International Commercial Law (ICL) School of Law

ICL 201 — Orientation in United States Law (7 units)

Course Description: Investigation of the Common Law System of the United States. Includes structure of the U.S. government, Constitutional law, contracts, torts, real property, consumer law, securities law, intellectual property, antitrust, taxation, labor law, environmental law, ethics, remedies, legal research and trial practice.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 201A — Fundamentals in United States Law (4 units)

Course Description: Investigation of the Common Law System of the U.S. Includes the American constitutional system, the American judiciary, the American civil trial, and foundational substantive and procedural law such as real property, torts, criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, and contracts.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 201B — Advanced Topics in United States Law (3 units)

Course Description: Orientation to advanced topics in U.S. law: Intellectual Property (including copyright and trademarks), Commercial and Consumer Law, Advanced Contracts, Antitrust, Taxation, Remedies, Labor Law, Environmental Law, Dispute Resolution, Remedies and introduction to trial techniques and legal research/writing.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 202 — Introduction to Contracts (4 units)

Course Description: Examines sorts of promises that are enforced and the nature of protection given promissory obligations in both commercial and noncommercial transactions. Inquiry is made into the means by which traditional doctrine adjusts to changing social demands.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 202A — Introduction to Contracts Formation (2 units)

Course Description: Examines formation of the sorts of promises that are enforced and the nature of protection given promissory obligations in both commercial and noncommercial transactions. Inquiry is made into the means by which traditional doctrine adjusts to changing social demands.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 202AS — Introduction to Contracts Formation (2 units)

Course Description: Examines formation of the sorts of promises that are enforced and the nature of protection given promissory obligations in both commercial and noncommercial transactions. Inquiry is made into the means by which traditional doctrine adjusts to changing social demands.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 202B — Contracts Performance (2 units)

Course Description: Examines issues of performing promises that are enforceable and possible breach of promissory obligations in both commercial and noncommercial transactions. Inquiry is made into the means by which traditional doctrine adjusts to changing social demands.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 202BS — Contract Performance (2 units)

Course Description: Examines issues of performing promises that are enforceable and possible breach of promissory obligations in both commercial and noncommercial transactions. Inquiry is made into the means by which traditional doctrine adjusts to changing social demands.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 202A; or equivalent; Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 203 — Civil Procedure (2 units)

Course Description: Study of the fundamental and recurrent problems in civil actions including the methods used by federal and state courts to resolve civil disputes.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 204 — International Joint Ventures (3 units)

Course Description: International and U.S. business and legal transactions. Legal planning, problem solving, decision making and negotiations related to the break-up and dissolution of a major international joint venture. U.S. laws including finance, tax, bankruptcy, labor, antitrust, environmental, corporate structures and intellectual property. Offered every three years.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 205 — Introduction to Constitutional Law (4 units)

Course Description: Principles, doctrines and controversies regarding the structure and division of powers in American government. Includes judicial review, jurisdiction, standing to sue, federalism, federal and state powers and immunities, and the separation of powers among branches of the federal government.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 205A — Overview of US Constitutional Law (2 units)

Course Description: Principles, doctrines and controversies regarding the structure and division of powers in American government. Includes judicial review, jurisdiction, standing to sue, federalism, federal and state powers and immunities, and the separation of powers among branches of the federal government.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 205AS — Overview of US Constitutional Law (2 units)

Course Description: Principles, doctrines and controversies regarding the structure and division of powers in American government. Includes judicial review, jurisdiction, standing to sue, federalism, federal and state powers and immunities, and the separation of powers among branches of the federal government.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 205B — Constitutional Law–Protection of Individual Rights (2 units)

Course Description: Principles, doctrines and controversies regarding the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights, including due process of law, equal protection, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, state action, and congressional legislation in aid of civil rights and liberties.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 211 — Negotiations & Alternative Dispute Resolution (1 unit)

Course Description: Mechanisms for resolving disputes including the alternatives to litigation such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. Advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Offered every three years.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 10 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 212 — Introduction to Negotiation (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to theoretical and empirical approaches to negotiation for the purposes of making deals and resolving legal disputes.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 212S — Introduction to Negotiation (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to theoretical and empirical approaches to negotiation for the purposes of making deals and resolving legal disputes.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 214 — Advanced Negotiation (2 units)

Course Description: Principles and empirical approaches to advanced negotiations including negotiation framework, models, styles, multiple party/issue negotiations and settlements.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 214S — Advanced Negotiation (2 units)

Course Description: Principles and empirical approaches to advanced negotiations including negotiation framework, models, styles, multiple party/issue negotiations and settlements.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 215 — Business Associations (4 units)

Course Description: Legal rules and concepts applicable to business associations including general partnerships, joint ventures, limited partnerships, limited liability entities, and sole proprietorships.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 215S — Business Associations (4 units)

Course Description: Legal rules and concepts applicable to business associations including general partnerships, joint ventures, limited partnerships, limited liability entities, and sole proprietorships.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 216 — International Business Transactions (2 units)

Course Description: Legal problems arising from international business transactions. Focus on international sales contracts, choice of law, forum selection clauses, letters of credit, transfers of technology, regulation of bribery, development of joint ventures, repatriation of profits, foreign exchange problems, and national efforts to control imports.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 217 — Alternative Dispute Resolution (2 units)

Course Description: Introduces students to a wide variety of alternative dispute resolution procedures, with an in-depth emphasis on negotiation, mediation and arbitration.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 219 — Advanced Writing Project (4 units)

Course Description: The completion of a written research project under the active supervision of a faculty member in satisfaction of the research-writing requirement.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Project.
  • Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

ICL 220 — United States Taxation of Multinational Investments (2 units)

Course Description: An analysis of the United States taxation of multinational investments including jurisdiction of tax, the U.S. tax system, foreign tax credits, treaties, and transfer pricing.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 227 — Criminal Procedure (2 units)

Course Description: Federal constitutional limits on government authority to gather evidence and investigate crime. Includes Fourth Amendment limits on search, seizure, and arrest; Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination; Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 228A — Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2 units)

Course Description: Practical approach to mergers and acquisitions with an in-depth look at the planning, negotiation and completion of mergers and acquisitions.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 228AS — Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2 units)

Course Description: Practical approach to mergers and acquisitions with an in-depth look at the planning, negotiation and completion of mergers and acquisitions.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 236 — United States Securities Law & Regulation (2 units)

Course Description: Structural and jurisdictional issues associated with securities practice. Topics include the regulation of public offerings, transactions by corporate insiders, regulation of corporate disclosure and conduct, and the liabilities of corporations and individuals under anti-fraud provisions.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 239 — Mediation (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the mediation process. Development of communication skills, the ability to analyze disputes, to understand why mediations succeed or fail, and understand the advantages and limitations of mediation as a method of resolving disputes.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 242 — Private International Law (2 units)

Course Description: Operating law across national borders; emphasis on methods of resolving international disputes. International aspects of jurisdiction, choice of law, judgment enforcement, forum choice, process service, taking of evidence, foreign sovereign immunity, extraterritorial regulation of antitrust, securities; other national laws.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 242S — Private International Law (2 units)

Course Description: Operating law across national borders; emphasis on methods of resolving international disputes. International aspects of jurisdiction, choice of law, judgment enforcement, forum choice, process service, taking of evidence, foreign sovereign immunity, extraterritorial regulation of antitrust, securities; other national laws.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 247 — Banking Law (1 unit)

Course Description: Institutional features of international banking transactions, the structure of a large financial deal, and the mechanics of overseeing large loans. Emphasis on negotiable instruments such as bills of lading, letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and interbank transactions. Offered every three years.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 10 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 249 — Comparative Law (1 unit)

Course Description: A comparative study of the development of schools of legal thought, chiefly Common law systems and Civil law traditions. Attention to the historical reasons for their divergence, contemporary aproaches to universal problems such as succession, torts, and contracts, the cross-fertilization of laws and difficulties commonly associated with importing foreign law into new territory.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 10 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 250 — International Trade Law (3 units)

Course Description: An investigation of global trading systems including international trade in goods and services, e-commerce, international intellectual property, international tax planning and investment. Includes substantive and procedural provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Offered every three years.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 251 — United States Litigation Issues (1 unit)

Course Description: Prevention and resolution of disputes in international commerce. Emphasis on preparing for a trial in the United States. Includes the study of pre-trial motions, jury selection, opening statements, rules of evidence, closing arguments, and the selection of appropriate strategies. Offered every three years.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 10 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 262 — Antitrust (1 unit)

Course Description: Historical and institutional background of Antitrust law in the United States. The statutory framework including price fixing, limits on distribution, monopolization and mergers, and reporting requirements.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 10 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 270 — Financing International Transactions (3 units)

Course Description: How capital is raised in international markets. Investment strategies for U.S. markets. Taxation of financial investments, international currency regulation, and assessing rates of return on international investments. Offered every three years.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 274 — Intellectual Property (2 units)

Course Description: Intensive study of intellectual property law. Including copyright, trademark and patent law and unfair competition.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 274S — Intellectual Property (2 units)

Course Description: Intensive study of intellectual property law. Including copyright, trademark and patent law and unfair competition.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law school education or the equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 283 — Contract Remedies (2 units)

Course Description: Covers a range of remedies for contract breach: remedies under common law and equity, liquidated damages clauses, remedies for mistake and unconscionability as well as breach of contract for the Sale of Goods under UCC Article II.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 283S — Contract Remedies (2 units)

Course Description: Covers a range of remedies for contract breach: remedies under common law and equity, liquidated damages clauses, remedies for mistake and unconscionability as well as breach of contract for the Sale of Goods under UCC Article II.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 202A; ICL 202B; or equivalent; Law School education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Discussion/Laboratory 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 285 — Environmental Law (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to federal and state environmental law. Historical development of environmental law; the role of courts, the legislature and the executive branch in the development and implementation of environmental policy. Review of major statutes.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 289 — Licensing Academy in Intellectual Property & Technology Commercialization (4 units)

Course Description: Intellectual property as it relates to current forms of legal protection and how new innovations fit into these models, including public-private technology transfer, patents, institutional objectives, technology transfer offices, startups, and licenses.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law School education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 290 — American Legal System Research Seminar (1 unit)

Course Description: American legal system and its structure. Legal research methodologies and presentation with attention to analysis, synthesis, organization, and editing techniques common to legal writing.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law School education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 5 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

ICL 291C — International Commercial Law Seminar (4 units)

Course Description: Advanced seminar on a current topic in International Commercial Law. Offered at the University of Cologne in Cologne, Germany for two weeks each summer.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law School education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 20 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 3 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 292 — International Commercial Law Seminar (1-4 units)

Course Description: Advanced seminar in a current topic in International Commercial Law. Topic changes each year course is offered.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 292S — International Commercial Law Seminar (1-4 units)

Course Description: Advanced seminar in a current topic in International Commercial Law. Topic changes each year course is offered.

Prerequisite(s): Law school education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 20 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

ICL 299 — Advanced Research in Legal Problems (1-4 units)

Course Description: Student individualized research projects under faculty supervision.

Prerequisite(s): ICL 201; Law School education or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Variable 3-40 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Permission of supervising instructor.
  • Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.