Courses

LGST 1110: Legal Systems in American Society
Goals: Familiarization with the American legal system.
Content: A jurisprudential exploration of the American legal system with special emphasis on the role of law in the American social order. Working models of the judicial system are studied and the legal decision-making process is examined. Emphasis is placed on basic values of legal system: justice, equality, and fairness.
Taught: Every semester.

*LGST 1250: Legal Research and Writing
Goals: To introduce students to legal materials and methodology.
Content: A writing-intensive course with emphasis on the development of legal research, writing, and drafting skills. An introduction to legal methodology and materials is presented by lecture, in-class exercises with out-of-class research, and writing exercises, utilizing materials of the law library.
Taught: Every semester.
Prerequisite (or co-requisite): LGST 1110, or 5000, or 5950, or CJFS 1120, or permission of the instructor or chair.
* Paralegal specialty course.

LGST 1440: Beginning Mock Trial
(2 credits)
Goals: Students learn basic trial procedures and advocacy skills through practice sessions and simulations of courtroom procedures and activities. Students prepare for and conduct a trial of a hypothetical case. Student teams compete in invitational regional and national competitions.
Content: Participatory study of trial practice in the United States, advocacy, lawyering skills, and legal ethics. Focus on developing students’ speaking and critical thinking skills. Course is tied to the Hamline mock trial program.
Taught: Annually.
Note: To be eligible for course credit, the student must participate in mock trial team practice during the fall, winter, and spring terms and participate in tournaments. Students enroll in LGST 1440 the first year.

LGST 3100: American Constitutional Law
(Also listed as PSCI 3100.)
Goals: To study the role of the courts in the development of the American Constitution. To introduce students to the “rule of law” concept in Anglo American judicial history.
Content: Reading and analyzing a wide variety of cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. An examination of the relationship between the government and the individual in the context of national and state power, the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment.
Taught: Annually.

LGST 3330: Social, Political and Legal Philosophy
(Listed under Philosophy, PHIL 3330.)

LGST 3410: Special Topics in Law
Goals: Intensive study of a limited legal topic.
Content: An intensive study of a specific area of law. Topic varies from year to year. Some past topics have included: Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law, Bankruptcy Law, Insurance Law, Law and Justice in Australia, Comparative Legal Systems, Distributive Justice in the Himalayas, and Pension and Benefit Law.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing, LGST 1110, 5000, or permission of the instructor.

LGST 3440: Advanced Mock Trial
(2 credits)
Goals: Students learn basic trial procedures and advocacy skills through practice sessions and simulations of courtroom procedures and activities. Students prepare for and conduct a trial of a hypothetical case. Student teams compete in invitational regional and national competitions.
Content: Participatory study of trial practice in the United States, advocacy, lawyering skills, and legal ethics. Focus on developing students’ speaking and critical thinking skills, team work and leadership. Course is tied to the Hamline mock trial program.
Taught: Annually.
Note: To be eligible for course credit, the student must participate in mock trial team practice during the fall, winter, and spring terms and participate in tournaments. Students enroll in LGST 1440 the first year. LGST 3440 may be taken for credit up to three times. A maximum of 4 credits of mock trial credit may be earned.

*LGST 3520: Civil Litigation and Trial Practice
Goals: To acquaint students with the elements of civil trials, from initial pleading through appeal.
Content: A study of fundamental principles of civil litigation, the court systems, attorney’s functions, common types of civil lawsuits and defenses. Lecture and discussion is combined with role play exercises and writing assignments. Students prepare documents and conduct interviews and a mock trial.
Taught: Every semester.
Prerequisite: LGST 1250 or 5000 (may be taken concurrently).
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3530: Estates and Trusts
Goals: To introduce students to vocabulary, concepts, and procedures associated with drafting, probate, and administering the decedents estates and trusts.
Content: A study of the legal concepts, processes, and practices associated with distribution of a decedents property. An introduction to trust construction and administration.
Taught: Alternate years.
Prerequisite: LGST 1250 or 5000.
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3540: Family and Gender Issues in Law
Goals: To introduce students to the theories, policies, and practices of law affecting women, men, and children in their familial, domestic, and gender roles.
Content: The course will explore the many complicated applications of law that effect men, women, and children in their relationships with each other. Analytical, practical, and verbal skills necessary for working in the area of family law will be emphasized. Students will examine laws affecting the gender roles and status of people within domestic relationships through lecture, class assignments, and exams. Students will produce a simulated client file demonstrating their ability to apply the legal principles and procedures that are covered throughout the course.
Taught: Alternate years.
Prerequisite: LGST 1250 or 5000 (may be taken concurrently.)
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3550: Real Property
Goals: To understand the basic concepts and instruments affecting real property, including ownership interests, transfers of title, purchase agreements, mortgages, leases, liens, title examination, legal descriptions, and surveys.
Content: Learning theory and practice underlying laws, conveyancing documents, and other agreements affecting real property; coordinating mortgage foreclosures; study of additional requirements for transactions involving large commercial properties; registration proceedings; taxes, special assessments, legal descriptions, and other matters affecting real property.
Taught: Alternate years.
Prerequisite: LGST 1250, 5000 (may be taken concurrently) or permission of instructor.
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3560: Law of Business Organizations
Goals: To present the principles of law applicable to different types of business organizations and the preparation of related documents.
Content: The formation of business entities, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations; articles of incorporation and by-laws; close corporations; shareholders and directors meetings; corporate equity and debt securities; various types of agreements and distributions; bankruptcy; pertinent sections of the Uniform Commercial Code and the drafting of supporting documents.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: LGST 1250, 5000, or M&E 3600 (may be taken concurrently.)
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3570: Probate Procedures
(2 credits)
Goals: To introduce students to vocabulary, concepts and procedures associated with probate administration.
Content: A study of the legal concepts, processes, and practices associated with the distribution of a decedents estate. Students are introduced to the Uniform Probate Code, the laws of succession: testate and intestate, the legal forms related to formal and informal estate administration and relevant legal theory.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: LGST 1110 or 5000 AND 1250 (may be taken concurrently.)
* Paralegal specialty course.

LGST 3600: Business Law
(Listed under Management and Economics, M&E 3600.)

*LGST 3640: Taxation of Individuals
(2 credits)
Goals: To introduce students to concepts and practices in the law of individual taxation.
Content: An introduction to the law of personal taxation. Students are introduced to tax theory, relevant statutes and rules. Areas of study include but are not limited to: Gross Income, Deductions, Capital Gains and Accounting Methods. Students work on a variety of problems involving tax forms and procedures.
Taught: Alternate years.
Prerequisite: LGST 1110 or 5000, or M&E 3600.
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3670: Legal Interviewing
(2 credits)
Goals: To provide students with conceptual understanding of interviewing in law-related fields and to develop student speaking and listening skills related to interviewing.
Content: This course will cover the theory and practice of interviewing in law related fields. Special emphasis will be put on developing the skills of question formulation, attentive and active listening and interview recording. The course will include interviewing simulations in class and on video tape.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: LGST 1110 or 5000, or CJFS 1120.
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3680: Law of Evidence for Legal Professionals
(2 credits)
Goals: To introduce students to the law of evidence.
Content: This course will cover the rules of evidence, the theory and history of evidentiary law in America and relevant case law in the field of evidence. Special emphasis will be placed on providing students with an appreciation of how the law of evidence relates to the work of evidence collection, preservation and organization and preparation for trial.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisites: LGST 1110 or 5000, or CJFS 1120. LGST 1250 is also recommended.
* Paralegal specialty course.

*LGST 3750: Alternative Dispute Resolution
Goals: To introduce students to the theory and practice of alternative dispute resolution methods in the field of law.
Content: This course will cover negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other methods of resolving disputes as alternative to trial. Students will engage in skill-building exercises and in simulated negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations in class and on videotape. Emphasis will be placed on skill development as well as detailed understanding of the work involved in preparation for actual negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations.
Taught: Alternate years.
Prerequisites: None
* Paralegal specialty course.

(Also listed as CJFS 3810.)
Goals: To acquaint the student with the theory and practice of substantive criminal law.
Content: A study of the substantive aspects of criminal law, including traditional elements of crimes, statutory definitions, and judicial interpretations of specific crimes and motor vehicle offenses, as well as inchoate crimes, defenses to legal liability, and sentencing procedure. Focus is placed on developing practical skills associated with working in the field of criminal law.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: LGST 1110 or 5000, or CJFS 1120, or permission of the instructor.
* Paralegal specialty course.

LGST 3820: Constitutional Issues in Criminal Procedure
(Also listed as CJFS 3820.)
Goals: To acquaint the student with the theory and practice of criminal procedural law.
Content: An overview and critical examination of the procedural aspects of criminal law and issues relating to constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, unlawful gathering of incriminating evidence through interrogation and identification procedures, and the provision of legal counsel in criminal matters.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: LGST 1110 or 5000, or CJFS 1120 or permission of the instructor.

LGST 3960: Legal Studies Internship
Goals: To provide law school early admissions candidates an internship experience that will give the students a chance to develop and demonstrate those traits of maturity required for early admission to the Hamline University School of Law.
Content: An individually planned on-the-job or community volunteer experience for early admissions candidates. The internship is chosen so that the student will have real responsibility and a chance to demonstrate commitment and maturity.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisites: Junior standing and approval of legal studies chair or pre-law advisor. (Students need to secure an internship before the semester in which they are taking the class and doing the internship.)

*LGST 3990: Practicum
Goals: To apply the concepts and principles previously learned in a practical working environment under the supervision of a lawyer and/or an experienced paralegal (legal assistant).
Content: An apprenticeship in the performance of the duties of a paralegal in one of the typical settings for members of the profession; hands-on production of drafts and collation of legal documents under experienced supervision and guidance; attendance at weekly seminars, designed to tie experiential and academic experiences together and to ensure adequate preparation for entry in the profession.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisites: LGST 1110 or 5000, 1250, 3520, and four other credits of Legal Studies coursework. (Students need to secure an internship before the semester in which they are taking the class and doing the internship.)
* Paralegal specialty course.

LGST 5000: Postbaccalaureate Orientation
(2 credits)
An introduction to law, the American legal system, legal materials, legal methodology, legal ethics as applied to paralegal (legal assistants), the paralegal profession and the Hamline postbaccalaureate program. This course is designed for and limited to postbaccalaureate legal assistant students. MAPA students may take this course with permission.
Taught: The beginning of each semester. Starts shortly before the semester begins and ends shortly after the semester begins.

LGST 5100: Regulation Management
With special permission from the graduate school, a limited number of undergraduate students are allowed to take the Regulation Management course (GPA 8061) offered by Hamline’s School of Business in the Master of Arts in Public Administration program. LGST chair approval required.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisite: Consent of Legal Studies chair and MAPA director.

*LGST 5410: Advanced Special Topics in Law
(2 credits)
Goals: To provide students with an opportunity to engage in an advanced study in a specialized area of law.
Content: An intensive study of an advanced area of law. Topics vary from semester to semester. Some past topics have been: securities law, immigration law, contracts, and law of worker’s compensation.
Taught: Every semester.
Prerequisites: LGST 1110 or 5000 and 1250 (which may be taken concurrently), or permission of the legal studies department chair or director of the paralegal program. LGST 3520 is recommended.
* Paralegal specialty course.

LGST 5800: Senior Seminar in Legal Studies
Goals: To introduce students to advanced legal research and writing methods. To provide opportunity for individual and independent legal research on advanced topics.
Content: This course will include a study of advanced techniques in legal research including federal and other states’ materials. This course will be conducted as a seminar in which the students and the faculty member explore current issues in the legal field. Each student will develop and pursue an individually designed research project leading to the production of an advanced writing project on a current issue related to the legal field.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, LGST 1110 or 5000 and 1250, or permission of the legal studies chair or director of the paralegal program. LGST 3520 is recommended.

LGST 5810: Senior Seminar in Legal Studies
Goals: To introduce students to advanced legal research and writing methods. To provide opportunity for individual and independent legal research on advanced topics.
Content: This course will include a study of advanced techniques in legal research including federal and other states’ materials. This course will be conducted as a seminar in which the students and the faculty member explore current issues in the legal field. Each student will develop and pursue an individually designed research project leading to the production of an advanced writing project on a current issue related to the legal field.
Taught: Annually.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing, LGST 1110 or 5000 and 1250, or permission of the Legal Studies chair or director of the Paralegal Program. LGST 3520 is recommended.

LGST 5950: Seminar on American Law and Legal Systems
(1 credit in fall, 1 credit in spring)
Content: This is a seminar course for students seeking early admission to law school and pre-law juniors and seniors. Each student participates for two semesters (fall and spring). Each student will prepare and present an independent research paper to the seminar. The class is structured as a tutorial in the spring. Each student is expected to master one topic and to instruct the other students.
Taught: Annually. Students must start in the fall and continue through the spring.
Prerequisites: Junior standing, LGST 1250, and declared candidacy for early admission to the law school, or permission of the pre-law advisor.