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 (538A).

This seminar covers new developments in the entertainment industry, and analysis of cutting edge issues that arise from those developments. Although the specific topics covered in a given semester will vary, likely areas of interest include constitutional protection of entertainment projects, copyright protection, creative control, credit, defamation, enforcement of contracts, idea disclosure, impact of new technologies, marketing of entertainment product, privacy, right of publicity, social regulation of entertainment products, talent representatives and trademark protection.

Bringing a live stage production to Broadway, the West End, a regional theatre, or on the road is no easy feat. Developing the environment and atmosphere for audiences to immerse themselves in the story presented takes a great deal of creativity, artistry, patience, and money! Ultimately, though, a live stage performance comes together because of the collaboration of many people, and it is these relationships we explore in International Live Stage Business & Legal Affairs.

The proposed Clinic provides Southwestern Law Students with the opportunity to learn lawyering skills and provide high quality legal assistance to a vulnerable and underserved population in a community-based learning environment. Under the close supervision of an adjunct faculty member, students will offer legal advice and counsel to clients in the area of asylum law. Students will apply the research and writing skills learned in LAWS and build on those skills by researching country conditions and other evidence required in an asylum case.

Full-length features and episodic productions are generally based on some form of literary or other work. Such underlying works include novels, comic books, video games, short stories, and news articles or other publications.

This course will highlight and focus on the essential, but often overlooked, role of crimes as they relate to immigration law. In particular, the course will cover the immigration consequences of criminal convictions for the undocumented hoping to acquire legal status, prospective immigrants, visitors, and lawful permanent residents. The course is designed for any student who ever intends to practice immigration or criminal law.

In a typical legal research class students are given a fact pattern and then tasked with finding and applying the appropriate law to the facts. Such classes tend to assume that students will ultimately use their research skills to produce lengthy pieces of legal writing such as a brief or in preparation for an oral argument before a jury or an appellate court. Transactional attorneys, however, usually do not write legal briefs, and while they may use their oral advocacy skills to negotiate on behalf clients, they do not argue in court.

Race, Culture, and Law examines the complex interrelationships between the legal system and intersectional structural inequalities. Students learn the principles of critical race theory and apply them to traditional law school subjects, including contracts, property, torts, civil procedure, criminal law, and criminal procedure, as well as other facets of the law and society. Through examination of current events through a critical race theory lens, students explore how race, gender, class, and other axes of oppression affect law, policy, and daily life.

Influencer Law immerses students in the ever-changing, and still somewhat amorphous, world of the influencer marketing industry, providing them with the skills necessary to apply Intellectual Property and Entertainment law related concepts specifically to the representation of influencers. The Course includes topics/lessons related to the influencer marketing landscape generally, the specific legal issues and unique contract terms at play in influencer marketing agreements, and the negotiating strategies, representation concerns, and ethical issues relevant to representing influencers.

This course introduces Southwestern Law Review staff members to the basic elements of legal scholarship, with the goal of completing research papers of publishable quality. Subjects will include selecting a topic, learning the principles of scholarly writing ethics, organizing scholarly research papers, learning effective research methods, and practicing effective writing and editing techniques.