; and key substantive issues, including statehood, human rights, international environmental law; the use of force, international criminal law and the law of armed conflict.