Public Law
What Is Public Law?
Two essentially different methods exist in this country for the resolution of social problems and disputes, depending on whether they involve private or public law. Private Law typically involves a law suit brought by private parties, usually against other private parties in state or federal court. Public Law typically involves the attempt of a governmental administrator to regulate the conduct, usually of many persons, under legislative standards designed to promote the public interest. The administrator's actions are subject to review by the judiciary, but they are also subject to oversight by the executive and legislative branches.
Who Studies Public Law?
All law students should have some general familiarity with public law. Students who are in private practice will inevitably represent clients who have a dispute with a local, state or federal governmental agency. Many private practitioners specialize in some area of public law, such as business regulation, employment law, environmental law, local government, natural resources or social regulation. Students employed as government attorneys likewise will specialize in a public law area.
Curriculum
The Public Law curriculum at KU is organized into gateway courses, substantive courses and clinical courses. Gateway courses familiarize students with the legal principles and governmental institutions that are the infrastructure of public law. Substantive courses acquaint students with the substance of business regulation, employment law, environmental law, local government, natural resources and social regulation. Clinical courses, in which students represent or assist clients, offer students the opportunity for hands-on experience in public law.
Gateway courses
Administrative Law is a recommended gateway course that covers the institutions that create public law and the procedures that they use. Students may also take Legislation, which examines the relationship between judicial review and the interpretation of legislation.
Substantive courses
KU offers courses in six major public law areas. Courses marked with an asterisk* cover both Private and Public Law.
Antitrust Law (federal regulation of anticompetitive conduct); Copyright Law and Digital Works* (federal regulation of intellectual property); Law and Economics (economic concepts relevant to public and private law); Insurance Law* (includes state regulation of insurance practices), Media Law* (legal regulation of the media); Intellectual Property (federal regulation of intellectual property); Securities Regulation (federal and state regulation of the sale of securities).
Employment Law
Advanced Topics in Labor and Employment Law (intensive study of one or more aspects of labor and employment law); Employment Discrimination Law (federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in employment); Employment Law (federal and state regulation of employer-employee relationships); Labor Law (federal regulation of union-employer activity); Public Benefit Law (includes Social Security and Workers' Compensation eligibility); Race Discrimination Law (includes federal laws pertaining to employment discrimination); Workers' Compensation Law (eligibility for state compensation for workplace injuries).
Elder Law
Introduction to Elder Law (federal and state laws that pertain to the protection and care of the elderly); Public Benefit Law (includes eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits for the elderly).
Environmental Law
Environmental Law Seminar (advanced study of specific topics); Environmental Law Survey (general survey of laws protecting the environment); National Environmental and Energy Policy (federal regulation of resource extraction, transportation and development); Regulation of Air and Water Pollution (federal and state regulation of air and water pollution); Regulation of Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste (federal regulation of toxic materials).
Health Law
Health Law and Policy (federal and state regulation of health care providers); Law and Bioethics (regulation of health care).
Local Government
Government Control of Land Development (local land use controls); Local Government Law (structure, functions, and jurisdiction of local governments).
Natural Resources Law
Agricultural Law*, Public Lands and Natural Resources (regulation of land owned by the federal government); Water Law* (includes state regulation of water use).
Social Regulation
Federal Indian Law (federal law concerning Indian nations); Immigration Law (regulation of immigration); Sovereignty, Self-Determination and the Indigenous Nations (domestic law of Indian Nations).
Clinical Programs
Clinical offerings that pertain to the practice of public law include Elder Law Externship (students represent elderly individuals in consumer, housing and public benefits litigation); Legislative Clinic (students intern for members of the Kansas Legislature and study advocacy in the legislative process); Legal Aid Clinic (students render legal assistance to indigent clients, including representation in public benefit law); Media Law Clinic (students provide legal analysis concerning legal regulation of the media and First Amendment issues); Public Policy Clinic (students provide policy and legal analysis to the Kansas Legislature).