The goal of this two-credit course is two-fold: to develop skills of applying substantive law and legal ethics to practice-based situations and to develop Spanish language skills for legal practice.

This course is discussion- and simulation-based and will require students to actively participate in: (1) discussion of and practice articulating substantive legal concepts and relevant legal procedures to Spanish-speaking clients; (2) discussion of and practice counseling Spanish-speaking clients; (3) discussion, in Spanish, of comparative law issues and questions that arise for clients familiar with Latin American legal systems; and (4) development of Spanish legal vocabulary needed to communicate with clients about legal topics. More broadly, during this time we will consider challenges inherent in bilingual lawyering, along with different approaches to bilingual lawyering scenarios.

The course is appropriate for students seeking to develop their Spanish conversational skills and for those who may already speak Spanish in an informal setting but seek to develop formal legal Spanish proficiency. It will be conducted in Spanish and will require some conversational Spanish language ability. That said, fluency is certainly not required, and you will not be graded on your language skills. The goal is to enhance your comfort and proficiency in speaking Spanish in legal settings, recognizing that students may be starting at different levels. To achieve this goal, I will expect all students to actively participate in discussions and role-play exercises. There will also be a number of written assignments in Spanish.