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Legislation and Lobbying

Legislative lawyering, not surprisingly, involves lawmaking in the legislative branch of the local, state, or federal government. Specifically, it includes the creation and revision of acts, bills, resolutions, and similar items that are on the path to becoming law. It also involves the revocation of laws that are no longer needed. Legislators, as well as those who work in their offices, are often attorneys who use their skills throughout the legislative process.

Lobbying, on the other hand, is work that helps mold or influence legislation by providing perspective and strategies from interest groups, which include trade associations, corporations, advocacy groups, and nonprofits. Because of their knowledge of the legislative process, legislative lobbyists many times are also lawyers. Legislative lobbyists secure laws and amendments to proposed bills by engaging elected officials, tracking legislation, funding specialized research, organizing public advocacy campaigns, and advocating for or against legislation that affects their clients.

Courses

Courses designated as "primary" are foundational, while those listed as "secondary" contain relevant and related content. "Co-curricular" courses are credit-bearing extra-curricular activities, while "experiential" courses are practice-based offerings. Please keep in mind that the focus of any course will vary depending on the instructor.

Primary Courses

200: Legislation and Administrative Law 3 credits PRIMARY

This course surveys the legislative process, fundamentals of statutory interpretation, and the work of administrative agencies, with special emphasis on administrative rule-making process.

470: Lobbying Theory and Practice 1 or 2 credits PRIMARY

Students who complete the course will be exposed to the role of the lawyer lobbyist in the shaping of state and federal public policy. The course is designed to provide students with the historical and legal background of legislative advocacy. Students will gain the practical skills necessary to succeed in the legislative advocacy field. The goals of this course are for the students to understand how to effectively advocate on behalf of a cause, company or non-profit entity, review laws and regulations affecting lobbying and lobbyists, and comprehend the competitive landscape of public policy. It is the goal of this course to effectively train students in all the essential ideas necessary to become an influential advocate before a state legislature or the United States Congress.

Secondary Courses

441: Public Interest Lawyering Seminar 1 to 3 credits SECONDARY

This course covers the practice of public interest law, how the lawyer’s professional role differs in this type of law practice, and how the public interest lawyer can affect and influence public policy and justice in the courts, legislatures, and administrative agencies. Students participate in simulations which explore public interest law, speak with public interest lawyers and the public interest organizations that they represent, and write a paper that invites them to reflect on and expand the information and materials covered in the course.

478: Public Interest Advocacy 0 to 3 credits SECONDARY

This course is a 2-credit, seminar-sized, workshop-style legal analysis and writing course which focuses on public interest legal writing, working with underrepresented clients, and social justice/poverty themes.

510: State and Local Government 2 credits SECONDARY

641: Regulatory Law and Policy 0 to 3 credits SECONDARY

This course, taught as a seminar, examines the advocacy skills that lawyers used in regulatory practice to persaude agencies to adopt actions that their clients favor. Any student who thinks she or he might practice in front of a regulatory agency should benefit from the course. There is no casebook to buy. All readings are posted on Sakai.

Experiential Courses

345: Semester in Practice 10 or 11 credits EXPERIENTIAL

This is the field placement component of a full term externship program and is paired with the Externship Lecture course. Total credits between Semester in Practice and Externship Lecture will total 13. The number of credit hours awarded to an individual student will determine the hours of work required at the field placement and meet or exceed the ABA standards. In accordance with ABA guidelines, students work at a placement under a supervising attorney. C-LAW 300.

520: D.C. Summer Externship / Judicial Clerking 3 to 6 credits EXPERIENTIAL

This experiential course is ideal for prospective law clerks or future litigators who wish to learn more about the perspective behind the bench. It explores the purpose and function of a law clerk, the nature and structure of the judiciary, how to apply for and obtain a clerkship, and most importantly, how to perform it well. Topics of discussion include judicial ethics, chambers confidentiality, docket management, courtroom decorum, professionalism, judicial drafting, and other issues that law clerks commonly encounter. Among other things, students draft an 11-Day memo, bench memo, and judicial opinion. The course also includes Lunch & Learn events with federal judges, field trips to the U.S. Supreme Court, FBI, etc., and visits from guest speakers, including a prosecutor, in-house counsel, DOJ attorney, and partners at prominent law firms.

676: Summer Externship 4 credits EXPERIENTIAL

This course is currently available only in the summer. The director of the externship designates one or more cities in North and South Carolina, usually including Charlotte, NC, and offers the students externships in a designated practice area. The practice areas vary from summer to summer. Students meet weekly with the director to integrate and apply the doctrinal insights received elsewhere in the law school curriculum and in the subject matter of the field placements. The course fulfills the practical skills requirement.

690: Environmental Law and Policy Clinic 4 credits EXPERIENTIAL

The course will allow students to learn about the real work of environmental law and policy through a combination of intensive training on the skills needed to work with clients and grappling with environmental law and policy matters with which clients need help. At the commencement of the semester, students’ classwork will focus on lawyering skills and the basics of administrative and environmental law through two Saturday intensives. During the course of the semester, a weekly, two-hour class meeting will build upon these skills and include practitioners from industry, private practice, government, and non-profits. In addition, this weekly meeting will serve as a touch-point for learning and sharing with other students how their representation of clients is progressing, what concerns and issues are arising, and what learnings they are taking away. Students will be expected to put 10-12 hours of effort into the clinic per week in keeping with the 4 credit requirement. They will keep timesheets and a journal of their experience.

Faculty

The following faculty are knowledgeable about the topic and may be a useful resource for you.

Jane Aiken

Jane Aiken

University Distinguished Professor

Allyson E. Gold

Allyson E. Gold

Associate Dean for Experiential Learning

Mark Hall

Mark Hall

Fred D. and Elizabeth L Turnage Professor of Law

John Korzen

John Korzen

Associate Professor of Legal Writing

Tanya Marsh

Tanya Marsh

Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Scott Schang

Scott Schang

Professor of Practice

Sidney Shapiro

Sidney Shapiro

Frank U. Fletcher Chair in Administrative Law

Kenneth Townsend

Kenneth Townsend

Teaching Professor

Steve Virgil

Steve Virgil

Clinical Professor of Law