LAW COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

LAW-2088 Massachusetts Housing Law Drafting and Advocacy Mr. James Matthews, 2 credits day; 2 credits evening.

Students using this course to fulfill the experiential learning requirement may not also use this same course to meet the legal writing requirement.

Many students graduate from law school having never drafted the documents they will need to write in practice. This course is designed to help students prepare for the practice of law by combining study in Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant law with experiential legal writing activities. Students will draft documents such as a demand letter, complaint, answer, and pretrial motions, and participate in simulated exercises chronologically sequenced through a complex landlord- tenant problem. Housing law topics covered will include evictions, affirmative defenses and counterclaims, G.L. c. 93A, and fee-shifting statutes. This practical course will also help students prepare for the Massachusetts Bar Examination as many of these topics may be tested in the new Access to Justice Section of the bar exam.

Faculty comments : Grades will be based on the following: in-class participation (30%), research and writing assignments (40%), and a final project (30%).

Elective Course

Meets Skills Menu Requirement

Meets Experiential Learning Requirement

Recommended for the Mass Bar