University of Maryland School of Law : Catalog, 1988-1989

fields and thus gain an overview of
much of the law. On the other
hand, although no student is required
to specialize within any one
area of the law, the law school recognizes
the value of intensive exploration
of a particular subject.
The curriculum therefore contains
sequences of courses for the student
interested in becoming intimately
acquainted with one or two
specialized legal subjects. For example,
there are several elective
courses offered in corporate tax
law, environmental law, estates and
trusts, criminal law, health services
law, real estate and legal problems
of the poor.
The elective curriculum also
contains a varied and sophisticated
clinical education program in
which faculty members practice law
and supervise student "practitioners"
in a wide variety of substantive
areas of law. The clinical
courses attempt to duplicate the
lawyer's environment with its uncertainties,
demands and conflicts.
Student "practitioners" are confronted
with the lawyer's full range
of decision-making, as they integrate
substantive law with the demands
of an actual case and the
responsiblity to an actual client.
The E. McClure Rouser Clinical
Resource Fund, established in
memory of Mr. Rouser, is used to
help meet the expenses incurred in
serving clients.
In-school clinical courses,
Clinical Law Program and
Attorney General's Consumer Protection
Clinic and externships established
in public offices—Asper
Fellowship—each are described in
detail in this catalog under Description
of Required and Elective
Courses. Courses specifically devoted
to other skills such as counseling,
negotiating, drafting, trial
planning and trial techniques are
also offered. In addition, many of
the substantive law courses include
training of this type.
The law school's view of the
importance of a good lawyer's perspective
on the law is reflected not
only in the perspective requirement,
but in a number of courses
in which the relationship between
law and other disciplines is explored.
For example, courses in
Law and Economics, Law and Psychology
and Health Care Law deal
not only with substantive law, but
with the contributions which other
disciplines can make to the development
of legal doctrine. A sensitivity
to such possibilities is essential
to the well-rounded lawyer.
Rapidly growing legal specialities,
such as environmental
law and health care law, increasingly
require lawyers to work
with scientists and professionals
from other disciplines. To prepare
law students for this role, students
in the Clinical Law Program's Environmental
Clinic will work directly
with scientists on projects
undertaken by the interdisciplinary
Coastal and Estuarine Policy Program.
Law students and medical
students also will collaborate in a
seminar on health policy issues
raised by AIDS.
Finally, in order to assure students'
proficiency in the research
and written expression so necessary
to anyone engaged in the practice
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