Areas of Concentration

The world is increasingly complex. When it comes to the law, specialized knowledge can greatly enhance your success as a lawyer in this challenging yet rewarding marketplace.

You want to get—and keep—a competitive edge. The School of Law offers several academic concentrations that provide advanced training—it's just what you'll need to hit the ground running on the day you graduate, and well beyond.

Take a look at our concentrations. Each of these specializations has our faculty's seal of approval as the best way to complement and build on the school's rock-solid curriculum. In addition to taking specific core courses in your concentration, you may also work with faculty in developing legal scholarship in an area of your particular interest.

• Business Law

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are Fred Brown, Cassandra Jones Havard and Barbara White.

  1. Required Courses:
  Business Organizations
  Federal Income Tax
  
  2. Choose one of the following:
  Commercial Law
  Sales and Leases
  
  3.  Choose three of the following, one of which must satisfy one of the upper-level writing requirements and one of which must be experiential (a particular course may satisfy both of these requirements):
  Advanced Business Organizations Seminar
  Advanced Legal Research
  Antitrust
  Attorney Practice Internship involving business law (approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Internship)
  Banking Law Workshop
  Business Bankruptcy
  Business Planning Workshop
  Community Development Clinic
  International Business Transactions
  MSBA-UB Business Law Clerkship Fellow
  Securities and Exchange Commission Internship
  Securities Regulation
  Transactional Skills Workshop
  
  While not part of the concentrations requirements, the following courses are recommended for students wanting to specialize in business law:
  
  General:
  Administrative Law
  Bankruptcy and Creditor Remedies
  Cyberspace Law Seminar
  Electronic Evidence and Discovery Workshop
  Law and Economics
  Sports Law
  
  Tax:
  Corporate Taxation
  Partnership Taxation
  Tax Policy Seminar
  
  Specialized:
  Collective Bargaining Seminar
  Construction Law
  Employment Discrimination Law
  Employment Law
  Government Contracting Seminar
  International Finance
  Labor Law
  Opportunity Analysis
  Workers' Compensation

• Criminal Practice

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are Donald Stone and Byron Warnken.

  1. Required Courses:
  Constitutional Criminal Procedure I
  Constitutional Criminal Procedure II

  2. Choose one of the following:
  Comparative Criminal Process
  Federal Criminal Practice
  Forensic Evidence
  International Criminal Law
  International Criminal Law: Courts, Crimes and Defenses
  Juvenile Justice
  Maryland Criminal Practice

  3.  Choose one of the following scholarly upper level writing courses:
  Capital Punishment and the Constitution Seminar
  Evidence Law Reform Seminar
  Issues in Law Enfocement Seminar
  Rights of Crime Victims Seminar
  Sentencing and Plea Bargaining Seminar
  Wrongful Convictions Seminar

  4. Choose one of the following skills courses/activities:
  Appellate Advocacy Workshop
  Bench Trial Advocacy
  Interviewing, Negotiating & Counseling
  Trial Advocacy
  Snyder Center Fellows Program

  5. Choose one of the following experiential courses:
  Appellate Practice Clinic
  Criminal Practice Clinic
  Attorney Practice Clinic involving criminal practice (approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Internship in consultation with Criminal Practice Concentration advisers)
  Innocence Project Clinic I
  Innocence Project Clinic II

• Estate Planning

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are Wendy Gerzog and Angela Vallario
   
  1. Required Courses:
  Federal Income Tax
  Trusts and Estates
  Estate and Gift Taxation
  Estate Planning Workshop or Estate Planning
  Attorney Practice Internship

  2. Choose one of the following:*
  Elder Law
  Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates
  Tax Exempt Organizations
  Advanced Legal Research involving an estate planning topic (approved by the Estate Planning Concentration advisers)
  Planning for Families and Seniors Workshop

  * Students taking Estate Planning, as opposed to Estate Planning Workshop, are required to take either Planning for Families and Seniors Workshop or Advanced Legal Research involving an estate planning topic, in order that they take one upper-level writing course in the Estate Planning area.  

  While not part of the concentrations requirements, the following courses are recommended for students wanting to specialize in Estate Planning:

  Corporate Taxation
  Interviewing, Negotiating and Counseling
  Partnership Taxation
  Executive Compensation
  Fundamentals of Federal Income Tax II
  Qualified Pension and Profit Sharing Plans
  S-Corporations
  Tax Exempt Organizations
  Tax Moot Court Team
  Tax Policy Seminar
  Tax Practice and Procedure

• Family Law

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are Jane Murphy, Elizabeth Samuels, and Barbara Babb.

  1. Required Courses:
  Family Law
  
  It is recommended that students take Family Law first
  
  2.  Choose four of the following, one of which must be Juvenile Justice of Child and the Family, one of which must be experiential and one of which must satisfy one of the upper-level writing requirements (a particular course may satisfy both of these requirements):
  Adoption, Guardianship and Assisted Reproductive Technology Practice Workshop
  Advanced Legal Research involving a family law topic (approved by Family Law Concentration adviser)
  Center for Families, Children and the Courts Student Fellows Program I
  Children and the Constitution Seminar
  Elder Law
  Families, Law, and Literature
  Family Law Clinic I
  Family Law Moot Court Team
  Family Law Workshop
  Mediating Family Disputes: Theory and Practice Seminar
  Mediation Clinic for Families I
  
  While not part of the concentrations requirements, the following courses are recommended for students wanting to specialize in family law:

  Bench Trial Advocacy
  Center for Families, Children & the Courts Student Fellows Programs II
  Dispute Resolution Workshop
  Family Law Clinic II
  Federal Income Tax
  Gender and the Law Seminar
  Interviewing, Negotiating and Counseling
  Litigation Process
  Mediation Clinic for Families II
  Mediation Skills
  Planning for Families and Seniors Workshop
  Trial Advocacy
  Trusts and Estates

• Intellectual Property

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are Professors Will Hubbard and Max Oppenheimer.
  
  1.  Required courses:
  Patents, Trademarks and Technology 
  Copyright and the Arts
  
  

  2. Choose three of the following, one of which must satisfy the scholarly upper-level writing requirement:
  Entertainment Law Workshop
  Media Law Seminar
  Any of the offerings titled IP Current Developments
  Patents, Trademark and Copyright Law Seminar
  Advanced Legal Research involving a intellectual property law topic (approved by Intellectual Property advisers)

  3. Choose one of the following experiential courses or activities:
  Attorney Practice Internship involving intellectual property law (approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Internship American Intellectual Property Law Association Moot Court Team)
  Saul Lefkowitz Brand Names Foundation Moot Court Team
  Cardozo-BMI Entertainment and Communications Law Moot Court Team

  While not part of the concentrations requirements, the following courses are recommended for students wanting to specialize in Intellectual Property:
  
  Antitrust Law
  Cyberspace Law Seminar
  Communications Law
  Opportunity Analysis
  Sports Law

• International & Comparative Law

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are Mortimer Sellers and Nienke Grossman.
  
  1. Required course:
  International Law
  
  2. Choose three of the following:
  Comparative Law
  Immigration Law
  International Business Transactions
  International Criminal Law: Courts, Crimes and Defenses
  One course offered in the Summer Abroad Program in Aberdeen, Scotland
  One course offered in the Summer Abroad Program in Haifa, Israel
  One course offered in the Winter Abroad Program in Curacao
  Conflict of Laws
  Foreign Taxation (GTP)
  IP Law Policy - National and International
  Law and Human Rights
  Maritime Law
  Special Topics (Aberdeen faculty)
  Special Topics (Haifa faculty)
  Other ABA-approved study abroad programs (only one course in any single program can be counted)
  Any course taken in a foreign law school for which UB grants credit toward the JD degree.
  Any course/activity listed in below in #3 or #4 that are not also being used to satisfy the requirements in #3 or #4
  
  

  3. Choose one of the following writing courses:
  Advanced Legal Research
  Advanced Topics in International and Comparative Law Seminar
  One Human Rights Seminar
  European Community Law Seminar
  International Environmental Law Seminar
  Military Law Seminar
  
  4. Choose one of the following experiential courses or activities:
  CICL Student Fellows Program
  Attorney Practice Internship involving public international law (approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Jessup International Moot Court Team)
  International Environmental Moot Court Team
  International Human Rights Moot Court Team
  Immigrant Rights Clinic I
  
  5.  Public or Private International Law
  A student may elect a special concentrate in "public" or "private" international law by completing the required course (International Law), one of the writing courses listed under #3 above, one of the experiential courses or activities listed under #4 above, one of the required courses listed below, and an additional two courses in international or comparative law topics:
  
  A. Public International Law
  Required:  One Human Rights Seminar or Course. If a student takes a Human Rights Seminar, that seminar can also count for the writing requirement described in #3 above. In such case, the student would need to take three (instead of two) additional courses in international or comparative law topics as noted in #5 above.

  B. Private International Law
  Required: International Business Transactions

• Litigation & Advocacy

  The faculty advisers for this concentration are José Anderson and Stephen Shapiro.
  
  1. Required courses:
  Evidence
  Trial Advocacy
  Litigation Process
  
  2. Choose one of the following
  Advanced Trial Advocacy
  Bench Trial Advocacy
  Discovery Practice and Procedure
  Federal Jurisdiction
  Forensic Evidence
  Interviewing, Negotiating, and Counseling
  Maryland Civil Procedure
  Maryland Criminal Practice
  Mediation Skills
  Remedies
  Medical Malpractice Litigation
  Maryland Administrative Law

  3. Choose one of the following upper level writing courses:
  Appellate Advocacy Workshop
  Dispute Resolution Workshop
  Electronic Evidence and Discovery Workshop
  Evidence Law Reform Seminar
  Supreme Court Seminar

  4. Choose one of the following experiential courses or activities:
  Appellate Practice Clinic
  Civil Advocacy Clinic I
  Disability Law Clinic
  Family Mediation Clinic
  Family Law Clinic I
  Immigrant Rights Clinic I
  Criminal Practice Clinic
  Snyder Center Student Fellows Program
  Center for Families, Children & the Courts Student Fellows Program I
  
  While not part of the concentrations requirements, the following courses are recommended for students wanting to specialize in litigation and advocacy:
  
  Administrative Law
  Collective Bargaining Seminar
  Conflict of Laws
  Environmental and Toxic Torts Seminar
  Mediating Family Disputes: Theory and Practice
  Federal Criminal Practice
  Any Inter-school Advocacy Team

• Public Service

  The faculty adviser for this concentration is Michele Gilman.

  1. Required course:
  Administrative Law
  
  Complete the additional requirements under one of the subspecialties below:
  
  A. Public Interest Law and Individual Rights Subspecialty
  
  2. Choose one of the following core courses:
  Constitutional Litigation
  Federal Jurisdiction
  
  3. Choose one of the following:
  Civil Liberties Seminar
  Law and Social Reform Seminar
  Race and the Law Seminar
  Gender and Law Seminar
  Contemporary Legal Issues: Perspectives on Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar
  Capital Punishment and the Constitution Seminar
  
  4. Choose one of the following specialized courses:
  Elder Law
  Election Law Seminar
  Electronic Evidence and Discovery Workshop
  Employment Discrimination Law
  Juvenile Justice
  Law and Disabilities Seminar
  Law and Human Rights
  Bankruptcy and Creditor Remedies
  Consumer Law
  Health Care Law
  
  5. Choose one of the following experiential courses:
  Civil Advocacy Clinic
  Family Law Clinic
  Community Development Clinic
  Immigrant Rights Clinic
  Innocence Project Clinic
  Disability Law Clinic
  Family Mediation Clinic
  Attorney Practice Internship in public interest law that is approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Internship
  
  B. Government Service and Regulatory Institutions Subspecialty
  
  2. Choose one of the following core courses:
  Federal Jurisdiction
  Legislation
  
  3. Choose one of the following:
  Government Contracting Seminar (upper-level writing)
  Local Economic Development Seminar (upper-level writing)
  Legislation Workshop (upper-level writing)
  Maryland Administrative Law
  
  4. Choose one of the following specialized courses:
  Antitrust
  Banking Law
  Communications Law
  Election Law Seminar (upper-level writing)
  Electronic Evidence and Discovery Workshop
  Employment Law
  Environmental Law
  Federal Income Tax
  Health Care Law
  Immigration Law
  Insurance Law
  Labor Law
  Land Use
  Law and Education
  Military Law Seminar (upper-level writing)

  NOTE: At least one of the courses from categories 3 and 4 must satisfy one of the upper level writing requirements.
  
  Students are encouraged to further specialize in the substantive law of a regulatory practice area after taking an introductory course from category 4.
  
  5. Choose one of the following experiential courses:
  Immigrant Rights Clinic
  Civil Advocacy Clinic
  Community Development Clinic
  Attorney Practice Internship with a governmental organization that is approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Internship
  

   

• Real Estate Practice

  1. Required courses:
  Land Use
  Real Estate Finance
  
  2. Choose two of the following courses:
  Administrative Law or Maryland Administrative Law
  Advanced Real Estate Taxation
  Bankruptcy and Creditor Remedies
  Business Bankruptcy
  Business Organizations
  Construction Law
  Environmental Law
  Federal Income Taxation

  3. Choose one of the following courses that satisfy either the scholarly upper-level writing requirement or the workshop upper-level writing requirement:
  Coastal Law Seminar
  Commercial Real Estate Workshop
  Community Development Clinic I
  Residential Real Estate Workshop
  Environmental and Toxic Torts Seminar
  Local Economic Development Seminar

   4. Choose one of the following experiential courses or activities:
  Attorney Practice Internship involving real estate law (approved by the Director of the Attorney Practice Internship Community Development Clinic I)
  Community Development Clinic II
  Any Environmental Law Moot Court Team
  University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development editorial board membership

  NOTE: Students receiving credit for the Community Development Clinic will satisfy the requirements of both categories 3 and 4.