The financing, creation and distribution of independent films has become an increasingly popular sub-specialty of entertainment law practice. Various aspects of independent film production make it much different than the production of a film by a motion picture studio. Often times the writer/director of a project must find various forms of financing to aid in the production of the work. This aspect of the project is much more involved than is the case with a studio-financed project. The agreements with talent also differ from the studio project.

This course concerns the interaction between the legal system and social change in the United States. Reading consists of a collection of legal documents from the past, including appellate decisions from state and federal courts but also such things as statutes, contracts, divorce proceedings, inaugural addresses, private letters, and the like. One of the earliest documents is a memorandum of a prosecution for bestiality in Plymouth Colony (1642); the last is the speech on race that President Obama gave during the campaign.

Among other things, the success of Indian gaming and the controversy surrounding the adoption of Indian children have brought new attention to the unique status of Indians and Indian tribes in the American legal system. This course examines the tension between tribal sovereignty and the and the traditional legal and political notions underlying the American federal system.

This course focuses upon an analysis of the legal and administrative aspects of the regulation of land use and development. The problems and techniques of urban planning, housing legislation, zoning, subdivision controls, public acquisition of land, tax controls, and urban redevelopment are discussed.

This is a hands-on course designed to train students in how to analyze technology contracts and how to draft some of today's most widely used forms of technology agreements. The course will take a detailed look at every aspect of contract drafting - why some clauses work and why others don't. Common provisions used in technology agreements will be reviewed in detail, particularly those standard, "boilerplate" terms that many lawyers have a tendency to skip over.

This course is intended to train the student to be a production attorney for a motion picture studio or production company. The entire process of motion picture production, from acquisition of rights to talent agreements, production concerns and distribution issues, will be covered. Prerequisite: Copyright Law (538).

This course examines key legal and business aspects of television production. The course is organized according to the chronology of events that lead to the airing of a network television series. During each class, students are introduced to a particular issue, its relevance to the television production process, the legal issues involved, and the problems that must be addressed. Students are divided into teams of law firms, studio departments or network personnel.

This course focuses on the impact of new information technologies and services on personal privacy. It will examine a range of information privacy issues, particularly those involved in the use of the Internet and online services. Topics will include the right of access to information, the free flow and use of information, the creation and protection of an individual's "digital persona," and the role of governments and the private sector in safeguarding personal information.

This seminar examines popular representations of law and lawyers as culturally meaningful texts. What strategies do creators use in their portrayals of the practice and its practitioners? Why has the image of the lawyer, the depiction of courtroom trials, and the conception of justice resonated so powerfully in American culture? Has the role of the profession in the popular consciousness changed over time? How relevant are issues of race, class, and gender to the way in which legal narrative is created and understood?

This course surveys the development of the modern law of workplace governance. The focus is on private sector employment. Topics covered include the at-will doctrine, the rise and decline of collective bargaining, minimum wages and benefits regulation, status discrimination, wrongful termination, workplace privacy, and worker-management participation programs.