Professor Stafford's research is in the Law and Literature field. She is also interested in developing students' research and writing skills in practice areas governed by legislation and regulation, and in advanced appellate advocacy.
keywords
legal research and writing, law and literature, housing law, legislation, regulatory law, business law
Teaching
courses taught
BCOR 2301 - Business Law
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
Provides an introduction to the U.S. legal system including its various sources of law and their interplay. Additionally, the court system, both its structure and process, is explored. Finally, contract law and its role in business is examined in detail. Credit not granted for this course and BCOR 3000, BCOR 2003.
BSLW 4120 - Advanced Business Law
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
Continuation of BCOR 3000. Covers sales and lease transactions, negotiable instruments, creditor rights and bankruptcy, secured transactions, agency, business organizations, protection of property, and other advanced topics in legal and regulatory environments. This course and BCOR 3000 cover the business law topics tested on the CPA exam. Same as BSLW 5120.
BSLW 5120 - Advanced Business Law
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
Covers sales and lease transactions, negotiable instruments, creditor rights and bankruptcy, secured transactions, agency, business organizations, protection of property, and other advanced topics in legal and regulatory environments. This course and BCOR 3000 cover the business law topics tested on the CPA exam. Same as BSLW 4120.
LAWS 4075 - Introduction to U.S. Law for Undergraduate Students
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2020 / Summer 2022
Introduces undergraduate students to the American legal system and to legal reasoning and argumentation via case studies of prominent litigation. Students will learn basic conceptual building blocks of American law, basic lawyering skills and an understanding of how the American legal system structures and resolves complex disputes.
LAWS 5223 - Legal Writing II
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Students prepare appellate briefs and related documents and deliver oral arguments before a three-judge court composed of faculty, upper-division students, and practicing attorneys. Practice arguments are videotaped and critiqued.
LAWS 5226 - Legal Writing I
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Provides an intensive introduction to the resources available for legal research. Students also prepare written material of various kinds designed to develop research skills, legal writing style, and analysis of legal problems.
LAWS 6123 - Legislative and Policy Drafting
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Exposes students to the process of drafting and amending enacted legal texts such as statutes, regulations, and polities of both governmental and non-governmental entities. Students will critically examine lawyers' roles as counselors, advocates and experts in different legislative and policy-drafting contexts.
LAWS 6223 - Research and Writing in the Regulatory State
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021
Focus on developing in students the research, writing and analytical skills necessary to operate within any highly regulated field. Students will work broadly on research and writing skills required in a regulatory practice and narrowly on how that applies to particular areas of expertise, to gain an understanding of a particular area of the law.
LAWS 8458 - Seminar: Law and Literature
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2018
Focuses on the question of what literature can teach lawyers through a variety of literary works and films. Covers traditional works by Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Camus, Kafka and Melville, as well as more contemporary works by Toni Morrison and Norman Mailer. Several short reflection papers, a journal and a final paper will be required.
LAWS 9246 - Intro to U.S. Legal Practice: Legal Writing, Research and Analysis
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Assist LL.M. students develop their legal writing skills as well as teach practical skills needed in the U.S. legal environment including locating cases, statutes and other legal source materials, citing legal authority correctly, and checking the validity of case citations.
