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Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Concentration Information


The Case Western Reserve University School of Law offers several concentrations in the curriculum. This section describes the basic features and defined courses of concentrations for the business organizations, criminal law, health law, international law, litigation, law & technology and the arts and public law areas.

Common Requirements
The concentrations share several common features:
  1. Each concentration requires completion of at least 15 credits, including defined core, required, and elective courses. For example, the health law and international law concentrations require that students take one of three core courses: Evidence, Business Associations, or Administrative Law.
  2. Each concentration requires achievement of a grade point average of 3.0 or better in all courses defined by the concentration. Students may exercise one of their pass/no credit options per concentration only in purely elective courses defined in each concentration. However, credits subject to pass/no credit will not be counted toward the number of credits required in each concentration.
  3. Each concentration requires a minimum grade of B+ in a supervised research project approved by designated concentration sponsoring faculty. Ungraded notes completed for co-curricular journal credit must also satisfy this standard, and such determination shall be made by the supervising faculty member.
  4. A designation of honors in the concentration will be awarded to each student who obtains a grade point average of 3.5 or better in all courses defined by the concentration.
  5. Students may declare their intention to complete a concentration in the pre-registration period of any semester during their three years in attendance. Students may not elect more than two concentrations. Students who wish to fulfill the requirements of two concentrations must complete the separate supervised writing requirement for each. If a student takes more than one core course (e.g., Business Associations, Evidence, or Administrative Law), he/she may decide which course to count toward the concentration. Students may take one core course in satisfaction of the core course requirements for two concentrations (e.g., Business Associations for both business organizations and health law concentrations).
  6. Students who have successfully completed the concentration will receive a special certificate upon graduation (with a notation of honors, if awarded), and the transcript will record such achievement(s) accordingly.
  7. Any change in the required or elective courses must be made by agreement between the associate dean for academic affairs, curriculum committee, and the faculty member charged with responsibility for the concentration area. Such faculty member will be designated by the dean on an annual basis consistent with the appointment to other service positions (e.g., committees or advisory roles).
  8. Students will be asked to consult career advisory memoranda prepared by the sponsoring faculty. These memos will provide a list of recommended courses both within and outside the defined concentration area that correspond to different types of practice (e.g., transactional, planning, litigation).
  9. Currently, the concentrations are available only to law students.
  10. Deadlines for certification in any concentration is anytime up to and including March of the year of graduation.
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Individual Concentration Requirements
Building on the foregoing common features, the concentrations differ in terms of the defined courses (both core and elective) for each area, as follows:

BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS CONCENTRATION
Students must satisfy the following core course requirements for the concentration in Business Organizations:
  • Business Associations (5)
  • Securities Regulation (3)
Students must take at least an additional 7 credits from among the following eligible elective courses:
  • Advanced Securities Regulation (3)
  • Business Planning (3)
  • Community Development Clinic I & II (2 credits only) (2)
  • Federal Taxation of Corporations & Shareholders (3)
  • Federal Taxation of Partnerships & Partners (3)
  • Finance, Law & Corporate Governance (3)
  • Financial Principles for Lawyers (3)
  • International Business Organizations (3)
  • International Business Transactions (3)
  • International Tax (3)
  • Mergers & Acquisitions< (3)/li>
  • Sales & Secured Financing (3)
  • Secured Transactions (2)
  • Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Financing (3)
Visit the Center for Business Law and Regulation site

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CRIMINAL LAW
Students must satisfy the following core course requirements for the concentration in Criminal Law.
Core Courses: (Must take one of the following)
  • Criminal Procedure I
  • Criminal Procedure II
  • Evidence
Students must take 12 additional credits in the following courses:
  • * Criminal Procedure I
  • * Criminal Procedure II
  • * Evidence
  • Criminal Clinic
  • Trial Tactics
  • Trial Practice
  • Juvenile Law
  • Scientific Evidence
  • Criminal Law & Psychiatry
  • Death Penalty Law & Process
  • Appellate Advocacy
  • Computers & Crime
  • Complex Federal Criminal Investigation & Prosecution
  • Advanced Criminal Law
    * If not taken as Core Course
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LITIGATION CONCENTRATION
Students must satisfy the following core course requirements for the concentration in Litigation:
Evidence (3 or 4 credits); and either of
Trial Tactics or a Clinic (4 credits) (excluding Community Development)

Students must take at least 7 or 8 additional credits (for a total of 15) in the following eligible elective courses, including at least one procedural course that teaches primarily doctrine and at least one that teaches primarily practice, accordingly chosen from the lists below:

Doctrinal Courses:
  • Administrative Law
  • Appellate Institutions & Process
  • Complex Litigation
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Criminal Procedure I
  • Criminal Procedure II
  • Equity and Equitable Remedies
  • Federal Courts
  • International Arbitration
  • Scientific Evidence Seminar
  • Scientific Evidence Advanced Research
  • Supreme Court Seminar
  • Settlement Seminar
Practice Courses:
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Appellate Advocacy
  • Clinical Courses (not Community Development)
  • Judicial Externship
  • The Lawyering Process
  • Litigation Practice
  • Pretrial Practice
  • Trial Practice
  • Trial Tactics
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HEALTH LAW CONCENTRATION
To satisfy the requirements for the Health Law concentration, students must take one of the following core courses:
  • Administrative Law (3)
  • Business Associations (5)
  • Evidence (3 or 4)
In addition, students must take the required course:
  • Health Law (3)
Students must take between 7 and 9 credits, for a total of 15, from the following list of eligible elective courses:
  • Bioethics and Law (3)
  • Bioethics Research & Writing Seminar (2)
  • Biotechnology Law & Policy (2)
  • Civil Law and Psychiatry (2)
  • Civil Rights Litigation: Reproductive Rights & the 1st Amendment (2)
  • Criminal Law and Psychiatry (2)
  • Disability Law (3)
  • Employment Discrimination (3)
  • Food, Drug & Biotechnology Law (2)
  • Genetics and the Law (3)
  • Health Care and Human Rights Seminar (3)
  • Health Care and the Courts Seminar (3)
  • Health Care Organizations and Finance (2)
  • Health Care Professions (2)
  • Health Care Transactions (2)
  • Health Law Clinic (4)
  • Medical Malpractice Seminar (2)
  • Perspectives on Law and Biomedicine (3)
  • Reproductive Law and Ethics Seminar (3)
  • Research Law & Ethics (3)
  • Scientific Evidence (2)
Visit the Law-Medicine Center site

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INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCENTRATION
To satisfy the requirements for the International Law concentration, students must take one of the following core courses:
  • Administrative Law (3)
  • Business Associations (5)
  • Evidence (3 or 4)
In addition, students must take the required course:
  • International Law (2)
    (Students who previously took International Law (formerly 3 credits) or Global Perspectives (3 credits) may use that course to fulfill the requirement)
Students must take at least 9 additional credits, including at least one course in Public International Law and at least one course in International Business Law

Public International Law Courses
  • Canada-U.S. Practice (2)
  • Canon Law (2)
  • Comparative Constitutional Law Seminar (3)
  • Comparative Human Rights Law
  • Comparative Judicial Systems, Lab in Reform (2 fall; 2 spring)
  • Counter-terrorism Lab (2)
  • Counter-terrorism Law (2)
  • Department of Homeland Security / U.S. Coast Guard Lab (2)
  • Health Care and Human Rights Seminar (3)
  • Immigration Law (2)
  • Immigration Law II: Refugees (1)
  • Immigration Law Practicum I (3)
  • Immigration Law Practicum II (3)
  • Intellectual Property and Indigenous Peoples Seminar (3)
  • International Criminal Law (2)
  • International Environmental Law (3)
  • International Human Rights (3)
  • International Humanitarian Law (2)
  • International Organizations (3)
  • International War Crimes Research Lab (2)
  • Islamic Law (2)
  • Jewish Law (2)
  • The Vietnam War and the Law Seminar (3)
International Business Law Courses
  • Admiralty Law (2)
  • Conflict of Laws/Transborder Litigation (3)
  • Cyberlaw (3)
  • The European Legal Professions (3)
  • European Union Law (3)
  • Global Corporate Governance Lab
  • Global Financial Integrity Lab
  • Intellectual Property & Indigenous Peoples Seminar (3)
  • International Arbitration (2)
  • International Aspects of U.S. Income Tax I (2)
  • International Aspects of U.S. Income Tax II (2)
  • International Business Organizations (3)
  • International Business Transactions (3)
  • International Economic Integration Seminar (3)
  • International Enterprise Design (3)
  • International Issues in Intellectual Property Seminar (3)
  • International Negotiations and Agreements (3)
  • International Real Estate Transactions
  • International Sales Law (3)
  • International Tax Policy Seminar (3)
  • International Trade and Development (3)
  • Labor & Employment Law Issues in the Global Economy (3)
  • Moral Rights: A European Perspective on Copyright Law
  • NAFTA & Bilateral Trading Arrangements: Legal and Policy Issues (1)
Summer Institute for Global Justice: Separate registration required, choose three courses out of six offered, faculty determines which qualify as Public International Law, which as International Business Law.

Western Ontario courses upon advance approval.

Visit the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center site

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LAW, TECHNOLOGY & THE ARTS CONCENTRATIONS
Law & Technology Course Stream
To satisfy the requirements for the Law & Technology course stream, students must take the following core courses:
  • Administrative Law (3)
  • Patent Law (3)
  • Either Copyright Law or Cyberlaw (3)
In addition, students are required to take an additional 9 credits from the following electives, including at least one Practice- and Process-Oriented Course.

Doctrinal Courses:
  • Biotechnology Law & Policy (2)
  • Commercial Information and the Law (3)
  • Computer Law & Policy (2)
  • e-Payment Systems (1)
  • Intellectual Property & Indigenous Peoples (3)
  • Intellectual Property Survey (1st-year elective) (3)
  • Intellectual Property Theory (3)
  • Intellectual Property Transactions (3)
  • International Intellectual Property (3)
  • Internet Business & Law (3)
  • Unfair Competition Law (2)
Practice- and Process-Oriented Courses:
  • Copyright Litigation (2)
  • Intellectual Property Ventures (3)
  • Patent Litigation (3)
  • Patent Prosecution (2)
  • Trademark Litigation (2)
LTA Clinic:
  • Intellectual Property Entrepreneurship Clinic (3)
Law & the Arts Course Stream
To satisfy the requirements for the Law & the Arts course stream, students must take the following core courses:
  • Administrative Law (3)
  • Copyright Law (3)
  • Either Trademark Law or Cyberlaw (3)
In addition, students are required to take an additional 9 credits from the following electives, including at least one Practice- and Process-Oriented Course.

Doctrinal Courses:
  • Commercial Information and the Law (3)
  • Copyright and the Construction of Authorship (3)
  • Copyright in the Digital Millennium (2)
  • Intellectual Property & Indigenous Peoples (3)
  • Intellectual Property Survey (1st-year elective) (3)
  • Intellectual Property Theory (3)
  • Intellectual Property Transactions (3)
  • International Intellectual Property (3)
  • Internet Business & Law (3)
  • Law and the Visual Arts (2)
  • Law of the Music Industry (2)
  • Mass Media Law & Policy (3)
  • Unfair Competition Law (2)
Practice- and Process-Oriented Courses:
  • The Business of Baseball (2)
  • Copyright Litigation (2)
  • Intellectual Property Ventures (3)
  • Law, Technology & the Entertainment "Biz" (1)
  • Representing the Individual Athlete (2)
  • Sports Law (2)
  • Trademark Litigation (2)
LTA Clinic:
  • Cleveland Museum of Art (3) (temporarily suspended during museum construction)
  • Intellectual Property Entrepreneurship Clinic (3)
Visit the Center for Law, Technology & the Arts site

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PUBLIC LAW CONCENTRATION -
PUBLIC & REGULATORY INSTITUTIONS TRACK

To satisfy the requirements for the public law – public and regulatory institutions concentration, students must take all of the following core courses:
  • Administrative Law
  • Federal Courts
  • Legislation
In addition, in further completion of the 17-credit requirement, students may take any of the following elective courses:
  • Community Development
  • Community Development Law Clinic
  • Constitutional Law II
  • Constitutional Law Research Seminar
  • Current Controversies in Environmental Law
  • Employment Discrimination
  • Environmental Law
  • Federal Judicial Externships (Academic Year)
  • Immigration Law
  • Labor Law
  • Land Use Control
  • Mass Media Law & Policy
  • Non-Profit Organizations
  • Poverty, Social Inequality & the Law
  • Social History of Crime Seminar
  • State & Local Government
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PUBLIC LAW CONCENTRATION -
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS & SOCIAL REFORM TRACK

To satisfy the requirements for the public law – individual rights and social reform concentration, students must take all of the following core courses:
  • Administrative Law
  • Constitutional Law II
  • Federal Courts
In addition, in further completion of the 15-credit requirement, students may take any of the following elective courses:
  • Animal Law
  • Black Lawyers in America Seminar
  • Civil Law & Psychiatry
  • Civil Rights Seminar
  • Contemporary Issues In Law & Tech: Free Speech in the Digital Era
  • Criminal Law & Psychiatry
  • Community Development Law
  • Criminal Procedure I and II
  • Criminal Law Clinic
  • Death Penalty Issues
  • Death Penalty Lab
  • Employment Discrimination
  • Firearms Regulation Seminar
  • International Human Rights
  • Immigration Law
  • Immigration Law Lab
  • Issues and Trends in Civil Rights Seminar
  • Juvenile Law
  • Legislation
  • Non-Profit Organizations
  • Poverty, Social Inequality & the Law
  • Reproductive Rights & the First Amendment
  • Scientific Evidence on Criminal Litigation
  • Sex, Gender and the Law
  • Wrongful Conviction Seminar
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CALENDAR view all  
Aug 13
Aug 18
 Orientation for new LL.M. students through Aug. 22
 Introductory week for new 1L students through Aug. 22
Aug 20
 Orientation/registration for transfer J.D. students through Aug. 21


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Case Western Reserve University School of Law