All Course Descriptions

The course, which is often called "private international law," involves examination and analysis of rules, approaches, and policies that determine which law, substantive and procedural, applies to transactions and events that touch more than one state, nation, or other jurisdiction. The central focus for study is "choice of law," but other areas include recognition of foreign judgments and jurisdiction.

An introduction to the judicial function in constitutional cases that deals primarily with separation of powers and federalism issues. In addition to structural matters within the federal constitution, the course focuses on judicial review in economic and social contexts.

Seminar considers the impact of racism on American law and ways that individuals trained as lawyers might combat racism in our culture and within the institutions in which we live and work. Pre: 533. (Once a year)

Law of private agreements. Focuses on common law doctrines with some attention to key Uniform Commercial Code provisions. Examines the bases of promissory liability, contract formation, defenses to enforcement, contract interpretation, breach, and remedies. (Fall only)

Continuation of 509. Pre: 509.

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the basic financial concepts and tools that are important for lawyers with transactional practices. Among the topics covered are valuation of businesses, legal rights of holders of various types of securities (including bonds, preferred stock, common stock and convertible securities), factors relating to the payment of dividends, and overall principles guiding the determinants of capital structures. Pre or Con: Business Associations (Law 531) or Instructor’s consent.

This course focuses on constitutional criminal procedure, with emphasis on fourth, fifth, and sixth amendment issues. In addition to search and seizure, interrogations and confessions, and right to counsel, the course addresses jury issues, including pretrial publicity in high profile cases, and issues such as indictments, plea bargains, and other pre-and post-trial procedural matters.

This course introduces you to the law governing the relations between debtors (those who owe) and creditors (those to whom obligations are owed). We will begin by reviewing non-judicial debt collection practices and limitations and judicial state law debt collection (this review will build upon concepts introduced in Secured Transactions). We will then study the Federal Bankruptcy Code, first examining overriding concepts and policies, then consumer bankruptcy cases. We will also consider, throughout the course, how parties and their attorneys can (and indeed must) take the effects of debtor/creditor laws into account in (i) counseling clients, (ii) negotiating, documenting and performing contracts, (iii) reducing risk, and (iv) resolving disputes with and without litigation. Recommended: Secured Transactions (LAW 554)

Students perform research and write papers on selected legal topics or problems under the direction of a faculty member.

Students in this clinic work under the direction of an elder law specialist in assisting Hawaii’s senior citizens in a variety of legal areas including public entitlements, estate planning, living wills, elder abuse, etc. The course typically does not involve litigation, but rather the delivery of other kinds of legal services and education to the elderly. Rec. Law, Aging & Medicine (LAW 521).

A study of the law of employment discrimination.

Through this clinic, students will have the opportunity to hone their legal skills, including analyzing legal issues, developing and implementing case strategy, collaborating with clients, refining factual and legal research, and writing persuasively. Initial classes will be spent reviewing relevant state and/or federal laws relating to natural and cultural resource management. Students will then work in teams to assist clients on a range of issues. The primary work product will be legal memoranda, although students may also prepare pleadings, comment letters, or oral or written testimony. In order to facilitate that work, client interaction and site visits to affected resources and communities are highly encouraged. When a project is completed, students will have the opportunity to present the final product to a client and/or their counsel. Pre: Environmental Law (LAW 582) or Administrative Law (561).  These classes may be taken concurrently.

The explosion of environmental laws since the early 1970s has dramatically impacted business, government, and private individuals. The tentacles reach into almost all areas of law: from bankruptcy to tax, from land transactions to corporate structuring. This course introduces students to a smorgasbord of federal environmental laws, including endangered species, environmental impact statements, air and water pollution, and solid/hazardous waste control. This course provides the fundamentals for those interested in other environmental law courses, students pursuing environmental law careers, as well as students curious about this important field of law.

This course focuses on specific topic areas that will vary from year to year, depending upon current developments and issues in environmental law in Hawaiʻi, nationwide, and internationally, as well as the expertise of visiting faculty. Topics in the past have included Hawaiʻi environmental law, environmental law and the military, wildlife law, and toxic waste issues.

This course focuses on specific topic areas that will vary from year to year, depending upon current developments and issues in environmental law in Hawaiʻi, nationwide, and internationally, as well as the expertise of visiting faculty. Topics in the past have included Hawaiʻi environmental law, environmental law and the military, wildlife law, and toxic waste issues.

This course focuses on specific topic areas that will vary from year to year, depending upon current developments and issues in environmental law in Hawaiʻi, nationwide, and internationally, as well as the expertise of visiting faculty. Topics in the past have included Hawaiʻi environmental law, environmental law and the military, wildlife law, and toxic waste issues.

This course principally examines both practice aspects and theoretical underpinnings of equitable remedies. Frequently, compensatory damages cannot adequately protect clients or provide them with the relief they need. Topics include temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions, restitution and unjust enrichment, specific performance, and equitable defenses such as unclean hands, laches, and estoppel. Practice issues concerning appeal, jury trials, and the relationship of equity to law are also explored.

"Objection, your Honor!" This course examines the rules of evidence that govern trials in both federal and Hawai'i courts and will focus on such topics as hearsay, witness examination, impeachment, physical and demonstrative evidence, expert testimony, writings, relevance, judicial notice, and presumptions.

The Externship Program offers significant academic benefits not otherwise available in the prescribed curriculum.

• Students are provided field experience by being “placed” in an outside supportive environment to learn the panoply of lawyering skills.
• Mentors create situations specifically designed to maximize new learning, to develop new skills and to encourage creativity.
• Students discover their own strengths and weaknesses through self-direction, as they apply skills and knowledge learned in the classroom, in semester-long peeks into the “real world.”

Credit/No Credit.

A practical introduction to the law governing the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of the family. Topics include marriage, annulment, divorce, alimony, property division, marriage agreements, and child custody. The course focuses on Hawai`i statutes and case law, within the context of common law and recent constitutional doctrine.

An examination of the jurisdiction and law-making powers of the federal courts, standing issues, appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, federal-question and diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction of the federal district courts, immunities from suit in the federal courts possessed by governmental entities and officers, intervention by federal courts in state proceedings, and choice of law in the federal courts. Particular emphasis on relevant Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Pre: 533 (or concurrent).

Examines Federal Indian Law, including fundamental concepts and the historical evolution of legal doctrines. Considers the implications of Native Hawaiian sovereignty within the framework of Federal Indian Law. (Once a year)

A primer on statutory, regulatory, and decisional laws that shape the government procurement process; covers contract relationships between private party contractors and federal, state, and local governments; examines the federal acquisition process, bids and proposals, and contract award controversies before judicial and administrative tribunals; reviews socioeconomic contracting provisions and programs and Qui Tam litigation.

This course is an in-depth examination of the principal problems that lead to the conviction of the innocent and leading proposals for measures to reduce the number of wrongful convictions. The seminar will examine common errors or problems that produce wrongful convictions, the process for investigating a claim of actual innocence, state and federal post conviction procedures, and the nature and uses of DNA and other scientific evidence. Students work on actual post-conviction cases.

For more information visit the Hawai'i Innocence Project website