Hofstra Law in D.C.
Seminar on Law and Policymaking in Washington, D.C.
Fall 2013 Syllabus
Introduction
The Seminar on Law and Policymaking in Washington, D.C., is a weekly threehour evening seminar is designed to complement and enhance the full-time field
placement experiences of students participating in the Hofstra Law in D.C. (HLDC)
Externship Program by exploring constitutional, statutory and regulatory issues from
multiple perspectives, including the perspective of all three branches of government.
Assigned readings and classroom discussions will be supplemented by guest speakers,
and may include “field trips.” Classroom discussions will focus on how law, policy,
politics, ideology, process, personality, ethics and professional responsibility intersect
and affect the role of the lawyer in law and policymaking in the nation’s capitol. With
minor exception, including when field trips may be scheduled, seminar classes will take
place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7:15 pm to 8:45 pm, at the law offices of
Ashcraft and Gerel, 2000 L Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. One of the
exciting aspects of this class will be the potential for class discussions to focus on “hot
topics” that may be in the news. As a result, depending on the availability of guest
speakers, and the nature of events in the news, the required readings and the syllabus may
be adjusted. The required readings in the syllabus therefore serve as a proposed schedule
that may change. Any announcement concerning a change in the readings, however, will
be made one week in advance.
The seminar will usually begin with “rounds” discussions of students’ field
placement experiences. Students are expected to actively participate in classroom
discussions, and keep a journal in connection with their field placement experiences.
Weekly journal entries should be e-mailed to me every Sunday by 5 p.m. at
Scott.J.Glick@hofstra.edu, beginning September 1st. All classroom discussions and all
journal entries must be in accordance with the confidentiality requirements or agreements
that students have with their field placements and students must ensure that they protect
the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. In lieu of a final examination
for the seminar, students will be required to complete a written paper that relates to their
field placement or a classroom discussion. In connection with this paper, students must
obtain topic approval and submit an outline and a draft by the required deadlines. For
additional information, see the HLDC Externship Course Requirements.
Grading
Students will receive a letter grade for the seminar based on their final paper
(75%), and class attendance and participation (25%). Students seeking credit for Writing
Requirement 1 should formally notify me at the beginning of the semester and ensure that
they comply with all of the applicable requirements.
Goals and Objectives
HLDC’s overarching goal is to enable students to blend their substantive doctrinal
training with the development of practical skills and professional identity so that when
they graduate they are better prepared to begin practicing law. Field placements and
classroom discussions will also provide students with the following educational
opportunities in the context of the practice of government and public interest law:
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to increase knowledge of substantive areas of the law;
to observe and reflect on legal practice, professionalism, professional goals, and
the lawyering role;
to be exposed to the history, goals, structure, values, rules and responsibilities of
the legal profession;
to engage in legal analysis and research;
to develop and practice professional judgment in context of solving legal
problems;
to draft predictive, persuasive, and/or dispositional legal writing;
to develop other relevant professional skills, such as factual investigation, client
interviewing and counseling; negotiation, drafting, oral advocacy, organization
and management;
to recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas; and
to build a professional network of lawyers and non-lawyers for future professional
development.
Course Materials
• Ogilvy, Wortham, and Lerman, Learning from Practice: A Professional
Development Text for Legal Externs, 2d edition (West, 2007)
• American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, available at
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/mod
el_rules_of_professional_conduct/model_rules_of_professional_conduct_table_of
_contents.html
• U.S. Constitution, law reviews and other publicly available materials
• New York Pro Bono Requirement Form, available at
http://www.nycourts.gov/attorneys/probono/AppForAdmission_ProBonoReq_Fillable.pdf
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Weekly Assignments
Week 1:
Course Overview: Introduction to Learning from Experience and
Supervision, Setting Goals, Journals and Writing Skills
• FIRST CLASS: MONDAY, AUGUST 19th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-9); Chapter 2 (pp. 11-14, 16-26);
and Chapter 11 (pp. 199-213)
o No classes on Tuesday and Thursday this week
o The “Goals and Objectives” journal entry is due Sunday,
September 1st
o Extra class on Wednesday next week
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Week 2:
TUESDAY, AUGUST 27th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 3 (pp. 31-50)
o Ogilvy, Chapter 14 (pp. 290-306)
Ethical Issues in Externships: Confidentiality, Conflicts and Loyalty
• WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 4 (pp. 53-61, 64-66); Chapter 5 (pp. 67-74,
77); Ogilvy, Chapter 6 (pp. 79-103)
o Applicable ABA Model Rules and Comments
o 28 U.S.C. 530B
o Review the Conflicts form in Ogilvy, Chapter 6 (pp. 104105) with your field placement supervisor
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 29th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 7 (pp. 107-110; 111-113; 115-117)
o Applicable ABA Model Rules and Comments
o Depending on your placement, read one of the following
articles:
 Kathleen Clark, Government Lawyers and
Confidentiality Norms, available at
http://lawreview.wustl.edu/inprint/85/5/Clark.pdf
or
Kathleen Clark, The Ethics of Representing Elected
Representatives, available at
http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi
?article=1081&context=lcp
or
Maintaining the Public Trust: Ethics for Federal
Judicial Law Clerks (3rd Edition), available at
http://www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/Ethics3D.
pdf/$file/Ethics3D.pdf
o Possible guest speaker next Tuesday
o No class next Thursday
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Week 3:
The Role and Impact of the Legislative Branch
• TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3rd
o Article I, U.S. Constitution
o Robert Dove, U.S. Senate Parliamentarian, Enactment of
Law, available at
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlaw.pdf
o Chai Feldblum, The Art of Legislative Lawyering and the
Six Circles Theory of Advocacy, 34 McGeorge L. Rev. 785815 (2003)
o Possible Guest speaker
o No class on Thursday this week
o Possible field trip next week at an earlier time
Week 4:
The Role and Impact of the Executive Branch
• TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 8 (pp. 119-136, skim 136-141, 141-143)
o Article II, U.S. Constitution
o John Contrubis, Executive Orders and Proclamations,
Congressional Research Service (March 9, 1999), available
at http://www.llsdc.org/attachments/wysiwyg/544/crs-95772.pdf
o Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579
(1952)
o Authorization for the Use of Military Force, S.J. Res. 23
(2001)
o Government’s Memorandum, In re: Guantanamo Bay
Detainee Litigation, available at
http://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/memo-re-detauth.pdf
o Topic for the paper is due Tuesday, September 17th
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Week 5:
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th
o Possible field trip
The Role and Impact of the Judicial Branch
• TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 12 (pp. 215-236)
o Article III, U.S. Constitution
o Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803)
o Doe v. Mukasey, 549 F.3d 861 (2d Cir. 2008)
o In re National Security Letter, 2013 WL 1095417 (N.D.
Cal. 2013)
o Topic for paper is due today
o Please make sure you’ve signed on TWEN up for next
week’s one-on-one meetings. There are three possible
timeslots: 7:10-7:40; 7:45-8:15; and 8:20-8:50
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• THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th – Video Link
o Guest speaker – Harvey Rishikof
Week 6:
One-on-one meetings
• TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th
• WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th
• THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th
• Outline of final paper is due Tuesday, October 1st
• Guest speaker next week
Week 7:
The Role and Impact of Independent Federal Agencies
• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1st – Video Link
o Chevron v. Nat’l Resources Def. Council, 467 U.S. 837
(1984)
o Arlington v. FCC, available at
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/111545_1b7d.pdf
o FTC Policy on Deceptive Advertising, available at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/policystmt/ad-decept.htm
o Guest speaker – Mary Beth Richards
o Outline of paper is due today
Reflective Lawyering and Management Skills
• WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2nd
o Ogilvy, Chapter 9 (pp. 145-153, 157-161, 163-170)
o Ogilvy, Chapter 15 (pp. 313-327)
Week 8:
The Role and Impact of Special Interest Groups and Lobbyists
• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8th
o U.S. Const. amend. I
o 2 U.S.C. §1605
o Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance, available at
http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/ldaguidance.pdf
o Engle v. Liggett Group, 945 So. 2d 1246 (Sup. Ct. Fl.
2006)
o Florida Statutes, Chapter 569, Sec. 569.23 (2011)
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Week 9:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10th – Video Link
o Guest speaker – Ron Milstein
Creative Problem Solving
• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 10 (pp. 171-179, skim 179-191, 191-198)
o Draft of final paper due Monday, October 21st
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o Please make sure you’ve signed up on TWEN for next
week’s one-on-one meetings. There are three possible
timeslots: 7:10-7:40; 7:45-8:15; and 8:20-8:50
The Role and Impact of Other Organizations and Institutions
• THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17th
o Tevi Troy, Devaluing the Think Tank, National Affairs,
Winter 2012, available at
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20111220_Troy_Ind
iv.pdf
o A Report on the Media and the Immigration Debate:
Democracy in the Age of New Media, Brookings Institution
(2008) (Executive Summary and pp. 1-10), available at
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/events/2008/9/25%20m
edia%20immigration/0925_immigration_dionne.pdf
o Social Media’s Role in Politics, available at
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-0125/national/35440649_1_pipa-and-sopa-social-mediawikipedia
o Please make sure you’ve signed up on TWEN for the oneon-one meetings and the student paper presentations.
o Draft of paper is due Monday, October 21st
Week 10:
One-on-one meetings
• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22nd
• WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23rd
• THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24th
• Please sign up on TWEN for student paper presentations to the
entire class. There are two possible timeslots for presentations
during the next two weeks: 7:20 to 7:50; 8:00-8:30
* * * WEEK OFF TO WORK ON PAPERS * * *
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There could be a field trip one evening between October 29-Nov
1st
Review Ogilvy, Chapter 19 (pp. 444, 448-450 for any tips prior to
your presentation)
Week 11:
Student paper presentations to the entire class
• TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5th
• THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7th
Week 12:
Student paper presentations to the entire class
• TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12th
• THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14th
• Note: Networking assignment is due Thursday, December 5th
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Week 13:
Networking, Career Planning and Work/Life Balance
• TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19th
o Ogilvy, Chapter 18 (Ex. 18.7, page 420) & pp. 424-432)
o Ogilvy, Chapter 17 (pp. 371-379)
o Deborah Rhode, The Profession and Its Discontents,
available at
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/students/groups/oslj/files/2012/03/
61.4.rhode_.pdf
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st – Video Link
o Possible Different Location
o Guest speakers – Hofstra Law Alum in Gov’t & Public
Sector
o Final Journal Entry Due December 3rd
* * * THANKSGIVING WEEK – NO CLASSES * * *
Week 14:
Looking Back and Looking Forward
• TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3rd
o Ogilvy, Chapter 20 (pp. 451-458)
o Sue Bryant and Jean Koh Peters, Five Habits for CrossCultural Lawyering, 8 Clinical L. Rev. 33 (2001), available
at
http://mainelaw.maine.edu/news/conferences/justice/2009/
SueBryantsagefivehabits.pdf
o Final Journal Entry is Due
o Final paper is due next week on Tuesday, December 10th
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5th
o Networking Assignment is Due
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10th
o Wrap up and final evaluations
o Final draft of paper is due
FINAL CLASS
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