Course Descriptions A-B

Course Credit Information

A – Usually offered during alternate years
CR/NC – Credit if course is passed; no credit if course is not passed
CR/F - Credit if course is passed; F if course is not passed
N – Not regularly offered
S – May be offered as a seminar
2-3 – Credit may vary between 2 and 3 credits
SK – Skills course
DL - Distance learning

*New course

252. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW. 3
A study of the federal and state law that controls the administrative operation of government. Course emphasizes the powers that may be exercised by the administrative agencies, the principles governing the exercise of those powers, and the legal remedies available to persons aggrieved by administrative action.

604. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW INTERNSHIP. 2 CR/F
Students serve a semester-long internship with an administrative agency. Prerequisite: Administrative Law (LAW 252).

511. ADVANCED CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC – TRIAL. 2 CR/F SK
This clinical program offers students the opportunity to explore criminal defense in depth by representing clients charged with simple, serious, and aggravated misdemeanors. Charges typically handled by student attorneys include crimes against persons, crimes against property, motor vehicle offenses, drug offenses (including illegal possession of drugs), child endangerment, prostitution, perjury, and carrying weapons. Students also may serve as second chair in a limited number of felony cases. Students must have successfully completed an entry level clinic course or prosecution internship and must have permission of the instructor, who determines enrollment.

511L. ADVANCED CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC – TRIAL. 2 CR/F SK
This is a companion course to Advanced Criminal Defense Clinic (LAW 511). 
This is two credit hours of the total experience which is graded with a standard letter.

510. ADVANCED GENERAL CIVIL PRACTICE CLINIC. 4 CR/F SK
This course differs from the General Practice Clinic in that each student is assigned cases most likely to go to trial. In such cases, the advanced student is the lead student attorney and a new general practice clinic student would second chair the trial. Students must have completed an entry level clinic course and have permission of the instructor.

224. ADVANCED LEXIS. 1
Extensive training in computer-assisted legal research using Lexis and other practice tools provided by LexisNexis. Includes advanced search techniques and practice tools such as CaseMap, Litigation Analytics, Context, Public Records, and Practical Guidance.  Course offered as credit/no credit. 

633. ADVANCED POLK COUNTY PROSECUTOR INTERNSHIP. 1-3 CR/F
The advanced Polk County internship continues the development of student skills from the standard internship courses, with a focus on trial techniques, difficult evidentiary issues, and more complex prosecutorial issues. The advanced internship intends to offer each student the opportunity to first or second chair felony jury trial supervised by assistant county attorneys. Prerequisite: Each student will need to have completed a standard prosecution internship (LAW 613 or 614) prior to enrollment as well as LAW 113 (Evidence) and LAW 236 (Criminal Procedure I).

612. ADVANCED PROSECUTOR INTERNSHIP. 1-3 CR/F
The advanced internship continues the development of student skills from the standard internship courses, with a focus on trial techniques, difficult evidentiary issues, and more complex prosecutorial issues. The advanced internship intends to offer each student the opportunity to first or second chair felony jury trial supervised by assistant county attorneys. Prerequisite: Each student will need to have completed a standard prosecution internship (LAW 613 or 614) prior to enrollment.

221. AGRICULTURAL LAW (INTRO TO). 3
A general survey of the legal problems of agriculture that serves as a thorough introduction to the study of agricultural law. Course focuses on various areas of law that directly affect the operation of the farm business and includes a review of selected regulatory programs. Discussion includes an analysis of the impact that law and government regulation have on agricultural production, distribution, and marketing.

400. AGRICULTURAL LAW JOURNAL I. 1
This one-credit course is offered to students selected to participate as junior or senior staff on the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law.

401. AGRICULTURAL LAW JOURNAL II. 1
This one-credit course is offered to students selected to participate as junior or senior staff on the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law.

203D. ANIMAL LAW. 2
This course will focus on the evolution, interpretation, and enforcement of laws relating to the treatment and use of animals. Because of the far-reaching and diverse nature of animal law issues, the course will consider animal issues in the context of property law (animals as personal property), tort law (veterinary malpractice, nature of damages for animal loss), constitutional law (standing, free speech), criminal law (anti-cruelty laws, animal fighting laws), contract law (landlord-tenant, dissolution), and various federal statutory laws (Animal Welfare Act, Humane Slaughter Act). As such, the course will not only provide substantive knowledge about animal law but also will reinforce and build upon first-year doctrinal classes as well providing further introduction to statutory law. 

254. APPELLATE ADVOCACY. 2 SK S
Students will focus on drafting, editing, and polishing an appellate brief for submission in the Supreme Day Court competition, and will hone and sharpen written advocacy skills.  Briefs will be submitted in early March.  Then, the focus of the class shifts to oral argument.  Students will develop oral advocacy skills and polish their prepared oral argument for the competition, then compete in front of mock judges for assessment as part of the final grade, together with their competition brief.  Top performers after those rounds will present in the final round, before the Iowa Supreme Court.  Students can expect to understand appellate procedure and appellate advocacy in a new light and will be able to develop valuable skills for actual appellate advocacy during their careers.

311. APPLIED IMMIGRATION LAW AND POLICY. 1-3 SK S
Applied Immigration Law and Policy is an interdisciplinary course offered to law students in addition to upper level students in the Program in Law, Politics, and Society (LPS) at Drake University.  Through classroom-based and project-based learning, students will be exposed to the substantive area of immigration law and learn to analyze the law and immigration policies as they affect immigrant rights.  In addition, students will have the opportunity to develop lawyering and problem-solving skills in the areas of community outreach and organizational representation and advocacy.  Students will partner with immigration non-profits to identify and address challenges facing the immigrant community.

308. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE LAW. S 3
This survey course will introduce selected issues at the intersection of Law and Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), which includes machine learning and algorithms, from a non-technical legal perspective. AI technology and applications permeate almost every aspect of daily life at a global level. AI has many potential benefits to society, but also brings many challenges that require a cross-disciplinary approach. AI issues include intellectual property challenges (including authorship questions for copyright and inventorship for patent, as well as potential infringement of copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrets etc.). AI also raises privacy concerns and ethical issues. Use of AI can lead to denial of employment or credit as well as incarceration. Facial recognition can be used by governments to suppress political dissent. Too often, AI includes baked-in discrimination against members of classes that should be protected by human rights and/or civil rights laws. AI also consumes massive resources in energy, freshwater, and human labor. The effects of AI are being experienced daily on a global scale. It is essential that lawyers participate in addressing the challenges of AI and that they bring diverse perspectives to this important effort. Guest speakers from law and other disciplines relevant to AI issues will be invited to present (some may be remote/via Zoom).

649. ATHLETICS COMPLIANCE INTERNSHIP. 1-3 CR/F
Iowa State and Drake Athletics Departments offer the opportunity to work in their Compliance departments. The positions are unpaid, but the participants may receive academic credit. Participants will engage in various compliance projects that will include research, writing, and monitoring. Compliance staff including an attorney on staff will supervise and collaborate with the participants throughout the internship and will provide necessary training, support and guidance. Students will be able to supplement their legal education with practical NCAA compliance experience. An interest in administrative law and/or sports law is a bonus, but not required. Interns will become familiar with various aspects of NCAA compliance including amateurism, recruiting, eligibility and financial aid and will become proficient with standard compliance software. The experience will involve research and writing as related to NCAA, conference, and institutional rules and interns will also be able to establish a network of compliance professionals. Students seeking to participate in a similar athletics internship at another university must first seek approval through Professor Keith Miller by identifying (1) the name of the attorney or J.D. who will be supervising the internship and (2) a summary of the intern duties.  

630. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE INTERNSHIP (IOWA) 1-3 CR/F
Students are placed in the Division of Criminal Appeals in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to develop skills in the area of criminal appellate practice. The internship allows students the opportunity to participate in all stages of appellate practice, from briefing on motions for interlocutory appeals to the potential for arguing appellate cases at the Iowa Court of Appeals or Iowa Supreme Court. Students may not work in the Criminal Defense Clinic or Appellate Clinic at the same time as this internship. Students who have performed any criminal defense work in a private firm must perform a conflicts check and make appropriate arrangements to avoid ethical conflicts. Students must have completed Evidence (LAW 113) and Criminal Procedure I (LAW 236) prior to enrollment.

248. BANKING LAW. 3
As a survey course, this course will explore the law governing commercial banking activities, the regulation of banks and financial holding companies by both federal and state regulatory agencies, including the regulation of bank failures, deposit insurance, and mergers and acquisitions in the financial industry.  In addition, this course will also examine issues related to crypto and digital currency as well as the impact of FinTech and artificial intelligence on banking services.

257. BANKRUPTCY & DEBT COLLECTION. 3
An examination of how to collect a judgment. Topics include priorities, constitutional limitations on collection devices, bankruptcy and the relationship of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code to the Bankruptcy Act.

258D. BAR EXAM PREPARATION. 3 DL
The Law School offers the Bar Preparation course every Fall and Spring semester. The class is designed to develop the study habits and test taking skills unique to the bar examination. The course is limited to third-year students in their final semester. This is a hybrid course, largely offered online through video lectures that review substantive law and provides strategies for approaching MBE, MEE, and MPT questions.  Students are required to have individual meetings with the instructor to discuss effective methods for memorizing the law, create a study plan and to review their MBE and MEE performance.  Students are required to write answers to many practice essay questions and receive feedback. A practice bar examination under exam conditions is given as a midterm and at the end of the semester.  Throughout the course, there are live sessions where we provide additional information related to preparing for the bar exam.

The course is an elective for most students, but under Student Handbook Rule 9.1.4 students with a CGPA of 2.5 or lower at the end of the Spring semester of their first year, and any 3L student with a CGPA of 2.5 or lower upon entering her/his last semester is required to take the course. Students who are required to take the course are required to achieve a passing grade in order to graduate. 

204. BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS. 4
An examination of partnership concepts with emphasis on the rights and obligations of partners and the formation, management, and operation of corporations, especially closely held corporations. State corporation law and some federal securities acts and regulations are also studied.

250. BUSINESS TAXATION. 4
The study of the federal income tax impact on corporate entities and their shareholders relating to the organization, reorganization, dissolution, and distributions by corporations. Involves the study of case law, and statutory and regulatory materials. Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation (LAW 208) and Business Associations (LAW 204). Students who wish to take Business Tax and Business Associations concurrently or ask for a waiver will need to seek permission from the Dean's office and the faculty member.