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Contract Drafting: Topics

This course has multiple sections depending on the topic. Not all topics are offered every year.

Course Number: LAW-224
Course Type: Highly Specialized and Experiential
Credits: 1-3
Enrollment Limit: Determined by Registrar
Description: This course will explore topics related to contract drafting. Please see the notes below for details on the section specific course descriptions.
Prerequisite: none
Note: Students may only earn credit for one contract drafting course.
Evaluation Method: See section details below
Capstone: no
WIE: see section specific details

Contract Drafting: Cross-Border Contracts

Professors Susan Felstiner, Vadym Roshkanyuk, and Sukhan Stanislav Stanislavovych

Credits: 1
Description: This course compares the common law and civil law approaches to contract formation, focusing on US and Ukrainian approaches, with the goal of bridging the two legal cultures in the context of a cross-border transaction. This course is a virtual collaboration between Lewis & Clark Law School and the Uzhhorod National University, with up to ten students from each school. The course will be taught in English, although a few classes may be simultaneously translated from Ukrainian to English.

The course will first compare and contrast the foundational theories of the civil and common law, focusing on the different approaches to contract formation and interpretation. It will then analyze how those doctrinal differences affect drafting choices in cross-border transactions. Students will apply their knowledge in one or more drafting and negotiation exercises. The course will also explore the lawyer’s duty to the client in each legal system.

The course will allow students to engage deeply with a meaningful comparative issue, through which students will gain a deeper understanding of the foundational principles of their own legal system. Students will develop cross-border drafting and negotiation skills. Through collaboration with Ukrainian counterparts, students will enhance their cultural awareness and their cross-cultural communication skills. The course design will avoid duplicating the core doctrinal territory of our other business law curriculum, such as Business Associations I and II, International Business Transactions, and International Dispute Resolution. The focus of the course design is to equip students with knowledge and skills to assist clients with cross-border transactions, such as US investment in Ukraine in the post-war era.

WIE: no

The American Bar Association accreditation standards require students to regularly attend the courses in which they are registered. Lewis & Clark expects students to attend classes regularly and to prepare for classes conscientiously. Specific attendance requirements may vary from course to course. Any attendance guidelines for a given class must be provided to students in a syllabus or other written document at the start of the semester. Sanctions (e.g., required withdrawal from the course, grade adjustment, and/or a failing grade) will be imposed for poor attendance.