LAW PORTAL
- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
- Alumni and Giving
Alumni and Giving
The global Trojan network of more than 10,000 law alumni and donors include recognized leaders in numerous fields who are deeply committed to supporting student and law school success.
- Admissions
James Curtis
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES
Lecturer in Law
Email: jcurtis@law.usc.edu699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA
Last Updated: July 20, 2019
James Curtis, formerly senior vice president and senior counsel at Bank of the West, where he served as the bank's primary contracts attorney for 22 years, divides his time teaching at USC Gould School of Law and at the UCLA Extension Paralegal Training Program. He teaches contracts, contract drafting and negotiation, and commercial paper. He has taught at USC Gould School of Law since 1993.
In 2015, Curtis was awarded the California banking attorney of the year award, the Almon McCallum Award, by the California Bankers Association, a division of the Western Bankers Association. In 2012, UCLA presented Curtis with the Distinguished Instructor Award. The award, presented annually to the top 1 percent of UCLA Extension instructors, recognizes "exemplary teaching, professional knowledge and outstanding commitment to students."
Curtis earned his BA degree with high honors from Eastern Illinois University, and his JD degree from USC Gould School of Law, where he served as vice chair of the Hale Moot Court Honors Program. In 2011, he established the James B. Curtis Endowed Scholarship at USC Law. His 2016 gift named the Hale Moot Court Honors Board office at the USC Gould School of Law.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Daily Herald
November 20, 2020
Re: Susan Estrich
Susan Estrich wrote an op-ed criticizing Rudy Guiliani's handling of President Trump's post-election legal efforts. "Rudy was always an attention hog, taking credit for things he had nothing to do with," she wrote. "This time, as he himself has made clear, he has a great deal to do with everything that is slowing down the orderly transition of power, which is the hallmark of a democracy." The op-ed also appeared in The Joplin Globe.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Jonathan Barnett
September, 2020
Jonathan Barnett participated on a panel discussion on “How to Improve Data Methodology and Communication Around Patent Licensing,” Innovation Alliance Webinar.
Dorothy S. Lund
September, 2020
"Corporate Finance for Social Good," Columbia Law Review (forthcoming 2021).
Thomas D. Lyon
September, 2020
"Adults' difficulties in identifying concealment among children interviewed with the putative confession instruction,” (with Jennifer Gongola, Jodi A. Quas, and Steven E. Clark) Applied Cognitive Psychology.
